Foresters To Purchase Aegon

TORONTO, March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Foresters™, a Toronto-based international financial services provider, announced that it has entered into an agreement, dated February 29, 2016 with Proj Fox Acquisition Inc. to indirectly acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Aegon Capital Management (ACM) and Aegon Fund Management (AFM). The transaction, which is subject to Canadian regulatory approvals, is expected to close in May 2016.

Foresters Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresters, will indirectly purchase ACM and AFM from Proj Fox Acquisitions Inc., an intermediate holding company established for the July 2015 acquisition of Transamerica Life Canada (now ivari) and its Canadian affiliates.

"The strategic acquisition of Aegon Capital Management will enable us to enter the Canadian asset management market," says Tony Garcia, President and CEO, Foresters. "ACM brings a talented and experienced investment team that has generated a positive track record of performance managing money for retail and institutional investors. The Foresters team looks forward to working with ACM and AFM, along with our network of independent advisors, to offer a broader range of financial solutions, products and services to our existing and future Canadian members and customers. We also see strong synergies between our Canadian life and annuity products and services and AFM's product offerings in the retail space through their imaxx mutual funds™. On the institutional side of the business, we see substantial growth opportunities for us, given ACM's solid track record in this space."

"Joining the Foresters family is an exciting new growth phase for our organization," says Gregory Ross, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Fixed Income at ACM. "We've been successfully building our third party business as a result of our disciplined and time tested investment process for the past 14 years. This is an excellent opportunity to substantially develop the retail and institutional offerings of ACM and AFM along with bringing the best of Foresters globally to Canada, yet still provide the returns that our clients have come to expect."

Through this transaction, Foresters will acquire approximately CAD $10 billion in Canadian fixed income and equity assets bringing its total amount of funds under management to CAD $44 billion. ACM will continue to manage ivari's corporate assets.

About Foresters
Foresters is an international financial services provider with more than three million clients and members in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. We provide life insurance, savings, retirement and investment solutions that help families achieve their financial goals and make a lasting difference in their lives and communities. Foresters has assets of almost $14 billion, total funds under management of $34 billion and a surplus of $2.3 billion (all figures in Canadian dollars as of December 31, 2015) and maintains an "A" (Excellent) rating by A.M. Best¹. For more information, visit foresters.com.

Foresters Financial and Foresters are trade names and trademarks of The Independent Order of Foresters (a fraternal benefit society, 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9) and its subsidiaries.

¹ An "A" (Excellent) rating is assigned to companies that have a strong ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders and have, on balance, excellent balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standards established by A.M. Best Company. A.M. Best assigns ratings from A++ to F, A++ and A+ being superior ratings and A and A- being excellent ratings. In assigning Foresters rating on July 1, 2015, A.M. Best stated that the rating outlook is "stable", which means it is unlikely to change in the near future. See ambest.com for our latest rating.

About Aegon Capital Management
Founded in 2002, ACM oversees more than CAD $10 billion in institutional and asset liability matching investments. ACM's focus is to provide exceptional income and capital preservation solutions for its clients. ACM adds value through its proprietary, bottom‐up research that applies a prudent, disciplined and repeatable investment process. The results are low volatility portfolios, designed to provide consistent risk‐adjusted returns over the long term. For more information, please visit www.aegoncapital.ca.

About Aegon Fund Management
Established in 2002, Aegon Fund Management offers imaxxFunds™ to Canadian investors. These award winning fund offerings are managed by ACM. Aegon Fund Management manages and administers the imaxxFunds, which are sold by participating mutual fund dealers in provinces across Canada.

SOURCE Foresters