Investment Account

The Appropriateness Test is used to assess whether the product or service marketed by our Bank or requested by you is suitable for you. It determines whether you have the knowledge and experience to understand the risks associated with the product or service. General customers take the Appropriateness Test for trading and public offer activities in particular.

The Appropriateness Test is not required in the following cases:

• Money market and short-term investment fund units and investment funds traded on Turkey Electronic Fund Trading Platform (Tefas)
• Public debt instruments issued by the Undersecretariat of Treasury and traded in stock markets and other organized markets

You are required to provide information about the investment period and your risk and return preferences depending on the investment objectives you have chosen.

You can also provide information about your age, occupation, educational background, and the type, nature, volume, and frequency of your past transactions in capital market instruments to ensure that the Appropriateness Test provides the most accurate results.

If the Appropriateness Test indicates that a product or service is not suitable for you, you will be notified in writing. In this case, the investment institution cannot provide general investment advice for the product or service in question. 

In other cases, it cannot be determined whether the product or service is suitable for you, or you may want to buy the product or service despite the notification of nonsuitability. Then, you are required to submit a "Request to Trade Despite the Appropriateness Test Result" document specifying your name, surname, and signature. This way, you may trade in the said markets without receiving guidance and general investment advice.

An Investment Fund is a collection of capital market instruments (stocks, lease certificates, etc.) and precious metals such as gold in which you invest.

Shares are negotiable instruments issued by incorporated companies and represent the capital share of such companies. You can become a shareholder in an incorporated company by owning its shares.

A Lease Certificate is a capital market product that can be traded in secondary markets, indicating the right to own or benefit from an asset, allowing you to earn fixed or variable returns in certain periods.

A professional customer has the experience, knowledge, and expertise to make investment decisions and assess the risks they are undertaking. In order to be recognized as a professional client, you must meet the following criteria:
a) Intermediary institutions, banks, portfolio management companies, collective investment schemes, pension investment funds, insurance companies, mortgage financing institutions, asset management companies, and their equivalent non-resident institutions
b) Pension and welfare funds, funds established according to the provisional article 20 of Social Insurance Act No. 506 of 17 July 1964
c) Public institutions and organizations, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
d) Other institutions that may be accepted by the Board as similar to these institutions in terms of their qualifications
e) Organizations that meet at least two of the following criteria: total assets of 50,000,000 TRY, annual net revenue of 90,000,000 TRY, and shareholders' equity above 5,000,000 TRY
f) Clients deemed professional upon request

Clients who do not fall under the definition of professional client are considered general clients.

If you are a professional customer, you can invest in Real Estate Investment Funds or Hedge Funds. If you are a general customer, you cannot purchase any of these products. In addition, you do not need to take the Appropriateness Test if you are a professional customer.

You may request to become a professional customer if you meet at least two of the following criteria:
1) You have carried out at least 10 trades with a volume of at least 500,000 TRY per quarter within the last 1 year in the markets requested
2) Your total financial assets, including cash deposits and capital market instruments, exceed 1,000,000 TRY
3) You must have served at least 2 years in a senior management position in the field of finance or worked as a specialist in the field of capital markets for at least 5 years or have a Capital Markets Activities Advanced Level License or Derivative Instruments License

Within the scope of the definition of qualified investor in the relevant regulations of the Board, when determining the clients to be deemed professional, those who only meet the condition in the second subparagraph shall be recognized as qualified investors.

Investment institutions, namely banks and intermediary institutions, are obliged to classify all their customers as professional or general customers, provide services and activities in accordance with this classification, and fulfill their obligations by their customer classification.

You are obliged to notify the investment institution when a situation arises that may affect the classification to which you are subject. The investment institution, on the other hand, is obliged to take the necessary actions to fulfill the obligations stipulated in the legislation if it learns that a situation has arisen that may affect your classification.