Northwestern Mutual Launches $150M Fund To Help People Manage Money

After launching its first fund in 2017, Northwestern Mutual announced today that it is creating a second, $150 million corporate venture capital fund to invest in startups that help people attain financial security.

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The Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures Fund II will mainly invest in Series A and B rounds and plans to cut checks between $500,000 to $5 million in size. In its previous fund, the insurance and investment company invested $43 million across 14 startups, like ‘millennial-focused’ banking app Chime, which we’ve written about in the past. 

The new fund will double down on the theme, being specifically interested in “startups whose technologies have the potential to further differentiate and transform the financial services industry,” according to Craig Schedler, Venture Partner at Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures.

Schedler told Crunchbase News that along with financial returns, the fund is focused on deep relationships with its portfolio companies.

“Of the 14 investments NM Future Ventures has made to date, many have led to commercial agreements or mutually beneficial partnerships,” he explained.

While this fund isn’t allocated to serve local startups specifically, Schedler tols me that Northwestern Mutual additionally has a $5 million fund, Cream City Venture Capital, “that is dedicated to investing in early-stage startups in southeastern Wisconsin.”

Northwestern Mutual is based in Milwaukee.

As corporate venture capital grows (more on that topic coming soon), we’ve been tracking what VCs, entrepreneurs and founders have to say about the particular form of venture capital. Remember that corporate venture is a balancing act between control, valuable interactions with startups, corporate interest, and founder friendliness.

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that the firm’s first fund was launched in 2014. It was launched in 2017. A correction has been made to reflect this update.