AIM Market

[AbbeyNormal]

At the beginning of 2025 I used (the now defunct) morning star portfolio manager to see what returns I could theoretically make in 2025 if I invested on the 1st of January and Cashed out on the 31st. (Assuming that I invested 1000 in each and didn't sell any with a stop loss.

I chose 12 stocks based on analysts recommendations on morning star and fever tree because I like their mixers and I have just checked the results and I managed a theoretical return of 14% largely done to Pan African Resources increasing by 262%.

|| PortfolioName || Ticker || Name || Increase/Decrease || Loss / Loss || Final Balance
|| AIM Listing || HSP || Hargreaves Services PLC || 12.4% || 124 || 1124 ||
|| AIM Listing || PAF || Pan African Resources PLC || 262.17% || 2621.7 || 3621.7 ||
|| AIM Listing || CHRT || Cohort PLC || -17.94% || -179.4 || 820.6 ||
|| AIM Listing || BPM || B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC || -7.99% || -79.9 || 920.1 ||
|| AIM Listing || EQLS || Equals Group PLC || 1% || 10 || 1010 ||
|| AIM Listing || FEVR || Fevertree Drinks PLC || 19.4% || 194 || 1194 ||
|| AIM Listing || YU. || Yu Group PLC || -12.9% || -129 || 871 ||
|| AIM Listing || CER || Cerillion || -31.12% || -311.2 || 688.8 ||
|| AIM Listing || W7L || Warpaint London PLC || -62% || -620 || 380 ||
|| AIM Listing || BKS. || Beeks Financial Cloud Group PLC || -15.14% || -151.4 || 848.6 ||
|| AIM Listing || AQX || Aquis Exchange PLC || 16% || 160 || 1160 ||
|| AIM Listing || AMRQ || Amaroq Minerals Ltd || 8.4% || 84 || 1084 ||

Does anyone else dabble in the AIM market?

[Jon39]

AbbeyNormal said:

At the beginning of 2025 I used (the now defunct) morning star portfolio manager to see what returns I could theoretically make in 2025 if I invested on the 1st of January and Cashed out on the 31st December (Assuming that I invested 1000 in each and didn't sell any with a stop loss.

I chose 12 stocks based on analysts recommendations on morning star and fever tree because I like their mixers and I have just checked the results and I managed a theoretical return of 14% largely done to Pan African Resources increasing by 262%.

An interesting practice exercise, but the poor result might suggest you have made the same mistake that I made over 30 years ago.
It seemed logical to me, that a young small business can grow faster than an established older business.
I soon realised that there is far more to it than that.

The +14% return compares this year, with the FTSE All-Share Total Return Index at +24.02%.

Epecially when the economy becomes tricky, you will sleep better if holding huge FTSE 100 international businesses. The right ones have the 'muscle' to survive and even prosper during difficult times. That is one big difference.

[Simpo Two]

I see you added the word 'December' there Jon.

As typed he had very good results!

[Luke.]

Here's the thread for you...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

I see you added the word 'December' there Jon.

As typed he had very good results!

Yes, would have been excellent for result for 31 days !

To OP

One interesting analysis of your result:-
6 companies we're up and 6 were down.
50%.

In 2025 my mostly huge businesses portfolio result was, 20 up and 5 down.
80%.

Only one twelfth of your selection appears to be a good business, but with 50% of the holdings pulling down your final result, the greater risk of AIM becomes evident.

[g4ry13]

AbbeyNormal said:

Does anyone else dabble in the AIM market?

I used to. I have since learned my lesson.

[NowWatchThisDrive]

Many people will urge you to steer clear of AIM entirely, which probably won't do you any harm but is perhaps a tad rigid. It's fair to say the dispersion in quality across AIM is far greater than among most blue chip companies, and there's a ton of absolute dross that is best avoided. Helpfully, most of that dross can be identified as such with barely a minute's scrutiny; discerning the good stuff from what's left is the hard part and the difference between reaping the outperformance that smaller companies can offer, and ending up another laggard. A few things to bear in mind if you want to try and do it properly:

- The lighter regulation and corporate governance expectations, together with relative scarcity of institutional research, mean you have to know the companies a hell of a lot better yourself rather than expecting "the market" to have done your DD, figured out and priced everything in already. But this is precisely (IMO) why more genuine inefficiencies and opportunities exist in the space, and what makes it more interesting and intellectually challenging.
- Don't go too far down the rabbit hole with forums/bulletin boards (e.g. London South East, ADVFN, to some extent the gamble thread on here). By all means keep an eye on what people are saying but take it all with a lot of salt. Most people just want get-rich-quick lottery tickets so the crappest stuff attracts the most commentary, and a lot of the most vocal people are at best well-meaning idiots, at worst rampers or inveterate gamblers.
- The market structure and lack of liquidity can make building and exiting positions (particularly in size) tricky. Ultimately though this is another aspect that can be (and for me, frequently has been) a source of edge over other market participants.

FWIW I've been managing my own capital full-time for the last 7 years (and alongside work for ~20 years before that) investing predominantly in UK small & midcaps. Of my 13 current holdings 8 are on AIM (the other 5 being LSE main market), with a few dozen more among past holdings, and ultimately hundreds more looked at and passed up. If you're interested, the only one from your list that I've owned is FEVR several years ago (eventually selling on valuation grounds) but I know and follow the others bar HSP, PAF and AMRQ (since I categorically avoid oil, gas and mining names among a few other sectors).