Turkish stocks experienced a sharp decline on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, with the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index falling as much as 5.7% intraday and extending its two-day losses to 6.9%. The sell-off was primarily fueled by an asset manager, Pusula Portfoy, being unable to fulfill redemption requests from investors, sparking fears about broader liquidity issues within Turkey's fund industry. Only a few stocks on the benchmark index saw gains, with banking and industrial sectors also experiencing significant drops before paring some losses.
The crisis at Pusula Portfoy led to substantial investor withdrawals, with Fintables reporting approximately ₺129 billion ($2.7 billion) pulled from Pusula funds since late August, and a net redemption of 550 billion Turkish lira (approximately $1.13 billion) from Turkish investment funds on the day of the market plunge. This rapid outflow forced the Borsa Istanbul to activate a circuit breaker, halting trading temporarily after the index's decline reached 5%. More than 350 shares also triggered individual circuit breakers during the session.
The turmoil surrounding Pusula Portfoy intensified with the arrest of its chairman, Muhammet Yariz, amidst an investigation. This occurred despite ongoing discussions for a transfer of Pusula Finans Holding and its affiliated companies to Tera Group, another significant fund manager. Adding to the market's unease, former Borsa İstanbul head İbrahim Mustafa Turhan came under investigation for social media posts warning of systemic financial risk, although prosecutors did not claim his warning contained false information or caused the market fall. Another fund manager, Atlas Portfoy, changed its fund rules to monthly valuations and extended payment periods to manage withdrawals, highlighting broader industry concerns.
