Aegon Earnings: Long-Awaited Growth Arrives in the Quarter

Aegon AEG reported financial activity for the first quarter of 2023. We think the main takeaway from these numbers is growth. New life sales of individual business in the U.S. rose from $94 million to $113 million in individual solutions. Correspondingly, the number of Aegon’s licensed agents rose by 10,000. Sales within the U.S. workplace business rose strongly at $2.550 billion for the first three months versus $1.273 billion in the prior-year period. That strong growth came from midmarket retirement plans as net deposits gained traction to $932 million. Retail net deposits in the U.K. swung to the negative.

The operating capital generated by the business rose to EUR 292 million, slightly better than it was last year. Solvency improved by 2 percentage points to 210%. We have increased our fair value estimate to EUR 5.60 per share and maintain our no-moat rating.