Gobble, Gobble: Is It Turkey ETF Time?
July 19th at 5:00pm by Tom Lydon
Rumor has it that Barclays will launch an iShares Turkey exchange traded fund (ETF) soon. While we wait with bated breath for the new Turkey ETF to arrive, we can still track its closed-end fund (CEF), the Turkish Investment Fund (TKF). The chart below shows a recent increase that brought TKF up to 23.1% year-to-date. The increase could be because Turkey’s general election is July 22, and it could have a large impact on the country’s image in the investment world, says Carl Delfeld of ETF XRAY.
Recently, Turkey has been attracting lots of foreign investment, which also could be a factor in TKF’s upswing. Its economy is steadily improving as well. Inflation was up to 69% as recent as 2001, and now it is down below 10% with an average GDP growth of 8% over the past three years. Auto exports from Turkey to Europe are increasing as both Toyota and Ford have expanded plants. It will be interesting to see how the upcoming ETF affects the CEF.
