Cliffwater Names Former Goldman Sachs Executive to Lead Real Assets Strategy

Cliffwater has made a significant hire to anchor its growing real assets platform, appointing Sean Brenan as Head of Real Estate and Portfolio Manager of the Cascade Real Assets Fund.

Brenan arrives with deep institutional credentials, having spent his career most recently as Global Head of Goldman Sachs’ real estate secondaries, primaries, and co-investment platform overseeing one of the largest real estate secondary fund programs in the world and building relationships with many of the industry’s leading sponsors. He brings more than 16 years of real estate investment, portfolio management, and leadership experience to the role.

Brenan steps in as Cliffwater sees a shifting opportunity set across real estate and infrastructure. “After a prolonged market correction, compelling opportunities are emerging across the real estate landscape, and I look forward to leveraging Cliffwater’s differentiated capabilities to help investors capitalize on them,” he said.

Blake Nesbitt, CIO and Co-Head of Asset Management at Cliffwater, pointed to Brenan’s sponsor relationships, portfolio construction discipline, and track record as precisely what the strategy demands.

Brenan will manage the Cascade Real Assets Fund, an evergreen vehicle filed in February that combines Cliffwater’s interval fund expertise with real estate, infrastructure, and other real assets capabilities. The hire builds on a platform with significant scale: Cliffwater has deployed $136 billion in private markets on behalf of clients, including $19 billion in real assets, and has delivered a 9.3% net return on its real estate platform since inception through December 31, 2025. The firm’s interval fund platform, now the largest in the market, holds $45.5 billion in net assets as of May 31.