Cliffwater LLC has appointed retirement industry veteran Sean Murray as Head of Retirement Solutions within its distribution team, a move aimed at accelerating the firm’s expansion across the retirement channel and strengthening adoption of private markets within defined contribution plans.
In this role, Murray will focus on building out Cliffwater’s retirement platform capabilities and deepening relationships with workplace retirement providers and advisors. The appointment comes as asset managers increasingly compete to position private market strategies within retirement portfolios, a segment that has traditionally been dominated by public equities and fixed income but is gradually evolving as plan sponsors seek diversification and long-term return drivers.
Murray brings more than three decades of experience in retirement and workplace investing. Most recently, he served as Head of Strategic Partnerships, Workplace Solutions at Goldman Sachs, where he worked on retirement and workplace investment offerings and played a role in advancing the inclusion of private markets within defined contribution plans. His earlier career includes senior leadership positions at PIMCO, BlackRock, and Envestnet, giving him broad exposure across asset management, advisory platforms, and retirement-focused distribution strategies.
Commenting on his new role, Murray said he looks forward to expanding the presence of private markets within retirement plans alongside Cliffwater. He described the firm as being well positioned to lead what he views as a structural shift in how retirement portfolios are constructed, particularly as institutional-grade private market strategies become more accessible to defined contribution investors.
Stephen Nesbitt said Murray’s experience across the retirement ecosystem makes him a strong addition to the leadership team. He noted that Murray’s background aligns closely with Cliffwater’s strategic focus on expanding access to alternative investments within the wealth and retirement channels.
The hire is part of a broader talent expansion at Cliffwater as the firm scales its platform across investment and distribution functions. Over the past year, the firm has added seven managing directors or higher-level executives, each bringing an average of 18 years of industry experience. The additions reflect a sustained push to deepen expertise across both product development and client-facing distribution efforts.
Founded in 2004, Cliffwater has positioned itself as a major independent player in alternative investments, with a focus on research, fund management, and access to private markets strategies. The firm is widely known for its research output and proprietary indices, which have been used across the industry to better understand and benchmark alternative asset performance.
Among its most recognized contributions is the Cliffwater Direct Lending Index (CDLI), which became the first published benchmark for direct lending and is now broadly used by institutional investors and consultants. The firm has also developed a suite of related sub-indices and the Cliffwater Evergreen Private Equity Index, further extending its data and benchmarking footprint in private markets.
In addition to its research capabilities, Cliffwater has built one of the largest alternative investment platforms serving the wealth management channel. Its private markets interval fund platform currently represents $44.5 billion in net assets as of March 31, 2026, according to the firm, and includes two of the largest credit interval funds in the market. The scale of the platform underscores growing demand among wealth and retirement investors for semi-liquid access to private credit and private equity strategies.
Murray’s appointment signals continued emphasis by Cliffwater on expanding its retirement-focused distribution capabilities at a time when asset managers are competing to shape how private markets are integrated into long-term savings vehicles. As defined contribution plans evolve, firms with established alternative investment expertise are increasingly positioning themselves to influence product design, education, and access across the retirement ecosystem.