Keith Hiscock, CEO of Harman and Co, explains why retail investors matter to small and mid-size quoted companies.
The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey, ‘Ownership of UK quoted shares: 2016’, shows that retail investors are more important than most company managements realise or most capital markets professionals admit. When it is also appreciated that the data shows that retail investors set the share price for most quoted companies, most days, it becomes clear that engaging with such an audience enhances a company’s standing, whilst ignoring them courts disaster.
The data indicates that:
- Individuals form the largest component of share registers by value after the Rest of the World for every size of company from AIM to FTSE 100;
- Of all investors, individuals have the highest propensity to hold non-FTSE 100 shares;
- Recent years have seen a reversal in the long post-war decline of the retail investor; and
- 82% of AIM companies have an average trade size of less that £10,000.
You can read Keith's article here.
For more information, please contact Keith Hiscock, CEO of Hardman and Co.
