Poland investor trip – the summary

You know an international trip is in demand if even COVID-19 doesn’t stop people from joining.

Instead of the ten people I had expected, 30 embarked on the Undervalued-Shares.com investor trip to Warsaw and Krakow from 16-19 September. Dubbed "Equities in Poland: undervalued and awaiting discovery?", it was the biggest such event I had ever held. People clearly have woken up to the potential of the Polish equity market!

How did it go?

This 2-minute summary video will give you a first impression.

• East Value Research, a leading independent research boutique.
• IPOPEMA Securities, the award-winning Polish brokerage firm and investment bank.
• Movens Capital, an owner-led private equity and venture capital firm.
• Global Investor Club, a Polish organisation for private investors.
• East Stock Informationsdienste GmbH, a German-language investment newsletter.

Thanks to all of the above, we received presentations from a dozen listed companies, as well as background talks about the entire Polish investment landscape.

The new pension system as a game changer for Polish stocks?

Based on its price/earnings ratio, the Polish WIG20 Index makes for one of the world’s cheapest equity markets. One of the reasons why the market has been lagging is the lack of local capital flowing into the market.

However, change is in the air.

Poland is introducing a new pension scheme, dubbed “PPK”. It will lead to Polish savers putting an increasing amount of money into domestic equities. Imagine a fixed amount of money buying Polish equities every month, year after year.

Could the launch of the pension system provide the crucial spark for the undervalued Polish equity market?

Łukasz Jańczak, Deputy Head of Equity Research of IPOPEMA Securities, has the answer. Watch my interview with him to learn more.

More listed companies than France

Investors who are not yet familiar with the Polish stock market are often surprised to hear that over 800 Polish companies are publicly traded.

Would you have known?

And have you heard yet about the great entrepreneurial spirit of the Polish people?

If not, then listen to my interview with Adrian Kowollik, the Managing Partner of East Value Research.

He knows the ins and outs of the Polish market.

The companies that presented to us

IPOPEMA Securities and East Value Research helped get a dozen publicly-listed Polish companies to the table. We listened to presentations by the following firms (download their investor presentations by clicking on the corresponding links):

Comp Capital Group (PDF, 2MB)
IT security solutions for the retail and service sector, EUR 80m market cap
ISIN PLCMP0000017

GPW (PDF, 1MB)
Operator of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, EUR 421m market cap
ISIN PLGPW0000017

LiveChat (PDF, 4MB)
Chat software that supports sales and customer service, EUR 520m market cap
ISIN PLLVTSF00010

PBKM Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych (PDF, 1MB)
Stem cell bank, EUR 164m market cap
ISIN PLPBKM000012

Playway (link to corporate website)
Developer and producer of video and mobile games, EUR 775m market cap
ISIN PLPLAYW00015

Pure Biologics (PDF, 6MB)
Development of biological drugs and therapeutical medical devices, EUR 28m market cap
ISIN PLPRBLG00010

Selvita (link to corporate website)
Laboratory research and development services, EUR 169m market cap
ISIN PLSLVCR00029

Synektik Group (PDF, 3MB)
Producer of radiopharmaceuticals and IT solutions, EUR 43m market cap
ISIN PLSNKTK00019

Ten Square (PDF, 1MB)
Developer of “free to play” games, EUR 926m market cap
ISIN PLTSQGM00016

Vigo Systems (PDF, 2MB)
Production of uncooled, photon infrared detectors, EUR 92m market cap
ISIN PLVIGOS00015

There is value among venture capital and private equity investments

You can find all sorts of surprises among Polish companies.

Would you have known that the world’s best bicycle comes from Poland?

7ANNA currently makes headlines in the Polish venture capital industry.

Among the early investors of 7ANNA is Maciej Kraus, the Managing Partner of Movens Capital. Maciej can look at investment opportunities from the perspective of having done it all himself. He managed a successful exit from his own company, and nowadays manages his own money and that of co-investors. They are seeking out and supporting the best Polish growth companies.

Listen to Maciej to learn about the investment opportunities that are available outside of the public company space.

A German investment pioneer with a three-decades perspective

For most of the trip participants, it was their first visit to Poland. They were bowled over just how far Poland had already developed. Or as I always like to say (half-joking, but also half-serious): “Poland is the new Germany.”

Someone who can provide a unique perspective on the past 30 years of the country’s economic changes is Andreas Männicke, founder of East Stock Informationsdienste. In 1993, Andreas and his partner Olgierd Bagniewski published the first-ever book about investing in Eastern Europe’s equity markets. He has been an observer of this region ever since and publishes a monthly investment newsletter covering the wider region. Andreas volunteered to give us his perspective (note: the following video is in German):

Useful contacts and resources for you

Here is what you can do if you’d like to research this further:

• Sign up to the free email list of East Value Research ([email protected]).
• If you are looking to open a brokerage account in Poland or are interested in equity research for institutional investors, speak to IPOPEMA Securities ([email protected]).
• Follow the blog of Movens Capital or email Maciej Kraus ([email protected]) for more information about the fund.
• For my German-speaking readers, you can order three trial issues of Andreas Männicke’s German-language investment newsletter using this form.

Will I organise other such trips?

The investor trip to Poland wasn’t my first trip for Undervalued-Shares.com readers – far from it. And it certainly won't be the last!

For now, though, my focus will be back on writing. During much of August and September, I had focussed on researching a book (watch this space!), preparing new in-depth research reports, and doing a bit of travelling. From next week onwards I will be back to churning out lots of content for my website.

If you’d like to be among the first to hear about any potential future trip, keep following my free Weekly Dispatches. To read my in-depth research reports (including about Polish opportunities), subscribe either as a Member (USD 49 per year) or a Lifetime Member (USD 999 one-off).

Did you find this article useful and enjoyable? If you want to read my next articles right when they come out, please sign up to my email list.

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