IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-01764088.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Idiosyncratic Risk and the Cross-Section of European Insurance Equity Returns

Author

Listed:
  • Hassen Raîs

    (ESSCA Research Lab - ESSCA - Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d'Angers)

Abstract

—Based on a survey of 203 Insurance equities from European capital markets over the 2001-2014 period, this article analyses the role of idiosyncratic risk in the pricing of European insurance equities. The capital asset pricing model predicts that in equilibrium, investors should hold the market portfolio. As a result, investors should only be rewarded for carrying undiversifiable systematic risk and not for diversifiable idiosyncratic risk. The framework of Fama and MacBeth is employed. Regressions of the cross-section of expected equity excess returns on idiosyncratic risk and other firm characteristics such as beta, size, book-to-market equity (BE/ME), momentum, liquidity and co-skewness are performed. The empirical models reveal that the largest part of total volatility is idiosyncratic and therefore firm specific in nature. Simple cross-correlations indicate that high beta, small size, high BE/ME, low momentum, low liquidity and high co-skewness equities have higher idiosyncratic risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Hassen Raîs, 2016. "Idiosyncratic Risk and the Cross-Section of European Insurance Equity Returns," Post-Print hal-01764088, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01764088
    DOI: 10.18178/ijtef.2016.7.6.528
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01764088
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-01764088/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.18178/ijtef.2016.7.6.528?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. Turan G. Bali & Nusret Cakici & Xuemin (Sterling) Yan & Zhe Zhang, 2005. "Does Idiosyncratic Risk Really Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(2), pages 905-929, April.
    2. Kjetil Storesletten & Chris Telmer & Amir Yaron, 2007. "Asset Pricing with Idiosyncratic Risk and Overlapping Generations," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 10(4), pages 519-548, October.
    3. Esther Eiling, 2013. "Industry-Specific Human Capital, Idiosyncratic Risk, and the Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(1), pages 43-84, February.
    4. Ang, Andrew & Hodrick, Robert J. & Xing, Yuhang & Zhang, Xiaoyan, 2009. "High idiosyncratic volatility and low returns: International and further U.S. evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 1-23, January.
    5. William N. Goetzmann & Alok Kumar, 2008. "Equity Portfolio Diversification," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 12(3), pages 433-463.
    6. Bali, Turan G. & Cakici, Nusret, 2008. "Idiosyncratic Volatility and the Cross Section of Expected Returns," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(1), pages 29-58, March.
    7. Morelli, David, 2010. "European capital market integration: An empirical study based on a European asset pricing model," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 363-375, October.
    8. Vasia Panousi & Dimitris Papanikolaou, 2012. "Investment, Idiosyncratic Risk, and Ownership," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(3), pages 1113-1148, June.
    9. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    10. Wei Huang & Qianqiu Liu & S. Ghon Rhee & Liang Zhang, 2010. "Return Reversals, Idiosyncratic Risk, and Expected Returns," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(1), pages 147-168, January.
    11. Guo, Hui & Savickas, Robert, 2006. "Idiosyncratic Volatility, Stock Market Volatility, and Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 24, pages 43-56, January.
    12. Andrew Ang & Robert J. Hodrick & Yuhang Xing & Xiaoyan Zhang, 2006. "The Cross‐Section of Volatility and Expected Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 259-299, February.
    13. Xiaoquan Jiang & Bong-Soo Lee, 2006. "The Dynamic Relation Between Returns and Idiosyncratic Volatility," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 35(2), Summer.
    14. Drew, Michael E. & Naughton, Tony & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2004. "Is idiosyncratic volatility priced?: Evidence from the Shanghai Stock Exchange," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 349-366.
    15. Boehme, Rodney D. & Danielsen, Bartley R. & Kumar, Praveen & Sorescu, Sorin M., 2009. "Idiosyncratic risk and the cross-section of stock returns: Merton (1987) meets Miller (1977)," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 438-468, August.
    16. Fama, Eugene F & MacBeth, James D, 1973. "Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 607-636, May-June.
    17. Becchetti, Leonardo & Ciciretti, Rocco & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility, stakeholder risk, and idiosyncratic volatility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 297-309.
    18. Fu, Fangjian, 2009. "Idiosyncratic risk and the cross-section of expected stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 24-37, January.
    19. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
    20. Xiaoquan Jiang & Bong‐Soo Lee, 2006. "The Dynamic Relation Between Returns and Idiosyncratic Volatility," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 43-65, June.
    21. Colm Kearney & Valerio Potì, 2008. "Have European Stocks become More Volatile? An Empirical Investigation of Idiosyncratic and Market Risk in the Euro Area," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 14(3), pages 419-444, June.
    22. Hui Guo & Robert Savickas, 2008. "Average Idiosyncratic Volatility in G7 Countries," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(3), pages 1259-1296, May.
    23. Bekaert, Geert & Hodrick, Robert J. & Zhang, Xiaoyan, 2012. "Aggregate Idiosyncratic Volatility," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(6), pages 1155-1185, December.
    24. Byeongyong Paul Choi & Mary A. Weiss, 2005. "An Empirical Investigation of Market Structure, Efficiency, and Performance in Property‐Liability Insurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 635-673, December.
    25. Michael E. Drew & Mirela Malin & Tony Naughton & Madhu Veeraraghavan, 2006. "Idiosyncratic volatility and security returns: evidence from Germany and United Kingdom," Studies in Economics and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 23(2), pages 80-93, June.
    26. 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.
    27. Zhanhui Chen & Ralitsa Petkova, 2012. "Does Idiosyncratic Volatility Proxy for Risk Exposure?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(9), pages 2745-2787.
    28. 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.
    29. Michael W. Brandt & Alon Brav & John R. Graham & Alok Kumar, 2010. "The Idiosyncratic Volatility Puzzle: Time Trend or Speculative Episodes?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(2), pages 863-899, February.
    30. Choong Tze Chua & Jeremy Goh & Zhe Zhang, 2010. "Expected Volatility, Unexpected Volatility, And The Cross‐Section Of Stock Returns," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 33(2), pages 103-123, June.
    31. Wei, Steven X. & Zhang, Chu, 2005. "Idiosyncratic risk does not matter: A re-examination of the relationship between average returns and average volatilities," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 603-621, March.
    32. Ozgur S. Ince & R. Burt Porter, 2006. "Individual Equity Return Data From Thomson Datastream: Handle With Care!," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 29(4), pages 463-479, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Guo, Hui & Qiu, Buhui, 2014. "Options-implied variance and future stock returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 93-113.
    2. Aboulamer, Anas & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2016. "Are idiosyncratic volatility and MAX priced in the Canadian market?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 20-36.
    3. Miralles-Marcelo, José Luis & Miralles-Quirós, María del Mar & Miralles-Quirós, José Luis, 2012. "Asset pricing with idiosyncratic risk: The Spanish case," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 261-271.
    4. Miffre, Joëlle & Brooks, Chris & Li, Xiafei, 2013. "Idiosyncratic volatility and the pricing of poorly-diversified portfolios," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 78-85.
    5. Nartea, Gilbert V. & Wu, Ji & Liu, Zhentao, 2013. "Does idiosyncratic volatility matter in emerging markets? Evidence from China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 137-160.
    6. Esther Eiling, 2013. "Industry-Specific Human Capital, Idiosyncratic Risk, and the Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(1), pages 43-84, February.
    7. Vozlyublennaia, Nadia, 2013. "Do firm characteristics matter for the dynamics of idiosyncratic risk?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 35-46.
    8. Cotter, John & Sullivan, Niall O' & Rossi, Francesco, 2015. "The conditional pricing of systematic and idiosyncratic risk in the UK equity market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 184-193.
    9. Mu-Shun Wang, 2013. "Idiosyncratic Volatility and the Expected Stock Returns for Exploring the Relationship with Panel Threshold Regression," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 20(2), pages 113-129, May.
    10. Peterson, David R. & Smedema, Adam R., 2011. "The return impact of realized and expected idiosyncratic volatility," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 2547-2558, October.
    11. Fernandez-Perez, Adrian & Fuertes, Ana-Maria & Miffre, Joëlle, 2016. "Is idiosyncratic volatility priced in commodity futures markets?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 219-226.
    12. Vidal-García, Javier & Vidal, Marta, 2014. "Seasonality and idiosyncratic risk in mutual fund performance," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 233(3), pages 613-624.
    13. Berggrun, Luis & Lizarzaburu, Edmundo & Cardona, Emilio, 2016. "Idiosyncratic volatility and stock returns: Evidence from the MILA," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 422-434.
    14. Jiang, Danling & Peterson, David R. & Doran, James S., 2014. "Short-sale constraints and the idiosyncratic volatility puzzle: An event study approach," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 36-59.
    15. Stanislav Bozhkov & Habin Lee & Uthayasankar Sivarajah & Stella Despoudi & Monomita Nandy, 2020. "Idiosyncratic risk and the cross-section of stock returns: the role of mean-reverting idiosyncratic volatility," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 294(1), pages 419-452, November.
    16. Zhong, Angel, 2018. "Idiosyncratic volatility in the Australian equity market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 105-125.
    17. Nektarios Aslanidis & Charlotte Christiansen & Neophytos Lambertides & Christos S. Savva, 2019. "Idiosyncratic volatility puzzle: influence of macro-finance factors," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 381-401, February.
    18. Adam Zaremba & Jacob Koby Shemer, 2018. "Price-Based Investment Strategies," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-91530-2, December.
    19. Nartea, Gilbert V. & Wu, Ji, 2013. "Is there a volatility effect in the Hong Kong stock market?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 119-135.
    20. Rajnish Mehra & Sunil Wahal & Daruo Xie, 2021. "Is idiosyncratic risk conditionally priced?," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 12(2), pages 625-646, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Insurance equities; cross-section; idiosyncratic risk; idiosyncratic volatility; EGARCH;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:hal:journl:hal-01764088. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.