Pros
Partnered with a good firm that does have solid resources. If you can survive, it will lead to a great career and business, but truthfully there is a high failure rate industry-wide. Equitable does boast a higher than average success rate on retention comparatively. Career pays better and better on the back end of your career if you do things correctly by your clients. Acquisition can be tough, then you need to switch gears to managing a book of business, but that takes time. Significant amount of sales training. Started initiating case studies and conceptual planning training as well for different services at request of advisors, so branch management will listen and take advisor feedback. Initial focus is on natural market clients, so if you have an extensive network of family/friends/acquaintances this helps out tremendously. It isn’t completely necessary, but it tends to be for most.
Cons
Essentially no marketing from the firm. Many folks in the Pittsburgh area confuse us for EQT even with Equitable existing for quite some time. Typical contract suggestion from management is the commission only route. Upon completion of license testing management will try to rush you through to sign, which I did not like (5 calls/texts day I received contract before noon and went through the contract and mandatory EAVU materials). This is because of performance metrics more than it is to hinder any candidate, so the intent is not malicious as much as it is tied to metrics for the branch. Difficulty can be glossed over in the recruitment process for what you potentially will accomplish immediately, which is not a given. Can’t stress enough that the career is difficult for the first four years. It’s a six day/week, 65 hour minimum/week career to build your practice. Natural market focused. If you don’t have a strong natural market or referral base to start, you will have to work very hard to get clients. There is also a massive push for annuities and insurance early in a career. Annuity payouts are significant and some can be advanced early on to the advisor. All the while, the company until recently hid broker/advisory business within its “other” category. This currently accounts for over half of the firm’s assets, but is not paid out nearly as generously on the front-end to advisors. Structurally this needs to eventually be addressed.