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Financial markets are responding with volatility as the Trump administration implements plans to impose tariffs on certain countries and certain industries and goods. Despite uncertainty, other factors also affect inventory indexes, resulting in a 4% decline in the S&P 500 per year. The long-term impact of businesses on America, consumers and the economy as a whole is not yet clear. Markets have proven to dislike uncertainty over time. Companies reporting at the end of their current revenue cycle have increased time to assess the potential impact of tariffs and have added line items to account for possible related pressures on profits. As we see, one investment strategy is to avoid an entire headwind by relying on industries that appear to be relatively unimmunized to trade risks. These include groups that are more focused on domestic markets, such as specific utilities, regional banks, restaurants, retailers, and stock exchanges (which should benefit from an increase in trading activity). At the sector level, we believe healthcare companies are well protected. This week’s list highlights healthcare companies that should not feel little or no impact from tariffs and are likely safe shelters due to the potential imposition of tariffs on imports. These businesses are primarily focused on the US market and have a solid growth profile
