Tel Aviv's Hidden Business World: Financial Services

AIG is a large retail insurance in Israel, also runs financial operations unrelated to Israel

Would you be surprised to see a large American financial company with 200 employees in the middle of Tel Aviv? Would it be more surprising to hear what they do: the same work as similar workers are doing in New York, London, Shanghai or Berlin? Managing mutual fund portfolios, supporting customers in the US, researching markets (opportunities), analyzing and advising on economic trends, essentially whatever financial workers are doing anywhere. The trend to open a dedicated operation or a department in the financial sector is not new here. What is new is how people make the transition from Paris, London and Sidney to Tel Aviv. In the past a move to Israel was not advised to the faint of heart. Today Tel Aviv's status as a global city similar in character to most European ones is accepted by many. This change is what drives mostly American financial companies to open work centers here. 

This trend of traditional financial companies is different from the innovation and entrepreneurship attraction in Israelis. In the more traditional financial companies, the innovation aspect in Israel are of secondary concern. The primary push is location (access to Europe, Western Asia and Africa) as well as the trained and experienced workforce. The training in the financial sector in Israel closely follows British and American standards. Accounting and banking practices here are based on British foundations. The American financial system has also influenced investing and lending practices. Corporate financial practices are a mix of European and local Israeli. The same goes for the investment and equity markets. This mix of knowledge is a useful attribute to some companies.