Why We Have the Best Financial Advisors in the Industry

We’ve all heard the saying, “more money, more problems.” What this means to me is simply that growing wealth alone won’t get you financial security, and it certainly won’t get you happiness.

At Northwestern Mutual, we’re on a mission to help people achieve financial security. To that end, we’ve done significant research about what’s happening in our brains when we’re making financial decisions – and there’s a lot of emotion and behaviors that get in the way. While people want financial security, we can be our own worst enemies in actually achieving it. In fact, we found that 1 in 2 Americans have anxiety and insecurity about their finances, and it has little to do with how much money they make. It comes from how people feel about their financial situation, and whether they have a plan in place and an advisor who makes it easy to make day-to-day financial decisions.

To test this theory, we partnered with a neuroscience research firm to (very literally) look at Americans’ brains on finance and whether getting help from an advisor improved their well-being. What we found was that people who were assisted in making financial decisions were more relaxed and better able to understand critical financial concepts.

I might be biased (ok, I am definitely biased!), but I believe NM advisors do this better than anyone, and it’s why they’re the best in the industry.

1. They focus on clients' wealth AND well-being.

While our research suggests that having an advisor is helpful, the truth is it matters who your advisor is and how they operate. When I look out in the industry, I see a lot of financial advisors who are focused on “gathering assets”, so their conversations with clients focus mostly on investing and growing your money. While that is important, it isn’t the whole picture. I think this is a primary reason why even though people might like their advisor on a personal level, they feel unfulfilled. They have a gap in their financial plan, but they don’t know what it is. They are lacking confidence, don’t feel financially secure, and as a result aren’t empowered to spend life living.

Our Northwestern Mutual advisors take a different path. They develop lifelong relationships with clients that span generations. This starts by getting to know their clients. They ask the hard questions and work through a process that helps clients build confidence they are on the right path. This matters so much – at the end of the day, we’re all people with dreams and ambitions, and money is a means to accomplish our goals. A good advisor takes the time to get to know you and builds a relationship that gives meaning to the work you do together on your finances.

I’m fortunate that in my role I get to see this impact on a regular basis. And I’m always amazed when I get together with our field force and hear the ways they come through for their clients. Just recently, I was at a dinner and one of our advisors shared how a terminally ill client reached out to thank him for putting him and his family in a position to make the most of their time together. I don’t know if many of us would be thinking of our accountants or lawyers at a time like that, but it’s clear this advisor built a relationship that was meaningful in a lot of ways.

Those stories – the ways our advisors are out in the community supporting their clients and their causes – make the difference when you sit down to talk about what you want to do with your money. That relationship creates a level of openness and trust that’s invaluable. 

2. They don't sell, they solution.

Of course, our advisors “sell” in the literal sense. When they give clients confidence to take action, it’s often the case this results in the sale of a specific product or service. What’s important to understand, is that what our advisors do isn’t about the sale, it’s about helping clients solve their most pressing problems in a way that builds real confidence. 

I knew our advisors were helping clients in a remarkable way, but I wanted to better understand how, so I recently asked one of our top advisors if he’d sit down and walk me through his process. In a matter of minutes, he demonstrated how he introduces himself and how he talks about the work he does. He didn’t talk about products or services. He talked about the problems people face in their financial lives, where they commonly get stuck, and how he approaches solving these problems. I was totally impressed with his comprehensive approach, how conversational and personal he made it, and how it inspired me to feel more urgency about my own financial planning! 

It makes sense that our advisors get to be really good at this. They build their business over time and, in doing so, they meet with lots and lots of people. For example, our business model suggests new advisors do 300 “factfinders”. So, once they’ve been with us for 5 years, they’ve literally met with over 1,000 people. They know what causes anxiety. They know what mistakes people commonly make. And they know what needs other advisors walk past. 

You see, our advisors, who are highly credentialed and highly trained, are hardwired to solution, not sell. They’re also focused on learning and keeping pace with the changing economic landscape, and that’s increasingly important to clients who need to make tough financial decisions. And the proof is, these clients stick with us year after year, through all economic seasons. 

When you have an advisor who not only understands how products work, but how to solve the challenges that keep you up at night, you know you’re working with someone who can help you achieve financial security. 

3. They combine in-person guidance with digital tools that enhance the client experience. 

No one wants to be twenty-minutes into a conversation with a financial advisor and feeling in over their head. What’s worse is leaving that meeting with questions about what was decided and how that changes your financial picture.

Yet, it happens to people all the time and it doesn’t leave you feeling any more financially secure or happy about the progress you’ve made.

At Northwestern Mutual, we’re building out digital tools that make it easier for our advisors to walk-through the financial plan they’re creating with the client. This technology, combined with the deep level of expertise and empathy of our advisors, makes talking about finances more digestible for people. It helps our clients see exactly where they are and how the action they are taking today is helping them build a more secure future. 

There’s no question, what our NM advisors do is hard – generally speaking what’s worthwhile is difficult! The time and resources our advisors invest to help people achieve financial security is admirable and time well spent. As you can tell, I’m very proud of the work they do and grateful to lead a system of financial advisors who help their clients in such an impactful way – the way you stop worrying about money, start living, and find your happiness. 

?Not all Northwestern Mutual representatives are advisors. Only those representatives with the titles "Financial Advisor" or "Wealth Management Advisor" are credentialed to provide advisory services.