Northwestern Mutual
Overview: The Northwestern Mutual Financial Network is the distribution arm of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, headquartered in Milwaukee. Northwestern Mutual's principal lines of business include:
Job Openings: See this listing of job openings at Northwestern Mutual Life.
Size: Northwestern Mutual reports these figures for the year ending December 31, 2012:
By July 2013, the total sales force had exceeded 15,000 financial representatives (as the firm calls them), both full-time employees and college interns. Headquarters staff in Milwaukee is roughly 5,000 employees.
Positives: Northwestern Mutual is well-established, founded in 1857. It earns a AAA rating from S&P, and equivalents ratings from Moody’s, Fitch and A.M. Best. It also reports high customer satisfaction, including a 25 year run on Fortune magazine’s survey of "America's Most Admired Companies."
Northwestern Mutual sells its products exclusively through its own sales force, the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
Thus, its agents are not competing with other distributors of the same products. Since the firm is one of the few remaining ones still organized as a mutual company (that is, owned by the policyholders), this can be a selling point for potential customers.
Northwestern Mutual calls its salespeople financial representatives, and the mix of products that they sell indicate that these individuals are insurance sales agents with some of the skills and product knowledge necessary for financial planners and financial advisors.
Northwestern Mutual traditionally rates high in surveys of the best places for salespeople to work. It also has gotten accolades for its internship programs.
Employment opportunities have been very good since the sales force increased by 35% in 2007, when 1,800 new financial representatives were added. Northwestern Mutual exceeded its plan to add 5,000 financial representatives (3,000 full-time and 2,000 interns) in 2012 by several hundred, and began 2013 with a goal of adding yet another 5,500 more (including interns) in that year. The company expects that over half its new hires in 2013 will be people changing careers in search of better opportunities. Per a press release on July 10, 2013, Northwestern Mutual was on track to far exceed the annual goal, already having hired 4,100 financial representatives (1,100 full-time and 3,000 interns) by that date.
Negatives: Northwestern Mutual's huge increase in financial representatives from 2007 onward is worth watching. The ability to absorb so many new salespeople into the existing network in such a short amount of time can be problematic. Maintaining the quality of the sales force, and ensuring that the new additions do not merely cannibalize sales from existing representatives, rather than boost sales overall, appear to be huge challenges.
Note that total revenues rose by 25% (from $19.7 billion to $24.6 billion) from 2006 to 2012, a period during which the number of financial representatives roughly tripled. Absent actual figures on sales force compensation, this may indicate a downward trend in earning potential for new financial representatives (the subset of revenues on which sales staff is paid is not broken out separately in the firm's annual reports). Additionally, new recruits should be concerned about whether support and operations staff, as well as technical infrastructure, are being expanded in concert with sales force growth. Otherwise, order processing and client service may suffer.
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Long Term Care Insurance
- Annuities
- Comprehensive Planning
- Investment Advisory
- Trust Services
- Education Funding
- Retirement Solutions
- Estate Planning
- Employee and Executive Benefits
Job Openings: See this listing of job openings at Northwestern Mutual Life.
Size: Northwestern Mutual reports these figures for the year ending December 31, 2012:
- Revenues = $24.6 billion
- Assets = $202 billion
- Life Insurance Policy Holders = 3.5 million
- Life Insurance Policies = 5.4 million
- Life Insurance in Force = $1.4 trillion
- Annuity Contract Assets Under Management = $18.3 billion
- Annuity Contracts = 325,000
- Other Client Assets Under Management = $64.6 billion
- Offices = 350
By July 2013, the total sales force had exceeded 15,000 financial representatives (as the firm calls them), both full-time employees and college interns. Headquarters staff in Milwaukee is roughly 5,000 employees.
Positives: Northwestern Mutual is well-established, founded in 1857. It earns a AAA rating from S&P, and equivalents ratings from Moody’s, Fitch and A.M. Best. It also reports high customer satisfaction, including a 25 year run on Fortune magazine’s survey of "America's Most Admired Companies."
Northwestern Mutual sells its products exclusively through its own sales force, the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
Thus, its agents are not competing with other distributors of the same products. Since the firm is one of the few remaining ones still organized as a mutual company (that is, owned by the policyholders), this can be a selling point for potential customers.
Northwestern Mutual calls its salespeople financial representatives, and the mix of products that they sell indicate that these individuals are insurance sales agents with some of the skills and product knowledge necessary for financial planners and financial advisors.
Northwestern Mutual traditionally rates high in surveys of the best places for salespeople to work. It also has gotten accolades for its internship programs.
Employment opportunities have been very good since the sales force increased by 35% in 2007, when 1,800 new financial representatives were added. Northwestern Mutual exceeded its plan to add 5,000 financial representatives (3,000 full-time and 2,000 interns) in 2012 by several hundred, and began 2013 with a goal of adding yet another 5,500 more (including interns) in that year. The company expects that over half its new hires in 2013 will be people changing careers in search of better opportunities. Per a press release on July 10, 2013, Northwestern Mutual was on track to far exceed the annual goal, already having hired 4,100 financial representatives (1,100 full-time and 3,000 interns) by that date.
Negatives: Northwestern Mutual's huge increase in financial representatives from 2007 onward is worth watching. The ability to absorb so many new salespeople into the existing network in such a short amount of time can be problematic. Maintaining the quality of the sales force, and ensuring that the new additions do not merely cannibalize sales from existing representatives, rather than boost sales overall, appear to be huge challenges.
Note that total revenues rose by 25% (from $19.7 billion to $24.6 billion) from 2006 to 2012, a period during which the number of financial representatives roughly tripled. Absent actual figures on sales force compensation, this may indicate a downward trend in earning potential for new financial representatives (the subset of revenues on which sales staff is paid is not broken out separately in the firm's annual reports). Additionally, new recruits should be concerned about whether support and operations staff, as well as technical infrastructure, are being expanded in concert with sales force growth. Otherwise, order processing and client service may suffer.
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