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      Northwestern Mutual

      Engaged Employer

      Northwestern Mutual reviews

      4.0

      70% would recommend to a friend

      (8,236 total reviews)

      Timothy J. Gerend

      94% approve of CEO

      73% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Northwestern Mutual has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 8,236 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Northwestern Mutual employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.8 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      8K reviews
      3.0
      Apr 16, 2017

      Changing Culture

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      This review is about working at the home office in Milwaukee. * Mutual company - allows a focus on longer-term goals and objectives without having to always look over your shoulder about the next quarterly earnings report. * In the past, has been a great place to move from department to department to gain a broad perspective on our business. * The company has realized that "what got us here won't get us there" and so we are actively working to update how we work, what we focus on to bring the highest value to our policy owners and clients.

      Cons

      * As mentioned, the company is in the midst of a transformation. In my not-so-humble opinion, this has also meant that in many areas, we've lost track of what our core values are. There are still people who are focused on doing the right thing above all else. And there are others who are acting out of fear, or focused on the almighty dollar (to the exclusion of other balancing considerations). There is siloed decision making that has led to letting go people who are outstanding contributors while keeping others who are, well, not. * I don't think the company has figured out yet what our core values going forward *really* are. There are lots of examples of decisions or situations where the rhetoric and the action don't align, which I see as part of the process of reconciling noble intentions with on-the-ground business realities. * It is both an exciting and confusing time to work in the home office. If you are considering joining the company, I would caution you to consider how comfortable you are with working through a ton of ambiguity and cognitive dissonance.

      5.0
      Jan 30, 2024

      Incredible Company & Great Culture

      Financial advisor
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Overall the firm has an incredible company culture. From day one I felt incredible supported by both leadership and advisors locally & nationally, I was hired out of NM's college internship which proved to be a great place for me to develop a number of skills as a young person including problem solving, professional communication, emotional intelligence and leadership just to name a few. I have now been with the firm for more than 7 years and in that time I have seen NM do what's best for the client time and time again. While I cannot attest for the competence or character of all NM advisors I can say that within my office competence, compliance and a dedication to serving the client best is second to none. ' NM is one of if not the strongest, most stable financial institution in the country and one of the fastest growing independent broker dealers. In my opinion, it's an excellent place to build a practice.

      Cons

      1. Building a financial services & wealth management practice is very difficult. Just like any new business, most fail. If you're not self motivated you will likely not succeed. 2. For those who are not entrepreneurial minded, the career is likely not a good fit. 3. Some advisors and companies across the industry give NM a bad rap, typically because of a lack of understanding on integrated planning or because they had one bad experience with an inexperienced FA. NM's reputation can be doubted by some but this is almost never the case in the HNW market. 4. NM recommends advisors being building their business from within their own network as opposed to cold calling. Some individual balk at that idea.

      4.0
      Jan 2, 2020

      A wonderful opportunity for entrepreneurs and self-directed individuals who want a community to work within

      Financial advisor
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I worked with the company for a total of almost eight years. I was an intern for 2.5 years, a financial advisor for 5.5 years, and during that time I was also a College Unit Director for a year. They do a lot of training and hand-holding in the very beginning, but once you've proven yourself you get a lot of autonomy. You are a statutory employee which means you get some benefits similar to traditional employees (health insurance, 401k, pension, and life and disability insurance, etc.). However, there are some things that are very much like running your own business. For the most part, you set your hours (so long as they are around internal meetings) and you get to decide who you work with. If you're not interacting with a specific client well you aren't required to work with them. At the office I worked at there was an amazing work culture and I truly felt supported. They try to keep an abundance mentality where you're working hard to help build up the other advisors and compete with them in a healthy manner. It's not cutthroat and no one has to lose for you to win. There truly is no ceiling on how much you can earn and what you can achieve there. If you want to work in management and help with new advisors, there's a path for that. If you just want to focus on your financial planning practice that's encouraged as well. There are several ways to build up your streams of income so you consistently have money coming in. In the very beginning, it's heavily insurance-focused because it pays the most immediately. Over time you start to increase your investment assets, have group benefits, and renewals coming in to make sure there's always some sort of cashflow. The company is also very centered on doing what's best for the client and making sure that your actions result in their best interest. That's what drew me to the company initially when I was just 20 was because everyone wanted to do right by the client and that stayed consistent my entire time there. From the president and CEO all the way to inside each office and down to each new training class.

      Cons

      This career is NOT for everyone and can be a very isolating experience with a lot of ups and downs. You will feel more rejection than you've ever felt before. Not every client says yes and the process can take a toll on someone. Also, a lot of people think they're hard workers until it comes to working alone; then you realize how easy it is to put work off and decide to take an afternoon off when you should be working. There can also be a lot of overhead, similar to owning your own business, that can bog you down if you don't have adequate savings or a partner that can help when commissions get tight. There's no base, so you can have actual paychecks that are $0 or even negative. Over time you get used to it, but if you have a couple in a row it can cause a lot of strain. You are not given leads (although you can get into a couple of programs that help pair you with call-ins or existing clients whose advisors have left). Often times people take this to mean you have to work with friends and family. They encourage you to meet with your friends and family to, at the very least, prospect, but don't require it and help give you language to work with people they know instead of working with them directly. If this isn't done correctly though you can come off as really sales-y or pushy. I did actually have my interactions with some friends and family become strained because I either pushed too hard or they didn't feel they could say no and chose to ghost instead. I've seen times where it's my fault and times where it's theirs for not being mature enough to deal with the situation. At the end of the day though if the relationship is strong enough and you're coming from a good place your reaching out to them shouldn't cause any issues. They also work off a pretty rigid system that doesn't always work for everyone in regards to how they measure metrics and gauge success. It's a proven system, but can be antiquated in areas that have seen technological advancement over the last few years. The ratios haven't been updated in a while and what works for you may not work well for others and vice versa.

      Viewing 28 - 30 of 8,236 Reviews
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      Glassdoor has 12,837 Northwestern Mutual reviews submitted anonymously by Northwestern Mutual employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Northwestern Mutual is right for you.