Responsible investment has gotten off to a very slow start in the country, with SRI assets representing a negligible portion of assets under management. This is due to current implementation of the legal and regulatory framework (which does allow for SRI screening, but is not implemented as such), as well as the level of market maturity.

Nevertheless, several pieces of evidence bode well for cautious optimism with respect to future growth prospects for SRI. CSR, frequently a precursor to SRI, has become standard best practice among the leading corporate players in Greece. As CSR continues to evolve into a system for measuring ESG performance through KPIs, the raw data required for SRI uptake will grow. Increasing awareness of environmental issues and the development of a limited number of environmentally-focused investment instruments also bode well.

Meaningful data concerning market size for Core and Broad SRI are not available at this time, despite outreach efforts made to the investment community in the context of this survey. In terms of core SRI strategies, there are only a few theme funds (investing in renewable energy, clean and environmental technologies, energy efficiency), which emerged recently and do not yet represent a substantial proportion of assets, while the importance of ethical exclusions and other positive screening criteria is very low. The Broad SRI market in Greece is considerably larger compared to Core SRI. Broad SRI among Greek asset managers and institutional investors consists mainly of engagement practices focusing typically on governance issues, as a result of the tight regulatory framework on corporate governance. ESG risks assessment is not yet included in mainstream financial analysis and is practiced informally only on a case-by-case basis where legal or reputation-related risks are considered important.

This market overview was compiled by the Institute of Social Innovation (Athens, Greece).

Download the Greek section of Eurosif's European SRI Study 2010.