UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

x		ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012

o		TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from            to           

Commission File No. 814-00735

 

KCAP Financial, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware		20-5951150
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

295 Madison Avenue, 6 ^th Floor
New York, New York 10017

(Address of principal executive offices)

(212) 455-8300

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class		Name of exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share 7.375% Senior Notes due 2019		The NASDAQ Global Select Market New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days: Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer” and “large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o		Accelerated filer x		Non-accelerated filer o		Smaller Reporting Company o
				(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No x

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 29, 2012 was approximately $158 million based upon a closing price of $7.26 reported for such date by The NASDAQ Global Select Market. Common shares held by each executive officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding common shares have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

The number of outstanding shares of common stock of the registrant as of March 1, 2013 was 31,926,480.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the 2013 annual meeting of stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days following the end of the registrant’s fiscal year-end are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

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NOTE ABOUT REFERENCES TO KCAP FINANCIAL, INC.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”), the “Company”, ”KCAP”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to KCAP Financial, Inc. and it’s wholly owned subsidiaries, KCAP Funding and Kohlberg Capital Funding LLC I, unless the context otherwise requires.

NOTE ABOUT TRADEMARKS

KCAP Financial, Inc., our logo and other trademarks of KCAP Financial, Inc. are the property of KCAP Financial, Inc. All other trademarks or trade names referred to in this Annual Report are the property of their respective owners.

NOTE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report includes forward-looking statements. The matters discussed in this Annual Report, as well as in future oral and written statements by management of KCAP Financial, Inc., that are forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations that involve substantial risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. We generally identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar words, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. Important assumptions include our ability to originate new investments, achieve certain margins and levels of profitability, the availability of additional capital, and the ability to maintain certain debt to asset ratios. In light of these and other uncertainties, the inclusion of a projection or forward-looking statement in this Annual Report should not be regarded as a representation by us that our plans or objectives will be achieved. The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report include statements as to:

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For a discussion of factors that could cause our actual results to differ from forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report, please see the discussion under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this Annual Report unless required by law.

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		Page
Part I
Item 1. Business			1
Item 1A. Risk Factors			20
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments			37
Item 2. Properties			37
Item 3. Legal Proceedings			37
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures			37
Part II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			38
Item 6. Selected Financial Data			42
Item 7A. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			44
Item 7B. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			59
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			60
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures			60
Item 9B. Other Information			61
Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance			62
Item 11. Executive Compensation			62
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			62
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence			62
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services			62
Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules			63
Signatures			64
Financial Statements			F-1

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managed investment portfolios in excess of $4 billion at several institutions and has been responsible for managing portfolios of leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, mezzanine securities and middle market loans. Edward U. Gilpin, our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer, has significant experience in overseeing the financial reporting for asset management businesses, including the fair value accounting of CLO securities owned by them.

We are an internally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company that is regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Because we are internally managed by our executive officers under the supervision of our Board of Directors and do not depend on a third party investment advisor, we do not pay investment advisory fees and all of our income is available to pay our operating costs and to make distributions to our stockholders. As a BDC, we are required to comply with regulatory requirements, including limitations on our use of debt. We are permitted to, and expect to continue to, finance our investments through borrowings. However, as a BDC, we are only generally allowed to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% after such borrowing. The 1940 Act also generally prohibits us from declaring any cash dividend or distribution on any class of our capital stock if our asset coverage is below 200% at the time of the declaration of the dividend or distribution.

In addition, under the investment company rules and regulations pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation S-X and the “Audit and Accounting Guide for Investment Companies” issued by the AICPA Guide, we are precluded from consolidating portfolio company investments, including those in which we have a controlling interest, unless the portfolio company is another investment company. An exception to this general principle in the AICPA Guide occurs if we own a controlled operating company that provides all or substantially all of its services directly to us, or to an investment company of ours. None of the investments made by us qualify for this exception. Therefore, our portfolio investments, including our investments in the Asset Manager Affiliates, are carried on the balance sheet at fair value with any adjustments to fair value recognized as “Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)” in our statement of operations until the investment is exited, resulting in any gain or loss on exit being recognized as a “Net Realized Gain (Loss) from Investments.”

We have also elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) and intend to operate in a manner to maintain our RIC tax treatment. Accordingly, we generally will not pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any net ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our shareholders as dividends. To maintain our RIC tax treatment, we must meet specified source-of-income and asset diversification requirements and distribute annually at least 90% of our net ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, for each year.

Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “KCAP.” The net asset value per share of our common stock at December 31, 2012 was $7.85. On December 31, 2012, the last reported sale price of a share of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $9.19.

Our Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 295 Madison Avenue, 6 ^th Floor, New York, New York 10017, and our telephone number is (212) 455-8300. We maintain a website on the Internet at http://www.kcapfinancial.com . The information contained in our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report. We make available on or through our website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file with or furnish to the SEC in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). These include our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K. We make this information available on our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

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Competitive Advantages

We believe that we can successfully compete with other providers of capital in the markets in which we compete for the following reasons:

Investment Securities

Through our middle market investment business, we invest in senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, equity of middle market companies in a variety of industries. We target middle market companies that have strong historical cash flows, experienced management teams and identifiable and defendable market positions in industries with positive dynamics. We generally target companies that generate positive cash flows because we look to cash flows as the primary source for servicing debt.

We employ a disciplined approach in the selection and monitoring of our investments. Generally, we target investments that will generate a current return through interest income to provide for stability in our net income and place less reliance on realized capital gains from our investments. Our investment philosophy is focused on preserving capital with an appropriate return profile relative to risk. Our investment due diligence and selection generally focuses on an underlying issuer’s net cash flow after capital expenditures to service its debt rather than on multiples of net income, valuations or other broad benchmarks which frequently miss the nuances of an issuer’s business and prospective financial performance. We also generally avoid concentrations in any one industry or issuer. We manage risk through a rigorous credit and investment underwriting process and an active portfolio monitoring program.

We also may invest up to 30% of our investment portfolio in opportunistic investments in high-yield bonds, debt and equity securities of the CLO Funds and distressed debt or equity securities of public companies. In this regard, we typically make a minority investment in the subordinated securities or preferred stock of the CLO Funds raised and managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates and may selectively invest in securities issued by the CLO Funds managed by other asset management companies. The CLO Funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates invest primarily in broadly syndicated non-investment grade loans, high-yield bonds and other credit instruments of corporate issuers. The underlying assets in each of the CLO Funds in which we have an investment are generally diversified secured or unsecured corporate debt.

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Subject to market conditions, we expect to continue to make investments in the CLO Funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates, which we believe will provide us with a current cash investment return. We believe that these investments will provide our Asset Manager Affiliates with greater opportunities to access new sources of capital which will ultimately increase our Asset Manager Affiliates’ assets under management and resulting management fee income. We also expect to receive distributions of recurring fee income and to generate capital appreciation from our investment in the asset management business of our Asset Manager Affiliates.

As a manager of the CLO Funds, our Asset Manager Affiliates receive contractual and recurring management fees from the CLO Funds for their management and advisory services. In addition, our Asset Manager Affiliates may also earn income related to net interest on assets accumulated for future CLO issuances on which they have provided a first loss guaranty in connection with loan warehouse arrangements for their CLO Funds. Our Asset Manager Affiliates generate annual operating income equal to the amount by which their fee income exceeds their operating expenses.

The annual management fees which our Asset Manager Affiliates receive are generally based on a fixed percentage of the par value of assets under management and are recurring in nature for the term of the CLO Fund so long as the Asset Manager Affiliates manage the fund. As a result, the annual management fees earned by our Asset Manager Affiliates are not subject to market value fluctuations in the underlying collateral. The annual management fees our Asset Manager Affiliates receive have two components: a senior management fee and a subordinated management fee. Currently, all CLO Funds managed by Asset Manager Affiliates are paying both their senior and subordinated management fees on a current basis.

Our Asset Manager Affiliates may receive incentive fees from CLO Funds they manage provided such CLO Funds have achieved a minimum investment return to holders of their subordinated securities or preferred shares. Subject to market conditions, we expect to continue to make investments in CLO Funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates, which we believe, will provide us with a current cash investment return. We believe that these investments will provide our Asset Manager Affiliates with greater opportunities to access new sources of capital which will ultimately increase our Asset Manager Affiliates’ assets under management and resulting management fee income. Currently, two funds have achieved the threshold and are receiving incentive fees.

The revenue that our Asset Manager Affiliates generate through the fees they receive for managing CLO Funds and after paying the expenses pursuant to an overhead allocation agreement with the Company associated with their operations, including compensation of their employees, may be distributed to us. Cash distributions of our Asset Manager Affiliates’ net income are recorded as “dividends from affiliate asset managers” in our financial statements when declared.

Because we also recognize the need to have funds available for operating our business and to make investments, we seek to have adequate liquidity at all times to cover normal cyclical swings in funding availability and to allow us to meet abnormal and unexpected funding requirements. As a result, we may hold varying amounts of cash and other short-term investments for liquidity purposes.

The majority of our investment portfolio is composed of debt and equity securities with unique contract terms and conditions and/or complexity that requires a valuation of each individual investment that considers multiple levels of market and asset specific inputs, including historical and forecasted financial and operational performance of the individual investment, projected cash flows, market multiples, comparable market transactions, the priority of the security compared with those of other securities for such issuers, credit risk, interest rates and independent valuations and reviews.

Investment Portfolios

Our investment portfolio generates net investment income, which is generally used to pay principal and interest on our borrowings and to fund our dividends. Our investment portfolio consists of three primary components: debt securities, CLO fund securities and our investment in our wholly owned Asset Manager Affiliates. As of December 31, 2012, we also had investments in equity securities of approximately 3% of our investment portfolio.

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Below are summary attributes for each of our primary investment portfolio components as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012:

Debt Securities

CLO Fund Securities (as of the last monthly trustee report prior to December 31, 2012 unless otherwise specified)

Asset Manager Affiliates

Investment Structure and Process

Structure

We originate, structure, and invest in senior secured term loans, mezzanine debt and selected equity securities primarily in privately-held middle market companies. In addition to our middle market investment business, our wholly-owned portfolio companies manage the CLO Funds, in which we also may make an investment, that invest in broadly syndicated loans, high-yield bonds and other corporate credit instruments.

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Our investments generally average between $1 million to $20 million, although particular investments may be larger or smaller. The size of individual investments will vary according to their priority in a company’s capital structure, with larger investments in more secure positions in an effort to maximize capital preservation. We expect that the size of our investments and maturity dates may vary as follows:

When we extend senior secured term loans, we will generally take a security interest in the available assets of the portfolio company, including the equity interests of their subsidiaries, which we expect to help mitigate the risk that we will not be repaid. Nonetheless, there is a possibility that our lien could be subordinated to claims of other creditors. Structurally, mezzanine debt ranks subordinate in priority of payment to senior term loans and is often unsecured. Relative to equity, mezzanine debt ranks senior to common and preferred equity in a borrower’s capital structure. Typically, mezzanine debt has elements of both debt and equity instruments, offering the fixed returns in the form of interest payments associated with a loan, while providing an opportunity to participate in the capital appreciation of a borrower, if any, through an equity interest that is typically in the form of equity purchased at the time the mezzanine loan is repaid or warrants to purchase equity at a future date at a fixed cost. Mezzanine debt generally earns a higher return than senior secured debt due to its higher risk profile and usually less restrictive covenants. The warrants associated with mezzanine debt are typically detachable, which allows lenders to receive repayment of their principal on an agreed amortization schedule while retaining their equity interest in the borrower. Mezzanine debt also may include a “put” feature, which permits the holder to sell its equity interest back to the borrower at a price determined through an agreed formula.

Process

We employ the same due diligence intensive investment strategy that our senior management team has used over the past 30 years. Due to our ability to source transactions through multiple channels, we expect to continue to maintain a substantial pipeline of opportunities to allow comparative risk return analysis and selectivity. By focusing on the drivers of revenue and cash flow, we develop our own underwriting cases, and multiple stress and event specific case scenarios for each company analyzed.

We focus on lending and investing opportunities in:

We expect to continue to source investment opportunities from:

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In our experience, good credit judgment is based on a thorough understanding of both the qualitative and quantitative factors which determine a company’s performance. Our analysis begins with an understanding of the fundamentals of the industry in which a company operates, including the current economic environment and the outlook for the industry. We also focus on the company’s relative position within the industry and its historical ability to weather economic cycles. Other key qualitative factors include the experience and depth of the management team and the financial sponsor, if any.

Only after we have a comprehensive understanding of the qualitative factors do we focus on quantitative metrics. We believe that with the context provided by the qualitative analysis, we can gain a better understanding of a company’s financial performance. We analyze a potential portfolio company’s sales growth and margins in the context of its competition as well as its ability to manage its working capital requirements and its ability to generate consistent cash flow. Based upon this historical analysis, we develop a set of projections which represents a reasonable underwriting case of most likely outcomes for the company over the period of our investment. We also look at a variety of potential downside cases to determine a company’s ability to service its debt in a stressed credit environment.

Elements of the qualitative analysis we use in evaluating investment opportunities include the following:

Elements of the quantitative analysis we use in evaluating investment opportunities include the following:

The origination, structuring and credit approval processes are fully integrated. Our credit team is directly involved in all due diligence and analysis prior to the formal credit approval process.

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Investment Committee

Each new investment opportunity is unanimously approved by our investment committee. Follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies require the investment committee’s approval beyond that obtained when the initial investment in the company was made. In addition, temporary investments, such as those in cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less, may require approval by the investment committee. The purpose our investment committee is to evaluate and approve all of our investments, subject at all times to the oversight and oversight of our Board of Directors. The investment committee process is intended to bring the diverse experience and perspectives of the committee’s members to the analysis and consideration of each investment. The investment committee consists of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer, and members of the Board of Directors (Messrs Pearson, Corless, Lacovara, Bloom, and Kehler). The investment committee serves to provide investment consistency and adherence to our core investment philosophy and policies.

The investment committee also determines appropriate investment sizing and suggests ongoing monitoring requirements. In addition to reviewing investments, investment committee meetings serve as a forum to discuss credit views and outlooks. Potential transactions and deal flow are reviewed on a regular basis. Members of the investment team are encouraged to share information and views on credits with the investment committee early in their analysis. We believe this process improves the quality of the analysis and assists the deal team members to work more efficiently.

Each transaction is presented to the investment committee in a formal written report for its approval. In certain instances, our Board of Directors may also determine that its approval is required prior to the making of an investment.

Monitoring

Our management team has significant experience monitoring portfolios of middle market investments and this is enhanced by the credit monitoring procedures of our Asset Manager Affiliates. Along with origination and credit analysis, portfolio management is one of the key elements of our business. Most of our investments will not be liquid and, therefore, we must prepare to act quickly if potential issues arise so that we can work closely with management and the private equity sponsor, if applicable, of the portfolio company to take any necessary remedial action quickly. In addition, most of our senior management team, including the credit team at Asset Manager Affiliates, have substantial workout and restructuring experience.

In order to assist us in detecting issues with portfolio companies as early as possible, we perform financial analysis at least quarterly of each portfolio company. This analysis typically includes:

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DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

We determine the net asset value per share of our common stock quarterly. The net asset value per share is equal to the value of our total assets minus liabilities and any preferred stock outstanding divided by the total number of shares of common stock outstanding.

Our net asset value per share was $7.85 and $7.85 as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. As we must report our assets at fair value for each reporting period, net asset value also represents the amount of stockholders’ equity per share for the reporting period. Our net asset value is comprised mostly of investment assets less debt and other liabilities:

		December 31, 2012								December 31, 2011
		Fair Value (1)				per Share (1)				Fair Value (1)				per Share (1)
Investments at fair value:
Time deposits		$	1,942,834			$	0.07			$	229,152			$	0.01
Money market account			30,543,824				1.15				31,622,134				1.38
Debt securities			111,037,882				4.20				114,673,506				4.98
CLO Fund securities			83,257,507				3.15				48,438,317				2.11
Equity securities			8,020,716				0.31				6,040,895				0.26
Asset manager affiliates			77,242,000				2.92				40,814,000				1.78
Cash			738,756				0.02				2,555,259				0.11
Other assets			6,476,954				0.24				3,760,398				0.16
Total Assets		$	319,260,473			$	12.06			$	248,133,661			$	10.79
Senior Convertible Notes			60,000,000				2.27				60,000,000				2.61
Senior Notes			41,400,000				1.56				—				—
Other liabilities			9,984,814				0.38				7,607,719				0.33
Total Liabilities		$	111,384,814			$	4.21			$	67,607,719			$	2.94
NET ASSET VALUE		$	207,875,659			$	7.85			$	180,525,942			$	7.85

Please refer to “— Investment Portfolio” below for a further description of our investment portfolio and the fair value thereof.

As a BDC, we invest primarily in illiquid securities, including loans to and warrants of private companies and interests in other illiquid securities, such as interests in the CLO Funds. These portfolio investments may be subject to restrictions on resale and will generally have no established trading market. As a result, we determine in good faith the fair value of our portfolio investments pursuant to a valuation policy in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures and a valuation process approved by our Board of Directors and in accordance with the 1940 Act. We review external events, including private mergers, sales and acquisitions involving comparable companies, and include these events in the valuation process. Our valuation policy is intended to provide a consistent basis for determining the fair value of the portfolio.

Our Board of Directors is ultimately and solely responsible for making a good faith determination of the fair value of portfolio investments on a quarterly basis. Debt and equity securities for which market quotations are readily available are generally valued at such market quotations. Debt and equity securities that are not publicly traded or whose market price is not readily available are valued by the Board of Directors based on detailed analyses prepared by management, the Valuation Committee of the Board of Directors, and, in certain circumstances, third parties with valuation expertise.

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Beginning with the period ending June 30, 2011, the Company has engaged an independent valuation firm to provide third party valuation consulting services to the Company’s Board of Directors. Each quarter, the independent valuation firm will perform third party valuations on the Company’s investments on illiquid securities such that they are reviewed at least once during a trailing 12 month period. The Board of Directors intends to continue to engage an independent valuation firm in the future to provide certain valuation services, including the review of certain portfolio assets, as part of the quarterly and annual year-end valuation process. Due to the inherent uncertainty of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of our investments may differ materially from the values that would have existed had a ready market existed for such investments. Further, such investments may be generally subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or otherwise less liquid than publicly traded securities. In addition, changes in the market environment and other events may occur over the life of the investments that may cause the value realized on such investments to be different from the currently assigned valuations.

We derive fair value for our illiquid investments that do not have indicative fair values based upon active trades primarily by using a present value technique that discounts the estimated contractual cash flows for the underlying assets with discount rates imputed by broad market indices, bond spreads and yields for comparable issuers relative to the subject assets (the “Market Yield Approach”) and also consider recent loan amendments or other activity specific to the subject asset. Discount rates applied to estimated contractual cash flows for an underlying asset vary by specific investment, industry, priority and nature of the debt security (such as the seniority or security interest of the debt security) and are assessed relative to two indices, a leveraged loan index and a high-yield bond index, at the valuation date. We have identified these two indices as benchmarks for broad market information related to our loan and debt investments. Because we have not identified any market index that directly correlates to the loan and debt investments held by us and therefore use the two benchmark indices, these market indices may require significant adjustment to better correlate such market data for the calculation of fair value of the investment under the Market Yield Approach. Such adjustments require judgment and may be material to the calculation of fair value. Further adjustments to the discount rate may be applied to reflect other market conditions or the perceived credit risk of the borrower. When broad market indices are used as part of the valuation methodology, their use is subject to adjustment for many factors, including priority, collateral used as security, structure, performance and other quantitative and qualitative attributes of the asset being valued. The resulting present value determination is then weighted along with any quotes from observable transactions and broker/pricing quotes. If such quotes are indicative of actual transactions with reasonable trading volume at or near the valuation date that are not liquidation or distressed sales, relatively more reliance will be put on such quotes to determine fair value. If such quotes are not indicative of market transactions or are insufficient as to volume, reliability, consistency or other relevant factors, such quotes will be compared with other fair value indications and given relatively less weight based on their relevancy. The appropriateness of specific valuation methods and techniques may change as market conditions and available data change.

The majority of our investment portfolio is composed of debt and equity securities with unique contract terms and conditions and/or complexity that requires a valuation of each individual investment that considers multiple levels of market and asset specific inputs, including historical and forecasted financial and operational performance of the individual investment, projected cash flows, market multiples, comparable market transactions, the priority of the security compared with those of other securities for such issuers, credit risk, interest rates and independent valuations and reviews.

Loans and Debt Securities.

To the extent that our investments are exchange traded and are priced or have sufficient price indications from normal course trading at or around the valuation date (financial reporting date), such pricing will determine fair value. Pricing service marks from third party pricing services may be used as an indication of fair value, depending on the volume and reliability of the marks, sufficient and reasonable correlation of bid and ask quotes, and, most importantly, the level of actual trading activity. However, most of our investments are illiquid investments with little or no trading activity. Further, we have been unable to identify directly comparable market indices or other market guidance that correlate directly to the types of investments we own. As a result, for most of our assets, we determine fair value using alternative methodologies and models

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using available market data, as adjusted, to reflect the types of assets we own, their structure, qualitative and credit attributes and other asset specific characteristics.

We derive fair value for our illiquid investments that do not have indicative fair values based upon active trades primarily by using the Market Yield Approach and also consider recent loan amendments or other activity specific to the subject asset. Discount rates applied to estimated contractual cash flows for an underlying asset vary by specific investment, industry, priority and nature of the debt security (such as the seniority or security interest of the debt security) and are assessed relative to two indices, a leveraged loan index and a high-yield bond index, at the valuation date. We have identified these two indices as benchmarks for broad market information related to our loan and debt investments. Because we have not identified any market index that directly correlates to the loan and debt investments held by us and therefore use the two benchmark indices, these market indices may require significant adjustment to better correlate such market data for the calculation of fair value of the investment under the Market Yield Approach. Such adjustments require judgment and may be material to the calculation of fair value. Further adjustments to the discount rate may be applied to reflect other market conditions or the perceived credit risk of the borrower. When broad market indices are used as part of the valuation methodology, their use is subject to adjustment for many factors, including priority, collateral used as security, structure, performance and other quantitative and qualitative attributes of the asset being valued. The resulting present value determination is then weighted along with any quotes from observable transactions and broker/pricing quotes. If such quotes are indicative of actual transactions with reasonable trading volume at or near the valuation date that are not liquidation or distressed sales, relatively more reliance will be put on such quotes to determine fair value. If such quotes are not indicative of market transactions or are insufficient as to volume, reliability, consistency or other relevant factors, such quotes will be compared with other fair value indications and given relatively less weight based on their relevancy.

Equity and Equity-Related Securities.

Our equity and equity-related securities in portfolio companies for which there is no liquid public market are carried at fair value based on the enterprise value of the portfolio company, which is determined using various factors, including EBITDA, cash flows from operations less capital expenditures and other pertinent factors, such as recent offers to purchase a portfolio company’s securities or other liquidation events. The determined fair values are generally discounted to account for restrictions on resale and minority ownership positions. The values of our equity and equity-related securities in public companies for which market quotations are readily available are based upon the closing public market price on the balance sheet date. Securities that carry certain restrictions on sale are typically valued at a discount from the public market value of the security.

The significant inputs used to determine the fair value of equity and equity-related securities include prices, earnings, EBITDA and cash flows after capital expenditures for similar peer comparables and the investment entity itself. Equity and equity-related securities are classified as Level III as described in — “Critical Accounting Policies — Valuation of Portfolio Investments” below), when there is limited activity or less transparency around inputs to the valuation given the lack of information related to such equity investments held in nonpublic companies. Significant assumptions observed for comparable companies as applied to relevant financial data for the specific investment. Such assumptions, such as model discount rates or price/earnings multiples, vary by the specific investment, equity position and industry and incorporate adjustments for risk premiums, liquidity and company specific attributes. Such adjustments require judgment and may be material to the calculation of fair value.

CLO Fund Securities

Our investments in CLO Fund securities are carried at fair value, which is based either on (i) the present value of the net expected cash inflows for interest income and principal repayments from underlying assets and cash outflows for interest expense, debt paydown and other fund costs for the CLO Funds that are approaching or past the end of their reinvestment period and therefore are selling assets and/or using principal repayments to pay down CLO Fund debt (or will begin to do so shortly), and for which there continue to be net cash distributions to the class of securities owned by us, or (ii) a discounted cash flow model that utilizes prepayment and loss assumptions based on historical experience and projected performance, economic factors,

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the characteristics of the underlying cash flow and comparable yields for similar securities or preferred shares to those in which we have invested or (iii) indicative prices provided by the underwriters or brokers who arrange CLO Funds. We recognize unrealized appreciation or depreciation on our investments in CLO Fund securities as comparable yields in the market change and/or based on changes in net asset values or estimated cash flows resulting from changes in prepayment or loss assumptions in the underlying collateral pool. As each investment in CLO Fund securities ages, the expected amount of losses and the expected timing of recognition of such losses in the underlying collateral pool are updated and the revised cash flows are used in determining the fair value of the CLO Fund investments. We determine the fair value of our investments in CLO Fund securities on a security-by-security basis.

Due to the individual attributes of each CLO Fund security, they are classified as a Level III (as described in — “Critical Accounting Policies — Valuation of Portfolio Investments” below) investment unless specific trading activity can be identified at or near the valuation date. When available, Level II (as described in “— Critical Accounting Policies — Valuation of Portfolio Investments” below) market information will be identified, evaluated and weighted accordingly in the application of such data to the present value models and fair value determination. Significant assumptions to the present value calculations include default rates, recovery rates, prepayment rates, investment/reinvestment rates and spreads and the discount rate by which to value the resulting underlying cash flows. Such assumptions can vary significantly, depending on market data sources which often vary in depth and level of analysis, understanding of the CLO market, detailed or broad characterizations of the CLO market and the application of such data to an appropriate framework for analysis. The application of data points are based on the specific attributes of each individual CLO Fund security’s underlying assets, historic, current and prospective performance, vintage, and other quantitative and qualitative factors that would be evaluated by market participants. We evaluate the source of market data for reliability as an indicative market input, consistency amongst other inputs and results and also the context in which such data is presented.

For rated note tranches of CLO Fund securities (those above the junior class) without transactions to support a fair value for the specific CLO Fund and tranche, fair value is based on discounting estimated bond payments at current market yields, which may reflect the adjusted yield on the leveraged loan index for similarly rated tranches, as well as prices for similar tranches for other CLO Funds, and also considers other factors such as indicative prices provided by underwriters or brokers who arrange CLO Funds, and the default and recovery rates of underlying assets in the CLO Fund, as may be applicable. Such model assumptions may vary and incorporate adjustments for risk premiums and CLO Fund specific attributes. Such adjustments require judgment and may be material to the calculation of fair value.

Asset Manager Affiliates

As with all other investments, the fair value for the Asset Manager Affiliates is determined quarterly. Our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates is carried at fair value, which is determined after taking into consideration a percentage of assets under management and a discounted cash flow model incorporating different levels of discount rates depending on the hierarchy of fees earned (including the likelihood of realization of senior, subordinate and incentive fees) and prospective modeled performance. Such valuation includes an analysis of comparable asset management companies. The Asset Manager Affiliates are classified as a Level III investment as described in — “Critical Accounting Policies — Valuation of Portfolio Investments” below). Any change in value from period to period is recognized as net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation.

Competition

Our primary competitors provide financing to prospective portfolio companies and include commercial banks, specialty finance companies, hedge funds, structured investment funds and investment banks. Many of these entities have greater financial and managerial resources than we have, and the 1940 Act imposes certain regulatory restrictions on us as a BDC to which many of our competitors are not subject. For additional information concerning the competitive risks we face, see “Item 1A.Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Structure — We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities.”

We believe that we provide a unique combination of an experienced middle market origination and credit team and an existing credit platform at both Katonah Debt Advisors and Trimaran Advisors that includes

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experienced lenders with broad industry expertise. We believe that this combination of resources provides us with a thorough credit process and multiple sources of investment opportunities to enhance our asset selection process.

Exchange Act Reports

We maintain a website at www.kcapfinancial.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.

We make available on or through our website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file with or furnish to the SEC in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). These include our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K. We make this information available on our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

We are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings, other than routine litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. Such litigation is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition, or results of the Company’s operations.

Employees

As of December 31, 2012, we and our Asset Manager Affiliates had 25 employees, including an experienced team of 16 investment professionals.

REGULATION

The following discussion is a general summary of some of the material prohibitions and restrictions governing BDCs generally. It does not purport to be a complete description of all the laws and regulations affecting BDCs.

A BDC is a unique kind of Investment Company that primarily focuses on investing in or lending to private or relatively small publicly traded companies and making managerial assistance available to them. A BDC provides stockholders with the ability to retain the liquidity of a publicly traded stock, while sharing in the possible benefits of investing in emerging-growth or expansion-stage privately-owned companies. The 1940 Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to transactions between BDCs and their directors and officers and principal underwriters and certain other related persons and requires that a majority of the directors be persons other than “interested persons,” as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. We have implemented certain procedures, both written and unwritten, to ensure that we do not engage in any prohibited transactions with any persons affiliated with us. If such affiliations are found to exist, we seek Board and/or committee review and approval or exemptive relief from the SEC for such transactions, as appropriate.

In addition, the 1940 Act provides that we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or to withdraw our election as, a BDC unless approved by a majority of our outstanding voting securities. A majority of the outstanding voting securities of a company is defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of (i) 67% or more of such company’s shares present at a meeting or represented by proxy if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company are present or represented by proxy or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company.

Qualifying Assets

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, or “qualifying assets,” unless, at the time the acquisition is made, “qualifying assets” represent at least 70% of the company’s total assets. The principal categories of “qualifying assets” relevant to our business are the following:

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Significant Managerial Assistance

A BDC must be organized and have its principal place of business in the United States and must be operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described above. However, to count portfolio securities as “qualifying assets” for the purpose of the 70% test discussed above, the BDC must either control the issuer of the securities or must offer to make available to the issuer of the securities (other than small and solvent companies described above) significant managerial assistance; except that, where the BDC purchases such securities in conjunction with one or more other persons acting together, one of the other persons in the group may make available such managerial assistance. Making available significant managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors, officers or employees, offers to provide, and, if accepted, does so provide, significant guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company through monitoring of portfolio company operations, selective participation in board and management meetings, consulting with and advising a portfolio company’s officers or other organizational or financial guidance.

Temporary Investments

Pending investment in other types of “qualifying assets,” as described above, our investments may consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment, which we refer to, collectively, as temporary investments, so that at least 70% of our assets are “qualifying assets.” Typically, we invest in U.S. treasury bills or in repurchase agreements, provided that such agreements are fully collateralized by cash or securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies. A repurchase agreement involves the purchase by an investor, such as us, of a specified security and the simultaneous agreement by the seller to repurchase it at an agreed upon future date and at a price which is greater than the purchase price by an amount that reflects an agreed-upon interest rate. There is no percentage restriction on the proportion of our assets that may be invested in such repurchase agreements. However, if more than 25% of our total assets constitute repurchase agreements that are treated, under applicable tax rules, as being issued by a single counterparty, we would not meet the diversification tests imposed on us by the Code to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Thus, we do not intend to enter into repurchase agreements treated as issued, under applicable tax rules, by a

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single counterparty in excess of this limit. We monitor the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which we enter into repurchase agreement transactions.

Senior Securities; Coverage Ratio

We are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness and one class of stock senior to our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is at least equal to 200% immediately after each such issuance. In addition, with respect to certain types of senior securities, we must make provisions to prohibit any dividend distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of certain of our securities, unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the dividend distribution or repurchase. We may also borrow amounts up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary purposes. For a discussion of the risks associated with the resulting leverage, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — We borrow money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.” As of December 31, 2012 our asset coverage ratio was 305%, above the minimum required asset coverage level of 200%.

Common Stock

We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below net asset value per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the current net asset value of the common stock if our Board of Directors determines that such sale is in our best interests and that of our stockholders, and our stockholders 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 which, in the determination of our Board of Directors, closely approximates the market value of such securities (less any distributing commission or discount). We may also make rights offerings to our stockholders at prices per share less than the net asset value per share, subject to applicable requirements of the 1940 Act. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure — Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.”

Code of Ethics

We adopted and maintain a code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that establishes procedures for personal investments and restricts certain personal securities transactions. Personnel subject to the code may invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by us, so long as such investments are made in accordance with the code’s requirements. A copy of the code of ethics is available on the Corporate Governance section of the Company’s website at http://www.kcapfinancial.com . Our code of ethics may also be reviewed and copied at the Public Reference Room of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Copies of the code of ethics may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102. In addition, our code of ethics is available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov .

Privacy Principles

We are committed to maintaining the privacy of our stockholders and safeguarding their non-public personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information we collect, how we protect that information and why, in certain cases, we may share information with select other parties.

Generally, we do not receive any non-public personal information relating to our stockholders, although some non-public personal information of our stockholders may become available to us. We do not disclose any non-public personal information about our stockholders or former stockholders to anyone, except as is necessary to service stockholder accounts, such as to a transfer agent, or as otherwise permitted by law.

We restrict access to non-public personal information about our stockholders to our employees with a legitimate business need for the information. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards designed to protect the non-public personal information of our stockholders.

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Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures

Although most of the securities we hold are not voting securities, some of our investments may entitle us to vote proxies. We vote proxies relating to our portfolio securities in the best interest of our stockholders. We review on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted to a stockholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by us. Although we generally vote against proposals that we believe may have a negative impact on our portfolio securities, we may vote for such a proposal if we believe there exists a compelling long-term reason to do so.

Our proxy voting decisions are made by our Investment Committee, which is responsible for monitoring each of our investments. To ensure that our vote is not the product of a conflict of interest, we require that (1) anyone involved in the decision making process disclose to our Chief Compliance Officer any potential conflict that he or she is aware of and any contact that he or she has had with any interested party regarding a proxy vote; and (2) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how we intend to vote on a proposal to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties.

Other

We will be periodically examined by the SEC for compliance with the 1940 Act.

We are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect us against larceny and embezzlement. Furthermore, as a BDC, we are prohibited from indemnifying any director or officer against any liability to our stockholders arising from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such person’s office.

We are required to adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation of the federal securities laws and to review these policies and procedures annually for their adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation. We have a designated CCO who is responsible for administering these policies and procedures.

TAXATION AS A REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANY

We have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and intend to operate in a manner to maintain our RIC tax treatment. As a RIC, we generally will not have to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends. To qualify as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements (as described below). In addition, we must distribute to our stockholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of our “investment company taxable income,” which is generally our net ordinary taxable income plus the excess of our realized net short-term capital gains over our realized net long-term capital losses (the “Annual Distribution Requirement”).

Taxation as a RIC

For any taxable year in which we qualify as a RIC and satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirements we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of our investment company taxable income and net capital gain, defined as net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses, we distribute to stockholders. We will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the regular corporate rates on any net ordinary income or net capital gain not distributed (or deemed distributed) to our stockholders.

We will be subject to a 4% nondeductible U.S. federal excise tax on our undistributed income unless we distribute in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (a) 98% of our net ordinary income for each calendar year, (b) 98.2% of our capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (c) any income or gains realized, but not distributed, in the preceding year and on which we paid no U.S. federal income tax (the “Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement”). For this purpose, however, any net ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by us that is subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax for the tax year ending in that calendar year will be considered to have been distributed by year end (or earlier if estimated taxes are paid). We currently intend to make sufficient distributions each taxable year to satisfy the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement.

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To qualify as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must, among other things:

If we do not satisfy the requirements of the Diversification Tests as of the end of any quarter, we will not lose our status as RIC provided that (i) we satisfied the requirements in a prior quarter and (ii) our failure to satisfy the requirements in the current quarter is not due in whole or in part to an acquisition of any security or other property.

We may invest in partnerships, including qualified publicly traded partnerships, which may result in our being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding liabilities.

Any underwriting fees paid by us are not deductible. We may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which we do not receive cash. For example, if we hold debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with payment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest or, in certain cases, with increasing interest rates or issued with warrants), we must include in income each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation, regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by us in the same taxable year. Because any original issue discount accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the year of accrual, we may be required to make a distribution to our stockholders in order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, even though we will not have received any corresponding cash amount. If we are not able to obtain sufficient cash from other sources to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may fail to qualify as a RIC and become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on all of our taxable income without the benefit of the dividends-paid deduction.

Although we do not presently expect to do so, we are authorized to borrow funds and to sell assets in order (i) to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement and to otherwise eliminate our liability for U.S. federal income and excise taxes and (ii) to satisfy the Diversification Tests. However, under the 1940 Act, we are not permitted to borrow additional funds or to make distributions to our stockholders while our debt obligations and other senior securities are outstanding unless certain “asset coverage” tests are met. See “Regulation — Senior Securities; Coverage Ratio.” Moreover, our ability to dispose of assets to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement, the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement or the Diversification Tests may be limited by (a) the illiquid nature of our portfolio and/or (b) other requirements relating to our qualification as a RIC. If we dispose of assets in order to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement, the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement, or the Diversification Tests, we may make such dispositions at times that, from an investment standpoint, are not advantageous.

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Certain of our investment practices may be subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (a) treat dividends that would otherwise constitute qualified dividend income as non-qualified dividend income, (b) treat dividends that would otherwise be eligible for the corporate dividends received deduction as ineligible for such treatment, (c) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (d) convert lower-taxed long-term capital gain into higher-taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income, (e) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (f) cause us to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash, (g) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (h) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions and (i) produce income that will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Income Test. We intend to monitor our transactions and may make certain tax elections to mitigate the effect of these provisions and prevent our disqualification as a RIC.

Gain or loss realized by us from warrants acquired by us as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term, depending on how long we held a particular warrant.

Some of the income and fees that we may recognize will not satisfy the 90% Income Test. In order to ensure that such income and fees do not disqualify us as a RIC for a failure to satisfy the 90% Income Test, we may hold assets that generate such income and provide services that generate such fees indirectly through one or more entities treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such corporations will be required to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce our return on such income and fees.

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN

We have adopted a dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of our distributions on behalf of our stockholders, unless a stockholder elects to receive cash as provided below. As a result, if our Board of Directors authorizes, and we declare, a cash dividend, then our stockholders who have not “opted out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash dividends automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, rather than receiving the cash.

No action is required on the part of a registered stockholder to have such shareholder’s cash dividend reinvested in shares of our common stock. A registered stockholder may elect to receive an entire dividend in cash by notifying American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the plan administrator and our transfer agent and registrar, in writing so that such notice is received by the plan administrator no later than the record date for dividends to stockholders. The plan administrator will set up an account for shares acquired through the plan for each stockholder who has not elected to receive dividends in cash and hold such shares in non-certificated form. Upon request by a stockholder participating in the plan, received in writing not less than ten days prior to the record date, the plan administrator will, instead of crediting shares to the participant’s account, issue a certificate registered in the participant’s name for the number of whole shares of our common stock and a check for any fractional share.

Those stockholders whose shares are held by a broker or other financial intermediary may receive dividends in cash by notifying their broker or other financial intermediary of their election.

We intend to use primarily newly issued shares to implement the plan, whether our shares are trading at a premium or at a discount to net asset value. However, we reserve the right to purchase shares in the open market in connection with our implementation of the plan. The number of shares to be issued to a stockholder is determined by dividing the total dollar amount of the dividend payable to such stockholder by the market price per share of our common stock at the close of regular trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on the dividend payment date. Market price per share on that date will be the closing price for such shares on The NASDAQ Global Select Market or, if no sale is reported for such day, at the average of their reported bid and asked prices. Shares purchased in open market transactions by the plan administrator of the dividend reinvestment plan will be allocated to a stockholder based upon the average purchase price, excluding any brokerage charges or other charges, of all shares of common stock purchased with respect to the dividend.

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There are no brokerage charges or other charges to stockholders who participate in the plan. The plan administrator’s fees under the plan are paid by us. If a participant elects by written notice to the plan administrator to have the plan administrator sell part or all of the shares held by the plan administrator in the participant’s account and remit the proceeds to the participant, the plan administrator is authorized to deduct a $15.00 transaction fee plus a $0.10 per share brokerage commission from the proceeds.

If your dividends are reinvested, you will be required to pay tax on the distributions in the same manner as if the distributions were received in cash. The taxation of dividends will not be affected by the form in which you receive them. See “Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations.”

Participants may terminate their accounts under the plan by notifying the plan administrator via its website at www.amstock.com , by filling out the transaction request form located at bottom of their statement and sending it to the plan administrator at the address set forth below or by calling the plan administrator at 1-866-668-8564.

The plan may be terminated by us upon notice in writing mailed to each participant at least 30 days prior to any record date for the payment of any dividend by us. All correspondence concerning the plan should be directed to, and additional information about the plan may be obtained from, the plan administrator by mail at American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, Attn. Dividend Reinvestment Department, P.O. Box 922, Wall Street Station, New York, NY 10269-0560 or by telephone at 1-866-668-8564.

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identify and take advantage of attractive investment opportunities or that we will be able to fully invest our available capital. If we are not able to compete effectively, our business and financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.

If we are unable to source investments effectively, we may be unable to achieve our investment objective.

Our ability to achieve our investment objective depends on our senior management team’s ability to identify, evaluate and invest in suitable companies that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis is largely a function of our marketing capabilities, our management of the investment process, our ability to provide efficient services and our access to financing sources on acceptable terms. In addition to monitoring the performance of our existing investments, members of our management team and our investment professionals may also be called upon to provide managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. These demands on their time may distract them or slow the rate of investment. To grow, we need to continue to hire, train, supervise and manage new employees and to implement computer and other systems capable of effectively accommodating our growth. However, we cannot provide assurance that any such employees will contribute to the success of our business or that we will implement such systems effectively. Failure to manage our future growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business model depends to a significant extent upon strong referral relationships, and our inability to maintain or develop these relationships, as well as the failure of these relationships to generate investment opportunities, could adversely affect our business.

We expect that members of our senior management team will maintain their relationships with intermediaries, financial institutions, investment bankers, commercial bankers, financial advisors, attorneys, accountants, consultants and other individuals within their networks, and we will rely to a significant extent upon these relationships to provide us with potential investment opportunities. If our senior management team fails to maintain its existing relationships or develop new relationships with sources of investment opportunities, we will not be able to grow our investment portfolio. In addition, individuals with whom members of our senior management team 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 have difficulty paying distributions required to maintain our RIC status if we recognize income before or without receiving cash equal to such income.

In accordance with the Code, we include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as contracted non-cash PIK interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term. The increases in loan balances as a result of contracted non-cash PIK arrangements are included in income for the period in which such non-cash PIK interest was received, which is often in advance of receiving cash payment, and are separately identified on our statements of cash flows. We also may be required to include in income certain other amounts that we will not receive in cash. Any warrants that we receive in connection with our debt investments generally are valued as part of the negotiation process with the particular portfolio company. As a result, a portion of the aggregate purchase price for the debt investments and warrants is allocated to the warrants that we receive. This generally results in the associated debt investment having “original issue discount” for tax purposes, which we must recognize as ordinary income as it accrues. This increases the amounts we are required to distribute to maintain our qualification for tax treatment as a RIC. Because such original issue discount income might exceed the amount of cash received in a given year with respect to such investment, we might need to obtain cash from other sources to satisfy such distribution requirements. Other features of the debt instruments that we hold may also cause such instruments to generate original issue discount.

Since in certain cases we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the requirement to annually distribute at least 90% of our net ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any. If we are unable to meet these distribution requirements, we will not maintain our qualification for tax treatment as a RIC. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our assets, raise additional debt or equity securities or reduce new investment originations to meet these distribution requirements.

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We may incur losses as a result of “first loss” agreements into which we or our Asset Manager Affiliates may in the future enter into in connection with warehousing credit arrangements which we may put in place prior to raising a CLO Fund and pursuant to which we would typically agree to reimburse credit providers for a portion of losses (if any) on warehouse investments.

We and our Asset Manager Affiliates have in the past entered, and may in the future enter, into “first loss” agreements in connection with warehouse credit lines to be established by our Asset Manager Affiliates to fund the initial accumulation of loan investments for future CLO Funds that our Asset Manager Affiliates will manage. Such agreements (referred to as “first loss agreements” or “first loss obligations”) frequently relate to (i) losses as a result of individual loan investments being ineligible for purchase by the CLO Fund (typically due to a payment default on such loan) when such fund formation is completed or (ii) if the CLO Fund has not been completed before the expiration of the warehouse credit line, the loss (if any, and net of any accumulated interest income) on the resale of such loans funded by the warehouse credit line. As a result, we may incur losses if loans and debt obligations that had been purchased in the warehouse facility become ineligible for inclusion in the CLO Fund or if a planned CLO Fund does not close.

Any unrealized losses we experience on our loan portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income available to make distributions.

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 Directors pursuant to a valuation methodology approved by our Board of Directors. Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments will be recorded as unrealized losses. An unrealized loss in our loan portfolio could be an indication of a portfolio company’s inability to meet its repayment obligations with respect to the affected loans. This could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our income available to pay dividends or interest and principal on our securities and could cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results and credit spreads.

We could experience fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results due to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including our ability to make investments in companies that meet our investment criteria, the interest rate payable on the debt securities we acquire, the default rate on such securities, our level of expenses, variations in and 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 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 and spreads.

Changes in interest rates may have a substantial negative impact on our investments, the value of our securities and our rate of return on invested capital. A reduction in the interest spreads on new investments could also have an adverse impact on our net interest income. An increase in interest rates could decrease the value of any investments we hold which earn fixed interest rates, including mezzanine securities and high-yield bonds, and also could increase our interest expense, thereby decreasing our net income. An increase in interest rates due to an increase in credit spreads, regardless of general interest rate fluctuations, could also negatively impact the value of any investments we hold in our portfolio.

We borrow money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.

Borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in the common stock. We have issued senior securities, and in the future may borrow from, or issue additional senior securities (such as preferred or convertible securities or debt securities) to, banks and other lenders and investors. Subject to prevailing market conditions, we intend to grow our portfolio of assets by raising additional capital, including through the prudent use of leverage available to us. Lenders and holders of such senior securities would have fixed dollar claims on our

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assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique. Any increase in our income in excess of interest payable on our outstanding indebtedness would cause our net income to increase more than it would have had we not incurred leverage, while any decrease in our income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not incurred leverage. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to make distributions. In addition, our common stockholders will bear the burden of any increase in our expenses as a result of leverage. There can be no assurance that our leveraging strategy will be successful.

As of December 31, 2012, we had $101.4 million of indebtedness outstanding which had a weighted average interest cost of 8.19%. We may incur additional indebtedness in the future, although there can be no assurance that we will be successful in doing so.

Illustration.   The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing below.

Assumed Return on Our Portfolio ⁽¹⁾
(net of expenses)

		(10.0)%				(5.0)%				0.0%				5.0%				10.0%
Corresponding net return to common stockholder			(19.4	)%			(11.7	)%			(4.0	)%			3.7	%			11.4	%

Our outstanding indebtedness imposes, and additional debt we may incur in the future will likely 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 status as a RIC. A failure to add new debt facilities or issue additional debt securities or other evidences of indebtedness in lieu of or in addition to existing indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

All of the investments originated with funds drawn under our $30 million credit facility will be subject to security interests under the our $30 million financing facility with Credit Suisse AG (the “Facility”) and if we default on our obligations there under, we may suffer adverse consequences, including the lender foreclosing on those investments. In addition, we have pledged and granted a security interest to the lender under the facility in our right, title and interest in, to and under the senior management fees and subordinated management fees paid to us by certain CLO Funds managed by Trimaran Advisors.

All of the investments originated with funds drawn under our $30 million financing facility with Credit Suisse AG (the ”Facility”) will be subject to security interests under the Facility. If we default on our obligations under the Facility, the lender may have the right to foreclose upon and sell, or otherwise transfer, the collateral subject to its security interests. In such event, we may be forced to sell our investments to raise funds to repay our outstanding borrowings under the Facility in order to avoid foreclosure and these forced sales may be at times and at prices we would not consider advantageous. In connection with any such foreclosure and our subsequent liquidation, the lender would receive proceeds there from before the holders of our securities and, as a result, the holders of our securities may not receive any proceeds upon the liquidation of these investments. If the lender exercises its right to sell the assets pledged under the Facility, such sales may be completed at distressed sale prices, thereby diminishing or potentially eliminating the amount of cash available to us after repayment of the amounts outstanding under the Facility.

In addition, we have pledged and granted a security interest to the lender under the Facility in our right, title and interest in, to and under the senior management fees and subordinated management fees paid to us by certain CLO Funds managed by Trimaran Advisors. If we default on our obligations under the Facility, the

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lender (and not us) would be entitled to receive such fees from Trimaran Advisors, which could impair our financial condition and operating results.

Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to respond to changes in our business.

With certain limited exceptions, we are only allowed to borrow amounts or issue senior securities such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is at least 200% immediately after such borrowing or issuance. As of December 31, 2012, our asset coverage ratio was 305%. The amount of leverage that we employ in the future will depend on our management’s and our Board of Directors’ assessment of market and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing. There is no assurance that a leveraging strategy will be successful. As a result of the level of our leverage:

We cannot be sure that our leverage will not have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we cannot be sure that additional financing will be available when required or, if available, will be on terms satisfactory to us. Further, even if we are able to obtain additional financing, we may be required to use some or all of the proceeds thereof to repay our outstanding indebtedness.

Pending legislation may allow us to incur additional leverage.

As a BDC under the 1940 Act, we are generally not permitted to incur indebtedness unless immediately after such borrowing we have an asset coverage for total borrowings of at least 200% (i.e., the amount of debt may not exceed 50% of the value of our assets). Recent legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, if passed, would modify this section of the 1940 Act and increase the amount of debt that business development companies may incur by modifying the percentage from 200% to 150%. As a result, we may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future and therefore your risk of an investment in our securities may increase.

Deterioration in the economy and financial markets increases the likelihood of adverse effects on our financial position and results of operations. Such economic adversity could impair our portfolio companies' financial positions and operating results and affect the industries in which we invest, which could, in turn, harm our operating results.

The broader economic fundamentals of the United States economy remain uncertain. Unemployment levels remain elevated and other economic fundamentals remain depressed. In the event that the United States economic performance contracts, it is likely that the financial results of middle market companies, like those in which we invest, could experience deterioration or limited growth, which could ultimately lead to difficulty in meeting their debt service requirements and an increase in defaults. Consequently, we can provide no assurance that the performance of certain of our portfolio companies will not be negatively impacted by economic or other conditions, which could also have a negative impact on our future results.

Although we have been able to secure access to additional liquidity, the potential for volatility in the debt and equity capital markets provides no assurance that debt or equity capital will be available to us in the future on favorable terms, or at all.

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Because we intend to continue to distribute substantially all of our income and net realized capital gains to our stockholders, we will need additional capital to finance our growth.

In order to continue to qualify as a RIC, to avoid payment of excise taxes and to minimize or avoid payment of income taxes, we intend to continue to distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our net ordinary income and realized net capital gains except for certain net long-term capital gains (which we may retain, pay applicable income taxes with respect thereto, and elect to treat as deemed distributions to our stockholders). As a BDC, in order to incur new debt, we are generally required to meet a coverage ratio of total assets to total senior securities, which includes all of our borrowings and any preferred stock we may issue in the future, of at least 200%, as measured immediately after issuance of such security. This requirement limits the amount that we may borrow. Because we will continue to need capital to grow our loan and investment portfolio, this limitation may prevent us from incurring debt and require us to issue additional equity at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. We cannot assure you that debt and equity financing will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all, and debt financings may be restricted by the terms of such borrowings. If additional funds are not available to us, we could be forced to curtail or cease new lending and investment activities.

We may from time to time expand our business through acquisitions, which could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition.

We may pursue potential acquisitions of, and investments in, businesses complementary to our business and from time to time engage in discussions regarding such possible acquisitions. For example, in February 2012, we completed the acquisition of Trimaran Advisors. Such acquisition and any other acquisitions we may undertake involve a number of risks, including:

If we fail to properly evaluate acquisitions or investments, we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions, we may incur costs in excess of what we anticipate, and management resources and attention may be diverted from other necessary or valuable activities. Any acquisition, including the Trimaran Advisors acquisition, may not result in short-term or long-term benefits to us. If we are unable to integrate or successfully manage any business that we acquire, we may not realize anticipated cost savings, improved efficiencies or revenue growth, which may result in reduced profitability or operating losses.

Our Board of Directors may change our investment objective, operating policies and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to modify or waive certain of our operating policies and strategies without prior notice (except as required by the 1940 Act) and without stockholder approval. However, absent stockholder approval, we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current operating policies and strategies would have on our business and operating results. Nevertheless, the effects may adversely affect our business and they could negatively impact our ability to pay you dividends and could cause you to lose all or part of your investment or interest and principal on our securities.

Our businesses may be adversely affected by litigation and regulatory proceedings.

From time to time, we may be subject to legal actions as well as various regulatory, governmental and law enforcement inquiries, investigations and subpoenas. In any such claims or actions, demands for

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substantial monetary damages may be asserted against us and may result in financial liability or an adverse effect on our reputation among investors. We may be unable to accurately estimate our exposure to litigation risk when we record balance sheet reserves for probable loss contingencies. As a result, any reserves we establish to cover any settlements or judgments may not be sufficient to cover our actual financial exposure, which may have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition. In regulatory enforcement matters, claims for disgorgement, the imposition of penalties and the imposition of other remedial sanctions are possible.

A failure on our part to maintain our status as a BDC would significantly reduce our operating flexibility.

If we do not continue to qualify as a BDC, we might be regulated as a registered closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act; our failure to qualify as a BDC would make us subject to additional regulatory requirements, which may significantly decrease our operating flexibility by limiting our ability to employ leverage and issue common stock.

Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.

Our business requires a substantial amount of additional capital. We may acquire additional capital from the issuance of senior securities or other indebtedness, the issuance of additional shares of our common stock or from securitization transactions. However, we may not be able to raise additional capital in the future on favorable terms or at all. We may issue debt securities or preferred securities, which we refer to collectively as “senior securities,” and we may borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, up to the maximum amount permitted by the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act permits us to issue senior securities or incur indebtedness only in amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% immediately after such issuance or incurrence. With respect to certain types of senior securities, we must make provisions to prohibit any dividend distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of certain of our securities, unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the dividend distribution or repurchase. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy the asset coverage test. Furthermore, any amounts that we use to service our indebtedness would not be available for distributions to our common stockholders.

If in the future we issue debt or preferred stock, all of the costs of offering and servicing such debt or preferred stock, including interest or preferential dividend payments thereon, will be borne by our common stockholders. The interests of the holders of any debt or preferred stock we may issue will not necessarily be aligned with the interests of our common stockholders. In particular, the rights of holders of our debt or preferred stock to receive interest, dividends or principal repayment will be senior to those of our common stockholders. Also, in the event we issue preferred stock, the holders of such preferred stock will have the ability to elect two members of our board of directors. In addition, we may grant a lender a security interest in a significant portion or all of our assets, even if the total amount we may borrow from such lender is less than the amount of such lender’s security interest in our assets. In no event, however, will any lender to us have any veto power over, or any vote with respect to, any change in our, or approval of any new, investment objective or investment policies or strategies.

We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below net asset value per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, or warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the then-current net asset value of our common stock if our board of directors determines that such sale is in the best interests of KCAP Financial and its stockholders, and our stockholders 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 which, in the determination of our board of directors, closely approximates the market value of such securities (less any distributing commission or discount). We are also generally prohibited under the 1940 Act from issuing securities convertible into voting securities without obtaining the approval of our existing stockholders. In addition to issuing securities to raise capital as described above; we may securitize a portion of the loans generate cash for funding new investments. If we are unable to successfully securitize our loan portfolio our ability to grow our business and fully execute our business strategy and our earnings (if any) may be adversely affected. Moreover, even successful securitization of our loan portfolio might expose us to losses, as the residual loans in which we do not sell interests tend to be those that are riskier and more apt to generate losses.

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Changes in the laws or regulations governing our business and the business of our Asset Manager Affiliates, or changes in the interpretations thereof, and any failure by us or our Asset Manager Affiliates to comply with these laws or regulations, could negatively affect the profitability of our operations.

Changes in the laws or regulations or the interpretations of the laws and regulations that govern BDCs, registered investment advisers (such as our Asset Manager Affiliates), RICs or non-depository commercial lenders could significantly affect our operations and our cost of doing business. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations and are subject to judicial and administrative decisions that affect our operations, including our loan originations, maximum interest rates, fees and other charges, disclosures to portfolio companies, the terms of secured transactions, collection and foreclosure procedures and other trade practices. In addition, as registered investment advisers, the Asset Manager Affiliates are subject to new and existing regulations, regulatory risks, costs and expenses associated with operating as registered investment advisers that may limit their ability to operate, structure or expand their businesses in the future. If these laws, regulations or decisions change, or if we expand our business into jurisdictions that have adopted more stringent requirements than those in which we currently conduct business, we may have to incur significant expenses in order to comply or we might have to restrict our operations. In addition, if we do not comply with applicable laws, regulations and decisions, we may lose licenses needed for the conduct of our business and be subject to civil fines and criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations or financial condition.

If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in “qualifying assets,” we could be precluded from investing according to our current business strategy.

As a BDC, we may not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” for purposes of the 1940 Act unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are “qualifying assets.” See “Regulation”.

We believe that most of the senior loans and mezzanine investments that we acquire constitute “qualifying assets.” However, investments in the securities of CLO Funds generally do not constitute “qualifying assets,” and we may invest in other assets that are not “qualifying assets.” If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in “qualifying assets,” we may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. These restrictions could also prevent us from making investments in the equity securities of CLO Funds, which could limit our Asset Manager Affiliates’ ability to organize new CLO Funds. Similarly, these rules could prevent us from making follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies (which could result in the dilution of our position).

In addition, we have received certain exemptive relief from the SEC relating to our status as a BDC and our ability to own securities issued by or any other interest in the business of a person who is a registered investment adviser. The conditions of such exemptive relief may limit our ability or the ability of our Asset Manager Affiliates, each a registered investment adviser, to operate, structure or expand their businesses in the future.

We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.

To maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code, we must meet the following annual distribution, income source and asset diversification requirements:

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Failure to meet these requirements may result in our having to dispose of certain investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC status. Because most of our investments will be in private companies, and therefore will be illiquid, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and could result in substantial losses. Moreover, if we fail to maintain RIC tax treatment for any reason and are subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes, the resulting taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions. Such a failure would have a material adverse effect on us and on our stockholders.

Risks Related to Our Investments

Our investments may be risky, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

We invest primarily in senior secured term loans, mezzanine debt and selected equity investments issued by middle market companies.

Secured Loans .  When we extend secured term loans, we generally take a security interest (either as a first lien position or as a second lien position) in the available assets of these portfolio companies, including the equity interests of their subsidiaries, which we expect to assist in mitigating the risk that we will not be repaid. However, there is a risk that the collateral securing our loans may decrease in value over time, 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, and, in some circumstances, our lien could be 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 deterioration in the value of the collateral for the loan. Consequently, the fact that a loan is secured does not guarantee that we will receive principal and interest payments according to the loan’s terms, or at all, or that we will be able to collect on the loan should we be forced to exercise our remedies.

Mezzanine Debt .  Our mezzanine debt investments generally are subordinated to senior loans and generally are unsecured. This may result in an above average amount of risk and volatility or loss of principal.

These investments may entail additional risks that could adversely affect our investment returns. To the extent interest payments associated with such debt are deferred, such debt is subject to greater fluctuations in value based on changes in interest rates and such debt could subject us to phantom income. Since we generally do not receive any cash prior to maturity of the debt, the investment is of greater risk.

Equity Investments .  We have made and expect to make selected equity investments. In addition, when we invest in senior secured loans or mezzanine debt, we may acquire warrants in the equity of the portfolio company. Our goal is ultimately to dispose of such equity interests and realize gains upon our disposition of such 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.

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Risks Associated with Middle Market Companies .  Investments in middle market companies also involve a number of significant risks, including:

Our portfolio investments for which there is no readily available market, including our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates and our investments in CLO Funds, are recorded at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors. As a result, there is uncertainty as to the value of these investments.

Our investments consist primarily of securities issued by privately-held companies, the fair value of which is not readily determinable. In addition, we are not permitted to maintain a general reserve for anticipated loan losses. Instead, we are required by the 1940 Act to specifically value each investment and record an unrealized gain or loss for any asset that we believe has increased or decreased in value. We value these securities at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors pursuant to a valuation methodology approved by our Board of Directors. These valuations are initially prepared by our management and reviewed by our Valuation Committee, which uses its best judgment in arriving at the fair value of these securities. However, the Board of Directors retains ultimate authority to determine the appropriate valuation for each investment. From time to time, our Board of Directors has used the services of an independent valuation firm to aid it in determining fair value, including in the case of our investments in CLO Funds and in our Asset Manager Affiliates.

Beginning with the period ending June 30, 2011, the Company has engaged an independent valuation firm to provide third party valuation consulting services to the Company’s Board of Directors. Each quarter, the independent valuation firm will perform third party valuations on the Company’s investments on illiquid securities such that they are reviewed at least once during a trailing 12 month period. These third party valuation estimates were considered as one of the relevant data inputs in the Company’s determination of fair value. The Board of Directors intends to continue to engage an independent valuation firm in the future to provide certain valuation services, including the review of certain portfolio assets, as part of the quarterly and annual year-end valuation process. In addition to such third-party input, the types of factors that may be considered in valuing our investments include the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparison to publicly-traded companies, discounted cash flow and other relevant factors. Our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates is carried at fair value, which is determined after taking into consideration a percentage of assets under management and a discounted cash flow model incorporating different levels of discount rates depending on the hierarchy of fees earned (including the likelihood of realization of senior, subordinate and incentive fees) and prospective modeled performance. Such valuation includes an analysis of comparable asset management companies. Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of private investments and private companies, are inherently uncertain and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would be assessed if a

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ready market for these securities existed. Our net asset value could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of our illiquid investments were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon the disposal of such securities.

We are a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, and therefore we may invest a significant portion of our assets in a relatively small number of issuers, which subjects us to a risk of significant loss if any of these issuers defaults on its obligations under any of its debt instruments or as a result of a downturn in the particular industry.

We are classified as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, and therefore we may invest a significant portion of our assets in a relatively small number of issuers in a limited number of industries. As of December 31, 2012, our largest investment, our 100% equity interest in our Asset Manager Affiliates, equaled approximately 24.8% of the fair value of our total investments. Beyond the asset diversification requirements associated with our qualification as a RIC, we do not have fixed guidelines for diversification, and while we are not targeting any specific industries, relatively few industries may become significantly represented among our investments. To the extent that we assume large positions in the securities of a small number of issuers, our net asset value 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, changes in fair value over time or a downturn in any particular industry. We may also be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company.

Economic recessions or downturns could negatively impact our portfolio companies and harm our operating results.

Many of our portfolio companies may be susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and may be unable to repay our loans during these periods. Therefore, our 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 collateral securing some of our loans and the value of our equity investments. Economic slowdowns or recessions could lead to financial losses in our portfolio and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets. 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. These events could prevent us from increasing investments and harm our operating results.

Defaults by our portfolio companies could harm our operating results.

A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other debt holders could lead to defaults and, potentially, acceleration of the time when the loans are due and foreclosure on its secured assets. Such events could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize a portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt that we hold and the value of any equity securities we own. We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting portfolio company.

When we are a debt or minority equity investor in a portfolio company, which generally is the case, we may not be in a position to control the entity, and its management may make decisions that could decrease the value of our investment.

Most of our investments are either debt or minority equity investments in our portfolio companies. Therefore, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree, and the stockholders and management of such company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that could decrease the value of our portfolio holdings. In addition, we generally are not in a position to control any portfolio company by investing in its debt securities.

Prepayments of our debt investments by our portfolio companies could negatively impact our operating results.

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 generally reinvest these proceeds in temporary investments, pending their future investment in new portfolio companies. These temporary investments typically have substantially lower

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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. Consequently, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected if one or more of our portfolio companies elects to prepay amounts owed to us. Additionally, prepayments could negatively impact our return on equity, which could result in a decline in the market price of our common stock.

Our portfolio companies may incur debt that ranks equal with, or senior to, our investments in such companies.

We invest primarily in debt securities issued by our portfolio companies. In some cases portfolio companies are permitted to have other debt that ranks equal with, or senior to, the debt securities in which we invest. By their terms, such debt instruments may provide that the holders thereof are entitled to receive payment of interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments in respect of the debt securities in which we invest. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, 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 distribution in respect of our investment. 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 equal with debt securities 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 a portfolio company.

Second priority liens on collateral securing loans 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 loans that we make are secured by a second priority security interest in the same collateral pledged by a portfolio company to secure senior debt owed by the portfolio company to commercial banks or other traditional lenders. Often the senior lender has procured covenants from the portfolio company prohibiting the incurrence of additional secured debt without the senior lender's consent. Prior to and as a condition of permitting the portfolio company to borrow money from us secured by the same collateral pledged to the senior lender, the senior lender will require assurances that it will control the disposition of any collateral in the event of bankruptcy or other default. In many such cases, the senior lender will require us to enter into an “intercreditor agreement” prior to permitting the portfolio company to borrow from us. Typically the intercreditor agreements we are requested to execute expressly subordinate our debt instruments to those held by the senior lender and further provide that the senior lender shall control: (1) the commencement of foreclosure or other proceedings to liquidate and collect on the collateral; (2) the nature, timing and conduct of foreclosure or other collection proceedings; (3) the amendment of any collateral document; (4) the release of the security interests in respect of any collateral; and (5) the waiver of defaults under any security agreement. Because of the control we may cede to senior lenders under intercreditor agreements we may enter, we may be unable to realize the proceeds of any collateral securing some of our loans.

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.

Even though we may have structured certain of our investments as senior loans, if one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, depending on the facts and circumstances, including the size of our investment and the extent to which we actually provided managerial assistance to that portfolio company, a bankruptcy court might recharacterize our debt investment and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors. In addition, lenders can be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by them where they become too involved in the borrower’s business or exercise control over the borrower. It is possible that we could become subject to a lender’s liability claim, including as a result of actions taken in rendering significant managerial assistance.

Our investments in equity securities involve a substantial degree of risk.

We may purchase common stock and other equity securities, including warrants. Although equity securities have historically generated higher average total returns than fixed-income securities over the long

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term, equity securities have also 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 depends on our portfolio company’s success. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including the risk of further dilution as a result of additional issuances, inability to access additional capital and failure to pay current distributions. Investments in preferred securities involve special risks, such as the risk of deferred distributions, credit risk, illiquidity and limited voting rights.

The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.

We invest in securities issued by private companies. These securities may be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or otherwise be less liquid than publicly-traded securities. The illiquidity of these 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. Our investments are usually subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale or are otherwise illiquid because there is usually no established trading market for such investments. The illiquidity of most 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.

We may not receive all or a portion of the income we expect to continue to receive from our Asset Manager Affiliates.

We expect to receive distributions of recurring fee income, after the payment of their expenses, from the asset management activities of our Asset Manager Affiliates. However, the existing asset management agreements pursuant to which our Asset Manager Affiliates receive such fee income from the CLO Funds for which they serve as managers may be terminated for “cause” by the holders of a majority of the most senior class of securities issued by such CLO Funds and the holders of a majority of the subordinated securities issued by such CLO Funds. “Cause” is defined in the asset management agreements to include a material breach by our Asset Manager Affiliates of the indenture governing the applicable CLO Fund, breaches by our Asset Manager Affiliates of certain specified provisions of the indenture, material breaches of representations or warranties made by our Asset Manager Affiliates, bankruptcy or insolvency of our Asset Manager Affiliates, fraud or criminal activity on the part of our Asset Manager Affiliates or an event of default under the indenture governing the CLO Funds. We expect that future asset management agreements will contain comparable provisions. Further, a significant portion of the asset management fees payable to our Asset Manager Affiliates under the asset management agreements are subordinated to the prior payments of interest on the senior securities issued by the CLO Funds. If the asset management agreements are terminated or the CLO Funds do not generate enough income or otherwise have insufficient residual cash flow due to diversion of cash as a result of the failure by the CLO Funds to satisfy certain restrictive covenants contained in their indenture agreements to pay the subordinated management fees, we will not receive the fee income that we expect to continue to receive from our Asset Manager Affiliates, which will reduce income available to make distributions to our stockholders. At December 31, 2012, our Asset Manager Affiliates were receiving all (senior and subordinate) management fees payable by the CLO Funds managed by them.

We may not receive any return on our investment in the CLO Funds in which we have invested and we may be unable to raise additional CLO Funds.

As of December 31, 2012, we had $83 million at fair value invested in the subordinated securities, preferred shares, or other securities issued by the CLO Funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates and certain other third party asset managers. Subject to market conditions and legal requirements applicable to us under the 1940 Act, we expect to continue to acquire subordinated securities in the future in CLO Funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates and/or third party managers. Subordinated securities are the most junior class of securities issued by the CLO Funds and are subordinated in priority of payment to every other class of securities issued by these CLO Funds. Therefore, they only receive cash distributions if the CLO Funds have made all cash interest payments to all other debt securities issued by the CLO Fund. The subordinated securities are also unsecured and rank behind all of the secured creditors, known or unknown, of the CLO Fund, including the holders of the senior securities issued by the CLO Fund. Consequently, to the extent that the value of a CLO Fund’s loan investments has been reduced as a result of conditions in the

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credit markets, or as a result of default loans or individual fund assets, the value of the subordinated securities at their redemption could be reduced. Additionally, we may not be able to continue to complete new CLO Funds due to prevailing CLO market conditions or other factors.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

There is a risk that we may not make distributions.

We intend to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. We may not be able to achieve investment results that will allow us to make a specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. In addition, due to the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC and a covenant that we agreed to in connection with the issuance of the 7.375% Senior Notes due 2019 (the ”Senior Notes”), we are limited in our ability to make distributions in certain circumstances. In this regard, we agreed in connection with our issuance of the Senior Notes that for the period of time during which the Senior Notes are outstanding, we will not violate (regardless of whether we are subject to) Section 18(a)(1)(B) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the 1940 Act. These provisions generally prohibit us from declaring any cash dividend or distribution upon our common stock, or purchasing any such common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is below 200% at the time of the declaration of the dividend or distribution or the purchase and after deducting the amount of such dividend, distribution or purchase. Further, if we invest a greater amount of assets in equity securities that do not pay current dividends, it could reduce the amount available for distribution.

Investing in shares of our common stock may involve an above average degree of risk.

The investments we make in accordance with our investment objective may result in a higher amount of risk, volatility or loss of principal than alternative investment options. Our investments in portfolio companies may be highly speculative, and therefore, an investment in our common stock may not be suitable for investors with lower risk tolerance.

Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value, and we cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock will not decline following any offering of our common stock.

We cannot predict the price at which our common stock will trade. Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value and our stock may also be discounted in the market. This characteristic of closed-end investment companies is separate and distinct from the risk that our net asset value per share may decline. We cannot predict whether shares of our common stock will trade above, at or below our net asset value. The risk of loss associated with this characteristic of closed-end investment companies may be greater for investors expecting to sell shares of common stock soon after the purchase of such shares of common stock. In addition, if our common stock trades below its net asset value, we will generally not be able to issue additional shares of our common stock at its market price without first obtaining the approval of our stockholders and our independent directors.

Our share price may be volatile and may fluctuate substantially.

The market price and liquidity of the market for shares of our common stock 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:

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If we sell common stock at a discount to our net asset value per share, stockholders who do not participate in such sale will experience immediate dilution in an amount that may be material.

At our 2012 annual meeting of stockholders held on June 22, 2012, our stockholders approved our ability to sell an unlimited number of shares of our common stock at any level of discount from net asset value per share during the 12 month period following the June 22, 2012 approval in accordance with the exception described above in “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Structure — Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.” The issuance or sale by us of shares of our common stock at a discount to net asset value poses a risk of dilution to our stockholders. In particular, stockholders who do not purchase additional shares at or below the discounted price in proportion to their current ownership will experience an immediate decrease in net asset value per share (as well as in the aggregate net asset value of their shares if they do not participate at all). These stockholders will also experience a disproportionately greater decrease in their participation in our earnings and assets and their voting power than the increase we experience in our assets, potential earning power and voting interests from such issuance or sale. In addition, such sales may adversely affect the price at which our common stock trades.

Certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

The Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a third party from making an acquisition proposal for us. These anti-takeover provisions may inhibit a change in control in circumstances that could give the holders of our common stock the opportunity to realize a premium over the market price of our common stock.

Our stockholders may experience dilution upon the conversion of our Convertible Senior Notes.

Our 8.75% convertible senior notes due 2016 (the “Convertible Senior Notes”) are convertible into shares of our common stock at any time prior to the end of business on the business day preceding the maturity date. Upon conversion, we will satisfy our conversion obligation by issuing shares of our common stock to the converting holder and, under certain limited circumstances, may elect to deliver cash in lieu of shares otherwise deliverable upon conversion to comply with certain listing standards of The NASDAQ Global Select Market. The conversion price as of December 31, 2012 of the convertible senior is approximately 122.5638 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the Convertible Senior Notes, equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $8.159 per share of our common stock. Our stockholders will experience dilution in their ownership percentage of common stock upon our issuance of common stock on any conversion of the Convertible Senior Notes and any dividends paid on our common stock will also be paid on shares issued on any conversion.

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Risks Related to Our Senior Notes and Our Convertible Senior Notes

The Senior Notes are unsecured and therefore are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we have currently incurred or may incur in the future.

The Senior Notes are not secured by any of our assets or any of the assets of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates. As a result, the Senior Notes are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we or they have currently incurred and may incur in the future (or any indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness, including indebtedness under the Facility. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness and the secured indebtedness of our subsidiaries and the Asset Manager Affiliates may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Senior Notes.

The Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries and portfolio companies with respect to which we hold equity investments, including the Asset Manager Affiliates.

The Senior Notes are obligations exclusively of KCAP Financial, Inc., and not of any of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates. None of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates are guarantors of the Senior Notes, and the Senior Notes will not be required to be guaranteed by any subsidiary or asset management firm we may acquire or create in the future. Any assets of our subsidiaries and the Asset Manager Affiliates will not be directly available to satisfy the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Senior Notes. Except to the extent we are a creditor with recognized claims against our subsidiaries, all claims of creditors of our subsidiaries will have priority over our equity interests in such entities (and therefore the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Senior Notes) with respect to the assets of such entities. Even if we are recognized as a creditor of one or more of these entities, our claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such entity and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such entity senior to our claims. Consequently, the Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities of any of our subsidiaries and portfolio companies with respect to which we hold equity investments, including the Asset Manager Affiliates and any subsidiaries of the Asset Manager Affiliates that we may in the future acquire or establish. These entities may incur substantial indebtedness in the future, all of which would be structurally senior to the Senior Notes.

The indenture under which the Senior Notes are issued contains limited protection for holders of the Senior Notes.

The indenture under which the Senior Notes are issued offers limited protection to holders of the Senior Notes. The terms of the indenture and the Senior Notes do not restrict our or any of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates’ ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have a material adverse impact on your investment in the Senior Notes. In particular, the terms of the indenture and the Senior Notes do not place any restrictions on our or our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates’ ability to:

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In addition, the indenture does not require us to offer to purchase the Senior Notes in connection with a change of control or any other event.

Furthermore, the terms of the indenture and the Senior Notes do not protect holders of the Senior Notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, if any, as they do not require that we adhere to any financial tests or ratios or specified levels of net worth, revenues, income, cash flow, or liquidity other than as described above. Any changes to the 200% asset coverage ratio in the 1940 Act could affect the Senior Notes. See “— Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Structure — Pending legislation may allow us to incur additional leverage.”

Our ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Senior Notes may have important consequences for you as a holder of the Senior Notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the Senior Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Senior Notes.

Other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indenture and the Senior Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. The issuance or incurrence of any such debt with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Senior Notes.

Even though the Senior Notes are listed on the NYSE, an active trading market for the Senior Notes may not develop, or if it does develop, it will be sustained, which could limit your ability to sell the Senior Notes or the market price of the Senior Notes.

We cannot provide any assurances that an active trading market will develop for the Senior Notes or that, if it does develop, it will be sustained or that you will be able to sell your Senior Notes. The Senior Notes may trade at a discount from the price paid for the notes depending on prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities, our credit ratings, if any, general economic conditions, our financial condition, performance and prospects and other factors.

Accordingly, we cannot assure you that a liquid trading market will develop for the Senior Notes, or that, if an active trading market for the Senior Notes does develop, it will be sustained, that you will be able to sell your Senior Notes at a particular time or that the price you receive when you sell will be favorable. To the

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extent an active trading market does not develop the liquidity and trading price for the Senior Notes may be harmed. Accordingly, you may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Senior Notes for an indefinite period of time.

If we default on our obligations to pay our other indebtedness, we may not be able to make payments on the Convertible Senior Notes.

Any default under the agreements governing our indebtedness, including a default under the Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 and the Facility or other indebtedness to which we may be a party that is not waived by the required lenders, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness could make us unable to pay principal, premium, if any, and interest on the Convertible Senior Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Convertible Senior Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, the lender under the Facility or other debt we may incur in the future could elect to terminate its commitment, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from the lender under the Facility or other debt that we may incur in the future to avoid being in default. If we breach our covenants under the Facility or other debt and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required lenders. If this occurs, we would be in default under the Facility or other debt, the lender could exercise its rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay debt, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because the Convertible Senior Notes have, and any future debt we issue will likely have, customary cross-default provisions, if the indebtedness under the Convertible Senior Notes or any other debt we may issue is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.

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Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK

Our common stock is quoted on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “KCAP.” We completed our initial public offering on December 11, 2006 at an initial public offering (“IPO”) price of $15.00 per share. Prior to such date there was no public market for our common stock.

The following table sets forth the range of high and low closing sales prices per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Global Select Market in respect of the periods indicated. The stock quotations are interdealer quotations and do not include markups, markdowns or commissions and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.

Quarterly Stock Prices for 2012 and 2011

		High				Low				Close				NAV (1)
2012:
Fourth quarter		$	9.67			$	7.40			$	9.19			$	7.85
Third quarter		$	9.36			$	7.27			$	9.26			$	7.82
Second quarter		$	7.26			$	5.58			$	7.26			$	7.66
First quarter		$	7.34			$	6.35			$	6.91			$	7.78
2011:
Fourth quarter		$	6.85			$	5.65			$	6.31			$	7.85
Third quarter		$	8.26			$	5.33			$	5.85			$	8.29
Second quarter		$	8.16			$	7.12			$	7.95			$	8.52
First quarter		$	8.58			$	6.70			$	8.26			$	8.64

(1)

Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per share is determined as of the last day in the relevant quarter and therefore may not reflect the NAV per share on the date of the high and low closing sales prices.

We began paying quarterly dividends in our first full quarter of operations following our IPO. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 7 — “Distributable Tax Income” from our Notes to the Financial Statements included herein. The table below provides information relating to dividends we paid in respect of the periods indicated.

Dividend Declarations

Dividend

Declaration Date

Record Date

Pay Date

2012:

Fourth quarter

$

0.28

12/17/2012

12/28/2012

1/28/2013

Third quarter

0.24

9/17/2012

10/10/2012

10/29/2012

Second quarter

0.24

6/18/2012

7/6/2012

7/27/2012

First quarter

0.18

3/16/2012

4/6/2012

4/27/2012

Total declared for 2012

$

0.94

2011:

Fourth quarter

$

0.18

12/12/2011

12/23/2011

1/27/2012

Third quarter

0.18

9/15/2011

10/10/2011

10/28/2011

Second quarter

0.17

6/13/2011

7/8/2011

7/29/2011

First quarter

0.17

3/21/2011

4/8/2011

4/29/2011

Total declared for 2011

$

0.70

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Performance Graph

The following graph compares the return on our common stock with that of the Russell 2000 Index and the Nasdaq Financial 100 Index (IXF), for the period December 11, 2006 (the date of our initial public offering) to December 31, 2012. The graph assumes that, on December 11, 2006, a person invested $100 in each of our common stock, the Russell 2000 Index, and the IFX. The graph measures total shareholder return, which takes into account both changes in stock price and dividends. It assumes that dividends are reinvested.

Shareholder Return Performance Graph
Cumulative Total Return Since Initial Public Offering ⁽¹⁾
(Through December 31, 2012)

HOLDERS

As of December 31, 2012, there were 20 shareholders of record of our common stock and approximately 13,170 beneficial shareholders of the Company.

SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES

As disclosed elsewhere in this Annual Report, we issued 3,600,000 shares of our common stock as consideration in connection with our acquisition of Trimaran Advisors in February 2012. These shares of common stock were issued pursuant to an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) as a transaction not involving any public offering. In addition, we issued 76,208 shares of common stock pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan. This issuance was not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act. See Note 9 “Stockholders’ Equity,” of our Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein.

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

In November 2008, the Board of Directors approved a $5 million share repurchase plan. Any share repurchases are subject to timing restrictions and other applicable regulations. We did not repurchase any shares of our common stock during the year ended December 31, 2012.

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We intend to continue to distribute quarterly dividends to our stockholders. Our quarterly dividends, if because any, will be determined by our Board of Directors. To maintain our RIC status, we must timely distribute an amount equal to at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, reduced by deductible expenses, out of the assets legally available for distribution, for each year. To avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we are generally required to distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of our ordinary income for the calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gains in excess of capital losses for the one-year period ending on October 31 of the calendar year and (3) any ordinary income and net capital gains for preceding years that were not distributed during such years. If this requirement is not met, we will be required to pay a nondeductible excise tax equal to 4% of the amount by which the required distribution amount exceeds the actual distribution for the year. The taxable income on which an excise tax is paid is generally carried forward and distributed to stockholders in the next tax year. Depending on the level of taxable income earned in a tax year, we may choose to carry forward taxable income in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year and pay a 4% excise tax on such income, to the extent required.

We cannot assure you that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, because we issued public senior securities (i.e. the Senior Notes), we are prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratio stipulated by the 1940 Act. Similarly, we may be prohibited from making distributions by the terms of any of our other borrowings.

We maintain an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan for our common stockholders. As a result, if we declare a dividend, then stockholders’ cash dividends will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, unless they specifically “opt out” of the dividend reinvestment plan so as to receive cash dividends.

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table summarizes certain information regarding the Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan and the Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Plan as of December 31, 2012:

Plan Category		Number of Securities to Be Issued Upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights				Weighted Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights				Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans (Excluding Securities Reflected in Column (a))
		(a)				(b)				(c)
Equity Compensation Plans Approved by Security Holders (1)			60,000			$	7.24				1,624,550	(2) (3)
Equity Compensation Plans Not Approved by Security Holders			—				—				—
Total			60,000				7.24				1,624,550

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Item 6.

Selected Financial Data

The following selected financial and other data for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008 is derived from our financial statements. The data should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and notes thereto and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” which are included in this Annual Report.

KCAP FINANCIAL, INC.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

		Year Ended December 31, 2012				Year Ended December 31, 2011				Year Ended December 31, 2010				Year Ended December 31, 2009				Year Ended December 31, 2008 (1)
Income Statement Data:
Interest and related portfolio income:
Interest and Dividends		$	33,578,974			$	23,823,588			$	24,638,631			$	33,497,213			$	46,208,978
Fees and other income			304,882				86,057				215,233				399,338				1,653,232
Dividends from affiliate asset manager			4,700,000				1,910,000				4,500,000				—				1,350,000
Other Income			—				2,000,000				—				—				—
Total interest and related portfolio income			38,583,856				27,819,645				29,353,864				33,896,551				49,212,210
Expenses:
Interest and amortization of debt issuance costs			6,976,018				4,588,482				7,088,202				9,276,563				10,925,624
Compensation			3,172,814				3,907,900				3,322,895				3,222,604				3,940,638
Other			4,344,611				3,490,939				7,045,648				3,066,729				3,640,031
Total operating expenses			14,493,443				11,987,321				17,456,745				15,565,896				18,506,293
Net Investment Income			24,090,413				15,832,324				11,897,119				18,330,655				30,705,917
Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments:
Net realized loss			(3,232,975	)			(18,476,608	)			(17,862,984	)			(15,782,121	)			(575,179	)
Net change in unrealized gains (losses)			5,268,341				10,293,828				(8,322,812	)			31,854,736				(93,414,146	)
Total net gains (losses)			2,035,366				(8,182,780	)			(26,185,796	)			16,072,615				(93,989,325	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		$	26,125,778			$	7,649,544			$	(14,288,677	)		$	34,403,270			$	(63,283,408	)
Per Share:
Earnings per common share – basic		$	1.00			$	0.33			$	(0.63	)		$	1.56			$	(3.09	)
Earnings per common share – diluted		$	0.95			$	0.33			$	(0.63	)		$	1.56			$	(3.09	)
Net investment income per share – basic		$	0.93			$	0.69			$	0.53			$	0.83			$	1.50
Net investment income per share – diluted		$	0.89			$	0.69			$	0.53			$	0.83			$	1.50
Dividends declared per common share		$	0.94			$	0.69			$	0.68			$	0.92			$	1.44
Balance Sheet Data:
Investment assets at fair value		$	312,044,763			$	239,791,681			$	191,186,296			$	409,105,621			$	460,509,190
Total assets		$	319,260,473			$	248,133,661			$	279,822,686			$	439,416,057			$	469,156,229
Total debt outstanding		$	101,400,000			$	60,000,000			$	86,746,582			$	218,050,363			$	261,691,148
Stockholders' equity		$	207,875,659			$	180,525,942			$	186,925,667			$	213,895,724			$	196,566,018
Net asset value per common share		$	7.85			$	7.85			$	8.21			$	9.56			$	9.03
Common shares outstanding at end of year			26,470,408				22,992,211				22,767,130				22,363,281				21,771,186
Other Data:
Investments funded (2)			123,165,150				85,541,809				11,245,300				23,482,349				109,442,643
Principal collections related to investment repayments or sales (2)			104,556,500				81,681,314				223,103,170				84,503,183				72,345,600
Number of portfolio investments at year end (2)			88				68				58				124				149
Weighted average yield of income producing debt investments (3)			7.5	%			8.4	%			8.6	%			6.5	%			7.0	%

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Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)” in our statement of operations until the investment is exited, resulting in any gain or loss on exit being recognized as a “Net Realized Gain (Loss) from Investments.”

We have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a RIC and intend to operate in a manner to maintain our RIC status. As a RIC, we intend to distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our net ordinary income and the excess of realized net short-term capital gains over realized net long-term capital losses, if any, for each year. To qualify as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements. Pursuant to this election, we generally will not have to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any income that we timely distribute to our stockholders. Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “KCAP.” The net asset value per share of our common stock at December 31, 2012 was $7.85. On December 31, 2012, the last reported sale price of a share of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $9.19.

PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Our primary business is lending to and investing in middle-market businesses through investments in senior secured loans, junior secured loans, subordinated/mezzanine debt investments, CLO equity investments and other equity-based investments, which may include warrants.

Total portfolio investment activity (excluding activity in time deposit and money market investments) for the years ended December 31, 2012, December 31, 2011, and December 31, 2010 was as follows:

		Debt Securities				CLO Fund Securities				Equity Securities				Affiliate Asset Managers				Total Portfolio
Fair Value at December 31, 2009		$	297,356,529			$	48,971,000			$	4,713,246			$	58,064,720			$	409,105,495
2010 Activity:
Purchases/originations/draws			9,981,426				—				1,927,366				3,780,817				15,689,609
Pay-downs/pay-offs/sales			(208,820,374	)			—				—								(208,820,374	)
Net accretion of discount			381,677				85,150				—				—				466,827
Net realized losses			(17,053,242	)			—				(809,742	)			—				(17,862,984	)
Increase (decrease) in fair value			9,196,912				3,974,850				(1,142,038	)			(20,352,537	)			(8,322,813	)
Fair Value at December 31, 2010			91,042,928				53,031,000				4,688,832				41,493,000				190,255,760
2011 Activity:
Purchases/originations/draws			81,815,921				—				3,218,151				(194,027	)			84,840,045
Pay-downs/pay-offs/sales			(56,944,765	)			(1,935,000	)			(141,769	)			—				(59,021,534	)
Net accretion of discount			156,180				1,398,283				—				—				1,554,463
Net realized losses			(17,261,608	)			(1,215,000	)			—				—				(18,476,608	)
Increase (decrease) in fair value			15,864,850				(2,840,966	)			(1,724,319	)			(484,973	)			10,814,592
Fair Value at December 31, 2011			114,673,506				48,438,317				6,040,895				40,814,000				209,966,718
2012 Activity:
Purchases/originations/draws			107,417,624				24,715,500				1,815,978				38,823,228				172,772,330
Pay-downs/pay-offs/sales			(104,504,327	)			(2,234,916	)			—				—				(106,739,243	)
Net accretion of discount			385,590				1,137,344				—				—				1,522,934
Net realized losses			(3,232,975	)			—				—				—				(3,232,975	)
Increase (decrease) in fair value			(3,701,536	)			11,201,262				163,843				(2,395,228	)			5,268,341
Fair Value at December 31, 2012		$	111,037,882			$	83,257,507			$	8,020,716			$	77,242,000			$	279,558,105

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The level of investment activity for investments funded and principal repayments for our investments can vary substantially from period to period depending on the number and size of investments that we invest in or divest of, and many other factors, including the amount and competition for the debt and equity securities available to middle market companies, the level of merger and acquisition activity for such companies and the general economic environment.

The following table shows the Company’s portfolio by security type at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

		December 31, 2012												December 31, 2011
Security Type		Cost				Fair Value				% (1)				Cost				Fair Value				% (1)
Time Deposits		$	1,942,834			$	1,942,834				1	%		$	229,152			$	229,152				—	%
Money Market Account (2)			30,543,824				30,543,824				10				31,622,134				31,622,134				13
Senior Secured Loan			67,874,565				60,258,885				19				54,045,184				45,259,328				19
Junior Secured Loan			49,646,273				33,486,956				11				58,936,728				47,300,172				20
Mezzanine Investment			—				—				—				10,931,428				11,588,115				5
First Lien Bond			2,928,762				3,000,000				1				—				—				—
Senior Subordinated Bond			2,729,088				2,735,881				1				9,997,898				10,125,891				4
Senior Unsecured Bond			10,798,463				11,185,000				4				—				—				—
CLO Fund Securities			90,146,410				83,257,507				27				66,528,482				48,438,317				20
Equity Securities			18,375,588				8,020,716				3				16,559,610				6,040,895				2
Preferred			400,000				371,160				—				400,000				400,000				—
Asset Manager Affiliates			83,161,529				77,242,000				25				44,338,301				40,814,000				17
Total		$	358,547,336			$	312,044,763				100	%		$	293,588,917			$	241,818,004				100	%

At December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, our investments in income producing loans and debt securities, excluding CLO Fund securities, had a weighted average interest rate of approximately 7.5% and 8.4%, respectively.

The investment portfolio (excluding the Company’s investment in asset manager affiliates and CLO Funds) at December 31, 2012 was spread across 24 different industries and 50 different entities with an average balance per entity of approximately $2.4 million. As of December 31, 2012, all but five of our portfolio companies were current on their debt service obligations.

We may invest up to 30% of our investment portfolio in opportunistic investments in high-yield bonds, debt and equity securities of CLO Funds and distressed debt or equity securities of public companies. At December 31, 2012, approximately 27% of our investments were foreign assets (including our investments in CLO Funds, which are typically domiciled outside the U.S. and represent approximately 27% of our portfolio).

At December 31, 2012, our ten largest portfolio companies represented approximately 62% of the total fair value of our investments. Our largest investment, Asset Manager Affiliates which are our wholly-owned portfolio companies, represented 25% of the total fair value of our investments. Excluding Asset Manager Affiliates and CLO Fund securities, our ten largest portfolio companies represent approximately 17% of the total fair value of our investments.

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The industry concentrations, based on the fair value of the Company’s investment portfolio as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, were as follows:

		December 31, 2012												December 31, 2011
Industry Classification		Cost				Fair Value				% (1)				Cost				Fair Value				% (1)
Aerospace and Defense		$	5,278,896			$	3,874,742				1	%		$	19,683,821			$	19,439,230				8	%
Asset Manager Affiliates			83,161,529				77,242,000				25				44,338,301				40,814,000				17
Automobile			4,945,695				5,011,608				2				—				—				—
Beverage, Food and Tobacco			18,112,772				18,285,421				6				9,892,274				9,796,565				4
Broadcasting and Entertainment			1,978,846				1,990,930				1				—				—				—
Buildings and Real Estate			18,535,511				455,524				—				18,591,674				662,443				—
Cargo Transport			—				—				—				4,374,350				4,374,351				2
Chemicals, Plastics and Rubber			2,954,773				2,950,577				1				4,809,459				4,614,828				2
CLO Fund Securities			90,146,410				83,257,507				27				66,528,482				48,438,317				20
Containers, Packaging and Glass			1,949,236				1,971,898				1				—				—				—
Diversified/Conglomerate Manufacturing			—				—				—				6,905,447				7,000,000				3
Diversified/Conglomerate Service			5,520,217				3,536,426				1				2,870,642				372,599				—
Electronics			6,137,592				6,252,380				2				8,831,440				9,026,186				4
Finance			4,748,767				4,891,710				2				—				—				—
Healthcare, Education and Childcare			15,981,824				4,618,521				1				20,956,582				19,523,824				8
Home and Office Furnishings, Housewares, and Durable Consumer Goods			10,820,467				11,613,621				4				21,683,112				20,604,850				9
Insurance			6,970,307				6,433,130				2				4,919,522				3,753,000				2
Leisure, Amusement, Motion Pictures, Entertainment			2,491,007				2,053,481				1				2,290,892				2,084,012				1
Machinery (Non-Agriculture, Non-Construction, Non-Electronic)			11,408,091				11,581,245				4				3,483,174				3,891,900				2
Mining, Steel, Iron and Non-Precious Metals			773,718				264,864				—				797,091				438,913				—
Oil and Gas			11,692,913				11,692,000				4				—				—				—
Personal and Non Durable Consumer Products (Mfg. Only)			5,000,000				3,977,100				1				5,000,000				3,250,000				1
Personal, Food and Miscellaneous Services			3,574,421				3,640,835				1				2,872,500				2,827,359				1
Personal Transportation			2,012,685				2,005,353				1				2,993,092				2,983,648				1
Printing and Publishing			2,961,395				3,231,314				1				1,044,539				1,223,743				1
Retail Stores			5,781,672				5,772,767				2				1,885,086				1,932,500				1
Telecommunications			2,952,654				2,783,195				1				2,986,151				2,776,950				1
Time Deposits and Money Market Account			32,486,658				32,486,658				10				31,851,286				31,851,286				13
Utilities			169,280				169,956				—				4,000,000				137,500				—
Total		$	358,547,336			$	312,044,763				100	%		$	293,588,917			$	241,818,004				100.0	%

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CLO Fund Securities

We typically make a minority investment in the subordinated securities or preferred stock of CLO Funds raised and managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates and may selectively invest in securities issued by CLO Funds managed by other asset management companies. As of December 31, 2012, we had approximately $83 million invested in CLO Fund securities, including those issued by funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates.

The CLO Funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates invest primarily in broadly syndicated non-investment grade loans, high-yield bonds and other credit instruments of corporate issuers. The underlying assets in each of the CLO Funds in which we have an investment are generally diversified secured or unsecured corporate debt.

Our CLO Fund investments as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 are as follows:

										December 31, 2012								December 31, 2011
CLO Fund Securities		Investment				% (1)				Cost				Fair Value				Cost				Fair Value
Grant Grove CLO, Ltd.			Subordinated Securities				22.2	%		$	4,925,009			$	3,124,924			$	4,893,552			$	3,042,400
Katonah III, Ltd. (3)			Preferred Shares				23.1				2,242,014				600,000				4,476,930				1,000
Katonah V, Ltd. (3)			Preferred Shares				26.7				3,320,000				1,000				3,320,000				1,000
Katonah VII CLO Ltd. (2)			Subordinated Securities				16.4				4,574,393				2,120,168				4,614,123				2,358,700
Katonah VIII CLO Ltd. (2)			Subordinated Securities				10.3				3,450,705				2,171,998				3,450,583				1,888,700
Katonah IX CLO Ltd. (2)			Preferred Shares				6.9				2,082,987				1,488,895				2,060,697				1,336,800
Katonah X CLO Ltd. (2)			Subordinated Securities				33.3				11,934,600				9,455,511				11,840,297				8,645,600
Katonah 2007-I CLO Ltd. (2)			Preferred Shares				100				31,189,147				30,091,886				30,659,688				24,488,400
Katonah 2007-I CLO Ltd. (2)			Class B-2L Notes				100				1,252,190				9,140,000				1,212,612				6,675,717
Trimaran CLO IV, Ltd. (2)			Preferred Shares				19.0				3,616,600				3,575,571				—				—
Trimaran CLO V, Ltd. (2)			Subordinate Notes				20.8				2,757,100				2,930,004				—				—
Trimaran CLO VI, Ltd. (2)			Income Notes				16.2				2,894,700				2,936,626				—				—
Trimaran CLO VII, Ltd. (2)			Income Notes				10.5				3,146,900				3,357,924				—				—
Catamaran CLO 2012-1 Ltd. (2)			Subordinated Notes				24.9				8,982,400				8,493,000				—				—
Catamaran CLO 2012-1 Ltd. (2)			Class F Notes				42.9				3,777,665				3,770,000				—				—
Total										$	90,146,410			$	83,257,507			$	66,528,482			$	48,438,317

The table below summarizes certain attributes of each CLO Fund as per their most recent trustee reports as of December 31, 2012:

CLO Fund Securities (1)		Number of Securities				Number of Issuers				Number of Industries				Average Security Position Size				Average Issuer Position Size
Grant Grove CLO, Ltd.			301				244				33			$	908,921			$	1,121,251
Katonah III, Ltd.			12				9				4				266,890				355,854
Katonah V, Ltd.			91				60				25				530,456				804,526
Katonah VII CLO Ltd.			145				119				29				1,557,397				1,897,668
Katonah VIII CLO Ltd			183				151				30				1,761,611				2,134,933
Katonah IX CLO Ltd			233				183				31				1,667,941				2,123,663
Katonah X CLO Ltd			248				212				31				1,884,424				2,204,420
Katonah 2007-I CLO Ltd			206				179				30				1,511,651				1,739,666
Trimaran CLO IV, Ltd.			103				87				22				2,527,136				2,991,897
Trimaran CLO V, Ltd.			137				116				23				2,029,960				2,397,452
Trimaran CLO VI, Ltd.			156				128				25				1,822,271				2,220,893
Trimaran CLO VII, Ltd.			179				151				28				2,611,368				3,095,596
Catamaran 2012-1 CLO, Ltd. (2)			110				105				25				2,623,640				2,748,575

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All CLO Funds managed by Asset Manager Affiliates are currently making quarterly dividend distributions to us and are paying all senior and subordinate management fees to our Asset Manager Affiliates. With the exception of the Katonah III, Ltd. CLO Fund and the Katonah V, Ltd. CLO Fund, all third-party managed CLO Funds held as investments are making quarterly dividend distributions to us.

Asset Manager Affiliates

Our Asset Manager Affiliates are our wholly-owned asset management companies that manage CLO Funds that invest in broadly syndicated loans, high yield bonds and other credit instruments. The CLO Funds managed by our Asset Manager Affiliates consist primarily of credit instruments issued by corporations. As of December 31, 2012, our Asset Manager Affiliates had approximately $3.6 billion of par value of assets under management on which they earn management fees, and were valued at approximately $77 million.

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Dividends from Asset Manager Affiliates .  We generate dividend income from our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates, which are wholly-owned and manage CLO Funds that invest primarily in broadly syndicated non-investment grade loans, high yield bonds and other credit instruments issued by corporations. As managers of CLO Funds, our Asset Manager Affiliates receive contractual and recurring management fees from the CLO Funds for their management and advisory services. In addition, our Asset Manager Affiliates may also earn income related to net interest on assets accumulated for future CLO issuances on which they have provided a first loss guaranty in connection with loan warehouse arrangements for their CLO Funds. Our Asset Manager Affiliates generate annual operating income equal to the amount by which their fee income exceeds their operating expenses. The annual management fees which our Asset Manager Affiliates receive are generally based on a fixed percentage of the par value of assets under management and are recurring in nature for the term of the CLO Fund so long as the Asset Manager Affiliates manage the fund. As a result, the annual management fees earned by our Asset Manager Affiliates generally are not subject to market value fluctuations in the underlying collateral. Our Asset Manager Affiliates may receive incentive fees provided such CLO Funds have achieved a minimum investment return to holders of their subordinated securities or preferred shares.

Capital Structuring Service Fees .  We may earn ancillary structuring and other fees related to the origination, investment, disposition or liquidation of debt and investment securities.

Investment income for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 was approximately $39 million, $28 million, and $29 million, respectively. Of this amount, approximately $13 million, $9 million and $14 million, respectively, was attributable to interest income on our loan and bond investments. A portion of such interest income is attributable to net interest earned on assets accumulated for future CLO issuance on which Asset Manager Affiliates entered into a first loss agreement in connection with loan warehouse arrangements for their CLO Funds. For the years ended December 31, 2012 approximately $68,000 of such net income related to first loss arrangement was earned. For the year ending December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, no income from first loss arrangement was earned. For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, approximately $21 million, $14 million and $10 million, respectively, of investment income was attributable to investments in CLO fund securities.

During the three months ended March 31, 2011, we received a $2 million cash settlement to settle litigation previously initiated by us against the lenders related to our secured credit facility which we fully repaid on January 31, 2011. Upon receipt, this settlement was recognized as other income during the three months ended March 31, 2011.

Investment income is primarily dependent on the composition and credit quality of our investment portfolio. Generally, our debt securities portfolio is expected to generate predictable, recurring interest income in accordance with the contractual terms of each loan. Corporate equity securities may pay a dividend and may increase in value for which a gain may be recognized; generally such dividend payments and gains are less predictable than interest income on our loan portfolio.

Dividends from CLO Fund securities are dependent on the performance of the underlying assets in each CLO Fund; interest payments, principal amortization and prepayments of the underlying loans in each CLO Fund are primary factors which determine the level of income on our CLO Fund securities. The level of excess spread from CLO Fund securities can be impacted by the timing and level of the resetting of the benchmark interest rate for the underlying assets (which reset at various times throughout the quarter) in the CLO Fund and the related CLO Fund bond liabilities (which reset at each quarterly distribution date); in periods of short-term and volatile changes in the benchmark interest rate, the levels of excess spread and distributions to us can vary significantly.

As of December 31, 2012 the fair value of our investment in the Asset Manager Affiliates was approximately $77 million. For the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Asset Manager Affiliates had EBITDA of approximately $5.9 million and $2 million, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2012 distributions from Asset Manager Affiliates totaled approximately $4.7 million. For the year ended December 31, 2011 distributions from Asset Manager Affiliates totaled approximately $1.9 million, a portion of which represented undistributed earnings from prior years.

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Distributions of net income from our Asset Manager Affiliates are recorded as “Dividends from asset manager affiliates” in our financial statements. The Company intends to distribute to its shareholders the accumulated undistributed net income of the Asset Manager Affiliates in the future. For purposes of calculating our distributable taxable income for required quarterly dividends, the Asset Manager Affiliates’ net income is further reduced by approximately $5.5 million per annum for tax goodwill amortization resulting from the acquisition by us prior to our initial public offering. As a result, the amount of our declared dividends, as evaluated by management and approved by our Board of Directors, is based on our evaluation of both distributable income for tax purposes and GAAP net investment income (which excludes unrealized gains and losses).

Expenses

We are internally managed and directly incur the cost of management and operations; as a result, we incur no management fees or other fees to an external advisor. Our expenses consist primarily of interest expense on outstanding borrowings, compensation expense and general and administrative expenses, including professional fees.

Interest and Amortization of Debt Issuance Costs .  Interest expense is dependent on the average outstanding balance on our borrowings and the base index rate for the period. Debt issuance costs represent fees and other direct costs incurred in connection with the Company’s borrowings. These amounts are capitalized and amortized ratably over the contractual term of the borrowing.

Compensation Expense .  Compensation expense includes base salaries, bonuses, stock compensation, employee benefits and employer related payroll costs. The largest components of total compensation costs are base salaries and bonuses; generally, base salaries are expensed as incurred and annual bonus expenses are estimated and accrued. Our compensation arrangements with our employees contain a significant profit sharing and/or performance based bonus component. Therefore, as our net revenues increase, our compensation costs may also rise. In addition, our compensation expenses may also increase to reflect increased investment in personnel as we grow our products and businesses.

Professional Fees and General and Administrative Expenses .  The balance of our expenses includes professional fees (primarily legal, accounting, valuation and other professional services), occupancy costs and general administrative and other costs.

Interest and compensation expense are generally expected to be our largest expenses each period. Interest expense is dependent on the average outstanding principal balance of our borrowings and the applicable interest rate for the period. Compensation expense includes base salaries, bonuses, stock compensation, employee benefits and employer related payroll costs. The largest components of total compensation costs are base salaries and bonuses; generally, base salaries are expensed as incurred and bonus expenses are estimated and accrued since bonuses are paid annually.

Total expenses for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 were approximately $14 million, $12 million, and $17 million, respectively. Interest expense and amortization on debt issuance costs for the period, which includes facility and program fees on the unused loan balance, was approximately $7 million, $5 million, and $7 million, respectively, on average debt outstanding of $81 million, $54 million, and $155 million, respectively.

For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010 approximately $3 million, $4 million, and $3 million respectively, of expenses were attributable to employment compensation, including salaries, bonuses and stock-based compensation expense. For the year ended December 31, 2012, professional fees and insurance expenses totaled approximately $3 million. For the years ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, professional fees and insurance expenses totaled approximately $3 million, and $6 million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2012, administrative and other costs totaled approximately $1 million. For the years ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, administrative and other costs totaled approximately $987,000 and $1 million, respectively. These costs include occupancy expense, technology and other office expenses.

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Net Investment Income and Net Realized Gains (Losses)

Net investment income and net realized gains (losses) represents the net change in stockholders’ equity before net unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments. For the year ended December 31, 2012, net investment income and realized losses was approximately $21 million, or $0.80 per share. Net investment income represents the income earned on our investments less operating and interest expense before net realized gains or losses and unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments. For the year ended December 31, 2012, net investment income was approximately $24 million, or $0.93 per share.

Generally, we seek to fund our dividends from net investment income. For the year ended December 31, 2012, dividend distributions totaled $25 million, or $0.94 per share.

Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments

During the year ended December 31, 2012, our total investments had net unrealized appreciation of approximately $5 million. During the years ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, our total investments had net unrealized appreciation of approximately $10 million, and net unrealized depreciation of $8 million, respectively.

Approximately $5 million of unrealized gains during the year ended December 31, 2012 are due to unrealized gains of approximately $11 million on equity securities and CLO Fund securities in our investment portfolio, and an approximate $6 million decrease in the values of debt securities and affiliate asset managers.

Approximately $10 million of unrealized gains during the year ended December 31, 2011 were primarily due to unrealized gain of approximately $16 million on debt securities in our investment portfolio, offset in part by unrealized losses of approximately $6 million unrealized losses on equity securities, CLO Fund securities, and affiliate asset managers. The $8 million of unrealized losses during the year ended December 31, 2010 were primarily due to unrealized gains of approximately $13 million on debt securities and CLO Fund securities in our investment portfolio, offset by an approximate unrealized loss of $21 million on equity securities and affiliate asset manager.

Net Change in Stockholders’ Equity Resulting From Operations

The net increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from operations for the year ended December 31, 2012 was an approximately $26 million, or $1.00 per share. The net increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from operations for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $8 million, or $0.33 per share, and the net decrease in stockholders’ equity resulting from operations for the year ended December 31, 2010 was approximately $14 million, or $0.63 per share.

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As of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 the fair value of investments and cash were as follows:

		Investments at Fair Value
Security Type		December 31, 2012				December 31, 2011
Cash		$	738,756			$	2,555,259
Time Deposits			1,942,834				229,152
Money Market Account			30,543,824				31,622,134
Senior Secured Loan			60,258,885				45,259,328
Junior Secured Loan			33,486,956				47,300,172
Mezzanine Investment			—				11,588,115
First Lien Bond			3,000,000				—
Senior Subordinated Bond			2,735,881				10,125,891
Senior Unsecured Bond			11,185,000				—
CLO Fund Securities			83,257,507				48,438,317
Equity Securities			8,020,716				6,040,895
Preferred			371,160				400,000
Asset Manager Affiliates			77,242,000				40,814,000
Total		$	312,783,519			$	244,373,263

We use borrowed funds, known as “leverage,” to make investments and to attempt to increase returns to our shareholders by reducing our overall cost of capital. As a BDC, we are limited in the amount of leverage we can incur under the 1940 Act. We are only allowed to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% after such borrowing. As of December 31, 2012, we had approximately $101 million of outstanding borrowings and our asset coverage ratio of total assets to total borrowings was 305%, compliant with the minimum asset coverage level of 200% generally required for a BDC by the 1940 Act. We may also borrow amounts of up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary purposes. The weighted average daily debt balance for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 was approximately $81 million and $54 million, respectively.

In October 2012, we issued $41.4 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.375% senior unsecured notes due 2019 (the “Senior Notes”). The Senior Notes mature on September 30, 2019, and may be redeemed in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at our option on or after September 30, 2015. The Senior Notes bear interest at a rate of 7.375% per year payable quarterly on March 30, June 30, September 30 and December 30 of each year, beginning December 30, 2012.

In February 2012, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement with Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch (“CS”), Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, as arranger, The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association, as collateral administrator and collateral agent, and KCAP Funding, a special-purpose bankruptcy remote wholly-owned subsidiary of ours, under which we may obtain up to $30 million in financing (the “Facility”). The scheduled maturity date for the Facility is December 20, 2014. Interest on the Facility is LIBOR + 300 basis points and payable quarterly.

In March 16, 2011, we issued $60 million in aggregate principal amount of unsecured 8.75% convertible senior notes due March 15, 2016 (“Convertible Senior Notes”). The net proceeds for the Convertible Senior Notes, following underwriting expenses, were approximately $57.7 million. Interest on the Convertible Senior Notes is paid semi-annually in arrears on March 15 and September 15, at a rate of 8.75%, commencing September 15, 2011. The Notes mature on March 15, 2016 unless converted earlier. The Convertible Senior Notes are senior unsecured obligations of the Company.

The Convertible Senior Notes are convertible into shares of Company’s common stock. The conversion rate is subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments, including for any cash dividends or distributions paid on shares of our common stock in excess of a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, but will not be adjusted for any accrued and unpaid interest. The conversion price of the Convertible Senior Notes as of December 31, 2012 is approximately 122.5638 shares of our common stock per $1,000 principle amount of Convertible

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Senior Notes, equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $8.159 per share of our common stock. In addition, if certain corporate events occur prior to the maturity date of the Convertible Senior Notes, the conversion rate will be increased for converting holders.

Subject to prevailing market conditions, we intend to grow our portfolio of assets by raising additional capital, including through the prudent use of leverage available to us. As a result, we may seek to enter into new agreements with other lenders or into other financing arrangements as market conditions permit. From time to time, we seek to retire, repurchase, or exchange debt securities in open market purchases or by other means dependent on market conditions, liquidity, contractual obligations, and other matters.

If our common stock trades below our net asset value per share, we will generally not be able to issue additional common stock at the market price unless our shareholders approve such a sale and our Board of Directors makes certain determinations. A proposal, approved by our shareholders at our June 2012 annual meeting of stockholders, authorizes us to sell shares of our common stock below the then current net asset value per share of our common stock in one or more offerings for the period ending on the earlier of (i) June 22, 2013, the one year anniversary of our 2012 annual meeting of shareholders, or (ii) the date of our 2013 annual meeting of shareholders. We would need similar future approval from our shareholders to issue shares below the then current net asset value per share any time after the expiration of the current approval.

Dividends

We intend to continue to distribute quarterly dividends to our stockholders. To avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we currently intend to distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of:

The amount of our declared dividends, as evaluated by management and approved by our Board of Directors, is based on our evaluation of both distributable income for tax purposes and GAAP net investment income (which excludes unrealized gains and losses). Generally, we seek to fund our dividends from GAAP current earnings, primarily from net interest and dividend income generated by our investment portfolio and without a return of capital or a high reliance on realized capital gains. The following table sets forth the quarterly dividends declared by us since the most recent completed calendar year, which represent an amount equal to our estimated net investment income for the specified quarter, including income distributed from the Asset Manager Affiliates received by the Company, if any, plus a portion of any prior year undistributed amounts of net investment income distributed in subsequent years:

Dividend

Declaration Date

Record Date

Pay Date

2012:

Fourth quarter

$

0.28

12/17/2012

12/28/2012

1/28/2013

Third quarter

0.24

9/17/2012

10/10/2012

10/29/2012

Second quarter

0.24

6/18/2012

7/6/2012

7/27/2012

First quarter

0.18

3/16/2012

4/6/2012

4/27/2012

Total declared for 2012

$

0.94

2011:

Fourth quarter

$

0.18

12/12/2011

12/23/2011

1/27/2012

Third quarter

0.18

9/15/2011

10/10/2011

10/28/2011

Second quarter

0.17

6/13/2011

7/8/2011

7/29/2011

First quarter

0.17

3/21/2011

4/8/2011

4/29/2011

Total declared for 2011

$

0.70

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OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

We are a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business in order to meet the needs of the Company’s investment in portfolio companies. Such instruments include commitments to extend credit and may involve, in varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of amounts recognized on our balance sheet. Prior to extending such credit, we attempt to limit our credit risk by conducting extensive due diligence, obtaining collateral where necessary and negotiating appropriate financial covenants. As of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, we had committed to make a total of approximately $0 and $2 million, respectively, of investments in various revolving senior secured loans, of which none were funded as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the company committed to make no investments in delayed draw senior secured loans.

CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

The following table summarizes our contractual cash obligations and other commercial commitments as of December 31, 2012:

		Payments Due by Period
Contractual Obligations		Total				Less than one year				1 – 3 years				3 – 5 years				More than 5 years
Operating lease obligations		$	4,353,468			$	342,611			$	1,116,973			$	369,432			$	2,524,452
Long-term debt obligations			101,400,000				—				—				60,000,000				41,400,000
Total		$	105,753,468			$	342,611			$	1,116,973			$	60,369,432			$	43,924,452

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements are based on the selection and application of critical accounting policies, which require management to make significant estimates and assumptions. Critical accounting policies are those that are both important to the presentation of our financial condition and results of operations and require management’s most difficult, complex, or subjective judgments. Our critical accounting policies are those applicable to the basis of presentation, valuation of investments, and certain revenue recognition matters as discussed below.

Valuation of Portfolio Investments

The most significant estimate inherent in the preparation of our financial statements is the valuation of investments and the related amounts of unrealized appreciation and depreciation of investments recorded.

Value, as defined in Section 2(a)(41) of 1940 Act, is (1) the market price for those securities for which a market quotation is readily available and (2) for all other securities and assets, fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors pursuant to procedures approved by our Board of Directors. Our valuation policy is intended to provide a consistent basis for determining the fair value of the portfolio based on the nature of the security, the market for the security and other considerations including the financial performance and enterprise value of the portfolio company. Because of the inherent uncertainty of valuation, the Board of Directors’ determined values may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a ready market existed for the investments, and the differences could be material.

We are, for GAAP purposes, an investment company under the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide for Investment Companies. As a result, we reflect our investments on our balance sheet at their estimated fair value with unrealized gains and losses resulting from changes in fair value reflected as a component of unrealized gains or losses on our statements of operations. Fair value is the amount that would be received to sell the investments in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (i.e., the exit price). Additionally, we do not consolidate majority or wholly-owned and controlled investments.

Effective January 1, 2008 we adopted Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, which among other things, requires enhanced disclosures about financial instruments carried at fair value. See Note 4 to the financial statements for the additional information about the level of market observability associated with investments carried at fair value.

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We have valued our investments, in the absence of observable market prices, using the valuation methodologies described below applied on a consistent basis. For some investments little market activity may exist; management’s determination of fair value is then based on the best information available in the circumstances, and may incorporate management’s own assumptions and involves a significant degree of management’s judgment.

Our investments in CLO Fund securities are carried at fair value, which is based either on (i) the present value of the net expected cash inflows for interest income and principal repayments from underlying assets and the cash outflows for interest expense, debt paydown and other fund costs for the CLO Funds which are approaching or past the end of their reinvestment period and therefore begin to sell assets and/or use principal repayments to pay-down CLO Fund debt, and for which there continue to be net cash distributions to the class of we securities own, or (ii) a discounted cash flow model that utilizes prepayment and loss assumptions based on historical experience and projected performance, economic factors, the characteristics of the underlying cash flow and comparable yields for similar securities or preferred shares to those in which the Company has invested. We recognize unrealized appreciation or depreciation on our investments in CLO Fund securities as comparable yields in the market change and/or based on changes in net asset values or estimated cash flows resulting from changes in prepayment or loss assumptions in the underlying collateral pool. As each investment in CLO Fund securities ages, the expected amount of losses and the expected timing of recognition of such losses in the underlying collateral pool are updated and the revised cash flows are used in determining the fair value of the CLO Investment. We determine the fair value of our investments in CLO Fund securities on a security-by-security basis.

Our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates is carried at fair value, which is determined after taking into consideration a percentage of assets under management and a discounted cash flow model incorporating different levels of discount rates depending on the hierarchy of fees earned (including the likelihood of realization of senior, subordinate and incentive fees) and prospective modeled performance. Such valuation includes an analysis of comparable asset management companies. Our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates is classified as a Level III investment (as described below). Any change in value from period to period is recognized as net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation.

Fair values of other investments for which market prices are not observable are determined by reference to public market or private transactions or valuations for comparable companies or assets in the relevant asset class and/or industry when such amounts are available. Generally these valuations are derived by multiplying a key performance metric of the investee company or asset (e.g., EBITDA) by the relevant valuation multiple observed for comparable companies or transactions, adjusted by management for differences between the investment and the referenced comparable. Such investments may also be valued at cost for a period of time after an acquisition as the best indicator of fair value. If the fair value of such investments cannot be valued by reference to observable valuation measures for comparable companies, then the primary analytical method used to estimate the fair value is a discounted cash flow method and/or cap rate analysis. A sensitivity analysis is applied to the estimated future cash flows using various factors depending on the investment, including assumed growth rates (in cash flows), capitalization rates (for determining terminal values) and appropriate discount rates to determine a range of reasonable values or to compute projected return on investment.

We derive fair value for our illiquid loan investments that do not have indicative fair values based upon active trades primarily by using the Market Yield Approach, and also consider recent loan amendments or other activity specific to the subject asset as described above. Other significant assumptions, such as coupon and maturity, are asset-specific and are noted for each investment in the Schedules of Investments. Our Board of Directors may consider other methods of valuation to determine the fair value of investments as appropriate in conformity with GAAP.

The determination of fair value using this methodology takes into consideration a range of factors, including but not limited to the price at which the investment was acquired, the nature of the investment, local market conditions, trading values on public exchanges for comparable securities, current and projected operating performance and financing transactions subsequent to the acquisition of the investment. This valuation methodology involves a significant degree of management’s judgment.

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After our adoption of Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, investments measured and reported at fair value are classified and disclosed in one of the following categories:

In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Our assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and it considers factors specific to the investment. A majority of our investments are classified as Level III.

Interest Income

Interest income, adjusted for amortization of premium and accretion of discount, is recorded on the accrual basis to the extent that such amounts are expected to be collected. We generally place a loan on non-accrual status and cease recognizing interest income on such loan or security when a loan or security becomes 90 days or more past due or if we otherwise do not expect the debtor to be able to service its debt obligations. Non-accrual loans remain in such status until the borrower has demonstrated the ability and intent to pay contractual amounts due or such loans become current. As of December 31, 2012, five issuers representing less than 1% of our total investments at fair value were on non-accrual status. As of December 31, 2011, three issuers representing less than 1% of our total investments at fair value were on non-accrual status.

Dividend Income from CLO Fund Securities

We generate dividend income from our investments in the most junior class of securities of CLO Funds (typically preferred shares or subordinated securities) managed by the Asset Manager Affiliates and selective investments in securities issued by funds managed by other asset management companies using the effective interest method based on anticipated yield and estimated cash flows as updated quarterly for changes in prepayments, re-investment, credit losses and other items that may impact distributions. Our CLO Fund junior class securities are subordinated to senior note holders who typically receive a return on their investment at a fixed spread relative to the LIBOR index. The CLO Funds are leveraged funds and any excess cash flow or “excess spread” (interest earned by the underlying securities in the fund less payments made to senior note holders and less fund expenses and management fees) is paid to the holders of the CLO Fund’s subordinated securities or preferred shares. The level of excess spread from CLO Fund securities can be impacted from the

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timing and level of the resetting of the benchmark interest rate for the underlying assets (which reset at various times throughout the quarter) in the CLO Fund and the related CLO Fund note liabilities (which reset at each quarterly distribution date); in periods of short-term and volatile changes in the benchmark interest rate, the levels of excess spread and distributions to us can vary significantly. In addition, the failure of CLO Funds in which we invest to comply with certain financial covenants may lead to the temporary suspension or deferral of cash distributions to us. We make estimated interim accruals of such dividend income based on recent historical distributions and CLO Fund performance and adjust such accruals on a quarterly basis to reflect actual distributions.

For non-junior class CLO Fund securities, such as our investment in the class B-2L notes of Katonah 2007-I CLO and the class F notes of Catamaran 2012-1, interest is earned at a fixed spread relative to the LIBOR index.

Dividends from Affiliate Asset Manager

We record dividend income from our Asset Manager Affiliates on the declaration date, which represents the ex-dividend date.

Payment-in-Kind Interest

We may have loans in our portfolio that contain a payment-in-kind (“PIK”) provision. PIK interest, computed at the contractual rate specified in each loan agreement, is added to the principal balance of the loan and recorded as interest income. To maintain our RIC status, this non-cash source of income must be paid out to stockholders in the form of dividends, even though the Company has not yet collected the cash.

Fee Income

Fee income includes fees, if any, for due diligence, structuring, commitment and facility fees, and fees, if any, for transaction services and management services rendered by us to portfolio companies and other third parties. Commitment and facility fees are generally recognized as income over the life of the underlying loan, whereas due diligence, structuring, transaction service and management service fees are generally recognized as income when the services are rendered.

Management Compensation

We may, from time to time, issue stock options or restricted stock under the Kohlberg Capital Corporation 2006 Equity Incentive Plan as amended (our “Equity Incentive Plan”) to officers and employees for services rendered to us. We follow Accounting Standards Codification 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation, a method by which the fair value of options or restricted stock is determined and expensed. We use a Binary Option Pricing Model (American, call option) as its valuation model to establish the expected value of all stock option grants.

United States Federal Income Taxes

The Company has elected and intends to continue to qualify for the tax treatment applicable to RICs under Subchapter M of the Code and, among other things, intends to make the required distributions to its stockholders as specified therein. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Company is required to timely distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of investment company taxable income, as defined by the Code, for each year. Depending on the level of taxable income earned in a tax year, we may choose to carry forward taxable income in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year and pay a 4% excise tax on such income, to the extent required.

Dividends

Dividends and distributions to common stockholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. The amount to be paid out as a dividend is determined by the Board of Directors each quarter and is generally based upon the earnings estimated by management for the period and year.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to the audited financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for a description of recent accounting pronouncements.

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life of the investments may cause the value realized on these investments to be different than the valuations that are assigned. The types of factors that we may take into account in fair value pricing of our investments include, as relevant, the nature and realizable value of any collateral, third party valuations, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings and discounted cash flow, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparison to publicly-traded securities, recent sales of or offers to buy comparable companies, and other relevant factors.

In 2012 and 2011, we engaged an independent valuation firm, to provide a third-party review of our CLO fair value model relative to its functionality, model inputs and calculations as a reasonable method to determine CLO fund security fair values, in the absence of Level I or Level II trading activity or observable market inputs. The independent valuation firm concluded that our CLO model appropriately factors in all the necessary inputs required to build a CLO equity cash flow for fair value purposes and that the inputs were being employed correctly.

Beginning with the period ending June 30, 2011, the Company has engaged an independent valuation firm to provide third party valuation consulting services to the Company’s Board of Directors. Each quarter, the independent valuation firm will perform third party valuations on the Company’s investments on illiquid securities such that they are reviewed at least once during a trailing 12 month period. These third party valuation estimates were considered as one of the relevant data inputs in the Company’s determination of fair value. The Board of Directors intends to continue to engage an independent valuation firm in the future to provide certain valuation services, including the review of certain portfolio assets, as part of the quarterly and annual year-end valuation process.

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Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Conclusion.   Management, including the Company’s CEO and CFO, assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework. Based on management’s assessment, management concluded, subject to the limitations described under “— Scope of Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting” above, that the Company maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012.

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