Aegon Ltd. (stylized as AEGON) is a Dutch public company for

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

s and

asset management Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of all value for which a group or entity is responsible. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as complex process or manufacturing plants, infrastr ...

. It is headquartered in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Netherlands and has 26,000 employees as of July 21, 2020. Aegon is listed on the

Euronext Amsterdam Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (), it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The re ...

and is a constituent of the

AEX index The AEX index, derived from Amsterdam Exchange index, is a stock market index composed of Dutch companies that trade on Euronext Amsterdam, formerly known as the ''Amsterdam Stock Exchange''. Started in 1983, the index is composed of a maximum ...

. It also operated a direct bank under the brand name "Knab" in the Netherlands. In October 2022, it was announced that AEGON's Dutch operations would be acquired by ASR Nederland (29.99% of which is owned by AEGON). To the extent they had the AEGON trade name, it will become ASR; Knab and TKP will keep their names. Subsequently, AEGON reincorporated in

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

History

Aegon was founded in 1983 from the merger of AGO Holding N.V. (created by the merger of ''Algemeene Friesche'', ''Groot-Noordhollandsche'' and ''Olveh'' (Onderlinge Verzekeringsmaatschappij Eigen Hulp) in 1968) and Ennia N.V. (formed by the merger of ''Eerste Nederlandsche'' and ''Nillmij'' (Nederlandsch-Indische Levensverzekering- en Lijfrente-Maatschappij) in 1969). Aegon acquired

Scottish Equitable Aegon UK (Aegon) is an Edinburgh based financial services provider specialising in pensions, investments and insurance. Aegon is the brand name for Scottish Equitable plc and it is a subsidiary of Aegon N.V., a multi-national life insurance, p ...

in 1994.Aegon plans further deals after GRE buy
Independent, 13 August 1999 In 1998, it formed Stonebridge International Insurance Ltd to create and market a range of personal insurance products, providing accident, health and unemployment cover to its own customers and via business partners. In 1999, it acquired the life assurance business of

Guardian Royal Exchange Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance plc was a large British insurance company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was established through the merger of the Guardian Assuranc ...

. That year it also bought

Transamerica Corporation Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. The ...

. On August 13, 2007, Aegon and

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

announced a strategic business partnership in the areas of life insurance and investment products. As part of the relationship, Aegon acquired two of Merrill Lynch's life insurance companies for US$1.3 billion. On April 23, 2008, Alex Wynaendts succeeded the retiring Donald J. Shepard as chairman of the executive board and CEO of Aegon N.V. following the group's annual general meeting of shareholders: Donald Shepard announced his retirement in November 2007, after six years as chairman. On October 28, 2008, the

Dutch government The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, Frits M. Meer, Edward E ...

and

De Nederlandsche Bank De Nederlandsche Bank (, , abbr. DNB) is the national central bank for the Netherlands within the Eurosystem. It was the Dutch central bank from 1814 to 1998, issuing the guilder. Since 2014, it has also been the country's national competent au ...

agreed to give Aegon a €3 billion capital injection to create a capital buffer in exchange for convertible bonds due to the effects of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. On June 15, 2011, Aegon fulfilled its key objective of repurchasing all of the €3 billion core capital securities issued to the Dutch State. The total amount Aegon has paid to the Dutch State amounts to €4.1 billion. Of this amount, €3 billion covered the original issue of core capital securities, while an additional €1.1 billion was paid in premium and interest. On August 3, 2011, Aegon USA announced that all its various businesses will be grouped under a single brand name: Transamerica. Transamerica's key businesses are life insurance, investments and retirement. The group includes companies whose history goes back over 100 years and whose products and services have become well known throughout the US, including founding companies Life Investors Insurance Company of America and Monumental Life Insurance Company. In June 2018, AEGON was criticized by

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

for its investments in

oil sand Oil sands are a type of unconventional oil, unconventional petroleum deposit. They are either loose sands, or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, soaked with bitumen (a dense and ...

companies and pipelines. Aegon reacted by stating that it was developing a new policy with regards to the oil and gas sector. In 2019, they decided to discontinue their oil sand investments. On May 15, 2020, Lard Friese (former CEO of NN Group) succeeded Alex Wynaendts as the CEO of Aegon N.V..

Operations

Aegon's businesses focus on life insurance and pensions, savings and asset management products. The group is also active in accident and supplemental health insurance and general insurance, and has limited banking activities. Aegon has major operations in the United States (where it is heavily represented through

World Financial Group World Financial Group (WFG) is a multi-level marketing financial and insurance services company based in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, which sells investment, insurance, and various other financial products through a network of ...

and Transamerica), the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In addition, the group is present in a number of other countries including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Aegon's world headquarters are in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Subsidiaries and divisions

Netherlands

* Aegon Levensverzekering * Aegon Schadeverzekering * Aegon Bank, knab * OPTAS Pensioenen * Aegon Spaarkas * Unirobe Meeus Groep * TKP Pensioen * Aegon Hypotheken

United Kingdom

* Scottish Equitable plc (trading as Aegon UK) * Origen Financial Services * Positive Solutions * Cofunds

North America

* Aegon USA, LLC * Transamerica Corporation * World Financial Group (WFG)

Other

* Aegon España S.A. (Spain) * Aegon Magyarország Általános Biztositó Zrt. (Hungary) * Aegon TU na Życie S.A. / Aegon Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. (Poland)

Joint ventures

* Aegon-CNOOC Life Insurance Company (50% joint venture with CNOOC) (China) * Aegon Sony Life Insurance Cy (50% joint venture with Sony) (Japan) * Aegon Industrial Fund Management Co. (49%) (China) * AMVEST Vastgoed B.V. (Netherlands

Shareholdings

* N.V. Levensverzekeringsmaatschappij "De Hoop" (33.3%) (Netherlands) * Tenet Group Limited (22%) (United Kingdom) * Seguros Argos (89%) (Mexico) * Aegon Life Insurance Company Ltd (49%) (India) * Mongeral Aegon (50%) (Brazil)

Banking services

AEGON also operated a

direct bank A direct bank (sometimes called a branch-less bank or virtual bank) is a bank that offers its services only via the Internet, mobile app, email, and other electronic means, often including telephone, online chat, and mobile check deposit. A direct ...

under the brand name "Knab" in the Netherlands. Soon after it was founded in 2012 the bank came under criticism for having the highest cost for any

transaction account A transaction account (also called a checking account, cheque account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit account, or share account at credit unions) is a deposit account or bank account held at a bank or other financial instituti ...

compared to other Dutch banks. Knab responded by saying that other banks hid many of its costs in other products.

Sponsorships

In 2008, Aegon became the official sponsor of the Dutch football team

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

, in a deal which lasted for seven years. Ajax's uniform featured the Aegon logo across the chest. Aegon became the third sponsor of Ajax (

TDK is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation that manufactures electronic components and recording and data-storage media. Its motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity". "TDK" is an initialism of the original Ja ...

sponsored Ajax since 1982 until 1991, and ABN AMRO sponsored the team from 1991 till 2008). As of late 2008, Aegon also sponsor the

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man founded in 1888. The LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. The organization believes tennis can provide ...

. A sponsorship package was agreed with the LTA and Aegon's name will appear on all four pillars of British Tennis, including many professional tournaments, one of which is the AEGON Championships, an ATP grasscourt professional tennis tournament in June in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, taking over from

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( , ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent Alcohol by volume, ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is sold in many EU countrie ...

, who had sponsored the event since 1979. Since 2004, Transamerica has been the primary sponsor of the American golfer

Zach Johnson Zachary Harris Johnson (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has 12 victories on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. At the 2023 Ryder Cup, Johnson capt ...

. AEGON is one of the strategic industry partners with Duisenberg school of finance.

Headquarters office

The headquarters office of Aegon is located in

and designed by OTH Architects. Initially AEGON wanted to redesign only the conference rooms, but while working on it they decided to improve and redesign the full building. The office spaces, the main hall and the restaurant were redesigned. The new design has a lot of glass like glass walls manufactured by SI-X. The restaurant has a main helical staircase with a full glass balustrade manufactured by Eestairs and did win the prize for the best staircase of the year in 2008. In 2009, Aegon decided to buy this building from real estate fund Unibail-Rodamco and keep the building as their headquarters. In October 2023, Aegon has announced its intention to move the headquarters to WTC Amsterdam.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control, state=expanded Insurance companies of the Netherlands Multinational companies headquartered in the Netherlands Financial services companies established in 1983 Dutch brands Companies based in The Hague Companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam Companies in the AEX index Dutch companies established in 1983 Asset management companies