Do not be a Financial Advisor for PNC Investments in Illinois
Pros
If you are working in a legacy market like Pittsburgh or New Jersey this is a great opportunity. It all depends on the book of business you are inheriting. They did not have a sizeable book of business in Illinois when I worked there. They would just churn FAs and old National City FAs would inherit the books after the new FAs quit.
Cons
1. High turnover. I did not meet a new Financial Advisor at PNC Investments that lasted more than a year in Illinois. They would try to bring people from Pittsburgh but those individuals would also leave after a year due to low pay. They tried bring top advisers from Chase and Fifth/Third and they would leave within 6 months. 2. Low Pay. - Individuals in there 40s would be making less than $30,000 a year. Some were forced to pay back debt after they left. 3. Unfair goals. Suppose you inherit a $100 million book of managed money in Pittsburgh. You lose half of the clients and at the end of the year your book is $50 million. Suppose, in Illinois, you get a book of business of $2 million, you grow the business 5 fold to $10 million. Who should make more money - the individual who lost half the book or the individual who grew the business 5-fold? In PNC's world, the individual who has the larger book should get paid more. You are measured by how big your book is and not how well you grow it. In Illinois you will cover branches that have no history of getting investment accounts. You can turn things around but at the end of the year you are measured by the size of your book. You are getting compared to people in Pittsburgh who inherited books and are doing nothing to grow their business.