Pros
Over the past 5 years I have been working with the firm, I have grown to understand more about how Northwestern as a platform to begin and grow your financial advisory business seems tough to beat. While NM has allowed me exclusive access to their insurance and investment advisory platform, they also are not captive to just their products and which helps me feel confident when doing financial planning. 5 years in so far and I have yet to run into a situation that I had to question any ethical or moral move that NM has made. With them acquiring learnvest to turn themselves into one of the largest tech financial firms in the US, I am excited to see where they go over the next few decades.
Cons
The first few years of building your own practice is tough. While Northwestern prides themselves on their training program and mentorship, at the end of the day, your business thrives or fails based on how much you are willing to work on crafting your skills and building your client relationships. I have seen a lot of people not willing to put the time and energy into starting their own business and end up leaving the career with a bitter taste because they were to focused on "selling" instead of "planning". If you are just trying to be an insurance agent or an investment advisor, this isn't the group to join. I have realized NM's focus and current competitive advantage is their focus on comprehensive financial planning that isn't just about selling products.