Polish Pension Fund Opt-In Rush Saves Bourse From Selloff

Polish pension funds, among the biggest investors on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, retained enough clients during the industry’s overhaul to continue operations and avoid the risk of forced equity sales.

More than 1.8 million Poles filed requests to keep savings at private pension funds by yesterday’s deadline, Zbigniew Derdziuk, head of the state-run Social Security Office, said at a news conference in Warsaw today. The number of declarations have accelerated from 971,083 at the end of last week, he said.