FACE TO FACE BAS NIEUWEWEME Marathon man brings Aegon … · 2020-02-28 · of Aegon, the Dutch...
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SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2020 © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED 2020 CHRIS FLOOD F or Bas NieuweWeme, run– ning the marathon ranks as one of life’s great experi– ences alongside marriage and the birth of his children. The chief of the €352bn ($395bn) asset management arm of Aegon, the Dutch insurer, has completed the New York City marathon 15 times. “We need goals in life to stay fit and healthy, especially if you are working inside an office all day,” says Mr NieuweWeme, who represented the Netherlands’ national field hockey team while studying law at the University of Amsterdam. “I am a big believer in team players. Fund houses with star portfolio managers can do well for a time. But if that star leaves, then clients follow, assets fall and you are dead in the water,” he says. Hockey training provided personal lessons too. “You learn focus, determination and ambition as an athlete,” says the 47 year old. Those attributes resonate with Mr NieuweWeme. After gradu– ation, he became a management trainee at ING, the Dutch bank, with the ultimate goal of rising to become a chief executive. He spent his early career in the US, working in client facing and sales roles, and also acting as a liaison between ING’s European headquarters and its operations in the US and Asia. After the financial crisis, ING sold its US retirement, investment and insurance business via a stock market flotation in New York in 2013, creating the company known today as Voya Financial. From there, Mr NieuweWeme moved to PGIM as head of the client advisory group for the $1.3tn investment arm of Prudential Financial, the US insurer. PGIM decided to open a new European office in Amsterdam following the UK’s vote in 2016 to leave the EU. This provided Mr NieuweWeme an opportunity to return to the Netherlands with his wife and four football- obsessed sons. “Living in New York in your 30s is a dream. We were very happy but we wanted to reconnect with our Dutch roots,” he says. While travelling back to Europe, Aegon invited him to apply to become head of its asset management business. “Leading a business was my ultimate goal but I had not come across Aegon Asset Management very much in my career. But when I did my own due diligence, I realised there was a lot of candy in this shop but it was not packaged in the right way.” Aegon AM registered net inflows from third-party investors (excluding new business from the parent insurer) of €6.8bn in 2019, down 9 per cent from €7.5bn the previous year. The division reported a 8 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax earnings to €139m even though 2019 revenues rose 2 per cent to €501m. Mr NieuweWeme is overseeing a radical overhaul of the Aegon unit, unifying its previously separate US and European operations into a single globally integrated structure. The investment team will be organised as four groups comprising fixed income, real assets, equities as well as multi- asset and solutions. Research, distribution and operations teams will also be managed on a global basis. The Kames Capital and TKP Investments brands will be retired later this year. “We will be able to deliver better outcomes to clients and we can do this at a better price. This is the mindset,” he says. This strategy was agreed after a three-month process during which Mr NieuweWeme held 180 one-on-one meetings with colleagues, clients and consultants, as well as 18 “Bas- stop” staff group sessions and senior management off-sites where “a lot” of conflicting views were debated about the company’s direction. “ALL. Ask, Listen, Learn. The environment today is totally different from five years ago. The asset management industry has not gone through a more transformative period during my career.” His meticulous streak is evident as he arrives at the Financial Times’ London office with copious notes that he barely glances at during the interview. He is prepared for more downward fee pressure because of negative interest rates and the popularity of low-cost index- tracking strategies. “Fees for traditional active management strategies are falling by 5 per cent a year and I don’t foresee any change in this trend. Although sophisticated investors realise that higher fees for active management are justified by alpha (above market returns), decision makers on pension fund boards are not always focused on this,” he says. Responding to fee pressure will require building more scale in traditional active funds and a greater focus on developing distinctive alternative strategies that cannot be easily replicated by index trackers. Two funds investing in low income US housing were launched in January with seed capital from Aegon’s parent and co-investments from two external clients. A new European asset-backed securities opportunities fund along with a diversified Euro– pean lending fund will also be launched in 2020. Aegon Asset Management’s US securitised credit business already runs $14bn on behalf of its parent insurer and this business will be opened to external clients in 2020. Aegon Asset Management’s US securitised credit business already runs $14bn on behalf of its parent insurer and this business will be opened to external clients in 2020. “These are distinct strategies that are hard for the index- trackers to replicate and where we have unique skills to offer clients,” he says. A single responsible invest– ment team has been created under Brunno Maradei, who joined as head of ESG in 2019 from the European Investment Bank. More new sustainable and impact investment products will be launched while existing strategies will be repurposed using Aegon’s proprietary environmental, social and governance ratings. “Clients want a partner than can generate strong returns at lower risk levels while also acting as a strong community player. Dutch and Nordic managers have a 10- year advantage over competitors that are only now moving into ESG,” says Mr NieuweWeme. He jokes that he has “been accused of being a tree-hugger many times” while pointing out that Aegon Asset Management carried out 564 engagements with companies in 2019, up from 360 the previous year. “We have to be truly active to be successful. I know I have a big challenge ahead but this is my vision,” says Mr NieuweWeme. FT fm FACE TO FACE BAS NIEUWEWEME Aegon Asset Management Assets €352bn Established 1989 Employees 1,200 Headquarters The Hague Ownership Aegon Group Born 1972 The Netherlands Total pay not disclosed Education 1996-2000 masters of law, University of Amsterdam 2006-07 MBA, NYU Leonard Stern School of Business Career 2001-03 ING Investment Management, senior associate 2006-08 ING IM, vice-president 2008-09 ING IM, senior vice-president, sales & relationship management 2009-13 Voya IM senior vice- president, head of institutional sales & relationship management 2013-16 Voya IM, managing director, global head of institutional distribution 2016-19 PGIM, MD, global head of institutional relationship group 2019 to present Aegon Asset Management, chief executive INTERVIEW NieuweWeme discusses the future of active strategies, fee pressures and global ambitions Marathon man brings new mindset to Aegon Asset Management
Transcript of FACE TO FACE BAS NIEUWEWEME Marathon man brings Aegon … · 2020-02-28 · of Aegon, the Dutch...
SATURDAY 2 2 FEBRUARY 2020
© THE FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED 2020
C H R I S F LO O D
For Bas NieuweWeme, run– ning the marathon ranks as one of life’s great experi–ences alongside marriage
and the birth of his children.The chief of the €352bn
($395bn) asset management arm of Aegon, the Dutch insurer, has completed the New York City marathon 15 times.
“We need goals in life to stay fit and healthy, especially if you are working inside an office all day,” says Mr NieuweWeme, who represented the Netherlands’ national field hockey team while studying law at the University of Amsterdam.
“I am a big believer in team players. Fund houses with star portfolio managers can do well for a time. But if that star leaves, then clients follow, assets fall and you are dead in the water,” he says.
Hockey training provided personal lessons too. “You learn focus, determination and ambition as an athlete,” says the 47 year old.
Those attributes resonate with Mr NieuweWeme. After gradu–ation, he became a management trainee at ING, the Dutch bank, with the ultimate goal of rising to become a chief executive.
He spent his early career in the US, working in client facing and sales roles, and also acting as a liaison between ING’s European headquarters and its operations in the US and Asia.
After the financial crisis, ING sold its US retirement, investment and insurance business via a stock market flotation in New York in 2013, creating the company known today as Voya Financial.
From there, Mr NieuweWeme moved to PGIM as head of the client advisory group for the $1.3tn investment arm of Prudential Financial, the US insurer.
PGIM decided to open a new European office in Amsterdam following the UK’s vote in 2016 to leave the EU. This provided Mr NieuweWeme an opportunity to return to the Netherlands
with his wife and four football-obsessed sons.
“Living in New York in your 30s is a dream. We were very happy
but we wanted to reconnect with our Dutch roots,” he says.
While travelling back to Europe, Aegon invited him to apply to become head of its asset management business. “Leading a business was my ultimate goal but I had not come across Aegon Asset Management very much in my career. But when I did my own due diligence, I realised there was a lot of candy in this shop but it was not packaged in the right way.”
Aegon AM registered net inflows from third-party investors (excluding new business from the parent insurer) of €6.8bn in 2019, down 9 per cent from €7.5bn the previous year. The division reported a 8 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax earnings to €139m even though 2019 revenues rose 2 per cent to €501m.
Mr NieuweWeme is overseeing a radical overhaul of the Aegon unit, unifying its previously separate US and European operations into a single globally integrated structure.
The investment team will be organised as four groups comprising fixed income, real assets, equities as well as multi-asset and solutions. Research, distribution and operations teams will also be managed on a
global basis. The Kames Capital and TKP Investments brands will be retired later this year.
“We will be able to deliver better outcomes to clients and we can do this at a better price. This is the mindset,” he says.
This strategy was agreed after a three-month process during which Mr NieuweWeme held 180 one-on-one meetings with colleagues, clients and consultants, as well as 18 “Bas-stop” staff group sessions and senior management off-sites where “a lot” of conflicting views were debated about the company’s direction.
“ALL. Ask, Listen, Learn. The environment today is totally different from five years ago. The asset management industry has not gone through a more transformative period during my career.”
His meticulous streak is evident as he arrives at the Financial Times’ London office with copious notes that he barely glances at during the interview.
He is prepared for more downward fee pressure because of negative interest rates and the popularity of low-cost index-tracking strategies.
“Fees for traditional active management strategies are falling by 5 per cent a year and I don’t
foresee any change in this trend. Although sophisticated investors realise that higher fees for active management are justified by alpha (above market returns), decision makers on pension fund boards are not always focused on this,” he says.
Responding to fee pressure will require building more scale in traditional active funds and a greater focus on developing distinctive alternative strategies that cannot be easily replicated by index trackers.
Two funds investing in low income US housing were launched in January with seed capital from Aegon’s parent and co-investments from two external clients.
A new European asset-backed securities opportunities fund along with a diversified Euro–pean lending fund will also be launched in 2020.
Aegon Asset Management’s US securitised credit business already runs $14bn on behalf of its parent insurer and this business will be opened to external clients in 2020.
Aegon Asset Management’s US securitised credit business already runs $14bn on behalf of its parent insurer and this business will be opened to external clients in 2020.
“These are distinct strategies that are hard for the index-trackers to replicate and where we have unique skills to offer clients,” he says.
A single responsible invest–ment team has been created under Brunno Maradei, who joined as head of ESG in 2019 from the European Investment Bank.
More new sustainable and impact investment products will be launched while existing strategies will be repurposed using Aegon’s proprietary environmental, social and governance ratings.
“Clients want a partner than can generate strong returns at lower risk levels while also acting as a strong community player. Dutch and Nordic managers have a 10-year advantage over competitors that are only now moving into ESG,” says Mr NieuweWeme.
He jokes that he has “been accused of being a tree-hugger many times” while pointing out that Aegon Asset Management carried out 564 engagements with companies in 2019, up from 360 the previous year.
“We have to be truly active to be successful. I know I have a big challenge ahead but this is my vision,” says Mr NieuweWeme.
FTfm
FACE TO FACE BAS NIEUWEWEME
Aegon Asset Management
Assets €352bn
Established 1989
Employees 1,200
Headquarters The Hague
Ownership Aegon Group
Born 1972 The Netherlands
Total pay not disclosed
Education1996-2000masters of law,University of Amsterdam2006-07MBA, NYU LeonardStern School of Business
Career2001-03 ING InvestmentManagement, senior associate2006-08 ING IM, vice-president2008-09 ING IM, seniorvice-president, sales & relationshipmanagement2009-13 Voya IM senior vice-president, head of institutionalsales & relationship management2013-16 Voya IM, managingdirector, global head ofinstitutional distribution2016-19 PGIM, MD, global head ofinstitutional relationship group2019 to present Aegon AssetManagement, chief executive
INTERVIEW
NieuweWeme discusses
the future of active
strategies, fee pressures
and global ambitions
Marathon man brings new mindset to Aegon Asset Management
© THE FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED 2020
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.
All information as of December 31, 2019 unless otherwise noted. The US$395 billion (€352 billion/£298 billion) assets under management described herein incorporates the entities within Aegon Asset Management as well as the following wholly or partially owned affiliates: Aegon Asset Management Asia LTD (AAM Asia), Aegon Asset Management Central and Eastern Europe (AAM CEE), Aegon Asset Management Pan-Europe BV (AAM PE), Aegon Asset Management Holding B.V., and Aegon Asset Management Spain along with joint-venture participations in Aegon Industrial Fund Management Co. LTD (AIFMD), La Banque Postale Asset Management SA (LBPAM), Pelargos Capital BV (Pelargos), and Saemor Capital BV (Saemor).
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. Aegon AM assumes no liability for the content of any linked third-party site, and/or content hosted on external sites. Any opinions, estimates, or forecasts expressed are the current views of the author(s) at the time of publication, but not necessarily those of Aegon Asset Management. Opinions 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 Asset Management 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.
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 for purposes 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. There is no guarantee that environmental, social and governance (ESG) or other responsible investing (RI) products or strategies will produce returns similar to traditional investments. Products and strategies may be available in different regions and different investment vehicles and may not be available or suitable for all investors.
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 state–ments involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Consequently, such statements cannot be guarantees of future performance, and actual out–comes and returns may differ materially from statements set forth herein.
The following Aegon affiliates are collectively referred to as Aegon Asset Management: Aegon USA Investment Management, LLC (Aegon AM US), Aegon USA Realty Advisors, LLC (Aegon RA), Kames Capital plc (Kames), and Aegon Investment Management B.V. (AIM). Each of these Aegon Asset Management entities is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon N.V. Kames Capital plc 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 Com–mission (SEC). Aegon Investment Management B.V. and TKP Investment B.V. are registered with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets as a licensed fund management company. On the basis of its fund management license Aegon Investment Management B.V. is also authorized to provide individual portfolio management and advisory services in certain jurisdictions. Aegon USA Invest-ment Management, LLC and Aegon USA Realty Advisors, LLC are both US SEC registered investment advisers. Aegon Asset Management US is also registered as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). Recipient shall not distribute, publish, sell, license or otherwise create derivative works using any of the content of this report without prior written consent. Reprinted with permission of The Financial Times Limited.
FP: 2020/8615
Expiry Date: February 28, 2021
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FACE TO FACE BAS NIEUWEWEME
