Buy Hold Sell: 8 consistent ASX dividend stocks (and 2 big Buys)

Are you finding equity income investing harder than it used to be? Well, you're not imagining it.

For years, income investors could build a portfolio of quality ASX dividend stocks and generate an attractive income stream without taking excessive risk. Today, that task has become far more challenging - but not impossible. 

The ASX's yield has fallen well below historical averages, bank share prices have rallied hard, and many of the market's traditional income favourites simply do not offer the yields they once did. At the same time, higher bond yields and attractive cash rates have given investors more alternatives than they've had in years.

So where can investors still find reliable income on the ASX? And which stocks continue to offer attractive yields without taking on undue risk?

In this special Income Series edition of Buy Hold Sell, Livewire's Tom Stelzer is joined by two ASX equity income gurus, in Peter Gardner from Plato Asset Management and Michael O'Neill from IML.

The pair run the ruler over eight ASX income stocks drawn Carl Capolignua's list of the market's most consistent dividend payers (last year's edition below. Carl will update again this series).