an etf tracking canadian consumer stocks is the only major fund to have had a positive return every year over the past decade data shows the ishares s  ptsx capped consumer staples index etf ticker xst is the sole fund of almost 7000 equities etfs worldwide screened by cnbc pro not to have a single year of negative returns between jan 1 2013 and dec 31 2022 the etf traded on the toronto stock exchange has offered investors a 14 compound annual growth rate over the same period significantly higher than broader indextracking funds according to data analytics tool koyfin the canadiandollarbased fund beat the spdr s  p 500 etf spy by 59 percentage points in total returns over the past decade it also outperformed the canadafocussed ishares core s  ptsx capped composite index etf xic by about 125 percentage points over the same period the canadian consumer staples etf has risen by 2 this year to 859 canadian dollars 6415 a share in 2022 when canadian and us benchmark indexes declined the fund rose more than 10 similarly in 2018 when global markets fell over concerns of an economic slowdown in china amid the uschina trade war the xst fund eked out 18 in returns unlike the larger index funds the ishares s  ptsx capped consumer staples index etf includes just 11 stocks with a significant weighting toward the food retail and packaged foods sectors convenience store operator alimentation couchetard is the largest holding at 25 of the etf as of jan 6 the company operates more than 15000 stores across north america europe and asia under brand names couchetard circle k and ingo canadian grocers loblaw  metro  and weston together make up another 48 of the etf the four defensive stocks are favored by analysts for their good earnings visibility during periods of high inflation rising borrowing costs and contracting consumer demand we expect nearterm grocery fundamentals to remain favorable with inflation remaining higher for longer rational competition improving tonnage shift to food at home in a recession and pharmacyfrontstore benefiting from their opening and being recessionresilient said chris li equity analyst at desjardins capital markets in a note to clients on dec 16 according to factset all but one stock in the etf are buyrated by the majority of analysts com conversely metro was the sole stock to be holdrated by most analysts