Opening an investment protection account

When you open an investment account at Northwestern Mutual, you're working with one of the strongest companies in America. Northwestern Mutual manages more than $246 billion1 of retail investment client assets and is a top 5 independent broker-dealer.2

And investment accounts at Northwestern Mutual come with automatic third-party protection.

Top 5 ranked investment service

We're one of the top U.S. Independent Investment Broker-Dealers.2

Ranking for Northwestern Mutual Investment Services LLC, Financial Advisor magazine and InvestmentNews, April 2021
SIPC Protection up to five hundred thousand dollars.

SIPC protection for your Northwestern Mutual investments

While all investments carry the risk of the loss of principal, rest assured that if something happens to Northwestern Mutual, you're covered. That's because Northwestern Mutual Investment Services Company (NMIS) is a member of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). SIPC protects NMIS accounts up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash) in the event that a firm fails.

  • Protection beyond SIPCNMIS's accounts are held through its clearing firm, Pershing LLC, which provides additional protection for assets held in its custody. Pershing's additional account balance coverage through Lloyd's of London and other third-party commercial insurers may provide benefits beyond what's covered by SIPC. Please reach out to your financial advisor if you have questions about coverage for your Northwestern Mutual investment account.
  • Protection for multiple accountsEach account you have with NMIS in which you act in a different capacity is SIPC protected. This means that if you act as sole owner of one account and custodian of another, each of those accounts retains separate SIPC protection.

FDIC insurance designed for peace of mind

Northwestern Mutual also offers an FDIC-insured bank deposit program ("NM FDIC Insured Deposit Program") for cash held in a client's investment accounts with either NMIS or the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. If this cash sweep option is used for your investment account, this program provides FDIC coverage up to $5 million ($10 million for joint accounts) for each category of legal ownership. The NM FDIC Insured Deposit Program automatically transfers uninvested cash balances into one or more interest-bearing bank account(s) each day. By automatically allocating your funds across multiple program banks, we're able to conveniently offer extended FDIC coverage.

FDIC federal deposit insurance corporation coverage up to four million dollars
Picture of a financial representative

Get your questions answered

Our financial advisors know what risks to watch out for, so they can build a plan to help grow your wealth and protect it.