Morgan Stanley's global wealth management group posted its strongest recruiting week ever, adding 53 financial advisors from its peers, according to Dow Jones, citing a company spokesperson.

Eighteen of the brokers had about $13 million in combined production and managed nearly $1.3 billion in assets at their prior firms. Production and asset figures for the other 35 brokers weren't available, the newswire said.

WealthBriefing was not immediately able to confirm or elaborate details of the report.

Over the past three weeks, the firm has recruited 105 advisors with $80 million in combined production and more than $8 billion in assets under management.

The large group of new hires underscores Morgan Stanley's ability to benefit from the recent turmoil in the brokerage industry and overcome concerns about its own falling stock price, independence, and transition to a bank holding company.

With industry changes ranging from Bank of America's deal to acquire Merrill Lynch, to Wells Fargo’s agreement to buy Wachovia, brokers are considering switching firms more than ever before in an effort to recover lost wealth. Many advisors' deferred compensation levels plunged with the financial crisis.

Merrill Lynch, in particular, could see many broker departures over their displeasure with Bank of America's retention package.

A spokeswoman for Merrill Lynch, said that of the brokers that were eligible to receive the package, 97 per cent accepted the deal. In addition, 99 per cent of those producing $1.7 million and above who were offered the deal agreed to stay with the combined firm.

Some of Morgan Stanley's recent hires include Charles Bird, his wife, Tracy Bird and John Rocco, who joined the firm's New York office, located on Sixth Avenue, from Merrill Lynch. The team had more than $2.6 million in production and managed $250 million in prior assets.

Other recruits from Merrill include Robert Iannazzo, William Sherlach and Sal Trombetta. The three brokers had more than $1.6 million in production and had $225 million in assets under management. They are now based in the firm's Fairfield, Connecticut office.

Morgan Stanley also hired Merrill brokers, Glen Pomeroy, his brother Keith Pomeroy and Michael Judd to work in its Westborough, Massachusetts office. The team had more than $1.4 million in production and $200 million in prior assets.

In addition, Morgan Stanley recruited Julia Karasik and Howard Senescu from Citigroup's Smith Barney brokerage.