Over the last several decades, veteran pension funds have been one of the main vehicles for long-term savings by the Israeli public, particularly hired employees belonging to labor unions united under the Histadrut, Israel's largest general labor union. Consequently, these funds have accumulated assets under their management.
In recent years, however, several events have contributed to a decrease in the veteran funds' market position, including the discovery of huge deficits, a moratorium on new participants and the creation of "new" funds, growing competition from newer, mostly insurer-owned funds, and the nationalization of the funds.
Overall, the pension fund industry has been, and still is, going through dramatic changes in recent years, creating substantial challenges for both veteran and new players, in terms of overall strategy, business models, marketing and more. |
