AEGON N.V.

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AEGON N.V.
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Quick Facts
TypePublic
sectorFinancial Services
Headquarters (Benelux Organization)Den Haag, Netherlands
Year of Origin1983
Emissions (All Scopes)19.97 Megatons of CO2 (2020)
Total RevenueEUR 25.209 million
Stock ExchangeNew York and Amsterdam
Key People
  • Lard Friese (CEO and Chairman of the Executive and Management Board)
  • Matt Rider (CFO)
Number of Employees22,272
Subsidiaries
  • Aegon Asset Management
  • Knab
  • Aegon Cappital
  • TKP Pensioen
  • Nedasco Verzekeringen
  • Robidus

Aegon N.V., stylized as Aegon, is a Dutch company that offers insurance to over 30 million customers worldwide. Aegon is a constituent of the AEX index and is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam. The company was formed from the merger between AGO and Ennia in 1983. The company has 22,272 employees.[1] Aegon is active in several countries in Europe, Asia and America. In America, Aegon is known as Transamerica. [2] Aegon's main brands are Aegon and Transamerica, but besides these two the company also has several stand-alone brands including; Knab, TKP, Futureready, and MAG.[3] Furthermore, Aegon has one global asset manager Aegon Asset Management. Aegon Asset Management is active in the global investment business that manages and advises on assets of 410 billion euros. This money is from the global client base consisting of pension plans, public funds, insurance companies, banks, wealth managers, family offices, and foundations.[4] In 2021, Aegon had a revenue of 25.2 million euros.[5]


Company Structure

Board of Directors

Executive Board [6]
Name Function Remuneration x1000 EUR[7]
Lard Friese Chief Executive Officer 2,622
Matt Rider Chief Finanacial Officer 1,999

Management Board

Management Board [8]
Name Function
Lard Friese CEO and Chairman of the Executive and Management Board
Matt Rider CFO and member of the Executive and Management Board
Elisabetta Caldera Chief Human Resources Officer and member of the Management
Will Fuller CEO of Aegon Americas and member of the Management Board
Mike Holliday-Williams CEO of Aegon UK and member of the Management Board
Allegra van Hövel-Patrizi CEO of Aegon the Netherlands and member of the Management Board
Astrid Jäkel Chief Risk Officer and member of the Management Board
Marco Keim CEO Aegon International and member of the Management Board
Onno van Klinken General Counsel and member of the Management Board
Bas NieuweWeme Global CEO of Aegon Asset Management and member of the Management Board
Duncan Russel Chief Transformation Officer and member of the Management Board
Debbie Waters Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and member of the Management Board

Supervisory Board

Supervisory Board [9]
Name Function Remuneration x1000 EUR[10]
William Connelly Chairman 162
Mark Ellman Member of the Risk Committee 102
Ben Noteboom Chairman of the Remuneration Committee 10-7
Caroline Ramsay Charimand of the Audit Committee 121
Thomas Wellauer Member of the Audit Committee 111
Corien Wortmann-Kool Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board 112
Dona Young Chairman of the Risk Committee 119

Accountant

The external accountant of Aegon N.V. is PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V.[11]

Main Activities

Aegon is a company that offers investment, protection, and retirement solutions.[12] The company has 31.7 customers worldwide.[13]

Government

Aegon is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam and is a constituent of the AEX-index. The company does not have royal status and did not receive NOW support during Corona times.[14]

Shareholdings

Aegons shareholdings are:

  • N.V. Levensverzekeringsmaatschappij "De Hoop" (33.3%) (Netherlands)
  • Tenet Group Limited (22%) (United Kingdom)
  • Seguros Argos (89%) (Mexico)
  • Aegon Life Insurance Company Ltd[7] (49%) (India)
  • Mongeral Aegon (50%) (Brazil)

Paris Agreement to Today

Aegon was actively involved in the creation of the SpitsbergenAmbitie in 2018. This agreement is made to strengthen the connection between Dutch financial companies and their acts to reduce climate change through cleaner investments.[15] In July 2018 Aegon signed its commitment to the Dutch Climate Agreement for Dutch financial companies.[16] After signing this agreement Aegon promised that they will start to report their climate impact, use different climate scenarios to look at investments and financing to see if they comply with the Paris agreement, help the Dutch government to achieve the national climate goals through reducing CO2 emissions from loans and investments, and to integrate climate goals into the company's organization as concretely as possible.[17]

In Aegon's 2021 financial report an update on the company's sustainability actions is given.

  • Aegon has joined the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, which is an UN-convened group of institutional investors committed to transitioning their portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
  • Aegon Asset Management has signed onto the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative.
  • Aegon Asset Management and Aegon Uk partnered up with Global Ethical Finance Initiative to introduce the new Aegon Global Sustainable Sovereign Bond Fund at 'COP26'.
  • Aegon signed the United Nations Global Compact.

Financial Results since 2015

The information that is collected here is focused on the data provided by Aegon.

Financial situation
Year Revenue Profit Dividend
2015 [18] 33,902 Million EUR 523 Million EUR 306 Million EUR
2016[19] 33,655 Million EUR 586 Million EUR 294 Million EUR
2017[20] 32,973 Million EUR 2,358 Million EUR 328 Million EUR
2018[21] 28,941 Million EUR 741 Million EUR 309 Million EUR
2019 [22] 28,197 Million EUR 1,525 Million EUR 63 Million EUR
2020[23] 25,657 Million EUR 55 Million EUR 118 Million EUR
2021[24] 25,209 Million EUR 1,701 Million EUR 248 Million EUR

Scandals and controversies

Aegon has been criticized for investing around 600 Million EUR in polluting tar sands companies. The extraction of tar sands is disastrous and very destructive to local nature. Hot water has to be used for the extraction and also chemicals are used to make the oil suitable for transport.[25]

Research from De eerlijke Geldwijzer (Fair Finance) showed that Aegon scored very low on both Climate Change (3/10) and Nature (1/10).[26] When it comes to climate change it is shown that from Aegon's investment in the energy sector 93% went to fossil fuel whereas only 7% went to renewable energy. [27] The score of 1 for nature is mainly based on the fact that Aegon invested 37 million euros into companies in which the risk is high that they are directly or indirectly involved in the deforestation in the Amazon.

Current Emissions

GHG emissions (Mega tons CO2e) [28]
Investment Footprint 2021 2020
Corporate Fixed Income + listed Equity
Absolute Footprint 4.886 4.878
Weighted Average Carbon Intensity 490 470
Sovereign Fixed Income
Absolute Footprint 15.088 13.863
Weighted Average Carbon Intensity 620 500
Total Absolute Footprint 19.97 18.74
Total Weighted Average Carbon Intensity 1110 970

Climate Policy and Plans

Aegon the Netherlands commits to reduce emissions from their own operations by half in 2030 compared to 2018. It is worth noting that a majority of the emissions of Aegon comes from their investment rather than their own operations, thus requiring a different plan.

In November 2021, Aegon joined the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a UN-convened group of institutional investors committed to transitioning their portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[29] This means that Aegon is committed to transitioning its 156 billion euro general account investment portfolio. In order to reach this goal Aegon aims, by 2025, to reduce the weighted average carbon intensity of their corporate fixed income and listed equity general account assets by 25%. [30]

With a few exceptions listed in the 2021 annual report, Aegon does not have sufficient short-term targets. On page 370 of the 2021 annual report, some targets are stated.[31] Most of these targets are in relation to the net-zero alliance and therefore do not include short term targets. One target that is important to be noted is the updated Aegon Responsible Investment policy. This policy shows which companies Aegon will not invest in based on their climate actions. Overall, even with this target and their short term target for 2025, Aegon lacks a concrete phase-out plan that will help to reach its net-zero goal by 2050

Due Diligence

Aegon has said that they are reducing their investments in companies generating revenue from coal-fired power plants, or coal mining, to support the transition toward a low-carbon economy. They already exclude companies that derive 30% or more of sales from the exploration, mining, and refining of thermal coal.[32]

Conclusion

Aegon is a Dutch insurance company with a revenue of 25.2 million euros and a great influence by serving 31.7 customers worldwide. It is therefore important that Aegon takes enough action to meet the targets set by the Paris agreement. Looking at the current emissions and the future goals of Aegon it can be said that too little is being done to create a large reduction in their CO2 emissions from their portfolio. Aegon has joined the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance and created one short-term goal for 2025 but besides this, not much action is being taken. In order for Aegon to meet the target set by the Paris agreement, a more clear phase-out plan with short term targets is needed.

References

  1. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf p24
  2. https://www.aegon.com/about/who-we-are/
  3. https://www.aegon.com/about/who-we-are/our-brand/
  4. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf P3
  5. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf p94
  6. https://www.aegon.com/about/governance/executive-board/
  7. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf p70
  8. https://www.aegon.com/about/governance/management-board/
  9. https://www.aegon.com/about/governance/supervisory-board/
  10. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf p60
  11. https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/88a9aa9e0e484dec9791c3bb5945512b/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2020.pdf p. 121
  12. https://www.aegon.com/about/
  13. https://www.aegon.com/about/who-we-are/
  14. https://www.uwv.nl/overuwv/Images/uwv-register-now-vijfde-aanvraagperiode.pdf
  15. https://nieuws.aegon.nl/aan-de-slag-met-klimaatakkoord/
  16. https://nieuws.aegon.nl/aan-de-slag-met-klimaatakkoord/
  17. https://nieuws.aegon.nl/aan-de-slag-met-klimaatakkoord/
  18. https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/01ff7a45578d4e5e8925d6c87b1a0d41/aegon-annual-report-2017.pdf p.147
  19. https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/01ff7a45578d4e5e8925d6c87b1a0d41/aegon-annual-report-2017.pdf p.147
  20. https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/01ff7a45578d4e5e8925d6c87b1a0d41/aegon-annual-report-2017.pdf p.147
  21. https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/14bdec897d244680b202b22291c751ec/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2019.pdf
  22. https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/14bdec897d244680b202b22291c751ec/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2019.pdf
  23. https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/5a2428e87caf4185abb1ff55f476f147/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2020.pdf
  24. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf
  25. https://www.nu.nl/duurzaam/5320943/pensioenbeleggers-investeren-ruim-1-miljard-in-vervuilende-oliewinning.html
  26. https://eerlijkegeldwijzer.nl/verzekeringswijzer/verzekeraars/aegon/
  27. https://eerlijkegeldwijzer.nl/verzekeringswijzer/verzekeraars/aegon/
  28. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf p189
  29. https://www.aegon.com/sustainability/our-approach/climate-change/
  30. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf
  31. https://www.aegon.com/siteassets/iar/2021/aegon-integrated-annual-report-2021.pdf p370
  32. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1ZC0MH