Hi Matt, about your 10 stocks:
Did you plan on AIMing each one separately or lump the 10 together and have just 1 AIM program for them?.
If you decide for just 1 AIM program, then make sure that the stocks are all in the same business-cycle. If you have stocks that are in different business cycles, the volatility will cancel each other out. (AIM cannot work then).
If you want 10 different AIM programs, then make sure that you pick survivors. I.e. companies without debt, a positive cash flow and a possible good future.
Even in the case of 10 different AIM programs I would advice against it. Because you would still need to evaluate every single one of them to see if they still remain valid candidates. If you AIM single stocks, you will need/want to follow the stock to see if they don't develop into "Enrons". And on occasion you will need to change ships. Though on single stocks AIM is preferable to B&H, it remains a high risk undertaking.
Even if you create your own "fund" of 10 stocks in a single AIM program, you probably still want/need to follow the individual stocks. And believe me, that is a LOT of work.
The ETF's might be a better approach, if the funds are specialized in a certain sector. (Each ETF in its own AIM program)
