Borsa Istanbul drops Destek Finans from BIST 30, removes Destek and Katilimevim from BIST 100 as fund crackdown bites

What changed in the indexes

In its quarterly benchmark update, Borsa Istanbul removed Destek Finans Faktoring AS from both the flagship 30-stock index and the 100-stock gauge. Katilimevim Tasarruf Finansman AS was also excluded from the BIST 100. In a broader revamp late Monday, the exchange said 27 companies would exit the BIST 100, a list that included Pasifik Eurasia, Odine Teknoloji, Kiler Holding and Isiklar Enerji.

These shifts arrive after a stretch when sharp rallies in thinly traded names fueled by fund strategies drew complaints that the indexes were being warped away from the broader market picture.

The crackdown and who got caught up in it

Turkish authorities homed in on strategies centered on Destek Finans and Katilimevim this month. According to Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, fund companies were engaged in "Ponzi-like schemes," and he added in a post on X on Tuesday that 14 suspects were detained in a fresh operation linked to alleged manipulation of shares in Katilimevim, Destek and Hedef Holdings AS.

Authorities likewise detained Pusula Holding Chairman Serdar Turhan, and local outlets said Destek Chairman Altunc Kumova - who holds a 74% stake - had been arrested.

Regulators had already acted in August to curb the strategies behind the outsized run-ups in Destek and similar stocks, tightening rules on funds concentrated in companies with limited free floats. That forced some managers to start unwinding positions and helped trigger heavy redemptions from investment funds this month.

Funds under pressure and the market reaction

The stress got acute last week when some portfolios run by Tera Portfoy and Pusula Portfoy could not meet redemption requests. Authorities then seized 131 funds spanning seven asset managers; those vehicles are now being wound down after steep equity losses.

QNB Invest reported Friday that within the BIST 30 cohort, Destek Finans represented the biggest position in the funds slated for liquidation. Those portfolios owned about 70 billion liras of Destek shares, roughly 66% of its free float. Bankers at Tera Yatirim managed Destek's listing, and the stock was one of the biggest positions in Tera's flagship fund.

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Selling rippled across the market. Roughly 60 shares, including Destek Finans and Katilimevim, hit the exchange's 10% limit-down threshold. At 12:09 p.m. in Istanbul, the Borsa Istanbul 100 slipped 0.5%, while the broader All Shares Index fell 0.98%.

One offsetting force: state-run Ziraat Portfoy's two largest Turkish equity ETFs took in a record 20.7 billion liras on Monday, helping steady the main index. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analysts wrote Monday that investors pulling cash from money market funds during the redemption crunch are "most likely transferring" a majority of those balances into lira deposits.

The company backdrop and what it means for your money

Destek went public in February 2025 and joined the BIST 30 in September last year. From its IPO to a July peak, the share price surged nearly 7,500%, lifting the company's market value to as much as 1.31 trillion liras, or $26.8 billion, even though first half net income was 2.6 billion liras. The tide then turned: Destek shares have dropped 41% in the past week, and Katilimevim, owned by Pusula Holding, has fallen 71% this month.

MSCI removed Destek from its small cap benchmarks in May, citing "issues with their free float," and later, MSCI and other index providers raised concerns about shareholder transparency, free floats and market accessibility. This month, Turkey's market regulator introduced measures to improve shareholder transparency, including new criteria for calculating free float and requirements for more detailed ownership disclosures.

For regular savers, the takeaway is about concentration and liquidity. When funds pile into small free float stocks, it can twist index signals and make exits painful. The index reshuffles, forced unwinds and the pivot toward more liquid vehicles all feed back to where your cash sits and how bumpy the ride can get.

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