Last Updated on April 9, 2025

The information contained in this article is for general educational purposes and should never be viewed as specific investment, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation of any platform or service.

Choosing the right investment platform isn’t always straightforward—so in this guide, I’ll walk you through the key steps and things to think about.

If you haven’t yet moved to Israel, this article may not be relevant to you—at least not yet. This post also does not apply to retirement accounts. If you made Aliyah with a U.S.-based IRA or 401(k), it is almost always best to keep these accounts with a U.S. brokerage. Transferring them to Israel could result in significant tax consequences and eliminate the benefit of tax-deferred growth.

Similarly, while it might be tempting to move your Israeli pension or Keren Hishtalmut to a commission-free U.S. brokerage, this isn’t possible.

Step 1: Overview of the top investing platforms

• Commision-free US brokerages – These platforms offer commission-free trading and are available if you maintain a U.S. address (and often a U.S. phone number). Popular options include: Charles Schwab, Vanguard, Interactive Brokers (IBKR Lite), Ally Invest, Robinhood, M1, and Fidelity.
  
• International US brokerages – These are some of the best US brokerages you can access if you don’t maintain a US address. Schwab International and Interactive Brokers (IBKR Pro)
  
• Israeli Brokerages – Some of the top Israeli brokerages (בית השקעות) include: Meitav, IBI, Excellence, and Psagot.
  
• Introducing Brokers – These aren’t brokerages themselves but act as intermediaries—typically offering access to Interactive Brokers along with added features tailored to Israeli investors. Examples include: בלינק, אינטראקטיב ישראל

Now that you have a basic understanding of the key players, move on to Step 2 to begin identifying which platform best suits your needs.

Step 2: Answer these key questions

Before choosing a platform, it’s important to clarify your investment goals, preferences, and tax status. Take a moment to reflect on the following questions:

• Are you within your first 10 years after making Aliyah?
  If so, investing outside of Israel is generally more tax-efficient due to your temporary exemption from Israeli tax on foreign income.
• Do you currently file Israeli taxes?
  If not, do you expect to start filing in the near future?
• Are you a U.S. taxpayer?
  If yes, note that some Israeli platforms—like בלינק and Excellence—do not currently support American clients.
• Do you maintain a U.S. address and U.S. phone number?
  This can expand your access to certain U.S.-based brokerages.
• How much money are you planning to invest to start with?
• Where is the money coming from?
  Will you be funding the account from a U.S. or Israeli bank? Will you be making regular contributions?
• How often do you plan to add funds?
  And from which country and account will those contributions come?
• What is your expected level of trading activity?
  Roughly how many investments (stocks, ETFs, bonds, etc.) do you plan to buy or sell each month?

You don’t need to have exact answers at this stage—just a general sense. If you’re unsure about any of these, don’t worry. You can revisit them after reading the next section, which may help clarify things further.lp clarify.

Step 3: Determine which factors apply to you

Here’s a breakdown of key factors to consider when choosing a brokerage. Not all of these will be relevant to your situation, so I suggest making a list or chart and ranking them by importance based on your needs.

Accounting costs

One of the main drawbacks of using a non-Israeli brokerage is the potential need for Israeli tax reporting.

If you’re employed in Israel and have no foreign income or investments, you likely don’t need to file taxes in Israel at all. In this case, using an Israeli brokerage can simplify things—any taxes owed on investment income are withheld automatically.

However, if you use a taxable U.S. or international brokerage (after your 10-year Aliyah tax holiday), you’ll need to report dividends, capital gains, and other income to the Israeli Tax Authority. Typical accounting costs for filing a basic Israeli tax return range from ₪1,000–₪2,000 + VAT annually, which is significant if you wouldn’t otherwise need to file.

Fortunately, services like Alfie now offer automated tax filing from just ₪275/year (+₪100 for a Zoom consult), reducing this burden considerably.

You can ignore this factor if you already have an Israeli accountant or will soon need one—such as if you:

• Own foreign assets after your 10-year holiday
• Run a business
• Work remotely for a non-Israeli company

In these cases, using a U.S. or international brokerage is often more efficient.

U.S. citizens should also factor in U.S. tax reporting. U.S. brokerages provide 1099 forms for easy filing. Israeli brokerages complicate things and may incorrectly withhold taxes on dividends from U.S. ETFs, potentially creating reporting issues.

Edge:
For American Israelis, U.S. and international brokerages generally lead to easier tax reporting over the long term.
For non-American Israelis, Israeli brokerages have the advantage.

Minimums

Here is a breakdown of the minimum initial investment needed to open your first account:

Brokerage:	Most US Brokerages	IBKR Pro	*בלינק	אינטראקטיב ישראל	Meitav Dash	IBI	Excellence	Schwab International
Minimum:	$0-100	$0	$0	$0	10,000 NIS	15,000 NIS	20,000 NIS	$25,000

Edge: US brokerages and IBKR Pro

Cash flow

Being able to make regular contributions is critical for long-term success. The right platform depends largely on where your money is coming from.

• If you earn income in Israel, it’s easiest to use an Israeli brokerage, or Interactive Brokers, which uniquely allows transfers from Israeli bank accounts.
• If you’re investing from U.S. income or savings, U.S. brokerages are more straightforward.

Currency exchange fees are another key point:

Most U.S. brokerages do not accept ILS and convert it at less favorable rates (if they accept it at all).

IBKR charges just $2 for up to $100,000 in currency conversion—by far the lowest rate.

Israeli brokerages often add both a conversion fee and a spread above the market rate.

Edge: Interactive Brokers

Trading commissions

Here is a breakdown of the approximate trading costs for buying US stocks and ETFs:

Brokerage:	Us Brokerages	Schwab International	בלינק*	IBKR Pro	אינטראקטיב ישראל	Meitav Dash	IBI	Excellence
Commision per trade	$0	$0	$0 (up to 10 transactions per month)	$0.0035 per share	$0.01 per share	$0.01 per share	$0.01 per share	$0.01 per share
Minimum Commision per trade:	$0	$0	$0	$0.35	$2.5	$5	$7.5	$5

Edge: US Brokerages, בלינק

To see more information about fees and commissions charged by each platform and compare other Israeli platforms, check out the following links. Obviously, like all financial institutions in Israel, everything is negotiable and fees are changing constantly – you may be able to do better than the fees listed for the Israeli platforms in this post:

• Post on Ninja Finance (Hebrew)
• Comparison of all brokerages/banks in Israel (Hebrew)
• IBKR Pro

Buying on the TASE

If you’re looking to invest in shekel-denominated assets on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, you’ll likely need an Israeli bank or brokerage account.

U.S. citizens: Be cautious—Israeli mutual funds and ETFs may be classified as PFICs, creating serious tax complications.

Brokerage:	Meitav Dash	IBI	Excellence
Commision per trade	.08-.09%	.08%	.07-.08%
Minimum Commision per trade:	4.65 NIS	2.35 NIS	3 NIS

Edge: Israeli brokerages

Monthly maintenance fees

These are the monthly fees you will incur if the account is open but no transactions are being made in the account. Generally, any commissions paid will cancel out any monthly maintenance fees.

Brokerage:	US Brokerages	International US Brokerages	Meitav Dash	IBI	Excellence
Monthly Fee:	$0	$0	19.65 NIS	15 NIS	15 NIS

Edge: US and International US Brokerages

Customer support and ease of use

U.S. financial institutions generally offer better customer support—especially in English—and more intuitive platforms.

• Schwab stands out with 24/7 support and excellent desktop/mobile interfaces.
• Among Israeli brokerages, IBI gets the best feedback for service.
• בלינק also provides an easy-to-use experience, though not available to U.S. citizens.

Edge: Schwab and other US brokerages

Step 4: Put it all together!

To be clear, this guide is designed to help you get started. If you already have a brokerage account you’re using and are comfortable with, there’s usually no reason to switch platforms just to save a bit on fees—especially if doing so could trigger unnecessary tax reporting or complications.

That said, based on our experience:

• Interactive Brokers is the best all-around option for Americans living in Israel in most cases.
• For non-Americans who are past their 10-year Aliyah tax holiday, an Israeli brokerage is often a better fit. Among those, we’ve received especially positive feedback about IBI.
• If you’re not yet 10 years post-Aliyah, Interactive Brokers may still be the better choice due to the favorable tax treatment on foreign income.

Ultimately, the best platform for you will depend on your answers to the questions in Step 2 and the factors in Step 3. Take time to evaluate your situation carefully.

Step 5: Get started!

By now, you should have a clearer sense of whether a U.S. or Israeli brokerage is the right fit for you, based on your personal goals, tax situation, and practical considerations.

While this guide is meant to give you a strong foundation, some situations are more complex than others. If you’re feeling unsure or want help building a full investment strategy, it’s totally reasonable to look for additional support.

We’ve developed our Guided Investment Program to help English speakers in Israel navigate these decisions step by step. Feel free to check it out if you’d benefit from more structure or guidance as you move forward.

Either way, the important thing is to take action and not get stuck. Once your plan is in place, you can start putting your money to work with confidence.