Principal Financial Group Announces Strategic Alliance with Accountable Health, Inc.

Principal Financial Group Announces Strategic Alliance with Accountable Health, Inc.

The Principal to transfer ownership of Principal Wellness to Accountable Health

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Principal Financial Group^®, a global investment management leader, today announced a strategic agreement with Accountable Health, Inc. to offer comprehensive wellness programs to business and health plan clients through Accountable Health. Under terms of the agreement, The Principal^® will make a financial investment in Accountable Health, and will transfer ownership of Principal Wellness Company to Accountable Health. The deal is expected to close on July 1, at which time employees of Principal Wellness Company will become employees of Accountable Health. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Led by chief executive officer David Blair, Accountable Health is a diverse healthcare services company focused on building and acquiring technology-enabled solutions to improve quality, increase efficiency and reduce costs in the delivery of healthcare. Rockville, Md.-based Accountable Health also will have offices in Des Moines and Indianapolis, where Principal Wellness is currently based.

"Many opportunities are arising from the Affordable Care Act while Americans' health continues to deteriorate," said Deanna Strable, senior vice president-U.S. Insurance Solutions at The Principal. "Accountable Health will have the ability to bring the best of both our companies and an increased focus and resources to clients, which are necessary to continue to expand in the highly competitive and rapidly changing health and wellness market."

Accountable Health CEO Blair said, "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to combine our best-in-class resources and expertise to continue increasing the value of wellness solutions for our customers. Our focus will remain on engaging and educating consumers to live healthier lifestyles."

"As an investor in Accountable Health, The Principal will have an ongoing interest in the continued growth and success of the wellness company. We believe that wellness programs can help employers better manage rising healthcare costs," Strable said.

The business transition is expected to be seamless for clients and advisors of The Principal.

For more news and insights from the Principal Financial Group, 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 gains and losses, capital and liquidity positions, sales and earnings trends, and management's beliefs, expectations, goals and opinions. The company does not undertake to update 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, 2012, and in the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, 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 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; continued volatility or further declines in the equity markets; changes in interest rates or credit spreads; the company's investment portfolio is subject to several risks that may diminish the value of its invested assets and the investment returns credited to customers; the company's valuation of securities may include methodologies, estimations and assumptions that are subject to differing interpretations; the determination of the amount of allowances and impairments taken on the company's investments requires estimations and assumptions that are subject to differing interpretations; gross unrealized losses may be realized or result in future impairments; competition from companies that may have greater financial resources, broader arrays of products, higher ratings and stronger financial performance; a downgrade in the company's financial strength or credit ratings; inability to attract and retain sales representatives and develop new distribution sources; international business risks; the company's actual experience could differ significantly from its pricing and reserving assumptions; the company's ability to pay stockholder dividends and meet its obligations may be constrained by the limitations on dividends or distributions Iowa insurance laws impose on Principal Life; the pattern of amortizing the company's DPAC and other actuarial balances on its universal life-type insurance contracts, participating life insurance policies and certain investment contracts may change; the company may need to fund deficiencies in its "Closed Block" assets that support participating ordinary life insurance policies that had a dividend scale in force at the time of Principal Life's 1998 conversion into a stock life insurance company; the company's reinsurers could default on their obligations or increase their rates; risks arising from acquisitions of businesses; changes in laws, regulations or accounting standards; a computer system failure or security breach could disrupt the company's business, and damage its reputation; results of litigation and regulatory investigations; from time to time the company may become subject to tax audits, tax litigation or similar proceedings, and as a result it may owe additional taxes, interest and penalties in amounts that may be material; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and applicable laws and the company's certificate of incorporation and by-laws may discourage takeovers and business combinations that some stockholders might consider in their best interests.

About Accountable Health, Inc.
Accountable Health, Inc. invests and acquires technology-enabled healthcare services companies that improve quality, increase efficiencies and reduce costs in the delivery of healthcare. New trends in the U.S. healthcare market are transforming the landscape and the way healthcare is delivered. From the new federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to changes in demographics, to new technologies, medical services and pharmaceuticals, opportunities abound for companies to deliver innovative solutions to the healthcare industry. With varying investment options, Accountable Health assists emerging companies as they develop and market innovative technologies.

About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group^® (The Principal^®)¹ is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500^®, the Principal Financial Group has $456.1 billion in assets under management² 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.

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 March 31, 2013.

Principal Financial Group
Media Contact:
Susan Houser, 515-248-2268
houser.susan@principal.com
or
Investor Contact:
John Egan, 515-235-9500
egan.john@principal.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Iowa

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