Aquis Stock Exchange (AQX ) unveiled that it has undertaken a recent survey in conjunction with campaigning organisation ShareSoc in which it found that 55% of individual investors polled feel they ‘don't have, or aren't sure they have, good access to growth companies.’ 

AQSE is the 7th largest stock exchange group by value traded in Europe, trading over 1,800 equity securities on 14 markets on its low latency and high-performance trading platforms. 

As a home to growth companies, AQSE says it is dedicated to providing better access to SME stocks for individual investors. Despite these core objectives, the survey conducted showed that most individual investors are not taking up the trading opportunities available on AQSE. 

The survey was completed by over 450 of ShareSoc's 7,000 members in January 2021. Half of the respondents have a significant proportion (>20%) of their portfolios in small caps while two thirds with significant small cap portfolios define themselves as ‘experienced investors.’ 

The research survey found that individual investors feel there are barriers to their ability to buy growth stocks. Included in its key findings was that around 50% of respondents commented that they do not believe that they have enough access to IPOs and fundraises. 

In addition, individual investors were said to be ‘frustrated’ about the privileged access afforded to institutional investors, often at discounted prices while over 80% of respondents feel individual investors should be able to trade shares in any public company they choose. 

Shares in Aquis Stock Exchange have increased by over 23% since the start of the year, trading consistently at 580p over the past two weeks. The stock ticked up 1.28% higher this morning to 587.45p following the release of its key findings from the collaborative survey. 

In response to these findings, Aquis Stock Exchange has taken to highlight opportunities for the individual investor and its platform. On the Apex segment of its growth market, it said individuals are able to immediately participate in IPOs as a growth prospectus is required. 

It also highlighted that short selling is prohibited (aside from Market Makers) while spreads are all within 5% - the result of its previously announced innovative Market Maker scheme. 

AQSE said brokers that currently offer direct electronic trading in AQSE include Barclays Smart Invest, Jarvis and The Share Centre but that talks are currently taking place to extend coverage with AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor and IG Capital. 

“Many UK investors are frustrated by the restricted access they have to small cap growth companies; they find it difficult to obtain reliable, quality information to assist their decisions and are often excluded from IPOs and fundraises,” said Mike Dennis, Director of ShareSoc. 

He added, “It is pleasing, therefore, to hear that mainstream brokers are working towards making it possible for individual investors to access shares in many small cap growth companies. This will benefit individual inv

ShareSoc added that it believes that regulatory and access issues for individual investors also have consequences for the issuing companies and for the UK economy as a whole. It said liquidity, spreads, costs and ratings on UK exchanges compare unfavourably with their US equivalents, which in turn discourages companies from seeking listings in the UK market. 

It acknowledged that the lack of individual investor access to IPOs and fundraises starves companies of essential growth capital at reasonable cost. It said, ‘These problems could be significantly ameliorated by making it easier and simpler for individual investors to access IPOs and fundraises and to trade shares in all public companies and on all exchanges.’ 

Addressing the retail community, Alasdair Haynes, CEO of AQSE, said, “At AQSE, we aim to provide greater and better access to individual investors. Unfortunately, many investors are yet to benefit from AQSE's offering and our provisions for individual investors, including the access to companies from the IPO stage on the Apex segment of our growth market.” 

He added, “By providing more information about the benefits of AQSE I hope that more individual investors will choose to make the most of what it has to offer as we see more brokers giving them equal access through direct electronic trading." 

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