The work routine of financiers sometimes seems gray and boring from the outside, but those who live the Israeli capital market can inspire a whole range of characters in stories of suspense, betrayal and big money.
While those who look at them from the outside get only a glimpse into the parts of the stories when some Torah affair explodes, some of the capital market players decided to use the experiences they accumulated in the capital market and make their own devices as writers, alongside making their homes in the markets.
Ahead of Book Holiday starting this month (June) Walla! Money met 3 of them, and examined to what extent were the experiences of the capital market present in the stories they wrote? And does writing clear the soul of the constant turmoil in the capital market?
Erez Zadok, investment portfolio management and bestselling author (Photo: Nachshon Philipson)
Name: Erez Zadok (55)
Profession: Portfolio
Manager Day Work: CEO Aviv Investment
House Fiction After work: "Takeover" (suspense), "A risky move" (suspense), "Dostoevsky is not" (suspense), "The Shoemaker of Kochban" (a historical family novel, ranked fourth on Tzomet Sfarim's bestseller list).
To what extent the capital market is present in your writing: "Significantly. The suspense plot of the first book, Takeover, takes place in the capital market. The plot of the second, a dangerous move, continued with the protagonists of the first book. And the main character in the fourth book is an American broker."
What led you to write: "After my second professional-academic book, on hedge funds, I knew I had fallen in love with writing. As a kid I always made up stories, so I decided to try writing fiction, and amazingly it worked."
Intends to quit work in favor of writing: "No. I'm writing the next book while working, which is at an advanced stage, but it took years because it's parallel to the work, and in times of stress there are pauses in writing and then it takes time to come back. Leaving the dream of writing without a job - to retire."
Sigal Fishbein, COO by day, counts after work hours (Photo: Eyal Tuag)
Name: Sigal Fishbein (44)
Profession: Investment
Manager Day job: VP Operations and Risk Management at Migdal Capital
Markets Fiction after work: "A New Day" (fiction), "Shorts" (collection of short stories), "From Four Comes One" (suspense), "Before Your Hands Started Shaking" (historical novel).
To what extent is the capital market present in your writing: "The field of activity of one of the characters in the book 'From Four Out One' is in the capital market, and my familiarity with the capital market helped describe the world of that character and the characteristics that characterize him. But for the most part, I enjoy writing about topics and occupations that are far removed from me in everyday life. For me, it's a way that allows me to touch new areas."
What led you to write: "Writing began as a way of self-expression, a means of unpacking and writing about what sits on my heart. My love affair with writing began with the book New Day, as part of my need to write after the Memorial Day ceremony for IDF fallen soldiers, which I attend every year, at the cemetery in Ramle, where my mother's brother who fell in Operation Karameh is buried.
Later, the two pages I wrote that day became the prologue of the book. After writing the first book, I discovered that I love creating worlds, characters, and scenes, and that I was able to tell a story and write a book.
Writing allows me to "go wild", fulfill fantasies, take the characters to the edge and control events (which is not possible in life...). My last book, Before My Hands Started Shaking, followed me through the time my father passed away and although I couldn't write for the first few months after his passing, when I returned to writing it was a way for me to deal with grief. My father is very present in the book and especially in the character of Asher, the protagonist of the novel."
"I love and enjoy my job, and writing is not a way to make a living at this point. At this stage, I don't see myself leaving my job, but combining both loves and joys together."
Yaron Shkedi, Stress of running an investment house by day, Literature Stress after work (Photo: courtesy of those photographed)
Name: Yardon Shkedi (51)
Profession: Financial Markets Analyst USA
Day Work: Owner and CEO of Investment House Shkedi Capital
Fiction After Work: Trilogy (suspense); containing 'Musical Chairs' (Part 1), 'The Clipboard' (Part 2), and 'No Right Answers' (Part 3).
To what extent is the capital market present in your writing: "The trilogy revolves around the shell of an investment house in south Tel Aviv, and a mosaic of real events that took place in those years and are interwoven with it.
What led you to write: "This is a genre never seen before in Israel, which tells the story of one, alongside the story of a state, in the 90s, after which Israel and we did not remain indifferent; The Oslo Accords, Russian immigration, the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, the Line 5 attack in Tel Aviv, the Beit Lid attack, Rabin's assassination, and more.
These are formative events among all citizens who were born from the place of the state until the 80s, inclusive, and every reader finds himself in the book, whether in the events themselves, or in the capital market crash of 1994.
"Writing is an integral part of my daily life now, but it's not my main occupation."
- money
Tags
- Book Week
- Capital Markets
