Markets and Insurance Company Investments, 1700–1900

Nigel Edward Morecroft

Chapter 2 in The Origins of Asset Management from 1700 to 1960, 2017, pp 13-54 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract After 1700, financial markets in Britain developed rapidly in terms of borrowing and saving. Borrowing, underpinned by a stable financial system, was built around the Bank of England and a reliable government bond market, particularly after 1752 with the introduction of a risk-free asset. After the South Sea Bubble crisis, two insurance companies, the Royal Exchange and London Assurance, thrived. Life assurance subsequently developed rapidly with the Equitable, Scottish Widows, Standard Life and actuaries (William Morgan, A.H. Bailey) became increasingly influential. Insurance companies helped money and government bond markets to develop in the eighteenth century and securities markets (corporate debt and international securities) in the nineteenth. They funded developments such as the Bridgewater Canal, Regent Street (retail) and Belgravia (residential). Insurance companies were the first institutional investors.

Keywords: Eighteenth Century; Government Bond; Joint Stock Company; Asset Class; East India Company (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:psitcp:978-3-319-51850-3_2

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-51850-3_2

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