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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM  i 10-K

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For the transition period from    to   

Commission file number  i 1-16725

 i PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  i Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ◻  i No ⌧

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  i Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).  i Yes ⌧ No ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer “, “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.) Yes  i ☐ No ☒

As of January 31, 2020, there were outstanding  i 274,687,952 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share of the Registrant.

The aggregate market value of the shares of the Registrant's common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $ i 16.1 billion based on the closing price of $57.92 per share of Common Stock on June 28, 2019.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

The information required to be furnished pursuant to Part III of this Form 10-K is set forth in, and is hereby incorporated by reference herein from, the Registrant's definitive proxy statement for the annual meeting of stockholders to be held on May 19, 2020, to be filed by the Registrant with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after the year ended December 31, 2019.

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PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

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NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to trends in operations and financial results and the business and the products of the Registrant and its subsidiaries, as well as other statements including words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are made based upon management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.

Actual results may differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors listed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (“PFG”) is a leader in global investment management offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through our diverse family of financial services companies. We had $735.3 billion in assets under management (“AUM”) as of December 31, 2019.

Our global asset management businesses serve a broad range of investors worldwide. We provide long-term investment strategies to institutional, retirement, high net worth and retail clients by offering a range of capabilities including equity, fixed income, real estate and other alternative investments, as well as fund offerings.

In the U.S.,we offer a broad array of retirement and employee benefit solutions and individual insurance solutions to meet the needs of the business owner and their employees. We are a leading provider of corporate defined contribution plans. We are also a leading employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) consultant. In addition, we are a leading provider of nonqualified plans, defined benefit plans and plan termination annuities. We are also one of the largest providers of specialty benefits insurance product solutions. We believe small and medium-sized businesses are an underserved market, offering attractive growth opportunities in the retirement and employee benefit markets.

Additionally, we believe we have a significant opportunity to leverage our U.S. retirement expertise in select international markets that have adopted or are moving toward private sector defined contribution pension systems. Our international asset management and accumulation businesses focus on the opportunities created as aging populations around the world drive increased demand for retirement accumulation, retirement asset management and retirement income management solutions.

Our Reportable Segments

We organize our businesses into the following reportable segments:

We also have a Corporate segment, which consists of the assets and activities that have not been allocated to any other segment.

See Item 8. ‘‘Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 16, Segment Information’’ for financial results of our segments.

Retirement and Income Solutions Segment

Our asset accumulation activities in the U.S. date back to the 1940s when we first began providing pension plan products and services. We now offer a comprehensive portfolio of products and services for retirement savings and retirement income:

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We organize our Retirement and Income Solutions operations into two business groupings:

Retirement and Income Solutions — Fee

Full Service Accumulation

We offer a wide variety of investment and administrative products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans; defined benefit plans; nonqualified executive benefit plans and ESOPs.

Products

Full service accumulation products respond to the needs of plan sponsors seeking both administrative and investment services for defined contribution plans or defined benefit plans. The investment component of both the defined contribution and defined benefit plans may be in the form of a guaranteed account, separate account, a mutual fund offering or a collective investment trust. In addition, defined contribution plan sponsors may also offer their own employer securities as an investment option under the plan.

We deliver both administrative and investment services to our defined contribution plan and defined benefit plan customers through annuity contracts, collective investment trusts and mutual funds. Group annuity contracts and collective investment trusts used to fund qualified plans are not required to be registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our mutual fund service platform is called Principal Advantage. It is a qualified plan service package based on our series mutual fund, Principal Funds, Inc. (“PFI”). We offer investments covering the full range of stable value, equity, fixed income, real estate and international investment options managed by our Principal Global Investors segment as well as third party asset managers. In addition, full service accumulation offers plan sponsors trust services through an affiliated trust company.

As of December 31, 2019, excluding the Acquired Business, we provided full service accumulation products to (a) over 38,400 defined contribution plans including $236.2 billion in assets and covering 5.6 million eligible plan participants, and (b) to 2,000 defined benefit plans, including $21.6 billion in assets and covering over 334,000 eligible plan participants. As of December 31, 2019, approximately 47% of our full service accumulation account values were managed by our Principal Global Investors segment, 38% were managed entirely by the third party asset managers that were not under contract to sub-advise a PFG product, 8% were sub-advised and 7% represented employer securities.

Markets and Distribution

We offer our full service accumulation products and services to plans, including qualified and nonqualified defined contribution plans and defined benefit plans. These products and services are offered to all businesses with an emphasis on plans sponsored by small and medium-sized businesses, which we believe remains under-penetrated. We distribute our full service accumulation products and services nationally, primarily through a captive retirement services sales force. As of December 31, 2019, 81 retirement services sales representatives in 40 offices, operating as a wholesale distribution network, maintained relationships with over 12,700 independent advisors, consultants and agents. Retirement services sales representatives are an integral part of the sales process alongside the referring consultant or independent advisor. We compensate retirement services sales representatives through a blend of salary and production-based incentives, while we administer, on behalf of the plan, payments to independent advisors, consultants and agents a commission or fee.

As of December 31, 2019, we had a separate staff of over 230 service and education specialists located across the U.S. These specialists play a key role in the ongoing servicing of plans by providing local services to our customers, such as reviewing plan performance, investment options and plan design; communicating the customers' needs and feedback to us and helping employees understand the benefits of their plans. The following summarizes our distribution channels:

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We believe our approach to full service accumulation plan services distribution, which gives us a local sales and service presence, along with our offering of Total Retirement Suite differentiates us from many of our competitors. We have also established a number of marketing and distribution relationships to increase the sales of our products and services.

Institutional Retirement & Trust

Acquired July 1, 2019, the IRT business includes defined contribution, defined benefit, executive deferred compensation, employee stock ownership plans, institutional trust and custody and institutional asset advisory businesses. As of December 31, 2019, the IRT business had $898.2 billion in assets under administration, serviced by employees in five primary locations across the United States, along with locations in the Philippines and India, and covered approximately 4,600 plans and over 2.9 million recordkeeping participants. Throughout the next 18 months, we, along with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., will be working together to integrate staff and systems to support the migration of the IRT customers, which is expected to begin in late 2020 and continue into 2021. During this timeframe, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. will continue to service the customer base and operate under a transition services agreement. Once combined we will offer a range of capabilities to meet the needs of a broad array of customer segments with comprehensive retirement, trust and custody and discretionary asset allocation offerings.

Individual Variable Annuities

Individual variable annuities, which are savings vehicles through which the customer makes one or more deposits of varying amounts and intervals, are offered to individuals.

Products

Our individual variable deferred annuities provide customers with the flexibility to allocate their deposits to mutual funds managed by the Principal Global Investors segment or unaffiliated third party asset managers. As of December 31, 2019, 93% of our $10.1 billion in variable annuity account balances was allocated to mutual funds managed by the Principal Global Investors segment and our guaranteed option. The remaining 7% was allocated to mutual funds managed by unaffiliated third party asset managers. Generally speaking, the customers bear the investment risk for the variable options and have the right to allocate their assets among various separate mutual funds. The value of the annuity fluctuates in accordance with the experience of the mutual funds chosen by the customer. Customers have the option to allocate all or a portion of their account to our guaranteed option, in which case we credit interest at rates we determine, subject to contractual minimums.

Customers may elect a living benefit guarantee (commonly known in the industry as a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit, or “GMWB”). We bear the GMWB investment risk. Our goal is to hedge the GMWB investment risk through the use of sophisticated risk management techniques. As of December 31, 2019, $7.0 billion of the $9.7 billion of variable annuity separate account values had the GMWB rider. Our major source of revenue from individual variable annuities is mortality and expense fees we charge to the customer, generally determined as a percentage of the market value of the assets held in a separate investment sub-account. Account balances of variable annuity contracts with the GMWB rider were invested in separate account investment options as follows:

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Markets and Distribution

Our target markets for individual variable annuities include owners, executives and employees of small and medium-sized businesses and individuals seeking to accumulate and/or eventually receive distributions of assets for retirement. We market variable annuities to individuals for both qualified and nonqualified retirement savings.

We sell our individual variable annuity products through our affiliated financial representatives, including Principal Connection, who collectively accounted for 96%, 97% and 97% of annuity sales for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The remaining sales were made primarily through unaffiliated broker-dealer firms. Principal Connection is our direct distribution channel for retail financial services products to individuals. Principal Connection's services are available by phone, email or mail. Affiliated financial representatives continue to be the primary distribution channel of our variable deferred annuities.

Retirement and Income Solutions – Spread

Individual Fixed Annuities

Individual fixed annuities may be categorized in two ways: (1) deferred, in which case assets accumulate until the contract is surrendered, the customer dies or the customer begins receiving benefits under an annuity payout option, or (2) payout, in which case payments are made for a fixed period of time or for life.

Products

Fixed Deferred Annuities.  Our individual fixed deferred annuities consist of both single premium deferred annuity contracts and flexible premium deferred annuity contracts (“FPDAs”). The majority of FPDA contracts limit the period of time deposits are allowed to one year. For certain contracts, the principal amount is guaranteed. We credit the customer’s account with a fixed interest rate for a specified number of years. Thereafter, we reset the interest rate credited to the contract based upon our discretion, subject to contractual minimums, by taking into account market and other conditions. We also offer a fixed deferred annuity where the interest credited is linked to an external equity index, subject to maximum and minimum values. One source of income from fixed deferred annuities is the difference between the investment income earned on the underlying general account assets and the interest rate credited to the contracts. We bear the investment risk because, while we credit customers’ accounts with a stated interest rate, we cannot be certain the investment income we earn on our general account assets will exceed that rate. The Principal Global Investors segment manages the assets supporting these contracts.

Fixed Income Annuities.  Our individual fixed income annuities consist of single premium immediate annuity contracts (“SPIAs”) and deferred income annuity contracts (“DIAs”). SPIAs and DIAs are products where the customer pays a premium in return for periodic benefit payments. SPIA payments begin immediately and DIA payments begin after a deferral period, during which a return-of-premium death benefit is included. Payments may be contingent upon the survival of one or two individuals or payments may be fixed, meaning payments are contractually guaranteed and do not depend on the continuing survival of any individual. Our major source of income from fixed immediate annuities is the difference between the investment income earned on the underlying general account assets and the interest rate implied in the calculation of annuity benefit payments. We bear the investment risk because we cannot be certain the investment income we earn on our general account assets will exceed the rate implied in the SPIA and DIA contracts. The Principal Global Investors segment manages the assets supporting these contracts.

Markets and Distribution

Our target markets for individual fixed annuities include owners, executives and employees of small and medium-sized businesses and individuals seeking to accumulate and/or eventually receive distributions of assets for retirement. We market fixed annuities to individuals for both qualified and nonqualified retirement savings.

We sell our individual fixed annuity products through our affiliated financial representatives, including Principal Connection, who collectively accounted for 8%, 7% and 7% of annuity sales for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The remaining sales were made through banks, brokerage general agencies, mutual fund companies and unaffiliated broker-dealer firms. The majority of overall annuity sales were from non-affiliated distribution channels, as a result of focused efforts to increase fixed annuity sales through these channels.

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Investment Only

Products

The two primary products for which we provide investment only services are GICs and funding agreements.

GICs and funding agreements pay a specified rate of return. The rate of return can be a floating rate based on an external market index or a fixed rate. Our investment only products contain provisions disallowing or limiting early surrenders, including penalties for early surrenders and minimum notice requirements.

Deposits to investment only products are predominantly in the form of single payments. As a result, the level of new deposits can fluctuate from one fiscal quarter to another. The amounts earned by us are derived in part from the difference between the investment income earned by us and the amount credited to the customer. The Principal Global Investors segment manages the assets supporting the contractual promises.

Markets and Distribution

We issue traditional GICs and funding agreements primarily to retirement plan sponsors and other institutions. We also offer GICs as part of our full service accumulation products which are issued primarily to tax-qualified retirement plans. Funding agreements are issued directly to non-qualified institutions, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (“FHLB Des Moines”) and unconsolidated special purpose entities. As part of our funding agreement-backed note programs, U.S. and foreign institutional investors purchase debt obligations from the special purpose entity which, in turn, purchases the funding agreement from us with terms similar to those of the debt obligations. The strength of this market is dependent on debt capital market conditions. As a result, our sales through this channel can vary widely from one quarter to another.

Pension Risk Transfer

Products

Pension risk transfer products respond primarily to the needs of pension plan sponsors in the form of single premium group annuities, which are immediate or deferred annuities that provide a current or future specific income amount, fully guaranteed by us. The majority of our business originates from defined benefit plans that are being terminated. In these situations, the plan sponsor transfers all its obligations under the plan to an insurer by paying a single premium. Generally, plan sponsors restrict their purchases to insurance companies with superior or excellent financial quality ratings because the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has mandated that annuities be purchased only from the “safest available” insurers.

Since premium received from pension risk transfer products is generally in the form of single payments, the level of premiums can fluctuate depending on the number of large-scale annuity sales in a particular quarter. The Principal Global Investors segment manages the assets supporting pension risk transfer account values.

Markets and Distribution

Our primary distribution channel for pension risk transfer products is comprised of several specialized home office sales consultants working through consultants and brokers that specialize in this type of business. Our sales consultants also make sales directly to institutions. Our nationally dispersed retirement services sales representatives act as a secondary distribution channel for these products.

Banking Services

IRAs are provided by Principal Bank, primarily funded by retirement savings rolled over from qualified retirement plans. Principal Bank is a U.S. federal savings bank that was formed in February 1998. As of December 31, 2019, Principal Bank had nearly 446,000 customers and approximately $3.8 billion in assets. Principal Bank operates under a limited purpose charter and may only accept deposits held in a fiduciary capacity, may not hold demand deposits or own commercial loans and cannot originate loans.

Products

The IRAs offered by Principal Bank provide Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”)-insured retirement solutions for its customers. The IRAs are held in savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The deposit products provide a relatively stable source of funding and liquidity for Principal Bank and are backed by purchases of investment securities and residential mortgage loans.

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Markets and Distribution

Principal Bank offers bank products and services to participants rolling out of qualified retirement plans primarily serviced by affiliates of PFG. Principal Bank services customers by telephone, mail and internet and offers digital advice services through our subsidiary, Principal Advised Services.

Principal Global Investors Segment

Our Principal Global Investors segment manages assets for sophisticated investors around the world using focused investment teams that provide diverse investment capabilities including equity, fixed income, real estate and other alternative investments. We also have experience in asset allocation, stable value management and other structured investment strategies. We focus on providing services to our other segments in addition to our retail mutual fund and third party institutional clients. We maintain offices in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

We deliver our products and services through our network of focused investment teams including Principal Global Equities; Principal Global Fixed Income (including Finisterre emerging market debt teams); Aligned Investors; Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC; Principal Real Estate Europe Limited; Spectrum Asset Management, Inc.; Post Advisory Group, LLC; Columbus Circle Investors; Edge Asset Management; Claritas Administração de Recursos Ltda. (“Claritas”); Origin Asset Management LLP and Principal Portfolio Strategies. The Principal Global Investors focused investment teams managed $458.6 billion in assets as of December 31, 2019.

We have been providing mutual funds to customers since 1969. We offer mutual funds to individuals, businesses and institutional investors for use within variable life contracts, variable annuity contracts and employer-sponsored pension plans; as a rollover investment option and for general investment purposes. We plan to grow into a top advisor-sold mutual fund company with a sales force focused on multiple channels. As of December 31, 2019, as reported by the Strategic Insight, we are ranked 17^th according to AUM (long-term funds) of the intermediary sold mutual fund companies.

We also maintain various other domestic and global fund platforms, separately managed accounts and segregated accounts for some larger institutional and retail investors.

Our products and services are provided for a fee as defined by client mandates. Our fees are generally driven by AUM.

Focused Investment Teams

Our focused investment team strategy is diversified across the following primary asset classes and service delivery options.

Equity Investments. As of December 31, 2019, Principal Global Equities, Aligned Investors and Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC along with Columbus Circle Investors, Edge Asset Management, Origin Asset Management LLP and Claritas managed $185.4 billion in global equity assets. Our equity capabilities encompass large-cap stocks, mid-cap stocks, small-cap stocks and real estate investment trusts in developed and emerging markets worldwide.

Fixed Income Investments.  As of December 31, 2019, Principal Global Fixed Income and Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC along with Spectrum Asset Management, Inc. and Post Advisory Group, LLC managed $208.4 billion in global fixed income assets. Collectively, our experience in fixed income management spans multiple economic and credit market cycles and encompasses all major fixed income security types and sectors, including commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”). Our research and risk management capabilities in worldwide debt markets provide a strong foundation for broadly diversified "multi-sector" portfolios, tailored to specific client objectives.

Real Estate and Other Alternative Investments.  We offer products and services through other alternative asset classes including managing private real estate equity through Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC and Principal Real Estate Europe Limited; managing commercial mortgages and bridge/mezzanine loans through Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC and managing real estate and timber investments through Claritas. As of December 31, 2019, we managed $60.6 billion in alternative asset classes.

Principal Portfolio Strategies.  Principal Portfolio Strategies is a specialized asset allocation investment team offering multi-asset and/or multi-manager portfolio construction services that aim to deliver reliable, risk-adjusted investment outcomes to individual investors, institutional investors and participants in employer-sponsored plans.

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Products and Services

Products offered by the Principal Global Investors segment include individually managed accounts, separately managed accounts for high net worth individuals and several fund platforms for retail and institutional investors, as described below.

Principal Funds, Inc.  PFI is a series mutual fund that offers investment options for defined contribution plans, individuals, institutional investors, adviser fee-based programs, and other retirement plan clients. We report the results for this fund in the Retirement and Income Solutions segment or Principal Global Investors segment based on the distribution channel associated with the AUM.

Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc.  Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. is a series mutual fund that provides investment options for variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts issued by the Principal Life Insurance Company (“Principal Life”) and other insurance companies not affiliated with Principal Life. AUM backing our variable annuity contracts is reported in the Retirement and Income Solutions segment. AUM backing our variable life insurance contracts is reported in the U.S. Insurance Solutions segment.

Other Principal Global Investors Funds.  Principal Global Investors maintains various fund platforms including Qualifying Investor Alternative Fund and Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities funds domiciled in Dublin, Business Trusts, Exchange Traded Funds and other focused investment team sponsored funds. These funds are generally managed by our focused investment teams.

Markets and Distribution

Our products and services are distributed through various channels to reach and meet the needs of a broad investor base. We distribute our services through institutional and retail sales representatives, relationship management, and client service professionals who work with consultants and directly with investors to acquire and retain institutional clients, retail clients and other investors.  We also maintain relationships with independent broker-dealers to distribute our products and services, maintaining relationships with over 81,000 independent brokers, consultants and agents. As of December 31, 2019, Principal Global Investors and its focused investment teams had over 750 third party institutional clients in 40 countries with $111.0 billion of AUM.

Principal International Segment

Our Principal International segment has operations in Latin America and Asia. We focus on locations with growing middle classes, favorable demographics and increasing long-term savings, ideally with defined contribution retirement markets. We entered these locations through acquisitions, start-up operations and joint ventures.

The activities of our Principal International segment reflect our efforts to accelerate the growth of our AUM by capitalizing on the international trend toward private sector defined contribution pension systems and individual long-term savings. We offer pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities and life insurance accumulation products.

Markets, Products and Distribution

Latin America

Brazil.  We offer pension accumulation and income annuity products through a co-managed joint venture, Brasilprev Seguros e Previdencia S.A. (“Brasilprev”). We owned 25.005% of the economic interest and 50.01% of the voting shares as of December 31, 2019. The partner is Banco do Brasil (“Banco”), which had approximately 4,300 Brazilian branches as of September 30, 2019.

Brasilprev has the exclusive distribution rights of its pension accumulation and income annuity products through the Banco network until October 2032. Our joint venture provides products for the retirement needs of individuals and employers. Banco's employees sell these products directly to individual clients through its bank branches. In addition, our joint venture reaches corporate clients through two wholesale distribution channels: (1) a network of independent brokers who sell to the public and (2) Banco's corporate account executives who sell to existing and prospective corporate clients. As of December 31, 2019, Brasilprev had $74.2 billion of AUM.

We also distribute pension and other protection products through a digital insurance brokerage company, Ciclic Corretora de Seguros S.A (“Ciclic”). Our partner is BB Corretora De Seguros e Administradora De Bens S.A. (a subsidiary of Banco). We owned 25.005% of the economic and 50.01% of the voting shares of Ciclic as of December 31, 2019.

Chile.  We offer a complete array of pension accumulation and income annuity products. We also offer mutual fund, asset management services and life insurance accumulation products. Our subsidiaries in Chile had $46.2 billion of AUM as of December 31, 2019.

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We offer mandatory employee-funded pension and voluntary savings plans through Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Cuprum S.A. (“Cuprum”). We owned 97.97% of Cuprum as of December 31, 2019, and the rest is publicly floated. Cuprum’s products are sold through a proprietary sales network of approximately 1,000 sales employees as of December 31, 2019.

We offer income annuity and life insurance accumulation products through Principal Compañía de Seguros de Vida Chile S.A., our wholly owned life insurance company. The annuity products are distributed directly by our sales teams and through a network of brokers and independent agents. Life insurance accumulation products are offered to individuals through brokers and financial advisors.

We offer voluntary savings plans and mutual funds through Principal Administradora General de Fondos S.A., our wholly owned mutual fund company. Products are distributed to retail and institutional clients through our proprietary sales force, financial advisors, brokerage houses and alliances with financial institutions.

Mexico.  We offer pension accumulation, mutual funds and asset management services through our wholly owned companies with $15.1 billion of AUM as of December 31, 2019.

We offer mandatory pension plans through Principal Afore, S.A. de C.V., Principal Grupo Financiero. We manage and administer individual retirement accounts under the mandatory privatized social security system for all employees in Mexico. As of November 30, 2019, we had approximately 3.0 million individual retirement accounts. We distribute products and services through a proprietary sales force of approximately 1,400 sales representatives as of December 31, 2019, as well as independent brokers who sell directly to individuals.

We offer mutual funds and asset management services through Principal Fondos de Inversión, S.A. de C.V., Operadora de Fondos de Inversión, Principal Grupo Financiero. We distribute products and services through a sales force of approximately 55 employees as of December 31, 2019, and through distribution agreements with other financial entities. We offer both domestic and international products, typically sold directly to clients.

Asia

China.  We offer mutual funds and asset management services to individuals and institutions through a joint venture, CCB Principal Asset Management Co., Ltd. (“CCB PAM”). We owned 25% and China Construction Bank (“CCB”) is the majority partner with 65% ownership as of December 31, 2019. CCB PAM distributes its mutual funds through CCB and third-party distributors such as banks, securities brokers and e-channels. CCB provides widespread distribution support for the joint venture via its extensive network of approximately 15,000 bank branches as of December 31, 2019, and brand awareness. Although not included in our reported AUM, the joint venture had $145.7 billion of AUM as of December 31, 2019.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.  We offer both pension saving and mutual fund products to corporate and retail clients through wholly owned companies with $11.3 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2019.

We offer two types of pension saving schemes, Mandatory Provident Fund and Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance, which we distribute through third party intermediaries such as insurance companies, independent financial advisors, brokers and employee benefit consultants. Our most significant partnership is with AXA Hong Kong with whom we have a 15-year distribution partnership through 2030. We serviced approximately 611,000 accounts as of December 31, 2019. To help Hong Kong customers save for retirement beyond the mandatory pension schemes, Principal also offers mutual funds to retail customers through third party intermediaries, the most significant being banks.

India.  We offer mutual funds and asset management services to both retail and corporate customers through Principal Asset Management Private Limited. In August 2018, upon receiving regulatory approval, Principal and Punjab National Bank completed a shares purchase agreement, giving Principal full ownership of the asset management business. Mutual funds are sold through independent distributors, including banks, and directly through proprietary sales offices. Digital platforms are also being developed to enhance customer experience. Our Principal Retirement Advisory Company focuses on long term and retirement investments. As of December 31, 2019, our subsidiary in India had $0.9 billion of AUM.

Southeast Asia.  We offer mutual funds, asset management services, and pension accumulation products through our joint ventures in Malaysia, Principal Asset Management Berhad (“PAM”) and Principal Islamic Asset Management (“PIAM”). The partner is CIMB Group (“CIMB”), a leading ASEAN universal bank which has a strong presence in the region. PAM also manages a significant amount of institutional asset mandates. The joint ventures had $21.8 billion of AUM as of December 31, 2019.

PAM distributes conventional and Islamic mutual funds through the branches of its partner bank (approximately 800 bank branches throughout ASEAN and beyond) and through an agency sales force of over 6,000 agents selling to retail customers as of November 30, 2019. PAM also distributes its mutual funds through third party institutions including other banks and security houses.

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PAM has wholly owned subsidiaries in Singapore (Principal Asset Management (S) Pte. Ltd.), Indonesia (PT Principal Asset Management) and Thailand (Principal Asset Management Company Limited). PIAM also has a Dubai International Financial Centre Representative Office, Principal Islamic Asset Management.

U.S. Insurance Solutions Segment

Our U.S. Insurance Solutions segment activities date back to 1879 when we first began selling individual life insurance products. We expanded our offering to include group insurance products in the 1940s and have continued to expand our product portfolio over time. We help businesses and individuals by offering solutions that grow and protect their assets:

We organize our operations into two divisions: Specialty Benefits insurance and Individual Life insurance. However, we share key resources in our core areas such as strategic leadership, distribution and marketing.

Specialty Benefits Insurance

Specialty Benefits insurance, which includes group dental, vision, life, critical illness, accident and disability insurance and individual disability insurance, is an important component of the employee benefit offering at small and medium-sized businesses.

Products and Services

Group Dental and Vision Insurance.  Our plans provide partial reimbursement for dental and vision expenses. As of December 31, 2019, we had almost 72,000 group dental and vision insurance policies in force covering over 1.9 million employees. According to Life Insurance and Market Research Association (“LIMRA”), we were the 4th largest group dental insurer in terms of number of contracts/employer groups in force in 2018. In addition to indemnity and preferred provider organization dental offered on both an employer paid and voluntary basis, we offer a prepaid dental plan in Arizona through our Employers Dental Services, Inc. subsidiary. We also offer a discount dental product nationally. Our indemnity vision and our managed care vision products are offered on both an employer paid and voluntary basis.

Group Life Insurance.  Our group life insurance provides coverage to employees and their dependents for a specified period. As of December 31, 2019, we had over 68,000 group policies providing nearly $154.0 billion of group life insurance in force to approximately 2.5 million employee lives. According to LIMRA, in 2018 we were ranked 1st in the U.S. in terms of the number of group life insurance contracts in force. We currently sell traditional group life insurance that does not provide for accumulation of cash values on both an employer paid and voluntary basis. Our group life insurance business remains focused on the traditional, annually renewable term product. Group term life and group universal life accounted for 99% and 1%, respectively, of our total group life insurance in force as of December 31, 2019. We no longer market group universal life insurance to new employer groups.

Group Disability Insurance.  Our group disability insurance provides a benefit to insured employees who become disabled. In most instances, this benefit is in the form of a monthly income. Our group disability products include both short-term and long-term disability, offered on both an employer paid and voluntary basis. As of December 31, 2019, long-term disability represented 59% of total group disability premium, while short-term disability represented 41% of total group disability premium. We also provide disability management services, called rehabilitation services, to assist individuals in returning to work as quickly as possible following disability. We work with disability claimants to improve the approval rate of Social Security benefits, thereby reducing payment of benefits by the amount of Social Security payments received. As of December 31, 2019, we served approximately 1.9 million employee lives through almost 50,000 contracts. According to LIMRA, our group short-term disability business was ranked 4th and our group long-term disability business was ranked 3rd in the U.S. as of December 31, 2018, in terms of number of contracts/employer groups in force. We also offer voluntary critical illness insurance, which provides a lump-sum cash benefit to pay for additional expenses associated with the five most common critical illnesses, and voluntary accident insurance, which pays a lump sum when covered injuries occur because of an accident.

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Individual Disability Insurance.  Individual disability insurance has been sold since the early 1950s. Our individual disability insurance products provide income protection to the insured member and/or business in the event of disability. In most instances, this benefit is in the form of a monthly income. In addition to income replacement, we offer products to pay business-related costs such as overhead expenses for a disabled business owner, buy-out costs for business owners purchasing a disabled owner’s interest in the business, expenditures for replacement of a key person and business loan payments. We also offer a product to protect retirement savings in the event of disability. As of December 31, 2019, we served approximately 203,000 individual disability policyholders. According to LIMRA, our individual disability business was ranked 5th in the U.S. in terms of premium in force in the non-cancellable segment of the market and 5th overall, as of December 31, 2018.

Fee-for-Service.  We offer administration of group dental, disability and vision benefits on a fee-for-service basis.

Individual Life Insurance

We specialize in providing solutions for small to medium-sized businesses to protect against risk and loss, assist with succession planning and wealth transfer and to build and protect wealth for retirement. We also provide solutions to meet the personal needs of business owners, executives, key employees and affluent individuals. Our U.S. operations administered approximately 668,000 individual life insurance policies with over $421.0 billion of individual life insurance in force as of December 31, 2019.

Products and Services

Our Business Owner and Executive Solutions platform as well as our nonqualified deferred compensation offering combines administration and consulting to service our clients’ needs. We target the business and personal insurance needs of owners, executives and key employees of small and medium-sized businesses with an increasing focus on providing insurance solutions for nonqualified executive benefits. In addition, we market our products to meet traditional retail insurance needs. We offer a variety of individual life insurance products, both interest sensitive (including universal life, variable universal life and indexed universal life insurance) and traditional.

Interest Sensitive.  We offer universal life, variable universal life and indexed universal life insurance products. These products offer the policyholder the option of adjusting both the premium and the death benefit amounts of the insurance contract. Universal life insurance typically includes a cash value account that accumulates at a credited interest rate based on the investment returns of the block of business. Variable universal life insurance is credited with the investment returns of the various investment options selected by the policyholder. Indexed universal life is credited with investment returns tied to an external index, subject to a contractual minimum and maximum. For the year ended December 31, 2019, interest sensitive products represented 22% of individual life insurance in force and generated 67% of individual life insurance annualized first year premium sales.

After a deduction for policy level expenses, we credit net deposits to an account maintained for the policyholder. For universal life contracts, the entire account balance is invested in the general account. Interest is credited to the policyholder's account based on the earnings on general account investments, subject to contractual minimums. For variable universal life contracts, the policyholder may allocate the account balance among our general account and a variety of mutual funds underlying the contract. Interest is credited on amounts allocated to the general account in the same manner as for universal life. Net investment performance on mutual funds is allocated directly to the policyholder accounts; the policyholder bears the investment risk. For indexed universal life, the policyholder may allocate the account balance among our general account and two index accounts. Interest is credited on amounts allocated to the general account in the same manner as for universal life. Net investment performance on the index accounts is allocated directly to the policyholder accounts, subject to the contractual minimum and maximum. Some of our interest sensitive contracts contain what are commonly referred to as “secondary” or “no-lapse” guarantee provisions. These no-lapse guarantees keep the contract in force, even if the policyholder's account balance is insufficient to cover all of the contract charges, provided that the policyholder has continually paid a specified minimum premium.

Traditional Life Insurance.  Traditional life insurance includes term, whole and adjustable life insurance products. Term insurance products provide a guaranteed death benefit for a specified period of time in return for the payment of a fixed premium. Term life insurance products represented 33% of our individual life insurance annualized first year premium sales for the year ended December 31, 2019, and 75% of individual life insurance in force as of December 31, 2019. Whole life policies provide a guaranteed death benefit and a cash surrender value in return for payment of fixed premiums. Adjustable life insurance products provide a guaranteed benefit in return for the payment of a fixed premium while allowing the policyholder to set the coverage period, premium and face amount combination. Policyholder dividends are not paid on term insurance.

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U.S. Insurance Solutions Markets and Distribution

For each of our products, administration and distribution channels are customized to meet customer needs and expectations for that product.

We market our group insurance products to small and medium-sized businesses, primarily targeting our sales toward owners and human resources professionals. We sell our group insurance products in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We continually adapt our products and pricing to meet local market conditions. We market our fee-for-service capabilities to employers that self-insure their employees' dental, disability and vision benefits. We market our fee-for-service businesses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The group insurance market continues to see a shift to voluntary/worksite products due to various pressures on employers. In keeping with this market change, which shifts the funding of such products from the employer to the employee, we continue to place an enhanced focus on our voluntary benefits platform. We believe the voluntary/worksite market presents growth opportunities and we will continue to develop strategies to capitalize on this expanding market.

As of December 31, 2019, we had 134 sales representatives and 154 service representatives in 26 local markets. Our sales representatives accounted for 99% of our group insurance sales for the year ended December 31, 2019. The service representatives play a key role in servicing the case by providing local, responsive services to our customers and their brokers, such as renewing contracts, revising plans, solving administrative issues and communicating the customers’ needs and feedback to us.

We sell our individual life and individual disability insurance products in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, primarily targeting owners, executives and key employees of small and medium-sized businesses. Small and medium-sized business sales represented 61% of individual life sales and 61% of individual disability sales for the year ended December 31, 2019. Much of our life insurance sales efforts focus on the Business Owner and Executive Solutions market. This strategy offers solutions to address business owner financial challenges such as exiting the business, business transition, retaining key employees and retirement planning. Key employees also have needs to supplement retirement income, survivor income, and business protection. We believe the Business Owner and Executive Solutions segment offers growth opportunities and we will continue to develop strategies to capitalize on this expanding market.

We distribute our individual life and individual disability insurance products through our affiliated financial representatives and independent brokers, as well as other marketing and distribution alliances. Affiliated financial representatives were responsible for 13% of individual life insurance sales based on first year annualized premium and 9% of individual disability sales for the year ended December 31, 2019. We had 1,173 affiliated financial representatives in 26 offices as of December 31, 2019. Although they are independent contractors, we have a close tie with affiliated financial representatives and we offer them benefits, training and access to tools and expertise. To meet the needs of the various marketing channels, particularly the independent brokers, we employ wholesale distributors — Regional Vice Presidents for individual life and Regional Vice Presidents for individual disability. A key differentiator in the nonqualified executive benefit sale is our Regional Vice Presidents-Nonqualified Plans, who are not only wholesalers but also consultants and subject-matter experts providing point-of-sale support in closing cases.

Corporate Segment

Our Corporate segment manages the assets representing capital that has not been allocated to any other segment. Financial results of the Corporate segment primarily reflect our financing activities (including financing costs), income on capital not allocated to other segments, inter-segment eliminations, income tax risks and certain income, expenses and other adjustments not allocated to the segments based on the nature of such items. Results of Principal Securities, Inc., our retail broker-dealer and registered investment advisor; RobustWealth, Inc. (“RobustWealth”), our financial technology company; and our exited group medical and long-term care insurance businesses are reported in this segment.

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Competition

Competition in our segments is based on a number of factors including: scale, service, product features, price, investment performance, commission structure, distribution capacity, financial strength ratings and name recognition. We compete with a large number of financial services companies such as banks, mutual funds, institutional trust companies, broker-dealers, insurers and asset managers. Some of these companies offer a broader array of products, more competitive pricing, greater diversity of distribution sources, better brand recognition or, with respect to insurers, higher financial strength ratings. Some may also have greater financial resources with which to compete or may have better investment performance at various times. We believe we distinguish ourselves from our competitors through our:

Ratings

Insurance companies are assigned financial strength ratings by rating agencies based upon factors relevant to policyholders. Financial strength ratings are generally defined as opinions as to an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to policyholders. Information about ratings provides both industry participants and insurance consumers meaningful insights on specific insurance companies. Higher ratings generally indicate financial stability and a stronger ability to pay claims.

Principal Life and Principal National Life Insurance Company (“PNLIC”) have been assigned the following insurer financial strength ratings:

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A.M. Best Company, Inc. (“A.M. Best”) ratings for insurance companies range from “A++” to “S”. A.M. Best indicates that “A++” and “A+” ratings are assigned to those companies that in A.M. Best’s opinion have superior ability to meet ongoing insurance obligations. Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) ratings for insurance companies range from “AAA” to “C”. Fitch “AA” ratings indicate very strong capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) ratings for insurance companies range from “Aaa” to “C”. Moody’s indicates that “A” ratings are assigned to those companies that offer good financial security. S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) has ratings that range from “AAA” to “D” for insurance companies. S&P indicates that “A” ratings are assigned to those companies that have strong financial security characteristics. In evaluating a company’s financial and operating performance, these rating agencies review its profitability, leverage and liquidity, as well as its book of business, the adequacy and soundness of its reinsurance, the quality and estimated market value of its assets, the adequacy of its policy reserves, the soundness of its risk management programs, the experience and competency of its management and other factors.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Fitch revised its 2020 U.S. life insurance sector outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’, which reflects increased concerns over the low interest rate environment. A.M. Best, S&P and Moody’s continue to maintain a 'stable' industry outlook.

We believe our strong ratings are an important factor in marketing our products to our distributors and customers, as ratings information is broadly disseminated and generally used throughout the industry. Our ratings reflect each rating agency's opinion of our financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet our obligations to policyholders and are not evaluations directed toward the protection of investors. Such ratings are neither a rating of securities nor a recommendation to buy, hold or sell any security, including our common stock. For more information on ratings, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Financial Strength and Credit Ratings.”

Regulation

Our businesses are subject to regulation and supervision by U.S. federal and state regulatory authorities as well as non-U.S. regulatory authorities for our operations and customers outside the U.S., which can have a significant effect on our business. Our businesses are also affected by U.S. federal, state and local tax laws as well as tax laws for jurisdictions outside the U.S.

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PFG, our parent holding company, is not licensed as an insurer, investment advisor, broker-dealer, bank or other regulated entity. However, because it is the holding company for all of our operations, it is subject to regulation in connection with our regulated entities, including as an insurance holding company. We are subject to legal and regulatory requirements applicable to public companies, including public reporting and disclosure, securities trading, accounting and financial reporting and corporate governance.

U.S. Insurance Regulation

We are subject to the insurance holding company laws in the states where our insurance companies are domiciled. Principal Life and PNLIC are domiciled in Iowa and their principal insurance regulatory authority is the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce of the State of Iowa. Our other U.S. insurance companies are principally regulated by the insurance departments of the states in which they are domiciled. These laws generally require each insurance company directly or indirectly owned by the holding company to register with the insurance department in the insurance company’s state of domicile and to furnish financial and other information about the operations of the companies within the holding company system. Transactions affecting the insurers in the holding company system must be fair and at arm’s length. Most states have insurance laws that require regulatory approval of a direct or indirect change in control of an insurer or an insurer’s holding company and laws that require prior notification to state insurance departments of a change in control of a non-domiciliary insurance company doing business in that state.

Annually, our U.S. insurance companies must submit an opinion from a board-appointed qualified actuary to state insurance regulators, where licensed, on whether the statutory assets held backing statutory reserves are sufficient to meet contractual obligations and related expenses of the insurer. If such an opinion cannot be rendered noting the sufficiency of assets, the insurance company must set up additional statutory reserves drawing from available statutory surplus until such an opinion can be given.

State insurance departments have broad administrative powers over the insurance business, including insurance company licensing and examination, agent licensing, establishment of reserve requirements and solvency standards, premium rate regulation, admittance of assets to statutory surplus, policy form approval, unfair trade and claims practices regulation and other matters. State insurance statutes also typically place restrictions and limitations on the amount of dividends or other distributions payable by insurance company subsidiaries to their parent companies. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” for further details.

In order to enhance the regulation of insurer solvency, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) has established risk-based capital (“RBC”) standards. The standards require life insurers to submit a report to state regulators on an annual basis regarding their RBC based upon categories of risk including the following: asset risk, insurance risk, interest rate risk and business and operational risk. As of December 31, 2019, the statutory surplus of each of our U.S. life insurance companies exceeded the minimum RBC requirements.

State and federal insurance and securities regulatory authorities and other state law enforcement agencies and attorneys general regularly make inquiries and conduct examinations or investigations regarding our compliance with, among other things, insurance laws and securities laws.

Each state has insurance guaranty association laws under which insurers doing business in a state can be assessed, up to prescribed limits, in order to cover contractual benefit obligations of insolvent insurance companies. The guaranty associations levy assessments on each member insurer in a jurisdiction on the basis of the proportionate share of the premiums written by such insurer in the lines of business in which the insolvent insurer is engaged. Some jurisdictions permit the member insurers to recover the assessments paid through full or partial premium tax offsets.

Securities Regulation

Insurance and investment products such as variable annuities, variable life insurance and some funding agreements that constitute securities and mutual fund products are subject to securities laws and regulations, including U.S. state securities regulation as well as U.S. federal regulation under the SEC, FINRA and other regulatory authorities. These regulations affect investment advice, sales and related activities for these products.

We also have entities that are registered as investment advisers with the SEC under, and are therefore subject to, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

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Employee Retirement Income Security Act

As we provide products and services for U.S. employee benefit plans, we are subject to regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”). ERISA provisions include reporting and disclosure requirements and standards of conduct.

Banking Regulation

Principal Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary, is a U.S. federal savings bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Principal Bank’s depositors are insured by the FDIC up to specified limits, making Principal Bank subject to certain of the FDIC’s regulations.

Trust Regulation

Delaware Charter Guarantee & Trust Company conducting business as Principal Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary, is a Delaware state chartered trust company regulated by the State of Delaware Office of the State Bank Commissioner. Principal Trust Company is subject to Delaware banking and trust law.

Principal Global Investors Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary, is an Oregon state registered banking corporation with trust powers regulated by the State of Oregon Division of Financial Regulations. Principal Global Investors Trust Company is subject to Oregon banking regulations.

Environmental Regulation

As we own and operate real property, we are subject to U.S. federal, state and local environmental laws, as well as international environmental laws and could be subject to environmental liabilities and costs associated with required remediation of our properties. We routinely have environmental assessments performed for real estate being acquired or used as collateral for commercial mortgages we use for investment.

Regulation of International Businesses

Our international businesses are supervised by regulatory authorities in the jurisdictions in which they operate, including regulation and supervision by insurance, securities, tax and privacy regulatory authorities. The purpose of these regulations is similar to the U.S., to protect our customers and the overall financial system. Regulations such as the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) have a global impact on our businesses.

Risk Management

Like all financial services companies, we are exposed to a wide variety of financial, operational and other risks, as described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors.” Effective enterprise risk management is, therefore, a key component of our business model.

Enterprise risk management helps us to manage risk to meet our customer obligations, satisfy regulatory requirements, adequately provide for contingencies in case of stress, optimize shareholder returns, support our core values and maintain our reputation.

We utilize an integrated risk management framework to help us identify, assess, monitor, report, manage and aggregate our material risks within established risk appetites and risk tolerances. The framework delivers important perspective that is used in strategic and tactical decision making and is adaptable to changes in our businesses and in the external environments in which we operate. Our approach also requires a commitment to continuous improvement and periodic validation.

Our governance structure includes Board of Directors oversight, internal risk committees, a corporate risk management function and embedded risk professionals in our business units and functional areas. Our Board of Directors, Audit Committee, Finance Committee, Human Resource Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee provide oversight no less frequently than quarterly, addressing relevant aspects of our risk profile.

Our internal risk committees meet on a regular and frequent basis to discuss various issues and review profile status. Each business unit has its own committee that is responsible for oversight of the material risks within the unit or area. These committees may include corporate leaders. We also have internal committees that provide oversight around a certain risk or group of related risks across the organization. This matrix approach helps us maintain comprehensive risk coverage and preserve an integrated view of risks. The Enterprise Risk Management Committee, comprised of members from the executive management team, exercises enterprise-wide oversight for our most significant risk profiles.

The business units and functional areas are responsible for identifying, assessing, monitoring, reporting and managing their own risks. Chief Risk Officers embedded within each business unit or risk professionals in functional areas help align risk management practice with the strategies of the unit as well as with enterprise-wide objectives.

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The Corporate Chief Risk Officer and supporting staff are separate from the business units and provide objective oversight, framework enablement and aggregated risk analysis. Internal Audit provides independent assurance around effective risk management design and control execution.

Risk appetites, tolerances and limits have been established from an enterprise-wide and business unit perspective for specific risk categories, where appropriate. We monitor a variety of risk metrics on an ongoing basis and take the appropriate steps to manage our established risk appetites and tolerances. Quarterly risk reporting provides a feedback loop between business units, functional areas, our internal risk committees and the corporate risk management function. This reporting also includes perspectives on emerging risk. To the extent potentially significant business activities or operational initiatives are considered, analysis of the possible impact on our risk profile takes place. This analysis includes, but is not limited to, the capital implications; the impact on near term and long-term earnings; the ability to meet our targets with respect to return on equity, liquidity, debt/capital, cash coverage, business risk and operational risk; and the impact to our reputation.

Employees

As of December 31, 2019, we had 17,601 employees. None of our employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements except a group of employees within our Cuprum organization in Chile. We believe that our employee relations are satisfactory.

Internet Website

Our internet website can be found at www.principal.com. We make available free of charge, on or through our internet website, access to our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is filed with or furnished to the SEC. These reports are also available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Also available free of charge on our internet website is our code of business conduct and ethics, corporate governance guidelines and charters for the Audit, Finance, Human Resources and Nominating and Governance committees of our Board of Directors. Also see Item 10. “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

This section provides an overview of the risks that may impact our performance in the future.

Risks relating to economic conditions, market conditions and investments

Adverse capital and credit market conditions may significantly affect our ability to meet liquidity needs, as well as our access to capital and cost of capital.

Our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and capital position could be materially adversely affected by volatility, uncertainty and disruption in the capital and credit markets.

We maintain a level of cash and securities which, combined with expected cash inflows from investments and operations, is believed adequate to meet anticipated short-term and long-term benefit and expense payment obligations. However, withdrawal and surrender levels may differ from anticipated levels for a variety of reasons, such as changes in economic conditions or changes in our claims paying ability and financial strength ratings. For additional information regarding our exposure to interest rate risk and the impact of a downgrade in our financial strength ratings, see “—Changes in interest rates or credit spreads or a sustained low interest rate environment may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and our net income can vary from period to period” and “—A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings may increase policy surrenders and withdrawals, reduce new sales, terminate relationships with distributors, impact existing liabilities and increase our cost of capital, any of which could adversely affect our profitability and financial condition.” In addition, mark-to-market adjustments on our derivative instruments may lead to fluctuations in our reported capital. Volatility, uncertainty or disruptions in the capital or credit markets may result in the need for additional capital to maintain a targeted level of U.S. statutory capital relative to the NAIC’s RBC requirements. In the event our current internal sources of liquidity do not satisfy our needs, we may have to seek additional financing and, in such case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all. The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, the volume of trading activities, the overall availability of credit to the financial services industry, our credit ratings and credit capacity, as well as customers’ or lenders’ perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects. Similarly, our access to funds may be impaired if regulatory authorities or rating agencies take negative actions against us.

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Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital and credit markets may limit our access to capital required to operate our business, most significantly our insurance operations. Such market conditions may limit our ability to replace, in a timely manner, maturing liabilities; satisfy statutory capital requirements; fund redemption requests on insurance or other financial products; generate fee income and market-related revenue to meet liquidity needs and access the capital necessary to grow our business. As such, we may be forced to delay raising capital, issue shorter tenor securities than we prefer, utilize available internal resources or bear an unattractive cost of capital, which could decrease our profitability and significantly reduce our financial flexibility and liquidity.

In addition, we maintain credit facilities with various financial institutions as a potential source of excess liquidity. These facilities are in place to bridge timing in cash flows to minimize the cost of meeting our obligations, particularly during periods when alternative sources of liquidity are limited. Our ability to borrow funds under these facilities is conditioned on our satisfaction of covenants and other requirements contained in the facilities. Our failure to comply with these covenants, or the failure of lenders to fund their lending commitments, would restrict our ability to access these credit facilities and, consequently, could limit our flexibility in meeting our cash flow needs.

For further discussion on liquidity risk management, see Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally, both in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. Adverse economic conditions may result in a decline in our AUM and revenues and erosion of our profit margins. In addition, in the event of extreme prolonged market events and economic downturns, we could incur significant losses. Even in the absence of a market downturn, we are exposed to substantial risk of loss due to market volatility.

Factors such as consumer spending, business investment, government spending, the volatility and strength of the capital markets, investor and consumer confidence, foreign currency exchange rates and inflation levels all affect the business and economic environment and, ultimately, the amount and profitability of our business. In an economic downturn characterized by higher unemployment, lower family income, lower corporate earnings, lower business investment, negative investor sentiment and lower consumer spending, the demand for our financial and insurance products could be adversely affected. In addition, we may experience an elevated incidence of claims and lapses or surrenders of policies. Our policyholders may choose to defer paying insurance premiums or stop paying insurance premiums altogether. In addition, reductions in employment levels of our existing employer customers may result in a reduction in membership levels and premium income for our specialty benefits products. Participants within the retirement plans for which we provide administrative services may elect to reduce or stop their payroll deferrals to these plans, which would reduce AUM and revenues. In addition, reductions in employment levels may result in a decline in employee deposits into retirement plans. Adverse changes in the economy could affect net income negatively and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

An economic downturn may also lead to weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar, which would adversely affect the translation of segment pre-tax operating earnings and equity of our international operations into our consolidated financial statements. For further discussion on foreign currency exchange risk, see Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — Foreign Currency Risk.”

Volatility or declines in the equity, bond or real estate markets could reduce our AUM and may result in investors withdrawing from the markets or decreasing their rates of investment, all of which could reduce our revenues and net income.

Because the revenues of our asset management and accumulation businesses are, to a large extent, based on the value of AUM, a decline in domestic and global equity, bond or real estate markets will decrease our revenues. Turmoil in these markets could lead investors to withdraw from these markets, decrease their rates of investment or refrain from making new investments, which may reduce our AUM, revenues and net income.

For further discussion on equity risk management, see Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — Equity Risk.”

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Changes in interest rates or credit spreads or a sustained low interest rate environment may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and our net income can vary from period to period.

Interest rates remain low relative to historical levels. During periods of declining interest rates or sustained low interest rates, the interest rates we earn on our assets may be lower than the rates assumed in pricing our products, thereby reducing our profitability. For some of our products, such as GICs and funding agreements, we are unable to lower the rate we credit to customers in response to the lower return we will earn on our investments. In addition, guaranteed minimum interest rates on our life insurance and annuity products may constrain our ability to lower the rate we credit to customers. Declining interest rates may also lead to a reduction in revenues related to our trust and custody business. If interest rates remain low over a sustained period of time, this may result in increases in our reserves and true-ups or unlocking of our deferred acquisition cost (“DAC”) asset and other actuarial balances. During periods of declining interest rates, borrowers may prepay or redeem mortgages and bonds that we own, which would force us to reinvest the proceeds at lower interest rates. Furthermore, declining interest rates may reduce the rate of policyholder surrenders and withdrawals on our life insurance and annuity products, thus increasing the duration of the liabilities and creating asset and liability duration mismatches. Low interest rates may also increase the cost of hedging our GMWB rider. Declining interest rates or a sustained low interest rate environment may also result in changes to the discount rate used for valuing our pension and other postretirement employee benefit (“OPEB”) obligations, which could negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, certain statutory capital and reserve requirements are based on formulas or models that consider interest rates and a prolonged period of low interest rates may increase the statutory capital we are required to hold as well as the amount of assets we must maintain to support statutory reserves.

Increases in market interest rates may also adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. During periods of increasing market interest rates, we may offer higher crediting rates on our insurance and annuity products in order to keep these products competitive. Because returns on our portfolio of invested assets may not increase as quickly as current interest rates, we may have to accept lower spreads, thus reducing our profitability. Rapidly rising interest rates may also result in an increase in policy surrenders, withdrawals and requests for policy loans as customers seek to achieve higher returns. In addition, rising interest rates would cause a decrease in the value of financial assets held at fair value on our consolidated statements of financial position. We may be required to sell assets to raise the cash necessary to respond to an increase in surrenders, withdrawals and loans, thereby realizing capital losses on the assets sold. An increase in policy surrenders and withdrawals may also require us to accelerate amortization of our DAC asset relating to these products, which would further reduce our profitability. Rising interest rates may also cause a decline in the value of the fixed income assets we manage, resulting in a reduction in our fee revenue in the short term. In addition, a significant increase in interest rates may cause a reduction in the fair value of intangible assets in our reporting units, potentially leading to an impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets.

For further discussion about interest rate risk management, see Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk – Interest Rate Risk.”

Our exposure to credit spreads primarily relates to market price variability and reinvestment risk associated with changes in credit spreads. A widening of credit spreads would cause unrealized losses in our investment portfolio, would increase losses associated with credit-based derivatives we have sold that do not qualify or have not been designated for hedge accounting where we assume credit exposure and, if issuer credit spreads increase as a result of fundamental credit deterioration, would likely result in higher allowances. Credit spread tightening will reduce net investment income associated with new purchases of fixed maturities. Credit spread tightening may also cause an increase in the reported value of certain liabilities that are valued using a discount rate that reflects our own credit spread. In addition, market volatility may make it difficult to value certain of our securities if trading becomes less frequent. As such, valuations may include assumptions or estimates that may have significant period-to-period changes from market volatility, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

The elimination of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) may affect the value of certain derivatives and floating rate securities we hold or have issued and the profitability of certain real estate lending activity or businesses.

In July 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it would not persuade or compel LIBOR panel banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021. As a consequence, LIBOR and other inter-bank offered rates around the world are expected to undergo a transition to other reference rates by the end of 2021. The transition to other reference rates may affect the value of certain derivatives and floating rate securities we hold, floating rate securities we have issued and the profitability of certain real estate lending activity. Additionally, pricing activities, models and the profitability of certain businesses may also be impacted.

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The effect of any changes to LIBOR or discontinuation of LIBOR on new or existing financial instruments, liabilities or operational processes will vary depending on a number of factors, many of which are currently uncertain. Examples of potential factors include, but are not limited to: fallback provisions in contracts; adoption of replacement language in contracts where such language is currently absent; potential changes in spreads causing valuation changes; treatment of hedge effectiveness; and impacts on models and systems. Consequently, at this time it is difficult to estimate the impact of a transition away from LIBOR.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, based on the recommendations of the New York Federal Reserve’s Alternative Reference Rate Committee (comprised of major derivative market participants and their regulators), began publishing in April 2018 a Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), which is intended to replace U.S. dollar LIBOR. SOFR is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities. Proposals for alternative reference rates for other currencies have also been announced or have already begun publication. Markets are developing in response to these new rates. Similarly, we have undertaken an enterprise-wide effort to address the transition to minimize the potential for adverse impacts.

Our investment portfolio is subject to several risks that may diminish the value of our invested assets and the investment returns credited to customers, which could reduce our sales, revenues, AUM and net income.

An increase in defaults or write-downs on our fixed maturities portfolio may reduce our profitability.

We are subject to the risk that the issuers of the fixed maturities we own will default on principal and interest payments. As of December 31, 2019, our U.S. investment operations held $67.0 billion of fixed maturities, or 75% of total U.S. invested assets, of which approximately 4% were below investment grade and $58.2 million, or 0.09% of our total fixed maturities that were classified as either “problem,” “potential problem” or “restructured.” See Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — U.S. Investment Operations — Fixed Maturities.”

As of December 31, 2019, the international investment operations of our fully consolidated subsidiaries held $3.8 billion of fixed maturities, or 50%, of total international invested assets, of which 7% are government bonds. Some non-government bonds have been rated on the basis of the issuer’s country credit rating. However, the ratings relationship between national ratings and global ratings is not linear with the U.S. The starting point for national ratings differs by country, which makes the assessment of credit quality more difficult. See Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — International Investment Operations.” An increase in defaults on our fixed maturities portfolio could harm our financial strength and reduce our profitability.

An increased rate of delinquency and defaults on our commercial mortgage loans, including balloon maturities with and without amortizing payments, may adversely affect our profitability.

Our commercial mortgage loan portfolio faces both delinquency and default risk. Commercial mortgage loans of $15.0 billion represented 16% of our total invested assets as of December 31, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, there were no loans in the process of foreclosure in our commercial mortgage loan portfolio. The performance of our commercial mortgage loan investments, however, may fluctuate in the future. An increase in the delinquency rate of, and defaults under, our commercial mortgage loan portfolio could harm our financial strength and decrease our profitability.

As of December 31, 2019, approximately $12.3 billion, or 84%, of our U.S. investment operations commercial mortgage loans before valuation allowance had balloon payment maturities. A balloon maturity is a loan with all or a meaningful portion of the loan amount due at the maturity of the loan. The default rate on commercial mortgage loans with balloon payment maturities has historically been higher than for commercial mortgage loans with a fully amortizing loan structure. Since a significant portion of the principal is repaid at maturity, the amount of loss on a default is generally greater than fully amortizing commercial mortgage loans. An increase in defaults on balloon maturity loans as a result of the foregoing factors could harm our financial strength and decrease our profitability.

Mark-to-market adjustments on equity securities, trading securities and certain equity method investments may reduce our profitability or cause volatility in our net income.

Our investment portfolio includes equity securities, trading securities and certain equity method investments that are reported at fair value on the consolidated statements of financial position with changes in fair value reported in net income. Mark-to-market adjustments on these investments may reduce our profitability or cause our net income to vary from period to period. We anticipate that acquisition and investment activities may increase the number and magnitude of these investments in the future.

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We may have difficulty selling our privately placed fixed maturities, mortgage loans and real estate investments because they are less liquid than our publicly traded fixed maturities.

We hold certain investments that may be less liquid than our publicly traded fixed maturities, such as privately placed fixed maturities, mortgage loans and real estate investments. These asset classes represented approximately 44% of the value of our invested assets as of December 31, 2019.

If we require significant amounts of cash on short notice, we may have difficulty selling these investments in a timely manner, be forced to sell them for less than we otherwise would have been able to realize or both. The reported value of our relatively illiquid types of investments, our investments in the asset classes described above and, at times, our high quality, generally liquid asset classes, do not necessarily reflect the lowest possible price for the asset. If we were forced to sell certain of our assets in the current market, there can be no assurance we will be able to sell them for the prices at which we have recorded them and we may be forced to sell them at significantly lower prices.

The impairment of derivative counterparties could adversely affect us.

We use derivative instruments to hedge various risks we face in our businesses. See Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.” We enter into a variety of derivative instruments with a number of counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and other institutions. For transactions where we are in-the-money, we are exposed to credit risk in the event of default of our counterparty. We establish collateral agreements with nominal thresholds for a large majority of our counterparties to limit our exposure. However, our credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us cannot be realized or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan or derivative exposure. With regard to our derivative exposure, we have over-collateralization requirements on the portion of collateral we hold, based on the risk profile of the assets posted as collateral. We also have exposure to these financial institutions in the form of unsecured debt instruments and equity investments. Such losses or impairments to the carrying value of these assets may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our requirements to post collateral or make payments related to declines in market value of specified assets may adversely affect our liquidity and expose us to counterparty credit risk.

Many of our derivative transactions with financial and other institutions specify the circumstances under which the parties are required to post collateral. We are also required to post collateral in connection with funding agreements with the FHLB Des Moines, a reinsurance agreement, and various other transactions. The amount of collateral we may be required to post under these agreements may increase under certain circumstances, which could adversely affect our liquidity. In addition, under the terms of some of our transactions we may be required to make payment to our counterparties related to any decline in the market value of the specified assets. Such payments could have an adverse effect on our liquidity. Furthermore, with respect to any such payments, we will have unsecured risk to the counterparty as these amounts are not required to be segregated from the counterparty’s other funds, are not held in a third party custodial account, and are not required to be paid to us by the counterparty until the termination of the transaction.

Environmental liability exposure may result from our commercial mortgage loan portfolio and real estate investments.

Liability under environmental protection laws resulting from our commercial mortgage loan portfolio and real estate investments may harm our financial strength and reduce our profitability. Under the laws of several states and other jurisdictions, contamination of a property may give rise to a lien on the property to secure recovery of the costs of cleanup. In some states, this kind of lien has priority over the lien of an existing mortgage against the property, which would impair our ability to foreclose on that property should the related loan be in default. In addition, under the laws of some states and under the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, we may be liable for costs of addressing releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that require remedy at a property securing a mortgage loan held by us, if our agents or employees have become sufficiently involved in the hazardous waste aspects of the operations of the related obligor on that loan, regardless of whether or not the environmental damage or threat was caused by the obligor. We also may face this liability after foreclosing on a property securing a mortgage loan held by us. This may harm our financial strength and decrease our profitability.

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Regional concentration of our commercial mortgage loan portfolio in California may subject us to losses attributable to economic downturns or catastrophes in that state.

Commercial mortgage lending in the state of California accounted for 21%, or $3.1 billion, of our U.S. investment operations commercial mortgage loan portfolio before valuation allowance as of December 31, 2019. Due to this concentration of commercial mortgage loans in California, we are exposed to potential losses resulting from the risk of an economic downturn in California as well as to catastrophes, including but not limited to earthquakes, that may affect the region. While we generally do not require earthquake insurance for properties on which we make commercial mortgage loans, we do take into account property specific engineering reports, construction type and geographical concentration by fault lines in our investment underwriting guidelines. If economic conditions in California deteriorate or catastrophes occur, we may in the future experience delinquencies or defaults on the portion of our commercial mortgage loan portfolio located in California, which may harm our financial strength and reduce our profitability.

Gross unrealized losses may be realized or result in future credit losses, resulting in a reduction in our net income.

Fixed maturities that are classified as available-for-sale (“AFS”) are reported on the consolidated statements of financial position at fair value. Unrealized gains or losses on AFS securities, excluding those in fair value hedging relationships, are recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) and are, therefore, excluded from net income. Our U.S. investment operations had gross unrealized losses on fixed maturities of $104.2 million pre-tax as of December 31, 2019, and the component of gross unrealized losses for securities trading down 20% or more for over six months was $8.0 million pre-tax. The accumulated change in fair value of the AFS securities is recognized in net income when the gain or loss is realized upon the sale of the asset or in the event that the decline in fair value requires an allowance for credit loss. Realized losses or credit losses may have a material adverse impact on our net income in a particular quarterly or annual period.

Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could adversely impact our profitability and financial condition.

We are exposed to foreign currency risk in our international operations. Principal International sells products denominated in various local currencies and generally invests the associated assets in local currencies. For diversification purposes, assets backing the products may be partially invested in non-local currencies. In our U.S. operations, we also issue foreign currency-denominated funding agreements to nonqualified investors in the institutional market or invest in foreign currency-denominated investments. The associated foreign currency exchange risk in each instance is hedged or managed to specific risk tolerances. Although our investment and hedging strategies limit the effect of currency exchange rate fluctuation on operating results, weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar would adversely affect the translation of the results of our international operations into our consolidated financial statements. For further discussion on foreign currency exchange risk, see Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — Foreign Currency Risk.”

Risks relating to estimates, assumptions and valuations

Our valuation of investments and the determinations of the amount of allowances and impairments taken on our investments may include methodologies, estimations and assumptions which are subject to differing interpretations and, if changed, could materially adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.

Fixed maturities, equity securities and derivatives represent the majority of total cash and invested assets reported at fair value on our consolidated statements of financial position, excluding separate accounts. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (an exit price). Fair value estimates are made based on available market information and judgments about the financial instrument at a specific point in time. Considerable judgment is often required to develop estimates of fair value, and the use of different assumptions or valuation methodologies may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

For additional information on our valuation methodology, see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 14, Fair Value Measurements.”

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During periods of market disruption including periods of significantly rising or high interest rates, rapidly widening credit spreads or illiquidity, it may be difficult to value certain securities, for example collateralized mortgage obligations and collateralized debt obligations, if trading becomes less frequent and/or market data becomes less observable. There may be certain asset classes that were in active markets with significant observable data that become illiquid due to the current financial environment. In such cases, the valuation process may require more subjectivity and management judgment. As such, valuations may include inputs and assumptions that are less observable or require greater estimation as well as valuation methods that require greater estimation, which could result in values that are different from the value at which the investments may be ultimately sold. Further, rapidly changing credit and equity market conditions could materially impact the valuation of securities as reported within our consolidated financial statements and the period-to-period changes in value could vary significantly. Decreases in value may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

The determination of the amount of allowances and impairments varies by investment type and is based upon our periodic evaluation and assessment of known and inherent risks associated with the respective asset class. Such evaluations and assessments require significant judgment and are revised as conditions change and new information becomes available. Additional impairments may need to be taken or allowances provided for in the future, and the ultimate loss may exceed management’s current loss estimates.

Additionally, our management considers a wide range of factors about the instrument issuer and uses its best judgment in evaluating the cause of the decline in the estimated fair value of the instrument and in assessing the prospects for recovery. Inherent in management’s evaluation of the instrument are assumptions and estimates about the operations of the issuer and its future earnings potential. For further information regarding our impairment and allowance methodologies, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Investments — U.S. Investment Operations” under the captions “Fixed Maturities” and “Mortgage Loans” and Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates — Valuation and Impairment of Fixed Income Investments.”

Any impairments of or valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect during the years in which the basis differences reverse. We are required to evaluate the recoverability of our deferred tax assets each quarter and establish a valuation allowance, if necessary, to reduce our deferred tax assets to an amount that is more−likely−than−not to be realizable. In determining the need for a valuation allowance, we consider many factors, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, future taxable income exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards, taxable income in prior carryback years and implementation of any feasible and prudent tax planning strategies management would employ to realize the tax benefit.

Inherent in the provision for income taxes are estimates regarding the deductibility of certain items, the timing of income and expense recognition and the current or future realization of operating losses, capital losses, certain tax credits and future enacted changes in applicable tax rates as well as the tax base. In the event these estimates differ from our prior estimates due to the receipt of new information, we may be required to significantly change the provision for income taxes recorded in the consolidated financial statements. Any such change could significantly affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements in the year these estimates change. A further significant decline in value of assets incorporated into our tax planning strategies could lead to an increase of our valuation allowance on deferred tax assets having an adverse effect on current and future results.

For additional information, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates — Income Taxes.”

We may face losses on our insurance and annuity products if our actual experience differs significantly from our pricing and reserving assumptions.

The profitability of our insurance and annuity products depends significantly upon the extent to which our actual experience is consistent with the assumptions used in setting prices for our products and establishing liabilities for future insurance and annuity policy benefits and claims. The premiums we charge and the liabilities we hold for future policy benefits are based on assumptions reflecting a number of factors, including the amount of premiums we will receive in the future, rate of return on assets we purchase with premiums received, expected claims, mortality, morbidity, lapse rates and expenses. However, due to the nature of the underlying risks and the high degree of uncertainty associated with the determination of the liabilities for unpaid policy benefits and claims, we cannot determine precisely the amounts we will ultimately pay to settle these liabilities, the timing of such payments, or whether the assets supporting the liabilities, together with any future premiums, will be sufficient to satisfy the liabilities.

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As a result, we may experience volatility in the level of our profitability and our reserves from period to period. To the extent that actual experience is less favorable than our underlying assumptions, we could be required to increase our liabilities, which may harm our financial strength and reduce our profitability.

For example, if mortality or morbidity rates are higher than our pricing assumptions, we may be required to make greater claims payments on our insurance policies or pay claims sooner than we had projected. Concentrations of risk, by both geography and industry, may cause mortality or morbidity rates in our group insurance or individual disability insurance to be higher than anticipated.

Our results of operations may also be adversely impacted if our actual investment earnings differ from our pricing and reserve assumptions. Changes in economic conditions may lead to changes in market interest rates or changes in our investment strategies, either of which could cause our actual investment earnings to differ from our pricing and reserve assumptions.

For additional information on our insurance reserves, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates — Insurance Reserves.”

The pattern of amortizing our DAC asset and other actuarial balances on our universal life-type insurance contracts, participating life insurance policies and certain investment contracts may change, impacting both the level of our DAC asset and other actuarial balances and the timing of our net income.

Amortization of our DAC asset and other actuarial balances depends on the actual and expected profits generated by the lines of business that incurred the expenses. Expected profits are dependent on assumptions regarding a number of factors including investment returns, benefit payments, expenses, mortality and policy lapse. Due to the uncertainty associated with establishing these assumptions, we cannot, with precision, determine the exact pattern of profit emergence. As a result, amortization of these balances will vary from period to period. To the extent actual experience emerges less favorably than expected or our expectation for future profits decreases, our DAC asset and other actuarial balances may be adjusted, reducing our profitability in the current period.

For additional information, see Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates — Deferred Acquisition Costs and Other Actuarial Balances.”

Legal, regulatory and tax risks

Changes in laws or regulations may reduce our profitability or impact how we do business.

Our businesses are subject to comprehensive regulation and supervision throughout the U.S. and in the international markets in which we operate. We are also impacted by federal legislation and administrative policies in areas such as securities laws, employee benefit plan regulation, financial services regulations, U.S. federal taxation and international taxation. Changes in laws or regulations or the interpretation thereof could significantly increase our compliance costs and reduce our profitability. Failure to comply with applicable regulations may expose us to significant penalties, the suspension or revocation of licenses to conduct business and reputational damage.

Changes in insurance regulations may reduce our profitability.

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to extensive supervision and regulation. In particular, in the U.S., the laws of the various states establish insurance departments with broad powers to supervise and regulate insurance companies. The supervision and regulation relate to numerous aspects of our business and financial condition, including insurance company laws that apply to PFG and to various transactions between our insurance companies and subsidiaries and other affiliates. The primary purpose of insurance regulation is to protect policyholders, not stockholders or creditors.

State insurance regulators, federal regulators and the NAIC continually reexamine existing laws and regulations and may impose changes in the future. New interpretations of existing laws and the passage of new legislation may harm our ability to sell new policies, increase our claims exposure on policies we issued previously and adversely affect our profitability and financial strength.

State insurance guaranty associations have the right to assess insurance companies doing business in their state for funds to help pay the obligations of insolvent insurance companies to policyholders and claimants. Because the amount and timing of an assessment are beyond our control, the liabilities we have established for these potential assessments may not be adequate. In addition, regulators may change their interpretation or application of existing laws and regulations.

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The NAIC regularly reviews and updates its U.S. statutory reserve and RBC requirements. Changes to these requirements may increase the amount of reserves and capital our U.S. insurance companies are required to hold and may adversely impact Principal Life’s ability to pay dividends to its parent. See Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” for a discussion of regulatory restrictions on Principal Life’s ability to pay dividends. In addition, changes in statutory reserve or RBC requirements may adversely impact our financial strength ratings. See the risk factor entitled “A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings may increase policy surrenders and withdrawals, reduce new sales, terminate relationships with distributors, impact existing liabilities and increase our cost of capital, any of which could adversely affect our profitability and financial condition” for a discussion of risks relating to our financial strength ratings.

State regulators have implemented a principle-based reserving (“PBR”) approach for individual life insurance. The framework is mandatory for new business beginning in 2020. Under the PBR framework, statutory reserves will reflect a combination of company experience and prescribed assumptions and methodologies. Also effective in 2020, state regulators have implemented changes to the principle-based reserve and capital requirements for variable annuities. The ultimate financial impact of these changes is uncertain, but they could result in more volatile and less predictable reserve and capital levels for these products.

We have implemented reinsurance transactions utilizing affiliated reinsurers and highly rated third parties to finance a portion of the reserves for our term life insurance policies and universal life insurance policies with secondary guarantees. Our ability to enter into new reserve financing transactions will continue to be dependent on the cost and forms of financing available in the market and our ability to obtain required regulatory approvals. For additional information regarding our use of affiliated reinsurance transactions, see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 15, Statutory Insurance Financial Information.”

The NAIC is pursuing a variety of reforms to its RBC framework, which could increase our capital requirements for our U.S. insurance businesses. The NAIC is also pursuing the development of a group-wide capital calculation. This calculation is not intended to be a regulatory capital requirement, but it could be used by regulators in their supervisory process.

Our international insurance businesses are also subject to comprehensive regulation and supervision from central and/or local governmental authorities in each country in which we operate. New interpretations of existing laws and regulations or the adoption of new laws and regulations may harm our international businesses, increase the cost of compliance and reduce our profitability in those businesses.

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (“IAIS”) has proposed a common framework for the supervision of Internationally Active Insurance Groups (“IAIGs”). For systemic risk management, the Financial Stability Board is continuing to implement group supervisory and capital requirements for Global Systemically Important Insurers (“G-SIIs”). We currently are not designated as an IAIG or a G-SII. If we were so designated in the future, we may be subject to supervision and capital requirements beyond those applicable to any competitors without those designations. These international frameworks may influence the regulatory capital requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate, potentially leading to an increase in our capital requirements.

Changes in federal, state and international securities laws may reduce our profitability.

Our asset management and accumulation and life insurance businesses are subject to various levels of regulation under federal, state and international securities laws. For example, insurance and investment products such as variable annuities, variable life insurance, mutual fund products and some funding agreements that constitute securities are subject to securities laws and regulations, including state securities regulation as well as federal regulation under the SEC, FINRA and other regulatory authorities. These laws and regulations are primarily intended to protect investors in the securities markets or investment advisory or brokerage clients and generally grant supervisory agencies and self-regulatory organizations broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or restrict the conduct of business for failure to comply with such laws and regulations. In addition, we are subject to local laws and regulations in the global jurisdictions in which we offer or provide asset management services and products. Changes to these laws or regulations, or the interpretation thereof, that restrict the conduct of our business could significantly increase our compliance costs and reduce our profitability.

Changes in employee benefit regulations may reduce our profitability.

We provide products and services to certain employee benefit plans that are subject to ERISA or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The U.S. Congress has, from time to time, considered legislation relating to changes in ERISA to permit application of state law remedies, such as consequential and punitive damages, in lawsuits for wrongful denial of benefits, which, if adopted, could increase our liability for damages in future litigation. In addition, reductions in contribution levels to defined contribution plans may decrease our profitability.

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In 2017, regulations issued by the DOL became effective, which expanded the scope of activities constituting fiduciary investment advice and imposed a “best interest” standard on advisors. The DOL’s fiduciary rule was vacated by a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in 2018. The DOL has stated that it plans to issue revised regulations for fiduciary investment advice. However, as of the date hereof, we do not know what those regulations may include, or what their impact may be on our products and services.

On June 5, 2019, the SEC voted to adopt a package of four rulemakings and interpretive releases designed to enhance the quality and transparency of retail investors’ relationships with investment advisers and broker-dealers while preserving investor choice with respect to obtaining advice, entering into advice relationships and purchasing investment products. Given the rules’ application to retail investors, Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) does not apply to recommendations to retirement plan sponsors but it does encompass recommendations made to retirement plan participants involving investment of plan assets, distributions from a plan and transfers of assets from one type of account to another (e.g., workplace retirement plan to an IRA). Following the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to vacate the DOL fiduciary rule, we maintained policies and procedures established for compliance with the fiduciary rule that are intended to ensure interactions with retirement plan participants are educational in nature, helping individuals make their own informed decisions related to investment of plan assets and distribution options. As a result, the bulk of our efforts in preparing for compliance are focused on meeting the necessary disclosure requirements of Reg BI and Form CRS (Customer Relationship Summary). The rulemaking package was published in the Federal Register on July 12, 2019, making the technical effective date September 10, 2019; however, the SEC’s deadline to comply with Reg BI and the CRS Rule (for full implementation) is June 30, 2020, which is when policies and procedures will need to be in place, including the new disclosure requirements under the CRS Rule and Reg BI.

Reg BI has been challenged both through legislative attempts to amend or repeal it and through lawsuits filed to invalidate it. So far, Reg BI remains intact, but the legislative and legal challenges create continued uncertainty.

Notwithstanding the SEC finalizing Reg BI in 2019, some states will likely still consider changes to their own insurance and securities laws and/or regulations in 2020. In 2019, Nevada, New Jersey, and Massachusetts proposed regulations imposing a fiduciary duty for the sale of securities and the NAIC is on track to adopt best interest enhancements to its existing annuity suitability model in early 2020. Related state fiduciary or “best interest” legislation and/or regulation is expected in 2020.

Financial services regulatory reform may reduce our profitability, impact how we do business or limit our ability to engage in certain capital expenditures.

On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act became law. The Act makes extensive changes to the laws regulating financial services firms and requires various federal agencies to adopt a broad range of new implementation rules and regulations, including those surrounding the use of derivatives. Some aspects of Dodd-Frank continue to be implemented, and there are some efforts to eliminate or adjust certain elements of the law. Uncertainty remains regarding the continued implementation of and potential adjustments to Dodd-Frank, and it is uncertain whether changes to Dodd-Frank will result in a material effect on our business operations.

Changes in cybersecurity or privacy regulations may increase our compliance costs and lead to increased scrutiny.

We are subject to numerous federal, state, and international regulations regarding the privacy and security of personal information. These laws vary widely by jurisdiction. Recent regulations with a significant impact on our operations include the European Union (“EU”) GDPR, the New York Department of Financial Services Part 500 cybersecurity requirements for financial services companies and the California Consumer Privacy Act. GDPR became effective in May 2018 for EU data subjects. GDPR includes numerous protections for individuals in the EU, including but not limited to notification requirements for data breaches, the right to access personal data, and the right to be forgotten. Other countries have enacted, or are considering enacting, legislation that is similar in scope to GDPR. The New York Department of Financial Services Part 500 cybersecurity requirements, which became effective in March 2017, focus on minimum standards for cybersecurity programs. The California Consumer Privacy Act, which is effective as of January 1, 2020, contains similar consumer protections to those in the EU GDPR and applies to companies doing business in California. Similar standards are set forth in the NAIC’s Insurance Data Security Model Law. It is anticipated that additional federal, state and international regulations will continue to be enacted in the future. Changes in existing cybersecurity and privacy regulations or the enactment of new regulations may increase our compliance costs and failure to comply with these regulations may lead to reputational damage, fines or civil damages, and increased regulatory scrutiny.

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Changes in tax laws could increase our tax costs and reduce sales of our insurance, annuity and investment products.

Many of the insurance, annuity, and investment products we issue receive favorable tax treatment under current U.S. federal income tax laws. Changes in U.S. federal income tax laws could reduce or eliminate the tax advantages of certain of our products, thus making these products less attractive to our customers. This may lead to a reduction in sales and deposits, which may adversely impact our profitability.

In addition, we benefit from certain tax items, including but not limited to, dividends received deductions, tax credits (such as foreign tax credits), tax-exempt bond interest and insurance reserve deductions. From time to time, the U.S. Congress, as well as foreign, state and local governments, consider legislative changes that could reduce or eliminate the benefits associated with these and other tax items, some of which were impacted by the U.S. tax reform. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has released proposed policies around Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and modernizing global tax systems originally designed to only account for physical presence. Our profitability could be negatively impacted as legislation is adopted by participating countries. We continue to evaluate the impact potential tax reform proposals may have on our future results of operations and financial condition.

For a discussion of the impact of recently adopted tax legislation, see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 10, Income Taxes.”

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.

We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect our intellectual property. Third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which represents a diversion of resources that may be significant in amount and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of our intellectual property assets could have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to compete.

We also may be subject to costly litigation in the event another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon such other party’s intellectual property rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents or other protections that could be infringed by our products, methods, processes or services or could otherwise limit our ability to offer certain product features. Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against us. We may also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, license usage rights, or misappropriation of trade secret rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant liability for damages. If we were found to have infringed or misappropriated a third party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses, or alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our ability to pay stockholder dividends and meet our obligations may be constrained by the limitations on dividends Iowa insurance laws impose on Principal Life.

We are an insurance holding company whose assets include all of the outstanding shares of the common stock of Principal Life and other subsidiaries. Our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders and meet our obligations, including paying operating expenses and any debt service, depends upon the receipt of dividends from Principal Life. Iowa insurance laws impose limitations on the ability of Principal Life to pay dividends to its parent. Any inability of Principal Life to pay dividends in the future may cause us to be unable to pay dividends to our stockholders and meet our other obligations. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” for a discussion of regulatory restrictions on Principal Life’s ability to pay dividends.

Changes in accounting standards may adversely affect our reported results of operations and financial condition.

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). From time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”). The required adoption of future accounting standards may adversely affect our reported results of operations and financial condition. For a discussion of the impact of accounting pronouncements issued but not yet implemented, see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 1, Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies”. In August 2018, the FASB issued final guidance on targeted improvements to the accounting for long-duration insurance contracts.

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The guidance will become effective for us on January 1, 2022. As we progress through our implementation, we will be able to better assess the impact to our consolidated financial statements; however, we expect it will significantly change how we account for many of our insurance and annuity products and it could negatively impact our reported profitability and financial ratios. In addition, the required adoption of new accounting standards may result in significant incremental costs associated with initial implementation and ongoing compliance.

Litigation and regulatory investigations may affect our financial strength or reduce our profitability.

We are regularly involved in litigation, both as a defendant and as a plaintiff, but primarily as a defendant. Litigation naming us as a defendant ordinarily arises out of our business operations as a provider of asset management and accumulation products and services; individual life insurance and specialty benefits insurance; and our investment activities. We are, from time to time, also involved in various governmental, regulatory and administrative proceedings and inquiries.

Legal liability or adverse publicity with respect to current or future legal or regulatory actions, whether or not involving us, may affect our financial strength or reduce our profitability. For further discussion on litigation and regulatory investigation risk, see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 12, Contingencies, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Leases” under the caption, “Litigation and Regulatory Contingencies” and Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 10, Income Taxes” under the caption “Other Tax Information.”

From time to time we may become subject to tax audits, tax litigation or similar proceedings, and as a result we may owe additional taxes, interest and penalties in amounts that may be material.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States as well as many other jurisdictions. In determining our provisions for income taxes and our accounting for tax-related matters in general, we are required to exercise judgment. We regularly make estimates where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. The final determination of any tax audit, appeal of the decision of a taxing authority, tax litigation or similar proceedings may be materially different from that reflected in our historical financial statements. The assessment of additional taxes, interest and penalties could be materially adverse to our current and future results of operations and financial condition.

Applicable laws and our certificate of incorporation and by-laws may discourage takeovers and business combinations that some stockholders might consider in their best interests.

State laws and our certificate of incorporation and by-laws may delay, defer, prevent, or render more difficult a takeover attempt that some stockholders might consider in their best interests. For instance, they may prevent our stockholders from receiving the benefit from any premium to the market price of our common stock offered by a bidder in a takeover context. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock if they are viewed as discouraging takeover attempts in the future.

State laws and our certificate of incorporation and by-laws may also make it difficult for stockholders to replace or remove our management. These provisions may facilitate management entrenchment, which may delay, defer or prevent a change in our control, which may not be in the best interests of our stockholders.

The following provisions, included in our certificate of incorporation and by-laws, may also have anti-takeover effects and may delay, defer or prevent a takeover attempt that some stockholders might consider in their best interests. In particular, our certificate of incorporation and by-laws:

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In addition, Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware may limit the ability of an “interested stockholder” to engage in business combinations with us. An interested stockholder is defined to include persons owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock.

Risks relating to our business

Competition, including from companies that may have greater financial resources, broader arrays of products, higher ratings and stronger financial performance, may impair our ability to retain existing customers, attract new customers and maintain our profitability.

We believe our ability to compete is based on a number of factors including scale, service, product features, price, investment performance, commission structure, distribution capacity, financial strength ratings and name recognition. We compete with a large number of financial services companies such as banks, mutual funds, institutional trust companies, broker-dealers, insurers and asset managers, many of which have advantages over us in one or more of the above competitive factors.

Each of our segments faces strong competition:

In the event competitors charge lower premiums or fees for substantially similar products, we may face pressure to lower our prices in order to attract and retain customers and distributors. Reductions in the premiums and fees we charge may adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

Technological and societal changes may disrupt our business model and impair our ability to retain existing customers, attract new customers and maintain our profitability.

Technological advances, innovation in the financial services industry and societal changes may impact our business model and competitive position. These changes may lead to significant changes in the marketing, distribution, underwriting and pricing of financial services products. In addition, technological and societal changes may lead to changes in customers’ preferences as to how they want to interact with us and the types of products they want to buy. We may need to change our distribution channels, our customer service model or our product offerings to accommodate evolving customer preferences. Implementing these changes may require significant expenditures. To the extent our competitors are more successful than us at adapting to technological changes and evolving customer preferences, our competitive position and profitability may be adversely impacted.

Advances in medical technology may also adversely impact our profitability. Increases in the availability and accuracy of genetic testing may increase our exposure to anti-selection risk. In addition, medical advances may lead to increased longevity. As a result, we may be required to pay annuity benefits over a longer period of time than we had projected, thereby reducing the profitability of our annuity products.

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Damage to our reputation may adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

Our continued success is dependent upon our ability to earn and maintain the trust and confidence of customers, distributors, employees and other stakeholders. Damage to our reputation may arise from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, litigation or regulatory actions, compliance failures, employee misconduct, cybersecurity incidents, unfavorable press coverage, and unfavorable comments on social media. Adverse developments within our industry may also, by association, negatively impact our reputation or result in greater regulatory or legislative scrutiny. Any damage to our reputation could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers, distributors and employees, potentially leading to a reduction in our revenues and profitability.

A downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings may increase policy surrenders and withdrawals, reduce new sales, terminate relationships with distributors, impact existing liabilities and increase our cost of capital, any of which could adversely affect our profitability and financial condition.

A.M. Best, Fitch, Moody’s and S&P publish financial strength ratings on U.S. life insurance companies as well as some of our international insurance companies. These ratings indicate the applicable rating agency’s opinion regarding an insurance company’s ability to meet contractholder and policyholder obligations. These rating agencies also assign credit ratings on non-life insurance entities, such as PFG and Principal Financial Services, Inc. (“PFS”). Credit ratings indicate the applicable rating agency’s opinion regarding a debt issuer’s ability to meet the terms of debt obligations in a timely manner and are important factors in overall funding profile and ability to access external capital.

Ratings are important factors in establishing the competitive position of insurance companies and maintaining public confidence in products being offered. Our ratings could be downgraded at any time without advance notice by any rating agency. A ratings downgrade, or the potential for such a downgrade, could, among other things:

Any of these consequences could adversely affect our profitability and financial condition.

Client terminations or withdrawals or changes in investor preferences may lead to a reduction in revenues for our asset management and accumulation businesses.

Revenues from our asset management and accumulation products are primarily fee-based. Our asset-based fees are typically calculated as a percentage of the market value of assets under management. Our asset management and accumulation clients may elect to terminate their relationship with us or withdraw funds, generally on short notice. Client terminations and withdrawals may be driven by a variety of factors, including economic conditions, investment performance, investor preferences or changes in our reputation in the marketplace. Significant terminations or withdrawals may reduce our AUM, thus adversely affecting our revenues and profitability.

In addition, fee levels can vary significantly among different types of investments. We generally earn higher fees on liquid alternatives and equity investments vs. fixed income investments and on actively managed investments vs. indexed or passive investment strategies. Therefore, our fee revenue is impacted by both the value and the composition of our AUM. Investor preferences with respect to asset classes and investment strategies may shift over time due to market conditions, tax law changes, regulatory changes and various other factors. Changes in the composition of our assets under management may adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

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Guarantees within certain of our products that protect policyholders may decrease our net income or increase the volatility of our results of operations or financial position under U.S. GAAP if our hedging or risk management strategies prove ineffective or insufficient.

Certain of our variable annuity products include guaranteed minimum death benefits and/or guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits. Periods of significant and sustained downturns in equity markets, increased equity volatility or reduced interest rates could result in an increase in the valuation of the future policy benefit or contractholder fund liabilities associated with such products, resulting in a reduction to net income. We use derivative instruments to attempt to mitigate changes in the liability exposure related to interest rate, equity market and volatility movements, and the volatility of net income associated with these liabilities. However, we remain liable for the guaranteed benefits in the event that derivative counterparties are unable or unwilling to pay. The liability exposure and volatility of net income may also be influenced by changes in market credit spreads reflecting our own creditworthiness, for which we do not attempt to hedge. In addition, we are subject to the risk that hedging and other management procedures prove ineffective or that unanticipated policyholder behavior or mortality, combined with adverse market events, produces economic losses beyond the scope of the risk management techniques employed. These, individually or collectively, may have a material adverse effect on our net income, financial condition or liquidity. We are also subject to the risk that the cost of hedging these guaranteed minimum benefits increases as implied volatilities increase and/or interest rates decrease, resulting in a reduction to net income.

If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees and sales representatives and develop new distribution sources, our results of operations, financial condition and sales of our products may be adversely impacted.

Our continued success is largely dependent on our ability to attract and retain qualified employees. We face intense competition in attracting and retaining key employees, including investment, marketing, finance, information technology, legal, compliance and other professionals. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely impacted.

We distribute our asset accumulation, asset management and life and specialty benefit insurance products and services through a variety of distribution channels, including our own internal sales representatives, independent brokers, banks, broker-dealers and other third-party marketing organizations. We must attract and retain sales representatives to sell our products. Strong competition exists among financial services companies for efficient sales representatives. We compete with other financial services companies for sales representatives primarily on the basis of our financial position, support services and compensation and product features. If we are unable to attract and retain sufficient sales representatives to sell our products, our ability to compete and revenues from new sales would suffer.

Our ability to increase and retain AUM is directly related to the performance of our investments as measured against market averages and the performance of our competitors. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified portfolio managers, we may face reduced sales and increased cash outflows in our asset accumulation and asset management businesses.

An interruption in telecommunication, information technology, or other systems, or a failure to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data residing on such systems, could disrupt our business, damage our reputation and adversely impact our profitability.

We rely on telecommunication, information technology, and other systems to conduct business, including customer service, marketing and sales activities, customer relationship management and producing financial statements. In addition, we store and process confidential and proprietary business information on both company owned and third party and/or vendor managed systems, including cloud service providers.

Financial services companies have increasingly become targets of cyberattacks resulting in unauthorized access to confidential information, theft of funds from online accounts, disruption or degradation of service or other damage. These attacks may take a variety of forms, including web application attacks, denial of service attacks, ransomware and other viruses, malware and social engineering, including phishing. We have policies, procedures, security controls and monitoring, automation and backup plans designed to prevent, or limit the effect of failure; however, the sophistication of cybercriminals may still result in disruptions or breaches beyond our control. The failure of our telecommunication, information technology, or other systems, for any reason, could disrupt our operations, result in the loss of business and adversely impact our profitability.

Any compromise of the security of our systems that results in the disclosure of personally identifiable customer or employee information could damage our reputation, deter customers from purchasing our products and services, expose us to litigation, increase regulatory scrutiny and require us to incur significant technical, legal and other expenses. In addition, personally identifiable information about our customers, along with potential log-in credentials, are increasingly available to hackers due to data breaches at other companies and inadvertent disclosure by customers, such as through phishing and password reuse. Cybercriminals may use this information to attempt to gain unauthorized access to our customers’ accounts, which could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, results of operations, and financial condition.

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Our international businesses face political, legal, operational and other risks that could reduce our profitability in those businesses.

Our international businesses face political, legal, operational and other risks that we do not face in our operations in the U.S. We face the risk of discriminatory regulation, nationalization or expropriation of assets, price controls and exchange controls or other restrictions that prevent us from transferring funds from these operations out of the locations in which they operate or converting local currencies we hold into U.S. dollars or other currencies. Our international businesses also face the risk of political instability and social unrest, which may lead to disruptions to those businesses and to local financial markets and commerce and reduced economic activity in the countries in which we operate. Some of our international businesses are, and are likely to continue to be, in emerging or potentially volatile markets. In addition, we rely on local staff, including local sales forces, in those locations where there is a risk we may encounter labor problems with local staff, especially in locations where workers’ associations and trade unions are strong.

We face risks arising from our participation in joint ventures.

We participate in joint ventures, primarily in our international businesses and real estate investment operations. In these joint ventures, we lack complete management and operational control over the operations, and our joint venture partners may have objectives that are not fully aligned with our interests. These factors may limit our ability to take action to protect or increase the value of our investment in the joint venture.

We may need to fund deficiencies in our Closed Block assets.

In connection with its conversion in 1998 into a stock life insurance company, Principal Life established an accounting mechanism, known as a “Closed Block” for the benefit of participating ordinary life insurance policies that had a dividend scale in force on July 1, 1998. We allocated assets to the Closed Block as of July 1, 1998, in an amount such that we expected their cash flows, together with anticipated revenues from the policies in the Closed Block, to be sufficient to support the Closed Block business, including payment of claims, certain direct expenses, charges and taxes and to provide for the continuation of aggregate dividend scales in accordance with the 1997 policy dividend scales if the experience underlying such scales continued, and to allow for appropriate adjustments in such scales if the experience changed. We will continue to pay guaranteed benefits under the policies included in the Closed Block, in accordance with their terms. The Closed Block assets, cash flows generated by the Closed Block assets and anticipated revenues from policies included in the Closed Block may not be sufficient to provide for the benefits guaranteed under these policies. If they are not sufficient, we must fund the shortfall. Even if they are sufficient, we may choose for business reasons to support dividend payments on policies in the Closed Block with our general account funds.

The Closed Block assets, cash flows generated by the Closed Block assets and anticipated revenues from policies in the Closed Block will benefit only the holders of those policies. In addition, to the extent these amounts are greater than the amounts estimated at the time we funded the Closed Block, dividends payable in respect of the policies included in the Closed Block may be greater than they would have been in the absence of a Closed Block. Any excess net income will be available for distribution over time to Closed Block policyholders but will not be available to our stockholders. See Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 6, Closed Block” for further details.

A pandemic, terrorist attack, military action or other catastrophic event could adversely affect our operations, net income or financial condition.

The occurrence of pandemic disease, man-made disasters such as terrorist attacks and military actions, and natural disasters could adversely affect our operations, net income or financial condition. For example, our mortality and morbidity experience could be adversely impacted by a catastrophic event. In addition, a severe catastrophic event may cause significant volatility in global financial markets, disruptions to commerce and reduced economic activity. The resulting macroeconomic conditions could adversely affect our cash flows, as well as the value and liquidity of our invested assets. We may also experience operational disruptions if our employees are unable or unwilling to come to work due to a pandemic or other catastrophe.

Our reinsurers could default on their obligations or increase their rates, which could adversely impact our net income and financial condition.

We cede life, disability, medical and long-term care insurance to other insurance companies through reinsurance. See Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 1, Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies.” The collectability of reinsurance recoverables is largely dependent on the solvency of the individual insurers. We remain liable to the policyholder, even if the reinsurer defaults on its obligations with respect to the ceded business. In addition, a reinsurer’s insolvency may cause us to lose our reserve credits on the ceded business, in which case we would be required to establish additional reserves.

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The premium rates we charge are based, in part, on the assumption that reinsurance will be available at a certain cost. Most of our reinsurance contracts contain provisions that limit the reinsurer’s ability to increase rates on in-force business; however, some do not. If a reinsurer raises the rates it charges on a block of in-force business, our profitability may be negatively impacted if we are not able to pass the increased costs on to the customer. If reinsurers raise the rates they charge on new business, we may be forced to raise the premiums we charge, which could have a negative impact on our competitive position.

We face risks related to our acquisition of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s IRT business

We may not realize the expected benefits of our acquisition of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s IRT business because of integration difficulties, delays in the transfer of purchased assets or other challenges.

On July 1, 2019, we closed the acquisition (the “Acquisition”) of the IRT business of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (the “Seller”). The success of the Acquisition depends, in part, on our ability to successfully integrate and operate the Acquired Business in conjunction with our existing businesses. The integration process may be complex, costly and time-consuming. The potential difficulties of integrating the operations of the Acquired Business include, among others:

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We may not accomplish the integration of the Acquired Business smoothly, successfully or within the anticipated costs or timeframe. In particular, the transfer to us of many of the purchased assets, including contracts with customers and vendors of the Acquired Business, has not yet been effectuated and, if the requisite consents of contractual counterparties of the Acquired Business or other third parties are not received, may not be effectuated at all. Furthermore, we are reliant upon the Seller to continue to provide services to the Acquired Business for a transitional period following the closing of the transaction. Any difficulties or delays encountered in combining operations could prevent us from realizing the full benefits anticipated to result from the Acquisition and could adversely affect our business, results of operations and/or financial condition. In addition, the Acquired Business may not meet our expectations, causing our financial results to differ from our own or the investment community’s expectations. It is possible that the Acquired Business may be adversely affected by regulatory, political, economic, business or competitive factors in the future, which could prevent us from realizing the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition. The Acquisition may also divert our management’s attention from our current operations to the integration effort, which could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and/or financial condition.

The obligations and liabilities of the Seller, some of which may be unanticipated or unknown, may be greater than we have anticipated, which may diminish the value of the Acquired Business to us.

In connection with the Acquisition, we will assume certain liabilities of the Seller and its affiliates, including, among others: specified current liabilities; liabilities arising under the terms (or from the performance) of specified transferred contracts; liabilities arising out of the employment or termination of employment of employees of the Acquired Business and liabilities relating to certain purchased assets. The assumed liabilities may be greater than we have anticipated. The obligations and liabilities of the Seller could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Acquired Business to us or on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We have only limited indemnification rights from the Seller under the purchase agreement for the Acquisition with respect to obligations or liabilities of the Seller, whether known or unknown.

The Acquired Business may present risks that could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and/or financial condition.

As a result of the Acquisition, we will for the first time provide trust and custody services for non-retirement plan assets of corporations, foundations, municipalities and other institutions. In addition, as a result of the Acquisition, we will expand the size of the trust and custody services we currently provide to defined contribution 401(k), defined benefit, employee stock ownership and non-qualified plans.  

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The entry into and expansion of these business lines may present risks and uncertainties that could have a negative effect on our business, results of operations and/or financial condition, including adverse customer retention. On an ongoing basis, our bank regulators will closely watch our capability to successfully manage this expansion, and they may compel remediation activities and potentially impose fines if they find our compliance to be insufficient.

Trust and custody services primarily are a fee-based business, and fees for such trust and custody services may be based on the market value of assets under management, administration or custody; the volume of transactions processed and fees for other services rendered. Disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the capital markets; weak economic conditions and/or declines in the financial markets may decrease our fee-based revenue, which may negatively impact our results of operations. The market for trust and custody business is highly competitive. In the event that competitors charge lower fees for substantially similar trust and custody services, we may face pressure to lower our prices in order to attract and retain customers, and any reductions in the fees we charge for these services may adversely affect our revenue, and, accordingly, negatively impact our results of operations. Trust and custody services also include revenues that will vary based on interest rates and customer account balances.

The Acquired Business involves the risk that clients or others may sue us, claiming that we or third parties for whom they say we are responsible have failed to perform under a contract or otherwise failed to carry out a duty perceived to be owed to them, including perceived fiduciary or contractual duties. This risk may be heightened during periods when credit, equity or other financial markets are deteriorating in value or are particularly volatile, or when clients or investors are experiencing losses. Actions brought against us may result in lawsuits, enforcement actions, injunctions, settlements, damages, fines or penalties, which could have a negative effect on our financial condition or results of operations or require changes to our business. These risks could result in increased regulatory supervision and affect our ability to attract and retain customers.

We face risks arising from future acquisitions of businesses.

We have acquired businesses in the past, including the Acquired Business, and expect to continue to do so in the future. We face a number of risks arising from future acquisition transactions, including difficulties in integrating the acquired business into our operations, difficulties in assimilating and retaining employees and intermediaries, difficulties in retaining the existing customers of the acquired entity, unforeseen liabilities that arise in connection with the acquired business, unfavorable market conditions that could negatively impact our growth expectations for the acquired business and sustained declines in the equity market that could reduce the AUM and fee revenues for certain acquired businesses. These risks may prevent us from realizing the expected benefits from future acquisitions and could result in the impairment of goodwill and/or intangible assets recognized at the time of acquisition.

For additional information on our goodwill and other intangible assets, see Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates — Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.”

Loss of key vendor relationships or failure of a vendor to protect information of our customers or employees could adversely affect our business or result in losses.

We rely on services and products provided by many vendors in the United States and abroad. These include, for example, vendors of computer hardware and software and vendors of services. In the event that one or more of our vendors suffers a bankruptcy or otherwise becomes unable to continue to provide products or services or fails to protect personal information of our customers or employees, we may suffer operational impairments, reputational damage and financial losses.

Our enterprise risk management framework may not be fully effective in identifying or mitigating all of the risks to which we are exposed.

We utilize an integrated risk management framework, which is designed to manage material risks within established risk appetites and risk tolerances. Nonetheless, our policies and procedures may not be fully effective in identifying or mitigating every risk to which we are exposed. Many of our methods for managing and mitigating risk rely on models and assumptions that are based, in part, on observed historical data. As a result, these methods may not accurately predict future exposures, which may be significantly greater than our historical measures indicate. We may be exposed to unanticipated risks as a result of changes in market conditions, new products or new business strategies, catastrophes or other unforeseen circumstances. If our risk management framework proves ineffective, we may suffer unexpected losses, which may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

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Our financial results may be adversely impacted by global climate changes.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have increased dramatically since the industrial revolution, resulting in a gradual increase in global average temperatures and an increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters. These trends are expected to continue in the future and have the potential to impact nearly all sectors of the economy to varying degrees. We cannot predict the long-term impacts of climate change, but we will continue to monitor new developments in the future.

Potential impacts may include the following:

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

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Item 2. Properties

As of December 31, 2019, we owned 30 properties in our home office complex in Des Moines, Iowa, and in various other locations. Of these 30 properties, 14 are office buildings, 1 is a warehouse facility, 12 are parking lots and ramps, 1 is a park/green space, 1 is a childcare center and 1 is a power generation plant. Of the office and warehouse space, we occupy approximately 91.9% of the 2.6 million square feet of space in these buildings. The balance of the space in these buildings is rented to commercial tenants or is occupied by the property management company servicing these properties. We lease office space for various offices located throughout the U.S. and internationally. We believe that our owned and leased properties are suitable and adequate for our current business operations.

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Disclosure concerning legal proceedings can be found in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 12, Contingencies, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Leases” under the caption, “Litigation and Regulatory Contingencies” and Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 10, Income Taxes” under the caption, “Other Tax Information,” which are incorporated here by this reference.

Information about our Executive Officers

The following information is furnished with respect to our executive officers, each of whom is elected by and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Directors.

Timothy M. Dunbar, 62, has been President of Global Asset Management of the Company and Principal Life since September 2018 and Executive Vice President of the Company and Principal Life and Chief Investment Officer of the Company since January 2014. Prior to that date, he served as Senior Vice President of the Company and Principal Life since 2011, and Chief Investment Officer of the Company and Principal Life since January 2013. Prior to that date, Mr. Dunbar was in charge of Strategy and Finance for the Company and Principal Life in 2011 and 2012, overseeing the business management and strategic direction of the capital markets, corporate strategy and corporate treasury areas. Mr. Dunbar previously served as the executive director and head of equities for Principal Global Investors from 2004 until 2011.

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Renee V. Schaaf, 61, has been President, Retirement and Income Solutions of the Company and Principal Life since March 2019. Prior to her current position, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Principal International of the Company and Principal Life since March 2016.

Amy C. Friedrich, 48, has been President of U.S. Insurance Solutions since May 2017. Prior to that time, she was Senior Vice President of the Specialty Benefits insurance division of U.S. Insurance Solutions since 2015, and Vice President of Specialty Benefits since 2008.

Patrick G. Halter, 60, has been Chief Executive Officer for Principal Global Investors, the investment management firm within our Global Asset Management business, since September 2018.  Prior to that time, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Principal Global Investors, since 2016 and was Chief Executive Officer for Principal Real Estate Investors, the dedicated real estate unit of Principal Global Investors, since 2003.

Daniel J. Houston, 58, has been a director of the Company and Principal Life and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Principal Life since August 2015. Prior to that date, he held the same positions except was Chief Operating Officer (and not Chief Executive Officer) since November 2014. Previously, he served as President, Retirement, Insurance and Financial Services of the Company and Principal Life since 2010. He was President, Retirement and Income Solutions of the Company and Principal Life from 2008 until 2010, and was Executive Vice President, Retirement and Income Solutions of the Company and Principal Life from 2006 to 2008.

Julia M. Lawler, 60, has been Executive Vice President of the Company and Principal Life since September 2018 and continues to serve as Chief Risk Officer. She was Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of the Company and Principal Life since January 2018. Prior to that time, she served as Senior Executive Director Multi-Asset Allocation since 2015, was Chief Investment Officer of Retirement and Income Solutions since 2014, and previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the Company and Principal Life since 2002.

Chris J. Littlefield, 53, has been Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Company and Principal Life since January 2020. Prior to that date, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Holdings from October 2014 to December 2018. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Aviva USA Corporation from February 2009 to October 2013 and served as Chief Operating Officer of Aviva USA Corporation from February 2008 to September 2009. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of AmerUS Group Co. from January 2006 to February 2008.

Gary P. Scholten, 62, has been Chief Digital Officer since May 2017 and Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the Company and Principal Life since February 2014. Prior to that date, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the Company and Principal Life since 2002.

Karen E. Shaff, 65, has been Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer since January 2020. Prior to that date, she was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Company and Principal Life since 2004. In addition, she has served as Secretary of the Company and Principal Life since January 2014. Prior to that time, she was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Company since 2001, and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Principal Life since 2000.

Deanna D. Strable-Soethout, 51, has been Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company and Principal Life since February 2017. Prior to that date, she was Executive Vice President of the Company and Principal Life since September 2016 and President, U.S. Insurance Solutions of the Company and Principal Life since March 2015. Prior to that, she served as Senior Vice President of the Company and Principal Life since 2006.

Luis E.Valdes, 62, has been the head of the Principal International segment of our operations since 2012, has been President, Principal International of the Company and Principal Life since 2011. Prior to his current position, he was Senior Vice President and President — PFG Latin America of the Company and Principal Life since 2010 and was Vice President — Principal International of Principal Life from 2000 until 2010.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PFG” on October 23, 2001. Prior to such date, there was no established public trading market for our common stock. Effective December 15, 2017, we changed our listing to the Nasdaq Global Select Market and continue trading under the symbol “PFG”. On January 31, 2020, there were 246,833 stockholders of record of our common stock.

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We have historically paid cash dividends on our common stock. Future dividend decisions will be based on and affected by a number of factors, including our results and financial requirements and the impact of regulatory restrictions. See Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” for a discussion of regulatory restrictions on Principal Life's ability to pay dividends.

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The following table presents the amount of our share purchase activity for the periods indicated:

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following table sets forth certain selected historical consolidated financial information. We derived the consolidated financial information (except for amounts referred to as “Other Supplemental Data”) for each of the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 and as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 from our audited consolidated financial statements and notes to the financial statements included in this Form 10-K. We derived the consolidated financial information (except for amounts referred to as “Other Supplemental Data”) for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 and as of December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this Form 10-K. The following summary of consolidated financial information (except for amounts referred to as “Other Supplemental Data”) has been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

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In order to fully understand our consolidated financial information, please also see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes to the financial statements included in this Form 10-K. The results for past accounting periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future accounting period.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following analysis discusses our financial condition as of December 31, 2019, compared with December 31, 2018, our consolidated results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, and, where appropriate, factors that may affect our future financial performance. The discussion should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes to the financial statements and the other financial information included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

Forward-Looking Information

Our narrative analysis below contains forward-looking statements intended to enhance the reader’s ability to assess our future financial performance. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that represent our beliefs concerning future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments, and contain words and phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are made based upon management’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.

Actual results may differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk factors listed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

Overview

We provide financial products and services through the following reportable segments:

We also have a Corporate segment, which consists of the assets and activities that have not been allocated to any other segment. See Item 1. “Business” for a description of our reportable segments.

Effective January 1, 2019, we made changes to the allocation of certain compensation and other expenses and net investment income among the reportable segments. These allocation changes were made as a result of a global financial process improvement project. The expense allocation changes simplify the allocation processes, increase transparency and allow for more effective expense management across the enterprise. The net investment income allocation changes better align our internal capital allocation with enterprise capital targets. Segment results for prior periods were recast so they are reported on a comparable basis, with no impact to total company financial results.

Economic Factors and Trends

Positive market performance and net customer cash flow led to an increase in account values in our Retirement and Income Solutions segment in 2019. Account value is the base by which this business generates revenues. The increase in account values contributed to the overall improvement of fee revenues in this segment, in addition to the increase in fee revenues related to the Acquired Business.

Positive market performance led to an increase in AUM managed by our Principal Global Investors segment in 2019. AUM is the primary base by which this business generates revenues. Also included in revenues are borrower fees, transaction fees and performance fees which can fluctuate between years.

In our Principal International segment, we continued to grow our business organically in 2019 through our existing subsidiaries and joint ventures. Local currency AUM, a key indicator of earnings growth for the segment, increased in 2019 as a result of positive market performance and net customer cash flow. The financial results for the Principal International segment are also impacted by fluctuations of the foreign currency to U.S. dollar exchange rates for the locations in which we have business. AUM was negatively impacted by foreign currency fluctuations in 2019.

The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment has been impacted by lower interest rates in recent years, which has caused spread compression and led to higher reserves. We have mitigated some of the impact through changes in our investment strategy and changes to certain product offerings.

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Profitability

Our profitability depends in large part upon our:

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The increasing complexity of the business environment and applicable authoritative accounting guidance requires us to closely monitor our accounting policies. Our significant accounting policies are described in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 1, Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies.” We have identified critical accounting policies that are complex and require significant judgment and estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain. A summary of our critical accounting policies is intended to enhance the reader’s ability to assess our financial condition and results of operations and the potential volatility due to changes in estimates and changes in guidance. The identification, selection and disclosure of critical accounting estimates and policies have been discussed with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Valuation and Impairment of Fixed Income Investments

Fixed Maturities.  Fixed maturities include bonds, asset-backed securities (“ABS”), redeemable preferred stock and certain non-redeemable preferred securities. We classify our fixed maturities as either AFS or trading and, accordingly, carry them at fair value in the consolidated statements of financial position. Volatility in net income can result from changes in fair value of fixed maturities classified as trading. Volatility in other comprehensive income can result from changes in fair value of fixed maturities classified as AFS.

We measure the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities based on assumptions used by market participants in pricing the asset or liability, which may include inherent risk, restrictions on the sale or use of an asset, or nonperformance risk, including our own credit risk. For additional details concerning the methodologies, assumptions and inputs utilized see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 14, Fair Value Measurements” under the caption, “Determination of Fair Value.”

The fair values of our public fixed maturities are primarily based on market prices from third party pricing vendors. We have regular interactions with these vendors to ensure we understand their pricing methodologies and to confirm they are utilizing observable market information. In addition, 7% of our invested asset portfolio as of December 31, 2019, was invested in privately placed fixed maturities with no readily available market quotes to determine the fair market value. The majority of these assets are valued using a matrix pricing valuation approach that utilizes observable market inputs. In the matrix approach, securities are grouped into pricing categories that vary by sector, rating and average life. Each pricing category is assigned a risk spread based on observable public market data. The expected cash flows of the security are then discounted back at the current Treasury curve plus the appropriate risk spread. Although the matrix valuation approach provides a fair valuation of each pricing category, the valuation of an individual security within each pricing category may be impacted by company specific factors. This excludes privately placed securities subject to Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933 that are primarily based on market prices from third party pricing vendors, similar to public fixed maturities.

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If we are unable to price a fixed maturity security using prices from third party pricing vendors or other sources specific to the asset class, we may obtain a broker quote or utilize an internal pricing model specific to the asset utilizing relevant market information, to the extent available and where at least one significant unobservable input is utilized. These are reflected in Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy and can include fixed maturities across all asset classes. As of December 31, 2019, less than 1% of our total fixed maturities were Level 3 securities valued using internal pricing models. See Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 14, Fair Value Measurements” for further discussion.

The $4,175.6 million increase in net unrealized gains from U.S. investment operations for the year ended December 31, 2019, can be attributed to an approximate 74 basis point decrease in interest rates and tightening of credit spreads. For additional information about interest rate risk see Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”

Fixed maturities classified as AFS are subject to impairment reviews. When evaluating fixed maturities for impairment, we consider relevant facts and circumstances in evaluating whether a credit or interest rate-related impairment of a security is other than temporary. Relevant facts and circumstances considered include: (1) the extent and length of time the fair value has been below cost; (2) the reasons for the decline in value; (3) the financial position and access to capital of the issuer, including the current and future impact of any specific events; (4) for structured securities, the adequacy of the expected cash flows and (5) our intent to sell a security or whether it is more likely than not we will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost which, in some cases, may extend to maturity. To the extent we determine a security is deemed to be other than temporarily impaired, an impairment loss is recognized. See item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 4, Investments” under the caption, “Other-Than-Temporary Impairments” for further discussion.

A number of significant risks and uncertainties are inherent in the process of monitoring credit impairments and determining if an impairment is other than temporary. These risks and uncertainties include: (1) the risk that our assessment of an issuer's ability to meet all of its contractual obligations will change based on changes in the credit characteristics of that issuer; (2) the risk that the economic outlook will be worse than expected or have more of an impact on the issuer than anticipated; (3) the risk that our investment professionals are making decisions based on fraudulent or misstated information in the financial statements provided by issuers and (4) the risk that new information obtained by us or changes in other facts and circumstances lead us to change our intent to not sell the security prior to recovery of its amortized cost. Any of these situations could result in a charge to net income in a future period. As of December 31, 2019, we had $8,525.0 million in AFS fixed maturities with gross unrealized losses totaling $124.0 million. Included in the gross unrealized losses are losses attributable to both movements in market interest rates as well as movement in credit spreads.

Effective January 1, 2020, with the implementation of guidance for measurement of credit losses on financial instruments, a credit loss on fixed maturities classified as AFS will be recognized through an allowance for credit losses rather than a direct write-down for other than temporary impairment.  

Mortgage Loans.  Mortgage loans consist primarily of commercial mortgage loans on real estate. Commercial mortgage loans on real estate are generally reported at cost adjusted for amortization of premiums and accrual of discounts, computed using the interest method and net of valuation allowances. These loans are considered impaired when, based on current information and events, it is probable we will be unable to collect all amounts due according to contractual terms of the loan agreement. When we determine a loan is impaired, a valuation allowance is established equal to the difference between the carrying amount of the mortgage loan and the estimated value reduced by the cost to sell. Estimated value is based on either the present value of the expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s effective interest rate, the loan’s observable market price or fair value of the collateral. Subsequent changes in the estimated value are reflected in the valuation allowance. Amounts on loans deemed to be uncollectible are charged off and removed from the valuation allowance. The change in the valuation allowance provision is included in net realized capital gains (losses) on our consolidated statements of operations. For more detailed information concerning mortgage loan valuation allowances and impairments, see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 4, Investments” under the caption, “Mortgage Loan Valuation Allowance.”

Effective January 1, 2020, with the implementation of guidance for measurement of credit losses on financial instruments, the mortgage loan valuation allowance will be based on the current expected credit loss model. This is not expected to have a material impact on the valuation allowance.

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Derivatives

We use derivatives primarily to hedge or reduce exposure to market risks. The fair values of exchange-traded derivatives are determined through quoted market prices. Exchange-traded derivatives include futures that are settled daily, which reduces their fair value in the consolidated statements of financial position. The fair values of privately negotiated contracts, which are usually referred to as over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives, that are cleared through centralized clearinghouses are determined through market prices published by the clearinghouses. Beginning in 2017, variation margin associated with OTC cleared derivatives is settled daily, which reduces their fair value in the consolidated statements of financial position. The fair values of non-cleared OTC derivatives are determined using either pricing valuation models that utilize market observable inputs or broker quotes. On an absolute fair value basis as of December 31, 2019, 91% of our OTC derivative assets and liabilities were valued using pricing valuation models using market observable data and the remaining 9% using broker quotes. See Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 14, Fair Value Measurements” for further discussion. The fair values of our derivative instruments can be impacted by changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, credit spreads, equity indices and volatility, as well as other contributing factors. For additional information see Item 7A. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”

We also issue certain annuity, universal life and other contracts that include embedded derivatives that have been bifurcated from the host contract. They are valued using a combination of historical data and actuarial judgment. See Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 14, Fair Value Measurements” for further discussion. We include our assumption for own non-performance risk in the valuation of these embedded derivatives. As our credit spreads widen or tighten, the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities decrease or increase, leading to an increase or decrease in net income. If the current market credit spreads reflecting our own creditworthiness move to zero (tighten), the reduction to net income would be approximately $150.0 million, net of DAC and income taxes, based on December 31, 2019, reported amounts. In addition, the policyholder behavior assumptions used in the valuation of embedded derivatives include risk margins, which increase the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities.

The accounting for derivatives is complex and interpretations of the applicable accounting standards continue to evolve. Judgment is applied in determining the availability and application of hedge accounting designations and the appropriate accounting treatment. Judgment and estimates are used to determine the fair value of some of our derivatives. Volatility in net income can result from changes in fair value of derivatives that do not qualify or are not designated for hedge accounting and changes in fair value of embedded derivatives.

Deferred Acquisition Costs and Other Actuarial Balances

Incremental direct costs of contract acquisition as well as certain costs directly related to acquisition activities (underwriting, policy issuance and processing, medical and inspection and sales force contract selling) for the successful acquisition of new and renewal insurance policies and investment contract business are capitalized to the extent recoverable. Maintenance costs and acquisition costs that are not deferrable are charged to net income as incurred.

Amortization Based on Estimated Gross Profits.  DAC for universal life-type insurance contracts and certain investment contracts are amortized over the expected lifetime of the contracts in relation to estimated gross profits (“EGPs”). In addition to DAC, the following actuarial balances are also amortized in relation to EGPs.

We also have additional benefit reserves that are established for annuity or universal life-type contracts that provide benefit guarantees or for contracts that are expected to produce profits followed by losses. The liabilities are accrued in relation to estimated contract assessments, and they are based on assumptions and methodologies similar to those used in the calculation of EGPs. For more information, see “Insurance Reserves ."

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Key assumptions used in the calculation of EGPs include mortality, morbidity, lapses, equity returns, general account investment yields and expenses as well as the change in our liability for certain guarantees and the difference between actual and expected reinsurance premiums and recoveries, depending on the nature of the contract. Our general account investment yield assumption reflects our long-term projections of interest rates and net realized capital gains (losses). We develop an estimate of EGPs at issue and each valuation date. As actual experience and market conditions emerge, the gross profits may vary from those expected either in magnitude or timing, in which case a true-up of actuarial balances occurs as a charge or credit to current net income. In addition, we are required to revise our assumptions regarding future experience if actual experience or other evidence suggests that earlier estimates should be revised; we refer to this as unlocking. Both actions, reflecting actual experience and market conditions and changing future estimates, can change both the current amount and the future amortization pattern of the DAC asset and related actuarial balances.

For individual variable universal life insurance, individual variable annuities and group annuities that have separate account U.S. equity investment options, we utilize a mean reversion methodology (reversion to the mean assumption), a common industry practice, to determine the future domestic equity market growth rate assumption used for the calculation of EGPs. If actual annualized U.S. equity market performance varies from our 8% long-term assumption, we assume different performance levels in the short-term such that the weighted average return is equal to the long-term assumption over the mean reversion period. However, our mean reversion process generally limits assumed returns to a range of 4-12% during the mean reversion period. For additional details concerning methods of DAC amortization see Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 1, Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies” under the caption, “Deferred Acquisition Costs.”

Internal Replacements.  We review policies for modifications that result in the exchange of an existing contract for a new contract. If the new contract is determined to be an internal replacement that is substantially changed from the replaced contract, any unamortized DAC and related actuarial balances are written off and acquisition costs related to the new contract are capitalized as appropriate. If the new contract is substantially unchanged from the replaced contract, we continue to amortize the existing DAC and related actuarial balances.

Recoverability.  DAC and sales inducement assets are subject to recoverability testing at the time of policy issue and loss recognition testing on an annual basis, or when an event occurs that may warrant loss recognition. If loss recognition or impairment is necessary, the asset balances are written off to the extent it is determined that future policy premiums and investment income or gross profits are not adequate to cover the balances.

Actuarial Assumption Updates.  We periodically review and update actuarial assumptions that are inputs to the models for DAC and other actuarial balances and make model refinements as necessary. For more information see “Transactions Affecting Comparability of Results of Operations — Other — Actuarial Assumption Updates .''

Sensitivities.  As of December 31, 2019, the net balance of DAC and related actuarial balances, excluding balances affected by changes in other comprehensive income (“OCI”), was a $527.0 million asset. We perform sensitivity analyses to assess the impact that certain assumptions have on these balances. The following table shows the estimated immediate impact of various assumption changes on our DAC and related actuarial balances.

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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and other intangible assets include the cost of acquired subsidiaries in excess of the fair value of the net tangible assets recorded in connection with acquisitions. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized; however, are reviewed for impairment at least annually or more frequently if events or circumstances change that would more-likely-than-not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value using a discounted cash flow approach. Intangibles that do not have indefinite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives. We formally conduct our annual goodwill and other intangible asset impairment testing during the third quarter. Goodwill is tested at the reporting unit level, which is the same level as or one level below the operating segment.

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The operating segments and associated reporting units at which we perform our testing are as follows: