Item 1A. Risk Factors.
If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. The risks below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or not presently deemed material by us may 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 cases, the NAV of our Common Shares could decline, and an investor may lose all or part of their investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Structure
General economic, political and market conditions could adversely affect the performance of our investments and implementation of our investment strategy.
The success of the Fund’s investment strategy and our investment activities will be affected by, and will depend, in part, upon general economic, political and market conditions in the U.S. and global economies, such as interest rates, currency exchange rates, availability of credit, credit defaults, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, as well as by changes in applicable laws and regulations (including laws relating to taxation of our investments), trade barriers, currency exchange controls, asset re-investment, resource self-sufficiency and national and international political and socioeconomic circumstances in respect of the countries in which the Fund may invest. These factors may affect the level and volatility of securities prices and the liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio investments, which could impair the Fund’s profitability or result in losses. In addition, general fluctuations in the market prices of securities and interest rates may affect the Fund’s investment opportunities and the value of the Fund’s investments and prolonged disruption may prevent the Fund from advantageously realizing or disposing of portfolio investments. Periods of elevated inflation and high interest rates, such as those experienced in recent years, can contribute to significant volatility in debt and equity markets. We may maintain substantial trading positions that can be adversely affected by the level of volatility in the financial markets; the larger the positions, the greater the potential for loss. Declines in the performance of national economies or the credit markets in certain jurisdictions have had a negative impact on general economic and market conditions globally, and as a result, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Risks Related to our Investments - Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies and adversely affect our operating results.”
Uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets and political systems of the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries may have adverse spill-over effects into the global financial markets generally. New legislative and regulatory initiatives and/or the roll-back of certain initiatives of previous administrations may impact our business and our portfolio companies’ businesses in unpredictable ways. Moreover, a recession, slowdown and/or a sustained downturn in the U.S. or global economy (or any particular segment thereof) will have a pronounced impact on the Fund and could adversely affect the Fund’s profitability, impede the ability of the Fund’s portfolio companies to perform under or refinance their existing obligations, and impair the Fund’s ability to effectively deploy its capital or realize upon portfolio investments on favorable terms and may have an adverse impact on the business and operations of the Fund. Any of the foregoing events could result in substantial or total to the Fund in respect of certain or all portfolio investments, which will likely be by the presence of leverage in the Fund’s capital structure. An economic could affect the financial resources of the Fund’s portfolio companies and their ability to make principal and interest payments on, or refinance, outstanding debt when due. In the event of such , whereby portfolio companies under the Fund’s loans to them, the Fund could both invested capital in, and anticipated profits from, the affected portfolio companies. Such marketplace events may also impact the availability and terms of financing for leveraged transactions. Private equity investors have recently been required to finance transactions with a proportion of equity relative to prior periods and the terms of debt financing are significantly less flexible for borrowers compared to prior periods. In addition, and dislocation in the capital markets can also create a environment in which to raise or access debt capital. Such conditions could make it to extend the maturity of or refinance our existing indebtedness, if any, or obtain new indebtedness with similar or terms and any to do so could have a material effect on our business. These developments may the Fund’s ability to consummate transactions and may cause the Fund to enter into transactions on less terms than those executed by other TPG funds.
Further, the Adviser’s financial condition may be adversely affected by a significant general economic downturn or difficult conditions in the capital markets and it may be subject to legal, regulatory, reputational and other unforeseen risks that could have a material adverse effect on the Adviser’s businesses and operations (including those of the Fund).
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Finally, economic problems in a single country are increasingly affecting other markets and economies. A continuation of this trend could adversely affect global economic conditions and world markets and, in turn, could adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Any of the foregoing events could result in substantial or total losses to the Fund in respect of certain investments, which losses will likely be exacerbated by the presence of leverage in a portfolio company’s capital structure.
We cannot guarantee that we will be able to replicate the historical results achieved by other TPG Angelo Gordon products.
Our primary focus in making investments may differ from those of existing investment funds, accounts or other investment vehicles that are or have been managed by TPG Angelo Gordon. We may consider co-investing in portfolio investments with other investment funds, accounts or investment vehicles managed by TPG Angelo Gordon. Any such investments will be subject to regulatory limitations and approvals by Independent Trustees. We can offer no assurance, however, that we will be able to obtain such approvals or develop opportunities that comply with such limitations. There can be no guarantee that we will replicate the historical results achieved by similar strategies managed by TPG Angelo Gordon, and we caution shareholders that our investment returns could be substantially lower than the returns achieved by them in prior periods. Additionally, all or a portion of the prior results may have been achieved in particular market conditions which may never be repeated. Moreover, current or future market volatility and regulatory uncertainty may have an impact on our future performance.
Our ability to achieve our investment objective depends on the ability of the Adviser to manage and support our investment process. If the Adviser or TPG Angelo Gordon were to lose any members of their respective senior management teams, our ability to achieve our investment objective could be significantly harmed.
Since we have no employees, we depend on the investment expertise, skill and network of business contacts of the broader networks of TPG Angelo Gordon, the Adviser and its affiliates, as well as the persons and firms our Adviser may retain to provide services on our behalf. The Adviser evaluates, negotiates, structures, executes, monitors and services our investments. Our future success depends to a significant extent on the continued service and coordination of TPG Angelo Gordon and its senior management team. The departure of any members of TPG Angelo Gordon’s senior management team could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective. Additionally, while the Adviser anticipates that the various TPG Angelo Gordon teams will communicate frequently and assist each other in market intelligence and investment analysis, from time to time communications among the teams may be limited due to the possession of confidential or material non-public information. In such circumstances where the Adviser’s investment professionals are in possession of confidential or material non-public information, the Fund may not be in a position to benefit from any such information, and may be restricted from effecting certain securities transactions for the Fund that otherwise may have been effected.
Our ability to achieve our investment objective depends on the Adviser’s ability to identify and analyze, and to invest in, finance and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria. The Adviser’s capabilities in structuring the investment process, providing competent, attentive and efficient services to us, and facilitating access to financing on acceptable terms depend on the employment of investment professionals in an adequate number and of adequate sophistication to match the corresponding flow of transactions. To achieve our investment objective, the Adviser may need to hire, train, supervise and manage new investment professionals to participate in our investment selection and monitoring process. There is increasing competition among financial sponsors, investment banks and other investors for hiring and retaining qualified investment professionals, and there can be no assurance that the Adviser will be able to find qualified investment professionals in a timely manner or at all. Failure to support our investment process could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
While the Adviser has entered into the Resource Sharing Agreement with TPG Angelo Gordon, pursuant to which TPG Angelo Gordon will provide the Adviser with experienced investment professionals and access to the resources of TPG Angelo Gordon so as to enable the Adviser to fulfill its obligations under the Investment Management Agreement, there can be no assurance that TPG Angelo Gordon will perform its obligations under the Resource Sharing Agreement. In addition, the Resource Sharing Agreement may be terminated by either party on 60 days’ notice, which if terminated may have a material consequence on the Fund’s operations.
The Investment Management Agreement has been approved pursuant to Section 15 of the 1940 Act. In addition, the Investment Management Agreement has termination provisions that allow the parties to terminate the agreement. The
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Investment Management Agreement may be terminated at any time, without penalty, by us upon 60 days’ written notice or by the Adviser upon 120 days’ written notice. If the Investment Management Agreement is terminated, it may adversely affect the quality of our investment opportunities. In addition, in the event the Investment Management Agreement is terminated, it may be difficult for us to replace the Adviser and our financial condition, business and results of operations, as well as our ability to meet our payment obligations under future indebtedness, if any, and pay distributions, are likely to be adversely affected, and the value of our Common Shares may decline.
Because our business model depends to a significant extent upon relationships with private equity sponsors, investment banks and commercial banks, the inability of the Adviser to maintain or develop these relationships, or the failure of these relationships to generate investment opportunities, could adversely affect our business.
The Adviser depends on the broader TPG Angelo Gordon relationships with private equity sponsors, investment banks and commercial banks and others, and we rely to a significant extent upon these relationships to provide us with potential investment opportunities. If the Adviser or its organizations fail to maintain their existing relationships or develop new relationships with other sponsors or sources of investment opportunities, we may not be able to grow our investment portfolio. In addition, individuals with whom the Adviser or its broader organizations 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.
We may face increasing competition for investment opportunities, which could delay deployment of our capital, reduce returns and result in losses.
We will compete for investments with other BDCs and investment funds (including private equity funds, mezzanine funds, performing and other credit funds, and funds that invest in CLOs, structured notes, derivatives and other types of collateralized securities and structured products), as well as traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks and other sources of funding. These other BDCs and investment funds might be reasonable investment alternatives to us and may be less costly or complex with fewer and/or different risks than we have. Moreover, alternative investment vehicles, such as hedge funds, have begun to invest in areas in which they have not traditionally invested, including making investments in private U.S. companies. As a result of these new entrants, competition for investment opportunities in middle market companies may intensify. Some of our competitors are more experienced, 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. Furthermore, certain of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC and that the Code imposes on us as a RIC. These characteristics could allow our competitors to consider a wider variety of investments, establish more relationships and offer pricing and more flexible structuring than we are to do. We may investment if we do not match such competitors’ pricing, terms or structure. If we are to match such competitors’ pricing, terms or structure, we may not be to acceptable returns on our investments or may bear substantial risk of capital . As a result of operating in such a competitive environment, we may make investments that are on less terms than what we may have originally anticipated, which may impact our return on these investments.
As required by the 1940 Act, a significant portion of our investment portfolio is and will be recorded at fair value as determined in good faith and, as a result, there is and will 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. The Board of Trustees has designated the Adviser as its “valuation designee” pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, and in that role the Adviser is responsible for performing fair value determinations relating to all of our investments, including periodically assessing and managing any material valuation risks and establishing and applying fair value methodologies, in accordance with valuation policies and procedures that have been approved by the Board of Trustees. Even though the Board of Trustees designated the Adviser as “valuation designee,” the Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for fair value determinations under the 1940 Act. There is not a public market for the securities of the privately-held companies and certain other assets in which we invest. Most of our investments will not be publicly-traded or actively traded on a secondary market. As a result, we value these securities quarterly (and monthly, to accommodate subscriptions) at fair value as determined in good faith as required by the 1940 Act. In connection with striking a NAV as of the last day of a month that is not also the last day of a calendar quarter, the Fund will consider whether there has been a material change to such investments as to affect their fair value, but such analysis will be more limited than the quarter end process.
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As part of our valuation process, the Adviser will generally take into account relevant factors in determining the fair value of the Fund’s investments without market quotations. Such factors that the Adviser may take into account generally include, as appropriate, comparison to publicly-traded securities including such factors as yield, maturity and measures of credit quality, the enterprise value of a portfolio company, the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments, its earnings and discounted cash flow, the markets in which the portfolio company does business and other relevant factors. The Adviser’s determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these non-traded securities existed. Due to this uncertainty, our fair value determinations may cause our NAV on a given date to materially differ from the value that we may ultimately realize upon the sale of one or more of our investments. If we were required to liquidate a portfolio investment in a forced or liquidation sale, we may realize amounts that are different from what was previously the value, and such differences could be material.
The amount of any distributions we may make is uncertain and there is a risk that investors in our shares may not receive distributions or that our distributions may decrease over time. Our distributions may exceed our earnings, particularly during the period before we have substantially invested the net proceeds from our public offering. Therefore, portions of the distributions that we make may represent a return of capital to shareholders that will lower their tax basis in their shares and reduce the amount of funds we have for investment in targeted assets.
We may fund our cash distributions to shareholders from any sources of funds available to us, including proceeds from our continuous offering, borrowings, net investment income from operations, capital gains proceeds from the sale of assets, non-capital gains proceeds from the sale of assets, dividends or other distributions paid to us on account of preferred and common equity investments in portfolio companies and fee and expense reimbursement waivers from the Adviser or the Administrator, if any. Our ability to pay distributions might be adversely affected by, among other things, the impact of one or more of the risk factors described in this Annual Report, including but not limited to the risk that we may not achieve investment results that will allow us to make a specified or stable level of cash distributions and our distributions may decrease over time. In addition, the inability to satisfy the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC may limit our ability to pay distributions. All distributions are and will be paid at the discretion of our Board of Trustees and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, maintenance of our RIC status, compliance with applicable BDC regulations and such other factors as our Board of Trustees may deem relevant from time to time. We cannot shareholders that we will continue to pay distributions to our shareholders in the future. In the event that we encounter in locating suitable investment , we may pay all or a substantial portion of our distributions from borrowings or sources other than cash flow from operations in anticipation of future cash flow, which may constitute a return of a shareholder’s capital. A return of capital is a return of a shareholder’s investment, rather than a return of earnings or derived from our investment activities. A return of capital would generally lower a shareholder’s tax basis in our shares and may result in increased tax liability to the shareholder when it sells such shares.
Although we do not intend to fund distributions from sources other than operating cash flow in the ordinary course, we may fund distributions from other sources, including but not limited to proceeds from our continuous offering if, for example, we determine that it would not be in the best interests of shareholders to sell portfolio investments in a market downturn and we are unable to borrow due to 1940 Act asset coverage limitations to fund distributions. As discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report, we are generally required to distribute 90% of our ordinary income to ensure RIC tax treatment and we may take such actions to ensure we meet the applicable RIC tax treatment requirements. Please see “Federal Income Tax Risks—We may have difficulty paying our required distributions if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.” To the extent we pay distributions from a source other than net investment income, we are required to notify shareholders of the sources of such distribution pursuant to Section 19 and Rule 19a-1 under the 1940 Act. Any distributions we make will be at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, which has a fiduciary duty to shareholders, taking into account factors such as our disclosure to investors, earnings, cash flow, capital needs and general financial condition and the requirements of Delaware law.
Our distributions to shareholders may be funded from expense reimbursements or waivers of investment advisory fees that are subject to repayment pursuant to our Expense Support and Conditional Reimbursement Agreement.
Substantial portions of our distributions may be funded through the reimbursement of certain expenses by our Adviser and its affiliates, including through the waiver of certain investment advisory fees by our Adviser. Any such distributions funded through expense reimbursements or waivers of advisory fees will not be based on our investment performance, and can only be sustained if we achieve positive investment performance in future periods and/or our Adviser and its affiliates continue to make such reimbursements or waivers of such fees. Our future repayments of amounts reimbursed or waived by our Adviser or its affiliates will reduce the distributions that shareholders would otherwise receive in the future. There can be no assurance that we will achieve the performance necessary to be able to pay distributions at a
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specific rate or at all. Our Adviser and its affiliates have no obligation to waive advisory fees or otherwise reimburse expenses in future periods.
We have not established any limit on the amount of funds we may use from available sources, such as borrowings, if any, or proceeds from our continuous offering, to fund distributions (which may reduce the amount of capital we ultimately invest in assets).
We intend to generally fund distributions from operating cash flow in the ordinary course. However, we may make distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations or relying on fee or expense reimbursement waivers, if any, from the Adviser or the Administrator and that such distributions are not based on our investment performance, and can only be sustained if we achieve positive investment performance in future periods and/or the Adviser or the Administrator continues to make such expense reimbursements, if any. The extent to which we pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations will depend on various factors, including the level of participation in our DRIP, how quickly we invest the proceeds from any future offering and the performance of our investments. To the extent that we borrow to fund distributions, the payment of interest on such borrowings will decrease the Fund’s NAV, which would also cause the price per share in an offering to decrease. Further, if the Adviser elects to cover certain of our expenses pursuant to the Expense Support and Conditional Reimbursement Agreement, this could cause a smoothing effect on our distributions because we will be able to pay distributions at times when we may otherwise be unable to. Shareholders should also understand that any amounts we use to pay distributions to shareholders from sources other than cash flow from operations may be required to be repaid in the future and that our future repayments of such amounts to the Adviser or any lender will reduce the amount of the future distributions. Further, the per share amount of distributions on Class S, Class D and Class I shares may differ because of different allocations of class-specific expenses. For example, distributions on Class S and Class D shares will be lower than on Class I shares because Class S and Class D shares are subject to different shareholder servicing and/or distribution fees. There can be no assurance that we will such performance in order to sustain these distributions, or be to pay distributions at all. The Adviser and the Administrator have no obligation to waive fees or receipt of expense reimbursements, if any.
Although we have implemented a share repurchase program, we have discretion to not repurchase shares, and our Board of Trustees has the ability to amend or to suspend the program.
Our Board of Trustees may amend or suspend the share repurchase program at any time in its discretion (including to offer to purchase fewer shares). For example, in accordance with our Board of Trustees’ fiduciary duty to the Fund and shareholders, it may amend or suspend the share repurchase program during periods of market dislocation where selling assets to fund a repurchase could have a materially negative impact on remaining shareholders. Shareholders may not be able to sell their shares on a timely basis in the event our Board of Trustees amends or suspends the share repurchase program, absent a liquidity event, and we currently do not intend to undertake a liquidity event, and we are not obligated by our charter or otherwise to effect a liquidity event at any time. Following any such suspension, the Board of Trustees will reinstate the share repurchase program when appropriate and subject to its fiduciary duty to the Fund and shareholders. We will notify shareholders of such developments in our quarterly reports or other filings. If less than the full amount of Common Shares requested to be repurchased in any given repurchase offer are repurchased, funds will be allocated pro rata based on the total number of Common Shares being repurchased without regard to class. The share repurchase program has many and should not be considered a guaranteed method to sell shares promptly or at a price.
The timing of our repurchase offers pursuant to our share repurchase program may be at a time that is disadvantageous to our shareholders.
In the event a shareholder chooses to participate in our share repurchase program, the shareholder will be required to provide us with notice of intent to participate prior to knowing what the NAV per share of the class of shares being repurchased will be on the Repurchase Date. Although a shareholder will have the ability to withdraw a repurchase request prior to the Repurchase Date, to the extent a shareholder seeks to sell shares to us as part of our periodic share repurchase program, the shareholder will be required to do so without knowledge of what the repurchase price of our shares will be on the Repurchase Date.
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As a public company, we are subject to regulations not applicable to private companies, such as provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Efforts to comply with such regulations will involve significant expenditures, and non-compliance with such regulations may adversely affect us.
As a public company, we are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the related rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC. Our management is required to report on our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We are required to review on an annual basis our internal control over financial reporting, and on a quarterly and annual basis to evaluate and disclose changes in our internal control over financial reporting. As a relatively new company, developing and maintaining an effective system of internal controls may require significant expenditures, which may negatively impact our financial performance and our ability to make distributions. This process also will result in a diversion of our management’s time and attention. We cannot be certain of when our evaluation, testing and remediation actions will be completed or the impact of the same on our operations. In addition, we may be unable to ensure that the process is effective or that our internal controls over financial reporting are or will be effective in a timely manner. In the event that we are unable to develop or maintain an system of internal controls and maintain or compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related rules, we may be affected.
Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until there is a public market for our shares, which is not expected to occur.
We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly results.
We could experience fluctuations in our quarterly 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 loans or other debt securities we originate or acquire, the level of our expenses (including our borrowing costs), 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, results for any previous period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.
We are exposed to risks associated with changes in interest rates, including the current elevated interest rate environment.
General interest rate fluctuations may have a substantial negative impact on our investments and our investment returns and, accordingly, may have a material adverse effect on our investment objective and our net investment income. In an effort to combat inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve (“Federal Reserve”) increased interest rates throughout 2022 and 2023 before it cut interest rates multiple times in 2024 and 2025. It is possible that the Federal Reserve could increase interest rates in 2026 if levels of inflation exceed certain levels in the United States.
Because we may borrow money and issue debt securities or preferred shares to make investments, our net investment income will be dependent upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds or pay interest or dividends on such debt securities or preferred shares and the rate at which we invest these funds. In this period of elevated interest rates, our interest income will increase if the majority of our portfolio bears interest at variable rates while our cost of funds will also increase, to a lesser extent, if the majority of our indebtedness bears interest at fixed rates, with the net impact being an increase to our net investment income. Conversely, if interest rates decrease (which has been the trend for the past year) we may earn less interest income from investments and our cost of funds will also decrease, to a lesser extent, resulting in lower net investment income. From time to time, we may also enter into certain hedging transactions to mitigate our exposure to changes in interest rates. In the past, TPG and its affiliates have entered into certain hedging transactions, such as interest rate swap agreements, to mitigate exposure to adverse fluctuations in interest rates, and the Fund may do so in the future. However, we cannot assure shareholders that such transactions will be successful in mitigating our exposure to interest rate risk. There can be no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material effect on our net investment income.
Elevated interest rates may also increase the cost of debt for our underlying portfolio companies, which could adversely impact their financial performance and ability to meet ongoing obligations to us. Also, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make an investment in our shares less attractive if we are not able to pay dividends at a level that provides a similar return, which could reduce the value of our shares.
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Inflation has adversely affected and may continue to adversely affect the business, results of operations and financial condition of our portfolio companies.
The Federal Reserve has raised, and may continue to raise, certain benchmark interest rates in an effort to combat inflation and the Fund as well as our portfolio companies will continue to be impacted by such inflation. Such inflationary pressures have increased the costs of labor, energy and raw materials, have adversely affected consumer spending, economic growth and our portfolio companies’ operations, and may continue to adversely affect our portfolio companies’ operations. 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 interest and principal on our loans, particularly if interest rates rise in response to inflation. Despite multiple federal fund rate decreases over the course of 2024, interest rates have remained elevated, with the U.S. Federal Reserve indicating in early 2025 an expectation of slower rate decreases moving forward. 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 and therefore reduce our net assets resulting from operations.
While the U.S. and other developed economies have been experiencing higher-than-normal inflation rates, it remains uncertain whether substantial inflation in the U.S. and other developed economies will be sustained over an extended period of time or have a significant effect on the U.S. or other economies. Inflation may affect the Fund’s investments adversely in a number of ways, including those noted above. During periods of heightened inflation, interest and dividend rates of any instruments the Fund or entities related to portfolio investments may have issued could increase, which would tend to reduce returns to investors in the Fund. Inflationary expectations or periods of rising inflation could also be accompanied by the rising prices of commodities which are critical to the operation of portfolio companies as noted above. Portfolio companies may have fixed income streams and, therefore, be unable to pay their debts when they become due. The market value of such investments may decline in value in times of higher inflation rates. Some of the Fund’s portfolio investments may have income linked to inflation through contractual rights or other means. However, as inflation may affect both income and expenses, any increase in income may not be sufficient to cover increases in expenses. Governmental efforts to curb inflation often have negative effects on the level of economic activity. In an attempt to inflation, certain countries have imposed wage and price controls at times. Past governmental efforts to curb inflation have also involved more economic measures that have had a materially effect on the level of economic activity in the countries where such measures were employed. There can be no assurance that continued and more wide-spread inflation in the U.S. and/or other economies will not become a in the future and have a material impact on the Fund’s returns.
It may be difficult to bring suit or foreclosure in non-U.S. countries.
Because the effectiveness of the judicial systems in the countries in which the Fund may invest varies, the Fund (or any portfolio company) may have difficulty in foreclosing or successfully pursuing claims in the courts of such countries, as compared to the United States or other countries. Further, to the extent the Fund or a portfolio company may obtain a judgment but is required to seek its enforcement in the courts of one of these countries in which the Fund invests, there can be no assurance that such courts will enforce such judgment. The laws of other countries often lack the sophistication and consistency found in the United States with respect to foreclosure, bankruptcy, corporate reorganization or creditors’ rights.
The nature of bankruptcy proceedings may impact the value of the Fund’s investments.
A portfolio company may become involved in a reorganization, bankruptcy or other proceeding. In any such event, the Fund may lose its entire investment, may be required to accept cash or securities or assets with a value less than the Fund’s original investment and/or may be required to accept payment over an extended period of time.
In the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of an obligor, holders of debt instruments ranking senior to the Fund’s investments would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before the Fund receives any distributions in respect of its investments. After repaying the senior creditors, such obligor may not have any remaining assets to repay its obligations to the Fund. In the case of debt ranking equally with the loans or debt securities in which the Fund invests, the Fund 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 investee company. Each jurisdiction in which the Fund invests has its own insolvency laws. As a result, investments in similarly situated investee companies in different jurisdictions may well confer different rights in the event of insolvency.
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A portfolio company that becomes distressed or any distressed asset received by the Fund in a restructuring would require active monitoring. Involvement by the Adviser in a company’s reorganization proceedings could result in the imposition of restrictions limiting the Fund’s ability to liquidate its position therein. Bankruptcy proceedings involve a number of significant risks. Many of the events within a bankruptcy litigation are adversarial and often beyond the control of the creditors. While creditors generally are afforded an opportunity to object to significant actions, there can be no assurance that a bankruptcy court would not approve actions which may be contrary to the interests of the Fund, particularly in those jurisdictions which give a comparatively high priority to preserving the debtor company as a going concern, or to protecting the interests of either creditors with higher ranking in or of other stakeholders, such as employees.
Generally, the duration of a bankruptcy case can only be roughly estimated. The reorganization of a company usually involves the development and negotiation of a plan of reorganization, plan approval by creditors and confirmation by the bankruptcy court. This process can involve substantial legal, professional and administrative costs to the company and the Fund; it is subject to unpredictable and lengthy delays, particularly in jurisdictions which do not have specialized insolvency courts or judges and/or may have a higher risk of political interference in insolvency proceedings, all of which may have adverse consequences for the Fund. During such process, the company’s competitive position may erode, key management may depart and the company may not be able to invest adequately. In some cases, the company may not be able to reorganize and may be required to assets. Although the Fund will invest primarily in debt, the debt of companies in financial reorganization will, in most cases, not pay current interest, may not accrue interest during reorganization and may be affected by an of the issuer’s fundamental values. Such investments can result in a total of principal.
One of the protections offered in certain jurisdictions in bankruptcy proceedings is a stay on required payments by the borrower on loans or other securities. When a portfolio company or other issuer seeks relief under the bankruptcy laws of a particular jurisdiction (or has a petition filed against it), an automatic stay prevents all entities, including creditors, from foreclosing or taking other actions to enforce claims, perfect liens or reach collateral securing such claims. Creditors who have claims against the issuer prior to the date of the bankruptcy filing must generally petition the court to permit them to take any action to protect or enforce their claims or their rights in any collateral. Such creditors may be prohibited from doing so if the court concludes that the value of the property in which the creditor has an interest will be “ protected” during the proceedings. If the court’s assessment of adequate protection is , a creditor’s collateral may be without the creditor being afforded the to preserve it. Thus, even if the Fund holds a secured claim, it may be prevented from collecting the value of the collateral securing its debt, unless relief from the automatic stay is granted by the court. If relief from the stay is not granted, the Fund may not realize a distribution on account of its secured claim until a plan of reorganization or for the debtor is confirmed. proceedings are inherently litigious, time consuming, highly complex and driven extensively by facts and circumstances, which can result in in predicting outcomes. The equitable power of judges also can result in uncertainty as to the ultimate resolution of . A stay on payments to be made on the assets of the Fund could affect the value of those assets and the Fund itself. Other protections in such proceedings may include forgiveness of debt, the ability to create super-priority liens in favor of certain creditors of the debtor and certain well-defined procedures. Additionally, the numerous risks inherent in the process create a potential risk of by the Fund of its entire investment in any particular issuer. laws may, in certain jurisdictions, result in a of the debt without the Fund’s consent under the “cramdown” provisions of applicable laws and may also result in a discharge of all or part of the debt without payment to the Fund.
Security interests held by creditors are closely scrutinized and frequently challenged in bankruptcy proceedings and may be invalidated for a variety of reasons. For example, security interests may be set aside because, as a technical matter, they have not been perfected properly under applicable law. If a security interest is invalidated, the secured creditor loses the value of the collateral and because loss of the secured status causes the claim to be treated as an unsecured claim, the holder of such claim will be more likely to experience a significant loss of its investment. There can be no assurance that the security interests securing the Fund’s claims will not be challenged vigorously and found defective in some respect, or that the Fund will be able to prevail the . As such, investments in issuers involved in such proceedings could subject the Fund to certain additional potential liabilities that may exceed the value of the Fund’s original investment therein.
Moreover, under applicable bankruptcy law, debt may be disallowed or subordinated to the claims of other creditors if the creditor is found guilty of certain inequitable conduct resulting in harm to other parties with respect to the affairs of a company or other issuer filing for protection from creditors. In addition, creditors’ claims may be treated as equity if they are deemed to be contributions to capital, or if a creditor attempts to control the outcome of the business
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affairs of an issuer prior to its filing under such laws. If a creditor is found to have interfered with an issuer’s affairs to the detriment of other creditors or shareholders, the creditor may be held liable for damages to injured parties. There can be no assurance that claims for equitable subordination or creditor liability will not be asserted with respect to the Fund’s portfolio investments.
While the challenges to liens and debt normally occur in a bankruptcy proceeding, the conditions or conduct that would lead to an attack in a bankruptcy proceeding could in certain circumstances result in actions brought by other creditors of the debtor, shareholders of the debtor or even the debtor itself in other U.S. state or U.S. federal proceedings, including pursuant to state fraudulent transfer laws. As is the case in a bankruptcy proceeding, there can be no assurance that such claims will not be asserted or that the Fund will be able successfully to defend against them. To the extent that the Fund assumes an active role in any legal proceeding involving the debtor, the Fund may be prevented from disposing of securities issued by the debtor due to the Fund’s possession of material, non-public information concerning the debtor.
U.S. bankruptcy law permits the classification of “substantially similar” claims in determining the classification of claims in a reorganization for purpose of voting on a plan of reorganization. Because the standard for classification is vague, there exists a significant risk that the Fund’s influence with respect to a class of claims can be lost by the inflation of the number and the amount of claims in, or other gerrymandering of, the class. In addition, certain administrative costs and claims that have priority by law over the claims of certain creditors (for example, claims for taxes) may be quite high.
The insolvency of a portfolio company and related proceedings may have a materially adverse effect on the performance of the Fund.
If a court in a lawsuit brought by a creditor or representative of creditors (such as a trustee in bankruptcy) of a portfolio company were to find that:
(a) the portfolio company did not receive fair consideration or reasonably equivalent value for incurring the indebtedness evidenced by the securities that the company issued to the Fund and
(b) after giving effect to such indebtedness and the use of the proceeds thereof, the portfolio company
(i) was insolvent,
(ii) was engaged in a business for which its remaining assets constituted unreasonably small capital or
(iii) intended to incur, or believed that it would incur, debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature, such court could
1. invalidate, in whole or in part, such indebtedness as a fraudulent conveyance,
2. subordinate such indebtedness to existing or future creditors of the obligor or
3. recover amounts previously paid by the portfolio company to the Fund and/or proceeds with respect to such securities previously applied by the Fund, in each case, in satisfaction of such indebtedness.
In addition, upon the insolvency of a portfolio company, payments that such portfolio company made to the Fund may be subject to avoidance, cancellation and/or clawback as a “preference” if made within a certain period of time (which may be as long as two years) before insolvency. There can be no assurance as to what standard a court would apply in order to determine whether the company was “insolvent” or that, regardless of the method of valuation, a court would not determine that the company was “insolvent,” in each case, after giving effect to the indebtedness evidenced by the securities held by the Fund and the use of the proceeds thereof.
In general, if payments are voidable, whether as fraudulent conveyances, extortionate transactions or preferences, such payments may be recaptured either from the initial recipient (such as the Fund) or from subsequent transferees of such payments, including the shareholders. To the extent that any such amounts are recaptured from the Fund, there may be a materially adverse effect on the performance of the Fund.
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The above discussion is based upon U.S. federal and state laws. Insofar as investments that are obligations of non-U.S. obligors are concerned, the laws of non-U.S. jurisdictions may provide for avoidance remedies under factual circumstances similar to those described above, with consequences that may or may not be analogous to those described above under U.S. federal and state laws.
The Fund may invest in portfolio companies whose capital structures may have significant leverage, which may impair these companies’ ability to finance their future operations and capital needs.
While investments in leveraged companies offer the potential opportunity for capital appreciation, such investments also involve a higher degree of risk as a result of recessions, operating problems and other general business and economic risks that may have a more pronounced effect on the profitability or survival of such companies. Such investments are inherently more sensitive to declines in revenues, competitive pressures and increases in expenses. Moreover, elevated interest rates may significantly increase portfolio companies’ interest expense, causing losses and/or the inability to service debt levels. Leverage magnifies gains and losses attributable to other investment policies and practices, such as investing in below investment grade instruments. If a portfolio company cannot generate adequate cash flow to meet debt obligations, the portfolio company may default on its loan agreements or be forced into bankruptcy resulting in a of the company’s capital structure or of the company, and the Fund may a partial or total of capital invested in the portfolio company. Furthermore, to the extent companies in which the Fund has invested become , the Fund may determine, in cooperation with other debt holders or on its own, to engage, at the Fund’s expense in whole or in part, counsel and other advisors in connection therewith. In addition to leverage in the capital structure of portfolio companies, the Fund may incur leverage.
We are an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our shares less attractive to investors.
We will be and we will remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act until the earlier of:
(a) the last day of the fiscal year (i) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (ii) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (iii) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the date of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and
(b) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
For so long as we remain an “emerging growth company,” we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We cannot predict if investors will find our shares less attractive because we will rely on some or all of these exemptions.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We will take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards, which may make it more difficult for investors and securities analysts to evaluate us since our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates and may result in less investor confidence.
Failure of the U.S. federal government to manage its fiscal matters or to raise or further suspend the debt ceiling, and changes in the amount of federal debt, may negatively impact the economic environment and adversely impact our results of operations.
The U.S. federal government has established a limit on the level of federal debt that the U.S. federal government can have outstanding, often referred to as the debt ceiling. The U.S. Congress has authority to raise or suspend the debt ceiling and to approve the funding of U.S. federal government operations within the debt ceiling, and has done both frequently in the past, often on a relatively short-term basis. However, contention among policymakers may hinder the enactment of policies to further increase the borrowing limit or address its debt balance in a timely fashion. Twice in the
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past decade, by the appropriations legislation deadline Congress failed to pass a new appropriations bill or continuing resolution to temporarily extend funding, resulting in U.S. government shutdowns that caused federal agencies to halt non-essential operations. A failure by the U.S. Congress to raise the debt limit would increase the risk of default by the U.S. on its obligations, the risk of a lowering of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating, and the risk of other economic dislocations. Such a failure, or the perceived risk of such a failure, could consequently have a material adverse effect on the financial markets and economic conditions in the U.S. and globally. If economic conditions severely deteriorate as a result of U.S. federal government fiscal gridlock, our operations, or those of our portfolio companies, could be affected, which may adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.
Additionally, U.S. debt ceiling and budget deficit concerns have increased the possibility of additional credit-rating downgrades and economic slowdowns, or a recession in the United States. U.S. lawmakers have passed legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling on multiple occasions, including most recently in March 2025, which suspended the debt ceiling through September 2025, unless Congress takes legislative action to further extend or defer it. However, despite taking action to suspend the debt ceiling, ratings agencies have threatened to lower the long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States, including Fitch downgrading the U.S. government’s long-term rating from AAA to AA+ in August 2023 and Moody’s lowering the U.S. government’s credit rating outlook from “stable” to “negative” in November 2023. Further or by S&P, Moody’s or other rating agencies, and the government’s credit and in general, could cause interest rates and borrowing costs to rise, which may impact both the perception of credit risk associated with our debt portfolio and our ability to access the debt markets on terms. In addition, a decreased credit rating could create broader financial and uncertainty, which may weigh heavily on our financial performance and the value of our Common Shares.
Any unrealized losses we experience on our portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income 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 good faith by our Board of Trustees. Decreases in the market value or fair value of our investments relative to amortized cost will be recorded as unrealized depreciation. Any unrealized losses in our portfolio could be an indication of a portfolio company’s inability to meet its repayment obligations to us with respect to the affected loans. This could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our income available for distribution in future periods. In addition, decreases in the market value or fair value of our investments will reduce our NAV.
Terrorist attacks, acts of war, global health emergencies or natural disasters may adversely affect our operations.
Terrorist acts, acts of war, global health emergencies or natural disasters may disrupt our operations, as well as the operations of the businesses in which we invest. Such acts have created, and continue to create, economic and political uncertainties and have contributed to recent global economic instability. Future terrorist activities, military or security operations, global health emergencies or natural disasters could further weaken the domestic/global economies and create additional uncertainties, which may negatively impact the businesses in which we invest directly or indirectly and, in turn, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. Losses from terrorist attacks, global health emergencies or natural disasters are generally uninsurable.
Ongoing armed conflicts, such as between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas, including recent escalations of the conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, and continued and escalating political unrest in various other countries around the globe may have a material adverse impact on us and our portfolio companies.
The United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the geopolitical instability resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and continued political and social unrest in various countries, such as Venezuela and Mexico, which have led, are currently leading, and for an unknown period of time will continue to lead to disruptions in local, regional, national, and global markets and economies affected thereby. Most recently, on February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a major assault on Iran with the stated aim of toppling the regime in Tehran, triggering regional Iranian retaliation across the Gulf, including attacks against targets in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. An escalation in this or other global conflicts may have a material impact on the Fund, its portfolio companies and the market generally, including as a result of intense regional and global military and/or economic , major maritime in the Strait of Hormuz, and large-scale cyber warfare.
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Consider, for example, responses to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine and to Israel, or have undertaken or will undertake military strikes in Southwest Asia, increasing geopolitical tensions among a number of nations. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel and its neighboring states and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing conflicts are highly unpredictable, they could lead to market , including significant in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain and increased cyber-attacks U.S. companies. Additionally, any resulting sanctions could affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to and of liquidity in capital markets.
Any of the above mentioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the escalation of conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and subsequent sanctions or related actions, may lead to increased volume and price volatility. The extent and duration of the ongoing conflicts, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, to the extent that we, our portfolio companies, third party service providers, investors, or related customer bases have material operations or assets in such conflict zones, they may be materially affected.
Force Majeure events may adversely affect our operations.
The Fund may be affected by force majeure events (e.g., acts of God, fire, flood, earthquakes, outbreaks of an infectious disease, pandemic or any other serious public health concern, war, terrorism, nationalization of industry and labor strikes). Force majeure events could adversely affect the ability of the Fund or a counterparty to perform its obligations. The liability and cost arising out of a failure to perform obligations as a result of a force majeure event could be considerable and could be borne by the Fund. Certain force majeure events, such as war or an outbreak of an infectious disease, could have a broader negative impact on the global or local economy, thereby affecting the Fund. Additionally, a major governmental intervention into industry, including the nationalization of an industry or the assertion of control, could result in a loss to the Fund if an investment is affected, and any compensation provided by the relevant government may not be adequate.
Governmental intervention in the financial markets may increase volatility.
In response to a recession, economic slowdown or financial market instability, governments and regulators may choose to intervene by implementing austerity measures and reforms, as seen in the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. There is no guarantee a government or regulatory intervention will have the desired effect and any such intervention may result in social unrest, limit future growth and economic recovery or have unintended consequences. Additionally, such interventions have sometimes been unclear in scope and application, resulting in confusion and uncertainty which in itself has been detrimental to the efficient functioning of financial markets. It is impossible to predict with certainty what temporary or permanent governmental restrictions may be imposed on the markets in the future and/or the effect of such restrictions on the Advisers’ ability to implement the Fund’s investment objective, the European or global economy or the global securities market. in the global financial markets or government intervention may increase the of the Fund and hence the risk of to the value of a shareholder’s investment.
The current period of capital markets disruption and economic uncertainty may make it difficult to obtain indebtedness and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Current market conditions may make it difficult to obtain indebtedness and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business. The debt capital that will be available to us in the future, if at all, may be at a higher cost and on less favorable terms and conditions than what we currently expect to experience, including being at a
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higher cost in rising rate environments. If we are unable to raise debt, then our equity investors may not benefit from the potential for increased returns on equity resulting from leverage and we may be limited in our ability to make commitments. An inability to obtain indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We may face a breach of our cybersecurity, which could result in adverse consequences to our operations and exposure of confidential information.
Cybersecurity incidents and cyber-attacks have been occurring globally at a more frequent and severe level and will likely continue to increase in frequency in the future. TPG Angelo Gordon and its affiliates and portfolio companies’ and service providers’ information and technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from cyber security breaches, computer viruses or other malicious code, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and other security breaches, or usage errors by their respective professionals or service providers. If unauthorized parties gain access to such information and technology systems, they may be able to steal, publish, delete or modify private and sensitive information, including non-public personal information related to shareholders (and their owners) and material non-public information. Although TPG Angelo Gordon has implemented, and portfolio companies and service providers may implement, various measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, such systems could prove to be and, if compromised, could become inoperable for extended periods of time, to function properly or to secure private information. TPG Angelo Gordon does not control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by third-party service providers, and such third-party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to TPG Angelo Gordon, its affiliates, the Fund, the shareholders and/or a portfolio company, each of which could be impacted as a result. such as those involving covertly introduced malware, impersonation of authorized users and industrial or other espionage may not be identified even with sophisticated and detection systems, potentially resulting in further and them from being addressed appropriately. The of these systems and/or of recovery plans for any reason could cause significant in TPG Angelo Gordon’s, its affiliates’, the Fund’s and/or a portfolio company’s operations and result in a to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information relating to shareholders (and their owners), material non-public information and the intellectual property and trade secrets and other sensitive information of TPG Angelo Gordon and/or portfolio companies. TPG Angelo Gordon, the Fund and/or a portfolio company could be required to make a significant investment to remedy the effects of any such , to their reputations, legal that they and their respective affiliates may be to, regulatory action or enforcement arising out of applicable privacy and other laws, publicity, and other events that may affect their business and financial performance.
Rapidly developing and changing data security and privacy laws and regulations could increase compliance costs and subject us to enforcement risks and reputational damage.
Cybersecurity, privacy and data protection have become a top priority for regulators in the United States and around the world and many jurisdictions in which we operate have enacted applicable laws and regulation. We and our funds’ portfolio companies are subject to various risks and costs associated with the collection, storage, transmission and other processing of personal data. This personal data is wide ranging and relates to our shareholders, employees, contractors and other counterparties and third parties. Data security and privacy compliance obligations to which we are subject impose compliance costs on us, which could increase significantly as laws and regulations evolve. Our compliance obligations include, but are not limited to, those relating to U.S. laws and regulations, including, without limitation, state regulations such as the CPRA, which provides for enhanced consumer protections for California residents, a private right of action for data breaches and statutory fines and damages for data breaches or other California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) violations, as well as a requirement of “reasonable” cybersecurity. At the U.S. federal level, the SEC has adopted amendments to Regulation S-P that took effect December 3, 2025. These amendments impose operationally notification requirements and obligations to implement written policies and procedures to govern oversight of service providers that will likely increase associated compliance costs.
Our compliance obligations also include those relating to foreign data collection and privacy laws, including, for example, the GDPR and U.K. Data Protection Act, as well as laws in many other jurisdictions globally. Global laws in this area are rapidly increasing in the scale and depth of their requirements and are also often extra-territorial in nature. In addition, a wide range of regulators and private actors are seeking to enforce these laws across regions and borders. Furthermore, we frequently have privacy compliance requirements as a result of our contractual obligations with counterparties. These legal, regulatory and contractual obligations heighten our data protection and privacy obligations in the ordinary course of conducting our business in the U.S. Any inability, or perceived inability, by us or our funds’
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portfolio companies to adequately address data protection or privacy concerns, or comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, industry standards and guidance, contractual obligations, or other legal obligations, even if unfounded, could result in significant legal, regulatory and third-party liability, increased costs, disruption of our and our funds’ portfolio companies’ business and operations, and a loss of client (including investor) confidence and other reputational damage.
Many regulators have indicated an intention to take more aggressive enforcement actions regarding data privacy matters, and private litigation resulting from such matters is increasing and resulting in progressively larger judgments and settlements. For example, the SEC’s stated 2026 examination priorities included an intended focus on adviser’s policies and procedures related to information security and operational risks in the safeguarding of customer records and information. As new data protection and privacy-related laws and regulations are implemented, the time and resources needed for us and our funds’ portfolio companies to comply with such laws and regulations continues to increase and become a significant compliance workstream.
We may not be able to obtain all required state licenses or in any other jurisdiction where they may be required in the future.
We may be required to obtain various state licenses in order to, among other things, originate commercial loans, and may be required to obtain similar licenses from other authorities, including outside of the United States, in the future in connection with one or more investments. Applying for and obtaining required licenses can be costly and take several months. There is no assurance that we will obtain all of the licenses that we need on a timely basis. Furthermore, we will be subject to various information and other requirements in order to obtain and maintain these licenses, and there is no assurance that we will satisfy those requirements. Our failure to obtain or maintain licenses might restrict investment options and have other adverse consequences.
We are subject to risks related to corporate social responsibility.
Our business faces increasing public scrutiny related to sustainability activities. We risk damage to our brand and reputation if we fail to act responsibly in a number of areas, such as environmental stewardship, corporate governance and transparency and considering sustainability factors in our investment processes. Adverse incidents with respect to sustainability 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. At the same time, some stakeholders and regulators have increasingly expressed or pursued opposing views, legislation and investment expectations with respect to sustainability initiatives. This divergence increases the risk that any action or lack thereof with respect to sustainability matters will be perceived negatively by at least some stakeholders and adversely impact our reputation and business. Regional and investor-specific sentiment may differ in what constitutes a material or sustainability factor. There is no guarantee that our sustainability practices will uniformly fit every investor’s definition of practices for all sustainability considerations across geographies and investor types. Additionally, new regulatory initiatives related to sustainability could affect our business. More recently, anti-ESG sentiment has momentum in the United States, with the Federal government and many states having enacted or proposed "anti-ESG" policies, legislation or issue related legal opinions. These and other rapidly changing, and sometimes , laws, regulations, policies and related interpretations, as well as increased enforcement actions by various governmental and regulatory agencies, may create for us, including our compliance and ethics programs, may alter the environment in which we do business and may increase the ongoing costs of compliance, which could impact our results of operations and cash flows. If we are to address such climate and sustainability matters or we or are perceived to to comply with all laws, regulations, policies and related interpretations, it could impact our reputation and our business results.
Compliance with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest may negatively impact our ability to raise capital in our continuous offering, which would harm our ability to achieve our investment objectives.
As of June 30, 2020, broker-dealers must comply with Regulation Best Interest, which, among other requirements, enhances the existing standard of conduct for broker-dealers and natural persons who are associated persons of a broker-dealer when recommending to a retail customer any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities to a retail customer. The impact of Regulation Best Interest on broker- dealers participating in our continuous offering cannot be determined at this time, but it may negatively impact whether broker-dealers and their associated persons recommend our continuous offering to retail customers. Regulation Best Interest imposes a duty of care for broker-dealers to evaluate reasonable alternatives in the best interests of their clients. Reasonable alternatives to the Fund, such as listed entities, exist and may have lower expenses, less complexity and/or lower investment risk than the Fund. Certain investments in listed
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entities may involve lower or no commissions at the time of initial purchase. Under Regulation Best Interest, broker-dealers participating in our continuous offering must consider such alternatives in the best interests of their clients. If Regulation Best Interest reduces our ability to raise capital in our continuous offering, it would harm our ability to create a diversified portfolio of investments and achieve our investment objectives and would result in our fixed operating costs representing a larger percentage of our gross income.
We are subject to risks associated with artificial intelligence, including the application of various forms of artificial intelligence such as machine learning technology.
Recent technological advances in artificial intelligence, including machine learning technology (“Machine Learning Technology”), pose risks to us and our portfolio companies. We and our portfolio companies could be exposed to the risks of Machine Learning Technology if third-party service providers or any counterparties use Machine Learning Technology in their business activities. We and the Adviser are not in a position to control the use of Machine Learning Technology in third-party products or services. Use of Machine Learning Technology could include the input of confidential information in contravention of applicable policies, contractual or other obligations or restrictions, resulting in such confidential information becoming partly accessible by other third-party Machine Learning Technology applications and users. Machine Learning Technology and its applications continue to develop rapidly, and we cannot predict the risks that may arise from such developments. The full extent of current or future risks related thereto is not possible to predict and we may not be able to anticipate, prevent, mitigate or remediate all of the potential risks, challenges or impacts of such changes. Machine Learning Technologies could significantly disrupt the business models, investment strategies, operational processes, and markets in which we operate and subject us to increased competition, legal and regulatory risks and compliance costs, which could have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Machine Learning Technology is generally highly reliant on the collection and analysis of large amounts of data, and it is not possible or practicable to incorporate all relevant data into the model that Machine Learning Technology utilizes to operate. Certain data in such models will inevitably contain a degree of inaccuracy and error and could otherwise be inadequate or flawed, which would be likely to degrade the effectiveness of Machine Learning Technology. This could reduce the effectiveness of Machine Learning Technology and adversely impact us and our operations to the extent we rely on the work product of such Machine Learning Technology in such operations. The volume and reliance on data and algorithms also make Machine Learning Technology, and in turn us and our portfolio companies and investments, more susceptible to cybersecurity threats, including the compromise of underlying models, training data, or other intellectual property. We, our funds, our portfolio companies and our funds’ investments could be exposed to risks to the extent third-party service providers, or any counterparties use Machine Learning Technology in their business activities.
Changes in laws or regulations governing our business or the businesses of our portfolio companies, changes in the interpretation thereof or newly enacted laws or regulations, and any failure by us or our portfolio companies to comply with these laws or regulations may adversely affect our business and the businesses of our portfolio
companies.
We and our portfolio companies are subject to laws and regulations at the U.S. federal, state and local levels and, in some cases, foreign levels. These laws and regulations, as well as their interpretation, may change from time to time, and new laws, regulations and interpretations may also come into effect. Any such new or changed laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business or the business of our portfolio companies. Changes in regulation or regulatory interpretations could increase the costs and risks to which we are subject. The legal, tax and regulatory environment for BDCs, investment advisers and the instruments that they utilize (including derivative instruments) is continuously evolving. The Adviser is a registered investment adviser and, as such, is subject to the provision of the Advisers Act, the rules adopted thereunder and the SEC or SEC staff interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change. Unpublished or changing SEC staff interpretations could contradict the advice of our outside counsel, which could expose us and the Adviser to regulatory scrutiny. There can be no assurance that we and our affiliates will avoid regulatory investigations or enforcement actions. In addition, there is significant uncertainty regarding recently enacted legislation and the regulations that have recently been adopted and future regulations that may or may not be adopted pursuant to such legislation and, consequently, the full impact that such legislation will ultimately have on us and the markets in which we trade and invest is not fully known. Such uncertainty and any resulting may itself be to the functioning of the markets and the of certain investment strategies.
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Our Board of Trustees may change our operating policies and strategies without prior notice or shareholder approval, the effects of which may be adverse to our results of operations and financial condition.
Our Board of Trustees has the authority to modify or waive our current operating policies, investment criteria and strategies without prior notice and without shareholder 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 shares. However, the effects might be adverse, which could negatively impact our ability to pay distributions and cause shareholders to lose all or part of their investment. Moreover, we have significant flexibility in investing the net proceeds from our continuous offering and may use the net proceeds from our continuous offering in ways with which shareholders may not agree or for purposes other than those contemplated in this Annual Report.
Our Board of Trustees may amend our Declaration of Trust without prior shareholder approval.
Our Board of Trustees may, without shareholder vote, subject to certain exceptions, amend or otherwise supplement the Declaration of Trust by making an amendment, a Declaration of Trust supplemental thereto or an amended and restated Declaration of Trust, including without limitation to classify the Board of Trustees, to impose advance notice bylaw provisions for Trustee nominations or for shareholder proposals, to require super-majority approval of transactions with significant shareholders or other provisions that may be characterized as anti-takeover in nature. However, our Declaration of Trust provides that shareholders are entitled to vote upon a proposed amendment to the Declaration of Trust if the amendment would adversely affect the rights of shareholders. Any such amendment must be approved by the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding shares of the Company entitled to vote thereon.
We and/or our portfolio companies may be materially and adversely impacted by global climate change.
Climate change is widely considered to be a significant threat to the global economy. Our business operations and our portfolio companies may face risks associated with climate change, including risks related to the impact of climate-related legislation and regulation (both domestically and internationally), risks related to climate-related business trends (such as the process of transitioning to a lower-carbon economy), and risks stemming from the physical impacts of climate change, such as the increasing frequency or severity of extreme weather events and rising sea levels and temperatures.
Risks Related to an Investment in the Common Shares
We may have difficulty paying distributions and the tax character of any distributions is uncertain.
We generally intend to distribute substantially all of our available earnings annually by paying distributions on a monthly basis, as determined by the Board of Trustees in its discretion. We cannot assure investors that we will achieve investment results that will allow us to make a specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. Our ability to pay distributions might be adversely affected by the impact of one or more of the risk factors described in this Annual Report. Due to the asset coverage test applicable to us under the 1940 Act as a BDC, we may be limited in our ability to make distributions. In addition, if we enter into a credit facility or any other borrowing facility, for so long as such facility is outstanding, we anticipate that we may be required by its terms to use all payments of interest and principal that we receive from our current investments as well as any proceeds received from the sale of our current investments to repay amounts outstanding thereunder, which could adversely affect our ability to make distributions.
Furthermore, the tax treatment and characterization of our distributions may vary significantly from time to time due to the nature of our investments. The ultimate tax characterization of our distributions made during a taxable year may not finally be determined until after the end of that taxable year. We may make distributions during a taxable year that exceed our investment company taxable income and net capital gains for that taxable year. In such a situation, the amount by which our total distributions exceed investment company taxable income and net capital gains generally would be treated as a return of capital up to the amount of a shareholder’s tax basis in the shares, with any amounts exceeding such tax basis treated as a gain from the sale or exchange of such shares. A return of capital generally is a return of a shareholder’s investment rather than a return of earnings or gains derived from our investment activities. Moreover, we may pay all or a substantial portion of our distributions from borrowings or sources other than cash flow from operations in anticipation of future cash flow. Any such distributions may constitute a return of shareholders’ capital, which would lower such shareholders’ tax basis in our shares and may result in increased tax liability to shareholders when they sell such shares.
Shareholders may experience dilution.
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All distributions declared in cash payable to shareholders that are participants in our DRIP will generally be automatically reinvested in our Common Shares. As a result, shareholders that do not participate in our DRIP may experience dilution over time.
Holders of our Common Shares will not have preemptive rights to any shares we issue in the future. Our charter allows us to issue an unlimited number of Common Shares. Our Board of Trustees may elect, without shareholder approval, to:
(1) sell additional shares in this or future public offerings;
(2) issue Common Shares or interests in any of our subsidiaries in private offerings;
(3) issue Common Shares upon the exercise of the options we may grant to our Independent Trustees or future employees; or
(4) subject to applicable law, issue Common Shares in payment of an outstanding obligation to pay fees for services rendered to us.
Because of these and other reasons, our shareholders may experience substantial dilution in their percentage ownership of our shares or their interests in the underlying assets held by our subsidiaries.
Investing in our shares involves 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 volatility or loss of principal. Our investments in portfolio companies may be highly speculative and aggressive and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment strategy will produce favorable returns, due to the risks and uncertainties described herein, among others. Prospective investors must be prepared to bear capital losses that might result from an investment in the Fund, including a complete loss of the prospective investor’s investment and, therefore, an investment in our shares may not be suitable for someone with lower risk tolerance.
The NAV of our shares may fluctuate significantly.
The NAV and liquidity, if any, of the market for our shares may be significantly affected by numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include:
• changes in regulatory policies or tax guidelines, particularly with respect to RICs or BDCs;
• loss of RIC or BDC status;
• changes in earnings or variations in operating results;
• changes in the value of our portfolio of investments;
• changes in accounting guidelines governing valuation of our investments;
• any shortfall in revenue or net income or any increase in losses from levels expected by investors;
• departure of either of our Adviser or certain of its respective key personnel;
• general economic trends and other external factors; and
• loss of a major funding source.
Provisions of our Declaration of Trust and bylaws could deter takeover attempts.
Pursuant to our Declaration of Trust and bylaws, as amended, our Board of Trustees is divided into three classes of trustees. Each class consists, as nearly as possible, of one-third of the total number of Trustees, and each class has a three-year term. Our classified board could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent Trustees more time
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consuming and difficult. Because our Trustees may be removed (i) by a majority of the remaining Trustees (or in the case of the removal of an Independent Trustee, a majority of the remaining Independent Trustees) but only for cause or (ii) upon a vote by the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of our outstanding shares entitled to vote with or without cause, at least two annual meetings of shareholders, instead of one, will generally be required to effect a change in a majority of our Board of Trustees. Thus, our classified board could increase the likelihood that incumbent Trustees will retain their positions. The staggered terms of Trustees may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer by a third party or an attempt to change control of us or another transaction that might involve a premium price for our common shares that might be in the best interest of our shareholders.
Risks Related to Our Investments
Our investments in prospective portfolio companies may be risky, and we could lose all or part of our investment.
Our investments may be risky and there is no limit on the amount of any such investments in which we may invest. In addition, investment analyses and decisions by the Fund and the Adviser will often be undertaken on an expedited basis in order for the Fund to take advantage of investment opportunities. In such cases, the information available to the Fund and the Adviser at the time of an investment decision may be limited, and the Fund and the Adviser may not have access to the detailed information necessary for a full evaluation of the investment opportunity. In addition, the financial information available to the Fund and the Adviser may not be accurate or provided based upon accepted accounting methods. The Fund and the Adviser will rely upon independent consultants or advisors in connection with the evaluation of proposed investments. There can be no assurance that these consultants or advisors will accurately evaluate such investments.
Risk Associated with Unspecified Transactions; No Assurance of Investment Return.
Investors will be relying on the ability of the Adviser to source, negotiate, consummate and syndicate Fund originated loans (each, a “loan” and, together with other portfolio investments, the “portfolio investments”) using the investments of shareholders, and there is no assurance that the Adviser will find a sufficient number of attractive opportunities to meet the Fund’s investment objectives or that the Fund will be able to make and realize its investment objective. The realizable value of a highly illiquid investment, at any given time, may be less than its intrinsic value. In addition, certain types of investments held by the Fund may require a substantial length of time to liquidate. Furthermore, to the extent the investment strategy of the Fund relies upon a certain set of market and economic conditions and such conditions do not materialize for an extended period of time, the Fund may not be able to invest a significant portion of the proceeds. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to generate returns for its investors or that the returns will be commensurate with the risks of investing in the type of portfolio investments and transactions described herein.
Any information included in any of the Fund’s marketing materials regarding targeted returns for the Fund is provided as an indicator as to how the Fund will be managed and is not intended to be viewed as an indicator of likely performance returns to investors in the Fund. Any targeted return information is based upon projections, estimates and assumptions that a potential investment will yield a return equal to or greater than the target. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the Fund’s projections, estimates or assumptions will be realized or that the Adviser will be successful in finding investment opportunities that meet these anticipated return parameters.
Debt Instruments Generally . The Fund will invest in debt and credit-related instruments. Such debt may be unsecured and structurally or contractually subordinated to substantial amounts of senior indebtedness, all or a significant portion of which may be secured. Moreover, such debt investments may not be protected by financial covenants or limitations upon additional indebtedness and there is no minimum credit rating for such debt investments. Other factors may materially and adversely affect the market price and yield of such debt investments, including investor demand, changes in the financial condition of the applicable issuer, government fiscal policy and domestic or worldwide economic conditions. Certain debt instruments in which the Fund may invest may have speculative characteristics.
Generally, speculative investment securities offer a higher return potential than higher-rated securities, but involve greater volatility of price and greater risk of loss of income and principal. The issuers of such instruments (including sovereign issuers) may face significant ongoing uncertainties and exposure to adverse conditions that may undermine the issuer’s ability to make timely payment of interest and principal. Such instruments are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations and involve major risk exposure to adverse conditions. In addition, an economic recession could severely disrupt the market for most of these instruments and may have an adverse impact on the value of such instruments. It also
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is likely that any such economic downturn could adversely affect the ability of the issuers of such instruments to repay principal and pay interest thereon and increase the incidence of default for such instruments.
Loans Risk . The loans that the Fund may invest in include loans that are first lien, second lien or that are unsecured. In addition, the loans the Fund will invest in will usually be rated below investment grade or may also be unrated (known as “junk” loans). Loans are subject to a number of risks described elsewhere in this Annual Report, including credit risk, liquidity risk, below investment grade instruments risk and management risk.
Although certain loans in which the Fund may invest will be secured by collateral, there can be no assurance that such collateral could be readily liquidated or that the liquidation of such collateral would satisfy the borrower’s obligation in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of a borrower, the Fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of the collateral securing a loan. In the event of a decline in the value of the already pledged collateral, if the terms of a loan do not require the borrower to pledge additional collateral, the Fund will be exposed to the risk that the value of the collateral will not at all times equal or exceed the amount of the borrower’s obligations under the loans. To the extent that a loan is collateralized by stock in the borrower or its subsidiaries, such stock may lose some or all of its value in the event of the or of the borrower. Those loans that are under-collateralized involve a risk of .
Further, there is a risk that any collateral pledged by portfolio companies in which the Fund has taken a security interest may decrease in value over time or lose its entire value, may be difficult to sell in a timely manner, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value based upon the success of the business and market conditions, including as a result of the inability of the portfolio company to raise additional capital. To the extent the Fund’s debt investment is collateralized by the securities of a portfolio company’s subsidiaries, such securities may lose some or all of their value in the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the portfolio company. Also, in some circumstances, the Fund’s security interest may be contractually or structurally subordinated to claims of other creditors. In addition, deterioration in a portfolio company’s financial condition and prospects, including its inability to raise additional capital, may be accompanied by in the value of the collateral for the debt. Secured debt that is under-collateralized involves a risk of . In addition, second lien debt is granted a second priority security interest in collateral, which means that any realization of collateral will generally be applied to pay senior secured debt in full before second lien debt is paid. Consequently, the fact that debt is secured does not guarantee that the Fund will receive principal and interest payments according to the debt’s terms, or at all, or that the Fund will be to collect on the debt should it be to enforce remedies.
Loans are not registered with the SEC, or any state securities commission, and are not listed on any national securities exchange. There is less readily available or reliable information about most loans than is the case for many other types of securities, including securities issued in transactions registered under the Securities Act or registered under the Exchange Act. No active trading market may exist for some loans, and some loans may be subject to restrictions on resale. A secondary market may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which may impair the ability to realize full value and thus cause a material decline in the Fund’s NAV. In addition, the Fund may not be able to readily dispose of its loans at prices that approximate those at which the Fund could sell such loans if they were more widely-traded and, as a result of such illiquidity, the Fund may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions if necessary to raise cash to meet its obligations. During periods of limited supply and liquidity of loans, the Fund’s yield may be lower.
Some loans are subject to the risk that a court, pursuant to fraudulent conveyance or other similar laws, could subordinate the loans to presently existing or future indebtedness of the borrower or take other action detrimental to lenders, including the Fund. Such court action could under certain circumstances include invalidation of loans.
If legislation of state or federal regulations impose additional requirements or restrictions on the ability of financial institutions to make loans, the availability of loans for investment by the Fund may be adversely affected. In addition, such requirements or restrictions could reduce or eliminate sources of financing for certain borrowers. This would increase the risk of default.
If legislation or federal or state regulations require financial institutions to increase their capital requirements this may cause financial institutions to dispose of loans that are considered highly levered transactions. Such sales could result in prices that, in the opinion of the Adviser, do not represent fair value. If the Fund attempts to sell a loan at a time when a financial institution is engaging in such a sale, the price the Fund could get for the loan may be adversely affected.
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The Fund may acquire loans through assignments or participations. The Fund will typically acquire loans through assignment. The purchaser of an assignment typically succeeds to all the rights and obligations of the assigning institution and becomes a lender under the credit agreement with respect to the debt obligation; however, the purchaser’s rights can be more restricted than those of the assigning institution, and the Fund may not be able to unilaterally enforce all rights and remedies under the loan and with regard to any associated collateral.
A participation typically results in a contractual relationship only with the institution selling the participation interest, not with the borrower. Sellers of participations typically include banks, broker-dealers, other financial institutions and lending institutions. Certain participation agreements also include the option to convert the participation to a full assignment under agreed upon circumstances.
In purchasing participations, the Fund generally will have no right to enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement against the borrower, and the Fund may not directly benefit from the collateral supporting the debt obligation in which it has purchased the participation. As a result, the Fund will be exposed to the credit risk of both the borrower and the institution selling the participation. Further, in purchasing participations in lending syndicates, the Fund will not be able to conduct the due diligence on the borrower or the quality of the loan with respect to which it is buying a participation that the Fund would otherwise conduct if it were investing directly in the loan, which may result in the Fund being exposed to greater credit or fraud risk with respect to the borrower or the loan than the Fund expected when initially purchasing the participation.
The Fund also may originate loans or acquire loans by participating in the initial issuance of the loan as part of a syndicate of banks and financial institutions, or receive its interest in a loan directly from the borrower.
Loan Origination. The Adviser will originate loans on behalf of the Fund. The level of analytical sophistication, both financial and legal, necessary for successful financing to companies, particularly companies experiencing significant business and financial difficulties, is high. There can be no assurance that the Adviser and the Fund will correctly evaluate the value of the assets collateralizing these loans or the prospects for successful repayment or a successful reorganization or similar action.
In accordance with TPG Angelo Gordon’s co-investment exemptive order, the Fund’s ability to acquire loans could be dependent on the existence and performance of TPG Angelo Gordon’s origination platform, which includes other funds managed by TPG Angelo Gordon and enables TPG Angelo Gordon to commit in size to multiple deals. Therefore, a decrease in TPG Angelo Gordon’s origination platform or its inability to acquire investments suitable for the Fund could reduce or possibly eliminate the ability of the Fund to participate in certain loans within the Fund’s investment objective and would have a material adverse effect on the Fund’s performance. Other TPG Angelo Gordon funds could be subject to certain restrictions on the types of investments they can make, and such restrictions may in effect limit the types of investments the Fund could make to the extent that the Fund is dependent on TPG Angelo Gordon’s origination platform.
Loan origination involves a number of particular risks that may not exist in the case of secondary debt purchases. TPG Angelo Gordon may have to rely more on its own resources to conduct due diligence of the borrower, and such borrower may in some circumstances present a higher credit risk and/or could not obtain debt financing in the syndicated markets. As a result, the diligence is likely to be more limited than the diligence conducted for a broadly syndicated transaction involving an underwriter. Loan origination may also involve additional regulatory risks given licensing requirements for certain types of lending in some jurisdictions, and the scope of these regulatory requirements (and certain permitted exemptions) may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and may change from time to time. In addition, in originating loans, the Fund will compete with a broad spectrum of lenders, some of which may have greater financial resources than the Fund, and some of which may be willing to lend money on better terms (from a borrower’s standpoint) than the Fund. Increased competition for, or a diminution in the available supply of, qualifying loans may result in lower yields on such loans, which could reduce returns to the Fund. The level of analytical sophistication, both financial and legal, necessary for successful financing to companies, particularly companies experiencing significant business and financial is unusually high. There is no assurance that the Adviser will correctly evaluate the value of the assets collateralizing these loans or the prospects for repayment or a reorganization or similar action.
Given that the Fund intends to engage in originating, lending and/or servicing loans, the Fund may therefore also be subject to state and federal regulation, borrower disclosure requirements, limits on fees and interest rates on some loans, state lender licensing requirements and other regulatory requirements in the conduct of its business as they pertain to such transactions. The Fund may also be subject to consumer disclosures and substantive requirements on consumer loan terms and other federal regulatory requirements applicable to consumer lending that are administered by the Consumer Financial
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Protection Bureau and other applicable regulatory authorities. These state and federal regulatory programs are designed to protect borrowers.
Senior Loans . The investment objective of the Fund includes investing in senior secured loans. As such, the assets of the Fund may include first lien senior secured debt and may also include selected second lien senior secured debt, the latter of which involves a higher degree of risk of a loss of capital.
The factors affecting an issuer’s first and second lien loans, and its overall capital structure, are complex. Some first lien loans may not necessarily have priority over all other unsecured debt of an issuer. For example, some first lien loans may permit other secured obligations (such as overdrafts, swaps or other derivatives made available by members of the syndicate to the company), or involve first liens only on specified assets of an issuer ( e.g. , excluding real estate). Issuers of first lien loans may have multiple tranches of first lien debt outstanding, each with first liens on separate collateral, or may share first liens on the same collateral. Furthermore, liens with respect to primarily U.S. financings generally only cover U.S. assets, and non-U.S. assets are not included (other than, for example, where a borrower pledges a portion of the stock of first-tier non-U.S. subsidiaries). In the event of Chapter 11 filing by an issuer, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code authorizes the issuer to use a creditor’s collateral and to obtain additional credit by grant of a prior lien on its property, senior even to liens that were first in priority prior to the filing, as long as the issuer provides what the presiding bankruptcy judge considers to be “adequate protection,” which may, but need not always, consist of the grant of replacement or additional liens or the making of cash payments to the affected secured creditor. The imposition of prior liens on the Fund’s collateral would affect the priority of the liens and held by the Fund and could affect the Fund’s recovery on its leveraged loans.
Any secured debt is secured only to the extent of its lien and only to the extent of the value of underlying assets or incremental proceeds on already secured assets. Moreover, underlying assets are subject to credit, liquidity, and interest rate risk. Although the amount and characteristics of the underlying assets selected as collateral may allow the Fund to withstand certain assumed deficiencies in payments occasioned by the borrower’s default, if any deficiencies exceed such assumed levels or if underlying assets are sold, it is possible that the proceeds of such sale or disposition will not be sufficient to satisfy the amount of principal and interest owing to the Fund in respect of its investment.
Senior secured credit facilities are generally syndicated to a number of different financial market participants. The documentation governing such facilities typically requires either a majority consent or, in certain cases, unanimous approval for certain actions in respect of the credit, such as waivers, amendments, or the exercise of remedies. In addition, voting to accept or reject the terms of a restructuring of a credit pursuant to a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization is done on a class basis. As a result of these voting regimes, the Fund may not have the ability to control any decision in respect of any amendment, waiver, exercise of remedies, restructuring or reorganization of debts owed to the Fund.
Senior secured loans are also subject to other risks, including:
(i) the possible invalidation of a debt or lien as a “fraudulent conveyance”;
(ii) the recovery as a “preference” of liens perfected or payments made on account of a debt in the 90 days before a bankruptcy filing;
(iii) equitable subordination claims by other creditors;
(iv) “lender liability” claims by the portfolio company of the obligations; and
(v) environmental and/or other liabilities that may arise with respect to collateral securing the obligations.
Decisions in bankruptcy cases have held that a secondary loan market assignee can be denied a recovery from the debtor in a bankruptcy if a prior holder of the loans either received and does not return a preference or fraudulent conveyance, or if such prior holder engaged in conduct that would qualify for equitable subordination.
The Fund’s investments may be subject to early redemption features, refinancing options, pre-payment options or similar provisions that, in each case, could result in the portfolio company repaying the principal on an obligation held by the Fund earlier than expected. As a consequence, the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective may be adversely affected.
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These risks are magnified for stretch senior loans. Stretch senior loans are senior loans that have a greater loan-to-value ratio than traditional senior loans and typically carry a higher interest rate to compensate for the additional risk. Because stretch senior loans have a greater loan-to-value ratio, there is potentially less over-collateralization available to cover the entire principal of the stretch senior loan.
Equity Investments . We may make investments in common and other equity securities. Although common stock has historically generated higher average total returns than fixed income securities over the long term, common stock also has experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. The equity securities we acquire may fail to appreciate and may decline in value or become worthless, and our ability to recover our investment will depend on our portfolio company’s success. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks. While there are many types of equity securities, prices of all equity securities will fluctuate. Any equity investment we make in a portfolio company could be subject to further dilution as a result of the issuance of additional equity interests and to serious risks as a junior security that will be subordinate to all indebtedness (including trade creditors) or other senior securities in the event that the issuer is unable to meet its obligations or becomes subject to a bankruptcy process. To the extent that the portfolio company requires additional capital and is to obtain it, we may not recover our investment. In some cases, equity securities in which we invest will not pay current dividends, and our ability to realize a return on our investment, as well as to recover our investment, will be dependent on the of the portfolio company.
We may invest, to the extent permitted by law, in the equity securities of investment funds that are operating pursuant to the exceptions set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act and, to the extent we so invest, will bear our ratable share of any such company’s expenses, including management and performance fees. We will also remain obligated to pay the management fee and incentive fee to the Adviser with respect to the assets invested in the securities and instruments of such companies. With respect to each of these investments, each of our common shareholders will bear his or her share of the management fee and incentive fee due to the Adviser as well as indirectly bearing the management and performance fees and other expenses of any such investment funds or advisers.
Preferred Securities. Investments in preferred securities involve certain risks. Certain preferred securities contain provisions that allow an issuer under certain conditions to skip or defer distributions. If the Fund owns a preferred security that is deferring its distribution, the Fund may be required to include the amount of the deferred distribution in its taxable income for tax purposes although it does not currently receive such amount in cash. In order to receive the special treatment accorded to RICs and their shareholders under the Code and to avoid U.S. federal income and/or excise taxes at the Fund level, the Fund may be required to distribute this income to shareholders in the tax year in which the income is recognized (without a corresponding receipt of cash). Therefore, the Fund may be required to pay out as an income distribution in any such tax year an amount greater than the total amount of cash income the Fund actually received, and to sell portfolio securities, including at potentially disadvantageous times or prices, to obtain cash needed for these income distributions. Preferred securities often are subject to legal provisions that allow for redemption in the event of certain tax or legal changes or at the issuer’s call. In the event of redemption, the Fund may not be able to reinvest the proceeds at comparable rates of return. Preferred securities are subordinated to bonds and other debt securities in an issuer’s capital structure in terms of priority for corporate income and payments, and therefore will be subject to credit risk than those debt securities. Preferred securities may trade less frequently and in a more limited volume and may be subject to more or price movements than many other securities, such as common stocks, corporate debt securities and U.S. government securities.
Non-U.S . Securities . We may invest in non-U.S. securities, which may include securities denominated in U.S. dollars or in non-U.S. currencies, to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Because evidence of ownership of such securities usually is held outside the United States, we would be subject to additional risks if we invested in non-U.S. securities, which include possible adverse political and economic developments, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits and adoption of governmental restrictions, which might adversely affect or restrict the payment of principal and interest on the non-U.S. securities to shareholders located outside the country of the issuer, whether from currency blockage or otherwise. Because non-U.S. securities may be purchased with and payable in foreign currencies, the value of these assets as measured in U.S. dollars may be affected unfavorably by changes in currency rates and exchange control regulations.
Subordinated Debt . Our subordinated debt investments will generally rank junior in priority of payment to senior debt and will generally be unsecured. This may result in a heightened level of risk and volatility or a loss of principal, which could lead to the loss of the entire investment. These investments may involve additional risks that could adversely affect our investment returns. To the extent interest payments associated with such debt are deferred, such debt may be subject to greater fluctuations in valuations, and such debt could subject us and our shareholders to non-cash income.
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Because we will not receive any principal repayments prior to the maturity of some of our subordinated debt investments, such investments will be of greater risk than amortizing loans.
Below Investment Grade Risk . In addition, we intend to invest in securities that are rated below investment grade by rating agencies or that would be rated below investment grade if they were rated. Below investment grade securities, which are often referred to as “junk,” have predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. They may also be difficult to value and illiquid. The major risks of below investment grade securities include:
• Below investment grade securities may be issued by less creditworthy issuers. Issuers of below investment grade securities may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade securities. In the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, claims of other creditors may have priority over the claims of holders of below investment grade securities, leaving few or no assets available to repay holders of below investment grade securities.
• Prices of below investment grade securities are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Adverse changes in an issuer’s industry and general economic conditions may have a greater impact on the prices of below investment grade securities than on other higher-rated fixed-income securities.
• Issuers of below investment grade securities may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments or the unavailability of additional financing.
• Below investment grade securities frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from us before it matures. If the issuer redeems below investment grade securities, we may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields and may lose income.
• Below investment grade securities may be less liquid than higher-rated fixed-income securities, even under normal economic conditions. There are fewer dealers in the below investment grade securities market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted by the dealers. Judgment may play a greater role in valuing these securities and we may be unable to sell these securities at an advantageous time or price.
• We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer.
The credit rating of a high-yield security does not necessarily address its market value risk. Ratings and market value may change from time to time, positively or negatively, to reflect new developments regarding the issuer.
Junior, Unsecured Securities. Our strategy may entail acquiring securities that are junior or unsecured instruments. While this approach can facilitate obtaining control and then adding value through active management, it also means that certain of the Fund’s investments may be unsecured. If a portfolio company becomes financially distressed or insolvent and does not successfully reorganize, we will have no assurance (compared to those distressed securities investors that acquire only fully collateralized positions) that we will recover any of the principal that we have invested. Similarly, investments in “last out” pieces of unitranche loans will be similar to second lien loans in that such investments will be junior in priority to the “first out” piece of the same unitranche loan with respect to payment of principal, interest and other amounts. Consequently, the fact that debt is secured does not guarantee that we will receive principal and interest payments according to the debt’s terms, or at all, or that we will be able to collect on the debt should it be forced to enforce its remedies.
While such junior or unsecured investments may benefit from the same or similar financial and other covenants as those enjoyed by the indebtedness ranking more senior to such investments and may benefit from cross-default provisions and security over the issuer’s assets, some or all of such terms may not be part of particular investments. Moreover, our ability to influence an issuer’s affairs, especially during periods of financial distress or following insolvency, is likely to be substantially less than that of senior creditors. For example, under typical subordination terms, senior creditors are able to block the acceleration of the junior debt or the exercise by junior debt holders of other rights they may have as creditors. Accordingly, we may not be able to take steps to protect investments in a timely manner or at all, and there can be no assurance that our rate of return objectives or any particular investment will be achieved. In addition, the debt securities in
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which we will invest may not be protected by financial covenants or limitations upon additional indebtedness, may have limited liquidity and are not expected to be rated by a credit rating agency.
Early repayments of our investments may have a material adverse effect on our investment objectives. In addition, depending on fluctuations of the equity markets and other factors, warrants and other equity investments may become worthless.
There can be no assurance that attempts to provide downside protection through contractual or structural terms with respect to our investments will achieve their desired effect and potential investors should regard an investment in us as being speculative and having a high degree of risk. Furthermore, we have limited flexibility to negotiate terms when purchasing newly issued investments in connection with a syndication of mezzanine or certain other junior or subordinated investments or in the secondary market.
“Covenant-lite” Obligations . We may invest in, or obtain exposure to, obligations that may be “covenant-lite,” which means such obligations lack certain financial maintenance covenants. While these loans may still contain other collateral protections, a covenant-lite loan may carry more risk than a covenant-heavy loan made by the same borrower, as it does not require the borrower to provide affirmation that certain specific financial tests have been satisfied on a routine basis as is required under a covenant-heavy loan agreement. Should a loan we hold begin to deteriorate in quality, our ability to negotiate with the borrower may be delayed under a covenant-lite loan compared to a loan with full maintenance covenants. This may in turn delay our ability to seek to recover its investment.
Bridge Financings. From time to time, we may lend to portfolio companies on a short-term, unsecured basis or otherwise invest on an interim basis in portfolio companies in anticipation of a future issuance of equity or long-term debt securities or other refinancing or syndication. Such bridge loans would typically be convertible into a more permanent, long-term security; however, for reasons not always in the Fund’s control, such long-term securities issuance or other refinancing or syndication may not occur and such bridge loans and interim investments may remain outstanding. In such event, the interest rate on such loans or the terms of such interim investments may not adequately reflect the risk associated with the position taken by the Fund.
Distressed Investments; Restructurings . The Fund may make investments in companies that subsequently become distressed ( e.g. , defaulted, out-of-favor or distressed bank loans and debt securities). Certain of the Fund’s investments may, therefore, include specific investments in companies that become highly leveraged with significant burdens on cash flow, and, therefore, involve a high degree of financial risk. Portfolio companies may be facing liquidity challenges due to debt maturities, covenant violations, cyclical challenges or imminent bankruptcy, or they need financing in order to exit bankruptcy. The Fund’s investments may be considered speculative and subject to a high degree of risk, and the ability of the relevant portfolio companies to pay their debts on schedule could be adversely affected by interest rate movements, changes in the general economic climate or the economic factors affecting a particular industry, or specific developments within such companies. Investments in companies operating in workout or modes also present additional legal risks, including conveyance, voidable preference and equitable subordination risks. The level of analytical sophistication, both financial and legal, necessary for investment in companies experiencing significant business and financial is unusually high. There is no assurance that the Adviser will correctly evaluate the value of the assets collateralizing the Fund’s loans or the prospects for a reorganization or similar action.
Distressed/Defaulted Securities . The Fund may invest in the securities of companies that subsequently become involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings, and that may face pending covenant violations or significant debt maturities. In such a case, the Fund may have a more active participation in the affairs of such portfolio companies than is generally assumed by an investor. Such investments could, in certain circumstances, subject the Fund to certain additional potential liabilities, which may exceed the value of the Fund’s original investment therein. For example, under certain circumstances, a lender who has inappropriately exercised control over the management and policies of a debtor may have its claims subordinated or disallowed or may be found liable for damages suffered by parties as a result of such actions. Furthermore, such investments could also subject the Fund to litigation risks or prevent the Fund from disposing of securities. In any reorganization or proceeding relating to a portfolio company or an investment, the Fund may its entire investment, may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than the Fund’s original investment and/or may be required to accept payment over an extended period of time. In addition, under certain circumstances, payments to the Fund and the related distributions by the Fund to the shareholders may be reclaimed if any such payment or distribution is later determined to have been a conveyance, preferential payment, or similar transaction under applicable and laws. As more fully discussed below, in a or
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other proceeding, the Fund as a creditor may be unable to enforce its rights in any collateral or may have its security interest in any collateral challenged or disallowed, and its claims may be subordinated to the claims of other creditors.
The market for distressed securities is expected to be less liquid than the market for securities of companies that are not distressed. A substantial length of time may be required to liquidate investments in securities that become distressed. Furthermore, at times, a major portion of an issue of distressed securities may be held by relatively few investors, and the market may be limited to a narrow range of potential counterparties, such as other financial institutions. Under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the portfolio companies, the Fund may find it more difficult to sell such securities when the Adviser believes it advisable to do so or may only be able to sell such securities at a loss. The Fund may also find it more difficult to determine the fair market value of distressed securities for the purpose of computing the Fund’s net asset value. In some cases, the Fund may be prohibited by contract from selling investments for a period of time.
Non-Performing Debt . Certain debt instruments that the Fund may invest in may be or become nonperforming and possibly in default. The obligor or relevant guarantor may also be in or enter bankruptcy or liquidation. There can be no assurance as to the amount and timing of payments, if any, with respect to any such debt instruments.
Loans may become non-performing for a variety of reasons and borrowers on loans constituting the Fund’s assets may seek the protection afforded by bankruptcy, insolvency and other debtor relief laws. Upon a bankruptcy filing in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court by an issuer of debt, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code imposes an automatic stay on payments of such issuer’s pre-petition debt. A stay on payments to be made on the assets of the Fund could adversely affect the value of those assets and the Fund itself. Other protections in such proceedings may include forgiveness of debt, the ability to create super-priority liens in favor of certain creditors of the debtor and certain well-defined claims procedures. Non-performing debt obligations may require substantial workout negotiations, restructuring or bankruptcy filings that may entail a substantial reduction in the interest rate, deferral of payments and/or a substantial write-down of the principal of a loan or conversion of some or all of the debt to equity. laws may, in certain jurisdictions, result in a of the debt without the Fund’s consent under the “cramdown” provisions of applicable laws and may also result in a discharge of all or part of the debt without payment to the Fund. If a portfolio company were to file for Chapter 11 reorganization, the U.S. Code authorizes the issuer to the terms of repayment of a class of debt, even if the class to accept the , as long as the terms are “fair and equitable” to the class and certain other conditions are met.
Such non-performing instruments or loans may also require a substantial amount of workout negotiations or restructuring, which may entail, among other things, a substantial reduction in the interest rate and a substantial writedown of principal. It is possible that the Fund may find it necessary or desirable to foreclose on collateral securing one or more loans purchased by the Fund. The foreclosure process varies jurisdiction by jurisdiction and can be lengthy and expensive. Borrowers often resist foreclosure actions, which often prolongs and complicates an already difficult and time-consuming process. In some states or other jurisdictions, foreclosure actions can take up to several years or more to conclude. During the foreclosure proceedings, a borrower may have the ability to file for bankruptcy, potentially staying the foreclosure action and further the process. tends to create a public image of the collateral assets and may result in ongoing management of the company. There can be no assurance as to the amount and timing of payments, if any, with respect to any such debt instruments.
Nature of Mezzanine Debt and Other Junior Unsecured Securities . The Fund’s strategy may include acquiring mezzanine debt, which generally will be unrated or have ratings or implied or imputed ratings below investment grade, as well as loans or securities that are junior, unsecured, equity or quasi-equity instruments. Mezzanine debt or securities are generally unsecured and/or subordinated to other obligations of the portfolio company, and tend to have greater credit and liquidity risk than that typically associated with investment grade corporate obligations. The risks associated with mezzanine debt or equity investments include a greater possibility that adverse changes in the financial condition of the obligor or in general economic conditions may adversely affect the obligor’s ability to pay principal and interest on its debt. Many obligors on mezzanine debt or equity investments are highly leveraged. As such, specific developments affecting such obligors, such as reduced cash flow from operations or the inability to refinance debt at maturity, may also adversely affect such obligors’ ability to meet debt service obligations. Mezzanine debt or equity instruments are often issued in connection with leveraged acquisitions or recapitalizations in which the portfolio companies incur a substantially higher amount of indebtedness than the level at which they had previously operated.
Default rates for mezzanine debt and other junior unsecured securities have historically been higher than such rates for investment grade securities. If the Fund makes an investment that is not secured by collateral and if the portfolio
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company in question does not successfully reorganize, the Fund will have no assurance (as compared to those distressed securities investors that acquire only fully collateralized positions) that it will recover any of the principal that it has invested. While junior, unsecured, equity or quasi-equity investments may benefit from the same or similar financial and other covenants as those enjoyed by the indebtedness ranking more senior to such investments and may benefit from cross-default provisions and security over the portfolio company’s assets, some or all of such terms may not be part of the particular investments. Moreover, the ability of the Fund to influence a portfolio company’s affairs, especially during periods of financial distress or following insolvency, is likely to be substantially less than that of senior creditors. For example, under typical subordination terms, senior creditors are able to block the acceleration of the junior debt or the exercise by junior debt holders of other rights they may have as creditors. Accordingly, the Fund may not be to take steps to protect its investments in a timely manner or at all and there can be no assurance that the return objectives of the Fund or any particular investment will be . In addition, the debt securities in which the Fund may invest may not be protected by financial covenants or upon additional indebtedness, may have limited liquidity and are not expected to be rated by a credit rating agency.
Convertible Securities . Convertible securities are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted into or exchanged for a specified amount of common stock of the same or different portfolio company within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles its holder to receive interest that is generally paid or accrued on debt or a dividend that is paid or accrued on preferred stock, in each case, until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Convertible securities have unique investment characteristics in that they generally (i) have higher yields than common stocks, but lower yields than comparable non-convertible securities, (ii) are less subject to fluctuation in value than the underlying common stock due to their fixed-income characteristics and (iii) provide the potential for capital appreciation if the market price of the underlying common stock increases.
The value of a convertible security is a function of its “investment value” (determined by its yield in comparison with the yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege) and its “conversion value” (the security’s worth, at market value, if converted into the underlying common stock). The investment value of a convertible security is influenced by changes in interest rates, with investment value declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline. The credit standing of the portfolio company and other factors may also have an effect on the convertible security’s investment value. The conversion value of a convertible security is determined by the market price of the underlying common stock. If the conversion value is low relative to the investment value, the price of the convertible security is governed principally by its investment value. To the extent the market price of the underlying common stock approaches or exceeds the conversion price, the price of the convertible security will be increasingly influenced by its conversion value. A convertible security generally will sell at a premium over its conversion value by the extent to which investors place value on the right to acquire the underlying common stock while holding a fixed-income security. Generally, the amount of the premium decreases as the convertible security approaches maturity.
A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the portfolio company at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption, the Fund will be required to permit the portfolio company to redeem the security, convert it into the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party. Any of these actions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Price declines in the medium-sized U.S. corporate debt market may adversely affect the fair value of our portfolio, reducing our NAV through increased net unrealized depreciation.
Conditions in the medium-sized U.S. corporate debt market may deteriorate, as seen during the financial crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may cause pricing levels to similarly decline or be volatile. As a result, our NAV could decline through an increase in unrealized depreciation and incurrence of realized losses in connection with the sale of our investments, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our portfolio companies may incur debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, our investments in such companies.
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,
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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 proceeds. 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 and our portfolio company may not have sufficient assets to pay all equally ranking credit even if we hold senior, first-lien debt.
There could be circumstances in which the Fund may not be able to control the modification, waiver or amendment of the terms and conditions of a loan agreement if a sufficient number of the other lenders act contrary to the Fund’s preferences.
The terms and conditions of loan agreements and related assignments may be amended, modified or waived only by the agreement of the lenders. Generally, any such agreement must include a majority or a supermajority (measured by outstanding loans or commitments) or, in certain circumstances, a unanimous vote of the lenders. The Fund and the Adviser would be expected to have the authority to negotiate any amendments or modifications to the applicable agreements related to our loan investments, but even where they do not have any such authority, they may have the authority to give or withhold consent to amendments or modifications initiated and negotiated by portfolio companies or other lenders. Consequently, there could be circumstances in which the Fund may not be able to control the modification, waiver or amendment of the terms and conditions of a loan agreement if a sufficient number of the other lenders act contrary to the Fund’s preferences. If the Fund invests or holds an investment through participation interests or derivative securities rather than directly, it is possible that the Fund may not be entitled to vote on any such adjustment of terms of such agreements.
The exercise of remedies may also be subject to the vote of a specified percentage of the lenders thereunder. The Adviser will have the authority to cause the Fund to consent to certain amendments, waivers or modifications to the investments requested by obligors or the lead agents for loan syndication agreements. The Fund may, in accordance with its investment objectives and policies, extend or defer the maturity, adjust the outstanding balance of any investment, reduce or forgive interest or fees, release material collateral or guarantees, or otherwise amend, modify or waive the terms of any related loan agreement, including the payment terms thereunder. The Fund will make such determinations in accordance with its investment objectives and policies. Any amendment, waiver or modification of an investment could adversely impact the Fund’s investment returns.
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.
If one of our portfolio companies were to file for bankruptcy, depending on the facts and circumstances, including the extent to which we actually provided managerial assistance to that portfolio company, a bankruptcy court might re-characterize our debt investment and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors. 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.
In recent years, a number of judicial decisions in the United States have upheld the right of borrowers to sue lending institutions on the basis of various evolving legal theories (collectively termed “lender liability”). Generally, lender liability is founded upon the premise that an institutional lender has violated a duty (whether implied or contractual) of good faith and fair dealing owed to a borrower or has assumed a degree of control over the borrower resulting in a creation of a fiduciary duty owed to the borrower or its other creditors or shareholders. Because of the nature of certain of the Fund’s investments, the Fund could be subject to allegations of lender liability.
In addition, under common law principles that in some cases form the basis for lender liability claims, if a lender or bondholder:
(i) intentionally takes an action that results in the undercapitalization of a borrower to the detriment of other creditors of such borrower,
(ii) engages in other inequitable conduct to the detriment of such other creditors,
(iii) engages in fraud with respect to, or makes misrepresentations to, such other creditors, or
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(iv) uses its influence as a stockholder to dominate or control a borrower to the detriment of other creditors of such borrower, a court may elect to subordinate the claim of the offending lender or bondholder to the claims of the disadvantaged creditor or creditors, a remedy called “equitable subordination.”
The Fund does not intend to engage in conduct that would form the basis for a successful cause of action based upon the equitable subordination doctrine. However, because of the nature of certain of the Fund’s investments, the Fund may be subject to claims from creditors of an obligor that debt obligations of which are held by the Fund should be equitably subordinated.
The preceding discussion regarding lender liability is based upon principles of U.S. federal and state laws. With respect to the Fund’s investments outside the United States, the laws of certain non-U.S. jurisdictions may also impose liability upon lenders or bondholders under factual circumstances similar to those described above, with consequences that may or may not be analogous to those described above under U.S. federal and state laws.
We generally will not control our portfolio companies and, due to the illiquid nature of our holdings in our portfolio companies, we may not be able to dispose of our interests in our portfolio companies.
We do not expect to control most of our portfolio companies, even though we may have board representation or board observation rights, and our debt agreements with such portfolio companies may contain certain restrictive covenants. As a result, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company in which we invest may make business decisions with which we disagree and the management of such company, as representatives of the holders of the portfolio company’s common equity, may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests as debt investors. Due to the lack of liquidity for our investments, we may not be able to dispose of our interests in portfolio companies as readily as we would like or at an appropriate valuation. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that could decrease the value of our portfolio holdings.
We will be exposed to risks associated with changes in interest rates.
General interest rate fluctuations may have a substantial negative impact on our investments and investment opportunities and, accordingly, may have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective and the targeted rate of return on invested capital. Because we may borrow money to make investments, our net investment income will depend, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we may borrow funds and the rate at which we may invest these funds. As a result, there can be no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our net investment income.
Our debt investments may be based on floating interest rates, such as SOFR, the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (“EURIBOR”), the Federal Funds Rate or the Prime Rate, that reset on a periodic basis, and that many of our investments will be subject to interest rate floors. A reduction in the interest rates on new investments relative to interest rates on current investments could have an adverse impact on our net investment income, which also could be negatively impacted by our borrowers making prepayments on their loans. On the other hand, an increase in interest rates could increase the interest repayment obligations of our borrowers and result in challenges to their financial performance and ability to repay their obligations. In addition, our cost of funds likely will increase because the interest rates on the majority of amounts we may borrow are likely to be floating, which could reduce our net investment income to the extent any debt investments have fixed interest rates, and the interest rate on investments with an interest rate floor will not increase until interest rates exceed the applicable floor.
Trading prices for debt that pays a fixed rate of return tend to fall as interest rates rise. Trading prices tend to fluctuate more for fixed-rate securities that have longer maturities. Moreover, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make investment in our Common Shares less attractive if we are not able to increase our dividend rate, which could reduce the value of our Common Shares. Federal Reserve policy, including with respect to certain interest rates and the decision to end its quantitative easing policy, may also adversely affect the value, volatility and liquidity of dividend- and interest-paying securities. Market volatility, elevated interest rates and/or a return to unfavorable economic conditions could adversely affect our business.
We may enter into certain hedging transactions, such as interest rate swap agreements, in an effort to mitigate our exposure to adverse fluctuations in interest rates and we may increase our floating rate investments to position the portfolio for rate increases. However, we cannot assure shareholders that such transactions will be successful in mitigating our exposure to interest rate risk or if we will enter into such interest rate hedges. Hedging transactions may also limit our
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ability to participate in the benefits of lower interest rates with respect to our portfolio investments. See “ Risks Related to Our Investments—We may acquire various financial instruments for purposes of “hedging” or reducing our risks, which may be costly and ineffective and could reduce our cash available for distribution to our shareholders. ”
While we typically expect our investments to have maturities between three and five years, we do not have a policy governing the maturities of our investments. This means that, if the maturities of our investments vary from our general expectation, we may be subject to greater risk (other things being equal) than a fund invested solely in shorter-term securities. A decline in the prices of the debt we own could adversely affect our net asset value.
To the extent that we make floating rate debt investments, a rise in the general level of interest rates would lead to higher interest rates applicable to our debt investments. Accordingly, an increase in interest rates may result in an increase in the amount of the incentive fee payable to the Adviser.
Any inaccuracy, incompleteness or breach of covenants by a portfolio company may adversely affect the valuation of the collateral underlying the loans or the ability of the lenders to perfect or effectuate a lien on the collateral securing the loan or the Fund’s ability to otherwise realize on or avoid losses in respect of the investment.
The Fund will seek to make or acquire portfolio investments having structural, covenant and other contractual terms providing adequate downside protection, but there can be no assurance that such attempts to provide downside protection with respect to its investments will achieve their desired effect, and, accordingly, potential investors should regard an investment in the Fund as being speculative and having a high degree of risk. For example, there is the possibility, in making or acquiring a loan or other investment, of material misrepresentation or omission on the part of the portfolio investment seller, the portfolio company, a borrower or other credit support providers, or breach of covenant by any such parties. Such inaccuracy or incompleteness or breach of covenants may adversely affect the valuation of the collateral underlying the loans or the ability of the lenders or the Fund to perfect or effectuate a lien on the collateral securing the loan or the Fund’s ability to otherwise realize on or avoid in respect of the investment. The Fund will rely upon the accuracy and completeness of representations made by any such parties to the extent reasonable, but cannot guarantee such accuracy or completeness. Under certain circumstances, payments to the Fund may be reclaimed if any such payment or distribution is later determined to have been a conveyance or a preferential payment.
Second priority liens on collateral securing debt investments that we make to our portfolio companies may be subject to control by senior creditors with first priority liens. If there is a default, the value of the collateral may not be sufficient to repay in full both the first priority creditors and us.
Certain debt investments that we make to portfolio companies may be secured on a second priority basis by the same collateral securing first priority debt of such companies. The first priority liens on the collateral will secure the portfolio company’s obligations under any outstanding senior debt and may secure certain other future debt that may be permitted to be incurred by the company under the agreements governing the loans. The holders of obligations secured by the first priority liens on the collateral will generally control the liquidation of, and be entitled to receive proceeds from, any realization of the collateral to repay their obligations in full before us. In addition, the value of the collateral in the event of liquidation will depend on market and economic conditions, the availability of buyers and other factors. There can be no assurance that the proceeds, if any, from the sale or sales of all of the collateral would be sufficient to satisfy the debt obligations secured by the second priority liens after payment in full of all obligations secured by the first priority liens on the collateral. If such proceeds are not sufficient to repay amounts outstanding under the debt obligations secured by the second priority liens, then we, to the extent not repaid from the proceeds of the sale of the collateral, will only have an unsecured claim against the company’s remaining assets, if any.
The rights we may have with respect to the collateral securing the debt investments we make to our portfolio companies with senior debt outstanding may also be limited pursuant to the terms of one or more intercreditor agreements that we enter into with the holders of senior debt. Under such an intercreditor agreement, at any time that obligations that have the benefit of the first priority liens are outstanding, any of the following actions that may be taken in respect of the collateral will be at the direction of the holders of the obligations secured by the first priority liens: the ability to cause the commencement of enforcement proceedings against the collateral; the ability to control the conduct of such proceedings; the approval of amendments to collateral documents; releases of liens on the collateral; and waivers of past defaults under collateral documents. We may not have the ability to control or direct such actions, even if our rights are adversely affected.
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We may also make unsecured debt investments in portfolio companies, meaning that such investments will not benefit from any interest in collateral of such companies. Liens on such portfolio companies’ collateral, if any, will secure the portfolio company’s obligations under its outstanding secured debt and may secure certain future debt that is permitted to be incurred by the portfolio company under its secured debt agreements. The holders of obligations secured by such liens will generally control the liquidation of, and be entitled to receive proceeds from, any realization of such collateral to repay their obligations in full before we are so entitled. In addition, the value of such collateral in the event of liquidation will depend on market and economic conditions, the availability of buyers and other factors. There can be no assurance that the proceeds, if any, from sales of such collateral would be sufficient to satisfy its unsecured debt obligations after payment in full of all secured debt obligations. If such proceeds were not sufficient to repay the outstanding secured debt obligations, then its unsecured claims would rank equally with the unpaid portion of such secured creditors’ claims the portfolio company’s remaining assets, if any.
The portfolio investments in which the Fund invests and TPG Angelo Gordon’s portfolio companies will be subject to various laws for the protection of creditors in the jurisdictions of the portfolio companies concerned.
Differences in law may adversely affect the rights of the Fund as a lender with respect to other creditors. Additionally, the Fund, as a creditor, may experience less favorable treatment under different insolvency regimes than those that apply in the United States, including in cases where the Fund seeks to enforce any security it may hold as a creditor.
Limited amortization requirements may extend the expected weighted average life of the investment.
The Fund may invest in loans that have limited mandatory amortization requirements. While these loans may obligate a portfolio company to repay the loan out of asset sale proceeds or with annual excess cash flow, repayment requirements may be subject to substantial limitations that would allow a portfolio company to retain such asset sale proceeds or cash flow, thereby extending the expected weighted average life of the investment. In addition, a low level of amortization of any debt over the life of the investment may increase the risk that the portfolio company will not be able to repay or refinance the loans held by the Fund when it matures.
Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies and adversely affect our operating results.
The current macroeconomic environment is characterized by labor shortages, high interest rates, persistent inflation, foreign currency exchange volatility, volatility in global capital markets and growing recession risk. The risks associated with our and our portfolio companies’ businesses are more severe during periods of economic slowdown or recession.
The companies in which we intend to invest may be susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and may be unable to repay our debt investments during these periods. Recent inflationary pressure and elevated interest rates have and may continue to disrupt economic markets. In the past, instability in the global capital markets resulted in disruptions in liquidity in the debt capital markets, significant write-offs in the financial services sector, the re-pricing of credit risk in the broadly syndicated credit market and the failure of major domestic and international financial institutions. In particular, in past periods of instability, the financial services sector was negatively impacted by significant write-offs as the value of the assets held by financial firms declined, impairing their capital positions and abilities to lend and invest. In addition, continued uncertainty between the United States and other countries, including China, with respect to trade policies, treaties, and tariffs, among other factors, has caused in the global markets. In particular, the U.S. government has recently imposed, and may in the future increase, tariffs on certain foreign goods, including from China, such as steel and aluminum. Some foreign governments, including China, have instituted tariffs on certain U.S. goods. Such tariffs could further increase costs, decrease margins, reduce the competitiveness of products and services offered by current and future portfolio companies and affect the revenues and of portfolio companies whose businesses rely on goods imported from China or other jurisdictions where tariffs are imposed. There can be no assurance that market conditions will not in the future.
In an economic downturn, we may have non-performing assets or non-performing assets are likely to increase, and the value of our portfolio is likely to decrease during these periods. Adverse economic conditions may also decrease the value of any collateral securing our senior secured debt. A prolonged recession may further decrease the value of such collateral and result in losses of value in our portfolio and a decrease in our revenues, net income and NAV. 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 on terms we deem acceptable. These events could prevent us from making or increasing investments and adversely affect our operating results.
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Our ability to successfully implement the Fund’s strategy is dependent in part on the extent of market dislocation impacting the global credit markets.
Implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy will depend, in part, on the extent to which the global credit markets continue to experience disruption, liquidity shortages and financial instability. Prolonged disruption may prevent the Fund from advantageously realizing on or disposing of its investments. A further economic down-turn could adversely affect the financial resources and credit quality of the underlying portfolio companies of any debt instruments in which the Fund may invest and result in the inability of such borrowers to make principal and interest payments on, or refinance, outstanding debt when due. In the event of such defaults, the Fund may suffer a partial or total loss of capital invested in such companies, which would, in turn, have an adverse effect on the Fund’s returns. Any such defaults may have an effect on the Fund’s investments. Such marketplace events also may restrict the ability of the Fund to sell or investments at times or for prices (although such marketplace events may not the Fund’s ability to hold such investments until maturity). Further, the Fund’s investment strategy may be impacted in part by changes in the conditions in the global financial markets generally and credit markets specifically. In the event of a further market , the value of the Fund’s investments may not appreciate as projected or may a .
A covenant breach or other default by our portfolio companies may adversely affect our operating results.
A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to 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. In addition, lenders in certain cases can be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by them when they become too involved in the borrower’s business or exercise control over a borrower. It is possible that we could become subject to a lender’s liability claim, including as a result of actions taken if we render significant managerial assistance to the borrower. Furthermore, if one of our portfolio companies were to file for protection, a court might re-characterize our debt holding and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to of other creditors, even though we may have structured our investment as senior secured debt. The likelihood of such a re-characterization would depend on the facts and circumstances, including the extent to which we provided managerial assistance to that portfolio company.
Our portfolio companies may be highly leveraged.
Some of our portfolio companies may be highly leveraged, which may have adverse consequences to these companies and to us as an investor. These companies may be subject to restrictive financial and operating covenants and the leverage may impair these companies’ ability to finance their future operations and capital needs. As a result, these companies’ flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions and to take advantage of business opportunities may be limited. Further, a leveraged company’s income and net assets will tend to increase or decrease at a greater rate than if borrowed money were not used.
Risks related to potential failure to make follow-on investments in our portfolio companies.
Following an initial investment in a portfolio company, we may make additional investments in that portfolio company as “follow-on” investments in order to, among other reasons:
• increase or maintain in whole or in part our equity ownership percentage;
• exercise warrants, options or convertible securities that were acquired in the original or subsequent financing; or
• attempt to preserve or enhance the value of our investment.
We will have the discretion to make any follow-on investments, subject to the availability of capital resources, and we may elect not to make follow-on investments or otherwise lack sufficient funds to make such investments. The failure to make follow-on investments may, in some circumstances, jeopardize the continued viability of a portfolio company and our initial investment, or may result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful operation. Even if we have sufficient capital to make a desired follow-on investment, we may elect not to make a follow-on
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investment because we may not want to increase our concentration of risk, we prefer other investment opportunities or we are inhibited by compliance with BDC or RIC status requirements, including the maintenance of such statuses.
We may not realize gains from our equity investments.
Certain investments that we may make could include warrants or other equity securities. In addition, we may make direct 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 intend to seek puts or similar rights to give us the right to sell our equity securities back to the portfolio company issuer. We may be unable to exercise these put rights for the consideration provided in our investment documents if the issuer is in financial distress.
An investment strategy focused primarily on privately-held companies presents certain challenges, including, but not limited to, the lack of available information about these companies.
We invest primarily in privately-held companies, including making loans to such private companies. Investments in private companies pose significantly greater risks than investments in more established and/or public companies. First, private companies have reduced access to the capital markets, resulting in diminished capital resources and ability to withstand financial distress, which may limit their ability to grow or to repay their outstanding indebtedness upon maturity. Second, the depth and breadth of experience of management in private companies tends to be less than that at public companies, which makes such companies more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a smaller group of persons and/or persons with less depth and breadth of experience. Therefore, the decisions made by such management teams and/or the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on our investments and, in turn, on us. Third, the investments themselves tend to be less liquid. As such, we may have difficulty exiting an investment promptly or at a desired price prior to maturity or outside of a normal amortization schedule. As a result, the relative of liquidity and the potential capital resources of our target portfolio companies may affect our investment returns. Fourth, little public information generally exists about private companies. Further, these companies may not have third-party debt ratings or audited financial statements. We must therefore rely on the ability of the Adviser to obtain adequate information through due diligence to evaluate the creditworthiness and potential returns from investing in these companies. The Adviser would typically assess an investment in a portfolio company based on the Adviser’s estimate of the portfolio company’s earnings and enterprise value, among other things, and these estimates may be based on limited information and may otherwise be , causing the Adviser to make different investment decisions than it may have made with more complete information. These companies and their financial information will generally not be subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other rules that govern public companies. If we are to all material information about these companies, due to a of available information or otherwise, we may not make a fully informed investment decision, and we may money on our investments.
Our investments in securities or assets of publicly-traded companies are subject to the risks inherent in investing in public securities.
We may invest a portion of our portfolio in publicly-traded assets. With such public securities investments, it is not expected that we will be able to negotiate additional financial covenants or other contractual rights, which we might otherwise be able to obtain in making privately negotiated investments. In addition, by investing in publicly-traded securities or assets, we will be subject to U.S. federal and state securities laws, as well as non-U.S. securities laws, that may, among other things, restrict or prohibit our ability to make or sell an investment. Moreover, we may not have the same access to information in connection with investments in public securities, either when investigating a potential investment or after making an investment, as compared to privately negotiated investments. Furthermore, we may be limited in our ability to make investments and to sell existing investments in public securities because TPG Angelo Gordon may be deemed to have material, non-public information regarding the issuers of those securities or as a result of other internal policies. The inability to sell public securities in these circumstances could materially adversely affect our investment results. In addition, an investment may be sold by us to a public company where the consideration received is a combination of cash and stock of the public company, which may, depending on the securities laws of the relevant jurisdiction, be subject to lock-up periods.
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A lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.
We generally invest in companies whose securities are not publicly-traded or actively traded on the secondary market, and whose securities are subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or will otherwise be less liquid than publicly-traded securities. Additionally, as an affiliate of TPG Angelo Gordon, the Adviser is not permitted to obtain or use material non-public information in effecting purchases and sales in public securities transactions for us, which could create an additional limitation on the liquidity of our investments. The illiquidity of certain of our 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. The reduced liquidity 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. Moreover, investments purchased by us that are liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become due to events relating to the issuer, market events, economic conditions or investor perceptions.
Our investments may include original issue discount and payment-in-kind instruments.
To the extent that we invest in original issue discount (“OID”) or payment-in-kind (“PIK”) instruments and the accretion of OID or PIK interest income constitutes a portion of our income, we will be exposed to risks associated with the requirement to include such non-cash income in taxable and accounting income prior to receipt of cash, including the following:
• the higher interest rates on PIK instruments reflect the payment deferral and increased credit risk associated with these instruments, and PIK instruments generally represent a significantly higher credit risk than coupon loans;
• OID and PIK instruments may have unreliable valuations because the accruals require judgments about collectability of the deferred payments and the value of any associated collateral;
• an election to defer PIK interest payments by adding them to the principal on such instruments increases our future investment income which increases our net assets and, as such, increases the Adviser’s future base management fees which, thus, increases the Adviser’s future income incentive fees at a compounding rate;
• market prices of PIK instruments and other zero coupon instruments are affected to a greater extent by interest rate changes, and may be more volatile than instruments that pay interest periodically in cash. While PIK instruments are usually less volatile than zero coupon debt instruments, PIK instruments are generally more volatile than cash pay securities;
• the deferral of PIK interest on an instrument increases the loan-to-value ratio, which is a measure of the riskiness of a loan, with respect to such instrument;
• even if the conditions for income accrual under GAAP are satisfied, a borrower could still default when actual payment is due upon the maturity of such loan;
• the required recognition of OID or PIK interest for U.S. federal income tax purposes may have a negative impact on liquidity, as it represents a non-cash component of our investment company taxable income that may require cash distributions to shareholders in order to maintain our ability to be subject to tax as a RIC; and
• OID may create a risk of non-refundable cash payments to the Adviser based on non-cash accruals that may never be realized.
The prices of the debt instruments and other securities in which we invest may decline substantially.
For reasons not necessarily attributable to any of the risks set forth herein (for example, supply/demand imbalances or other market forces), the prices of the debt instruments and other securities may decline substantially. In particular, purchasing debt instruments or other assets at what may appear to be “undervalued” or “discounted” levels is no guarantee that these assets will not be trading at even lower levels at a time of valuation or at the time of sale, if applicable. It may not be possible to predict, or to hedge against, such “spread widening” risk. Additionally, the perceived discount in pricing
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from previous environments described herein may still not reflect the true value of the assets underlying debt instruments in which the Fund invests.
We may from time to time enter into credit default swaps or other derivative transactions which expose us to certain risks, including credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk and other risks similar to those associated with the use of leverage.
We may from time to time enter into credit default swaps or other derivative transactions that seek to modify or replace the investment performance of a particular reference security or other asset. These transactions are typically individually negotiated, non-standardized agreements between two parties to exchange payments, with payments generally calculated by reference to a notional amount or quantity. Swap contracts and similar derivative contracts are not traded on exchanges; rather, banks and dealers act as principals in these markets. These investments may present risks in excess of those resulting from the referenced security or other asset. Because these transactions are not an acquisition of the referenced security or other asset itself, the investor has no right directly to enforce compliance with the terms of the referenced security or other asset and has no voting or other consensual rights of ownership with respect to the referenced security or other asset. In the event of insolvency of a counterparty, we will be treated as a general creditor of the counterparty and will have no claim of title with respect to the referenced security or other asset.
A credit default swap is a contract in which one party buys or sells protection against a credit event with respect to an issuer, such as an issuer’s failure to make timely payments of interest or principal on its debt obligations, bankruptcy or restructuring during a specified period. Generally, if we sell credit protection using a credit default swap, we will receive fixed payments from the swap counterparty and if a credit event occurs with respect to the applicable issuer, we will pay the swap counterparty par for the issuer’s defaulted debt securities and the swap counterparty will deliver the defaulted debt securities to us. Generally, if we buy credit protection using a credit default swap, we will make fixed payments to the counterparty and if a credit event occurs with respect to the applicable issuer, we will deliver the issuer’s defaulted securities underlying the swap to the swap counterparty and the counterparty will pay us par for the securities. Alternatively, a credit swap may be cash settled and the buyer of protection would receive the difference between the par value and the market value of the issuer’s debt securities from the seller of protection.
Credit default swaps are subject to the credit risk of the underlying issuer. If we are selling credit protection, there is a risk that we will not properly assess the risk of the underlying issuer, a credit event will occur and we will have to pay the counterparty. If we are buying credit protection, there is a risk that we will not properly assess the risk of the underlying issuer, no credit event will occur and we will receive no benefit for the premium paid.
A derivative transaction is also subject to the risk that a counterparty will default on its payment obligations thereunder or that we will not be able to meet our obligations to the counterparty. In some cases, we may post collateral to secure our obligations to the counterparty, and we may be required to post additional collateral upon the occurrence of certain events such as a decrease in the value of the reference security or other asset. In some cases, the counterparty may not collateralize any of its obligations to us. Derivative investments effectively add leverage to a portfolio by providing investment exposure to a security or market without owning or taking physical custody of such security or investing directly in such market. In addition to the risks described above, such arrangements are subject to risks similar to those associated with the use of leverage. See “—Risks Related to Debt Financing. ”
We may acquire various financial instruments for purposes of “hedging” or reducing our risks, which may be costly and ineffective and could reduce our cash available for distribution to our shareholders.
We may seek to hedge against interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations and credit risk by using financial instruments such as futures, options, swaps and forward contracts, subject to the requirements of the 1940 Act. These financial instruments may be purchased on exchanges or may be individually negotiated and traded in over-the-counter markets. Use of such financial instruments for hedging purposes may present significant risks, including the risk of loss of the amounts invested. Defaults by the other party to a hedging transaction can result in losses in the hedging transaction. Hedging activities also involve the risk of an imperfect correlation between the hedging instrument and the asset being hedged, which could result in losses both on the hedging transaction and on the instrument being hedged. Use of hedging activities may not prevent significant losses and could increase our losses. Further, hedging transactions may reduce cash available to pay distributions to our shareholders. In addition, tax rules governing our transactions in hedging instruments may affect whether gains and losses recognized by us are treated as ordinary or capital, accelerate our recognition of income or , , and cause adjustments in our holding periods of securities, thereby affecting, among other things, whether capital and are treated as short-term or long-term. These rules could therefore affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders.
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Our investments in the healthcare and pharmaceutical services industry sector are subject to extensive federal, state and local healthcare laws and regulations and certain other risks particular to that industry.
We invest in healthcare and pharmaceutical services. Our investments in portfolio companies that operate in this sector are subject to certain significant risks particular to that industry, including, but not limited to, additional or changing government regulations and policies that could increase compliance and other costs of doing business, risks related to medical technology, and scarcity of management and other personnel with appropriate training, which may impact the business of such portfolio companies. The laws and rules governing the business of healthcare companies and interpretations of those laws and rules are subject to frequent change. Broad latitude is given to the agencies administering those regulations. Existing or future laws and rules could subject our portfolio companies engaged in healthcare to potential government inquiries, investigations and/or enforcement proceedings, and ultimately incur civil, criminal and administrative sanctions, including, without limitation, fines, penalties and exclusion from government programs. The application of such laws and regulations can also force these companies to change how they do business, restrict revenue, increase costs, change reserve levels and change business practices. Healthcare companies often must obtain and maintain regulatory approvals to market many of their products, change prices for certain regulated products and consummate some of their acquisitions and . in obtaining or to obtain or maintain these approvals could reduce revenue or increase costs. Policy changes on the local, state and federal level, such as the expansion of the government’s role in the healthcare arena and alternative assessments and tax increases specific to the healthcare industry or healthcare products as part of federal health care reform initiatives, could fundamentally change the dynamics of the healthcare industry. In particular, as health insurance reform such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, has had a significant effect on companies in this industry sector, other current and future health insurance initiatives may our portfolio companies in this industry sector to change how they do business. We can give no assurance that these portfolio companies will be to adapt to these changes. Any of these factors could materially affect the operations of a portfolio company in this industry sector and, in turn, our ability to timely collect principal and interest payments owed to us.
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, net of prepayment fees, could negatively impact our return on equity. This risk will be more acute when interest rates decrease, as we may be unable to reinvest at rates as favorable as when we made our initial investment.
Technological innovations and industry disruptions could adversely impact our business.
Current trends in the market generally, including technological advancements in artificial intelligence, have disrupted a traditional approach to an industry with technological innovation. In this period of rapid technological and commercial innovation, new businesses and approaches may be created that will compete with the Fund and/or its investments or alter the market practices the Fund’s strategy has been designed to function within and depend on for investment returns. Any of these new approaches could damage the Fund’s investments, significantly disrupt the market in which it operates and subject it to increased competition, which could materially and adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of investments.
We may not be successful in the syndication of co-investments.
From time to time, the Fund may make an investment with the expectation of offering a portion of its interests therein as a co-investment opportunity to third-party investors. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful in syndicating any such co-investment, in whole or in part, that the closing of such co-investment will be consummated in a timely manner, that any syndication will take place on terms and conditions that will be preferable for the Fund or that expenses incurred by the Fund with respect to any such syndication will not be substantial. In the event that the Fund is not successful in syndicating any such co-investment, in whole or in part, the Fund may consequently hold a greater concentration and have more exposure in the related investment than initially was intended, which could make the Fund more susceptible to fluctuations in value resulting from adverse economic and/or business conditions with respect thereto.
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Moreover, an investment by the Fund that is not syndicated to co-investors as originally anticipated could significantly reduce the Fund’s overall investment returns.
We invest in middle market companies, including lower middle market companies, which involves a number of significant risks, any one of which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
Investments in middle market companies, including lower middle market companies, involve the same risks that apply generally to investments in larger, more established companies. However, such investments have more pronounced risks in that middle market companies:
• may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt securities 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 on any guarantees we may have obtained in connection with our investment;
• have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tends to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and changing 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 or termination 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. In addition, our executive officers, Trustees and members of the Adviser may, in the ordinary course of business, be named as defendants in litigation arising from our investments in the portfolio companies; and
• may have difficulty accessing the capital markets to meet future capital needs, which may limit their ability to grow or to repay their outstanding indebtedness upon maturity.
Risks Related to the Adviser and Its Affiliates; Conflicts of Interest
The Adviser and its affiliates, including our officers and some of our Trustees, face conflicts of interest caused by compensation arrangements with us and our affiliates, which could result in actions that are not in the best interests of our shareholders.
The Adviser and its affiliates receive substantial fees from us in return for their services, and these fees could influence the advice provided to us. We pay to the Adviser an incentive fee that is based on the performance of our portfolio and an annual base management fee that is based on the value of our net assets as of the beginning of the first business day of the applicable month. Because the incentive fee is based on the performance of our portfolio, the Adviser may be incentivized to make investments on our behalf that are riskier or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The way in which the incentive fee is determined may also encourage the Adviser to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. Our compensation arrangements could therefore result in our making riskier or more speculative investments than would otherwise be the case. This could result in higher investment losses, particularly during cyclical economic downturns. Further, since the Adviser has been designated “valuation designee” pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act and management fees are paid on net assets, the Adviser may be incentivized to determine a higher fair value than would otherwise be determined by the Board of Trustees, which is majority independent.
We may be obligated to pay the Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a net loss due to a decline in the value of our portfolio.
Our Investment Management Agreement entitles the Adviser to receive Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income Returns regardless of any capital losses. In such case, we may be required to pay the 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.
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In addition, any Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income Returns 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. The Adviser is not 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 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.
There may be conflicts of interest related to TPG Angelo Gordon and the Adviser’s allocation of investment opportunities.
Investment opportunities may be appropriate for different investment vehicles or accounts managed by TPG Angelo Gordon. The overarching TPG Angelo Gordon allocation procedures will typically allocate investment opportunities between the Fund and such other investment vehicles and accounts on a basis deemed to be fair and equitable over time, taking into account a number of factors, such as terms and conditions of the investment vehicles or accounts and investment objectives and strategies. Moreover, in the case of vehicles that have the same investment objective or an overlapping investment objective but have an expected larger borrowing capacity, such vehicles are expected to generally be able to acquire a greater proportion of each investment than vehicles that have no such borrowing capacity. Accordingly, application of the allocation methodology can result in a priority for certain investment vehicles or accounts. In addition, because the decision to pursue an investment opportunity and whether an investment is suitable for the Fund lies within our Adviser’s discretion, it is possible that the Fund may not be given the opportunity to participate in certain investments made by other investment vehicles or accounts. Our Adviser will evaluate a variety of factors that may be relevant in determining whether a particular investment or strategy is appropriate and feasible for the Fund or the relevant investment vehicle or account at a particular time.
We may participate in certain transactions originated by the Adviser or its affiliates under our exemptive relief from the SEC that allows us to engage in co-investment transactions with the Adviser and its affiliates, subject to certain terms and conditions. However, while the terms of the exemptive relief require that the Adviser will be given the opportunity to cause us to participate in certain transactions originated by affiliates of the Adviser, the Adviser may determine that we not participate in those transactions and for certain other transactions (as set forth in policies and procedures approved by the Board) the Adviser may not have the opportunity to cause us to participate. See “ Co-Investment Relief ” above.
There may be conflicts of interest related to obligations that the Adviser’s senior management and Investment Team have to other clients.
The Adviser and its affiliates are not restricted from forming additional investment funds, entering into other investment advisory relationships or engaging in other business activities. The members of the senior management and Investment Team of the Adviser serve or may serve as officers, directors or principals of entities that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do, or of investment funds managed by the same personnel. In serving in these multiple capacities, they may have obligations to other clients or investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which may not be in our best interests or in the best interest of our shareholders.
In particular, we rely on the Adviser to manage our day-to-day activities and to implement our investment strategy, including assisting with identifying investment opportunities and making investment recommendations to us. The Adviser and certain of its affiliates are presently, and plan in the future to continue to be, involved with activities that are unrelated to us. As a result of these activities, the Adviser, its officers and employees and certain of its affiliates will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time between us and other activities in which they are or may become involved. The Adviser and its officers and employees will devote only as much of its or their time to our business as the Adviser and its officers and employees, in their judgment, determine is reasonably required, which may be substantially less than their full time.
In addition, following the TPG acquisition of TPG Angelo Gordon, an information barrier was created between the historical TPG business and TPG Angelo Gordon, including the Adviser. While information barriers are designed to restrict the flow of information between certain businesses, such barriers may be breached, inadvertently or otherwise, including with respect to information regarding certain investment opportunities, deal pipelines and strategy, which could result in greater restrictions to our and other TPG Angelo Gordon funds’ investment activities.
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The time and resources that individuals employed by the Adviser devote to us may be diverted and we may face additional competition due to the fact that individuals employed by the Adviser are not prohibited from raising money for or managing other entities that make the same types of investments that we target.
The Adviser and individuals employed by the Adviser or its affiliates are not prohibited from raising capital for and managing other investment entities that make the same types of investments as those we target. As a result, the time and resources that these individuals may devote to us may be diverted. In addition, we may compete with any such investment entity for the same investors and investment opportunities. Affiliates of the Adviser, whose primary business includes the origination of investments or investing in non-originated assets, engage in investment advisory business with accounts that compete with us.
Our shares may be purchased by the Adviser or its affiliates.
The Adviser and its affiliates have purchased and may in the future purchase our shares. The Adviser and its affiliates will not acquire any shares with the intention to resell or re-distribute such shares. The purchase of shares by the Adviser and its affiliates could create certain risks, including, but not limited to, the following:
• the Adviser and its affiliates may have an interest in disposing of our assets at an earlier date so as to recover their investment in our shares; and
• substantial purchases of shares by the Adviser and its affiliates may limit the Adviser’s ability to fulfill any financial obligations that it may have to us or incurred on our behalf.
The Adviser relies on key personnel, the loss of any of whom could impair its ability to successfully manage us.
Our future success depends, to a significant extent, on the continued services of the officers and employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. The loss of services of one or more members of the Adviser’s management team, including members of the Investment Committee, could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations. The Adviser does not have an employment agreement with any of these key personnel and we cannot guarantee that all, or any particular one, will remain affiliated with us and/or the Adviser. Further, we do not intend to separately maintain key person life insurance on any of these individuals.
Moreover, in November 2023, TPG completed its acquisition of TPG Angelo Gordon, the direct parent company of the Adviser. As a result of the acquisition, TPG Angelo Gordon operates its business as a new platform within TPG, which is a publicly traded company. In addition, as a result of the acquisition, the Adviser became an indirect subsidiary of TPG. Uncertainty about the effect of the acquisition of TPG Angelo Gordon with TPG on employees, clients and business of TPG Angelo Gordon, as well as time and attention required by our management team and other personnel of the Adviser to integration and other matters related to the acquisition, may have an adverse effect on TPG Angelo Gordon and subsequently on us and the other funds managed by TPG Angelo Gordon. Retention and motivation of certain employees may be challenging due to the uncertainty and difficulty of integration or a desire not to remain with TPG Angelo Gordon. As a result of the foregoing, management of our company may be adversely affected. Further, the completion of the acquisition may give rise to additional conflicts of interest and competition for investment opportunities among us, other TPG Angelo Gordon funds and TPG funds.
Risks related to limited liability and indemnification of the Adviser and its affiliates under the Investment Management Agreement.
Under the Investment Management Agreement, the Adviser, its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with the Adviser, and any person controlling or controlled by the Adviser will not be liable to us, any subsidiary of ours, our Trustees, our shareholders or any subsidiary’s shareholders or partners for acts or omissions performed in accordance with and pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, except those resulting from acts constituting negligence, willful misfeasance or bad faith on its part in performance of its duties or reckless disregard of the duties and obligations (“disabling conduct”) that the Adviser owes to us under the Investment Management Agreement. In addition, as part of the Investment Management Agreement, we have agreed to indemnify the Adviser and each of its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with the Adviser, from and against, and hold any such party harmless for, any liability or loss suffered by such party, including reasonable legal fees and other expenses reasonably incurred, arising out of or in connection with our business and operations or any action taken or on our behalf pursuant to authority
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granted by the Investment Management Agreement, except where such liability or loss was the result of (i) negligence or misconduct in the case of the Adviser or an Affiliate (as defined in the Declaration of Trust) or (ii) gross negligence or willful misconduct in the case of a trustee of the Fund who is not also an officer of the Fund, the Adviser or an Affiliate (as defined in the Declaration of Trust) of the Adviser. These protections may lead the Adviser to act in a riskier manner when acting on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account.
Risks Related to Business Development Companies
The requirement that we invest a sufficient portion of our assets in Qualifying Assets could preclude us from investing in accordance with our current business strategy; conversely, the failure to invest a sufficient portion of our assets in Qualifying Assets could result in our failure to maintain our status as a BDC.
Under the 1940 Act, a BDC may not acquire any asset other than assets of the type listed in section 55(a) of the 1940 Act described as “qualifying” assets (“Qualifying Assets”), unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are Qualifying Assets. Therefore, we may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments if such investments are not Qualifying Assets. Conversely, if we fail to invest a sufficient portion of our assets in Qualifying Assets, we could lose our status as a BDC, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, these rules could prevent us from making additional investments in existing portfolio companies, which could result in the dilution of our position, or could require us to dispose of investments at an inopportune time to comply with the 1940 Act. If we were forced to sell non-qualifying investments in the portfolio for compliance purposes, the proceeds from such sale could be significantly less than the current value of such investments.
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 registered closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to substantially more regulatory restrictions under the 1940 Act, including a greater required asset coverage ratio and additional restrictions on transactions with affiliates, and correspondingly decrease our operating flexibility.
For example, we intend to employ leverage as market conditions permit and at the discretion of the Adviser. Such leverage may arise in the form of borrowings, including loans from certain financial institutions, the issuance of multiple classes of debt securities (both unsecured and secured), and other forms of financial indebtedness. As a BDC, the 1940 Act allows us to borrow up to $2 for every $1 of equity, or an asset coverage ratio of 150%, if certain requirements are met under the 1940 Act. However, if we are regulated as a registered closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act, we would be subject to asset coverage ratio requirements of 300% for the issuance of debt securities, meaning that for every $1 of debt issued, we would need to have $3 of total assets immediately after such issuance. Such regulations would restrict our ability to execute our investment strategy and thereby reduce our operating flexibility.
Further, as a BDC, we are able to pay our Adviser both a base management fee and incentive fee on income and capital gains as compensation for its efforts. If we were to become regulated as a registered closed-end investment company, we could not pay our Adviser an incentive fee on capital gains unless we restricted sales of our shares to “qualified clients” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). Such a compensation structure could have the effect of de-incentivizing our Adviser in its efforts to seek and retain the best investment opportunities for us in fulfillment of our strategy.
Finally, as a BDC, we retain greater flexibility to engage in transactions with our affiliates in alignment with the provisions set forth in Section 57 of the 1940 Act. If we were to become regulated as a registered closed-end investment company, we would be subject to the provisions governing transactions with affiliates set forth in Section 17 of the 1940 Act, including prohibitions on transactions with affiliates of our Adviser absent an exemptive order from the SEC. These restrictions would limit our ability to effectuate our investment strategy and potentially hinder our operations and, in turn, our results.
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Regulations governing our operation as a BDC and RIC will affect our ability to raise, and the way in which we raise, additional capital or borrow for investment purposes, which may have a negative effect on our growth.
As a result of the annual distribution requirement to qualify for taxation as a RIC under the Code, we may need to periodically access the capital markets to raise cash to fund new investments. We may issue “senior securities,” as defined under the 1940 Act, including borrowing money from banks or other financial institutions only in amounts such that our asset coverage meets the threshold set forth in the 1940 Act immediately after each such issuance. The 1940 Act currently requires an asset coverage of at least 150% (i.e., the amount of debt may not exceed two-thirds of the value of our assets). Our ability to issue different types of securities is also limited. Compliance with these requirements may unfavorably limit our investment opportunities and reduce our ability in comparison to other companies to profit from favorable spreads between the rates at which we can borrow and the rates at which we can lend. As a BDC, therefore, we intend to continuously issue equity at a rate more frequent than our privately- owned competitors, which may lead to greater shareholder dilution.
We expect to borrow for investment purposes. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy the asset coverage test, which would prohibit us from paying distributions and could prevent us from qualifying for taxation as a RIC. If we cannot satisfy the asset coverage test, we may be required to sell a portion of our investments and, depending on the nature of our debt financing, repay a portion of our indebtedness at a time when such sales may be disadvantageous.
Under the 1940 Act, we generally are prohibited from issuing or selling our shares at a price per share, after deducting selling commissions, that is below our NAV per share, which may be a disadvantage as compared with other public companies. We may, however, sell our shares, or warrants, options or rights to acquire our shares, at a price below the current NAV of our shares if our Board of Trustees, including our Independent Trustees, determine that such sale is in our best interests and the best interests of our shareholders, and our shareholders, as well as those shareholders that are not affiliated with us, approve such sale. In any such case, the price at which our securities are to be issued and sold may not be less than a price that, in the determination of our Board of Trustees, closely approximates the fair value of such securities.
Our ability to enter into transactions with our affiliates is restricted.
We are prohibited under the 1940 Act from participating in certain principal and joint transactions with certain of our affiliates without the prior approval of a majority of the independent members of our Board of Trustees and, in some cases, the SEC. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, 5% or more of our outstanding voting securities will be our affiliate for purposes of the 1940 Act and generally we will be prohibited from buying or selling any securities from or to such affiliate, absent the prior approval of our Board of Trustees. However, we may under certain circumstances purchase any such affiliate’s loans or securities in the secondary market, which could create a conflict for the Adviser between our interests and the interests of such affiliate, in that the ability of the Adviser to recommend actions in our best interest may be limited. The 1940 Act also prohibits certain “joint” transactions with certain of our affiliates, which could include investments in the same portfolio company (whether at the same or closely related times), without prior approval of our Board of Trustees and, in some cases, the SEC. If a person acquires more than 25% of our voting securities, we will be prohibited from buying or selling any security from or to such person or certain of that person’s affiliates, or entering into prohibited joint transactions (including certain co-investments) with such persons, absent the prior approval of the SEC. Similar restrictions limit our ability to transact business with our officers, Trustees, investment advisers, sub-advisers or their affiliates. As a result of these restrictions, we may be prohibited from buying or selling any security from or to any fund or any portfolio company of a fund managed by the Adviser, or entering into joint arrangements such as certain co-investments with these companies or funds without the prior approval of the SEC, which may limit the scope of investment that would otherwise be available to us.
We have obtained exemptive relief from the SEC that allows us to engage in co-investment transactions with the Adviser and its affiliates, subject to certain terms and conditions. However, while the terms of the exemptive relief require that the Adviser will be given the opportunity to cause us to participate in certain transactions originated by affiliates of the Adviser, the Adviser may determine that we not participate in those transactions and for certain other transactions (as set forth in policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees) the Adviser may not have the opportunity to cause us to participate. See “ Co-Investment Relief ” above.
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We are uncertain of our sources for funding our future capital needs; if we cannot obtain debt or equity financing on acceptable terms, our ability to acquire investments and to expand our operations will be adversely affected.
The net proceeds from the sale of shares will be used for our investment opportunities, operating expenses and for payment of various fees and expenses such as base management fees, incentive fees and other expenses. Any working capital reserves we maintain may not be sufficient for investment purposes, and we may require debt or equity financing to operate. Accordingly, in the event that we develop a need for additional capital in the future for investments or for any other reason, these sources of funding may not be available to us. Consequently, if we cannot obtain debt or equity financing on acceptable terms, our ability to acquire investments and to expand our operations will be adversely affected. As a result, we would be less able to create and maintain a broad portfolio of investments and achieve our investment objective, which may negatively impact our results of operations and reduce our ability to make distributions to our shareholders.
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. However, we will be subject to the diversification requirements applicable to RICs under Subchapter M of the Code. To the extent that we assume large positions in the securities of a small number of issuers, or within a particular industry, 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 or to a general downturn in the economy.
As a BDC, we are subject to limitations on the ability to use derivatives and other transactions creating future payment or delivery obligations.
In November 2020, the SEC adopted a rulemaking regarding the ability of a BDC (or a registered investment company) to use derivatives and other transactions that create future payment or delivery obligations (except reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions), which may in turn limit our ability to use derivatives and/or enter into certain other financial contracts. Under the newly adopted rules, BDCs that use derivatives will be subject to a value-at-risk leverage limit, a derivatives risk management program and testing requirements, and requirements related to board reporting. These requirements will apply unless the BDC qualifies as a “limited derivatives user,” as defined under the adopted rules, and may limit our ability to take advantage of derivatives and certain other financial contracts.
Under the new rule, a BDC may enter into an unfunded commitment agreement that is not a derivatives transaction, such as an agreement to provide financing to a portfolio company, if the BDC has, among other things, a reasonable belief, at the time it enters into such an agreement, that it will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet its obligations with respect to all of its unfunded commitment agreements, in each case as it becomes due.
Risks Related to Debt Financing
When we borrow money, the potential for loss on amounts invested in us will be magnified and may increase the risk of investing in us. Borrowed money may also adversely affect the return on our assets, reduce cash available for distribution to our shareholders and result in losses.
The use of borrowings, also known as leverage, increases the volatility of investments by magnifying the potential for loss on invested equity capital. The use of leverage involves increased risk, including increased variability of the Fund’s net income, distributions and NAV in relation to market changes. If the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause NAV to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged. Similarly, any decrease in our income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not borrowed. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to make distributions to our shareholders. In addition, our shareholders bear the burden of any increase in our expenses as a result of our use of leverage, including interest expenses and any increase in the management or incentive fees payable to the Adviser. The Company’s leverage strategy may not work as planned or achieve its goal.
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We use and expect to continue to use leverage to finance our investments. The amount of leverage that we employ will depend on the Adviser’s and our Board of Trustees’ assessment of market and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing. There can be no assurance that leveraged financing will be available to us on favorable terms or at all. However, to the extent that we use leverage to finance our assets, our financing costs will reduce cash available for distributions to shareholders. Moreover, we may not be able to meet our financing obligations and, to the extent that we cannot, we risk the loss of some or all of our assets to liquidation or sale to satisfy the obligations. In such an event, we may be forced to sell assets at significantly depressed prices due to market conditions or otherwise, which may result in losses.
As a BDC, we generally are required to meet a coverage ratio of total assets to total borrowings and other senior securities, which include all of our borrowings and any preferred shares that we may issue in the future, of at least 150%. If this ratio were to fall below 150%, we could not incur additional debt and could be required to sell a portion of our investments to repay some debt when it is disadvantageous to do so. This could have a material adverse effect on our operations and investment activities. Moreover, our ability to make distributions to shareholders may be significantly restricted or we may not be able to make any such distributions whatsoever. The amount of leverage that we will employ will be subject to oversight by our Board of Trustees, a majority of whom are Independent Trustees with no material interests in such transactions.
Although borrowings by the Fund have the potential to enhance overall returns that exceed the Fund’s cost of funds, they will further diminish returns (or increase losses on capital) to the extent overall returns are less than the Fund’s cost of funds. In addition, borrowings by the Fund may be secured by the shareholders’ investments as well as by the Fund’s assets and the documentation relating to such borrowing may provide that during the continuance of a default under such borrowing, the interests of the investors may be subordinated to such borrowing.
Our credit facilities impose financial and operating covenants that restrict our business activities, including limitations that could hinder our ability to finance additional loans and investments or to make the distributions required to maintain our tax treatment as a RIC under the Code. A failure to renew our facilities or to add new or replacement debt facilities or issue debt securities or other evidences of indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. See “ Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources ” for more information regarding our borrowings.
We may default under our credit facilities.
In the event we default under a credit facility or other borrowings, our business could be adversely affected as we may be forced to sell a portion of our investments quickly and prematurely at what may be disadvantageous prices to us in order to meet our outstanding payment obligations and/or support working capital requirements under such borrowing facility, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, following any such default, the agent for the lenders under such borrowing facility could assume control of the disposition of any or all of our assets which constitute collateral, including the selection of such assets to be disposed and the timing of such disposition, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Provisions in a credit facility may limit our investment discretion.
A credit facility may be backed by all or a portion of our loans and securities on which the lenders will have a security interest. We may pledge up to 100% of our assets and may grant a security interest in all of our assets under the terms of any debt instrument we enter into with lenders. We expect that any security interests we grant will be set forth in a pledge and security agreement and evidenced by the filing of financing statements by the agent for the lenders. In addition, we expect that the custodian for our securities serving as collateral for such loan would include in its electronic systems notices indicating the existence of such security interests and, following notice of occurrence of an event of default, if any, and during its continuance, will only accept transfer instructions with respect to any such securities from the lender or its designee. If we were to default under the terms of any debt instrument, the agent for the applicable lenders would be able to assume control of the timing of disposition of any or all of our assets securing such debt, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, any security interests and/or negative covenants required by a credit facility may limit our ability to create liens on assets to secure additional debt and may make it difficult for us to restructure or refinance indebtedness at or
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prior to maturity or obtain additional debt or equity financing. In addition, if our borrowing base under a credit facility were to decrease, we may be required to secure additional assets in an amount sufficient to cure any borrowing base deficiency. In the event that all of our assets are secured at the time of such a borrowing base deficiency, we could be required to repay advances under a credit facility or make deposits to a collection account, either of which could have a material adverse impact on our ability to fund future investments and to make distributions.
In addition, we may be subject to limitations as to how borrowed funds may be used, which may include restrictions on geographic and industry concentrations, loan size, payment frequency and status, average life, collateral interests and investment ratings, as well as regulatory restrictions on leverage which may affect the amount of funding that may be obtained. There may also be certain requirements relating to portfolio performance, including required minimum portfolio yield and limitations on delinquencies and charge-offs, a violation of which could limit further advances and, in some cases, result in an event of default. An event of default under a credit facility could result in an accelerated maturity date for all amounts outstanding thereunder, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. This could reduce our liquidity and cash flow and impair our ability to grow our business.
Changes in interest rates may affect our cost of capital and net investment income.
Since we intend to use debt to finance a portion of our investments, our net investment income will depend, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds and the rate at which we invest those funds. As a result, we can offer no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our net investment income. In periods of rising interest rates when we have debt outstanding, our cost of funds will increase, which could reduce our net investment income. We expect that our long-term fixed-rate investments will be financed primarily with equity and long-term debt. We may use interest rate risk management techniques in an effort to limit our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. These techniques may include various interest rate hedging activities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. These activities may limit our ability to participate in the benefits of lower interest rates with respect to the hedged portfolio. 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. Also, we have limited experience in entering into hedging transactions, and we will initially have to purchase or develop such expertise.
A rise in the general level of interest rates can be expected to lead to higher interest rates applicable to our debt investments. Accordingly, an increase in interest rates would make it easier for us to meet or exceed the incentive fee hurdle rate and may result in a substantial increase in the amount of incentive fees payable to the Adviser with respect to pre-incentive fee net investment income.
Conversely, in a period of declining interest rates, which has happened more recently, the probability that loans will be prepaid increases as borrowers tend to refinance their debt to reduce their borrowing costs. In such periods, there is a risk that we might not be able to invest in new loans on the same terms, or at all. If we cannot invest in new loans on terms that are the same or better than the investments that are repaid, our operations and financial conditions could be adversely affected. In addition, falling interest rates could lead to loans generating lower returns for the same level of risk. We could therefore need to invest in riskier loans to achieve the same level of returns.
We may enter into repurchase agreements.
Subject to our investment objective and policies, we may invest in repurchase agreements as a buyer for investment purposes. Repurchase agreements typically involve the acquisition by the Fund of debt securities from a selling financial institution such as a bank, savings and loan association or broker-dealer. The agreement provides that the Fund will sell the securities back to the institution at a fixed time in the future for the purchase price plus premium (which often reflects the interests). The Fund does not bear the risk of a decline in the value of the underlying security unless the seller defaults under its repurchase obligation. In the event of the bankruptcy or other default of a seller of a repurchase agreement, the Fund could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying securities and losses, including (1) possible decline in the value of the underlying security during the period in which the Fund seeks to enforce its rights thereto; (2) possible lack of access to income on the underlying security during this period; and (3) expenses of enforcing its rights. In addition, as described above, the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the repurchase agreement. In the event of a or by a selling financial institution, the Fund generally will seek to such collateral. However, the exercise of the Fund’s right to such collateral could involve certain costs or and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could a .
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Federal Income Tax Risks
We will be subject to corporate-level income tax if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code or to satisfy RIC distribution requirements.
To obtain and maintain RIC tax treatment under Subchapter M of the Code, we must, among other things, meet annual distribution, income source and asset diversification requirements. If we do not qualify for or 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 our required distributions if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.
For federal income tax purposes, we may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which we do not receive a corresponding payment in cash. For example, if we hold debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having OID (such as zero coupon securities, debt instruments with PIK interest or, in certain cases, increasing interest rates or debt instruments that were issued with warrants), we must include in income each year a portion of the OID that accrues over the life of the obligation, regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by us in the same taxable year. We may also have to include in income other amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as deferred loan origination fees that are paid after origination of the loan or are paid in non-cash compensation such as warrants or stock. We anticipate that a portion of our income may constitute OID or other income required to be included in taxable income prior to receipt of cash. Further, we may elect to amortize market discount and include such amounts in our taxable income in the current year, instead of upon disposition, as an election not to do so would limit our ability to deduct interest expenses for tax purposes.
Because any OID or other amounts accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the year of the accrual, we may be required to make a distribution to our shareholders in order to satisfy the annual distribution requirement, even though we will not have received any corresponding cash amount. As a result, we may have difficulty meeting the annual distribution requirement necessary to qualify for and maintain RIC tax treatment under Subchapter M of the Code. 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 not qualify for or maintain RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level income tax.
Some of our investments may be subject to corporate-level income tax.
We may invest in certain debt and equity investments through taxable subsidiaries and the taxable income of these taxable subsidiaries will be subject to federal and state corporate income taxes. We may invest in certain foreign debt and equity investments which could be subject to foreign taxes (such as income tax, withholding and value added taxes).
Our portfolio investments may present special tax issues.
The Fund expects to invest in debt securities that are rated below investment grade by rating agencies or that would be rated below investment grade if they were rated. Investments in these types of instruments may present special tax issues for the Fund. U.S. federal income tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when the Fund may cease to accrue interest, OID or market discount, when and to what extent deductions may be taken for bad debts or worthless instruments, how payments received on obligations in default should be allocated between principal and income and whether exchanges of debt obligations in a bankruptcy or workout context are taxable. These and other issues will be addressed by the Fund, to the extent necessary, to preserve its status as a RIC and to distribute sufficient income to not become subject to U.S. federal income tax.
Legislative or regulatory tax changes could adversely affect investors.
At any time, the federal income tax laws governing RICs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be amended. Any of those new laws, regulations or interpretations may take effect retroactively and could adversely affect the taxation of us or our shareholders. Therefore, changes in tax laws, regulations or administrative
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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.
