Articles | The Docket

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Oct 9, 2026

What the Private Credit Redemption Squeeze Changes for Deals Like These

6 min read

Withdrawal requests at flagship private credit funds have run above their caps for several quarters. What it means for a reader holding individual notes with no redemption window, and which second-order effects are confirmed and which are not.

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Oct 8, 2026

Where the Points Separate One Tier From the Next: What 113 Pillar Breakdowns Show

6 min read

Nine issues of published scores, and one pillar that does most of the sorting. Where deals clear, where they stall, and what the near-misses have in common.

Oct 7, 2026

Real Estate Syndications: How a Group of Investors Owns One Property Together

7 min read

One property, one legal entity, one sponsor, many investors. How the capital stack, the fees, and the waterfall decide who gets paid, and in what order.

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Oct 2, 2026

What the Shift From Bank to Private Credit CRE Lending Changes for Deals Like These

6 min read

A record $56 billion in dry powder, private lending up 133% year over year, and banks increasingly funding private credit through warehouse lines instead of lending directly. What the new capital-stack layering means for reading a real estate deal's disclosed seniority.

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Oct 1, 2026

Why Real Estate Clears This Publication's Line Less Often Than Any Asset Class But One

6 min read

Real estate clears at 11.5 percent, the second-lowest rate of any asset class this

Sep 30, 2026

Market Conditions: Why The Docket Weights This Pillar Lowest, Not Highest

6 min read

Twenty-five points out of one hundred, the smallest of the three pillars. Here's why that's deliberate, and what it means for how a subscriber should read a score.

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Sep 25, 2026

Fed Rate Hike September 2026: What It Means for Private Market Deals

5 min read

A quarter-point hike, the first since 2023, and a higher year-end rate path than the Fed itself projected in July. What it means for SBA-financed acquisitions, private credit coupons, and EDGAR real estate raises.

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Sep 24, 2026

Same-Sponsor Multi-Vehicle Form D Filings: What the Pattern Means

5 min read

Four issues running, this publication has tracked sponsors filing multiple near-identical Form Ds the same day. Two distinct shapes explain why, and only one of them matters for scoring.

Sep 23, 2026

SDE Explained: How to Read Cash Flow on an SMB Acquisition Listing

6 min read

The single number that prices a small business acquisition, what it adds back and why, and how to read the gap when a listing discloses SDE, EBITDA, or both.

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Sep 18, 2026

What the Coming Ownership Transfer Changes for Deals Like These

5 min read

Up to six million small businesses may change hands by 2035, and most sellers have no documented plan. What that means for how "retirement" should be read on a listing.

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Sep 17, 2026

Why an EBITDA Number, on Its Own, Changes How a Listing Reads

6 min read

Across eighteen SMB listings scored in the last two issues, four showed both SDE and EBITDA, twelve showed SDE alone, and two, both this week, showed EBITDA with no SDE at all. What that new pattern reveals.

Sep 16, 2026

What Counts as a Verified Exit, and What Doesn't

6 min read

The two-point standard behind every operator name this publication prints.

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Sep 11, 2026

What the INVEST Act Would Change for Deals Like These

5 min read

A bipartisan bill that passed the House 302 to 123 would rewrite who qualifies as an accredited investor. It's stalled in the Senate, and the details matter more than the headline.

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Sep 10, 2026

Why a Confidential SMB Listing Can Still Clear the Docket Line

5 min read

Three anonymous, no-principal-named listings scored 74, 73, and 66. The pattern in why has nothing to do with confidentiality itself.

Sep 9, 2026

SMB Acquisition: What Buying a Small Business Means

5 min read

The largest category this publication scores works differently from every passive investment it also covers. Here's the distinction that matters most before reading a single listing.

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Sep 4, 2026

What the SBA's October Financing Overhaul Changes for Deals Like These

5 min read

Five changes, one direction: tighter underwriting for SMB acquisitions starting October 1.

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Sep 3, 2026

Why EDGAR-Sourced Deals Almost Never Clear the Docket Line

5 min read

Seven filings out of seventy-six made it On the Docket. All seven have one thing in common.

Sep 2, 2026

What a Vague Fee Line Costs You

5 min read

One unstated line in a listing can move an investor's return more than picking between two deals does.

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Aug 28, 2026

What the 401(k) Alternative-Assets Rule Would Actually Change for Deals Like These

2 min read

Separating what's confirmed from what's still just a proposal

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Aug 27, 2026

What Actually Separates a Cleared Percent Credit Note From a Rejected One

2 min read

Nine data points, five months, one variable that predicts the score better than coupon does

Aug 26, 2026

What Private Capital Actually Is, and How It's Different From the Stock Market

3 min read

The first distinction to understand before evaluating any private deal

Jul 22, 2026

Did Our 79/100 Score Hold Up?

4 min read

A retrospective on why our scoring methodology held up against real-world data

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Oct 16, 2026

What the Tighter SBA Acquisition Rules Change for Deals Like These

6 min read

A new rule set for the SBA’s flagship loan program took effect October 1. What sources agree on, where they conflict, and why the words “SBA pre-qualified” and “seller financing available” now need a second look.

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Oct 15, 2026

The Same Borrower, Again: What 24 Repeat Notes Show About How a Score Moves

6 min read

Nine borrowers, 24 scored notes, and a pattern that runs against the instinct that a familiar name is a safer one. What moves, what stays put, and what a returning borrower’s next note really tells a reader.

Oct 14, 2026

The $250,000 Line: Why Minimum Investment Size Is a Hard Disqualifier

6 min read

A minimum investment says nothing about a deal’s quality, and it can still decide whether the deal is usable. Why one number ends the conversation before any scoring starts, and what to do when no number is stated.