View from the Observation Deck

1. Since globalization appears to be here to stay, investors may want to begin to factor in the percentage of total sales that companies are garnering outside of the U.S.
2. The companies in the S&P 500 booked 46.14% of their total sales outside of the U.S. in 2011, up from 43.26% in 2005, or an increase of 6.7%.
3. Only three sectors achieved more than 50% of their respective sales from foreign markets in 2011, and they were Information Technology (56.52%), Materials (53.71%) and Health Care (52.4%).
4. As the chart indicates, the growth in foreign sales in the health care sector really stands out.
5. From an investors' perspective, the combination of an aging global population and longer life spans suggests that the health care sector is worth serious consideration, in our opinion.