There's no doubt that small-cap companies can offer some eye-watering returns to early investors, but in the small-cap space the risks are elevated as companies often have a limited track record and investors are reliant on the accuracy of management teams' forecasts.
Get it right and you can ride huge winners like Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) or Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) to 1,000% plus returns in periods of around 5 years.
However, get it wrong and you can lose nearly all your money as shown by the likes of iSentia Group Ltd (ASX: ISD), Admedus Ltd (ASX: AHZ) or Yojee Ltd (ASX: YOJ).
Another little-known small-cap share that's nearly quadrupled from $2.24 to $8.73 over just the past 5 years is Citadel Group Ltd (ASX: CGL).
Citadel is a provider of software-as-a-service solutions to public and private sector enterprises that grew basic earnings per share and net profit 35% and 26% over FY 2018.
Its management team also boasted of having a "record sales pipeline" over FY 2019, while being "well placed" to grow earnings in "FY19 and beyond".
As a provider of software and cloud services Citadel is operating in a fashionable area for growth-oriented investors and has a market value around $428 million based on a share price of $8.73. In other words its small size means it could double or triple again if the business's growth plans work out well.
However, it's vulnerable to competition that could see performance deteriorate, while it also trades on around 22x FY 2018's profits. In other words its valuation leaves little room for error if it cannot deliver more revenue and profit growth over FY 2019.
