Like many UK investors, my portfolio’s loaded with shares from the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 index. The trouble is that I only have a limited amount of cash to spend each month, so I’m forced to leave some great investing opportunities on the table.
Take the following couple of shares: Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) and AJ Bell (LSE:AJB). I’m targeting at least one of these mid-cap shares for my portfolio when I next have money to invest.
Want to know why? Read on.
Striking gold
Gold stock Endeavour’s share price has leapt 134% in 2025, driven by a buoyant metal price. I think it can keep going as bullion demand shows no signs of slowing — latest World Gold Council (WGC) data showed holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) rise for their sixth straight month in November.
The yellow metal was trading around $2,640 an ounce just a year ago. Now it’s at $4,200 and blasting back towards October’s high of $4,381, a record that’s likely to fall sooner rather than later.
Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have tipped prices of $5,000 by next year. This is a realistic target, in my view, given 2025’s price action. Enduring factors like interest rate cuts, poor economic growth, geopolitical uncertainty and US dollar weakness also support the case for more price gains.
I like the idea of buying gold stocks over physical metal or a gold-tracking ETF. This strategy exposes investors to mine production issues that can smack profitability. Gold producers also carry leverage, meaning their prices can fall more sharply if the metal drops.
But the leverage effect works both ways, and in bull markets this can ignite prices as we’ve seen recently. Endeavour’s share price gains have dwarfed gold’s 60% rise in 2025.
The FTSE 250 miner’s earnings are tipped to soar this year and next, helped by steps to ramp up gold production. This pushes its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.5 times for 2025 to a bargain-basement 7.9 for 2026.
Another top stock
AJ Bell doesn’t offer the same sort of attractive value on paper. Though annual earnings are tipped to grow, the P/E multiple remains elevated on paper at 17.9 times.
A valuation like this can invite price weakness when news flow is anything but exceptional. This is the position the financial services provider found itself on Thursday (4 December). Despite releasing record, forecast-beating results for last year, and announcing a £50m share buyback, AJ Bell dropped as it said higher investment would hinder margins this year.
I personally believe this pullback represents an attractive dip-buying opportunity. The company’s shares remain 10% higher than they were at the start of the year. I expect them to continue rising, as an ageing UK population and the growing importance of financial planning drive its revenues up.
AJ Bell’s customer numbers leapt 19% last financial year, to 644,000. The business could also gain from upcoming Cash ISA changes, as investors look elsewhere for tax-efficient products.
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Though it faces competitive pressures, I’m optimistic the FTSE 250 company has what it takes to capitalise on this booming market, making it top stock to consider.
