Achmea selects F&C's reo® programme for € 1.5 billion of its assets under management

F&C Asset Management plc (F&C) and Achmea N.V. will work together in the field of shareholder engagement, as of 1-1-2006

Achmea, an operating company of Eureko B.V., is a leading financial services provider in The Netherlands and offers businesses, institutions and consumers a broad range of insurance, pension, banking and mortgage products.

Headquartered in London, F&C also operates out of Amsterdam and several other European centres.

Both Achmea and F&C place high value on socially responsible business practice.

Achmea has developed a code of conduct in this area, stating not only its business principles in terms of staff, society and the environment, and other stakeholders, but also its key principles for running its business. In order to explore further its code of conduct in its role as an institutional investor, Achmea has purchased F&C’s responsible engagement overlay programme (reo®).

In 1999, F&C launched reo® the world's first shareholder engagement service, which is applied to all equity assets managed by F&C (€ 60 billion). It is also available as a free-standing service for pension funds and other institutional investors.

The objective of reo® is to use the influence that F&C has through its share ownership, and that of its clients, to encourage companies in which it invests to enhance their business performance by adopting better corporate governance, ethical , social, and environmental practices.

Henk Breukink, Country Head and Director at F&C Netherlands B.V. said: “Our appointment by Achmea to provide reo ® for €1.5 billion of its assets under management clearly endorses our approach to corporate engagement and we are delighted to be working with them. Boycotts or blacklists do not appeal to everyone and F&C believes that it can better serve its clients, and protect the value of their shareholdings, through sustained and constructive dialogue with companies. This includes judicious and transparent use of its votes, thereby ensuring that companies respond prudently to the expectations of shareholders and other stakeholders.”

Otto Veldt, Group Director Corporate Investment at Eureko/ Achmea, said: “ reo®, through constructive engagement with our investor companies is a practical and effective way of implementing socially responsible investment (SRI) and corporate governance policy. Participating in reo® is a part of taking seriously our respon sibilities as an institutional shareholder. Achmea believes that implementing SRI and corporate governance policy does not only follow from shareholder responsibility towards society, but also enhances the durability of companies in which we invest, and thus provides the best long-term return on investments, which we owe to our policy-holders and clients”.

Press Enquiries

Jason Hollands
Director, Head Communications, F&C Asset Management plc
+44 (0)20 7506 1168

Deborah James
Senior Communications Manager, F&C Asset Management plc
+44 (0)20 7770 5222

Lorrie Morgan
Group Director Corporate Communications, Eureko B.V.
+31 (0)30 693 7065

Notes to Editors

F&C Asset Management plc

• F&C Asset Management plc (F&C) was created on 11 October 2004 from the merger of F&C (Group Holdings) Limited and ISIS Asset Management plc.
• Shares in F&C are listed on the London Stock Exchange under the code FCAM. Friends Provident is the majority shareholder with a 51% stake in the F&C.
• F&C is a pan-European business managing €190.1 billion (as at 30 September 2005) for a diverse range of institutional, insurance and retail clients. F&C has offices in seven countries: France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, UK and United States.
• F&C is a top five UK fund manager by assets under management and ranks amongst the top ten managers of institutional pension funds across Europe. F&C is a leading provider of fund services to the Portuguese and German retail markets.
• F&C has a major presence in the UK retail market with strength in corporate bonds, UK and European equities, multi-manager and ethical funds.
• F&C is a major force in the UK investment trust industry. The flagship Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust was the first such trust, launched in 1868, and remains the largest of its kind.
• F&C is the leading European socially responsible investor through its reo® (responsible engagement overlay) service and the Stewardship suite of ethically screened funds, the oldest retail ethical funds in the UK.
• F&C, though its partnership with ISIS Equity Partners LLP, is a leading supplier of Venture Capital Trusts under the Baronsmead brand.
• F&C is a top five manager of UK commercial property.

EUREKO B .V.

• Eureko B.V. is a privately-owned, financial services Group, registered in Utrecht, The Netherlands, whose core business is insurance, and which has operations in ten European countries. Eureko has evolved from an alliance of like-minded, independent insurance companies with reciprocal goals, to its position as a much broader group with a number of operating companies which it either owns outright, or in which it has significant holdings.
• The Eureko Group offers a full range of insurance – Life and Non-Life – and pension products, as well as asset management and banking.
• Eureko’s philosophy is to create an integrated, pan-European group, consisting of market leaders in the territories in which its companies operate, providing, ‘local solutions, shared goals’. Each of its Operating Companies has strong, dominant brands; they know their local markets intimately, and are customer-focused. It is this local expertise, along with the backing of a strong European Group and the sharing of skills and experience throughout the Group which is the corner-stone of Eureko’s values. The Operating Companies retain their own names, as brand recognition in their territories is very strong.
• The Eureko Group is rated “A+“ by Standard & Poor´s (financial strength rating).
• Eureko´s ambitions are to expand its European insurance activities, increasing its presence in the markets where it is currently active and seeking to enter new markets which fit its investment criteria.
• Eureko has operations in the following countries (under the respective Operating Company brands):

In addition, Eureko has a company based in Warsaw (Eureko Polska) whose personnel are engaged in the development plans of Eureko’s shareholding in PZU, Poland.