IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: FOR NON-US PROFESSIONAL INVESTORS ONLY
This site is intended only for non-US professional investors or US-based fiduciaries representing non-US investors eligible to invest in Aegon Asset Management’s (the “Company”) UCITS funds. This site, and the funds described herein, are not suitable for individual investors.
The following information regarding the Company’s funds is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer for shares, products or services and should not be interpreted as an offer to sell, an invitation to acquire an investment, or a solicitation of an offer to buy for any persons who are prohibited from receiving such information under their domiciled local laws.
Aegon Asset Management Investment Company (Ireland) Plc is structured as an umbrella type open-ended investment company with variable capital consisting of a number of different sub-funds (“Funds”) and is authorized in Ireland pursuant to European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) UCITS Regulations and the Central Bank UCITS Regulations (“UCITS Regulations"). Aegon Asset Management Europe ICAV is structured as an umbrella type open-ended investment ICAV with variable capital consisting of Funds and is authorized in Ireland as a UCITS pursuant to the UCITS Regulations.
These Funds are registered in Ireland and are available only to residents of those jurisdictions where allowed by law. Investors that do not meet these requirements will be denied access by the Company.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Austria.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
If you are a retail investor, we recommend that you seek qualified financial advice before making any investment decisions.
You can get the current prospectuses, accounts, important information for investors and fund prices at https://www.fundinfo.com. Please click the accept button and select the county in which you live and identify yourself as a private investor.
Risk notice - Capital risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Belgium.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
If you are a retail investor, we recommend that you seek qualified financial advice before making any investment decisions.
You can get the current prospectuses, accounts, important information for investors and fund prices at https://www.fundinfo.com. Please click the accept button and select the county in which you live and identify yourself as a private investor.
Risk notice - Capital risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Denmark.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Finland.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in France.
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Attention aux fraudeurs se faisant passer pour Aegon Asset Management, d’autres institutions financières et organismes de régulation: Nous avons reçu plusieurs signalements de fraudeurs se faisant passer pour Aegon AM et d’autres entreprises en créant de faux sites web, de fausses publicités et de fausses adresses mail. Pour en savoir plus sur la manière de vous protéger contre ces escroqueries et comment signaler un comportement suspect,veuillez lire ce qui suit.
If you are a retail investor, we recommend that you seek qualified financial advice before making any investment decisions.
You can get the current prospectuses, accounts, important information for investors and fund prices at https://www.fundinfo.com. Please click the accept button and select the county in which you live and identify yourself as a private investor.
Risk notice - Capital risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Germany.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
If you are a retail investor, we recommend that you seek qualified financial advice before making any investment decisions.
You can get the current prospectuses, accounts, important information for investors and fund prices at https://www.fundinfo.com. Please click the accept button and select the county in which you live and identify yourself as a private investor.
Risk notice - Capital risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Jersey.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Ireland.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Italy.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Luxembourg.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
If you are a retail investor, we recommend that you seek qualified financial advice before making any investment decisions.
You can get the current prospectuses, accounts, important information for investors and fund prices at https://www.fundinfo.com. Please click the accept button and select the county in which you live and identify yourself as a private investor.
Risk notice - Capital risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Malta.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in the Netherlands.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
If you are a retail investor we recommend that you take qualified financial advice before making any investment decisions. You can obtain the latest prospectus, accounts, Key Investor Information and fund prices at www.aegon.nl.
Risk Warning Capital at risk. The value of investments may go up or down and is not guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Norway.
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This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Portgual.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Spain.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
If you are a retail investor, we recommend that you seek qualified financial advice before making any investment decisions.
You can get the current prospectuses, accounts, important information for investors and fund prices at https://www.fundinfo.com. Please click the accept button and select the county in which you live and identify yourself as a private investor.
Risk notice - Capital risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the Legal documents of the Fund(s), such as the KIID and/or prospectus, before making any final investment decisions.
I confirm that I am a Professional Investor based in Sweden.
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This Website and all information contained herein is intended for exclusive use of qualified investors as defined in the Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes of 23 June 2006 (the “CISA”) and in its implementing ordinance, which have their residence or registered office in Switzerland (the “Qualified Investors”), excluding opt up Qualified investors.
Entry to the website is subject to your understanding of certain terms and important information which are available below:
If you are not a Qualified Investor or are an opt up Qualified Investor under CISA with residence or registered office in Switzerland, we recommend you consult a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
You can get the current prospectuses, accounts, important information for investors and fund prices at https://www.fundinfo.com. Please click the accept button and select the county in which you live and identify yourself as a private investor.
Risk notice - Capital risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed.
For investors in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay:
This material does not constitute an offer of products or securities in any country listed above or in any jurisdiction within Latin America and should not be construed as such. Unless otherwise indicated, no regulator or government authority has reviewed the content or the merits of any products and services referenced or implied herein. This material is being made available only to the extent it is in accordance with the restrictions and/or limitations implemented by any applicable laws and regulations. Information is directed at and intended only for institutional investors and their advisers for informational purposes and may not be reproduced in any form. Before acting on any information provided herein, prospective investors should inform themselves of, and observe, all applicable laws, rules and regulations of any relevant jurisdictions and obtain independent advice if required.
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The ability to submit requisitioned resolutions has long been an important shareholder right and has historically helped shape sustainability and governance practices across the globe. Different jurisdictions have differing threshold requirements for the filing of a shareholder resolution. In the UK and much of Europe, a 5% shareholding is required. This can be achieved either via an individual institutional holding or through a combination of smaller shareholdings. Aegon Asset Management UK has previously participated in such collective filings in presenting climate related resolutions at some oil majors. Our experience suggests that they were successful in helping to shape directional change. In the US, a monetary value is required, which reduces with the length of time shares are held. If held for three years, a holding with a value of just $2,000 is required. This helps explains why the US has a far higher number of shareholder resolutions which are generally filed by small investors often non-governmental organisations and individuals.
With this large quantity of shareholder resolutions, there is a huge range in the level of support they receive by shareholders. Widespread criticism of the asset management community has been levelled due to low levels of support, however, there needs to be an understanding that not all resolutions are worthy of support.
There have been many in the past couple of years that appeared to be sensible and aligned to progress in an ESG related matter, but in reality the purpose was the opposite. We will follow up with a future soapbox on examples of this from the current voting season.
Additionally, critics only point to instances where shareholder support has been low – ignoring the fact that there has been good progress in other areas. For instance, in the UK there has been success in getting companies across the spectrum of industries to set transition plans and disclose targets. In the US, resolutions requiring adoption of proxy access (enabling shareholders to propose alternative board candidates) was widely seen on ballots pre-Covid. These have now largely disappeared; given they were successful the adoption of proxy access is now widely perceived as best practice with the vast majority of companies in the S&P 500 now having such provisions. Similarly, shareholders were successful in encouraging companies to produce EEO-1 reports on enhanced diversity reporting.
However, in the US there has been a narrowing of the rules under which shareholder proposals may be excluded from the proxy, with further limitations on certain exclusions also being proposed. Therefore, the number of resolutions expected to make proxy statements this coming season is likely to increase significantly. Notwithstanding this narrowing, no proposal makes it to the proxy statement unless approved by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Its decision whether to permit a proposal is largely determined by the SEC’s interpretation as to whether the issue is considered to be ordinary business, perceived to be micro-managing or special business.
We are aware of many shareholder proposals currently being filed for this coming proxy season. Wells Fargo attempted (unsuccessfully) to prevent a freedom of association resolution from making the ballot. The proposal will require the company to respect the rights of bank employees to join unions and negotiate for improved conditions. Similar proposals (filed by the US Union Fund) are being submitted at other companies including FirstService Corporation, Tesla, Amazon, Walmart, and Delta Airlines.
Other issues coming to the forefront are the push for a living wage and healthy products requests. These seem to be rather more nuanced. A report into living wages was filed at US retailer, Kohl – however, the SEC sided with the company, citing that the request was paramount to micro-management. The SEC took a similar stance at Coca-Cola where the requisition requested that the company adopt a policy that would set a timetable to transition to healthy products. The SEC perceived this to be related to ordinary business operations and blocked the proposal.
Whilst we expect a significant increase in proposals this coming season, it should be noted that many are withdrawn (prior to the vote) following ongoing discussions with companies. But the very threat of resolutions being filed can influence behavioral change. At Aegon Asset Management UK, we will continue to analyse each resolution on its own merit and will support those that we believe are worthy as we have done for decades – and we will continue to monitor whether these activities have the desired effect of driving progress where it was needed.
This material is provided by Aegon Asset Management (Aegon AM) as general information and is intended exclusively for institutional and wholesale investors, as well as professional clients (as defined by local laws and regulation) and other Aegon AM stakeholders.
This document is for informational purposes only in connection with the marketing and advertising of products and services, and is not investment research, advice or a recommendation. It shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy any investment nor shall any offer of products or services be made to any person in any jurisdiction where unlawful or unauthorized. Any opinions, estimates, or forecasts expressed are the current views of the author(s) at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. The research taken into account in this document may or may not have been used for or be consistent with all Aegon AM investment strategies. References to securities, asset classes and financial markets are included for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon to assist or inform the making of any investment decisions. It has not been prepared in accordance with any legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and may have been acted upon by Aegon AM and Aegon AM staff for their own purposes.
The information contained in this material does not take into account any investor's investment objectives, particular needs, or financial situation. It should not be considered a comprehensive statement on any matter and should not be relied upon as such. Nothing in this material constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a representation that any investment or strategy is suitable or appropriate to any particular investor. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the recipient. Investors should consult their investment professional prior to making an investment decision. Aegon Asset Management is under no obligation, expressed or implied, to update the information contained herein. Neither Aegon Asset Management nor any of its affiliated entities are undertaking to provide impartial investment advice or give advice in a fiduciary capacity forpurposes of any applicable US federal or state law or regulation. By receiving this communication, you agree with the intended purpose described above.
Past performance is not a guide to future performance. All investments contain risk and may lose value. This document contains "forward-looking statements" which are based on Aegon AM's beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events, based on information currently available. These statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Consequently, such statements cannot be guarantees of future performance, and actual outcomes and returns may differ materially from statements set forth herein.
The following Aegon affiliates are collectively referred to herein as Aegon Asset Management: Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC (Aegon AM US), Aegon USA Realty Advisors, LLC (Aegon RA), Aegon Asset Management UK plc (Aegon AM UK), and Aegon Investment Management B.V. (Aegon AM NL).Each of these Aegon Asset Management entities is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon Ltd. In addition, Aegon Private Fund Management (Shanghai) Co., a partially owned affiliate, may also conduct certain business activities under the Aegon Asset Management brand.
Aegon AM UK is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 144267) and is additionally a registered investment adviser with the United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Aegon AM US and Aegon RA are both US SEC registered investment advisers.
Andrew Woods is a responsible investment manager responsible for voting and engaging with the companies held within the equity and multi-asset portfolios.