Polish funds the poor relations

The president of the Chamber of Fund and Asset Managers (IZFiA), Marcin Dyl, claims that Polish funds are discriminated against in comparison to their foreign competitors.

"Every time a fund is estabilished one needs to get the supervisor's permission ... a foreign fund just needs to register its activities," he said. Furthermore, due to red tape, establishing a fund in Poland takes between four and five months. "This lengthens the period before a product enters the market, which reduces its attractiveness," Dyl said.

In Luxembourg, Europe's largest investment-fund market, it takes only two or three weeks. The regulations there are less complicated than in other European states and many funds are registered in the small state. Dyl thinks that Polish funds could decide to move there, which would have serious consequences. "Also the fund-managing companies could follow their funds, which would result in their disappearance from the Polish market," Dyl explained. This, in turn, would hurt the economy due to lower tax revenues or simply from job losses.

Investment funds are rapidly gaining importance in Poland. As of the end of August 2006, assets located in investment funds in Poland jumped by 34.5 percent in comparison to December 2005 to reach zł.82.4 billion. According to Analizy Online's estimates, 11 percent of Poles' savings are invested in investment funds. What's more, investment funds have a six-percent share in the capitalization of the WSE.