The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLP) offers a low-cost, high-liquidity route to large-cap staples, whereas the Invesco Food & Beverage ETF (NYSEMKT:PBJ) uses a proprietary selection process to target niche food and beverage companies.
Both funds target the defensive consumer sector but through different lenses
While PBJ uses an Intellidex strategy to select 30 specific food-related stocks based on capital appreciation potential, XLP tracks the consumer staples heavyweights of the S&P 500, offering a more traditional market-cap-weighted profile for defensive investors. Snapshot (cost & size) The State Street fund is notably more affordable, with an expense ratio of 0.08% compared to 0.61% for the Invesco fund. Additionally, XLP provides a higher payout, with a distribution yield roughly 1.00 percentage point above PBJ.
Performance & risk comparison Over the last five years, XLP has achieved higher total growth, turning $1,000 into $1,344, while PBJ reached $1,174. Both funds exhibit low volatility, with betas well below the broader market average. What’s inside The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLP) tracks the Consumer Staples Select Sector Index, providing exposure to 36 holdings.