Asset manager · Marina Del REY, CA
Cliffwater LLC
SEC-registered investment adviser · CRD 132167 · SEC 801-63344
At a glance
Cliffwater LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser based in Marina Del REY, California, with $48.5 billion in regulatory assets under management as of its Form ADV filed May 4, 2026. Its largest client group by assets is investment companies, and it reports 10 individual clients. By Form ADV it is a asset manager, ranked 211th of 3,218 asset managers and 443rd of 17,210 SEC-registered advisers by assets.
Main office 310-448-5000cliffwater.comLinkedInAs filed on Form ADV
- Regulatory AUM
- $49B
- Rank among asset managers
- #211 of 3,218
- Rank among all SEC RIAs
- #443 of 17,210
- Rank in California
- #44 of 1,873
- Individual clients
- 10
- High-net-worth clients
- 10
- Accounts
- 25
- Discretionary
- 100% of AUM
- Employees
- 213
- Advisory staff
- 105
- Offices
- 4
Owners and executives on its Form ADV
- Stephen L. NesbittChief Executive Officer
- Jonathan A. RogalSenior Managing Director / General Counsel
- Michael B. CowartChief Compliance Officer
- Laurence G. A. HaddadChief Financial Officer
Custody and brokerage
Broker-dealer
Hybrid RIA
Cliffwater LLC is a hybrid RIA: 34 of its employees are also registered representatives of a broker-dealer.
Its Form ADV brochure (filed May 2026) names Foreside Fund Services, an unaffiliated broker-dealer, as the broker-dealer its advisers are registered with.
Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations Broker-Dealer Affiliations Certain Cliffwater employees are registered representatives of Foreside Fund Services, LLC, an unaffiliated broker-dealer registered with the SEC.
Who it serves
| Client type | Clients | Regulatory AUM | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment companies | 3 | $44B | 91% |
| Other | 12 | $2.0B | 4% |
| State or municipal government entities | 9 | $933M | 2% |
| Pooled investment vehicles | 4 | $813M | 2% |
| Pension and profit sharing plans | 7 | $457M | <1% |
| Charitable organizations | 2 | $177M | <1% |
| High-net-worth individuals | 10 | $172M | <1% |
| Banking or thrift institutions | 2 | $0M | 0% |
| Other investment advisers | 3 | $0M | 0% |
| Sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions | 1 | $0M | 0% |
| Corporations or other businesses | 1 | $0M | 0% |
Private funds
Cliffwater LLC reports 4 private funds with $460M in gross assets: other private funds (Form ADV Item 7.B).
Disciplinary disclosures
Cliffwater LLC reports no disciplinary disclosures in Item 11 of Form ADV. Read the details on the SEC’s adviser search ↗
Services
- Portfolio management for individuals and small businesses
- Portfolio management for investment companies
- Portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles
- Portfolio management for businesses and institutions
- Pension consulting
- Selecting other advisers
- Periodicals or newsletters
- Other services
How it’s paid
- A percentage of assets under management
- Fixed fees
Form ADV and brochures on the SEC’s adviser search ↗cliffwater.com ↗
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The full record on Cliffwater LLC
Ten years of SEC filings, its owners and contacts, and how it stacks up against its peers. Atlas members see all of it.
- Assets, accounts, clients and staff, ten years of filings
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- Growth over one, three and five years
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- Rank against 306 peers of its type and size
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- Owners and executives, with titles and stakes
- 4 namedLocked
- Main office, fax and compliance officer
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- Filing changes this year, with alerts
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Free while Atlas launches: create a free account and confirm your email. Every figure comes from SEC filings.
Background
Questions
How much does Cliffwater LLC manage?
Cliffwater LLC reports $48.5 billion in regulatory assets under management across 25 accounts, 100% of it on a discretionary basis, on its Form ADV filed May 4, 2026.
What kind of firm is Cliffwater LLC?
Cliffwater LLC is a asset manager by its Form ADV answers. Most of its assets are managed for funds, institutions or other businesses rather than individuals.
Who are Cliffwater LLC’s clients?
By assets, its largest client types are investment companies ($43.9 billion, 3 clients); other ($2.0 billion, 12 clients); state or municipal government entities ($933 million, 9 clients).
Does Cliffwater LLC manage private funds?
Yes. It reports 4 private funds with $460 million in gross assets, including other private funds.
Does Cliffwater LLC have any disciplinary history?
Cliffwater LLC reports no disciplinary disclosures in Item 11 of its Form ADV. Check the SEC’s adviser search for the latest record.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure is Cliffwater LLC’s own answer on its latest Form ADV, from the SEC’s registered-adviser list as of October 1, 2026: regulatory assets and accounts (Item 5.F), clients by type (5.D), employees (5.A and 5.B), compensation (5.E) and services (5.G). Custodians come from Schedule D 5.K(3) of its latest filing (2026-05-04), which lists those holding 10% or more of separately managed account assets and the amount at each. “Hybrid” means some employees are also registered representatives of a broker-dealer (Item 5.B(2)); affiliated broker-dealers are the related persons it lists in Item 7.A and Schedule D. Firm type comes from its own answers: broker-dealer firms are registered broker-dealers themselves (Item 6.A); private fund advisers manage mostly private funds (Item 7.B, 5.D); wealth managers manage at least half their assets for individuals (5.D). Ranks compare it by regulatory assets with every SEC-registered adviser and with firms of its type. Figures are as of the firm’s last annual update, so they can lag recent deals and market moves. Regulatory AUM counts assets the firm continuously supervises and can differ from what a firm markets.
Not an endorsement or a recommendation. Before hiring any adviser, read its Form ADV Part 2A brochure and check its record on the SEC’s adviser search. How to check a financial advisor →