Financial Advisor Associate - Financial Advisor Associate Morgan Stanley Employee Review

2.0
Oct 16, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work life balance. You are your own boss as far as building your own career. If the stars align, you can make a lot of money.

Cons

If the stars don't align, you'll fail out of the program and get fired. If you fail any of your licensing exams, you're fired. As soon as you obtain your licenses, you start production. Salary starts to deplete by 10% each quarter after your first year in production . You pretty much have to bring in around $500k a month in new assets or you're fired. If you do not hit numbers for 3 consecutive months, you're fired. You pretty much have to cold call a few hundreds numbers a day to MAYBE be successful or (wait for it..... you're fired). Any month that you don't hit numbers, you will not be paid commissions. The fail rate of the individuals in the FAA program is above 70%. Training managers within the branch are just there for the title. During training, they'll force you in front of a computer to watch hours of training videos a day.

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5.0
Mar 13, 2026
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CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Large company with lots to offer and support for employees

Cons

Layers of management and slow to update issues

3.0
Mar 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Strong brand recognition; exposure to complex financial and estate processes; meaningful client impact; opportunity to build foundational knowledge in a structured financial environment

Cons

Training delivery may be inconsistent; onboarding pace may not align with role complexity; limited patience or tolerance for repetition in certain training interactions; concerns raised regarding training experience and team lead interactions may not always result in clear or constructive follow-up; communication surrounding performance and state of employment decisions may lack transparency, including instances where system and building access were revoked by management to end assignment without prior discussion or direct conversation to resolve conflict first.

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