Publicly traded business development companies (BDCs) are growing in popularity for their astounding dividend income. Like real estate investment trusts (REITs), BDCs must distribute 90% of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends. BDCs typically invest in small, private companies either by lending them money or buying stock. These companies may be too small to access the public bond market, and banks may not be willing to lend to them because they view them as too risky. Thus, BDC financing provid ...