Source: Bloomberg and Standard and Poor's.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

View from the Observation Deck

1. The chart above shows the average annual total returns of the S&P 500 and its 10 major sectors since the end of the last bear market.
2. Investors looking to allocate capital to U.S. large-cap stocks can see how the various sectors have contributed to the rebound.
3. Included are estimated 2012 price-to-earnings ratios and earnings estimates. This allows investors to compare returns since 3/9/09 to next year's estimated earnings and know the expected cost of a dollar's worth of earnings.
4. For example, the S&P Industrials Index has been the second best performing sector, behind the S&P Consumer Discretionary Index, but has the top earnings estimate for 2012 at +14.56% as of 10/31, according to Standard and Poor's. Its estimated P/E ratio of 11.96 is only slightly higher than the S&P 500's at 11.58. The S&P 500's earnings estimate, however, is 10.71%.