Mark Mobius, emerging markets guru, faces probe in Turkey

Mark Mobius, the veteran emerging markets fund manager at Franklin Templeton Investors, is reported to be under investigation by financial regulators in Turkey for possible market manipulation.

Reuters reports that senior officials at Turkey's capital markets watchdog (SPK) said the investigation had been requested by Turkish investors following a comment by Mobius that the country's stock market could suffer a 15-20% correction by the end of the year.

On 27 October, the day his comment was reported, shares in Istanbul fell 2.9%. The Istanbul SE Ulusal 100 index has soared over 30% this year.

Mobius is reported to have said: 'As I see it now we are in a bull market so any threat will be very short this year if there is a correction.'

According to Reuters in September Mobius said he planned to add $250-$300 million to the $1 billion he already had invested in Turkey.

In the same month Mobius, who runs a raft of funds including the Templeton Emerging Markets investment trust and the Templeton Global Emerging Markets and Frontier Markets unit trusts, said he was turning his attention to Nigeria and Palestine in his quest for new and exciting investment opportunities.

Franklin Templeton declined to comment.