Though the value of institutional investments in AIM has fallen from £39 billion last year to £24.1 billion this year, those investments now represent a 50.2 per cent share of the market, compared to 50.0 per last year and 46.4 per cent in 2007, according to the report from small-cap specialist Growth Company Investor.
BlackRock Group remains the biggest investor in AIM thanks to the 2006 merger between fund management giants BlackRock and Merril Lynch Investment Managers. The firm has stakes in 107 AIM-quoted companies, worth £772 million.
Invesco follows with 69 investments worth £675 million, while Prudential Group has interests in 39 AIM companies valued at £432 million.
Following Lloyds Banking Group’s takeover of HBOS earlier this year, the organisation has become the fourth biggest investor in AIM, with 82 investments worth £427 million.
The share of AIM held by institutions peaked at 56.7 per cent in 2006, at which point the junior market’s total value was £75.6 billion, compared to £48.1 billion today.
