The Principal Financial Group Receives Top Rankings for Retirement Pla

The Principal Financial Group Receives Top Rankings for Retirement Plan Conversion Process

    Business Editors

    DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2005--

Independent Surveys Cite Experienced, Knowledgeable Staff of The Principal Among Reasons for New Clients' High Satisfaction
    The Principal Financial Group(R), the nation's 401(k) leader and total retirement solutions innovator, garnered high praise in a recent independent survey of retirement plan sponsor clients who recently converted their plan services to The Principal. Clients with $25 million or more in assets under management awarded The Principal(R) a best-in-class rating of 95 percent for overall satisfaction with the conversion process, according to an independent study by Chatham Partners, a leading provider of market research to the financial services industry.
    "Transitioning from one retirement plan service provider to another can be a difficult time for plan sponsors. The Principal takes great care to help make that process simple and stress-free," said Daniel J. Houston, senior vice president, retirement and investor services, The Principal. "It's good to see that our efforts have made a difference for our clients."
    Clients with $5 million or more in assets under management rewarded The Principal with a total of nine best-in-class rankings in the Chatham study. Strengths of The Principal identified by the Chatham study include:

--	Client transition associates (knowledgeable, responsive, good at anticipating and preventing problems)
--	Accuracy and timeliness of investing funds (process was seamless, completed on time or early)
--	Effectiveness of sales process (sales team was consultative rather than "salesy," prepared and knowledgeable sales team, presentation tailored to client's unique needs, team worked well together)
--	Proactive employee education (impressive enrollment meetings, excellent education tools, one-on-one counseling)

    According to a 2004 internal study conducted by The Principal, even the smallest clients received outstanding service. Ninety percent of these clients are satisfied with the conversion process.

    About Chatham Partners

    Chatham Partners is a market research and consulting firm specializing in assisting clients in maximizing the value of past, current and future customer and intermediary seller relationships through customer satisfaction win/loss and intermediary analysis. For additional information please call Peter Starr, president of Chatham Partners, at 617.581.6250 or visit www.chathamllc.com.

    About the Principal Financial Group

    The Principal Financial Group(R) (The Principal(R))(1) 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 $168.7 billion in assets under management(2) and serves some 14.9 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.

    (1) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.

    (2) As of December 31, 2004

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CONTACT: The Principal Financial Group, Des Moines Terri Shell, 515-283-8858 shell.terri@principal.com or Susan Houser, 515-248-2268 houser.susan@principal.com

KEYWORD: IOWA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INSURANCE HUMAN RESOURCES BANKING SOURCE: The Principal Financial Group

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