Today, 35% of Polish society invests, on average, no more than 10% of its savings. A further 20% invests at least half of its accumulated funds, while 16% usually allocates between 11% and 20% of saved capital to investments. As many as 68% declare that they have had investment experience in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, PLN 15,590 is the most frequently indicated annual investment amount. How do Poles invest today, and which capital market investment solutions are most often chosen?
According to the Accolade Funds report “We Want to Invest, but We Don’t Know How”, prepared by Prof. Katarzyna Sekścińska of the University of Warsaw on a sample of more than one thousand adult Poles, 24% of investments currently consist of Treasury bonds. Retirement instruments such as IKE, IKZE and PPK account for 20%, investment fund units for 16%, ETFs and gold investments for 15% each, cryptocurrencies for 7%, and valuable items for 4%.
However, when various forms of investment are described, it is real estate that is most often seen as the most profitable and lucrative, while also being perceived as the least risky. The dominant model is investment in apartments or houses intended for rent. Interestingly, however, as many as 38% of respondents notice a lack of solutions available on the Polish market that would make it possible to invest in shares of commercial real estate. 30% of respondents considered such a solution attractive, while 17% declared a real readiness to invest.
“At the end of the third quarter of 2025, the stock of modern warehouse and industrial space available in Poland exceeded as much as 36 million square metres, and this market segment has remained one of the most stable sectors of the commercial real estate market for over a dozen years. So why is commercial real estate in Poland still beyond the reach of investors? Unfortunately, there is still a lack of accessible and understandable forms of investing in this asset class. That is why financial education and clear structures that are understandable to a wide range of investors are becoming so crucial. Without this, it is difficult to talk about real and informed demand for investment products in this market segment,” says Małgorzata Sablińska, Director of Business Development and Capital Raising at Accolade Funds.
Poles clearly declare their willingness to invest in commercial real estate, as confirmed by as many as 68% of respondents. At the same time, their expectations regarding potential rates of return remain high: on average around 20% per year for commercial real estate, compared with 15% for investment funds.
In the long term, these expectations amount to 27–28% after five years, 45–46% after 10 years and 79–80% after 20 years. It should be emphasised, however, that these are cumulative values referring to the entire investment period, not annual rates of return.
Comparing investors’ declarations with their expectations shows how strongly our ideas about investing are shaped by the current market environment. Recent years have brought systematic increases in real estate prices, which naturally translates into higher expectations regarding short-term rates of return. This is also visible in media coverage, which often highlights high profits and reinforces the belief that such dynamics will continue.
At the same time, investors’ approach becomes more balanced in the long term. There is an awareness that market cycles change and that such favourable conditions do not last forever. That is why expectations over a longer horizon are more realistic and better reflect the actual mechanisms of building value over time, says Prof. Katarzyna Sekścińska of the University of Warsaw.
Source: CEO.com.pl
