Cliffwater

Cliffwater

Cliffwater LLC (“Cliffwater” or “the Firm”) is an independent alternative investment adviser and fund manager. Founded in 2004, Cliffwater has been shaping how alternatives are understood and accessed through its research, proprietary indices, and innovative evergreen private markets funds. The Firm’s research has been cited in industry-leading publications and led to the creation of the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (“CDLI”), the first published index and widely accepted benchmark for direct lending, and its suite of sub-indices. Cliffwater is also one of the largest providers of alternative investment solutions for the wealth management channel. The Firm’s private markets interval fund platform is now the largest in the market with $44 billion in net assets as of October 31, 2025, and includes the two largest credit interval funds.

Latest Insights

Defaults: Systemic or idiosyncratic?
Markets
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Defaults: Systemic or idiosyncratic?
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The press sees systemic risk in every default while lenders argue idiosyncratic circumstances. Who's right?...

Back to basics: The five Ws of Private Debt
Markets
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Back to basics: The five Ws of Private Debt
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Much of the scepticism around private credit may reflect a repeated misdiagnosis of its issues.

No cockroaches in private debt
Markets
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No cockroaches in private debt
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Longstanding private debt concerns have yet to materialise.