Special Report: Is it time to look at UK smaller companies again?

SPECIAL REPORT

A beleaguered sector in times of market volatility, but does the recent economic upturn present an opportunity for smaller companies to prove themselves? Charlotte Richards reports.

One of the biggest casualties of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession, the smaller companies sector has had a torrid few years. In times of market sell-offs, it is often these illiquid and more cyclically exposed stocks that are hit the hardest. Perhaps most fresh in investors’ minds is the market volatility of the second half of last year. As news filtered through as to the extent of the eurozone crisis last summer, investors responded by fleeing from the asset class, which sits at the more risky end of the spectrum. In August 2011 - the midst of the crisis - the UK Sma...