Pros
My manager is very easy to work with and is very supportive. There a good people inside this company who really do care about you as a person. Future career opportunities are there for those who want to become a Financial Planner, but need to have credentials (CFP,CRPC) with multiple years of experience to be considered. Other internal company opportunities are few and far between and you will have to play an internal political game to be considered for those roles / you will have to put yourself out there and take initiative on projects that give you interactions with upper management. This will result in more work being done with no extra pay in order to have a chance to move forward.
Cons
I think internal systems have some real kinks to be worked on. Some planners in the company have a tough time using said internal systems and the CSA becomes the “technological assistant”, which takes away from team efficiency. I think corporate / upper management tries to “white wash” everything with a cheesy “feel good” environment, while neglecting multiple problems. I like the direction Michael R is heading in client service with his subordinates, but the leaders for the other core business functions don’t seem to be rising to the challenges inside the company. The corporate culture is definitely interesting with virtual and branch in-office politics having very different dynamics.