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Türkiye expects the number of investors awaiting payments from troubled investment funds to fall below 100,000 under a proposed relief plan offering interim payments of up to ₺1 million ($20,270), Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said Monday.
The plan targets 131 funds the Capital Markets Board (CMB) ordered into liquidation on Sept. 17 to contain market fallout after some portfolio managers failed to meet redemption requests.
Central Securities Depository of Türkiye (MKK) data showed that 455,758 individual investors held positions in the funds managed by A1 Capital Portfoy, Atlas Portfoy, Bulls Portfoy, Hedef Portfoy, Pardus Portfoy, Pusula Portfoy and Tera Portfoy.
“If the decisions regarding extraordinary liquidation pass through parliament and are implemented, the number of investors we are talking about here will probably fall below 100,000,” Yilmaz told Anadolu Agency.
The bill, submitted to parliament by ruling Justice and Development Party lawmakers, was due to be considered by a parliamentary commission on Wednesday before proceeding to the General Assembly. If lawmakers approve the legislation in October, payments could begin within the same month, Yilmaz added.
Under the proposed legislation, eligible investors would receive interim payments based on their net investment amounts. Those who have already recovered their principal would not qualify for another payment on that amount, while people found to have benefited from unlawful transactions would be excluded.
The interim payments would be deducted from investors’ final entitlements when the liquidation process concludes. "We want small investors to have access to these resources as soon as possible," Yilmaz said, describing the approach as important from a social perspective.
Ordinary liquidation procedures have been completed for three portfolio management companies, A1 Capital, Bulls and Pardus, with payments made to nearly 44,000 investors by Oct. 8.
Negotiations were also underway with Atlas Portfoy over a possible ordinary liquidation. If an agreement is reached, around 58,000 additional investors could be covered by that process, Yilmaz noted, adding that the outcome was expected to become clearer during the week.
Yilmaz said the 131 funds account for 4.6% of Türkiye's total investment funds and 7.7% of their combined portfolio value.
Under the proposed bill, portfolio management companies would bear primary responsibility for losses caused by assets unlawfully removed from funds. If they cannot cover the losses, individuals and entities identified by the Capital Markets Board (CMB) as responsible could face personal liability, even if they have since left their positions.
Where available cash falls short of the amount needed for interim payments, investors with the smallest claims would be paid first, followed by those owed larger amounts.
The legislation would also empower the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) to pursue assets belonging to those held responsible and sell certain seized property without waiting for court proceedings to conclude.
The bill allows investors who profited from shares the CMB determined were artificially priced to voluntarily return gains exceeding benchmark returns, with the recovered amounts directed to a designated account for redistribution to affected investors.
Yilmaz ruled out using public money for the payments, emphasizing that the process would rely on the funds' own resources and recovered assets. "There will be no use of public funds in either ordinary or extraordinary liquidation," he said, noting that investment funds lack the state-backed deposit protection available to bank customers up to a specified limit.
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