Francis Grey, Head of Australian Research, Sustainable Asset Management Australia Limited


Francis is the Research Manager for the SAM Sustainability Leaders Australia Fund and the AuSSI (the Australian SAM Sustainability Index) of the SAM Group business in Australia and New Zealand. Francis Grey was a junior officer in the Royal Navy. He graduated with 2 degrees in Economics and Politics from the Australian National University, Canberra and joined the Commonwealth Treasury before moving to the financial markets. He has been an independent consulting economist (Economists@Large & Associates) since 1989, with a specialty in the economics of the environment. His clients included the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, CSIRO, the Resource Assessment Commission, the World Conservation Union and IFAW. He was a member of the WMC Ltd Environmental Report Advisory Panel for approximately 2 years.

He has developed a strong interest in understanding the processes by which companies reduce negative impacts and enhance positive outcomes. Since early 2000 he has been implementing the SAM Group sustainability assessment of Australia's top 200 listed companies. Francis is the Research Manager (Australia & New Zealand) for SAM (and one of the 2 founding principals of the business in Australia) and coordinates the annual research process behind the publication of the Australian SAM Sustainability Index (AuSSI) Index (until recently published in the Australian Newspaper). The AuSSI comprises the sustainability leading companies amongst the Australian Top 200 listed entities. As part of his work with SAM he also works with the research team that produces the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.