Makam

What is a Makam?

A Makam is a short-term security issued to the general public by the Bank of Israel and traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The Makam has a face value of 100 agorot and does not bear interest, but it is sold at a certain discount on its face value. The return on the Makam at the end of one year is the difference between the face value and the discounted price at which the Makam was bought.

What are the advantages of the Makam?

 

• Liquidity resulting from high marketability on the stock exchange and a short lifespan;
• Guaranteed return of 100 agorot upon maturity at the end of a year;
• Flexibility in the investment period. Every month a new Makam is issued with a lifetime of one year, so at any time it is possible to choose from 12 existing series with different maturity dates;

So how do you invest in the Makam?

You open a securities account at a bank or an investment house that is a member of the stock exchange[1], you deposit the amount you wish to invest in the Makam and you give the bank a buy order for the security, at its issuance, or during the trading ours on the stock axchange (the secondary market). .

 

[1] A body that buys and sells securities traded on the stock exchange.

What else should you know about investing in the Makam?

 

• The taxation on the Makam profit is only 15% and not 25% as is customary in other securities
• Makam serie is issued each month, such that at any given time, there are 12 Makam series being traded with a term of up to 1 year.
• Makam yields help in calculating the public’s inflation expectations, and thereby in managing monetary policy for terms of up to one year