Item 1.    Business

New Mountain Finance Corporation ("NMFC", the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") is a Delaware corporation that was originally incorporated on June 29, 2010 and completed its initial public offering ("IPO") on May 19, 2011. We are a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company ("BDC") under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). As such, we are obligated to comply with certain regulatory requirements. We have elected to be treated, and intend to comply with the requirements to continue to qualify annually, as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"). We are also registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Advisers Act"). Since our IPO, and through December 31, 2018 , we have raised approximately $614.6 million in net proceeds from additional offerings of common stock.

Our wholly-owned subsidiary, New Mountain Finance Holdings, L.L.C. (“NMF Holdings” or the "Predecessor Operating Company"), is a Delaware limited liability company whose assets are used to secure NMF Holdings’ credit facility. NMF Ancora Holdings Inc. ("NMF Ancora"), NMF QID NGL Holdings, Inc. (“NMF QID”) and NMF YP Holdings Inc. ("NMF YP"), our wholly-owned subsidiaries, are structured as Delaware entities that serve as tax blocker corporations which hold equity or equity-like investments in portfolio companies organized as limited liability companies (or other forms of pass-through entities). We consolidate our tax blocker corporations for accounting purposes. The tax blocker corporations are not consolidated for income tax purposes and may incur income tax expense as a result of their ownership of the portfolio companies. Additionally, our wholly-owned subsidiary, New Mountain Finance Servicing, L.L.C. ("NMF Servicing") serves as the administrative agent on certain investment transactions. New Mountain Finance SBIC, L.P. ("SBIC I") and its general partner, New Mountain Finance SBIC G.P., L.L.C. ("SBIC I GP"), are organized in Delaware as a limited partnership and limited liability company, respectively. New Mountain Finance SBIC II, L.P. (“SBIC II”) and its general partner, New Mountain Finance SBIC II G.P., L.L.C. (“SBIC II GP”), were also organized in Delaware as a limited partnership and limited liability company, respectively. SBIC I, SBIC I GP, SBIC II and SBIC II GP are our consolidated wholly-owned direct and indirect subsidiaries. SBIC I and SBIC II received licenses from the United States ("U.S.") Small Business Administration (the "SBA") to operate as small business investment companies ("SBICs") under Section 301(c) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as amended (the "1958 Act"). Our wholly-owned subsidiary, New Mountain Net Lease Corporation ("NMNLC"), a Maryland corporation, was formed to acquire commercial real properties that are subject to "triple net" leases and has qualified and intends to continue to qualify as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, within the meaning of Section 856(a) of the Code. During the year ended December 31, 2018, New Mountain Finance DB, L.L.C. ("NMFDB") was organized in Delaware as a limited liability company whose assets are used to secure NMFDB's credit facility.

New Mountain Finance Advisers BDC, L.L.C.

New Mountain Finance Advisers BDC, L.L.C. (the “Investment Adviser”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Mountain Capital Group, L.P. (together with New Mountain Capital L.L.C. and its affiliates, "New Mountain Capital") whose ultimate owners include Steven B. Klinsky and related other vehicles. New Mountain Capital is a firm with a track record of investing in the middle market. New Mountain Capital focuses on investing in defensive growth companies across its private equity, public equity and credit investment vehicles. The Investment Adviser manages our day-to-day operations and provides us with investment advisory and management services. In particular, the Investment Adviser is responsible for identifying attractive investment opportunities, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments, structuring our investments and monitoring and servicing our investments. The Investment Adviser is managed by a five member investment committee, which is responsible for approving purchases and sales of our investments above $10.0 million in aggregate by issuer. For additional information on the investment committee, see "Investment Committee".

New Mountain Finance Administration, L.L.C.

New Mountain Finance Administration, L.L.C. (the "Administrator”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Mountain Capital, provides the administrative services necessary to conduct our day-to-day operations. The Administrator also maintains, or oversees the maintenance of, our consolidated financial records, our reports to stockholders and reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The Administrator performs the calculation and publication of our net asset values, the payment of our expenses and oversees the performance of various third-party service providers and the preparation and filing of our tax returns. The Administrator may also provide, on our behalf, managerial assistance to our portfolio companies.

Competition

We compete for investments with a number of BDCs and investment funds (including private equity and hedge funds), as well as traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks and other sources of financing. Many of these entities have greater financial and managerial resources than we do. We believe we are able to be competitive with these entities primarily on the basis of the experience and contacts of our management team, our responsive and efficient investment analysis and decision-making processes, the investment terms we offer, the model that we employ to perform our due diligence with the broader New Mountain Capital team and our model of investing in companies and industries we know well.

We believe that some of our competitors may make investments with interest rates and returns that are comparable to or lower than the rates and returns that we target. Therefore, we do not seek to compete solely on the interest rates and returns that we offer to potential portfolio companies. For additional information concerning the competitive risks we face, see Item 1A.—Risk Factors .

Investment Objective and Portfolio

Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through the sourcing and origination of debt securities at all levels of the capital structure, including first and second lien debt, notes, bonds and mezzanine securities. The first lien debt may include traditional first lien senior secured loans or unitranche loans. Unitranche loans combine characteristics of traditional first lien senior secured loans as well as second lien and subordinated loans. Unitranche loans will expose us to the risks associated with second lien and subordinated loans to the extent we invest in the “last out” tranche. In some cases, our investments may also include equity interests.

We make investments through both primary originations and open-market secondary purchases. We predominantly target loans to, and invest in, U.S. middle market businesses, a market segment we believe continues to be underserved by other lenders. We define middle market businesses as those businesses with annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) between $10.0 million and $200.0 million. Our primary focus is in the debt of defensive growth companies, which are defined as generally exhibiting the following characteristics: (i) sustainable secular growth drivers, (ii) high barriers to competitive entry, (iii) high free cash flow after capital expenditure and working capital needs, (iv) high returns on assets and (v) niche market dominance. Similar to us, each of SBIC I's and SBIC II's investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation under our investment criteria. However, SBIC I’s and SBIC II's investments must be in SBA eligible small businesses. For additional information on SBA regulations, see " SBA Regulation ". Our portfolio may be concentrated in a limited number of industries. As of December 31, 2018 , our top five industry concentrations were business services, software, healthcare services, education and investment funds . Our targeted investments typically have maturities of between five and ten years and generally range in size between $10.0 million and $125.0 million. This investment size may vary proportionately as the size of our capital base changes. At December 31, 2018 , our portfolio consisted of 92  portfolio companies and was invested 50.1% in first lien loans, 28.3% in second lien loans, 2.8% in subordinated debt and 18.8% in equity and other, as measured at fair value versus 84 portfolio companies invested 38.0% in first lien loans, 37.4% in second lien loans, 3.8% in subordinated debt and 20.8% in equity and other, as measured at fair value at December 31, 2017 .

The fair value of our investments was approximately $2,342.0 million in 92 portfolio companies at December 31, 2018 , approximately $1,825.7 million in 84 portfolio companies at December 31, 2017 and approximately $1,558.8 million in 78 portfolio companies at December 31, 2016 .

The following table shows our portfolio and investment activity for the years ended December 31, 2018 , December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 :

At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , our weighted average yield to maturity at cost ("YTM at Cost") was approximately 10.4% and 10.9% , respectively. This YTM at Cost calculation assumes that all investments, including secured

collateralized agreements, not on non-accrual are purchased at cost on the quarter end date and held until their respective maturities with no prepayments or losses and exited at par at maturity. At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , our weighted average yield to maturity at cost for investments ("YTM at Cost for Investments") was approximately 10.4% and 10.9% , respectively. This YTM at Cost for Investments calculation assumes that all investments, including secured collateralized agreements, are purchased at cost on the quarter end date and held until their respective maturities with no prepayments or losses and exited at par at maturity. YTM at Cost and YTM at Cost for Investments calculations exclude the impact of existing leverage. YTM at Cost and YTM at Cost for Investments use the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") curves at each quarter's end date. The actual yield to maturity may be higher or lower due to the future selection of the LIBOR contracts by the individual companies in our portfolio or other factors.

The following summarizes our ten largest portfolio company investments and the top ten industries in which we were invested as of December 31, 2018 , calculated as a percentage of total assets as of December 31, 2018 :

Investment Selection and Process

The Investment Adviser believes it has developed a proven, consistent and replicable investment process to execute our investment strategy. The Investment Adviser seeks to identify the most attractive investment sectors from the top down and then works to become the most advantaged investor in these sectors. The steps in the Investment Adviser's process include:

Investment Committee

The Investment Adviser is managed by a five member investment committee (the “Investment Committee”), which is responsible for approving purchases and sales of our investments above $10.0 million in aggregate by issuer. The Investment Committee currently consists of Steven B. Klinsky, Robert A. Hamwee, Adam B. Weinstein and John R. Kline. The fifth and final member of the Investment Committee will consist of a New Mountain Capital Managing Director who will hold the position on the Investment Committee on an annual rotating basis. Peter N. Masucci served on the Investment Committee from August 2017 to July 2018. Beginning in August 2018, Andre V. Moura was appointed to the Investment Committee for a one year term. In addition, our executive officers and certain investment professionals of the Investment Adviser are invited to all Investment Committee meetings. Purchases and dispositions below $10.0 million may be approved by our chief executive officer. These approval thresholds are subject to change over time. We expect to benefit from the extensive and varied relevant experience of the investment professionals serving on the Investment Committee, which includes expertise in private equity, primary and secondary leveraged credit, private mezzanine finance and distressed debt.

The purpose of the Investment Committee is to evaluate and approve, as deemed appropriate, all investments by the Investment Adviser, subject to certain thresholds. The Investment Committee's process is intended to bring the diverse experience and perspectives of the Investment Committee's members to the analysis and consideration of every investment. The Investment Committee also serves to provide investment consistency and adherence to the Investment Adviser's investment philosophies and policies. The Investment Committee also determines appropriate investment sizing and suggests ongoing monitoring requirements.

In addition to reviewing investments, the Investment Committee meetings serve as a forum to discuss credit views and outlooks. Potential transactions and investment opportunities are also reviewed on a regular basis. Members of our investment team are encouraged to share information and views on credits with the Investment Committee early in their analysis. This process improves the quality of the analysis and assists the deal team members to work more efficiently.

Investment Structure

We target debt investments that will yield meaningful current income and occasionally provide the opportunity for capital appreciation through equity securities. Our debt investments are typically structured with the maximum seniority and collateral that we can reasonably obtain while seeking to achieve our total return target.

In addition, from time to time we may also enter into revolving credit facilities, bridge financing commitments, delayed draw commitments or other commitments which can result in providing future financing to a portfolio company.

Equity Investments

When we make a debt investment, we may be granted equity in the portfolio company in the same class of security as the sponsor receives upon funding. In addition, we may from time to time make non-control, equity co-investments in conjunction with private equity sponsors. We generally seek to structure our equity investments, such as direct equity co-investments, to provide us with minority rights provisions and event-driven put rights. We also seek to obtain limited registration rights in connection with these investments, which may include “piggyback” registration rights.

Portfolio Company Monitoring

We monitor the performance and financial trends of our portfolio companies on at least a quarterly basis. We attempt to identify any developments within the portfolio company, the industry or the macroeconomic environment that may alter any material element of our original investment strategy. We use several methods of evaluating and monitoring the performance of our investments, including but not limited to the following:

We use an investment rating system to characterize and monitor the credit profile and expected level of returns on each investment in the portfolio. We use a four-level numeric rating scale as follows:

The following table shows the distribution of our investments on the 1 to 4 investment rating scale at fair value as of December 31, 2018 :

Exit Strategies/Refinancing

We exit our investments typically through one of four scenarios: (i) the sale of the portfolio company itself, resulting in repayment of all outstanding debt, (ii) the recapitalization of the portfolio company in which our loan is replaced with debt or equity from a third party or parties (in some cases, we may choose to participate in the newly issued loan(s)), (iii) the repayment of the initial or remaining principal amount of our loan then outstanding at maturity or (iv) the sale of the debt investment by us. In some investments, there may be scheduled amortization of some portion of our loan which would result in a partial exit of our investment prior to the maturity of the loan.

Valuation

At all times, consistent with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and the 1940 Act, we conduct a valuation of our assets, which impacts our net asset value.

We value our assets on a quarterly basis, or more frequently if required under the 1940 Act. In all cases, our board of directors is ultimately and solely responsible for determining the fair value of our portfolio investments on a quarterly basis in good faith, including investments that are not publicly traded, those whose market prices are not readily available and any other situation where our portfolio investments require a fair value determination. Security transactions are accounted for on a trade date basis. Our quarterly valuation procedures are set forth in more detail below:

materiality threshold, the investment is valued similarly to those assets with no readily available quotes (see (3) below).

For investments in revolving credit facilities and delayed draw commitments, the cost basis of the funded investments purchased is offset by any costs/netbacks received for any unfunded portion on the total balance committed. The fair value is also adjusted for the price appreciation or depreciation on the unfunded portion. As a result, the purchase of commitments not completely funded may result in a negative fair value until it is called and funded.

The values assigned to investments are based upon available information and do not necessarily represent amounts which might ultimately be realized, since such amounts depend on future circumstances and cannot be reasonably determined until the individual positions are liquidated. 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 fluctuate from period to period and the fluctuations could be material.

Operating and Regulatory Environment

As with other companies regulated by the 1940 Act, a BDC must adhere to certain regulatory requirements. The 1940 Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to investments by a BDC in another investment company as well as transactions between BDCs and their affiliates, principal underwriters and affiliates of those affiliates or underwriters. A BDC must be organized and have its principal place of business in the U.S., it must be operated for the purpose of investing in or lending to primarily private companies and for qualifying investments it must make significant managerial assistance available to them. A BDC may use capital provided by public stockholders and from other sources to make long-term, private investments in businesses. A BDC provides stockholders the ability to retain the liquidity of a publicly traded stock while sharing in the possible benefits, if any, of investing in primarily privately owned companies.

We have a board of directors. A majority of our board of directors must be persons who are not interested persons, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. As a BDC, we are prohibited from indemnifying any director or officer against any liability to us or 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. Additionally, we are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect the BDC.

As a BDC, we are required to meet a coverage ratio of the value of total assets to total senior securities, which include all of our borrowings, excluding SBA-guaranteed debentures, and any preferred stock we may issue in the future, of at least 150.0% (i.e., the amount of debt may not exceed 66.7% of the value of our total assets or we may borrow an amount equal to 200.0% of net assets). We monitor our compliance with this coverage ratio on a regular basis.

We may, to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, issue additional equity or debt capital. We will generally not be able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below net asset value per share without shareholder approval. 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 our best interests and the best interests of our stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. In addition, we may generally issue new shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value in rights offerings to existing stockholders, in payment of dividends and in certain other limited circumstances.

As a BDC, we will not generally be permitted to invest in any portfolio company in which the Investment Adviser or any of its affiliates currently have an investment or to make any co-investments with the Investment Adviser or its affiliates without an exemptive order from the SEC. On December 18, 2017, the SEC issued an exemptive order (the “Exemptive Order”), which superseded a prior order issued on June 5, 2017, which permits us to co-invest in portfolio companies with certain funds or entities managed by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates in certain negotiated transactions where co-investing would otherwise be prohibited under the 1940 Act, subject to the conditions of the Exemptive Order. Pursuant to the Exemptive Order, we are permitted to co-invest with our affiliates if a “required majority” (as defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act) of our independent directors make certain conclusions in connection with a co-investment transaction, including, but not limited to, that (1) the terms of the potential co-investment transaction, including the consideration to be paid, are reasonable and fair to us and our stockholders and do not involve overreaching in respect of us or our stockholders on the part of any person concerned, and (2) the potential co-investment transaction is consistent with the interests of our stockholders and is consistent with our then-current investment objective and strategies.

We may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC unless authorized by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as required by the 1940 Act. A majority of the outstanding voting securities of a company is defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of: (a) 67.0% or more of such company's voting securities present at a meeting if more than 50.0% of the outstanding voting securities of such company are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50.0% of the outstanding voting securities of such company. We do not anticipate any substantial change in the nature of our business.

In addition, as a BDC, we are not permitted to issue stock in consideration for services.

Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company

We have elected to be treated, and intend to comply with the requirements to continue to qualify annually, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, we generally will not be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any net ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our stockholders as distributions. Rather, distributions paid by us generally will be taxable to our stockholders, and any net operating losses, foreign tax credits and other tax attributes of ours generally will not pass through to our stockholders, subject to special rules for certain items such as net capital gains and qualified dividend income recognized by us.

To qualify as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements. In addition, to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC, we must distribute to our stockholders, for each taxable year, at least 90.0% of our "investment company taxable income", which is generally our net ordinary income plus the excess of realized net short-term capital gains over realized net long-term capital losses (the "Annual Distribution Requirement").

We will be subject to a 4.0% nondeductible U.S. federal excise tax on certain undistributed income unless we distribute in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98.0% of our net ordinary income for each calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (3) any income recognized, but not distributed and on which we did not pay corporate-level U.S. federal income tax, in preceding years (the "Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement"). While we intend to make distributions to our stockholders in each taxable year that will be sufficient to avoid any U.S. federal excise tax on our earnings, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in entirely avoiding this tax.

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

determined under applicable Code rules, by us and that are engaged in the same or similar or related trades, or (3) businesses or of certain "qualified publicly traded partnerships" (the "Diversification Tests").

A RIC is limited in its ability to deduct expenses in excess of its "investment company taxable income" (which is, generally, ordinary income plus the excess of realized net short-term capital gains over realized net long-term capital losses). If our expenses in a given year exceed our investment company taxable income, we would experience a net operating loss for that year. However, a RIC is not permitted to carry forward net operating losses to subsequent years and such net operating losses do not pass through to its stockholders. In addition, expenses can be used only to offset investment company taxable income, not net capital gain. A RIC may not use any net capital losses (that is, realized capital losses in excess of realized capital gains) to offset the RIC's investment company taxable income, but may carry forward such losses, and use them to offset capital gains, indefinitely. Due to these limits on the deductibility of expenses and net capital losses, we may for tax purposes have aggregate taxable income for several years that we are required to distribute and that is taxable to our stockholders even if such income is greater than the aggregate net income we actually earned during those years.

Failure to Qualify as a Regulated Investment Company

If we fail to satisfy the 90.0% Income Test or the Diversification Tests for any taxable year or quarter of such taxable year, we may nevertheless continue to qualify as a RIC for such year if certain relief provisions of the Code apply (which may, among other things, require us to pay certain corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes or to dispose of certain assets). If we fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC and such relief provisions do not apply to us, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on all of our taxable income at regular corporate rates (and also will be subject to any applicable state and local taxes), regardless of whether we make any distributions to our stockholders. Distributions would not be required. However, if distributions were made, any such distributions would be taxable to our stockholders as ordinary dividend income and, subject to certain limitations under the Code, any such distributions may be eligible for the 20.0% maximum rate applicable to non-corporate taxpayers to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. Subject to certain limitations under the Code, corporate distributees would be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the stockholder's tax basis, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain.

Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under Subchapter M of the Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that requalify as a RIC no later than the second year following the non-qualifying year, we could be subject to tax on any unrealized net built-in gains in the assets held by us during the period in which we failed to qualify as a RIC that are recognized during the five-year period after our requalification as a RIC, unless we made a special election to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on such built-in gain at the time of our requalification as a RIC. We may decide to be taxed as a regular corporation even if we would otherwise qualify as a RIC if we determine that treatment as a corporation for a particular year would be in our best interests.

SBA Regulation

On August 1, 2014 and August 25, 2017, respectively, SBIC I and SBIC II, our wholly-owned direct and indirect subsidiaries, received licenses from the SBA to operate as SBICs under Section 301(c) of the 1958 Act. SBIC I and SBIC II have an investment strategy and philosophy substantially similar to ours and make similar types of investments in accordance with SBA regulations.

An SBIC license allows each of SBIC I and SBIC II to incur leverage by issuing SBA-guaranteed debentures, subject to the issuance of a capital commitment and certain approvals by the SBA and customary procedures. SBA-guaranteed debentures carry long-term fixed rates that are generally lower than rates on comparable bank and other debt. In June 2018, the limit of SBA leverage available to an individual SBIC eligible for two tiers of leverage was increased from $150.0 million to $175.0 million, subject to SBA approval. Currently, SBIC I and SBIC II operate under the prior $150.0 million cap. Debentures guaranteed by the SBA have a maturity of ten years, require semi-annual payments of interest and do not require any principal payments prior to maturity. SBIC I and SBIC II are subject to regulation and oversight by the SBA, including requirements with respect to reporting financial information, such as the extent of capital impairment, if applicable, on a regular basis. The SBA, as a creditor, will have a superior claim to SBIC I's and SBIC II's assets over our stockholders in the event SBIC I and SBIC II are liquidated or the SBA exercises its remedies under the SBA-guaranteed debentures issued by SBIC I and SBIC II upon an event of default.

On November 5, 2014, we received exemptive relief from the SEC to permit us to exclude the SBA-guaranteed debentures of SBIC I, SBIC II and any other future SBIC subsidiaries from our 150.0% asset coverage test under the 1940 Act. As such, our ratio of total consolidated assets to outstanding indebtedness may be less than 150.0%. This provides us with increased investment flexibility but also increases our risks related to leverage.

SBICs are designed to stimulate the flow of private investor capital to eligible small businesses as defined by the SBA. Under SBA regulations, SBICs may make loans to eligible small businesses, invest in the equity securities of such businesses and provide them with consulting and advisory services. Under present SBA regulations, eligible small businesses generally include businesses that (together with their affiliates) have a tangible net worth not exceeding $19.5 million and have average annual net income after U.S. federal income taxes not exceeding $6.5 million (average net income to be computed without benefit of any carryover loss) for the two most recent fiscal years. In addition, an SBIC must invest 25.0% of its investment capital to "smaller enterprises", as defined by the SBA. The definition of a smaller enterprise generally includes businesses that have a tangible net worth not exceeding $6.0 million for the most recent fiscal year and have average annual net income after U.S. federal income taxes not exceeding $2.0 million (average net income to be computed without benefit of any net carryover loss) for the two most recent fiscal years. SBA regulations also provide alternative size standard criteria to determine eligibility for designation as an eligible small business or smaller concern, which criteria depend on the primary industry in which the business is engaged and is based on such factors as the number of employees and gross revenue. However, once an SBIC has invested in an eligible small business, it may continue to make follow-on investments in the company, regardless of the size of the company at the time of the follow-on investment.

The SBA prohibits an SBIC from providing funds to small businesses with certain characteristics, such as businesses with the majority of their employees located outside the U.S., or from investing in project finance, real estate, farmland, financial intermediaries or "passive" (i.e. non-operating) businesses. Without prior SBA approval, an SBIC may not invest an amount equal to more than approximately 30.0% of the SBIC's regulatory capital in any one company and its affiliates.

The SBA places certain limitations on the financing terms of investments by SBICs in portfolio companies (such as limiting the permissible interest rate on debt securities held by an SBIC in a portfolio company). An SBIC may exercise control over a small business for a period of up to seven years from the date on which the SBIC initially acquires its control position. This control period may be extended for an additional period of time with the SBA's prior written approval.

The SBA restricts the ability of an SBIC to lend money to any of its officers, directors and employees or to invest in associates thereof. The SBA also prohibits, without prior SBA approval, a "change of control" of an SBIC or transfers that would result in any person (or a group of persons acting in concert) owning 10.0% or more of a class of capital stock of a licensed SBIC. A "change of control" is any event which would result in the transfer of the power, direct or indirect, to direct the management and policies of an SBIC, whether through ownership, contractual arrangements or otherwise.

The SBA regulations require, among other things, an annual periodic examination of a licensed SBIC by an SBA examiner to determine the SBIC's compliance with the relevant SBA regulations, and the performance of a financial audit by an independent auditor.

The maximum leverage available to a "family" of affiliated SBIC funds is $350.0 million, subject to SBA approval.

Historical Structure

On May 19, 2011, we priced our IPO of 7,272,727 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $13.75 per share. Concurrently with the closing of the IPO and at the public offering price of $13.75 per share, we sold an additional 2,172,000 shares of our common stock to certain executives and employees of, and other individuals affiliated with, New Mountain Capital in a concurrent private placement (the "Concurrent Private Placement"). Additionally, 1,252,964 shares were issued to the partners of New Mountain Guardian Partners, L.P. at that time for their ownership interest in the Predecessor Entities (as defined below). In connection with our IPO and through a series of transactions, NMF Holdings acquired all of the operations of the Predecessor Entities, including all of the assets and liabilities related to such operations. NMF Holdings, formerly known as New Mountain Guardian (Leveraged), L.L.C., was originally formed as a subsidiary of New Mountain Guardian AIV, L.P. ("Guardian AIV") by New Mountain Capital in October 2008. Guardian AIV was formed through an allocation of approximately $300.0 million of the $5.1 billion of commitments supporting New Mountain Partners III, L.P., a private equity fund managed by New Mountain Capital. In February 2009, New Mountain Capital formed a co-investment vehicle, New Mountain Guardian Partners, L.P., comprising $20.4 million of commitments. New Mountain Guardian (Leveraged), L.L.C. and New Mountain Guardian Partners, L.P., together with their respective direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, are defined as the "Predecessor Entities".

Until May 8, 2014, NMF Holdings was externally managed by the Investment Adviser and was regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. As such, NMF Holdings was obligated to comply with certain regulatory requirements. NMF Holdings was treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes for so long as it had at least two members. With the completion of the underwritten secondary offering on February 3, 2014, NMF Holdings' existence as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes terminated and NMF Holdings became an entity that is disregarded as a separate entity from its owner for U.S. federal tax purposes.

Until April 25, 2014, New Mountain Finance AIV Holdings Corporation ("AIV Holdings") was a Delaware corporation that was originally incorporated on March 11, 2011. Guardian AIV, a Delaware limited partnership, was AIV Holdings' sole stockholder. AIV Holdings was a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that was regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. As such, AIV Holdings was obligated to comply with certain regulatory requirements. AIV Holdings was treated, and complied with the requirements to qualify annually, as a RIC under the Code. AIV Holdings was dissolved on April 25, 2014.

Prior to May 8, 2014, NMFC and AIV Holdings were holding companies with no direct operations of their own, and their sole asset was their ownership in NMF Holdings. In connection with the IPO, NMFC and AIV Holdings each entered into a joinder agreement with respect to the Limited Liability Company Agreement, as amended and restated (the "Operating Agreement"), of NMF Holdings, pursuant to which NMFC and AIV Holdings were admitted as members of NMF Holdings. NMFC acquired from NMF Holdings, with the gross proceeds of the IPO and the Concurrent Private Placement, common membership units ("units") of NMF Holdings (the number of units were equal to the number of shares of NMFC's common stock sold in the IPO and the Concurrent Private Placement). Additionally, NMFC received units of NMF Holdings equal to the number of shares of common stock of NMFC issued to the partners of New Mountain Guardian Partners, L.P. Guardian AIV was the parent of NMF Holdings prior to the IPO and, as a result of the transactions completed in connection with the IPO, obtained units in NMF Holdings. Guardian AIV contributed its units in NMF Holdings to its newly formed subsidiary, AIV Holdings, in exchange for common stock of AIV Holdings. AIV Holdings had the right to exchange all or any portion of its units in NMF Holdings for shares of NMFC's common stock on a one-for-one basis at any time.

The original structure was designed to generally prevent NMFC from being allocated taxable income with respect to unrecognized gains that existed at the time of the IPO in the Predecessor Entities' assets, and rather such amounts would be allocated generally to AIV Holdings. The result was that any distributions made to NMFC's stockholders that were attributable to such gains generally were not treated as taxable dividends but rather as return of capital.

We acquired from NMF Holdings units of NMF Holdings equal to the number of shares of our common stock sold in additional offerings. With the completion of the final secondary offering on February 3, 2014, we owned 100.0% of the units of NMF Holdings, which became our wholly-owned subsidiary.

Restructuring

As a BDC, AIV Holdings had been subject to the 1940 Act, including certain provisions applicable only to BDCs. Accordingly, and after careful consideration of the 1940 Act requirements applicable to BDCs, the cost of 1940 Act compliance and a thorough assessment of AIV Holdings' business model, AIV Holdings' board of directors determined that continuation as a BDC was not in the best interest of AIV Holdings and Guardian AIV. Specifically, given that AIV Holdings was formed for the sole purpose of holding units of NMF Holdings and AIV Holdings had disposed of all of the units of NMF Holdings that it was holding as of February 3, 2014, the board of directors of AIV Holdings approved and declared advisable at an in-person meeting held on March 25, 2014 the withdrawal of AIV Holdings' election to be regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. In addition, the board of directors of AIV Holdings approved and declared advisable for AIV Holdings to terminate its registration under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") and to dissolve AIV Holdings under the laws of the State of Delaware.

Upon receipt of the necessary stockholder consent to authorize the board of directors of AIV Holdings to withdraw AIV Holdings' election to be regulated as a BDC, the withdrawal was filed and became effective upon receipt by the SEC of AIV Holdings' notification of withdrawal on Form N-54C on April 15, 2014. The board of directors of AIV Holdings believed that AIV Holdings met the requirements for filing the notification to withdraw its election to be regulated as a BDC, upon the receipt of the necessary stockholder consent. After the notification of withdrawal of AIV Holdings' BDC election was filed with the SEC, AIV Holdings was no longer subject to the regulatory provisions of the 1940 Act applicable to BDCs generally, including regulations related to insurance, custody, composition of its board of directors, affiliated transactions and any compensation arrangements.

In addition, on April 15, 2014, AIV Holdings filed a Form 15 with the SEC to terminate AIV Holdings' registration under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act. After these SEC filings and any other federal or state regulatory or tax filings were made, AIV Holdings proceeded to dissolve under Delaware law by filing a certificate of dissolution in Delaware on April 25, 2014.

Until May 8, 2014, as a BDC, NMF Holdings had been subject to the 1940 Act, including certain provisions applicable only to BDCs. Accordingly, and after careful consideration of the 1940 Act requirements applicable to BDCs, the cost of 1940 Act compliance and a thorough assessment of NMF Holdings' current business model, NMF Holdings' board of directors determined at an in-person meeting held on March 25, 2014 that continuation as a BDC was not in the best interests of NMF Holdings.

At the joint annual meeting of the stockholders of NMFC and the sole unit holder of NMF Holdings held on May 6, 2014, the stockholders of NMFC and the sole unit holder of NMF Holdings approved a proposal which authorized the board of directors of NMF Holdings to withdraw NMF Holdings' election to be regulated as a BDC. Additionally, the stockholders of NMFC approved a new investment advisory and management agreement between NMFC and the Investment Adviser. Upon receipt of the necessary stockholder/unit holder approval to authorize the board of directors of NMF Holdings to withdraw NMF Holdings' election to be regulated as a BDC, the withdrawal was filed and became effective upon receipt by the SEC of NMF Holdings' notification of withdrawal on Form N-54C on May 8, 2014.

Effective May 8, 2014, NMF Holdings amended and restated its Operating Agreement such that the board of directors of NMF Holdings was dissolved and NMF Holdings remained a wholly-owned subsidiary of NMFC with the sole purpose of serving as a special purpose vehicle for NMF Holdings' credit facility, and NMFC assumed all other operating activities previously undertaken by NMF Holdings under the management of the Investment Adviser (collectively, the "Restructuring"). After the Restructuring, all wholly-owned direct and indirect subsidiaries of NMFC are consolidated with NMFC for both 1940 Act and financial statement reporting purposes, subject to any financial statement adjustments required in accordance with GAAP. NMFC continues to remain a BDC regulated under the 1940 Act.

Also, on May 8, 2014, NMF Holdings filed Form 15 with the SEC to terminate NMF Holdings' registration under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act. As a special purpose entity, NMF Holdings is bankruptcy-remote and non-recourse to NMFC. In addition, the assets held at NMF Holdings will continue to be used to secure NMF Holdings' credit facility.

Prior to December 18, 2014, New Mountain Finance SPV Funding, L.L.C. ("NMF SLF") was a Delaware limited liability company. NMF SLF was a wholly-owned subsidiary of NMF Holdings and thus our wholly-owned indirect subsidiary. NMF SLF was bankruptcy-remote and non-recourse to us. As part of an amendment to our existing credit facilities with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, NMF SLF merged with and into NMF Holdings on December 18, 2014. See Item 8.—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 5. Agreements for additional information on our borrowings.

Investment Management Agreement

We are a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. We are externally managed by our Investment Adviser and pay our Investment Adviser a fee for its services. The following summarizes our arrangements with the Investment Adviser pursuant to an investment advisory and management agreement (the "Investment Management Agreement").

Management Services

The Investment Adviser is registered as an Investment Adviser under the Advisers Act. The Investment Adviser serves pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement in accordance with the 1940 Act. Subject to the overall supervision of our board of directors, the Investment Adviser manages our day-to-day operations and provides us with investment advisory and management services. Under the terms of the Investment Management Agreement, the Investment Adviser:

The Investment Adviser's services under the Investment Management Agreement are not exclusive, and the Investment Adviser (so long as its services to us are not impaired) and/or other entities affiliated with New Mountain Capital are permitted to furnish similar services to other entities. The Investment Adviser also manages New Mountain Guardian Partners II, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, and New Mountain Guardian II Offshore, L.P., a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership, (together "Guardian II"), which commenced operations in April 2017.

Management Fees

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, we have agreed to pay the Investment Adviser a fee for investment advisory and management services consisting of two components—a base management fee and an incentive fee. The cost of both the base management fee payable to the Investment Adviser and any incentive fees paid in cash to the Investment Adviser are borne by us and, as a result, are indirectly borne by our common stockholders.

Base Management Fees

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, the base management fee is calculated at an annual rate of 1.75% of our gross assets, which equals our total assets on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities, less (i) the borrowings under the New Mountain Finance SPV Funding, L.L.C. Loan and Security Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, dated October 27, 2010, as amended (the "SLF Credit Facility"), and (ii) cash and cash equivalents. The base management fee is payable quarterly in arrears, and is calculated based on the average value of our gross assets, which equals our total assets, as determined in accordance with GAAP, less the borrowings under the SLF Credit Facility and cash and cash equivalents, at the end of each of the two most recently completed calendar quarters, and appropriately adjusted on a pro rata basis for any equity capital raises or repurchases during the current calendar quarter. We have not invested, and currently do not invest, in derivatives. To the extent we invest in derivatives in the future, we will use the actual value of the derivatives, as reported on our Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities, for purposes of calculating our base management fee.

Since our IPO, the base management fee calculation has deducted the borrowings under the SLF Credit Facility. The SLF Credit Facility had historically consisted of primarily lower yielding assets at higher advance rates. As part of an amendment to our existing credit facilities with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, the SLF Credit Facility merged with the NMF Holdings Loan and Security Agreement, as amended and restated, dated May 19, 2011, and into the Second Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (the "Holdings Credit Facility") on December 18, 2014. See Item 8.—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 7. Borrowings for additional information on our credit facilities. The amendment merged the credit facilities and combined the amount of borrowings previously available. Post credit facility merger and to be consistent with the methodology since our IPO, the Investment Adviser will continue to waive management fees on the leverage associated with those assets that share the same underlying yield characteristics with investments leveraged under the legacy SLF Credit Facility, which approximated $525.7 million as of December 31, 2018 . The Investment Adviser cannot recoup management fees that the Investment Adviser has previously waived. For the year ended December 31, 2018 , total management fees waived was approximately $6.7 million .

Incentive Fees

The incentive fee consists of two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears and equals 20.0% of our "Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income" for the immediately preceding quarter, subject to a "preferred return", or "hurdle", and a "catch-up" feature. "Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income" means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, upfront, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that we receive from portfolio companies) accrued during the calendar quarter, minus our operating expenses for the quarter (including the base management fee, expenses payable under the administration agreement, as amended and restated (the "Administration Agreement"), with the Administrator, and any interest expense and distributions paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock (of which there is none as of December 31, 2018 ), but excluding the incentive fee). Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature (such as original issue discount, debt instruments with PIK interest and zero coupon securities), accrued income that we have not yet received in cash. Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income does not include any realized capital gains, realized capital losses or unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation.

Under GAAP, our IPO did not step-up the cost basis of the Predecessor Operating Company's existing investments to fair market value at the IPO date. Since the total value of the Predecessor Operating Company's investments at the time of the IPO was greater than the investments' cost basis, a larger amount of amortization of purchase or original issue discount, as well as different amounts in realized gain and unrealized appreciation, may be recognized under GAAP in each period than if the step-up had occurred. This will remain until such predecessor investments are sold or mature in the future. We track the transferred (or fair market) value of each of our investments as of the time of the IPO and, for purposes of the incentive fee calculation, adjust Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income to reflect the amortization of purchase or original issue discount on our investments as if each investment was purchased at the date of our IPO, or stepped up to fair market value. This is defined as "Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income". We also use the transferred (or fair market) value of each of our investments as of the time of the IPO to adjust capital gains ("Adjusted Realized Capital Gains") or losses ("Adjusted Realized Capital Losses") and unrealized capital appreciation ("Adjusted Unrealized Capital Appreciation") and unrealized

capital depreciation ("Adjusted Unrealized Capital Depreciation"). As of December 31, 2017, all predecessor investments have been sold or matured.

Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income, expressed as a rate of return on the value of our net assets at the end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, will be compared to a "hurdle rate" of 2.0% per quarter (8.0% annualized), subject to a "catch-up" provision measured as of the end of each calendar quarter. The hurdle rate is appropriately pro-rated for any partial periods. The calculation of our incentive fee with respect to the Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income for each quarter is as follows:

The second part will be determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Management Agreement) and will equal 20.0% of our Adjusted Realized Capital Gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all Adjusted Realized Capital Losses and Adjusted Unrealized Capital Depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fee.

In accordance with GAAP, we accrue a hypothetical capital gains incentive fee based upon the cumulative net Adjusted Realized Capital Gains and Adjusted Realized Capital Losses and the cumulative net Adjusted Unrealized Capital Appreciation and Adjusted Unrealized Capital Depreciation on investments held at the end of each period. Actual amounts paid to the Investment Adviser are consistent with the Investment Management Agreement and are based only on actual Adjusted Realized Capital Gains computed net of all Adjusted Realized Capital Losses and Adjusted Unrealized Capital Depreciation on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year as if the entire portfolio was sold at fair value.

Example 1: Income Related Portion of Incentive Fee for Each Calendar Quarter*:

Alternative 1

Assumptions

Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 1.25%

Hurdle rate(1) = 2.00%

Management fee(2) = 0.44%

Other expenses (legal, accounting, safekeeping agent, transfer agent, etc.)(3) = 0.20%

Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income

(investment income – (management fee + other expenses)) = 0.61%

Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income does not exceed the hurdle rate, therefore there is no income related incentive fee.

Alternative 2

Assumptions

Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 2.90%

Hurdle rate(1) = 2.00%

Management fee(2) = 0.44%

Other expenses (legal, accounting, safekeeping agent, transfer agent, etc.)(3) = 0.20%

Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income

(investment income – (management fee + other expenses)) = 2.26%

Incentive fee = 100.00% × Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income (subject to "catch-up")(4)

= 100.00% × (2.26% – 2.00%)

= 0.26%

Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income exceeds the hurdle rate, but does not fully satisfy the "catch-up" provision, therefore the income related portion of the incentive fee is 0.26%.

Alternative 3

Assumptions

Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 3.50%

Hurdle rate(1) = 2.00%

Management fee(2) = 0.44%

Other expenses (legal, accounting, safekeeping agent, transfer agent, etc.)(3) = 0.20%

Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income

(investment income – (management fee + other expenses)) = 2.86%

Incentive fee = 100.00% × Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income (subject to "catch-up")(4)

Incentive fee = 100.00% × "catch-up" + (20.00% × (Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income 2.50%))

Catch-up = 2.50% – 2.00%

                = 0.50%

Incentive fee = (100.00% × 0.50%) + (20.00% × (2.86% – 2.50%))

                      = 0.50% + (20.00% × 0.36%)

                      = 0.50% + 0.07%

                      = 0.57%

Pre-Incentive Fee Adjusted Net Investment Income exceeds the hurdle rate, and fully satisfies the "catch-up" provision, therefore the income related portion of the incentive fee is 0.57%.

Example 2: Capital Gains Portion of Incentive Fee*:

Alternative 1:

Assumptions

Year 1: $20.0 million investment made in Company A ("Investment A"), and $30.0 million investment made in Company B ("Investment B")

Year 2: Investment A sold for $50.0 million and fair market value ("FMV") of Investment B determined to be $32.0 million

Year 3: FMV of Investment B determined to be $25.0 million

Year 4: Investment B sold for $31.0 million

The capital gains portion of the incentive fee would be:

Year 1: None

Year 2: Capital gains incentive fee of $6.0 million—($30.0 million realized capital gains on sale of Investment A multiplied by 20.0%)

Year 3: None—$5.0 million (20.0% multiplied by ($30.0 million cumulative capital gains less $5.0 million cumulative capital depreciation)) less $6.0 million (previous capital gains fee paid in Year 2)

Year 4: Capital gains incentive fee of $0.2 million—$6.2 million ($31.0 million cumulative realized capital gains multiplied by 20.0%) less $6.0 million (capital gains incentive fee taken in Year 2)

Alternative 2

Assumptions

Year 1: $20.0 million investment made in Company A ("Investment A"), $30.0 million investment made in Company B ("Investment B") and $25.0 million investment made in Company C ("Investment C")

Year 2: Investment A sold for $50.0 million, FMV of Investment B determined to be $25.0 million and FMV of Investment C determined to be $25.0 million

Year 3: FMV of Investment B determined to be $27.0 million and Investment C sold for $30.0 million

Year 4: FMV of Investment B determined to be $35.0 million

Year 5: Investment B sold for $20.0 million

The capital gains incentive fee, if any, would be:

Year 1: None

Year 2: $5.0 million capital gains incentive fee—20.0% multiplied by $25.0 million ($30.0 million realized capital gains on Investment A less $5.0 million unrealized capital depreciation on Investment B)

Year 3: $1.4 million capital gains incentive fee—$6.4 million (20.0% multiplied by $32.0 million ($35.0 million cumulative realized capital gains less $3.0 million unrealized capital depreciation)) less $5.0 million capital gains incentive fee received in Year 2

Year 4: $0.6 million capital gains incentive fee—$7.0 million (20.0% multiplied by $35.0 million cumulative realized capital gains) less cumulative $6.4 million capital gains incentive fee received in Year 2 and Year 3

Year 5: None—$5.0 million (20.0% multiplied by $25.0 million (cumulative realized capital gains of $35.0 million less realized capital losses of $10.0 million)) less $7.0 million cumulative capital gains incentive fee paid in Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4(1)

Payment of Expenses

Our primary operating expenses are the payment of a base management fee and any incentive fees under the Investment Management Agreement and the allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations to us under the Administration Agreement. We bear all other expenses of our operations and transactions, including (without limitation) fees and expenses relating to:

Board Consideration of the Investment Management Agreement

Our board of directors determined at an in-person meeting held on February 6, 2019 to re-approve our Investment Management Agreement with the Investment Adviser. In the consideration of the re-approval of the Investment Management Agreement, our board of directors focused on information they had received relating to, among other things:

personnel and the process by which investment decisions are made, and concluded that the investment personnel of the Investment Adviser have extensive experience and are well qualified to provide advisory and other services to us;

Based on the information reviewed and the discussions detailed above, our board of directors, including a majority of the directors who are not "interested persons" as defined in the 1940 Act, concluded that the fees payable to the Investment Adviser pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement were reasonable, and comparable to the fees paid by other management investment companies with similar investment objectives, in relation to the services to be provided. Our board of directors did not assign relative weights to the above factors or the other factors considered by it. Individual members of our board of directors may have given different weights to different factors.

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, which are referred to as qualifying assets, unless, at the time the acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70.0% of the BDC's total assets. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our business are any of the following:

In addition, a BDC must have been organized and have its principal place of business in the U.S. and must be operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described in (1), (2) or (3) above.

As of December 31, 2018 , 14.9% of our total assets were non-qualifying assets.

Significant Managerial Assistance to Portfolio Companies

BDCs generally must offer to make available to the eligible issuers of its securities significant managerial assistance, except in circumstances where either (i) the BDC controls such issuer of securities or (ii) the BDC purchases such securities in conjunction with one or more other persons acting together and one of the other persons in the group makes available such managerial assistance. Making available managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC 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. The Administrator or its affiliate provides such managerial assistance on our behalf to portfolio companies that request this assistance.

Temporary Investments

Pending investments in other types of qualifying assets, 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 (collectively, as “temporary investments”), so that 70.0% of our assets are qualifying assets. Typically, we will 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 that 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 25.0% of our total assets constitute repurchase agreements from a single counterparty, we would not meet the Diversification Tests in order to qualify as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Thus, we do not intend to enter into repurchase agreements with a single counterparty in excess of this limit. The Investment Adviser will monitor the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which we enter into repurchase agreement transactions. We had no temporary investments as of December 31, 2018 .

Senior Securities

We are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of debt if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is at least equal to 150.0% immediately after each such issuance. If our asset ratio coverage is not at least 150.0%, we would be unable to issue additional senior securities, and certain provisions of our senior securities may preclude us from making distributions to our stockholders. However, at December 31, 2018 , none of our senior securities have provisions that may preclude us from making distributions to stockholders. We may also borrow amounts up to 5.0% of the value of our total assets for temporary or emergency purposes without regard to our asset coverage. We will include our assets and liabilities and all of our wholly-owned direct and indirect subsidiaries for purposes of calculating the asset coverage ratio. We received exemptive relief from the SEC on November 5, 2014, allowing us to modify the asset coverage requirement to exclude SBA-guaranteed debentures from this calculation. For a discussion of the risks associated with leverage, see Item 1A.—Risk Factors .

Code of Ethics

We have adopted 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. The code of ethics is available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Compliance Policies and Procedures

We and the Investment Adviser have adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation of the federal securities laws and we are required to review these compliance policies and procedures annually for the adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation. Our chief compliance officer is responsible for administering these policies and procedures.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

We have delegated our proxy voting responsibility to the Investment Adviser. The proxy voting policies and procedures of the Investment Adviser are set forth below. The guidelines will be reviewed periodically by the Investment Adviser and our non-interested directors, and, accordingly, are subject to change.

Introduction

As an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act, the Investment Adviser has a fiduciary duty to act solely in the best interests of its clients. As part of this duty, it recognizes that it must vote our securities in a timely manner free of conflicts of interest and in our best interests.

The policies and procedures for voting proxies for the investment advisory clients of the Investment Adviser are intended to comply with Section 206 of, and Rule 206(4)-6 under, the Advisers Act.

Proxy policies

The Investment Adviser will vote proxies relating to our securities in our best interest. It will review on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted for a stockholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by us. Although the Investment Adviser will generally vote against proposals that may have a negative impact on its clients’ portfolio securities, it may vote for such a proposal if there exists compelling long-term reasons to do so.

The proxy voting decisions of the Investment Adviser are made by the senior officers who are responsible for monitoring each of its clients’ investments. To ensure that its vote is not the product of a conflict of interest, it will require that: (a) anyone involved in the decision making process disclose to its 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 (b) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how the Investment Adviser intends to vote on a proposal in order to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties.

Proxy voting records

You may obtain, without charge, information regarding how we voted proxies with respect to our portfolio securities by making a written request for proxy voting information to: Chief Compliance Officer, 787 Seventh Avenue, 48th Floor, New York, New York 10019.

Staffing

We do not have any employees. Our day-to-day investment operations are managed by the Investment Adviser. See “ — Investment Management Agreement”. We reimburse the Administrator for the allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by it in performing its obligations to us under the Administration Agreement, including the compensation of our chief financial officer and chief compliance officer, and their respective staffs. For a more detailed discussion of the Administration Agreement, see Item 8.—Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 5. Agreements .

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes a variety of regulatory requirements on publicly-held companies and their insiders. Many of these requirements affect us. For example:

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to review our current policies and procedures to determine whether we comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the regulations promulgated thereunder. We intend to monitor our compliance with all regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.

Available Information

We file or submit to the SEC annual, quarterly and current periodic reports, proxy statements and other information as required by the 1940 Act. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information filed electronically by us with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov .

We make available free of charge on our website, http://www.newmountainfinance.com , our reports, proxies and information statements and other information as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such materials with, or furnish to, the SEC. Information contained on our website or on the SEC's website about us is not incorporated into this annual report and should not be considered to be a part of this annual report.

Privacy Notice

Your privacy is very important to us. This Privacy Notice sets forth our policies with respect to non-public personal information about our stockholders and prospective and former stockholders. These policies apply to our stockholders and may be changed at any time, provided a notice of such change is given to you. This notice supersedes any other privacy notice you may have received from us.

We will safeguard, according to strict standards of security and confidentiality, all information we receive about you. The only information we collect from you is your name, address, number of shares you hold and your social security number. This information is used only so that we can send you annual reports and other information about us, and send you proxy statements or other information required by law.

We do not share this information with any non-affiliated third party except as described below.

We seek to carefully safeguard your private information and, to that end, restrict access to non-public personal information about you to those employees and other persons who need to know the information to enable us to provide services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your non-public personal information.

If you have any questions regarding this policy or the treatment of your non-public personal information, please contact our chief compliance officer at (212) 655-0083.