Norway's $2.3 trillion wealth fund, run by Norges Bank Investment Management, said on June 30 it held stakes in 10 Turkish companies that prosecutors or regulators have tied to a widening manipulation investigation. Those positions were worth almost 2 billion kroner, or just under a tenth of the 20.4 billion kroner in Turkish stocks it reported that day. A spokesperson declined to say whether NBIM still holds the names, noting the fund publishes holdings twice a year and does not comment in between.
Filings indicate NBIM acquired most of these 10 positions during 2025, among them holdings in Tera Yatirim Menkul Degerler AS and, in addition, the affiliated entity Tera Yatirim Teknoloji Holding AS. Among those, the biggest position was a holding equal to 2% of Astor Enerji AS, an Istanbul maker of electrical equipment whose shares are down 41% this month. The fund's second-biggest holding in the cohort was a 0.17% stake in Destek Finans Faktoring AS, acquired in 2025.
According to people familiar with the matter, in June NBIM picked Neo Asset Management to take on a new Turkish-equities mandate. Neo said it started after the reporting date: "Norges began working with Neo Portfoy in July 2026," a spokesperson wrote. "Therefore, these stocks were added to the portfolio before Norges began working with Neo Portfoy." Those people added that US-based TRG Management also oversees Turkish stocks for NBIM. TRG did not reply to a request for comment.
Prosecutors say certain investment funds amassed illiquid shares and pushed prices up by nearly 100 times. Authorities have detained dozens of people, including fund managers, finance executives and company heads whose stocks had soared. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek described "Ponzi-like schemes" that wiped out citizens' savings.
Matters deteriorated after two firms, Pusula Portfoy Yonetimi AS and Tera Portfoy Yonetimi AS, did not pay investors back their money. On Sept. 16, trading was stopped by a circuit breaker after the Borsa Istanbul 100 dropped over 6%. The following day, the Capital Markets Board froze 131 funds operated by seven firms and directed that they be wound down.
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Regulatory disclosures indicate NBIM also acquired stock in Tera Yatirim Menkul Degerler, a financial company at the heart of the turmoil. Emre Tezmen, founder and chairman of Tera Yatirim Teknoloji Holding, has been arrested and maintains he has done nothing wrong.
Tera's investment bank led the IPO of Destek Finans Faktoring, and Tera's funds held positions in it. The stock surged more than 600% this year, hitting a July peak that valued the company at 1.3 trillion lira ($27.9 billion), before giving back much of those gains. Founder Altunc Kumova was taken into custody, and prosecutors received a referral concerning a Tera fund manager's trading in the shares.
NBIM also added to positions this year. One holding was Odine Solutions Teknoloji Ticaret VE Sanayi AS, an Istanbul tech company that was also backed by a Pusula fund, according to filings and Bloomberg data. Odine's share price jumped 987% this year, reaching an Aug. 12 high that put its valuation at 366 billion lira, before later dropping 94%; afterward, a detention warrant was issued for Odine shareholder Cengiz Avci, Demiroren News Agency reported Wednesday.
Created in the 1990s to channel Norway's oil and gas riches into investments, NBIM posted a record 1.8 trillion kroner profit in the first half, aided by global tech holdings. This month it proposed reducing the amount of government bonds it holds to boost exposure to riskier debt. While most assets track an index set by Norway's Finance Ministry, a slice is actively managed.
The takeaway for everyday investors: thinly traded shares can rocket when money crowds in, then crater when liquidity dries up or regulators step in. NBIM's experience is a reminder that headline gains can vanish fast when scrutiny rises.
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