Currently a collegiate financial rep in the intern program at Northwestern Mutual for the straight path to an advisor role… looking for reassurance that I’m with the right company and that I’m not missing out on any other entrepreneurial opportunities like this (I’m on track to have a BBA in Finance from the University of Miami by May 2024, projected GPA to be 3.5+)
Get out of there
Well director one folks using Additional APs are often verryyy well off and also in love with the concept. The premium outside of the Ap (which is often (sizeable) will still be what it is so the additional lower commissioned premium is just gravy. I’m all for it if the client has the cash flow
Been many changes from 16 years ago for the better
Cane grad and was at NM. Message me, yes you may want to leave depending on what you’re looking for.
I did a nwm internship 16 year ago and the only thing it really helped me with was getting my insurance license. The program has probably changed since then but we basically got “mentors” and if they sucked, you were basically out of luck. You were on your own for sales. I only sold a couple of policies because most people wanted actual investments and not just insurance. Back then you were limited to series 63 and insurance licenses and that was it. I wanted the full range investment route and went elsewhere after. It didn’t hurt my career path, I did learn some sales tactics but it wasn’t the route I wanted long term. It will force you to face your fears of calling and seeing people and trying to close deals. They do churn and burn interns all day long.
I was an institutional trader for a while then I went into management. I run a wealth management office now.
They will make you push life insurance to all your friends and family - recommend getting out of there
I would recommend staying away from ALL insurance broker-dealer opportunities. Their technology typically lags the industry tremendously, you're limited in investment options, and they puch THEIR products.
Escape now… or be prepared to sell insurance your whole life
I think NWM is a great company, the internship is a great opportunity to learn how to meet and speak with clients. The real life experience you’ll get is worth sticking around, from there you can decide if wholistic financial planning is the right area for you. If done correctly the internship can be a great experience.
Biggest joke in the business
But honestly an internship is an internship, having some cold calling under your belt can’t really hurt. If I were you I would just try to you said experience to pivot post degre
Enthusiast
Let’s discuss offline.
Hi, I interviewed and got the job with Northwestern, but then I dug into some details, and like others have said, you would become an expert on pushing insurance policies whether they actually are the best fit or not. I think you saw some comments about taking the system and finding a lottery of people to call, but my experience cold calling was that 10% would turn into something.
I highly recommend if you want to be a financial advisor to check out companies like Schwab and Fidelity. They are more holistic CFP type of planning. If you enter from their branches, you get a ton of experience coming up through those roles (1-3 roles in between getting to advisor), and they don’t use cold calling. They call clients who are already using the investment company & have some of their assets there and they just teach clients how to better manage wealth. For me it was a better landing spot, but of course you have to make the best decision for you!
Oh and side note, at these companies you have a wade selection of what you are selling to the client including insurance as one option, but it’s always about finding the best solution for the client instead of pushing one type of solution.