TA-35 Index

The TA-35 Index is the flagship equity index of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). It tracks 35 of the largest shares on TASE that meet the index’s eligibility criteria, and is commonly used as a benchmark for large-cap Israeli equities, index-linked products, and derivatives exposure to the Israeli stock market.^[1]

Overview

TA-35 is a broad large-cap equity benchmark rather than a sector index. TASE describes it as the exchange’s flagship index and states that it includes the 35 shares with the highest market capitalization on the exchange that meet the index criteria.^[1] The index is part of the central set of TASE equity benchmarks, alongside indices such as TA-125 and TA-90. In practice, TA-35 represents the largest and most liquid segment of the Israeli listed equity market, although its composition depends on TASE’s formal rules rather than on market capitalization alone.

The index is identified on TASE by index code 142. Its ISIN is IL00BIDX1428, its Bloomberg code is TA-35, and its Reuters RIC is .TA35.^[1] TASE classifies the index as a “tracking index” and publishes it in real time every 15 seconds during the trading day.^[1] TASE’s displayed index values are gross total return (GTR), meaning the calculation method treats dividends in a gross reinvestment framework rather than as a pure price-only series.^[1]

Because it concentrates on the largest eligible shares, TA-35 is often described as Israel’s blue-chip equity index. That description should be understood as a market convention rather than a guarantee about the business quality, creditworthiness, profitability, or investment merit of any constituent company. Inclusion in the index reflects compliance with index rules and ranking criteria at review dates.

History

The index was launched on 2 January 1992 with a base value of 100.^[1] TASE states that the index was initially published under the name “Maof Index” and included 25 shares. It was later rebranded as TA-25, and on 9 February 2017 it was expanded to 35 shares and became TA-35.^[2]

The 2017 change formed part of a broader reform of TASE equity indices. TASE’s 2021 periodic report states that the February 2017 methodology reform was intended, among other things, to reduce index concentration and make index composition more stable. The reform increased the number of shares participating in TASE indices, reduced maximum constituent weights, introduced rules intended to help financial-product issuers track indices more accurately, and raised free-float requirements for inclusion in leading indices.^[3]

The expansion from 25 to 35 constituents also had consequences for related derivative products. Eurex stated that, effective 10 February 2017, futures on the TA-25 index were renamed futures on the TA-35 index after TASE extended the TA-25 index by ten additional components and renamed it accordingly.^[4]

Composition and eligibility

TA-35 is composed of 35 securities.^[1] TASE’s index description emphasizes that the index includes the 35 shares with the highest market capitalization on TASE that satisfy the relevant threshold conditions.^[1] The ranking criterion for replacement is market capitalization, but eligibility also depends on additional criteria set by TASE, including the applicable index universe and local-link rules.

TASE lists the index universe for TA-35 as the Rimon equity universe.^[1] The domicile or local-link condition is “Only Local Linked,” according to TASE’s English index page.^[1] The index is therefore not merely a mechanical list of the 35 largest securities traded in Tel Aviv; it is a rules-based benchmark governed by TASE’s methodology and periodic review process.

The index has a 7% maximum weight cap.^[2] Weight caps are significant because a capitalization-weighted index without caps can become highly concentrated in a small number of large issuers. TASE’s 2017 reform was explicitly designed in part to reduce concentration in the exchange’s indices.^[3] A cap does not eliminate concentration risk, but it limits the maximum formal index weight of any one constituent at the relevant calculation or adjustment point.

TASE also provides for a fast track for new IPO or dual-listed securities in TA-35.^[2] This means newly listed or newly dual-listed companies may be able to enter the index outside the ordinary pathway if they meet the exchange’s fast-entry rules. The availability of such a mechanism reflects the importance of maintaining a representative large-cap benchmark while applying transparent index procedures.

Review and rebalancing

TASE reviews TA-35 semiannually. The component update takes place at the end of trading on the first Thursday of May and November.^[1] For the May update, the free-float record date is 31 March; for the November update, it is 30 September.^[1] TASE states that the update record date is at the end of trading on the Thursday three weeks before the index update, and that the update notice date is at least five trading days before the update date.^[2]

TASE’s rules include entry and exit ranking thresholds for the index. TASE lists the entry replacement ranking as 30 and the exit replacement ranking as 40.^[2] Such buffer rules are used by index providers to reduce unnecessary turnover: a company does not automatically enter or leave solely because of a small temporary change in ranking. Instead, additions and deletions depend on the methodology’s threshold framework.

Index reviews can generate trading by funds and other products that track the index, because those products may need to buy additions and sell deletions to maintain benchmark exposure. However, the index itself is not a fund and does not hold assets. It is a calculation and publication service operated by TASE.

Calculation and publication

TA-35 is disseminated in real time every 15 seconds during TASE trading hours.^[1] TASE identifies the index calculation method as gross total return (GTR).^[1] A GTR index differs from a price index because it incorporates dividends into the index calculation on a gross basis. This makes it useful as a benchmark for total equity performance, although actual investor returns may differ because of taxes, fees, fund tracking error, withholding, transaction costs, and the timing of reinvestment.

TASE reports major data for TA-35 on its market-data site, including last index level, daily change, high, low, base, opening value, market capitalization, and turnover.^[1] These figures change during market sessions and across dates, so they should be treated as point-in-time market data rather than permanent characteristics of the index.

The index is also distinct from TA35 EW, an equal-weight version launched in 2026. TASE states that TA35 EW is composed of all shares included in TA-35, but with all constituents equal-weighted at the relevant record date.^[5] By contrast, standard TA-35 is subject to its own weighting rules and 7% cap.^[2]

Products and market use

TA-35 is used as an underlying or reference benchmark for index-tracking products, derivatives, and market commentary. TASE’s market-data page for TA-35 links to index-tracking ETFs, index funds, derivatives, short-sales data, off-exchange transactions, and a lending-pool system.^[1] These links show that the index serves multiple market functions beyond simple publication of a headline equity level.

Derivatives on TA-35 are particularly important because the index originated as the Maof Index, a name closely associated with Israeli options and futures markets. TASE derivative documentation refers to TA-35 index futures and describes contract specifications, including reference expiration price procedures based on the opening prices of index constituents on the final trading day preceding expiration, usually Thursday.^[6]

For investors and analysts, TA-35 is a concise measure of the performance of Israel’s leading listed shares. It is not, however, a complete measure of the Israeli economy. Many economically important Israeli companies may be privately held, listed abroad, too small for the index, excluded by methodology, or represented indirectly through cross-listings. Conversely, index performance can be affected by company-specific events, sector concentration, currency exposure, and global market conditions.

Relationship to other Israeli indices

TA-35 sits within a family of TASE equity benchmarks. TA-125 includes the shares in TA-35 and TA-90, according to TASE’s TA-125 description.^[7] TA-90 therefore represents the next group of large and mid-cap shares outside TA-35, while TA-125 combines the two to provide a broader benchmark. TASE also publishes sector, thematic, equal-weight, and specialty indices.

The relationship among these indices matters for benchmark selection. TA-35 is narrower and more focused on the largest eligible shares; TA-125 is broader; TA-90 provides exposure to companies outside the top 35. The choice of benchmark affects sector exposure, constituent concentration, liquidity profile, and the set of companies represented.