Minneapolis, MN-based Ameriprise Financial has boosted its advisor force in Florida with the addition of veteran Morgan Stanley Wealth Management advisor Chris Barley.

Barley has worked at Morgan Stanley since 1982 and was latterly a senior vice president; he managed $170 million in client assets and generated approximately $1 million in annual revenue.

Barley has joined Ameriprise’s traditional employee division, which has some 2,300 advisors across the US. Ameriprise also has an independent division made up of about 7,500 advisors who run their own practices and function as business owners, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, in a separate move the New York-listed firm hired branch manager Mark Feiler - also from Morgan Stanley - in the Detroit region.

In its fourth quarter earnings release for 2012, Ameriprise said pretax operating earnings within its advice and wealth management unit increased 43 per cent year-on-year to $119 million. This reflected strong revenue growth, continued expense management and ongoing investments in the business, it said. Operating net revenues increased 11 per cent to $1 billion.

For the group, fourth quarter 2012 operating net revenues increased 6 per cent from the previous year to $2.6 billion, driven by strong advisor client net inflows, increased client activity and market appreciation.