Bismarck, ND State St Office

Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a broad client base that includes individual investors (both non‑HNW and high net worth), qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations and other business entities, and active‑duty U.S. military personnel residing or stationed outside the United States. Its advisory offering focuses on direct advisory programs, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to third‑party money manager (TPMM) asset allocation and separately managed account solutions.

The firm makes TPMM programs available under two distinct arrangements: an investment adviser arrangement, where Principal may act as adviser or co‑advisor, and a promoter arrangement, where Financial Advisors refer clients to unaffiliated TPMMs and assist clients in selecting models and completing account setup and reviews. Investment implementation is generally carried out on a discretionary basis by the TPMMs; Principal evaluates TPMMs’ structure, costs and performance and provides ongoing client reviews through its Financial Advisors.

Distinctive features include a range of promoter and referral arrangements—Principal receives promoter payments from TPMMs, engages with third‑party lead‑generation firms, and provides business support to Financial Advisors tied to production targets—conflicts the firm discloses and subjects to supervisory controls. The firm’s regulatory history is also notable: it settled an SEC matter related to mutual fund share‑class selection and remedial payments, and it has disclosed that certain advisory arrangements (for example, some SEI and AssetMark investment adviser arrangements) are no longer offered to new accounts.