Knighthead Capital Management, Llc
- Regulatory AUM
- $19.0B
- Discretionary
- $18.9B
- Clients
- 50
- Avg AUM / client
- $380M
- Accounts
- 50
- Employees
- 58
AUM over time
Annual snapshots from Form ADV filings · as of May 07, 2026
Who they serve
| Client type | Clients | AUM | % of AUM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pooled investment vehicles (non-investment companies) | 30 | $14.1B | 74.4% |
| Insurance companies | 11 | $4.9B | 25.6% |
| Other | 9 | $436K | 0.0% |
Private funds (10)
Reported in Form ADV Section 7.B.(1), filing of May 2024 · $10.3B combined gross assets
| Fund | Type | Domicile | Gross assets | Owners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knighthead Holdings, Ltd | Private Equity Fund | Cayman Islands | $5.3B | 50 |
| Ck Opportunities Fund I, Lp master | Private Equity Fund | Cayman Islands | $1.6B | 977 |
| Ck Amarillo Lp | Private Equity Fund | Delaware | $1.2B | 15 |
| Knighthead Master Fund, L.P. master | Hedge Fund | Cayman Islands | $966M | 78 |
| Knighthead Insurance Holdings, Ltd | Private Equity Fund | Cayman Islands | $355M | 20 |
| Knighthead Distressed Opportunities Fund, Lp master | Private Equity Fund | Cayman Islands | $340M | 46 |
| Knighthead (Ny) Fund, Lp | Hedge Fund | New York | $335M | 1 |
| Knighthead Managed Opportunities, Lp | Private Equity Fund | Cayman Islands | $125M | 1 |
| Knighthead Special Situations Real Estate Fund Ii, Lp | Real Estate Fund | Delaware | $9.0M | 38 |
| Ck Opportunities Fund Ii, Lp master | Private Equity Fund | Cayman Islands | $3.1M | 977 |
People (8)
| Name | Role / title | Credentials | With firm since | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohen, Ara, David | Managing Member | Jun 2005 (21y) | 25% – 50% | |
| Wagner, Thomas, Allen | Managing Member | May 2008 (18y) | 25% – 50% | |
| Torrado, Laura, Lynn | General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer | Jun 2008 (18y) | Less than 5% | |
| Friedberg, Michael, Lawrence | Chief Financial Officer | Jan 2013 (14y) | Less than 5% | |
| Hopkins, Krispen, L | Trustee | Aug 2016 (10y) | Less than 5% | |
| Wagner, Cynthia, Ann | Trustee | Aug 2016 (10y) | Less than 5% | |
| Shannahan, Andrew, David | Member | Jan 2018 (9y) | 10% – 25% | |
| Cohen, Nicole, L | Trustee | Dec 2018 (8y) | GP / trustee / elected manager of Ara Cohen 2005 Family Trust (indirect) |
Entity owners (Schedule A/B)
| Entity | Title / status | Since | Sch. | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Php De 1 Lp | Member | Jan 2024 | A | 10% – 25% |
| Ara Cohen Family Llc | Member | May 2009 | A | 5% – 10% |
| The Thomas A. Wagner Iii Children's Trust Iii | Member | Aug 2016 | A | Less than 5% |
| Petershill Partners Plc | Shareholder | Sep 2021 | B | ≈ 5.63% – 25% via Petershill Partners, Inc. |
| Petershill Partners, Inc. | Partner | Jan 2024 | B | ≈ 7.5% – 25% via Php De 1 Lp |
| Ara Cohen 2005 Family Trust | Owner | Jun 2005 | B | ≈ 2.5% – 7.5% via Ara Cohen Family Llc |
Undisclosed: 0% – 25% of the firm is not attributable from the filed Schedule A bands.
Estimated effective ownership (look-through of filed bands):
- Petershill Partners Plc: 75% – 100% of Petershill Partners, Inc. × 75% – 100% of Php De 1 Lp × 10% – 25% direct ≈ 5.63% – 25% of the firm
- Petershill Partners, Inc.: 75% – 100% of Php De 1 Lp × 10% – 25% direct ≈ 7.5% – 25% of the firm
- Ara Cohen 2005 Family Trust: 50% – 75% of Ara Cohen Family Llc × 5% – 10% direct ≈ 2.5% – 7.5% of the firm
Roster from the IAPD representatives feed; ownership and acquisition dates from Form ADV Schedule A/B. "Since" is the earliest filed registration or acquisition date.
Private funds (10, $10.3B gross assets)
| Fund | Type | Gross assets | Min. investment | Owners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knighthead Holdings, Ltd | Private Equity Fund | $5.3B | $0 | 50 |
| Ck Opportunities Fund I, Lp | Private Equity Fund | $1.6B | $5.0M | 977 |
| Ck Amarillo Lp | Private Equity Fund | $1.2B | $5.0M | 15 |
| Knighthead Master Fund, L.P. | Hedge Fund | $966M | $5.0M | 78 |
| Knighthead Insurance Holdings, Ltd | Private Equity Fund | $355M | $0 | 20 |
| Knighthead Distressed Opportunities Fund, Lp | Private Equity Fund | $340M | $5.0M | 46 |
| Knighthead (Ny) Fund, Lp | Hedge Fund | $335M | $250M | 1 |
| Knighthead Managed Opportunities, Lp | Private Equity Fund | $125M | $5.0M | 1 |
| Knighthead Special Situations Real Estate Fund Ii, Lp | Real Estate Fund | $9.0M | $1.0M | 38 |
| Ck Opportunities Fund Ii, Lp | Private Equity Fund | $3.1M | $5.0M | 977 |
From Form ADV Section 7.B private fund reporting.
Documents (1 archived)
| Form | Period | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form ADV (full filing) | 05/07/2026 | 5.24 MB | View · PDF · Source ↗ |
Archived copies of the firm's regulatory filings, versioned by content hash.
Disciplinary disclosures
No disciplinary events reported on the firm's latest Form ADV filing.
How they charge
- • Percentage of assets under management
- • Performance-based fees
- • Other fees
- • RETENTION OF CERTAIN PROCESSING, ORIGINATION & SIMILAR FEES
Services
- • Portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles
- • Portfolio management for businesses/institutional clients
Custody
Reported custodians
- Northern Trust $1.6B (8% of AUM) May 2026
- State Street $1.1B (6% of AUM) May 2026
- Wells Fargo $645M (11% of AUM) Dec 2020
- UBS $52.3M (0% of AUM) May 2024
- J.P. Morgan $28.5M (0% of AUM) May 2022
- BNY Mellon $4.3M (0% of AUM) Mar 2018
Amounts as reported in ADV Item 5.K.(3) (custodians holding 10%+ of SMA assets).
Firm reports having custody of client funds or securities (Item 9.A).
Source
All data on this page comes from this firm's Form ADV filings, reproduced without modification. Latest filing: May 07, 2026.
View current Form ADV (SEC/IAPD) ↗