Market equilibrium with management costs and implications for insurance accounting

Abstract We examine a general equilibrium investment model in which agents incur management costs for holding assets. We characterize the influence of these costs on equilibrium prices as a weighted average of these costs for market participants. We then propose a correction method for this influence in valuation procedures used under regulatory frameworks, such as Solvency II. For insurers subject to Solvency II, the accounting correction amounts to approximately €130 billion, the equivalent of 1.8% of investments or 14% of own funds. These results not only contribute to the understanding of management costs in market equilibrium, but also highlight a distortion in current practices which discourages the holding of assets that are expensive to manage and typically inaccessible directly by policyholders.