Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL)

Jones Lang LaSalle services commercial property — leasing, selling, valuing and managing other people's buildings.

The company owns no property; it takes a commission on transactions: leasing offices and warehouses, buying and selling assets, valuation. That part is cyclical and freezes first when money gets expensive: deals are postponed and commissions with them.

The second part is steadier — contracted facilities management: building services, engineering, running corporate property portfolios. Income there recurs and does not depend on whether anyone is buying an office. A separate line is managing property investment funds. Risks: the office market and interest rates. The property services market is fragmented, and large corporations increasingly hand their whole portfolio to a single contractor. The company pays no dividend.