IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jrinsu/v88y2021i2p351-380.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Insurer risk and performance before, during, and after the 2008 financial crisis: The role of monitoring institutional ownership

Author

Listed:
  • Yu‐Luen Ma
  • Yayuan Ren

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between institutional ownership and insurers' risk and performance before, during, and after the 2008 financial crisis. Monitoring institutional investors are defined as those that have (a) a long‐term investment horizon, (b) large holdings in the investee firm, (c) independence from management, and (d) a large portion of their portfolio invested in the firm. We measure both the level and persistence of monitoring institutional ownership and find a negative relationship between monitoring institutional ownership and an insurer's stock stability and performance during the crisis. Further examination reveals that these firms took more risk before the crisis. Whereas many monitoring institutions exited the insurance market after the crisis, evidence suggests that the remaining institutional investors in the postcrisis period have a longer investment horizon and are active in monitoring and risk management.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu‐Luen Ma & Yayuan Ren, 2021. "Insurer risk and performance before, during, and after the 2008 financial crisis: The role of monitoring institutional ownership," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 88(2), pages 351-380, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jrinsu:v:88:y:2021:i:2:p:351-380
    DOI: 10.1111/jori.12323
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jori.12323
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jori.12323?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chordia, Tarun & Roll, Richard & Subrahmanyam, Avanidhar, 2008. "Liquidity and market efficiency," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 249-268, February.
    2. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    3. Galai, Dan & Masulis, Ronald W., 1976. "The option pricing model and the risk factor of stock," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(1-2), pages 53-81.
    4. Bushee, BJ & Noe, CF, 2000. "Corporate disclosure practices, institutional investors, and stock return volatility," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38, pages 171-202.
    5. Faccio, Mara & Lasfer, M. Ameziane, 2000. "Do occupational pension funds monitor companies in which they hold large stakes?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 71-110, March.
    6. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:1:p:65-98 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    8. Fang, Vivian W. & Noe, Thomas H. & Tice, Sheri, 2009. "Stock market liquidity and firm value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 150-169, October.
    9. Kang, Jun-Koo & Luo, Juan & Na, Hyun Seung, 2018. "Are institutional investors with multiple blockholdings effective monitors?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(3), pages 576-602.
    10. John Lintner, 1965. "Security Prices, Risk, And Maximal Gains From Diversification," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 20(4), pages 587-615, December.
    11. Coval, Joshua & Stafford, Erik, 2007. "Asset fire sales (and purchases) in equity markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 479-512, November.
    12. McConnell, John J. & Servaes, Henri, 1990. "Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 595-612, October.
    13. Amit Goyal & Pedro Santa‐Clara, 2003. "Idiosyncratic Risk Matters!," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 975-1007, June.
    14. Anat R. Admati & Paul Pfleiderer, 2009. "The "Wall Street Walk" and Shareholder Activism: Exit as a Form of Voice," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(7), pages 2445-2485, July.
    15. Ramalingegowda, Santhosh & Yu, Yong, 2012. "Institutional ownership and conservatism," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 98-114.
    16. Frazzini, Andrea & Lamont, Owen A., 2008. "Dumb money: Mutual fund flows and the cross-section of stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 299-322, May.
    17. Baranoff, Etti G. & Sager, Thomas W., 2002. "The relations among asset risk, product risk, and capital in the life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1181-1197, June.
    18. Stuart L. Gillan & Laura T. Starks, 2007. "The Evolution of Shareholder Activism in the United States," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 19(1), pages 55-73, January.
    19. Duggal, Rakesh & Millar, James A., 1999. "Institutional ownership and firm performance: The case of bidder returns," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 103-117, June.
    20. Elyasiani, Elyas & Jia, Jingyi, 2010. "Distribution of institutional ownership and corporate firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 606-620, March.
    21. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    22. Brickley, James A. & Lease, Ronald C. & Smith, Clifford Jr., 1988. "Ownership structure and voting on antitakeover amendments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 267-291, January.
    23. Gene C. Lai & Piman Limpaphayom, 2003. "Organizational Structure and Performance: Evidence From the Nonlife Insurance Industry in Japan," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 735-757, December.
    24. Bugeja, Martin & Matolcsy, Zoltan P. & Spiropoulos, Helen, 2012. "Is there a gender gap in CEO compensation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 849-859.
    25. Del Guercio, Diane, 1996. "The distorting effect of the prudent-man laws on institutional equity investments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 31-62, January.
    26. Cornett, Marcia Millon & Marcus, Alan J. & Saunders, Anthony & Tehranian, Hassan, 2007. "The impact of institutional ownership on corporate operating performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1771-1794, June.
    27. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    28. Jay C. Hartzell & Laura T. Starks, 2003. "Institutional Investors and Executive Compensation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    29. Doron Levit, 2019. "Soft Shareholder Activism," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(7), pages 2775-2808.
    30. Elyasiani, Elyas & Jia, Jingyi Jane, 2008. "Institutional ownership stability and BHC performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1767-1781, September.
    31. Stephen L. Nesbitt, 1994. "LONG‐TERM REWARDS FROM SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: A STUDY OF THE “CalPERS EFFECT”," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 6(4), pages 75-80, January.
    32. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    33. William F. Sharpe, 1964. "Capital Asset Prices: A Theory Of Market Equilibrium Under Conditions Of Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 19(3), pages 425-442, September.
    34. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    35. Alex Edmans, 2009. "Blockholder Trading, Market Efficiency, and Managerial Myopia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(6), pages 2481-2513, December.
    36. Gaspar, Jose-Miguel & Massa, Massimo & Matos, Pedro, 2005. "Shareholder investment horizons and the market for corporate control," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 135-165, April.
    37. Alex Edmans & Gustavo Manso, 2011. "Governance Through Trading and Intervention: A Theory of Multiple Blockholders," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(7), pages 2395-2428.
    38. Chia-Ling Ho & Gene C. Lai & Jin-Ping Lee, 2013. "Organizational Structure, Board Composition, and Risk Taking in the U.S. Property Casualty Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 80(1), pages 169-203, March.
    39. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    40. Gustavo Grullon & Evgeny Lyandres & Alexei Zhdanov, 2012. "Real Options, Volatility, and Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(4), pages 1499-1537, August.
    41. Saunders, Anthony & Strock, Elizabeth & Travlos, Nickolaos G, 1990. "Ownership Structure, Deregulation, and Bank Risk Taking," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 643-654, June.
    42. Mark Browne & James Carson & Robert Hoyt, 2001. "Dynamic Financial Models of Life Insurers," North American Actuarial Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(2), pages 11-26.
    43. repec:bla:jfinan:v:58:y:2003:i:3:p:975-1008 is not listed on IDEAS
    44. Fich, Eliezer M. & Harford, Jarrad & Tran, Anh L., 2015. "Motivated monitors: The importance of institutional investors׳ portfolio weights," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 21-48.
    45. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 8-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    46. Jegadeesh, Narasimhan & Titman, Sheridan, 1993. "Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(1), pages 65-91, March.
    47. Guercio, Diane Del & Hawkins, Jennifer, 1999. "The motivation and impact of pension fund activism," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 293-340, June.
    48. JOSEPH A. McCAHERY & ZACHARIAS SAUTNER & LAURA T. STARKS, 2016. "Behind the Scenes: The Corporate Governance Preferences of Institutional Investors," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(6), pages 2905-2932, December.
    49. Smith, Michael P, 1996. "Shareholder Activism by Institutional Investors: Evidence for CalPERS," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(1), pages 227-252, March.
    50. Chen, Xia & Harford, Jarrad & Li, Kai, 2007. "Monitoring: Which institutions matter?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 279-305, November.
    51. Erik Devos & Seow-Eng Ong & Andrew Spieler & Desmond Tsang, 2013. "REIT Institutional Ownership Dynamics and the Financial Crisis," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 266-288, August.
    52. Etti Baranoff & Thomas Sager, 2003. "The Relations among Organizational and Distribution Forms and Capital and Asset Risk Structures in the Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 70(3), pages 375-400, September.
    53. Jiang Cheng & Elyas Elyasiani & Jingyi (Jane) Jia, 2011. "Institutional Ownership Stability and Risk Taking: Evidence From the Life–Health Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 78(3), pages 609-641, September.
    54. Anup Agrawal & Charles R. Knoeber, "undated". "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders (Revision of 29-94)," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 08-96, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research.
    55. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R., 1996. "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 31(3), pages 377-397, September.
    56. Yu-Luen Ma & Ping Wang, 2014. "Executive Compensation and Risk Taking in the Property and Liability Insurance Industry," Journal of Insurance Issues, Western Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 37(2), pages 187-207.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hsiao, Ching-Yuan & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2023. "Contingent factors of the coinsurance function of internal capital markets: Evidence from the US nonlife insurance industry," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Hsiao, Ching-Yuan & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2023. "Risk-sharing function in internal capital markets: Evidence from intragroup reinsurance activities," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Hsiao, Ching-Yuan & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2024. "Internal versus external capital markets and risk-taking," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 503-519.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Najah Attig & Sean Cleary & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2013. "Institutional Investment Horizons and the Cost of Equity Capital," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 42(2), pages 441-477, June.
    2. Richard Chung & Scott Fung & Szu-Yin Hung, 2012. "Institutional Investors and Firm Efficiency of Real Estate Investment Trusts," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 171-211, June.
    3. Lin, Yongjia Rebecca & Fu, Xiaoqing Maggie, 2017. "Does institutional ownership influence firm performance? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 17-57.
    4. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Ehlert, Sebastian & Schröder, Henning, 2021. "Institutional ownership and firm performance in the global shipping industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    5. Chung, Chune Young & Song, Jun Myung, 2024. "Institutional investors by nationality and long-term investor value appropriation," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    6. Jiang Cheng & Elyas Elyasiani & Jingyi (Jane) Jia, 2011. "Institutional Ownership Stability and Risk Taking: Evidence from the Life-Health Insurance Industry," NFI Working Papers 2011-WP-14, Indiana State University, Scott College of Business, Networks Financial Institute.
    7. Nguyen, Nghia Huu & Shiu, Cheng-Yi, 2022. "Stewardship, institutional investors monitoring, and firm value: Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Golbe, Devra L. & Nyman, Ingmar, 2013. "How do share repurchases affect ownership concentration?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 22-40.
    9. Ming-Feng Hsu & Kehluh Wang, 2014. "The Level and Stability of Institutional Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwan," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2S), pages 159-173, March.
    10. Chacko Jacob & Jijo Lukose P.J, 2019. "Institutional ownership and firm operating performance Evidence from India," Working papers 331, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    11. Attig, Najah & Cleary, Sean & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane, 2012. "Institutional investment horizon and investment–cash flow sensitivity," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1164-1180.
    12. Grigori Erenburg & Janet Kiholm Smith & Richard Smith, 2015. "Does Institutional Ownership Promote the Transformation of Underperforming Firms?," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(04), pages 1-40, December.
    13. Cornett, Marcia Millon & Marcus, Alan J. & Saunders, Anthony & Tehranian, Hassan, 2007. "The impact of institutional ownership on corporate operating performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1771-1794, June.
    14. Ming-Feng Hsu & Kehluh Wang, 2014. "The Level and Stability of Institutional Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwan," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(S2), pages 159-173.
    15. Elyasiani, Elyas & Jia, Jingyi, 2010. "Distribution of institutional ownership and corporate firm performance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 606-620, March.
    16. Dasgupta, Amil & Fos, Vyacheslav & Sautner, Zacharias, 2021. "Institutional investors and corporate governance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112114, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Jiang, George J. & Liu, Chang, 2021. "Getting on board: The monitoring effect of institutional directors," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    18. Muniandy, Puspa & Tanewski, George & Johl, Shireenjit K., 2016. "Institutional investors in Australia: Do they play a homogenous monitoring role?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PB), pages 266-288.
    19. Simon Döring & Wolfgang Drobetz & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Henning Schröder, 2021. "Institutional investment horizons and firm valuation around the world," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 212-244, March.
    20. Maria Gaia Soana & Laura Barbieri & Andrea Lippi & Simone Rossi, 2021. "The Effect of Multiple Large Shareholders on Banks’ Profitability and Risk," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jrinsu:v:88:y:2021:i:2:p:351-380. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ariaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.