Des Moines skyline showing Principal Financial building Renee Schaaf, president of Retirement & Income Solutions at Principal, said the acquisition resulted only after exhaustive due diligence, and that the integration process, too, will be methodical. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The Principal Financial Group will take the next 18 months to fully onboard the 401(k) retirement plans it's acquired with the purchase of Wells Fargo & Co.'s Institutional Retirement and Trust business, which closed Tuesday for $1.2 billion.

Renee Schaaf, president of Retirement & Income Solutions at Principal, said the acquisition resulted only after exhaustive due diligence, and that the integration process too will be methodical.

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Nick Thornton

Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.