Seco Tools Selects the Principal Financial Group for Integrated Retirement Plan
April 03, 2008 (Des Moines, Iowa) — Seco Tools has chosen the Principal Financial Group®, one of the nation's retirement leaders1, as the integrated retirement plan service provider for its defined benefit and defined contribution plans. The contracts became effective December 1, 2007 and January 1, 2008, respectively.
The plans serve more than 1,300 participants and total nearly $90 million in assets, with estimated annual deposits of $2.4 million.
Warren, Mich.-based Seco Tools is part of the Seco Tools AB global organization, a world leader in metalworking technologies. Seco Tools provides solutions for milling, turning, hole making and threading applications. The company serves the automotive, aerospace, mold and die, precision manufacturing, medical and farm and heavy-duty equipment industries.
The financial professional advising Seco Tool's retirement plans is Glen Young of Ashton Young, Inc. Young provides ongoing investment monitoring to Seco Tools and teams with The Principal® to educate plan participants about their retirement program.
"The personalized education with a local presence in all three of our U.S. locations was a key factor in our decision to choose The Principal," said Michael Neel, director of finance and information systems, Seco Tools. "Principal Retire SecureSM allows our participants to confidently take charge of their retirement planning and savings."
The Principal is the No. 1 service provider of total retirement and combined plan solutions2, with more than $40 billion in assets under management in the large plan market. "We are delighted to be helping Seco Tools achieve efficiencies and cost savings by integrating their defined contribution and defined benefit plans," said Paul Brown, vice president, retirement and investor services at The Principal. "Our depth of experience and knowledge in both the defined contribution and defined benefit arenas made Seco Tools a great fit for us."
Seco Tools plan participants benefit from a comprehensive package of services and tools including:
- Online account information and education through the award-winning Web site The Principal Retirement Service Center® (www.principal.com)3;
- Interactive educational and asset allocation tools;
- Morningstar investment information;
- Easy-to-understand total retirement statements that feature a consolidated view of all retirement plans through The Principal;
- On-site investment education and retirement planning seminars;
- Toll-free access to retirement specialists;
- Rollover assistance; and
- The quarterly magazine Plan Ahead. Get Ahead.®
These tools complement award-winning actuarial support, customer relations4 and leading technology services. For the past 10 years The Principal has appeared on the Information Week Top 500 Most Innovative Users of Information Technology list, coming in at No. 22 in 2007.
About Seco Tools
For more information about Seco Tools, visit www.secotools.com.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)5 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune® 500, the Principal Financial Group has $311.1 billion in assets under management6 and serves some 18.6 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
1) The Principal ranks No. 1 in total plans for all asset sizes among fully bundled 401(k) providers (2006 Spectrem Group analysis of fully bundled 401(k) providers; companies that provide both administrative and investment services)
2) 2006 Chatham Partners Survey, Bundled Defined Benefit and Total Retirement Outsourcing
3) Awarded Dalbar Communication Seal of Excellence, October 2007
4) Received Chatham Partners 2007 Best in Class Awards for Relationship Managers, Actuaries and Client Service Managers
5) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group
6) As of December 31, 2007
