Israel Secondary Fund (ISF)

What Israel Secondary Fund (ISF) does

Israel Secondary Fund (ISF), operated by ISFM Ltd., is a private investment fund manager that provides secondary-market liquidity to participants in the Israeli technology ecosystem. Founded in 2008 by Dror Glass and Shmuel Shilo and headquartered in Herzliya Pituach, Israel, ISF runs three closed-end funds (Fund II of $100M raised in 2017 and Fund III of $312M at first close in June 2022, taking total AUM above $500M) whose LPs include Israeli institutions (Migdal Insurance, Altshuler Shaham, Bank Hapoalim) alongside European pension funds and US pensions, endowments, and family offices. The firm has completed over 80 secondary transactions, is involved in approximately 220 companies, and has realized more than 30 exits across portfolio names such as MyHeritage, Waze, Earnix, Aidoc, Valens, and Verbit. The team is intentionally small (~12 professionals) and is led by partners with prior tenure at Bessemer, Vantage Point, Formula Ventures, Harvest Secondary Fund, Samsung, Intel, Yotpo, and Similarweb.

ISF delivers a single integrated "tech secondary platform" with three transaction modules: (1) Direct Secondaries (acquiring shares, warrants, and instruments in growth-stage Israeli tech companies from founders, employees, funds, and investors, typically $1M+ per deal); (2) Limited Partners' Positions (acquiring LP interests in Israeli VC and PE funds, of any size, including assumption of unfunded commitments); and (3) Structured and GP-Led Secondaries (working with GPs on continuation-vehicle and preferred-equity structures that provide early liquidity to LPs). All three modules are unified by the firm's proprietary "Triple Win Approach," a deal-structuring philosophy that aligns the seller, ISF, and the underlying company/employees. The technology stack is conventional: the website uses Google Analytics, internal operations run on Microsoft Dynamics and Outlook, file intake uses Dropbox, and LPs are served through a Clockworkadmin / Dynamo Software investor portal. There is no proprietary technology platform.

ISF's business model follows standard closed-end private fund economics. Revenue is generated through management fees on committed and invested capital of its series of secondary funds, plus a share of investment profits (carried interest) on the more than 30 exits realized since 2008. Capital is raised in discrete fund vintages (2008, 2017, 2022) and deployed in direct minority equity, LP interests, and structured secondary transactions, with ISF typically continuing as a long-term partner and follow-on participant. The firm does not disclose fees, fund returns, or revenue; pricing on individual transactions is privately negotiated. Distribution is exclusively direct, partner-led origination within the Israeli tech ecosystem, supported by a content-marketing engine (Resources hub, webinars, earned coverage in Calcalist, Globes, Funder, and PitchBook) that positions ISF as the educator-of-record for the Israeli secondary market.

Name

Israel Secondary Fund (ISF)

Legal name

ISFM Ltd.

Website

https://israelsecondary.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Israel Secondary Fund (ISF) is a private, Israel-focused tech secondary investment manager that provides liquidity to founders, employees, VC funds, and LPs in Israeli technology companies through direct secondaries, LP-interest purchases, and GP-led structured deals, with over $500M AUM across three funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Secondaries

akta.pro primary industry

Secondary Venture Funds (VC Secondaries) (FSANAAAK)

Keywords

• Tech secondary fund
• Private market liquidity
• Secondary transactions
• Venture capital investing
• Growth-stage investments

Headquarters

HQ city

Herzliya

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fund Capital & Investment Returns: ISF raises closed-end private investment funds from institutional and family-office investors (its 3rd fund closed at $312M in 2022; 2nd fund was $100M in 2017; total AUM over half a billion dollars) and deploys that capital to acquire secondary positions in private tech companies and LP interests in VC funds. Revenue is generated via typical fund economics — management fees on committed/invested capital and a share of investment profits (carried interest) upon successful exits. Returns are derived from the long-term appreciation of acquired equity stakes in growth-stage Israeli tech companies.
2. Secondary Transaction Sourcing & Execution: ISF originates and executes three types of secondary deals — Direct Secondaries (deal size typically $1M and above), Limited Partnership interest acquisitions (any size, including assumption of unfunded capital commitments), and Structured/GP-Led secondaries with customized preferred equity structures. Profit is generated by purchasing stakes at negotiated valuations and realizing value through future company exits, IPOs, or further secondary sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Israel Secondary Fund (ISF) is a private investment fund that provides secondary-market liquidity solutions in the Israeli technology ecosystem. ISF acquires shares, warrants, and financial instruments in growth-stage Israel-related tech companies, purchases Limited Partnership interests in Israeli VC and PE funds, and structures GP-led continuation solutions to deliver liquidity to founders, employees, fund investors, and limited partners.

Product overview

Israel Secondary Fund (ISF), operated by ISFM Ltd., is a single integrated tech-secondary investment platform — not a multi-product SaaS suite — that delivers liquidity solutions across three complementary service lines in the Israeli technology ecosystem. The core offering, ISF (Israel Secondary Fund), is delivered through three transaction types that together constitute the firm's full secondary spectrum: (1) Direct Secondaries, where ISF acquires shares, warrants and financial instruments in growth-stage Israeli tech companies from funds, founders, management and employees and becomes a long-term partner; (2) Limited Partners' Positions, where ISF purchases LP interests in Israeli VC and PE funds and assumes unfunded commitments; and (3) Structured and GP-Led Secondaries, where ISF partners with GPs on preferred-equity and continuation-vehicle transactions to provide early liquidity to LPs. These three modules are unified by ISF's proprietary 'Triple Win Approach' — a methodology that aligns incentives among seller, ISF, and the underlying company/employees. Complementary offerings include the ISF Investor Portal (a secure LP/VC investor login built on Clockworkadmin and Dynamo Software) and ISF's Market Insights thought-leadership publication series on secondaries. The platform has executed over 80 secondary transactions since 2008 and manages over $500M in AUM across three funds, with the third fund closing at $312M in June 2022.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct Secondaries ISF acquires shares, warrants or other financial instruments in growth-stage Israel-related tech companies from funds, investors, founders, management, and employees. After the initial transaction, ISF becomes a long-term partner, conducting additional secondary transactions and participating in future funding rounds. Typical deal size $1M and above.
• Limited Partners' Positions ISF acquires Limited Partnership interests in Israel-related VC and PE funds with diversified portfolios, tailors the transaction to suit seller requirements, and assumes remaining future capital commitments. Capable of leading transactions of any size.
• Structured and GP-Led Secondaries ISF works with General Partners of Israeli VC funds to provide additional capital to funds and deliver early liquidity to the LP base, including customized preferred equity transactions that allow LPs to accelerate cash returns while maintaining long-term upside and fund relationships.
• Israel Secondary Fund (ISF) - Tech Secondary Platform Flagship offering of ISFM Ltd., providing tailor-made liquidity solutions across the Israeli technology ecosystem. The platform unifies Direct Secondaries, LP Positions, and GP-Led transactions under ISF's Triple Win Approach that aligns founders, employees, investors, and funds.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80+ secondary transactions completed in growth-stage tech companies and VC funds (since 2008)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor — israeli business-news media partner for earned coverage., minor — israeli startup/business media partner., major — pe firm that acquired isf portfolio company myheritage. and medium — industry-research partner for content syndication..

• Calcalistminor — israeli business-news media partner for earned coverage.GTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2022Calcalist, an Israeli financial newspaper, is the originating source of ISF's fundraising coverage (e.g., the $312M 3rd-fund first close) and partner interviews.
• Funder.co.ilminor — israeli startup/business media partner.GTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2022Funder, an Israeli business publication, hosted a Hebrew-language interview with Dror Glass (ISF Managing Partner and Founder) on the Israeli high-tech market and ISF's $312M 3rd fund.
• Francisco Partnersmajor — pe firm that acquired isf portfolio company myheritage.Strategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2021Francisco Partners acquired ISF portfolio company MyHeritage for an estimated $600-700M in March 2021. While not a formal partnership, the relationship is highlighted as a marquee exit from ISF's portfolio; some current MyHeritage shareholders reinvested alongside Francisco Partners.
• Globes (en.globes.co.il)minor — israeli business-news media partner for earned coverage.GTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2021Globes, an Israeli business news outlet, is the originating source of syndicated news items about ISF portfolio companies (e.g., Earnix's $75M raise, Francisco Partners' acquisition of MyHeritage).
• PitchBookmedium — industry-research partner for content syndication.GTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2020PitchBook's analyst content on direct secondary markets ("What are direct secondary markets?") is syndicated on the ISF site, and ISF cites PitchBook benchmark data in its LP secondaries thought-leadership content.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Industry Ventures: US-based venture capital and tech-focused secondary fund manager; closest direct peer given its specialization in secondaries on private technology companies and VC fund interests, the same niche ISF occupies in the Israeli ecosystem.
• Greenspring Associates: One of the largest venture capital secondary investors, focused on technology and growth-stage companies; directly comparable to ISF as a tech-specialist secondary buyer, though at materially larger scale and broader geographic mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Lexington Partners: Global secondary market incumbent with broad coverage across PE, VC, and credit secondaries; competes for the same LP-interest and GP-led secondary mandates ISF structures, and is increasingly active in venture/tech secondaries in Israel.
• Ardian (Secondary Platform): One of the world's largest secondary investors; provides the same direct, LP, and GP-led secondary solutions ISF offers, with deep institutional LP relationships that overlap with ISF's European and US LP base.
• HarbourVest Partners: Global multi-strategy private markets investor with a dedicated secondary funds-of-funds and direct secondary business; overlaps with ISF on LP-interest acquisitions and GP-led continuation vehicles.
• StepStone Group: Global private markets investment firm with an active secondaries business (both LP and GP-led); increasingly active in venture secondaries, making it a direct competitor for the same Israeli tech deal flow.
• Pomona Capital: Diversified secondary fund manager covering PE, VC, real estate and infrastructure; a relevant secondary peer with overlapping institutional LP relationships and LP-interest transaction capabilities.

Emerging players

• Forge Global: Private company securities marketplace offering direct secondary liquidity to shareholders of late-stage private companies; comparable to ISF's direct-secondaries service line but operates as a technology platform/marketplace rather than a discretionary fund buyer.
• EquityZen: Tech-focused secondary platform facilitating share sales in late-stage private companies; competes for the same seller base (founders, employees, early investors) as ISF's direct-secondaries product, with a US-centric and tech-heavy focus.
• Hiive (formerly SharesPost): Venture-backed secondary platform for private company shares with strong technology-company focus; comparable buyer of tech private equity and a structural competitor to ISF's direct-secondaries service line.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/israel-secondary-fund

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Israel Secondary Fund (ISF)