Our shareholders

We have thousands of both institutional and retail shareholders around the world. More than three-quarters are located in North America, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, AEGON's  three main markets. Approximately 88% of AEGON's common shares are held by institutional investors and the remaining 12% by retail shareholders. AEGON's largest single shareholder is Vereniging AEGON, an association set up to safeguard the interests of the company and its stakeholders. Vereniging AEGON, the company's single largest shareholder, currently holds 23% of AEGON's total voting capital [1]. The capital agreement with the Dutch State, in December 2008, did not lead to any change in the company's ownership structure. The Dutch State does not own shares in AEGON.

[1] Not including preference shares. Vereniging AEGON has voluntarily waived its right to make use of the full voting rights attached to its preference shares, except in the event of a 'special cause'. These 'special causes' may include a hostile bid for all or part of the company. Including preference shares, Vereniging AEGON's voting interest represents 33%. For more information on Vereniging AEGON and its relationship with AEGON, please refer to the Annual Report or the website www.verenigingaegon.nl