Abstract
The first closed-end real estate investment funds in Poland began to appear in 2004, along with the development of the capital market and the real estate market. The funds invested both in the housing market and in the commercial market. In general, they encouraged potential investors to purchase investment fund units by pointing to positive results obtained by similar funds in other countries, as well as the dynamic growth of prices in domestic real estate markets. However, the analysis of the performance of closed-end real estate funds in Poland shows that they have failed to earn satisfactory rates of return. The aim of the study was to compare their performance with the profitability of other investment instruments in the 2004 to 2014 period. In addition, the authors aimed to establish why closed-end real estate funds had failed to succeed in Poland, by analyzing, among other things, their institutional context. The study was based on a comparison of the characteristics and performance of particular funds, and also analyzed the profitability of selected alternative investments.