Israeli Capital Markets are one of the best kept secrets!
Apex Group hosted industry leaders to discuss trends seen in Israeli Capital Markets and how firms can take advantage of capital markets. Moderated by Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Apex MENA & India Board Member, the panel included Ron Klein, Director of the Business Development at the Israel Security Authority, Alon Lev-Hertz, Senior Vice President and Group Head, International and Technology Banking at Valley National Bank (Formerly Bank Leumi USA), David Ram, Partner at Goldrock Capital (Multi Family Office) and Shmuel Menachem, Head of Apex Israel.
Among some very interesting key themes, the panel talked through future trends of the Israeli Capital Markets industry, economic impact from the last quarter and touched on how international firms raise financing from the wide range of capital market instruments.
Panel highlights and summary:
- Israeli Capital Markets are rich and deep. While they are being impacted by the rising inflationary and macro-economic challenges around the world, comparatively speaking they are superior as their inflation rates are lower than globally, growth is still better than many other countries and given the political situation stabilizing, the path to economic growth in Israel will be much better
- With the ease of doing business and governance structures, international firms need to explore establishing financing structure in Israel which will help them raise capital
- Debt instruments continue to be of particular relevance over the coming months for raising capital
- Proper selection of partners and service providers remain importance so fund managers continue to receive the best advice, cost effective solutions and ensure speed to market with fast results
David Ram, Partner, Goldrock Capital comments, “there is often a disconnect between supply and demand in capital markets. That disconnect can create a natural opportunity for alpha generation in the right format”.
Ron Klein, Director of the Business Development Division at the Israel Security Authority, remarked “ Israeli capital market is quite diverse, both in terms of the publicly traded sectors on TASE, and in the channels it is allowed to raise capital. Israel remains key in providing a world-leading sophisticated fixed-income market alongside the conventional ECM”.
Alon Lev-Hertz, Senior Vice President and Group Head, International and Technology Banking at Valley National Bank (Formerly Bank Leumi USA) commented, “the financial recession in Israel is predicted to not to be as hard as experienced in the US and Europe because inflation pressure in Israel is milder. Banks across the world are eliminating their credit lines. Some of these needs will be replaced by Alternative Financing sources such as funds. In Israel, there is a very high Savings Rate and this is mainly through mandatory pension funds that receives Billions of Shekels monthly. This liquidity always looks for investment opportunities and in 2023, this liquidity will be worth even more”.
Shmuel Menachem, Head of Apex Israel explained, “there is massive growth in Israel in all fund sectors including Hedge funds, Private Equity, Debt, Venture and Real Estate. At a time of uncertainty in capital markets, the Israeli industry has learned how to grow in other areas such as Private Debt and Real Assets. Israel has a growing ecosystem with great professionals who have contributed greatly to this growth. There are always people in the industry to give advice and the cooperation within the industry is second to none”.
Let’s talk…
With an overwhelming number of registrants attending the event from more than 36 countries we were delighted to have shared these insights with our thought leadership community.
Apex Group will be hosting more industry webinars and in-person events in Israel to help the wider ecosystem grow and we welcome suggestions on topics and panellists. Please contact us
