Principal Asset Management Names Kamal Bhatia President, CEO

Principal Asset Management, the asset management arm of Principal Financial Group, has named Kamal Bhatia president and CEO, effective February 10. He replaces Pat Halter, who will retire after spending 40 years at the firm.

Bhatia will report to Dan Houston, chairman, president and CEO of Principal, the country’s fifth-largest recordkeeper by assets under administration, according to PLANSPONSOR.

“Principal Asset Management has a very bright future ahead and I am honored and excited to step into this important role, building on the road Pat has paved,” Bhatia wrote in an email response. “Alongside an integrated group of global leaders, I am eager to deliver for our clients and shareholders.”

Kamal Bhatia

Bhatia will focus on delivering investment performance and client growth, according to the company announcement. He is set to continue the expansion of the Des Moines, Iowa-based firm’s focus on specialty public and private investment capabilities and multi-asset investment products. Additionally, he will oversee retirement solutions to meet the needs of institutional, wealth and retirement clients across Principal’s more than 80 markets globally.

Bhatia assumed responsibility for overseeing the global investment organization after Principal’s 2021 strategic review, which prioritized the expansion of asset management and utilizing retirement expertise across the company. In that position, Bhatia worked to integrate asset management capabilities worldwide and contributed to both recruiting essential investment leadership and introducing the firm’s first liability-driven investing capabilities and expanding retirement investment solutions, according to Principal.

In 2019, Bhatia joined Principal as president and CEO of Principal Funds. He became chief operating officer for the asset management business in 2020 and global head of investments in 2023. Prior to joining Principal, he was CEO and chairman of the board for OC Private Capital, a joint venture of OppenheimerFunds and the Carlyle Group, with an emphasis on private credit. Previously he also held senior roles at OppenheimerFunds, TIAA-CREF Asset Management, Mellon Asset Management and Citigroup.

Former asset management head Halter led the division “through significant growth, including the further diversification of its active, specialty investment capabilities into private markets and new geographies,” according to the announcement. Halter joined in the area of commercial real estate and previously served as CEO of Principal Real Estate Investors and chief operating officer.

“Pat has helped set the course for asset management at Principal for 40 years, helping us to grow to more than 850 investment professionals, serving clients in more than 80 markets,” CEO Houston said in a statement. “His leadership in developing our real estate capabilities led to our expansion into international markets and made Principal the top 10 global real estate investment manager it is today.”

Since Principal’s 2021 strategic review, the firm has adhered to its focus on asset management, which Houston emphasized in an interview with PLANADVISER in March of 2023.

In the U.S., the industry “fell into a bit of a view that the retirement business is recordkeeping. But it’s not really,” he said. “What is it really about? It’s about managing assets. That’s the jet fuel for the company.”