Financial Advisor with Competitive Drive

Benefits:

• Retirement
• Bonus based on performance
• Company parties
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Opportunity for advancement
• Training & development
• Vision insurance

Are You an Athlete at Heart?

Bring your competitive drive, discipline, and team mentality to a career in financial services. Northwestern Mutual's Buffalo District is looking for current and former athletes ready to channel that same drive into building a career and a practice of their own.

Why Athletes Thrive Here

The traits that make athletes successful in the field translate directly to this work:

• Teamwork: Success here depends on collaboration, just like in sports — supporting teammates and clients toward shared goals.
• Resilience: Athletes are used to facing setbacks and pushing through them, which matters when building a client base from the ground up.
• Goal orientation: Setting and chasing targets is second nature — and directly translates to managing a book of business.
• Discipline and time management: Balancing training, competition, and academics builds habits that carry over to managing a client portfolio and meeting deadlines.
• Competitive drive: The instinct to be the best fuels continuous improvement and strong client service.

About the Role

As a Financial Advisor, you'll work with clients to understand their financial needs and build personalized strategies to protect their assets, income, and long-term security. You'll regularly review and update client plans to reflect changing circumstances, and grow your practice through referrals, community involvement, and professional networking.

Responsibilities

• Meet with clients to assess their financial protection and planning needs
• Design and implement tailored financial strategies
• Regularly review and update client financial plans and insurance policies
• Build a client network through referrals, community involvement, and professional associations
• Complete required training and obtain applicable state insurance licenses (support and sponsorship provided)

What You'll Need

• Bachelor's degree in finance, business, or a related field preferred, but not required
• Prior experience in insurance, financial services, or business development is helpful but not mandatory
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build lasting client relationships
• Backgrounds in competitive, business-development-oriented fields welcomed — including athletics, medical devices, education, logistics, solar, payroll services, tech business development, real estate, and auto rental
• Willingness to obtain required state insurance licenses — training provided, sponsorship considered

What We Offer

• Ongoing training and development, with sponsorship support for advanced certifications
• Performance-based compensation with commission, bonus opportunities, and unlimited earning potential
• Support from a dedicated planning team, marketing resources, and experienced mentors
• Flexibility to build a schedule around your goals
• Health and wellness benefits, a company-funded pension, and PFGF profit-sharing contributions
• The opportunity to build a meaningful practice while helping clients and families secure their financial future

Our thriving location: 5488 Sheridan Drive, Ste. 100, Williamsville, NY 14221

Meet the Team:

Nii Sowah - Managing Director after nearly 12 years with the firm, having grown from Associate Financial Representative into district leadership; he's also a certified coach and co-founder of the nonprofit Unite by Night.

Ben Ross - Wealth Management Advisor and Growth Development Director, made the jump from Verizon retail management 13 years ago and now champions causes like The Ride for Roswell.

John Bongiovanni, CFP® - Wealth Management Advisor, has spent 38 years building a practice that now serves 500+ clients across 20 states.

Ryan O'Connor - Wealth Management Advisor that has built his own team-based firm managing $350 million in assets since joining in 2018

Ryan Preziosi - Wealth Management Advisor with an 11-year journey that started as an intern and grew into a full-time advisor career built on strong client relationships.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (NM) and its subsidiaries in Milwaukee, WI. Nii Sowah is a Managing Partner for NM and is not in legal partnership with NM or its subsidiaries.