Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

DIVERSIFIED BALANCED ADAPTIVE ALLOCATION ACCOUNT

Class 2 and Class 3 Shares

Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. Summary Prospectus May 1, 2024

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/PVCProspectuses. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-222-5852 or by sending an email request to [email protected].

The Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated May 1, 2024, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Objective

The Fund seeks to provide as high a level of total return (consisting of reinvested income and capital appreciation) as is consistent with reasonable risk, while seeking to control volatility.

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 table and examples below. These fees and expenses do not reflect the fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract that may invest in the Fund and would be higher if they did.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Share Class
Class 2	Class 3
Management Fees	0.12%	0.12%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	0.25%	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.01%	0.16%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.15%	0.15%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.53%	0.68%
Expense Reimbursement(1)	N/A%	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement	0.53%	0.68%

(1)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, 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 0.55% for Class 3 shares. It is expected the expense limit will continue through the period ending April 30, 2025; however, Principal Variable Contracts 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.

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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 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. If separate account expenses and contract-level expenses were included, expenses would be higher. 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
Diversified Balanced Adaptive Allocation Account - Class 2	$54	$170	$296	$665
Diversified Balanced Adaptive Allocation Account - Class 3	69	218	379	847

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund and each underlying 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. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's and the underlying fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 35.7% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund operates as a fund of funds and invests in funds and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") of Principal Funds, Inc., PVC, Principal Exchange-Traded Funds, and other fund complexes (collectively, the "Underlying Funds"). The Fund also invests in cash and cash equivalents (as investments and/or to serve as margin or collateral for derivatives positions) and derivative instruments (primarily exchange-traded futures). A derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is derived from, or based on, a traditional security, asset, or market index.

The Fund uses a systematic approach to identify volatility signals in the market and determine whether equity market volatility is below or above average. During periods of lower equity market volatility, the Fund generally allocates approximately 50% of its assets to equity index Underlying Funds and long positions in ETFs and exchange-traded futures to gain broad market capitalization exposure to both U.S. and non-U.S. equity investments, including investments in smaller companies, and approximately 50% to fixed-income Underlying Funds for intermediate duration fixed-income exposure.

During periods of higher equity market volatility, the Fund implements a volatility control strategy to hedge its equity exposure. Specifically, the Fund invests in cash and/or cash equivalents, such as high-quality, short-term money market investments, and/or takes short positions in exchange-traded futures.

The Fund's assets are allocated among Underlying Funds in accordance with the Fund's investment objective and based on qualitative and quantitative analyses and the relative market valuations of the Underlying Funds. Without shareholder approval, Principal Global Investors, LLC ("PGI"), the Fund's investment advisor, may alter the percentage ranges and strategy allocations and/or substitute or remove Underlying Funds when it deems appropriate. For example, during periods of higher equity market volatility, the allocations to the equity Underlying Funds might be reduced. The asset class diversification of the Fund is designed to moderate overall price volatility and cushion severe losses in any one investment sector.

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.

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Principal Risks of Investing in a Fund of Funds

Fund of Funds Risk. Fund shareholders bear indirectly their proportionate share of the expenses of other investment companies (for example, other mutual funds or exchange-traded funds) in which the Fund invests ("underlying funds"). The Fund's selection and weighting of asset classes and allocation of investments in underlying funds may cause it to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective. The Fund's performance and risks correspond directly to the performance and risks of the underlying funds in which it invests, proportionately in accordance with the weightings of such investments, and there is no assurance that the underlying funds will achieve their investment objectives. Management of the Fund entails potential conflicts of interest: the Fund invests in affiliated underlying funds; and PGI and its affiliates may earn different fees from different underlying funds and may have an incentive to allocate more Fund assets to underlying funds from which they receive higher fees.

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may not move in the direction anticipated by the portfolio manager. Transactions in derivatives may increase volatility, cause the liquidation of portfolio positions when not advantageous to do so, and result in disproportionate losses that may be substantially greater than a fund's initial investment.

•Futures. Futures contracts involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the futures contract; possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; counterparty risk; and if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements.

Hedging Risk. A fund that implements a hedging strategy using derivatives and/or securities could expose the fund to the risk that can arise when a change in the value of a hedge does not match a change in the value of the asset it hedges. In other words, the change in value of the hedge could move in a direction that does not match the change in value of the underlying asset, resulting in a risk of loss to the fund.

Short Sales Risk. A short sale involves the sale by the Fund of a security that it does not own with the hope of purchasing the same security at a later date at a lower price. A fund may also enter into a short derivative position through a futures contract or swap agreement. If the price of the security or derivative has increased during this time, then the Fund will incur a loss equal to the increase in price from the time that the short sale was entered into plus any premiums and interest paid to the third party. Therefore, short sales involve the risk that losses may be exaggerated, potentially losing more money than the actual cost of the investment. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund.

Volatility Mitigation Risk. Volatility mitigation strategies may increase the Fund's transaction costs, which could increase losses or reduce gains. These strategies may not protect the Fund from market declines and may reduce the Fund's participation in market gains.

Principal Risks due to the Fund's Investments in Underlying Funds

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may not move in the direction anticipated by the portfolio manager. Transactions in derivatives may increase volatility, cause the liquidation of portfolio positions when not advantageous to do so, and result in disproportionate losses that may be substantially greater than a fund's initial investment.

•Futures. Futures contracts involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the futures contract; possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; counterparty risk; and if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements.

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Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer's financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer's sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund's principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.

•Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources; lack the competitive strength of larger companies; have less experienced managers; or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.

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.

Index Fund Risk. Index funds use a passive investment approach and generally do not attempt to manage market volatility, use defensive strategies, or reduce the effect of any long-term periods of poor investment performance. Therefore, the Fund may hold securities that present risks that an investment advisor researching individual securities might seek to avoid. An index fund has operating and other expenses while an index does not. As a result, over time, index funds tend to underperform the index. The correlation between fund performance and index performance may also be affected by the type of passive investment approach used by a fund (sampling or replication), changes in securities markets, changes in the composition of the index, and the timing of purchases and sales of fund shares. Errors or delays in compiling or rebalancing the Index may impact the performance of the Fund and increase transaction costs.

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.

Real Estate Securities Risk. Investing in real estate securities subjects the fund to the risks associated with the real estate market (which are similar to the risks associated with direct ownership in real estate), including declines in real estate values, loss due to casualty or condemnation, property taxes, interest rate changes, increased expenses, cash flow of underlying real estate assets, regulatory changes (including zoning, land use, and rents), and environmental problems, as well as to the risks related to the management skill and creditworthiness of the issuer.

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.

Securitized Products Risk. Investments in securitized products are subject to risks similar to traditional fixed-income securities, such as credit, interest rate, liquidity, prepayment, extension, and default risk, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. Unscheduled prepayments on securitized products may have to be reinvested at lower rates. A reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, exposing them to the risk of decline in market value over time (extension risk).

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U.S. Government Securities Risk. Yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than yields from many other fixed-income securities. The value of U.S. government securities may be adversely impacted by changes in interest rates, changes in the credit rating of the U.S. government, or a default by the U.S. government.

U.S. Government-Sponsored Securities Risk. Securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the Federal Home Loan Banks are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Performance

The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information by calling 1-800-222-5852.

The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's Class 2 performance from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund) compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance. Performance figures for the Fund do not include any separate account expenses, cost of insurance, or other contract-level expenses; total returns for the Fund would be lower if such expenses were included.

For periods prior to the inception date of Class 3 shares (December 9, 2020), the performance shown in the table for Class 3 shares is that of the Fund's Class 2 shares, adjusted to reflect the fees and expenses of the Class 3 shares. These adjustments result in performance for such periods that is no higher than the historical performance of the Class 2 shares.

Life of Fund returns are measured from the date the Fund's shares were first sold (March 30, 2017).

Total Returns as of December 31

Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q4 2023	9.18%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q2 2022	(8.01)%

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Average Annual Total Returns

For the periods ended December 31, 2023

1 Year	5 Years	Life of Fund
Diversified Balanced Adaptive Allocation Account - Class 2	13.08%	6.16%	5.15%
Diversified Balanced Adaptive Allocation Account - Class 3	12.83%	6.01%	5.00%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	5.53%	1.10%	1.21%
Diversified Balanced Adaptive Allocation Custom Index (except as noted for MSCI EAFE Index NTR, reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	14.37%	7.79%	6.53%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	5.53%	1.10%	1.21%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	26.29%	15.69%	12.95%
MSCI EAFE Index NTR (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)	18.24%	8.16%	5.99%
S&P MidCap 400 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	16.44%	12.62%	9.20%
S&P SmallCap 600 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	16.05%	11.03%	8.63%

Effective May 1, 2024, the Fund changed its primary broad-based index to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index in order to meet the revised definition of "broad-based securities market index." The Diversified Balanced Adaptive Allocation Custom Index (f/k/a Diversified Balanced Volatility Control Custom Index) is included as an additional index for the Fund as it shows how the Fund's performance compares with returns of indices of funds with similar investment objectives. Performance of each component of the custom index is also shown. The weightings of the Diversified Balanced Adaptive Allocation Custom Index (f/k/a Diversified Balanced Volatility Control Custom Index) are as follows: 50% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, 35% S&P 500 Index, 7% MSCI EAFE Index NTR, 4% S&P MidCap 400 Index, and 4% S&P SmallCap 600 Index.

Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers

Principal Global Investors, LLC

•Brody Dass (since 2023), Portfolio Manager

•Tyler O'Donnell (since 2023), Portfolio Manager

•Aaron J. Siebel (since 2018), Portfolio Manager

•Yesim Tokat-Acikel (since 2023), Portfolio Manager

Tax Information

The Fund intends to comply with applicable variable asset diversification regulations. Taxation to you will depend on what you do with your variable life insurance or variable annuity contract. See your variable product prospectus for information about the tax implications of investing in the Fund.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as an insurance company), 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, to recommend one Fund or share class of the Fund over another Fund or share class, or to recommend one variable annuity, variable life insurance policy, or mutual fund over another. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

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