iShares S&P/TSX Cap. Cons. St.XST.TOBUYApr 15, 2019Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 03, 2026. Market Open.
XST is made up of Canadian retail grocers. Huge weight in Loblaw and Couche-Tard, making up about half of the ETF. Rest will be Metro, Weston, Empire, Saputo, Maple Leaf. Somewhat resilient. No matter what happens in an economy, people need groceries. Less volatility than ZLU.
ZLU is low volatility exposure to a broader cohort of stocks, not just consumer staples. A US play. Lower volatility, but broader economic exposure. Will tend to outperform the S&P 500 in a market correction. Really likes it.
Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. A good starting point for a Canadian sector exposure. The majority of its holdings is ATD, L, MRU and WN. If you want to forgo the ETF fee, it could be an alternative to buy these stocks. However, a good ETF for the sector. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free
Consumer Staples has done very, very well in Canada. A lot of the names in this have done very well, because a lot of investors have moved into the safer part of the index. This is one of the most defensive areas that you want to look at. However, a lot of the names are starting to get expensive in terms of their valuations. Be careful about how extended some of these valuations are. If interest rates start to move higher, you might want to pair back your holdings in this.
The Canadian consumer staple index and has only a handful of names. People have gravitated towards this because they see stable revenues and stable cash flows. For that stability, they have afforded them really big multiples. For whatever period your holding is, that multiple must not shrink. Even if their earnings goes up, if the multiple shrinks fast enough, the stocks will come down.