How We Think About Financial Planning at NM and Why It Works
Key takeaways
Though it may not seem like the right time, the right time to get started on a comprehensive plan is right now.
You don’t need to have everything figured out to get started. Financial planning with your advisor begins with questions about what matters most to you—not with having all the answers.
Your financial advisor is a long-term partner. As your life changes, your advisor helps you adjust your plan so it stays aligned with your goals over time.
Let’s face it: financial planning can seem overwhelming with a lot of jargon, spreadsheets and decisions you’re not sure you’re ready to make. With all you’ve got going on with work and your growing family, your schedule doesn’t leave a lot of time to think about your financial future.
But the truth is: building a financial plan to help you reach your goals is much simpler than you think. You don’t need all the answers right now. You just need to start a conversation.
Financial planning is about you
At Northwestern Mutual, financial planning begins with you. Getting started doesn’t require a perfectly organized financial life or a detailed roadmap for the next 30 years. It’s simply a conversation with your advisor.
Many people assume they need to bring a stack of financial documents or a deep understanding of investing to their first meeting. The truth is: you don’t. Your advisor’s job is to meet you where you are today. They’ll ask thoughtful questions to understand what’s important to you, whether that’s having enough money to travel or fund experiences you enjoy, building security for your family, enjoying work-life balance, feeling confident about the future—or all of the above.
It’s completely okay if your answers are still taking shape. You don’t need a polished vision or a perfectly-defined plan right now. Over time, your advisor will help you identify priorities, clarify trade-offs and uncover blind spots and opportunities you may not have considered yet.
A good plan is custom-built uniquely for you
Once your goals come into focus, your advisor will design a comprehensive financial plan specifically tailored to you. They’ll recommend strategies to help grow and protect your money to support the life you want to live. Even if you haven’t enacted all parts of your plan, you’ll already start feeling more confident knowing that you are taking action toward your goals.
Your advisor will walk you through all of the financial tools—like investments, income annuities, life insurance policies, retirement accounts and savings strategies—showing how they can work together to maximize each of their benefits.
At Northwestern Mutual, protection is a foundational part of planning—not an afterthought. Your advisor will recommend effective growth strategies alongside solutions designed to protect your income, family and long-term goals. These tools can help ensure that, even if life doesn’t go according to plan, the people you care about are still supported, and your vision can continue to move forward.
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Our research-based approach to planning can produce better outcomes
There’s a reason why comprehensive financial planning resonates so deeply with people who give it a try. Research supports what many clients already feel: when your financial life is aligned with who you really are, every day is a little bit easier.
You can enjoy life more comfortably
In a study led by behavioral scientist Hal Hershfield, 80 percent of people with a comprehensive financial plan said they could enjoy life more comfortably, compared with 63 percent of general consumers. Another 67 percent said they felt able to make progress without worrying, versus only 49 percent of those without a plan.
You can feel more confident
Additional research by Sonya Lutter, PhD., CFP®, LMFT, found that people who work with an advisor on a comprehensive plan report lower financial anxiety, higher confidence and satisfaction, and more open, meaningful conversations with their advisor. Trust grows when people feel understood, and that trust is central to long-term success.
You can see better results
Our approach to planning doesn’t just help our clients feel better—it has been shown to outperform other approaches to planning in many cases. Independent research has found that a financial plan that combines permanent life insurance, guaranteed income and investments is likely to outperform an investment-only approach over the long term. Even more importantly, having permanent life insurance and annuities along with investments gives people more options for generating income later in life.
Let’s get started.
The right time to get going on a plan is right now. Your advisor will meet you where you are and together, you’ll fill in the details to help you get to where you want to be.
Find your advisorFinancial planning is a life-long practice
Life rarely unfolds exactly as planned. Careers shift, families grow, priorities change. That’s why a good financial plan is one that is flexible.
Your Northwestern Mutual advisor isn’t just there to build your plan. They’re a long-term partner who helps you revisit and refine your plan throughout your life. Together, you can adjust strategies, explore new opportunities and make decisions with clarity, knowing your plan is designed to adapt to whatever life throws at you.
Get started today
It’s easy to put off planning because you feel unprepared, too busy, or unsure if now is the right time to get started. But the sooner you start, the more you can take advantage of compounding interest to grow your income, legacy and protection—giving you more options for your future.
You don’t need to have everything figured out. All you need is the willingness to start a conversation. Your advisor will meet you where you are and help you get to where you want to go.
See How It Works
Try our financial planning simulator to see some of the considerations that come into play when building your plan.
