Human beings are flawed in many ways. One flaw is the desire to act in a repetitive manor, not adjusting and evolving as conditions change. Those that can change prosper and those that don’t, well, sometimes it doesn’t turn out so well. Greece has been stuck in a repetitive negative feedback loop for almost a decade. Yes, many of their problems are self-inflicted wounds. But the patient that has been in a coma then moved to life support just left the hospital with a clean bill of health. It seems most investors are preoccupied or refuse to pay attention, preferring to remain soured to the Greek markets after being disappointed time and time again. With today’s conclusion of the Eurogroup meeting of the Eurozone’s finance ministers and the IMF in Luxembourg, Greece secured the final $9.5 bn loan installment officially putting an end to their financial crisis. The IMF has signed on board as well with their level of commitment to be determined pending conclusion of long-term debt relief. Eurogroup Chariman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said today’s agreement is “a major step forward” that will lead to Greece’s conclusion of its support program in 2018. The Eurozone also agreed on debt relief linking debt repayment to its rate of growth as well as deferring and extending repayment of $145 bn of loans – or around half Greece’s debt - by up to 15 years. Additionally, the Eurogroup will specify further debt relief measures by July 27th. This is a precondition for the IMF’s participation. Believe it or not, with today’s meeting, Greece has decided to steer the country in the direction of stability and prosperity. The political landscape is, dare I say it, stable for the foreseeable future. Unbeknownst to many investors, the Greek main benchmark index, the ASE is one of the top performing equity markets so far this year. It is up approximately 23% year to date. I know, I know, how and when did that happen. Though this sounds great, the index is still off around 85% from its peak in 2007. Some Greek companies can still be found trading around 20% of asset value. There are many equity markets currently trading at historically expensive levels over-crowded with heard like investors. Get over your preconceived notions that nothing positive will come out of Greece. It’s time to acknowledge the progress and positive developments and start a list of reasons to invest in Greece. by Michael Carino, 6/15/17 Michael Carino is the CEO of Greenwich Endeavors, a financial service firm, and has been a fund manager and owner for more than 20 years. He is optimistically invested in Greek equities.