It looks like the trend for Israeli investors to park their money in short-term bank deposits, has slowed. According to an article in Globes: “The Bank of Israel reported that assets held in banking accounts fell by 4.7% and deposits and in particular short term deposits, which plunged by NIS 11 billion. In contrast there was a 6% increase in investments by Israelis in TASE-listed stocks (NIS 230 billion in January 2009 compared with NIS 227 billion in December 2008) and on overseas stock exchanges (NIS 210 billion in January 2009 compared with NIS 198 billion in December 2008). There was also an increase of NIS 13 billion (5.7%) over this period in the index-linked tradable bonds held by Israelis.”
Part of this also has to do with the outperformance of the local Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange with a positive performance this year.
Written by: Israel Investor Newsletter | November 26, 2008
Today’s post comes from a guest blog, New Rules of Investing:
Institutional investors have powerful tools at their disposal to screen through reams of data. Part of the institutional investment process entails screening through thousands of securities looking for a needle in a haystack — stocks that fit certain investment criteria. From thousands of stocks, analysts can filter through a couple of hundred that fit these so called screens. With a couple of hundred stocks in hand, analysts set out to do the hard work analyzing these companies, comparing them to one another, speaking to management and whatever else hedge fund and mutual fund 
analysts do when looking at prospective investments.
If I’m a value investor, I’m probably going to use some metrics that focus on Return on Capital (RoC) or Return on Equity (RoE) and Earnings Yield (E/P). Growth investors might like to compare the price/earnings ratio (P/E) to the actual growth prospects of the stock in question. There are literally thousands of things to look at. So, where to start?
As we discussed in the “Piggybacking the Pros“, the Internet is a wonderful place to get information on stocks. From monitoring actual moves that uberinvestors make to seeing what your peers think of certain firms, the information is out there. You just need to be able to find it. Investment Screening 2.0 is all about using screening criteria from super investors like Warren Buffett to find the next big stock. Think of it as tapping the world’s greatest minds to see what they think of a given investment.
John Reese, a well-regarded entrepreneur with degrees from the two best schools in Cambridge, MA, has created a premium service that is the product of many years of research into the strategies of super successful investment managers. Having devoured numerous investment books and interviews with the world’s best investors, Reese embarked on an ambitious project to computerize this information. His firm, Validea, has created an algorithm capable of analyzing thousands of stocks according to differing investment strategies ranging from Fidelity’s Peter Lynch to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and applies screens to the overall market to find stocks that would fit these uberinvestors’ criteria.
John Reese joins New Rules of Investing for an exclusive interview. (Continue »)
By Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com
With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gaining all the headlines, in part due to his comments to destroy Israel, IsraelNewsletter.com would like to present the Iranian President with 3 Israeli stock picks, which will convince him to save the Jewish state. These stocks will keep that pompous grin on his face, as he watches them soar to heights reached only by the Israeli Air Force as they fly overhead about to bomb his nuclear program into smithereens.
Tefron (TFR) is a textile company that manufactures boutique-quality everyday seamless intimate apparel, i.e., lingerie, sold throughout the world by Victoria’s Secret (LTD). According to Wikipedia, lingerie is a term for women’s fashion undergarments. With Iran being a Homosexual-free country according to the president, and with woman enjoying tremendous freedom, it would seem ripe for a few boutiques to open. Tefron stock is trading at a 52 week low and Q2 results were awful. That being said, I think the drop has been overdone. The company is optimistic for Q4. CEO Yos Shiran said, “given our expectations for improved active-wear sales in the fourth quarter mainly due to positive indications received from Nike for increased ‘next generation’ product orders, and a seasonally stronger quarter for swimwear sales, we expect a strong improvement in sales and margins in the fourth quarter compared to the second quarter of 2007.” At around $6.20 a share, I hope to see a nice upside move by the end of the year.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (KERX). Ahmadinejad, in almost denying that the Holocaust ever took place, made clear his interest in scientific research. Based on this, it’s only right to include a Biopharma company. Keryx engages in the acquisition, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diabetes and cancer. They announced a licensing agreement with Japan Tobacco worth up to $100 million in fees to give an exclusive right to develop and market its drug candidate Zerenex in Japan. The company has many products in late phase testing and we may see some blockbuster drugs coming to market in the not too distant future.
Nice Systems (NICE). With such a friendly demeanor, the name itself makes it appropriate. But there is more. You mentioned that your country was the actual victim of terror. Well then you need a top notch security company to keep you safe. Nice is a security company that specializes in two markets: Security and Call Centers. Its security solution empowers security personnel to detect, prevent, and respond to threats in real-time. It also allows them to investigate, and reconstruct criminal and security cases using video surveillance and control services, incident monitoring, and reconstruction solutions. The company has continued to achieve strong growth quarter after quarter. The company raised guidance last month, and we expect a very strong Q4.
President Ahmadinejad, these Israeli companies should keep you grinning from ear to ear.
Please see our Disclaimer HERE.
Disclosure: Author’s fund is long TFR and NICE as of 9/25/07. Author holds no positions in any other companies mentioned.
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Aaron Katsman is the 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.
