An area of investing that has been increasing in popularity over the past number of years is the business development corporation (BDC). Many of you may be invested in them, but some of you may not be familiar with them. As banks have retreated from making loans to middle market companies, a competitive industry of BDCs has grown in the marketplace. A main reason their popularity has risen over the past few years is because of the healthy dividends they tend to pay – yields of upwards of 10%. There are publicly traded BDCs and privately held BDCs that investors may consider.