Principal® Taps Industry Veteran to Lead Liability-driven Investing Capability for Pension Plans

New hire continues firm’s focus on providing pension customers with complete suite of solutions

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Principal Financial Group^® announced today the addition of Owais Rana to its global asset management business, Principal Global Investors^®, as head of liability-driven investing (LDI). In this newly created role, Rana will lead the growth of this core investment opportunity, enhancing the firm’s industry-leading pension servicing capabilities and bringing deep investment and risk management expertise to its pension clients.

“Owais understands the complexities pension clients face and has spent over 20 years designing, building, and managing retirement solutions,” said Kamal Bhatia, chief operating officer, Principal Global Investors. “As our global asset management expertise continues to support our industry-leading retirement capabilities, he brings a vast amount of strategic experience and deep passion for solving the challenges of this unique client set.”

Liability-driven investing is an area of emphasis and growth for Principal®, and Principal Global Investors currently manages $21.5 billion [1] in liability-oriented investment portfolios. This focus on LDI will further enhance private markets and solutions capabilities, two strategic imperatives for the company’s asset management business. The investment capability contributes to the overall pension solutions that Principal offers clients, including the Principal® Complete Pension Solution [2], a technology-driven approach to pension risk management that can be tailored to individual plan needs.

“Pension management and de-risking is a pressing need for employers of all sizes throughout the United States, and as a national leader in the defined benefit space, we are focused on enhancing our offerings to help meet their needs,” said Chris Littlefield, president of Retirement and Income Solutions for Principal, “Owais will bring critical expertise to help provide the LDI solutions our clients need to address their pension-related challenges and opportunities.”

Rana comes to Principal Global Investors from Moody’s Analytics, where he was responsible for designing and leading business development and marketing strategies for North American institutional asset owners, investment and actuarial consultants, and asset management firms. Prior to Moody’s, Rana held managing director roles at both Conning Asset Management and J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he was global head of LDI, responsible for designing, building, and managing the LDI solutions businesses to grow assets under management.

With continued focus on higher growth opportunities, the LDI segment offers Principal an opportunity to scale a key retirement offering through deep investment expertise, providing clients with a robust opportunity set for all their pension servicing needs. Principal is the market leader in defined benefit pension plans [3] and a leader in pension risk transfer [4] through its Principal® Total Retirement Solutions.

[1] As of March 31, 2022.

[2] Patent pending.

[3] Based on number of plans, PLANSPONSOR Defined Benefit Administration Survey, May 2021.

[4] #4 in the industry based on total PRT assets, LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute, December 2021.

About Principal Financial Group^®

Principal Financial Group^® (Nasdaq: PFG) is a global financial company with 18,500 employees¹ passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, we’re helping more than 51 million customers¹ plan, protect, invest, and retire, while working to support the communities where we do business, and build a diverse, inclusive workforce. Principal^® is proud to be recognized as one of America’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies², a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and a Top 10 “Best Places to Work in Money Management³.” Learn more about Principal and our commitment to building a better future at principal.com.

1 As of December 31, 2021

2 Barron’s, 2022

3 Pensions & Investments, 2021

About Principal Global Investors

Principal Global Investors^® leads global asset management at Principal^®. As a multi-investment team firm, we bring a focused perspective and offer expertise across a host of asset classes.

At our core, we are driven by our purpose to help investors and businesses achieve their financial goals. Our global investment professionals deliver investment solutions for public and private pension funds, foundations and endowments, central banks, insurance companies, sub-advisory arrangements, sovereign wealth funds and individual portfolios.

Principal Global Investors manages approximately $579.4 billion in assets on behalf of over 800 institutional clients located in over 80 markets as well as retirement plans and individual clients, reflecting our worldwide market reach and experience and our commitment to high-quality research and service (as of March 31, 2022). To find out more, visit us at principalglobal.com.

About Principal Life Insurance Company

Insurance products and plan administrative services provided through Principal Life Insurance Company^®, a member of the Principal Financial Group^®, Des Moines, IA 50392. Certain investment options and contract riders may not be available in all states or U.S. commonwealths.

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