Strategic information  Letter of the CEO 4 Letter of the CEO In 2013 we achieved strong results across our markets and experienced increasing  demand for our core products and services, as we pursue our mission of helping  individuals and families take responsibility for their financial future. Over the past  year, we have made significant progress in enhancing the growth prospects for our  business, strengthening our financial position, and in transforming our business to  create value for our many stakeholders.  In each of our chosen markets, profound and lasting market  changes are driving increased demand for reliable financial  solutions. People are living longer than at any time in history; the  post-war (“baby boomer”) generation is now entering retirement  with an immense pool of accumulated and still-growing  assets that will need to be managed for an increasingly longer  retirement; governments are continuing to withdraw from  traditional means of publicly-provided pension support; and  companies have considerably decreased, or ended altogether,  their contributions to employee retirement plans. In many  developing markets, strong economic growth is creating a sizable  and growing affluent middle class that will inevitably seek the  same financial protection and long-term security solutions as  those in more mature economies. All of these factors provide  excellent growth opportunities for our business and confirm  that our products and services have never been more needed.  Moreover, they provide the basis for the broad range of actions  we are taking to further transform our businesses and enhance  our ability to interact better and more frequently with those who  depend on us.  At the center of our strategy is our focus on getting closer to  our customers through an accelerated investment in technology.  The nature of many of our products necessitates professional  advice and, as such, we believe the financial advisor will continue  to play an essential role in our business. New digital platforms  have been introduced to provide intermediaries with the tools to  operate more efficiently in a rapidly changing landscape. In the  United Kingdom for instance, Aegon's new pension platform,  known as Aegon Retirement Choices, is demonstrating early  success. We recognize that consumers increasingly research  and wish to purchase financial services products online, as  they do many other products and services. Consequently, we  are committed to enabling our current and future customers to  interact with us in the ways they choose. In the Netherlands,  we launched new digital channels aimed at specific customer  segments more likely to purchase life insurance and retirement  solutions through digital rather than traditional channels.  In addition to enabling our businesses to connect and engage  with customers better and with greater frequency, technology  also delivers the tools to create a truly distinctive and relevant  customer experience. We are committed to providing greater  ease of interaction with our businesses, simplifying product  explanations, and empowering customers with practical online  tools that will both enable them to better understand their  financial needs and provide greater clarity about the products  and services available to address these needs. This approach,  we believe, is essential to our focus on building customer loyalty  and strengthening our competitive advantage in an increasingly  crowded market.  During 2013, we expanded our reach through promising new  distribution agreements in our key markets. We continued to  invest in our businesses in Central & Eastern Europe, Asia and  Latin America, given the strong demand for protection and  savings products in these developing economies. Meanwhile, we  continued to review our products and services, broadening and  deepening our capabilities in order to target opportunities, and  ensuring that the products we offer deliver value for both our  customers and Aegon, given our long-term risk-return criteria.  Consistent with our strict risk-return discipline, we further  strengthened Aegon’s risk profile by maintaining a solid balance  sheet and further improving our capital position. The strong  financial performance, combined with our actions to reduce  costs across our organization during 2013, enabled us to  continue the momentum of recent years. Clearly, our strategic  priorities have delivered their intended benefits to our customers  and businesses, and to our valued shareholders who have  every reason to expect an attractive and growing return on  their investment. In the United States, we have brought nearly all of  our businesses together under the well-recognized  Transamerica brand, furthering the strategic integration of our  operations which began three years ago. In what continues to be  the largest market in the world for life insurance and retirement  products and services, we have enhanced our leadership  positions with new distribution partners, and developed new  digital capabilities that will allow us to better serve our current  and future customers’ diverse financial needs across their  life-cycle. Annual Report 2013