At a Financial Future conference hosted by Calcalist and Migdal, Migdal CEO Ronen Agassi discussed the insurer’s growth plans in an interview with Calcalist’s Yarden Rozhanski. He noted that Israeli insurers have been among the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s standout performers in recent years, with the insurance index up about 440% over the past three years, and said his optimism rests on Israel’s economic fundamentals, rising income per capita and a growing savings culture.
Agassi said the last three years have been difficult but have also reinforced confidence in Israel’s resilience, both economic and internal. He pointed to the fact that the economy has continued to show positive growth even during wartime, and said new reporting rules in the insurance industry have made companies look more accurate and more attractive to investors. He added that Migdal’s accumulated profit is close to 15 billion shekels.
Asked about geopolitical risk, including a U.S.-Iran agreement that rattled markets this week, Agassi said the company invests large sums in Israel and that at least half of its money remains in the country. He said he hopes for good developments but does not believe any external deal will fundamentally change Israel’s direction. He also explained that insurers’ shift into asset management reflects a natural evolution from their original role in retirement and savings planning.
Agassi said Migdal launched a new strategic plan three months ago after reaching the earlier plan’s 2027 targets already in 2025. He said the company now manages more than 600 billion shekels in assets and collects about 40 billion shekels in annual premiums, and that growth is expected mainly to be organic because of a regulatory cap that limits savings and pension assets to 15%.
For individual savers, he cited Albert Einstein on compound interest and urged people not to leave saving until the last minute. He said that starting at age 25 is far better than starting at 50, especially because longer life expectancy means retirement can last as long as working life. His message to state leaders was simply, in his words, to “be worthy of us.”
