Aflac Incorporated Creates Asset Management Subsidiaries; Aflac Global Investments to Continue as Investment Division

COLUMBUS, Ga., Jan. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) announced today the establishment of its new subsidiary Aflac Asset Management LLC (branded as Aflac Global Investments) as part of the broader conversion of the Aflac Japan branch to a subsidiary, which is expected to take place as early as April 1, 2018. Eric M. Kirsch has been named president of Aflac Asset Management LLC, while continuing to serve in his role as executive vice president and global chief investment officer. Additionally, the company created a subsidiary of Aflac Asset Management LLC called Aflac Asset Management Japan Ltd. Hideto Yamamoto has been named president of Aflac Asset Management Japan Ltd., while continuing to serve in his role as senior vice president and chief investment officer of Aflac Japan, reporting to Eric Kirsch.

Aflac Global Investments will maintain its organizational structure and continue in its role within Aflac as the entity that manages the general account investment portfolios of Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. 

Commenting on the announcement, Aflac Incorporated Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Frederick J. Crawford said: "The expertise, knowledge and leadership that has guided Aflac Global Investments over the last six years has been very instrumental in shaping the success of Aflac over this period. The creation of these asset management subsidiaries further enables Eric, Yamamoto-san and the entire Aflac Global Investments team to continue managing the portfolios of Aflac's subsidiaries and delivering the high level of service that benefits Aflac and all our constituents."

ABOUT AFLAC
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For more than six decades, Aflac insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite. Through its trailblazing One Day Pay^SM initiative, Aflac U.S. can receive, process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims in one business day. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac insurance products help provide protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. For 11 consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. In 2017, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the 19th consecutive year and in 2017 included Aflac on its list of Most Admired Companies for the 16th time. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac and One Day Pay^SM, visit aflac.com or aflac.com/espanol.

Analyst and investor contact – David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667;
FAX: 706.324.6330 or dyoung@aflac.com

Media contact – Catherine H. Blades, 706.596.3014; FAX: 706.320.2288 or cblades@aflac.com

Forward-looking Information
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. We desire to take advantage of these provisions. This report contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other statements made by Company officials in communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may," "should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes," "potential," "target", "outlook" or similar words as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. We caution readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements: difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy; exposure to significant interest rate risk; concentration of business in Japan;  foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate; failure to execute or implement the conversion of the Japan branch conversion to a legal subsidiary; limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments; deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions; ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems; governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets; interruption in telecommunication, information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems; ongoing changes in our industry; failure to comply with restrictions on patient privacy and information security; extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities; defaults and credit downgrades of our investments; ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates and employees; decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions; subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to Aflac Incorporated; decreases in our financial strength or debt ratings;  inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures; concentration of our investments in any particular single-issuer or sector; differing judgments applied to investment valuations; ability to effectively manage key executive succession; significant valuation judgments in determination of amount of impairments taken on our investments; catastrophic events including, but not necessarily limited to, epidemics, pandemics, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism and damage incidental to such events; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese accounting standards; loss of consumer trust resulting from events external to our operations; increased expenses and reduced profitability resulting from changes in assumptions for pension and other postretirement benefit plans; level and outcome of litigation; failure of internal controls or corporate governance policies and procedures; and other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in Aflac Incorporated's filings with the SEC.

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SOURCE Aflac Incorporated