Dolphin, an Israeli investment house controlled 60% by veteran market figure Amit Berger, is seeking approval from the Securities Authority to establish its own mutual fund management company. If the license is granted, the new unit is expected to begin operating in October, with Eran Ben Shushan set to manage it and hold 20% of the shares.
Dolphin currently manages about 10 billion shekels in mutual fund assets, making it the largest local investment house in the field that still does not own an independent fund company. Its mutual fund activity now runs through the hosting model, under which investment managers operate inside an existing fund company. Dolphin’s funds are currently hosted by Ayalon, while the broader hosting market manages about 50 billion shekels.
The move comes as the industry consolidates and as the Securities Authority seeks to tighten oversight of hosting. The regulator says the model has expanded beyond its original purpose as a training path for young managers, and that some participants entered the market with insufficient supervision or unclear funding sources. In the authority’s draft issued two months ago, hosts managing more than 1 billion shekels for a hosted manager would face stronger monitoring, raising costs and reducing the model’s economic appeal.
The mutual fund industry now manages a record 835 billion shekels, with the largest players being Kesem, part of Phoenix Investment House, at 123 billion shekels, followed by Meitav at 117 billion and Harel at 111 billion. Dolphin also has an indirect link to the sector through IBI Funds, where Ayal Gorן holds 10% of Dolphin shares, but Dolphin says he is only a passive investor. Berger, whose past included buying Dash Investments in 2003, losing control of it, acquiring half of Tiv Taam in 2006, and later declaring bankruptcy in 2009, said the company is awaiting final approval and hopes to complete the process in the coming months.
