Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund Adds Nicholas Lenicheck to Growing Platform

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund ("CELFX" or "the Fund"), an interval fund providing access to alternative private debt strategies, announced Nicholas Lenicheck has joined its investment team as a Managing Director and will be based in New York. Nick's extensive experience as an allocator to and direct investor in alternative credit investment strategies will support CELFX and its continued momentum.

Prior to joining the CELFX senior team, Nick was a Senior Director at PSP Investments where he managed an opportunistic private credit sub-portfolio and sourced and executed co-investment and direct transactions as part of their Alpha Alternatives team. Nick also previously held investment analyst positions with Farallon Capital Management (Singapore) and Tudor Investment Corporation (Singapore, Boston).

Cliffwater, the investment adviser of CELFX, has been investing in enhanced lending since 2006. The firm oversees over $7B in enhanced lending assets and over $37B in private debt assets. Cliffwater's private debt platform has grown to 39 investment professionals dedicated to research, underwriting, and portfolio management.

ABOUT CLIFFWATER ENHANCED LENDING FUND (CELFX)

Launched July 1, 2021, Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund is a Delaware statutory trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and operates as an interval fund.

CELFX invests across the private debt spectrum, including in diversifying sub-asset classes with lower correlation to traditional risk assets, to tap into unique risk premiums to pursue high current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation. The fund provides immediate exposure to niche strategies in one efficient solution that would be costly and challenging for investors to replicate.

As of January 31, 2024, CELFX has $2.7 billion in net asset value and approximately $2.9 billion in total gross assets. Since inception, CELFX has delivered a net annualized total return of 12.74%. The broad-based portfolio was invested across 13 private debt strategies with an average look-through exposure to any single issuer of less than 0.1%.

Cliffwater serves as the investment adviser of the Fund.

https://www.cliffwaterfunds.com/CELFX

ABOUT CLIFFWATER

Cliffwater LLC ("Cliffwater", or "the Firm") is an independent alternative investment adviser and fund manager that provides proactive research, advisory, and investment services. Cliffwater was founded in 2004; has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York; and currently has approximately $22 billion in assets under management (AUM) and $78 billion in assets under advisement (AUA). 

Cliffwater's research has been published in "The Journal of Alternative Investments," and in 2018, its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Nesbitt, was named one of the "30 Most Influential People in Private Debt" by Private Debt Investor. Mr. Nesbitt also wrote one of the first books on private debt: "Private Debt: Opportunities in Corporate Direct Lending" (Wiley Finance, 2019); with its second edition being released in 2023: "Private Debt: Yield, Safety and the Emergence of Alternative Lending" (Wiley Finance, 2023).

Cliffwater's private debt research has also led to the creation of four indices: the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index ("CDLI"), which is an asset-weighted index that seeks to measure the unlevered, gross of fees performance for U.S. middle market corporate loans; the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index: Senior-Only ("CDLI-S"), which is an index focusing on the senior loans within the CDLI; the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index: Venture-Only ("CDLI-V"), which is an index comprised of only venture-backed loans within the CDLI; and the Cliffwater BDC Index ("CWBDC"), which is a capitalization-weighted index built to measure the performance of exchanged-traded Business Development Companies ("BDCs"). 

Cliffwater LLC is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

https://www.cliffwater.com

Performance data represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost; and the current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Fund performance is net of fees.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund (the "Fund") carefully before investing. Before investing, carefully read the prospectus, which can be found on this website or by calling (888) 442-4420. 

The Fund's investment program is speculative and entails substantial risks. There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved or that its investment program will be successful Investors should consider the Fund as a supplement to an overall investment program and should invest only if they are willing to undertake the risks involved Investors could lose some or all of their investment. Shares are an illiquid investment. We do not intend to list the Fund's shares ("Shares") on any securities exchange, and we do not expect a secondary market in the Shares to develop. You should generally not expect to be able to sell your Shares (other than through the limited repurchase process), regardless of how we perform. Although we are required to implement a Share repurchase program, only a limited number of Shares will be eligible for repurchase by us. You should consider that you may not have access to the money you invest for an indefinite period of time. An investment in the Shares is not suitable for you if you have foreseeable need to access the money you invest. Because you will be unable to sell your Shares or have them repurchased immediately, you will find it difficult to reduce your exposure on a timely basis during a market downturn.

The Fund is a non-diversified management investment company and may be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company. Cybersecurity risks have significantly increased in recent years and the Fund could suffer such losses in the future. One of the fundamental risks associated with the Fund's investments is the risk that an issuer will be unable to make principal and interest payments on its outstanding debt obligations when due. Other risk factors include interest rate risk (a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of debt securities) and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, www.acaglobal.com.

SOURCE Cliffwater