Pusula said on X on Wednesday that two of its funds listed on Turkey's electronic fund marketplace, Tefas, have collapsed in size to below 8 billion liras from 115 billion liras in total. The firm noted the tally leaves out its own capital but includes amounts tied to trades pending settlement. Pusula operates eight Tefas-listed funds but didn't specify which two took the hit.
The Capital Markets Board rolled out fresh restrictions and investment caps on Sunday. The package curbs how funds can trade illiquid shares and tightens dealings with related parties, with the aim of cooling local worries about sky high returns in tightly held products. Pusula linked the rule changes to the more than 90% drawdown in the two unnamed funds and said it had planned to adjust portfolios, scale back risk, and reposition for shifting market conditions.
Through July, two well-known Pusula products - the First Variable Fund and the Equity Intensive Fund - were among Turkey's top performers, with gains of 164% and 144%. Momentum flipped in August as outflows hit and assets began to contract. Following the rule change, losses accelerated: this week the two funds fell 14% and 11%, placing them near the bottom of the pack, according to Tefas data. Looking across Pusula's 19 funds - both on and off Tefas - 14 declined in value this week.
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When a regulator caps how aggressively funds can trade, the hottest strategies can cool fast. The sudden shrinkage at Pusula, plus broad weekly declines across its lineup, shows how policy shifts can ripple through returns and liquidity. If you hold funds with heavy exposure to thinly traded names, it is worth watching how managers adapt, how fast they meet redemptions, and whether performance gaps widen as strategies get retooled.
