The good news for XLP shareholders is that of the 13 Dow stocks that have traded higher over the past month, two are Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), which are also large Berkshire equity positions. P&G and Wal-Mart, XLP’s largest and fourth-largest holdings, respectively, combine for 20.4% of the ETF’s weight. [Playing Defense With Staples ETFs]
“During the past 10 years, this ETF has been meaningfully less volatile than the broader market. It also has displayed less volatility than competing consumer staples ETFs,” Morningstar analyst Robert Goldsborough said in a research note on XLP.
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of XLP.