11 May Introduction

Posted at 20:34h in English by

From the Wisdom of Professor D.      

During my childhood, I divided my time between my neighborhood Yad Eliyahu, to Neve Monosson, where my sister lived.

One day, in an attempt to impress my news friends, I mentioned that I took part in a children’s program run by the late Dr. Erica Landau , and I joked about how one of the kids in the program was named Professor D.

It didn’t take long for my new friends to embrace the story and start calling me Professor D.

I became involved in the capital markets by complete coincidence; before that, I completed the I.D.F. flight course with top honors. During my flight course I was given two “evaluation flights” – another name for a cadet on his way to the artillery.

I flew with the head of the fighter flight school, and after the flight he told me ” you’re a good guy, but this is not for you”; that must have been enough because the next flight was so good that I stayed in the course.

I completed my military service in the summer of ’85.

1985 in Israel was a year of crazy inflation, and treasury secretaries were both the late Yitzhak Modai and Shimon Peres. They say a person is molded by the landscape of his youth. As for me, my memory from this era was how the money we earned lost its value by the minute, despite the high interest rate.

Today interest rates are incredibly low, but money continues to lose value, and on this I can say – there is nothing new under the sun.

Fast Forward

I spent most of the past decade in the U.S. During this time, there appeared many financial engineers who created the (in)famous house of cards known as the sub-prime crisis. It started as a promise for high interest rates with no risk, and just like a flimsy ceiling, it all came crashing down and burying all those who were underneath.

So, I would like to begin with these insights:

  1. Even if the naysayers tell you “it’s not for you”- don’t listen because there is a chance they’re wrong.
  2. When you build your investment portfolio, get to know the building blocks – and the builder.
  3. Stay with things that have been proven over time.

After researching and checking it’s time to reach a decision – unless of course it’s not for you…

 

Yours,

Michael Jakoby

Dedicated to my mentor E., who insists never to compromise on the human factor.