The Principal Financial Group
Established in 1879 and a member of the Fortune 500 Companies, the Principal Financial Group is a leading provider of a wide range of financial products and services for businesses and individuals globally. Offerings include retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and mortgage banking. The company provides administrative services to more 401(k) plans than any other provider in the United States.
Worldwide, the Principal Financial Group serves more than 11 million customers and has more than US$117 billion in assets under management. The Principal Financial Group headquarters are located in seven Corporate Center buildings in Des Moines, Iowa. The Principal employs more than 17,000 employees worldwide and has a presence in 14 countries, including:
ArgentinaAustralia and New Zealand
Brazil
Chile
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Mexico
Singapore
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Long tradition of activism
Through partnerships with non-profit organizations across the United States, the company has a long-standing tradition of community activism and support for a variety of programs including:
- Health and human services
- Affordable housing
- Access to higher education
- Cultural opportunities
Since the 1930s, the Principal Financial Group has commissioned major works of art in conjunction with the construction of significant buildings on its corporate campus. The most recent commissioned work was a site-specific project by Maya Lin in 1996 for the company's new Helmut Jahn-designed building added to its corporate campus in Des Moines, Iowa.
Formal art program
The company has collected art since the 1950s. In 1985, a formal art program was established as a way to enhance the cultural fabric of the corporate community, reach diverse audiences and foster employee participation in the arts. Today, the company's art collection contains more than 700 works of art by established and emerging artists. The Principal Financial Group is one of only 13 companies nationally to have been honored with the Business Committee for the Arts Founder's Award which recognizes companies that exhibit exceptional long-term leadership, vision and commitment to developing alliances with the arts.
The partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum is the company's first effort to work on a national level with an arts organization promoting increased accessibility to some of America's finest art treasures.