Regulator Orders Liquidation of 130 Investment Funds as Selloff Hits BIST-100

Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK) ordered the liquidation of 130 investment funds managed by seven portfolio firms (Tera, Pusula, Hedef, Atlas, A1, Pardus and Bulls) and imposed a travel ban on Tera Yatırım Holding chairman Emre Tezmen, after Tera Portföy and Pusula Portföy failed to meet redemption requests on some funds. The crisis stemmed from fund managers concentrating holdings in thinly-traded, affiliated companies — two Pusula funds returned 164% and 144% in the first seven months of 2026 — until new SPK rules in late August forced position reductions and triggered a rush of selling; investors pulled roughly $1 billion from funds on September 16 alone. The BIST-100 fell almost 6% before trading was automatically paused, then recovered about 2.2% after the SPK's intervention was announced; Turkey's central bank provided $6.2 billion in emergency liquidity. Separately, a former Istanbul stock exchange chief was placed under investigation over a public warning issued as stocks fell 6.6%.