Northwestern Mutual to add 50 financial advisers in Houston in 2014
Northwestern Mutual said it will add 50 financial advisers and 80 financial interns in Houston in 2014.
Northwestern Mutual wants to add 50 financial advisers and 80 financial interns in the Houston market in 2014, local managing partner Jeff Reeter told the Houston Business Journal.
That’s up slightly from the 40 advisers the Milwaukee-based company planned to hire in 2013.
The move is part of Northwestern’s ongoing strategy to diversify from insurance into financial services, including retirement planning and wealth management.
Northwestern sees Houston as a “robust economy” with a large number of people with an “entrepreneurial focus,” Reeter said.
Northwestern said it expects that more than half of the new financial advisers will be what it calls “career changers” — people who think they’ve gone as far as they can in their current job and are looking for more growth.
“Houston is a good place for us to be doing business,” Reeter told the HBJ.
Reeter said that while Northwestern’s agents will be spread around the market, they’ll be focused on high-growth areas such as the Galleria area, the Energy Corridor and the Woodlands.
Northwestern Mutual opened a Woodlands office two years ago, but Reeter said that there is room for more growth.
“The Woodlands is not just one of the fastest-growing markets in Houston,” Reeter said, “but it’s one of the best markets in the country.”
Northwestern Mutual recently leased 4,308 square feet of office space at 21 Waterway Ave. Rob Banzhaf with Newcor Commercial Real Estate represented the tenant, while Greg Tilton with Transwestern represented the landlord, 21 Waterway Holdings LLC.
The Houston expansion is part of a nationwide plan to recruit 6,400 new financial advisers in 2014.
