Principal Financial Group 2010 Annual Report Download - page 20

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PROVIDING GREATER INVESTMENT CHOICE
n Expanded fund series – Principal Funds launched the
Principal Diversified Real Asset Fund to help investors
manage the impact of inflation on purchasing power and
further diversify portfolios. It’s the second in a series of
funds designed to help financial professionals build more
reliable retirement-income portfolios for their clients.
n “Do-it-myself”฀asset฀allocation฀alternative฀– RetireViewSM,
a new “do-it-myself” educational asset allocation service
from The Principal, empowers plan sponsors – with help
from their financial advisors – to select and monitor
the investment options that can help meet the diverse
needs of their retirement plan participants.
n Asset allocation products – The Principal continues to
enhance its robust suite of asset allocation products.
In the United States, Principal Funds is the fifth-largest
manager of lifecycle funds in the industry according to
Financial Research Corporation. Principal International
has expanded its asset allocation products to Brazil,
Chile, Malaysia and Mexico.
EXPANDING OUR GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
n Extended joint venture with Banco do Brasil – In April,
The Principal and Banco do Brasil signed a definitive
agreement to extend our pension and long-term asset
accumulation joint venture in Brazil. Under the terms,
BrasilPrev Seguros e Previdência S.A. will have the
exclusive right to manufacture and distribute products
within the Banco do Brasil network for 23 years.
n New฀China฀Qualied฀Domestic฀Institutional฀Investor฀
฀ (QDII)฀Fund฀– During 2010 we became one of a select
group authorized by the Chinese government to offer
this product. Through the QDII fund, Chinese investors
are able to invest in international securities. The fund
is issued by CCB Principal Asset Management, and
the majority of these assets are managed by Principal
Global Investors.
n Successful launch of Principal Smart Equity Fund in India –
This unique all-weather equity scheme invests in equity
and fixed income securities (depending on the current
market valuations) and automatically rebalances to
equities when valuations are low and to fixed income as
equity valuations rise.
n Expanding reach in southeast Asia – The acquisition
of an asset management firm in Thailand by CIMB-
Principal Malaysia further strengthens our position
in southeast Asia, and we continue to be a significant
asset manager in the ASEAN market.
ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS
n Principal.com enhancements – Our retirement participant
and plan sponsor websites have better navigation,
easy-to-understand language and new charts and graphs.
Both sites continue to receive high satisfaction scores, and
the participant website was ranked #1 by 401(k) plan
participants in a 2010 Boston Research Group study.
n Expanded mobile planning tools – Two new mobile
planning tools, the From Here to SecuritySM disability
income calculator and life insurance calculator, help
individuals assess and understand their needs for life
and disability income insurance.
n Continued steps to protect against cyber risk – The Principal
takes its responsibility to protect customer information
very seriously. In 2010, we added more authentication
steps to the customer login process to further validate
a person’s identity without compromising ease of
doing business.
RESEARCHING TRENDS/BENCHMARKING EXCELLENCE
n Workplace benefits – Our annual search for The Principal®
10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security
highlights best practices in employee benefits.
n Financial well-being – For 11 years The Principal Financial
Well-Being Index® has identified trends in consumer
financial well-being, retirement planning, employee
benefits and workplace trends on a quarterly basis.
n Retirement confidence – Conducted by the Employee
Benefit Research Institute and sponsored by The
Principal, the annual Retirement Confidence Survey
examines the attitudes and behavior of U.S. employees/
retirees toward all aspects of long-term financial security.
n 403(b) trends – This research from the Profit Sharing/
401k Council of America, sponsored by The Principal,
shows that sponsors of 403(b) plans took important steps
forward in managing their plans over the past three
years — despite a grueling economy and sweeping
new regulation.
INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE
Principal Financial Group, Inc.
THE PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP