The Principal Financial Group Announces Most Extensive Baseball Festival Tour In History

April 7, 2004 (Des Moines, IA) - The Principal Financial Group^®, the nation's 401(k) leader and premiere provider of employee benefits, today announced its sponsorship of the most extensive traveling festival celebrating baseball in history. The Principal Financial Group Family Fun Fest will embark on a 50-city tour of minor league ballparks this summer, starting April 9 in Savannah, GA.

Covering as much as 4,000 square feet and offered free to the public, The Principal Family Fun Fest is a daylong celebration of baseball featuring a traveling minor league baseball hall of fame, a fan festival midway with radar fast pitch, home run derby and more. After the game, fans will be treated to a family-oriented classic baseball film on a giant inflatable movie screen set up in the shallow outfield.

The Principal Financial Group is the title sponsor of the tour, which is being produced by Entertainment & Sports International, Inc.(ESI). The tour is the first event of this size that has ever been created to involve so many minor league cities in one season.

"The Principal^® is thrilled to sponsor the most ambitious undertaking ever on the national level in support of minor league baseball," said Dan Houston, senior vice president, the Principal Financial Group. "We're batting 1.000 by supporting this much-loved, community centered sport. Minor league teams provide families with a chance to see great baseball and some of tomorrow's stars at a reasonable cost. We're saluting and encouraging that tradition by providing free, wholesome family entertainment at the local ballpark."

The sponsorship comes at the ideal time for minor league baseball, which is growing at an unprecedented rate. In 2003, it attracted more than 39 million fans.

"Minor league clubs want to host events for their fans but don't have all the resources to create something of this magnitude," said Bert Gould, partner ESI. "The support from the Principal Financial Group not only allows us to bring a major league event to the minor league teams at no cost, but actually provides the teams with the opportunity to generate revenue through local sponsorship sales."

The sponsorship allows The Principal to broaden its reach of community support and provides a unique opportunity to reach out to our clients as well as build new relationships.

"We have a long history of giving back to communities where we have a strong employee presence," said Houston. "With this tour, we can really reach our clients and say thank you."

Following the April 9 debut before Savannah Sand Gnats fans, the tour will visit 49 additional Triple A, Double and Single A and Rookie League teams and ballparks through September with additional stops at All Star and playoffs games and events. The Principal is sponsoring the tour through 2006. A list of all scheduled cities is attached. To learn more about The Principal Family Fun Fest, visit www.principal.com/funfest.

The Principal Financial Group Family Fun Fest is produced by Entertainment & Sports International, creators of unique entertainment and sports events and properties. ESI is a partnership of two innovative entertainment and sports industry professionals, Bert Gould and Joe Owens, whose experience includes some of the best known projects and properties of the past two decades. In addition to The Principal Financial Group Family Fun Fest, other ESI events include the Kings of the Kitchen Tour, a national tour of well known chefs in an evening of music, food and fun, The Sports Illustrated College Film Fest that will visit 14 colleges from October to May 2004/5 and the Funnybone Comedy Series, a series that brings comedians, clowns and magicians to local hospitals to entertain patients, staff and children proving laughter is indeed the best medicine. ESI has offices in New York and North Carolina, representatives in St Louis and Los Angeles, and will open a new office location in West Palm Beach Florida in summer 2004.

The Principal Financial Group Family Fun Fest Tour Schedule as of April 7, 2004.

For further information contact:
Megan Tehel, Principal Financial Group, (515) 246-4907 tehel.megan@principal.com
Terri Shell, Principal Financial Group, 515-283-8858, shell.terri@principal.com
Marty Appel, for ESI, (212) 245-1772, www.AppelPR.com

The Principal Financial Group^® (The Principal^®)¹ 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 mortgage banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. More employers choose the Principal Financial Group for their 401(k) plans than any other bank, mutual fund, or insurance company in the United States². A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $144.9 billion in assets under management³ and serves some 15 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 Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
² CFO Magazine, April/May 2003, based on total plans served in 2002 by insurance companies, banks and investment firms.
³ As of December 31, 2003.