FFNFFidelity National Financial, Inc.

Fidelity National Financial insures property title and sells annuities.

Title insurance is an American peculiarity: before a sale the entire history of rights to a property is checked, and the buyer is insured against an unreleased lien or an heir turning up somewhere in the past. The premium is paid once, the risk is small, and the real work is searching archives.

Revenue is tightly tied to the number of housing transactions: when mortgages are expensive the market freezes and income with it. That is precisely why the company added a second, unrelated business — retirement annuities, where profit depends on interest rates rather than on how often people move. Risks: the mortgage cycle and the quality of the insurer's investment portfolio. A dividend is paid.