Principal Financial Group 10-K 2023-12-31

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UNITED STATES****SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

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For the transition period from to

Commission file number 1-16725

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. 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 ☐ 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. 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). 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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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

As of February 2, 2024, there were outstanding 235,868,487 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 $18.7 billion based on the closing price of $75.84 per share of Common Stock on June 30, 2023.

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 21, 2024, 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, 2023.

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PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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None.

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Risk management is an essential component of our culture and business model. Guarding against the specific risks posed by cybersecurity threats has been and will continue to be very dynamic in nature, requiring that we remain agile and aware of internal and external changes. We recognize that cybersecurity threats can be among the most critical risks facing large companies. As a result, cybersecurity is treated as a Board-level matter and overseen by the Board. However, both the Board and management have an integral role in the identification, assessment and management of cybersecurity risk.

The Board oversees management’s execution and performance of its risk management responsibilities, which includes cybersecurity threats. The Board receives at least one cybersecurity report every quarter from our Chief Information Officer, our Chief Information Security Officer, our Chief Risk Officer or other professionals. The Board also reviews and approves the business resiliency and information security programs intended to guard against cybersecurity and related risks. Lastly, the Board receives input on cybersecurity issues from external entities such as our independent auditor, regulators and consultants. Each of these steps further the Board’s efforts to ensure we have established and are proactively maintaining an enterprise-wide cybersecurity risk program with appropriate policies, practices and controls designed to ensure resiliency in the face of emerging threats.

Management holds relevant expertise in assessing and managing cybersecurity threats. Numerous members of management and employees across the information security and risk functions hold nationally recognized designations or certifications, including the Certified Information Systems Security Professional designation, Global Information Assurance Certifications or Amazon Web Services Cloud Certifications. We also provide role-based security training to workers with assigned information security-related roles and responsibilities. This includes topics on social engineering tactics and other general threats posed for system compromise and data loss. The initiatives and processes discussed further below also contribute to the expertise and experience of management.

The framework for our overall process for managing risk encompasses the management of risks posed by cybersecurity threats and is discussed further in Item 1. “Business, Risk Management.” As a general matter, we take a proactive approach to assessing and monitoring cybersecurity-specific risks that is oriented around monitoring emerging external threats, ensuring controls are in place to identify and manage risk within our technology environment and creating a culture of vigilance across the organization.

We test for and resolve weaknesses and vulnerabilities within our systems and applications by using network and infrastructure vulnerability testing and adversary emulation, also known as red teaming, and hire a third party to do the same at least once a year. We also undergo a third party maturity assessment of our information security program every two years and a third party enterprise penetration test annually. We leverage external resources to help define information security and technology standards for our environment.

Our cybersecurity controls are monitored and refined based on learnings from regular red team engagements and analysis by threat hunters. All cyber defense operations are enriched through a dedicated cybersecurity threat intelligence function. We collaborate with information security peers across the industry to maximize threat intelligence. Our threat intelligence program helps create awareness and understanding of potential cybersecurity threats and adversaries. We proactively assess potential risks presented by new services or systems integrated with our network or data and ensure appropriate controls are applied under such circumstances. We perform due diligence and monitor third party relationships based on risk profile to assess the suitability of their cybersecurity controls and protocols for the business operations or services for which they are engaged.

Our awareness and training program creates a risk-aware culture to ensure employees understand cybersecurity threats and are accountable for completing required training. We have empowered and conditioned our global workforce to recognize and resist phishing attempts with our simulated phishing program. At least quarterly, our employees are presented with simulated phishing scenarios that deliver hands-on experience and on-the-spot education opportunities. All engineers and employees holding equivalent roles who are involved in software development also receive mandated secure software development training.

We have an enterprise incident management plan that provides a framework for preparing for, managing and responding to cybersecurity incidents that may arise. The plan ensures stakeholders across the organization are identified who have the appropriate experience, training and expertise in incident management, and that the organization is well positioned to address incidents. For example, we carry out cybersecurity incident response exercises to develop widespread familiarity and experience in responding to cybersecurity incidents.

No risks from any known cybersecurity incidents have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. For further discussion related to how cybersecurity risks may impact our performance in the future, see Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”

Item 2. Properties

As of December 31, 2023, we owned properties in our home office complex in Des Moines, Iowa, and leased 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.

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 16, 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 14, 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.

Vivek Agrawal, 56, has been Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of the Company and Principal Life since March 2023. Prior to joining the Company and Principal Life, he was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, where he led consulting practices in both the United States and Asia and contributed to the growth of top-tier asset management, retirement, wealth management and insurance organizations.

Kamal Bhatia, 52, has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Principal Asset Management of the Company and Principal Life since February 10, 2024, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Principal Funds since August 2019. Prior to his current position, he was the Global Head of Investments for Principal Asset Management from 2023 to February 10, 2024, and Chief Operating Officer of Principal Asset Management from 2020 to 2023. Previously, he held leadership roles at OC Private Capital, OppenheimerFunds, TIAA, Mellon Asset Management and Citigroup.

Thomas Cheong, 55, has been Executive Vice President of the Company since January 2021 and President, Principal Asia of the Company since March 2019. Thomas is from Singapore and is located in our Hong Kong office. Prior to his current position, he was Senior Vice President of the Company from 2019 to 2020 and

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Market Risk Exposures and Risk Management

Market risk is the risk we will incur losses due to adverse fluctuations in market rates and prices. Our primary market risk exposures are to interest rates, equity markets and foreign currency exchange rates. The active management of market risk is an integral part of our operations. We manage our overall market risk exposure within established risk tolerance ranges using several approaches, including:

Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate risk is the risk of economic losses due to adverse changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk arises primarily from our holdings in interest sensitive assets and liabilities. Changes in interest rates impact numerous aspects of our operations, including but not limited to:

Lower interest rates generally result in lower profitability in the long-term. Conversely, higher interest rates generally result in higher profitability in the long-term. However, an increase in market interest rates may cause a decline in the value of financial assets held at fair value on our consolidated statements of financial position.

Impact of Changes in Long-Term Interest Rate Assumptions

We use long-term interest rate assumptions to calculate MRBs, certain reserves and benefit plan obligations in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In setting these assumptions, we consider a variety of factors, including historical experience, emerging trends and future expectations. We evaluate our assumptions on at least an annual basis. Due to the long-term nature of our assumptions, we generally do not revise our assumptions in response to short-term fluctuations in market interest rates. However, we will consider revising our assumptions if a significant change occurs in the factors noted above.

A reduction in our long-term interest rate assumptions may result in increases in MRB liabilities and certain reserves.

Impact of Changes in Interest Rates

Changes in interest rates or a sustained low interest rate environment may result in the following impacts, which would impact our financial position and results of operations:

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We estimate a hypothetical 100 basis point immediate, parallel decrease in U.S. interest rates would impact segment pre-tax operating earnings between (1)% and 1% over the next twelve months. This estimate reflects the impact of routine management actions in response to changes in interest rates, such as reducing the interest rates we credit on contractholder account balances, but does not reflect the impact of other actions management may consider, such as curtailing sales of certain products.

The selection of a 100 basis point immediate, parallel decrease in U.S. interest rates should not be construed as a prediction by us of future market events, but rather as an illustration of the impact of such an event. Our exposure will change as a result of ongoing portfolio transactions in response to new business, management’s assessment of changing market conditions and changes in our mix of business.

If market rates increase rapidly

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None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

In order to ensure the information we must disclose in our filings with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported on a timely basis, we have adopted disclosure controls and procedures. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file with or submit to the SEC is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Our Chief Executive Officer, Daniel J. Houston, and our Chief Financial Officer, Deanna D. Strable-Soethout, have reviewed and evaluated our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023, and have concluded our disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management of Principal Financial Group, Inc. is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer, Daniel J. Houston, and our Chief Financial Officer, Deanna D. Strable-Soethout, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in the Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 Framework). Based on our evaluation, management has concluded that Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023.

Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited our financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K, has issued its report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The report is included in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We had no change in our internal control over financial reporting during our last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

During the three months ended December 31, 2023, none our directors or officers adopted, modified or terminated a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement or a non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement, as each term is defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K.

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information called for by Item 10 pertaining to directors is set forth in Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s proxy statement relating to the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”), which will be filed with the SEC on or about April 8, 2024, under the captions, “Election of Directors,” “Corporate Governance,” and “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management — Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports.” Such information is incorporated herein by reference. The information called for by Item 10 pertaining to executive officers can be found in Part I of this Form 10-K under the caption, “Information about our Executive Officers.” The Company has adopted a code of ethics that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. The code of ethics has been posted on our internet website, found at www.principal.com. We intend to satisfy disclosure requirements regarding amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of our code of ethics on our website.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The information called for by Item 11 pertaining to executive compensation is set forth in the Proxy Statement under the caption, “Executive Compensation,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The information called for by Item 12 pertaining to security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management is set forth in the Proxy Statement under the caption, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

In general, we have two compensation plans under which our equity securities are authorized for issuance to employees or directors (not including our tax qualified pension plans): the Principal Financial Group, Inc. 2021 Stock Incentive Plan and the Principal Financial Group, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan. The following table shows the number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options outstanding as of December 31, 2023, the weighted average exercise price of those options and the number of shares of common stock remaining available for future issuance as of December 31, 2023, excluding shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding options.

| (1) | The Principal Financial Group, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan, the Principal Financial Group, Inc. Stock Incentive Plan and the Principal Financial Group, Inc. Directors Stock Plan were each approved by our sole stockholder, Principal Mutual Holding Company, prior to our initial pu

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