Most Israelis manage own investment portfolios

The finding is in a survey of investment behavior for "Globes".

62% of investors do not know the amount of the custodian fee they pay the bank each quarter for their investment portfolio - an amount that can reach hundreds or even thousands of shekels a year. 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.).

These figures emerge from a survey conducted for the "Globes" investments supplement "Money Time" by TRI Strategic Research Ltd. among 300 respondents aged 35 or older who have investment portfolios or savings plans at banks, and constitute a representative sample of this segment of the Jewish population.

The survey examines the characteristics of Israeli investors and how they manage their portfolios: the average size of the investment portfolio; how they pick investments; how they define their risk preference; and their financial knowledge. The survey's most noteworthy finding is investors' lack of knowledge about the fees they pay for the management of their investment portfolios - a figure that can affect the portfolio's annual return by at least as much as, or even more than, their choice of investment instrument.

The survey also indicates what the average Israeli investment portfolio looks like. 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.

Most of the respondents say that they manage their investment portfolios fairly independently. 52% of respondents say they decide on their own about how and in what to invest (the question allowed more than one answer for the management of the investment portfolio; the total responses therefore exceed 100%). Other factors affecting investment decisions are recommendations in the media and financial websites (32%) and investment advice from a bank (32%). 20% of respondents say that recommendations from friends influence their investment decisions.

In response to another question, 47% of respondents say that they at least partly manage their investment portfolios on their own, 37% rely on or seek the advice of bank investment advisers, and 28% use a portfolio management company or investment house (more than one answer was possible, so the total responses exceed 100%).

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 9, 2014

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014

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