IYK vs PSCC

IYKBiShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF

PSCCCInvesco S&P SmallCap Consumer Staples ETF

In short

IYK A 2000-vintage staples fund: one of the first US sector ETFs ever listed, now tracking a Russell 1000 index that caps its biggest names and reaches past the S&P 500 into mid-cap staples. The wider net costs 0.37%.

PSCC Most consumer staples ETFs are a stack of mega-cap giants. PSCC goes the other way, tracking the staples corner of the S&P SmallCap 600 (a couple dozen small US companies) for 0.29% a year.

Stated mandate

IYK The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. equities in the consumer staples sector, providing diversified exposure to U.S. food, beverage, and household-goods producers.

PSCC The Fund normally invests at least 90% of its assets in small-capitalization U.S. consumer staples companies included in its Index.

Why people hold it

• IYK Listed June 12, 2000, one of the original iShares US sector funds: a quarter-century of staples exposure across multiple market cycles.ishares.com
• Built on a Russell 1000 staples index, so the bench runs deeper than the S&P 500 universe that feeds XLP. Mid-cap food, beverage and household-goods names get a seat.ishares.comssga.com
• The index uses RIC capping, trimming the largest positions so no single staples giant swallows the portfolio.lseg.com
• Upper half of its staples peer group, a billion-dollar-plus fund that distributes quarterly.

• PSCC At 0.29% a year, it comes in under the typical fee in its consumer staples peer group, where the median sits closer to 0.40%.
• Small-cap purity: normally at least 90% of assets in small-cap US staples companies from its index, a slice the big cap-weighted staples funds barely touch.invesco.com
• Live since 2010, a long run for a slice this narrow, and it pays out on a quarterly schedule.

Worth knowing

• IYK 0.37%, with no fee waiver in place. Near the category median, but well above the index heavyweights: XLP at 0.08%, FSTA at 0.084%, VDC at 0.09%.
• About 50 holdings, cap-weighted. The capping rules shave the top rather than spreading weight evenly, so a few household names carry much of the fund.
• Trades moderately, with a thinner tape than the largest funds in the staples aisle.

• PSCC Thinly traded with a small asset base, so spreads and market impact can matter as much as the fee you see on the label.
• Roughly two dozen holdings means one company's stumble moves the fund far more than it would in broad staples funds like XLP or VDC.
• Small-cap staples swing harder than the large-cap defensives most people picture when they hear 'consumer staples', and it sits in the lower half of its peer group.

Full IYK profile⁠

Full PSCC profile⁠