Israel's hedge fund industry manages an estimated $23.6 billion, according to Gilboa Funds' 2025 survey. In late July the Knesset gave permanent legal status to mutual hedge funds, a retail version that manages about NIS 6 billion. The Israel Hedge Funds Association, led by CEO Natalie Raz, holds its 13th annual conference at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on November 11, 2026.
Key takeaways
- Gilboa Funds estimates Israeli hedge fund assets at $23.6 billion across 232 funds and 162 managers, as of September 30, 2025.
- Growth came from liquid strategies, up 28% to $16.7 billion, while private debt fell 22% to $6.9 billion.
- The Knesset approved a law in late July that makes mutual hedge funds (קרנות גידור בנאמנות) permanent. They manage about NIS 6 billion across 46 funds.
- About 88% of investors are Israeli and 80% are private investors, so the industry is funded mainly at home.
- The association's 13th annual conference takes place November 11 at the exchange, with Ittai Ben-Zeev, Henry Swieca and Ariel Bino on the program.
What is happening in Israeli hedge funds this month?
Three developments land within weeks of each other: a conference, a new survey presentation and a new law. The Israel Hedge Funds Association (IHFA) holds its 13th annual conference on November 11 from 8:30 to 14:30 at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (הבורסה לניירות ערך בתל אביב). The theme is "Scaling up Israel's hedge fund industry," and the association says the full agenda will be shared closer to the date.
The program opens with remarks from Ittai Ben-Zeev, CEO of the exchange. Ariel Bino, managing partner at Gilboa Funds, presents the annual industry survey. A panel on navigating Israel's capital markets from the hedge fund perspective features Roy Kuo, CIO of Galilei, and Ilan Sadon, CEO, chairman and founder of Kaspa. Henry Swieca, founder of Talpion Fund Management, and Leor Shapiro, global head of capital introductions for prime services at Jefferies, discuss scaling the industry.
The legal change came earlier. After the Knesset had already been dissolved, the plenum approved in late July the amendment that gives mutual hedge funds a permanent home in Israeli law. Calcalist (כלכליסט) reported that the vote removed uncertainty over about NIS 5.7 billion of public money, which had operated under a temporary rule due to expire in early 2027.
How big is Israel's hedge fund industry?
Gilboa Funds' 2025 Israeli Hedge Fund Survey is the most detailed public count, with figures as of September 30, 2025. Gilboa says participants are confidential, the data was not independently verified, and all figures are estimates.
| Measure | Gilboa 2025 survey |
|---|---|
| Industry assets | $23.6B, up 7.8% from $21.9B |
| Liquid hedge funds | $16.7B, up 28% from $13B |
| Private debt in the industry | $6.9B, down 22% from $8.9B |
| Private debt share of assets | 29%, down from 41% |
| Funds and managers | 232 funds, 162 managers |
| Average assets per fund | $72M |
| Ten largest funds | $7.8B combined |
| Funds with over $100M | 31 |
| Funds opened and closed | 33 opened, 14 closed |
| People employed | About 980, of whom 710 in investment roles |
The headline is not just size. Growth came from liquid, tradeable strategies, which jumped 28%. Private debt shrank, and its share of industry assets fell from 41% to 29%. The ten largest funds hold about a third of the money, while the average fund is modest, at $72 million.
By strategy, Israeli equity funds hold 50% of assets but only 30% of funds. Multi-strategy funds hold 22% of assets and fixed income 14%. Global equity is 26% of funds but only 9% of assets, which suggests those funds are small. Macro and quantitative strategies together make up 5% of assets.
How did Israel's hedge fund industry grow?
Public numbers go back more than 15 years, though the surveys use different methods and are not strictly comparable. An early Haaretz report, whose date is unconfirmed, put hedge fund assets at about $1.6 billion, up five-fold in six years. It noted that investment managers Yoav Kaplan and Oded Gal had left IBI Israel Brokerage and Investments to launch a fund.
Tzur Management, a fund administrator, ran what it called the first survey of the industry in 2012. Hedgeweek reported that the number of funds had risen 162% since 2006, that fewer than a third of assets came from international investors, and that more than 80% of participants said foreign investors were not aware of the industry. A 2014 Tzur survey put assets at $2.7 billion, up 33% in two years, with about 60% of assets invested outside Israel. Tzur's index returned 13% in 2012 and 17% in 2013.
A Bloomberg report in 2012 carried the headline "Israel Hedge Funds Defy Iran Threat, Multiplying in Tech Center."
Compare that with Gilboa's 2025 picture: about 73% of assets invested in Israel and about 88% of investors Israeli. In 2013, about 60% of assets were invested abroad. Different surveys measure different things, so treat it as a direction, not a precise change. The industry grew up, and it grew up local.
What are mutual hedge funds, and why did the Knesset vote matter?
Mutual hedge funds (קרנות גידור בנאמנות) are the biggest recent change in the industry. They launched in April 2023 under a temporary rule from the Israel Securities Authority (רשות ניירות ערך). They use the strategies of traditional private hedge funds but are structured as regulated mutual funds listed on the exchange.
Globes reported on July 28 that there were 46 of them, managing about NIS 6 billion, double the figure a year earlier. Investors are qualified, meaning more than NIS 10 million in liquid capital, or institutions. Bizportal reported that the funds raised about NIS 1.6 billion in the first half of 2026 alone, and cautioned that they can use more complex instruments than regular funds, so they may be more volatile and carry higher risk.
Gilboa's survey counted 46 funds and 20 managers as of October 31, 2025, and put the segment at $982 million, up 303% from $244 million a year earlier. Its five largest funds held $553 million. Globes' later NIS figure is consistent with a segment that kept doubling.
The temporary rule was on its second and last extension. Globes reported that without a law, new funds and possibly existing ones faced danger. It had exposed the legal problem in October 2025. Bank of Israel officials had opposed the product, concerned that rapid growth could lead to a liquidity crisis if the public tried to withdraw at once.
In late July the plenum approved the bill in its second and third readings. The change creates a permanent category for hedging funds and a second for funds that invest in unlisted assets, and Calcalist said it also creates private investment funds in trust for up to 15 years. Funder reported that the Securities Authority is expected to publish a draft permanent circular on mutual hedge funds, and a separate draft on their classification, for public comment. Mali Levaiv (מלי לבייב), a vice president at Sigma Clarity, called the approval a significant turning point for the Israeli capital market.
Who runs Israeli hedge funds? Sphera, Nadav Tzeler and Ron Senator
The industry is mostly small firms with a few large ones. Globes describes Sphera (ספרה) as one of the long-established, largest hedge fund groups in the local capital market, managing billions of dollars.
Nadav Tzeler (נדב צלר), 38, is one of Sphera's managing partners. Globes profiled him in its 40 under 40 series in 2026. He grew up in Haifa and worked at a neighborhood falafel stand from age 14, where he says he first saw cash flow, profit and loss, and inflation up close. In high school he began studying philosophy at the Open University and taught himself about markets from books and blogs. By about 21 he had learned that Israel had a hedge fund industry and decided that was where he wanted to be. He holds a bachelor's degree in social sciences from the Open University.
Ron Senator, managing partner at Sphera, is described in a Goldrock Partners podcast as a co-founder of Israel's first hedge fund. That makes Sphera a thread from the industry's start to its current generation.
Most of the 162 managers in Gilboa's count are far smaller. With 31 funds above $100 million out of 232, the picture is of a few large groups and many boutiques. Few publish detailed profiles, which is part of why the industry is lightly covered in English.
Who is behind the Israel Hedge Funds Association?
The Israel Hedge Funds Association says the idea was conceived in 2013 by a group of local and international hedge fund managers and service providers. Its stated aims are to support the industry as part of the global investment management community, to attract overseas investment, and to create jobs for finance professionals, including Israelis returning from abroad. Barnea Jaffa Lande serves as its legal adviser.
Natalie Raz is the CEO. In November 2024 she joined an opening bell ceremony at the exchange attended by more than 100 Israeli and foreign managers, joined by members who had served on reserve duty during the war. She said the industry continues to grow and adapt despite security and economic challenges, and that more than 200 funds have been active for nearly two decades. The exchange said it works to bring investors into the Israeli economy, including by strengthening the standing of hedge funds. The association also opened trading for its 7th annual conference in 2019, when it hosted investors from more than ten countries.
The conference has a long record at the exchange. At the 10th conference on October 25, 2022, fund administrator Apex Group said it served about 350 Israeli clients managing 550 funds of all kinds, with more than $30 billion in assets under administration. The 2025 conference, according to Barnea, covered emerging strategies, the challenges facing Israel's economy and the vision of Israel as a global financial center.
The board welcoming attendees on November 11 includes Lior Segev, partner at KH2 Capital, and Max Karpel, partner at Akin.
The foreign guest is a notable one. Henry Swieca co-founded Highbridge Capital Management with Glenn Dubin in 1992 and served as its chief investment officer. JPMorgan bought 55% in 2004 and the rest by 2009. Swieca has run Talpion Fund Management, a New York family office, since 2010.
How have Israeli hedge funds performed?
The survey's TGI Index of Israeli Hedge Funds returned 493% from 2007 through September 30, 2025, against 250% for the TA-125 and 103% for bonds. Gilboa says all returns are net of fees.
| 10-year measure | TGI index | TA-125 | All bonds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annualized return | 9.6% | 9.5% | 2.4% |
| Standard deviation | 7.1% | 14.4% | 3.6% |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Over ten years the index matched the stock market's return with about half the volatility. Annual numbers show the shape. The index returned 14.5% in 2020 and 15.8% in 2021, fell 10.2% in 2022, rose 10.7% in 2023 and 20.5% in 2024, and was up 19.4% through September 2025.
By strategy, the five-year annualized returns through September 30, 2025 were:
| Strategy | 5-year annualized return |
|---|---|
| Israeli equity | 17.1% |
| Global equity | 11.1% |
| Fixed income | 8.0% |
| Illiquid | 7.8% |
| Quantitative | 1.8% |
| Overall index | 12.6% |
Israeli equity strategies led, which fits the market rally, and they are also half of industry assets. That concentration is both the industry's strength and its main exposure.
Where does the money come from?
According to Gilboa, 88% of investors are Israeli and 12% foreign, and 80% are private investors and 20% institutional. The industry is funded mainly by wealthy Israelis.
The context is a large domestic savings pool. The Bank of Israel said, in figures republished by Funder, that the public's financial assets reached about NIS 7.62 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, up about NIS 332 billion (4.6%), from about NIS 7.25 trillion in the first quarter. Globes reported in January that assets under management by institutional investors exceeded NIS 4 trillion. Maariv reported mutual funds hit a record NIS 800 billion on March 2, 2026. Calcalist reported, in a review carried by Ynetnews, that pension savers moved about NIS 35 billion into equity tracks from April 2025 to March 2026, an all-time high.
What are the risks and open questions?
Five issues stand out.
- Oversight. Barnea notes the industry, which includes funds registered in Israel, the Cayman Islands and Delaware, is not subject to any direct regulatory supervision. Mutual hedge funds are supervised by the Securities Authority.
- Liquidity. The Bank of Israel concern that fast growth could lead to a withdrawal rush has not been tested by a market drop. The rules for a permanent circular are not yet published.
- Concentration. Israeli equity is half of assets, so results depend on the local market.
- Data. The best numbers are self-reported estimates from one survey, and the industry has no official count. Gilboa's figures and Globes' figures also differ in currency and date.
- Ambition. A JNS opinion piece by Karen Sinai argues the next government should stimulate hedge fund growth, and compares Israel with Abu Dhabi's financial zone, where assets rose 36% in 2025.
Where do Israeli funds fit in the wider investment picture?
Hedge funds are one corner of Israel's fund landscape. For the venture and growth side, see Olam's profiles of Qumra Capital, Israel's pre-IPO growth fund, Erel Margalit and Jerusalem Venture Partners, and Jacob Engel and the Atooro Fund. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
How big is Israel's hedge fund industry?
About $23.6 billion as of September 30, 2025, in Gilboa Funds' estimate, up 7.8% in a year, across 232 funds and 162 managers.
What is a mutual hedge fund in Israel?
A hedge fund strategy packaged as a regulated, exchange-listed mutual fund, open to qualified investors with more than NIS 10 million in liquid capital and to institutions. They launched in April 2023 and manage about NIS 6 billion across 46 funds.
When is the Israel Hedge Funds Association conference?
November 11, 2026, from 8:30 to 14:30, at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. It is the association's 13th annual conference.
Who leads the association?
Natalie Raz is CEO. The board welcoming attendees includes Lior Segev of KH2 Capital and Max Karpel of Akin.
Who invests in Israeli hedge funds?
Mostly Israelis: about 88% of investors are Israeli and 80% are private investors, according to Gilboa Funds.
How we report: Olam stories draw on public filings, company disclosures and named sources, checked by our editors. Read our methodology · Corrections
