It’s been another record year for the U.S. stock market. Major averages are near their best levels in history after climbing for most of 2014–minus a few minor pullbacks as oil prices tanked, geopolitical tensions flared and concerns about global growth surfaced. Among the leaders were interest-rate sensitive stocks, which offer decent payouts that can be especially attractive in a low-yielding environment like the one 2014 witnessed. This year’s best performers are something of a mixed bag, but they highlight that the gains were broad-based with the exception of energy names.

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