ROLA SPECJALISTYCZNYCH FUNDUSZY INWESTYCYJNYCH OTWARTYCH NA RYNKU FUNDUSZY INWESTYCYJNYCH W POLSCE

Abstract

The subject o f this paper is the role o f specialized open-end investment funds (SFIO), which became an interesting and profitable instrument o f investment on the Polish capital market. The author’ s main intention is to present the legal regulations concerning the activity of those institutions, their offer addressed to both individuals and institutional investors and their share in the Polish investment fund market. SFIO funds operate on similar principles as open-end investment funds. However, SFIO funds in some respects differ from open-end funds, the main difference being that SFIO funds allow an indication in the charter o f formal conditions related to their participants or the conditions on which participants may request a repurchase of participation units. In the view or both these facts and characteristics of this part o f the Polish capital market, one may distinguish two kinds o f SFIO funds with two different groups o f participants: • funds associated with investment within the 3'd pillar o f the Polish individual retirement system (table 1), • funds appropriative exclusively for legal persons (table 2). Considering the share of SFIO funds in the investment fund market, they take the second position after open-end funds, both in terms o f quantity and net asset value o f the funds (graphs 1&2). The discussion o f the past performance o f SFIO funds is accompanied by considerations of their future role for the funds market. The author suggests that because individuals are mostly interested in long-term and safe investments (both conditions are met by those funds), the role o f SFIO funds in this case will be continuously growing. As far as the interest o f institutional investors is concerned, the situation may appear the opposite. This is mainly because such investors are interested in short-term (even speculative) investments and are therefore likely to choose other capital market instruments.