Office address: 1201 Wills St, Baltimore, MD 21231; 6400 C St. SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52499 (statutory home office)
Website: transamerica.com
Year established: 1904
Company type: financial services
Employees: 6,100+
Expertise: retirement plans, mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, employee benefits, investment management, financial planning, workplace benefits, insurance claims, asset management
Parent company: Aegon
Key people: Will Fuller (CEO), Andrew Yorks (CIO), Matt Keppler (CFO), Bonnie Gerst (president, financial assets), Chris Giovanni (chief strategy and development officer), Todd Buchanan (president, World Financial Group), John McCrossan (chief risk officer)
Financing status: corporate-backed or acquired
Transamerica is a financial services company based in Baltimore, with a statutory home office in Cedar Rapids. The company serves over 10 million customers and manages $416 billion in revenue-generating investments. It offers retirement plans, mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, and employee benefits through a network of agents and financial professionals.
Transamerica’s story began in 1904, when Amadeo P. Giannini wanted to help people whom banks often ignored. The Bank of Italy opened in San Francisco to give small merchants and immigrant farmers a fair chance. After the 1906 earthquake, the bank offered loans from a makeshift desk on the docks, trusting people with just a handshake.
Giannini’s banking group expanded its reach in 1921 by supporting a bank for women that was staffed entirely by women. In 1928, the Bank of Italy became Bank of America.
The group soon formed Transamerica Corporation to acquire Occidental Life Insurance Company. By 1946, Bank of America was the world’s largest private bank. In 1956, new federal banking laws led the firm to focus on insurance and divest its banking operations.
In 1972, the firm made a mark on San Francisco with the Transamerica Pyramid, an 853-foot tower designed by William Pereira. The building soon stood out as a landmark in the city’s financial district and remains part of the company’s logo. Even though Transamerica no longer owns the building, it remains a symbol of the company’s history.
The company became part of Aegon, a global financial group, in 1999. Since then, the company has served over 10 million customers and has managed $416 billion in investments.
In 2023, it focused on helping middle-market Americans with life insurance and retirement solutions. Aiming to offer pooled retirement plans for employers seeking simple options, Transamerica partnered with SageView, an independent RIA, in 2024.
Transamerica’s investment-related offerings are available through several channels and are tailored for individuals, employers, and financial professionals:
Some of its offerings are supported by research from the Transamerica Institute, a nonprofit foundation funded by Transamerica affiliates. Their studies and insights help clients and advisors make informed financial and retirement decisions.
Transamerica states that it values diversity and inclusion through its workforce, workplace, and marketplace pillars. The company reports a culture that supports unique career paths, rewards accountability, and encourages work-life balance.
It says it also offers an environment focused on collaboration and helping people plan for the future. Employees have access to a range of benefits, including:
Building on its commitment to employees and communities, the company supports local and national causes through the Aegon Transamerica Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit that offers grants and matches employee donations. In 2024, it contributed over $8 million to help improve community well-being.
Will Fuller has been the president and CEO of Transamerica since 2021 and serves on the company’s Risk Committee. He has held senior leadership positions in financial services for 30 years, focusing on advocacy and education. Fuller earned a business and finance degree from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.
The executive team leads Transamerica’s strategy and daily operations with expertise in finance, investment, and risk management:
This team seeks to guide Transamerica’s strategy and daily management. Their leadership ensures the company’s goals and operations are aligned.
The firm, through its Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, released a national survey highlighting retirement challenges for all generations. The study shows that Americans of all ages face common obstacles when planning for retirement. Its research gives advisors and clients valuable data on savings habits, stress, and financial gaps.
Through the same research center, Transamerica also surveyed over 10,000 middle-class Americans about retirement readiness. It found that many people fall short on savings, lack written financial plans, and need more guidance at every age. These findings allow the firm to create solutions that address real gaps and help clients prepare for retirement.
NextCapital's digital platform to serve 401(k)s and rollovers for the firm.
The increase in contribution rates over the past few years has resulted in billions of dollars in additional retirement savings.
The increase in contribution rates over the past few years has resulted in billions of dollars in additional retirement savings.
After a seven-year bull market, few funds have offsetting losses to reduce those gains. Expect the biggest distributions from small-cap funds.
By picking up 883 Transamerica advisers and $25 billion in client assets, its Signator Investors B-D now has the scale to compete profitably in era of increased regulation and rising costs.
The broader brokerage industry grappled with a number of significant regulatory and market changes in the third quarter.
Providers such as MassMutual and Mercer have recently unveiled new services, part of a trend seeking to capitalize on disruption caused by the DOL fiduciary rule.
The primary reason: TDFs built on institutionally priced mutual fund shares or collective trusts can produce as low or lower fees than ETFs.
The wirehouse now joins a growing list of other financial-services companies sued for similar reasons.
Another financial services company has been targeted for costly proprietary investments in its 401(k) plan, leading to allegations of self-dealing at the expense of employees.
There already have been several suits over high fees, and a second front may be emerging over plan options.
Tight restrictions are placed on investment options in VAs with guaranteed income to reduce their risk. Returns have lagged as a result, frustrating advisers and investors.
Plaintiffs allege the asset management firm populated the retirement plan with proprietary investments for its own gain.
The retirement plan provider joins a list of other financial firms that have settled excessive-fee lawsuits with their own employees.
