Despite having generated more than three times the return of the FTSE All-Share index over the past 10 years (304% versus 100% respectively), North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust (NAS) remains under the radar of most investors.Those already owning the shares are rarely willing sellers, says manager Christopher Mills. 'A lot of our shareholders have been with us forever. We started...

UK stocks opened the week on the back foot amid rising fears of slowing global growth and persistent inflationary pressures, leading to stagflation.Spiraling natural gas prices have led to a spike in electricity prices, causing smaller suppliers to struggle while some fertiliser plants have curtailed production after they became uneconomic to operate.Shares in Hong Kong were 3% lower as the...

UK stocks nudged higher in early trading on Tuesday as firmer commodity prices boosted mining and oil plays.By 8.40 am, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.2% at 7,121.2 points, while the FTSE 250 traded 0.4% to the good at 23,836.5 points.Major movers included mining titan BHP (BHP), which added 1.3% to £23.37, as well as oil giant BP (BP.), bid up 0.8% to 297.3p.Investor sentiment was boosted by a...

Keeping a regular watch on stocks with positive and negative share price momentum is a useful exercise as it tells us which areas of the market are hot or not.Investors who follow a pure momentum strategy like to buy stocks that keep a hitting a new 12-month high in the belief the share price is on a roll and can keep going up.Some investors avoid stocks hitting a new 12-month low, for fear...

The FTSE 100 closed 1.2% higher to 5,899 on Wednesday, regaining some of the heavy losses at the start of the week with investors seemingly relieved that the Government has chosen to implement the lightest lockdown restrictions possible.The export-sensitive index also gained some impetus from a weaker pound after the UK government unveiled long-lasting restrictions to tackle a second wave of...

The FTSE 100 surged 2% to 9,547 by early afternoon on Wednesday, regaining some of the heavy losses at the start of the week.The export-sensitive index gained some impetus from a weaker pound after the UK government unveiled long-lasting restrictions to tackle a second wave of coronavirus infections that threaten to derail a fragile recovery in economic activity.While helping investor...

The FTSE 100 traded 1% higher on Wednesday to 5,895 points, regaining some of the heavy losses at the start of the week. The export-sensitive index gained some impetus from a weaker pound after the UK government unveiled long-lasting restrictions to tackle a second wave of coronavirus infections that threaten to derail a fragile recovery in economic activity.The pound traded 0.3% weaker...

London's FTSE 100 weakens a further 73 points to 7,089 on Monday as the exchange of trade threats between Washington and Beijing stirs fears of a recession and German chipmaker Infineon's deal to buy US peer Cypress Semiconductors weighs on the technology sector.Construction and infrastructure firm Kier (KIE) crumbles 29.4% to 196.4p on a warning full year 2019 underlying operating profit will...

Wealth manager Frenkel Topping (FEN:AIM) can genuinely be described as niche. Its clientele includes those who have life changing injuries as well as elderly patients who are under the supervision of the court.The £34m company provides financial advice and asset management services to personal injury and clinical negligence victims.Its results for 2017 released in April showed adjusted...

When an investor who made an 88% return in 2015 buys shares in a listed company, it's worth sitting up and taking notice.Former Deutsche Bank (DBK:FRA) bond trader Jason Granite, whose investment vehicle FCFM delivered that return last year, has built a 16% stake in niche asset manager Frenkel Topping (FEN:AIM) and is now executive chairman.Michael Spencer, CEO of FTSE 350 financial services...

Niche asset manager Frenkel Topping (FEN:AIM) is setting an ambitious goal to double operating profit in two years as investments made in 2015 start to take effect.Costs incurred employing new advisers and acquisition-related expenses came to £700,000 in the year to 31 December 2015, sending pre-tax-profit 18% lower to £1.3 million.But revenue, gross profit and assets under management (AuM)...

London stocks run higher in early trade on Monday with mining behemoths centre stage among the risers, helped by a supporting cast of financials and property outfits. This as Europe began on a firmly positive note. Asian bourses are also rising this morning, while Wall Street gained on Friday.The FTSE 100 index rises 27 points, or about 0.45%, to 6,167 with midcaps and smaller companies adding...

In March 2007 before terms like 'credit crunch' had even entered the public lexicon Roel Campos from US regulation the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) described AIM as being 'like a casino' quoting an inflated 30% failure rate for new firms on the exchange.His comments have renewed relevance after the collapse of Globo (GBO:AIM) - the latest in a series of high profile mishaps on the...

Investors should back Frenkel Topping (FEN:AIM) chief executive officer (CEO) Richard Fraser to deliver on an ambitious £1 billion assets under management (AuM) target by the end of 2018.New offices are being set up in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds and London in a bid to expand the asset manager's footprint and grow AuM in its unusual niche.Managing £619 million of assets on behalf of...

Eagle Eye (EYE:AIM) 165pAIM is littered with strugglers chasing the mobile commerce dream but Eagle Eye is off to a decent start. SMS marketing and vouchers space has potential, but this is also high-risk territory.Earthport (EPO:AIM) 45.25pNew management is key to ending years of failure and cash calls. Making rapid progress to promised global platform for medium-sized cross-border payments...

Warrington-based water provider United Utilities (UU.) may be the North West's largest public company by some distance but the area has a fine tradition of innovation, not least because it presented the world with so many of the inventions which made the industrial revolution possible. An entrepreneurial spirit continues to run through the 73 listed firms in the region and we believe...