So much for the uncertainty

Several industries that generated the best returns on equity in 2014 were in health care — the second straight year the sector fared well in the report from Raleigh, N.C.-based data firm Sageworks.

Dentist offices and physician offices were one and two, respectively, in the survey, with 112.1% and 96% return on equity. The fourth-best industry is “offices of other health practitioners,” the report shows, with 89.3%.

Even with the strong health care showing, there's good news for service industries, from legal to accounting to auto repair. All of those fields made the list, with a return on equity of at least 62%. In addition, returns across all industries, on average, were 45.4% in 2014. That's the continuation of an upward trend that began in 2009, when the average return was 27%, according to a Sageworks release. “The economy is growing,” Sageworks analyst Kevin Abbas says in a statement, “and we've seen positive indicators across the board, so continued growth in ROE across all industries is in line with that.”