Sign in

    Farooq Hanif • JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    Farooq Hanif's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership

    Farooq Hanif's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    Farooq Hanif from JPMorgan Chase & Co. asked for a deeper rationale behind the potential re-domiciliation to the U.S., questioning what had changed and if there was any regulatory pressure. He also asked for an assessment of how 'clean' the reported €845 million first-half operating profit was.

    Answer

    CEO Lard Friese detailed that the potential move is a logical next step in Aegon's transformation, now that the U.S. business constitutes 70% of operations and its strategy is showing clear execution success. He emphasized this was a company-led decision with no regulatory pressure. CFO Duncan Russell described the H1 operating profit as 'pretty clean,' noting that after adjusting for about €92 million in negative variances, the underlying result was strong at around €937 million, which normalizes to the guided range after accounting for FX movements and a recurring VA interest accretion.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Farooq Hanif's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership • H2 2024

    Question

    Farooq Hanif asked about the potential for disposals or restructuring in the underperforming International business. He also questioned the source of recent negative surprises from onerous contracts in the US and whether more accounting-related issues could arise.

    Answer

    CEO Lars Frieser affirmed that the International businesses are core to Aegon's strategy, highlighting growth in Brazil and Spain/Portugal, despite headwinds in China. CFO Duncan Russell clarified the onerous contract impact was due to a reclassification, an internal reinsurance effect offset at the group level, and prudent assumptions on Universal Life premium variances, with no other major accounting changes anticipated.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Farooq Hanif's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Farooq Hanif from JPMorgan Chase & Co. inquired about how the current macroeconomic environment, particularly yield movements, affects Aegon's strategy for reducing capital in U.S. financial assets and asked for clarification on how the Q3 mortality experience translates from an OCG to an IFRS basis.

    Answer

    CFO Duncan Russell explained that Aegon's plan to reduce capital in financial assets primarily relies on unilateral and bilateral actions, making it less sensitive to the macro environment, though market movements have been favorable. He noted that the plans are mostly within Aegon's control. Regarding the mortality experience, Mr. Russell stated that there were very limited IFRS variances in Q3.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI

    Farooq Hanif's questions to Aegon Ltd (AEG) leadership • H1 2024

    Question

    Farooq Hanif from JPMorgan Chase & Co. asked about the drivers of the high actual-to-expected claims ratio in long-term care (LTC) and whether future rate increase approvals are already reflected in the CSM. He also questioned when Aegon might increase remittances from the U.S., given the high RBC ratio.

    Answer

    CFO Matt Rider attributed the high LTC claims ratio primarily to catching up on a claims backlog, which is now resolved. He confirmed that expected future rate increases are already factored into the CSM, with regular true-ups. Regarding U.S. remittances, he stated that while the RBC ratio is high, the capital is useful during the transformation, and any change to remittance policy would be a future decision for the new management team.

    Ask Fintool Equity Research AI