UPDATE 1-Raymond James hires 10 Wall St advisers in 4 mths

* Firm adds 10 advisers managing $1 bln client assets

* Recruits from Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo

* Helck says recruiting pace has slowed from 2009 peak

By Joe Rauch

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb 12 (Reuters) - Raymond James Financial Inc (RJF.N) said on Friday it has hired 10 advisers who oversaw more than $1 billion of client assets, mostly at the largest U.S. brokerages, during the past four months.

The St. Petersburg, Florida-based company, like other regional and independent brokerages, bolstered its own network of advisers as unprecedented numbers fled the big wirehouse firms that dominate the industry but which were shaken by the 2008 financial crisis.

Last year, the Raymond James U.S. adviser force grew by 4 percent to 4,755, and client assets increased by more than a third to $232 billion.

Five of the advisers left Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, a Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Citigroup (C.N) joint venture. Two of them, Ron Richardson and Dale Thurman, managed $86 million in assets and will join Raymond James, while three others founded their own firms that will join a Raymond James division that provides trading and other support to independent firms.

Two brokers from Bank of America's (BAC.N) Merrill Lynch division, Alex Opoulos and Nick Holmes, will join Raymond James' Charleston, South Carolina, office. They managed more than $200 million in assets and generated $1.1 million in revenue.

Raymond James also lured brothers Tom and Steve Biermann from a Wells Fargo Advisors (WFC.N) branch in St. Louis, where they had annual revenue of $770,000 and managed more than $100 million in assets.

Jodi Vleck of Essex National Securities in San Diego, who managed more than $165 million in assets and generated more than $1 million of annual revenue, also joined Raymond James as a contracted independent adviser.

"Recruiting for both traditional employees and independent contractors has certainly slowed from the record levels of early 2009," said Chet Helck, Raymond James' chief operating officer and head of the firm's private client business.

That indicates the torrent of "breakaway brokers" jumping to smaller rivals may struggle to meet last year's pace.

Last year's movement was driven by upheaval at each of the major Wall Street firms, like Bank of America's purchase of Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley merging its brokerage unit with Citigroup's Smith Barney.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch; Editing by Richard Chang)