AIM-listed companies are targeting 12-month revenue growth rates double those of their FTSE counterparts, according to a PwC study.
Old Mutual Asset Managers' Stephen Message said UK dividends will rise 10% this year, driven by FTSE 250 companies increasing payouts for shareholders.
The FTSE 250 could rise a further 15% in 2011 despite surging more than 25% in 2010, said Old Mutual Asset Managers mid-cap specialist Richard Watts.
The renaissance in UK manufacturing is a welcome rebalancing after two decades of import reliance, says Gervais Williams, managing director of MAM Funds.
As emerging market indices take a pause in their sustained rise, the case for developed market equities is re-emerging.
AXA Investment Managers is launching a UK mid-cap fund in early March, subject to FSA approval.
UK dividends shrank by £2bn last year as BP scrapped its payout in the wake of the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill.