AEGON N.V. (ADR) (AEG): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

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Hedge funds are not perfect. They have their bad picks just like everyone else. Micron, a stock hedge funds have loved, lost 50% during the last 12 months ending in October 30. Although hedge funds are not perfect, their consensus picks do deliver solid returns, however. Our data show the top 30 S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds at the end of September 2014 yielded an average return of 9.5% in the same time period, vs. a gain of 5.2% for the S&P 500 Index. Because hedge funds have a lot of resources and their consensus picks do well, we pay attention to what they think. In this article, we analyze what the elite funds think of AEGON N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:AEG).

AEGON N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:AEG) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in hedge fund interest in recent months. At the end of this article, we will also compare AEG to other stocks, including Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE:EW), and Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Follow Aegon N.v. (NYSE:AEG)

To most market participants, hedge funds are perceived as slow, outdated financial vehicles of yesteryear. While there are over 8000 funds with their doors open at the moment, our researchers choose to focus on the aristocrats of this group, around 700 funds. These investment experts command the bulk of all hedge funds’ total asset base, and by watching their finest investments, Insider Monkey has spotted several investment strategies that have historically exceeded the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per annum for a decade in their back tests.

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest action surrounding AEGON N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:AEG).

What have hedge funds been doing with AEGON N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:AEG)?

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 6 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a decline of 14% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital has the largest position in AEGON N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:AEG), worth close to $9 million, corresponding to less than 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Arrowstreet Capital’s heels is John Overdeck and David Siegel of Two Sigma Advisors, with a $1.3 million position; less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining professional money managers with similar optimism comprise David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

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