As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 10, 2021

Registration No. 333-____

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM S-8

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

DELAWARE 42-1520346
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or
organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

711 High Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50392

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

THE PRINCIPAL SELECT SAVINGS PLAN FOR EMPLOYEES

THE PRINCIPAL SELECT SAVINGS PLAN FOR INDIVIDUAL FIELD

(Full title of the plans)

 

Christopher J. Littlefield, Esq.

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Principal Financial Group, Inc.

711 High Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50392

(515) 247-5111

(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)

 

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filed x Accelerated filer ¨
Non-accelerated filer ¨ Smaller reporting company ¨
    Emerging growth company ¨

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ¨

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of securities

to be registered

Amount to be
registered

Proposed
maximum
offering price per
share(1)
Proposed
maximum
aggregate
offering price(1)

Amount of
registration fee

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share(2)

5,000,000(3)

$68.32

$341,600,000

$31,666.32

 

  (1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) and Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), based upon the average of the high and low sales prices of the shares of common stock of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (the “Registrant”) as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on November 9, 2021.
     
  (2) In addition, pursuant to Rule 416(c) under the Securities Act, this Registration Statement includes an indeterminate number of interests to be offered or sold pursuant to The Principal Select Plan for Employees and The Principal Select Savings Plan for Individual Field.
     
  (3) In addition, pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act, this Registration Statement includes an indeterminate number of additional shares as may be issuable as a result of a stock split, stock dividend or similar adjustment of the outstanding common shares of the Registrant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

 

As permitted by Part I of Form S-8, this Registration Statement omits the information specified in Part I. The documents containing the information specified in Part I will be delivered to the participants in the plans covered by this Registration Statement, as required by Rule 428(b) under the Securities Act. Such documents are not being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act.

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Item 3.   Incorporation of Documents by Reference

 

The following documents are incorporated by reference:

 

(a)The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (filed February 12, 2021) (the “2020 Annual Report”), which incorporates by reference certain portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the Registrant’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders filed on April 5, 2021, as supplemented by the definitive additional materials filed on May 4, 2021, incorporated by reference in the 2020 Annual Report;

 

(b)The Principal Select Savings Plan for Employees’ Annual Report on Form 11-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (filed June 23, 2021);

 

(c)The Principal Select Savings Plan for Individual Field’s Annual Report on Form 11-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (filed June 23, 2021);

 

(d)The Registrant’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 (filed April 29, 2021), June 30, 2021 (filed July 29, 2021) and September 30, 2021 (filed October 28, 2021);

 

(e)The Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K dated February 21, 2021 (filed February 22, 2021), April 27, 2021 (filed April 27, 2021), May 18, 2021 (filed May 19, 2021) and August 16, 2021 (filed August 19, 2021); and

 

(f)The description of the Registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), included in Exhibit 4.5 to the 2020 Annual Report, and all amendments and reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.

 

In addition, all documents subsequently filed by the Registrant or either of the plans covered by this Registration Statement pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing such documents.

 

 

 

 

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein (or in any other subsequently filed document which also is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein) modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to incorporate any information from Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any Form 8-K, or that is otherwise furnished under applicable Commission rules rather than filed, or any exhibits to the extent furnished in connection with such items.

 

Item 4.   Description of Securities

 

Not applicable (the Registrant’s Common Stock is registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act).

 

Item 5.   Interests of Named Experts and Counsel

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 6.   Indemnification of Directors and Officers

 

The Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that its directors will not be liable to the Registrant or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent that this limitation on or exemption from liability is not permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and any amendments to that law. The Registrant’s amended and restated by-laws also provide indemnification for its directors and officers. The Registrant is required to indemnify its directors and officers for all judgments, fines, settlements, legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with pending, threatened or completed legal proceedings because of the director’s or officer’s position with the Registrant or another entity that the director or officer serves at the Registrant’s request, subject to various conditions, and to advance funds to its directors and officers to enable them to defend against such proceedings. To receive indemnification, the director or officer must have been successful in the legal proceeding or have acted in good faith and in what was reasonably believed to be a lawful manner in the best interest of the Registrant.

 

Item 7.   Exemption from Registration Claimed

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 8.   Exhibits

 

Exhibit
No.
Description of Exhibit

 

4.1Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on June 17, 2005 (File No. 001-16725)).

 

 

 

 

4.2Amended and Restated By-Laws of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on March 2, 2018 (File No. 001-16725)).

 

4.3Form of Certificate for the Common Stock of Principal Financial Group, Inc., par value $0.01 per share (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended, filed with the Commission on August 2, 2001 (No. 333-62558)).

 

23*Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

 

24*Powers of Attorney.

 

*Filed herewith

 

The Registrant hereby undertakes, with respect to the plans described herein that are or are to be qualified under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code, that it has submitted or will submit such plans and any amendments thereto to the Internal Revenue Service in a timely manner and has made or will make all necessary changes required by the Internal Revenue Service in order to qualify such plans.

 

Item 9.   Undertakings

 

(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

 

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;

 

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

 

 

 

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant's annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

 

 

 

Signatures

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Des Moines, State of Iowa on November 10, 2021.

 

  PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.

 

  By: /s/ Daniel J. Houston
    Daniel J. Houston
    Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

Dated: November 10, 2021

 

By /s/ Daniel J. Houston  By *
  Daniel J. Houston
Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
    Roger C. Hochschild
Director
        
By /s/ Deanna D. Strable-Soethout  By *
  Deanna D. Strable-Soethout
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
    Scott M. Mills
Director
        
By *  By *
  Jonathan S. Auerbach
Director
    Claudio N. Muruzabal
Director
        
By *  By *
  Mary E. Beams
Director
    Diane C. Nordin
Director
        
By *  By *
  Jocelyn Carter-Miller
Director
    Blair C. Pickerell
Director
        
By *  By *
  Michael T. Dan
Director
    Clare S. Richer
Director
        
By *  By *
  Sandra L. Helton
Director
    Alfredo Rivera
Director

 

* Christopher J. Littlefield, by signing his name hereto, does hereby sign this document on behalf of each of the above-named directors of the Registrant pursuant to the powers of attorney duly executed by such persons.

 

By /s/ Christopher J. Littlefield  
  Christopher J. Littlefield, Attorney-in-Fact  

 

 

 

 

The Principal Select Savings Plan for Employees. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Administrator of The Principal Select Savings Plan for Employees certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Des Moines, State of Iowa, on November 10, 2021.

 

  THE PRINCIPAL SELECT SAVINGS PLAN FOR EMPLOYEES

 

  By Principal Life Insurance Company
    Benefit Plans Administration Committee
     
  By /s/ Lisa Coulson
    Committee Chair

 

The Principal Select Savings Plan for Individual Field. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Administrator of The Principal Select Savings Plan for Individual Field certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Des Moines, State of Iowa, on November 10, 2021.

 

  THE PRINCIPAL SELECT SAVINGS PLAN FOR INDIVIDUAL FIELD

 

  By Principal Life Insurance Company
    Benefit Plans Administration Committee
     
  By /s/ Lisa Coulson
    Committee Chair

 

 

 

Exhibit 23

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (Form S-8) pertaining to The Principal Select Savings Plan for Individual Field and The Principal Select Savings Plan for Employees of our reports (a) dated February 12, 2021, with respect to the consolidated financial statements and schedules of Principal Financial Group, Inc., and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of Principal Financial Group, Inc., included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K), and (b) dated June 23, 2021, with respect to the financial statements and schedules of The Principal Select Savings Plan for Individual Field and The Principal Select Savings Plan for Employees included in the Plans’ Annual Reports (Form 11-Ks), all for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

 

Des Moines, Iowa

November 10, 2021

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 24

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

Each person whose signature appears below hereby authorizes and appoints Daniel J. Houston, Deanna D. Strable-Soethout and Christopher J. Littlefield, and each of them, with full power to act as such person’s true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to sign on such person’s behalf individually and in each capacity stated below a Registration Statement on Form S-8 for the registration of 5,000,000 shares of Principal Financial Group, Inc. common stock authorized for issuance under The Principal Select Savings Plan for Employees and The Principal Select Savings Plan for Individual Field, pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any and all amendments and supplements to said Registration Statements, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as such person could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorneys-in-fact or agents may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Dated: November 10, 2021

 

  By /s/ Daniel J. Houston   By /s/ Roger C. Hochschild  
    Daniel J. Houston     Roger C. Hochschild  
    Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director     Director  
         
  By /s/ Deanna D. Strabel-Soethout   By /s/ Scott M. Mills  
    Deanna D. Strabel-Soethout   Scott M. Mills  
    Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer     Director  
         
  By /s/ Jonathan S. Auerbach   By /s/ Claudio N. Muruzabal  
    Jonathan S. Auerbach     Claudio N. Muruzabal  
    Director     Director  
         
  By /s/ Mary E. Beams   By /s/ Diane C. Nordin  
    Mary E. Beams     Diane C. Nordin  
    Director     Director  
         
  By /s/ Jocelyn Carter-Miller   By /s/ Blair C. Pickerell  
    Jocelyn Carter-Miller     Blair C. Pickerell  
    Director     Director  
         
  By /s/ Michael T. Dan   By /s/ Clare S. Richer  
    Michael T. Dan     Clare S. Richer  
    Director     Director  
         
  By /s/ Sandra L. Helton   By /s/ Alfredo Rivera  
    Sandra L. Helton     Alfredo Rivera  
    Director     Director