Cerulli Associates
Cerulli Associates is a Boston-based, privately held research and consulting firm founded in 1992 that provides asset management and distribution intelligence to 48 of the top-50 U.S. asset managers, wealth managers, private equity firms, and fintech companies through subscription reports, periodicals, proprietary data products, and bespoke consulting engagements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cerulli Associates does
Cerulli Associates is a privately held research and consulting firm founded in 1992 by Kurt Cerulli and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm specializes in asset management and distribution trends, serving a predominantly enterprise client base that includes 48 of the top-50 U.S. asset managers, wealth management firms, private equity sponsors, and financial technology companies. Its core publishing franchise comprises The Cerulli Report series (annual comprehensive practice-area reports such as U.S. Retirement End-Investor and U.S. Retail Investor Solutions, priced at $22,000–$29,750 per license) and The Cerulli Edge series (monthly and quarterly periodicals covering advisor, retail investor, retirement, institutional, managed accounts, product development, and Americas segments).
Cerulli's underlying technology is a proprietary primary-research methodology combining more than 75 quantitative surveys per year with over 1,000 hour-long qualitative executive interviews. This data layer feeds two proprietary research networks—the Advisor Research Collaborative (ARC) with 2,000+ participating financial advisors and the Institutional Investors Research Collaborative (IIRC) for endowments, foundations, corporate and public defined benefit plans, health systems, and insurers—and is delivered to clients through Interactive Report Dashboards (IRDs) and, since 2025, the Cerulli Affluent Investor Tracker (CAIT). The firm has no disclosed AI/ML capabilities; products are human-analyst driven.
Revenue is generated through three complementary streams: subscription-based research (annual reports, Cerulli Edge periodicals, IRDs, and CAIT sold as recurring licenses or subscriptions), project-based strategic consulting (competitive benchmarking, market entry, pricing analysis, M&A due diligence, post-merger integration), and bespoke custom research. Distribution is direct enterprise sales led by an account management team, supplemented by a self-serve portal and a content-driven marketing engine spanning webinars, podcasts, video, LinkedIn, X, and frequent citations in major financial media (CNBC, Bloomberg, NPR, Fortune, CNN, The Wall Street Journal). The firm is unencumbered by external funding or PE ownership and has been recognized as a Boston Globe Top Place to Work in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Cerulli Associates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cerulli Associates
- Legal name
- Cerulli, Inc.
- Website
- https://cerulli.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cerulli Associates is a Boston-based, privately held research and consulting firm founded in 1992 that provides asset management and distribution intelligence to 48 of the top-50 U.S. asset managers, wealth managers, private equity firms, and fintech companies through subscription reports, periodicals, proprietary data products, and bespoke consulting engagements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cerulli Associates industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Financial Research and Consulting
- NAICS
- Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Investor Education, Research & Portfolio Analytics Services (Retail) (FSAAAAAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG), Competitive & Market Intelligence (Competitive Tracking, TAM/SAM/SOM) (MPAAALAL)
Keywords
Where Cerulli Associates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cerulli Associates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Annual Research Reports: Comprehensive annual reports covering specific practice areas including U.S. Wealth Management, Retirement, Institutional, Product Development, and Latin America. Reports are sold at premium prices (e.g., $22,000 for U.S. Retirement End-Investor 2026) with bulk discounts available.
- The Cerulli Edge Periodicals: Monthly and quarterly publications providing ongoing analysis of trends affecting asset management and distribution markets. Sold as part of subscription packages or individually.
- Strategic Consulting: Custom consulting engagements including competitive benchmarking, market entry strategy, pricing analysis, M&A due diligence, and distribution strategy. Engagements are project-based and tailored to client needs.
- Custom Research: Bespoke research created specifically for individual business needs, providing distinct market insights and access to hard-to-reach industry participants.
- Data Products: Proprietary data products including Interactive Report Dashboards and the Cerulli Affluent Investor Tracker (CAIT) available through standalone subscriptions or bundled with reports.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | U.S. Retirement End-Investor 2026 Annual Report |
| Subscription | Annual | U.S. Retail Investor Solutions 2026 Annual Report |
| Subscription | Annual | State of U.S. Wealth Management Technology 2026 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels10 records
Cerulli Associates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cerulli Associates sells proprietary market intelligence and strategic advisory services to the global asset management and wealth management industry. Its core offerings include annual research reports (The Cerulli Report series), monthly and quarterly periodicals (The Cerulli Edge series), interactive data products such as the Interactive Report Dashboards and the Cerulli Affluent Investor Tracker, and bespoke strategic consulting and custom research engagements. The firm also operates two proprietary research collaboratives (ARC and IIRC) that provide ongoing primary research and benchmarking data to subscribers.
Product overview
Cerulli Associates offers a comprehensive market intelligence and consulting platform centered on two main publication series—The Cerulli Report (annual comprehensive reports) and The Cerulli Edge (monthly/quarterly periodicals)—supplemented by interactive data dashboards (Cerulli Interactive Report Dashboards/IRDs) and proprietary research networks (ARC with 2,000+ advisors, IIRC for institutional investors). The company also provides strategic consulting services and custom research capabilities. Products span wealth management, retirement, institutional asset management, and product development across U.S. and Latin American markets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cerulli Affluent Investor Tracker (CAIT): A proprietary annual retail investor survey measuring the needs and preferences of current and prospective wealth management clients.
- IIRC (Institutional Investors Research Collaborative)
- ARC (Advisor Research Collaborative)
Products and services
- The Cerulli Report Series
- The Cerulli Edge Series
- Cerulli Interactive Report Dashboards (IRDs)
- Cerulli Affluent Investor Tracker (CAIT)
Quantifiable outcome
- 48 of top-50 asset managers as clients
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cerulli Associates
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Cerulli Associates technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Cerulli Associates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- AccuPoint SolutionsminorCerulli assisted CNBC in developing its inaugural Elite Advisors list for 2026, recognizing 25 leading investment advisors serving ultra-high net worth individuals with $25 million or more in investable assets.
- InvescocoreCerulli partnered with Invesco to produce research on institutional ETF adoption. The partnership produced the white paper 'Inside Institutional ETF Adoption: How asset owners are broadening use cases,' estimating $337.2 billion in ETF assets held by institutional owners as of year-end 2025. This research collaboration positions both firms as thought leaders in the evolving ETF landscape.
- Edward JonescoreResearch partnership producing 'The Pulse of North America,' exploring investor attitudes across North America. This white paper represents new Cerulli research produced in partnership with Edward Jones to understand what investors need to achieve financial fulfillment.
- Investment and Wealth Institute (IWI)minorSurvey partnership bringing new advisor insights into Cerulli's wealth management practice. The partnership offers Institute constituencies access to Cerulli's broader industry perspective.
- Money Management Institute (MMI)minorPartnership to generate unmatched insights and thought leadership for advisory solutions industry. Together, Cerulli and MMI provide enhanced understanding of major trends in the advisory marketplace.
- DCIIA (Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association)minorCerulli is a founding member of DCIIA's Retirement Research Center, serving the retirement industry with reliable, unbiased research supporting improved retirement security.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cerulli Associates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Coalition Greenwich (formerly Greenwich Associates): Research and advisory firm specializing in competitive intelligence and benchmarking across institutional and retail financial services, including asset management, wealth management, and capital markets. Directly comparable as a subscription research and benchmarking provider serving many of the same institutional clients.
- Oliver Wyman: Global management consulting firm with one of the strongest asset and wealth management practices, providing strategy consulting to many of the same top-50 asset managers Cerulli serves. Directly competes for strategic consulting, distribution strategy, and M&A due diligence engagements.
- Morningstar: Global investment research and data firm providing fund research, portfolio analytics, and ratings to asset managers, wealth managers, and advisors. Most directly comparable peer in asset/wealth management research and analytics, with overlapping customer base among Cerulli's enterprise clients.
- Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS): Provider of corporate governance, responsible investment, and institutional asset owner research and analytics (now part of Deutsche Börse). Comparable as a research and data subscription business serving institutional investors and asset managers with proprietary surveys and analytics.
Broad incumbents
- McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting firm with a large Financial Services Practice serving asset managers, wealth managers, and private equity firms. Competes for strategy consulting, market entry, and M&A engagements but operates as a broader generalist.
- S&P Global Market Intelligence: Provides research, data, and analytics to asset managers, banks, and insurers across a broad range of financial services. Overlaps with Cerulli's market intelligence offerings but at much larger scale and with broader coverage including credit ratings and indices.
- Mercer: Global consulting firm focused on health, wealth, and career, with a significant investment consulting and OCIO business serving institutional asset owners. Adjacent competitor for institutional research and consulting spend, particularly through its OCIO and MercerInsight products.
- Boston Consulting Group: Global strategy consulting firm serving financial services clients on distribution, digital, and operating model topics. Competes with Cerulli on consulting engagements but is a generalist practice with broader industry coverage.
- Broadridge Financial Solutions: Public fintech providing data, analytics, and investor communications to asset managers, wealth managers, and broker-dealers. Overlaps with Cerulli in providing enterprise data and analytics infrastructure to the same client base, though at much greater scale and broader scope.
- Deloitte Consulting (Financial Services): Big Four consulting practice with a dedicated asset and wealth management group serving global financial services clients. Competes for consulting and advisory engagements but is a much larger, full-service firm.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cerulli Associates social profiles
Digital presenceCerulli Associates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cerulli Associates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Cerulli Associates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cerulli Associates M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cerulli Associates
What does Cerulli Associates do?
Cerulli Associates sells proprietary market intelligence and strategic advisory services to the global asset management and wealth management industry. Its core offerings include annual research reports (The Cerulli Report series), monthly and quarterly periodicals (The Cerulli Edge series), interactive data products such as the Interactive Report Dashboards and the Cerulli Affluent Investor Tracker, and bespoke strategic consulting and custom research engagements. The firm also operates two proprietary research collaboratives (ARC and IIRC) that provide ongoing primary research and benchmarking data to subscribers.
Is Cerulli Associates a public or private company?
Cerulli Associates is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cerulli Associates founded?
Cerulli Associates was founded in 1992. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cerulli Associates based?
Cerulli Associates is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cerulli Associates make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Annual Research Reports are the primary driver. The others are the Cerulli Edge Periodicals, strategic Consulting, custom Research and data Products.
Who are Cerulli Associates's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Coalition Greenwich (formerly Greenwich Associates), Oliver Wyman, Morningstar and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). Broad incumbents are McKinsey & Company, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Mercer, Boston Consulting Group, Broadridge Financial Solutions and Deloitte Consulting (Financial Services).
Does Cerulli Associates have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cerulli Associates.
What industry is Cerulli Associates in?
Cerulli Associates's product category is Financial Research and Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAAAAO, Investor Education, Research & Portfolio Analytics Services (Retail), with a secondary code of BPAHACAG, Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting. Its NAICS code is 54191 and its SIC code is 8742.