Best Polish returns on $100,000?

If a hypothetical PolAm wanted to invest $100,000. in some Polish business enterprise where could he count on the highest returns and the lowest risk:
-- pizza place
-- café
-- restaurant
-- pub
-- retail shop (which sector)
-- manufacturing workshop
-- repair services (electrical, plumbing, carpentry)
-- other services (child-minding, dog-walking, elder care)
-- car hire, car repair, car wash, second-hand car sales
-- investing in and upgrading an existing buisness
-- savings account
-- CD (lokata)
-- bonds
-- shares
-- other

None of the above. If you want comparatively risk free return go long the WIG 50, spreading the risk. Bonds (Govies, not corps) aren't too bad either but it'd only take another Greece (Ireland in in the rear-view mirrors) to tank the debt markets again (PLN currency and bonds were totally stiffed by the Greek crisis despite Poland not being in the eurozone).

Quickest and safest bet right now? A punt on the Zloty as it's probably got another 10-15% appreciation coming, it having been according to a Citigroup research doc the most undervalued currency int the EEA

WIG 50 plus an expensive Zloty? Which do you think will happen?

One word ... plastics!

Invest in cigarettes, Gold Blend or ketchup - Poles can't do without any of these :D

Lard and vodka ;-)

Whatever you want to invest in, you better get rid of USD.Another QE is on the way.

Small size lubricated condons made by PolAm.

I recently bought a flat in the old town for a third of that. Saps.

There should be a tiny pin prick in each condom to bolster the country's demographics!

$100,000 will buy you a flat in Warsaw. It will be one room. Just an example. Of course, if you grow weed in that room your investment will be well worth it. PM Harry for further details. :)

Not in W-wa I take it!

Don't touch catering or anything connected to it, also real estate is overvalued in Warsaw (but relatively easy to rent). Term deposits (lokaty) in Poland often give very good returns, but afaik, you're supposed to be resident in PL to have one (I wasn't officially resident when I had one, but my bank a/c was, so to speak). The poster who suggests the WIG50 is giving very good advice too.

What's WIG50?

No, Torun. The Old Town is much, much nicer there.

Polish FTSE100/DowJones

ETF's are popular here in N.A. for their broad based exposure to a variety of industries at a reasonable cost. The concept being you buy one share, and each share represents a piece of the market as a whole. So if the index goes up, your share price goes up, (less fees and commissions). Is there something similar in PL? This is not to be confused with an actively managed mutual fund (where some manager picks a few stocks, thinking these stocks will beat the index?

Buy the Zloty. Preferably Polish Government Bonds or Treasury Notes. This way you get the appreciation and the interest.

Don't be utterly moronic: the spike in electricity usage will give you away well before your first crop is ready. And as you're smart enough to be growing drugs in a property which is in your own name, you're doubly f*cked. But why pay Warsaw prices for real estate? What you want is a nice industrial unit somewhere in Poland B which is next to an industrial unit which uses a lot of electricity: you take power off their line and your spike won't get noticed. Not that it's worth bothering with growing weed these days anyway: there's nearly as much money in illegal cigarettes but the punishments are far lower.

There is something similar in the US. Check out the PLND ETF.

I think one of the safest bets with a nice return is land, specifically ag. Land prices didn't skyrocket like buildings did. They grew a bit quicker than inflation. 100k might not be enough to see the returns that you want, in agriculture, the bigger the better. Remember EU funds + farming revenue = happy investor.

Are you looking for investment or dividends, if you are looking for pure investment in Poland, the one you overlooked " land" they are not making any more of it. Once the economy picks up land prices will be the first to rise, it safer than houses and the ongoing overheads are minimal.

And remember, the EU CAP makes up half of the total budget. 'fiddy billion a year...

There is no such thing as WIG50.

There is WIG [332 companies in the index presently], WIG20 [the 20 biggest companies in it], mWIG40 [the next 40 companies or "medium" companies], sWIG80 [the next 80 companies or "small" companies], and also there are several industry indexes such as WIG-deweloperzy or WIG-banki.