BDC Roundtable 2026: The Complete Guide for BDC Executives and Fund Sponsors

The business development company industry converges on Washington DC this September for one of the most consequential closed door gatherings in private capital. The 23rd Annual BDC Roundtable, held September 23 to 24, 2026, brings BDC management teams, independent directors, fund sponsors, asset managers, and federal regulators into the same room to work through the regulatory and market questions shaping the next chapter of the industry. This guide covers what the BDC Roundtable 2026 actually is, who attends and why it matters, the industry context shaping the conversation, and how executives flying into the DC area for the event can handle ground transportation without it becoming its own logistics problem.

BDC Roundtable 2026 at a glance

What the BDC Roundtable Actually Represents

A business development company, or BDC, is a closed end investment company that elects to be regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Congress created the structure in 1980, during a period of high unemployment and an energy crisis, specifically to widen access to capital for small and mid sized American businesses that were too large for a bank line of credit but not yet ready for the public markets. A BDC invests in the debt or equity of those companies, providing the kind of growth capital that funds equipment, land, and expansion a business could not otherwise finance.

Eversheds Sutherland founded the BDC Roundtable in 2002 to give the industry a standing forum for exactly these structural questions, and the firm has co hosted it with the Small Business Investor Alliance ever since. SBIA is widely regarded as the go to resource for Congress and federal regulators on BDC policy, and the organization holds hundreds of meetings with lawmakers and regulators every year on the industry’s behalf. The Roundtable is where that ongoing advocacy work and the industry’s day to day operating questions meet in the same room.

The industry the Roundtable serves has grown substantially. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 156 BDCs managing more than 434 billion dollars in assets across the country, a scale that makes the regulatory and structural conversations at this event considerably higher stakes than when the Roundtable began.

Who Attends the BDC Roundtable

The Roundtable is built around a narrower and more senior audience than a typical industry trade show. Eversheds Sutherland describes it as open to all BDC management teams and independent directors, as well as firms exploring the BDC structure who want to learn more before committing to it. In practice, the room includes four overlapping groups:

1. BDC chief executives, chief financial officers, and general counsel responsible for day to day fund operations.
2. Independent directors who sit on BDC boards and carry fiduciary oversight responsibility.
3. Federal regulators, since BDCs are SEC regulated entities and agency staff have a direct stake in how the structure evolves.
4. Asset managers and fund sponsors evaluating whether to launch or expand a BDC platform, across publicly traded, non traded, and private BDC structures.

That mix, industry operators and their regulators in the same working sessions, is what makes the Roundtable a genuinely different kind of event from a vendor focused convention floor.

Why the 2026 Roundtable Carries Extra Weight

Every BDC Roundtable addresses what Eversheds Sutherland calls common matters related to the structure of business development companies, but the 2026 edition arrives at a moment when the industry looks different than it did even five years ago. Non traded BDCs, sold through broker dealer channels in a structure similar to non traded REITs, and private BDCs, typically launched by a manager with access to qualified and accredited investors and sold through private placement, have both expanded the range of capital formation strategies available under the BDC umbrella. With 156 BDCs and more than 434 billion dollars in combined assets as of Q4 2024, guidance that emerges from a closed door session in Washington now touches a considerably larger slice of the middle market lending landscape than it once did.

The Roundtable’s history also gives it real regulatory teeth. SBIA’s multi year BDCs Work for America campaign led directly to 2017 legislation that modernized BDC regulation, streamlining rules and giving the industry an optional increase in its leverage ratio. That is the kind of outcome a policy conversation can actually produce, and it is part of why management teams, independent directors, and the regulators who oversee them keep returning to the same event year after year.

Getting the Most From the Roundtable

Because the audience is narrower and more senior than a typical trade show crowd, the value of attending comes less from browsing an expo floor and more from the specific conversations arranged around the sessions. Executives and directors attending for the first time tend to get the most out of the two days by arriving with a short, specific list: a regulatory question worth raising directly with SEC staff in the room, a peer at another BDC platform worth comparing notes with on leverage or valuation practices, or a fund sponsor relationship worth deepening before the next fundraising cycle. Given how much of the industry’s actual policy progress traces back to sustained advocacy work rather than any single session, the relationships built at the Roundtable often matter as much as the agenda itself.

Planning Your Arrival: Washington DC Ground Transportation

A closed door industry roundtable creates a different transportation picture than a public convention. Attendance skews toward BDC principals, fund sponsors, and independent directors, many of whom fly into the DC area on a tighter and less predictable schedule than a delegation booked into a single convention hotel block, and a meaningful share arrive through private aviation rather than a commercial terminal.

For executives flying commercial, Elite Chauffeured Services meets arrivals at Reagan National, Dulles International, and BWI with a scheduled pickup and flight tracking built into the reservation, so a delayed inbound flight does not turn into a missed check in before a 9 a.m. session. For principals arriving by private aircraft, we provide dedicated ground transportation to and from Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation, the two FBOs serving the DC region, with a chauffeur positioned on the ramp side rather than a curbside pickup.

Whichever downtown DC property hosts the 2026 Roundtable, our chauffeurs already know the fastest routes between DCA, IAD, BWI, and the hotel core where an event like this typically lands.

Vehicles for BDC Roundtable travel

Washington DC’s Standing Role in BDC Policy

Washington DC is not an incidental backdrop for the BDC Roundtable. The SEC, the agency that regulates every BDC in the country, is headquartered here, and SBIA’s advocacy work, the hundreds of meetings with lawmakers and regulators the organization holds each year, happens in the same city the Roundtable convenes in. That proximity is a large part of why an industry built around capital formation for businesses across the entire country keeps returning to the same city for its most important annual working session.

Built for Standing Corporate Accounts

Elite Chauffeured Services has provided executive ground transportation in Washington DC since 2010, and BDC executives, independent directors, and fund sponsors are exactly the kind of client our service is built around. Whether it is a single executive airport transfer ahead of a Roundtable session, a private aviation pickup at Signature Aviation or Atlantic Aviation, or a long term business car hire arrangement for a fund with recurring DC travel, our licensed, vetted chauffeurs and premium fleet, including the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Mercedes-Benz Maybach, Cadillac Escalade ESV, and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, are available 24/7 with fixed rates and no hidden fees.

Reserve online or call our office to set up a corporate account before the 2026 BDC Roundtable, whether your fund is sending one director or a full team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the BDC Roundtable and when does it take place in 2026?

The BDC Roundtable is the BDC industry’s annual working forum, hosted by Eversheds Sutherland and the Small Business Investor Alliance. The 23rd Annual BDC Roundtable takes place September 23 to 24, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Who attends the BDC Roundtable?

The Roundtable brings together BDC management teams, independent directors, federal regulators, asset managers, and fund sponsors, along with firms exploring whether to launch a BDC structure.

What is a business development company (BDC)?

A BDC is a closed end investment company that elects to be regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is overseen by the SEC. Congress created the structure in 1980 to widen access to growth capital for small and mid sized American businesses.

Who hosts the BDC Roundtable each year?

Eversheds Sutherland founded the BDC Roundtable in 2002 and has co hosted it with the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) ever since.

How does Elite Chauffeured Services support BDC Roundtable attendees?

We provide scheduled airport pickups at Reagan National, Dulles, and BWI with flight tracking, private aviation transportation to and from Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation, and long term corporate accounts for funds with recurring travel to Washington DC.

Does Elite Chauffeured Services provide private jet transportation for executives flying into DC for the Roundtable?

Yes. We provide dedicated ground transportation to and from Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation, the two FBOs serving the DC region, for executives arriving by private aircraft.

Written by the Elite Chauffeured Services editorial team, focused on executive and corporate transportation across the Washington DC region.