GET DAILY SIGNALSFSTA vs IYK: Weighing Consumer Staples ETFs for Long-Term Investors
Key Takeaways
- FSTA offers broader diversification with roughly 100 holdings versus about 54 for IYK, reducing single-stock concentration risk.
- FSTA is meaningfully cheaper at a 0.08% expense ratio, compared with roughly 0.38% for IYK — a gap that compounds over long holding periods.
- IYK blends in meaningful healthcare distribution exposure (CVS Health and McKesson), while FSTA is a near-pure consumer staples play.
- Both funds are heavily weighted toward mega-cap staples leaders, but IYK is more concentrated at the top, with its top 10 names around two-thirds of assets.
- Tickeron AI Verdict: FSTA — its lower cost, broader diversification, and purer sector exposure make it the more structurally efficient choice of the two.
Introduction
Consumer staples ETFs have drawn renewed attention as investors look for defensive options amid shifting market leadership. The Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA) and the iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) both focus on U.S. companies providing everyday essentials like food, beverages, household goods, and tobacco. While they may seem similar on the surface, differences in their underlying indexes, costs, and holdings create distinct profiles. This comparison shows how portfolio construction and fees can influence outcomes even within the same sector.
FSTA Overview
FSTA tracks the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples 25/50 Index and holds around 100 securities across large-, mid-, and small-cap names. The fund is market-cap weighted and non-diversified. Top holdings include Walmart (WMT) at about 14–15%, Costco Wholesale (COST) near 12%, and Procter & Gamble (PG) around 9–10%, along with Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), and Philip Morris International (PM). Exposure stays almost entirely within consumer staples, and the expense ratio stands at 0.08%.
IYK Overview
IYK follows the Russell 1000 Consumer Staples RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index and holds roughly 54 securities. Leading positions feature Procter & Gamble (PG) and Coca-Cola (KO) each near 12–14%, Philip Morris International (PM) around 11%, plus PepsiCo (PEP), CVS Health (CVS), Altria Group (MO), and McKesson (MCK). Consumer staples make up about 85% of assets, with roughly 11% in healthcare. The expense ratio is approximately 0.38%.
Industry Context
Consumer staples have long served as a defensive area due to consistent demand across economic cycles. Recent periods have highlighted tensions between this stability and stronger momentum elsewhere in the market. Input costs, currency movements, and shifts toward value-oriented or private-label products have weighed on some margins. IYK’s healthcare distribution exposure adds separate considerations around reimbursement and regulation, which can introduce volatility not found in a purer staples allocation. Mega-cap retailers and beverage companies have shown more resilience in certain environments.
Performance and Positioning
Both ETFs have seen support during rotations into defensive and dividend-focused areas. FSTA’s emphasis on Walmart and Costco aligns it more closely with large-cap retail resilience, while IYK’s healthcare names bring a different earnings and regulatory profile. The broader holdings and lower fee in FSTA have historically contributed to steadier results, whereas IYK’s concentration and sector mix can heighten sensitivity to individual names or sub-sector moves. Both maintain low beta relative to the broader market.
Researching Sector ETFs
When comparing funds like these, I sometimes use Tickeron’s AI tools to review holdings overlap and cost differences alongside technical signals. This helps confirm the structural points without relying solely on manual review.
Exploring with Tickeron’s AI Screener
In my research process, I regularly turn to Tickeron’s AI Screener to filter ETFs by expense ratio, number of holdings, and sector purity. The tool surfaces comparable options quickly and supports more informed allocation decisions when evaluating defensive sector exposure.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
IYK's MACD Histogram crosses above signal line
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for IYK turned positive on October 07, 2026. Looking at past instances where IYK's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 38 of 44 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 86%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on October 08, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on IYK as a result. In 67 of 87 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 77%.
IYK moved above its 50-day moving average on October 08, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
The 10-day moving average for IYK crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on October 16, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In 14 of 18 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 78%.
Following a +2.51% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where IYK advanced for three days, in 265 of 337 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 79%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 232 of 299 cases where IYK Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 78%.
Bearish Trend Analysis
The 10-day RSI Indicator for IYK moved out of overbought territory on October 23, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 39 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In 32 of the 39 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at 82%.
The Stochastic Oscillator may be shifting from an upward trend to a downward trend. In 46 of 62 cases where IYK's Stochastic Oscillator exited the overbought zone, the price fell further within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 74%.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where IYK declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 75%.
IYK broke above its upper Bollinger Band on October 14, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
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Category ConsumerStaples
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