Why This BDC Trades Below NAV—for Now

by Tim Plaehn

April 29, 2026 6:00

Main Street Capital Corp (MAIN) has been one of the best-performing stocks in the business development (BDC) sector over the long term. Because of its success, MAIN trades at a steep premium to NAV and sports a lower yield than all of its BDC peers. So, I want to introduce you to a MAIN alternative with some great appreciation potential and yield.

Since its 2007 IPO, the MAIN share price has appreciated by 268%, and with dividends reinvested, it has provided a 1,630% total return. That total return works out to a 16.6% compound annual growth rate.

Looking at shorter-term past performance, its five-year total return was 91.8%, or 13.9% annual compounding. The returns from MAIN have far outrun the dividend yield, which is 5.7% based on the current regular monthly dividend rate.

The MAIN returns have been boosted by steady NAV appreciation and regular, significant supplemental dividend payments.

On January 30, 2025, Main Street Capital announced the public offering and NYSE listing of shares of MSC Income Fund (MSIF). MSIF is an externally managed BDC managed by Main Street’s registered investment advisor.

The MSIF IPO price was $15.53 per share. The BDC currently trades for $12.86. Since the IPO, MSIF has not been a great pick for investors.

However, what the investing public has failed to grasp is that the MSIF portfolio mirrors the investments held by Main Street Capital. For example, here is an excerpt from a recent Main Street press release (emphasis added):    

  Main Street Capital Corporation (NYSE: MAIN) (“Main Street”     ) is pleased to announce that it recently completed a follow-on investment in its existing portfolio company, UBM ParentCo, LLC, doing business as United Business Mail (“UBM” or the “Company), a leading provider of “marketing mail” commingle services, specializing in optimizing postage, transportation and delivery performance for large-scale mailers. Main Street, along with its co-investor MSC Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE: MSIF) (“MSIF”), made the follow-on investment in UBM to support the Company’s strategic acquisition of a leading national provider of asset-light palletized mail consolidation, mail optimization services, freight brokerage, and warehousing and distribution for business to business, or B2B, and business to consumer, or B2C, customers. Main Street’s portion of the investment consisted of an additional $15.6 million first lien, senior secured term debt investment. Main Street and MSIF initially invested in UBM in December 2025.

MSIF trades at a deep discount to the MAIN valuation. MSIF trades at 83% of NAV, compared with MAIN’s premium valuation. MSIF has a current yield of 10.9%.

My thesis is that as MSIF develops a longer track record, and investors start to realize that its portfolio reflects the MAIN investments, the MSIF share price will climb to a premium to the current NAV of $15.55.  

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The Dividend Manifesto
Issued by the Dividend Society, 1932

Preamble
The true investor seeks not the thrill of speculation but the quiet compounding of patience. He measures success not by ticker chatter but by the steady rhythm of income earned and reinvested.

Articles of Faith

Yield is character. A dividend paid is proof of discipline, prudence, and profit.

Reinvestment is renewal. Each pound returned to the ledger is a seed for future harvests.

Volatility is vanity. The market’s noise fades; the dividend endures.

Patience is profit. Time is the ally of the income‑minded.

Integrity of capital. Guard the principal; let the income speak for itself.

Closing Declaration
Let this manifesto stand as a creed for those who build wealth not in haste but in habit — the investors who understand that true prosperity is paid in instalments, not in applause.

What can we learn from Warren Buffett about investing for retirement?

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett clearly isn’t one for retiring early. But his stock market insights could help others to do just that.

Posted by

Christopher Ruane

Published 2 May

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services.

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When it comes to retiring, Warren Buffett might seem like an odd source of inspiration. After all, the billionaire investor is still working in his nineties.

However, for many people, retiring in general and especially retiring early involves making smart decisions about building enough wealth to be able to do so.

On that topic, Buffett can certainly provide lots of wisdom.

Risks are risks at any stage

A lot of people think that, closer to retirement, investment portfolios ought to become less risky. The corollary of that way of thinking suggests that, when people are further from retirement and so have longer investing timeframes, they can afford to take more risks.

There’s a logic to that, in my view. But contrast it to Buffett’s approach. The sorts of companies he has been investing in in his later decades are similar to the ones he was buying at a much younger age.

Sure, there are exceptions: Apple was more tech-facing than most of Buffett’s historical large investments. But in general, Buffett’s been buying the same sorts of firms for many years, since he was a young man.

They tend to be long-established, large, have a competitive advantage and a proven business model. He has also stuck to a limited number of business sectors for most of his investments. One lesson I draw from that is risk tolerance. If an investment is too risky, arguably that is not because the investor is at a certain age, it is because it is too risky.

When an investor figures out their personal risk tolerance and sticks to it, they are less likely to lose money by making investments they know do not really suit them, on the pretext that time is on their side.

ABC: always be compounding!

Time can be on their side though. In investment terms, time can be a mixed bag. Depending on what you do, it may either work for you or against you.

Buffett is a big believer in compounding, which is basically reinvesting dividends (or capital gains) to buy more shares. Combined with a long-term approach to investing, that has allowed him to reap serious financial rewards from some of his investments over the course of decades.

The Midas touch in action

An example is his investment in Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO). Buffett started buying shares in the company for his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway in the 1980s. Indeed, it is over 30 years since he bought the last one.

He has not bought for decades – but he did not sell either. Instead, he just let the dividends roll in year after year.

And roll in they have. Coca-Cola has grown its dividend per share annually since before Buffett owned it. Last year alone, Berkshire’s original $1.3bn investment in Coca-Cola generated well over $700m of dividends.

That was not always guaranteed to happen (nor is it now, at Coca-Cola or any company). Changing diet habits remain a risk to Coca-Cola’s sales.

But it also has the hallmarks of a classic Buffett pick. Its famous brand, global bottling networks and unique recipe are all strong competitive advantages. They give it pricing power, allowing it to make the profits that fund those dividends.

The UK market is closed on Monday but the SNOWBALL will still earn £100 over the 3 day period.

Benjamin Graham

How much would an ISA need to bridge the gap between the State Pension and £38,584 a year?

Andrew Mackie asks: is the State Pension really enough — and what would it take to bridge the gap to a higher retirement income?

Posted by

Andrew Mackie

Published 2 May

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services.

e.

The State Pension currently pays just over £12,547 a year. This is well short of the £38,584 average UK salary based on the latest ONS data.

That gap is exactly why I’ve been thinking about whether an ISA could realistically bridge the difference and turn a basic retirement income into something far more comfortable.

But what would it actually take to bridge that gap in practice?

Asking the right question

Most investors aiming to replace a full salary would likely focus on bridging the £26,037 annual gap in retirement income.

But the challenge isn’t just reaching a target number — it’s understanding both sides of the equation: accumulation and drawdown.

Retirement isn’t just about preserving a pot untouched. It’s about drawing an income that keeps pace with rising costs, without running the portfolio down too quickly. That’s why portfolio construction matters across an investor’s lifetime.

Crunching the numbers

Based on a conservative 4% annual return in retirement and 3% inflation, the model suggests the need for a portfolio of around £578,388 at age 65.

This would be sufficient to sustain withdrawals of £26,037 a year through to age 90.

That’s what the chart below is showing.

The blue line shows the portfolio value over time as withdrawals reduce the balance. In reality, outcomes would be more volatile than this smooth path suggests, as returns and inflation rarely move in straight lines.

What stands out is that even as withdrawals reduce the portfolio, it continues to generate returns throughout retirement. This is reflected in the gold line on the chart, which shows how ongoing compounding keeps the curve from flattening too quickly. It’s a reminder that maintaining a healthy portfolio in retirement matters just as much as during accumulation.

Chart generated by author

A huge gamble and bad news if you live beyond 90 years.

Income for the current calendar year £4,553.00, dividends start to flow into the SNOWBALL next week. The current fcast is to earn around 1k of dividends for re-investment every month.

If Mr. Market or Red Ed Miliband gives the SNOWBALL the chance to lock in a gilt yield of around 6% on a ten year gilt, it would become a core holding for the SNOWBALL. If not the SNOWBALL may buy CMPI if/when the Renewables sector consolidates.

RM Infrastructure leaves the Watch List after its latest tender offer as it continues its wind-down.

Renewables Infrastructure Grp (The)

1 May 2026

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited

The Renewables Infrastructure Group (“TRIG” or “the Company”) is a London-listed renewable energy investment company. TRIG creates shareholder value through a resilient dividend and long-term capital growth, underpinned by a diversified portfolio of renewable energy infrastructure that is actively managed by specialist investment and operations managers.

Net Asset Value update – Q1 2026

TRIG announces an estimated unaudited Net Asset Value as at 31 March 2026 of 104.1 pence per share, an increase of +0.1 pence per share in the quarter principally due to:

·	Good portfolio performance particularly across TRIG’s UK and German wind projects;
·	Actual inflation is running at a rate higher than was assumed in the valuation as at 31 December 2025;
·	Power price fixes at elevated levels including those placed following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East; and
·	The benefit to NAV per share delivered by share buybacks; offset by
·	Lower medium-term revenue forecasts, particularly associated with removal of the Carbon Price Support in the UK.

The Board reaffirms the dividend target for FY 2026 at 7.55p per share

Gross cash cover for 2026 is expected to exceed 2.0x, calculated based on forecast operational cash flows before the c. £170m repayment of amortising project-level debt. Net dividend cover for 2026 is expected to be c. 1.1x.

Fcast income from TRIG over the next 12 months £1,088. The current plan is to re-invest earned dividends to either GCP and or SEQI.

Historically traded above its NAV, lots of change in their sector and with likely rising interest rates, its likely to continue to trade below its NAV

Anyone who bought recently has earned a much higher yield than the long term holders, you should receive that yield, gently increasing as long as you hold the share.

24 March 2026

Foresight Solar Fund Limited

Annual Results to 31 December 2025

Foresight Solar, the fund investing in solar and battery storage assets to build income and growth, announces its results for the year ended 31 December 2025. 

Financial highlights

·     Delivered a dividend of 8.10 pence per share (pps) for the year, supported by robust operational performance and active power price hedging, with 1.3x cover in line with the Company’s target.

·     Announced a target dividend of 8.10pps for 2026, providing flexibility to allocate surplus cash, including to build future dividend cover. At the 23 March 2026 share price, this represents a 13.4% dividend yield.

·     Expected 1.1x dividend cover for 2026. Production year-to-date and current contracted revenue hedges are expected to provide 1.0x cover. Uncontracted revenues offer additional upside as energy prices remain elevated.

·     Maintained total gearing comfortably within investment policy limits at 41.2%.

·     Returned £56.1 million to shareholders through a combination of dividends and share buybacks.

Tks MR. Market but remember the rules posted earlier.

You must check and consider the future guidance from the management, if you continue to hold.