How to Close a Northwestern Mutual Investment Account
• Brokerage or investment-advisory accounts at Northwestern Mutual can be closed using different methods.
• There might be a fee involved when closing an investment account at Northwestern Mutual in certain cases.
• Closing a securities account at Northwestern Mutual might have tax implications.
If you have an investment account with Northwestern Mutual that you wish to close, this guide will help you close your account efficiently.
Close NWM Investment Account by Liquidating
The standard way to close a securities account is to sell all assets and then withdraw the remaining cash. Once your balance reaches $0, contact Northwestern Mutual and ask them to close your account. Northwestern Mutual Investment Services allows this procedure.
With brokerage accounts, you must sell everything you own. You can perform these sales online, by phone, or by contacting your financial advisor. After the sales, you'll need to wait one business day for the transactions to settle completely. Don't forget to pay off any margin balance you may have. After that, withdraw the cash balance. Northwestern Mutual Investments allows withdrawals by wire transfer, ACH, or check.
Once the account has a zero balance, contact your financial advisor to request closure. This final step is essential because leaving an inactive account open can expose you to cyber theft, fraud, and other issues.
Investment-advisory accounts follow similar steps. However, you can't sell assets yourself. Instead, contact Northwestern Mutual Investments to request selling assets, withdrawing cash, and closing the account. Since you'll need to request these actions anyway, it's easiest to ask for them all at once.
Potential Tax Consequences
The usual method of closing an account involves selling investments and withdrawing cash. Both actions can result in tax obligations, depending on the account's tax treatment. You might receive a Form 1099 with tax implications. Before taking these actions, consult a licensed tax advisor.
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Close NWM Investment Account by ACAT
If you don't wish to sell securities or withdraw cash due to tax reasons or other concerns, you might prefer an alternative method: a full ACAT transfer. Doing this closes your account at Northwestern Mutual Investments. However, the downside is that your account moves to another brokerage firm, meaning the account itself remains open. If your goal is to close the account entirely, this method won’t work.
If you don't mind transferring the account, here's how it works: after moving your investment account to another brokerage, Northwestern Mutual automatically closes your old account. For this to happen, the transfer must be a full transfer, not partial. A full ACAT transfer moves everything from your old account, while a partial transfer moves only specific assets.
To begin a full ACAT transfer from Northwestern Mutual Investment Services to another firm, open a new account with the other brokerage first. This new account can be either a brokerage or managed account, and generally, it can accept transfers from brokerage or managed accounts. However, some exceptions apply, so verify this with the new brokerage before initiating the ACAT request.
Submit your transfer request directly to the new brokerage firm, not to Northwestern Mutual Investments. Most brokerages have easy online ACAT request tools, which take only a few minutes to complete. Remember to select a full transfer, not partial, when filling out the request.
After submitting the ACAT request, your new brokerage will inform Northwestern Mutual Investments. The two brokerages then handle the transfer without further involvement from you. Once the transfer completes, all assets appear in your new account, and Northwestern Mutual closes the previous account. Always confirm your old account is indeed closed.
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Internal Method
Another option, similar to the previous one, is transferring assets internally to another account within Northwestern Mutual Investments. Technically, this isn't an ACAT transfer since both accounts remain within the same brokerage. Also, the old account won't automatically close—you must request closure separately.
Contact Northwestern Mutual or your financial advisor to request an internal transfer to another account and closure of the original account.
Like ACAT transfers, internal transfers require both accounts to be of the same type—for example, both Roth IRAs or both trust accounts. Thus, this internal method effectively consolidates accounts.
Cost of Closing an Account
With the paperwork involved in account closures and transfers at Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, fees may apply. For example, closing or transferring a brokerage account to another firm usually incurs a $125 fee. Managed accounts have similar fees.
Updated on 5/5/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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