"Keep right on buying MAIN if you disagree -- we can compare notes in 6-12 months. "

I think this is a great idea! I'm so glad you suggested it. Let's take a look at something I posted on 12nov2008:

"Liquidity ratio

The Best: FSC & MAIN"

So that's my metric. Liquidity ratio...tops at that time were FSC & MAIN. IRR since the day I posted that for those two companies as of 25jul09 are:

FSC: 147.38%
MAIN: 83.49%

Now, of the universe of BDCs we've been talking about, ranked by your (NII per share)/(Price per Share), PSEC was clearly the top ranked BDC with a NII 'yield' of 32%. Here's the IRR on PSEC:

PSEC: 14.27%

Certainly nothing to be ashamed of during that period! But also nothing to support a hypothesis that NII/price is an especially good metric for picking BDCs. Once again, don't blame me! I didn't make it so...all I did was observe that the data support the primacy of liquidity ratio.

Also, again, I urge you to explore the merits of cash NII. Back out the PIK. Your results will be much more aligned to BDC quality.