Pros
They provide a lot of training to be able to manage all phases of the FA's job. Mutual Fund trades, buys/sells of equities, annuities, life insurance are all products in the knowledge base, as well as customer service. This is just a small part of the role of the BOA. We are the backbone of the company in the field, we are first contact, we make and get the ball rolling, again dependent on the office worked in. Some FA's want to do a greater bulk of the work, others are required to do everything excep seal the sell.
Cons
Home office has no clue what goes on in the branches, nor will they care unless there is a proven, actionable violation that will hurt the brand name. If you want a job that is lonely, unappreciated from a personal and income point of view, this is the place for you. If you don't want to do anything else in life with your career, this is the place for you. If you like someone else receiving all the credit for the office performance, this is the place for you. If you like seeing someone else receive the commissions for which you did all the work, this is the place for you. I have to say, other firms are really no different with the type of model. They are all pretty much under valuing the performance and the stature of the branch staff. Branch staff are not merely administrators and people who fill in the blanks, we are project managers, debt collectors, coaches, evaluators sales professional. The benefits suck! The health plan changed last year to a high deductible product. That deductible for a single person is $3500 and for the family $6500. Nothing is paid until that threshold is met. Now, \your take home salary is on an average, $25000, less the deductible required for a single person (God help you if you really need to go to the doctor), that really brings your take home pay down to an unmanagable amount of $21500. This is an impossible salary for a single parent with the family deductible of $6500. Realistically, the take home (bottom line isn't it) is $18500. If you live in the city, you barely have money for food after rent and travel to work are taken care of.