Israeli Regulator Reviews Rapid Growth and Customer Transfers at Infinity Pension Fund

The Israeli Capital Market Authority is investigating whether the rapid influx of savers into Infinity Investment House's pension fund, led by Amir Eyal, caused delays in customer transfers, fund allocations, and investment track changes. Infinity's pension fund, established about four years ago after winning a 2021 tender for default pension funds, has experienced meteoric growth, increasing its assets from 44 million shekels to 2.1 billion shekels, a rise of over 4,000% in three years. Currently, Infinity manages approximately 10 billion shekels.

The default pension fund system allows employers to enroll new employees into one of four approved funds, including Infinity, Altshuler Shaham, Meitav, and More, which offer reduced and fixed management fees for ten years. The regulator's routine audits identified operational issues such as delays in transferring customers into the pension fund, likely due to the fund's rapid growth, and possible breaches of timing regulations for investment track changes and deposit allocations. Infinity stated these are not violations but routine operational matters, with compensation provided to affected savers when delays occur.

Infinity highlighted that its pension fund consistently leads performance tables over one, three, and five-year periods, boasting a significant actuarial surplus of about 3% over the past three years, effectively resulting in negative management fees and additional returns for savers. The fund's default pension track for those under 50 yielded a 22.5% return in the past year, outperforming the 21% average, and a 60% return over three years compared to 46.5% for peers.

Despite its rapid growth, Infinity's pension fund remains relatively small within Israel's pension market, which manages 1.26 trillion shekels. The Capital Market Authority confirmed that such audits are routine and declined to comment on internal proceedings. Infinity is also thriving in provident funds, with assets exceeding 7 billion shekels and a 240% growth in two and a half years, driven by strong returns and aggressive client acquisition. Amir Eyal and his team were noted for their early confidence in Israel's capital markets during wartime, predicting an economic 'golden age.'