CHICAGO – March 20, 2025 – The Chicago Network Office of Northwestern Mutual announced today it is looking to recruit 70 financial representatives and interns in 2025 as part of their ongoing effort to continue to grow and expand their market.¹

“More people than ever say they feel anxious about their financial future. Our goal is to help attract, select and train more talented professionals to help free people in Greater Chicago from this anxiety and get them on the path to greater financial security,” said managing partner Corey McQuade. "Financial representatives meet people where they are, identify their blind spots, and help their clients enjoy life today while also preparing for tomorrow. At Northwestern Mutual, our financial representatives’ approach to financial planning – combining investments with life insurance and annuities – is designed and proven to deliver superior outcomes over the long-term.” 

Northwestern Mutual’s mission is to help Americans build financial security by helping them to build comprehensive financial plans combining both risk management and wealth management. At the end of 2024, Northwestern Mutual managed over $334 billion in client investments.² The leading Milwaukee-based financial services company also expects to award its policyowners $8.2 billion in insurance dividends in 2025 – which is nearly triple the size of its top competitor and surpasses the company’s 2024 payout by more than $800 million.³ Northwestern Mutual generated revenue of more than $36 billion in 2023 and ended that year with surplus that surpassed $38 billion – both of which are company records. For the 34^th consecutive year, Northwestern Mutual earned the highest-available financial strength rating of any U.S. life insurance company from all four major agencies – Fitch Ratings (Fitch), Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s), S&P Global Ratings (S&P) and AM Best Company (AM Best).⁴

A growing need for thoughtful, trusted advice as many representatives plan to retire

The need for financial advice – and financial representatives – is growing. More than 100 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured (according to LIMRA), and according to Northwestern Mutual’s research, the gap between people’s retirement goals and savings is widening. On average, Americans believe that they will need to save $1.46 million to retire comfortably, but have just a fraction that amount saved – according to Northwestern Mutual’s Planning & Progress Study. The research also found a record 33% of Americans saying they are felt financially insecure. However, 64% of Americans working with an representative said they felt financially secure, compared to just 29% without an representative. 

Most Americans also continue to say that they prefer a relationship with an representative versus a technological solution to manage their money. While “Gen AI” and “robo advisers” have generated a lot of headlines, a wide margin – 54% to 15% – said they still trust financial representatives more than AI alone across most core elements of financial planning, from creating a retirement plan to asking a financial question to managing budgets. 

Meanwhile, a 2024 research report from Cerulli Associates found that financial representatives are retiring at a faster pace than they’re being recruited and developed. The firm predicts that 109,000 financial representatives in the U.S. will retire over the next 10 years, representing nearly 40% of all representatives in the U.S.

Work/life independence and nationally-recognized training and development program

Successful Northwestern Mutual representatives come from a wide variety of career backgrounds. In fact, many of the company’s best financial representatives came from outside of finance. Northwestern Mutual provides award-winning training, professional development and mentoring to help ensure each new representative’s success. 

“Our best, most successful financial professionals are individuals who are already successful in their chosen careers, but are looking for something more,” said McQuade. “It may be that they are more entrepreneurial by nature and feel unfulfilled by a 9-to-5 job and income that doesn’t fully reflect their hard work. Or they may aspire to make a true impact for people and families by empowering the creation of intergenerational wealth.”

Financial representatives are independent contractors running their own businesses and organizing their own schedules. That said, they’re never “by themselves.” Northwestern Mutual’s leaders in each local office provide continued coaching and guidance to help them build new careers.  

“Our training and development teams are second-to-none in terms of their experience and their passion for developing the financial professionals of tomorrow,” McQuade said. “They recognize that if you’re going to have a career in financial services, you have to have the expertise and the empathy people need to help them plan for the future.”

Northwestern Mutual also has an award-winning college representative program. As interns, college students can help others build financial security while also building professional skills. Many of the company’s most successful local leaders – including managing partners and managing directors – started out as financial representative interns years ago.

All prospective candidates, including career-changers, who are highly motivated and driven to have a positive impact on clients are encouraged to apply. More information can be found at:

https://www.northwesternmutual.com/office/il/chicago/20691987/

About Northwestern Mutual  

Northwestern Mutual has been helping people and businesses achieve financial security for more than 165 years. Through a comprehensive planning approach, Northwestern Mutual combines the expertise of its financial professionalswith a personalized digital experience and industry-leading products to help its clients plan for what's most important. With nearly $700 billion of total assets⁵ being managed across the company’s institutional portfolio as well as retail investment client portfolios, more than $38 billion in revenues, and $2.4 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than five million people with life, disability income and long-term care insurance, annuities, and brokerage and advisory services. Northwestern Mutual ranked 110 on the 2024 FORTUNE 500 and was recognized by FORTUNE® as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2025.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM), Milwaukee, WI (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (investment brokerage services), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company® (NMWMC) (investment advisory and services), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC) (long-term care insurance). Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with "Advisor" in their title or who otherwise disclose their status as an advisor of NMWMC are credentialed as NMWMC representatives to provide investment advisory services.

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¹ Successful candidates will begin as financial representatives. Financial Representatives are prohibited from using the title “Representative” until licensures are obtained (including SIE 6 and 63) and Northwestern Mutual specified courses are satisfactorily completed.

² Combined client assets of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) and Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC) as of December 31, 2024. The advisory programs offered by NMWMC are in conjunction with brokerage services from NMWMC’s affiliate, NMIS. NMIS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual.

³ Decisions with respect to the determination and allocation of divisible surplus are left to the discretion and sound business judgment of the company’s Board of Trustees. There is no guaranteed specific method or formula for the determination or allocation of divisible surplus. Accordingly, the company’s approach is subject to change. Neither the existence nor the amount of a dividend is guaranteed on any policy in any given policy year.

⁴ Among U.S. life insurers. Ratings are for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company, as of the most recent review and report by each rating agency. Ratings as of: 08/24 (Moody’s Investors Service), 10/24 (A.M. Best Company), 01/25 (Fitch Ratings), 04/24 (S&P Global Ratings). Ratings are subject to change. Total company assets as of December 31, 2024

⁵ Includes investments and separate account assets of Northwestern Mutual as well as retail investment client assets held or managed by Northwestern Mutual.