ck0000898745-20230831

PRINCIPAL FUNDS, INC.
("PFI" or the "Registrant")
Class A Shares
Class C Shares
Class J Shares
Institutional Class Shares
Class R-1 Shares
Class R-3 Shares
Class R-4 Shares
Class R-5 Shares
Class R-6 Shares
Class S Shares
The date of this Prospectus is December 31, 2023.
FUNDS OF THE REGISTRANT
(each, a "Fund" and, together, the "Funds")
Ticker Symbols by Share Class
Fund A C J Inst. R-1 R-3 R-4 R-5 R-6 S
Blue Chip PBLAX PBLCX PBCJX PBCKX PGBEX PGBFX PGBGX PGBHX
Bond Market Index PBIJX PNIIX PBIMX PBOIX PBIPX PBIQX
Capital Securities PCSFX
Diversified Real Asset PRDAX PDRDX PGDRX PDARX
Edge MidCap PEMCX PEDGX PEDMX
Global Multi-Strategy PMSAX PSMIX PGLSX
Global Sustainable Listed Infrastructure PGSLX
International Equity Index PIDIX PILIX PIIOX PIIPX PIIQX PFIEX
International Small Company PISMX PFISX
Opportunistic Municipal PMOAX POMFX
Origin Emerging Markets POEYX POEIX POEFX
Small-MidCap Dividend Income PMDAX PMDDX PMDIX PMDHX
Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income PPSAX PRFCX PPSJX PPSIX PUSAX PNARX PQARX PPARX PPREX



The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.



TABLE OF CONTENTS
FUND SUMMARIES
Blue Chip Fund
Bond Market Index Fund
Capital Securities Fund
Diversified Real Asset Fund
Edge MidCap Fund
Global Multi-Strategy Fund
Global Sustainable Listed Infrastructure Fund
International Equity Index Fund
International Small Company Fund
Opportunistic Municipal Fund
Origin Emerging Markets Fund
Small-MidCap Dividend Income Fund
Spectrum Preferred and Capital Securities Income Fund
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS
PRICING OF FUND SHARES
CONTACT PRINCIPAL FUNDS, INC.
PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES
REDEMPTION OF FUND SHARES
EXCHANGE OF FUND SHARES
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS
TAX CONSIDERATIONS
CHOOSING A SHARE CLASS AND THE COSTS OF INVESTING
DISTRIBUTION PLANS AND INTERMEDIARY COMPENSATION
FUND ACCOUNT INFORMATION
APPENDIX A – DESCRIPTION OF BOND RATINGS
APPENDIX B – INTERMEDIARY-SPECIFIC SALES CHARGE WAIVERS AND REDUCTIONS
APPENDIX C – ADDITIONAL FUND-SPECIFIC INFORMATION
APPENDIX D – FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
E


2


BLUE CHIP FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Class A shares of Principal Funds, Inc. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and in “Choosing a Share Class and The Costs of Investing” beginning on page 115 of the Fund’s Prospectus, Appendix B to the Prospectus titled "Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions," and “Multiple Class Structure” beginning on page 4 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.
If you purchase Institutional Class or Class R-6 shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class
A C J Inst. R-3 R-4 R-5 R-6
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) 5.50% None None None None None None None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the offering price or NAV when Sales Load is paid, whichever is less) 1.00% 1.00% 1.00% None None None None None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
A C J Inst. R-3 R-4 R-5 R-6
Management Fees 0.59 % 0.59 % 0.59 % 0.59 % 0.59 % 0.59 % 0.59 % 0.59 %
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25 % 1.00 % 0.15 % N/A 0.25 % 0.10 % N/A N/A
Other Expenses 0.15 % 0.12 % 0.10 % 0.12 % 0.33 % 0.29 % 0.27 % 0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.99 % 1.71 % 0.84 % 0.71 % 1.17 % 0.98 % 0.86 % 0.60 %
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement(1)(2)
(0.03)% (0.03)% (0.03)% (0.05)% (0.03)% (0.03)% (0.03)% (0.03)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement 0.96 % 1.68 % 0.81 % 0.66 % 1.14 % 0.95 % 0.83 % 0.57 %
(1)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the Fund’s management fees through the period ending December 30, 2024. The fee waiver will reduce the Fund's management fees by 0.03% (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis). It is expected that the fee waiver will continue through the period disclosed; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the fee waiver prior to the end of the period.
(2)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.66% for Institutional Class shares. It is expected that the expense limit will continue through the period ending December 30, 2024; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limit prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
3


Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example assumes conversion of the Class C shares to Class A shares after the eighth year. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Class A  $643  $845  $1,064  $1,694
Class C  271  536  925  1,826
Class J  183  265  463  1,034
Institutional Class  67  222  390  878
Class R-3  116  369  641  1,418
Class R-4  97  309  539  1,199
Class R-5  85  271  474  1,058
Class R-6  58  189  332  747
With respect to Classes C and J shares, you would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares (all other classes would be the same as in the above example):
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Class C  $171  $536  $925  $1,826
Class J  83  265  463  1,034
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 10.0% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of companies with large market capitalizations at the time of purchase that, in the opinion of Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the Fund’s investment advisor, display characteristics of a “blue chip” company. For this Fund, companies with large market capitalizations are those with market capitalizations similar to companies in the Russell 1000® Growth Index (as of November 30, 2023, this was between approximately $651.9 million and $3.0 trillion). In PGI’s view, “blue chip” companies typically display some or all of the following characteristics: (1) large, well-established, and financially sound companies; (2) issuers with market capitalizations in the billions; (3) are considered market leaders or among the top three companies in its sector; and (4) commonly considered household names. The Fund tends to focus on securities of companies that show potential for growth of capital as well as an expectation for above-average earnings. In selecting securities in which to invest, PGI uses a bottom-up, fundamental process, focusing on a fundamental analysis of individual companies. The Fund invests in securities of foreign companies. The Fund invested significantly in industries within the financials and information technology sectors as of November 30, 2023.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
4


Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.
Growth Style Risk. Growth investing entails the risk that if growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of their stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.
Financials Sector Risk. A fund that invests significantly in financial services companies may be more susceptible to adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting financial services companies. Financial companies may be adversely affected in certain market cycles, including periods of rising interest rates, which may restrict the availability and increase the cost of capital, and declining economic conditions, which may cause credit losses due to financial difficulties of borrowers. Because many types of financial companies are especially vulnerable to these economic cycles, the Fund’s investments in these companies may lose significant value during such periods.
Foreign Currency Risk. Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.
Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).
Information Technology Sector Risk. Companies in the information technology sector may face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and are particularly vulnerable to changes in technology product cycles, product obsolescence, government regulation, and competition, both domestically and internationally. Such companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.
Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
Using the historical performance of the Fund's Institutional Class shares, adjusted as described below, the bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Class A shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). These annual returns do not reflect sales charges on Class A shares; if they did, results would be lower. The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
For periods prior to the inception date of Classes A and C shares (September 30, 2013), Classes R-3, R-4, and R-5 shares (March 29, 2016), Class R-6 shares (January 3, 2017), and Class J shares (September 11, 2017), the performance shown in the bar chart for Class A shares and the table for Classes A, C, J, R-3, R-4, R-5, and R-6 shares is that of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the respective fees and expenses of each class. However, where this adjustment for fees and expenses results in performance for a newer class that is higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares is used. These adjustments for these newer classes result in performance for such periods that is no higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, which were first sold June 14, 2012.
5


Total Returns as of December 31
6638
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q2 2020 27.66%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q2 2022 (20.37)%
Year-to-date return for Class A shares: Q3 2023 18.51%
Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2022
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Class A Return Before Taxes (34.72)% 9.24% 12.34%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions (34.83)% 8.06% 11.49%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (20.47)% 7.28% 10.21%
Class C Return Before Taxes (32.11)% 9.66% 12.24%
Class J Return Before Taxes (31.51)% 10.59% 13.17%
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes (30.74)% 10.79% 13.46%
Class R-3 Return Before Taxes (31.05)% 10.27% 12.88%
Class R-4 Return Before Taxes (30.93)% 10.47% 13.10%
Class R-5 Return Before Taxes (30.85)% 10.62% 13.24%
Class R-6 Return Before Taxes (30.68)% 10.90% 13.50%
Russell 1000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(19.14)% 9.13% 12.38%
Russell 1000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(29.15)% 10.96% 14.10%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Effective December 31, 2023, the Fund changed its primary broad-based index to the Russell 1000 Index in order to meet the revised definition of “broad-based securities market index.” The Russell 1000 Growth Index is included as an additional index for the Fund as it shows how the Fund’s performance compares with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives.
Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Principal Global Investors, LLC
K. William Nolin (since 2012), Portfolio Manager
Tom Rozycki (since 2012), Portfolio Manager
6


Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Share Class Investment Type
Purchase Minimum Per Fund
A, C, and J Initial Investment
$1,000(1)
A, C, and J Initial Investment for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP) $100
A, C, and J Subsequent Investments
$100(1)(2)
Institutional, R-3, R-4, R-5, and R-6 There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchasers. N/A
(1)Some exceptions apply; see "Purchase of Fund Shares - Minimum Investments" for more information.
(2)For accounts with an AIP, the subsequent automatic investments must total $1,200 annually if the initial $1,000 minimum has not been met.
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 430 W. 7th Street, Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
Class C shares are subject to an 8-year automatic conversion plan whereby Class C shares held for eight years after purchase will automatically convert to Class A shares of the same Fund. See Purchase of Fund Shares for more information.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
7


BOND MARKET INDEX FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks to provide current income.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
If you purchase Institutional Class shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class
J Inst. R-1 R-3 R-4 R-5
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the offering price or NAV at the time Sales Load is paid, whichever is less) 1.00% None None None None None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
J Inst. R-1 R-3 R-4 R-5
Management Fees 0.14 % 0.14 % 0.14 % 0.14 % 0.14 % 0.14 %
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.15 % N/A 0.35 % 0.25 % 0.10 % N/A
Other Expenses 0.30 % 0.02 % 0.54 % 0.33 % 0.29 % 0.27 %
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01 % 0.01 % 0.01 % 0.01 % 0.01 % 0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.60 % 0.17 % 1.04 % 0.73 % 0.54 % 0.42 %
Fee Waiver(1)
(0.02)% (0.02)% (0.02)% (0.02)% (0.02)% (0.02)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver 0.58 % 0.15 % 1.02 % 0.71 % 0.52 % 0.40 %
(1)Principal Global Investors, LLC ("PGI"), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to waive a portion of the Fund’s management fees through the period ending December 30, 2024. The fee waiver will reduce the Fund's management fees by 0.015% (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis). It is expected that the fee waiver will continue through the period disclosed; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the fee waiver prior to the end of the period.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Class J  $159  $190  $333  $748
Institutional Class  15  53  94  215
Class R-1  104  329  572  1,269
Class R-3  73  231  404  905
Class R-4  53  171  300  675
Class R-5  41  133  233  528
With respect to Class J shares, you would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares (all other classes would be the same as in the above example):
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Class J $59 $190 $333 $748
8


Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 89.7% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund uses a passive investment approach known as “sampling” to invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in investments designed to track the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (the “Index”) at the time of purchase. The Index is composed of investment-grade, fixed-rate debt issues with maturities of one year or more, including government securities, corporate securities, and asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities (securitized products). As of November 30, 2023, the Index was composed of 13,378 issues. The Index is rebalanced monthly to reflect securities that have dropped out of or entered the Index in the preceding month. Generally, the Fund makes corresponding changes to its portfolio shortly after Index changes are made public. Because of the practical difficulties and expense of purchasing all of the securities in the Index, the Fund does not purchase all of the securities in the Index. Instead, the Fund uses a sampling methodology to purchase securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. Under normal circumstances, the Fund maintains an average portfolio duration that is in line with the duration of the Index, which as of November 30, 2023 was 6.19 years. The Fund will not concentrate (i.e., invest more than 25% of its assets) its investments in a particular industry except to the extent the Index is so concentrated. As of November 30, 2023, the Index was not concentrated in any industry.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate, credit quality, and liquidity risks. The market value of fixed-income securities generally declines when interest rates rise, and increased interest rates may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income securities. Moreover, an issuer of fixed-income securities could default on its payment obligations due to increased interest rates or for other reasons.
Index Fund Risk. Index funds use a passive investment approach and generally do not attempt to manage market volatility, use defensive strategies, or reduce the effect of any long-term periods of poor investment performance. Therefore, the Fund may hold securities that present risks that an investment advisor researching individual securities might seek to avoid. An index fund has operating and other expenses while an index does not. As a result, over time, index funds tend to underperform the index. The correlation between fund performance and index performance may also be affected by the type of passive investment approach used by a fund (sampling or replication), changes in securities markets, changes in the composition of the index, and the timing of purchases and sales of fund shares. Errors or delays in compiling or rebalancing the Index may impact the performance of the Fund and increase transaction costs.
Industry Concentration Risk. A fund that concentrates investments in a particular industry or group of industries has greater exposure than other funds to market, economic, and other factors affecting that industry or group of industries.
Portfolio Duration Risk. Portfolio duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed-income security and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a fund’s average portfolio duration, the more sensitive the fund will be to changes in interest rates, which means funds with longer average portfolio durations may be more volatile than those with shorter durations.
Real Estate Securities Risk. Investing in real estate securities subjects the fund to the risks associated with the real estate market (which are similar to the risks associated with direct ownership in real estate), including declines in real estate values, loss due to casualty or condemnation, property taxes, interest rate changes, increased expenses, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, regulatory changes (including zoning, land use, and rents), and environmental problems, as well as to the risks related to the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer.
9


Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Securitized Products Risk. Investments in securitized products are subject to risks similar to traditional fixed-income securities, such as credit, interest rate, liquidity, prepayment, extension, and default risk, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. Unscheduled prepayments on securitized products may have to be reinvested at lower rates. A reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, exposing them to the risk of decline in market value over time (extension risk).
U.S. Government Securities Risk. Yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than yields from many other fixed-income securities.
U.S. Government-Sponsored Securities Risk. Securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the Federal Home Loan Banks are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
During 2014, the Institutional Class experienced a significant withdrawal of monies by an affiliate. As the remaining shareholders held relatively small positions, the total return amounts expressed herein are greater than those that would have been experienced without the withdrawal.
Total Returns as of December 31
6378
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2020 3.28%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2022 (5.91)%
Year-to-date return for Institutional Class shares: Q3 2023 (1.07)%
10


Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2022
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes (13.27)% (0.19)% 0.87  %
(1)
Institutional Class Return After Taxes on Distributions (13.84)% (1.92)% (0.47) %
(1)
Institutional Class Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (7.85)% (0.58)% 0.23  %
(1)
Class J Return Before Taxes (14.42)% (0.62)% 0.31  %
Class R-1 Return Before Taxes (13.94)% (1.05)% (0.11) %
Class R-3 Return Before Taxes (13.67)% (0.75)% 0.20  %
Class R-4 Return Before Taxes (13.58)% (0.51)% 0.41  %
Class R-5 Return Before Taxes (13.41)% (0.44)% 0.51  %
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(13.02)% 0.02% 1.06  %
(1)During 2014, the Institutional Class experienced a significant withdrawal of monies by an affiliate. As the remaining shareholders held relatively small positions, the total return amounts expressed herein are greater than those that would have been experienced without the withdrawal.
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Institutional Class shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Jeff Callahan (since 2020), Portfolio Manager
Darryl Trunnel (since 2019), Portfolio Manager
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Share Class
Investment Type
Purchase Minimum Per Fund
J
Initial Investment
$1,000(1)
J
Initial Investment for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP)
$100
J
Subsequent Investments
$100(1)(2)
Institutional, R-1, R-3, R-4, and R-5
There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchasers.
N/A
(1)Some exceptions apply; see "Purchase of Fund Shares - Minimum Investments" for more information.
(2)For accounts with an AIP, the subsequent automatic investments must total $1,200 annually if the initial $1,000 minimum has not been met.
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 430 W. 7th Street, Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
Effective January 31, 2017, the Registrant no longer offers Class R-1 shares for purchase from new retirement plans except in limited circumstances. See Purchase of Fund Shares for more information.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
11


CAPITAL SECURITIES FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks to provide current income.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment):    None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
S
Management Fees 0.00%
Other Expenses 0.05%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.05%
Expense Reimbursement(1)
(0.05)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement(2)
0.00%
(1)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund's expenses attributable to Class S shares by paying expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.00%. It is expected that the expense limit will continue permanently (and in any event, through December 30, 2024); however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limit.
(2)The table reflects that Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, is absorbing all expenses of the Fund. You should be aware, however, that the Fund is an integral part of “wrap-fee” programs, including those sponsored by registered investment advisors and broker-dealers unaffiliated with the Fund. Participants in these programs pay a “wrap” fee to the sponsor of the program. You should carefully read the wrap-fee brochure provided to you by your sponsor or your registered investment advisor. The brochure is required to include information about the fees charged to you by the sponsor and the fees paid to the registered investment advisor.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Class S $0 $0 $0 $0
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 14.7% of the average value of its portfolio.
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Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in capital securities at the time of purchase. Capital securities include Tier 2 subordinated debt securities issued by U.S. and non-U.S. financial institutions (including, but not limited to, banks and insurance companies) and contingent convertible securities (“CoCos”), as well as preferred securities, including preferred stock and junior subordinated debt, issued by U.S. and non-U.S. corporations, financial institutions, and other issuers for purposes of satisfying regulatory capital requirements or obtaining rating agency credit. Capital securities may pay fixed-rate or adjustable-rate distributions and generally have a payment “preference” over common stock, but are junior to the issuer’s senior debt in a liquidation of the issuer’s assets.
CoCos are hybrid debt securities typically issued by banking institutions that have contractual equity conversion or principal write-down features that are triggered by regulatory capital thresholds or regulatory actions calling into question the issuing banking institution’s continued viability as a going-concern if the conversion trigger were not exercised.
Tier 2 and preferred securities purchased by the Fund are issued by companies with senior debt rated at the time of purchase BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P Global”) or Baa3 or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”). The Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in below-investment-grade (sometimes called “junk”) preferred securities, which are rated at the time of purchase Ba1 or lower by Moody’s and BB+ or lower by S&P Global. If the preferred security has been rated by only one of the rating agencies, that rating will determine the preferred security's rating; if the preferred security is rated differently by the rating agencies, the highest rating will be used; and if the preferred security has not been rated by either of the rating agencies, those selecting such investments will determine the preferred security's quality; provided, however, that the issuer of such below-investment-grade preferred securities has senior debt outstanding that is rated at the time of purchase BBB- or higher by S&P Global or Baa3 or higher by Moody’s. The Fund is not managed to a particular maturity or duration.
The Fund concentrates its investments (invests more than 25% of its net assets) in securities in one or more industries (i.e., banking, insurance, and commercial finance) within the U.S. and non-U.S. (foreign) financial services sector.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Capital Securities Risk. In addition to the risks associated with other types of preferred securities and fixed-income securities, investing in capital securities includes the risk that the value of securities may decline in response to changes in legislation and regulations applicable to financial institutions and financial markets, increased competition, adverse changes in general or industry-specific economic conditions, or unfavorable interest rates.
Contingent Convertible Securities Risk. In addition to the general risks associated with fixed-income securities and convertible securities, the risks of investing in contingent convertible securities (“CoCos”) include the risk that a CoCo may be written down, written off, or converted into an equity security when the issuer’s capital ratio falls below a specified trigger level, or in a regulator’s discretion depending on the regulator’s judgment about the issuer’s solvency prospects. Due to these features, CoCos may have substantially greater risk than other securities in times of financial stress. If the trigger level is breached, the issuer’s decision to write down, write off, or convert a CoCo may result in the fund’s complete loss on an investment in CoCos with no chance of recovery even if the issuer remains in existence.
Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate, credit quality, and liquidity risks. The market value of fixed-income securities generally declines when interest rates rise, and increased interest rates may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income securities. Moreover, an issuer of fixed-income securities could default on its payment obligations due to increased interest rates or for other reasons.
Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).
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High Yield Securities Risk. High yield fixed-income securities (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) are subject to greater credit quality risk than higher rated fixed-income securities and should be considered speculative.
Industry Concentration Risk. A fund that concentrates investments in a particular industry or group of industries has greater exposure than other funds to market, economic, and other factors affecting that industry or group of industries.
Financial Services. A fund concentrating in financial services companies may be more susceptible to adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting financial services companies. Financial companies may be adversely affected in certain market cycles, including periods of rising interest rates, which may restrict the availability and increase the cost of capital, and declining economic conditions, which may cause credit losses due to financial difficulties of borrowers. Because many types of financial companies are especially vulnerable to these economic cycles, the Fund’s investments in these companies may lose significant value during such periods.
Portfolio Duration Risk. Portfolio duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed-income security and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a fund’s average portfolio duration, the more sensitive the fund will be to changes in interest rates, which means funds with longer average portfolio durations may be more volatile than those with shorter durations.
Preferred Securities Risk. Because preferred securities have a lower priority claim on assets or earnings than senior bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure, they are subject to greater credit and liquidation risk than more senior debt instruments. In addition, preferred securities are subject to other risks, such as limited or no voting rights, deferring or skipping distributions, interest rate risk, and redeeming the security prior to any stated maturity date.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Class S shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
Life of Fund returns are measured from the date the Fund’s shares were first sold (March 14, 2014).
Performance does not reflect fees charged in the wrap-fee program.
Total Returns as of December 31
5807
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q2 2020 12.13%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2020 (12.72)%
Year-to-date return for Class S shares: Q3 2023 0.55%
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Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2022
1 Year
5 Years
Life of Fund
Class S Return Before Taxes (11.35)% 2.09% 3.95%
Class S Return After Taxes on Distributions (12.76)% 0.47% 2.17%
Class S Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (6.16)% 1.25% 2.52%
Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(16.26)% (1.66)% (0.52)%
ICE BofA U.S. All Capital Securities Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(14.86)% 1.41% 3.84%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Class S shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Effective December 31, 2023, the Fund changed its primary broad-based index to the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index in order to meet the revised definition of “broad-based securities market index.” The ICE BofA U.S. All Capital Securities Index is included as an additional index for the Fund as it shows how the Fund’s performance compares with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives.
Investment Advisor
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Sub-Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Spectrum Asset Management, Inc. ("Spectrum")
Fernando (“Fred”) Diaz (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
Roberto Giangregorio (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
L. Phillip Jacoby, IV (since 2014), Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager
Manu Krishnan (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
Mark A. Lieb (since 2014), President and Chief Executive Officer
Satomi Yarnell (since 2021), Portfolio Manager
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Eligibility to invest in the Fund is limited to certain wrap-fee program accounts. Only wrap-fee program accounts as to which Spectrum and/or PGI have an agreement with the wrap-fee program’s sponsor (“Sponsor”) or the wrap account owner to provide investment advisory or sub-advisory services (either directly or by providing a model investment portfolio created and maintained by Spectrum and/or PGI to the Sponsor or one or more Sponsor-designated investment managers (“Eligible Wrap Accounts”)) are eligible to purchase shares of the Fund. References to Wrap Fee Advisor shall mean Spectrum and/or PGI in their role providing such services to Eligible Wrap Accounts.
A client agreement with the Sponsor to open an account in the Sponsor’s wrap-fee program typically may be obtained by contacting the Sponsor or your financial advisor. Purchase and sale decisions regarding Fund shares for your wrap-fee account ordinarily will be made by the Wrap Fee Advisor, the Sponsor, or a Sponsor-designated investment manager, depending on the particular wrap-fee program in which your wrap-fee account participates. If your wrap-fee account’s use of the Wrap Fee Advisor’s investment style is terminated by you, the Sponsor, or the Wrap Fee Advisor, your wrap-fee account will cease to be an Eligible Wrap Account, and you will be required to redeem all your shares of the Fund. Each Eligible Wrap Account, by purchasing shares, agrees to any such redemption.
There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for Eligible Wrap Accounts. Eligible Wrap Accounts may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through its intermediary.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
15


Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
16


DIVERSIFIED REAL ASSET FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks a long-term total return in excess of inflation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A shares of Principal Funds, Inc. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and in “Choosing a Share Class and The Costs of Investing” beginning on page 115 of the Fund’s Prospectus, Appendix B to the Prospectus titled "Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions," and “Multiple Class Structure” beginning on page 4 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.
If you purchase Institutional Class or Class R-6 shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class
A Inst. R-3 R-6
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) 3.75% None None None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the offering price or NAV at the time Sales Load is paid, whichever is less) 1.00% None None None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
A Inst. R-3 R-6
Management Fees(1)
0.76 % 0.76 % 0.76 % 0.76 %
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25 % N/A 0.25 % N/A
Other Expenses 0.22 % 0.12 % 0.33 % 0.01 %
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01 % 0.01 % 0.01 % 0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.24 % 0.89 % 1.35 % 0.78 %
Expense Reimbursement(2)
(0.03)% (0.05)%  N/A 0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement 1.21 % 0.84 % 1.35 % 0.78 %
(1)Fees have been restated to reflect current fees.
(2) Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 1.20% for Class A and 0.83% for Institutional Class shares. In addition, for Class R-6, the expense limit will maintain “Other Expenses” (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.02% (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses). It is expected that the expense limits will continue through the period ending December 30, 2024; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limits prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class A $494 $751 $1,028  $1,816
Institutional Class  86  279  488  1,091
Class R-3  137  428  739  1,624
Class R-6  80  249  433  966
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Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 72.4% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in investments related to real assets and real asset companies. The Fund allocates its assets among general investment categories related to real assets, which include tangible assets and investments that are expected to perform well in periods of rising or high inflation, such as the following: infrastructure, natural resources, commodities, real estate, inflation-indexed bonds, and floating rate debt. In pursuing these strategies, the Fund invests in equity securities, including growth and value securities, of any market capitalization size (small, medium, large); fixed-income securities, which are not managed to any particular maturity or duration; U.S. and foreign securities; and derivative instruments, such as forwards, futures, swaps, and options. A derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is derived from, or based on, a traditional security, asset, or market index. The Fund concentrates its investments (invests more than 25% of its net assets) in securities of one or more of the following industries: real estate, energy, natural resources, and infrastructure.
In managing the Fund, Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the Fund’s investment advisor, determines the Fund’s strategic asset allocation among actively managed and passively managed (index) strategies that are executed by PGI and multiple sub-advisors. PGI has considerable latitude in allocating the Fund’s assets among the general investment categories listed below. The Fund uses strategies and sub-advisors to varying degrees and may change allocations, add new or eliminate existing strategies and sub-advisors, and temporarily or permanently reduce allocations from time to time such that the Fund would have little or no assets allocated to a particular strategy or sub-advisor.
Infrastructure. The Fund invests in companies that own or operate infrastructure assets related to the transportation, communications, water, electricity transmission and distribution, and oil and gas storage, processing, and transportation industries.
Natural Resources. The Fund invests in securities of companies that primarily own, explore, mine, process, or otherwise develop natural resources, renewable energy, or agricultural commodities and products, or that supply goods and services to such companies. These include companies contributing to and/or profiting from, these sectors, especially those active in production, processing, and supply chain services. These also include companies that are developing technologies, processes, products, and services relating to more efficient use, delivery, storage, management, or conversion of natural resources or products derived from natural resources, such as water treatment companies, smart electricity grid companies, companies that focus on creating energy efficiency for industrial processes, and companies focused on renewable energy resources. Natural resources generally include precious metals, such as gold, silver and platinum; ferrous and nonferrous metals, such as iron, aluminum, and copper; strategic metals, such as uranium and titanium; hydrocarbons, such as coal, oil, and natural gas; timber and wood products; and undeveloped real property.
Commodities. Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, coal, natural gas, agricultural products, industrial metals, livestock, and precious metals. To gain exposure to the commodities markets without investing directly in physical commodities, the Fund invests in a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Cayman Subsidiary”) and fixed-income securities (primarily short-term U.S. Treasury and Agency notes and bonds). In order to gain exposure to the commodity markets within the limitations of certain federal tax law requirements, the Cayman Subsidiary invests in commodity-linked equities, commodity-linked exchange traded funds (ETFs), and commodity-linked derivatives, including commodity-linked swaps, commodity futures, and forward contracts and/or options on commodities, as well as instruments such as fixed-income securities (cash, cash equivalents, and/or U.S. Treasury and Agency notes and bonds), either as investments or to serve as margin or collateral for the Cayman Subsidiary’s derivatives positions.
Real Estate. The Fund invests in equity securities of companies that have at least 50% of their assets, income, or profits derived from products or services related to the real estate industry (“real estate companies”). Real estate companies include real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), REIT-like entities, and companies with substantial real estate holdings such as paper, lumber, hotel, and entertainment companies, as well as building supply manufacturers, mortgage lenders, and mortgage servicing companies.
18


Inflation-Indexed Bonds. The Fund invests in inflation-indexed bonds issued by the U.S. and non-U.S. governments, their agencies, or instrumentalities and by U.S. and non-U.S. corporations. Inflation-indexed bonds are fixed-income securities that are structured to provide protection against inflation. The value of the bond’s principal or the interest income paid on the bond is adjusted to track changes in an official inflation measure.
Floating Rate Debt. The Fund invests in below-investment-grade (sometimes called “junk”) or comparable unrated floating rate debt (also known as bank loans, syndicated loans, leveraged loans, or senior floating rate interests). Floating rate debt has a variable coupon that resets periodically, with interest payments determined by a representative interest rate index (e.g., SOFR, the federal funds rate, or a similar reference rate) plus a fixed spread. As a result, the coupon payments vary, or “float” with prevailing market interest rates.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Asset Allocation Risk. A fund’s selection and weighting of asset classes and allocation among sub-advisors may cause it to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective.
Bank Loans Risk. Changes in economic conditions are likely to cause issuers of bank loans (also known as senior floating rate interests) to be unable to meet their obligations. In addition, the value of the collateral securing the loan (if any) may decline, causing a loan to be substantially unsecured. Underlying credit agreements governing the bank loans, reliance on market makers, priority of repayment, and overall market volatility may harm the liquidity of loans.
Cayman Subsidiary Risk. The Fund is subject to the particular risks associated with the investments of the Fund’s wholly-owned Cayman Subsidiary, namely commodity-related investments risk, counterparty risk, and derivatives risk. The Cayman Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is not subject to all the investor protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The laws of the Cayman Islands and/or the United States (including the IRS position on income earned from wholly-owned subsidiaries described in past IRS private letter rulings) may change, resulting in the inability of the Fund and/or the Cayman Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus.
Commodity-Related Investments Risk. The value of commodities investments will generally be affected by overall market movements and factors specific to a particular industry or commodity, which may include weather, embargoes, tariffs, and economic health, political, international, regulatory, and other developments. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities.
Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the counterparty to a contract or other obligation will be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may not move in the direction anticipated by the portfolio manager. Transactions in derivatives may increase volatility, cause the liquidation of portfolio positions when not advantageous to do so, and result in disproportionate losses that may be substantially greater than a fund’s initial investment.
Forward Contracts, Futures, and Swaps. Forward contracts, futures, and swaps involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the fund and the price of the forward contract, future, or swap; possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a forward contract, future, or swap and the resulting inability to close a forward contract, future, or swap when desired; counterparty risk; and if the fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements.
Options. Options involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the options; counterparty risk; difference in trading hours for the options markets and the markets for the underlying securities (rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets); and an insufficient liquid secondary market for particular options.
19


Energy Sector Risk. The market value of securities in the energy sector may decline for many reasons, including, among others, changes in energy prices, energy supply and demand, government regulations, and energy conservation efforts. Energy companies can be significantly affected by the supply of, and demand for, specific products (e.g., oil and natural gas) and services, exploration and production spending, government subsidization and tax incentives, world events, and general economic conditions. In addition, renewable energy companies may be more volatile than companies operating in more established industries. Seasonal weather conditions, extreme weather, or other natural disasters could have a disproportionate effect on renewable energy companies versus other types of energy companies. These factors could impact the ability of renewable energy companies to pay dividends comparable to those paid by other types of energy companies.
Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.
Growth Style Risk. Growth investing entails the risk that if growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of their stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.
Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources; lack the competitive strength of larger companies; have less experienced managers; or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.
Value Style Risk. Value investing entails the risk that value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by a fund, or the events that would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock that appears to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level and, therefore, would not be profitable for the fund.
Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate, credit quality, and liquidity risks. The market value of fixed-income securities generally declines when interest rates rise, and increased interest rates may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income securities. Moreover, an issuer of fixed-income securities could default on its payment obligations due to increased interest rates or for other reasons.
Foreign Currency Risk. Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.
Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).
High Yield Securities Risk. High yield fixed-income securities (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) are subject to greater credit quality risk than higher rated fixed-income securities and should be considered speculative.
Industry Concentration Risk. A fund that concentrates investments in a particular industry or group of industries has greater exposure than other funds to market, economic, and other factors affecting that industry or group of industries.
Energy/Natural Resources. A fund concentrating in energy/natural resource companies may be affected by numerous factors, including events occurring in nature, inflationary pressures, international politics, the success of exploration projects, commodity prices, energy conservation and environmental concerns, rapid product development and/or product obsolescence due to technological advancements and changing consumer demand and societal trends, taxes, and other government regulations. In addition, interest rates and general economic conditions may affect the demand for energy/natural resources. For example, events occurring in nature (such as earthquakes or fires in prime energy/natural resource areas) and political events (such as coups, military confrontations, or acts of terrorism) can affect overall supply of energy/natural resources and the value of companies involved in energy/natural resources.
20


Infrastructure. A fund concentrating in infrastructure-related assets is subject to numerous related risks, including the following: supply and demand for services from and access to infrastructure; operational and technical risks; government and political involvement, including changes in laws and regulations; environmental claims; changes in energy prices; natural disasters, terrorist events, and under-insured or uninsurable losses; and complex legal agreements and claims. Moreover, it may be difficult for the Fund to dispose of an infrastructure investment at an attractive price or at the appropriate time or in response to changing market conditions, or the Fund may otherwise be unable to complete a favorable exit strategy.
Real Estate. A fund concentrating in the real estate industry is subject to the risks associated with direct ownership of real estate, securities of companies in the real estate industry, and/or real estate investment trusts.
Leverage Risk. Leverage created by borrowing or certain types of transactions or investments may impair the fund’s liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase volatility of the fund’s net asset value, or diminish the fund’s performance.
Portfolio Duration Risk. Portfolio duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed-income security and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a fund’s average portfolio duration, the more sensitive the fund will be to changes in interest rates, which means funds with longer average portfolio durations may be more volatile than those with shorter durations.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) Risk. In addition to risks associated with investing in real estate securities, REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, risks of default by borrowers, and self-liquidation. Investment in REITs also involves risks similar to risks of investing in small market capitalization companies, such as limited financial resources, less frequent and limited volume trading, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. A REIT could fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code. Fund shareholders will indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of REITs in which the fund invests.
Real Estate Securities Risk. Investing in real estate securities subjects the fund to the risks associated with the real estate market (which are similar to the risks associated with direct ownership in real estate), including declines in real estate values, loss due to casualty or condemnation, property taxes, interest rate changes, increased expenses, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, regulatory changes (including zoning, land use, and rents), and environmental problems, as well as to the risks related to the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer.
Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. Yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than yields from many other fixed-income securities.
Utilities Sector Risk. Companies in the utilities sector are sensitive to changes in interest rates and other economic conditions, government regulation, uncertainties created by deregulation, environmental protection or energy conservation policies and practices, the level and demand for services, and the cost and delay of technological developments. In addition, securities of utility companies are volatile and may underperform in a sluggish economy.
21


Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Class A shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). These annual returns do not reflect sales charges on Class A shares; if they did, results would be lower. The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
For periods prior to the inception date of Class R-6 shares (December 31, 2014) and Class R-3 shares (March 29, 2016), the performance shown in the table for these newer classes is that of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the respective fees and expenses of each class. However, where this adjustment for fees and expenses results in performance for a newer class that is higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares is used. These adjustments result in performance for such periods that is no higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, which were first sold March 16, 2010.
Total Returns as of December 31
12767
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q2 2020 11.09%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2020 (19.62)%
Year-to-date return for Class A shares: Q3 2023 (3.74)%
22


Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2022
1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Class A Return Before Taxes (10.10)% 2.76% 2.18%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions (13.17)% 1.30% 1.18%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (4.88)% 1.76% 1.40%
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes (6.16)% 3.93% 2.96%
Class R-3 Return Before Taxes (6.65)% 3.40% 2.42%
Class R-6 Return Before Taxes (6.11)% 3.98% 2.99%
MSCI ACWI NR USD Index (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)
(18.38)% 5.23% 7.98%
Diversified Real Asset Index (Linked) (except as noted for the below indexes, reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
15.87% 6.82% 4.03%
S&P Global Infrastructure Index NTR (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)
(0.99)% 2.99% 5.61%
FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Markets Index NTR (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)
(25.10)% (0.23)% 2.99%
S&P Global Natural Resources Index NTR (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)
9.60% 6.64% 4.23%
Bloomberg Commodity Index TR (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
16.11% 6.44% (1.29)%
Bloomberg U.S. Treasury TIPS Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(11.85)% 2.11% 1.12%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Effective December 31, 2023, the Fund changed its primary broad-based index to the MSCI ACWI NR USD Index in order to meet the revised definition of “broad-based securities market index.” The Diversified Real Asset Index (Linked) is a blended index and is included as an additional index for the Fund to show how the Fund’s performance compares with returns of indices of funds with similar investment objectives. Performance of the components of the blended index are also shown. The weightings of the Diversified Real Asset Index (Linked) are as follows: 30% S&P Global Infrastructure Index NTR, 25% FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Markets Index NTR, 15% S&P Global Natural Resources Index NTR, 15% Bloomberg Commodity Index TR, and 15% Bloomberg U.S. Treasury TIPS Index. The blended index returns reflect the allocation described in the preceding sentence.
Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Jessica S. Bush (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
Benjamin E. Rotenberg (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
May Tong (since 2021), Portfolio Manager
Sub-Advisors
BlackRock Financial Management, Inc.
ClearBridge Investments (North America) Pty Limited
CoreCommodity Management, LLC
Delaware Investments Fund Advisers
Impax Asset Management Limited
Newton Investment Management North America LLC
Nuveen Asset Management, LLC
Pictet Asset Management SA
Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC
Wellington Management Company LLP
Sub-Sub-Advisor
BlackRock International Limited
23


Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Share Class
Investment Type
Purchase Minimum Per Fund
A
Initial Investment
$1,000(1)
A
Initial Investment for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP)
$100
A
Subsequent Investments
$100(1)(2)
Institutional, R-3, and R-6
There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchasers.
N/A
(1)Some exceptions apply; see "Purchase of Fund Shares - Minimum Investments" for more information.
(2)For accounts with an AIP, the subsequent automatic investments must total $1,200 annually if the initial $1,000 minimum has not been met.
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 430 W. 7th Street, Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
24


EDGE MIDCAP FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Class A shares of Principal Funds, Inc. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and in “Choosing a Share Class and The Costs of Investing” beginning on page 115 of the Fund’s Prospectus, Appendix B to the Prospectus titled "Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions," and “Multiple Class Structure” beginning on page 4 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.
If you purchase Institutional Class or Class R-6 shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class
A
Inst.
R-6
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
5.50% None None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the offering price or NAV at the time Sales Load is paid, whichever is less)
1.00% None None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
A
Inst.
R-6
Management Fees(1)
0.65% 0.65% 0.65%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25% N/A N/A
Other Expenses 0.39% 0.18% 0.10%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.29% 0.83% 0.75%
Expense Reimbursement(2)
(0.19)% (0.06)% (0.08)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement 1.10% 0.77% 0.67%
(1)Fees have been restated to reflect current fees.
(2)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 1.10% for Class A and 0.77% for Institutional Class shares. In addition, for Class R-6, the expense limit will maintain “Other Expenses” (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.02% (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses). It is expected that the expense limits will continue through the period ending December 30, 2024; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limits prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class A $656 $919 $1,201 $2,005
Institutional Class 79 259 455 1,020
Class R-6 68 232 409 923
25


Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 11.3% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of companies with medium market capitalizations at the time of purchase. For this Fund, companies with medium market capitalizations are those with market capitalizations within the range of companies in the Russell MidCap® Index (as of November 30, 2023, this was between approximately $233.1 million and $65.3 billion). The Fund invests in real estate investment trust (“REIT”) securities.
The Fund invests in equity securities with value and/or growth characteristics and constructs an investment portfolio that has a “blend” of equity securities with these characteristics. Investing in value equity securities is an investment strategy that emphasizes buying equity securities that appear to be undervalued. The growth orientation selection emphasizes buying equity securities of companies whose potential for growth of capital and earnings is expected to be above average. The Fund does not have a policy of preferring one of these categories over the other.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.
Growth Style Risk. Growth investing entails the risk that if growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of their stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.
Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources; lack the competitive strength of larger companies; have less experienced managers; or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.
Value Style Risk. Value investing entails the risk that value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by a fund, or the events that would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock that appears to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level and, therefore, would not be profitable for the fund.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) Risk. In addition to risks associated with investing in real estate securities, REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, risks of default by borrowers, and self-liquidation. Investment in REITs also involves risks similar to risks of investing in small market capitalization companies, such as limited financial resources, less frequent and limited volume trading, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. A REIT could fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code. Fund shareholders will indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of REITs in which the fund invests.
Real Estate Securities Risk. Investing in real estate securities subjects the fund to the risks associated with the real estate market (which are similar to the risks associated with direct ownership in real estate), including declines in real estate values, loss due to casualty or condemnation, property taxes, interest rate changes, increased expenses, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, regulatory changes (including zoning, land use, and rents), and environmental problems, as well as to the risks related to the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer.
26


Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Class A shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), adjusted as described below. These annual returns do not reflect sales charges on Class A shares; if they did, results would be lower. The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
Life of Fund returns are measured from the date the Fund’s shares were first sold (September 28, 2015).
For periods prior to the inception date of Class A shares (December 31, 2018) and Class R-6 shares (January 3, 2017), the performance shown in the bar chart and table for Class A and table for Class R-6 shares is that of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the fees and expenses of each class. However, where this adjustment for fees and expenses results in performance for a newer class that is higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares is used. These adjustments result in performance for such periods that is no higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, which were first sold September 28, 2015.
Total Returns as of December 31
5958
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q2 2020 24.61%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2020 (28.72)%
Year-to-date return for Class A shares: Q3 2023 4.33%
27


Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2022
1 Year
5 Years
Life of Fund
Class A Return Before Taxes (20.77)% 5.72% 9.16%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions (23.28)% 2.92% 6.87%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (10.54)% 4.42% 7.19%
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes (15.89)% 7.26% 10.38%
Class R-6 Return Before Taxes (15.81)% 7.36% 10.55%
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(19.22)% 8.79% 11.84%
Russell MidCap Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
(17.33)% 7.10% 10.05%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Effective December 31, 2023, the Fund changed its primary broad-based index to the Russell 3000 Index in order to meet the revised definition of “broad-based securities market index.” The Russell MidCap Index is included as an additional index for the Fund as it shows how the Fund’s performance compares with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives.
Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Lauren Choi (since 2021), Associate Portfolio Manager
Daniel R. Coleman (since 2015), Portfolio Manager
Theodore Jayne (since 2015), Portfolio Manager
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Share Class
Investment Type
Purchase Minimum Per Fund
A
Initial Investment
$1,000(1)
A
Initial Investment for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP)
$100
A
Subsequent Investments
$100(1)(2)
Institutional and R-6
There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchasers.
N/A
(1)Some exceptions apply; see "Purchase of Fund Shares - Minimum Investments" for more information.
(2)For accounts with an AIP, the subsequent automatic investments must total $1,200 annually if the initial $1,000 minimum has not been met.
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 430 W. 7th Street, Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
28


GLOBAL MULTI-STRATEGY FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on positive total returns and managing volatility.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A shares of Principal Funds, Inc. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and in “Choosing a Share Class and The Costs of Investing” beginning on page 115 of the Fund’s Prospectus, Appendix B to the Prospectus titled "Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions," and “Multiple Class Structure” beginning on page 4 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.
If you purchase Institutional Class or Class R-6 shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class
A Inst. R-6
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
3.75% None None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the offering price or NAV at the time Sales Load is paid, whichever is less)
1.00% None None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
A Inst. R-6
Management Fees(1)
1.36% 1.36% 1.36%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.25% N/A N/A
Other Expenses:
Dividend and Interest Expense on Short Sales 0.23% 0.23% 0.23%
Remainder of Other Expenses 0.30% 0.23% 0.12%
Total Other Expenses 0.53% 0.46% 0.35%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses
0.04% 0.04% 0.04%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 2.18% 1.86% 1.75%
Expense Reimbursement(2)
N/A (0.16)% (0.10)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement 2.18% 1.70% 1.65%
(1)Fees have been restated to reflect current fees.
(2)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 1.43% for Institutional Class shares. In addition, for Class R-6, the expense limit will maintain “Other Expenses” (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.02% (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses). It is expected that the expense limits will continue through the period ending December 30, 2024; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limits prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
29


Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class A $588 $1,032 $1,501 $2,794
Institutional Class 173 569 991 2,167
Class R-6 168 541 940 2,054
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 147.0% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the Fund’s investment advisor, seeks to combine diversified investment strategies efficiently and systematically so that the Fund generates a positive total return with relatively low volatility and low sensitivity or correlation to market indices. In managing the Fund, PGI allocates the Fund’s assets among the investment strategies described below, which are executed by PGI or one or more of the Fund’s sub-advisors. PGI has considerable latitude in allocating the Fund’s assets. The Fund will use strategies and sub-advisors to varying degrees and may change allocations, add new or eliminate existing strategies and sub-advisors, and temporarily or permanently reduce allocations from time to time such that the Fund would have little or no assets allocated to a particular strategy or sub-advisor.
The Fund invests in a broad range of instruments, including, but not limited to, equities, bonds, currencies, commodities, convertible securities, and bank loans. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests in securities of issuers located throughout the world, including the U.S., invests at least 30% of its net assets in foreign and emerging market securities, and holds investments tied economically to at least twenty countries.
The Fund invests in equity securities regardless of market capitalization size (small, medium, or large) and style (growth or value). The Fund invests in investment-grade and below-investment-grade bonds (sometimes called “high yield bonds” or “junk bonds”), which are rated at the time of purchase Ba1 or lower by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and BB+ or lower by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P Global”). If the bond has been rated by only one of the rating agencies, that rating will determine the bond's rating; if the bond is rated differently by the rating agencies, the highest rating will be used; and if the bond has not been rated by either of the rating agencies, those selecting such investments will determine the bond's quality. The fixed-income portion of the Fund is not managed to a particular maturity or duration. The Fund’s strategies may result in the active and frequent trading of the Fund’s portfolio securities.
The Fund invests in derivative instruments. A derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is derived from, or based on, a traditional security, asset, or market index. The strategies use different types of derivative instruments for various purposes, including to gain exposure to securities and to attempt to reduce risk. The Fund may invest in money market funds in order to provide collateral for certain derivative positions and other financial instruments and to provide asset coverage for certain derivative positions and other financial instruments that create obligations to make future payments to third parties.
The Fund takes long and short positions in securities and derivative instruments. When taking a short position, the Fund may sell an instrument that it does not own and then borrow to meet its settlement obligations. Short positions benefit from a decrease in price of the underlying instrument and lose value if the price of the underlying instrument increases. Long positions profit if the value of the instrument increases. Simultaneously engaging in long investing and short selling reduces the net exposure to general market movements. The Fund also takes relative value positions in an effort capitalize on price differences between similar securities or relative value among securities of the same company. The Fund also invests a portion of the proceeds it receives from short sales into long positions.
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Relative Value. This strategy uses a flexible approach to invest primarily in fixed-income securities and instruments related to credit, currencies, and interest rates, while employing risk-management strategies. This strategy uses a variety of techniques to obtain market exposure, such as derivative instruments, including options, futures, forwards, and swaps (including credit default swaps); entering into a series of purchase and sale contracts; purchasing securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward-commitment basis; and engaging in short sales. This strategy may obtain investment exposure substantially through derivatives instruments, may use such instruments in an effort to minimize volatility, and may use equity futures for hedging purposes.
A portion of this strategy takes long and short positions in selected emerging market issuers when those selecting such investments identify factors (such as macro-economic factors, country-specific factors, or credit-specific factors) that they believe will drive substantial appreciation or depreciation of the particular exposure. The strategy’s geographic focus is derived from economic and political developments and the specific nature of local jurisdictions in the emerging markets.
Equity Long/Short. This strategy provides long and short exposure to a diversified portfolio of U.S. and foreign, including emerging market, equity securities. Those selecting such investments simultaneously invest long in equities they expect to increase in value and either short sell equities they expect to decrease in value, or hedge equity market exposure another way (for example, by using derivatives such as futures, options, or swaps). This strategy uses two methods of analysis: fundamental analysis, which examines a company’s financial statements and operations, especially sales, earnings, products, management, and competition; and quantitative analysis, which uses mathematical models to evaluate a company’s measurable characteristics such as revenue, earnings, margins, and market share.
Event-Driven. This strategy invests in securities on the basis that a specific event or catalyst will affect future prices. This strategy attempts to capitalize on price discrepancies and returns generated by corporate activity, such as merger arbitrage, where the Fund holds a long/short portfolio of securities of companies involved in mergers.
Global Macro. This strategy provides long and short exposure to a broad spectrum of global assets (including equities, currencies, fixed-income securities, bonds, commodities, and interest rates) in an effort to profit from movement in the prices of securities that are highly sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. The managed futures portion of this strategy uses quantitative selection models to help predict movements in these markets. In pursuing this strategy, the Fund, either directly or through its wholly-owned subsidiary organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Cayman Subsidiary”), invests in commodity-linked derivatives and in instruments such as fixed-income securities, cash and cash equivalents, and/or U.S. government securities, either as investments or to serve as margin or collateral for derivative positions.
Commodities are assets that have tangible properties, such as oil, coal, natural gas, agricultural products, industrial metals, livestock, and precious metals. In pursuing certain commodity strategies, the Fund invests its assets in the Cayman Subsidiary to gain exposure to the commodity markets within the limitations of the federal tax law requirements applicable to regulated investment companies under the Internal Revenue Code. The Fund’s investments in its Cayman Subsidiary at any time will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s net assets.
Market Neutral. This strategy invests in long and short positions across different asset classes (including equity and fixed-income securities) in an effort to neutralize market risk exposure. The fixed-income portion seeks product types that have attractive return characteristics with low volatility. This strategy uses arbitrage, which is the simultaneous purchase and sale of assets in an effort to exploit price differences of identical or similar securities on different markets or in different forms. The fixed-income arbitrage portion seeks to exploit mispricing of various, liquid fixed-income or interest-rate-sensitive securities and provides long and short exposure to developed country bond and currency markets, investment grade and high yield credit markets, and forward mortgage-backed securities trading in the to-be-announced (“TBA”) markets. The convertible arbitrage portion structures trades using multiple securities within a convertible bond issuer’s capital structure. This strategy may also use derivatives to hedge against a decline in interest rates or credit exposure.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Arbitrage Trading Risk. The underlying relationships between securities in which the fund takes arbitrage investment positions may change in an adverse manner, in which case the fund may realize losses.
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Asset Allocation Risk. A fund’s selection and weighting of asset classes and allocation among sub-advisors may cause it to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective.
Bank Loans Risk. Changes in economic conditions are likely to cause issuers of bank loans (also known as senior floating rate interests) to be unable to meet their obligations. In addition, the value of the collateral securing the loan (if any) may decline, causing a loan to be substantially unsecured. Underlying credit agreements governing the bank loans, reliance on market makers, priority of repayment, and overall market volatility may harm the liquidity of loans.
Cayman Subsidiary Risk. The Fund is subject to the particular risks associated with the investments of the Fund’s wholly-owned Cayman Subsidiary, namely commodity-related investments risk, counterparty risk, and derivatives risk. The Cayman Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is not subject to all the investor protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The laws of the Cayman Islands and/or the United States (including the IRS position on income earned from wholly-owned subsidiaries described in past IRS private letter rulings) may change, resulting in the inability of the Fund and/or the Cayman Subsidiary to operate as described in this Prospectus.
Commodity-Related Investments Risk. The value of commodities investments will generally be affected by overall market movements and factors specific to a particular industry or commodity, which may include weather, embargoes, tariffs, and economic health, political, international, regulatory, and other developments. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities.
Convertible Securities Risk. Convertible securities are securities that are convertible into common stock. Convertible securities are subject to credit and interest rate risks associated with fixed-income securities and to stock market risk associated with equity securities.
Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the counterparty to a contract or other obligation will be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may not move in the direction anticipated by the portfolio manager. Transactions in derivatives may increase volatility, cause the liquidation of portfolio positions when not advantageous to do so, and result in disproportionate losses that may be substantially greater than a fund’s initial investment.
Credit Default Swaps. Credit default swaps involve special risks in addition to those associated with swaps generally because they are difficult to value, are highly susceptible to liquidity and credit risk, and generally pay a return to the party that has paid the premium only in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (as opposed to a credit downgrade or other indication of financial difficulty). The protection “buyer” in a credit default contract may be obligated to pay the protection “seller” an up-front payment or a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract, provided, generally, that no credit event on a reference obligation has occurred. If a credit event occurs, the seller generally must pay the buyer the “par value” (i.e., full notional value) of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity described in the swap, or the seller may be required to deliver the related net cash amount, if the swap is cash settled. The Fund may be either the buyer or seller in the transaction.
Currency Contracts. Derivatives related to currency contracts involve the specific risk of government action through exchange controls that would restrict the ability of the fund to deliver or receive currency.
Forward Contracts, Futures, and Swaps. Forward contracts, futures, and swaps involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the fund and the price of the forward contract, future, or swap; possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a forward contract, future, or swap and the resulting inability to close a forward contract, future, or swap when desired; counterparty risk; and if the fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements.
Options. Options involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the options; counterparty risk; difference in trading hours for the options markets and the markets for the underlying securities (rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets); and an insufficient liquid secondary market for particular options.
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Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in emerging markets may have more risk than those in developed markets because the emerging markets are less developed and more illiquid. Emerging markets can also be subject to increased social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties and can be extremely volatile. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other U.S. authorities may be limited in their ability to pursue bad actors in emerging markets, including with respect to fraud.
Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.
Growth Style Risk. Growth investing entails the risk that if growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of their stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.
Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources; lack the competitive strength of larger companies; have less experienced managers; or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.
Value Style Risk. Value investing entails the risk that value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by a fund, or the events that would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock that appears to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level and, therefore, would not be profitable for the fund.
Event-Driven Trading Risk. Event-driven trading involves the risk that the special situation may not occur as anticipated, if at all, and that the market price of a stock declines.
Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate, credit quality, and liquidity risks. The market value of fixed-income securities generally declines when interest rates rise, and increased interest rates may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income securities. Moreover, an issuer of fixed-income securities could default on its payment obligations due to increased interest rates or for other reasons.
Foreign Currency Risk. Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.
Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).
Hedging Risk. A fund that implements a hedging strategy using derivatives and/or securities could expose the fund to the risk that can arise when a change in the value of a hedge does not match a change in the value of the asset it hedges. In other words, the change in value of the hedge could move in a direction that does not match the change in value of the underlying asset, resulting in a risk of loss to the fund.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) caused by active and frequent trading of portfolio securities may result in accelerating the realization of taxable gains and losses, lower fund performance, and increased brokerage costs.
High Yield Securities Risk. High yield fixed-income securities (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) are subject to greater credit quality risk than higher rated fixed-income securities and should be considered speculative.
Investment Company Securities Risk. A fund that invests in another investment company (for example, another fund or an exchange-traded fund (or ETF)) is subject to the risks associated with direct ownership of the securities in which such investment company invests. Fund shareholders indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of each such investment company.
Leverage Risk. Leverage created by borrowing or certain types of transactions or investments may impair the fund’s liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase volatility of the fund’s net asset value, or diminish the fund’s performance. In particular, investing the proceeds of short sales may amplify leverage risk.
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Portfolio Duration Risk. Portfolio duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed-income security and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a fund’s average portfolio duration, the more sensitive the fund will be to changes in interest rates, which means funds with longer average portfolio durations may be more volatile than those with shorter durations.
Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Securitized Products Risk. Investments in securitized products are subject to risks similar to traditional fixed-income securities, such as credit, interest rate, liquidity, prepayment, extension, and default risk, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. Unscheduled prepayments on securitized products may have to be reinvested at lower rates. A reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, exposing them to the risk of decline in market value over time (extension risk). With respect to securities that are delivered in TBA transactions, there is a risk that the actual securities received by the Fund may be less favorable than what was anticipated when entering into the transaction.
Short Sales Risk. A short sale involves the sale by the Fund of a security that it does not own with the hope of purchasing the same security at a later date at a lower price. A fund may also enter into a short derivative position through a futures contract or swap agreement. If the price of the security or derivative has increased during this time, then the Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short sale was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to the third party. Therefore, short sales involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. Yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than yields from many other fixed-income securities.
U.S. Government-Sponsored Securities Risk. Securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the Federal Home Loan Banks are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Class A shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). These annual returns do not reflect sales charges on Class A shares; if they did, results would be lower. The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
For periods prior to the inception date of Class R-6 shares (June 12, 2017), the performance shown in the table for Class R-6 shares is that of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the fees and expenses of the Class R-6 shares. However, where this adjustment for fees and expenses results in performance for Class R-6 that is higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares is used. These adjustments result in performance for such periods that is no higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, which were first sold on October 24, 2011.
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Total Returns as of December 31
16030
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q2 2020 7.24%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2020 (9.50)%
Year-to-date return for Class A shares: Q3 2023 4.03%
Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2022
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Class A Return Before Taxes (5.94)% 1.22% 2.25%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions (9.09)% (0.15)% 1.31%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (2.52)% 0.59% 1.51%
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes (1.79)% 2.45% 3.04%
Class R-6 Return Before Taxes (1.70)% 2.52% 3.07%
MSCI ACWI NR USD Index (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)
(18.38)% 5.23% 7.98%
HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index (reflects no deduction for taxes)
(4.41)% 1.41% 1.76%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Effective December 31, 2023, the Fund changed its primary broad-based index to the MSCI ACWI NR USD Index in order to meet the revised definition of “broad-based securities market index.” The HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index is included as an additional index for the Fund as it shows how the Fund’s performance compares with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives.
Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Jessica S. Bush (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
Benjamin E. Rotenberg (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
May Tong (since 2021), Portfolio Manager
Sub-Advisors
Gotham Asset Management, LLC
Graham Capital Management, L.P.
Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P.
Los Angeles Capital Management LLC
Sound Point Capital Management, LP*
Wellington Management Company LLP
Westchester Capital Management, LLC
*Allocation has been decreased and is expected to further decrease over time, with no future allocations expected.
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Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Share Class
Investment Type
Purchase Minimum Per Fund
A
Initial Investment
$1,000(1)
A
Initial Investment for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP)
$100
A
Subsequent Investments
$100(1)(2)
Institutional and R-6
There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchasers.
N/A
(1)Some exceptions apply; see "Purchase of Fund Shares - Minimum Investments" for more information.
(2)For accounts with an AIP, the subsequent automatic investments must total $1,200 annually if the initial $1,000 minimum has not been met.
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 430 W. 7th Street, Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE LISTED INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks total return.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
If you purchase Institutional Class shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
Inst.
Management Fees 0.75 %
Other Expenses 0.63 %
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.39 %
Expense Reimbursement(1)
(0.50)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement 0.89 %
(1)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.88% for Institutional Class shares. It is expected that the expense limit will continue through the period ending December 30, 2024; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limit prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Institutional Class
$91 $391 $713 $1,625
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. From September 22, 2022, the date operations commenced, through August 31, 2023, the Fund’s annualized portfolio turnover rate was 46.3% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities issued by listed infrastructure companies that are subject to the sub-advisor’s sustainable investing strategy (as explained in more detail below). A “listed infrastructure company” is a publicly traded company engaged in the development, operation, and management of infrastructure assets. Infrastructure assets include but are not limited to utilities (electric, gas, water), transportation infrastructure (airports, highways, railways, marine ports), energy infrastructure (renewable energy generation, oil and gas pipeline operators), and communications infrastructure (cell phone tower operators, data centers, other providers of telecommunication services).
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The Fund invests primarily in equity securities regardless of market capitalization (small, medium, or large) and invests in both value and growth securities. The Fund also invests in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) but only those REITs that are engaged in the development, operation, or management of infrastructure assets. In addition, under normal circumstances, the Fund holds investments tied economically to multiple countries and invests at least 40% of its net assets, measured at the time of purchase, in securities of issuers organized or located outside the United States or doing a substantial amount of business outside the United States, including those located in emerging markets, such as China.
The Fund is considered non-diversified, which means it can invest a higher percentage of assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund. The Fund also concentrates its investments (invests more than 25% of its net assets) in securities in the utilities industry.
The sub-advisor initially identifies listed infrastructure companies and assesses them against the following three metrics: overall quality, valuation, and market perception. As described in more detail below, the overall quality metric includes, among other things, an assessment of a company’s environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) practices using the sub-advisor’s proprietary ESG-ratings framework. After it has assessed a potential investment against these three metrics, the sub-advisor assesses the remaining companies for their alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). The sub-advisor’s assessments of a company’s overall quality (which includes an assessment of a company’s ESG practices) and SDG alignment contain minimum sustainability thresholds that a company must meet before it is considered for portfolio inclusion. The sub-advisor applies these assessments of ESG practices and SDG alignment to each Fund investment (other than cash and cash equivalents) and believes that ESG factors are a significant consideration in selecting investments for the Fund’s portfolio. The sub-advisor does, however, consider non-ESG factors too when evaluating potential Fund investments.
The sub-advisor’s assessment of a company’s overall quality metric consists of assessments of several key measurements, which include, among others, a company’s ESG practices; financial condition; profitability and projected growth; management quality and governance structure; business strategy; market outlook; and infrastructure business quality, which covers the strength of a company’s regulatory relationships, the nature of its contractual and regulatory right to operate its assets, and the predictability and longevity of its cash flows.
The sub-advisor measures a company’s ESG practices and potential for those practices to improve by, among other things, maintaining a proprietary ESG-ratings framework, supplemented by insights from third-party research providers (e.g., sell-side research firms and ESG rating firms), and regular engagement with company management teams, in which ESG factors are a significant consideration and which includes correspondence with company management specifically focused on ESG issues. The sub-advisor does not rely exclusively on the insights from third-party research providers; it may discount these third-party insights if they conflict with the sub-advisor’s independent analyses and judgments. The proprietary ratings framework seeks to benchmark companies against what the sub-advisor believes to be the ESG practices of leading listed infrastructure companies. It is composed of a set of metrics (identified below) that the sub-advisor deems to be material in evaluating the ESG and sustainability credentials of a listed infrastructure company. This framework sets out areas of materiality by sector and sub-sector and helps to focus analyst research on areas that are most likely to lead to controversies and opportunities for a given listed infrastructure company. The ESG metrics include, but are not limited to, carbon emissions; resource and water management; resiliency to climate-related impacts; environmental business opportunities; human capital development; health and safety; diversity and inclusion; community relations; access and affordability; customer privacy and data security; ownership structure; board composition; compensation and alignment; business ethics; accounting; reporting and transparency; and controversies. These metrics are subject to change as the sub-advisor periodically re-assesses which ESG considerations are most material for listed infrastructure companies.
The sub-advisor’s valuation assessment involves the construction of discounted cash flow-based valuation models for potential investments. The sub-advisor’s market perception analysis seeks to identify companies whose sustainability credentials, in the sub-advisor’s opinion, are over- or underappreciated by other market participants.
Before selecting a company’s security for Fund investment, the sub-advisor also evaluates the company’s alignment with the SDGs generally but with a special emphasis on the following goals: clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; sustainable cities and infrastructure; and climate action. This SDG-alignment examination seeks to ensure that the company’s contributions to social and environmental progress are in line with the sub-advisor’s expectations for a listed infrastructure company operating in the relevant sub-sector and country. The sub-advisor identifies individual targets and indicators that are most applicable to each company and that may vary depending on sub-sector and/or country of operation.
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The sub-advisor’s assessments of a company’s overall quality (which includes an assessment of a company’s ESG practices) and SDG alignment contain minimum sustainability thresholds that a company must meet before it is considered for portfolio inclusion. Subject to these minimum standards, the sub-advisor may from time to time select for investment a company that the sub-advisor has identified as having certain areas of deficiency in its ESG practices or in its SDG alignment relative to its global peers. Before making such an investment, however, the sub-advisor would identify, in its reasonable belief, positive forward-looking trends in the company’s ESG practices or SDG alignment through direct engagement with a company’s management. The sub-advisor typically makes this determination after it has examined a potential investment against the metrics outlined above (overall quality (which contains ESG quality), valuation, market perception, and SDG alignment).
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in emerging markets may have more risk than those in developed markets because the emerging markets are less developed and more illiquid. Emerging markets can also be subject to increased social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties and can be extremely volatile. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other U.S. authorities may be limited in their ability to pursue bad actors in emerging markets, including with respect to fraud.
China Investment Risk. The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers located or operating in China. Investing in China involves certain heightened risks and considerations, including, among others: frequent trading suspensions and government interventions (including by nationalizing assets); currency exchange rate fluctuations or blockages; limits on using brokers and on foreign ownership; different financial reporting standards; higher dependence on exports and international trade; political and social instability; infectious disease outbreaks; regional and global conflicts; increased trade tariffs, embargoes, and other trade limitations; custody and other risks associated with programs used to access Chinese securities; and uncertainties in tax rules that could result in unexpected tax liabilities for the Fund. Significant portions of the Chinese securities markets may become rapidly illiquid, as Chinese issuers have the ability to suspend the trading of their equity securities. Moreover, actions by the U.S. government, such as delisting of certain Chinese companies from U.S. securities exchanges or otherwise restricting their operations in the U.S., may negatively impact the value of such securities held by the Fund.
Energy Sector Risk. The market value of securities in the energy sector may decline for many reasons, including, among others, changes in energy prices, energy supply and demand, government regulations, and energy conservation efforts. Energy companies can be significantly affected by the supply of, and demand for, specific products (e.g., oil and natural gas) and services, exploration and production spending, government subsidization and tax incentives, world events, and general economic conditions. In addition, renewable energy companies may be more volatile than companies operating in more established industries. Seasonal weather conditions, extreme weather, or other natural disasters could have a disproportionate effect on renewable energy companies versus other types of energy companies. These factors could impact the ability of renewable energy companies to pay dividends comparable to those paid by other types of energy companies.
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Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.
Growth Style Risk. Growth investing entails the risk that if growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of their stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.
Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources; lack the competitive strength of larger companies; have less experienced managers; or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.
Value Style Risk. Value investing entails the risk that value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by a fund, or the events that would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock that appears to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level and, therefore, would not be profitable for the fund.
ESG Investing Risk. The Fund incorporates ESG investment insights into its investment strategy and will forego certain investment opportunities because of this ESG investment strategy. The Fund’s incorporation of ESG investment insights will affect the Fund’s exposure to certain companies or industries. The Fund’s results may be lower than other funds that do not consider ESG characteristics or apply an ESG investment strategy, or that use different ESG criteria or a different methodology to identify and/or incorporate ESG characteristics. Further, investors may differ in their views of what constitutes positive or negative ESG characteristics of a security. As a result, the Fund may invest in securities that do not reflect the beliefs of a particular investor. In addition, the Fund may not be successful in its objectives related to ESG. There is no guarantee that these objectives will be achieved, and ESG-related assessments are at the sub-advisor’s discretion. The sub-advisor is dependent upon certain information and data from issuers and from third-party providers of ESG research, which may be incomplete, inaccurate, or unavailable. As a result, there is a risk that the sub-advisor may incorrectly assess a security or issuer. There is also a risk that the sub-advisor may not apply the relevant ESG criteria correctly or that the Fund could have indirect exposure to issuers that do not meet the relevant ESG criteria used by the Fund. There may be limitations with respect to availability of ESG data in certain sectors, as well as limited availability of investments with positive ESG assessments in certain sectors. The advisor and/or sub-advisor’s evaluation of ESG criteria is subjective and may change over time.
Foreign Currency Risk. Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.
Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).
Industry Concentration Risk. A fund that concentrates investments in a particular industry or group of industries has greater exposure than other funds to market, economic, and other factors affecting that industry or group of industries.
Utilities Sector Risk. Companies in the utilities sector are sensitive to changes in interest rates and other economic conditions, government regulation, uncertainties created by deregulation, environmental protection or energy conservation policies and practices, the level and demand for services, and the cost and delay of technological developments. In addition, securities of utility companies are volatile and may underperform in a sluggish economy.
Non-Diversification Risk. A non-diversified fund may invest a high percentage of its assets in the securities of a small number of issuers and is more likely than diversified funds to be significantly affected by a specific security’s poor performance.
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Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) Risk. In addition to risks associated with investing in real estate securities, REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, risks of default by borrowers, and self-liquidation. Investment in REITs also involves risks similar to risks of investing in small market capitalization companies, such as limited financial resources, less frequent and limited volume trading, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. A REIT could fail to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code. Fund shareholders will indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of REITs in which the fund invests.
Real Estate Securities Risk. Investing in real estate securities subjects the fund to the risks associated with the real estate market (which are similar to the risks associated with direct ownership in real estate), including declines in real estate values, loss due to casualty or condemnation, property taxes, interest rate changes, increased expenses, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, regulatory changes (including zoning, land use, and rents), and environmental problems, as well as to the risks related to the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer.
Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Telecommunication Services Risk. The telecommunications industry is subject to governmental regulation and a greater price volatility than the overall market, and the products and services of telecommunications companies may be subject to rapid obsolescence resulting from changing consumer tastes, intense competition, and strong market reactions to technological developments throughout the industry. Companies in the telecommunications sector may encounter distressed cash flows due to the need to commit substantial capital to meet increasing competition, particularly in formulating new products and services using new technology.
Transportation Risk. Companies in the transportation industry may be adversely affected by economic changes, increases in fuel and operating costs, labor relations, and insurance costs. Transportation companies may also be subject to significant government regulation and oversight, which may adversely affect their businesses.
Performance
No performance information is shown below because the Fund has not yet had a calendar year of performance. The Fund’s performance is benchmarked against the MSCI ACWI NR USD Index and the FTSE Global Core Infrastructure 50/50 NR USD Index. Performance information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information by calling 1-800-222-5852.
Effective December 31, 2023, the Fund changed its primary broad-based index to the MSCI ACWI NR USD Index in order to meet the revised definition of “broad-based securities market index.” The FTSE Global Core Infrastructure 50/50 NR USD Index is included as an additional index for the Fund as it shows how the Fund’s performance compares with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives.
Investment Advisor
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Sub-Advisor and Portfolio Manager
Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC
Emily Foshag (since 2022), Portfolio Manager
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
For Institutional Class shares, there are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchasers.
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 430 W. 7th Street, Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
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Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
42


INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
If you purchase Institutional Class or Class R-6 shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment):    None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
Inst. R-1 R-3 R-4 R-5 R-6
Management Fees
0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.25%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
N/A 0.35% 0.25% 0.10% N/A N/A
Other Expenses
0.23% 0.60% 0.39% 0.35% 0.33% 0.07%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.49% 1.21% 0.90% 0.71% 0.59% 0.33%
Expense Reimbursement(1)
(0.16)% N/A N/A N/A N/A (0.02)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement 0.33% 1.21% 0.90% 0.71% 0.59% 0.31%
(1)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.31% for Institutional Class shares. In addition, for Class R-6, the expense limit will maintain “Other Expenses” (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.04% (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses). It is expected that the expense limits will continue through the period ending December 30, 2024; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limits prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Institutional Class $34 $141 $258 $601
Class R-1 123 384 665 1,466
Class R-3 92 287 498 1,108
Class R-4 73 227 395 883
Class R-5 60 189 329 738
Class R-6 32 104 183 416
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 37.5% of the average value of its portfolio.
43


Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities that compose the MSCI EAFE Index (the “Index”) at the time of purchase. The Index is a market-weighted equity index designed to measure the equity performance of developed markets (Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Far East, which includes Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore), excluding the United States and Canada. The Index includes securities of different market capitalizations (medium and large) and is rebalanced quarterly. The Fund employs a passive investment approach designed to attempt to track the performance of the Index. In seeking its objective, the Fund typically employs a replication strategy, which involves investing in the securities that make up the Index, in the same approximate proportions as the Index. The Fund utilizes exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and derivative strategies (including index futures) on a daily basis to gain exposure to the Index in an effort to minimize tracking error relative to the benchmark. A derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is derived from, or based on, a traditional security, asset, or market index. The Fund will not concentrate (invest more than 25% of its assets) its investments in a particular industry except to the extent the Index is so concentrated. As of November 30, 2023, the Index was not concentrated in any industry.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may not move in the direction anticipated by the portfolio manager. Transactions in derivatives may increase volatility, cause the liquidation of portfolio positions when not advantageous to do so, and result in disproportionate losses that may be substantially greater than a fund’s initial investment.
Futures. Futures contracts involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the futures contract; possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; counterparty risk; and if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements.
Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.
Foreign Currency Risk. Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.
Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).
Index Fund Risk. Index funds use a passive investment approach and generally do not attempt to manage market volatility, use defensive strategies, or reduce the effect of any long-term periods of poor investment performance. Therefore, the Fund may hold securities that present risks that an investment advisor researching individual securities might seek to avoid. An index fund has operating and other expenses while an index does not. As a result, over time, index funds tend to underperform the index. The correlation between fund performance and index performance may also be affected by the type of passive investment approach used by a fund (sampling or replication), changes in securities markets, changes in the composition of the index, and the timing of purchases and sales of fund shares. Errors or delays in compiling or rebalancing the Index may impact the performance of the Fund and increase transaction costs.
Industry Concentration Risk. A fund that concentrates investments in a particular industry or group of industries has greater exposure than other funds to market, economic, and other factors affecting that industry or group of industries.
Investment Company Securities Risk. A fund that invests in another investment company (for example, another fund or an exchange-traded fund (or ETF)) is subject to the risks associated with direct ownership of the securities in which such investment company invests. Fund shareholders indirectly bear their proportionate share of the expenses of each such investment company.
44


Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
For periods prior to the inception date of Class R-6 shares (January 3, 2017), the performance shown in the table for Class R-6 shares is that of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares, adjusted to reflect the fees and expenses of Class R-6 shares. However, where this adjustment for fees and expenses results in performance for Class R-6 shares that is higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares is used. These adjustments result in performance for such periods that is no higher than the historical performance of the Institutional Class shares, which were first sold December 30, 2009.
Total Returns as of December 31
6035
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q4 2022 18.07%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2020 (23.11)%
Year-to-date return for Institutional Class shares: Q3 2023 6.45%
45


Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2022
1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes (14.41)% 1.46% 4.34%
Institutional Class Return After Taxes on Distributions (14.93)% 0.66% 3.26%
Institutional Class Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (8.08)% 1.14% 3.37%
Class R-1 Return Before Taxes (15.17)% 0.58% 3.43%
Class R-3 Return Before Taxes (14.89)% 0.88% 3.75%
Class R-4 Return Before Taxes (14.68)% 1.09% 3.95%
Class R-5 Return Before Taxes (14.61)% 1.21% 4.08%
Class R-6 Return Before Taxes (14.40)% 1.50% 4.32%
MSCI EAFE Index NTR (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)
(14.46)% 1.54% 4.67%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Institutional Class shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Principal Global Investors, LLC
Tyler O'Donnell (since 2023), Portfolio Manager
Aaron J. Siebel (since 2018), Portfolio Manager
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Share Class
Investment Type
Purchase Minimum Per Fund
Institutional, R-1, R-3, R-4, R-5, and R-6
There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchasers.
N/A
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 430 W. 7th Street, Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
Effective January 31, 2017, the Registrant no longer offers Class R-1 shares for purchase from new retirement plans, except in limited circumstances. See Purchase of Fund Shares for more information.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions you receive are generally subject to federal income tax as ordinary income or capital gain and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are tax-exempt or your account is tax-deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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INTERNATIONAL SMALL COMPANY FUND
Objective
The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
If you purchase Institutional Class or Class R-6 shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary. 
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
Inst. R-6
Management Fees(1)
1.00% 1.00%
Other Expenses
0.16% 0.05%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.16% 1.05%
Expense Reimbursement(2)
(0.08)% (0.01)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement 1.08% 1.04%
(1)Fees have been restated to reflect current fees.
(2)Principal Global Investors, LLC (“PGI”), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 1.08% for Institutional Class shares. In addition, for Class R-6, the expense limit will maintain “Other Expenses” (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.04% (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses). It is expected that the expense limits will continue through the period ending December 30, 2024; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limits prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Institutional Class $110 $361 $631 $1,402
Class R-6 106 333 578 1,282
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 61.8% of the average value of its portfolio.
47


Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of companies with small market capitalizations at the time of purchase. For this Fund, companies with small market capitalizations are those with market capitalizations within the range of companies in the MSCI World Ex-U.S.A. Small Cap Index (as of November 30, 2023, this was between approximately $66.5 million and $8.2 billion). The Fund may invest in equity securities regardless of style (growth or value). The Fund invests primarily in foreign equity securities. The Fund typically invests in foreign securities of more than 10 countries but has no limitation on the percentage of assets that is invested in each country or denominated in any currency. Primary consideration is given to securities of corporations of developed areas, such as Japan, Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.
Growth Style Risk. Growth investing entails the risk that if growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of their stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.
Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources; lack the competitive strength of larger companies; have less experienced managers; or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.
Value Style Risk. Value investing entails the risk that value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by a fund, or the events that would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock that appears to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level and, therefore, would not be profitable for the fund.
Foreign Currency Risk. Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.
Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation, or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).
Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.PrincipalAM.com.
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The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
Life of Fund returns are measured from the date the Fund’s shares were first sold (June 11, 2014).
For periods prior to the inception date of Institutional Class shares (December 31, 2014) and Class R-6 shares (January 3, 2017), the performance shown in the table for these newer classes is that of the Fund’s Class A shares, adjusted to reflect the respective fees and expenses of each class. However, where this adjustment for fees and expenses results in performance for a newer class that is higher than the historical performance of the Class A shares, the historical performance of the Class A shares is used (without respect to sales charges, which do not apply to Institutional Class or Class R-6 shares). These adjustments result in performance for such periods that is no higher than the historical performance of the Class A shares, which were first sold June 11, 2014, and liquidated on February 23, 2021.
Total Returns as of December 31
6565
Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q2 2020 21.37%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above: Q1 2020 (30.37)%
Year-to-date return for Institutional Class shares: Q3 2023 2.89%
Average Annual Total Returns