Aegon May Not Be Pretty, but It Is Slowly Getting More Attractive and Moaty

Aegon has long been plagued by what is sometimes considered a strength of the insurance industry: the diversification of products and geographies. The problem in this strategy lies in the point at which a company chooses to diversify and whether or not it has pinned down its expertise and market leadership before it moves on to another product or country. In this case, a business can apply what it has learned in establishing the local and narrow competitive advantage to its new country or product group. In sum, diversification should be carried out only with core ascendency and it should be carried out in a very focussed and strategic way. Aegon had done neither.