Israeli Securities Authority / ISA / Reshut Niyarot Erech

The Israeli Securities Authority (ISA; רשות ניירות ערך, Reshut Niyarot Erech) is Israel's primary capital markets regulator, established under the Securities Law, 1968. The ISA is the functional equivalent of the US SEC for the Israeli market. Key regulatory responsibilities: (1) TASE oversight: supervising the operations of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, enforcing trading rules, reviewing listing requirements, and monitoring market manipulation and insider trading; (2) Prospectus approval: reviewing and approving prospectuses for Israeli IPOs, bond offerings, and secondary offerings — both for TASE listings and for Israeli companies offering securities to Israeli investors; (3) Investment advisor licensing: all investment advisors, portfolio managers, and marketing agents operating in Israel must be licensed by the ISA. The licensing exam (Bagrut Nigzanim) is a significant qualification; (4) Fund regulation: all Israeli mutual funds (Kranot Nestmanot), hedge funds, and ETFs operating in Israel must register with and be supervised by the ISA; (5) Dual-listing framework: the ISA administers the dual-listing regime that allows Nasdaq-listed Israeli companies to cross-list on TASE without a full local prospectus; (6) Corporate reporting standards: Israeli public companies listed only on TASE must file using Israeli GAAP (which converged substantially with IFRS in 2008). Israeli companies dual-listed on Nasdaq use US GAAP (20-F filings). Key enforcement powers: the ISA can impose fines, suspend trading, revoke licenses, and refer cases to the Israeli attorney general for criminal prosecution. Notable recent enforcement actions include insider trading prosecutions related to M&A activity in Israeli tech companies and manipulation of TASE-listed real estate bonds.

When a startup founded by Israeli entrepreneurs wants to IPO on TASE, it files a prospectus (Tashkif) with the ISA. The ISA reviews the financial statements, risk factors, and management disclosures — similar to an SEC S-1 review. If the company is already Nasdaq-listed (as many Israeli tech companies are), it can use the simplified dual-listing path: submit its existing Nasdaq filings to the ISA in a Hebrew translation, pay the listing fees, and begin trading on TASE within weeks.