Psagot Investment House

Psagot Investment House Ltd.
Private
Industry Financial services
Predecessor

Ofek Securities and Investments (founded 1969)

Psagot Mutual Funds (Founded (1989)
Founded 2003 (2003)
Headquarters Tel Aviv, Israel
Products Pension funds, Life insurance, Provident funds, Severance pay funds, Mutual funds, Exchange-traded notes
Services Brokerage and research services
AUM Increase₪ 193 billion
Owner Apax Partners
Number of employees
 850
Website www.psagot.co.il/eng/HomePage/.aspx

The Psagot Investment House (Hebrew: פסגות בית השקעות‎‎) is an Israeli investment firm and the country's largest pension fund manager. Controlled by Apax Partners since 2010, the firm manages assets and capital totalling $40 billion.[1] Psagot is located on Ahad Ha'am Street in Tel Aviv,[2] in close proximity to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Background

The Psagot Investment House was established in 2003 through the merger of Psagot Mutual Funds and Psagot Ofek, a portfolio management company founded by Gabriella Ravid in 1990.[3][4] In 2005, subsequent to the Bachar Reform, Bank Leumi finalized the sale of Psagot to York Capital Management, a New York-based investment firm. York Capital sold its stake in the company (76%) to Apax Partners in 2010.[5][6] At $576 million, the Apax takeover of Psagot was Israel's largest private equity deal in 2010.[7]

Under the direction of Roy Vermus as CEO beginning in 2006, Psagot grew to become Israel's largest investment firm through a series of strategic fund acquisitions.[8][9] It acquired a provident fund managing NIS20 billion in assets from Prisma Investment House Ltd. in 2009 and made its first major pension fund acquisition in 2010 after outbidding a competitor for control of the Histadrut Leumit fund, which managed NIS6 billion in assets.[10][11][12] In addition, Vermus shut down Psagot's underwriting unit.[13] Forbes Israel ranked Vermus the fourth most influential young Israeli in 2008.[14]

ISA investigations

In 2003, when Psagot was still owned by Bank Leumi, the Israel Securities Authority launched an investigation into the firm's dealings for suspected violations of the Regulation of Investment Advice and Investment Portfolio Management Law (1995). The investigation went on for a year and culminated in a raid of Psagot's offices and the taking in of the firm's executives for questioning in late 2004. The impetus for the investigation was a Psagot fund having raised NIS1.7 billion in a single day.[15] Psagot founder and general manager Gabriella Ravid resigned along with her deputy in late 2006.[4] In 2008 Bank Leumi agreed to pay a fine of NIS25 million as part of a plea bargain agreement.[16]

In 2010 police arrested three senior Psagot employees on charges that they were involved in manipulating the prices of government and corporate bonds in order to redound greater profits to the firm and inflate their bonuses in the years 2007–2009. An investigation conducted by the ISA concluded with Psagot agreeing to pay a fine of NIS150 million as part of a plea bargain.[17][18][19][20] Psagot CEO at the time, Roy Vermus, was subsequently compelled to resign from the firm after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal he filed against his forced ouster from the company.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gewirtz, Jason (22 February 2012). "Israel's Business Elite Weigh Iran's Nuclear Threat". CNBC. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Contact Us". Psagot Investment House. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Psagot Group – Israel's Largest Investment House". Dun's 100. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  4. 1 2 Bergman, Roee (12 December 2006). "Ravid, Silbiger quit Psagot Ofek". Globes. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  5. ↑ Dagan, Ram (29 November 2005). "York Capital buys Leumi's Psagot Ofek". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Rochvarger, Michael (14 October 2010). "Apax takeover of Psagot falls apart". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  7. ↑ "Psagot buyout boosts private equity total to two-year high". Globes. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  8. 1 2 Peer, Eran (5 December 2010). "Roy Vermus leaves Psagot". Globes. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  9. ↑ Hazani, Golan; Raz, Hadar (25 September 2008). "'אני לא מבין איך מנכ"ל בית השקעות יכול להיות רגוע'" ['I don't understand how the CEO of an investment firm can stay relaxed']. Calcalist (in Hebrew). Retrieved 11 March 2012. ורמוס קיבל לידיו את בית ההשקעות ב־2006, כשהיה בן 36 בלבד.
  10. ↑ Magen, Hadas (27 January 2009). "Antitrust Authority approves Prisma-Psagot deal". Globes. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  11. ↑ Stein, Ron (26 January 2010). "Psagot buys first major pension fund". Globes. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  12. ↑ Bindman, Raheli (25 January 2011). "בלעדי ל'כלכליסט': פסגות מוכרת את מלון ארבל בטבריה ב-7.5 מיליון שקל" [Exclusive to 'Calcalist': Psagot sells Arbel Hotel in Tiberias for NIS7.5 million]. Calcalist (in Hebrew). Retrieved 12 March 2012. בית ההשקעות פסגות מוכר את בית המלון ארבל בטבריה שנרכש על ידי קרן הפנסיה הותיקה הע"ל (קרן הפנסיה של הסתדרות העובדים הלאומית) אותה רכש פסגות לפני כעשרה חודשים.
  13. ↑ Avriel, Eytan (18 September 2009). "The man who wanted to ground the executive jets". Haaretz. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  14. ↑ Librovsky, Lior (11 September 2008). "הצעירים המשפיעים בישראל, עפ"י פורבס: יונית לוי בראש העיתונאים, טל זילברשטיין בראש יועצי התקשורת" [The most influential young people in Israel, according to Forbes]. Bizportal (in Hebrew). Retrieved 11 March 2012. משלימים את החמישייה המובילה: אפרת פלד, מנכ"לית אריסון השקעות; רועי ורמוס, מנכ"ל פסגות אופק; ובמקום החמישי, כאמור, שר התקשורת אריאל אטיאס.
  15. ↑ "Securities Authority raids Leumi unit Psagot". Globes. 20 December 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  16. ↑ "Bank Leumi signs plea deal, to pay fine". Rueters. Jerusalem. 20 January 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  17. ↑ "Psagot: We Have Full Faith Investigation Will be Fair". Arutz Sheva. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  18. ↑ Magen, Hadas (25 May 2010). "NIS 100m fine for Psagot mooted - then dropped". Globes. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  19. ↑ Nasr, Joseph (2 February 2010). "Former Psagot execs suspected of fraudulent trade". Rueters. Jerusalem. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  20. ↑ Amit, Hagai; Baum, Ido (31 October 2010). "Psagot strikes NIS 150m plea deal in price manipulation affair". Haaretz. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
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