I have recently decided to sell out of some of my under-performing mutual funds. I am becoming interested in insurance company stocks, since I believe that insurance is becoming more necessary since the terrorist incidents of 9-11. However, what is the difference between an insurance companies stock and a mutual fund? Both invest in common stocks-the MF has a reserve (to cover redemptions), while the Insurance Company has to keep cash against a disaster (requiring a payout). Shouldn’t insurance co. stcoks and MFs have the same relative performance? Does anybody compute betas for IC’s vs MFs?