Pros
Great place to start. Lot's of "Ra RA" culture if you like that sort of thing. Brand has been around a long time. They have some pretty slick retirement planning software and systems.
Cons
They take 60% of everything you earn BEFORE your expenses, taxes fees etc. Think about 3% of a million dollars. $30k becomes 10K becomes 6k. Congratulations you can now pay off all of your debts that have been piling up for the last three months and do it all over again.That is provided that you were actually able to charge a commission on new money. Jones Expects at least $400,000 every month and $25k in gross commission. It is a hamster wheel and it is depressing. This all amounts to a ton of pressure to build a business that is not yours anyways. If you are going to do it yourself, you should do it yourself. The firm puts on this moral and ethical dance a couple times a year but it is nothing more than theater. They are all about the money. They do not care about you, your family or your clients. Make money, don't break the law so we look bad. That is it. Everything at this firm is designed to profit the partners so they will dangle the partnership carrot and others (like trips and bonuses) to entice people to work harder. If you make $144,000 in gross commissions in 4 months (do the math...crazy) you will get to take your approved spouse or domestic partner on 2 trips and one regional per year (fully taxable of course). Good thing too because you will have to work so hard to qualify they wont remember who you are an you will need the down time to stave off a ruined relationship. Their model is to use advisers to build their client base and trailing revenue. As soon as you don't meet their expectations, you are gone but the book stays. They may SAY otherwise but their actions and words are not congruent. If you take the time to educate yourself about the industry you will find other firms out there that will allow you to incorporate and keep most of the money you earn after expenses. It is YOUR license.