Guest: Tim Gerend, Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer for Northwestern Mutual.

In a Nutshell: You can't turn a tanker around in the Panama Canal. Instead, insurance giant Northwestern Mutual is carving a new lane for itself by adding wealth management to the services its 20,000 advisors, leaders, and team members offer nationwide. With this unique combination of advice, products, services,  and technology, Northwestern believes it can compete on client experience while also attracting the next generation of independent advisors into the fold.

On today's show, Tim Gerend and I discuss the five components of Northwestern Mutual's client experience, how the firm recruits and train advisors to hit the ground running, the importance of diversity, and how Tim thinks the financial advisor profession will evolve over the coming years.