"I am not looking for shortcuts and quick money": The young investor who made 100% in five years

About "The New Investors" section

Every week we will interview new investors in the capital market and trace their investment patterns and insights alongside their personal story. Interested in participating in the section? Write to us at Invest@Globes.co.il

Who am I

Omer Idel, a 26-year-old entrepreneur and marketer from Tel Aviv, owner of a marketing agency and co-founder and CEO of a startup in the field of expense management for businesses.

Investment portfolio structure: 60% in the S&P 500 index, 20% in stocks (including Google, Meta, Shopify, and Amazon), and 20% in crypto (Bitcoin).

Omer Idel grew up in Kfar Tavor. His father owned a successful driving school, but when his father lost his ability to work due to illness, the family fell into debt and was forced to sell the business and the house. Idel was only 17.

"Before the army, I worked a lot with my father because he could no longer drive. We had to sell everything. He purchased trucks and equipment for 2 million shekels shortly before he lost his ability to work, and we went into debt. I helped my mother deal with it," says Idel. "This led to the fact that when I was drafted into the Paratroopers Brigade, I was in the red."

During his military service, at 19, he set up an e-commerce store for selling dresses that operated in the American market. "I would return from operational activity in Jenin at 04:00 and see that the store was active and there were orders. Within two months, I reached a turnover of 10,000 dollars, and later much more than that. It changed my life," he says.

He finished his military service with savings of about 100,000 shekels, and reached his first million by the age of 24. Despite the success, Idel does not believe in shortcuts: "I never looked to make quick money; I always preferred to build something real that could grow over years. That's how I look at investments today too."

When I started getting interested in the capital market

"I entered the capital market at 21, immediately after I was released from the army, mainly on the recommendation of my brother. It was an insight following the things we went through as a family financially: I decided that I would build a safety net through the capital market. I started researching the field and decided to invest the savings from the business in the S&P 500 index after many consultations with my brother and his wife."

Quick questionnaire

Twitter (X) or Telegram: "Twitter (X), it's an amazing place to learn about everything. You can get opinions from thought leaders in every possible field, like Elon Musk or Donald Trump."
Bitcoin or Ethereum: "Bitcoin, because it's the first and the brand is the leader in the field of cryptocurrencies."
TA-35 or S&P: "S&P, because it tracks the leading companies all over the world."
Indices or stocks: "A combination of both. The stocks I invest in — Shopify, Google, Meta — are platforms that I think will be with us for the long term, so there is an opportunity here to generate better returns than the index."
Bank account or investment house: "Investment house, mainly because of the fees and conditions, which are always better."

How I stay updated

"I read Globes, but I also draw a lot of information on Twitter (X). In addition, the veterans who sell investment courses are my clients at the marketing agency. Through them, I see the market picture, cross-reference it with what I read, and get a clearer picture of the situation.

When something is at its peak, one can assume there will be a correction, so I always verify data and mainly adopt an approach of looking slightly differently from the environment."

Lesson I learned

"I learned that there is no quick enrichment. When I started investing, I would open the portfolio every few days. Once you truly understand that this is a long-term perspective, you see that in the end, everything always corrects back, and there is no pressure when there are declines."

I will never invest in...

"Physical businesses, such as restaurants that rely on street traffic. I invest in businesses whose main activity is online. If a company doesn't have the potential for global expansion, it will be very difficult to succeed with it."

Something I still need to learn

"To know how to manage risks better and identify opportunities. There are many new companies that are worth reading about, and today I don't invest enough time in that."

Want to share how much money you made?

"I invested hundreds of thousands of shekels of my own money, and in percentages, I have already made close to 100% return on the portfolio, from age 21 until today."

Tracking recommendation

"S&P 500 index, which is effectively the most solid. In the end, relying on the results of the 500 most leading companies in the world for the long term — there is nothing better than that in my opinion."