Northwestern Mutual growth plan includes financial services, CEO says [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

July 23--Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. is having another great year selling policies, but the company's role in the financial security industry is about to grow, the Milwaukee insurer's chairman and chief executive says.

At the same time, the company intends to keep making a difference beyond its business operations, said John E. Schlifske.

That's why as Northwestern Mutual financial representatives gather in downtown Milwaukee this week for their annual meeting, they'll hear about two key themes: an effort to expand in the wealth management arena, and a new charitable initiative to help fight pediatric cancer and support families that are dealing with it.

Almost 11,000 Northwestern Mutual agents, staff and family members from around the nation are expected to be in town through Wednesday for the company's 132nd annual meeting of the Association of Network Representatives. They will use the BMO Harris Bradley Center, the Frontier Airlines Center and downtown hotels to attend seminars, meet home office colleagues and socialize.

When Schlifske addresses the financial representatives, he will talk about turning points in the company's history, ranging from its establishment in the 1870s of an exclusive system of agents to the more recent decision to remain an operate-for-the-long-term mutual firm instead of converting to a stock company driven by quarterly earnings.

Schlifske said another turning point is imminent.

"I think over the next decade Northwestern Mutual is going to grow faster than anyone, and even be more of a prominent player not just in the life insurance industry, but I think you're going to start to see us have prominence in other financial services areas," he said in an interview.

He said the company's financial strength and types of products, along with the fact that its representatives have lifelong plans and relationships with their customers, open the door for further growth.

What kind of services could Northwestern Mutual offer its customers?

"It would be like the Merrill Lynches of the world, or the Northern Trusts of the world. All these companies that don't even think about us right now as a competitor are going to start to see -- as we employ this strategy and grow -- that we're starting to encroach in their territory," Schlifske said. "And so we're not going to be just the best life insurance company, but we're going to be the best provider of wealth accumulation, wealth preservation and risk protection of anybody out there."

Northwestern also plans to announce during its annual meeting a new multiyear philanthropic program to fight childhood cancer.

To launch the program, the company has donated almost $500,000 in grants to two nonprofit organizations involved in the battle with pediatric cancer, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and Starlight Children's Foundation. Through those two foundations, Northwestern Mutual plans to initiate events across the country.

The company will establish the Northwestern Mutual Childhood Cancer Research Fund and a Family Travel Fund -- a fund that will help pay for airfare, food, gas and lodging for those who need to travel for life-saving treatments -- in partnership with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.

Early next year, the company will fund Great Escapes and Fun Centers around the country through the Starlight Children's Foundation. Great Escapes centers will give families with a seriously ill child the chance to spend time together, escape medical worries and renew a sense of "strength, hope and community," the company said.

Schlifske noted that cancer is the leading cause of death among children under age 15 in the United States, but research and services for families facing the disease are underfunded.

"We saw it as something that aligns with our values, something that aligns with our emotions, but it's also something that if we are successful -- and I know we will be -- that we can actually move the needle on," Schlifske said.

"I think the real power -- you'll see this two or three years from now -- is the number of people in our system who get involved in this," he said. "That's where we can really make a big difference."

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