The informativeness of embedded value reporting to stock price

This paper examines the informativeness of embedded value reporting to stock price by investigating the cross-sectional variations in life insurers' price to embedded value ratios. By conducting variance decomposition analysis on a dataset provided by Morgan Stanley, we find that 15 percent (40 percent) of the difference between embedded value and stock price can be explained by growth opportunities and future stock returns in the short (long) run. One-third and two-thirds of the unexplained variation are attributed to firm- and country-specific factors, respectively. The above findings provide investors with a better understanding of the value relevance of embedded value reporting.