RE: Aim market25 Feb 2021 17:28
That's not entirely true. The AIM initially started with just 10 companies with a combined market capitalisation of £82 million. It has now expanded to more than 860 companies collectively worth £104 billion by the end of 2019. More than 3,600 businesses have raised money on Aim, including hundreds of international companies as well as domestic enterprises, with a liquid secondary market in their shares.
Along the way, many investors have reaped rewarding returns – not least thanks to the generous tax treatment afforded to Aim shares by the UK government. The Aim All- Share index was up 28% over five years to end February, before the Covid-19 pandemic sent financial markets into a spin.
The Aim 100 indexing the market’s largest companies, delivered 45% over that period. By contrast, the FTSE All-Share Index returned just 9%. Aim has changed almost beyond recognition. In its early days, there were very few outstanding high-quality businesses, now there is a significant many.