Aegon N.V. (AEG)

A huge Dutch insurance company with huge insurance holdings in the US. Had to be bailed out in the 2008 recession. They’ve recovered their footing to some degree, but they made so many changes. They’ve bought and sold assets. A short-term/midterm catalyst could help. Interest rates going up certainly helps. He is happy to hold this. Can see it tripling from where it’s at now. Pays a dividend.

They do insurance, pensions, and asset management. Their stock has been hurt badly but they pay a dividend. They sold their Ukrainian operations to move more into Brazil. It has a lot of potential. During the recession they were bailed out by the Dutch government and thinks they would do it again if necessary, protecting investors.

An insurance company out of Holland. They also own Transamerica in the US. This will do better when interest rates go up. They are doing a lot like General Electric (GE-N); all kinds of trades. They are buying into companies, selling companies. He is always wary of that kind of thing because there are so many costs involved, and figuring out where they end up is difficult to do. Has a huge yield of 7.4%, which he thinks is reasonably safe. He is happy to continue holding.

A life insurance company that is incorporated in Holland. Their product lines are primarily protection and variable annuities. It is important to have a positive view on equity markets to make an investment in a company that is selling any form of investment funds. No life insurance company in the world can survive forever if interest rates continue to fall. This company has a very strong dividend yield, but is it covered if interest rates do not rise? This is not clear to him. 7.81% dividend yield.

An insurance company which is having a tough time because of low interest rates. He sees no reason to buy these stocks as the low interest rates are going to continue, especially in Europe. If you own, he would look to place your money someplace else.

He has done very badly on this. Paid about double for it, but is sticking with it. They have been hit recently by a couple of things. 1) Brexit. Although it is a huge Dutch company, they own Transamerica in the US, as well as many other companies. They sold part of their operations in Britain, but they still operate there. 2) They are also getting hit by low interest rates. Likes management. In 2008, they had to be bailed out by the Dutch government. Thinks it has a lot of upside.

Not crazy about products. He likes stocks. The problem with products is that you don’t really know what is in there all the time. Stocks that pay dividends and raise dividends are the place to be in this market. The 10 year Canada bond is paying about 1%, and the 10 year US bond is paying under 1.4%, and doesn’t look like it is going change anytime soon. If looking for income, you have to look at the stock market. Procter & Gamble (PG-N) is a dividend aristocrat, upping their dividend every year for 50 years or more. Companies like this and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ-N) are going to do better for you than the bond market.

70% discount to tangible book value. 6% dividend which they got permission to raise and to buy back shares of. They are painted by the brush for the US financials. It has very significant upside over the next couple of years.

A big insurer out of the Netherlands, with about $40 billion in revenues. It almost went under during the recession and the Dutch government bailed them out. They are international. They own Transamerica Insurance in the US. They are also into pension and wealth management. Thinks the euro is going to come back to some degree and there will be some movement upwards. Looking for this to go up above $20. Dividend yield of 4.89%.

Dutch based financial services. Had to be bailed out by the Dutch government during the recession, but have since come back. Regulators have just allowed them to increase their dividends by 9%. They can also buy back €400 million in shares. Have some operations in the US. He can see this going up to around $20 from here. Well-run company. Also, likes the euro which could go up against the US$, which he feels is overvalued.

Dutch insurance company with a lot of business in North America. Trading for half of its breakup value. The company is solidly capitalized. You get a cheap valuation and great dividend yield. There is huge upside and minimal downside.

Had to be bailed out in the recession by the Dutch bank. He still likes the company. Pays a nice dividend. They are not just in Europe; they also have Transamerican US, which is a big part of their operation. What he is going to have to think about on this is doubling down. He doesn’t have a problem averaging down in a stock, but after he buys a stock, he waits at least 6 months before he does it. He likes to feel really solidly that the company has a good future. This is still one of his favourites.

A huge insurer out of Holland. They had to be bailed out by the government in the recession. Seem to be recovering nicely. Pays a nice dividend of 3.46%. This is also a play on the US, because they own Transamerica in the United States. With this play he gets Europe and the US. His target price is better than $20.

A large Dutch insurer. Like many insurers, business has been hurt by persistently low insurance rates. European interest rates are going to rise sometime over the next 5 years, but he doesn’t expect this to be material. He would be cautious on this one.

One of the cheapest major insurance companies anywhere with huge upside. Most countries have a tax treaty with Canada, which reduces the withholding tax, so this is one of the things you face owning a foreign company.