AIM Industry Report 2017/18

58 59 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS CONCLUSIONS TAKE AWAYS FROM THIS SECTION The proportion of advisers who never recommend AIM investments has actually increased in the past year – up from 26% to 32%. Given the performance of the market this year, it would seem that they have been missing a trick where some of their clients may be concerned. But perhaps this drop is reflective of AIM’s reputation for volatility (however well-deserved or otherwise) within the context of the uncertainties of Brexit and political upheaval. On the other hand, those with experience of AIM seem comfortable, even against that backdrop. The increasing IHT take continues to drive BR investments on AIM, so that it is now the top reason quoted by advisers for using AIM-based investments. And while the BR qualifying rules remain untouched by Government amendments designed to push up the risk profile of EIS and VCT eligible firms, we don’t see this changing as long as IHT is an ongoing concern for advisers’ clients. In the wake of the 2017 Autumn budget and its re-calibration of the rules to remove capital preservation plays and increase real risk capital in these VC schemes, it will be interesting to see if VC schemes are now seen as too risky, and whether the investment that would previously have flowed into them, will now move to AIM. And if so, what does that mean for EIS and VCT qualifying AIM-quoted companies? Providers of AIM-focused tax efficient products, most notably those in the BR field, acknowledge the existence of a common sub- set of companies that meet their investment objectives and there is some understanding among advisers that this may be the case. Advisers may therefore be attaching increasing importance to other items such as cost as useful differentiators. There is significant confidence in AIM as the growth index, despite the existence of new and developing direct competitors and those involved have seen AIM’s profile continue to rise, in spite of the dropping number of AIM quoted firms. But, that said, while advisers recognise the value of managers in this stock-picking market, they are unlikely to use one without a track record of several years, AIM experience.