- Business
- Principal Funds, Inc. (PFI) is a registered open-end investment management company that serves as the issuer for a range of mutual funds, including target date funds, index funds, equity funds, fixed income funds, and alternative investment funds offered to individual and institutional investors seeking retirement and long-term investment solutions. The Principal Lifetime Hybrid 2065 Fund (PLHHX), a flagship target date fund within PFI's portfolio, operates as a fund of funds investing primarily in underlying Principal Exchange-Traded Funds (PETF) and PFI funds according to an asset allocation strategy designed for investors targeting retirement around 2065; it emphasizes long-term growth of capital and current income, with a majority of assets allocated to index funds tracking domestic large-cap S&P 500, international equity, emerging markets, mid-cap S&P 400, small-cap S&P 600, bond market, real estate securities, and high yield strategies. PFI's offerings include LargeCap S&P 500 Index Fund, International Equity Fund, Global Emerging Markets Fund, MidCap S&P 400 Index Fund, SmallCap S&P 600 Index Fund, Bond Market Index Fund, Real Estate Securities Fund, International Small Company Fund, and High Yield Fund, among others, supporting diversified portfolios for retirement accounts, defined contribution plans, and individual variable annuities.
PFI functions as a key subsidiary within the Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) ecosystem, contributing to PFG's Retirement and Income Solutions and Principal Global Investors segments that manage retirement products such as 401(k), 403(b), defined benefit plans, nonqualified executive benefits, employee stock ownership plans, individual retirement accounts, mutual funds, and pension risk transfer services. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, PFI benefits from PFG's global operations across North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and other regions through nearly 500 subsidiaries, serving businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. PFG, founded in 1879 originally as Bankers Life Insurance Company, oversees PFI's distribution alongside complementary services like asset management ($712 billion in assets under management as of recent reports), insurance, and benefits protection.
In recent developments, PFG completed the acquisition of Ascensus' employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) business in 2024, adding over 800 ESOP plans and 165,000 participants to bolster retirement solutions complementary to PFI's fund offerings; Principal also closed a $3.64 billion capital raise for its Data Center Growth & Income Fund in February 2025, expanding into real assets via hyperscale data center projects in partnership with Stream Data Centers. These moves enhance PFI's position amid PFG's strategic growth, including the 2023 integration of Wells Fargo's $150 billion institutional retirement business and ongoing share repurchase programs totaling $1.5 billion authorized in late 2024. PFI continues to support PFG's focus on high-growth segments, with PLHHX maintaining a net expense ratio of 0.38% and total fund assets of $83.84 million as of December 2025.