Betterment vs Principal Financial Group
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Largest independent robo-advisor with $65B+ AUM and 1M+ customers as of late 2025; acquired Ellevest ($1.1B AUM) and Rowboat Advisors in 2025; raised $435M total at ~$800M valuation.
About
Betterment is the largest independent digital investment advisor in the United States, offering automated investing, cash management, and retirement planning services to individual investors, financial advisors, and small business 401(k) plan sponsors. Founded in 2010 by Jon Stein and Eli Broverman, Betterment pioneered the robo-advisor category — using algorithm-driven portfolio construction and automatic rebalancing to deliver diversified, tax-efficient investing to retail investors at a fraction of the cost of traditional financial advisors. The platform's core offering is a diversified ETF portfolio automatically rebalanced and tax-loss harvested, accessible for a 0.25% annual fee on invested assets above $24,000.
Des Moines retirement and asset management (NASDAQ: PFG) at $16.13B 2024 revenue (+18%), $753B AUM; new CEO Deanna Strable (Jan 2025), Ascensus ESOP acquisition (2024), $1.7T AUA competing with Empower for mid-market 401(k).
About
Principal Financial Group, Inc. is a Des Moines, Iowa-based financial services company — publicly traded on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: PFG) as an S&P 500 Financials component — providing retirement savings, asset management, and group insurance and benefits to 61 million customers worldwide through approximately 20,000 employees with $753 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of Q2 2025, $1.7 trillion in assets under administration, and $16.13 billion in 2024 annual revenue (up 18% year-over-year) with net income of $1.57 billion. Founded in 1879 as The Bankers Life Association by Edward Temple and Simon Casady to provide affordable life insurance to Iowans, Principal demutualized and completed its IPO in 2001. Deanna Strable became President and CEO in January 2025 (succeeding Dan Houston), with Joel Pitz named CFO. Principal operates through three segments: Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS — 401(k), 403(b), defined benefit plans, nonqualified executive benefits, pension risk transfer, and individual retirement products), Principal Asset Management (equity, fixed income, real estate, and alternative investments for institutional clients), and Benefits and Protection (group dental, vision, life, and disability insurance). Key acquisitions include AFP Cuprum (Chilean pension, $1.5B, 2012), Wells Fargo's institutional retirement and trust business ($1.2B, 2019, adding 401(k)/pension/ESOP plans), and the 2024 agreement to acquire Ascensus's ESOP business (800 plans, 165,000+ participants). Principal's market capitalization stands at approximately $18.3 billion.
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