How Are Fund Units and Shares Bought and Sold? The Bank, TEFAS, Takasbank and MKK Process

Last updated: 25.10.2026 · Author: Attorney Coşkun Genç, Istanbul cybercrime lawyer

Which institution does what in buying and selling fund units and shares?

Buying and selling fund units and shares is not completed within a single institution; the investor's order passes through the systems of at least four separate institutions, and each of them produces its own records. The bank or brokerage firm takes the order; matching is carried out by TEFAS or the fund's founder in fund transactions and by Borsa Istanbul in share transactions; Takasbank finalises settlement; and MKK keeps the book-entry record of who holds how many units or shares.

• Bank / brokerage firm (investment institution): Receives the order, transmits it and maintains the client account. Reception and transmission of orders is an investment service requiring authorisation from the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK) (Communiqué III-37.1, Art. 4).
• Founder (portfolio management company): Establishes and manages the fund, represents the fund and disposes of the fund's assets on behalf of the fund (Capital Markets Law, Art. 52(3), Art. 55).
• Portfolio custodian: Holds the fund's assets in a segregated account and verifies that the issue and redemption of units and the calculation of the unit value comply with the legislation (Capital Markets Law, Art. 56).
• Takasbank: The central clearing institution; it operates TEFAS, acts as central counterparty in Borsa Istanbul transactions and also operates as a portfolio custodian authorised by the SPK (Capital Markets Law, Arts. 77–79).
• MKK (Central Securities Depository): Tracks dematerialised capital market instruments and the rights attached to them electronically, on the basis of members and right holders (Capital Markets Law, Art. 81).

An investment fund has no legal personality. The Law defines a fund as a pool of assets established by a portfolio management company through the fund's internal regulation and operated on behalf of investors on the basis of fiduciary ownership (Capital Markets Law, Art. 52). The fund's assets are separate from those of the founder and the custodian; they cannot be attached, do not form part of a bankruptcy estate, and in liquidation payments may be made only to the holders of participation units (Capital Markets Law, Art. 53).

How does an investment fund purchase order work, step by step?

A fund order starts at the bank, reaches the fund through TEFAS or the founder, is concluded by way of issue or redemption of units after the price is announced, and ends with the MKK record. The sequence below applies to a fund traded on TEFAS.

1. Order: The investor gives a purchase or sale order at the branch, through internet banking or via the mobile application. The investment institution is obliged to keep records of the date and time of the order, its channel and, for electronic channels, the IP and log records (Communiqué III-45.1, Arts. 8, 9).
2. Transmission to TEFAS: The bank or brokerage firm, as a distributor that is a member of the platform, transmits the order to TEFAS. Takasbank defines TEFAS as an electronic platform that enables participation units to be sold and redeemed by founders through the distributors on the platform, with clearing and custody operating in integration with the Takasbank–MKK system. Its legal basis is Communiqué III-52.1, Art. 15(7).
3. Calculation of the price: The founder determines the fund's total value by valuing the assets in the portfolio; dividing this by the number of units in circulation gives the unit value (Communiqué III-52.1, Art. 14(2)). The custodian checks that this calculation complies with the valuation principles (Capital Markets Law, Art. 56(1)(c)).
4. Issue or redemption of units: On a purchase the fund issues new units; on a sale the units are returned to the fund and converted into cash (Communiqué III-52.1, Art. 15(1)). The custodian ensures that these transactions comply with the legislation and the internal regulation (Capital Markets Law, Art. 56(1)(a)).
5. Cash settlement: The cash amounts of TEFAS transactions are netted in the Takasbank system on the value date; the cash or units pass to the investor's account on the value date stated in the prospectus.
6. MKK record: A participation unit is a capital market instrument tracked in book-entry form (Communiqué III-52.1, Art. 3(1)(l)). The investor's units are tracked under the investment institution's account at MKK by the investor's registry number.

For funds not traded on TEFAS, the order reaches the founder through the distribution channels specified in the prospectus. The institutions that will intermediate off-exchange purchases and sales must be announced on the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) (Communiqué III-52.1, Art. 15(5)). Money collected from investment must be invested in the assets set out in the prospectus on the following business day (Art. 11(8)).

At what price and with what value date is a fund order executed?

In most funds, an order is executed not at the price prevailing when it is given but at the price to be determined in the first calculation after the order. In practice this is called forward pricing. In money market funds and short-term debt instruments funds, however, the order is executed at the most recently announced price; for these funds, the information documents may also provide for different prices to apply to purchases and sales (Communiqué III-52.1, Art. 14(5)).

There is no single general rule for cut-off times and value dates. The procedures and principles for the purchase and sale of participation units are a mandatory element of the prospectus (Communiqué III-52.1, Annex 2/e); up to what time an order must be given to receive a given day's price, and how many business days later the money will pass to the account, are stated in each fund's prospectus and key investor information document. Takasbank also publishes separate acceptance times for same-day and forward-value orders on TEFAS and a cash netting time; each fund's own times are determined by its prospectus within this framework.

Pricing frequency also varies by fund type. As a rule, the unit value is calculated and announced daily (Art. 14(4)). In hedge funds (serbest fonlar) the price is calculated at least once a month and longer periods may be set for redemption to the fund (Arts. 25(9), 25(11)); in guaranteed and capital-protected funds the price is announced at least twice a month (Art. 27(6)). The unit value is announced at the places of purchase and sale (Art. 14(6)); the prospectus, the key investor information document and amendment announcements are published on KAP and on the founder's website (Arts. 11(6), 13).

How does a share order reach Borsa Istanbul and how is settlement completed?

A share order reaches the Borsa Istanbul Equity Market (Pay Piyasası) only through a brokerage firm that is a member of that market; the order is matched on the exchange with a counter-order, Takasbank becomes the seller to the buyer and the buyer to the seller, and settlement is completed on the second business day following the trade date.

1. Placing the order: Banks other than investment and development banks may not engage in transaction intermediation in shares (Communiqué III-37.1, Art. 17(1)(c)). For this reason, a share order given through a bank's application is transmitted to a contracted brokerage firm within the scope of order transmission intermediation (Arts. 11, 14).
2. Order form and session tracking: The brokerage firm records the order with a time stamp to the second on the client order form, then on the session tracking form according to time priority, and transmits it to the exchange (Communiqué III-45.1, Art. 9).
3. Matching: The order is matched against opposite orders in the Equity Market order book. Matching rules, session structure and order types are set out in Borsa Istanbul's Equity Market regulations; the basic principle is price and time priority.
4. Notification of the transaction result: The executed transaction is notified to the client by the end of the day at the latest; a transaction confirmation form showing the type, quantity, price and commission is issued (Communiqué III-45.1, Art. 16).
5. Settlement (T+2): According to Takasbank's explanation, Equity Market transactions are settled in book-entry form on the second business day following the trade date, by netting purchases and sales under the delivery-versus-payment principle; the securities leg runs through the brokerage firms' custody accounts at MKK.
6. Entitlement: At the end of settlement, the shares pass to the account linked to the investor's registry number at MKK; for asserting rights over book-entry instruments against third parties, the date of notification to MKK is decisive (Capital Markets Law, Art. 13(5)).

Takasbank has provided central counterparty services in the Equity Market since 19.06.2017. The Law defines a central counterparty as a structure that undertakes the completion of settlement by assuming the role of seller to the buyer and buyer to the seller; however, clearing institutions are not liable for their members' obligations towards the members' clients (Capital Markets Law, Art. 78(1)–(2)). Settlement instructions cannot be withdrawn or cancelled even if the member's activities are suspended or it goes into liquidation (Art. 79(1)). The T+2 period is still in force. Borsa Istanbul's project for the transition to T+1 is ongoing; MKK's announcement dated 30.03.2026 and numbered 2523 states the target of completing the work as of 31.12.2026, but no definitive transition date has been announced.

What is the MKK record and where can investors verify their own records?

The MKK record means that fund units and shares are held in a named electronic account instead of paper certificates; investors can view this record themselves through the MKK service on e-Devlet or through the e-YATIRIMCI application. The records are kept in the electronic environment created by MKK by MKK members, namely banks, brokerage firms and issuers (Capital Markets Law, Art. 13(2)–(3)).

The meaning of the provision is this: MKK keeps the central record showing which investor holds how many units or shares with which institution; MKK or a member that keeps the record incorrectly is liable for the right holder's damage in proportion to its fault (Capital Markets Law, Art. 81). Administrative and judicial requests concerning book-entry instruments, such as interim measures and attachment, are executed only by MKK members (Art. 13(7)).

On the investor's side, verification is done from three sources:

• e-Devlet: MKK's "Yatırım Hesabı Sorgulama" (Investment Account Inquiry) service; for heirs there is also the option "Yatırım Hesabı Sorgulama (Mirasçısı Olduğunuz Kişi Adına)" (Investment Account Inquiry on Behalf of the Person You Are an Heir of).
• e-YATIRIMCI: Accessed with the MKK registry number and password or via e-Devlet authorisation; it shows the portfolio position, account movements, pledges and blockages at all investment institutions and issuers.
• Monthly account statement: For every month in which transactions take place, the investment institution must send, or make electronically accessible, within the following five business days, a statement showing purchases and sales, cash and securities movements and the commissions charged (Communiqué III-45.1, Art. 17).

Accounts cannot be opened or closed, and transactions cannot be carried out, directly at MKK; these operations run through the member institution. According to MKK's explanation, it collects its fees from its members, and members may pass these fees on to the client. The Court of Cassation has likewise upheld a regional court of appeal decision dismissing on the merits an action brought against MKK in a dispute where the investment account was held with a member bank and MKK tracked the instruments in book-entry form on the basis of right holders:

"under the provisions of the current legislation, the persons liable to pay for the services provided by the defendant are the investor clients holding investment accounts with banks or intermediary institutions that are members of MKK, and in the current operation the obligation of intermediary institutions and banks consists solely of collecting from the client account the custody service fee accrued on a client basis by the defendant MKK and remitting it to MKK"

Court of Cassation, 11th Civil Chamber, E. 2025/2493, K. 2026/56, 12.01.2026 (reasoning of the regional court of appeal; the Chamber upheld the decision)

Which institution keeps which record, and what can be requested in an investigation or lawsuit?

A request for evidence produces results when it is addressed to the institution that actually keeps the record. Who gave the order, when and through which channel is held by the investment institution; to whom the units or shares belong is held by MKK; how the price was calculated is held by the founder and the custodian; and how the cash flowed is held by Takasbank.

For a verbal order, the burden of proving the existence of the order lies with the investment institution; a client who claims that no transaction was carried out despite having given an order must prove that the order was given (Communiqué III-45.1, Art. 8(3)–(4)). The Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation, in the case of an investor who alleged that shares were bought and sold without his consent, found well founded the first-instance judgment established by examining the telephone traffic data, statements and agreement together:

"In this context, as a result of the inquiries and assessments carried out by the court, it was decided that the action be partially accepted on the grounds that the defendant bank could not prove a written, verbal or telephone order from the claimant concerning the purchase and sale of shares and that it had acted in breach of the legislation."

Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation, E. 2020/652, K. 2022/1269, 11.10.2022 (the first-instance court's insistence on its original judgment (direnme) was found appropriate; the file was sent to the 11th Civil Chamber for the remaining grounds of appeal)

Documents the investor should prepare

• ✓e-Devlet MKK "Yatırım Hesabı Sorgulama" (Investment Account Inquiry) printout and e-YATIRIMCI movement history
• ✓Monthly account statements and transaction confirmation forms of the bank or brokerage firm
• ✓Order receipts, mobile application screenshots and notification text messages
• ✓Framework agreement, risk disclosure form and, if any, confirmation of the key investor information document
• ✓The fund's prospectus, key investor information document and material event disclosures on KAP
• ✓Fund prices on the order date and on the execution date
• ✓Written application to the bank and the replies received; request for preservation of voice recordings and log records

What does the Investor Compensation Center cover, and what does it not cover?

The Investor Compensation Center (Yatırımcı Tazmin Merkezi, YTM) steps in where an investment institution is unable to deliver the cash or capital market instruments it holds or manages on behalf of an investor; it does not cover losses arising from a fall in prices. If the Board (SPK) determines that an investment institution is unable to fulfil its obligation to pay cash or deliver instruments, it takes a compensation decision within three months of that determination (Capital Markets Law, Art. 82). Participation of investment institutions in the YTM is mandatory (Art. 83).

• Outside the scope: Losses arising from investment advice or from price movements in the market (Art. 84(2)); the institution's managers, holders of 5% or more of its shares, group companies and their relatives (Art. 84(4)).
• Link to offences: Claims connected with the relevant acts of persons convicted of insider trading (Art. 106: obtaining a benefit by giving orders on the basis of information not disclosed to the public), market manipulation (Art. 107: artificially influencing prices through transactions or misleading information) or laundering are outside the scope; both offences carry imprisonment from three to five years (with a judicial fine as an alternative under Art. 106, and a judicial fine in addition to imprisonment under Art. 107(1)); payments to persons against whom a criminal complaint has been filed are suspended from the commencement of the investigation until the judgment becomes final (Art. 84(3)).
• Amount: The TRY 100,000 set out in the Law is increased every year by the revaluation rate; the maximum amount for 2026 announced by the YTM is TRY 2,065,145 and it covers all of an investor's accounts at the same institution together (Art. 84(5)).

For fund units the distinction matters: the fund's assets are already separate from the assets of the founder and the custodian (Art. 53). Since a fall in the fund's unit value is a price movement, it is not covered by the YTM; by contrast, a brokerage firm's failure to deliver units or cash belonging to the client may be assessed within the scope of compensation.

Why does this flow matter in fund liquidation and in an investigation?

In liquidation, payment to investors is made on the basis of the registry-based record at MKK and the orders pending at the moment of liquidation; therefore whether the record is correct directly affects the investor's monetary claim. The fund's assets are liquidated in accordance with the principles in the internal regulation and the prospectus, the liquidation balance is distributed to participation unit holders in proportion to their units, and from the moment of liquidation units can neither be issued nor redeemed (Communiqué III-52.1, Art. 28(2)).

The liquidation procedures and principles set for certain investment funds in SPK Bulletin No. 2026/61 dated 17.09.2026 illustrate this flow in concrete terms. According to the Bulletin, within two business days a reconciliation is carried out between the banks entrusted with the liquidation and MKK as to the number of units in circulation of each fund, the units in investors' individual custody accounts by registry number, and pledges, attachments, interim measures and unexecuted orders. The counter-value of redemption orders given through TEFAS but not executed is accrued as a debt of the fund and paid with priority. The cash obtained is transferred to the reconciled individual custody accounts in proportion to the units held; as a rule, liquidation is completed within a maximum of three months, and the period may be extended by the SPK.

On the investigation side, too, the same records form the backbone of the timeline: the time of the order, the price applied, the balance at MKK and the account into which the cash flowed. For the criminal complaint, requests for evidence and the victim's rights in criminal proceedings, see the guide on what investors should do in a fund investigation; for the distributing bank's responsibility for steering and informing investors, see the article on the bank's liability in fund investment.

What are the common mistakes and exceptions?

• Mistaking the price shown on screen for the execution price: In forward-priced funds, the price applied is not the last price announced at the time of the order but the price from the next calculation.
• Taking the cut-off time to be a general rule: The order cut-off time and the value date vary by fund; the only reliable source is the fund's prospectus.
• Taking TEFAS to be the owner or manager of the fund: TEFAS is a distribution and settlement platform; the fund is managed by the founder and its assets are held by the custodian.
• Holding Takasbank liable for the brokerage firm's debt: The central counterparty undertakes the completion of settlement but is not liable for the member's obligation towards its client (Capital Markets Law, Art. 78(2)).
• Relying only on the bank's screen: A balance is not deemed verified until it has been compared with the MKK record.
• Not reading the statement: Contract clauses providing that a statement is deemed accepted after a certain period are null and void (Communiqué III-45.1, Art. 17(5)); even so, courts separately assess the period during which statements were notified. Objections should be made in writing and dated.
• Exception – exchange-traded funds: Exchange-traded funds fall outside the scope of Communiqué III-52.1 (Art. 1(2)); their units are traded on Borsa Istanbul like shares.

Record and Evidence Review with an Istanbul Capital Markets Lawyer

In fund and share disputes, the course of the file is often determined by three points: having the time and channel records of the order preserved in good time, comparing the MKK balance with the bank statement over the same date range, and showing whether the price applied complies with the basis set out in the prospectus. Av. Coşkun Genç Law Office provides legal support in Istanbul in files arising from fund and share transactions, in gathering records, preparing requests for information and documents to be addressed to institutions, and following the investigation and litigation stages. In work carried out as an Istanbul capital markets lawyer, the aim is to match every step, from the order to the MKK record, with a document.

Investors who wish to obtain the support of an Istanbul fund crimes lawyer may request a preliminary assessment through our contact page, together with the e-Devlet MKK printout, monthly statements, transaction confirmation forms and order receipts. Work on the preservation of digital evidence for orders given through electronic channels is carried out within our cybercrimes practice area.

Sources

1. Capital Markets Law (Law No. 6362), Arts. 13, 52, 53, 55, 56, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 106, 107 – mevzuat.gov.tr
2. Communiqué on Principles Regarding Investment Funds (III-52.1), Arts. 1, 3, 9, 11, 14, 15, 25, 27, 28, 31, Annex 2 – mevzuat.gov.tr
3. Communiqué on Principles Regarding Investment Services, Activities and Ancillary Services (III-37.1), Arts. 4, 11, 14, 17 – mevzuat.gov.tr
4. Communiqué on Documentation and Record-Keeping for Investment Services, Activities and Ancillary Services (III-45.1), Arts. 8, 9, 16, 17, 27 – mevzuat.gov.tr
5. SPK Bülteni [Capital Markets Board Bulletin], 17.09.2026, 2026/61 – spk.gov.tr
6. Takasbank, TEFAS Genel Tanım ve Takasbank Tanıtım sayfaları [TEFAS General Definition and Takasbank Introduction pages] – takasbank.com.tr, takasbank.com.tr
7. Takasbank, İşlem Saatleri [Transaction Hours] – takasbank.com.tr
8. MKK Duyurusu, 30.03.2026, No. 2523, Pay Takas Süresinin T+2'den T+1'e Kısaltılması Projesi [MKK Announcement: Project to Shorten the Share Settlement Period from T+2 to T+1] – mkk.com.tr
9. MKK, e-YATIRIMCI ve Merak Ettikleriniz sayfaları [e-YATIRIMCI and Frequently Asked Questions pages] – mkk.com.tr, mkk.com.tr
10. e-Devlet Kapısı, Merkezî Kayıt Kuruluşu A.Ş. hizmetleri [e-Government Gateway, Merkezi Kayıt Kuruluşu A.Ş. services] – turkiye.gov.tr
11. Yatırımcı Tazmin Merkezi, Azami tazmin tutarı ve Koruma kapsamı [Investor Compensation Center, Maximum compensation amount and Scope of protection] – ytm.gov.tr
12. Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation, E. 2020/652, K. 2022/1269, 11.10.2022
13. Court of Cassation, 11th Civil Chamber, E. 2025/2493, K. 2026/56, 12.01.2026 – mevzuat.adalet.gov.tr