In the first seven months of the year, Turkish stock market shares outstripped all other investment instruments such as gold, foreign currency and interest in terms of profit. To see how the difference emerged, let’s first take a look at the seven-month performance of investment instruments:

On Jan. 2, an ounce of gold traded for $1,224, while a dollar bought 2.17 Turkish lira and a euro 2.98 lira. As of July 30, an ounce of gold traded for $1,296, while a dollar was worth 2.13 lira and a euro 2.86 lira.

The figures show that those who invested in gold at the beginning of the year made almost no profit, with the gold price rising a negligible less than 1%. Those who bought dollars or euros were in the red — though only slightly — with their exchange rates down 0.04 and 0.12 lira, respectively. Those who converted dollars and euros into lira and put their money in bonds and notes or bank deposits will get yields of around 10% at year-end.

Back in 2012, Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci had said, “Those who invest in Turkish lira will be winners.” The trend in foreign exchange rates proved him right — and not only for 2012. Those who favored the lira profited in 2013 and 2014 as well.