PD ALPHA

Methodology

How the data is built

PD Alpha is derived from primary SEC filings — not a re-keyed third-party feed. Here is how a filing becomes an analysis-ready row, and how every figure stays traceable to its source.

  1. Start from the primary filing

    We work from what BDCs file with the SEC — principally 10-Ks and 10-Qs, including the Consolidated Schedule of Investments. The filing is the source of record; nothing is hand-keyed from a secondary vendor.

  2. Extract position by position

    Each holding is extracted with its full detail — issuer, investment type, industry, coupon type, reference rate and spread, PIK, principal, amortized cost, fair value, maturity and acquisition date — directly from the schedule as filed.

  3. Normalize to one schema

    Every BDC reports differently. We map each fund’s columns, footnotes, rate conventions and sector labels onto a single structure, so the same field means the same thing across funds and across periods.

  4. Resolve issuers across funds

    The same borrower appears under different names in different filings. We resolve those to a single issuer so you can see total exposure and overlap across the universe — not five spellings of one company.

  5. Apply consistent definitions

    Benchmarks — yield, spread, leverage, non-accrual, dividend coverage, NAV change — are computed with one definition applied identically to every fund, so the comparison is apples-to-apples.

  6. Keep the path back to the source

    Each normalized figure retains a path back to the filing it came from. When a number needs defending, the source is one step away — show your work, on demand.

What we don’t do

We don’t overwrite what a fund reported with our own estimates of value, and we don’t present marks as anything other than what the filing states. PD Alpha makes filings comparable and verifiable; the underlying valuations remain the manager’s, as filed.

Coverage

Coverage is expanding. If a specific BDC or period matters to your work, ask — we’ll tell you where it stands.

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