Individual interest

Men make up 84.6 percent of individual investors on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, according to a report based on a nationwide survey of investors by the Polish Individual Investors Association (SII). Around 36 percent of investors are between 26 and 35 years of age, and almost 70 percent have at least a university education. The average individual has been investing for around 6.5 years.

The profile of the average individual investor showed little change from previous years, according to the report. "This is sign of the maturity of the market," according to Michał Masłowski, the editor-in-chief of Akcjonariusz, a quarterly published by SII.

Only 7.6 percent of individual investors on the WSE treat the bourse as a major source of income and around 31 percent of the survey's respondents have an investment portfolio ranging in value from zł.10,001-50,000. 

Around 20 percent of investors had money in investment funds, a considerable drop on 2007's results, when around 46 percent of respondents had money in them. "This demonstrates falling trust in these funds," Masłowski said.

The majority of respondents - 64.1 percent - saw a positive return from the bourse last year, while 19.7 percent experienced a loss. However, the average rate of return decreased from 38 percent in 2006 to 24 percent last year.

The biggest weaknesses of the Polish capital market include low liquidity and a high rate of fraud, according to 49.2 percent and 45.7 percent of respondents, respectively. Only 10.6 percent of respondents said that companies respected the rights of minority shareholders well or very well.

SII surveyed 1,384 investors between June and August. "We focused only on active players on the bourse. They are the salt of the earth for the market," Masłowski said.