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You have just one day left to make your nominations for the 2013 AIM Cesspit awards, an annual celebration of everything this is worst about London’s junior market. So hurry, hurry, hurry. The point of these awards? Well there are a couple.
The first is that there are numerous awards where the “best” of AIM is celebrated. The market always wants to talk about its triumphs. The reality is that it tries not to discuss its failures and failings openly. It needs to. We all know that there are Nomads out there that will float any POS without, it appears, any regulatory sanction at all.
More importantly we all know that the vast majority of companies on AIM have delivered abject returns for investors. AIM constantly boasts about the amount of money it has raised for member companies. But so much of that money has gone to greedy directors who do not deliver, parasitic advisors or simply to money heaven as it is pissed away on duff projects. AIM needs to be reminded of that. If nothing else this is a chance for investors to vent some of their justifiable anger.
At an awards ceremony in late June, real trophies will be presented to those who have helped make AIM the Cesspit it is.
There are seven awards of which two are objective mathematical awards and the rest awards where the winners will be decided by the investing public. The Cesspit year runs from May 1st 2012 to May 1st 2013.
The awards are:
IPO of the year – an objective award for the IPO which moves most rapidly from IPO to suspended pending clarification.
The Darwin award – an objective award for the company that destroyed most market capitalisation in the 12 months prior to its shares being suspended pending clarification.
Entrepreneur of the year – investors vote on which AIM CEO has destroyed value most spectacularly in the past year.
PLC Pig of the year – investors can vote on which AIM CEO or Chairman was most grotesquely over-remunerated relative to performance. Hmmm…I wonder which Chairman whose first name begins with J I shall be nominating.
Cesspit lie of the year – investors vote on which RNS issued during the year by an AIM listed company was most misleading. Naturally the AIM regulation team appears to think that none have been misleading as there have been no public censures. But I am sure that you have sharper eyes than the regulators.
Cesspit deal of the year – investors vote on which merger or acquisition of the past year did the most to destroy value.
Cesspit entrepreneur of the year, the most coveted award, handed out to the man or woman whose over promotion of a stock, under-delivery and ability to destroy value has done most to contribute to making the Cesspit regarded as it is today.
To make your nominations for the five investor decided categories go HERE
We will close nominations at midnight tonight (Friday) and commence voting the following week ahead of an awards dinner on Monday 24th June to which all winners will be invited to attend or send a representative.
Tom Winnifrith is a journalist who enjoys writing about the Cesspit at the bottom of AIM. You can find more of his work at www.Shareprophets.com
