Europe's investment potential could explode after Greek drama is over - Goldman

The underlying fundamentals in many places in Europe are quite robust, but the Greek drama detracts investors' attention from that, Sheila Patel, CEO of International Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), said in an interview with CNBC.

"We've seen some strength in peripheries like Spain and Italy but when you see (Greece) going on, can we convince investors to move ahead? I'd say they are still hanging ... For every five investors we get to take a look at Europe, only one invests," she said.

The Greek authorities and the country's creditors have been arguing about the reforms Athens should agree to accept for months. As the last possible deadline to make an IMF payment approaches, Greece and its partners are meeting in Brussels today in order to break the impasse.

GSAM, which manages $1.2 trillion globally, has seen select investors take small steps in European large and small caps but there are still many others waiting.

"That gets you back to the waiting game we were in a few years ago, where because of exogenous factors like Greece, people hold back on equity investing and underlying value in the real economy," Patel explained.

Patel, who has no doubts that a last-minute deal will be reached, also warned that this game of brinkmanship has become a norm for global investors. 

Meanwhile, BlackRock said that aggressive central bank policy should help balance geopolitical risks. The recovery is still soft, though.

Patel explained that while the European economic rebound is indeed soft, investors will likely focus on multinationals, as historically, they have been a safe way to increase exposure without really betting on the European recovery.

Now it may also be the time for regional-focused businesses to shine:

"Obviously, companies exposed to China are having a more difficult time so in some ways, the peripheries could be more attractive than Germany."