ABN AMRO has appointed Jock McKinlay, formerly senior resources analyst at Merrill Lynch, as its head of equities research.

McKinlay was senior diversified resources analyst at Merrill Lynch, and prior to that, was head of resources research at McIntosh Securities. He has more than 18 years industry experience.

ABN AMRO head of equities Alastair Barr says that the appointment of McKinlay is in line with ABN's intended increased penetration in the local equities market, with the goal of being in the top five of both research and trading by the end of this year.

"Jock's appointment will ensure that the integration of our local research into our regional and global sector teams will deliver clients tailor-made investment advice specific to their business requirements," Barr says.