Sealing an agreement between their respective firms, representatives from Principal Financial Group and CIMB Group recently passed all regulatory requirements and inked a deal to create a joint venture in asset management.

As per the new contract, Principal retains 60 percent ownership and CIMB retains 40 percent ownership of the newly created CIMB-Principal Asset Management Group and CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management.

Management of the affiliated operations will continue to be overseen by both shareholders.

“With the new structure, CIMB-Principal Asset Management Group and CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management will offer customers additional products and services to help meet their individual investing outcomes – driven by the expertise of a global asset manager,” Principal officials said in a news release.

As a large indigenous Asian investment bank, CIMB is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and operates in high-growth economies, mainly Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, with over 40,000 employees.

Founded in 2006, CIMB has evolved from a primarily merchant-oriented institution to a large regional powerhouse, according to CIMB’s website, with its roots going back almost 90 years. It maintains a wide retail branch network in consumer banking, wholesale banking, comprising investment banking and corporate banking, treasury and markets, and group strategy and strategic investments.