A qualitative study on manipulations in financial markets based on portfolio manager opinions

In recent years, increasing global financial crises, market instabilities, information asymmetries, and social media-driven guidance have made structural risks that undermine investor confidence and threaten market integrity more visible in capital markets. In this context, manipulative transactions carried out by internal and external market actors, especially in developing economies, evolve into a systemic problem when combined with deficiencies in supervision and regulation. Digital technologies developed for the detection and prevention of financial manipulation—such as artificial intelligence, algorithmic analysis, data mining, and trade surveillance systems—have come to play an increasingly critical role in this process. IV This study aims to evaluate the perception, realization forms, and detection methods of financial manipulation, as well as the role of digital technologies in this process, through social, structural, and technological variables such as investor behavior, regulatory adequacy, and market confidence. The theoretical framework of the research was constructed in the light of the existing literature, within the context of manipulation types, regulatory structures, digital auditing practices, and investor psychology. A qualitative research method was used in the study; semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 portfolio managers selected through criterion sampling. The data obtained were analyzed using the MAXQDA 24 software. According to the analysis findings, it was observed that financial manipulation particularly occurs through social media guidance, anomalies in trading volume, insider trading, and periodic price movements. Participants stated that existing regulations remain insufficient at the level of implementation; and that investor education, technological surveillance systems, and AI-supported analyses are significant facilitating tools in the fight against manipulation. Additionally, it was determined that technological tools not only contribute to market security, but also create social effects such as increasing investor awareness, enhancing decision-making quality, and indirectly supporting investor satisfaction. Accordingly, this study aims to address the structural, behavioral, and technological effects of digital transformation in the fight against financial manipulation with a holistic approach, and to offer guiding recommendations to policymakers, regulatory institutions, and market actors.