Ben Bartusek

Nikki grew up in Medford, MN and attended South Dakota State University for Agriculture Business graduating in May of 2017. Upon graduation, Nikki started at Northwestern Mutual via the post-graduation internship program. Due to a fast start, and a knack for connecting with others, Nikki began as a full-time advisor for a year before joining a veteran advisor's team. She has done most behind the scenes roles and is a Retirement Income Certified Professional. Her and Ben developed a close relationship when Ben was in the internship program, and they teamed up in September of 2023. Nikki runs all behind the scenes operations of the team. 

Her and her husband CJ live outside of Faribault on a farm with beef cattle and chickens. They have two children; Levi who was born in 2021 and Elianna who was born in 2024. When Nikki is not at work you will see her spending every minute possible with her "little man" and "baby girl", helping on the farm, spending time outdoors, and reading. 

Jacob grew up in Courtland, MN and attended the University of Minnesota graduating from the Carlson School of Management with a degree in Finance in 2021.

He joined Northwestern Mutual in May of 2019 as an investment team intern and has been at Northwestern Mutual Mankato ever since. He assists Ben's team with investment planning and the building of financial analysis. 

Outside of the office you will find him spending time with his family, playing in community band, or cheering on the University of Minnesota in any athletic event. 

Ben partners with Mike and his team to work with high-net-worth individuals, closely held business owners, and those in the real estate world helping them to mitigate their tax burdens, develop business succession strategies, and optimize their wealth planning. 

Team Sedjo:

Mike has a team of nine, which includes four CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Practitioners, an ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER®, a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy and a Retirement Income Certified Professional. They work to have a detailed understanding of their client’s goals then begin with the end in mind to reverse engineer a financial plan to help ensure their clients and their families achieve success.

Ben partners with Mike when working with ultra-high net worth clientele and working with businesses on their retirement planning.  Mike's team has consistently been a nationally recognized firm by Forbes & Barron's for their ability to partner with clients to deliver financial security.