The Principal Financial Group Celebrates a Decade as a Public Company
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The Principal celebrates by ringing NYSE Closing Bell on Oct. 21 DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct 21, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Principal Financial Group(R) (NYSE: PFG) will commemorate the 10th anniversary of its Initial Public Offering and the first trading of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange by ringing The Closing Bell(R) at 4 pm ET on Friday, Oct. 21, led by Chairman, President and CEO Larry Zimpleman. The Principal(R) initially began trading on the NYSE on Oct. 23, 2001, making it the first U.S. company to go public after the tragic events of 9/11, a move that played a role in helping to restart the economy. Becoming a public company set the stage for a decade of growth as The Principal continued its evolution to a leader today in global investment management including retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. "In 2001, The Principal was known primarily as a leader in the U.S. retirement industry with a vision around creating a global investment management company and an international retirement business," Zimpleman says. "Fast forward to today -- The Principal now is a proven global investment manager and leading investment brand1 and ranks among the top 30 global money managers2." Over the past decade, The Principal's assets under management have nearly tripled from $120 billion at the end of 2001 to $336 billion today3. The company's customer base grew from 13 million customers at year end 2001 to more than 16 million customers worldwide today3. Over the past 10 years, The Principal's international business has grown from representing just one percent of overall company earnings at year-end 2001 to more than 16 percent of company earnings today3. Global investment management is now eight percent of earnings, and fee-based businesses have grown to represent 60 percent of operating earnings3. "Our business model provides greater earnings stability and strong growth prospects going forward," Zimpleman says. "As we move ahead, the trends underpinning our strategy and the opportunity for growth will remain firmly in place - guiding our customers to and through retirement, helping employers provide benefits at a competitive cost, and capitalizing on global growth due to privatizing retirement systems and the expanding middle class." In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of their IPO and 9/11, The Principal will be making charitable gifts in support of service men and women across the United States. The gifts will be made to several programs in support of families of New York police and fire fighters and deployed service people. The Principal also will support efforts to encourage the employment of returning troops. A live webcast of The Closing Bell (beginning at 3:55 pm ET) will be available on the NYSE website at www.nyse.com. For more news and insights from The Principal, connect with us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ThePrincipal. About the Principal Financial Group 1 The Principal was named the Investment Brand of the Year
according to the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend(R) study. Please go to http://www.principal.com/harris
for more information. SOURCE: The Principal Financial Group The Principal Financial Group |
