The Hague – March 23, 2022
Forward-looking statements
The statements contained in this document that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words
that identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe,
estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict,
project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should,
would, could, is confident, will, and similar expressions as they
relate to Aegon. These statements may contain information about
financial prospects, economic conditions and trends and involve
risks and uncertainties. In addition, any statements that refer to
sustainability, environmental and social targets, commitments,
goals, efforts and expectations and other events or circumstances
that are partially dependent on future events are forward-looking
statements. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that
are difficult to predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation, and
expressly disclaims any duty, to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely
reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results
may differ materially and adversely from expectations conveyed in
forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risks
and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not
limited to the following:
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Unexpected delays, difficulties, and expenses in executing against
our environmental, climate, diversity and inclusion or other “ESG”
targets, goals and commitments, and changes in laws or regulations
affecting us, such as changes in data privacy, environmental,
safety and health laws;
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Changes in general economic and/or governmental conditions,
particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom;
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Civil unrest, (geo-)
political tensions, military action or other instability in a
country or geographic region;
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Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging
markets, such as with regard to:
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The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon’s fixed
income investment portfolios;
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The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting
restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in
the value of equity and debt securities Aegon holds;
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The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain public sector
securities and the resulting decline in the value of government
exposure that Aegon holds;
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Changes in the performance of Aegon’s investment portfolio and
decline in ratings of Aegon’s counterparties;
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Lowering of one or more of Aegon’s debt ratings issued by
recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action
may have on Aegon’s ability to raise capital and on its liquidity
and financial condition;
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Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of
Aegon’s insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action
may have on the written premium, policy retention, profitability
and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries;
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The effect of the European Union’s Solvency II requirements and
other regulations in other jurisdictions affecting the capital
Aegon is required to maintain;
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Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or
rapidly changing interest rate levels;
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Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the
EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates;
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Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with,
liquidity sources such as bank and capital markets funding, as well
as conditions in the credit markets in general such as changes in
borrower and counterparty creditworthiness;
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Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom and emerging markets;
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Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, including by way
of example acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and
pandemics, could result in material losses and significantly
interrupt Aegon’s business;
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The frequency and severity of insured loss events;
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Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence and
other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegon’s
insurance products;
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Aegon’s projected results are highly sensitive to complex
mathematical models of financial markets, mortality, longevity, and
other dynamic systems subject to shocks and unpredictable
volatility. Should assumptions to these models later prove
incorrect, or should errors in those models escape the controls in
place to detect them, future performance will vary from projected
results;
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Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting risks
may fail to meet their obligations;
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Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general related
to, among other things, the type of products Aegon sells, including
legal, regulatory or commercial necessity to meet changing customer
expectations;
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Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution
channels;
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As Aegon’s operations support complex transactions and are highly
dependent on the proper functioning of information technology,
operational risks such as system disruptions or failures, security
or data privacy breaches, cyberattacks, human error, failure to
safeguard personally identifiable information, changes in
operational practices or inadequate controls including with respect
to third parties with which we do business may disrupt Aegon’s
business, damage its reputation and adversely affect its results of
operations, financial condition and cash flows;
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The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings,
product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Aegon’s
ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain the anticipated
results and synergies from acquisitions;
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Aegon’s failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or
operational efficiencies, as well as other management initiatives
related to cost savings, Cash Capital at Holding, gross financial
leverage and free cash flow;
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Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments;
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Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay
significant damages or change the way Aegon does business;
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Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect
profitability, the distribution cost of or demand for Aegon’s
products;
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Consequences of an actual or potential break-up of the European monetary union
in whole or in part, or the exit of the United Kingdom from the
European Union and potential consequences if other European Union
countries leave the European Union;
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Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting
Aegon’s operations’ ability to hire and retain key personnel,
taxation of Aegon companies, the products Aegon sells, and the
attractiveness of certain products to its consumers;
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Regulatory changes relating to the pensions, investment, and
insurance industries in the jurisdictions in which Aegon
operates;
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Standard setting initiatives of supranational standard setting
bodies such as the Financial Stability Board and the International
Association of Insurance Supervisors or changes to such standards
that may have an impact on regional (such as EU), national or US
federal or state level financial regulation or the application
thereof to Aegon, including the designation of Aegon by the
Financial Stability Board as a Global Systemically Important
Insurer (G-SII); and
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Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by Aegon
in applying such regulations and policies, voluntarily or
otherwise, which may affect Aegon’s reported results, shareholders’
equity or regulatory capital adequacy levels.
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This document contains information that qualifies, or may qualify,
as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU
Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). Further details of potential
risks and uncertainties affecting Aegon are described in its
filings with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets
and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual
Report. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or
regulation, Aegon expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking
to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained herein to reflect any change in Aegon’s
expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is
based.
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