Principal Financial Group 2009 Annual Report Download - page 20

inVESTinG FOR THE FuTuRE
Principal Financial Group, Inc.
n Personal view of health savings account potential –
Our new online tool helps determine eligibility, calculate
contribution maximums and estimate potential savings/
future account values for those considering a health savings
account as an alternative to traditional health insurance.
n New support services for group life beneficiaries –
Life insurance provides financial protection and possibly
a legacy for heirs, but beneficiaries are often left with
emotional and financial challenges after losing a loved
one. Our group life insurance now offers a wide range
of beneficiary services including access to grief support,
financial assistance and will preparation services.
n Flexible protection and greater cash accumulation
potential – The Principal introduced new ways for
customers to battle uncertain markets. Principal Universal
Life FlexSM offers clients both flexible protection
and greater cash accumulation potential in one product.
n Affordable administration – In 2009 we improved
productivity and efficiency in our Health claim and call
centers. This generated a 20-25 percent improvement in
productivity without affecting quality metrics.

n Expanded target date funds offering – At the end of
2009 we began offering our Principal TrustSM Target
Date Collective Investment Trust funds to the smaller
plan retirement market, after introducing them to the
large plan market in 2008. Principal TrustSM Target Date
Funds complement our Principal LifeTime Portfolios.
n Global diversified income fund – To address the need for
diversified income in retirement, we launched The
Principal Global Diversified Income Fund. Designed to
complement more traditional yield-producing investments,
it uses a multi-manager, multi-disciplined approach.
n Asset allocation products – The Principal continues
to offer one of the most robust suites of asset allocation
products. In the United States, Principal Funds is the
fifth-largest manager of lifecycle funds in the industry1.
Principal International has expanded its asset allocation
products to Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Malaysia.
In Brazil, assets under management for these products
total more than $1.6 billion. In Malaysia, our offerings
include Shariah-compliant target date funds.
n Demonstrating investment expertise in India – Principal
Emerging Bluechip, a midcap equity fund, returned 147
percent in 2009 compared to its benchmark of 99 percent.
This puts it in the first percentile in a category of 172
funds. We launched this fund in India amid economic
turbulence, demonstrating our confidence in a market
rebound and the long-term viability of the fund. Our
flagship Large Capital Equity fund was also a top performer.
n FDIC protection on CDs – Customers of Principal Bank®
now have access to multi-million dollar FDIC protection
on certificate of deposit investments (CDs). Through
the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service®
(CDARS®) network, Principal Bank can spread deposits
among FDIC-insured banks, allowing customers to manage
all their funds through one portfolio at Principal Bank.
n Tiered money market IRA – Principal Bank introduced a
tiered money market IRA, offering customers with qualified
money the opportunity to earn more with tiered rates—
as their balance grows their rate can grow, too.

n Tools for advisors – We introduced mobile applications
to give advisors ready access to their book of business
with The Principal. And improvements to our
Retirement Dashboard provide access to more detailed
information, making it easier to manage their business.
n Building advisor relationships – A new internal system
enables us to consolidate data on advisors we work
with—so we can have a clear view of our relationship
with each advisor across product lines. This allows
employees in advisor-facing roles to quickly and more
easily meet advisors’ needs.
n Electronic signature – We implemented state-of-the-art
e-signature technology across the organization. It makes
doing business with The Principal easier, decreases
expenses and reduces the time to open accounts—
all while meeting legal and regulatory requirements.
n Driving down costs/Benefiting the environment –
Throughout 2009 we used technology to help significantly
reduce costs. In many cases, there was an environmental
benefit as well. Examples include making changes to our
printing standards to use less paper and virtualization of
our servers, which helps to reduce our carbon footprint.
the principal financial group
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1FRC Mutual Fund Lifecycle Report 4Q09