- 2026 AFI 500: Mapping the global hedge fund industry
- Join the AFI Hedge Fund Innovation Summit, 8 October 2026
Turkey has imposed new limits on hedge fund ownership of listed companies as regulators respond to concerns over concentrated positions, market transparency and the treatment of Turkish equities by global index providers.
The Capital Markets Board has introduced a sliding cap on the proportion of a company’s freely traded shares that can be held by hedge funds.
Funds will be able to own up to 8% of the free float where a company’s free-float ratio is below 25%. The limit falls to 6% for companies with ratios between 25% and 50%, 4% between 50% and 75%, and 2% where more than 75% of shares are freely traded.
Funds managed by the same portfolio manager and linked to the same founder will be aggregated when calculating the limits.
$66bn industry affected
The measures affect 369 Turkish hedge funds managing around TRY3.2tn ($66.1bn), according to TEFAS data.
The regulator has also introduced restrictions on portfolio concentration. Securities representing more than 5% of a fund’s assets cannot collectively exceed 20% of the portfolio, while exposure to debt securities from a single issuer is capped at 10%.
Funds have until December 31 to comply fully, with excess holdings required to be reduced progressively during October and November.
MSCI raises concerns
The changes follow warnings from MSCI over trading and ownership patterns involving investment funds and smaller Turkish-listed companies.
MSCI said in June that international institutional investors had raised concerns over potentially coordinated trading by funds affiliated with listed companies, which could affect liquidity, price formation and the calculation of genuine free float.
The index provider warned that without tangible progress ahead of its November index review it could consider further consultation over the treatment of Turkish securities.
MSCI had earlier reduced the recognised free float of Kiler Holding after reviewing fund ownership of its shares, subsequently removing the company from its Global Small Cap indexes.
The new ownership limits represent Turkey’s latest attempt to address those concerns before the November review.