CastleKnight Management

What CastleKnight Management does

CastleKnight Management LP is a New York-based opportunistic hedge fund founded in 2020 that targets equity-like returns across the capital structure. The firm focuses on distressed debt investing, creditor activism, and minority lender litigation strategies, acquiring positions in companies undergoing liability management exercises (LMEs), exchange offers, Chapter 11 proceedings, and pre-packaged restructurings. The fund is led by Founder, Managing Partner & CIO Aaron Weitman and operates with an 11–50 person team.

The firm's strategy centers on identifying and exploiting creditor-on-creditor disputes in distressed situations, often leading ad hoc creditor groups to challenge transactions it views as disadvantaging minority creditors. A notable example is its leadership of an ad hoc group holding approximately $293.7 million in Trinseo OpCo term loans, where it has pursued litigation challenging a double-dip LME. Beyond distressed debt, CastleKnight also deploys capital as an anchor investor in early-stage and transformative companies, including a $9.75 million private placement in Innventure.

CastleKnight generates revenue through a hedge fund fee model (management and performance fees, typical 2-and-20 or variant structure), with capital sourced via private placement to institutional investors such as pension funds, endowments, family offices, and fund-of-funds. Performance is a key signal: the fund posted a 21.2% return in April 2026, outperforming peers including Light Street Capital (18.2%) and Tiger Global (15%), as well as the broader S&P 500's 10%+ monthly gain, driven by maintaining core equity exposure through March 2026 tariff-driven volatility and monetizing crisis hedges.

Name

CastleKnight Management

Website

https://castleknight.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CastleKnight Management LP is a New York-based opportunistic hedge fund founded in 2020 that pursues distressed debt investing, creditor activism, and strategic equity positions to generate equity-like returns for institutional investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hedge Fund / Alternative Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Fundamental/Discretionary Equity Long/Short (FSAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small-/Mid-Cap Equity Long/Short (FSAHAAAG), Small-Cap Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAC)

Keywords

• Distressed debt investing
• Creditor activism
• Hedge fund management
• Liability management
• Alternative investments

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

CastleKnight Management LP manages an opportunistic hedge fund that invests in distressed debt, minority creditor positions, and strategic equity situations across the capital structure. The firm pursues equity-like returns by acquiring minority loan positions to challenge liability management exercises and exchange offers, leading ad hoc creditor groups in restructuring proceedings, and anchoring capital raises in early-stage companies. Revenue is generated through investment performance and management fees from institutional investors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CastleKnight Opportunistic Hedge Fund An opportunistic hedge fund managed by CastleKnight Management LP that seeks equity-like returns by investing across the capital structure with a focus on distressed debt, minority creditor positions, creditor activism, liability management exercises, and strategic equity situations. The fund is offered to institutional investors and capital allocators through private placement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 21.2% return in April 2026, outperforming the S&P 500 which rose over 10% for the month
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Silver Point Capital: Large distressed and special situations credit hedge fund that deploys across the capital structure and actively engages in restructuring processes. Comparable to CastleKnight in opportunistic, capital-structure-flexible mandate.
• Strategic Value Partners: Distressed and special situations credit manager with significant involvement in European and US restructuring situations, often leading creditor groups. Comparable to CastleKnight's LME-challenging posture.
• Aurelius Capital Management: Distressed-debt-focused hedge fund that invests in and litigates against issuers in restructuring situations. Highly comparable to CastleKnight's opportunistic distressed and creditor activism approach.
• Redwood Capital Management: Distressed debt hedge fund focused on value-oriented credit investing and active engagement in restructurings. Comparable in size and strategy orientation to CastleKnight.
• Monarch Alternative Capital: Event-driven, distressed-credit hedge fund with a track record of leading ad hoc creditor groups and challenging liability management transactions. Direct competitor for distressed special situations and creditor activism mandates.
• One William Street Capital Management: Multi-strategy credit hedge fund with significant exposure to distressed and special situations. Comparable opportunistic capital-structure approach with similar AUM scale.
• Anchorage Capital Group: Distressed credit hedge fund that participates in restructurings, takes creditor activism positions, and invests across the capital structure. Directly comparable mandate and strategy mix.

Others

• Pallas Partners: Litigation advisor representing CastleKnight in the Trinseo creditor dispute. Not a competitor but a key enabler/ecosystem partner whose involvement reveals the legal infrastructure supporting CastleKnight's activist strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Oaktree Capital Management: Largest dedicated distressed debt manager globally with multiple distressed credit strategies across the capital structure. Broad incumbent in the same niche, but with vastly greater scale, multi-cycle track record, and product breadth.
• Bracebridge Capital: Multi-strategy hedge fund with material distressed and event-driven exposure. Comparable in opportunistic mandate, though with broader strategy mix than CastleKnight.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about CastleKnight Management