Principal Asset Management

Summer internships run 10 to 12 weeks between spring and fall semesters; the investment operations track offers a six- to nine-month full-time format, and some other tracks run a six- to seven-month co-op. Recent-graduate hires enter one of several named rotational programs:

• Financial Analyst Development Program: 36 months in Des Moines, rotations across business-unit FP&A and corporate finance
• Accounting Rotation Development Program: up to 36 months, 6 to 9 months per rotation, Des Moines
• Commercial Real Estate Rotational Analyst Program: 24 months, four six-month rotations, Des Moines
• Leadership Development Program: up to 36 months, four to six self-selected rotations, Des Moines
• Actuarial Development Program: three rotations of 18 to 30 months, Des Moines, with a commitment to the FSA designation

The investment, accounting, and real-estate tracks all run out of Des Moines, so a candidate splitting applications across coastal asset managers and Principal is weighing not only the role but a relocation to Iowa for the duration of the program.

Real estate sits as a separately-branded specialist franchise inside the group, which is uncommon at this AUM scale. The parent Principal Financial Group is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, and the rotational programs feeding recent graduates into the firm are concentrated there, so for an investment, accounting, or real-estate early-career hire, the Des Moines location is part of the offer rather than incidental to it.