Quantitative Update
Responsible Investing Trends
Institutional Investors and Responsible Investing | Is Adoption Changing?

Download Our White Paper
Summary
Institutional asset owners continue to grapple with a shifting responsible investment landscape, balancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives with regulatory pressure and political scrutiny. Yet, despite headwinds, institutional investor commitment to responsible investing remains solid.
- More than half (56%) of institutional investors that take ESG considerations into account have an ESG integration process and evaluate material ESG factors.
- Of these investors, almost half use positive (47%) and exclusionary (45%) ESG-related screens when making investment decisions.
Cerulli’s latest quantitative update provides a breakdown on the state of ESG adoption among institutional investors. By the numbers explore:
- Challenges to Increasing Board Receptivity and How Institutional Investors Are Responding
- Impact of the Anti-ESG Movement
- Methods Institutional Investors Use When Considering ESG Factors
- Types of Responsible Investing Products Used and Allocations
- Use of Consultants/Advisors or OCIO Support
- Reporting and Data Considerations

Download Your Copy
We just need a little information first
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
Meet our 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.

Brendan Powers, CFA
Director
Bio →

Brendan Powers, CFA
Director
Brendan is co-head of Cerulli’s Product Development and Institutional practices.
The Product Development practice focuses on trends related to asset managers’ product strategy, development, and management functions. This broadly includes assessing the opportunity for product line expansion, evaluating emerging product trends, assessing optimal pricing strategy, and understanding distribution and product positioning for investment products across retail and institutional channels.
The Institutional practice specializes in research and consulting related to institutional asset owners, including defined benefit plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and healthcare organizations as well as third-party allocators including consultants and outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs).
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.RELATED RESOURCES
You may also be interested in:

OCIO Usage and Trends
Institutional investors’ use of outsourced chief investment officers (OCIOs) is expanding across several channels.

Intermittent Liquidity Products Expand Investment Opportunities for Smaller Institutions
Amid a challenging fundraising environment, asset managers explore previously untapped segments, including small institutions

Pension Risk Transfer Activity Soars as More Plan Sponsors Seek to Derisk
Considering a pension risk transfer? Some housekeeping may be in order...
CERULLI'S IIRC
Learn More About Participation
Cerulli’s Institutional Investors Research Collaborative (IIRC) provides asset owners—endowments and foundations, corporate defined benefit plans, public defined benefit plans, health and hospital systems, and insurance firms—intelligence to arm investment leaders with research and data to validate investment-related recommendations presented to board and committee members