Cornerstone Capital Group

Cornerstone Capital Group

Cornerstone Capital Group launched in 2013 in New York under founder and CEO Erika Karp, a former UBS managing director and head of global sector research. The firm was backed by a consortium of investors, and its founding thesis centered on the idea that material environmental, social, and governance factors drive investment returns. The wealth originated with the institutional and high-net-worth client base the firm would go on to serve, rather than a single family fortune. The firm managed equity and fixed-income strategies, as well as a multi-asset impact portfolio, with a publicly traded Access Impact Framework that scored companies on ESG metrics. Direct advisory work included sustainability consulting for corporate clients and asset owners. Cornerstone's research arm published extensively on topics ranging from gender-lens investing to climate risk, and the firm built model portfolios that integrated this analysis into standard asset-allocation frameworks. Investments were concentrated in North America and Europe. The team grew to approximately 20 professionals in New York, with Karp serving as the public face of the firm through media appearances and conference keynotes. Cornerstone did not operate a venture arm or direct private-equity fund, but it did influence capital flows by advising foundations, endowments, and wealth managers on sustainable-investing mandates. September 2022: Acquired by Pathstone, the $100B-plus RIA, with Karp and select team members joining Pathstone's sustainable-investing division (public record). Cornerstone's distinct architecture as a research-first ESG shop absorbed into a large multi-family office platform marked the end of the standalone entity, but its intellectual property and client relationships informed Pathstone's subsequent build-out of impact advisory capabilities.