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.
