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TAX-EXEMPT BOND FUND
ClassACInst.
Ticker Symbol(s)PTEAXPTBCXPITEX
Principal Funds, Inc. Summary Prospectus March 1, 2026 as amended June 15, 2026
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, Reports to Shareholders, and other information about the Fund online at www.PrincipalAM.com/Prospectuses. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-222-5852 or by sending an email request to prospectus@principalfunds.com.
The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated March 1, 2026, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Objective
The Fund seeks to provide a high level of income that is exempt from federal income tax while protecting investors’ capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Class A Shares of Principal Funds, Inc. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary and in “Choosing a Share Class and The Costs of Investing” beginning on page 398 of the Fund’s Prospectus, Appendix B to the Prospectus titled “Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions,” and “Multiple Class Structure” beginning on page 69 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.
If you purchase Institutional Class shares through certain programs offered by certain financial intermediaries, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker, or to your Financial Professional or other financial intermediary.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Share Class
A
C
Inst.
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
3.75%NoneNone
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)
(as a percentage of the offering price or NAV when Sales Load is paid, whichever is less)
1.00%1.00%None
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Share Class
A
C
Inst.
Management Fees0.40%0.40%0.40%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees0.25%1.00%N/A
Other Expenses:
Interest Expense (1)
0.19%0.19%0.19%
Remainder of Other Expenses0.08%0.23%0.13%
Total Other Expenses0.27%0.42%0.32%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses0.92%1.82%0.72%
Expense Reimbursement (2)
N/AN/A(0.08)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement0.92%1.82%0.64%
(1)Includes interest expense from inverse floaters.
(2)Principal Global Investors, LLC ("PGI"), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Fund, (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, expenses related to the ReFlow liquidity program, and tax reclaim recovery expenses and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 0.45% for Institutional Class shares. It is expected that the expense limit will continue through the period ending February 28, 2027; however, Principal Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limit prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Fund may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example assumes conversion of the Class C shares to Class A shares after the eighth year. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class A $465  $657  $865  $1,464
Class C285573985 1,901
Institutional Class65222393887
With respect to Class C shares, you would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares (all other classes would be the same as in the above example):
1 year
3 years
5 years
10 years
Class C $185  $573  $985  $1,901
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 53.2% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in tax-exempt bonds (securities issued by or on behalf of state or local governments and other public authorities). Many of these are from California, Illinois, and New York. Generally, municipal obligations pay interest that is exempt from federal income tax. The Fund’s investment in municipal obligations include industrial revenue bonds. The Fund also invests in inverse floating rate obligations (variable rate debt instruments that pay interest at rates that move in the opposite direction of prevailing interest rates), which are generally more volatile than other types of municipal obligations and may involve leverage.
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The Fund invests in investment-grade securities and, with respect to up to 20% of its net assets, in below-investment-grade bonds (sometimes called “high yield bonds” or “junk bonds”). Below-investment-grade bonds are rated, at the time of purchase, Ba1 or lower by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and BB+ or lower by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P Global”). The Fund’s total investment in below-investment-grade bonds plus investment-grade bonds rated Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P Global, at the time of purchase, will not exceed 40% of the Fund’s net assets. If the bond has been rated by only one of the rating agencies, that rating will determine the bond’s rating; if the bond is rated differently by the rating agencies, the highest rating will be used; and if the bond has not been rated by either of the rating agencies, those selecting such investments will determine the bond’s quality. Up to 20% of the Fund’s assets may be invested in municipal obligations that generate interest income subject to federal alternative minimum tax (“AMT”). Municipal obligations subject to AMT will not be deemed as eligible tax-exempt bonds for the purposes of determining whether the Fund meets its 80% policy. For shareholders subject to AMT, a portion of the Fund’s dividends may be subject to federal tax.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund maintains an average portfolio duration that is within ±50% of the duration of the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index, which as of January 31, 2026 was 6.42 years. The Fund is not managed to a particular maturity.
Principal Risks
The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.
Alternative Minimum Tax Risk. A portion of the Fund’s otherwise tax-exempt income may be taxable to those shareholders subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.
Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the counterparty to a contract or other obligation will be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations.
Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate, credit quality, and liquidity risks. The market value of fixed-income securities generally declines when interest rates rise, and increased interest rates may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income securities. Moreover, an issuer of fixed-income securities could default on its payment obligations due to increased interest rates or for other reasons.
Geographic Concentration Risk. A fund that invests significant portions of its assets in municipal obligations and bonds in particular geographic areas (a particular state, such as California, or a particular country or region) has greater exposure than other funds to economic conditions and developments in those areas.
High Yield Securities Risk. High yield fixed-income securities (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) are subject to greater credit quality risk than higher rated fixed-income securities and should be considered speculative.
Industrial Revenue Bond Risk. The Fund will be sensitive to, and its performance will depend to a greater extent on, the overall condition and performance of industrial revenue bonds. These revenue bonds are issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to finance various public and/or privately operated facilities, including those for business and manufacturing, housing, sports, pollution control, airport, mass transit, port, and parking facilities. These bonds are normally secured only by the revenues from the project and not by state or local government tax payments. Consequently, the credit quality of these bonds is dependent upon the ability of the user of the facilities financed by the bonds and any guarantor to meet its financial obligations.
Inverse Floating Rate Investments Risk. Inverse floating rate investments are extremely sensitive to changes in interest rates and, in some cases, their market value may be extremely volatile.
Leverage Risk. Leverage created by borrowing or certain types of transactions or investments may impair the Fund’s liquidity, cause it to liquidate positions at an unfavorable time, increase volatility of the Fund’s net asset value, or diminish the Fund’s performance.
Municipal Obligations Risk. Principal and interest payments on municipal securities may not be guaranteed by the issuing body and may be payable only from a particular source. That source may not perform as expected, and payment obligations may not be made or made on time.
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Portfolio Duration Risk. Portfolio duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed-income security and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a fund’s average portfolio duration, the more sensitive the fund will be to changes in interest rates, which means funds with longer average portfolio durations may be more volatile than those with shorter durations.
Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.
Performance
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information at www.principalam.com/mutualfundperformance.
The bar chart shows the investment returns of the Fund’s Class A shares for each full calendar year of operations for 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund). These annual returns do not reflect sales charges on Class A shares; if they did, results would be lower. The table shows for the last one, five, and ten calendar year periods (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund), how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance.
Total Returns as of December 31
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Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:
Q4 20236.34%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:
Q1 2022(7.11)%
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Average Annual Total Returns
For the periods ended December 31, 2025
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Class A Return Before Taxes(0.13)%(0.34)%1.74%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions(0.13)%(0.34)%1.74%
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares1.44%0.42%2.04%
Class C Return Before Taxes1.95%(0.45)%1.46%
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes4.03%0.70%2.40%
Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
4.25%0.80%2.34%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and would be different for the other share classes.
Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers
Principal Global Investors, LLC
James Noble (since 2013), Portfolio Manager
James Welch (since 2014), Portfolio Manager
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Share Class
Investment Type
Purchase Minimum
Per Fund
A and C
Initial Investment
$1,000(1)
A and C
Initial Investment for accounts with an Automatic Investment Plan (AIP)
$100
A and C
Subsequent Investments
$100(1)(2)
Institutional
There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for eligible purchases.
N/A
(1) Some exceptions apply; see "Purchase of Fund Shares - Minimum Investments" for more information.
(2) For accounts with an AIP, the subsequent automatic investments must total $1,200 annually if the initial $1,000 minimum has not been met.
You may purchase or redeem shares on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open for regular trading) through your plan, intermediary, or Financial Professional by sending a written request to Principal Funds at P.O. Box 219971, Kansas City, MO 64121-9971 (regular mail) or 801 Pennsylvania Ave., Ste. 219971, Kansas City, MO 64105-1307 (overnight mail); calling us at 1-800-222-5852; or accessing our website (www.principal.com).
Class C shares are subject to an 8-year automatic conversion plan whereby Class C shares held for eight years after purchase will automatically convert to Class A shares of the same Fund. See Purchase of Fund Shares for more information.
Tax Information
While the Fund intends to distribute income that is exempt from regular federal and possibly some state income taxes, a portion of the Fund’s distributions may be subject to federal income taxes or to the federal individual alternative minimum tax. A portion of the Fund’s distributions likely will be subject to state income taxes depending on your state’s rules. Different rules may apply if you are tax exempt or if your account is tax deferred in which case your distributions would be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, or to recommend one share class of the Fund over another share class. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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