US Debt Presented by Fisher Investments

3 Key Questions About US Debt Who currently owns US debt? Domestic Investors 37.1% EPLURIBUS UNUM Federal Government Other 17% 31.7% China 7.7% Japan 6.4% Many are concerned that too much US debt is owned by foreigners. In reality, most US debt is owned by US investors and institutions or the US federal US DEBT government itself.* Does the US have too much debt? The UK has had much more debt US net public debt is currently elevated, but not more than as a percent of GDP-and during periods when it was the global economic and military superpower. If the UK could afford much more debt then, the current level of US debt shouldn't 300% peak points in the past. 250% automatically be presumed to be too high. Graphs show net public debt as a % of GDP** 200% 150% 100% 50% 0% 1725 1750 1775 1800 1825 1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000 Can the US afford its debt? The US does have a large amount of absolute debt, but the more important question is whether it's affordable. 4% 3% US debt interest payments are currently very low relative to recent history. They are about half what they were from 1984 to 1996-a period of Graph shows US debt interest payments as a % of GDP*** 2% overall economic and market vibrancy. 1% 0% 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 FISHER INVESTMENTS" Sources: US Department of the Treasury; As of 8/31/2011 HM Treasury, UK publicspending.co.uk; as of March 2010. US: Office of management and Budget, US Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Economic Analysis,as of 09/30/2011 Thomas Reuters (Qi 1952 - Q2 2011) This commentary constitutes the views, opinions, analyses and commentary of Fisher Investments as of January 2012 and should not be regarded as personal investment advice. No assurances are made Fisher Investments will continue to hold these views, which may change at any time without notice. In addition, no assurances are made regarding the accuracy of any forecast made herein. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. A risk of loss is involved with investments in stock markets.