Weemploy a panel data research design to examine the determinants of investmentreturns in the Swedish property fire insurance industry from 1903 to 1939 – aperiod of great economic and political uncertainty. Contrary to expectations,we find that mutual fire insurers generated systematically higher investmentreturns than stock fire insurers. Investment returns are inversely related toleverage but positively related to liquidity, showing that firms adopting amore precautionary investment strategy attain higher returns.
Published online: 15 January 2013