§  In the third quarter of 2020, the balance of the public’s financial assets portfolio increased by about NIS 133 billion (3.3 percent). It thus returned to its level, and even higher, than before the crisis, of approximately NIS 4.2 trillion, though with a slightly different composition.

§  Since the first quarter, at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the deposits and investments abroad components have increased markedly. In contrast, the Israeli equity and tradable bonds in Israel have not yet returned to their pre-crisis levels, despite certain increases in markets.

§  As a result of these developments, there were increases in the share of foreign assets and in the share of foreign-currency assets out of the total portfolio.

§  The balance of the asset portfolio managed by institutional investors increased in the third quarter by approximately NIS 57 billion (3 percent), to about NIS 1.94 trillion. This is further to an increase in the second quarter, and thus returns to its pre-crisis level.

§  Institutional investors’ rate of exposure to foreign assets increased by about 1.6 percentage points during the quarter, and their exposure to foreign currency increased by 0.3 percentage points.

§  The value of the asset portfolio managed by mutual funds in Israel increased by about NIS 13 billion (4.4 percent) in the third quarter, reaching about NIS 305.3 billion, lower than its pre-crisis level (about NIS 355 billion in January 2020).

 

1. The total assets portfolio

In the third quarter of 2020, the balance of the public’s financial assets portfolio increased by about NIS 132 billion (3.3 percent) to about NIS 4.16 trillion at quarter end (Figure 1). It thus returned to its pre-crisis level, though with a slightly different composition. The share of the public’s financial assets portfolio relative to GDP increased, by about 11 percentage points, to about 299.9 percent at the end of the quarter. Most of the increase is attributed to moderation in the rate of GDP growth compared to the growth of the portfolio.​