Cliffwater
Cliffwater LLC is a private alternative investment manager that provides advisory services and manages approximately $36B in interval funds focused on private credit and private equity for institutional investors, wealth platforms, and qualified individual investors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersMarina Del Rey, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cliffwater does
Cliffwater LLC is a private alternative investment management firm founded in 2004 and headquartered in Marina del Rey, California. The firm provides investment advisory services to institutional clients (pension funds, endowments, foundations) and asset management products (interval funds and daily-NAV funds) to institutional investors, wealth platforms, high-net-worth individuals, and increasingly the retirement/defined contribution channel. Cliffwater has positioned itself as a thought leader in private credit, publishing the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI) in 2015 — the first published benchmark for the direct lending asset class and now the widely accepted industry standard.
The firm's product platform centers on three core interval funds plus an expanding real assets vehicle. The Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX), launched in 2019, invests in senior-secured private direct loans and is the largest private credit interval fund in the U.S. at approximately $31.4B in net assets ($41.2B gross) as of September 2025. The Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX), launched in 2021, provides diversified exposure across asset-backed, second-lien, venture, specialty finance, royalty, litigation, and structured equity lending. In 2024, Cliffwater assumed the investment adviser role for the Cascade Private Capital Fund (CPEFX), restructuring it as the first daily-NAV, ticker-executed comprehensive private capital interval fund. The Cascade Real Assets Fund extends coverage into real estate and infrastructure. Total firm AUM is approximately $36B with $80B in assets under advisement as of 2025.
The business model is fee-based, generating subscription/recurring revenue from management fees on fund AUM and managed-service fees from advisory engagements. Distribution occurs through direct institutional sales, wealth management intermediaries, a self-serve funds platform (cliffwaterfunds.com), and a newly built retirement channel. The firm operates four U.S. offices (Marina del Rey, New York, Chicago, Newport Beach) and holds a California Financing Law license. In April 2025, TPG and Temasek acquired substantial minority stakes, joining existing investor TA Associates, while Nesbitt family management retained majority control.
Cliffwater firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cliffwater
- Legal name
- Cliffwater LLC
- Website
- https://cliffwater.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Cliffwater LLC is a private alternative investment manager that provides advisory services and manages approximately $36B in interval funds focused on private credit and private equity for institutional investors, wealth platforms, and qualified individual investors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cliffwater industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Credit Asset Management
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Asset-Backed Securities (6189)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Credit — Structured Credit (CLOs, ABS, Private Securitizations) (FSAHAJAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Structured Credit (CDO/CLO Tranches, Credit Opportunities) (FSAAAHAH)
Keywords
Where Cliffwater is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Marina Del Rey
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Cliffwater business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Asset Management Fees: Cliffwater earns management fees from managing approximately $36 billion in assets under management across its flagship interval funds including the Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund ($27.9B as of March 2025) and Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund.
- Advisory Services: Cliffwater provides advisory services to institutional clients for due diligence and asset allocation decisions, generating fee-based revenue from consulting engagements with major institutions.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Cliffwater product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cliffwater manages a platform of perpetual interval funds providing access to private credit, private equity, and real assets, anchored by the flagship Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX), the largest private credit interval fund in the U.S. The firm also publishes the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI), the industry benchmark for direct lending, and provides advisory services to large institutions for due diligence and asset allocation decisions on alternatives.
Product overview
Cliffwater offers a platform of innovative funds designed to enhance investor access to private markets. The core product suite includes three interval funds: the Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX) focused on senior-secured private direct loans; the Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX) providing diversified exposure to asset-backed lending, second lien, venture, specialty finance, royalty, and litigation lending; and the Cascade Private Capital Fund (CPEFX) as a daily NAV private capital vehicle. The firm also manages the Cascade Real Assets Fund covering real estate and infrastructure. Cliffwater's proprietary Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI) serves as the industry benchmark for direct lending. The firm provides advisory services to large institutions for due diligence and asset allocation. As of March 2025, Cliffwater manages approximately $36 billion in assets under management and $80 billion in assets under advisement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX): Traditional senior-secured private direct lending interval fund; the largest interval fund in the U.S.
- Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX)
- Cascade Private Capital Fund (CPEFX)
- Cascade Real Assets Fund
Products and services
- Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX) Flagship interval fund focused on traditional senior-secured private direct loans; as of September 30, 2025, net assets were $31.4 billion ($41.2 billion gross), making it the largest private credit interval fund in the U.S. Designed for institutional and qualified investors.
- Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (CELFX) Interval fund providing diversified exposure across the full private debt spectrum including asset-backed lending, second lien, venture, specialty finance, royalty, litigation, and structured equity lending; as of September 30, 2025, net assets of $6.9 billion ($7.1 billion gross).
- Cascade Private Capital Fund (CPEFX) The first daily NAV, ticker-symbol-executed, comprehensive private capital interval fund; Cliffwater became its investment adviser in 2024, restructuring the vehicle to enhance liquidity and accessibility for qualified investors.
- Cascade Real Assets Fund Real assets fund covering investment opportunities across real estate, infrastructure, and other real assets sectors; Portfolio Manager Sean Brenan was appointed in June 2026 to lead the vehicle.
- Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI) Proprietary direct lending benchmark index and the first published direct lending index; widely accepted as the benchmark for the private debt asset class. Published and distributed by Cliffwater to establish industry-standard performance measurement.
- Alternatives Advisory Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund delivered 9.4% annualized return
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Cliffwater
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cliffwater technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cliffwater partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- EvercoreminorEvercore served as advisor on Cliffwater's $1 billion private credit secondary sale involving approximately $1 billion of first-lien assets from the Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund portfolio.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cliffwater competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- NEPC: Independent investment consulting firm advising institutional clients on asset allocation, including significant alternatives practice. Comparable to Cliffwater in serving pensions, endowments, and foundations with research-driven advisory.
- Pantheon Ventures: Private markets investment manager and advisor with primary focus on private equity secondaries, co-investments, and infrastructure. Overlaps with Cliffwater on institutional advisory and discretionary fund management in alternatives.
- StepStone Group: Global private markets investment advisor and manager offering both discretionary fund-of-funds and advisory services across credit and equity. Operates a similar dual advisory + management model with comparable institutional reach to Cliffwater.
- Albourne: Independent alternatives advisor providing due diligence, research, and benchmarking to institutional allocators across hedge funds, private equity, and private credit. Directly comparable to Cliffwater's alternative investment advisory offerings.
- Cambridge Associates: Long-established investment advisor serving institutional clients with research-driven alternatives allocation consulting. Comparable to Cliffwater's advisory arm in serving large pension funds, endowments, and foundations on private markets.
- Hamilton Lane: Public alternatives investment manager and advisor focused on private markets, including private credit and secondaries. Closely comparable to Cliffwater across advisory + fund management in alternatives, with a similar institutional client base.
- Aksia: Independent alternatives investment advisor specializing in private credit and private equity research and due diligence on behalf of institutional investors. Closely comparable to Cliffwater's advisory practice in alternative investment consulting.
- Meketa Investment Group: Independent investment consulting firm focused on institutional asset owners with deep alternatives expertise. Comparable to Cliffwater in advising pensions and endowments on private credit and private equity allocation.
Broad incumbents
- Blackstone Credit (BCRED): The credit arm of Blackstone, one of the largest private credit managers globally with the BCRED interval fund as its retail-accessible private credit vehicle. Directly competes with Cliffwater's CCLFX at the high end of the interval fund market with materially more capital and distribution.
Emerging players
- Blue Owl Capital: Alternative asset manager with significant private credit interval fund offerings (e.g., Owl Capital, private credit BDCs). Competes directly with Cliffwater's CCLFX in the private credit interval fund category with retail and wealth distribution.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cliffwater social profiles
Digital presenceCliffwater compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Cliffwater financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cliffwater leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Cliffwater subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Cliffwater funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cliffwater M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cliffwater
What does Cliffwater do?
Cliffwater manages a platform of perpetual interval funds providing access to private credit, private equity, and real assets, anchored by the flagship Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund (CCLFX), the largest private credit interval fund in the U.S. The firm also publishes the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI), the industry benchmark for direct lending, and provides advisory services to large institutions for due diligence and asset allocation decisions on alternatives.
Is Cliffwater a public or private company?
Cliffwater is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Cliffwater founded?
Cliffwater was founded in 2004. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Cliffwater based?
Cliffwater is headquartered in Marina Del Rey, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cliffwater make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Asset Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are advisory Services.
Who are Cliffwater's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are NEPC, Pantheon Ventures, StepStone Group, Albourne, Cambridge Associates, Hamilton Lane, Aksia and Meketa Investment Group. Blackstone Credit (BCRED) is listed as a broad incumbent. Blue Owl Capital is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cliffwater have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cliffwater.
What industry is Cliffwater in?
Cliffwater's product category is Private Credit Asset Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAHAJAH, Private Credit — Structured Credit (CLOs, ABS, Private Securitizations), with a secondary code of FSAAAHAH, Structured Credit (CDO/CLO Tranches, Credit Opportunities). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6189.