•To employees of businesses and other individuals, we offer the ability to accumulate savings for retirement and other purposes through mutual funds, individual annuities and bank products.
•U.S. Insurance Solutions, which provides individual life insurance as well as specialty benefits in the U.S. Our individual life insurance products include universal and variable universal life insurance and traditional life insurance. Our specialty benefit products include group dental and vision insurance, individual and group disability insurance and group life insurance.
"Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, Note 5, Investments" under the caption, "Balance Sheet Offsetting." We have not incurred any material losses on derivative financial instruments due to counterparty nonperformance. As a result of our management of counterparty risk and the collateralization of our derivative portfolio, any credit exposure to derivative counterparties is immaterial as of December 31, 2013.
For those securities that had been in a continuous unrealized loss position for less than twelve months, Principal Life's consolidated portfolio held 1,154 securities with a carrying value of $8,899.5 million and unrealized losses of $339.8 million reflecting an average price of 96 at December 31, 2013. Of this portfolio, 94% was investment grade (rated AAA through BBB-) at December 31, 2013, with associated unrealized losses of $325.9 million. The unrealized losses on these securities can primarily be attributed to changes in market interest rates and changes in credit spreads since the securities were acquired.
For those securities that had been in a continuous unrealized loss position for less than twelve months, Principal Life's consolidated portfolio held 224 securities with a carrying value of $1,382.1 million and unrealized losses of $16.2 million reflecting an average price of 99 at December 31, 2012. Of this portfolio, 89% was investment grade (rated AAA through BBB-) at December 31, 2012, with associated unrealized losses of $13.3 million. The unrealized losses on these securities can primarily be attributed to changes in market interest rates and changes in credit spreads since the securities were acquired.
We establish a valuation allowance to provide for the risk of credit losses inherent in our portfolio. The valuation allowance includes loan specific reserves for loans that are deemed to be impaired as well as reserves for pools of loans with similar risk characteristics where a property risk or market specific risk has not been identified but for which we anticipate a loss may occur. Mortgage loans on real estate are considered impaired when, based on current information and events, it is probable that we will be unable to collect all amounts due according to contractual terms of the loan agreement. When we determine that a loan is impaired, a valuation allowance is established equal to the difference between the carrying amount of the mortgage loan and the estimated value reduced by the cost to sell. Estimated value is based on either the present value of the expected future cash flows discounted at the loan's effective interest rate, the loan's observable market price or fair value of the collateral. Subsequent changes in the estimated value are reflected in the valuation allowance. Amounts on loans deemed to be uncollectible are charged off and removed from the valuation allowance. The change in the valuation allowance provision is included in net realized capital gains (losses) on our consolidated statements of operations.
(1)The gross amount of recognized derivative and reverse repurchase agreement assets are reported with other investments on the consolidated statements of financial position. The above excludes $0.2 million and $0.4 million of derivative assets as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively, that are not subject to master netting agreements or similar agreements. The gross amounts of derivative and reverse repurchase agreement assets are not netted against offsetting liabilities for presentation on the consolidated statements of financial position.
Currency forwards are contracts in which we agree with other parties to deliver or receive a specified amount of an identified currency at a specified future date. Typically, the price is agreed upon at the time of the contract and payment for such a contract is made at the specified future date. We use currency forwards to reduce market risks from changes in currency exchange rates with respect to investments or liabilities denominated in foreign currencies that we either hold or intend to acquire or sell and to hedge the currency risk associated with a business combination. We have also used currency forwards to hedge the currency risk associated with net investments in foreign operations. We did not use any currency forwards during 2013 or 2012 to hedge our net investment in foreign operations.
Currency options are contracts that give the holder the right, but not the obligation to buy or sell a specified amount of the identified currency within a limited period of time at a contracted price. The contracts are net settled in cash, based on the differential in the current foreign exchange rate and the strike price. Purchased and sold options can be combined to form a foreign currency collar where we receive a payment if the foreign exchange rate is below the purchased option strike price and make a payment if the foreign exchange rate is above the sold option strike price. We have used currency options to manage the foreign currency risk associated with a business combination.
As of December 31, 2013, we had 13.0 million shares of preferred stock authorized, issued and outstanding under the two series described below. Preferred stockholders have dividend and liquidation priority over common stockholders.
If we are unable to price a fixed maturity security using prices from third party pricing vendors or other sources specific to the asset class, we may obtain a broker quote or utilize an internal pricing model specific to the asset utilizing relevant market information, to the extent available and where at least one significant unobservable input is utilized, which are reflected in Level 3 and can include fixed maturities across all asset classes. As of December 31, 2013, less than 1% of our fixed maturities were valued using internal pricing models, which were classified as Level 3 assets accordingly.
Equity securities include mutual funds, common stock, nonredeemable preferred stock and mandatory regulatory required investments. Fair values of equity securities are determined using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets when available, which are reflected in Level 1. When quoted prices are not available, we may utilize internal valuation methodologies appropriate for the specific asset that use observable inputs such as underlying share prices, which are reflected in Level 2. Fair values might also be determined using broker quotes or through the use of internal models or analysis that incorporate significant assumptions deemed appropriate given the circumstances and consistent with what other market participants would use when pricing such securities, which are reflected in Level 3.
Certain annuity contracts and other investment-type insurance contracts include embedded derivatives that have been bifurcated from the host contract and that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis, which are reflected in Level 3. The key assumptions for calculating the fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities are market assumptions (such as equity market returns, interest rate levels, market volatility and correlations) and policyholder behavior assumptions (such as lapse, mortality, utilization and withdrawal patterns). Risk margins are included in the policyholder behavior assumptions. The assumptions are based on a combination of historical data and actuarial judgment. The
(2)Relates to a consolidated collateralized private investment vehicle that is a VIE. Fixed maturities, trading represents the underlying collateral of the investment structure and consists of high-grade fixed maturity investments, which are over-collateralized based on outstanding notes priced at par. The derivative liability represents credit default swaps that are valued using a correlation model to the credit default swap ("CDS") Index ("CDX") and inputs to the valuation are based on observable market data such as the end of period swap curve, CDS constituents of the index and spread levels of the index, as well as CDX tranche spreads. The other liabilities represent obligations to third party note holders due at maturity or termination of the trust. The value of the obligations reflect the third parties' interest in the investment structure.
As of December 31, 2013, there was $2.7 million of total unrecognized compensation costs related to nonvested stock options. The cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average service period of approximately 1.6 years.
The total intrinsic value of restricted stock units vested was $37.7 million, $31.9 million and $19.9 million during 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
The following tables set forth condensed consolidating financial information of (i) PFG, (ii) Principal Life, (iii) Principal Financial Services, Inc. ("PFS") and all other direct and indirect subsidiaries of PFG on a combined basis and (iv) the eliminations necessary to arrive at the information for PFG on a consolidated basis as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, and for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011.