UK stockbrokers Collins Stewart has appointed John Cotter its group finance director, effective as of 23 June. Mr Cotter takes over the role from David Lindsay, who resigned last November after the wealth manager said revenues in the July-October period fell 10 per cent from the same period in 2007.

Mr Lindsay has remained in the role while Collins Stewart secured a successor. Mr Cotter moves from Royal Bank of Scotland where he held a number of senior roles since joining during its 2007 ABN Amro takeover, including an 18 month stint on the global capital markets team.

Prior to that, he headed European financial, treasury and regulatory control at Morgan Stanley, moving between the bank’s offices throughout the continent. His early career was spent as a chartered accountant at Coopers&Lybrand, which merged with Price Waterhouse in 1998.

In a recent interim management statement, Collins Stewart said the downturn has been increasingly hard on its financial results in 2009. However, its wealth management figures have remained resilient. Revenues for the first four months were £57 million (about $87 million), broadly similar to those recorded in the same period of 2008.