Turkish investment funds hit record level of $22 bln

The total volume of the investment funds in Turkey has exceeded 150 billion Turkish Liras ($22 billion), and the number of people and entities investing in them has reached 3.1 million, according to the Settlement and Custody Bank of Borsa Istanbul (Takasbank).

"The Turkish capital markets are growing as our family of investors is expanding. We are working on enlarging the Turkish capital markets and diversifying investment tool instruments," said Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak in a tweet, sharing figures from the Takasbank.

Referring to tenders and construction works to build a business quarter with high-rise structures in Istanbul's Ataşehir district on the Anatolian side, he said, "Being a financial center will suit Istanbul a lot."

The portfolio of investment funds, which was at 122.7 billion liras ($20.6 billion) at the end of last year, increased 25 percent to 153.6 billion liras ($22.5 billion) in the first five months of this year, Takasbank data showed. More than 88,600 investors started putting money in investment funds in the same period, bringing the total number of investors of these funds to nearly 3.1 million. More than 118,000 of those investors were legal entities, while individuals made the vast majority.

In 2015, an electronic system for mutual fund investors, TEFAS, was put into service for faster transactions. A mobile application of TEFAS was developed in 2018, enabling individuals to make swift stock exchange transactions easily. TEFAS users can also reach information such as asset allocations, price movements and yield rates transparently.

Meanwhile, some 350,000 new investors have placed nearly 45 billion liras ($6.6 billion) in stocks at the Borsa Istanbul (BIST), according to floor traders...

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