What is a BDC? Follow the fund, the borrowers and the shareholder
Understand the closed-end structure, the difference between borrower interest and shareholder distributions, and why a traded share is not a redeemable loan.
Read the guideUnderstand the loans.
Then test the income.
16 free guides, from BDC structure and NII to credit scenarios and filing workshops. Read in order or search for the question in front of you.
- Shareholders + lendersProvide the BDC's capital
- BDC loan portfolioBorrowers owe principal and interest
- Reported incomeCash interest and noncash PIK differ
- Expenses → NIIFunding costs and fees reduce income
Distributions, loan repayments and realized losses are separate cash or capital events. NII is not the cash-flow statement.
Choose your depth.
BDC / Level 01 / 4 guides
Beginner
Understand the lending business.
Open learning path ↗BDC / Level 02 / 4 guidesIntermediate
Separate earnings, cash and credit.
Open learning path ↗BDC / Level 03 / 4 guidesAdvanced
Stress the capital and fee structure.
Open learning path ↗BDC / Level 04 / 4 guidesExpert
Make the filing analysis reproducible.
Open learning path ↗Difficulty levels describe the material; they are not a qualification or professional certification. No account required. Progress is not stored.
Find your next BDC question.
16 guides
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From origination to repayment: how a BDC investment earns and loses money
Trace a loan through commitment, funding, recognized income, amendments, valuation and exit without confusing commitments with invested assets.
Read the guideInternal and external BDC management: follow the expense contract
Compare management arrangements by what shareholders actually bear, including asset-based fees, incentive compensation, reimbursements and waivers.
Read the guideRead a BDC filing in order: four statements and the investment schedule
Build a source map for portfolio assets, recognized income, distributions and cash before collecting ratios or copying a presentation.
Read the guideNII and distribution coverage: match the income, denominator and period
Reconcile regular and total common-distribution coverage without confusing reported NII, issuer-adjusted measures or cash available.
Read the guidePIK income: distinguish the contract, the accounting and the cash
Understand payment-in-kind recognition, two different PIK denominators and a transparent sensitivity that does not claim to be cash earnings.
Read the guideNon-accruals at cost and fair value: read the exposure and the mark
Compare matched non-accrual populations, understand why a fair-value percentage can fall without credit improving, and trace migration.
Read the guideBDC NAV and market discounts: separate the valuation from the trading price
Read common NAV per share, price/NAV and capital transactions without treating a discount as a promised return.
Read the guideBDC leverage and asset coverage: a descriptive ratio is not a compliance test
Connect debt, common equity and asset values while distinguishing a debt/equity worksheet from statutory asset coverage and borrowing covenants.
Read the guideFloating rates and floors: why a BDC is not a one-way rate bet
Build separate asset and liability repricing maps, identify floors and hedges, and distinguish interest sensitivity from borrower-credit effects.
Read the guideIncentive fees: model the hurdle and catch-up before adjusting NII
Trace a hypothetical piecewise fee schedule, distinguish income and capital-gains fees, and test the effect of noncash income without double counting.
Read the guideBDC distributions, RIC tax status and spillover: keep three records separate
Distinguish BDC regulation from RIC treatment, separate tax distribution requirements from NII coverage, and understand why spillover is not a cash reserve.
Read the guideExpert workshop: reconcile reported NII, adjustments and a PIK sensitivity
Build a reversible income bridge, retain compensation costs explicitly and distinguish a frozen-fee sensitivity from a contract-based alternative.
Read the guideExpert workshop: bridge NAV through marks, realizations and share issuance
Reconcile net assets and per-share NAV, avoid double-counting old losses and separate issuance proceeds from investment performance.
Read the guideExpert workshop: refinancing, equity funding and NII per share
Compare full-year refinancing branches, include net equity proceeds and share-count effects, and keep liquidity separate from income accretion.
Read the guideExpert workshop: write a BDC credit and distribution memo that can be challenged
Integrate income quality, portfolio losses, leverage and liquidity while separating established facts, analytical scenarios and unresolved evidence.
Read the guideRead the dated research.
Selected archive →These historical research records show how filing questions are framed. Their company figures are not the synthetic lesson inputs or current portfolio data. Publication does not imply a publisher endorsement or investment qualification.
Blue Owl Technology's $800M Financing Run Puts Dividend Coverage In Focus
Three financing transactions serve different functions. The recurring dividend test still sits in net investment income per share.
Read the Benzinga original ↗Saratoga Investment Pushes Debt Maturity To 2031, But Dividend Coverage Remains Under Pressure
Replacing a lower-coupon maturity does not automatically resolve the gap between net investment income and the regular distribution.
Read the Benzinga original ↗Covered, Not Collected: PIK Income and the Q1 2026 BDC Distribution Stack
Reported income can support a dividend before the cash is collected. PIK changes what “covered” means.
Read the Benzinga original ↗From learning to a research note
Answer the next practical question.
REIT vs BDC: dividends, cash flow and risks
Compare US equity REITs and BDCs: AFFO vs NII, property and credit risks, NAV, and a worked example of two identical dividend yields.
Open the guide ↗Ex-dividend date vs record date vs payment date
Understand US dividend dates under T+1, ordinary cash-dividend entitlement, special-distribution exceptions and why dividend capture is not free income.
Open the guide ↗Dividend research worksheet for REITs and BDCs
Build a source-linked dividend research note: locate filing inputs, reconcile AFFO or NII, record risks, then download or print your worksheet.
Open the guide ↗Practice with primary evidence
All filing labs →Read a real filing. Rebuild the numbers.
Ares Capital 2024: NII, Core EPS and the PIK denominator
Reconstruct reported NII, reconcile Core EPS, and aggregate PIK interest and dividends from a dated SEC filing before interpreting income coverage.
Work through the source →