Join the Collaborative
Cerulli’s Institutional Investors Research Collaborative
Cerulli’s Institutional Investors Research Collaborative (IIRC) provides asset owners—endowments and foundations, corporate defined benefit, public defined benefit, health and hospital systems, and insurance firms— the opportunity to share and learn from industry peers about the latest trends, ideas, and best practices shaping the institutional market. Together with Cerulli’s 30 years of deep industry knowledge, participation will arm you with intelligence, research, and data to validate investment-related recommendations presented to board and committee members.
Participate in IIRC
Why IIRC?
Our Mission
Cerulli recognizes there are few opportunities for asset owners to share their perspectives on important industry topics away from asset managers, investment consultants, and service providers. Cerulli Associates is an independent source of important strategic information, providing unbiased insights on financial service industry trends for over 30 years.
BENEFITS
Why Participate?
Asset owners trust Cerulli’s Collaborative to gain critical industry intelligence, learn best practices from peer-driven engagement, and form better relationships with asset management and consultant partners.
Intellectual Capital
Cerulli Associates’ research expertise, combined with asset owner participation in IIRC, will offer a unique set of insights and information that can be used to make important decisions about your organization’s investment policies, asset allocation, and other decisions about your investable assets.
Peer-Driven Networking
Grow your relationships with industry peers. Cerulli’s in-person and virtual events are geared toward helping you foment stronger relationships and build best practices driven by peer engagement.
Access to Analysts
Meet with our team of industry experts. Share your unique professional perspectives while contributing to qualitative aspects of the survey process.
REWARDS
What Do You Receive?
Survey Benchmark Reports
See how your responses compare with those of other participants.
Key Findings
Engaging 1-2 page documents summaries of survey results. These are easy to read and share within your organization.
White Papers
Reports on topics that matter to you, including insights into OCIO, ESG, asset allocation, investment product trends, and many more.
The Details
What is Your Commitment?
- Your participation is completely voluntary, there is no required time commitment for surveys, interviews, or in-person events.
- Cerulli will launch multiple surveys over the course of the year.
- There will be surveys that are very broad and some tailored to client types.
- Surveys will range in size and scope. We will tell you the number of questions and approximate time commitment up front. Time commitments typically range from between 10 – 30 minutes.
- Occasional interviews would be over Zoom approximately 30-45 minutes long. Your responses and comments will remain strictly anonymous.
- Virtual or in-person roundtables will be limited in size to have meaningful conversations
IS THIS FOR YOU?
Who Participates
Do you shape investment decisions at institutions? Do you want to understand how your peers are thinking about investment allocations, portfolio risk, and funding status? If so, we encourage you to join us.
Here to Help
Meet the Team
Michele Giuditta, CFA
Director
Bio →
Michele Giuditta, CFA
Director
Michele is a director in the Institutional practice, specializing in research and consulting related to institutional investors and third-party allocators, including defined benefit plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, healthcare organizations, investment consultants, and outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs). As the co-head of Cerulli’s Institutional practice, Michele leads research for annual reports and strategic consulting engagements. During her tenure at Cerulli, Michele’s research has covered topics including investment consultants and OCIOS, responsible investing, alternative investments, and institutional distribution trends.
Prior to joining Cerulli Associates, Michele worked at Cambridge Associates as an Associate Director in the Client Relationship Management Group. Additionally, she worked at Manulife Asset Management in the Institutional Investment Sales & Services Group, holding roles in Product Management and Client Relationship Management. She began her career as an analyst in the Investment Policy & Research Group at John Hancock.
Full biography here.
Gloria Pais
Research Analyst, Institutional
Bio →
Gloria Pais
Research Analyst, Institutional
Gloria is a Research Analyst in the Institutional practice, specializing in research and consulting related to institutional investors—including defined benefit plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, healthcare organizations—and third-party allocators, such as consultants and outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs).
She contributes initiatives and the Institutional Investor Research Collaborative (IIRC), which provides asset owners with intelligence to equip investment leaders with research to the production of three annual reports and The Cerulli Edge—Institutional Edition.
Full biography here.
Christopher Swansey
Associate Director
Bio →
Christopher Swansey
Associate Director
Christopher is an associate director on the institutional team where he leads the annual Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) report and supports various strategic consulting projects throughout the year. He has previously led the annual Institutional Markets and Insurance General Accounts reports. He also leads the Institutional Investor Research Collaborative (IIRC), a research effort focused on connecting with and learning from institutional investors.
Christopher was a Senior Analyst at Mercer working within their executive compensation consulting practice before joining Cerulli in 2018.
Full biography here.
James Tamposi, CFA
Associate Director
Bio →
James Tamposi, CFA
Associate Director
James (Jack) is an Associate Director in the Institutional practice, specializing in research and consulting related to institutional asset owners – including defined benefit plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and healthcare organizations – and third-party allocators such as consultants and outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs). Having contributed to reports across Cerulli’s suite of institutional research, he is the lead author of Cerulli’s North American Institutional Markets report, and he leads a team of analysts dedicated to developing data and insights to support Cerulli’s published research and consulting business. Supporting the firm’s consulting business, Jack has led institutional market entry strategy and pricing optimization projects for U.S. and non-U.S. asset managers.
Jack serves as President and Treasurer for the Massachusetts Air & Space Museum, a non-profit focused on fostering education through the preservation of aviation history. Prior to joining Cerulli, Jack worked as a Research Associate for Chatham Partners.
Full biography here.
Agnes Ugoji
Analyst
Bio →
Agnes Ugoji
Analyst
Agnes is an Analyst in the Institutional practice, specializing in research and consulting related to institutional investors—including defined benefit plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, healthcare organizations—and third-party allocators, such as consultants and outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs).
As an analyst, she supports data processing, analysis, and survey management. She contributes to the Institutional Distribution Dynamics, North American Institutional Markets, and Outsourced Chief Investment Officer reports, as well as The Cerulli Edge—Institutional Edition.
Full biography here.Additional Content
Available White Papers
FEATURED WHITE PAPER
Rethinking Private Market Investment Allocations
Takes a pulse on how institutional investors are allocating to private markets, the barriers to adoption, and various methods they consider when making investment decisions.
Responsible Investing Trends
Institutional investors navigate an evolving responsible investing landscape, balancing commitment, scrutiny, and the need for expert guidance.
OCIO Usage and Trends
Institutional investors’ use of outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs) is expanding across several channels.
Pension Risk Transfer Activity Soars as More Plan Sponsors Seek to Derisk
Considering a pension risk transfer? Some housekeeping may be in order...
Current Institutional Investor Appetite for ESG
Despite slowing growth from political pressure and regulatory scrutiny, institutional investors’ adoption of ESG still gaining ground
Intermittent Liquidity Products Expand Investment Opportunities for Smaller Institutions
Amid a challenging fundraising environment, asset managers explore previously untapped segments, including small institutions
Asset Owners Have More Reasons to Move to an OCIO Model
Expanded access for new clients, risk exposure evaluation for current clients expected to ramp up
Explore
Featured Webinars
Hear from our institutional analysts across a variety of topics:
July 2024
Taking Private Investments to the Masses
Cerulli’s Daniil Shapiro, CFA, shares insight into the structures and channels managers should consider for distribution to the masses, the types of exposures that wealth managers are looking for, and other resources needed to grow adoption.
April 2024
U.S. OCIO: Remapping Client Types and Investment Needs
Understanding the current and projected investment and service demands from OCIOs—and the institutions they serve—will become increasingly important to asset managers and other third-party providers seeking to win marketshare.
October 2023
U.S. Alternative Investments: Defining Opportunities for Adoption
Explore the greatest opportunities for product development and distribution and gain practical knowledge into how managers can best position their lineup for greater retail adoption with the findings from this webinar.
Have Questions?
Visit our FAQ page to learn more about IIRC and what you can expect as a member of the Collaborative.