Return of principal is not guaranteed. Bonds and other debt obligations are affected by changes in interest rates, inflation risk and the creditworthiness of their issuers. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall. With a fixed income fund, when interest rates rise, the value of the fund's existing bonds drop, which could negatively affect overall fund performance.

In contrast to owning individual bonds, there are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning shares of bond funds. High yield bonds generally have greater price swings and higher default risks than investment grade bonds.

Investors should be aware of the risks of investments in foreign securities, particularly investments in securities of companies in developing nations. These include the risks of currency fluctuation, of political and economic instability and of less well-developed government supervision and regulation of business and industry practices, as well as differences in accounting standards.

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In selecting securities for the Portfolio, the Adviser develops an outlook for interest rates and the economy, analyzes credit and call risks, and uses other security selection techniques. The Adviser uses a top-down and bottom-up investment approach to construct the portfolio of investments. The top-down investment approach involves an evaluation by the Adviser of the overall economic environment and its potential impact on the level and direction of interest rates. The Adviser then identifies sectors it believes have the best potential for performance based on economic and business cycles. The bottom-up investment approach focuses on fundamental research of issuers to identify issuers that appear to have strong relative credit quality, solid balance sheets, improving company specific fundamentals and free cash flows. The proportion of the Portfolio's assets committed to investments in securities with particular characteristics (such as quality, sector, interest rate or maturity) varies based on the Adviser's outlook for the economy, the financial markets and other factors.

R. David Ells, Chartered Financial Analyst, has primary responsibility for the management of the Short Term Bond Portfolio. Mr. Ells is a Director of MSA and joined Northwestern Mutual in 2004. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President of Deerfield Capital Management, LLC from 2003-2004, and Senior Vice President of Enterprise Advisors/Imagine Reinsurance prior thereto. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He also acts as one of the two lead portfolio managers for the Asset Allocation Portfolio and the Balanced Portfolio and has primary responsibility for the management of the investment grade bond portion of each such Portfolio. Mr Ells also has primary responsibility for the management of the Select Bond Portfolio and also manages various fixed income portfolios for Northwestern Mutual.

You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, expenses and charges of the investment company before you invest. Your Northwestern Mutual Investment Services Registered Representative can provide you with a contract and fund prospectus that will contain the information noted above, and other important information that you should read carefully before you invest or send money.