A Better Way to Money™

Many advisors start with questions about your money—how much you make, how much you have, and how you’re managing it. A better way to money starts with a conversation about what’s most important in your life and what you hope to achieve.

What is a “better question”?

Now you’re probably wondering, “What is a better question?” Simply put, a better question digs beneath the surface. Our approach isn’t cookie cutter. It is intentionally designed to help your advisor better understand you.

One better question often leads to more. Your advisor will listen closely, using their ears and their eyes. This helps them pick up on subtle nuances. Based on your responses, they’ll ask follow-up questions to help them—and often also to help you—gain a deeper understanding of what you want in life.

Powerful conversations like these fuel creative financial solutions from your advisor that meet you where you are. They allow them to implement a plan that gives you confidence that you’re on track to get where you want to be.

So at Northwestern Mutual, instead of answering simple questions like “How much money do you want to save for retirement?” you should expect to hear questions like “Can you paint me a picture of your ideal retirement?” From there, your advisor will listen closely and ask follow-up questions to get the necessary details to design your plan.

The goal of asking better questions—and listening closely to your answers—is all about uncovering blind spots in your financial plan. And while “blind spots” may sound negative, they’re actually good things because they highlight opportunities you may not have thought of yet.

Wondering if you have blind spots? You’re not alone. Most Americans think they do. Our job is to help you figure out what they are.

Illuminating blind spots

To better understand blind spots, we surveyed 1,600 people on the topic.¹ We started by asking if they have blind spots; then we showed them potential blind spots and asked if any represented gaps in their plan. As it turns out, most folks know they have some blind spots.

Uncovering opportunities

The blind spots you and your advisor uncover are opportunities in disguise. By partnering together, you can find solutions that empower you to meet your biggest goals more easily.

Partnership means you and your advisor have a deep understanding of each other. And it’s ongoing. Your advisor is there for you—bringing you the right knowledge and resources you need to be successful as life evolves. Our advisors have access to a network of experts who are specialized in various aspects of planning and can help no matter what you’re looking to accomplish.

And our research has found that most people are looking for this kind of partnership with their advisor.

By having an advisor who truly partners with you, you’ll get a better financial plan—one that is tailored to your unique needs, focuses on growing and protecting your money, and evolves with you as your goals change.

While many advisors at other firms focus only on investments to achieve these kinds of goals, at Northwestern Mutual we approach things differently.

You see, an investing-only approach is a one-dimensional solution for a multidimensional challenge. Don’t get us wrong; investments are important—they can provide long-term growth. But investments alone are unlikely to help you achieve long-term financial security or stability. And many other financial advisors gloss over the second part. At Northwestern Mutual, our focus on growing and protecting your wealth is what helps our clients achieve better outcomes.

And planning isn’t “set it and forget it.” A comprehensive plan—one that protects what’s important to you and helps you build wealth—is designed to grow with you, giving you the flexibility to pivot when life takes you in a new direction.

Research has shown the benefit of our approach.

When partnering with your advisor to implement the strategies and solutions in your comprehensive financial plan, research shows that you’ll be more likely to experience better long-term outcomes.²

Financial outcomes

Research from EY, an international tax, accounting, and consulting firm, shows incorporating insurance and investments in your planning approach (like we do) can lead to better financial outcomes for you. According to EY’s analysis, when properly allocating your money across investments, permanent life insurance and annuities,³  you’re more likely to achieve better outcomes in retirement and leave a larger legacy than through investments alone. And by striking the right balance between permanent life insurance and income annuities, you can decide whether to focus more on generating retirement income, maximizing your legacy, or a balance in between—the choice is all yours, based on your goals. We’re here to help you better understand your options.

The value of combining investments and insurance

EY analyzed five planning strategies across different starting ages: 25, 35, and 45. For each, researchers modeled 1,000 real-world scenarios based on randomized inputs from a range of factors (like interest rates, inflation rates, equity, and bond returns) to approximate the probability of an outcome given any combination of variables.

Then they compared results from the five planning approaches:

EY found that integrated strategies give investors the flexibility to focus on the financial outcomes that are most important to them—retirement income, a legacy, or a balance of both.

Your advisor can work with you to develop a plan that leverages these strategies using Northwestern Mutual’s proprietary financial planning software that can simulate the probability of your retirement plan’s success based on sophisticated modeling algorithms. Knowing your plan holds up under a variety of market conditions can give you peace of mind. At Northwestern Mutual, our financial advisors can help you achieve the right strategy based on your goals—and the peace of mind that it brings will leave you feeling better, too.

Emotional outcomes

After EY demonstrated that this kind of approach to planning can deliver better financial outcomes, we wondered if people who have these plans and products also feel better emotionally. The answer is a resounding yes! We asked Dr. Hal Hershfield, professor of Marketing, Behavioral Decision Making and Psychology at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, to help us better understand how a comprehensive plan can make you feel.

To do so, he surveyed three groups of people:

1. Northwestern Mutual Comprehensive Clients: Meaning clients who have permanent life insurance, either investments or annuities, and a recent financial plan²
2. Northwestern Mutual Modular Clients: Meaning clients who have purchased a single Northwestern Mutual product but have yet to engage in comprehensive planning⁴
3. General Consumers: People who are similar to the other groups but are not Northwestern Mutual clients

At Northwestern Mutual, we believe there’s a better way to money. And our skilled financial advisors are here to show you the way. It all starts with asking better questions, so you end up with a better financial plan that delivers better outcomes for you. Contact your Northwestern Mutual financial professional today.

All investments carry some level of risk, including the potential loss of principal invested. Diversification and strategic asset allocation do not assure profit or protect against loss.