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Fidus Investment has dropped to 52-week lows last week, presenting a contrarian buying opportunity amid sector-wide fears and geopolitical turmoil. FDUS benefits from a variable rate loan portfolio, with 78.1% in first liens and $1.3B in assets, positioning it well if rates rise. Net investment income grew 5% year-over-year, supporting a multi-layered dividend strategy with coverage consistently near or above 100%.

The performance of the VanEck BDC Income Exchange Traded Fund, which includes over 30 BDCs in its market cap-weighted index, gives a good sense of how BDCs performed in these different environments. During the rate-cutting period, which initiated the pressure on BDC profits, BDCs have had to cope with the DeepSeek AI shock, peaking just ahead of that event on 19 February 2025. With AI technologies seemingly set to…

MPLX and Fidus Investment are both rated ‘Buy' for durable, high-yield income portfolios. MPLX offers a 7.4% yield, robust cash flow, and 12.5% expected annual distribution growth, underpinned by fee-based contracts and major natural gas/NGL projects. FDUS trades at a 10% discount to NAV, has an 11.8% yield, disciplined underwriting, and a resilient first-lien loan portfolio with low non-accruals.

Fidus Investment remains fundamentally strong, with rising NAV per share, robust dividend coverage, and a conservative balance sheet. Q4 2025 saw NII per share growth, 121% dividend coverage, non-accruals below 1%, and 10.7% portfolio exposure to high-performing equity. However, significant SaaS and ARR loan exposure (37% and 7.5% of portfolio) make me less comfortable than before.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ: FDUS - Get Free Report) and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE: BXSL - Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings. Profitability This table compares Fidus Investment