Breaking News: Northwestern Mutual Announces 2013 Dividend

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, WI has announced its 2013 dividend. Northwestern Mutual will pay $5 billion in policy holder dividends, the largest payout in the company's history. To put a little perspective on that, Northwestern Mutual will pay its policy holders a sum larger than Lafayette Life (the highly promoted whole life insurer for the Bank on Yourself certified advisors) by a factor of two plus a little more. When I say larger than, I mean Lafayette's entire general account.

Long Term Value in any Market

Northwestern Mutual's announcement didn't come with a lot of facts and figures regarding company performance over th past year, but they did point out that this dividend payment is indicative of their ability to deliver long term value in any market. John Schlifske, Northwestern's CEO, pointed out that low interest rates have been less a concern for them compared to other companies due to their focus on “the fundamentals.”

Impressive Numbers, but not Immune to Market Conditions

While Northwestern's dividend payout in absolute terms is quite substantial, their is one piece of news that comes from the announcement that isn't necessarily garnering a lot of praise. The dividend interest rate for whole life insurance contracts will fall from 5.85% in 2012 to 5.60% in 2013.

We'll continue to report on dividend announcements and company financial performance, and any updates we have on Northwestern Mutual.

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