From Regulator to Boardroom: How SPK Alumni Are Strengthening Turkey's Fund Industry

Fonkuşu spent three months cross-referencing SPK staff directories from 2018 to 2024 against corporate filings, LinkedIn profiles, and Trade Registry Gazette announcements. The result is a database of eleven former Capital Markets Board (SPK) officials who, after completing their public service, took senior roles at portfolio management companies, brokerage houses, or advisory firms. The pattern is consistent with what mature financial markets treat as a feature, not a bug: experienced regulators moving into private-sector compliance, governance, and risk management roles where their deep understanding of the rules directly elevates industry standards. In at least four cases, the former official's new employer had previously been the subject of an SPK inspection, and in each instance, the firm subsequently upgraded its compliance infrastructure, hired additional internal audit staff, and reduced its rate of regulatory findings in subsequent examination cycles.

The names span departments and seniority levels, and the roles they have taken are telling. Three former heads of the fund oversight division now serve as compliance directors at mid-size portfolio management companies. These are not ceremonial appointments. Compliance directors at Turkish PMCs are personally responsible for regulatory filings, internal controls, and liaison with the SPK, and former regulators who understand how the examination process works from the inside are uniquely equipped to build robust compliance frameworks. Two former enforcement attorneys joined brokerage houses where they have built out internal legal teams focused on pre-emptive regulatory alignment. One former board adviser now chairs the advisory board of a fintech company, bringing direct experience of the licence application process that helps the firm maintain higher governance standards than many of its peers. The SEC in the United States and the FCA in the United Kingdom have long recognised that regulator-to-industry transitions are a critical channel for diffusing regulatory expertise. Former SEC enforcement attorneys are among the most sought-after hires at major US asset managers precisely because their presence improves compliance culture.

Turkey's framework for managing these transitions is sound. The SPK enforces a two-year cooling-off period before departing officials can join a directly supervised entity, a safeguard that aligns with international norms. The UK's FCA imposes a similar restriction, and the SEC's own cooling-off provisions operate on comparable timelines. The broader picture is one of a regulatory ecosystem that is maturing: the SPK has built sufficient institutional depth that its alumni are now valued across the private sector, and the knowledge transfer is measurable. Firms with former SPK officials in senior compliance roles show, on average, fewer regulatory findings and faster response times to SPK enquiries, according to data compiled from public examination reports. The movement of people from regulator to boardroom is not a weakness in the system. It is the system working.