Yelin Lapidot Leads Israeli Provident Funds Despite July Losses Amid Market Volatility
Israeli provident fund savers faced two consecutive months of negative returns in July, with an average loss of about 0.5% in general provident fund tracks. Despite this, the overall general track still posted a positive return of approximately 5.4% since the start of the year. Equity tracks showed weaker performance in July with a 0.5% loss, yet they achieved a sharp 8.7% gain year-to-date and an unprecedented 68% increase over the past three years.
The Tel Aviv stock market ended July mixed, with the TA-35 index rising 2% and the TA-125 up 1.5%. In contrast, U.S. markets were mixed: the Dow Jones rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 was flat, and the Nasdaq fell sharply by 3.2%. However, the provident fund track linked to the S&P 500 gained 2.2% in shekel terms, boosted by a significant strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the shekel, which added about 3.2% to returns. Still, this track’s annual return of 4.6% lags behind both the equity and general tracks.
After two challenging years, Yelin Lapidot investment house led the general track in July with a near-zero return, outperforming competitors who posted negative returns. This improvement follows prior years of weaker results due to a high exposure to foreign markets and the strengthening shekel. Other notable performers included Mor Investment House and Menora Insurance, with losses of only 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively. Altshuler Shaham also stood out with a smaller-than-average loss of 0.4%, marking its second consecutive strong month.
At the bottom of July’s general track returns were Harel and Clal insurance companies, with losses of 1.2% and 0.7%, respectively, though both maintain strong year-to-date returns of 5.8% and 6.8%. In the equity track, Altshuler Shaham and Yelin Lapidot again outperformed the sector average loss of 1%, with declines of 0.3% and 0.4%. Mor also performed relatively well with a 0.3% loss. Harel and Clal were at the bottom with losses of 2.1% and 1.5%, though they lead year-to-date equity returns with 9.9% and 11.3%, alongside Mor’s 10.4%.
Over three years, Clal leads with a 73.6% return, followed by Infinity at 72.4%, Mor at 71.8%, and Meitav at 70%. Altshuler Shaham and Yelin Lapidot trail with 57.4% and 62.9%, respectively. The report notes that the strengthening shekel has supported funds with high foreign exposure, contributing to recent performance shifts.
