Pros
Very wide array of ways to build your business. Large firm resources to send out to prospective clients. Slick looking pieces for distribution, (once they figure out what they want to do.) not a bank subsidiary feel like other wire houses.
Cons
Less name recognition than Merrill. Too many systems to work on your business. No one who is a VP or branch manager uses the tools a new advisor is allowed to use. More fuddy duddy feeling offices. Less thought about holistic brand identity. Local management does not follow through with promises after recruitment. Transferring old clients is risky if you have discretion as you may not get that unless you want to carve off a share of your book to a dinosaur who lives off managing your clients the way he did it in 1996. Compliance officers have no experience as advisors and excessive CYA for themselves - means worse business denial unit than Merrill or UBS, but don't actually know rules. Disorganized local training. No thought about why we should do something. Middle managers have no idea why we do anything.