The accompanying table (click to enlarge) includes an update for the ETF Innovators (ETFI) Highly Defensive PerformIdex of 36 companies based in the U.S., Canada, and Europe with market caps over $10B, which are the leaders by market cap in their defensive industry groups. The 36 companies are dominated by consumer staples and healthcare, with an equal distribution of 12 each from these sectors, with the remaining 12 companies chosen from a variety of other defensive industry groups.

(A) Mass Merchant Discount Retailer (1)
(B) Consumer Staples (12) – Non-Food/Beverage (2), Processed & Packaged Foods (3), Tobacco (2) (1 U.S. + 1 ex-U.S.), Alcoholic Beverages (1), Non-Alcoholic Beverages (2), Diversified Products (2)
(C) Telecom Services (4)
(D) Cable Television & Internet Access Providers (1)
(E) Utilities (2)
(F) Fast Food Restaurants (1)
(G) Commodities (2): Gold Mining (1) + Agri-Biotech (Seeds & Fertilizers) (1)
(H) Healthcare (12) – Top Seven Companies by Market Cap (7), Biotech (3) Medical Devices (excluding stents) (1), Generic Drugs (1)
(I) Aerospace (Non-Commercial) & Defense (1)

Over the past year, the index has outpaced the overall market and its benchmark ETFs on a total return basis with a loss of 13.4%, including the Sabrient/Claymore Defensive ETF (DEF) (-32.8%), Consumer Staples Sector SPDR (XLP) (-17.2%), Healthcare Sector SPDR (XLV) (-24.9%), Utilities Sector SPDR (XLU) (-30.6%), Dow Jones Global Titans (DGT) (-38%), iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend (DVY) (-32.9%), and the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) (-37.7%). This equally-weighted, defensive index is only 58% as volatile as the overall market with an average market cap of over $77B and dividend yield of 3.2%.

Healthcare was the strongest sector in the index with a total return of -2.4% in the past year, as compared to a loss of 19.2% for consumer staples. Companies which managed to post a gain over a very challenging year for the stock market include Amgen (AMGN) (21.9%), Genentech (DNA) (21.8%), Wal-Mart (WMT) (16.8%), Celgene (CELG) (14.9%), Gilead Sciences (GILD) (7.9%), McDonalds (MCD) (5.9%), and General Mills (GIS) (5%).

Companies trading with price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratios of under one include Monsanto (MON) (0.62), Teva Pharma (TEVA) (0.8), Altria (MO) (0.86), Vodafone (VOD) (0.89), Lockheed Martin (LMT) (0.91), CELG (0.91), and Telefonica (TEF) (0.97). MO has the highest dividend yield at 8.5% while WMT has the biggest market cap at $217B.