About
Sphera Funds Management is the first and largest hedge fund manager in Israel. Founded in 2004, Sphera aims to generate consistent, long-term, risk-adjusted returns to its investors, while exceeding the relevant benchmarks and adhering to high international standards of compliance and operation. Sphera’s investment strategy is predicated on fundamental and comprehensive research of macro trends, companies and management teams, while dedicating considerable resources to analysis and identification of companies with strong foundations and high potential for profitability and growth. Over the years, Sphera has gained international recognition and awards for excellence among leading hedge funds worldwide. The company’s accumulated wealth of industry experience has resulted in a superior track record. Among Sphera’s investors are Israel’s largest banks, leading insurance companies, the largest pension and provident funds in Israel, universities, public and private companies, organizations and institutions, leading family offices and private investors. Sphera employs forty professionals, including more than twenty investment professionals. Sphera’s offices are located in Tel Aviv (headquarters) and New York.
Funds
Sphera Fund
Sphera Small Cap fund
Sphera Global Healthcare Fund
Sphera Biotech fund
Sphera Global Equities Fund
Sphera Fund
Long/short equity fund focused on securities of large and mid-cap Israeli and Israeli-related companies. Founded in 2004, Sphera Fund aims to generate returns that exceed the relevant indices, mainly Tel Aviv 125, on a risk-adjusted basis. Over the years, Sphera has built a unique team of analysts; The long-standing experience of the team provides Sphera with a strong edge in identifying and accessing attractive investment opportunities in this particular universe of companies.
Portfolio Manager:
Nir Shefer, Executing Trader
Analyst Team
Shai Azar
Real Estate and Infrastructure
Joshua Lipman
Technology, Defense
Yochai Radin
Telecom, Renewable Energy
David Shrem
Energy, Retail
Nadav Zeller
Technology, Industry and Services
Ron Senator
Portfolio Manager
Mr. Senator co-founded Sphera Funds Management in 2004 and serves as Portfolio Manager of Sphera Fund. Prior to establishing Sphera, Mr. Senator served as Head of JPMorgan Chase Israel, and had held various investment banking and advisory roles in SG Cowen and JPMorgan in New York. Mr. Senator holds a B.A. in Economics from Bar-Ilan University and an MBA from Yale University.
Sphera Small Cap fund
Long/short equity fund, founded in October 2011. The fund invests in equities of companies traded on the second and third tier indices on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Sphera Small Cap fund focuses on companies with relatively low market value characteristics, which are underpriced due to absence of extensive analytical coverage or in light of lower tradability compared to the leading indices. The long-standing experience of the team provides Sphera with a strong edge in identifying and accessing attractive investment opportunities in this particular universe of companies.
Portfolio Manager:
Managing Partner:
Nir Shefer, Executing Trader
Analyst Team
Shai Azar
Real Estate
Joshua Lipman
Technology, Defense
Yochai Radin
Telecom, Renewable Energy
Nadav Zeller
Technology, Industry and Services
David Shrem
Portfolio Manager
Mr. Shrem has been managing Sphera Small Cap Fund’s investments since 2014, and has served as an analyst for Sphera Fund since 2009, where he covered a variety of sectors, including retail and energy. Previously, he spent four years as an analyst at Meitav Dash. Mr. Shrem holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (financing specialization, Cum Laude) from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya,
Ron Senator
Managing Partner
Mr. Senator co-founded Sphera Funds Management in 2004 and serves as Portfolio Manager of Sphera Fund. Prior to establishing Sphera, Mr. Senator served as Head of JPMorgan Chase Israel, and had held various investment banking and advisory roles in SG Cowen and JPMorgan in New York. Mr. Senator holds a B.A. in Economics from Bar-Ilan University and an MBA from Yale University.
Sphera Global Healthcare Fund
Long/short equity fund focused on investments in the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Sphera Global Healthcare's Fund's investments are based on comprehensive scientific research conducted by a team of scientists, doctors and investment experts operating in Tel Aviv and New York. The analyst team is organized by disease focus, allowing deep insights and expertise in treatment modalities. Founded in 2007, Sphera Global Healthcare Fund evolved from a partnership between Sphera and Mori Arkin, a renowned veteran of the pharmaceutical industry.
Portfolio Manager:
Head of Research:
Analyst Team
Tel Aviv
Amit Drach, M.D, Senior Analyst
CNS, Orphan, Liver disease, Gene Therapy
Hagai Schor, Ph.D., Scientific Analyst
Oncology and Autoimmune Disease
Geula Schwartz, Analyst
Oncology, Autoimmune Disease
Sharon Ofer, Analyst
Analysis Support
New York
Michelle Ross, Head of Research
Peter Stapor, Ph.D., Analyst
Large Cap Biotech and Pharma
Skyler Bloom, Analyst
Specialty Pharma and generics
Elena Podolyako, M.D, Analyst
Immunology, Endocrinology
Doron Breen
Portfolio Manager
Mr. Breen co-founded Sphera Funds Management in 2004 and Sphera Global Healthcare in 2007, where he serves as Portfolio Manager. Prior to co-founding Sphera, Mr. Breen co-managed the proprietary portfolio for SFK. Mr. Breen holds a BSc degree in Computer Science and a Master’s Degree in Economics, cum laude, from Tel Aviv University.
Michelle Ross
Head of Research
Michelle Ross joined Sphera as Head of Research in the New York office in September 2016. Prior to joining Sphera, Michelle spent three years at Point State Capital as Vice President covering the healthcare sector. From 2006 to 2013, Michelle spent seven years at Soros Fund Management where she specialized in global healthcare investments. Michelle completed her undergraduate degree at Stern College. She holds a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology from Columbia University.
Sphera Biotech fund
Long/short equity fund, focused on securities of highly innovative small and mid-cap companies in the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Sphera Biotech fund’s investments are based on comprehensive scientific research conducted by a team of scientists, doctors and investment experts operating in Tel Aviv and New York. The team of analysts is organized by disease focus, allowing deep insights and expertise in treatment modalities. The Fund's research method allows enhanced perspective and enables the team to detect disruptive technologies at an early stage. Founded in 2018, Sphera Biotech Fund evolved from a partnership between Sphera and Mori Arkin, a renowned veteran of the pharmaceutical industry.
Portfolio Manager:
Head of Research:
Analyst Team
Tel Aviv
Amit Drach, M.D, Senior Analyst
CNS, Orphan, Liver disease, Gene Therapy
Hagai Schor, Ph.D., Scientific Analyst
Oncology and Autoimmune Disease
Geula Schwartz, Analyst
Oncology, Autoimmune Disease
Sharon Ofer, Analyst
Analysis Support
New York
Michelle Ross, Head of Research
Peter Stapor, Ph.D., Analyst
Skyler Bloom, Analyst
Elena Podolyako, M.D, Analyst
Doron Breen
Portfolio Manager
Mr. Breen co-founded Sphera Funds Management in 2004 and Sphera Global Healthcare in 2007, where he serves as Portfolio Manager. Prior to co-founding Sphera, Mr. Breen co-managed the proprietary portfolio for SFK. Mr. Breen holds a BSc degree in Computer Science and a Master’s Degree in Economics, cum laude, from Tel Aviv University.
Michelle Ross
Head of Research
Michelle Ross joined Sphera as Head of Research in the New York office in September 2016. Prior to joining Sphera, Michelle spent three years at Point State Capital as Vice President covering the healthcare sector. From 2006 to 2013, Michelle spent seven years at Soros Fund Management where she specialized in global healthcare investments. Michelle completed her undergraduate degree at Stern College. She holds a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology from Columbia University.
Sphera Global Equities Fund
Fundamentals based long-short equity fund aiming to generate alpha on both the long and the short strategies. The objective of the fund is to generate long-term returns that exceed the relevant equity indices - the S&P 500 and the MSCI world, on a risk-adjusted basis. The fund invests globally, across a variety of industries and all market capitalizations. The fund was launched in October 2019.
Portfolio Manager:
Analyst Team
New York
Lui Sykes
Tel Aviv
Michael Holder
Yaron Lev-Ran
Portfolio Manager
Mr. Lev-Ran has teamed up with Sphera in 2018 to establish Sphera Global Equities Fund, where he serves as a Portfolio Manager. He is a former senior analyst and partner at Pennant Capital Management - a leading U.S. multi-billion long-short equity hedge fund, and a former analyst at Moon Capital Management - a leading emerging markets long-short equity hedge fund. Mr. Lev-Ran holds a Bachelor of Laws and a BA in Economics and Accounting from Tel Aviv University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
Israel Mor
Co-Founder & Chairman
Doron Breen
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Ron Senator
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Ori Goldfarb
Chief Executive Officer
Senior managment
Israel Mor
Co-Founder & Chairman
Mr. Mor began his career in 1978 at Bank Leumi, where he spent twelve years in various investment advisory positions. Mr. Mor served as Senior Fund Assets Director for Israel’s First International Bank’s Mutual Funds Division. Prior to co-founding Sphera Funds Management in 2004, Mr. Mor managed Shrem Fudim (SF) Group’s investment capital between 1996-2003.
Doron Breen
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Mr. Breen co-founded Sphera Funds Management in 2004 and Sphera Global Healthcare in 2007, where he serves as Portfolio Manager. Prior to co-founding Sphera, Mr. Breen co-managed the proprietary portfolio for SFK. Mr. Breen holds a BSc degree in Computer Science and a Master’s Degree in Economics, cum laude, from Tel Aviv University.
Ron Senator
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Mr. Senator co-founded Sphera Funds Management in 2004 and serves as Portfolio Manager of Sphera Fund. Prior to establishing Sphera, Mr. Senator served as Head of JPMorgan Chase Israel, and had held various investment banking and advisory roles in SG Cowen and JPMorgan in New York. Mr. Senator holds a B.A. in Economics from Bar-Ilan University and an MBA from Yale University.
Ori Goldfarb
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Goldfarb joined Sphera Funds Management as CEO in 2015. Between 2010-2014, Mr. Goldfarb served as CEO and Board member of Credit Suisse Israel. Prior to Credit Suisse, between 2007-2010, Mr. Goldfarb served as Managing Partner at BLSH Value Fund. Between 1998-2007, Mr. Goldfarb held senior positions with Merrill Lynch Private Banking in New York and Tel Aviv. Mr. Goldfarb holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from Israel’s College of Management and an MBA in Finance and Investments from The City University of New York.
