Morgan Stanley in big recruitment drive

NEW YORK: Morgan Stanley's brokerage unit is getting more aggressive in trying to lure financial advisors as the wider retail brokerage job market heats up.

Morgan Stanley acquired most of Citigroup Inc's Smith Barney in the spring, a deal that had been touted as boosting the company's number of financial advisors to more than 20,000.

In June, the company lowered its forecast for how many financial advisors would staff the joint venture to 18,500. That number dropped to 18,160 by the time Morgan Stanley Smith Barney reported results in October.