Consumer goods stocks are attractive from a long-term investment perspective because they are generally less volatile and tend to have slow but steady growth over many years.While they may not offer the thrill of holding hot technology stocks like Facebook(FB) or Apple (APPL) they offer diversification benefits to a portfolio and most importantly they provide downward protection in a bear market. Boring stocks of companies that produce basic things like food, coffee, soft drinks, etc. also offer decent dividends and dividend growth. Hence these types of stocks are suitable not for young investors but also for senior citizens who may be looking for income and some growth.

The following are the Top 15 Consumer Goods Companies from the Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalization report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers earlier this year. Investors looking to add stocks in the consumer goods sector can consider this list as a starting point for further research.

1.Company: Nestle SA (NSRGY)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.23%
Sector: Food Products
Country: Switzerland

2.Company:Procter & Gamble Co (PG)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.06%
Sector: Household Products
Country: USA

3.Company: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Sector: Electronics
Country: South Korea

4.Company: Toyota Motor Corp (TM)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.75%
Sector: Autos
Country: Japan

5.Company: Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD)
Current Dividend Yield: 1.76%
Sector:Beverages
Country: Belgium

6.Company: The Coca-Cola Co (KO)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.94%
Sector:Beverages
Country: USA

7.Company:Philip Morris International Inc (PM)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.76%
Sector: Household Products
Country: USA

8.Company: PepsiCo Inc (PEP)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.88%
Sector:Beverages
Country: USA

9.Company: Unilever NV (UN)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.11%
Sector: Food Products
Country: The Netherlands

10.Company:Volkswagen AG (VLKAY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.46%
Sector: Autos
Country: Germany

11.Company: Ambev SA(ABEV)
Sector: Beverages
Current Dividend Yield: 4.30%
Country: Brazil

12.Company: British American Tobacco PLC (BTI)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.16%
Sector:Tobacco
Country: UK

13.Company: L’Oreal SA (LRLCY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.15%
Sector: Personal Products
Country: France

14.Company:Daimler AG (DDAIF)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.83%
Sector: Autos
Country: Germany

15.Company: LVMH SA (LVMUY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.45%
Sector: Luxury Goods
Country: France

16.Company:Inditex S.A. (IDEXY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.15%
Sector: Speciality Retail
Country: Spain

Note: Dividend yields noted above are as of Sept 18, 2014. Data is known to be accurate from sources used.Please use your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Disclosure: No Positions