Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek is scheduled to hold a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday to address the ongoing crisis involving the liquidation of 131 investment funds. These funds, valued at around $18 billion, were ordered into liquidation by the Capital Markets Board following defaults by portfolio management companies like Pusula Portföy and Tera Portföy in mid-September 2026. The meetings will focus on the payment processes for these funds and a six-month liquidation roadmap, with a primary goal of safeguarding investors' rights and interests.
The crisis began on September 15, 2026, when Pusula Portföy defaulted on fund participation share payments, followed by Tera Portföy on September 16. In response, the Capital Markets Board initiated the liquidation of 131 investment funds managed by seven portfolio management companies, including Tera, Pusula, Hedef, and A1 Capital, on September 17. This situation directly affects over 455,000 investors. Judicial proceedings are also underway, with multiple arrests, including those of Tera Yatırım Holding Chairman Emre Tezmen and Pusula Holding Chairman Serdar Turhan, and travel bans for over 48 senior executives.
Policymakers are reportedly considering establishing an asset pool from the frozen funds to repay investors, although the entity that would manage this pool is still under discussion. İş Bankası and Ziraat Bankası were initially assigned on September 18 to manage the liquidation and monetization process within a three-month timeframe, which was later extended to six months. The upcoming meetings will also address inter-institutional coordination and a detailed roadmap to ensure the liquidation and payment processes are fair, efficient, and completed as quickly as possible, while also seeking steps to support market functionality and financial stability.
