7 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for Safety in This Volatile Market I’m on the hunt for blue-chip stocks to buy for safety in this volatile market. The problem is the definition of what makes a company blue chip varies. Some believe it’s consistent and increasing dividends. Others look to bottom-line profits or rock-solid balance sheets. In other words, it’s subjective. Rather than spend excessive time settling on the best criteria for determining blue-chip stocks to buy for safety, I’ve selected seven names that appear in the holdings of one or more of the following blue-chip exchange-traded funds: Monarch Blue Chips Core ETF (BATS: MBCC ), T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth ETF (NYSEARCA: TCHP ) and Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF (BATS: FBCG ). As always, I’ll ensure that the selections provide reasonable sector diversification. In addition, the stock must have a positive annualized total return over the past one-year, three-year and five-year periods. Here are seven blue-chip stocks to buy for safety and reduced volatility. NEE NextEra Energy $84.79 LLY Eli Lilly $308.89 AAPL Apple $150.70 TSLA Tesla $303.35 UNH UnitedHealth Group $521.02 SO Southern Company $77.25 COST Costco Wholesale $504.14 NextEra Energy (NEE) Source: madamF | Shutterstock.com NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE ) is not only one of my favorite utility stocks but also one of my favorite stocks, period.