293 Notes to the financial statements 1 General information 2 Summary of significant accounting policies 2.1 Basis of preparation 2.2 Foreign exchange translation 2.3 Offsetting of assets and liabilities 2.4 Investments Aegon N.V., incorporated and domiciled in the Netherlands, is a public limited liability company organized under Dutch law and recorded  in the Commercial Register of The Hague under its registered address at Aegonplein 50, 2591 TV, The Hague, the Netherlands. Aegon  N.V. serves as the holding company for the Aegon Group and has listings of its common shares in Amsterdam and New York. Aegon N.V. (or 'the company') and its subsidiaries ('Aegon' or 'the Group') have life insurance and pensions operations in over twenty  countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia and are also active in savings and asset management operations, accident and health  insurance, general insurance and to a limited extent banking operations. Headquarters are located in The Hague, the Netherlands. The  Group employs nearly 27,000 people worldwide (2012: 26,500). The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles in the Netherlands as embodied in Part 9 of  Book 2 of the Netherlands Civil Code. Based on article 2:362.8 of the Netherlands Civil Code, the valuation principles applied are based  on International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IFRS), as used for the  preparation of the consolidated financial statements of the Group. With regard to the income statement of Aegon N.V., article 402, Part 9 of Book 2 of the Netherlands Civil Code has been applied,  allowing a simplified format. Aegon N.V.'s financial statements are prepared in euros, which is also Aegon N.V.'s functional currency. The euro is also the currency of  the primary economic environment in which Aegon N.V. operates. Each company in the Group determines its own functional currency  and items included in the financial statements of each entity are measured using that functional currency. Transactions in foreign  currencies are translated to the functional currency using the exchange rates prevailing at the date of the transaction.  At the balance sheet date monetary assets, monetary liabilities and own equity instruments in foreign currencies are translated to the  functional currency at the closing rate of exchange prevailing on that date. Non-monetary items carried at cost are translated using the  exchange rate at the date of the transaction, whilst assets carried at fair value are translated at the exchange rate when the fair value  was determined.  Exchange differences on monetary items are recognized in the income statement when they arise, except when they are deferred in  equity as a result of a qualifying cash flow or net investment hedge. Exchange differences on non-monetary items carried at fair value  are recognized in equity or the income statement, consistently with other gains and losses on these items. Financial assets and liabilities are offset in the statement of financial position when Aegon N.V. has a legally enforceable right to offset  and has the intention to settle the asset and liability on a net basis or simultaneously.  The group companies are stated at their net asset value, determined on the basis of IFRS as applied in the consolidated financial  statements of the Group. For details on the accounting policies applied for the group companies refer to the consolidated financial  statements. Other investments are financial assets recognized on the trade date when the Group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of  the instrument and are classified for accounting purposes depending on the characteristics of the instruments and the purpose for  which they were purchased. They are initially recognized at fair value excluding interest accrued to date plus, in the case of a financial  asset not at fair value through profit or loss, any directly attributable incremental transaction costs. Available-for-sale assets are recorded at fair value with unrealized changes in fair value recognized in equity. 