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Should You Invest in the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA)?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 10/21/2013.

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Consumer Staples - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 15, placing it in bottom 6%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $812.32 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market. FSTA seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index before fees and expenses.

MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index represents the performance of the consumer staples sector in the U.S. equity market.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.08%, making it the least expensive product in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.44%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Staples sector--about 100% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Procter + Gamble Co/the Common Stock (PG - Free Report) accounts for about 13.87% of total assets, followed by Coca Cola Co/the Common Stock Usd.25 (KO - Free Report) and Walmart Inc Common Stock Usd.1 (WMT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 63.93% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, FSTA has added roughly 7.55%, and was up about 9.63% in the last one year (as of 10/13/2021). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $37.27 and $44.21.

The ETF has a beta of 0.64 and standard deviation of 18.52% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 103 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FSTA is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Consumer Staples ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP - Free Report) tracks Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF has $5.93 billion in assets, Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $11.63 billion. VDC has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLP charges 0.12%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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