UPDATE 2-Raymond James seeks to be "serial" acquirer

* Raymond James has created corporate development unit

* Investment bank will hunt for niche deals

* Brokerage will not pay out-sized packages to recruits (Adds detail on M&A strategy, adviser attrition, story link and byline; updates share price)

By Joe Rauch and Joseph A. Giannone

CHARLOTTE, N.C./NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - Investment bank and brokerage Raymond James Financial Inc (RJF.N) is considering a string of small deals to boost revenue without spoiling its small-firm culture.

The St. Petersburg, Florida-based company created a corporate development unit to review small deals that will bolster Raymond James' brokerage, trading and investment banking activities, Chief Executive Paul Reilly said at the firm's closed-door annual investor day on Wednesday.

"Hopefully, you'll see us as a serial niche acquirer," Reilly said in his presentation, first made available to the public on Thursday through its website.

The regional investment bank is one of the few that has remained independent during a consolidation craze among boutique investment banks and brokerages in recent years. It also survived the financial crisis largely unscathed.

The company on April 1 completed a deal that fits Reilly's definition of "bite-size acquisitions," adding Chicago brokerage and investment bank Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett.

The purchase added 5,000 clients and $1.7 billion in assets under management to Raymond James. Howe Barnes' CEO joined the company as a senior executive in its investment bank. [ID:nN29277536]

Though known as a "regional" brokerage, Raymond James has more than 5,000 financial advisers across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, who help clients manage $275 billion in assets as of March 31.

Raymond James will remain, however, more reserved when it comes to hiring individual brokers. Reilly and Chief Operating Officer Chet Helck, in a later presentation, said Raymond James will not pay out-sized recruiting packages to lure brokers away from competitors.

"If it's not economic for us, we just won't compete," Reilly said. "It makes more sense to wait until the markets become more rational."

Such a stance helps the firm avoid spoiling Raymond James' culture and avoid costly deals that only serve to drag down performance. On the other hand, the ranks of wealth advisers in Raymond James' private client group shrank 1 percent to 5,066 advisers during the first three months of 2011.

The company lost 59 advisers from the private client group's U.S. division, year-over-year.

"We're going to sit back, be selective and stay true to our game," Helck said. He also reaffirmed the company still expects to meet its long-term goal of growing revenue by 5 percent a year, on average, through recruiting.

"We have brand strength. We don't have to pay top dollar," said Helck.

Raymond James shares ended up 1.4 percent at $35.26 by the close of trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Joe Rauch and Joseph Giannone; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)