"Reflecting the stability and maturity of its economy and financial markets, Israel was recently upgraded to developed-market status," says fund expert Mark Salzinger.

In The Investor's ETF Report, he looks at iShares MSCI Israel Capped Investable Market ETF (NYSE: EIS), noting, "For a nation of just more than seven million people, Israel generates exceptional economic productivity."

"GDP per capita was recently $28,200, good for 49th in the world, very close to established developed markets like New Zealand and Italy.

Continue reading Shalom: Say hello to the first all-Israeli ETF

Shalom: Say hello to the first all-Israeli ETF originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Our latest pick is a bet on a low-profile foreign market, Israel, which has turned out to be one of the world's top performers this year," says Nicholas Vardy.

In The Global Bull Market Alert, he explains, We recommend the iShares MSCI Israel Cap Invest Market Index (NYSE: EIS), as I expect the Israeli market to continue to perform well over the next few months."

"Global markets continue to be locked in a trading range, consolidating their gains of the last four months; this kind of see-saw trading is actually quite typical of the summer months, and I expect the range-bound trading to continue.

Continue reading Investing in Israel

Investing in Israel originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investors who are looking to gain exposure to one of the top performing global markets, may be interested in a new ETF that starts trading today. The Tel-Aviv 25 index is the main Israeli large-cap stock index and has produced triple digit returns over the last four years. While Israel is known to have more publicly traded companies in the U.S. than any other country in the world, the make-up of the local TA 25, is mostly a domestic play on banks, phone companies, supermarket chains and other domestic consumption plays. The Israeli companies that trade in the U.S. are mostly hi-tech firms.

A few months ago Ishares launched an ETF on locally traded Israeli stocks. The Ishares MSCI Israel Index (NYSE: EIS) has done quite well, but there is an inherent flaw in the make-up of the ETF. The index gives Israeli generic drug giant, Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: TEVA) a colossal 25% weighting, basically leaving investors with a, "Where Teva goes, so goes the ETF" type of investment.

Starting today, the EIS will be joined by another ETF. Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) is launching the TAV, an ETF based on the TA 25. The ETF will try to follow the TA 25, and rarely will have an individual stock weighted above 10%.

For investors looking for some international exposure, take a look at Israel and research the new ETFs on the market. It's a good way to gain entrance and exposure to a flourishing market.

Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 5/27/08

New Israeli ETF starts trading originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 May 2008 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.