The Principal Posts Strong Scores in Satisfaction from Retirement Plan Clients

Client-service personnel drives top marks in Chatham Partners survey

DES MOINES, Iowa–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The Principal Financial Group^® again earned high marks in satisfaction and loyalty from retirement plan clients, according to the 2010 Chatham Partners Client Satisfaction Survey.

“Once again, The Principal^® has raised the bar in terms of service provided to its clients and the corresponding impact to clients’ overall satisfaction with the company,” said Joshua Dietch, managing director of Chatham Partners, a leading independent market research firm that focuses on the financial services industry. “Evidence suggests much of the credit is attributable to the client-service personnel and the resources available to them.”

The Principal outperformed the Chatham benchmark in client loyalty with 97 percent of clients indicating they “have no plans to change the relationship” or “plan to increase their relationship.”

Overall satisfaction with personnel earned The Principal several Best in Class¹ scores for attributes including knowledge of my plan, proactive approach and problem resolution. The Principal also exceeded the Chatham Partners benchmark in the following key areas:

• Easy to do business with
• Good value for the money
• Reduces my administrative burden
• Excellent reputation as a retirement service provider
• Offers a full range of services
• Meets my unique needs
• Committed to technology

Clients transitioning their retirement plans from other firms to The Principal also gave strong scores for satisfaction with the conversion process, exceeding the benchmark in nearly all categories. Clients most frequently cited personnel/service and communication as areas in which The Principal excelled during the transition process.

“Listening to our clients and acting on their input drives how we shape and deliver our products and services,” said Greg Burrows, senior vice president of retirement and investor services at The Principal. “We are committed to helping our clients and their employees reach their long-term retirement goals.”

Recent initiatives driven by client feedback include enhancements to navigation, functionality and content for the secure participant website at www.principal.com and the launch of a fee-disclosure website that provides information on the new regulations.

The Chatham Partners survey solicited feedback from defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plan clients on the products and services they receive from The Principal. The firm surveyed two client segments: small to mid-sized plan sponsors with $5 million to $50 million in retirement plan assets and large plan sponsors with $50 million or more in plan assets.

For more news and insights from The Principal, connect with us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ThePrincipal.

About Chatham Partners
Chatham Partners provides customized market research and strategy consulting services that help businesses understand the explicit, implicit and latent needs of clients and prospects. Our fact-based analysis and recommendations enable organizations to improve sales processes, client service/retention, product/service offerings and market perceptions. For more information, visit www.chathampartners.com.

About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group^® (The Principal^®)² 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 banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $318.8 billion in assets under management³ and serves some 19.1 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.

Chatham Partners is not affiliated with the Principal Financial Group or any if its member companies. The survey results are based on responses from clients of The Principal and have been specifically prepared by Chatham Partners and commissioned by The Principal. Survey results are limited to those expressing an opinion.

¹ Best in Class as defined by Chatham Partners is a very satisfied score of 85 percent or higher.
² “The Principal Financial Group” and “The Principal” are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
³ As of Dec. 31, 2010.

Principal Financial GroupJaime Naig, 515-247-0798
naig.jaime@principal.com
orTerri Hale, 515-283-8858
hale.terri@principal.com

Source: Principal Financial Group