If you think the idea of possessing an ISA worth over seven figures seems fanciful, think again. So long as you’re willing to embrace the inevitable uncertainty that comes with investing in equities, there are many ways of growing a sizeable nest egg.
Arguably one of the quickest involves avoiding larger, plodding companies and concentrating your efforts on locating the best opportunities in the small-cap universe. As such, here are two stocks that could prove hugely rewarding for investors with a high tolerance for capital risk.
Copper play
As a holder, I’ve been delighted by the recent share price performance of copper exploration business Asiamet Resources (LSE: ARS). Despite falling back over the last week, the stock has still more than doubled in price since October following a number of very encouraging developments.
First, there’s been the discovery and ongoing exploration of the zinc-rich polymetallic BKZ zone in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Results from drilling have “exceeded all expectations” and a maiden resource is now expected in May.
Elsewhere, Asiamet finally received the long-awaited production licence for its high-quality Beutong project, allowing it to commence drilling and metallurgical test work on this massive copper-gold-silver deposit.
Another encouraging update was news that both Executive Chairman Tony Manini and CEO Peter Bird had participated in the £7.2m placing recently undertaken by the company, with the former investing around £300,000 of his own money. This cash will allow Asiamet to increase its ownership of the aforementioned Beutong to 80% (from 40%), undertake further exploration and provide working capital for finalising the feasibility study relating to the BKM copper project (located 800m south of BKZ).
While there will undoubtedly be some share price volatility ahead, I remain convinced that the long-term prospects are very positive. Indeed, with limited new supply and dwindling inventories of the red metal, I’m inclined to agree with broker Liberum Capital’s recent remark that Asiamet is “the best-kept secret in copper“.
So long as investors are content to hold for years rather than months, I suspect an eventual bid from a deep-pocketed mining giant will far exceed the 20p target price it currently has on the stock.
Looking cheap
Another company that could help you on your way to the magic million is online marketing firm XL Media (LSE: XLM).
This month’s final results from the company were certainly impressive. Revenues rose by 33% to a record $137.6m in 2017 with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increasing by 36% to $47.1m.
In line with its strategy to expand both geographically and by sector, XL acquired a number of businesses over the year, including cybersecurity comparison website Securethoughts and credit card comparison site GreedyRates.
This acquisition spree has continued into 2018 with the company also purchasing various gambling-related websites from Good Game Ltd and three US-based personal finance websites.
Having fallen over 25% from the share price highs achieved in December, XL Media’s stock now changes hands for 15 times earnings. Given the high ROCE and operating margins it has managed to achieve over the years, this appears to be a very reasonable valuation.
Although questions remain over the company’s competitive edge and whether there was really any need for a recent $43.6m equity raise given its already solid net cash position, I certainly wouldn’t blame growth-focused investors for taking a closer look at the mid-cap.
