Principal Financial Group
A United States-based global financial services company providing retirement, insurance, investment-management, and related employer-benefit solutions.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Principal Financial Group, Inc. is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The company traces its origins to Bankers Life Insurance Company, established in 1879 by Des Moines bankers including Edward Temple, Simon Casady, and Phineas M. Casady. It developed from an insurance enterprise into a diversified provider of retirement plans, investment management, insurance, employee benefits, and related financial solutions. Principal's business is organized around four broad areas: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and Benefits & Protection. Its retirement activities serve employers and individuals through workplace plans, including defined-contribution and pension arrangements, as well as executive deferred-compensation, employee stock ownership, and trust-related services. The investment-management business serves institutional and individual clients with portfolio-management and investment solutions. Benefits and protection activities include insurance and employee-benefit products, while international operations extend the company's activities beyond the United States. A significant part of Principal's expansion has come through acquisitions and business combinations. In 2019, it acquired Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust business for $1.2 billion, adding workplace-retirement, pension, executive-compensation, employee-stock-ownership-plan, and advisory capabilities. In 2024, Principal agreed to acquire Ascensus's employee stock ownership plan business, a transaction expected to add approximately 800 plans and more than 165,000 participants. Principal is publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol PFG. The company has maintained a substantial presence in Des Moines, where it owns or operates several downtown properties, including the 801 Grand building. It also has international operations and a global delivery center, Principal Global Services, in Pune, India. According to company information cited in the subject's reference material, Principal employed approximately 18,600 people worldwide in 2021, including about 7,100 outside the United States. The brand has used community sponsorship and place-based marketing to reinforce its Des Moines identity. Principal holds naming rights for Principal Riverwalk, Principal Park, and The Principal Charity Classic. From 2005 through 2015, the company used the character Eddie as the central figure in a widely recognized advertising campaign. Eddie was depicted using the company's financial expertise, represented by the Principal Edge logo, to address personal, business, and everyday financial challenges. The character was retired before Principal introduced a new corporate logo in 2016. Principal has also experienced governance and leadership changes. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed a stake in 2021 and advocated changes at the company. Discussions with Elliott were followed by the announcement of two new independent directors. In January 2025, Deanna Strable became president and chief executive officer, succeeding Dan Houston, who became executive chair of the board. Principal therefore combines a long-established insurance heritage with a contemporary business centered on retirement security, asset management, workplace benefits, and protection products.
History
Principal Financial Group began in Des Moines in 1879 as Bankers Life Insurance Company. The enterprise was established by prominent local bankers, including Edward Temple, Simon Casady, and Phineas M. Casady, with Temple serving as president and Phineas Casady as vice president. Its initial identity was rooted in life insurance and financial protection, but over time the organization broadened its activities as employers and households demanded more integrated retirement, investment, and benefit services. The modern Principal organization is the result of this expansion beyond traditional insurance. Its activities came to encompass workplace retirement plans, pension services, investment management, insurance, employee benefits, and international financial services. The company now describes its principal operating areas through four segments: Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and Benefits & Protection. This structure reflects the company's evolution into a diversified financial institution serving individuals, businesses, institutions, and clients in multiple countries. Principal's retirement business has been strengthened through acquisitions. In 2019, the company purchased Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust business for $1.2 billion. The acquired activities included 401(k) and other workplace-retirement arrangements, pension services, executive deferred compensation, employee stock ownership plans, and asset-advice capabilities. The transaction expanded Principal's institutional retirement platform and increased its reach among employer-sponsored plan clients. In 2021, Elliott Investment Management became an activist shareholder in Principal and called for changes at the company. The engagement resulted in discussions and the announcement of two new independent directors in February of that year. The episode illustrated the governance pressures faced by large public financial-services companies, particularly those balancing insurance operations, retirement businesses, investment management, capital allocation, and shareholder expectations. Leadership and risk-management responsibilities also changed during this period. In 2020, Principal announced that Ken McCullum would become chief risk officer after Julia Lawler's retirement. In January 2025, Deanna Strable succeeded Dan Houston as president and chief executive officer. Houston became executive chair of the board, while Strable brought continuity from her prior service as president and chief operating officer. Principal has retained a strong civic and physical presence in Des Moines. It owns or operates multiple downtown buildings, including 801 Grand, a 45-story, 192-meter tower that also accommodates other companies. The company operates internationally, with employees outside the United States and a global delivery center, Principal Global Services, in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Principal also holds naming rights for Principal Riverwalk, Principal Park, and The Principal Charity Classic, linking its corporate identity to local public spaces, sports, and community activity. The company's consumer-facing brand changed over time. From 2005 to 2015, its advertising centered on Eddie, a character who used the Principal Edge logo to resolve financial, business, and everyday problems. Eddie was retired in 2015 as the company prepared for a new logo introduced in 2016. The campaign helped translate a complex financial-services proposition into a recurring, accessible advertising narrative. Today, Principal remains an active publicly traded financial-services company. Its business combines the long-term obligations and risk disciplines of insurance with retirement-plan administration, investment management, workplace benefits, and international operations. Its historical trajectory is therefore one of transformation from a nineteenth-century life insurer into a diversified global provider of retirement and financial-security solutions.
- 2025
Deanna Strable becomes chief executive
[1]Deanna Strable succeeds Dan Houston as president and chief executive officer; Houston becomes executive chair.
- 2024
Ascensus ESOP business acquisition agreement
[1]Principal agrees to acquire Ascensus's employee stock ownership plan business, expected to add approximately 800 plans and more than 165,000 participants.
- 2021
Elliott engages with Principal
[1]Activist investor Elliott Investment Management takes a stake and presses for changes; Principal later announces two new independent directors.
- 2020
Ken McCullum named chief risk officer
[1]Ken McCullum is selected as chief risk officer following Julia Lawler's retirement.
- 2019
Wells Fargo institutional retirement acquisition
[1]Principal agrees to purchase Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust business for $1.2 billion.
- 2016
New corporate logo debuts
[1]Principal introduces a new logo after the retirement of its Eddie advertising character.
- 2015
Eddie is retired
[1]The company retires the Eddie character ahead of a corporate logo change.
- 2005
Eddie campaign begins
[1]Principal introduces Eddie as the central character in a long-running television and print advertising campaign.
- 1879
Bankers Life Insurance Company is founded
[1]The company that became Principal Financial Group is established in Des Moines by bankers including Edward Temple, Simon Casady, and Phineas M. Casady.
Products and positioning
A global retirement, investment-management, insurance, and employee-benefits provider focused on financial security for individuals, employers, institutions, and international clients.
Retirement services
Retirement and Income Solutions
Principal's retirement platform serves employers and individuals through workplace retirement plans, pension arrangements, and related income solutions. It also supports institutional retirement administration and advisory activities, helping plan sponsors manage contributions, participants, distributions, and long-term retirement outcomes.
Institutional financial services · 2019
Institutional retirement and trust services
These services include administration and support for 401(k) plans, pensions, executive deferred-compensation programs, employee stock ownership plans, and related trust and advisory functions. Principal expanded this offering through its 2019 acquisition of Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust business.
Asset management
Principal Global Investors
Principal Global Investors represents the company's investment-management activities for institutional and other clients. The platform provides portfolio-management and investment solutions as part of Principal's broader retirement and financial-security proposition.
Insurance and employee benefits
Benefits & Protection
The Benefits & Protection business covers insurance and employee-benefit solutions intended to help individuals and employers manage financial risks. Offerings include life insurance and related protection products, although the exact product range varies by market and distribution channel.
Employee ownership services · 2019
Employee stock ownership plan services
Principal provides administration and related services for employee stock ownership plans. The business was strengthened through the 2019 Wells Fargo transaction and the 2024 agreement to acquire Ascensus's ESOP business.
International financial services
Principal International
Principal International represents the company's operations outside the United States. It extends retirement, investment, insurance, and protection capabilities into selected global markets and is supported by international employees and operating infrastructure.
Marketing campaigns
- 2005Eddie
United States
Principal used Eddie as the lead character in television and print advertisements. The character encountered financial, business, and ordinary-life problems and used the Principal Edge logo as a visual device for finding solutions.
Outcome. The campaign ran through 2015, when Eddie was retired ahead of a new corporate logo introduced in 2016.
Brand decisions
2025
Chief executive successionOtherBackground
Principal conducted a planned leadership transition from Dan Houston.
Action taken
Deanna Strable became president and chief executive officer, while Houston became executive chair of the board.
Aftermath
The transition preserved senior leadership continuity while assigning day-to-day executive leadership to Strable.
2024
Agreement to acquire Ascensus's ESOP businessM&ABackground
Principal sought to expand its employee stock ownership plan administration and participant base.
Action taken
The company agreed to acquire the ESOP business from Ascensus.
Aftermath
The transaction was expected to add approximately 800 plans and more than 165,000 participants to Principal's book of business.
2021
Response to Elliott Investment Management engagementStrategyBackground
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management took a stake in Principal and said it would push for changes.
Action taken
Principal engaged with Elliott, followed by the February announcement of two new independent directors.
Aftermath
The board composition changed as the company addressed the activist investor's concerns.
2019
Purchase of Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust businessM&ABackground
Principal sought to expand its institutional retirement, trust, and workplace-plan capabilities.
Action taken
The company agreed to acquire the business for $1.2 billion, financed with cash and senior debt financing.
Aftermath
The transaction added 401(k), pension, executive deferred-compensation, employee stock ownership plan, and asset-advice activities to Principal's platform.
Transaction value. $1.2 billion (2019 transaction announcement)
Recent events
HSA Bank and Principal announce customer account integration[3]
Reported:
HSA Bank announced a new relationship with Principal Financial Group to let customers view their HSA Bank Health Savings Account balances alongside retirement plan information. The collaboration uses an account integration customers can authorize.
Yiren Wealth and Principal sign strategic cooperation agreement[4]
Reported:
Yiren Wealth and Principal signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Principal is to provide financial services in retirement, asset management and insurance solutions.
Sources5 sources
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