With volatility rearing its ugly head again in equity indices this week, it’s a good idea for investors to refresh their playbook for tumultuous market conditions. Although dips continue to be bought with the market trading at or near record highs, the poor market breadth should probably have investors on their toes going forward. Adding shares of stocks that can either preserve your capital or even provide alpha in a volatile market is certainly a valuable strategy for investors to consider at this time. The only problem is finding those pockets of strength in the market that smart money tends to park their capital in during a flight to safety. 


One sector sees inflows time and time again when the market starts to flash warnings signs of volatility, and that is the consumer staples sector. These are companies that produce and sell the everyday items that consumers will purchase regardless of economic conditions, which means their earnings are fairly stable and predictable. It might make sense to start increasing exposure to consumer staples stocks at this time after the truly monumental run the market has been on over the last year, which is why we’ve put together the following list of 3 consumer staples stocks to buy in a volatile market. Let’s take a deeper look below.

Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM)

Pepsico (NASDAQ: PEP)

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)