主要投资于美国私营企业的商业发展公司公司, are the new real estate investment trusts. Like REITs or mutual funds, BDCs are simply legal structures to hold securities. Although REITs, which sprang up in the 1970s to give individuals access to commercial real estate, have become mainstream, BDCs are in their infancy, but they’re growing quickly.
个人investorslooking for higher-yielding, if riskier, investments in a world of historically low rates are fueling the growth of BDCs, many of which offer direct secured lending to midsize companies. BDCs are also gaining prominence as individuals seek access to alternatives like credit hedge funds that have long been the playground of big institutions. Today the U.S. is home to 43 traded and 11 nontraded BDCs, representing $56.5 billion in total assets, according to BDC operator Franklin Square Capital Partners; in 2000 there were just three, with a combined $2.2 billion in assets.
总部位于洛杉矶的联合资本公司（Allied Capital）于1991年推出了第一家BDC，旨在刺激对资本不足企业的投资，这也为那些在高收益和杠杆贷款方面拥有专业知识的基金经理提供了一个巨大的机会；这要归功于金融危机以来更为严格的监管，银行不再向风险较高的中小企业发放大量贷款。它们也是夹层基金的替代品。纽约独立投资银行Moelis&Co.资本市场咨询董事总经理文森特•利马（Vincent Lima）解释说，为中等市场公司筹集资金的BDC也给基金经理提供了永久资本，因为随着贷款到期，本金会被回收用于新的投资和股息支付给investors. By contrast, private equity–style funds have a limited life and force managers to constantly raise funds from new investors.
Last April, Goldman Sachs Group launched a BDC called Liberty Harbor Capital; Philadelphia-based Franklin Square, the largest operator of BDCs globally, with $9 billion in assets, expects to bring a fourth to market in March. Apollo Global Management, Carlyle Group and TPG Capital are some other big names in the space, but observers say every manager with experience with non-investment-grade credit is thinking about making a move there.
Franklin Square’s offerings are all subadvised by New York–basedGSO资本他是公开交易、价值2480亿美元的投资巨头黑石集团（Blackstone Group）的机构信贷经理。根据这项协议，GSO从富兰克林广场获得零售分销权，而富兰克林广场则从机构市场获得了一个声誉显赫的名字。GSO推荐潜在的投资，富兰克林广场在交易最终确定前再看一眼。此外，富兰克林广场管理投资组合，处理向散户投资者分销产品的劳动密集型流程。
Zachary Klehr, executive vice president of product for Franklin Square, says leveraged loans are attractive because their floating rates help guard against interest rate risk. He points out that the funds conduct double due diligence to protect investors, first through GSO, then through Franklin Square. “Investors can spend 30 to 45 days of diligence in underwriting loans,” Moelis’s Lima notes, adding that middle-market loans don’t have a natural secondary market and liquidity is sparse: “These loans are underwritten to hold to maturity.”
BDCs are often criticized for their illiquidity, but that’s why they can offer higher returns: They’re dealing in highly illiquid parts of the markets where borrowers pay higher rates for capital. If a company can no longer service its loans, though, the BDC typically has few, if any, willing buyers for such a small issue. BDCs also get flak for their high fees, which often consist of a 2 percent management fee and 20 percent of profits. Klehr emphasizes that the 2-and-20 structure is common in the institutional world but says Franklin Square always shows its returns net of fees. For the three years ended last September 30, FS Investment Corp., the firm’s first BDC, returned an annualized 13.14 percent net of fees and expenses, versus 6.27 percent for the Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan index.
Good times for BDCs make it vital that sponsors show restraint in deal making. The market environment also improves the fortunes of middle-market companies that have struggled to secure credit as banks stepped back from the sector. BDCs have become so popular that demand for loans exceeds supply. “There are a lot of BDCs chasing the same deals,” Lima says: “It’s halcyon days for middle-market issuers that are good credits to raise acquisition capital.” • •