RJF Announces New Investment Option and Strong 2010 Finish

“Technology companies and global investors are beating a path to Israel, and finding unique combinations of audacity, creativity and drive everywhere they look.” – from Start-up Nation, the bestselling book by Dan Senor and Saul Singer.

With the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) at record high levels and natural gas discoveries off Israel’s shores capturing investor interest around the world, many analysts are bullish about Israel’s economy in 2011. Additionally, Israel was recently reclassified as a developed market from emerging market which opens up Israel to a broader range of potential new investors and flows of capital.

Ester Levanon, CEO of TASE, recently stated, “It’s very important for us to make it known that we are a developed market, that it’s a very good market and a very good economy. We have a ten year record which is better than most of the world.”

With the continued growth and success of the Israeli economy and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Richmond Jewish Foundation announces a new investment option for new and existing donors called I2 (Invest Israel). “The Invest Israel option offers RJF a way to show our pride in the State of Israel by participating in the dynamic growth of the Israeli economy,” said RJF Chairman, Stuart Cantor. Cantor added that, “New and existing donors can now recommend that up to 5% of their funds be invested in the Invest Israel portfolio with a minimum investment of $1800. This includes donor advised funds, agency funds, special purpose and field of interest funds.”

The I2 announcement was made during a recent Richmond Jewish Foundation board of director’s meeting during which Adam Plotkin, chair of the RJF Investment Committee, discussed RJF’s most recent investment performance results. For the 2010 calendar year, the RJF Enhanced Fund which is comprised of 65% equities and 35% fixed income finished +13.8%. This strong performance is on the heels of a 27% increase in 2009. Said Plotkin, “We’ve almost erased the drop in the portfolio since the fall 2008. Beating the market is usually pretty tough; we were fortunate over the last twenty-four months to do just that.”

To learn more about the I2 program please feel free to contact Robert Nomberg.