Yelin Lapidot Faces Record Client Exodus Amidst Industry Crisis
The financial crisis affecting Altshuler Shaham is now impacting Yelin Lapidot, which has recorded a monthly record in client departures. In August, Yelin Lapidot's provident funds experienced negative net transfers totaling NIS 2.2 billion, nearly matching Altshuler Shaham's NIS 2.35 billion. Negative net transfers signify clients moving to competitors, and these figures highlight the scale of this exodus. This marks an unprecedented monthly outflow for Yelin Lapidot, which manages NIS 79 billion in assets, meaning it redeemed 3% of its holdings in a single month. Since May of last year, Yelin Lapidot has seen NIS 18 billion in client withdrawals.
The surge in redemptions at Yelin Lapidot is attributed to its poor performance this year. For instance, its main general track provident fund yielded only 5.6% since the start of the year, lagging behind its direct competitors. While both Altshuler Shaham and Yelin Lapidot were the largest redeemers in the provident fund industry in August, their trends are diverging. Yelin Lapidot's redemptions are increasing, whereas Altshuler Shaham's outflows are decreasing, with its NIS 2.35 billion in August being its lowest monthly redemption volume since last November. Altshuler Shaham manages NIS 109 billion in provident funds.
However, market observers anticipate that Altshuler Shaham's redemption rate may accelerate due to the pending sale of its controlling stake to the insurance company WeSure. This change in ownership could influence policyholders' decisions and the rate of client transfers. Altshuler Shaham's controlling shareholder, Gilad Altshuler, held an emergency meeting this week to reassure insurance agents that the company's operations would continue unchanged under new management. WeSure's controlling shareholder, Emil Vinshel, criticized agents with "unprofessional agendas," suggesting they have ulterior motives if they act against client interests.
In the broader Israeli provident fund market for August, All Insurance led in net inflows with NIS 1.6 billion, managing NIS 79 billion in assets. Meitav followed with NIS 1.5 billion, overseeing Israel's largest provident fund with NIS 161.5 billion. Migdal and Harel also saw positive inflows of NIS 1.1 billion and NIS 1 billion, respectively. Ayalon, new to the official rankings, attracted NIS 826 million in its first month of operation. Conversely, Phoenix experienced outflows of nearly NIS 200 million, managing NIS 112 billion. More Investment House, the second-largest provident fund manager with NIS 118 billion, shifted to slight outflows of NIS 148 million in August after previous months of inflows. Analyst also recorded outflows below NIS 100 million, managing NIS 92 billion and nearing the NIS 100 billion asset mark.
