Principal Financial Group Inc. may be on the list of asset-management acquisitions Manulife Financial Corp. will consider in the near future. According to Bloomberg News, Canada’s largest insurer may accumulate as much as $6 billion Canadian ($5.19 billion) in cash by the end of next year that could be used for acquisitions in the United States, said Tom MacKinnon, a Scotia Capital analyst.

The analyst also thought Manulife could be interested in Minneapolis-based Ameriprise Financial Inc. Principal has a market value of $16.2 billion and Ameriprise is worth $14 billion. Representatives of both companies declined to comment.

Manulife CEO Dominic D’Alessandro has said that Manulife could expand in the United States after purchasing Boston-based John Hancock Financial Services Inc. in 2004 for $13.9 billion. Manulife acquired Principal’s Indonesia companies in 2001.