If you hold any katilim fund in Turkey, you already own kira sertifikalari; the question this guide answers is whether to also own them directly. Since 2012 the Treasury has issued lease certificates through its asset leasing company under Law 4749: state assets acquired with certificate holders' funds and leased back to the state, rent paid semiannually, principal returned at maturity. Variants cover TL fixed-rent, CPI-indexed, FX-denominated and gold-denominated issues. Every participation institution's committee accepts the format; it is the halal risk-free benchmark in TL and the core asset of every katilim fund and pension fund in the country.
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First, the trap that outranks everything else
The Treasury issues twin gold instruments side by side: the Altina Dayali Kira Sertifikasi, a rent-paying lease certificate structured specifically for interest-sensitive savers, and the Altin Tahvili, a coupon-paying gold bond, which is conventional debt. Agent bank marketing pages present them together, and the names blur. Only the kira sertifikasi is the halal instrument. When you buy, specify it explicitly, and if a branch officer offers you the tahvil as equivalent, decline. The same vigilance applies market-wide: sertifika means rent from assets, tahvil means interest on debt.
Route 1: Direct ownership through a bank investment account
The main retail door is a bank investment account, and Kuveyt Turk's is the strongest participation-side offer we reviewed: no account opening, custody or maintenance fees, access to Treasury kira sertifikalari and participation corporate sukuk through branch, internet and mobile channels, semiannual rent landing in the linked account, and video-call onboarding for new customers. Every instrument on the shelf carries the bank's advisory board approval. Direct-sale minimums during Treasury issuance periods are low, typically around 1,000 TL nominal, and holding directly means zero ongoing fees.
The trade-offs are calendar and liquidity. Issue availability tracks the Treasury's issuance calendar and corporate issuance windows, so you buy when paper is offered, not when you feel like it. Secondary market access for individuals is limited and corporate sukuk trade thin, so plan on holding to maturity and keep emergency money elsewhere. Withholding on rent has varied by decree and issuer type: 0% on Treasury retail gold issues, while private sector rates have shifted between 5%, 10% and 15% across periods. Confirm the current rate for each issue before buying, not after.
Route 2: Fund wrappers, for calendar-free convenience
Katilim funds hold the same paper and handle the issuance calendar, reinvestment and daily liquidity for a management fee: money market funds (KLU, PPG) at the very short end, short-term funds (KTV, RBV, ZPK) one step out, and full-duration funds (KTN, RBT) including CPI-indexed exposure for investors deliberately taking rate risk. The fee, findable only in KAP prospectuses for most funds, is the price of never thinking about maturity dates. For most savers most of the time, the wrapper wins; for hold-to-maturity money with a known horizon, direct wins.
Route 3: The gold variant, when the window opens
The gold-backed lease certificate converts physical gold into rent-paying state paper: jewelry assayed to 1000/1000 equivalents without discount at agent banks, gold-gram denomination, TL rent around 1.20% semiannually on early issues, 0% withholding for individuals, redemption at maturity gold value. The catch is access: retail collection windows are episodic, and the May 2026 issuance was institutional-only, accepting LBMA 995 bars from 1 kg. Watch hmb.gov.tr and agent bank announcements; the full mechanics are in our Treasury gold certificate guide.
The decision in one list
- Emergency fund: not here at all; use a money market katilim fund with daily liquidity.
- Known-horizon savings you will not touch: direct Treasury lease certificates through a free investment account, matched to your date, zero fees.
- General savings without calendar discipline: a short-term sukuk fund, after comparing the three prospectus fees.
- A view on falling rates or inflation linkage: full-duration or CPI-indexed exposure via KTN or RBT, sized as a deliberate position.
- Idle physical gold plus patience: the gold lease certificate when a retail window opens.
- Never, under any label: the Altin Tahvili or any coupon-paying tahvil.
Frequently asked questions
Why do scholars accept lease certificates but reject bonds?
The cash flows come from different places. A bond pays interest on a loan: money rented for money, which is riba regardless of the coupon's size. A lease certificate holder owns an interest in real assets leased to the state, and the semiannual payment is rent on those assets. Law 4749 built the structure specifically so investors who avoid interest could hold state paper, and every advisory committee in the participation sector accepts it. The economic results can look similar; the contract underneath is what differs, and in fiqh the contract is the point.
Can rent rates on new issues disappoint?
Yes. Rent rates track the Treasury's funding conditions, and fixed-rent TL issues lose real value when inflation outruns the rent, exactly like any fixed income. The CPI-indexed variant exists for that worry. Treat direct sukuk as the stability layer of a portfolio whose growth comes from elsewhere, per our TEFAS portfolio guide, and never as an inflation hedge in fixed-rent form.
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See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Are participation corporate sukuk as safe as Treasury paper?
No, and they do not pretend to be. Corporate issues carry the issuer's credit risk and thinner liquidity, in exchange for higher rent. If you buy them directly, size positions small, prefer names whose group you understand, and accept hold-to-maturity as the realistic exit. The sovereign paper is the benchmark; corporates are the satellite.