MSC Income Fund Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Our principal investment objective is to maximize our portfolio’s total return by generating current income from our debt investments and current income and capital appreciation from our equity and equity-related investments, including warrants, convertible securities and other rights to acquire equity securities in a portfolio company. We seek to achieve our investment objective through our Private Loan (as defined below), LMM and Middle Market investment strategies. Our private loan (“Private Loan”) investment strategy involves investments in companies that are generally consistent with the

size of the companies in our LMM and Middle Market investment strategies. Our LMM investment strategy involves investments in companies that generally have annual revenues between $10 million and $150 million. Our Middle Market investment strategy involves investments in companies that are generally larger in size than our LMM companies, with annual revenues typically between $150 million and $1.5 billion. Our Private Loan, LMM and Middle Market investments generally range in size from $1 million to $20 million.

Private Loan investments primarily consist of debt securities that have primarily been originated directly by our Adviser or, to a lesser extent, through our Adviser’s strategic relationships with other investment funds on a collaborative basis through investments that are often referred to in the debt markets as “club deals” because of the small lender group size. Our Private Loan investments are typically made to support a company owned by or in the process of being acquired by a private equity sponsor. Private Loan investments are typically similar in size, structure, terms and conditions to investments we hold in our LMM portfolio and Middle Market portfolio. Our Private Loan portfolio debt investments are generally secured by a first priority lien on the assets of the portfolio company and typically have a term of between three and seven years from the original investment date. We may also co-invest with Main Street and the private equity sponsors in the equity securities of our Private Loan portfolio companies.

We seek to fill the financing gap for LMM businesses, which, historically, have had limited access to financing from commercial banks and other traditional sources. The underserved nature of the LMM creates the opportunity for us to meet the financing needs of LMM companies while also negotiating favorable transaction terms and equity participation. Our ability to invest across a company’s capital structure, from secured loans to equity securities, allows us to offer portfolio companies a comprehensive suite of financing options, or a “one-stop” financing solution. Providing customized, “one-stop” financing solutions is important to LMM portfolio companies. We generally seek to partner directly with entrepreneurs, management teams and business owners in making our investments. Our LMM portfolio debt investments are generally secured by a first lien on the assets of the portfolio company and typically have a term of between five and seven years from the original investment date.

Our Middle Market portfolio investments primarily consist of direct investments in or secondary purchases of debt securities in privately held companies based in the United States that are generally larger in size than the companies included in our LMM portfolio and that were issued by the issuer through a syndicated process. Our Middle Market portfolio debt investments are generally secured by a first priority lien on the assets of the portfolio company and typically have an expected duration of between three and seven years from the original investment date.

Our other portfolio (“Other Portfolio”) investments primarily consist of investments that are not consistent with the typical profiles for our Private Loan, LMM or Middle Market portfolio investments, including investments which may be managed by third parties. In our Other Portfolio, we may incur indirect fees and expenses in connection with investments managed by third parties, such as investments in other investment companies or private funds.

Our portfolio investments are generally made through MSIF, the Taxable Subsidiaries and the Structured Subsidiaries. MSIF, the Taxable Subsidiaries and the Structured Subsidiaries share the same investment strategies and criteria. An investor’s return in MSIF will depend, in part, on the Taxable Subsidiaries’ and the Structured Subsidiaries’ investment returns as they are wholly-owned subsidiaries of MSIF.

The level of new portfolio investment activity will fluctuate from period to period based upon our view of the current economic fundamentals, our ability to identify new investment opportunities that meet our investment criteria, and our ability to consummate the identified opportunities and our available liquidity. The level of new investment activity, and associated interest and fee income, will directly impact future investment income. In addition, the level of dividends paid by portfolio companies and the portion of our portfolio debt investments on non-accrual status will directly impact future investment income. While we intend to grow our portfolio and our investment income over the long term, our growth and our operating results may be more limited during depressed economic periods. However, we intend to appropriately manage our cost structure and liquidity position based on applicable economic conditions and our investment outlook. The level of realized gains or losses and unrealized appreciation or depreciation on our investments will also fluctuate depending upon portfolio activity, economic conditions and the performance of our individual portfolio companies. The changes in realized gains and losses and unrealized appreciation or depreciation could have a material impact on our operating results.

We have received an exemptive order from the SEC permitting co-investments among us, Main Street and other funds and clients advised by our Adviser in certain negotiated transactions where co-investing would otherwise be prohibited under the 1940 Act. We have made co-investments with, and in the future intend to continue to make co-

investments with Main Street and other funds and clients advised by our Adviser, in accordance with the conditions of the order. The order requires, among other things, that we and our Adviser consider whether each such investment opportunity is appropriate for us, Main Street and the other funds and clients advised by our Adviser, as applicable, and if it is appropriate, to propose an allocation of the investment opportunity between such parties. Because our Adviser is wholly-owned by Main Street and is not managing our investment activities as its sole activity, this may provide our Adviser an incentive to allocate opportunities to Main Street, other participating funds and other clients instead of us. However, our Adviser has policies and procedures in place to manage this conflict, including oversight by the independent members of our Board of Directors. In addition to the co-investment program described above, we also co-invest in syndicated deals and other transactions where price is the only negotiated point by us and our affiliates.

Risk Factors [Table Text Block]

Risk Factors

Investing in our securities involves a number of significant risks. In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should consider carefully the following information before making an investment in our securities. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or not presently deemed material by us might also impair our operations and performance. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, our NAV and the value of our other securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS

The following is a summary of the principal risk factors associated with an investment in our securities. Further details regarding each risk included in the below summary list can be found further below.

Risks Related to our Business and Structure

•Because our Investment Portfolio is recorded at fair value, there is and will continue to be uncertainty as to the value of our portfolio investments.

•Our financial condition and results of operations depends on our Adviser’s ability to effectively manage and deploy capital.

•We are subject to risks associated with the interest rate environment and changes in interest rates will affect our cost of capital, net investment income and the value of our investments.

•We face increasing competition for investment opportunities.

•We are dependent upon our Adviser’s key investment personnel for our future success.

•Our success depends on our Adviser’s ability to attract and retain qualified personnel in a competitive environment.

•We may not replicate the historical results achieved by Main Street or by other entities managed by our Adviser.

•Our business model depends to a significant extent upon strong referral relationships.

•Our Board of Directors may change our operating policies and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval, the effects of which may be adverse.

Risks Related to our Investments

•The types of portfolio companies in which we invest involve significant risks and we could lose all or part of our investment.

•Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies’ performance and defaults by our portfolio companies will harm our operating results.

•Rising credit spreads could affect the value of our investments, and rising interest rates make it more difficult for portfolio companies to make periodic payments on their loans.

•Inflation could adversely affect the business, results of operations and financial condition of our portfolio companies.

•We may be exposed to higher risks with respect to our investments that include original issue discount or PIK interest.

•The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.

•We may not have the funds or ability to make additional investments in our portfolio companies.

•There may be circumstances where our debt investments could be subordinated to claims of other creditors or we could be subject to lender liability claims.

•We generally will not control our portfolio companies.

•Defaults by our portfolio companies will harm our operating results.

•Any unrealized depreciation that we experience in our portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income and gains available for distribution.

•Prepayments of our debt investments by our portfolio companies could adversely impact our results of operations and reduce our return on equity.

•The discontinuation and replacement of LIBOR may adversely affect the value of floating-rate debt securities in our portfolio or issued by us.

•We may be subject to risks associated with “covenant-lite” loans.

•We may not realize gains from our equity investments.

Risks Related to Leverage

•Because we borrow money, the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested in us is magnified and may increase the risk of investing in us.

•All of our assets are subject to security interests under our senior securities and if we default on our obligations under our senior securities, we may suffer adverse consequences, including foreclosure on our assets.

•We are subject to risks associated with any revolving credit facility that utilizes a Structured Subsidiary as our interests in any Structured Subsidiary are subordinated and we could be prevented from receiving cash on our equity interests from a Structured Subsidiary.

Risks Related to our Adviser and its Affiliates

•Our Adviser has conflicts of interest that may create an incentive for the Adviser to enter into investments that are riskier or more speculative than would otherwise be the case and our Adviser may have an incentive to increase portfolio leverage in order to earn higher management fees.

•We may be obligated to pay our Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a net loss due to a decline in the value of our portfolio.

•Our Adviser may face conflicts of interest in allocating investment opportunities between us, Main Street and the other funds and accounts managed by our Adviser.

•Our Adviser’s liability is limited under the Investment Advisory Agreement, and we have agreed to indemnify our Adviser against certain liabilities, which may lead our Adviser to act in a riskier manner on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account.

•Our Adviser can resign on 120 days’ notice and we may not be able to find a suitable replacement within that time, resulting in a disruption in our operations that could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations.

Risks Related to BDCs

•Operating under the constraints imposed on us as a BDC and RIC may hinder the achievement of our investment objectives.

Risks Related to our Securities

•Investing in our securities may involve a high degree of risk.

•Our shares of common stock are not listed on an exchange or quoted through a quotation system and may not be listed in the foreseeable future, if ever. Therefore, our stockholders will have limited liquidity and may not receive a full return of their invested capital if they sell their shares of common stock.

•Our share repurchase program allows us to repurchase our stockholders’ shares on a quarterly basis, subject to certain restrictions and limitations. As a result, our stockholders will have limited opportunities to sell their shares and, to the extent they are able to sell their shares under the program, our stockholders may not be able to recover the amount of their investment in our shares.

•Our repurchase offers pursuant to our share repurchase program may be at prices lower than the price paid by our stockholders to purchase our common stock.

•We may not be able to pay distributions to our stockholders, our distributions may not grow over time, and a portion of distributions paid to our stockholders may be a return of capital.

Federal Income Tax Risks

•We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.

•We may have difficulty paying the distributions required to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.

General Risk Factors

•Events outside of our control, including public health crises, supply chain disruptions and inflation, could negatively affect our portfolio companies and the results of our operations.

•We are currently operating in a period of capital markets disruption and economic uncertainty, and capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability in the future.

•Failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations and changes in laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business or cause us to alter our business strategy.

•We are highly dependent on information systems and systems failures could significantly disrupt our business.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND STRUCTURE

Because our Investment Portfolio is recorded at fair value, there is and will continue to be uncertainty as to the value of our portfolio investments.

Under the 1940 Act, we are required to carry our portfolio investments at market value or, if there is no readily available market value, at fair value as determined by us pursuant to procedures established and overseen by our Board of Directors. Typically, there is not a public market for the securities of the privately held companies in which we invest through our Private Loan and LMM investment strategies. As a result, we value these securities quarterly at fair value based on inputs from management and a nationally recognized independent financial advisory services firm (on a rotational basis) pursuant to Valuation Procedures approved by our Board of Directors. In addition, the market for investments in companies that we invest through our Middle Market investment strategy is generally not a liquid market, and therefore, we primarily use a combination of observable inputs in non-active markets for which sufficient observable inputs were not available to determine the fair value of these investments and unobservable inputs, pursuant to our Valuation Procedures. See Note B.1. — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Valuation of the Investment Portfolio included in Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a detailed discussion of our Investment Portfolio valuation process and procedures.

The determination of fair value and consequently, the amount of unrealized gains and losses in our portfolio, are to a certain degree, subjective and dependent on a valuation process approved by our Board of Directors. Certain factors that may be considered in determining the fair value of our investments include external events, such as private mergers, sales and acquisitions involving comparable companies. Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of securities in privately held companies, are inherently uncertain, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these securities existed. Due to this uncertainty, our fair value determinations may cause our NAV on a given date to materially understate or overstate the value that we may ultimately realize on one or more of our investments. As a result, investors purchasing our securities based on an overstated NAV would pay a higher price than the value of our investments might warrant. Conversely, investors selling our securities during a period in which the NAV understates the value of our investments may receive a lower price for their securities than the value of our investments might warrant.

Our financial condition and results of operations depends on our Adviser’s ability to effectively manage and deploy capital.

Our ability to achieve our investment objective of maximizing our portfolio’s total return by generating current income from our debt investments and current income and capital appreciation from our equity and equity-related investments, including warrants, convertible securities and other rights to acquire equity securities in a portfolio company, depends on our Adviser’s ability to effectively manage and deploy capital, which depends, in turn, on our Adviser’s investment team’s ability to identify, evaluate and monitor, and our ability to finance and invest in, companies that meet our investment criteria.

Accomplishing our investment objective on a cost-effective basis is largely a function of our investment team’s handling of the investment process, its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services and our access to investments offering acceptable terms. In addition to monitoring the performance of our existing investments, members of our investment team are also called upon, from time to time, to provide managerial assistance to some of our portfolio companies. These demands on their time may distract them or slow the rate of investment.

Even if we are able to grow and build upon our investment operations, any failure to manage our growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The results of our operations will depend on many factors, including the availability of opportunities for investment, readily accessible short and long-term funding alternatives in the financial markets and economic conditions. Furthermore, if our Adviser cannot successfully operate our business or implement our investment policies and strategies as described herein, it could negatively impact our ability to pay dividends.

We are subject to risks associated with the interest rate environment and changes in interest rates will affect our cost of capital, net investment income and the value of our investments.

To the extent we borrow money or issue debt securities or preferred stock to make investments, our net investment income will depend, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds or pay interest or dividends on such debt securities or preferred stock and the rate at which we invest these funds. In addition, many of our debt investments and borrowings have floating interest rates that reset on a periodic basis, and many of our investments are subject to interest rate floors. As a result, a change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our net investment income. In periods of rising interest rates, our cost of funds will increase because the interest rates on the amounts borrowed under our credit facilities are floating, and any new fixed rate debt may be issued at higher coupon rates, which could reduce our net investment income to the extent any debt investments have either fixed interest rates, or in periods when debt investments with floating interest rates are subject to an interest rate floor above then current levels. In periods of declining interest rates, our interest income and our net investment income could be reduced as the interest income earned on our floating rate debt investments declines and any new fixed rate debt may be issued at lower coupon rates. See further discussion and analysis at Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.

We can use interest rate risk management techniques in an effort to limit our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. Such techniques could include various interest rate hedging activities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and applicable commodities laws. These activities could limit our ability to participate in the benefits of lower interest rates with respect to the hedged borrowings. Adverse developments resulting from changes in interest rates or hedging transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

An increase in the market pricing of the spreads charged over index rates on floating rate investments could lead to a decline in the fair value of the debt securities we own, which would adversely affect our NAV. Also, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make an investment in our common stock less attractive if we are not able to increase our dividends, which could reduce the value of our common stock.

We face increasing competition for investment opportunities.

We compete for investments with other investment funds (including private equity funds, debt funds, mezzanine funds, collateralized loan obligation funds, or CLOs, BDCs and SBICs), as well as traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks and other sources of funding. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, some competitors may have a lower cost of capital and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments than we have. These characteristics could allow our competitors to consider a wider variety of investments, establish more relationships and offer better pricing and more flexible structuring than we are able to do. We may lose investment opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. If we are forced to match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may not be able to achieve acceptable returns on our investments or may bear substantial risk of capital loss. A significant part of our competitive advantage stems from the fact that the market for investments in LMM companies is underserved by traditional commercial banks and other financing sources. A significant increase in the number and/or the size of our competitors in this target market could force us to accept less attractive investment terms. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC.

We are dependent upon our Adviser’s key investment personnel for our future success.

We depend on the members of our Adviser’s investment team, particularly Dwayne L. Hyzak, David L. Magdol, Jesse E. Morris, Jaime Arreola, K. Colton Braud, III, Damian T. Burke, Samuel A. Cashiola, Diego Fernandez and Nicholas T. Meserve for the identification, review, final selection, structuring, closing and monitoring of our investments. These individuals have significant investment expertise and relationships that we rely on to implement our business plan. Although these executive officers and other key personnel have entered into non-compete arrangements with our Adviser or an affiliate of our Adviser, we cannot guarantee that any of these individuals will remain available to us. If we lose the services of the individuals mentioned above, we may not be able to operate our business as we expect, and our ability to compete could be harmed, which could cause our operating results to suffer.

Our success depends on our Adviser’s ability to attract and retain qualified personnel in a competitive environment.

Our growth will require that our Adviser is able to retain new investment and administrative personnel in a competitive market. Our Adviser’s ability to attract and retain personnel with the requisite credentials, experience and skills depends on several factors including, but not limited to, our ability to offer competitive wages, benefits and professional growth opportunities. Many of the entities, including investment funds (such as private equity funds, debt funds and mezzanine funds) and traditional financial services companies, with which our Adviser competes for experienced personnel have greater resources than our Adviser has.

The competitive environment for qualified personnel may require our Adviser to take certain measures to ensure that it is able to attract and retain experienced personnel. Such measures may include increasing the attractiveness of its overall compensation packages, altering the structure of its compensation packages through the use of additional forms of compensation, or other steps. The inability of our Adviser to attract and retain experienced personnel would have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may not replicate the historical results achieved by Main Street or by other entities managed by our Adviser.

Although our primary focus in making investments is similar to that of Main Street, the parent company of our Adviser, we cannot assure stockholders that we will be able to replicate the historical results achieved by Main Street or other investment funds or accounts managed by our Adviser. Because of the differences in our business structure and portfolio composition, our investment returns could be substantially lower than the returns achieved by Main Street or other investment funds or accounts managed by our Adviser in prior periods. Additionally, all or a portion of the prior results may have been achieved in particular market conditions that may never be repeated. Moreover, current or future market volatility and regulatory uncertainty may have an adverse impact on our future performance.

Our business model depends to a significant extent upon strong referral relationships.

We expect that members of our management team will maintain their relationships with intermediaries, financial institutions, investment bankers, commercial bankers, financial advisors, attorneys, accountants, consultants and other individuals within our network, and we will rely to a significant extent upon these relationships to provide us with potential investment opportunities. If our management team fails to maintain its existing relationships or develop new relationships with sources of investment opportunities, we will not be able to grow our Investment Portfolio. In addition, individuals with whom members of our management team have relationships are not obligated to provide us with investment opportunities, and, therefore, there is no assurance that such relationships will generate investment opportunities for us.

Our Board of Directors may change our operating policies and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval, the effects of which may be adverse.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to modify or waive our current operating policies, investment criteria and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current operating policies, investment criteria and strategies would have on our business, NAV, operating results and value of our stock. However, the effects might be adverse, which could negatively impact our ability to pay interest and principal payments to holders of our debt instruments and dividends to our stockholders and cause our investors to lose all or part of their investment in us.

We are a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, and therefore we are not limited with respect to the proportion of our assets that may be invested in securities of a single issuer.

We are classified as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, which means that we are not limited by the 1940 Act with respect to the proportion of our assets that we may invest in securities of a single issuer. Under the 1940 Act, a “diversified” investment company is required to invest at least 75% of the value of its total assets in cash and cash items, government securities, securities of other investment companies and other securities limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the total assets of such company and no more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer. As a non-diversified investment company, we are not subject to this requirement. To the extent that we assume large positions in the securities of a small number of issuers, our NAV may fluctuate to a greater extent than that of a diversified investment company as a result of changes in the financial condition or the market’s assessment of the issuer. We may also be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company. Beyond our RIC asset diversification requirements, we do not have

fixed guidelines for diversification, and our investments could be concentrated in relatively few portfolio companies. See Risk Factors — Federal Income Tax Risks — We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.

We and our portfolio companies may maintain cash balances at financial institutions that exceed federally insured limits and may otherwise be materially affected by adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties.

Cash held by us and by our portfolio companies in non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing operating accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we or our portfolio companies could lose all or a portion of those amounts held in excess of such insurance limitations. In addition, actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, which could adversely affect our and our portfolio companies’ business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

Although we assess our portfolio companies’ banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our and our portfolio companies’ access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our respective current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect us or our portfolio companies, the financial institutions with which we or our portfolio companies have arrangements directly or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which we or our portfolio companies have financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally.

In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us or our portfolio companies to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all.

We are subject to risks related to corporate social responsibility.

Our business faces increasing public scrutiny related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) activities. We risk damage to our brand and reputation if we or our Adviser fail to act responsibly in a number of areas, such as diversity and inclusion, environmental stewardship, support for local communities, corporate governance and transparency and considering ESG factors in our investment processes. Adverse incidents with respect to ESG activities could impact the value of our brand, the cost of our operations and relationships with investors, all of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Additionally, new regulatory initiatives related to ESG could adversely affect our business.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR INVESTMENTS

The types of portfolio companies in which we invest involve significant risks and we could lose all or part of our investment.

Investing in the types of companies that comprise our portfolio companies exposes us to a number of significant risks. Among other things, these companies:

•may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt instruments that we hold, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of us realizing any guarantees from subsidiaries or affiliates of our portfolio companies that we may have obtained in connection with our investment, as well as a corresponding decrease in the value of the equity components of our investments;

•may have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines, smaller market shares and/or significant customer concentrations than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns;

•are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation, termination or significant under-performance of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on our portfolio company and, in turn, on us;

•generally have less predictable operating results, may from time to time be parties to litigation, may be engaged in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence, and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position; and

•generally have less publicly available information about their businesses, operations and financial condition. We are required to rely on the ability of our Adviser’s management team and investment professionals to obtain adequate information to evaluate the potential returns from investing in these companies. If we are unable to uncover all material information about these companies, we may not make a fully informed investment decision, and may lose all or part of our investment.

In addition certain of our officers and directors or officers and directors of our Adviser may serve as directors on the boards of our portfolio companies. To the extent that litigation arises out of our investments in these companies, our officers and directors or officers and directors of our Adviser may be named as defendants in such litigation, which could result in an expenditure of funds (through our indemnification of such officers and directors) and the diversion of management time and resources.

Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies’ performance and defaults by our portfolio companies will harm our operating results.

Many of our portfolio companies are susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and could be unable to repay our loans during these periods. Therefore, the number of non-performing assets are likely to increase and the value of our portfolio is likely to decrease during these periods. Adverse economic conditions could decrease the value of collateral securing any of our loans and the value of any equity investments. A severe recession could further decrease the value of such collateral and result in losses of value in our portfolio and a decrease in our revenues, net income, assets and net worth. Economic slowdowns or recessions could lead to financial losses in our portfolio and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets. Unfavorable economic conditions also could increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. These events could prevent us from increasing our investments and harm our operating results.

Any deterioration of general economic conditions could lead to significant declines in corporate earnings or loan performance, and the ability of corporate borrowers to service their debt, any of which could trigger a period of global economic slowdown, and have an adverse impact on our performance and financial results, and the value and the liquidity of our investments. In an economic downturn, we could have non-performing assets or an increase in non-performing assets, and we would anticipate that the value of our portfolio would decrease during these periods. Failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by lenders, including us, to a portfolio company could lead to defaults and, potentially, acceleration of payments on such loans and foreclosure on the assets representing collateral for the portfolio company’s obligations. Cross default provisions under other agreements could be triggered and thus limit the portfolio company’s ability to satisfy its obligations under any debt that we hold and affect the value of any equity securities we own. We would expect to incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a portfolio company following or in anticipation of a default.

Rising credit spreads could affect the value of our investments, and rising interest rates make it more difficult for portfolio companies to make periodic payments on their loans.

Some of our portfolio investments are debt securities that bear interest at variable rates and may be negatively affected by changes in market interest rates. Rising interest rates make it more difficult for borrowers to repay debt, which could increase the risk of payment defaults and cause the portfolio companies to defer or cancel needed investment. Any failure of one or more portfolio companies to repay or refinance its debt at or prior to maturity or the inability of one or more portfolio companies to make ongoing payments following an increase in contractual interest rates could have a

material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The value of our securities could also be reduced from an increase in market credit spreads as rates available to investors could make an investment in our securities less attractive than alternative investments.

Conversely, decreases in market interest rates could negatively impact the interest income from our variable rate debt investments while the interest we pay on our fixed rate debt securities does not change. A decrease in market interest rates may also have an adverse impact on our returns by requiring us to accept lower yields on our debt investments and by increasing the risk that our portfolio companies will prepay our debt investments, resulting in the need to redeploy capital at potentially lower rates.

Inflation could adversely affect the business, results of operations and financial condition of our portfolio companies.

Certain of our portfolio companies are in industries that could be impacted by inflation. If such portfolio companies are unable to pass any increases in their costs of operations along to their customers, it could adversely affect their operating results and impact their ability to pay dividends on our equity investments and/or interest and principal on our loans, particularly if interest rates rise in response to inflation. In addition, any projected future decreases in our portfolio companies’ operating results due to inflation could adversely impact the fair value of those investments. Any decreases in the fair value of our investments could result in future realized or unrealized losses and therefore reduce our net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations.

We may be exposed to higher risks with respect to our investments that include original issue discount or PIK interest.

Our investments may include original issue discount and contractual PIK interest, which represents contractual interest added to a loan balance and due at the end of such loan’s term. To the extent original issue discount or PIK interest constitute a portion of our income, we are exposed to typical risks associated with such income being required to be included in taxable and accounting income prior to receipt of cash, including the following:

•original issue discount and PIK instruments may have higher yields, which reflect the payment deferral and credit risk associated with these instruments;

•for accounting purposes, cash distributions to investors representing original issue discount income are not derived from paid in capital, although they may be effectively paid from any offering proceeds during any given period; thus, although the source for the cash used to pay a distribution of original issue discount income may come from the cash invested by investors, the 1940 Act does not require that investors be given notice of this fact;

•original issue discount and PIK instruments may have unreliable valuations because their continuing accruals require continuing judgments about the collectability of the deferred payments and the value of the collateral; and

•original issue discount and PIK instruments may represent a higher credit risk than coupon loans; even if the conditions for income accrual under U.S. GAAP are satisfied, a borrower could still default when actual payment is due upon the maturity of such loan.

The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.

We generally invest in companies whose securities are not publicly traded and whose securities will be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or will otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of these investments may make it difficult for us to sell these investments when desired. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we had previously recorded these investments. As a result, we do not expect to achieve liquidity in our investments in the near-term. Our investments are usually subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale or are otherwise illiquid because there is usually no established trading market for such investments. The illiquidity of most of our investments may make it difficult for us to dispose of them at a favorable price and, as a result, we may suffer losses.

We may not have the funds or ability to make additional investments in our portfolio companies.

We may not have the funds or ability to make additional investments in our portfolio companies. After our initial investment in a portfolio company, we may be called upon from time to time to provide additional funds to such company or have the opportunity to increase our investment through the extension of additional loans, the exercise of a warrant to

purchase equity securities, or the funding of additional equity investments. There is no assurance that we will make, or will have sufficient funds to make, follow-on investments. Any decisions not to make a follow-on investment or any inability on our part to make such an investment may have a negative impact on a portfolio company in need of such an investment, may result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful operation, may reduce our ability to protect an existing investment or may reduce the expected yield on the investment.

There may be circumstances where our debt investments could be subordinated to claims of other creditors or we could be subject to lender liability claims.

Our portfolio companies may have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, the debt in which we invest. By their terms, such debt instruments may entitle the holders to receive payment of interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments with respect to the debt instruments in which we invest. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, holders of debt instruments ranking senior to our investment in that portfolio company would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution. After repaying such senior creditors, such portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of debt ranking equally with debt instruments in which we invest, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other creditors holding such debt in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant portfolio company.

Even if our investment is structured as a senior-secured loan, principles of equitable subordination, as defined by existing case law, could lead a bankruptcy court to subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors and transfer any lien securing such subordinated claim to the bankruptcy estate. The principles of equitable subordination defined by case law have generally indicated that a claim may be subordinated only if its holder is guilty of misconduct or where the senior loan is re-characterized as an equity investment and the senior lender has actually provided significant managerial assistance to the bankrupt debtor. We may also be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by us with respect to a borrower’s business or instances where we exercise control over the borrower. It is possible that we could become subject to a lender liability claim, including as a result of actions taken in rendering significant managerial assistance or actions to compel and collect payments from the borrower outside the ordinary course of business.

We generally will not control our portfolio companies.

We do not, and do not expect to, control the decision making in many of our portfolio companies, even though we may have board representation or board observation rights, and our debt agreements may contain certain restrictive covenants. As a result, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company in which we invest will make business decisions with which we disagree and the management of such company will take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests as debt investors or minority equity holders. Due to the lack of liquidity for our investments in non-traded companies, we may not be able to dispose of our interests in our portfolio companies as readily as we would like or at an appropriate valuation. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that would decrease the value of our portfolio holdings.

Defaults by our portfolio companies will harm our operating results.

A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to non-payment of interest and other defaults and, potentially, termination of its loans and foreclosure on its secured assets, which could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize a portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt or equity securities that we hold. We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms, which may include the waiver of certain financial covenants, with a defaulting portfolio company.

Any unrealized depreciation that we experience in our portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income and gains available for distribution.

As a BDC, we are required to carry our investments at market value or, if no market value is ascertainable, at the fair value as determined in accordance with our Valuation Procedures adopted pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act. Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments will be recorded as unrealized depreciation. Any unrealized depreciation in our portfolio could be an indication of a portfolio company’s inability to meet its repayment obligations to us with respect to affected loans or a potential impairment of the value of affected equity investments. This

could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our income and gains available for distribution in future periods.

Prepayments of our debt investments by our portfolio companies could adversely impact our results of operations and reduce our return on equity.

We are subject to the risk that the investments we make in our portfolio companies may be repaid prior to maturity. When this occurs, we will generally reinvest these proceeds in temporary investments, pending their future investment in new portfolio companies. These temporary investments will typically have substantially lower yields than the debt being prepaid and we could experience significant delays in reinvesting these amounts. Any future investment in a new portfolio company may also be at lower yields than the debt that was repaid. As a result, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected if one or more of our portfolio companies elect to prepay amounts owed to us. Additionally, prepayments could negatively impact our return on equity, which could result in a decline in the market price of our securities.

The discontinuation and replacement of LIBOR may adversely affect the value of floating-rate debt securities in our portfolio or issued by us.

As of June 30, 2023, no settings of LIBOR continue to be published on a representative basis and publication of many non-U.S. dollar LIBOR settings have been entirely discontinued. On July 29, 2021, the U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, recommended replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with alternative reference rates based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). SOFR significantly differs from LIBOR, both in the actual rate and how it is calculated. Further, on March 15, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which includes the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (“LIBOR Act”), was signed into law in the United States. This legislation established a uniform benchmark replacement process for certain financial contracts that mature after June 30, 2023 that do not contain clearly defined or practicable LIBOR fallback provisions. The legislation also created a safe harbor that shields lenders from litigation if they choose to utilize a replacement rate recommended by the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve. In addition, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the publisher of LIBOR (ICR Benchmark Administration) has announced that it required the continued publication of one, three and six month tenors of U.S. dollar LIBOR on a non-representative synthetic basis until the end of September 2024, which may result in certain non-U.S. law-governed contracts and U.S. law-governed contracts not being covered by the federal legislation remaining on synthetic U.S. dollar LIBOR until the end of this period. The transition from LIBOR as a result of certain statutory regimes (e.g., N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 18-401 or the Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act) or the use of synthetic LIBOR in floating-rate debt securities in our portfolio or issued by us and could have a material and adverse impact on the value or liquidity of those instruments.

Given the inherent difference between LIBOR and SOFR, or any other alternative benchmark rate established, there are many uncertainties regarding a transition from LIBOR, including, but not limited to, the need to amend contracts which continue to reference LIBOR and how the transition from LIBOR will impact the cost of variable rate debt and certain derivative financial instruments. In addition, SOFR or other replacement rates may fail to gain market acceptance. Any failure of SOFR or alternative reference rates to gain market acceptance could adversely affect the return on or value of the market for securities linked to such rates. The elimination of LIBOR, the replacement of LIBOR with any alternative reference rate, such as SOFR (or an alternative reference rate based on SOFR) or any other changes or reforms to floating rate benchmarks could have an adverse impact on the market value of and/or transfer ability of any floating-rate debt securities in our portfolio or issued by us.

The IRS has issued regulations regarding the tax consequences of the transition from LIBOR or another interbank offered rate (“IBOR”) to a new reference rate in debt instruments and non-debt contracts. Under the regulations, alteration or modification of the terms of a debt instrument to replace an operative rate that uses a discontinued IBOR with a qualified rate (as defined in the regulations) including true up payments equalizing the fair market value of contracts before and after such IBOR transition, to add a qualified rate as a fallback rate to a contract whose operative rate uses a discontinued IBOR or to replace a fallback rate that uses a discontinued IBOR with a qualified rate would not be taxable. The IRS may provide additional guidance, with potential retroactive effect.

We may be subject to risks associated with “covenant-lite” loans.

Some of the loans in which we invest may be “covenant-lite” loans, which means the loans contain fewer maintenance covenants than other loans (in some cases, none) and do not include terms which allow the lender to monitor the performance of the borrower and declare a default if certain criteria are breached. Generally, “covenant-lite” loans provide borrower companies more freedom to negatively impact lenders because their covenants are incurrence-based, which means they are only tested and can only be breached following an affirmative action of the borrower, rather than by a deterioration in the borrower’s financial condition. To the extent we invest in covenant-lite loans, we may have fewer rights against a borrower and may have a greater risk of loss on such investments as compared to investments in loans with finance maintenance covenants.

We may not realize gains from our equity investments.

Certain investments that we have made in the past and may make in the future include warrants or other equity securities. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including the risk of further dilution as a result of additional issuances, inability to access additional capital and failure to pay current distributions. Investments in preferred securities involve special risks, such as the risk of deferred distributions, credit risk, illiquidity and limited voting rights. In addition, we may from time to time make non-control, equity investments in portfolio companies. Our goal is ultimately to realize gains upon our disposition of such equity interests. However, the equity interests we receive may not appreciate in value and, in fact, may decline in value. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains from our equity interests, and any gains that we do realize on the disposition of any equity interests may not be sufficient to offset any other losses we experience. We also may be unable to realize any value if a portfolio company does not have a liquidity event, such as a sale of the business, recapitalization or public offering, which would allow us to sell the underlying equity interests. We often seek puts or similar rights to give us the right to sell our equity securities back to the portfolio company issuer; however, we may be unable to exercise these put rights for the consideration provided in our investment documents if the issuer is in financial distress.

Our investments in foreign securities may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.

Our investment strategy contemplates potential investments in debt securities of foreign companies. Investing in foreign companies may expose us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. companies. These risks include changes in exchange control regulations, political and social instability, expropriation, imposition of foreign taxes, less liquid markets and less available information than is generally the case in the U.S., higher transaction costs, less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers, less developed bankruptcy laws, difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations, lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards and greater price volatility.

Although most of our investments will be U.S. dollar denominated, any investments denominated in a foreign currency will be subject to the risk that the value of a particular currency will change in relation to one or more other currencies. Among the factors that may affect currency values are trade balances, the level of short-term interest rates, differences in relative values of similar assets in different currencies, long-term opportunities for investment and capital appreciation, and political developments.

RISKS RELATED TO LEVERAGE

Because we borrow money, the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested in us is magnified and may increase the risk of investing in us.

Borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for loss on investments in our indebtedness and gain or loss on investments in our equity capital. As we use leverage to partially finance our investments, you will experience increased risks of investing in our securities. Accordingly, any event that adversely affects the value of an investment would be magnified to the extent we use leverage. Such events could result in a substantial loss to us, which would be greater than if leverage had not been used. In addition, our investment objectives are dependent on the continued availability of leverage at attractive relative interest rates.

We may also borrow from banks and other lenders and may issue debt securities or enter into other types of borrowing arrangements in the future. Lenders of these senior securities will have fixed dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders, and we would expect such lenders to seek recovery against our assets in the event of a default. We have the ability to pledge up to 100% of our assets and can grant a security interest in all of

our assets under the terms of any debt instruments we could enter into with lenders. The terms of our existing indebtedness require us to comply with certain financial and operational covenants, and we expect similar covenants in future debt instruments. Failure to comply with such covenants could result in a default under the applicable credit facility or debt instrument if we are unable to obtain a waiver from the applicable lender or holder, and such lender or holder could accelerate repayment under such indebtedness and negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, under the terms of any credit facility or other debt instrument we enter into, in the event of a default, we are likely to be required by its terms to use the net proceeds of any investments that we sell to repay a portion of the amount borrowed under such facility or instrument before applying such net proceeds to any other uses. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Capital Resources for a discussion regarding our outstanding indebtedness.

If the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause NAV to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged our business. Similarly, any decrease in our income would cause net investment income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged our business. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to pay common stock dividends, scheduled debt payments or other payments related to our securities.

Illustration: The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing below.


Assumed Return on Our Portfolio(1) (net of expenses)	(10.0)%	(5.0)%	0.0%	5.0%	10.0%
Corresponding Net Return to Common Stock Holder(2)	(23.8)%	(14.7)%	(5.5)%	3.6%	12.8%

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(1)Assumes, as of December 31, 2023, $1,139.9 million in total assets, $485.7 million in debt outstanding, $622.3 million in net assets and a weighted-average interest rate of 7.1%. Actual interest payments may be different.

(2)In order for us to cover our annual interest payments on indebtedness, we must achieve annual returns on our December 31, 2023 total assets of at least 3.0%.

Our ability to achieve our investment objective may depend in part on our ability to access additional leverage on favorable terms and there can be no assurance that such additional leverage can in fact be achieved. If we are unable to obtain leverage or if the interest rates of such leverage are not attractive, we could experience diminished returns. The number of leverage providers and the total amount of financing available could decrease or remain static.

All of our assets are subject to security interests under our senior securities and if we default on our obligations under our senior securities, we may suffer adverse consequences, including foreclosure on our assets.

Substantially all of our assets are currently pledged as collateral under our senior securities, including any credit facilities or notes. If we default on our obligations under our senior securities, our lenders may have the right to foreclose upon and sell, or otherwise transfer, the collateral subject to their security interests or their superior claim. In such event, we may be forced to sell our investments to raise funds to repay our outstanding borrowings in order to avoid foreclosure and these forced sales may be at times and at prices we would not consider advantageous. Moreover, such deleveraging of our company could significantly impair our ability to effectively operate our business in the manner in which we have historically operated. As a result, we could be forced to curtail or cease new investment activities and lower or eliminate the dividends that we have historically paid to our stockholders. In addition, if the lenders exercise their right to sell the assets pledged under our senior securities, such sales may be completed at distressed sale prices, thereby diminishing or potentially eliminating the amount of cash available to us after repayment of the amounts outstanding under the senior securities.

If our operating performance declines and we are not able to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations, we may in the future need to refinance or restructure our debt, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, seek to raise additional capital or seek to obtain waivers from the required lenders under our senior securities to avoid being in default. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may not be able to meet our payment obligations under our senior securities. If we breach our covenants under our senior securities and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required lenders or debt holders. If this occurs, we would be in default under our

senior securities, the lenders or debt holders could exercise their rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay debt, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because certain of our senior securities have customary cross-default provisions, if the indebtedness under our senior securities is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.

We are subject to risks associated with any revolving credit facility that utilizes a Structured Subsidiary as our interests in any Structured Subsidiary are subordinated and we could be prevented from receiving cash on our equity interests from a Structured Subsidiary.

We own directly or indirectly 100% of the equity interests in MSIF Funding, LLC (“MSIF Funding”), a special purpose Structured Subsidiary utilized in our senior secured special purpose vehicle revolving credit facility (the “SPV Facility”). We consolidate the financial statements of the MSIF Funding in our consolidated financial statements and treat the indebtedness under the SPV Facility as our leverage. Our interest in MSIF Funding is subordinated in priority of payment to every other obligation of MSIF Funding and is subject to certain payment restrictions set forth in the SPV Facility.

We receive cash from MSIF Funding only to the extent that we receive distributions on our equity interests therein. MSIF Funding could make distributions on its equity interests only to the extent permitted by the payment priority provisions of the SPV Facility. The SPV Facility generally provides that payments on the respective interests could not be made on any payment date unless all amounts owing to the lenders and other secured parties are paid in full. In addition, if MSIF Funding does not meet the leverage and borrowing base requirements set forth in the agreement governing the SPV Facility, a default could occur. In the event of a default under the SPV Facility credit agreement, cash would be diverted from us to pay the applicable lenders and other secured parties in amounts sufficient to cause such tests to be satisfied. In the event that we fail to receive cash from MSIF Funding, we could be unable to make distributions to our stockholders in amounts sufficient to maintain our status as a RIC, or at all. We also could be forced to sell investments in portfolio companies at less than their fair value in order to continue making such distributions. We cannot assure you that distributions on the assets held by MSIF Funding will be sufficient to make any distributions to us or that such distributions will meet our expectations.

Our equity interest in MSIF Funding ranks behind all of the secured and unsecured creditors, known or unknown, including the lenders in the SPV Facility. Consequently, to the extent that the value of MSIF Funding’s portfolio of loan investments has been reduced as a result of conditions in the credit markets, defaulted loans, capital gains and losses on the underlying assets, prepayment or changes in interest rates, the returns on our investments in MSIF Funding could be reduced. Accordingly, our investments in MSIF Funding could be subject to up to 100% loss.

The ability to sell investments held by a Structured Subsidiary is limited.

The credit agreement governing the SPV Facility places significant restrictions on our ability, as servicer, to sell investments. As a result, there could be times or circumstances during which we are unable to sell investments or take other actions that might be in our best interests.

We may invest in derivatives or other assets that expose us to certain risks, including market risk, liquidity risk and other risks similar to those associated with the use of leverage.

We may invest in derivatives and other assets that are subject to many of the same types of risks related to the use of leverage. Derivative transactions, if any, will generally create leverage for us and involve significant risks. The primary risks related to derivative transactions include counterparty, correlation, liquidity, leverage, volatility, over-the-counter trading, operational and legal risks. In addition, a small investment in derivatives could have a large potential impact on our performance, effecting a form of investment leverage on our portfolio. In certain types of derivative transactions, we could lose the entire amount of our investment; in other types of derivative transactions the potential loss is theoretically unlimited.

Under SEC Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”), related to use of derivatives, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements and certain other transactions by registered investment companies, we are permitted to enter into derivatives and other transactions that create future payment or delivery obligations, including short sales, notwithstanding the senior security provision of the 1940 Act if we comply with certain value-at-risk leverage limits, a derivatives risk management program and board oversight and reporting requirements or comply with a “limited derivatives users” exception. Rule 18f-4 also permits us to enter into reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions

notwithstanding the senior security provision of the 1940 Act if we aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with our reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the aggregate amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness when calculating the asset coverage ratios as discussed herein. In addition, we are permitted to invest in a security on a when-issued or forward-settling basis, or with a non-standard settlement cycle, and the transaction will be deemed not to involve a senior security under the 1940 Act, provided that (i) we intend to physically settle the transaction and (ii) the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision”). We may otherwise engage in such transaction as a “derivatives transaction” for purposes of compliance with the rule. Furthermore, we are permitted to enter into an unfunded commitment agreement, and such unfunded commitment agreement will not be subject to the asset coverage requirements under the 1940 Act if we reasonably believe, at the time we enter into such agreement, that we will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet our obligations with respect to all such agreements as they come due. We cannot predict the effects of these requirements.

We have adopted updated policies and procedures in compliance with Rule 18f-4. We expect to qualify as a “limited derivatives user.” Future legislation or rules may modify how we treat derivatives and other financial arrangements for purposes of our compliance with the leverage limitations of the 1940 Act. Future legislation or rules may modify how leverage is calculated under the 1940 Act and, therefore, may increase or decrease the amount of leverage currently available to us under the 1940 Act, which may be materially adverse to us and our investors.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES

Our Adviser has conflicts of interest that may create an incentive for the Adviser to enter into investments that are riskier or more speculative than would otherwise be the case and our Adviser may have an incentive to increase portfolio leverage in order to earn higher management fees.

Our Adviser and its affiliates, including our officers, may have conflicts of interest as a result of compensation arrangements, time constraints and competition for investments, which they will attempt to resolve in a fair and equitable manner, but which may result in actions that are not in the best interests of our stockholders. Our Adviser receives substantial fees from us in return for its services and these fees could influence the investment and other decisions they make on our behalf. Among other matters, the compensation arrangements could affect its judgment with respect to public offerings of equity by us, which may allow our Adviser to earn increased management fees.

The incentive fee payable by us to our Adviser may create an incentive for it to make investments on our behalf that are risky or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The way in which the incentive fee payable to our Adviser is determined may encourage it to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. In addition, the fact that our management fee is payable based upon our gross assets, which includes any borrowings for investment purposes, may encourage our Adviser to use leverage to make additional investments. Under certain circumstances, the use of leverage (or an investment in companies that are highly leveraged) may increase the likelihood of default, which would result in higher investment losses.

We may be obligated to pay our Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a net loss due to a decline in the value of our portfolio.

The Investment Advisory Agreement entitles our Adviser to receive incentive compensation on income regardless of any capital losses. In such case, we may be required to pay our Adviser incentive compensation for a fiscal quarter even if there is a decline in the value of our portfolio or if we incur a net loss for that quarter.

Any incentive fee payable by us that relates to our net investment income may be computed and paid on income that may include interest that has been accrued but not yet received. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan that is structured to provide accrued interest, it is possible that accrued interest previously included in the calculation of the incentive fee will become uncollectible. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, our Adviser will not be under any obligation to reimburse us for any part of the incentive fee it received that was based on accrued income that we never received in cash as a result of a default by an entity on the obligation that resulted in the accrual of such income and such circumstances would result in our paying an incentive fee on income we never received.

Our Adviser may face conflicts of interest in allocating investment opportunities between us, Main Street and the other funds and accounts managed by our Adviser.

The investment professionals utilized by our Adviser are also the investment professionals responsible for investing and managing Main Street’s investment portfolio as well as the investment portfolios of other funds and accounts managed by our Adviser. These professionals are responsible for allocating investment opportunities between us, Main Street and other funds and accounts managed by it. We have made and, in the future, intend to make co-investments with Main Street and other funds or clients advised by the Adviser in accordance with the conditions of an exemptive relief order from the SEC permitting such co-investment transactions. The order requires, among other things, that Main Street and the Adviser consider whether each such investment opportunity is appropriate for us, Main Street and the Adviser’s advised clients and, if it is appropriate, to propose an allocation of the investment opportunity between such other parties. As a consequence, it may be more difficult for us to maintain or increase the size of our Investment Portfolio in the future. Although the Adviser and Main Street will endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, including in accordance with the conditions set forth in the order issued by the SEC when relying on such order, we may face conflicts in allocating investment opportunities between us, Main Street and other funds and accounts managed by the Adviser. Because our Adviser may receive performance-based fee compensation from the other funds and accounts it manages, this may provide our Adviser an incentive to allocate opportunities to other funds and accounts our Adviser manages, instead of us. Our Adviser and Main Street have implemented an allocation policy to ensure the equitable distribution of investment opportunities and, as a result, we may be unable to participate in certain investments based upon such allocation policy.

Our Adviser’s liability is limited under the Investment Advisory Agreement, and we have agreed to indemnify our Adviser against certain liabilities, which may lead our Adviser to act in a riskier manner on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account.

Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, our Adviser and officers, directors, employees, agents and certain other affiliates are not liable to us for acts or omissions performed by our Adviser in accordance with and pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, except those resulting from acts constituting negligence, willful misfeasance, bad faith or misconduct. In addition, we have agreed to indemnify our Adviser and officers, directors, employees, agents and certain other affiliates from and against any claims or liabilities, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of or in connection with any action taken or omitted on our behalf pursuant to authority granted by the Investment Advisory Agreement, except where attributable to gross negligence, willful misfeasance, bad faith or misconduct. These protections may lead our Adviser to act in a riskier manner when acting on our behalf than they would when acting for their own account.

Our Adviser can resign on 120 days’ notice and we may not be able to find a suitable replacement within that time, resulting in a disruption in our operations that could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations.

Our Adviser has the right, under the Investment Advisory Agreement, to resign at any time upon not less than 120 days’ written notice, whether we have found a replacement or not. If our Adviser resigns, we may not be able to find a replacement or hire internal management with similar expertise and ability to provide the same or equivalent services on acceptable terms within 120 days or at all. If we are unable to do so quickly, our operations are likely to experience a disruption, our financial condition, business and results of operations as well as our ability to pay distributions are likely to be adversely affected and the value of our shares may decline. Even if we are able to retain comparable management, whether internal or external, the integration of such management and their lack of familiarity with our investment objective may result in additional costs and time delays that may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

RISKS RELATED TO BDCs

Failure to maintain our status as a BDC would reduce our operating flexibility.

If we do not remain a BDC, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to substantially more regulatory restrictions under the 1940 Act and correspondingly decrease our operating flexibility.

Operating under the constraints imposed on us as a BDC and RIC may hinder the achievement of our investment objectives.

The 1940 Act and the Code impose numerous constraints on the operations of BDCs and RICs that do not apply to certain of the other investment vehicles that we may compete with. BDCs are required, for example, to invest at least 70% of their total assets in certain qualifying assets, including U.S. private or thinly traded public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality debt instruments that mature in one year or less from the date of investment. Moreover, qualification for taxation as a RIC requires satisfaction of source-of-income, asset diversification and distribution requirements. Operating under these constraints may hinder our ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to achieve our investment objective. Any failure to do so could subject us to enforcement action by the SEC, cause us to fail to satisfy the requirements associated with RIC status and subject us to entity-level corporate income taxation, cause us to fail the 70% test described above or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Regulations governing our operation as a BDC will affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.

Our business will require capital to operate and grow. We may acquire such additional capital from the following sources:

Senior Securities

We may issue debt securities or preferred stock and/or borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, which we refer to collectively as senior securities. As a result of issuing senior securities, we will be exposed to additional risks, including the following:

•Under the provisions of the 1940 Act, we are permitted, as a BDC, to issue senior securities only in amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% (or 150% if certain requirements are met) immediately after each issuance of senior securities. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy this test. If that happens, we will be prohibited from issuing debt securities or preferred stock and/or borrowing money from banks or other financial institutions and may not be permitted to declare a dividend or make any distribution to stockholders or repurchase shares until such time as we satisfy this test.

•Any amounts that we use to service our debt or make payments on preferred stock will not be available for dividends to our common stockholders.

•It is likely that any senior securities or other indebtedness we issue will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, some of these securities or other indebtedness may be rated by rating agencies, and in obtaining a rating for such securities and other indebtedness, we may be required to abide by operating and investment guidelines that further restrict operating and financial flexibility.

•We and, indirectly, our stockholders will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such securities and other indebtedness.

•Preferred stock or any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock, including separate voting rights and could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control to the detriment of the holders of our common stock.

•Any unsecured debt issued by us would generally rank (i) pari passu with our current and future unsecured indebtedness and effectively subordinated to all of our existing and future secured indebtedness, to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness, and (ii) structurally subordinated to all existing and future indebtedness and other obligations of any of our subsidiaries.

Additional Common Stock

We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below NAV per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the current NAV of the common stock if our Board of Directors determines that such sale is in the best interests of our stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. Moreover, we can offer no assurance that we will be able to issue and sell additional equity securities in the future, on favorable terms or at all.

Previously enacted legislation may allow us to incur additional leverage.

The 1940 Act generally prohibits us from incurring indebtedness unless immediately after such borrowing we have an asset coverage for total borrowings of at least 200% (i.e., the amount of debt may not exceed 50% of the value of our assets). However, legislation passed in March 2018 modified the 1940 Act by allowing a BDC to increase the maximum amount of leverage it may incur by lowering the required asset coverage ratio of 200% to an asset coverage ratio of 150% (i.e., the amount of debt may not exceed 662/3% of the value of our assets), if certain requirements are met. Under the legislation, we are allowed to increase our leverage capacity if stockholders representing at least a majority of the votes cast, when a quorum is met, approve a proposal to do so. If we receive stockholder approval, we would be allowed to increase our leverage capacity on the first day after such approval. Alternatively, the legislation allows a “required majority” (as defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act) of the members of our Board of Directors to approve an increase in our leverage capacity, and such approval would become effective after one year from the date of approval. In either case, because our common stock is not listed on a national securities exchange, we would be required to offer to repurchase 100% of the shares of our stockholders as of the date of the requisite approval over the following year (25% in each of the following four quarters). In addition, we would be required to make certain disclosures on our website and in SEC filings regarding, among other things, the receipt of approval to increase our leverage, our leverage capacity and usage, and risks related to leverage. As a result of this legislation, we may be able to increase our leverage up to an amount that reduces our asset coverage ratio from 200% to 150%. See Risk Factors — Risks Related to Leverage — Because we borrow money, the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested in us is magnified and may increase the risk of investing in us for a discussion of the risks associated with leverage.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR SECURITIES

Investing in our securities may involve a high degree of risk.

The investments we make in accordance with our investment objective may result in a higher amount of risk than alternative investment options and a higher risk of volatility or loss of principal. Our investments in portfolio companies involve higher levels of risk, and therefore, an investment in our securities may not be suitable for someone with lower risk tolerance.

Our shares of common stock are not listed on an exchange or quoted through a quotation system and may not be listed in the foreseeable future, if ever. Therefore, our stockholders will have limited liquidity and may not receive a full return of their invested capital if they sell their shares of common stock.

Our shares of common stock are illiquid assets for which there is not a secondary market, nor is it expected that any secondary market will develop in the future. We intend to explore potential liquidity event for our stockholders from time to time. However, there can be no assurance that we will complete a liquidity event.

If our shares of common stock are listed, stockholders cannot be assured a public trading market will develop. Since a portion of the offering price from any sale of common stock will be used to pay expenses and fees, the full offering price paid by stockholders will not be invested in portfolio companies. As a result, even if we do complete a liquidity event, stockholders may not receive a return of all of their invested capital.

Stockholders should also be aware that shares of publicly traded closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, may trade at a discount to their NAV. If our shares of common stock are eventually listed on a national securities exchange, we would not be able to predict whether our common stock would trade above, at or below NAV per share. This risk is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share may decline.

Our share repurchase program allows us to repurchase our stockholders’ shares on a quarterly basis, subject to certain restrictions and limitations. As a result, our stockholders will have limited opportunities to sell their shares and, to the

extent they are able to sell their shares under the program, our stockholders may not be able to recover the amount of their investment in our shares.

We have a share repurchase program that currently allows us to repurchase during any calendar quarter shares of common stock in an amount equal to the number of shares we can repurchase with 90% of the proceeds we receive from the issuance of shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan. Our Board of Directors may amend, suspend or terminate the share repurchase program at any time.

Our share repurchase program allows stockholders to sell back their shares of common stock to us on a quarterly basis at a price equal to the NAV per share, as determined within 48 hours of the repurchase date. The share repurchase program includes numerous restrictions that limit stockholders’ the ability to sell shares back to us. At the discretion of our Board of Directors, we may make changes to the share repurchase program without prior stockholder approval. To the extent that the number of shares put to us for repurchase exceeds the number of shares that we offered to purchase, we will repurchase shares on a pro-rata basis, subject to limited exceptions, not on a first-come, first-served basis. Further, we will have no obligation to repurchase shares if the repurchase would violate the restrictions on distributions under federal law or Maryland law, which prohibit distributions that would cause a corporation to fail to meet statutory tests of solvency. These limits may prevent us from accommodating all repurchase requests made in any quarter. In addition, our Board of Directors may suspend or terminate the share repurchase program and therefore should not be relied upon as a method to sell shares promptly and at a desired price.

Our repurchase offers pursuant to our share repurchase program may be at prices lower than the price paid by our stockholders to purchase our common stock.

When we make quarterly repurchase offers pursuant to the share repurchase program, we offer to repurchase shares of common stock at the NAV per share, as determined within 48 hours prior to the repurchase date. As a result, to the extent an investor paid an offering price that included the related sales load, then the price at which such investor may sell shares of common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program may be lower than what such investor paid in connection with the purchase of shares of common stock.

We may not be able to pay distributions to our stockholders, our distributions may not grow over time, and a portion of distributions paid to our stockholders may be a return of capital.

We intend to pay distributions to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. We cannot assure you that we will achieve investment results that will allow us to pay a specified level of cash distributions, previously projected distributions for future periods, or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. Our ability to pay distributions might be adversely affected by, among other things, the impact of one or more of the risk factors described herein. In addition, the inability to satisfy the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC could limit our ability to pay distributions. All distributions will be paid at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, maintenance of our RIC status, compliance with applicable BDC regulations, compliance with our debt covenants and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time. We cannot assure you that we will pay distributions to our stockholders in the future.

When we make distributions, we will be required to determine the extent to which such distributions are paid out of current or accumulated taxable earnings, recognized capital gains or capital. To the extent there is a return of capital, investors will be required to reduce their basis in our stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which may result in higher tax liability when the shares are sold, even if they have not increased in value or have lost value. In addition, any return of capital will be net of any sales load and offering expenses associated with sales of shares of our common stock. In the future, our distributions may include a return of capital.

Our common stockholders’ interest in us will be diluted if we issue additional shares, which could reduce the overall value of their investment.

Our investors do not have preemptive rights to any shares we issue in the future. Our Articles of Incorporation authorize us to issue 450,000,000 shares of common stock. Pursuant to our Articles of Incorporation, a majority of our entire Board of Directors may amend our Articles of Incorporation from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of authorized shares of stock of any class or series without stockholder approval. Our Board of Directors may elect to sell additional shares in future public offerings or issue equity interests in private offerings. To the extent we issue additional equity interests, our stockholders’ percentage ownership interest in us

will be diluted. In addition, depending upon the terms and pricing of any additional offerings and the value of our investments, stockholders may also experience dilution in the book value and fair value of their shares of common stock.

Our stockholders could experience dilution in their ownership percentage if they do not participate in our dividend reinvestment plan.

All dividends declared to stockholders that have “opted in” to our dividend reinvestment plan are automatically reinvested in shares of our common stock. As a result, our stockholders that do not participate in our dividend reinvestment plan could experience dilution in their ownership percentage of our common stock over time if we issue additional shares of our common stock.

Provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law and our articles of incorporation and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

The Maryland General Corporation Law and our articles of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or making difficult a change in control of our company or the removal of our incumbent directors. The existence of these provisions, among others, may have a negative impact on the price of our common stock and may discourage third-party bids for ownership of our company. These provisions may prevent any premiums being offered to you for our common stock.

We may in the future determine to issue preferred stock, which could adversely affect the value of our common stock.

The issuance of shares of preferred stock with dividend or conversion rights, liquidation preferences or other economic terms favorable to the holders of preferred stock could adversely affect the value for our common stock by making an investment in the common stock less attractive. In addition, the dividends on any preferred stock we issue must be cumulative. Payment of dividends and repayment of the liquidation preference of preferred stock must take preference over any dividends or other payments to our common stockholders, and holders of preferred stock are not subject to any of our expenses or losses and are not entitled to participate in any income or appreciation in excess of their stated preference (other than convertible preferred stock that converts into common stock). In addition, under the 1940 Act, preferred stock constitutes a “senior security” for purposes of the asset coverage test.

FEDERAL INCOME TAX RISKS

We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.

To maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code, we must meet the following annual distribution, income source and asset diversification requirements:

•The Annual Distribution Requirement for a RIC will be satisfied if we distribute to our stockholders on an annual basis at least 90% of our net ordinary taxable income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any. Depending on the level of taxable income earned in a tax year, we may choose to carry forward taxable income in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year and pay a 4% U.S. federal excise tax on such income. Any such carryover taxable income must be distributed through a dividend declared prior to filing the final tax return related to the year which generated such taxable income. For more information regarding tax treatment, see Business — Regulation — Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company. Because we use debt financing, we are subject to certain asset coverage ratio requirements under the 1940 Act and are (and may in the future become) subject to certain financial covenants under loan and credit agreements that could, under certain circumstances, restrict us from making distributions necessary to satisfy the distribution requirement. In addition, because we receive non-cash sources of income such as PIK interest which involves us recognizing taxable income without receiving the cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the distribution requirement. If we are unable to obtain cash from other sources, we could fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax.

•The source-of-income requirement will be satisfied if we obtain at least 90% of our gross income for each year from distributions, interest, gains from the sale of stock or securities or similar sources.

•The asset diversification requirement will be satisfied if we meet certain asset diversification requirements at the end of each quarter of our taxable year. To satisfy this requirement, at least 50% of the value of our assets must consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other acceptable securities; and no more than 25% of the value of our assets can be invested in the securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, (i) of one issuer, (ii) of two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable Code rules, by us and that are engaged in the same or similar or related trades or businesses or (iii) of certain “qualified publicly traded partnerships.”

Failure to meet these requirements may result in our having to dispose of certain investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC status. Because most of our investments are in privately held companies, and therefore illiquid, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and could result in substantial losses. Moreover, if we fail to maintain RIC tax treatment for any reason and are subject to corporate income tax, the resulting corporate taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions.

We may have difficulty paying the distributions required to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.

We will include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as: (i) amortization of original issue discount, which may arise if we receive warrants in connection with the origination of a loan such that ascribing a value to the warrants creates original issue discount in the debt instrument, if we invest in a debt investment at a discount to the par value of the debt security or possibly in other circumstances; (ii) contractual payment-in-kind, or PIK, interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term; (iii) contractual preferred dividends, which represents contractual dividends added to the preferred stock and due at the end of the preferred stock term, subject to adequate profitability at the portfolio company; or (iv) amortization of market discount, which is associated with loans purchased in the secondary market at a discount to par value. Such amortization of original issue discounts increases in loan balances as a result of contractual PIK arrangements, cumulative preferred dividends, or amortization of market discount will be included in income before we receive the corresponding cash payments. We also may be required to include in income certain other amounts before we receive such amounts in cash. Investments structured with these features may represent a higher level of credit risk compared to investments generating income which must be paid in cash on a current basis.

Since, in certain cases, we may recognize taxable income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the Annual Distribution Requirement necessary to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our investments at times and/or at prices we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or forgo new investment opportunities for this purpose. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax. For additional discussion regarding the tax implications of a RIC, please see Item 1. Business — Regulation — Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company.

We may in the future choose to pay dividends in our own stock, in which case you may be required to pay tax in excess of the cash you receive.

We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in part in our stock. Under certain applicable provisions of the Code and the Treasury regulations, distributions payable by us in cash or in shares of stock (at the stockholders’ election) would satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement. The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance providing that a dividend payable in stock or in cash at the election of the stockholders will be treated as a taxable dividend eligible for the dividends paid deduction provided at least 20% of the total distribution is payable in cash and certain other requirements are satisfied. Taxable stockholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income (or as long-term capital gain to the extent such dividend is properly reported as a capital gain dividend) to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. stockholder may be required to pay tax with respect to such dividends in excess of any cash received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the stock it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in stock. In addition, if a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our stock.

Stockholders may have current tax liability on dividends they elect to reinvest in our common stock but would not receive cash from such dividends to pay such tax liability.

If stockholders participate in our dividend reinvestment plan, they will be deemed to have received, and for federal income tax purposes will be taxed on, the amount reinvested in our common stock to the extent the amount reinvested was not a tax-free return of capital. As a result, unless a stockholder is a tax-exempt entity, it may have to use funds from other sources to pay its tax liability on the value of the dividend that they have elected to have reinvested in our common stock.

Legislative or regulatory tax changes could adversely affect our stockholders.

At any time, the federal income tax laws governing RICs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be amended. Any new laws, regulations or interpretations may take effect retroactively and could adversely affect the taxation of us or our stockholders. Therefore, changes in tax laws, regulations or administrative interpretations or any amendments thereto could diminish the value of an investment in our shares or the value or the resale potential of our investments. If we do not comply with applicable laws and regulations, we could lose any licenses that we then hold for the conduct of our business and may be subject to civil fines and criminal penalties.

GENERAL RISK FACTORS

Events outside of our control, including public health crises, supply chain disruptions and inflation, could negatively affect our portfolio companies and the results of our operations.

Periods of market volatility could occur in response to pandemics or other events outside of our control. We and the portfolio companies in which we invest in could be affected by force majeure events (i.e., events beyond the control of the party claiming that the event has occurred, such as acts of God, fire, flood, earthquakes, outbreaks of an infectious disease, pandemic or any other serious public health concern, war, terrorism, labor strikes, major plant breakdowns, pipeline or electricity line ruptures, failure of technology, defective design and construction, accidents, demographic changes, government macroeconomic policies, social instability, etc.). Some force majeure events could adversely affect the ability of a party (including us, a portfolio company or a counterparty to us) to perform its obligations until it is able to remedy the force majeure event. In addition, force majeure events, such as the cessation of the operation of equipment for repair or upgrade, could similarly lead to the unavailability of essential equipment and technologies. These risks could, among other effects, adversely impact the cash flows available from a portfolio company, cause personal injury or loss of life, including to an officer, director or a member of our investment team, damage property, or instigate disruptions of service. In addition, the cost to a portfolio company or us of repairing or replacing damaged assets resulting from such force majeure event could be considerable.

It will not be possible to insure against all such events, and insurance proceeds received, if any, could be inadequate to completely or even partially cover any loss of revenues or investments, any increases in operating and maintenance expenses, or any replacements or rehabilitation of property. Certain events causing catastrophic loss could be either uninsurable, or insurable at such high rates as to adversely impact us or portfolio companies, as applicable. Force majeure events that are incapable of or are too costly to cure could have permanent adverse effects. Certain force majeure events (such as war or an outbreak of an infectious disease) could have a broader negative impact on the world economy and international business activity generally, or in any of the countries in which we invest or our portfolio companies operate specifically. Such force majeure events could result in or coincide with: increased volatility in the global securities, derivatives and currency markets; a decrease in the reliability of market prices and difficulty in valuing assets; greater fluctuations in currency exchange rates; increased risk of default (by both government and private issuers); further social, economic, and political instability; nationalization of private enterprise; greater governmental involvement in the economy or in social factors that impact the economy; less governmental regulation and supervision of the securities markets and market participants and decreased monitoring of the markets by governments or self-regulatory organizations and reduced enforcement of regulations; limited, or limitations on, the activities of investors in such markets; controls or restrictions on foreign investment, capital controls and limitations on repatriation of invested capital; inability to purchase and sell investments or otherwise settle security or derivative transactions (i.e., a market freeze); unavailability of currency hedging techniques; substantial, and in some periods extremely high, rates of inflation, which can last many years and have

substantial negative effects on credit and securities markets as well as the economy as a whole; recessions; and difficulties in obtaining and/or enforcing legal judgments.

We are currently operating in a period of capital markets disruption and economic uncertainty, and capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability in the future. These market conditions may materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the United States and abroad, which may have a negative impact on our business and operations.

The success of our activities is affected by general economic and market conditions, including, among others, interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws, and trade barriers. These factors could affect the level and volatility of securities prices and the liquidity of our investments. Volatility or illiquidity could impair our profitability or result in losses. These factors also could adversely affect the availability or cost of our leverage, which would result in lower returns.

These disruptions in the capital markets have increased the spread between the yields realized on risk-free and higher risk securities, resulting in illiquidity in parts of the capital markets. Such disruptions could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and future market disruptions and/or illiquidity could negatively impact us. These unfavorable economic conditions could increase our funding costs and limit our access to the capital markets, and could result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us in the future. These events could limit our investments, our ability to grow and could negatively impact our operating results and the fair values of our debt and equity investments.

Failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations and changes in laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business or cause us to alter our business strategy.

We, our Adviser and our portfolio companies are subject to applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations. Failure to comply with any applicable local, state or federal law or regulation could negatively impact our reputation and our business results. New legislation may also be enacted or new interpretations, rulings or regulations could be adopted, including those governing the types of investments we are permitted to make, any of which could harm us and our stockholders, potentially with retroactive effect. Additionally, any changes to the laws and regulations governing our operations relating to permitted investments may cause us to alter our investment strategy in order to avail ourselves of new or different opportunities. Such changes could result in material differences to the strategies and plans set forth herein and may result in our investment focus shifting from the areas of expertise of our Adviser’s investment team to other types of investments in which our Adviser’s investment team may have less expertise or little or no experience. Thus, any such changes, if they occur, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

We may experience fluctuations in our operating results.

We could experience fluctuations in our operating results due to a number of factors, including our ability or inability to make investments in companies that meet our investment criteria, the interest rate payable on the debt securities we acquire, the level of portfolio dividend and fee income, the level of our expenses, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, operating results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

Technological innovations and industry disruptions may negatively impact us.

Technological innovations have disrupted traditional approaches in multiple industries and can permit younger companies to achieve success and in the process disrupt markets and market practices. We can provide no assurance that new businesses and approaches will not be created that would compete with us and/or our portfolio companies or alter the market practices in which we have been designed to function within and on which we depend on for our investment return. New approaches could damage our investments, disrupt the market in which we operate and subject us to increased competition, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of investments.

We are highly dependent on information systems and systems failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to pay dividends.

Our business is highly dependent on our and third parties’ communications and information systems. Any failure or interruption of those systems, including as a result of the termination of an agreement with any third-party service providers, could cause delays or other problems in our activities. Our and our Adviser’s financial, accounting, data processing, backup or other operating systems and facilities may fail to operate properly or become disabled or damaged as a result of a number of factors including events that are wholly or partially beyond our control and adversely affect our business. There could be:

•sudden electrical or telecommunications outages;

•natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes;

•disease pandemics;

•events arising from local or larger scale political or social matters, including terrorist acts; and

•cyber-attacks, including software viruses, ransomware, malware and phishing and vishing schemes.

The failure in cybersecurity systems, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in our and our Adviser’s disaster recovery systems and management continuity planning could impair our ability to conduct business effectively.

The occurrence of a disaster such as a cyber-attack, a natural catastrophe, an industrial accident, a terrorist attack or war, events unanticipated in our and our Adviser’s disaster recovery systems, or a support failure from external providers, could have an adverse effect on our ability to conduct business and on our results of operations and financial condition, particularly if those events affect our computer-based data processing, transmission, storage, and retrieval systems or destroy data. If a significant number of our managers were unavailable in the event of a disaster, our ability to effectively conduct our business could be severely compromised.

We depend heavily upon computer systems to perform necessary business functions. Despite our implementation of a variety of security measures, our and our Adviser’s computer systems could be subject to cyber-attacks and unauthorized access, such as physical and electronic break-ins or unauthorized tampering. Like other companies, we may experience threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions. If one or more of these events occurs, it could potentially jeopardize the confidential, proprietary and other information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties and/or customer dissatisfaction or loss.

Third parties with which we do business (including, but not limited to, service providers, such as accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators, and the issuers of securities in which we invest) may also be sources or targets of cybersecurity or other technological risks. While we engage in actions to reduce our exposure resulting from outsourcing, we cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by these third parties and ongoing threats may result in unauthorized access, loss, exposure or destruction of data, or other cybersecurity incidents, with increased costs and other consequences, including those described above. Privacy and information security laws and regulation changes, and compliance with those changes, may also result in cost increases due to system changes and the development of new administrative processes.

Effects of Leverage [Text Block]

The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing below.


Assumed Return on Our Portfolio(1) (net of expenses)	(10.0)%	(5.0)%	0.0%	5.0%	10.0%
Corresponding Net Return to Common Stock Holder(2)	(23.8)%	(14.7)%	(5.5)%	3.6%	12.8%

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(2)In order for us to cover our annual interest payments on indebtedness, we must achieve annual returns on our December 31, 2023 total assets of at least 3.0%.