Pros
Competitive base salary and you are given a book of business as advisors are constantly leaving and clients get reassigned. Good benefits, good PTO allowance and parental leave(good luck not being guilted about using it though).
Cons
It is no longer about the clients best interests. Selling TIAA products is the only thing that matters and all you are judged on, whether or not it is right for the client. Unethical sales practices such as misleading and outright lying to the client or withholding material information are not only condoned but forced; if you refuse to sell the way they insist, you will be managed out. Management states that they hear us and will change but, other than small cosmetic changes, the culture still remains one of fear and intimidation. Sales goals that increase 20-50% every year as your client book gets larger and larger but support gets cut every year as well so you must do more with less. Ultimately, you are nothing but a number:your percent to quota. If you ever fall even slightly below 100%=you are put on performance plans and on the road to being fired, not given support to effectively do your job. If you are a minority, your chances of success diminish as the best leads and opportunities and training are given to white males while you get bombarded with service issues and clients that need a ton of handholding but no sales opportunity. The company has been actively seeking to hire more minorities over the last few years and I think this may be due to several discrimination lawsuits that emerged over the last 4 years. There was a recent article in the New York Times in October 2017 exposing much of the revenue-driven sales practices to the public but we were told by management to “deny,deny,deny” when our clients asked us questions although most of the details around the sales practices and culture were true.