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'Israel is one of safest choices for investors'
Bloomberg's 'Riskless Return Ranking' says Israeli market 'produced better risk-adjusted returns than all other developed stock markets in the past decade'
Israel is one of the safest choices for investors, a recent Bloomberg report stated.
According to a Tuesday report in Yedioth Ahronoth, Bloomberg's most recent "Riskless Return Ranking" concluded that for the most part, investors discount the threat of war from Israel's neighbors.
The Israeli market has "produced better risk-adjusted returns than all other developed stock markets in the past decade," the report said.
Economy
Avital Lahav, Reuters
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According to Bloomberg, the Tel Aviv TA-25 Index (TA-25) returned 7.6% in the 10 years ending February 17 – the highest among 24 developed-nation benchmark indexes.
The risk-adjusted return is calculated "by dividing total return by volatility, or the degree of daily price-swing variation, giving a measure of income per unit of risk. A higher volatility means the price of an asset can swing dramatically in a short period of time, increasing the potential for unexpected losses compared with a security whose price moves at a steady rate," Bloomberg said.
The report noted that "Israel beat Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI), the next-best market with a risk-adjusted gain of 6.7% and Norway, which had the highest total return."
The report also lauded Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, saying that under his leadership, Israel's economy "grew more than twice as fast as the US last year."
"Israel is an exciting place to invest in," Michael Steinhardt, a top former hedge fund manager told Bloomberg. "The country is surrounded by enemies, it's always on the edge of extinction, but it expands and prospers.”
The report further said that "The Israeli gauge returned 161%, including dividends, over the last decade, the third-best performance among developed markets after Norway’s OBX Index and the Hang Seng."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the report, saying "This is a great achievement."
