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Midcap growth

MidCap Equity

Investing in high-quality mid-cap companies with owner-operator management teams and sustainable competitive advantages.

Strategy differentiators

A wide latitude to depart from index weights results in higher active share and more concentrated top holdings than peers.

Aligned incentives: Owner-operators tend to be passionate and cost conscious. We believe they have longer-term outlooks and are better capital allocators.

An experienced team with a history of generating excess risk-adjusted returns over market cycles.

What are owner-operator companies and why do they matter?

Learn more from Client Portfolio Manager, Hans Vander Plaats, to discover how investors can benefit from these companies and why we believe they are going to stand out.

Aligned ratio
Bar chart showing compensation and CEO invested amount ratio of owner-operators vs cash-paid CEOs.
A simple concept with a powerful impact.

We believe owner-operator traits—things like love for the business, a focus on long-term outcomes, and rational thinking about capital allocation—naturally align with long-term shareholder value.

To help us understand a CEO’s personal incentives, we use a simple calculation we call the aligned ratio, which measures the owner’s stake in the business relative to their annual pay. The aim is straightforward. Do they think about the business as a part-owner or highly-paid employee? Many CEOs have single digit aligned ratios. Owner-operators often have much larger ratios, with ownership that is commonly over 100 or even, 1,000 times their compensation.

Indexed total shareholder return
Line graph of indexed total shareholder return in founder-led companies vs. other companies from 1990-2014.

Source: Bain & Company. Based on an analysis of S&P 500 firms in 2014.

Evidence that owner-operators outperform

We believe owner-operators are better CEOs. But does this matter for investors? Yes—owner-operator companies are four to five times more likely to be top quartile performers. In fact, owner operators performed 3.1 times better than other companies over the past 15 years.

Learn more about our large cap owner-operator strategy, Blue Chip Equity.

Strategy facts

Manager

Principal Aligned

Inception

1 April 2000

Index

Russell Midcap Index

Targeted number of holdings

70-100

Expected turnover

15-30%

Investment vehicles

CIT, IMA, SMA, U.S. Mutual Fund

Portfolio management
Principal Aligned

Long-term, bottom-up fundamental investors who specialize in the management of U.S. large-cap and mid-cap portfolios. We specifically target owner-operator led companies with aligned incentives and are constantly focused on valuation and risk reduction.

Bill Nolin
K. William Nolin, CFA
CIO, Aligned Investors
37 years of experience
Tom Rozycki
Tom Rozycki, CFA
Portfolio Manager
26 years of experience

No information

Need more information? Contact us.

Get the latest insights
Principal Aligned 2025 Year-End Review
PDF
Our 2025 Aligned Year-End Review includes insights into how we navigated this dynamic landscape and how our MidCap and Blue Chip strategies performed throughout the year.
January 23, 2026
The Case for Principal Blue Chip Fund
PDF
The Principal Blue Chip Fund focuses on investing in companies led by owner-operators. Learn how this approach to investing has helped the Fund's 10-year track record stand out.
February 16, 2026
The Owner-Operator Advantage
PDF
Owner-operators are executives with large personal ownership stakes in the companies they lead. Learn why Principal Aligned is focused on investing in companies led by owner-operators.
March 10, 2026

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Equity markets are subject to many factors, including economic conditions, government regulations, market sentiment, local and international political events, and environmental and technological issues that may impact return and volatility. Mid-cap stocks may have additional risks including greater price volatility.

Investment guidelines are subject to change.

Not all investment options are available in all jurisdictions. Certain vehicles have not been registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be directly or indirectly offered or sold in the United States or to any United States person.

Principal Aligned is an investment team within Principal Global Investors.

Russell Midcap Index includes firms 201 through 1000, based on market capitalization, from the Russell 3000® Index.