The private client brokerage of JP Morgan’s Bear Stearns business has recruited more than 70 financial advisors this year – the greatest amount in its history – and plans to open up to three new offices next year, the firm said, according to Dow Jones.

The growth comes as JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon recently said at a securities industry conference that the bank would like to more than double the size of the brokerage force to 1,000 advisors, with a specific goal to recruit top-tier talent, the news service said.

The JP Morgan unit has some high-net-worth clients, but its average client account is $5 million. Bear Stearns manages $55 billion in assets under management, up from $45 billion a year ago. Revenue has also climbed 4 per cent from the year-earlier period, the report said.

Bear Stearns was acquired by the blue-blooded US bank last year after the former firm hit financial trouble in the financial crisis, hit by big losses at a number of hedge funds.

In an interview with the news service, Bear Stearns chief executive Barry Sommers said the business has "completed the transition process [after it was acquired] and is poised for growth."

After beginning 2009 with 324 advisers, Bear Stearns now has 380, with most of the new recruits joining from major competitors known as wirehouses. Many were also high-producers, who had an average of $1.1 million in annual production and managed $160 million in client assets.

Bear Stearns has seven major offices in cities including New York, Boston, and Chicago, as well as seven smaller satellite offices. The brokerage's expansion plans include setting up new locations in the Houston market, in the mid-Atlantic region, and in Florida, Mr Sommers said.