NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Jefferies Financial Group has recruited senior bankers from rivals including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Barclays PLC to strengthen its investment banking unit, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Matthias Kristol will join Jefferies as global head of asset and wealth management investment banking, while Aaron Bruker will join the bank as head of sidecars and third-party capital. Both are based in New York, according to the memo, the contents of which were confirmed by a Jefferies spokesperson.

Kristol previously worked at JP Morgan, where he led the bank's asset management, financial technology, and wealth management teams. Bruker was head of private capital for the financial institutions group (FIG) at Barclays.

Jefferies has made a spate of senior hires across its FIG team in 2021, aiming to take advantage of record-breaking levels of mergers and acquisitions https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/pandemic-recovery-fuels-deal-craze-third-quarter-ma-breaks-all-records-2021-09-30 by companies positioning themselves for the post-pandemic world.

The hires included Alejandro Przygoda, who was named global head of FIG, and Armando Rubio-Alvarez, who was appointed head of the FIG franchise for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Both joined Jefferies after holding senior roles at Credit Suisse Group.

Since the summer, Jefferies has doubled headcount at its FIG franchise to more than 70 bankers globally, according to Tuesday's memo.

Also joining Jefferies are Andres Espinos as a vice president based in Madrid, and Kush Patel as an associate in New York, the memo added. Espinos' most recent role was at Banco de Sabadell, according to his LinkedIn profile. (Reporting by David French in New York Editing by Karishma Singh)