There has been talk (and verification) of expansion in both wirehouses and regionals all month long.
Just this week BofA Merrill announced it planned to continue to hire and build its core global wealth management business. (They hired an additional 1,697 new financial advisors in 2011.)
Then Edward Jones announced they were rolling out a new recruitment force to hire 700 + financial advisors this year, targeting expansion throughout the US and Canada, including hubs in Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Phoenix, St Louis, Kansas City, and Denver.
Wells Fargo has added three new financial advisor teams who previously oversaw $728 million in client assets in their Port Richey FL, Scottsdale AZ, and San Jose CA branches.
UBS has also shown some hiring activity, putting a high premium on some disgruntled Merrill advisors.