AegonFeb 9 2022

Aegon outflows shrink to £38mn

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Aegon outflows shrink to £38mn
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Aegon’s UK platform saw its retail outflows fall to £38mn during the final quarter of 2021 - down from outflows of £310mn last year.

The company said this was due to "stronger retail investor sentiment" and reflected its continued investment in the UK business.

In its fourth quarter results published today (February 9), the company said its aim was to achieve sales growth and positive net deposits in both the retail and workplace channels.

“We continued to invest in the expansion of our distribution network, while simultaneously improving the digital experience for customers, advisers, and employers,” said Aegon’s chief executive, Lard Friese.

“This resulted in solid growth in our US life business, record-high asset balances in our Dutch mortgage and defined contribution businesses, and UK platform net deposits turning positive.”

The group also said the platform’s performance was helped by stronger investor sentiment, as well as by market movements on assets and net deposits which “more than offset the gradual run-off of the traditional product portfolio”.

As a result, the company decreased platform expenses as a percentage of assets under administration by two basis points.

Aegon UK’s net profit was £32mn in the final quarter of 2021, which was down from £43mn in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile Aegon's workplace inflows amounted to £542mn - up from outflows of £486mn in the same period last year.

Aegon said this was mainly driven by the termination of a large, low-margin investment-only scheme in the same period last year.

Non-operating items amounted to a gain of £2mn, reflecting a realised gain from a bond sale which was partially offset by the negative impact from hedges to protect the solvency position. 

Other charges amounted to £3mn, including one-time investments related to the operational improvement plan which it said were partly offset by a favorable impact from income related to policyholder taxes.

ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com