Mutual fund crisis in Türkiye: 131 funds are being liquidated

The crisis that started in the investment fund sector in Türkiye is deepening. The crisis, which broke out with the liquidation of 131 funds and affected approximately half a million investors, also led to heavy losses in Borsa Istanbul. The main index recorded its worst monthly performance since 2008 in September.

Reuters, October 2, 2026, “How did Türkiye's investment fund bubble burst?” In his analysis titled, he examined how the crisis occurred, which names the investigation extends to and what awaits investors during the liquidation process.

Here are the highlights from that analysis...

CRITICAL PREDICTION FROM JPMORGAN

The effects of the crisis may not be limited to the fund market and Borsa Istanbul. Analysts of the US-based investment bank JPMorgan pointed out that the turmoil in the fund sector could have broader consequences for the Turkish economy.

According to Reuters, JPMorgan analysts stated that the crisis poses "significant downside risks" to the bank's 2026 GDP growth forecast for Türkiye of 3 percent.

HOW WILL THE PROCESS WORK?

Steps to limit the impact of the crisis on the markets were also taken. After the changes, which included the removal of some stocks affected by the crisis from the indices, came into force, Borsa Istanbul's main index completed Thursday with a 2.5 percent increase.

The real process will take place in the funds to be liquidated. CMB announced that liquidation procedures will take up to six months.

It is envisaged that investors with a net investment of less than 1 million TL in certain funds will be paid in full, and those with an investment of 1 million TL or more will receive an interim payment of 1 million TL in the first stage.

SDIF, on the other hand, opened accounts for those who wanted to voluntarily return the amounts obtained from fund sales before liquidation, which the authorities described as "excessive profits".

HOW MUCH IS THE ACTUAL LOSS?

However, the announcement of the liquidation schedule does not yet answer the most important question of the crisis: How much will investors' real loss be?

Reuters underlines that the total loss is not yet known. The fact that the total assets of the funds in liquidation is over 20 billion dollars does not mean that investors lost 20 billion dollars.

The main factor that will determine the actual loss will be the prices at which the assets held by the funds can be converted into cash. The fact that a significant portion of the funds carry shares with low transaction volume is seen as one of the main factors that may complicate the liquidation process.

Therefore, all eyes are now on the prices at which the shares in question can be sold under real market conditions and how much of their investments investors can get back at the end of the six-month liquidation process.