AIM Strategy

Our expert and dynamic team work on your behalf to conduct research on suitable stocks for inclusion in the AIM strategy with the following attributes:

• Quality companies operating in a market with long term structural drivers
• Credible management team
• Strong financials
• Attractive valuation
• Opportunity for M&A (mergers and acquisitions).
• Sufficient liquidity, to be relatively easily traded
• Qualify for business relief

Our research team performs a screen on AIM listed stocks with a market cap of at least £200m and a free float of at least 50% (free float represents the portion of shares a company that are readily transferable on the stock exchange). This list is then reduced to stocks that qualify for Business Relief (formerly Business Property Relief). These criteria reduce the list of stocks to c.100. From this potential buy list, the team then conduct in depth research on the characteristics of individual stocks sought for the portfolio.

Environment, Social and Governance considerations are fully integrated into our research process, which helps us identify and understand potential risks and opportunities. When we meet management teams, we actively discuss ESG issues. Within Quilter Cheviot, we have a Responsible Investment team, we work with them to engage with management to ensure they work towards positive change.

• Meet management before we invest
• Avoid loss making businesses
• Avoid “blue sky” companies
• Minimum market cap threshold is £250m
• Will not own more than 3% of a company’s free float

Companies listed on the AIM can benefit from Business Relief (previously Business Property Relief). Business Relief was introduced with the aim of sheltering certain business assets from IHT. If the investee company’s activities qualify for relief and the shares are held for at least two years, the value of the shares benefit from 100% IHT relief for clients passing before the 6th April 2026, and 50% IHT relief for those passing after this date (subject to potential restrictions on the value of any excepted assets held by the company).

The investment selections within the Quilter Cheviot AIM Strategy are analysed on an ongoing basis and are subject to an independent review by tax experts engaged by Quilter Cheviot. This independent tax review examines the accounts of each company that has been selected by Quilter Cheviot for inclusion within our AIM Strategy portfolio and provides a summary of the extent of the availability of Business Relief.

Initial charge: 1% 

This is based on the initial value of the funds invested into the strategy.

Annual Management Charge: 1.25% 

This charge is applied quarterly in arrears

No dealing fees

Quilter Cheviot does not charge any dealing fees within the AIM Strategy. This allows for our charging to be more predictable and transparent to clients.

Our annual management charge is based on the value of your portfolio at each month end, averaged over the charging period. This charge is applied quarterly in arrears.

We use ISS as our proxy voting service provider and have set a benchmark policy which ISS bases its recommendations on. We do not always follow ISS’ recommendations, and we believe that this is the right approach as it is important that we do not adopt a mechanistic approach to engagement and voting. Voting decisions are influenced by engagement and on occasion because of this interaction we may decide to deviate from ISS’ policy recommendation. The extent of the engagement is dependent on the materiality of our holding.

This active ownership document from ISS, outlines our voting record for AIM stocks over the year to 30 September 2024.

You can find more on our approach to active ownership on this Stewardship page.