Defined Contribution: Investment Services
Overview
A Defined Contribution (DC) retirement plan - like a 401(k) plan - lets employees save for retirement by reducing current salary on a before-tax basis.
Investment services
We will work together with your financial professional to help you customize an investment program to meet your unique needs. We offer:
- Extensive investment option choice and flexibility
- Support in helping you manage your fiduciary obligations
- Access to premier sub-advised investment managers through the Principal Due Diligence ProgramSM
- Robust multi-manager target-date solution
- Tools to help you understand your investment program
Investment option choice and flexibility
You have extensive choice and flexibility to select the appropriate investment options, from both sub-advised investment options and a mutual fund network, for your plan's investment program.
Sub-advised investment options[1]
Our sub-advised investment options are retirement-focused. They are designed to be appropriate investment options for retirement savings under employer-sponsored plans.
Spanning a wide range of asset classes, they are sub-advised by some of the industry's leading investment managers.
The benefits of our institutional approach to sub-advised investment options include:
- Our company scale delivers access to some investment managers not broadly available
- Control of process through investment mandates
- Extensive scrutiny through onsite manager visits
- Seamless manager transitions
An extensive mutual fund network
You can select from a virtually endless menu of investment choices through our extensive mutual fund network. This network can provide you with enhanced diversification through a universe of established fund families, including thousands of mutual funds from outside fund companies to individual stocks and investment-grade bonds.
Helping you manage your fiduciary obligations
Principal Life Insurance Company is a fiduciary with respect to the:
- Initial selection
- Ongoing monitoring of iInvestment options among our Sub-Advised Funds as appropriate investment options for a retirement plan and
- Portfolio managers for our Separate Accounts.
Our fiduciary status and obligations are set out in our written agreements. We will indemnify the plan fiduciary as stated in those agreements.
The Principal Due Diligence ProgramSM
The Principal Due Diligence ProgramSM is the rigorous and disciplined framework we follow to identify, hire and retain premier investment managers within each asset class and investment style for our sub-advised investment options. Learn more about the Principal Due Diligence ProgramSM (PDF: 308 KB)
Selecting premier investment managers
Each manager search is unique, depending upon:
- Asset class and investment style targeted.
- Whether we are replacing a manager, starting a new investment option or adding an additional manager to an existing investment option.
We review investment strategies, composites and managers, not just performance. After determining the type of manager needed, we narrow focus, eliminating managers who don't meet specific qualitative and quantitative criteria.
Monitoring and taking action
Our skilled investment professionals continue to monitor managers on an ongoing basis, and don't hesitate to take action if a situation warrants. Ongoing monitoring helps us make logical and timely manager retention and termination decisions. If any adverse changes are identified through the monitoring process, we may:
- Recommend placement of the manager on a watch list,
- Conduct a comprehensive, in-depth review of the manager
- Recommend immediate termination of the manager
- Take no additional action and continue monitoring
Communication to you and your financial professional varies by situation and type of action being taken.
A target-date solution
You will also have access to a multi-manager target-date solution with our Principal LifeTime portfolios. Launched in March 2001, Principal LifeTime portfolios are the point where the Principal Due Diligence ProgramSM and our asset allocation expertise meet. The same type of discipline used to build an investment platform is used to build these portfolios - with multiple managers, asset classes and investment styles.
Understanding your investment program
Understanding your investment program You will have access to the following resources to help you meet your plan's investment needs:
- Sample Investment Policy statement
- Investment bulletins and notices
- Comprehensive investment reporting and benchmarking
- Investment option fact sheets and profiles with data provided by Morningstar
- Secure plan sponsor Web site on www.principal.com
- Fiduciary support tools
Have questions?
Contact a local representative today for more information or to find a financial professional in your area.
- [1]
- Sub-advised investment options include Separate Accounts and Principal Funds, Inc. mutual funds (Funds) of the Principal Fund, Inc. series.
- [2]
- The investment advice provided through the Principal Managed Account Program is provided by Ibbotson Associates. Access to the advice and securities and advisory products are offered through Princor Financial Services Corporation, 1.800.547.7754. Princor is a member of the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, Iowa, 50392. To obtain a copy of Ibbotson Associates disclosure brochure or the Princor Financial Services Corporation Disclosure Brochure and Privacy Notice, visit www.principal.com or call 1.800.547.7754 and speak to a retirement specialist.
Before investing in mutual funds, investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the funds. This and other information is contained in the free prospectus, which can be obtained from your local representative or by contacting us at 1.800.547.7754. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
The value of the investment options will fluctuate so that when redeemed, shares or units may be worth more or less than the original cost.
No investment strategy, such as asset allocation or diversification, can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.
