Northern Trust vs Principal Financial Group
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Chicago wealth management and institutional services (NYSE: NTRS) with $1.6T AUM and $16.8T AUC/A; 3-year consecutive Best Private Bank US Digital Wealth Planning award competing with BNY Mellon for institutional custody.
About
Northern Trust Corporation is a Chicago, Illinois-based financial services company — publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: NTRS) as an S&P 500 component — providing wealth management, asset management, and asset servicing to high-net-worth individuals, ultra-high-net-worth families, institutional investors, and corporations through approximately 23,400 employees worldwide. Founded in 1889 by Byron Laflin Smith (who opened the bank with $1 million in capital to serve wealthy Chicago families), Northern Trust manages $1.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM) and provides custody and administration for $16.8 trillion in assets under custody/administration (AUC/A). Northern Trust operates through two primary segments: Wealth Management (serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients with $75M+ investable assets with investment management, fiduciary, banking, and family office services) and Corporate & Institutional Services (C&IS, providing institutional asset management, securities processing, fund administration, and securities lending to pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and investment managers globally). The company has a market capitalization of approximately $24.9 billion.
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.
AI Visibility Head-to-Head
Key Details
Also Compare
Track AI Visibility in Real Time
Monitor how your brand performs across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok daily.