Fund Evaluator:
Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J (PHJFX)
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Best Performing in Target-Date Retirement Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J Overview
Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J (PHJFX) is an actively managed Allocation Target-Date Retirement fund. Principal Funds launched the fund in 2018.
The investment seeks current income, and as a secondary objective, capital appreciation. The fund is a fund of funds and invests in underlying funds of Principal Exchange-Traded Funds (“PETF”) and Principal Funds, Inc. ("PFI"), with a majority of the fund's assets invested in index funds. Its underlying funds consist of domestic and foreign equity funds, fixed-income funds, real asset funds, and other funds that aim to offer diversification beyond traditional equity and fixed-income securities. The fund's asset allocation is designed for investors who are approximately 10 years beyond the normal retirement age of 65.
About Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J (PHJFX)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.02 years: Todd Jablonski (2025), Scott Smith (2017), James Fennessey (2014), May Tong (2025), Chad Severin (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P Target Date Retirement Income TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J has 13 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 98.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J has 17.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 26.1%. There is 11.6% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.1% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 61.6% (55.9% domestic bond, 5.7% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J has 0.7% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $620 million in total assets, which is above the $487 million average for the Target-Date Retirement category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
PHJFX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Target-Date Retirement category. Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J has an expense ratio of 0.48%, which is 26% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J has a portfolio turnover rate of 27%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 28% for the Target-Date Retirement category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J returned -0.5%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Target-Date Retirement category had an average return of -0.6%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J has a trailing yield of 3.10%, which is below the 3.19% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income J Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 4.0%, 0.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 9.4% over the past year (grade of C), 8.5% over the past three years (grade of C) and 3.7% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 4.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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PHJFX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| PHJFX Return (NAV) | -0.5% | 1.3% | 9.4% | 8.5% | 3.7% | 4.6% |
| PHJFX Grade | B | A | C | C | C | D |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| Target-Date Retirement Avg | -0.6% | 1.0% | 8.9% | 8.2% | 3.6% | 4.9% |
| PHJFX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.4% | na |
PHJFX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| PHJFX Return (NAV) | 4.0% | 11.1% | 7.2% | 10.6% | -13.4% | 4.9% | 9.8% | 11.6% | -3.0% | 7.5% | 4.5% |
| PHJFX Grade | C | B | B | C | C | D | C | D | B | D | D |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 0.5% | -0.8% | -0.5% | 0.7% | -1.1% | 0.3% | -1.3% | -0.4% |
| Target-Date Retirement Avg | 4.0% | 10.6% | 6.4% | 10.1% | -12.6% | 5.4% | 9.1% | 12.7% | -3.3% | 8.8% | 5.0% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.52 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.00 - Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | C (45% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.66 |
| R-Squared: | 97% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.1% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $736 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 620 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Retirement |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 27% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 11.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Fennessey James (2014), Smith Scott (2017), Jablonski Todd (2025), Tong May (2025), Severin Chad (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 13 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 98.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 17.2% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 26.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | 11.6% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.1% |
| Domestic Bond: | 55.9% |
| Foreign Bond: | 5.7% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.7% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Principal Funds |
| Phone Number: | 800-222-5852 |
| Website: | www.principalfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | March 1, 2018 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 1.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.15% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.48% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.65% |
| Share Class: | Principal LifeTime Hybrid Income Instl |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
