The alternative stock market for dynamic, young, thrusting companies that want to get into the big league, that is, the main stock market, but do not as yet have the track record to make the leap to the big time. The rules and regulations for getting listed onto the main Stock Exchange are very rigorous and strict, so the AIM suits these smaller, young companies. It is important that budding entrepreneurs should have stock market access to raise money for their often fast-growing and cash-guzzling companies. However, from your point of view, as a potential investor, you should be aware that there is quite a lot more risk attached to buying shares in these companies, compared with solid, safe, seemingly boring blue chips. It can be a rollercoaster ride. If things go well, AIM shares will shoot up dramatically. If things aren’t going so well, analysts and investors tend to be ruthless and dump them wholesale. Information flow is also not as good as that for companies with shares listed on the main stock market, so the private investor is often the last to know what’s going on. Since the liquidity (the ease with which you can buy or sell) in many AIM shares is often not great in the first place, when things go wrong there is often a double whammy effect. A whole bunch of people try to dump difficult-to-sell shares all at once, and you find yourself saddled with them.