SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION	
Washington, D.C. 20549	
_______________________	

FORM 8-K	
 	
CURRENT REPORT	

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the	
Securities Exchange Act of 1934	
 	
Date of Report: April 18, 2011	
(Date of earliest event reported)	

PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.	
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)	

 	                                      Delaware  	                    1-16725                                          42-1520346  	
 	                              (State or other jurisdiction  	      (Commission file number)                 (I.R.S. Employer  	
 	                                  of incorporation)  	                                                                 Identification Number)  	

711 High Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50392	
(Address of principal executive offices)	
 	
(515) 247-5111	
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)	
 	
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the  	
registrant under any of the following provisions:  	 	
 	
[     ]  	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)  	
[     ]  	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)  	
[     ]  	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR  	
 	240.14d-2(b))  	 	 	
[     ]  	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR  	
 	240.13e-4(c))	
_______________________	

				
			
Page 2  	 	 	
			
Item 7.01  	Regulation FD Disclosure  	 	
	
Principal Financial Group, Inc. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Principal Global Investors,  	
LLC, a global asset manger, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 51% majority stake in Finisterre  	
Capital, LLP, and Finisterre Holdings Limited, (together Finisterre Capital), an emerging markets investor  	
based in London. The initial payment for the majority stake will be $84.6 million USD, with a possible  	
additional contingent payment of up to $30 million in 2013, dependent upon performance targets. A press  	
release of the announcement is included herewith as Exhibit 99.  	
		
Item 9.01  	Financial Statements and Exhibits  	
			
99  	Finisterre Capital Press Release  	 	

                                                                   SIGNATURE	
	
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused  	
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.  	
 	
                                                                   PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.  	
 	
                                                                   By:         /s/ John Egan                                                         	
                                                         Name:  John Egan  	
                                                         Title:    Vice President – Investor Relations  	
 	
Date: April 18, 2011  	 	

		
Page 3  	 	
 	
 	                                                                                                 Exhibit 99  	
Release:  	On receipt, April 18, 2011  	
	
Media Contacts:  	
     US media contact: Paula Chizek, 515-235-6010, chizek.paula@principal.com  	
     UK media contact - PGI: Claire Maloney, (44) 20 7307 5330, claire.maloney@capitalmsl.com  	
     UK media contact - Finisterre: Paul Mungo (44) 20 3178 6872, paul.mungo@peregrinecommunications.co.uk  	
Investor Relations:  	
    John Egan, Principal Financial Group, 515-235-9500, egan.john@principal.com  	

                Principal Global Investors To Acquire Majority Stake in Finisterre Capital  	
                         Acquisition expands its emerging market investment capabilities	
 	
(Des Moines, Iowa) – Principal Global Investors, LLC, a leading global asset manager and a member  	
of the Principal Financial Group ® (NYSE:PFG), today announced a definitive agreement to acquire a  	
majority stake in Finisterre Capital, LLP, and Finisterre Holdings Limited, (together Finisterre  	
Capital), an established emerging markets investor based in London.  	
            “Finisterre Capital is a top-class emerging markets fixed income specialist with a strong  	
investment performance track record,” said Jim McCaughan, chief executive officer of Principal  	
Global Investors. “We are excited about the opportunity to help the business develop further and  	
expand our capabilities in this growing market segment. There is already an enormous appetite to  	
invest in emerging economies and we firmly believe the demand will continue as these markets  	
develop.”  	
            Founded in 2002, Finisterre Capital has approximately $1.63 billion 1 in assets under  	
management primarily across three funds: Global Opportunity Fund, Sovereign Debt Fund and Credit  	
Fund. The five partners (Frode Foss-Skiftesvik, Paul Crean, Rafaël Biosse Duplan, Xavier Corin-Mick  	
and Yan Swiderski) will retain a significant minority stake in the business and have agreed to put a  	
significant share of their consideration into funds managed by the firm. They will continue to direct the  	
day-to-day operations and will retain authority over fund investment decisions.  	
            “The strategic partnership with Principal offers us the very attractive combination of continued  	
autonomy and long-term stability for our clients,” said Paul Crean, chief investment officer at  	
Finisterre Capital. “It will enable us to expand our capabilities while preserving our business focus,  	
organizational structure and unique investment culture.”  	
            Through this transaction, The Principal will enhance its emerging market investment  	
capabilities, with an opportunity to develop a wider platform through the launch of complementary  	
	
______________________ 	
1 As of April 1, 2011.  	

	
Page 4  	

new emerging market products and strategies, and further strengthen its well-established multi-  	
boutique model. Finisterre Capital will benefit from access to The Principal’s global presence and  	
strong distribution network, as well as leveraging Principal’s product development expertise and best-  	
practice support infrastructure.  	
            The transaction is expected to close early in third quarter, pending regulatory approval. It is  	
part of the Principal Financial Group’s 2011 capital deployment strategy of spending approximately  	
$700 million on executing attractive M&A opportunities and a share repurchase program. Excluding  	
transaction and integration costs, The Principal estimates the acquisition will be EPS neutral in 2011  	
and accretive in 2012.  	
           Sandler O'Neill + Partners advised The Principal on the transaction and Fenchurch Advisory  	
Partners advised Finisterre Capital.  	
                  For more news and insights from The Principal, connect with us on Twitter at:  	
http://twitter.com/ThePrincipal.  	
 	
Forward looking and cautionary statements  	
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements as to  	
operating earnings, net income available to common stockholders, net cash flows, realized and  	
unrealized losses, capital and liquidity positions, sales and earnings trends, and management's beliefs,  	
expectations, goals and opinions. The company does not undertake to update or revise these  	
statements, which are based on a number of assumptions concerning future conditions that may  	
ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Future events and their effects on the company may not be those  	
anticipated, and actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-  	
looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause or contribute to such material  	
differences are discussed in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31,  	
2010, filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated or  	
supplemented from time to time in subsequent filings. These risks and uncertainties include, without  	
limitation: adverse capital and credit market conditions that may significantly affect the company’s  	
ability to meet liquidity needs, access to capital and cost of capital; continued difficult conditions in the  	
global capital markets and the economy generally that may materially adversely affect the company’s  	
business and results of operations; the risk from acquiring new businesses, which could result in the  	
impairment of goodwill and/or intangible assets recognized at the time of acquisition; impairment of  	
other financial institutions that could adversely affect the company; investment risks which may  	
diminish the value of the company’s invested assets and the investment returns credited to customers,  	
which could reduce sales, revenues, assets under management and net income; requirements to post  	
collateral or make payments related to declines in market value of specified assets may adversely affect  	
company liquidity and expose the company to counterparty credit risk; changes in laws, regulations or  	
accounting standards that may reduce company profitability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange  	
rates that could reduce company profitability; Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s primary reliance, as a  	
holding company, on dividends from its subsidiaries to meet debt payment obligations and regulatory  	
restrictions on the ability of subsidiaries to pay such dividends; competitive factors; volatility of  	
financial markets; decrease in ratings; interest rate changes; inability to attract and retain sales  	
representatives; international business risks; a pandemic, terrorist attack or other catastrophic event;  	
and default of the company’s re-insurers.  	

	
Page 5  	

About Principal Global Investors  	
Principal Global Investors is a diversified asset management organization and a member of the  	
Principal Financial Group, with expertise in equities, fixed income and real estate investments, as well  	
as specialized overlay and advisory services. Principal Global Investors manages $232.4 billion in  	
assets 2 primarily for retirement plans and other institutional clients.  	
 	
About Finisterre Capital LLP  	
Finisterre Capital LLP, founded in 2002, is an emerging markets fixed income specialist dedicated to  	
delivering risk-controlled, total return investment strategies to the institutional marketplace. The firm  	
manages emerging markets funds in a variety of asset classes, including sovereign debt, local currency  	
debt, foreign exchange, corporate credit, special situations and equity.  	
 	
About the Principal Financial Group  	
The Principal Financial Group Ò (The Principal ® ) 3 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 management 2 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 .  	
# # #  	

	

 	
______________________ 	
2 As of Dec. 31, 2010.  	
3 "The Principal Financial Group" and “The Principal” are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the  	
Principal Financial Group.