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(Reuters) -Insurer Principal Financial Group reported a rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher premiums and fee income.
The Trump administration's back-and-forth on tariffs has driven up macroeconomic uncertainty and market volatility, boosting demand for insurance products as risk management becomes more essential.
Asset managers also benefit from market turbulence as investors scramble to actively adjust their portfolios.
Premium and fees from the company's specialty benefits business, which provides employee benefit plans to small- and mid-sized businesses, rose 5.6% to $3.29 billion in the quarter ended March 31.
PFG's first-quarter net investment income came in at $1.17 billion, compared with $1.07 billion a year earlier.
Adjusted operating earnings, excluding impacts of taxes and significant variances, was $439.2 million, or $1.92 per share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with $419.4 million, or $1.75 per share, a year earlier.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based company's assets under management rose 1.3% to $717.9 billion.
Fees and other revenue rose to $1.08 billion from $1.05 billion. Such asset-based fees are typically calculated as a percentage of the market value of AUM.
Principal Financial's earnings are more sensitive to equity market performance compared with its peers, according to analysts.
(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)