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For Financial Advisors

From Musician to Advisor: $500mm Northwestern Mutual Breakaway Finds Her Voice and a 5x Valuation in True Independence

Posted by Mindy Diamond

A conversation with Katherine Forrester Schneewind, Founder and CEO, High Note Wealth

Overview

Katherine Forrester Schneewind left a country music career behind to follow her dream of becoming a financial planner so she could help others take control of their financial destinies. In 2019, after building the practice to $500mm in AUM, she and brother Michael Forrester left Northwestern Mutual to launch RIA High Note Wealth.

Listen in…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:58 — 72.7MB) | Embed

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> Download a transcript of this episode…

About this episode…

Picture this: A 23-year-old with a college degree in music, which was earned while singing with the Cash Family, decides to leave Nashville and the country music scene behind to follow her life’s dream.

That is, to be a financial planner.

Sure, you might think the story should be told the other way around.

But for Katherine Forrester Schneewind, her life’s calling wasn’t about becoming the next country music star. Instead, she was driven by a strong desire to help others become stars in their own lives – their financial lives – by empowering them with knowledge and advice so they could take control of their destiny.

So in 1996 she joined Northwestern Mutual, and learned the ropes in “defensive planning” as she describes it, estate planning and insurance as well as investments.

It was a recipe for success that resulted in building the business to $500mm in assets under management in a little over two decades, making Katherine one of Northwestern Mutual’s top advisors.

But, as is common with many self-motivated entrepreneurial types, she started to feel restricted by the firm’s “red tape” in serving clients and growing the business. After conducting due diligence, Katherine and brother/partner Michael Forrester decided that a move to another firm felt too lateral. So in 2019, they launched independent firm High Note Wealth in partnership with Dynasty Financial Partners and Schwab Advisor Services.

In this episode, Katherine shares her story with Louis Diamond, including:

  • From Musician to Advisor: $500mm Northwestern Mutual Breakaway Finds Her Voice and a 5x Valuation in True Independence A conversation with Katherine Forrester Schneewind, Founder and CEO, High Note WealthHer journey from Nashville to the world of financial planning—and how Northwestern Mutualprovided the perfect foundation for her break into the investment world.
  • The changes Katherine saw at the firm—and how a strong “sales” culture can be both a positive and a negative.
  • The choice to go independent—and why taking a recruiting deal from a big firm didn’t feel like the right path for their business.
  • The one thing she misses the most in independence—and what she’s doing to recreate it at High Note Wealth.
  • The economic benefits she’s seeing as an RIA—and how the business is now realizing a 5x increase in valuation.

It’s striking how many top advisors we speak with discuss seminal moments in their lives that color their fate—sending them in a new direction with a level of drive and motivation that seems unstoppable.

For Katherine, making the leap ultimately came down to the sense of empowerment—that is, having “earned the right to be independent” and own her clients.

It’s likely to rank as one of our most interesting conversations to date, so be sure to listen in.

Related Resources

From Insurance Sales to $8B RIA: A Northwestern Mutual Breakaway Story: A conversation with Andy Schwartz, CFP®, Principal, Bleakley Financial Group
Andy Schwartz went from selling insurance at Northwestern Mutual to managing $3.5B in assets and leading one of the firm’s largest groups. In 2014 they left to go independent as Bleakley Financial Group, now managing $8B in assets as a hybrid RIA. Listen->

A Northwestern Mutual Advisor’s “Jerry Maguire-Style” Breakaway Story
As a Managing Director at Northwestern Mutual, Brett Gilliland had a unique perspective of the limitations at the firm. So after 13 years and with $300mm in AUM, he left to build Visionary Wealth Advisors, today a $1.8B firm. Listen->

The Top 5 Reasons Why Northwestern Mutual Advisors Are Changing Firms
A growing trend of departures from Northwestern Mutual has left many of the firm’s advisors wondering what’s driving the momentum—and what their colleagues are finding on the other side. Read->

One Advisor, One Great Business, Three Possible Paths
By embarking on due diligence with clarity on the “end game,” advisors can better align the pros and cons of each option and their impact on long-term goals. Read->

Katherine Forrester Schneewind
Founder and CEO

Katherine is the Founder and CEO of High Note Wealth and she personally brings over 25 years of wealth management expertise to the business. She founded the firm with her brother Michael Forrester on the belief that all clients should be treated like family. Always active in the community, Katherine is a current board member of The Berg Group and the Schneewind Family Foundation and a former board member of the Ridgeview Medical Center Foundation and Northwestern Mutual’s FRA Board. She continues to give back to others through her work with her family foundation, Women’s Violence, The Animal Humane Society, and the University of Minnesota.

Katherine earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music therapy from the University of Minnesota and holds the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU*) designations.

Katherine enjoys traveling, meaningful friendships, and self improvement pursuits. On September 8, 2013, she achieved her lifelong goal of finishing the Ironman Triathlon in Madison, Wisconsin, where she swam, biked, and ran 140.6 miles with a finishing time of 14:02:02.

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About Mindy Diamond

CEO – By counseling advisors on how to ask the right questions and “dig deep”, she helps them look at all of the opportunities available to find the one that allows them to reach their full potential. That is, to best serve their clients and live a life that is in sync with their own beliefs and values. Learn more...

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