Saratoga Investment Corp. is not a private equity firm in the traditional closed-end fund sense; rather, it is a publicly traded business development company that invests in private equity-backed middle-market companies. While private equity firms raise closed pools of capital from institutional investors to buy and restructure entire companies, Saratoga primarily acts as a specialty lender providing debt and mezzanine financing alongside private equity sponsors. Its public listing allows everyday retail investors to buy shares and gain liquid exposure to private market corporate debt and middle-market credit assets.