The profile of a Polish mutual fund manager

Aim/purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics that are typical of mutual fund managers. Design/methodology/approach – The study concentrates on a set of socio-demographic data, such as: age, gender, education, experience, and professional qualifications of 336 portfolio managers. The applied research strategy relies on an analysis concerning a set of statistical metrics describing the population under examination. Findings – The average Polish fund manager is a 37-year-old man, a holder of a stock-broker or investment adviser license. He obtained the authorization from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) a few years after graduating from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH). He has 11 years’ experience in financial markets and 7 years’ experience in the mutual fund industry. Research implications/limitations – The identification of managerial characteristics for the purpose of creating a profile of a Polish mutual fund manager will provide an important basis for further surveys and analyses aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mutual funds. Originality/value/contribution – There are no investigations within the discussed area in Polish studies. Therefore, the identification of the characteristics that are typical of mutual fund managers will make a contribution to the finance literature.