Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL)

Arch Capital writes insurance, reinsurance and mortgage cover — three businesses with different cycles.

The company is known for discipline: it writes more when rates are high and deliberately walks away when the price of risk falls below what is sensible. In an industry where growth is easily bought with cheap cover, that willingness to forgo premium is the source of long-term results.

Reinsurance takes on part of other insurers' risks, including catastrophe exposure: a season of major hurricanes hits that line hardest, but rates rise afterwards. The mortgage line insures a bank against borrower default and depends on employment and house prices. The company pays no dividend, directing profit into capital growth and buybacks.