Michał Duniec, Robert Stanilewicz
Jarosław Leśniczak, Mateusz Mucha, Michał Tuczyński, Robert Stanilewicz
ETFs and traditional mutual funds are often presented as competing investment solutions. In practice, however, they can play different and complementary roles in a portfolio. ETFs generally offer low costs, transparent exposure and easy access to broad markets. Actively managed funds, in turn, can benefit from issuer selection and the active management of credit risk, duration and portfolio liquidity. During the discussion, we will consider which market segments may favour passive solutions and where active management can deliver greater value. We will explain when a mutual fund and an ETF genuinely compete with each other, and when combining them can help create a more efficient portfolio for Polish investors using IKE and IKZE retirement accounts as well as standard brokerage accounts.
Michał Rabiega
The world of equity investing has changed significantly. Company fundamentals, DCF models, and stock picking remain important, but they are no longer the only points of reference. Global capital flows, ETFs, sector trends, social media, and rapid rotations between groups of stocks are playing an increasingly important role in driving market behavior. How can investors manage a portfolio in this environment without being swayed by short-term narratives, while maintaining investment discipline? During the session, portfolio managers from PKO TFI will show how the investment process and the fund manager’s toolkit are evolving in practice, and how to make use of new sources of information and tools without losing sight of fundamentals and the long-term perspective.
Piotr Miliński
Artificial intelligence is having an increasingly significant impact on the investment process and the way financial institutions operate. During the presentation, we will demonstrate how AI tools are already changing the day-to-day work of analysts and fund managers. We will consider the areas in which technology can improve effectiveness and reduce costs, as well as those where its use may lead to incorrect conclusions or excessive reliance on models. We will also discuss which skills and responsibilities will remain the domain of humans, and whether AI will change only the tools used in asset management or the asset management model itself.
Radosław Sosna
There is no single portfolio that is suitable for every investor throughout their entire life. As financial goals, professional and family circumstances, accumulated capital and investment horizons change, so do liquidity requirements, risk capacity and the way savings should be managed. During the presentation, we will introduce four model portfolios corresponding to different stages of an investor’s financial life—from the beginning of the wealth-building journey, through a period of intensive accumulation, to retirement preparation and the withdrawal of accumulated assets. Using specific examples, we will explain how allocations to equities, bonds and other asset classes may evolve over time, as well as how the role of diversification, rebalancing and solutions such as IKE and IKZE retirement accounts may change.
Dominik Bekkewold
“I’ll wait for a market correction,” “the bull market has already lasted too long,” “now isn’t a good time to enter the market” — arguments like these often come up in conversations between financial advisors and investors, effectively postponing investment decisions. Yet markets rarely reward perfect timing. Far more often, they reward consistency, a long-term horizon, and a well-constructed portfolio. Is a long-running bull market really reason enough to stay out of equities? We will discuss investment paralysis, emotions, and home-market biases that can limit investors’ perspective. We will also look at how the role of the financial advisor is changing in a world of ETFs, AI, and increasingly accessible self-directed investing. Will an advisor’s greatest value lie in selecting the right product, or rather in helping clients build a strategy, stay disciplined, and avoid costly decisions driven by emotion?
Małgorzata Barska, Katarzyna Sekścińska, Renata Wanat-Szelenbaum, Michał Duniec
Longer lifespans are changing the logic of financial planning. Capital must last longer, support an active later life and provide sufficient liquidity in times of crisis. New risks are also emerging, including loss of independence, the cost of care and financial pressure from younger generations.
At the same time, longevity creates new opportunities: a longer period of capital accumulation and a genuine prospect of an active retirement.
How should a portfolio be prepared for greater longevity? What role should financial institutions and advisers play? And how can clients be protected from the common financial mistakes associated with the later stages of life?
Monika Madej
There are many paths to reaching your destination. Mine was rather unconventional. I started my career working at a bank and later joined a financial media outlet. But where I am today was also shaped by experiences that, at first glance, seemed to have little to do with my professional career. Today, I am a financial educator, focusing primarily on explaining complex financial topics in a simple and accessible way. At Fund Forum, I will show you a different perspective on the same world. I will talk about how to make conversations about money, saving and investing clear, practical and relatable — and how a few seemingly unrelated experiences can sometimes come together to inspire the idea for building your own personal brand.
Anna Bąkała
For many clients, bank deposits and retail government bonds are the first instruments used to invest surplus funds. Expanding a portfolio to include mutual funds, ETFs and other market instruments is often associated with concerns about potential losses, insufficient knowledge and the difficulty of selecting solutions that match the investor’s objectives. During the presentation, we will demonstrate how investors can gradually move from simple savings products and bonds towards a more diversified portfolio. We will explain how to take into account the client’s objectives, investment horizon, liquidity needs, risk capacity and risk tolerance. Using practical examples, we will show how to combine a more stable part of the portfolio with assets offering greater growth potential and higher volatility, how to determine the appropriate allocation between them, and how to reduce the risk of decisions driven by short-term emotions.
Tomasz Korab
Wealthy investors are increasingly turning to solutions that go beyond the traditional portfolio composed solely of equities and bonds. Their portfolios now include strategies such as private equity, private credit, real estate, commodities, and private debt or receivables. Alternative assets can enhance diversification, improve the risk-return profile, and provide access to sources of return that are unavailable in public markets. We will discuss when alternative investments genuinely make sense in the portfolios of high-net-worth clients and what role they can play. We will also explore how HNWIs (High-Net-Worth Individuals) approach portfolio construction and why, as wealth grows, the traditional “equities + bonds” model may no longer be sufficient.
Dariusz Kędziora
High yields, changing interest-rate expectations and the renewed risk of inflation mean that bond investment performance can currently be driven by a wide range of factors. Returns may come from current interest income, falling yields and rising bond prices, credit-risk premiums and—in the case of global strategies—movements in foreign exchange rates. During the presentation, we will identify the most attractive sources of income and growth potential currently available in the fixed-income market. We will compare short-term, government, corporate, long-duration and global strategies, and explain the risks associated with each of them. We will indicate when performance may be driven primarily by the portfolio’s current yield and when achieving the expected return requires exposure to interest-rate, credit or currency risk. We will also demonstrate how these strategies can be matched to the client’s objectives, investment horizon and risk profile.
Zbigniew Wójtowicz
Financial markets constantly tempt investors to do something more: buy, sell, change strategy, react to the latest news or predict the market’s next move. Each time, convincing arguments emerge in favour of acting more quickly, responding more decisively and searching for new solutions. But do we really need to do more and move faster to achieve long-term success?
Szymon Borawski-Reks, Sebastian Buczek, Marcin Ciesielski, Piotr Grzeliński, Marcin Winnicki, Jagoda Fryc
Following strong gains across many markets, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine where further upside remains and where optimistic scenarios have already been priced in. Stock market performance in the final months of 2026 and throughout 2027 will be driven primarily by corporate earnings growth, valuation levels, the direction of central-bank policy, bond yields, economic conditions and capital flows between regions and sectors. During the debate, experts will assess whether equity-market gains are supported by sufficiently strong fundamentals to continue, and which regions, sectors and market segments currently offer the most attractive risk-return potential. They will compare the outlook for the Warsaw Stock Exchange with that of the United States, Europe and emerging markets. They will also discuss the principal risks—from elevated valuations and highly concentrated market gains to weaker corporate results, persistently high bond yields and geopolitical tensions.
Beata Idem
Private assets have entered the investment mainstream. ELTIFs — European Long-Term Investment Funds — are opening up access to private equity, private credit and other non-public-market assets in a new, transparent, safer and more structured format. This approach to investing is based on a long-term horizon, careful selection and a new perspective on risk, allowing private assets to become not only a new component of a portfolio but also an important source of diversification alongside public-market funds, including ETFs. Strategies once associated primarily with the portfolios of the largest institutional investors are now becoming accessible to a broader range of investors, who increasingly have the tools to invest in a similar way.
Piotr Minkina
Geopolitics is playing an increasingly important role in shaping the direction of the global economy. Does history offer any clues as to what we can expect following the US elections? How will the world’s largest economies cope with high debt levels and the high cost of money? And could the development of artificial intelligence trigger another wave of productivity growth? We will also take a closer look at Poland – its prospects for maintaining rapid growth and the risk of becoming trapped in a middle-growth environment. We will seek to bring geopolitics, economics and technology together into a single picture and answer the key question: what will investors be watching in a world governed by new rules of the game?
Michał Duniec
From 1 January 2027, investors will have an alternative to Poland’s 19% capital gains tax, commonly known as the Belka tax: Personal Investment Accounts (OKI). Capital gains, dividends and interest earned within an OKI will not be subject to the 19% tax. Instead, a new annual levy will apply, set at 0.85% of the value of assets in 2027. Qualifying assets — those linked to Polish financial instruments — will be exempt from the levy up to an annual limit of PLN 100,000. Which option is more attractive: staying with the 19% tax on investment profits, or switching to an OKI and paying an annual “subscription fee” on invested capital? Using a specific portfolio and data from the past five years, we will examine how the two models affect investor returns, identify the break-even point for OKI, and determine which types of investments stand to benefit the most from the new tax framework.
Crowne Plaza Warsaw The HUB is a luxury hotel that combines modernity with comfort in the heart of Warsaw - it is located just 1 km from the city center.
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Crowne Plaza Warsaw The HUB is a luxury hotel that combines modernity with comfort in the heart of Warsaw - it is located just 1 km from the city center.
Learn how to get there Book a hotel room
PKO TFI, established in 1997, is part of the PKO Bank Polski Group and the largest investment fund management company in Poland. The company manages assets worth PLN 88 billion and holds over 22% of the retail investment fund market. Trusted by more than 2.3 million clients, PKO TFI offers over 50 investment funds and savings solutions, including PPK, IKE, IKZE, PPE, and PPO. As the market leader in Employee Capital Plans (PPK), the company holds a 30% market share.
Quercus TFI S.A. is Poland’s first publicly listed investment fund management company, serving affluent individual and institutional investors. Founded in 2008 by former ING Group executives, the company managed PLN 9.6 billion in assets as of the end of June 2026. Its principal shareholders are key employees and Franklin Templeton. The Quercus Group also includes Xelion Investment House, Poland’s largest independent investment fund distributor, with more than PLN 10 billion in assets under administration. In 2025, the Group reported a net profit exceeding PLN 60 million.
ING TFI is one of the largest and longest-established investment fund management companies in Poland, operating on the market since 1997. ING TFI’s mission is to make knowledge and tools more accessible, opening up the world of investing to investors and helping make investing clear and accessible to everyone.
TFI PZU manages assets worth more than PLN 70 billion. It offers a comprehensive range of products for both individual and corporate investors, including top-rated IKE and IKZE investment accounts and numerous award-winning investment funds. The company is a leader in index funds, which are available through the modern inPZU platform. In 2026, TFI PZU entered the Warsaw Stock Exchange market with a new product line comprising ETF funds. A 0% promotional fee applies to the five new strategies until the end of the year.
TFI PZU is also one of the leading providers of employee pension schemes, including PPE occupational pension programmes and PPK Employee Capital Plans.
The GPW Group has been driving the development of the capital and commodity markets in Central and Eastern Europe for 35 years. Bringing together GPW, TGE, GPW Benchmark and BondSpot, it builds trust and creates new opportunities for growth. The strength of the Polish market is reflected in the WIG index, which rose by as much as 86.5% from the beginning of 2025 to August 2026.More information: www.gpw.pl