Northwestern Mutual Reviews

Pros

33 years with the same company says it all. who does that anymore?? Also I am not alone I have many friends that have been with the company as long or longer. I also feel stronger about the company and the career now than I did 33 years ago. This career aloud me to have unlimited success without having to give up family time. I coached all my kids teams and was home every night and never had to move my family for my career. I have built 1000's of relationships with clients and helped them meet their financial goals. they have become more than clients they have become friends. All if this and gave me and my family a lifestyle I could not even of dreamed of when I started.

Cons

Building your own financial practice is not easy and you have to go through alot more no's than yes's. that said nothing that is worth accomplishing in life is easy and any struggles I had just made me stronger.

Pros

Amazing company- from the top, NM is committed to DE&I, always does the right thing for their clients, very strong company financials and security, great products, unending training opportunities, payment for financial designations, many opportunities to get charitably involved, unlimited commissions, renewals, great benefits, pension

Cons

Very large, very old company so sometimes process/tech changes can be slow. No base salary (can build through renewals though). Each office is individually run, so while their Home Office is progressive, diverse, and amazing (in 13 years I've never had a bad experience and have been continually impressed), depending on which office you work for, the leadership can be a little behind the times and have a hard time thinking outside the box or coaching/serving diverse candidates/clients. If you're becoming an advisor this is a great company, but do your research and find the best fit if there are multiple offices in your area

Pros

group health insurance, health/life insurance licenses are paid for by the company since you are really running your own business, you have all the time off you want.

Cons

-no real management -basically a pyramid scheme- they filter through hundreds of people a year to get contacts, have these young guys call who they know, set up joint work meetings with someone that is more tenured in the business. After being with the company for a little bit, you find out that most of these tenured guys have there calendars filled because of these younger reps. the business is not sustainable only off what they want for your prospecting. once you run out of people to call, you are pressured to leave and go somewhere else. I would approach this company with caution, unless you grew up in a wealthy family or have a lot of contacts with people that make bare minimum of 100k a year, don't bother getting involved. -highly discouraged to do cold calling when you run out of people that you personally know

Pros

Collaborative and innovative overall, really look to help clients grow wealth and retire comfortably. Some incredibly smart, hard working staff, though not sure how many are left.

Cons

Overly focused on "millennial market" not only externally, but internally that led the termination of countless employees age 40+, and gone with them were the depth of experience and expertise. Rather than adding in new talent, they pivoted to them leading and has been a huge miss overall, leading to a dying of an amazing culture. Now it's dog-eat-dog and all for yourself, instead of that collaborative, supportive team environment that made it such a special place to work.

Pros

Unlimited earning potential and a very good working environment where your supervisors really care about your success

Cons

Since it is a 100% commission position, getting started can be difficult, especially if you are starting the position in a new city where you have to build your book of business and fish for clients.

Pros

Can be a very rewarding career, especially if you are very knowledgeable of financial planning. Helping clients, some close to you, build a successful financial future is very rewarding. If you are a social butterfly, you will probably love this career. Northwestern in know for their insurance, but their third party agnostic approach to wealth accumulation is world class. The 2% of Reps that make it past the 5 year mark almost all go on to have long standing careers. Opportunity to create a significant income source.

Cons

If you start this job needing a paycheck, you will be the 98% of Reps that move on. This position is not a job, it is a partnership with Northwestern in which Reps are self employed. There is much help to get established, but just like an business owner, Reps are responsible for all expenses that they may acquire. Even after 4 weeks of training, Reps are still not even close to being prepared. Northwestern hires people that may by good in sales and expects Reps to follow the 5 year process to success. If you are a financial planner, especially CFP, it is very aggravating to be hired into a group of incompetent sales people for the first 5 years. (Most all will quit, within the first 6 month) You are expected to sling insurance for a period, before you can breath the word investment. Investments are a very hush hush topic for anyone even kind of new. Interns are actually just financial Reps, who happen to be in college. They are even more limited to what they are allowed access to.

Pros

Northwestern Mutual is phenomenal in their training and the culture/support is there from your colleagues and other advisors trying to help you succeed is such a challenging career.

Cons

Your building your business from scratch, which can take a lot of time to get going and you don't get paid unless someone your working with becomes a client. If you really want this to work, then you make a way to make it happen. With that being said, you may put all the work in the world and still moved the needle only a tiny bit.