Purpose – The main objective of this paper is to assess the impact of qualifications of the management staff on the effectiveness of open investment funds.

Design / methodology / approach – In the research the models derived from capital asset pricing model (CAPM) group, namely Henriksson-Merton model and Treynor-Mazuy have been applied.

Findings – Investment funds operating in the Polish market divided into four groups of funds have been subject to the analysis. Each of them has been analyzed individually keeping in mind the different design benchmark for individual markets investment funds. The main conclusion is poor predictability of executives regarding future market behavior and emerging problems with the correct selection of assets for investment portfolios.

Originality / value – An important aspect in the research is the issue of long-horizon of the analysis itself, as it dates back to the period of years 2000-2015. Emerging conclusions relate both to the period immediately preceding the global crisis and years of crisis. Another advantage seems to be the fact of the authors insights on the problems in the process of measuring the effectiveness of investment funds