Knighthead Capital Management, LLC (New York)


Knighthead Capital Management, LLC is a large advisory firm based in New York. It manages $4.1 billion of regulatory assets for 19 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2012 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Connecticut, Florida, and New York.

Knighthead Capital Management provides portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles and portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Knighthead Capital Management: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Knighthead Capital Management, LLC is $4.1 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 46% since the beginning of its operation, and $3.08 billion of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $3.88 billion in discretionary accounts and $220.98 million in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $298.25 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $36.83 million.
Knighthead Capital Management has custody of $3.39 billion in cash and securities for 10 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in investment grade corporate bonds the most. They account for 33% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is other assets, which make up 28% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 16% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Knighthead Capital Management, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Knighthead Capital Management serves?

The only and largest group of clients of Knighthead Capital Management is pooled investment vehicles with 12 clients and $3.61 billion of assets under management. Among the 10 most similar advisory firms, Knighthead Capital Management has the 4th highest percentage of pooled investment vehicles out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $3.61 billion for 12 clients. 53% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Knighthead Capital Management also advises several private funds. Namely, two hedge funds, two real estate funds, and one private equity fund. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons ranges from $0 to $250,000,000.

Careers at Knighthead Capital Management, LLC

The company employs 27 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 63 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Thomas A Wagner Managing member 1 May 2008 50% - 75% 3255760
Ara David Cohen Managing member 1 May 2008 50% - 75% 5924168
Knighthead Grat I Member 1 May 2008 Other xxx-xx-xxxx
Laura Lynn Torrado General counsel/chief compliance officer 1 Jun 2008 Other 1404432
Ara Cohen Family Llc Member 1 May 2009 Other xxx-xx-xxxx
Edward Patrick Massaro Chief operating officer 1 Jan 2010 Other 1875165
Michael Lawrence Friedberg Chief financial officer 1 Jan 2013 Other 6174556
Koufax Us Im Holdings Ltd. Member 1 Jan 2014 Other 80-0966826
Koufax Offshore Im Holdings Corp. Member 1 Sep 2014 Other 47-1559098
The Thomas A. Wagner Iii Children's Trust Iii Member 1 Aug 2016 Other xxx-xx-xxxx

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 14 indirect owners.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Ara David Cohen Member 1 Jun 2005 25% - 50% 5924168
Ara Cohen 2005 Family Trust Owner 1 Jun 2005 50% - 75% xxx-xx-xxxx
Calman Cohen Trustee 1 Jun 2005 50% - 75% 6027557
Petershill Ii Lp Sole owner 1 Oct 2013 75% - 100% 80-0966826
Petershill Ii Advisors L.L.C. General partner 1 Oct 2013 Other 13-4019460
L.L.C. Gsam Gen Par Sole member 1 Oct 2013 75% - 100% 13-4019460
Petershill Ii Offshore Lp Sole owner 1 Oct 2013 75% - 100% 98-1146440
Inc. The Goldman Sachs Group Majority owner 1 Jan 2014 75% - 100% 13-4019460
Llc Goldman Sachs Ph Ii Advisors General partner 1 Mar 2015 Other 13-4019460
L.L.C. Gsam Gen Par Sole member 1 Mar 2015 75% - 100% 13-4019460
Inc. The Goldman Sachs Group Sole owner 1 Feb 2016 75% - 100% 13-4019460
Llc Gsam Holdings Sole member 1 Feb 2016 75% - 100% 13-4019460
Cynthia Ann Wagner Trustee 1 Aug 2016 Other 1771029
Krispen Hopkins Trustee 1 Aug 2016 Other 6776615

Based in New York

The principal office where Knighthead Capital Management, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 1140 Avenue Of The Americas, New York, NY 10036, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in Greenwich, CT. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 212-356-2900 or by fax 212-356-2901. The normal business hours are 9-5 on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at knighthead.com/.