Sunday Spectacle CXC

S&P 500 Sector Changes Over Two Decades

The following table and chart from Bespoke Investment Group from January of this year illustrate how the S&P 500 sectors have changed over the last 20+ years. Although the stock market isn't directly correlated with the economy, it does largely reflect the economy. The biggest increases have been in the technology, financial services, and energy sectors and one just needs to think about the number of people employed in those areas compared to what they remember from 1990; in contrast, materials, utilities, and telecom have shrunk and what used to be big employers in the 80's and 90's, such as telecoms, are now shedding jobs.
 
 


(source: "S&P 500 Historical Sector Weightings" by Bespoke Investment Group. Published Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 10:27AM. Downloaded September 3, 2012.)

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