Aaron Katsman
IsraelNewsletter.com

The amazing 80’s group ABC once asked a question about financial planning. They asked, “Tell me! tell me! How to be a millionaire?” According to fresh data, the answer may just be to come live in Israel. There used to be a not so funny joke that went like this. ” How do you become a millionaire living in Israel? You come to Israel with $2 million!” Hah Hah! I told you it’s not such a funny joke.

According to the 12th annual World Wealth Report issued by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, ” the number of the country’s millionaires grew by 13.6 percent in 2007, more than double the global millionaires’ growth rate of 6%, to a total of 8,200.”

That’s a pretty impressive growth rate, and the fact that it’s double the global growth rate speaks volumes as to the Israeli economic revival that has taken place over the last 5-6 years. The opportunities to  create wealth in Israel abound, whether in hi-tech, real estate or even in industry (Click here to see a great video on Investing in Israel) . And those opportunities are not lost on foreign investors. It would be an interesting to see how many foreigners have become millionaires or multi-millionaires by investing in Israel.  With the amount of foreign investment that has been flowing into Israel,  I suspect that that number must be pretty high as well.

If you are an investor and looking at new frontiers to invest, you need to take a serious look at investing in the holy land. If you are thinking about moving to Israel with an organization like Nefesh B’Nefesh, you should feel confident that there are plenty of economic opportunities, and that the old joke about coming with $2 million no longer applies.

Disclosure: Author’s fund has no position in any stock mentioned as of 6/26/08.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

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Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com  

I would like to start by taking this opportunity to wish my wife, Yael “Nefesh B’Nefesh” Katsman, a belated happy anniversary. Our anniversary was actually yesterday, and NO I didn’t forget, we had a tasty dinner, I just didn’t mention it in the blog. Give me a little credit.

The big news of the last 24 hours is the intervention in the currency market by the Bank of Israel (BOI). Yesterday afternoon in after-market trading the Shekel/USD rate fell to approximately 3.34. Then came the news that the BOI was intervening for the first time in more than a decade, and that send the greenback back up more than 1.5%. Today, the BOI announced more intervention, and that is helping the dollar even more. Local media reports have said that the BOI wants to get the exchange rate back to at least 3.60, which is about 4% high than today.

Why the sudden move by the BOI? The shekel has been the second strongest currency in the world YTD, and the impact on exporters has been huge. Losses continue to mount for them, and the BOI needed to do something.

This move could have profound impact on some Israeli stocks that trade in the US. Companies like Alvarion (ALVR), Nice Systems(NICE), Amdocs(DOX), all do R&D in Israel and their expense lines have increased due to the strength of the shekel. The recent BOI intervention could potentially have positive ramifications on earnings for these companies.

Disclosure: Author’s fund holds a position in ALVR, NICE and DOX. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 3/14/08.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.

Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

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