Dutch insurance companies are moving away from shares because they are becoming too expensive, thanks to new solvency rules from Brussels, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday.

The new rules, due to come into effect in 2014, mean insurance firms have to keep more capital on their balance sheet to cover share investments.
So far, European insurance firms have sold billions of euros worth of shares. ING’s insurance arm, for example, has reduced its investment in shares from 7% to 5% of the total, while Aegon’s insurance unit has pulled out of shares altogether.
The paper bases its claim on interviews with asset managers. ‘We were itching to buy into new opportunities such as [cable company] Ziggo when it launched,’ Delta Lloyd director Alex Otto told the paper. ‘But we did not go for it because the new rules make it less attractive to invest in shares.’
Aegon said it had pulled out of shares because of the risks. ‘We would have to make a return on our share portfolio of 10% to 15% in order to meet the new capital rules,’ said Henk Eggens, European head of Aegon Asset Management. ‘But we don’t see that happening in the coming years.’