Morgan Stanley expects its Indian wealth management arm to serve 1,000 clients in 3 to 4 years, a tripling of its client base that will see the division increase its staff numbers by 50 per cent, Reuters reports.

In an interview with the news service, executive directors Himanshu Bhagat and Amitava Neogi said the Indian unit had gained some 300 clients since its launch last September, aided by stock market gains and rising optimism on world economic recovery.

Mr Bhagat is reported to have told the news service that the firm is targeting “around 1,000 client families over the next 3-4 years” and as a result is “continuously hiring”.

Morgan Stanley’s Indian private banking arm currently employs 100 people – 36 of which are relationship managers – and plans to recruit an additional 50 people in the next three years, the report said.

Morgan Stanley were unavailable to comment on the report at the time of publication.

Morgan Stanley is far from alone in having aggressive expansion plans for the Indian wealth management market. Not only does India have a promising economic outlook, but it also boasts burgeoning numbers of high net worth individuals who are currently thought to be under-served with wealth management services.

Another firm recently making headlines with large-scale Indian expansion plans is Religare Macquarie Private Wealth, the wealth management joint venture between India’s Religare Wealth Management Services and Australian bank Macquarie.

The firm recently said it plans to hire some 800 investment advisors and CRMs in the next three to four years as it expands. The equal joint venture, which is based in Delhi, currently has a headcount of 160 and is to make 100 hires by the end of 2009.

In addition, Credit Suisse is planning to boost its 30-strong Indian equities unit with a number of hires in the coming months, according to media reports. The Swiss bank is also thought to be seeking regulatory approval to open a new branch in the country that would be instrumental to its wealth management strategy.

In this year’s World Wealth Report, Merrill Lynch/Cap Gemini said they expect North America and Asia-Pacific to lead the growth in HNW individuals’ financial wealth, and predicted that the Asia-Pacific region will actually overtake North America by 2013.