At a glance
BIZD charges 9.69% a year, above the 5.14% average of the 4 funds most like it (the 4th cheapest of 5). It has $1.63B in assets, the largest of that group; it paid 12.9% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned −6.3% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), 2nd of those 5 funds; over three years it returned +5.0% a year. At its worst it fell 55.4% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 23.0% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 11 months and 10 months after the lows. Its ten largest positions make up 46.5% of the fund, out of 30 in all.
The short version
VanEck BDC Income ETF (BIZD) tracks the MVIS US Business Development Companies Index. That index is a basket of US business development companies (BDCs), which lend to or invest in privately held or thinly traded US firms. Its main draw is income: a trailing 12-month yield of 12.9% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. The trade-offs are a 9.69% total expense ratio, mostly the BDCs' own costs, and a 55% drop in early 2020.
Price history
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BIZD -6.3% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIZD official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | -4.62% | — | +12.25% | +9.73% | — |
| S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) index, same period | — | +17.88% | — | +14.42% | +14.82% | — |
| BIZD price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -6.5% | -6.3% | +5.0% | +3.7% | +7.0% | +6.1% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, BIZD returned -6.3%, 2nd of 5 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +3.7% and its 10-year +7.0%.
- In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 55.4% and regained its old high 10.8 months after the low.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-8.6%); its best was 2021 (+36.1%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 55.4% (Feb 20, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Feb 16, 2021.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -6.5% | — |
| 2025 | -5.0% | -4.62% |
| 2024 | +15.6% | +15.41% |
| 2023 | +27.1% | +26.93% |
| 2022 | -8.6% | -8.78% |
| 2021 | +36.1% | +39.82% |
| 2020 | -6.9% | -7.13% |
| 2019 | +31.0% | +29.53% |
| 2018 | -6.9% | -5.82% |
| 2017 | +0.3% | -0.51% |
| 2016 | +24.9% | +25.95% |
| 2015 | -4.2% | — |
| 2014 | -7.6% | — |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 55% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 55.4%, back to its old high 10.8 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 15.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 23%, back to its old high 9.6 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $1.1600 | |
| 2025 | $1.6700 | -7.7% |
| 2024 | $1.8100 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $1.7700 | +11.3% |
| 2022 | $1.5900 | +13.6% |
| 2021 | $1.4000 | -1.4% |
| 2020 | $1.4200 | -7.8% |
| 2019 | $1.5400 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | $1.5300 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | $1.5200 | -1.3% |
| 2016 | $1.5400 | +6.9% |
| 2015 | $1.4400 | -5.9% |
| 2014 | $1.5300 |
Living on BIZD: its income record, cuts, and how much a $1,000 monthly income takes →
What's inside
As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 30 securities; the ten largest made up 46.47% of assets, and 52.21% sat in cash and money-market holdings.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Ares Capital Corp | 14.30% | |
| Blue Owl Capital Corp | 5.88% | |
| Blackstone Secured Lending Fund | 5.35% | |
| Main Street Capital Corp | 5.26% | |
| Hercules Capital Inc | 3.06% | |
| Golub Capital BDC Inc | 2.93% | |
| FS KKR Capital Corp | 2.87% | |
| Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp | 2.81% | |
| Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc | 2.02% | |
| Trinity Capital Inc | 1.99% | |
| Capital Southwest Corp | 1.83% | |
| Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund | 1.51% | |
| Oaktree Specialty Lending Corp | 1.30% | |
| Goldman Sachs BDC Inc | 1.24% | |
| Prospect Capital Corp | 1.06% |
By country
United States 64.17%By asset type
Stocks 64.17%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $183.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +6.90%, -4.16%, +0.44%.
How it works
BIZD is an index fund. It does not try to beat its benchmark, the MVIS US Business Development Companies Index. It aims to match the index's price and yield performance before fees. To qualify, a company must be organized and based in the US, registered with the SEC, and have elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940. BDCs lend to or invest in privately held or thinly traded US companies. As of December 31, 2025, the index held 28 small and midsize BDCs, each worth about $464 million to $14.5 billion. The index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly.
The fund puts at least 80% of its assets in index stocks or in instruments tied to them. Besides owning BDC shares, it can use total return swaps. These are contracts in which a bank pays the fund the index's return in exchange for a floating interest rate. As of June 30, 2026, it had swaps with UBS Securities and Bank of America. This adds counterparty risk, the chance that a bank fails to pay.
Two quirks matter. First, the 9.69% expense ratio includes the BDCs' own costs, while the fund's management fee is 0.40%. Second, many BDC loans pay floating rates tied to SOFR (the Secured Overnight Financing Rate), so their income generally falls when rates fall. Part of the fund's payouts may be return of capital, which lowers your tax basis.
What it really costs
- BIZD charges 9.69% a year, versus an average of 5.14% for the similar funds below (4th of 5, cheapest first).
- Of that, 0.4% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $946 in the first year and $7,696 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIZD | $946 | $2,708 | $4,308 | $7,696 |
In a retirement portfolio
BIZD's main purpose is high quarterly income from BDC dividends, but its deep drawdowns mean any income role carries stock-like risk.
BIZD could add a large income stream: a trailing yield of 12.9% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. Part of the payout may be return of capital, and some BDCs may pay no dividends in lean periods. Its price swings are stock-like. The fund launched in 2013, so it has no 2008 record. It fell 55.4% between February 20 and March 23, 2020, and took about 11 months to recover. In 2022 it dropped 23% and needed nearly 10 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -8.78%, a figure that hides those deeper drops within the year. Selling shares to raise cash during a slump could lock in big losses. Costs are steep: the SEC example puts costs on $10,000 at $946 after one year. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Income-focused investors who want quarterly payouts from about 30 BDCs rather than picking individual lenders such as Ares Capital.
- Investors seeking listed exposure to private-company lending through the largest fund among its peers, with $1.63 billion in net assets as of June 30, 2026.
- Investors who can hold through drops like the 55.4% fall in early 2020 and keep the fund as a small slice of a portfolio.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-sensitive investors: the 9.69% total expense ratio is well above the 5.14% average of the similar funds it was compared with.
- Anyone who needs steady prices to fund withdrawals: its worst quarter was a 42.78% loss in early 2020.
- Investors who want broad diversification: Ares Capital alone was 14.3% of the fund as of June 30, 2026, and the fund is concentrated in financials.
Close alternatives
Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIZD this fund | — | 9.69% | $1.63B | -6.3% | +5.0% |
| PBDC Putnam BDC Income ETF | 51% | 13.94% | $283.1M | -8.9% | +5.9% |
| PEX ProShares Global Listed Private Equity ETF · different strategy | 35% | 2.99% | $11.7M | -10.1% | +7.9% |
| KBWD Invesco KBW High Dividend Yield Financial E… · different strategy | 14% | 2.02% | $413.3M | -11.4% | +5.7% |
| HIPS GraniteShares HIPS US High Income ETF | 13% | 1.6% | $109.9M | +1.0% | +8.5% |
Questions investors ask
Does BIZD pay monthly dividends?
No. BIZD pays distributions quarterly. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid about $1.56 per share, a trailing yield of 12.9%. That income comes from the dividends of the BDCs it holds, and it can vary. Some BDCs may not pay dividends in some periods, and falling interest rates tend to shrink BDC income. Part of the payouts may be treated as return of capital, which lowers your tax basis instead of being taxed as income.
Why is BIZD's expense ratio so high?
BIZD's total expense ratio was 9.69% in its prospectus filed April 29, 2026, but its management fee is only 0.40%. The rest reflects the operating, management and interest costs of the BDCs it owns. Funds that hold BDCs must count those costs in their reported expense ratio, even though they are paid inside the BDCs rather than billed to you separately. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost $946 over one year and $7,696 over ten years.
What's the difference between BIZD and PBDC?
Both hold BDCs, and about 51% of their holdings overlap. BIZD tracks the MVIS US Business Development Companies Index. Putnam BDC Income ETF (PBDC) is much smaller: it had $283 million in net assets as of July 31, 2026, compared with BIZD's $1.63 billion as of June 30, 2026. PBDC's total expense ratio is 13.94%, against BIZD's 9.69%. As of October 27, 2026, PBDC returned -8.9% over one year and 5.9% a year over three years. BIZD returned -6.3% and 5.0%.
Is BIZD good for retirement income?
It can produce high income, but it carries large risks. The trailing yield was 12.9% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. However, the fund lost 55.4% in about a month in early 2020 and fell 23% during 2022. Its 10-year average annual return of 9.73% through December 31, 2025 trailed the S&P 500's 14.82%. High costs and the chance of dividend cuts mean it may suit investors looking for a small income slice rather than a core holding.
What does BIZD invest in?
BIZD holds business development companies. These are publicly traded firms that lend to or invest in privately held or thinly traded US companies. As of June 30, 2026, it had 30 holdings, led by Ares Capital (14.3%), Blue Owl Capital Corp (5.9%), Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (5.4%) and Main Street Capital (5.3%). The top ten holdings made up 46.5% of assets. The fund also uses total return swaps on its index with banks such as UBS and Bank of America.