JPMorgan Chase (JPM) wants to become a retail powerhouse. To that end, it aims to add a whole load of top producers from other firms. CEO Jamie Dimon says he wants his brokerage force to number roughly 1,000, compared with 365 now. It will still be a minnow, however.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC) has nearly 15,000 brokers, but still trails Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's (MS) 18,000. JPMorgan had 365 brokers at the end of the third quarter, up from 323 a year earlier. Of course it wasn't in the retail brokerage business at all until it bought Bear Stearns last year.

One big hire recently: Dimon's dad. Ted Dimon will bring his five-person team from Bank of America to Bear Stearns Private Client Services, reports Bloomberg. Jamie himself worked as a broker once--the third generation in his family to do so. Ted will certainly enjoy a distinctive cachet at the firm. No one is likely to give him grief. 

For more:
- here's the Bloomberg article

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