An analysis of the development of accounts among non-bank stock exchange members shows a sharp increase of about 170% during 2020 compared to the corresponding period last year. It is worth noting that the rate of opening new accounts with members of the stock exchange and members of the stock exchange who are not banks in particular is still increasing. Among non-bank stock exchange members, last December was the month with the highest number of new accounts recorded this year, more than March 2020, in which a record number of new accounts were sampled to date – about 21.7 thousand.
In addition, we examined the new small and medium-sized retail investors who entered the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the nature of their activity and whether their level of activity was affected by the period of isolation and closure that the State of Israel entered following the spread of the corona virus. In order to identify small and medium-sized retail investors, we defined a retail account as having a turnover of less than NIS 1 million per month. The investigation revealed that the new retail investors who entered in 2020 are not different in nature from new retail investors who entered in previous years and that the closure did not affect the nature of the decision-making. A new retail investor in 2020 made about 5 transactions a month similar to the years 2018-2019 and its average monthly turnover is estimated at about NIS 55,000, about 4% higher than 2019. In addition, the total volume of new accounts in shares from the general turnover is estimated at about – 1.3% similar to previous years. It is interesting to note that in March 2020, when there were sharp declines in the markets, and the general public redeemed large-scale mutual funds, the new investors increased the monthly turnover to about NIS 71,000. These facts substantiate the assumption that new investors took advantage of the sharp declines in the markets and saw them as investment opportunities.
It seems that the Israeli public, which according to the Bank of Israel estimates that it has more than 600 million in current accounts and deposits, has used the period of isolation and closures in the past year to study and invest in the Israeli capital market.
Along with the increase in the number of new accounts, we are also witnessing a significant jump in the number of entries to the stock exchange website for the purpose of obtaining information. During 2020, there was a sharp increase of about 58% in the number of visits to the TASE website compared to 2019. There was also an increase in the number of women who entered the TASE website, so that their share in the number of visits increased to 36% compared to 31% in 2019.
A significant jump of about 140% was also recorded at the entrance to the table comparing commissions in securities between the various stock exchange members published on the stock exchange website, which indicates a growing desire on the part of the general public to understand the costs of opening an account and buying and selling commissions. Securities. We will add that there has also been a significant jump of about 130% in the use of the stock exchange app.
In conclusion, the corona virus that has plagued us for almost a year has made the general public realize that its financial future is in its hands and it must learn, invest and understand that in the Israeli capital market it can have investment opportunities and good alternatives to low interest rates. The vaccine is already here and so are the abilities of the general public to make decisions about their financial future.