Islamic Investing in Mediterranean

Albaraka Portfoy's largest general-investor fund at about 7.27 billion TL: short-maturity TL lease certificates plus participation accounts, competing head to head with KT Portfoy's KTV and Ziraat's ZPK in the short-term sukuk category. The go-to cash-plus vehicle for investors who want their sukuk fund run by a participation-first boutique with an AAOIFI-grade committee.

A gold participation fund with a charitable engine: RBA holds physical standard gold and gold-based participation instruments (about 1.83 billion TL at crawl), and its economics support the Bereket Foundation's education and social programs. Comparable in function to KT Portfoy's KZL, with philanthropy as the differentiator.

Albaraka Portfoy's actively managed katilim equity fund (about 991 million TL at crawl): an equity-intensive portfolio from the BIST Katilim screened universe, the boutique's answer to KPC and ZPE in the active halal equity category.

Albaraka Portfoy's cash management fund (about 2.41 billion TL at crawl): very short maturity lease certificates and participation accounts with daily liquidity, the boutique's alternative to KLU for interest-free cash parking.

The duration fund on Albaraka Portfoy's shelf (about 1.32 billion TL at crawl): Treasury and participation corporate lease certificates across maturities, for investors taking deliberate interest-free duration exposure beyond the short-term RBV.

The Turkish State Mint's exchange-traded gold certificate: each ALTIN.S1 unit represents 0.01 gram of 995/1000 fine gold held by the Mint, trades on Borsa Istanbul's equity market through any brokerage account, charges no management fee, and converts to physical gold per the KAP prospectus. Borsa Istanbul lists it among participation-compliant instruments with an explicit TKBB Advisory Board decision approving its purchase and sale by katilim funds and katilim pension funds.

SPK-licensed share-based crowdfunding platform (listed 24 February 2022) that hosted Turkey's largest-ever equity crowdfunding round, the December 2025 Lastik Borsasi campaign of roughly USD 2.37 million, with about 22 funded campaigns overall through end-2025. Investors join free with e-Devlet verification and can invest from 1 TL; funds are escrowed at Takasbank during rounds, shares are delivered via MKK on success, and failed rounds refund in full.

Turkey's largest SPK-licensed share-based crowdfunding platform: 1 billion TL cumulative funding across 101 ventures from 50,000+ investors by October 2024, with 9 successful campaigns delivering 67.1 million TL net in 2025. Investors verify via e-Devlet, invest by card or EFT, funds sit in Takasbank escrow until a round succeeds, and shares are delivered through the Central Registry Agency (MKK); failed rounds refund in full. 2026 SPK limits: 500,000 TL per year for non-qualified investors (2 million TL with income declaration), no cap for qualified investors, 142.5 million TL maximum raise per venture.

Turkey's first money market participation fund: KLU parks cash in short-maturity Treasury and private sector lease certificates, participation accounts and committee-approved money market transactions, giving same-day liquidity without repo or deposits. It is the interest-free answer to conventional para piyasasi funds and the default cash leg of a Turkish halal portfolio. Trailing one-year return stood at about 44.2% at the August 2026 crawl, reflecting Turkey's profit-rate environment. Buyable through TEFAS from any bank or brokerage.

KTV concentrates on short-maturity TL lease certificates issued by the Treasury and participation-sector corporates, targeting steady accrual a notch above money market funds while keeping duration short. Annual return stood at about 42.9% at the August 2026 crawl. It is a general-investor fund available on TEFAS, unlike several of KT Portfoy's larger serbest funds which are restricted to qualified investors.

KTN is the full-duration sukuk fund on KT Portfoy's shelf: Treasury lease certificates across maturities, including CPI-indexed and longer-dated issues, plus participation-sector corporate sukuk. It behaves like an interest-free bond fund, with more rate sensitivity and more potential total return than the short-term KTV.

One of Turkey's few silver participation funds: KGM holds physical silver and silver-based participation instruments, giving interest-free exposure to the more volatile of the two classic monetary metals. Silver's 2025-26 run made it one of the top-performing katilim funds on TEFAS, and one of the largest funds on KT Portfoy's shelf.

KT Portfoy's flagship actively managed Turkish equity fund: an equity-intensive (hisse senedi yogun) portfolio drawn from the BIST Katilim universe under the TKBB screening standard, one of the largest katilim equity funds in the market. The manager takes active sector and stock positions within the screened universe rather than tracking the index.

A one-fund halal portfolio: KCV blends lease certificates, BIST Katilim screened equities, precious metals and participation accounts in a managed allocation, so a single TEFAS purchase delivers a diversified interest-free portfolio. One of the larger funds on the KT Portfoy retail shelf.

Turkey's first gold fund that can be bought and sold with gram gold as well as cash: KZL holds Borsa Istanbul standard gold and gold-based participation instruments, tracks the lira gram gold price, and charges a published 0.30% annual management fee, reduced from 0.60%, with the fund's economics supporting Kizilay (the Turkish Red Crescent). In 2025's gold surge it was among the best-performing vehicles on TEFAS.

Interest-free exposure to global technology stocks from a Turkish fund account: KTJ invests in foreign technology equities passing participation screening, bringing names unavailable on BIST into a katilim wrapper. Part of KT Portfoy's foreign-themed katilim family alongside energy (KNJ) and sustainability (KSR) funds.

Kuveyt Turk's investment account gives retail savers direct ownership of lease certificates: Treasury kira sertifikalari and participation-sector corporate sukuk (including Kuveyt Turk group issues), bought through branch, internet and mobile channels with no account opening or custody fees. This is the main retail route to holding sukuk directly rather than through funds, with semiannual rent payments landing in the linked account.

Turkey's first participation-based brokerage account: TradePlus executes buy orders only for shares meeting the BIST Katilim screening rules, roughly 240 eligible names at crawl, while sell orders are unrestricted so legacy portfolios can be unwound. Account opening, custody and maintenance are free, commissions are volume-based, and onboarding happens by video call or at any Kuveyt Turk branch acting as agent. SPK activity permit granted 11 July 2024.

The backbone asset of Turkish halal finance: since 2012 the Treasury has issued kira sertifikalari through its asset leasing company in TL fixed-rent, CPI-indexed, FX and gold variants, paying rent semiannually. Direct retail purchase happens through banks' investment accounts during issuance periods; in practice most savers hold this paper through katilim money market, sukuk and pension funds, where it forms the portfolio core.

The Treasury's interest-free gold instrument: hand physical gold to an agent bank during announced collection periods and receive a state lease certificate denominated in gold grams that pays TL rent every six months indexed to the gold price (1.20% semiannual on early issues) and redeems at the maturity-date gold value. Refinery experts assay jewelry to 1000/1000 equivalents without discount, there is no minimum in retail collection windows, and withholding is 0% for individuals. Recent issuance (May 2026) has been institutional, accepting LBMA 995 bars from 1 kg; retail savers should watch for announced windows.

The benchmark instrument of halal Turkish equity investing: Z30KP is an exchange-traded fund holding at least 80% of assets in BIST Katilim 30 constituents, with 8.69 billion TL of assets and a published 0.5% annual management fee. It trades on Borsa Istanbul like a share, so any brokerage account in Turkey can own the screened katilim large-cap universe from a single unit.

Exchange-traded gold in katilim format: ZGOLD holds standard gold and tracks the lira gram gold price on Borsa Istanbul, giving brokerage-account investors continuous intraday gold exposure without opening bank gold accounts or fund positions.

Ziraat Portfoy's actively managed katilim equity fund (about 195 million TL at crawl): a small, equity-intensive portfolio from the BIST Katilim screened universe, sitting awkwardly between the firm's own dominant Z30KP ETF and the bigger active funds from the participation houses.

Ziraat Portfoy's TEFAS-format gold participation fund: physical standard gold exposure in a katilim wrapper for savers who prefer fund accounts to exchange trading, distributed through Ziraat's nationwide network alongside the exchange-traded ZGOLD.

Ziraat Portfoy's short-term sukuk fund: TL lease certificates with short maturities plus participation accounts, distributed at state-bank scale through Ziraat channels and TEFAS. The third leg of the short-term lease certificate category alongside KTV and RBV.