Israeli Options Index Nears

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Investors seeking exposure to Israel's market in the wake of Berkshire Hathaway's(BRK.A) $5 billion purchase of Iscar will soon be offered an all-Israeli options index, the first of its kind.

According to sources close to the matter, the index is being planned for a mid-June launch, pending final legal approval of the agreement between the exchange and the broker-dealer firm. The index, which will be administered by Hapoalim Securities USA and traded on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, will consist of 16 Israeli companies that trade dually on the Tel Aviv market and on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq as American depositary receipts.

Among the companies included in the index would be generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical(TEVA); Nice Systems(NICE), which makes systems that monitor businesses' customer interactions; Partner Communications(PTNR), Israel's second-largest cellular operator by users; drug developer XTL Biopharmaceuticals(XTLB); and Delta Galil Industries(DELT), an intimate-apparel and underwear company.

An options index gives investors exposure to an entire segment by following an underlying index, similar to an exchange-traded fund. Unlike a stock-based ETF, the options index provides exposure to its components by creating synthetic contracts -- buying calls and selling puts.

Like other traded indices, the Israeli options index will be evaluated periodically and rebalanced whenever an occasion would arise requiring a component change, a source close to the matter said.

Barbara Sorid, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, said the exchange doesn't comment on prospective business matters.

"An Israeli company index or fund, whether options-based or securities-based, makes complete sense under the current market conditions," says Ronen Zeharia, vice president of investments at Meitav, an Israeli investment house. "There is definitely a growing interest in Israeli companies; it makes you wonder why this hasn't been done yet."

Zeharia says that this type of a financial vehicle probably won't attract herds of investors to Israeli companies, but will draw private investors or smaller money-management firms wishing to include an emerging-market component in their portfolio.