Lincoln Financial Advisors Reviews

Pros

Senior management is very knowledgeable and supportive. Excellent work-life balance. There are many opportunities available for professional development. Pro-active client service focus.

Cons

There is a lack of true career paths available for administrative staff. Very easy to get lost in the corporate shuffle.

Advice to Senior Management

Support to new planners should be more substantial than just reinforcing the Company culture.

Pros

Always on the up and up of training Advisors and staff members.

Cons

Entry level compensation package not very attractive.

Advice to Senior Management

Revamp the entry level compensation package

Pros

Great people, great resources in terms of technical support and depth of knowledge, and true focus on doing what is right for the client and producing high quality plans. Also allows for total flexibility to build your own planning practice and focus on the areas you enjoy most.,

Cons

Lack of formalized training program, intense one-on-one skill development, true mentor relationships necessary for someone new to the business to succeed.

Advice to Senior Management

Great company, love the focus on high quality comprehensive financial planning, however would like to see a more rigorous, formalized training program and support system for new advisors.

Pros

I loved the work life balance, the family culture and professional environment. Lincoln was a great place to work and would highly recommend the company to anyone.

Cons

Can be competitive if you are a rep. The commission payouts are low but competitive with other broker/dealers but on the admin end they are great.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work and recruiting good talent. Lincoln will continue to thrive and be a great place to work

Pros

Other planners are good people. Some are helpful. Some are very bright people who know and understand complicated estate planning issues. Met some quality people. Open to many different products. You don't just sell Lincoln.

Cons

You are on your own. Don't expect much help from management at the regional office. You can get help from other planners, you just have to split the case with them. It seems planner expenses are higher than other places. Benefits are very expensive for planners.

Advice to Senior Management

More communication with planners. There is very little communication between planners and regional management.

Pros

Great environment and tremenous place to advance knowledge of the industry

Cons

My internship was unpaid which didn't help however it was only three days a week which provided flexibilty to earn money elsewhere

Advice to Senior Management

pay the interns

Pros

Good pay and benefit program

Cons

Dysfunctional management needs to work on communication

Advice to Senior Management

Keep it up

Pros

They have one of the best planning platforms in the business even though the manufacturing costs can become very high.

Cons

Not the company they used to be. With the hiring of a former Merrill-Lynch a few years ago,many "Merrill" like changes were implemented. These resulted in comp reductions along with benefit cuts in the retirement plans which hurt many long-time planners very badly at just the time many of the lon-time planners were contemplating retirement,thus blowing up the retirement plans of many who thought they had planned well for themselves. Of course morale suffered.

Advice to Senior Management

Before making drastic changes forthe sake of the almighty dollar,be certain the savings are worth the pain that is to be inflicted upon the loyal producers that helped to grow the company into what it is today. Be certain you can sleep well at night after breaking many promises made to the sales force.

Pros

Since each Regional Planning Office is fairly independent and not necessary completely tied to the corporate office, an intern gets a lot of personal attention and meaningful projects through which to learn about LFA's offerings (insurance, annuities, brokerage accounts, etc).

Cons

Each office's competency, I would guess, varies greatly depending on the skills of the Managing Principal. Upper level executives have great ideas, but not so great implementation

Advice to Senior Management

Keep focused, and really support the few offices and markets that have suffered due to the mergers and acquisitions.

Pros

It is a great opportunity to work with intelligent people in the financial planning arena. Payouts are extremely high when compared to the rest of the industry. this is assuming you are able to generate business. Lincoln does a good job of training as there are a number of ways to stay current on technical concepts and products. The firm also promotes an open architecture so you have access to all products

Cons

You need two to three years to get setup at the least. If you do not have a good network of people or are not good at marketing can be extremely challenging

Advice to Senior Management

There are some very knowledgeable people in leadership who do a good job of communicating to employees.