HomeCompareFCEF vs GBDC

FCEF vs GBDC: Dividend Comparison 2026

FCEF yields 7.36% · GBDC yields 11.86%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 GBDC wins by $20.82M in total portfolio value
10 years
FCEF
FCEF
● Live price
7.36%
Share price
$22.03
Annual div
$1.62
5Y div CAGR
0%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$32.6K
Annual income
$1,174.92
Full FCEF calculator →
GBDC
GBDC
● Live price
11.86%
Share price
$12.65
Annual div
$1.50
5Y div CAGR
51.1%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$20.85M
Annual income
$16,450,733.83
Full GBDC calculator →

Portfolio growth — FCEF vs GBDC

📍 GBDC pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis PeriodFCEFGBDC
2008–2009
GFC
— No data— No data
2020 Q1–Q2
COVID
— No data— No data
2022 Q4
Rate Hike
— No data— No data
Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.
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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, FCEF + GBDC cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
FCEF pays
GBDC pays
Both pay
Neither
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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

FCEF
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$625.98/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$998.68/yr
GBDC
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$1,007.91/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$13,983,123.76/yr
At 15% tax rate, GBDC beats the other by $13,982,125.07/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of FCEF + GBDC for your $10,000?

FCEF: 50%GBDC: 50%
100% GBDC50/50100% FCEF
Portfolio after 10yr
$10.44M
Annual income
$8,225,954.38/yr
Blended yield
78.78%
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Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on GBDC right now

FCEF
No analyst data
GBDC
Analyst Ratings
6
Buy
5
Hold
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$14.00
+10.7% upside vs current
Range: $13.00 — $15.00
Altman Z
0.6
Piotroski
6/9
Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.
🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

FCEF buys
0
GBDC buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for FCEF or GBDC in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricFCEFGBDC
Forward yield7.36%11.86%
Annual dividend / share$1.62$1.50
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR0%51.1%
Portfolio after 10y$32.6K$20.85M
Annual income after 10y$1,174.92$16,450,733.83
Total dividends collected$9.6K$20.43M
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockBDC

Year-by-year: FCEF vs GBDC ($10,000, DRIP)

YearFCEF PortfolioFCEF Income/yrGBDC PortfolioGBDC Income/yrGap
1← crossover$11,436$736.45$12,492$1,791.70$1.1KGBDC
2$13,024$787.14$16,527$3,160.58$3.5KGBDC
3$14,774$837.77$23,588$5,904.90$8.8KGBDC
4$16,696$888.14$37,141$11,901.65$20.4KGBDC
5$18,803$938.04$66,205$26,463.38$47.4KGBDC
6$21,106$987.29$137,452$66,612.65$116.3KGBDC
7$23,619$1,035.74$342,372$195,298.53$318.8KGBDC
8$26,356$1,083.24$1,053,292$686,954.33$1.03MGBDC
9$29,330$1,129.67$4,111,439$2,984,416.95$4.08MGBDC
10$32,559$1,174.92$20,849,974$16,450,733.83$20.82MGBDC

FCEF vs GBDC: Complete Analysis 2026

FCEFStock

The First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (formerly First Trust CEF Income Opportunity ETF) (the "Fund") seeks to provide current income with a secondary emphasis on total return. Under normal market conditions, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing in a portfolio of closed-end investment companies ("closed-end funds") and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs") that are listed and traded in the United States on registered exchanges. Closed-end funds and ETFs are managed registered investment companies which invest in various types of securities. Both closed-end funds and ETFs trade on a securities exchange and their shares may, at times, trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value. As a shareholder in a pooled investment vehicle, the Fund will bear its ratable share of an underlying fund's expenses and would remain subject to payment of the underlying fund's advisory and administrative fees with respect to assets so invested.

Full FCEF Calculator →

GBDCBDC

Golub Capital BDC, Inc. (GBDC) is a business development company and operates as an externally managed closed-end non-diversified management investment company. It invests in debt and minority equity investments in middle-market companies that are, in most cases, sponsored by private equity investors. It typically invests in diversified consumer services, automobiles, healthcare technology, insurance, health care equipment and supplies, hotels, restaurants and leisure, healthcare providers and services, IT services and specialty retails. It seeks to invest in the United States. It primarily invests in first lien traditional senior debt, first lien one stop, junior debt and equity, senior secured, one stop, unitranche, second lien, subordinated and mezzanine loans of middle-market companies, and warrants.

Full GBDC Calculator →
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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.