Northwestern Mutual likes to think of itself as a storied American institution offering specialized financial advice. The 168-year-old financial giant, ranked 109 on the Fortune 500, and regularly anointed one of the World's Most Admired Companies by the magazine, describes its financial advisers as expert listeners or a trusted partner who helps you continue to reach goal after goal. It also tops Forbes's list of Best Employers for New Grads,
During a September presentation, Gray said the firm's job acceptance rate for its 2025 analyst class dropped to just 0.2%, with 57,000 applications for just 138 entry-level roles. That's down from the already incredibly selective 0.4% in 2021, when 29,000 people applied for 103 first-year analyst roles. As the industry continues to grow in size - Blackstone, for its part, is managing over $1 trillion for clients - the private equity career path has stepped front and center for ambitious young people.