TASE Milestones

1935 The "Exchange Bureau for Securities" is established

Securities trading in Palestine began in the 1930s, after the immigration of Jewish bankers fleeing Nazi Germany to Israel.  The "Exchange Bureau for Securities" was founded in 1935 by the Anglo-Palestine Bank, which subsequently evolved into Bank Leumi. The Exchange Bureau operated as a small stock exchange facilitating the trading of securities for one hour daily in adherence to the customary regulations observed on European stock exchanges. The trade was conducted at the bank, in the office of Mr. Mordechai Pinchas Hasson, an Israeli banker, one of the founders of the Exchange Bureau of Securities, and the CEO of Bank Leumi (according to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

1953 - The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange is established

Following the establishment of the State of Israel, as trading volumes and the number of publicly traded companies increased, the need to institutionalize trading in securities increased. In 1953, investment houses and banks that were active in Israel at the time collaborated to found the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The TASE began operations on September 14, 1953, and trade continued to take place in the offices of Bank Leumi until 1960, when the TASE moved to an independent residence in a covered passageway at 113 Allenby Street in Tel Aviv.

1966 - The TASE Clearing House is established

As activity on the TASE increased, so did the demand for sophisticated clearing services. The TASE Clearing House was established by TASE members on February 1, 1966. Following an extended period of manual clearing, the clearing process for all securities transactions was fully automated by the TASE Clearing House by the end of the 1980s.

1968 - The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) is established

The Securities Law, which established the Israel Securities Authority and regulated trade and stock exchange activity for the first time, was enacted in 1968 in response to the TASE's substantial influence on the Israeli capital .The legislation incorporated supervisory principles widely recognized in both England and the United States These principles center around the obligation of listed companies to provide accurate and complete disclosure. The role of the Israel Securities Authority is defined as safeguarding the interests of the investing public, while maintaining proper and fair trading and stock exchange activity.

1983 - The TASE moves to Ahad Ha'am Street

With the increase in trading activity, the TASE moved from its residence at 113 Allenby Street to its new building on 54 Ahad Ha'am Street in Tel Aviv.

The Bank Stock Crisis

The decommissioning of government bonds in 1975 made trading in stocks the focus of activity in the capital market. From 1977 to 1983, there was a notable surge in share price volatility, accompanied by substantial growth in the number of companies and trading. 1982 was a record year for activity, with stock prices rising by 113% in real terms. The boom necessitated the construction of more spacious and sophisticated trading halls, ; consequently, the TASE relocated from Allenby Street to 54 Ahad Ha'am Street in Tel Aviv in February 1983. That same year, however, the boom ended in a sharp stock crash: at the end of January the "free" stocks plummeted, and on October 6, the bank stock bubble burst. For the first time, the TASE closed for two weeks.

1991 - The Computerized Auction System starts to operate

The implementation of the Computerized Auction System by the TASE in September 1991 marked the advent of computer-based trading.

1993 - Options Trading on the TA-25 Index

In 1993, the TASE launched the first trading of options on the TA-25 index, and a year later trading in options on the dollar exchange rate began.

1997 - The TACT Era begins

The TASE introduced a "continuous" trading system (Tel Aviv Continuous Trading -TACT) in 1997 to facilitate computerized and uninterrupted trading in securities. Over time, every security and derivative was migrated to the TACT system. A significant turning point in the TASE's history occurred in October 1999 with the closing of the iconic trading halls.

1999 –The TASE’s trading floors close down

In October 1999, TASE brought down the curtain on the trading floors era and ever since trading has been fully automated making use of a “continuous” trading system for all the securities listed on TASE.

2000 - The Dual Listing Law is enacted

Amendment No. 21 to the Securities Law, approved by the Knesset in October 2000, facilitates the trading of shares of U.S.-listed companies in Tel Aviv ("dual listing"). Companies listed on both the primary list of the London Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Small Cap were granted dual listing status in July 2005. In 2018 Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto were added for dual-listing. Dozens of dual-listed companies are currently traded on the TASE (traded simultaneously in Tel Aviv and foreign stock exchanges).

2000 - The First ETN (Exchange Traded Note) is issued

The first ETN was issued in Israel in 2000, and it belonged to the family of securities traded on the TASE. ETNs, which are issued by financial institutions (in Israel - ETN companies), facilitate the tracking of multiple underlying assets by investors using a common denominator. An ETN may, among other things, track indices, currencies, commodities, and more.

Presently, tens of billions of shekels are invested in certificates that track an extensive array of assets and indices.

2005 – Market Makers in the TASE

Market makers began to operate on the TASE in June 2005. By providing liquidity, market-making enables investors to purchase or sell securities on TASE without restriction.

2007 - Development of the Corporate Bond Market

2007 was a record year for the corporate bond market. The business sector issued approximately NIS 87 billion in bonds, reflecting an 85% growth compared to the same period last year. This increase can be attributed to the decline in government bond issuance during the first six months of the year and the effects of the reform in pension funds. The turnover of daily trading in bonds jumped twofold compared to last year, reaching over NIS 3 billion.

2014 - The TASE moves to Ahuzat Bayit Street

After 30 years on Ahad Ha'am Street, the TASE moved to its new home on 2 Ahuzat Bayit Street, Tel Aviv.

The move emphasizes the convergence of stability and tradition with technological progress and innovation. The new building is located in the heart of Tel Aviv’s “City” and was purposefully designed from its inception to accommodate the scale and nature of TASE's operations as well as its capacity to serve the capital market.

The new building includes secured infrastructure following the requirements of the civil defense authorities, making it suitable for TASE’s advanced communications and trading systems. The subterranean IT center was built for “non-stop exchange operations”, including investments that were made in support of a wide variety of scenarios.

2016 - The High-Tech Analysis Project is launched

The TASE signed an agreement with Edison and Frost & Sullivan in February 2016 for the analysis of technology and biomed companies. This was done to implement the recommendations of the Committee for Promotion of Investments in Research and Development-traded Companies (the "R&D Committee"), to determine accurate pricing for technology and biomed companies, to improve the level of knowledge of investors, and to reduce the barrier of lack of knowledge and understanding among investors.

In order to ensure impartial, professional, and independent analysis, the companies enter into a contractual arrangement with the TASE to retain its analysis services for a mandatory period of two years. Companies are not permitted to withdraw from the project at this time. The analysis is funded by the companies surveyed along with funding from the Chief Scientist and the TASE. The analyses are published in the Magna and MAYA systems in English, accompanied by a Hebrew abstract.

2017 - TASE indices Reform - “The Diffusion Reform”

The indices reform was the most significant change that has taken place in the TASE indices in the past 25 years.

The reform aimed to achieve the following: enhancing the stability of the TASE indices, expanding sectoral diffusion across different indices, implementing stricter threshold terms for the flagship indices while reducing them for the other indices, promoting foreign investment in the TASE indices, substantially augmenting the free float rate for shares included in the flagship indices, optimizing the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises, and enlarging the infrastructure for launching new indices.

Additional information about TASE’s indices >

2017 - TASE Demutualization

The Knesset approved an amendment to the Securities Law in April 2017 that permits modifications to the ownership structure of TASE. The District Court ratified the TASE demutualization arrangement in September 2017, which also permits modifications to the ownership structure of TASE. This arrangement converts TASE into a for-profit entity while distinguishing ownership of TASE shares from membership.

In August 2018, the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) approved the transaction for the change in TASE’s ownership structure in which five international investors purchased the majority of TASE shares from the TASE members.

The sale of the shares led to a separation between the ownership of the TASE and its membership.

By restructuring its ownership, the TASE will be able to direct its operations in a more competitive and efficient manner, while also allowing it to concentrate on its core business, shareholders, and users.

Additional information >

2018 – The Nominee Company is established

The Nominee Company was established in January 2018 as a private subsidiary of the TASE, fully owned by the TASE. According to the definition in the Securities Law, the sole undertaking of the Nominee Company shall be the holding of securities. It will provide services to companies issuing on the TASE and to additional companies that wish to register their securities in the clearing house. The TASE's Nominee Company will provide, for the first time in Israel, digital registration services without the need to issue a physical certificate, to reduce the risks in the registration process and to save operating expenses to public companies.

The Nominee Company ensures the proper and complete registration of a specified quantity of publicly traded securities registered in its name. Additionally, it facilitates the transfer of payments resulting from corporate activities (e.g., dividends, interest) between the issuing companies and the security holders.

2018 – ETF - Exchange Traded Fund

Following a directive issued by the Ministry of Finance, the process of converting the ETNs (Exchange Traded Notes) into ETFs took place at the end of 2018. ETFs are financial instruments designed to passively track indices of stocks, bonds, or commodities. ETFs invest according to a predetermined index.

The ETF is obliged to make its “best effort” in tracking the index. Consequently, an ETF should yield a similar but not identical return to the return on the index that it tracks. ETFs are governed by the Joint Investments Trust Law, following Amendment 28, similar to mutual funds.

2019 – TASE IPO

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange became a publicly traded company on the TASE on August 1, 2019, subsequent to its initial public offering (IPO) in late July 2019.  At that time TASE floated 31.7% of its shares to foreign and Israeli institutional investors and the public at large. The shares trade under the ticker symbol “TASE”.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has joined leading companies in Israel and many stock exchanges in the world operating as public companies.