Opportunities not (yet) exploited

Polish funds investing in real estate Opportunities not (yet) exploited Pension funds operating in Poland cannot invest money in real estate investment funds which is the main reason why the Poland has no such funds. According to market sources, other reasons include the specific philosophy of most Polish investors and distrust towards new financial products. The beginning of the year saw Towarzystwo Funduszy Nieruchomości Skarbiec (Skarbiec Real Estate Fund Association) attempt to set up the first Polish fund investing in real estate products. The fund, called Skarbiec Nieruchomości, collected PLN 20 mln, which is PLN 10 mln less than required to make a profit. Representatives of Skarbiec say that this was caused due to a general recession and the fact that subscriptions for Skarbiec Nieruchomości's investment certificates were issued at a bad time as investors had invested a lot at the end of 2001 trying to escape the newly introduced tax on bank savings interest.