What is IIRC?

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—intelligence to arm investment leaders with research and data to validate investment-related recommendations presented to board and committee members.

What are the benefits of joining IIRC?

As a member of IIRC, you will be able to share your experience and gain objective insights from Cerulli and industry peers. Participate in regular Cerulli surveys and receive access to research key findings made exclusively for IIRC members. You’ll also have the unique opportunity to engage in in-person and virtual events hosted by Cerulli.

Who is eligible to participate in IIRC?

IIRC is open to institutional asset owners at endowments and foundations, corporate defined benefit plans, public defined benefit plans, health and hospital systems, and insurance firms.

How frequent are surveys and how long do they take to complete?

We conduct a variety of surveys that will apply to all institutional investors and surveys that are topical for some (e.g., a survey specifically for pensions about pension risk transfer, a survey about spending policy for endowments, how to work with an OCIO). These surveys range from 10–20 questions and take 5–20 minutes. They launch periodically throughout the year.

Starting in early 2025, we will launch two large-scale surveys that will take roughly 30 minutes to complete. One will be a general institutional investor survey, with another focused on responsible investing.

You are not required to participate in all surveys that apply to you, but you are welcome (and encouraged) to participate in as many that are relevant to you.

What types of questions will I be expected to answer?

• Investment policy, asset allocation, risk management practices
• Organizational approach to specific topics, such as responsible investing
• How do you work with investment consultants, OCIOs, and investment committees?
• Biggest challenges, topics of interest
• Sentiment on market environment, direction of industry trends.

Will my survey responses remain confidential?

All information gathered from Cerulli’s proprietary surveys is presented in aggregate form, and survey information is not directly attributed to participants unless otherwise disclosed.

How many firms participate?

Our most recent survey included 200 institutional asset owners with greater than $100 million in AUM. Topics discussed included:

• Investment policy, asset allocation, risk management practices
• Organizational approach to specific topics, such as responsible investing
• How do you work with investment consultants, OCIOs, and investment committees?
• Biggest challenges, topics of interest
• Sentiment on market environment, direction of industry trends

IIRC seeks to expand participation to include thousands more institutions like the ones that currently participate to deepen insights further in 2024, 2025, and beyond.