Independent financial professionals will work on a commission basis and receive company benefits, said Steven C. Mannebach, vice president of field growth and development for Northwestern Mutual.

Of the estimated 5,000 financial professionals Northwestern says it expects to actively recruit, it will add around 2,000 this year, giving it an estimated 9,000 financial professionals overall, Mannebach said.

Northwestern also plans to hire an estimated 60 new full-time salaried employees to work at its Milwaukee headquarters. The company currently employs over 5,000 full-time salaried employees.

Mannebach says adding more independent financial professionals is being driven by the increased demand of individuals looking for financial advice and a financial plan.

“They need financial plans and not financial products and the demand by individuals for a financial representative to help them create their financial plan,” said Steven C. Mannebach, vice president of field growth and development for Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual.

Mannebach said Northwestern Mutual added more than 350,000 new policies in 2011, the largest annual total in almost 20 years.

"People want off the rollercoaster ride of short term economic and market uncertainty,'' Mannebach said. ``They're stopping the ride and stepping off because they're shifting their focus to variables they can control and seeking trusted advice in the process."

Mannebach says this year's new independent financial professionals will be a mix of interns hired directly out of college and `“career changers” looking for a new profession. “These career changers are motivated by the rewards, both personally and professionally, of helping people shape and execute plans to realize their life goals," he said.

—Jim McConville