• Value creation
• Materiality

Key observations:

In adhering to the guiding principle ‘Materiality’ (International <IR> Framework, para. 3D) and in particular to the view that “ordinarily, matters related to value creation that are discussed at meetings of those charged with governance are considered relevant. An understanding of the perspectives of key stakeholders is critical to identifying relevant matters” (International <IR> Framework, para. 3.22), Aegon identifies its material issues related to its operating environment by gathering views of its stakeholders and its senior management (p.20). In particular, after having identified and ranked the material issues in terms of importance and depicted them in a materiality matrix, a further exercise in order to identify whether the organisation has the ability to control or influence these issues has been done (p. 22). However, notwithstanding the possibility to control or influence or not, seven key areas that will affect the ability of the organisation to create value in the medium and long term have been selected.