Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) is an American global financial

investment management Investment management (sometimes referred to more generally as financial asset management) is the professional asset management of various Security (finance), securities, including shareholdings, Bond (finance), bonds, and other assets, such as r ...

and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

company headquartered in Des Moines,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, United States.

History

PFG was first founded under the name Bankers Life Insurance Company. Bankers Life Insurance Company was founded by wealthy Des Moines bankers, including Edward Temple, Simon Casady, and Phineas M. Casady. The bank was founded in 1879 with Temple as president and Phineas Casady as vice president.

Business operations

Four segments comprise the company: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and Benefits & Protection. The company employs roughly 9,000 people in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, and owns and operates several buildings in the downtown area. The tallest, known as 801 Grand, is 45 stories tall (192m/630 ft), and houses many other companies in addition to Principal. As of March 2014, Principal employed 14,600 employees worldwide, with its Global Delivery center, Principal Global Services, in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Principal also has a lobbyist registered in the Iowa Legislature since December 2016. He is designated to lobby the Executive Branch of the Government of Iowa. In 2019, Principal purchased Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust business (including 401k, pension, executive deferred compensation, employee stock ownership plans and asset advice business) for $1.2 billion. The deal was financed with cash and senior debt financing. In 2021, activist investor firm Elliott Investment Management took a stake in Principal, saying it will push for changes at the company. Talks with Elliott resulted in the February 2021 announcement of two new independent directors to its board of directors. In 2024, Principal agreed to acquire the employee stock-option plan (ESOP) business from Ascensus. The transaction was expected to add 800 plans and over 165,000 participants to Principal's book of business.

Eddie

Eddie was the lead and central character in the marketing campaign of the Principal Financial Group from 2005 to 2015. Eddie's television and print ads often depicted him facing challenges and using the Principal Edge logo to solve his financial, business, and everyday life problems. Eddie retired in 2015 in preparation for the company's new logo that debuted in 2016.

Naming rights

Principal owns the naming rights to Principal Riverwalk, Principal Park and The Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines.

Management

On August 20, 2020, the company announced that Ken McCullum would become the new chief risk officer, following the retirement of Julia Lawler.

References

External links

The Principal Financial Group Official Website
{{Authority control, state=expanded Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies based in Des Moines, Iowa Financial services companies established in 1879 1879 establishments in Iowa Financial services companies of the United States Former mutual insurance companies Life insurance companies of the United States Asset management companies