Israeli Investors Independent, but Unwary

52% of respondents say they make their own invest decisions, according to a survey conducted for the newspaper by TRI Strategic Research.

Almost one third said they are guided by recommendations in the media and financial websites or investment advice from a bank. Another 20% say that recommendations from friends influence their investment decisions.

However, as much as Israelis like to be in charge of their own business affairs, they are surprisingly unwary of important routine costs.

For example, 62% of investors do not know the amount of the custodian fee they pay the bank each quarter for their investment portfolio. These fees are significant enough to wipe out gains or add to losses, as they can reach hundreds or even thousands of shekels a year.

Similarly, almost 50% of investors do not know the amount of the transaction fee charged each time they (or their portfolio manager) carry out a transaction in a security (stock, bond, ETF, etc.).

The survey also yielded a profile of the average Israeli investment portfolio. The data indicate that 40% of Israeli Jews with an investment portfolio have a portfolio worth less than NIS 100,000. 42% of the respondents have an investment portfolio worth up to NIS 500,000. 11% of the respondents have an investment portfolio worth up to NIS 5 million.

This article appeared in print on page 6 of the February 10th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.