Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund

What Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund does

Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (ticker: CCLFX) is a 1940 Act-registered interval fund launched on June 5, 2019, focused on senior-secured private direct lending to U.S. middle-market companies. Managed by Cliffwater LLC (founded 2004), the fund employs a multi-lender model accessing loans through 30+ premier lending partners, yielding exposure to 4,000+ underlying credits with 96% first lien composition and 40% average loan-to-value. As of May 31, 2026, the fund reported $31.6 billion in net assets with a 9.31% annualized net return since inception and 9.4% average yield-to-maturity.

The fund generates revenue through management fees (1.00% of average daily net assets), acquired fund fees (0.25%), other expenses (0.27%), and fees/interest on borrowed funds (1.75%), totaling 3.27% in annual expenses. Distribution occurs primarily through Foreside Fund Services to financial advisors, institutional investors, and registered investment advisors (RIAs) via daily NAV subscriptions under ticker CCLFX with a $10 million minimum investment. Liquidity is provided through quarterly repurchases capped at 5% of shares outstanding. The fund is the only interval fund to receive an S&P 'A' issuer credit rating and is supported by Cliffwater's proprietary Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI), the first published benchmark for private debt, created in 2015.

The fund is part of Cliffwater's broader perpetual private markets platform, which also includes the Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX, launched July 2021, accessing the full private debt spectrum) and the Cascade Private Capital Fund (CPEFX, advised since February 2024, focused on private equity secondaries and co-investments). Cliffwater LLC manages $136 billion in total committed assets across private debt and private equity strategies with 235 employees and 20 years of investing experience. In 2026, the fund faced elevated redemption pressures (13.9% of shares requested) prompting engagement with Evercore and Houlihan Lokey on secondary market solutions to manage liquidity without fire-sale liquidations.

Name

Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund

Legal name

Cliffwater LLC

Website

https://cliffwaterfunds.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX) is a 1940 Act-registered interval fund providing institutional-quality senior-secured direct lending exposure to U.S. middle-market companies through 30+ lending partners. It serves financial advisors, institutional investors, and RIAs with $10M minimums and quarterly liquidity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Credit / Direct Lending Fund

NAICS

Nondepository Credit Intermediation (5222), Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Middle-Market Lending (FSANADAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Credit / Direct Lending (FSAAAHAG)

Keywords

• Private direct lending
• Interval fund
• Middle market loans
• Private credit fund
• Senior secured loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Marina Del Rey

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Management fee estimated at 1.00% of average daily net assets, accrued daily. Management fees are paid before giving effect to any repurchase of shares.
2. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses: Estimated at 0.25% of average daily net assets, representing fees from underlying fund investments.
3. Fees and Interest on Borrowed Funds: Estimated at 1.75% as of July 29, 2025, including fees and interest payments on borrowed funds used for leverage.
4. Distribution Income: Expected quarterly distributions with a 9.0% distribution rate. May include return of capital, which should not be confused with yield or income.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX) is a private interval fund that provides institutional investors and financial advisors with diversified exposure to senior-secured, first-lien middle-market corporate loans. The fund employs a multi-lender model that sources loans from 30+ premier lending partners, accessing 4,000+ underlying credits with 96% first-lien concentration and a 40% average loan-to-value. Shares are subscribed daily at NAV under ticker CCLFX with quarterly repurchases capped at 5% of shares outstanding.

Product overview

Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund operates as part of Cliffwater's broader perpetual private markets fund platform offering three distinct interval funds: (1) Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX) - the flagship direct lending vehicle focused on senior-secured middle market corporate loans with $31.6B in assets; (2) Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX) - expanding into broader private debt strategies including asset-backed finance, corporate, GP solutions, and opportunistic lending with $8.0B in assets; and (3) Cascade Private Capital Fund (CPEFX) - a private equity interval fund offering secondaries, co-investments, and primary fund exposure with $5.9B in assets. All three funds are 1940 Act-registered interval funds providing daily liquidity at NAV with quarterly repurchase windows (5% cap), targeting wealth management and institutional investors seeking private markets exposure with periodic liquidity. The platform is backed by Cliffwater's proprietary Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI) and over $72 billion in private debt assets under management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI): Proprietary benchmark created by Cliffwater to measure the unlevered, gross of fees performance of U.S. middle market corporate loans as represented by underlying assets of Business Development Companies (BDCs).

Products and services

• Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX) An interval fund focused on direct lending to middle-market companies, delivering senior-secured loans through a multi-lender model with over 4,000 underlying credits, 96% first lien loans, and 40% average loan-to-value. Provides daily NAV pricing with quarterly liquidity (5% repurchase cap) and a 9.0% distribution rate. Targeted at financial advisors, RIAs, and institutional investors.
• Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX) An interval fund accessing the full private debt spectrum, including asset-backed finance (55.3%), corporate lending (25.1%), GP solutions (13.0%), and opportunistic strategies (6.5%). Targets 14 private credit strategies across 3,000+ borrowers with 12.08% annualized net return since inception. Designed for investors seeking broader private debt exposure with daily NAV and quarterly liquidity.
• Cascade Private Capital Fund (CPEFX) An interval fund providing exposure to private equity strategies, including GP-led secondaries (53%), co-investments (43%), and primaries (4%). Invests across middle-market buyout (33%), large buyout (24%), venture & growth (23%), small buyout (14%), and structured capital (6%), with a 20.88% annualized return since inception. Offers daily ticker-symbol subscriptions and semiannual liquidity.
• Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI) A proprietary benchmark index measuring the unlevered, gross-of-fees performance of U.S. middle-market corporate loans as represented by the underlying assets of Business Development Companies (BDCs). Calculated quarterly from SEC filings of eligible BDCs and used by market participants to benchmark private debt performance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 9.31% annualized net return since inception (June 5, 2019)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 30+ Premier Lending PartnerscoreOthersThe fund gains access to direct lending investments through 30+ premier lending partners, enabling immediate diversification across 4,000+ underlying credits. This multi-lender model allows construction of a portfolio 4-6x more diversified than other leading evergreen private credit funds.
• Foreside Fund Services, LLCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegistered broker-dealer serving as the official distributor of the Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund, enabling distribution through financial advisor and institutional investor channels.
• EvercoreminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdvising on approximately $1 billion private credit secondary deal involving first-lien assets from CCLFX portfolio to manage redemption pressures in Q1 2026.
• Houlihan LokeyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdvisors facilitating secondary funds and continuation vehicles as potential liquidity solutions for fleeing investors without requiring fire-sale liquidation.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund