U.S. Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing 2021
Aligning Investment Portfolios with ESG Considerations
Assess ESG Supply and Demand
- Size retail separate account assets
- Dive into the responsible investing product landscape
- Access an in-depth look at active ownership efforts, including collaborative engagement platforms
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Summary
Size the market and look at the adoption of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, by both retail and institutional investors. This report examines buyer dynamics across channels, including outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) providers, and wealth management platforms. Cerulli also defines different implementations of ESG investing and how various strategies have evolved, including an overview of new and innovative products.
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A Note from the Author
Investors Pledge Commitment to Net Zero

Michele Giuditta, CFA
Director
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Michele Giuditta, CFA
Director
Michele is a director of the Institutional practice and leads research for annual reports and strategic consulting engagements. She specializes in environmental, social, and governance investing and outsourced CIO research.
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, and held 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.
A growing list of investors are pledging to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in their investment portfolios by 2050. Nearly one-third (31%) of asset managers and institutional investors (32%) have made a formal commitment to a net-zero goal, and another 21% and 29%, respectively, plan to do so in the next 24 months. Given the newness of these commitments, investors are in the early stages of creating climate action plans, exploring various pathways to meet their net-zero targets. According to our research, here are the top-three actions asset owners and managers are considering:
- 69% of managers and 41% of asset owners plan to leverage vote proxies and shareholder proposals
- 67% of managers and 41% of asset owners plan to invest in climate change solutions
- 61% of managers and 36% of asset owners plan to engage with portfolio companies
Use our latest report, U.S. Environmental, Social, and Governance Investing 2021: Aligning Investment Portfolios with ESG Considerations, to analyze the impact of this movement across the financial services industry, assess the true demand for ESG strategies among retail and institutional clients, and evaluate which elements of ESG matter most to both investor types. Connect with us for more information.
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