Principal Financial Group Inc : Two Principal Real Estate Investors' Funds Achieve High Sustainability Ranking

December 3, 2012 (Des Moines, Iowa) - Principal Real Estate Investors, one of the largest institutional real estate managers in the United States, has two funds ranked top three by category in the 2012 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) survey. The CorePlus Real Estate Property Fund ranked second in the U.S. Diversified category, and the Principal Green Property Fund I, L.P., ranked third in the U.S. Office category.

GRESB is a science-based benchmark to measure the environmental and social performance of property portfolios, based on an annual survey produced by the GRESB Foundation. Nearly 450 property companies and funds, representing 36,000 properties and $1.3 billion in global assets under management, were represented in this year's survey.

"We are proud to have two funds finish in the top three of their category in the annual GRESB survey," said Pat Halter, CEO of Principal Real Estate Investor. "We have long been a firm believer in the need for sustainable investments, which we know impact the environment - and the bottom line - in positive ways. We look forward to continuing this commitment and to finishing even higher in next year's GRESB survey."

The Principal Green Property Fund is a closed-end, commingled fund that adopts a broad, holistic approach towards integrating environmental, social and economic principles into the design and delivery of new commercial properties as well as retrofitting of existing U.S. properties to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified status. The CorePlus Fund is an open-end, commingled fund pursuing an "enhanced" investment strategy using a high-quality, national diversified Portfolio of office, industrial, retail, and multifamily properties.

GRESB provides a global standard for assessing, monitoring and improving the sustainability performance of real estate portfolios. GRESB works in tandem with institutional investors to identify and implement environmental, social and governance best practices in order to enhance and protect shareholder value.

Principal Real Estate Investors manages or subadvises $42.7 billion in commercial real estate assets. The firm's real estate capabilities include both public and private equity and debt investment alternatives. Principal Real Estate Investors is the dedicated real estate group of Principal Global Investors, a diversified asset management organization and a member of the Principal Financial Group®.

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 $276.2 billion in assets primarily for retirement plans and other institutional clients.

The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®) 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 $392.2 billion in assets under management and serves some 18.3 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.www.principal.com.