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 & P/TSX Capped Consumer Staples Index ETF (ticker XST) is the sole fund of almost 7,000 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 index-tracking funds, according to data analytics tool Koyfin. The Canadian-dollar-based fund beat the SPDR S & P 500 ETF (SPY) by 59 percentage points in total returns over the past decade. It also outperformed the Canada-focussed iShares Core S & P/TSX 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 85.9 Canadian dollars ($64.15) a share. In 2022, when Canadian and U.S. 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 U.S.-China trade war, the XST fund eked out 1.8% in returns. Unlike the larger index funds, the iShares S & P/TSX 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 Couche-Tard is the largest holding at 25% of the ETF as of Jan. 6. The company operates more than 15,000 stores across North America, Europe, and Asia under brand names Couche-Tard, 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 near-term grocery fundamentals to remain favorable, with inflation remaining higher for longer, rational competition, improving tonnage (shift to food at home in a recession) and pharmacy/front-store benefiting from their opening and being recession-resilient,” 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 buy-rated by the majority of analysts com. Conversely, Metro was the sole stock to be hold-rated by most analysts.