Pointing to its "significant U.S. shareholder base" of more than 20% of its total shareholders, U.K.-based insurer Aviva plc announced it will list on the New York Stock Exchange.

The move, which will take effect on Oct. 20, will also strengthen the group's prospects in the long-term savings sector in the United States, Aviva said.

Aviva believes the New York listing "gives shareholders and easier and cheaper way to do business," said Hayley Stimpson, Aviva's external affairs director. "It also allows us to access shareholders who can't at the moment hold Aviva shares."

Stimpson noted that some U.S. pension funds, for instance, are not allowed to own non-U.S. shares.

"The U.S. is a strategically important market for Aviva, whether you look at it from a customer or a shareholder perspective," Stimpson said in a telephone interview. "And I think it's reflective of the fact that Aviva really is an increasingly global business."

While Aviva expects its U.S. shareholder base to increase, Stimpson said, it has no target in mind. "The bulk of our shareholder base is U.K. and Europe," she said.

Asked if a New York listing would make Aviva less British, Stimpson said, "Our roots are very firmly here in the U.K." But Aviva, she added, also has a growing profile in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Stimpson, who described the mechanics of the listing as "relatively smooth," suggested, in answer to a question, that Aviva was not deterred from a U.S. listing by any concerns over potential regulatory burdens of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Preparations for the listing, she said, were conducted within Aviva's efforts to improve its global financial structures, which will bring "with it over time Sarbanes-Oxley compliance."

Stimpson said Aviva was "a relatively small player" in the United States until the 2006 acquisition of Iowa-based AmerUs Group Co., with its presence in the long-term savings market in the United States.

That acquisition, worth $2.9 billion (1.96 billion euros at present rates of exchange) brought a big increase in Aviva's profile in the U.S. life market. In a statement issued at the time of the deal, Philip Scott, executive director of Aviva International, said: "In a single step, this provides a platform for significant growth in the U.S. while becoming the fourth-largest life business in the Aviva group" (BestWire, Nov. 16, 2006).

Since the AmerUs acquisition, Aviva's "shareholder base in the U.S. has gradually increased," Stimpson said. She is based in London.

Andrew Moss, group chief executive, called the listing "a natural step." The present level of share ownership in the United States is likely to rise, Moss said.

"The U.S. is a strategically important market for Aviva," Moss said in a statement. "It is the largest savings market in the world and represents a significant growth opportunity for us over the long term."

Aviva, which describes itself as the fifth-largest insurance group in the world, said the necessary authorization for the listing has come from the New York Stock Exchange. The planned listing has also been registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The group will use the ticker symbol "AV."

The listing, which will not involve the issuance of new ordinary shares, will be done through a level 2 American Depositary Receipt structure created in cooperation with Citibank.