Not What I Expected - Financial Professional Equitable Advisors Employee Review

3.0
Apr 2, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent culture, nice people, flexibility, work-life balance when performing well.

Cons

I wouldn't recommend working for Equitable Advisors as someone starting out in the financial services industry. I joined under the impression that I would be part of a group that advises clients on retirement planning and building a book of business through a target market with the structure and support of other advisors. This is more of a sales job (of course advising is sales based), however Equitable trains you to push the 403(b) sale and in my experience, did not train or emphasize enough that there may be better options from a financial planning perspective for the client. I don't feel like management prioritizes adequate training, partnership with experienced advisors, structure, etc. Instead, they focus on recruiting, having the new advisors write X amount of business, failing out of the business/quitting, and repeat. Upper management makes many promises that are usually not delivered, and there is constant pressure to make the next sale. In my opinion, not a place where you should cut your teeth. You'd be better off learning under an experienced advisor and learning what this career is really like than chasing the next commission while not learning the true fundamentals of what it takes to do right for the client and having your compensation be a side effect of the good planning and advise that you give, not just chasing a sale so you can pay the bills. There is potential for Equitable's structure to develop great advisors. The experienced advisors that I worked with do provide good advice. The issue is getting new advisors to the point where they can focus on the client's best interest instead of focusing on affording bills that month. Also be warned that you will be expected to cold call in this role. Finally, a major issue that I have with Equitable's benefits is that employer health insurance coverage is tied to the sale of proprietary products, not your overall production.

Explore other reviews about Equitable Advisors

5.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

great upside within this industry

Cons

poor benefits compared to other full time jobs

1.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Complete freedom to build your book of business anmd schedule.

Cons

Horrendous place to start. Managers run their own practice and have little to no time to actually help you outside of your joint meetings so you're on your own. They only give you 2 options to get clients, cold calling or their retirement benefits group through schools. Basically the whole advising piece is to just to sell life insurance and annuities. The support staff is thin so you're kind of on your own with paperwork and compliance docs. They just genuinely offer you nothing. No help with covering costs (you pay for all your licensing and marketing materials), they even charge you for using the company laptop and fees for programs you will never use. They will mislead you about the commission payouts and you only really get something if you get them to buy an annuity or life insurance. If you also have a remaining balance of any fees when you leave, they will literally sending you threatening letters demanding the money and threaten you with claims court if you don't pay it back.

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