BDC share price-to-book values have bounced around recently, impacted by shifting investor sentiment. The average share price-to-book value is at 0.91x as of September 9, down from 0.95x in mid-August but is still up from a recent low of 0.80x in June. There are wide variations in valuations between individual BDCs. Across a grouping of 46 publicly traded BDCs, 32 are currently trading below book value. Of those BDCs trading below book value, 23 are below 0.90x, with 12 of these below 0.80x. From a total return perspective, public BDCs are outperforming equities but lagging leveraged loans in 2022. Year-to-date through September 9, the Cliffwater BDC index is down 4.65%, compared to losses of 13.7% for the S&P 500 and 1.09% for the Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index. The outperformance of BDCs relative to the broader equity markets is rooted in investors seeking exposure to assets which may benefit from rising interest rates.
(Past performance is no guarantee of future results.)
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Top 50 BDCs Accounted for 75% of Nonaccrual Loan Cost in Q2’26
The 50 largest BDCs, on the basis of total debt investments as of the second quarter of 2026, accounted for 75% of the total aggregate reported value of nonaccrual debt at cost and fair value.
US private debt AUM ($B) by channel
In 2025 and the early part of 2026, the retail channel added AUM to the asset class at a much faster rate than institutional investors in both regions, with growth rates of 43.7% globally, 41.4% in the US, and 73. 1% in Europe through the beginning of 2026 compared with year-end 2024 figures.
