Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Principal Financial (PFG):

• Like Prudential Financial, offering retirement, asset management, and various insurance products and services.
• A blend of Fidelity's retirement and investment services, with the comprehensive insurance offerings of MetLife.

• Retirement Plans and Services: Provides comprehensive solutions for defined contribution and defined benefit plans, individual retirement accounts, and pension risk transfer services.
• Asset Management: Offers diverse investment strategies across equities, fixed income, real estate, and alternative assets, along with asset allocation and structured investment products globally.
• Life Insurance: Delivers a variety of individual (universal, variable, indexed, term) and group life insurance products.
• Disability Insurance: Provides both group and individual disability income protection.
• Specialty Group Benefits: Includes group dental and vision insurance, along with administrative services for these benefits.
• Annuities: Offers individual variable annuities and income annuities designed for savings accumulation and retirement income.
• Executive Benefit Plans: Designs and administers nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, and equity compensation programs for businesses.

Major Customers of Principal Financial (PFG)

Principal Financial Group, Inc. serves a broad and diverse client base rather than having a few identifiable major customer companies. Its customer base can be categorized as follows:

• Businesses and Employers: This category includes small, medium, and large businesses that utilize Principal for employee benefits and retirement solutions. This involves offering defined contribution plans (such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans), defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, and pension risk transfer services. Additionally, Principal provides group insurance solutions like group dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, as well as insurance solutions tailored for small and medium-sized business owners and executives.
• Individuals: Principal serves individuals seeking personal financial planning and protection products. This includes individual retirement accounts (IRAs), mutual funds, individual variable annuities, and various individual life insurance products (universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance). It also provides voluntary savings plans in international markets.
• Institutional Clients: This segment primarily includes large entities such as pension funds, endowments, foundations, and other financial institutions worldwide. Principal provides them with comprehensive asset management services, offering expertise in equity, fixed income, real estate, other alternative investments, asset allocation, stable value management, and other structured investment strategies.

Deanna Strable, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer

Deanna Strable joined Principal Financial Group in 1990 as an actuarial assistant and progressed through various leadership roles. She served as chief financial officer from 2017 until August 2024, when she was named president and chief operating officer. Strable assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2025 and became Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer in September 2025. She was instrumental in leading business strategy and operations, including building the company's Benefits and Protection business.

Joel Pitz, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Joel Pitz joined Principal Financial Group in 1995. He was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer in May 2025, after serving as interim CFO from August 2024. Prior to this, Pitz was senior vice president and controller and also held the role of vice president and CFO for Principal International, overseeing global finance and strategy for its emerging market operations.

Amy C. Friedrich, President, Benefits and Protection

Amy Friedrich joined Principal Financial Group in 2000, initially in a performance improvement role for Corporate Strategic Development. She moved into the specialty benefits division in 2004, holding various leadership positions, including second vice president in 2006 and vice president of group benefits in 2008, where she led the segment to achieve above-industry growth. She assumed her current position as President of Benefits and Protection in 2017. Before joining Principal, she worked in change management for Accenture.

Kamal Bhatia, President and CEO, Principal Asset Management

Kamal Bhatia joined Principal in August 2019 as President for Principal Funds. Prior to his time at Principal, he served as president at OC Private Capital, a joint venture between Oppenheimer Funds and the Carlyle Group, focusing on private credit investing. He has extensive experience in investment solutions, client engagement, and product development from previous leadership roles at OppenheimerFunds, TIAA, Mellon Asset Management, and Citigroup.

Luis Valdés, President, Principal International

Luis Valdés is the President of Principal International. No further detailed background information is available in the provided sources.

1. Market Volatility, Interest Rate Fluctuations, and Economic Downturns: As a global financial services company, Principal Financial Group is highly susceptible to adverse conditions in capital and credit markets. Economic downturns and significant market volatility can lead to a decline in assets under management (AUM), reduced revenues, and compressed profit margins. Changes in interest rates or credit spreads, including a prolonged low-interest-rate environment, can also negatively impact the company's financial results, condition, and liquidity.
2. Net Outflows and Intense Competition: Principal Financial Group has experienced net outflows in its fee-based businesses, particularly within its Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS) and Principal Asset Management segments. If these outflows continue, they could significantly impact the company's AUM and, consequently, its fee-based revenue, making it challenging to meet growth targets and maintain market share. The company also faces ongoing competitive pressure from both established financial institutions and new market entrants, along with fee pressure and competitive pricing in its benefits segment, which can challenge profit margins.
3. Regulatory Changes: The financial services industry, in which Principal Financial Group operates, is subject to continuous and evolving regulatory oversight. Changes in regulations across its core markets and segments, including retirement, asset management, and insurance, could lead to increased compliance costs, require adjustments to business models, or impact product offerings and profitability.

Retirement and Income Solutions (U.S.)

• The total U.S. retirement assets market was valued at $48.1 trillion as of September 30, 2025.
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) held $18.9 trillion in assets at the end of the third quarter of 2025.
• Defined Contribution (DC) plan assets, which include 401(k) and 403(b) plans, totaled $13.9 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025.
  • Within DC plans, 401(k) plans accounted for $10.0 trillion.
  • 403(b) plans held $875 billion.
• Defined Benefit (DB) plans held $12.6 trillion in assets at the end of the third quarter of 2025, comprising $9.5 trillion in government plans and $3.1 trillion in private-sector plans.
• U.S. individual annuity sales reached a new record of $461.3 billion in 2025. Traditional variable annuities, a component of individual annuities, had sales of $65.2 billion in 2025.

Principal Global Investors (Asset Management)

• The global asset management industry's assets under management (AuM) reached a record-breaking $128 trillion in 2024. North America held the dominant share, at 47.00% in 2025.

Principal International

• The global pension funds market was estimated at $68.3 trillion in 2025. North America commanded 70.65% of global pension assets in 2025.
• In Asia, the largest pension market is Japan, with $3.39 trillion in assets in 2025, followed by China ($996 billion), India ($454 billion), and Hong Kong ($279 billion). Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region in the global pension funds market.
• In Latin America, pension funds across countries like Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay represented $822 billion in total assets under management as of November 2021. Brazil's closed pension funds system held $247 billion in assets.

U.S. Insurance Solutions

• The U.S. individual life insurance market generated $16.2 billion in total premiums paid in 2024. For the first nine months of 2025, new annualized premium for U.S. individual life insurance totaled $12.8 billion.
• The U.S. group life insurance market was sized at $145.67 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to $160.64 billion in 2026. Another estimate places the U.S. group life insurance market at $174.74 billion in 2024, projected to grow to $193.09 billion in 2025.
• The U.S. disability insurance market was valued at $20.2 billion in 2025. The U.S. group level disability insurance market is expected to reach $49.31 billion by 2030. Individual disability insurance sales premiums exceeded $5.4 billion in 2024.
• The U.S. dental insurance market was valued at $97.97 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach approximately $209.46 billion by 2034.
• Information specific to the U.S. group vision insurance market size was not found.

1. Expanding Retirement and Income Solutions with a Focus on SMBs and Product Innovation: Principal Financial aims to capitalize on the expanding global retirement market by enhancing its retirement solutions. This includes targeting a 10% increase in its Small and Medium-sized Business (SMB) client base by 2025, through cross-selling 401(k) plans, group benefits, and executive compensation to underserved businesses. Additionally, product innovations like "Principal Evolve," which offers flexible retirement solutions for gig workers and micro-businesses, are expected to contribute to growth.
2. Strategic International Expansion in Emerging Markets: The company is strategically expanding its presence in emerging markets, particularly in Latin America and Asia. Key markets include Brazil (through Brasilprev), Chile, and Mexico, where Principal Financial is scaling operations to meet demand from mandatory pension systems. This geographic expansion is crucial for accessing new customer bases and leveraging long-term growth potential in these regions.
3. Growth in Principal Asset Management, Emphasizing Alternative Investments: Principal Asset Management is a significant driver, with a strategic goal to increase alternative investments to 15% of total Assets Under Management (AUM) by the end of 2026. This diversification includes allocations to private credit and real estate, aiming to enhance the company's investment strategy and revenue streams.
4. Leveraging Technology and Distribution Initiatives for Enhanced Reach and Efficiency: Principal Financial is investing in technology and distribution initiatives to reach fragmented markets and improve digital servicing for SMBs and international clients. These efforts, including partnerships with fintech companies, are designed to support expansion initiatives and boost overall efficiency.
5. Strategic Acquisitions and Continued Investment in Core Businesses: The company's growth strategy involves strategic acquisitions, such as the 2024 acquisition of Ascensus's ESOP business, which bolstered its position in key market segments. Principal Financial also continues to invest in its foundational businesses, including retirement solutions and asset management, to strengthen its core offerings and market presence.

Share Repurchases

• Principal Financial Group completed share repurchases totaling $1.50 billion across previously announced buyback programs in 2025.
• The company's annual share buybacks were approximately $902.7 million in 2025, $1.042 billion in 2024, and $740.4 million in 2023.
• In full year 2024, Principal Financial Group returned $1.7 billion of capital to shareholders, which included $1.0 billion of share repurchases.

Share Issuance

• Principal Financial's shares outstanding declined by 4.08% to 0.226 billion in 2025 from 2024.
• Shares outstanding decreased by 3.8% to 0.235 billion in 2024 from 2023.
• Shares outstanding saw a 4.19% decline to 0.245 billion in 2023 from 2022.

Outbound Investments

• Principal Financial Group is acquiring DentaNet, the largest dental provider network in Alabama, to expand its dental and specialty benefits reach.