Building Resilient Insurance Portfolios: Insights from the Principal General Account

Binay Chandgothia
Chief Investment Officer, General Account

Dawn Silvia
Director, Insurance Solutions

Key takeaways

• General Account investing, which was always very liability-aware, is becoming more diversified through use of best-in-class specialist external capabilities that complement our robust in-house architecture.
• Private credit, infrastructure debt, real estate debt, residential mortgage loans, private asset-backed lending, and other less-traditional assets can play distinct Asset Liability Management (ALM) roles while generating attractive yields.
• The goal is not to chase yield, but to earn incremental spread while preserving solvency, limiting volatility, and avoiding unintended risks.
• Scale is important, but investment discipline, strong governance, manager oversight, and close partnerships matter even more.

As insurers expand their general account portfolios into private assets, structured credit, and external partnerships, the central challenge is not simply finding more yield. It is determining which opportunities truly fit the balance sheet. Managing assets for the Principal General Account gives Principal Asset Management a unique perspective on the investment challenges insurers face every day, from liability alignment and capital efficiency to sourcing and portfolio construction.

In this Q&A, Binay Chandgothia, Chief Investment Officer of the General Account, discusses how his team thinks about growth, differentiated sourcing, private assets, outsourcing, and the portfolio practices that matter most for insurers.

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MM15106 | 09/2026 | 5865315-092028