REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | ☒ |
Pre-Effective Amendment No. | □ |
Post-Effective Amendment No. 56 | ☒ |
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ☒ |
Amendment No. 54 | ☒ |
Counsel for the Fund: | |
Margery
K. Neale Esq.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP 787 Seventh Avenue New York, New York 10019-6099 |
Benjamin
Archibald, Esq.
BlackRock Advisors, LLC 55 East 52nd Street New York, New York 10055 |
► | BlackRock High Yield Municipal Fund |
Investor A: MDYHX • Investor C: MCYHX • Institutional: MAYHX | |
► | BlackRock National Municipal Fund |
Investor A: MDNLX • Investor B: MBNLX • Investor C: MFNLX • Institutional: MANLX | |
► | BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund |
Investor A: MELMX • Investor C: MFLMX • Institutional: MALMX |
Fund Overview | Key facts and details about the Funds listed in this prospectus, including investment objectives, principal investment strategies, principal risk factors, fee and expense information, and historical performance information | |
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Account Information | Information about account services, sales charges and waivers, shareholder transactions, and distributions and other payments | |
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48 | |
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Management of the Funds | Information about BlackRock and the Portfolio Managers | |
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56 |
Financial Highlights |
Financial Performance of the
Funds
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Glossary |
Glossary of Investment
Terms
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70 |
For More Information |
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Inside Back Cover |
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Back Cover |
Shareholder
Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) |
Investor
A
Shares |
Investor
C
Shares |
Institutional
Shares |
|||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) | 4.25% | None | None | |||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | None 1 | 1.00% 2 | None | |||
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
Investor
A
Shares |
Investor
C
Shares |
Institutional
Shares |
|||
Management Fee | 0.53% | 0.53% | 0.53% | |||
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | 1.00% | None | |||
Other Expenses | 0.19% | 0.19% | 0.17% | |||
Interest Expense | 0.04% | 0.04% | 0.04% | |||
Miscellaneous Other Expenses | 0.15% | 0.15% | 0.13% | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.97% | 1.72% | 0.70% |
1 | A contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor A Shares made within 18 months after purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase of an investment of $1,000,000 or more. |
2 | There is no CDSC on Investor C Shares after one year. |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor A Shares | $520 | $721 | $938 | $1,564 |
Investor C Shares | $275 | $542 | $933 | $2,030 |
Institutional Shares | $ 72 | $224 | $390 | $ 871 |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor C Shares | $175 | $542 | $933 | $2,030 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Distressed Securities Risk — Distressed securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment. In addition, distressed securities involve the substantial risk that principal will not be repaid. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment. The Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio company, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale. |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor |
redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years |
Since
Inception
(August 1, 2006) |
BlackRock High Yield Municipal Fund — Institutional Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 17.85% | 8.21% | 4.58% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 17.84% | 8.20% | 4.56% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 12.27% | 7.57% | 4.59% |
BlackRock High Yield Municipal Fund — Investor A Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 12.59% | 6.97% | 3.75% |
BlackRock High Yield Municipal Fund — Investor C Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 15.67% | 7.08% | 3.53% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.93% |
Custom
High Yield Index
1
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
15.20% | 8.58% | 5.03% |
1 | The Custom High Yield Index reflects the returns of the S&P ® Customized High Yield Municipal Bond Index for periods prior to January 1, 2013, and the returns of only those bonds in the S&P ® Customized High Yield Municipal Bond Index that have maturities greater than 5 years for periods subsequent to January 1, 2013. |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Investor A and Investor C Shares | Institutional Shares | |
Minimum
Initial
Investment |
$1,000
for all accounts except:
• $250 for certain fee-based programs. • $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. • $50, if establishing an Automatic Investment Plan. |
There
is no minimum initial investment for employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles,
unaffiliated thrifts and unaffiliated banks and trust companies, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to purchase such shares.
|
Minimum
Additional
Investment |
$50 for all accounts (with the exception of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans which may have a lower minimum). | No subsequent minimum. |
Shareholder
Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) |
Investor
A
Shares |
Investor
B
Shares |
Investor
C
Shares |
Institutional
Shares |
||||
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) | 4.25% | None | None | None | ||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | None 1 | 4.00% 2 | 1.00% 3 | None | ||||
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
Investor
A
Shares |
Investor
B
Shares |
Investor
C
Shares |
Institutional
Shares |
||||
Management Fee | 0.43% | 0.43% | 0.43% | 0.43% | ||||
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | 0.75% | 1.00% | None | ||||
Other Expenses | 0.17% | 0.17% | 0.11% | 0.16% | ||||
Interest Expense | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.03% | ||||
Miscellaneous Other Expenses | 0.14% | 0.14% | 0.08% | 0.13% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.85% | 1.35% | 1.54% | 0.59% | ||||
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 4 | (0.10) | (0.09) | (0.04) | — | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 4 | 0.75% | 1.26% | 1.50% | 0.59% |
1 | A contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor A Shares made within 18 months after purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase of an investment of $1,000,000 or more. |
2 | The CDSC is 4.00% if shares are redeemed in less than two years. The CDSC for Investor B Shares decreases for redemptions made in subsequent years. After six years there is no CDSC on Investor B Shares. (See the section “Details About the Share Classes — Investor B Shares” in the Fund’s prospectus for the complete schedule of CDSCs.) |
3 | There is no CDSC on Investor C Shares after one year. |
4 | As described in the “Management of the Funds” section of the Fund’s prospectus on page 52, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 0.72% (for Investor A Shares), 1.23% (for Investor B Shares) and 1.47% (for Investor C Shares) of average daily net assets until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor A Shares | $498 | $675 | $867 | $1,421 |
Investor B Shares | $528 | $719 | $931 | $1,616 |
Investor C Shares | $253 | $483 | $836 | $1,831 |
Institutional Shares | $ 60 | $189 | $329 | $ 738 |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor B Shares | $128 | $419 | $731 | $1,616 |
Investor C Shares | $153 | $483 | $836 | $1,831 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately. Valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them. Derivatives also may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. Certain transactions in derivatives involve substantial leverage risk and may expose the Fund to potential losses that exceed the amount originally invested by the Fund. The U.S. Government is in the process of adopting and implementing regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin, reporting and registration requirements. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional U.S. or other regulations may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives. Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and commodity-linked derivative instruments are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding authority that could affect the character, timing and amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions. |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the |
market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. The Fund may invest in TOB Trusts on either a non-recourse or recourse basis. If the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, it could suffer losses in excess of the value of its TOB Residuals. |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock National Municipal Fund — Investor A Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 5.38% | 5.10% | 4.34% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 5.38% | 5.09% | 4.34% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 4.60% | 4.85% | 4.29% |
BlackRock National Municipal Fund — Investor B Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 5.52% | 5.17% | 4.27% |
BlackRock National Municipal Fund — Investor C Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 8.35% | 5.25% | 4.02% |
BlackRock National Municipal Fund — Institutional Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 10.35% | 6.20% | 5.03% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.93% |
Custom
National Index
1
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
11.76% | 5.57% | 4.87% |
1 | The Custom National Index reflects the returns of the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index for periods prior to January 1, 2013, and the returns of only those bonds in the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index that have maturities greater than 5 years for periods subsequent to January 1, 2013. |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Investor
A and
Investor C Shares |
Investor B Shares | Institutional Shares | |
Minimum Initial Investment |
$1,000
for all accounts except:
• $250 for certain fee-based programs. • $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. • $50, if establishing an Automatic Investment Plan. |
Available only through exchanges and dividend reinvestments by current holders and for purchase by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. |
There
is no minimum initial investment for employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles,
unaffiliated thrifts and unaffiliated banks and trust companies, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to purchase such shares.
|
Minimum
Additional
Investment |
$50 for all accounts (with the exception of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans which may have a lower minimum). | N/A | No subsequent minimum. |
Shareholder
Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) |
Investor
A
Shares |
Investor
C
Shares |
Institutional
Shares |
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) | 3.00% | None | None |
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | None 1 | 1.00% 2 | None |
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
Investor
A
Shares |
Investor
C
Shares |
Institutional
Shares |
Management Fee | 0.33% | 0.33% | 0.33% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | 1.00% | None |
Other Expenses | 0.12% | 0.14% | 0.18% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.70% | 1.47% | 0.51% |
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 3 | (0.01)% | 0.00% | (0.11)% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 3 | 0.69% | 1.47% | 0.40% |
1 | A contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 0.50% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor A Shares made within 18 months after purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase of an investment of $250,000 or more. |
2 | There is no CDSC on Investor C Shares after one year. |
3 | As described in the “Management of the Funds” section of the Fund’s prospectus on page 52, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 0.69% (for Investor A Shares), 1.55% (for Investor C Shares) and 0.40% (for Institutional Shares) of average daily net assets until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding securities of the Fund. |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor A Shares | $368 | $516 | $677 | $1,144 |
Investor C Shares | $250 | $465 | $802 | $1,757 |
Institutional Shares | $ 41 | $152 | $274 | $ 630 |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor C Shares | $150 | $465 | $803 | $1,757 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund — Institutional Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 0.24% | 0.76% | 1.94% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 0.24% | 0.76% | 1.94% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 0.32% | 0.79% | 1.92% |
BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund — Investor A Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | (3.04)% | (0.13)% | 1.37% |
BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund — Investor C Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | (1.79)% | (0.30)% | 0.90% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.75% |
S&P
®
Limited Maturity Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
0.94% | 1.45% | 2.59% |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Peter J. Hayes | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Marie Sheehan | 2007 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Investor A and Investor C Shares | Institutional Shares | |
Minimum
Initial
Investment |
$1,000
for all accounts except:
• $250 for certain fee-based programs. • $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. • $50, if establishing an Automatic Investment Plan. |
There
is no minimum initial investment for employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles,
unaffiliated thrifts and unaffiliated banks and trust companies, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to purchase such shares.
|
Minimum
Additional
Investment |
$50 for all accounts (with the exception of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans which may have a lower minimum). | No subsequent minimum. |
■ | Credit Quality of Issuers — based on bond ratings and other factors, including economic and financial conditions. |
■ | Yield Analysis — takes into account factors such as the different yields available on different types of obligations and the shape of the yield curve (longer term obligations typically have higher yields). |
■ | Maturity Analysis — the weighted average maturity of the portfolio will be maintained within a desirable range as determined from time to time. Factors considered include portfolio activity, maturity of the supply of available bonds and the shape of the yield curve. Maturity of a debt security refers to the date upon which debt securities are due to be repaid, that is, the date when the issuer generally must pay back the face amount of the security. |
■ | Borrowing — Each Fund may borrow from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes, including to meet redemptions, for the payment of dividends, for share repurchases or for the clearance of transactions. |
■ | Illiquid/Restricted Securities — Each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities that it cannot sell within seven days at approximately current value. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale ( i.e. , Rule 144A securities). They may include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market and therefore may be considered to be illiquid. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public. |
■ | Indexed Securities — Each Fund may invest in securities the potential return of which is directly related to changes in an underlying index or interest rate, known as indexed securities. The return on indexed securities will rise when the underlying index rises and fall when the index falls. |
■ | Investment Companies — Each Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, and open-end and closed-end funds. Each Fund may invest in affiliated investment companies, including affiliated money market funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds. |
■ | Securities Lending — Each Fund may lend securities with a value up to 33 1 ⁄ 3 % of its total assets to financial institutions that provide cash or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government as collateral. |
■ | Taxable Income — Investments in taxable money market securities as well as some of the derivatives discussed herein may cause a Fund to have taxable investment income. Each Fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of its municipal bonds (and other securities it holds). These capital gains will be taxable regardless of whether they are derived from a sale of municipal bonds. |
■ | Taxable Money Market Securities — Each Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets on a temporary basis in taxable money market securities that have a maturity of one year or less. Each Fund may make these investments for liquidity purposes or as a temporary investment pending an investment in municipal bonds. |
■ | Temporary Defensive Strategies — As a temporary measure for defensive purposes, a Fund may invest without limitation in taxable money market securities. These investments may prevent a Fund from meeting its investment objective. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — The purchase or sale of securities on a when-issued basis, on a delayed delivery basis or through a forward commitment involves the purchase or sale of securities by a Fund at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. Each Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. |
■ | Derivatives — The High Yield Fund is permitted to engage in transactions in certain derivatives, such as financial futures contracts and options thereon, indexed and inverse floating rate obligations and swap agreements, including credit default swap agreements. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security or an index such as the S&P Municipal Bond Index. The Fund may use derivative instruments to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. Derivatives allow the Fund to increase or decrease its risk exposure more quickly and efficiently than other types of instruments. The Fund is not required to use hedging and may choose not to do so. |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities — The High Yield Fund may leverage its assets through the use of proceeds received through tender option bond transactions. In a tender option bond transaction, the Fund transfers municipal bonds or other municipal securities into a special purpose entity (a “TOB Trust”). A TOB Trust typically |
issues two classes of beneficial interests: short-term floating rate interests (“TOB Floaters”), which are sold to third party investors, and residual inverse floating rate interests (“TOB Residuals”), which are generally issued to the Fund. The Fund may invest in TOB Residuals and may also invest in TOB Floaters. The Fund will look through to the underlying municipal bond held by a TOB Trust for purposes of the Fund’s 80% policy. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations — The High Yield Fund may invest in variable rate demand obligations, which are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations — The National Fund may invest in variable rate demand obligations, which are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. |
■ | Derivatives — The Short-Term Fund may engage in transactions in certain derivatives, such as financial futures contracts and options thereon, indexed and inverse floating rate obligations and swap agreements, including credit default swap agreements. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security or an index such as the S&P Municipal Bond Index. The Fund may use derivative instruments to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. Derivatives allow the Fund to increase or decrease its risk exposure more quickly and efficiently than other types of instruments. The Fund is not is required to use hedging and may choose not to do so. |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk (National Fund Principal Risk; High Yield Fund and Short-Term Fund Other Risk) — Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including: |
■ | Distressed Securities Risk (High Yield Fund) — Distressed securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the |
distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment. In addition, distressed securities involve the substantial risk that principal will not be repaid. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment. The Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio company, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale. | |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk (High Yield Fund and National Fund) — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. The major risks of junk bond investments include: |
■ | Junk bonds may be issued by less creditworthy issuers. Issuers of junk bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. In the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, claims of other creditors may have priority over the claims of junk bond holders, leaving few or no assets available to repay junk bond holders. |
■ | Prices of junk bonds are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Adverse changes in an issuer’s industry and general economic conditions may have a greater impact on the prices of junk bonds than on other higher rated fixed-income securities. |
■ | Issuers of junk bonds may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments, or the unavailability of additional financing. |
■ | Junk bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If the issuer redeems junk bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income. |
■ | Junk bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed-income securities, even under normal economic conditions. There are fewer dealers in the junk bond market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted for junk bonds by the dealers. Because they are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of the Fund’s securities than is the case with securities trading in a more liquid market. |
■ | The Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose a Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. As an open-end investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the Investment Company Act, the rules thereunder, and various SEC and SEC staff interpretive positions. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must “set aside” liquid assets (often referred to as “asset segregation”), or engage in other SEC- or staff-approved measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of instruments. The use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of a Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is |
the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. | |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
General Obligation Bonds Risks — The full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality that issues a general obligation bond secures payment of interest and repayment of principal. Timely payments depend on the issuer’s credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base. | |
Revenue Bonds Risks — Payments of interest and principal on revenue bonds are made only from the revenues generated by a particular facility, class of facilities or the proceeds of a special tax or other revenue source. These payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source. | |
Private Activity Bonds Risks — Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment. If the private enterprise defaults on its payments, the Fund may not receive any income or get its money back from the investment. | |
Moral Obligation Bonds Risks — Moral obligation bonds are generally issued by special purpose public authorities of a state or municipality. If the issuer is unable to meet its obligations, repayment of these bonds becomes a moral commitment, but not a legal obligation, of the state or municipality. | |
Municipal Notes Risks — Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of, and are secured by, tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the Fund may lose money. | |
Municipal Lease Obligations Risks — In a municipal lease obligation, the issuer agrees to make payments when due on the lease obligation. The issuer will generally appropriate municipal funds for that purpose, but is not obligated to do so. Although the issuer does not pledge its unlimited taxing power for payment of the lease obligation, the lease obligation is secured by the leased property. However, if the issuer does not fulfill its payment obligation it may be difficult to sell the property and the proceeds of a sale may not cover the Fund’s loss. | |
Tax-Exempt Status Risk — In making investments, the Fund and its investment manager will rely on the opinion of issuers’ bond counsel and, in the case of derivative securities, sponsors’ counsel, on the tax-exempt status of interest on municipal obligations and payments under tax-exempt derivative securities. Neither the Fund nor its investment manager will independently review the bases for those tax opinions. If any of those tax opinions are ultimately determined to be incorrect or if events occur after the security is acquired that impact the security’s tax-exempt status, the Fund and its shareholders could be subject to substantial tax liabilities. The IRS has generally not ruled on the taxability of the securities. An assertion by the IRS that a portfolio security is not exempt from Federal income tax (contrary to indications from the issuer) could affect the Fund’s and shareholder’s income tax liability for the current or past years and could create liability for information reporting penalties. In addition, an IRS assertion of taxability may impair the liquidity and the fair market value of the securities. |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk (National Fund Principal Risk; High Yield Fund Other Risk) — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. |
The Fund may invest in TOB Trusts on either a non-recourse or recourse basis. TOB Trusts are typically supported by a liquidity facility provided by a third-party bank or other financial institution (the “Liquidity Provider”) that allows the holders of the TOB Floaters to tender their certificates in exchange for payment of par plus accrued interest on any business day, subject to the non-occurrence of tender option termination events. When the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a non-recourse basis, and the Liquidity Provider is required to make a payment under the liquidity facility, the Liquidity Provider will typically liquidate all or a portion of the municipal securities held in the TOB Trust and then fund the balance, if any, of the amount owed under the liquidity facility over the liquidation proceeds (the “Liquidation Shortfall”). |
If a Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will typically enter into a reimbursement agreement with the Liquidity Provider where the Fund is required to reimburse the Liquidity Provider the amount of any Liquidation Shortfall. As a result, if the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to any Liquidation Shortfall. | |
To the extent that the Fund, rather than a third-party bank or financial institution, sponsors a TOB Trust, certain responsibilities that previously belonged to the sponsor bank will be performed by, or on behalf of, the Fund. The Fund’s additional duties and responsibilities under the new TOB Trust structure may give rise to certain additional risks including compliance, securities law and operational risks. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk (Short-Term Fund Principal Risk; High Yield Fund and National Fund Other Risk) — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
■ | Borrowing Risk — Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. |
■ | Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the Fund’s net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that the Fund’s net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, the Fund’s expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in the Fund’s expense ratio could be significant. |
■ | Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk — Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate. |
■ | Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies. To the extent the Fund is held by an affiliated fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited. |
■ | Municipal Securities Concentration Risk — From time to time, the Fund may invest a substantial amount of its assets in municipal securities whose interest is paid solely from revenues of similar projects. If the Fund concentrates its investments in this manner, it assumes the legal and economic risks relating to such projects and this may have a significant impact on the Fund’s investment performance. |
■ | Securities Lending Risk — Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. These events could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. |
■ | Taxability Risk — The Fund intends to minimize the payment of taxable income to shareholders by investing in tax-exempt or municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income for Federal income tax purposes. Such securities, however, may be determined to pay, or have paid, taxable income subsequent to the Fund’s acquisition of the securities. In that event, the IRS may demand that the Fund pay Federal income taxes on the affected interest income, and, if the Fund agrees to do so, the Fund’s yield could be adversely affected. In addition, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as “exempt interest dividends” could be adversely affected, subjecting the Fund’s shareholders to increased Federal income tax liabilities. If the interest paid on any tax-exempt or municipal security held by the Fund is subsequently determined to be taxable, the Fund will dispose of that security as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, future laws, regulations, rulings or court decisions may cause interest on municipal securities to be subject, directly or indirectly, to Federal income taxation or interest on state municipal securities to be subject to state or local income taxation, or the value of state municipal securities to be subject to state or local intangible personal property tax, or may otherwise prevent the Fund from realizing the full current benefit of the tax-exempt status of such securities. Any such change could also affect the market price of such securities, and thus the value of an investment in the Fund. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risk — When-issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price. |
Investor A | Investor B | Investor C 2,3 | Institutional | |
Availability | Generally available through Financial Intermediaries. | Available only through exchanges and dividend reinvestments by current holders and for purchase by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. The High Yield Fund and Short-Term Fund do not offer Investor B Shares. | Generally available through Financial Intermediaries. |
Limited
to certain investors, including:
• Individuals and Institutional Investors who may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares. • Employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles, unaffiliated thrifts and unaffiliated banks and trust companies, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares. • Employees, officers and directors/trustees of BlackRock or its affiliates. • Participants in certain programs sponsored by BlackRock or its affiliates or other Financial Intermediaries. |
Investor A | Investor B | Investor C 2,3 | Institutional | |
Minimum Investment |
$1,000
for all accounts except:
• $250 for certain fee-based programs. • $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. $50, if establishing an Automatic Investment Plan (“AIP”). |
Investor B Shares are not generally available for purchase (see above). |
$1,000
for all accounts except:
• $250 for certain fee-based programs. • $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. • $50, if establishing an AIP. |
There
is no investment minimum for:
• Employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles, unaffiliated thrifts and unaffiliated banks and trust companies. • Employees, officers and directors/trustees of BlackRock or its affiliates. $2 million for individuals and Institutional Investors. $1,000 for investors of Financial Intermediaries that: i) charge such investors a fee for advisory, investment consulting, or similar services or ii) have entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer Institutional Shares through a no-load program or investment platform. |
Initial Sales Charge? | Yes. Payable at time of purchase. Lower sales charges are available for larger investments. | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of a Fund. | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of a Fund. | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of a Fund. |
Deferred Sales Charge? | No. (May be charged for purchases of $1 million or more ($250,000 or more for the Short-Term Fund) that are redeemed within 18 months). |
Yes.
Payable if you redeem within six years of purchase. |
Yes. Payable if you redeem within one year of purchase. | No. |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees? |
No
Distribution Fee.
0.25% Annual Service Fee. |
0.50%
Annual
Distribution Fee. 0.25% Annual Service Fee. |
0.75%
Annual Distribution Fee.
|
No. |
Redemption Fees? | No. | No. | No. | No. |
Conversion to Investor A Shares? | N/A |
Yes.
Automatically after approximately ten years.
|
No. | No. |
Investor A | Investor B | Investor C 2,3 | Institutional | |
Advantage | Makes sense for investors who are eligible to have the sales charge reduced or eliminated or who have a long-term investment horizon because there are no ongoing distribution fees. | No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares. |
No
up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares.
|
No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares. No distribution or service fees. |
Disadvantage | You pay a sales charge up-front, and therefore you start off owning fewer shares. | Limited availability. You pay ongoing distribution fees each year you own Investor B Shares, which means that you can expect lower total performance than Investor A Shares. | You pay ongoing distribution fees each year you own Investor C Shares, which means that over the long term you can expect higher total fees per share than Investor A Shares and, as a result, lower total performance. Investor C Shares do not convert to Investor A Shares so you will continue paying the ongoing distribution fees as long as you hold Investor C Shares. Over the long term, this can add up to higher total fees than Investor A Shares. | Limited availability. |
1 | Please see “Details About the Share Classes” for more information about each share class. |
2 | If you establish a new account directly with a Fund and do not have a Financial Intermediary associated with your account, you may only invest in Investor A Shares. Applications without a Financial Intermediary that select Investor C Shares will not be accepted. |
3 | A Fund will not accept a purchase order of $500,000 or more for Investor C Shares. Your Financial Intermediary may set a lower maximum for Investor C Shares. |
Your Investment |
Sales
Charge
As a % of Offering Price |
Sales
Charge
As a % of Your Investment 1 |
Dealer
Compensation As a % of Offering Price |
Less than $100,000 | 4.25% | 4.44% | 4.00% |
$100,000 but less than $250,000 | 3.25% | 3.36% | 3.00% |
$250,000 but less than $500,000 | 2.50% | 2.56% | 2.25% |
$500,000 but less than $1,000,000 | 2.25% | 2.30% | 2.00% |
$1,000,000 and over 2 | 0.00% | 0.00% | — 2 |
Your Investment |
Sales
Charge
As a % of Offering Price |
Sales
Charge
As a % of Your Investment 1 |
Dealer
Compensation As a % of Offering Price |
Less than $50,000 | 3.00% | 3.09% | 2.75% |
$50,000 but less than $100,000 | 2.75% | 2.83% | 2.50% |
$100,000 but less than $250,000 | 2.50% | 2.56% | 2.25% |
$250,000 and over 2 | 0.00% | 0.00% | — 2 |
1 | Rounded to the nearest one-hundredth percent. |
2 | If you invest $1,000,000 ($250,000 for the Short-Term Fund) or more in Investor A Shares, you will not pay an initial sales charge. In that case, BlackRock compensates the selling dealer or other financial intermediary from its own resources. However, if you redeem your shares within 18 months after purchase, you may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% (for the High Yield Fund and the National Fund) and 0.50% (for the Short-Term Fund). Such deferred sales charge may be waived in connection with certain fee-based programs. |
■ | Certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. For purposes of this waiver, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs; |
■ | Rollovers of current investments through certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, provided the shares are transferred to the same BlackRock Fund as either a direct rollover, or subsequent to distribution, the rolled-over proceeds are contributed to a BlackRock IRA through an account directly with the Fund; or purchases by IRA programs that are sponsored by Financial Intermediary firms provided the Financial Intermediary firm has entered into a Class A Net Asset Value agreement with respect to such program with the Distributor; |
■ | Insurance company separate accounts; |
■ | Registered investment advisers, trust companies and bank trust departments exercising discretionary investment authority with respect to amounts to be invested in the Fund; |
■ | Persons participating in a fee-based program (such as a wrap account) under which they pay advisory fees to a broker-dealer or other financial institution; |
■ | Financial Intermediaries who have entered into an agreement with the Distributor and have been approved by the Distributor to offer Fund shares to self-directed investment brokerage accounts that may or may not charge a transaction fee; |
■ | Persons associated with the Fund, the Fund’s manager, the Fund’s sub-adviser, transfer agent, Distributor, fund accounting agents, Barclays PLC (“Barclays”) and their respective affiliates (to the extent permitted by these firms) including: (a) officers, directors and partners; (b) employees and retirees; (c) employees of firms who have entered into selling agreements to distribute shares of BlackRock Funds; (d) immediate family members of such persons; and (e) any trust, pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for any of the persons set forth in (a) through (d); and |
■ | State sponsored 529 college savings plans. |
Investor B | Investor C | |
High Yield Fund | N/A | 1.00% |
National Fund | 0.75% | 1.00% |
Short-Term Fund | N/A | 1.00% |
Years Since Purchase | Sales Charge 1 |
0 – 1 | 4.00% |
1 – 2 | 4.00% |
2 – 3 | 3.00% |
3 – 4 | 3.00% |
4 – 5 | 2.00% |
5 – 6 | 1.00% |
6 and thereafter | 0.00% |
1 | The percentage charge will apply to the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or the proceeds of your redemption. Not all BlackRock Funds have identical deferred sales charge schedules. If you exchange your shares for shares of another BlackRock Fund, the original sales charge schedule will apply. |
■ | Redemptions of shares purchased through certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and rollovers of current investments in a Fund through such plans; |
■ | Exchanges pursuant to the exchange privilege, as described in “How to Buy, Sell, Exchange and Transfer Shares — How to Exchange Shares or Transfer Your Account”; |
■ | Redemptions made in connection with minimum required distributions from IRA or 403(b)(7) accounts due to the shareholder reaching the age of 70½; |
■ | Certain post-retirement withdrawals from an IRA or other retirement plan if you are over 59½ years old and you purchased your shares prior to October 2, 2006; |
■ | Redemptions made with respect to certain retirement plans sponsored by a Fund, BlackRock or an affiliate; |
■ | Redemptions resulting from shareholder death as long as the waiver request is made within one year of death or, if later, reasonably promptly following completion of probate (including in connection with the distribution of account assets to a beneficiary of the decedent); |
■ | Withdrawals resulting from shareholder disability (as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) as long as the disability arose subsequent to the purchase of the shares; |
■ | Involuntary redemptions made of shares in accounts with low balances; |
■ | Certain redemptions made through the Systematic Withdrawal Plan offered by a Fund, BlackRock or an affiliate; |
■ | Redemptions related to the payment of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company custodial IRA fees; and |
■ | Redemptions when a shareholder can demonstrate hardship, in the absolute discretion of a Fund. |
■ | Individuals and “Institutional Investors” with a minimum initial investment of $2 million who may purchase shares of a Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares; |
■ | Investors of Financial Intermediaries that: (i) charge such investors a fee for advisory, investment consulting, or similar services or (ii) have entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer Institutional Shares through a no-load program or investment platform, in each case, with a minimum initial investment of $1,000; |
■ | Employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles, unaffiliated thrifts and unaffiliated banks and trust companies, each of which is not subject to any minimum initial investment and may purchase shares of a Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares; |
■ | Trust department clients of PNC Bank and Bank of America, N.A. and their affiliates for whom they (i) act in a fiduciary capacity (excluding participant directed employee benefit plans); (ii) otherwise have investment discretion; or (iii) act as custodian for at least $2 million in assets, who are not subject to any minimum initial investment; |
■ | Holders of certain BofA Corp. sponsored UITs who reinvest dividends received from such UITs in shares of the Fund, who are not subject to any minimum initial investment; and |
■ | Employees, officers and directors/trustees of BlackRock, Inc., BlackRock Funds, BofA Corp., PNC, Barclays or their respective affiliates, who are not subject to any minimum initial investment. |
■ | Responding to customer questions on the services performed by the Financial Intermediary and investments in Investor A, Investor B and Investor C Shares; |
■ | Assisting customers in choosing and changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; and |
■ | Providing other similar shareholder liaison services. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Initial Purchase | First, select the share class appropriate for you |
Refer
to the “Share Classes at a Glance” table in this prospectus (be sure to read this prospectus carefully). When you place your initial order, you must indicate which share class you select (if you do not specify a share class and do not
qualify to purchase Institutional Shares, you will receive Investor A Shares).
|
Next, determine the amount of your investment |
•
Refer to the minimum initial investment in the “Share Classes at a Glance” table of this prospectus. Be sure to note the maximum investment amounts in Investor C Shares.
• See “Account Information — Details About the Share Classes” for information on a lower initial investment requirement for certain Fund investors if their purchase, combined with purchases by other investors received together by the Fund, meets the minimum investment requirement. |
|
Have your Financial Intermediary submit your purchase order |
The
price of your shares is based on the next calculation of the Fund’s net asset value after your order is placed. Any purchase orders placed prior to the close of business on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) (generally 4:00
p.m. Eastern time) will be priced at the net asset value determined that day. Certain Financial Intermediaries, however, may require submission of orders prior to that time. Purchase orders placed after that time will be priced at the net asset
value determined on the next business day.
|
|
Or contact BlackRock (for accounts held directly with BlackRock) | To purchase shares directly from BlackRock, call (800) 441-7762 and request a new account application. Mail the completed application along with a check payable to “BlackRock Funds” to the Transfer Agent at the address on the application. | |
Add to Your Investment | Purchase additional shares | For Investor A and Investor C Shares, the minimum investment for additional purchases is generally $50 for all accounts (with the exception of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans which may have a lower minimum for additional purchases). (The minimums for additional purchases may be waived under certain circumstances.) Institutional Shares have no minimum for additional purchases. |
Have your Financial Intermediary submit your purchase order for additional shares |
To
purchase additional shares you may contact your Financial Intermediary.
|
|
Or contact BlackRock (for accounts held directly with BlackRock) |
Purchase
by Telephone:
Call (800) 441-7762 and speak with one of our representatives. The Fund has the right to reject any telephone request for any reason.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Add to Your Investment (continued) | Or contact BlackRock (for accounts held directly with BlackRock) (continued) |
Certain
institutional clients’ purchase orders of Institutional Shares placed by wire prior to the close of business on the NYSE will be priced at the net asset value determined that day. Contact your Financial Intermediary or BlackRock for further
information. The Fund limits Internet purchases in shares of the Fund to $25,000 per trade. Different maximums may apply to certain institutional investors.
The Fund employs reasonable procedures to confirm that transactions entered over the Internet are genuine. By entering into the User Agreement with the Fund in order to open an account through the website, the shareholder waives any right to reclaim any losses from the Fund or any of its affiliates incurred through fraudulent activity. |
Acquire
additional shares
by reinvesting dividends and capital gains |
All dividends and capital gains distributions are automatically reinvested without a sales charge. To make any changes to your dividend and/or capital gains distributions options, please call (800) 441-7762 or contact your Financial Intermediary (if your account is not held directly with BlackRock). | |
Participate in the Automatic Investment Plan (“AIP”) |
BlackRock’s
AIP allows you to invest a specific amount on a periodic basis from your checking or savings account into your investment account.
|
|
How to Pay for Shares | Making payment for purchases |
Payment
for an order must be made in Federal funds or other immediately available funds by the time specified by your Financial Intermediary, but in no event later than 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on the third business day (in the case of Investor Shares) or
the first business day (in the case of Institutional Shares) following BlackRock’s receipt of the order. If payment is not received by this time, the order will be canceled and you and your Financial Intermediary will be responsible for any
loss to the Fund.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares | Have your Financial Intermediary submit your sales order |
You
can make redemption requests through your Financial Intermediary. Shareholders should indicate whether they are redeeming Investor A, Investor B, Investor C or Institutional Shares. The price of your shares is based on the next calculation of the
Fund’s net asset value after your order is placed. For your redemption request to be priced at the net asset value on the day of your request, you must submit your request to your Financial Intermediary prior to that day’s close of
business on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). Certain Financial Intermediaries, however, may require submission of orders prior to that time. Any redemption request placed after that time will be priced at the net asset value at the close
of business on the next business day.
|
Selling shares held directly with BlackRock |
Methods
of Redeeming
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued) | Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued) |
if
the amount being sold is less than (i) $100,000 for payments by check or (ii) $250,000 for payments through ACH or wire transfer. Certain redemption requests, such as those in excess of these amounts, must be in writing with a medallion signature
guarantee. For Institutional Shares, certain redemption requests may require written instructions with a medallion signature guarantee. Call (800) 441-7762 for details.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued) | Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued) |
amounts
are subject to the risk of loss like any Fund investment. If you elect to receive distributions in cash and a check remains undeliverable or uncashed for more than 6 months, your cash election may also be changed automatically to reinvest and your
future dividend and capital gains distributions will be reinvested in the Fund at the net asset value as of the date of payment of the distribution.
***
If you make a redemption request before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares, the Fund may delay mailing your proceeds. This delay will usually not exceed ten days. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Exchange Privilege | Selling shares of one fund to purchase shares of another BlackRock Fund (“exchanging”) |
Investor
or Institutional Shares of the Fund are generally exchangeable for shares of the same class of another BlackRock Fund.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Exchange Privilege (continued) | Selling shares of one fund to purchase shares of another BlackRock Fund (“exchanging”) (continued) |
Intermediaries
that are omnibus with the Fund and do not meet applicable minimums. There is no required minimum amount with respect to exchanges of Institutional Shares.
|
Transfer Shares to Another Financial Intermediary | Transfer to a participating Financial Intermediary |
You
may transfer your shares of the Fund only to another Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor. Certain shareholder services may not be available for the transferred shares. All future trading of these assets
must be coordinated by the receiving firm.
|
Transfer to a non-participating Financial Intermediary |
You
must either:
• Transfer your shares to an account with the Fund; or • Sell your shares, paying any applicable deferred sales charge. |
Automatic Investment Plan | Allows systematic investments on a periodic basis from your checking or savings account. | BlackRock’s AIP allows you to invest a specific amount on a periodic basis from your checking or savings account into your investment account. You may apply for this option upon account opening or by completing the Automatic Investment Plan application. The minimum investment amount for an automatic investment is $50 per portfolio. There is no AIP for Investor B Shares. |
■ | Suspend the right of redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act; |
■ | Postpone the date of payment upon redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act or if a redemption request is made before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares; |
■ | Redeem shares for property other than cash if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable in accordance with its rights under the Investment Company Act; and |
■ | Redeem shares involuntarily in certain cases, such as when the value of a shareholder account falls below a specified level. |
High Yield Fund | 0.53% |
National Fund | 0.43% |
Short-Term Fund | 0.33% |
Average Daily Net Assets |
Rate
of
Management Fee |
First $250 million | 0.550% |
$250 million — $500 million | 0.525% |
Greater than $500 million | 0.500% |
1 | The reductions shall be applicable to each Fund regardless of size on a “uniform percentage” basis. Determination of the portion of the Net Assets of each Fund to which a reduced rate is applicable is made by multiplying the Net Assets of that Fund by “uniform percentages,” derived by dividing the amount by which the combined assets of both Funds exceed the various applicable breakpoints by such combined assets. |
Contractual
Caps
1
on Total Annual
Fund Operating Expenses 2 (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
2
after giving effect to all applicable expense limitation provisions (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) |
||
National Fund | |||
Investor A Shares | 0.72% | 0.72% | |
Investor B Shares | 1.23% | 1.23% | |
Investor C Shares | 1.47% | 1.47% | |
Short-Term Fund | |||
Investor A Shares | 0.69% | 0.69% | |
Investor C Shares | 1.55% | 1.47% | |
Institutional Shares | 0.40% | 0.40% |
1 | The contractual caps are in effect until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
2 | As a percentage of average daily net assets. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund’s portfolio including setting each Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of each Fund. | 2006 (1996 for National Fund) | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund’s portfolio including setting each Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of each Fund. | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Peter J. Hayes | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006; Head of Municipal Bonds within BlackRock’s Fixed Income Portfolio Management Group since 2006. |
Marie Sheehan | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 2007 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2008; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2006 to 2007. |
Institutional | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 9.12 | $ 8.86 | $ 9.26 | $ 8.35 | $ 8.47 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.41 | 0.44 | 0.44 | 0.46 | 0.46 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 0.16 | 0.26 | (0.40) | 0.90 | (0.13) |
Net increase from investment operations | 0.57 | 0.70 | 0.04 | 1.36 | 0.33 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.41) | (0.44) | (0.44) | (0.45) | (0.45) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 9.28 | $ 9.12 | $ 8.86 | $ 9.26 | $ 8.35 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 6.27% | 8.31% | 0.17% | 16.72% | 4.14% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.70% | 0.76% 4 | 0.76% | 0.79% | 0.78% |
Total expenses after fees waived | 0.70% | 0.76% 4 | 0.76% | 0.79% | 0.78% |
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense and fees 5 | 0.66% | 0.69% 4 | 0.66% | 0.70% | 0.72% |
Net investment income | 4.37% | 5.02% | 4.63% | 5.18% | 5.49% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $327,422 | $242,949 | $198,416 | $176,895 | $111,669 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $ 26,216 | $ 28,976 | $ 46,417 | $ 33,861 | $ 16,039 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 21,522 | $ 16,738 | $ 8,621 | $ 9,793 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 41% | 40% | 21% | 17% | 31% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Does not include expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds of approximately 0.01%. |
5 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Investor A | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 9.10 | $ 8.84 | $ 9.24 | $ 8.33 | $ 8.46 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.38 | 0.41 | 0.42 | 0.43 | 0.43 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 0.16 | 0.26 | (0.41) | 0.91 | (0.13) |
Net increase from investment operations | 0.54 | 0.67 | 0.01 | 1.34 | 0.30 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.38) | (0.41) | (0.41) | (0.43) | (0.43) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 9.26 | $ 9.10 | $ 8.84 | $ 9.24 | $ 8.33 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 6.00% | 8.05% | (0.09)% | 16.44% | 3.73% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.97% | 1.01% 4 | 1.01% | 1.06% | 1.05% |
Total expenses after fees waived | 0.97% | 1.01% 4 | 1.01% | 1.06% | 1.05% |
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense and fees 5 | 0.93% | 0.94% 4 | 0.91% | 0.97% | 0.99% |
Net investment income | 4.11% | 4.80% | 4.38% | 4.85% | 5.21% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $156,348 | $161,218 | $104,693 | $83,840 | $27,993 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $ 26,216 | $ 28,976 | $ 46,417 | $33,861 | $16,039 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 21,522 | $ 16,738 | $ 8,621 | $ 9,793 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 41% | 40% | 21% | 17% | 31% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Does not include expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds of approximately 0.01%. |
5 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Investor C | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 9.12 | $ 8.87 | $ 9.27 | $ 8.35 | $ 8.47 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.31 | 0.35 | 0.34 | 0.36 | 0.37 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 0.16 | 0.25 | (0.40) | 0.92 | (0.12) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 0.47 | 0.60 | (0.06) | 1.28 | 0.25 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.31) | (0.35) | (0.34) | (0.36) | (0.37) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 9.28 | $ 9.12 | $ 8.87 | $ 9.27 | $ 8.35 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 5.20% | 7.11% | (0.84)% | 15.65% | 3.07% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 1.72% | 1.78% 4 | 1.78% | 1.82% | 1.82% |
Total expenses after fees waived | 1.72% | 1.78% 4 | 1.78% | 1.82% | 1.82% |
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense and fees 5 | 1.68% | 1.70% 4 | 1.68% | 1.73% | 1.77% |
Net investment income | 3.36% | 4.08% | 3.62% | 4.12% | 4.45% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $54,239 | $51,858 | $50,647 | $36,987 | $17,945 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $26,216 | $28,976 | $46,417 | $33,861 | $16,039 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $21,522 | $16,738 | $ 8,621 | $ 9,793 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 41% | 40% | 21% | 17% | 31% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Does not include expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds of approximately 0.01%. |
5 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Institutional | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.88 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 | $ 10.05 | $ 10.19 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.38 | 0.42 | 0.40 | 0.46 | 0.49 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.02) | 0.32 | (0.35) | 0.85 | (0.14) |
Net increase from investment operations | 0.36 | 0.74 | 0.05 | 1.31 | 0.35 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.38) | (0.42) | (0.40) | (0.45) | (0.49) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.86 | $ 10.88 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 | $ 10.05 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 3.33% | 7.19% | 0.37% | 13.28% | 3.49% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.64% | 0.68% | 0.68% | 0.69% | 0.69% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.59% | 0.63% | 0.62% | 0.65% | 0.69% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense and fees and reorganization costs 4 | 0.55% | 0.57% | 0.56% | 0.57% | 0.60% |
Net investment income | 3.47% | 3.98% | 3.59% | 4.31% | 4.83% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $2,088,580 | $1,796,660 | $2,029,739 | $2,037,090 | $1,207,501 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $ 275,550 | $ 286,095 | $ 489,432 | $ 468,586 | $ 321,402 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 20,179 | $ 17,149 | $ 10,804 | $ 11,210 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 28% | 35% | 37% | 39% | 51% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Investor A | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.88 | $ 10.57 | $ 10.92 | $ 10.06 | $ 10.19 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.36 | 0.40 | 0.38 | 0.44 | 0.46 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.01) | 0.31 | (0.34) | 0.85 | (0.13) |
Net increase from investment operations | 0.35 | 0.71 | 0.04 | 1.29 | 0.33 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.36) | (0.40) | (0.39) | (0.43) | (0.46) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.87 | $ 10.88 | $ 10.57 | $ 10.92 | $ 10.06 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 3.26% | 6.93% | 0.21% | 13.10% | 3.36% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.90% | 0.90% | 0.92% | 0.91% | 0.92% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.75% | 0.78% | 0.78% | 0.80% | 0.92% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense and fees and reorganization costs 4 | 0.72% | 0.72% | 0.72% | 0.72% | 0.83% |
Net investment income | 3.30% | 3.81% | 3.42% | 4.15% | 4.60% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $2,388,743 | $1,990,729 | $1,791,782 | $1,688,258 | $855,849 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $ 275,550 | $ 286,095 | $ 489,432 | $ 468,586 | $321,402 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 20,179 | $ 17,149 | $ 10,804 | $ 11,210 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 28% | 35% | 37% | 39% | 51% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Investor B | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.87 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 | $ 10.05 | $ 10.18 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.32 | 0.36 | 0.33 | 0.39 | 0.41 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.02) | 0.30 | (0.35) | 0.85 | (0.12) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 0.30 | 0.66 | (0.02) | 1.24 | 0.29 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.31) | (0.35) | (0.33) | (0.38) | (0.42) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.86 | $ 10.87 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 | $ 10.05 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 2.73% | 6.41% | (0.30)% | 12.56% | 2.89% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 1.40% | 1.40% | 1.41% | 1.44% | 1.44% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 1.26% | 1.28% | 1.29% | 1.30% | 1.38% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense and fees and reorganization costs 4 | 1.23% | 1.22% | 1.23% | 1.22% | 1.30% |
Net investment income | 2.87% | 3.38% | 2.96% | 3.69% | 4.10% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $ 2,546 | $ 4,705 | $ 10,260 | $ 27,169 | $ 30,346 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $275,550 | $286,095 | $489,432 | $468,586 | $321,402 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 20,179 | $ 17,149 | $ 10,804 | $ 11,210 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 28% | 35% | 37% | 39% | 51% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Investor C | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.88 | $ 10.57 | $ 10.92 | $ 10.06 | $ 10.19 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.28 | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.36 | 0.39 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.01) | 0.31 | (0.35) | 0.86 | (0.13) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 0.27 | 0.63 | (0.05) | 1.22 | 0.26 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.28) | (0.32) | (0.30) | (0.36) | (0.39) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.87 | $ 10.88 | $ 10.57 | $ 10.92 | $ 10.06 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 2.49% | 6.13% | (0.53)% | 12.26% | 2.60% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 1.59% | 1.62% | 1.62% | 1.64% | 1.66% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 1.50% | 1.53% | 1.53% | 1.55% | 1.66% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense and fees and reorganization costs 4 | 1.47% | 1.47% | 1.47% | 1.47% | 1.58% |
Net investment income | 2.55% | 3.08% | 2.67% | 3.40% | 3.85% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $397,945 | $389,612 | $480,207 | $483,092 | $281,024 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $275,550 | $286,095 | $489,432 | $468,586 | $321,402 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 20,179 | $ 17,149 | $ 10,804 | $ 11,210 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 28% | 35% | 37% | 39% | 51% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Institutional | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.16 | $ 10.12 | $ 10.17 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.18 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.13 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.05) | 0.04 | (0.05) | 0.01 | (0.00) 2 |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | (0.01) | 0.09 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.13 |
Distributions from net investment income 3 | (0.04) | (0.05) | (0.07) | (0.11) | (0.13) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.11 | $ 10.16 | $ 10.12 | $ 10.17 | $ 10.18 |
Total Return 4 | |||||
Based on net asset value | (0.11)% | 0.90% | 0.19% | 0.96% | 1.27% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.51% | 0.50% | 0.49% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.40% | 0.40% | 0.40% | 0.40% | 0.40% |
Net investment income | 0.42% | 0.54% | 0.82% | 0.93% | 1.26% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $492,702 | $619,700 | $529,687 | $643,910 | $603,837 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 72% | 56% | 41% | 51% | 44% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share. |
3 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
4 | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
Investor A | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.16 | $ 10.12 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.19 | $ 10.19 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.10 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.04) | 0.03 | (0.06) | 0.00 2 | (0.00) 3 |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | (0.03) | 0.06 | (0.02) | 0.07 | 0.10 |
Distributions from net investment income 4 | (0.01) | (0.02) | (0.04) | (0.08) | (0.10) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.12 | $ 10.16 | $ 10.12 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.19 |
Total Return 5 | |||||
Based on net asset value | (0.29)% | 0.64% | (0.18)% | 0.69% | 0.99% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.70% | 0.67% | 0.68% | 0.66% | 0.67% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.69% | 0.67% | 0.68% | 0.66% | 0.67% |
Net investment income | 0.13% | 0.26% | 0.54% | 0.67% | 1.00% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $100,980 | $137,629 | $172,314 | $204,729 | $221,827 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 72% | 56% | 41% | 51% | 44% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Amount is less than $0.005 per share. |
3 | Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share. |
4 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
5 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
Investor C | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.07 | $ 10.08 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.18 |
Net investment income (loss) 1 | (0.07) | (0.06) | (0.04) | (0.01) | 0.02 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.05) | 0.05 | (0.06) | 0.01 | (0.00) 2 |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | (0.12) | (0.01) | (0.10) | — | 0.02 |
Distributions from net investment income 3 | — | — | — | (0.00) 2 | (0.02) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 9.95 | $ 10.07 | $ 10.08 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.18 |
Total Return 4 | |||||
Based on net asset value | (1.19)% | (0.10)% | (0.98)% | 0.01% | 0.21% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 1.47% | 1.45% | 1.46% | 1.44% | 1.45% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 1.47% | 1.45% | 1.46% | 1.44% | 1.45% |
Net investment income (loss) | (0.70)% | (0.55)% | (0.27)% | (0.11)% | 0.22% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $31,121 | $38,520 | $50,033 | $68,693 | $86,264 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 72% | 56% | 41% | 51% | 44% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share. |
3 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
4 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
■ | Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and |
■ | Log into your account. |
► | BlackRock National Municipal Fund |
Fund Overview | Key facts and details about the Fund, including investment objectives, principal investment strategies, principal risk factors, fee and expense information, and historical performance information | |
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Account Information | Information about account services, sales charges and waivers, shareholder transactions, and distributions and other payments | |
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Management of the Fund | Information about BlackRock and the Portfolio Managers | |
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Financial Highlights |
Financial Performance of the
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Glossary |
Glossary of Investment
Terms
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For More Information |
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Inside Back Cover |
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Back Cover |
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
BlackRock
Shares |
|
Management Fee | 0.43% | |
Distribution and/or Service 12b-1 Fees | None | |
Other Expenses | 0.10% | |
Interest Expense | 0.03% | |
Miscellaneous Other Expenses | 0.07% | |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.53% | |
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 1 | (0.04)% | |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 1 | 0.49% |
1 | As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus on page 23, BlackRock Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 0.46% of average daily net assets until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
BlackRock Shares | $50 | $166 | $292 | $661 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately. Valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them. Derivatives also may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. Certain transactions in derivatives involve substantial leverage risk and may expose the Fund to potential losses that exceed the amount originally invested by the Fund. The U.S. Government is in the process of adopting and implementing regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin, reporting and registration requirements. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional U.S. or other regulations may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives. Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and commodity-linked derivative instruments are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding authority that could affect the character, timing and amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions. |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock National Municipal Fund — BlackRock Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 10.45% | 6.32% | 5.15% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 10.45% | 6.32% | 5.15% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 7.66% | 5.90% | 5.01% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.93% |
Custom
National Index
1
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
11.76% | 5.57% | 4.87% |
1 | The Custom National Index reflects the returns of the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index for periods prior to January 1, 2013, and the returns of only those bonds in the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index that have maturities greater than 5 years for periods subsequent to January 1, 2013. |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
BlackRock Shares | |
Minimum
Initial
Investment |
•
$5,000,000 for institutions and individuals;
• There is no minimum initial investment requirement for employer-sponsored retirement plans. |
Minimum
Additional
Investment |
There is no minimum amount for additional investments. |
■ | Credit Quality of Issuers — based on bond ratings and other factors, including economic and financial conditions. |
■ | Yield Analysis — takes into account factors such as the different yields available on different types of obligations and the shape of the yield curve (longer term obligations typically have higher yields). |
■ | Maturity Analysis — the weighted average maturity of the portfolio will be maintained within a desirable range as determined from time to time. Factors considered include portfolio activity, maturity of the supply of available bonds and the shape of the yield curve. Maturity of a debt security refers to the date upon which debt securities are due to be repaid, that is, the date when the issuer generally must pay back the face amount of the security. |
■ | Borrowing — The Fund may borrow from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes, including to meet redemptions, for the payment of dividends, for share repurchases or for the clearance of transactions. |
■ | Illiquid/Restricted Securities — The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities that it cannot sell within seven days at approximately current value. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale ( i.e. , Rule 144A securities). They may include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market and therefore may be considered to be illiquid. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public. |
■ | Indexed Securities — The Fund may invest in securities the potential return of which is directly related to changes in an underlying index or interest rate, known as indexed securities. The return on indexed securities will rise when the underlying index rises and fall when the index falls. |
■ | Investment Companies — The Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, and open-end and closed-end funds. The Fund may invest in affiliated investment companies, including affiliated money market funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds. |
■ | Securities Lending — The Fund may lend securities with a value up to 33 1 ⁄ 3 % of its total assets to financial institutions that provide cash or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government as collateral. |
■ | Taxable Income — Investments in taxable money market securities as well as some of the derivatives discussed herein may cause the Fund to have taxable investment income. The Fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of its municipal bonds (and other securities it holds). These capital gains will be taxable regardless of whether they are derived from a sale of municipal bonds. |
■ | Taxable Money Market Securities — The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets on a temporary basis in taxable money market securities that have a maturity of one year or less. The Fund may make these investments for liquidity purposes or as a temporary investment pending an investment in municipal bonds. |
■ | Temporary Defensive Strategies — As a temporary measure for defensive purposes, the Fund may invest without limitation in taxable money market securities. These investments may prevent the Fund from meeting its investment objective. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations — The Fund may invest in variable rate demand obligations, which are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — The purchase or sale of securities on a when-issued basis, on a delayed delivery basis or through a forward commitment involves the purchase or sale of securities by the Fund at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. The Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including: |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. The major risks of junk bond investments include: |
■ | Junk bonds may be issued by less creditworthy issuers. Issuers of junk bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. In the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, claims of other creditors may have priority over the claims of junk bond holders, leaving few or no assets available to repay junk bond holders. |
■ | Prices of junk bonds are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Adverse changes in an issuer’s industry and general economic conditions may have a greater impact on the prices of junk bonds than on other higher rated fixed-income securities. |
■ | Issuers of junk bonds may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments, or the unavailability of additional financing. |
■ | Junk bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If the issuer redeems junk bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income. |
■ | Junk bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed-income securities, even under normal economic conditions. There are fewer dealers in the junk bond market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted for junk bonds by the dealers. Because they are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of the Fund’s securities than is the case with securities trading in a more liquid market. |
■ | The Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The Fund’s management team will segregate liquid assets on the books of the Fund or otherwise cover the transactions. As an open-end investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the Investment Company Act, the rules thereunder, and various SEC and SEC staff interpretive positions. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must “set aside” liquid assets (often referred to as “asset segregation”), or engage in other SEC- or staff-approved measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of instruments. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
General Obligation Bonds Risks — The full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality that issues a general obligation bond secures payment of interest and repayment of principal. Timely payments depend on the issuer’s credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base. | |
Revenue Bonds Risks — Payments of interest and principal on revenue bonds are made only from the revenues generated by a particular facility, class of facilities or the proceeds of a special tax or other revenue source. These payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source. |
Private Activity Bonds Risks — Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment. If the private enterprise defaults on its payments, the Fund may not receive any income or get its money back from the investment. | |
Moral Obligation Bonds Risks — Moral obligation bonds are generally issued by special purpose public authorities of a state or municipality. If the issuer is unable to meet its obligations, repayment of these bonds becomes a moral commitment, but not a legal obligation, of the state or municipality. | |
Municipal Notes Risks — Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of, and are secured by, tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the Fund may lose money. | |
Municipal Lease Obligations Risks — In a municipal lease obligation, the issuer agrees to make payments when due on the lease obligation. The issuer will generally appropriate municipal funds for that purpose, but is not obligated to do so. Although the issuer does not pledge its unlimited taxing power for payment of the lease obligation, the lease obligation is secured by the leased property. However, if the issuer does not fulfill its payment obligation it may be difficult to sell the property and the proceeds of a sale may not cover the Fund’s loss. | |
Tax-Exempt Status Risk — In making investments, the Fund and its investment manager will rely on the opinion of issuers’ bond counsel and, in the case of derivative securities, sponsors’ counsel, on the tax-exempt status of interest on municipal obligations and payments under tax-exempt derivative securities. Neither the Fund nor its investment manager will independently review the bases for those tax opinions. If any of those tax opinions are ultimately determined to be incorrect or if events occur after the security is acquired that impact the security’s tax-exempt status, the Fund and its shareholders could be subject to substantial tax liabilities. The IRS has generally not ruled on the taxability of the securities. An assertion by the IRS that a portfolio security is not exempt from Federal income tax (contrary to indications from the issuer) could affect the Fund’s and shareholder’s income tax liability for the current or past years and could create liability for information reporting penalties. In addition, an IRS assertion of taxability may impair the liquidity and the fair market value of the securities. |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. |
The Fund may invest in TOB Trusts on either a non-recourse or recourse basis. TOB Trusts are typically supported by a liquidity facility provided by a third-party bank or other financial institution (the “Liquidity Provider”) that allows the holders of the TOB Floaters to tender their certificates in exchange for payment of par plus accrued interest on any business day, subject to the non-occurrence of tender option termination events. When the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a non-recourse basis, and the Liquidity Provider is required to make a payment under the liquidity facility, the Liquidity Provider will typically liquidate all or a portion of the municipal securities held in the TOB Trust and then fund the balance, if any, of the amount owed under the liquidity facility over the liquidation proceeds (the “Liquidation Shortfall”). | |
If a Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will typically enter into a reimbursement agreement with the Liquidity Provider where the Fund is required to reimburse the Liquidity Provider the amount of any Liquidation Shortfall. As a result, if the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to any Liquidation Shortfall. | |
To the extent that the Fund, rather than a third-party bank or financial institution, sponsors a TOB Trust, certain responsibilities that previously belonged to the sponsor bank will be performed by, or on behalf of, the Fund. The Fund’s additional duties and responsibilities under the new TOB Trust structure may give rise to certain additional risks including compliance, securities law and operational risks. |
■ | Borrowing Risk — Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. |
■ | Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the Fund’s net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that the Fund’s net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, the Fund’s expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in the Fund’s expense ratio could be significant. |
■ | Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk — Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate. |
■ | Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies. To the extent the Fund is held by an affiliated fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited. |
■ | Municipal Securities Concentration Risk — From time to time, the Fund may invest a substantial amount of its assets in municipal securities whose interest is paid solely from revenues of similar projects. If the Fund concentrates its investments in this manner, it assumes the legal and economic risks relating to such projects and this may have a significant impact on the Fund’s investment performance. |
■ | Securities Lending Risk — Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. These events could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. |
■ | Taxability Risk — The Fund intends to minimize the payment of taxable income to shareholders by investing in tax-exempt or municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income for Federal income tax purposes. Such securities, however, may be determined to pay, or have paid, taxable income subsequent to the Fund’s acquisition of the securities. In that event, the IRS may demand that the Fund pay Federal income taxes on the affected interest income, and, if the Fund agrees to do so, the Fund’s yield could be adversely affected. In addition, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as “exempt interest dividends” could be adversely affected, subjecting the Fund’s shareholders to increased Federal income tax liabilities. If the interest paid on any tax-exempt or municipal security held by the Fund is subsequently determined to be taxable, the Fund will dispose of that security as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, future laws, regulations, rulings or court decisions may cause interest on municipal securities to be subject, directly or indirectly, to Federal income taxation or interest on state municipal securities to be subject to state or local income taxation, or the value of state municipal securities to be subject to state or local intangible personal property tax, or may otherwise prevent the Fund from realizing the full current benefit of the tax-exempt status of such securities. Any such change could also affect the market price of such securities, and thus the value of an investment in the Fund. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risk — When-issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price. |
BlackRock Share Class at a Glance | |
Availability | BlackRock Shares are offered without a sales charge to institutional and individual investors and certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. Employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs. BlackRock Shares of a Fund are also offered without a sales charge to clients in certain fee-based programs that have continually held BlackRock Shares of the Fund in the same account since prior to September 1, 2015. |
Minimum Investment |
$5,000,000
for institutions and individuals.
|
Initial Sales Charge? | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund. |
Deferred Sales Charge? | No. |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees? | No. |
Redemption Fees? | No. |
Advantage | No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares. |
Disadvantage | Limited availability. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Add to Your Investment | Purchase additional shares | There is no minimum amount for additional investments. |
Have your Financial Intermediary submit your purchase order for additional shares | To purchase additional shares you may contact your Financial Intermediary. | |
Or contact BlackRock (for accounts held directly with BlackRock) |
Purchase
by Telephone:
Call the Fund at (800) 537-4942 and speak with one of our representatives. The Fund has the right to reject any telephone request for any reason.
|
|
Acquire additional shares by reinvesting dividends and capital gains | All dividends and capital gains distributions are automatically reinvested without a sales charge. To make any changes to your dividend and/or capital gains distributions options, please call BlackRock at (800) 537-4942, or contact your Financial Intermediary (if your account is not held directly with BlackRock). | |
How to Pay for Shares | Making payment for purchases | Payment for BlackRock Shares must normally be made in Federal funds or other immediately available funds by your Financial Intermediary but in no event later than 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on the first business day following receipt of the order. Payment may also, at the discretion of the Fund, be made in the form of securities that are permissible investments for the Fund. If payment is not received by this time, the order will be canceled and you and your Financial Intermediary will be responsible for any loss to the Fund. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares | Have your Financial Intermediary submit your sales order |
You
can make redemption requests through your Financial Intermediary in accordance with the procedures applicable to your accounts. These procedures may vary according to the type of account and the Financial Intermediary involved and customers should
consult their Financial Intermediary in this regard.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued) | Have your Financial Intermediary submit your sales order (continued) |
however,
may require submission of orders prior to that time. Any redemption request placed after that time will be priced at the net
|
Selling shares held directly with BlackRock |
Methods
of Redeeming:
Payment by Check: The Fund reserves the right to reinvest any dividend or distribution amounts (e.g., income dividends or capital gains) which you have elected to receive by check should your check be returned as undeliverable or remain uncashed for more than 6 months. No interest will accrue on amounts represented by uncashed checks. Your check will be reinvested in your account at the net asset value next calculated, on the day of the investment. When reinvested, those amounts are subject to the risk of loss like any Fund investment. If you elect to receive distributions in cash and a check remains undeliverable |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued) | Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued) |
or
uncashed for more than 6 months, your cash election may also be changed automatically to reinvest and your future dividend and capital gains distributions will be reinvested in the Fund at the net asset value as of the date of payment of the
distribution.
***
If you make a redemption request before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares, the Fund may delay mailing your proceeds. This delay will usually not exceed ten days. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Transfer Shares to Another Financial Intermediary | Transfer to a participating Financial Intermediary |
You
may transfer your shares of the Fund only to another Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor. Certain shareholder services may not be available for the transferred shares. All future trading of these assets
must be coordinated by the receiving firm.
|
Transfer to a non-participating Financial Intermediary |
You
must either:
• Transfer your shares to an account with the Fund; or • Sell your shares, paying any applicable deferred sales charge. |
■ | Suspend the right of redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act; |
■ | Postpone the date of payment upon redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act or if a redemption request is made before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares; |
■ | Redeem shares for property other than cash if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable in accordance with its rights under the Investment Company Act; and |
■ | Redeem shares involuntarily in certain cases, such as when the value of a shareholder account falls below a specified level. |
1 | The reductions shall be applicable to the Fund regardless of size on a “uniform percentage” basis. Determination of the portion of the Net Assets of the Fund and BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund (of BlackRock Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.) to which a reduced rate is applicable is made by multiplying the Net Assets of that Fund by “uniform percentages,” derived by dividing the amount by which the combined assets of both Funds exceed the various applicable breakpoints by such combined assets. |
Contractual
Cap
1
on Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses 2 (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) |
|
BlackRock Shares | 0.46% |
1 | The contractual cap is in effect until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
2 | As a percentage of average daily net assets. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
BlackRock | ||||
Year Ended June 30, |
Period
July 18, 2011 1 to June 30, 2012 |
|||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | ||
Per Share Operating Performance | ||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $ 10.88 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 | $ 10.11 |
Net investment income 2 | 0.39 | 0.43 | 0.41 | 0.45 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.01) | 0.32 | (0.34) | 0.79 |
Net increase from investment operations | 0.38 | 0.75 | 0.07 | 1.24 |
Distributions from net investment income 3 | (0.39) | (0.43) | (0.42) | (0.44) |
Net asset value, end of period | $ 10.87 | $ 10.88 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 |
Total Return 4 | ||||
Based on net asset value | 3.53% | 7.30% | 0.47% | 12.48% 5 |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | ||||
Total expenses | 0.58% | 0.61% | 0.61% | 0.62% 6 |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.49% | 0.52% | 0.52% | 0.54% 6 |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense and fees and reorganization costs 7 | 0.46% | 0.46% | 0.46% | 0.46% 6 |
Net investment income | 3.56% | 4.09% | 3.69% | 4.41% 6 |
Supplemental Data | ||||
Net assets, end of period (000) | $341,071 | $366,179 | $401,538 | $446,620 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of period (000) | $275,550 | $286,095 | $489,432 | $468,586 |
Asset coverage, end of period per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 20,179 | $ 17,149 | $ 10,804 | $ 11,210 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 28% | 35% | 37% | 39% |
1 | Commencement of operations. |
2 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
3 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
4 | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
5 | Aggregate total return. |
6 | Annualized. |
7 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
■ | Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and |
■ | Log into your account. |
► | BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund |
Class K: MPLMX |
Fund Overview | Key facts and details about the Fund, including investment objectives, principal investment strategies, principal risk factors, fee and expense information, and historical performance information | |
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Account Information | Information about account services, sales charges and waivers, shareholder transactions, and distributions and other payments | |
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Management of the Fund | Information about BlackRock and the Portfolio Managers | |
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Financial Highlights |
Financial Performance of the
Fund
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27 |
Glossary |
Glossary of Investment
Terms
|
30 |
For More Information |
|
Inside Back Cover |
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Back Cover |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Class K Shares | $42 | $132 | $230 | $518 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve |
derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. | |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund — Class K Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 0.24% | 0.74% | 1.93% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 0.24% | 0.74% | 1.93% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 0.33% | 0.78% | 1.91% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.93% |
S&P
®
Limited Maturity Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
0.94% | 1.45% | 2.59% |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Peter J. Hayes | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Marie Sheehan | 2007 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
■ | Credit Quality of Issuers — based on bond ratings and other factors, including economic and financial conditions. |
■ | Yield Analysis — takes into account factors such as the different yields available on different types of obligations and the shape of the yield curve (longer term obligations typically have higher yields). |
■ | Maturity Analysis — the weighted average maturity of the portfolio will be maintained within a desirable range as determined from time to time. Factors considered include portfolio activity, maturity of the supply of available bonds and the shape of the yield curve. Maturity of a debt security refers to the date upon which debt securities are due to be repaid, that is, the date when the issuer generally must pay back the face amount of the security. |
■ | Borrowing — The Fund may borrow from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes, including to meet redemptions, for the payment of dividends, for share repurchases or for the clearance of transactions. |
■ | Derivatives — The Fund may engage in transactions in certain derivatives, such as financial futures contracts and options thereon, indexed and inverse floating rate obligations and swap agreements, including credit default swap agreements. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security or an index such as the S&P Municipal Bond Index. The Fund may use derivative instruments to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. Derivatives allow the Fund to increase or decrease its risk exposure more quickly and efficiently than other types of instruments. The Fund is not is required to use hedging and may choose not to do so. |
■ | Illiquid/Restricted Securities — The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities that it cannot sell within seven days at approximately current value. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale ( i.e. , Rule 144A securities). They may include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market and therefore may be considered to be illiquid. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public. |
■ | Indexed Securities — The Fund may invest in securities the potential return of which is directly related to changes in an underlying index or interest rate, known as indexed securities. The return on indexed securities will rise when the underlying index rises and fall when the index falls. |
■ | Investment Companies — The Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, and open-end and closed-end funds. The Fund may invest in affiliated investment companies, including affiliated money market funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds. |
■ | Securities Lending — The Fund may lend securities with a value up to 33 1 ⁄ 3 % of its total assets to financial institutions that provide cash or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government as collateral. |
■ | Taxable Income — Investments in taxable money market securities as well as some of the derivatives discussed herein may cause the Fund to have taxable investment income. The Fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of its municipal bonds (and other securities it holds). These capital gains will be taxable regardless of whether they are derived from a sale of municipal bonds. |
■ | Taxable Money Market Securities — The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets on a temporary basis in taxable money market securities that have a maturity of one year or less. The Fund may make these investments for liquidity purposes or as a temporary investment pending an investment in municipal bonds. |
■ | Temporary Defensive Strategies — As a temporary measure for defensive purposes, the Fund may invest without limitation in taxable money market securities. These investments may prevent the Fund from meeting its investment objective. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — The purchase or sale of securities on a when-issued basis, on a delayed delivery basis or through a forward commitment involves the purchase or sale of securities by the Fund at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. The Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The Fund’s management team will segregate liquid assets on the books of the Fund or otherwise cover the transactions. As an open-end investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the Investment Company Act, the rules thereunder, and various SEC and SEC staff interpretive positions. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must “set aside” liquid assets (often referred to as “asset segregation”), or engage in other SEC- or staff-approved measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of instruments. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
General Obligation Bonds Risks — The full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality that issues a general obligation bond secures payment of interest and repayment of principal. Timely payments depend on the issuer’s credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base. | |
Revenue Bonds Risks — Payments of interest and principal on revenue bonds are made only from the revenues generated by a particular facility, class of facilities or the proceeds of a special tax or other revenue source. These payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source. | |
Private Activity Bonds Risks — Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment. If the private enterprise defaults on its payments, the Fund may not receive any income or get its money back from the investment. | |
Moral Obligation Bonds Risks — Moral obligation bonds are generally issued by special purpose public authorities of a state or municipality. If the issuer is unable to meet its obligations, repayment of these bonds becomes a moral commitment, but not a legal obligation, of the state or municipality. | |
Municipal Notes Risks — Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of, and are secured by, tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the Fund may lose money. | |
Municipal Lease Obligations Risks — In a municipal lease obligation, the issuer agrees to make payments when due on the lease obligation. The issuer will generally appropriate municipal funds for that purpose, but is not obligated to do so. Although the issuer does not pledge its unlimited taxing power for payment of the lease obligation, the lease obligation is secured by the leased property. However, if the issuer does not fulfill its payment obligation it may be difficult to sell the property and the proceeds of a sale may not cover the Fund’s loss. | |
Tax-Exempt Status Risk — In making investments, the Fund and its investment manager will rely on the opinion of issuers’ bond counsel and, in the case of derivative securities, sponsors’ counsel, on the tax-exempt status of |
interest on municipal obligations and payments under tax-exempt derivative securities. Neither the Fund nor its investment manager will independently review the bases for those tax opinions. If any of those tax opinions are ultimately determined to be incorrect or if events occur after the security is acquired that impact the security’s tax-exempt status, the Fund and its shareholders could be subject to substantial tax liabilities. The IRS has generally not ruled on the taxability of the securities. An assertion by the IRS that a portfolio security is not exempt from Federal income tax (contrary to indications from the issuer) could affect the Fund’s and shareholder’s income tax liability for the current or past years and could create liability for information reporting penalties. In addition, an IRS assertion of taxability may impair the liquidity and the fair market value of the securities. | |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
■ | Borrowing Risk — Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including: |
■ | Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the Fund’s net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that the Fund’s net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, the Fund’s expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in the Fund’s expense ratio could be significant. |
■ | Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk — Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate. |
■ | Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies. To the extent the Fund is held by an affiliated fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited. |
■ | Municipal Securities Concentration Risk — From time to time, the Fund may invest a substantial amount of its assets in municipal securities whose interest is paid solely from revenues of similar projects. If the Fund concentrates its investments in this manner, it assumes the legal and economic risks relating to such projects and this may have a significant impact on the Fund’s investment performance. |
■ | Securities Lending Risk — Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. These events could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. |
■ | Taxability Risk — The Fund intends to minimize the payment of taxable income to shareholders by investing in tax-exempt or municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income for Federal income tax purposes. Such securities, however, may be determined to pay, or have paid, taxable income subsequent to the Fund’s acquisition of the securities. In that event, the IRS may demand that the Fund pay Federal income taxes on the affected interest income, and, if the Fund agrees to do so, the Fund’s yield could be adversely affected. In addition, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as “exempt interest dividends” could be adversely affected, subjecting the Fund’s shareholders to increased Federal income tax liabilities. If the interest paid on any tax-exempt or municipal security held by the Fund is subsequently determined to be taxable, the Fund will dispose of that security as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, future laws, regulations, rulings or court decisions may cause interest on municipal securities to be subject, directly or indirectly, to Federal income taxation or interest on state municipal securities to be subject to state or local income taxation, or the value of state municipal securities to be subject to state or local intangible personal property tax, or may otherwise prevent the Fund from realizing the full current benefit of the tax-exempt status of such securities. Any such change could also affect the market price of such securities, and thus the value of an investment in the Fund. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risk — When-issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price. |
Class K Shares | |
Availability | Available only to (i) Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans, (ii) collective trust funds, investment companies and other pooled investment vehicles, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares, (iii) Institutional Investors, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares and (iv) any other investors who met the eligibility criteria for BlackRock Shares or Class K Shares prior to September 1, 2015 and have continually held Class K Shares of the Fund in the same account since September 1, 2015. |
Minimum Investment |
There
is no minimum initial investment required for any Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans or any other eligible investors other than Institutional Investors.
|
Initial Sales Charge? | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund. |
Deferred Sales Charge? | No. |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees? | No. |
Redemption Fees? | No. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Initial Purchase |
Determine
the amount of
your investment |
There
is no minimum initial investment for any Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans or any other investors other than Institutional Investors.
|
Have
your Financial
Intermediary submit your purchase order |
The
price of your shares is based on the next calculation of the Fund’s net asset value after your order is placed. Any purchase orders placed prior to the close of business on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) (generally 4:00
p.m. Eastern time) will be priced at the net asset value determined that day. Certain Financial Intermediaries, however, may require submission of orders prior to that time. Purchase orders placed after that time will be priced at the net asset
value determined on the next business day. A broker-dealer or financial institution maintaining the account in which you hold shares may charge a separate account, service or transaction fee on the purchase or sale of Fund shares that would be in
addition to the fees and expenses shown in the Fund’s “Fees and Expenses” table.
|
|
Or
contact BlackRock
(for accounts held directly with BlackRock) |
For investors not purchasing shares through an Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan, to purchase shares directly from BlackRock, call (800) 537-4942 and request a new account application. | |
Add
to Your
Investment |
Purchase additional shares | There is no minimum investment amount for additional purchases. |
Have
your Financial
Intermediary submit your purchase order for additional shares |
To purchase additional shares, you may contact your Financial Intermediary or Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan. | |
Or
contact BlackRock
(for accounts held directly with BlackRock) |
For
Investors Not Purchasing Shares Through an Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan:
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Add
to Your
Investment (continued) |
Or
contact BlackRock
(for accounts held directly with BlackRock) (continued) |
Purchase
by Internet
:
You may purchase your shares, and view activity in your account, by logging onto the BlackRock website at www.blackrock.com. Purchases made on the Internet using
the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) will have a trade date that is the day after the purchase is made. Certain institutional clients’ purchase orders placed by wire prior to the close of business on the NYSE will be priced at the
net asset value determined that day. Contact your Financial Intermediary or BlackRock for further information. Limits on amounts that may be purchased via Internet may vary. For additional information call BlackRock at (800) 537-4942.
|
Acquire
additional shares by
reinvesting dividends and capital gains |
All dividends and capital gains distributions are automatically reinvested without a sales charge. To make any changes to your dividend and/or capital gains distributions options, please call BlackRock at (800) 537-4942 (for investors who are not purchasing shares through an Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan) or contact your Financial Intermediary. | |
How
to Pay for
Shares |
Making payment for purchases |
If
you are purchasing shares through an Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan, payment for an order must be made in Federal funds or other immediately available funds by the time specified by your Financial Intermediary, but in no event later than 4:00
p.m. (Eastern time) on the first business day following the receipt of the order. If payment is not received by this time, the order will be canceled and you and your Financial Intermediary will be responsible for any loss to the Funds.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares |
Have
your Financial
Intermediary submit your sales order |
If
you purchased shares through an Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan, you can make redemption requests through your Financial Intermediary in accordance with the procedures applicable to your accounts. These procedures may vary according to the type
of account and the Financial Intermediary involved, and customers should consult their Financial Intermediary in this regard. Financial Intermediaries are responsible for transmitting redemption orders and crediting their customers’ accounts
with redemption proceeds on a timely basis. Information relating to such redemption services and charges to process a redemption of shares, if any, should be obtained by customers from their Financial Intermediaries.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued) |
Have
your Financial
Intermediary submit your sales order (continued) |
that
day’s close of business on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). Certain Financial Intermediaries, however, may require submission of orders prior to that time. Any redemption request placed after that time will be priced at the net
asset value at the close of business on the next business day.
|
Selling
shares held
directly with BlackRock |
Methods
of Redeeming if You Did Not Purchase Your Shares Through an Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued) |
Selling
shares held
directly with BlackRock (continued) |
single,
designated bank account to receive wire redemption proceeds, it is necessary to send a written request to the Fund at the address on the back cover of this prospectus.
***
If you make a redemption request before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares, the Fund may delay mailing your proceeds. This delay will usually not exceed ten
days.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Transfer
Shares to
Another Financial Intermediary |
Transfer
to a participating
Financial Intermediary |
You
may transfer your Class K Shares of the Fund only to another Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor. Certain shareholder services may not be available for the transferred shares. All future trading of these
assets must be coordinated by the receiving firm.
|
Transfer
to a non-participating
Financial Intermediary |
You
must either:
• Transfer your Class K Shares to an account with the Fund; or • Sell your Class K Shares. |
■ | Suspend the right of redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act; |
■ | Postpone the date of payment upon redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act or if a redemption request is made before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares; |
■ | Redeem shares for property other than cash if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable in accordance with its rights under the Investment Company Act; and |
■ | Redeem shares involuntarily in certain cases, such as when the value of a shareholder account falls below a specified level. |
1 | The reductions shall be applicable to the Fund regardless of size on a “uniform percentage” basis. Determination of the portion of the Net Assets of the Fund and BlackRock National Municipal Fund (of BlackRock Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.) to which a reduced rate is applicable is made by multiplying the Net Assets of that Fund by “uniform percentages,” derived by dividing the amount by which the combined assets of both Funds exceed the various applicable breakpoints by such combined assets. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Peter J. Hayes | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006; Head of Municipal Bonds within BlackRock’s Fixed Income Portfolio Management Group since 2006. |
Marie Sheehan | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 2007 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2008; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2006 to 2007. |
Class K | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $10.15 | $10.11 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.19 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.12 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.02) | 0.05 | (0.07) | 0.02 | (0.00) 2 |
Net increase from investment operations | — | 0.09 | — | 0.11 | 0.12 |
Distributions from net investment income 3 | (0.04) | (0.05) | (0.07) | (0.11) | (0.13) |
Net asset value, end of year | $10.11 | $10.15 | $ 10.11 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.18 |
Total Return 4 | |||||
Based on net asset value | (0.01)% | 0.91% | 0.00% | 1.07% | 1.17% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.41% | 0.39% | 0.39% | 0.39% | 0.40% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.40% | 0.39% | 0.39% | 0.39% | 0.39% |
Net investment income | 0.21% | 0.35% | 0.79% | 0.93% | 1.25% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $6,732 | $8,814 | $10,372 | $63,503 | $43,941 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 72% | 56% | 41% | 51% | 44% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share. |
3 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
4 | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
■ | Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and |
■ | Log into your account. |
► | BlackRock National Municipal Fund |
Investor C1: MCNLX | |
► | BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund |
Investor A1: MDLMX |
Fund Overview | Key facts and details about the Funds listed in this prospectus, including investment objectives, principal investment strategies, principal risk factors, fee and expense information, and historical performance information | |
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3 | |
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9 |
Account Information | Information about account services, sales charges and waivers, shareholder transactions, and distributions and other payments | |
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23 | |
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23 | |
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24 | |
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28 | |
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29 | |
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29 | |
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30 |
Management of the Funds | Information about BlackRock and the Portfolio Managers | |
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32 | |
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33 | |
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35 | |
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36 |
Financial Highlights |
Financial Performance of the
Funds
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38 |
Glossary |
Glossary of Investment
Terms
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42 |
For More Information |
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Inside Back Cover |
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Back Cover |
Shareholder
Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) |
Investor
C1
Shares |
|
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) | None | |
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | None 1 |
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
Investor
C1
Shares |
|
Management Fee | 0.43% | |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.80% | |
Other Expenses | 0.11% | |
Interest Expense | 0.03% | |
Miscellaneous Other Expenses | 0.08% | |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 1.34% | |
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 2 | (0.03)% | |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 2 | 1.31% |
1 | A CDSC of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor C1 Shares made within one year after purchase. The CDSC does not apply to redemptions by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and fee based programs that have been previously approved by the Fund, or to redemptions of shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains by existing shareholders. |
2 | As described in the “Management of the Funds” section of the Fund’s prospectus on page 32, BlackRock Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 1.28% (for Investor C1 Shares) of average daily net assets until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor C1 Shares | $133 | $422 | $731 | $1,610 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately. Valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them. Derivatives also may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. Certain transactions in derivatives involve substantial leverage risk and may expose the Fund to potential losses that exceed the amount originally invested by the Fund. The U.S. Government is in the process of adopting and implementing regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin, reporting and registration requirements. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional U.S. or other regulations may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives. Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and commodity-linked derivative instruments are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding authority that could affect the character, timing and amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions. |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock National Municipal Fund — Investor C1 Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 9.45% | 5.43% | 4.23% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 9.45% | 5.43% | 4.23% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 6.70% | 5.01% | 4.11% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.93% |
Custom
National Index
1
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
11.76% | 5.57% | 4.87% |
1 | The Custom National Index reflects the returns of the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index for periods prior to January 1, 2013, and the returns of only those bonds in the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index that have maturities greater than 5 years for periods subsequent to January 1, 2013. |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Investor C1 Shares | |
Minimum
Initial
Investment |
Available only for purchase by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and fee based programs that have been previously approved by the fund and for dividend and capital gain reinvestment by existing shareholders. |
Minimum
Additional
Investment |
N/A |
Shareholder
Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) |
Investor
A1
Shares |
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) | None 1 |
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | None |
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
Investor
A1
Shares |
Management Fee | 0.33% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.10% |
Other Expenses | 0.12% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.55% |
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursement 2 | (0.03)% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements 2 | 0.52% |
1 | Investor A1 Shares are subject to a maximum sales charge on purchases of 1.00%. The sales charge does not apply to dividend and capital gain reinvestments by existing shareholders and new purchases by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, which are currently the only investors who may invest in Investor A1 Shares. |
2 | As described in the “Management of the Funds” section of the Fund’s prospectus on page 32, BlackRock Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 0.52% (for Investor A1 Shares) of average daily net assets until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor A1 Shares | $53 | $173 | $304 | $686 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund — Investor A1 Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 0.12% | 0.64% | 1.73% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 0.12% | 0.64% | 1.73% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 0.20% | 0.67% | 1.73% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.93% |
S&P
®
Limited Maturity Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
0.94% | 1.45% | 2.59% |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Peter J. Hayes | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Marie Sheehan | 2007 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Investor A1 Shares | |
Minimum
Initial
Investment |
Available only for purchase by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and for dividend and capital gain reinvestment by existing shareholders. |
Minimum
Additional
Investment |
No subsequent minimum. |
■ | Credit Quality of Issuers — based on bond ratings and other factors, including economic and financial conditions. |
■ | Yield Analysis — takes into account factors such as the different yields available on different types of obligations and the shape of the yield curve (longer term obligations typically have higher yields). |
■ | Maturity Analysis — the weighted average maturity of the portfolio will be maintained within a desirable range as determined from time to time. Factors considered include portfolio activity, maturity of the supply of available bonds and the shape of the yield curve. Maturity of a debt security refers to the date upon which debt securities are due to be repaid, that is, the date when the issuer generally must pay back the face amount of the security. |
■ | Borrowing — Each Fund may borrow from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes, including to meet redemptions, for the payment of dividends, for share repurchases or for the clearance of transactions. |
■ | Illiquid/Restricted Securities — Each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities that it cannot sell within seven days at approximately current value. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale ( i.e. , Rule 144A securities). They may include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market and therefore may be considered to be illiquid. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public. |
■ | Indexed Securities — Each Fund may invest in securities the potential return of which is directly related to changes in an underlying index or interest rate, known as indexed securities. The return on indexed securities will rise when the underlying index rises and fall when the index falls. |
■ | Investment Companies — Each Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, and open-end and closed-end funds. Each Fund may invest in affiliated investment companies, including affiliated money market funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds. |
■ | Securities Lending — Each Fund may lend securities with a value up to 33 1 ⁄ 3 % of its total assets to financial institutions that provide cash or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government as collateral. |
■ | Taxable Income — Investments in taxable money market securities as well as some of the derivatives discussed herein may cause a Fund to have taxable investment income. Each Fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of its municipal bonds (and other securities it holds). These capital gains will be taxable regardless of whether they are derived from a sale of municipal bonds. |
■ | Taxable Money Market Securities — Each Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets on a temporary basis in taxable money market securities that have a maturity of one year or less. Each Fund may make these investments for liquidity purposes or as a temporary investment pending an investment in municipal bonds. |
■ | Temporary Defensive Strategies — As a temporary measure for defensive purposes, a Fund may invest without limitation in taxable money market securities. These investments may prevent a Fund from meeting its investment objective. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — The purchase or sale of securities on a when-issued basis, on a delayed delivery basis or through a forward commitment involves the purchase or sale of securities by a Fund at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. Each Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations — The National Fund may invest in variable rate demand obligations, which are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. |
■ | Derivatives — The Short-Term Fund may engage in transactions in certain derivatives, such as financial futures contracts and options thereon, indexed and inverse floating rate obligations and swap agreements, including credit default swap agreements. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security or an index such as the S&P Municipal Bond Index. The Fund may use derivative instruments to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. Derivatives allow the Fund to increase or decrease its risk exposure more quickly and efficiently than other types of instruments. The Fund is not is required to use hedging and may choose not to do so. |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk (National Fund Principal Risk; Short-Term Fund Other Risk) — Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including: |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk (National Fund) — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. The major risks of junk bond investments include: |
■ | Junk bonds may be issued by less creditworthy issuers. Issuers of junk bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. In the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, claims of other creditors may have priority over the claims of junk bond holders, leaving few or no assets available to repay junk bond holders. |
■ | Prices of junk bonds are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Adverse changes in an issuer’s industry and general economic conditions may have a greater impact on the prices of junk bonds than on other higher rated fixed-income securities. |
■ | Issuers of junk bonds may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments, or the unavailability of additional financing. |
■ | Junk bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If the issuer redeems junk bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income. |
■ | Junk bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed-income securities, even under normal economic conditions. There are fewer dealers in the junk bond market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted for junk bonds by the dealers. Because they are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of the Fund’s securities than is the case with securities trading in a more liquid market. |
■ | The Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose a Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The Fund’s management team will segregate liquid assets on the books of the Fund or otherwise cover the transactions. As an open-end investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the Investment Company Act, the rules thereunder, and various SEC and SEC staff interpretive positions. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must “set aside” liquid assets (often referred to as “asset segregation”), or engage in other SEC- or staff-approved measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of instruments. The use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of a Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
General Obligation Bonds Risks — The full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality that issues a general obligation bond secures payment of interest and repayment of principal. Timely payments depend on the issuer’s credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base. | |
Revenue Bonds Risks — Payments of interest and principal on revenue bonds are made only from the revenues generated by a particular facility, class of facilities or the proceeds of a special tax or other revenue source. These payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source. |
Private Activity Bonds Risks — Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment. If the private enterprise defaults on its payments, the Fund may not receive any income or get its money back from the investment. | |
Moral Obligation Bonds Risks — Moral obligation bonds are generally issued by special purpose public authorities of a state or municipality. If the issuer is unable to meet its obligations, repayment of these bonds becomes a moral commitment, but not a legal obligation, of the state or municipality. | |
Municipal Notes Risks — Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of, and are secured by, tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the Fund may lose money. | |
Municipal Lease Obligations Risks — In a municipal lease obligation, the issuer agrees to make payments when due on the lease obligation. The issuer will generally appropriate municipal funds for that purpose, but is not obligated to do so. Although the issuer does not pledge its unlimited taxing power for payment of the lease obligation, the lease obligation is secured by the leased property. However, if the issuer does not fulfill its payment obligation it may be difficult to sell the property and the proceeds of a sale may not cover the Fund’s loss. | |
Tax-Exempt Status Risk — In making investments, the Fund and its investment manager will rely on the opinion of issuers’ bond counsel and, in the case of derivative securities, sponsors’ counsel, on the tax-exempt status of interest on municipal obligations and payments under tax-exempt derivative securities. Neither the Fund nor its investment manager will independently review the bases for those tax opinions. If any of those tax opinions are ultimately determined to be incorrect or if events occur after the security is acquired that impact the security’s tax-exempt status, the Fund and its shareholders could be subject to substantial tax liabilities. The IRS has generally not ruled on the taxability of the securities. An assertion by the IRS that a portfolio security is not exempt from Federal income tax (contrary to indications from the issuer) could affect the Fund’s and shareholder’s income tax liability for the current or past years and could create liability for information reporting penalties. In addition, an IRS assertion of taxability may impair the liquidity and the fair market value of the securities. |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk (National Fund) — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. |
The Fund may invest in TOB Trusts on either a non-recourse or recourse basis. TOB Trusts are typically supported by a liquidity facility provided by a third-party bank or other financial institution (the “Liquidity Provider”) that allows the holders of the TOB Floaters to tender their certificates in exchange for payment of par plus accrued interest on any business day, subject to the non-occurrence of tender option termination events. When the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a non-recourse basis, and the Liquidity Provider is required to make a payment under the liquidity facility, the Liquidity Provider will typically liquidate all or a portion of the municipal securities held in the TOB Trust and then fund the balance, if any, of the amount owed under the liquidity facility over the liquidation proceeds (the “Liquidation Shortfall”). | |
If a Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will typically enter into a reimbursement agreement with the Liquidity Provider where the Fund is required to reimburse the Liquidity Provider the amount of any Liquidation Shortfall. As a result, if the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to any Liquidation Shortfall. | |
To the extent that the Fund, rather than a third-party bank or financial institution, sponsors a TOB Trust, certain responsibilities that previously belonged to the sponsor bank will be performed by, or on behalf of, the Fund. The Fund’s additional duties and responsibilities under the new TOB Trust structure may give rise to certain additional risks including compliance, securities law and operational risks. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk (Short-Term Fund Principal Risk; National Fund Other Risk) — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
■ | Borrowing Risk — Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. |
■ | Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the Fund’s net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that the Fund’s net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, the Fund’s expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in the Fund’s expense ratio could be significant. |
■ | Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk — Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate. |
■ | Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies. To the extent the Fund is held by an affiliated fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited. |
■ | Municipal Securities Concentration Risk — From time to time, the Fund may invest a substantial amount of its assets in municipal securities whose interest is paid solely from revenues of similar projects. If the Fund concentrates its investments in this manner, it assumes the legal and economic risks relating to such projects and this may have a significant impact on the Fund’s investment performance. |
■ | Securities Lending Risk — Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. These events could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. |
■ | Taxability Risk — The Fund intends to minimize the payment of taxable income to shareholders by investing in tax-exempt or municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income for Federal income tax purposes. Such securities, however, may be determined to pay, or have paid, taxable income subsequent to the Fund’s acquisition of the securities. In that event, the IRS may demand that the Fund pay Federal income taxes on the affected interest income, and, if the Fund agrees to do so, the Fund’s yield could be adversely affected. In addition, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as “exempt interest dividends” could be adversely affected, subjecting the Fund’s shareholders to increased Federal income tax liabilities. If the interest paid on any tax-exempt or municipal security held by the Fund is subsequently determined to be taxable, the Fund will dispose of that security as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, future laws, regulations, rulings or court decisions may cause interest on municipal securities to be subject, directly or indirectly, to Federal income taxation or interest on state municipal securities to be subject to state or local income taxation, or the value of state municipal securities to be subject to state or local intangible personal property tax, or may otherwise prevent the Fund from realizing the full current benefit of the tax-exempt status of such securities. Any such change could also affect the market price of such securities, and thus the value of an investment in the Fund. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risk — When-issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price. |
■ | Responding to customer questions on the services performed by the Financial Intermediary and investments in Investor A1 and Investor C1 Shares; |
■ | Assisting customers in choosing and changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; and |
■ | Providing other similar shareholder liaison services. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full
or Partial
Redemption of Shares (continued) |
Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued) |
ACH
or by wire transfer.
***
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full
or Partial
Redemption of Shares (continued) |
Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued) |
If you make a redemption request before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares, the Fund may delay mailing your proceeds. This delay will usually not exceed ten days. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Exchange Privilege | Selling shares of one fund to purchase shares of another BlackRock Fund (“exchanging”) |
Investor
A1 Shares or Investor C1 Shares of the Funds are generally exchangeable for Investor A or Investor C Shares, respectively, of another BlackRock Fund. Shares of other BlackRock Funds may not be exchanged for Investor A1 Shares or Investor C1 Shares
of the Funds.
|
Transfer
Shares to
Another Financial Intermediary |
Transfer to a participating Financial Intermediary | You may transfer your shares of the Fund only to another Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor. Certain shareholder services may not be available for the transferred shares. All future trading of these assets must be coordinated by the receiving firm. |
Transfer to a non-participating Financial Intermediary |
You
must either:
• Transfer your shares to an account with the Fund; or • Sell your shares, paying any applicable deferred sales charge. |
■ | Suspend the right of redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act; |
■ | Postpone the date of payment upon redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act or if a redemption request is made before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares; |
■ | Redeem shares for property other than cash if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable in accordance with its rights under the Investment Company Act; and |
■ | Redeem shares involuntarily in certain cases, such as when the value of a shareholder account falls below a specified level. |
National Fund | 0.43% |
Short-Term Fund | 0.33% |
1 | The reductions shall be applicable to each Fund regardless of size on a “uniform percentage” basis. Determination of the portion of the Net Assets of each Fund to which a reduced rate is applicable is made by multiplying the Net Assets of that Fund by “uniform percentages,” derived by dividing the amount by which the combined assets of both Funds exceed the various applicable breakpoints by such combined assets. |
Contractual
Caps
1
on Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses 2 (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) |
||
National Fund | ||
Investor C1 Shares | 1.28% | |
Short-Term Fund | ||
Investor A1 Shares | 0.52% |
1 | The contractual caps are in effect until November 1, 2016. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
2 | As a percentage of average daily net assets. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Peter J. Hayes | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006; Head of Municipal Bonds within BlackRock’s Fixed Income Portfolio Management Group since 2006. |
Marie Sheehan | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 2007 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2008; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2006 to 2007. |
Investor C1 | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.88 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 | $ 10.06 | $ 10.19 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.30 | 0.34 | 0.32 | 0.38 | 0.41 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.01) | 0.32 | (0.35) | 0.85 | (0.13) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 0.29 | 0.66 | (0.03) | 1.23 | 0.28 |
Distributions from net investment income 2 | (0.30) | (0.34) | (0.32) | (0.38) | (0.41) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.87 | $ 10.88 | $ 10.56 | $ 10.91 | $ 10.06 |
Total Return 3 | |||||
Based on net asset value | 2.68% | 6.43% | (0.35)% | 12.37% | 2.80% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 1.39% | 1.42% | 1.42% | 1.44% | 1.47% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 1.31% | 1.34% | 1.34% | 1.36% | 1.46% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense and fees and reorganization costs 4 | 1.28% | 1.28% | 1.28% | 1.28% | 1.38% |
Net investment income | 2.74% | 3.27% | 2.88% | 3.60% | 4.04% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $ 64,049 | $ 71,147 | $ 83,766 | $100,161 | $ 73,302 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) | $275,550 | $286,095 | $489,432 | $468,586 | $321,402 |
Asset coverage, end of year per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 20,179 | $ 17,149 | $ 10,804 | $ 11,210 | $ 8,617 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 28% | 35% | 37% | 39% | 51% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
3 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
4 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
Investor A1 | |||||
Year Ended June 30, | |||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |
Per Share Operating Performance | |||||
Net asset value, beginning of year | $ 10.17 | $ 10.12 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.19 | $ 10.19 |
Net investment income 1 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.12 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.05) | 0.05 | (0.06) | 0.01 | (0.00) 2 |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | (0.02) | 0.09 | — | 0.09 | 0.12 |
Distributions from net investment income 3 | (0.03) | (0.04) | (0.06) | (0.10) | (0.12) |
Net asset value, end of year | $ 10.12 | $ 10.17 | $ 10.12 | $ 10.18 | $ 10.19 |
Total Return 4 | |||||
Based on net asset value | (0.23)% | 0.88% | (0.03)% | 0.84% | 1.14% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |||||
Total expenses | 0.55% | 0.54% | 0.54% | 0.54% | 0.54% |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.52% | 0.52% | 0.52% | 0.51% | 0.52% |
Net investment income | 0.30% | 0.42% | 0.70% | 0.81% | 1.14% |
Supplemental Data | |||||
Net assets, end of year (000) | $33,292 | $37,280 | $44,139 | $48,377 | $53,141 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 72% | 56% | 41% | 51% | 44% |
1 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
2 | Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share. |
3 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
4 | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
■ | Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and |
■ | Log into your account. |
► | BlackRock National Municipal Fund |
Service: BNMSX |
Fund Overview | Key facts and details about the Fund, including investment objective, principal investment strategies, principal risk factors, fee and expense information, and historical performance information | |
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Account Information | Information about account services, sales charges and waivers, shareholder transactions, and distributions and other payments | |
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Management of the Fund | Information about BlackRock and the Portfolio Managers | |
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Financial Highlights |
Financial Performance of the
Fund
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Glossary |
Glossary of Investment
Terms
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32 |
For More Information |
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Inside Back Cover |
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Back Cover |
Annual
Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
Service
Shares |
|
Management Fee | 0.43% | |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | |
Other Expenses | 0.09% | |
Interest Expense | 0.03% | |
Miscellaneous Other Expenses | 0.06 | |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.77% |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Service Shares | $79 | $246 | $428 | $954 |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short |
time period. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately. Valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them. Derivatives also may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. Certain transactions in derivatives involve substantial leverage risk and may expose the Fund to potential losses that exceed the amount originally invested by the Fund. The U.S. Government is in the process of adopting and implementing regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin, reporting and registration requirements. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional U.S. or other regulations may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives. Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and commodity-linked derivative instruments are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding authority that could affect the character, timing and amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions. |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. |
As
of 12/31/14
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock National Municipal Fund — Service Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 10.15% | 5.89% | 4.74% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 10.15% | 5.89% | 4.74% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 7.35% | 5.49% | 4.65% |
S&P
®
Municipal Bond Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.25% | 5.32% | 4.93% |
Custom
National Index
1
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
11.76% | 5.57% | 4.87% |
1 | The Custom National Index reflects the returns of the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index for periods prior to January 1, 2013, and the returns of only those bonds in the S&P ® Municipal Bond Index that have maturities greater than 5 years for periods subsequent to January 1, 2013. |
Name |
Portfolio
Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Service Shares | |
Minimum Initial Investment | $5,000 |
Minimum Additional Investment | There is no minimum amount for additional investments. |
■ | Credit Quality of Issuers — based on bond ratings and other factors, including economic and financial conditions. |
■ | Yield Analysis — takes into account factors such as the different yields available on different types of obligations and the shape of the yield curve (longer term obligations typically have higher yields). |
■ | Maturity Analysis — the weighted average maturity of the portfolio will be maintained within a desirable range as determined from time to time. Factors considered include portfolio activity, maturity of the supply of available bonds and the shape of the yield curve. Maturity of a debt security refers to the date upon which debt securities are due to be repaid, that is, the date when the issuer generally must pay back the face amount of the security. |
■ | Borrowing — The Fund may borrow from banks as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes, including to meet redemptions, for the payment of dividends, for share repurchases or for the clearance of transactions. |
■ | Illiquid/Restricted Securities — The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities that it cannot sell within seven days at approximately current value. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale ( i.e. , Rule 144A securities). They may include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market and therefore may be considered to be illiquid. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public. |
■ | Indexed Securities — The Fund may invest in securities the potential return of which is directly related to changes in an underlying index or interest rate, known as indexed securities. The return on indexed securities will rise when the underlying index rises and fall when the index falls. |
■ | Investment Companies — The Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, and open-end and closed-end funds. The Fund may invest in affiliated investment companies, including affiliated money market funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds. |
■ | Securities Lending — The Fund may lend securities with a value up to 33 1 ⁄ 3 % of its total assets to financial institutions that provide cash or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government as collateral. |
■ | Taxable Income — Investments in taxable money market securities as well as some of the derivatives discussed herein may cause the Fund to have taxable investment income. The Fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of its municipal bonds (and other securities it holds). These capital gains will be taxable regardless of whether they are derived from a sale of municipal bonds. |
■ | Taxable Money Market Securities — The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets on a temporary basis in taxable money market securities that have a maturity of one year or less. The Fund may make these investments for liquidity purposes or as a temporary investment pending an investment in municipal bonds. |
■ | Temporary Defensive Strategies — As a temporary measure for defensive purposes, the Fund may invest without limitation in taxable money market securities. These investments may prevent the Fund from meeting its investment objective. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations — The Fund may invest in variable rate demand obligations which are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — The purchase or sale of securities on a when-issued basis, on a delayed delivery basis or through a forward commitment involves the purchase or sale of securities by the Fund at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. The Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. |
■ | Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — Derivatives are volatile and involve significant risks, including: |
■ | Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. The major risks of junk bond investments include: |
■ | Junk bonds may be issued by less creditworthy issuers. Issuers of junk bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. In the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, claims of other creditors may have priority over the claims of junk bond holders, leaving few or no assets available to repay junk bond holders. |
■ | Prices of junk bonds are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Adverse changes in an issuer’s industry and general economic conditions may have a greater impact on the prices of junk bonds than on other higher rated fixed-income securities. |
■ | Issuers of junk bonds may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments, or the unavailability of additional financing. |
■ | Junk bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If the issuer redeems junk bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income. |
■ | Junk bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed-income securities, even under normal economic conditions. There are fewer dealers in the junk bond market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted for junk bonds by the dealers. Because they are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of the Fund’s securities than is the case with securities trading in a more liquid market. |
■ | The Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer. |
■ | Leverage Risk — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The Fund’s management team will segregate liquid assets on the books of the Fund or otherwise cover the transactions. As an open-end investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the Investment Company Act, the rules thereunder, and various SEC and SEC staff interpretive positions. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must “set aside” liquid assets (often referred to as “asset segregation”), or engage in other SEC- or staff-approved measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of instruments. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage. |
■ | Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investment in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquid investments may become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. |
■ | Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money. |
■ | Municipal Securities Risks — Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include: |
General Obligation Bonds Risks — The full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality that issues a general obligation bond secures payment of interest and repayment of principal. Timely payments depend on the issuer’s credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base. | |
Revenue Bonds Risks — Payments of interest and principal on revenue bonds are made only from the revenues generated by a particular facility, class of facilities or the proceeds of a special tax or other revenue source. These payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source. | |
Private Activity Bonds Risks — Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment. If the private enterprise defaults on its payments, the Fund may not receive any income or get its money back from the investment. |
Moral Obligation Bonds Risks — Moral obligation bonds are generally issued by special purpose public authorities of a state or municipality. If the issuer is unable to meet its obligations, repayment of these bonds becomes a moral commitment, but not a legal obligation, of the state or municipality. | |
Municipal Notes Risks — Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of, and are secured by, tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the Fund may lose money. | |
Municipal Lease Obligations Risks — In a municipal lease obligation, the issuer agrees to make payments when due on the lease obligation. The issuer will generally appropriate municipal funds for that purpose, but is not obligated to do so. Although the issuer does not pledge its unlimited taxing power for payment of the lease obligation, the lease obligation is secured by the leased property. However, if the issuer does not fulfill its payment obligation it may be difficult to sell the property and the proceeds of a sale may not cover the Fund’s loss. | |
Tax-Exempt Status Risk — In making investments, the Fund and its investment manager will rely on the opinion of issuers’ bond counsel and, in the case of derivative securities, sponsors’ counsel, on the tax-exempt status of interest on municipal obligations and payments under tax-exempt derivative securities. Neither the Fund nor its investment manager will independently review the bases for those tax opinions. If any of those tax opinions are ultimately determined to be incorrect or if events occur after the security is acquired that impact the security’s tax-exempt status, the Fund and its shareholders could be subject to substantial tax liabilities. The IRS has generally not ruled on the taxability of the securities. An assertion by the IRS that a portfolio security is not exempt from Federal income tax (contrary to indications from the issuer) could affect the Fund’s and shareholder’s income tax liability for the current or past years and could create liability for information reporting penalties. In addition, an IRS assertion of taxability may impair the liquidity and the fair market value of the securities. |
■ | Tender Option Bonds and Related Securities Risk — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. |
The Fund may invest in TOB Trusts on either a non-recourse or recourse basis. TOB Trusts are typically supported by a liquidity facility provided by a third-party bank or other financial institution (the “Liquidity Provider”) that allows the holders of the TOB Floaters to tender their certificates in exchange for payment of par plus accrued interest on any business day, subject to the non-occurrence of tender option termination events. When the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a non-recourse basis, and the Liquidity Provider is required to make a payment under the liquidity facility, the Liquidity Provider will typically liquidate all or a portion of the municipal securities held in the TOB Trust and then fund the balance, if any, of the amount owed under the liquidity facility over the liquidation proceeds (the “Liquidation Shortfall”). | |
If a Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will typically enter into a reimbursement agreement with the Liquidity Provider where the Fund is required to reimburse the Liquidity Provider the amount of any Liquidation Shortfall. As a result, if the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, the Fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to any Liquidation Shortfall. | |
To the extent that the Fund, rather than a third-party bank or financial institution, sponsors a TOB Trust, certain responsibilities that previously belonged to the sponsor bank will be performed by, or on behalf of, the Fund. The Fund’s additional duties and responsibilities under the new TOB Trust structure may give rise to certain additional risks including compliance, securities law and operational risks. |
■ | Borrowing Risk — Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. |
■ | Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the Fund’s net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that the Fund’s net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, the Fund’s expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in the Fund’s expense ratio could be significant. |
■ | Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk — Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate. |
■ | Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies. To the extent the Fund is held by an affiliated fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited. |
■ | Municipal Securities Concentration Risk — From time to time, the Fund may invest a substantial amount of its assets in municipal securities whose interest is paid solely from revenues of similar projects. If the Fund concentrates its investments in this manner, it assumes the legal and economic risks relating to such projects and this may have a significant impact on the Fund’s investment performance. |
■ | Securities Lending Risk — Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. These events could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. |
■ | Taxability Risk — The Fund intends to minimize the payment of taxable income to shareholders by investing in tax-exempt or municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income for Federal income tax purposes. Such securities, however, may be determined to pay, or have paid, taxable income subsequent to the Fund’s acquisition of the securities. In that event, the IRS may demand that the Fund pay Federal income taxes on the affected interest income, and, if the Fund agrees to do so, the Fund’s yield could be adversely affected. In addition, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as “exempt interest dividends” could be adversely affected, subjecting the Fund’s shareholders to increased Federal income tax liabilities. If the interest paid on any tax-exempt or municipal security held by the Fund is subsequently determined to be taxable, the Fund will dispose of that security as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, future laws, regulations, rulings or court decisions may cause interest on municipal securities to be subject, directly or indirectly, to Federal income taxation or interest on state municipal securities to be subject to state or local income taxation, or the value of state municipal securities to be subject to state or local intangible personal property tax, or may otherwise prevent the Fund from realizing the full current benefit of the tax-exempt status of such securities. Any such change could also affect the market price of such securities, and thus the value of an investment in the Fund. |
■ | Variable Rate Demand Obligations Risk — Variable rate demand obligations are floating rate securities that combine an interest in a long-term municipal bond with a right to demand payment before maturity from a bank or other financial institution. If the bank or financial institution is unable to pay, the Fund may lose money. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risk — When-issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price. |
Service Share Class at a Glance | |
Availability | Limited to certain investors, including: Financial Intermediaries acting on behalf of their customers, certain persons who were shareholders of the Compass Capital Group of Funds at the time of its combination with The PNC ® Fund in 1996 and investors that participate in the Capital Directions SM asset allocation program. Service Shares will normally be held by Financial Intermediaries or in the name of nominees of Financial Intermediaries on behalf of their customers. Service Shares are normally purchased through a customer’s account at a Financial Intermediary through procedures established by such Financial Intermediary. In these cases, confirmation of share purchases and redemptions will be sent to the Financial Intermediaries. A customer’s ownership of shares will be recorded by the Financial Intermediary and reflected in the account statements provided by such Financial Intermediaries to their customers. Investors wishing to purchase Service Shares should contact their Financial Intermediaries. |
Minimum Investment | $5,000. |
Initial Sales Charge? | No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund. |
Deferred Sales Charge? | No. |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees? | No Distribution Fee. 0.25% Annual Service Fee. |
Redemption Fees? | No. |
Advantage | No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares. |
Disadvantage | Limited availability. |
■ | Responding to customer questions on the services performed by the Financial Intermediary and investments in Service Shares; |
■ | Assisting customers in choosing and changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; and |
■ | Providing other similar shareholder liaison services. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full
or Partial
Redemption of Shares |
Have your Financial Intermediary submit your sales order |
You
can make redemption requests through your Financial Intermediary in accordance with the procedures applicable to your accounts. These procedures may vary according to the type of account and the Financial Intermediary involved and customers should
consult their Financial Intermediary in this regard. Financial Intermediaries are responsible for transmitting redemption orders and crediting their customers’ accounts with redemption proceeds on a timely basis.
|
Selling shares held directly with BlackRock |
Methods
of Redeeming
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full
or Partial
Redemption of Shares (continued) |
Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued) |
or
for overnight delivery, 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, Massachusetts 01588. Under certain circumstances, a medallion signature guarantee will be required.
***
If you make a redemption request before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares, the
Fund may delay mailing your proceeds. This delay will usually not exceed ten days.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Transfer
Shares to
Another Financial Intermediary |
Transfer to a participating Financial Intermediary |
You
may transfer your shares of the Fund only to another Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor. Certain shareholder services may not be available for the transferred shares. All future trading of these assets
must be coordinated by the receiving firm.
|
Transfer to a non-participating Financial Intermediary |
You
must either:
• Transfer your shares to an account with the Fund; or • Sell your shares, paying any applicable deferred sales charge. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Transfer
Shares to
Another Financial Intermediary (continued) |
Transfer to a non-participating Financial Intermediary (continued) | If your account is held directly with BlackRock, you may call (800) 537-4942 with any questions; otherwise please contact your Financial Intermediary to accomplish the transfer of shares. |
■ | Suspend the right of redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act; |
■ | Postpone the date of payment upon redemption if trading is halted or restricted on the NYSE or under other emergency conditions described in the Investment Company Act or if a redemption request is made before the Fund has collected payment for the purchase of shares; |
■ | Redeem shares for property other than cash if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable in accordance with its rights under the Investment Company Act; and |
■ | Redeem shares involuntarily in certain cases, such as when the value of a shareholder account falls below a specified level. |
Aggregate
average daily Net Assets
of the two combined Funds 1 |
Rate
of
Management Fee |
First $250 million | 0.450% |
$250 million – $400 million | 0.425% |
$400 million – $550 million | 0.425% |
Greater than $550 million | 0.425% |
1 | The reductions shall be applicable to the Fund regardless of size on a “uniform percentage” basis. Determination of the portion of the Net Assets of the Fund and BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund (of BlackRock Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.) to which a reduced rate is applicable is made by multiplying the Net Assets of that Fund by “uniform percentages” derived by dividing the amount by which the combined assets of both Funds exceed the various applicable breakpoints by such combined assets. |
Portfolio Manager | Primary Role | Since | Title and Recent Biography |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 1996 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, CFA | Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund. | 2006 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. |
Service | ||||
Year Ended June 30, |
Period
July 18, 2011 1 to June 30, 2012 |
|||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | ||
Per Share Operating Performance | ||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $ 10.86 | $ 10.55 | $ 10.90 | $ 10.11 |
Net investment income 2 | 0.38 | 0.43 | 0.38 | 0.42 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | (0.03) | 0.27 | (0.37) | 0.77 |
Net increase from investment operations | 0.35 | 0.70 | 0.01 | 1.19 |
Distributions from net investment income 3 | (0.36) | (0.39) | (0.36) | (0.40) |
Net asset value, end of period | $ 10.85 | $ 10.86 | $ 10.55 | $ 10.90 |
Total Return 4 | ||||
Based on net asset value | 3.23% | 6.85% | (0.05)% | 11.97% 5 |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | ||||
Total expenses | 0.82% | 0.90% | 1.09% | 0.91% 6 |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly | 0.77% | 0.85% | 1.04% | 0.86% 6 |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and paid indirectly and excluding interest expense and fees and reorganization costs 7 | 0.74% | 0.79% | 0.97% | 0.78% 6 |
Net investment income | 3.52% | 4.04% | 3.42% | 4.11% 6 |
Supplemental Data | ||||
Net assets, end of period (000) | $ 1,739 | $ 1,089 | $ 1,171 | $ 1,214 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of period (000) | $275,550 | $286,095 | $489,432 | $468,586 |
Asset coverage, end of period per $1,000 of borrowings | $ 20,179 | $ 17,149 | $ 10,804 | $ 11,210 |
Portfolio turnover rate | 28% | 35% | 37% | 39% |
1 | Commencement of operations. |
2 | Based on average shares outstanding. |
3 | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations. |
4 | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
5 | Aggregate total return. |
6 | Annualized. |
7 | Interest expense and fees relate to TOB Trusts. See Note 3 of the Notes to Financial Statements for details of municipal bonds transferred to TOB Trusts. |
■ | Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and |
■ | Log into your account. |
Class Ticker |
BlackRock
National Municipal Fund Ticker Symbols |
BlackRock
Short-Term Municipal Fund Ticker Symbols |
BlackRock
High Yield Municipal Fund Ticker Symbols |
|||
Investor A
Shares
|
MDNLX | MELMX | MDYHX | |||
Investor B
Shares
|
MBNLX | N/A | N/A | |||
Investor C
Shares
|
MFNLX | MFLMX | MCYHX | |||
Institutional
Shares
|
MANLX | MALMX | MAYHX | |||
BlackRock
Shares
|
BNMLX | N/A | N/A | |||
Service
Shares
|
BNMSX | N/A | N/A | |||
Investor A1
Shares
|
N/A | MDLMX | N/A | |||
Investor C1
Shares
|
MCNLX | N/A | N/A | |||
Class K
Shares
|
N/A | MPLMX | N/A |
National
Fund |
Short-Term
Fund |
High
Yield
Fund |
|
144A Securities | X | X | X |
Asset-Backed Securities | |||
Asset-Based Securities | |||
Precious Metal-Related Securities | |||
Bank Loans | |||
Borrowing and Leverage | X | X | X |
Cash Flows; Expenses | |||
Cash Management | |||
Collateralized Debt Obligations | |||
Collateralized Bond Obligations | |||
Collateralized Loan Obligations | |||
Commercial Paper | |||
Commodity-Linked Derivative Instruments and Hybrid Instruments | |||
Qualifying Hybrid Instruments | |||
Hybrid Instruments Without Principal Protection | |||
Limitations on Leverage | |||
Counterparty Risk | |||
Convertible Securities | |||
Cyber Security Issues | X | X | X |
Debt Securities | X | X | X |
Depositary Receipts (ADRs, EDRs and GDRs) | |||
Derivatives | X | X | X |
Hedging | X | X | X |
Indexed and Inverse Securities | X | X | X |
Swap Agreements | X | X | X |
Interest Rate Swaps, Caps and Floors | X | X | X |
Credit Default Swap Agreements and Similar Instruments | X | X | X |
Contracts for Difference | |||
Credit Linked Securities | X | X | X |
Interest Rate Transactions and Swaptions | X | X | X |
Total Return Swap Agreements | X | X | X |
Types of Options | |||
Options on Securities and Securities Indices | X | X | X |
Call Options | X | X | X |
Put Options | X | X | X |
Options on Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) Certificates |
National
Fund |
Short-Term
Fund |
High
Yield
Fund |
|
Risks Associated with Options | X | X | X |
Futures | X | X | X |
Risks Associated with Futures | X | X | X |
Foreign Exchange Transactions | |||
Forward Foreign Exchange Transactions | |||
Currency Futures | |||
Currency Options | |||
Currency Swaps | |||
Limitations on Currency Transactions | |||
Risk Factors in Hedging Foreign Currency | |||
Risk Factors in Derivatives | X | X | X |
Credit Risk | X | X | X |
Currency Risk | |||
Leverage Risk | X | X | X |
Liquidity Risk | X | X | X |
Correlation Risk | X | X | |
Index Risk | |||
Additional Risk Factors of OTC Transactions; Limitations on the Use of OTC Derivatives | X | X | X |
Distressed Securities | X | X | X |
Dollar Rolls | |||
Equity Securities | |||
Exchange Traded Notes (“ETNs”) | |||
Foreign Investment Risks | |||
Foreign Market Risk | |||
Foreign Economy Risk | |||
Currency Risk and Exchange Risk | |||
Governmental Supervision and Regulation/Accounting Standards | |||
Certain Risks of Holding Fund Assets Outside the United States | |||
Publicly Available Information | |||
Settlement Risk | |||
Funding Agreements | |||
Guarantees | |||
Illiquid or Restricted Securities | X | X | X |
Inflation-Indexed Bonds | |||
Inflation Risk | X | X | X |
Investment Grade Debt Obligations | X | X | X |
Investment in Emerging Markets | |||
Brady Bonds | |||
Investment in Other Investment Companies | X | X | X |
Exchange Traded Funds | X | X | X |
Junk Bonds | X | X | X |
Lease Obligations | |||
Liquidity Management | X | X | X |
Master Limited Partnerships | |||
Mezzanine Investments | |||
Money Market Obligations of Domestic Banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign Branches of U.S. Banks | X | X | X |
Money Market Securities | X | X | X |
Mortgage-Related Securities | |||
Mortgage-Backed Securities | |||
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”) | |||
Adjustable Rate Mortgage Securities | |||
CMO Residuals | |||
Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities | |||
Tiered Index Bonds |
National
Fund |
Short-Term
Fund |
High
Yield
Fund |
|
TBA Commitments | |||
Municipal Investments | X | X | X |
Risk Factors and Special Considerations Relating to Municipal Bonds | X | X | X |
Description of Municipal Bonds | X | X | X |
General Obligation Bonds | X | X | X |
Revenue Bonds | X | X | X |
Private Activity Bonds (“PABs”) | X | X | X |
Moral Obligation Bonds | X | X | X |
Municipal Notes | X | X | X |
Municipal Commercial Paper | X | X | X |
Municipal Lease Obligations | X | X | X |
Tender Option Bonds | X | X | |
Yields | X | X | X |
Variable Rate Demand Obligations (“VRDOs”) and Participating VRDOs | X | X | X |
Transactions in Financial Futures Contracts | X | X | X |
Call Rights | X | X | X |
Municipal Interest Rate Swap Transactions | X | X | X |
Insured Municipal Bonds | X | X | X |
Build America Bonds | X | X | X |
Participation Notes | |||
Pay-in-kind Bonds | X | ||
Portfolio Turnover Rates | X | X | X |
Preferred Stock | |||
Real Estate Related Securities | |||
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) | |||
Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts | X | X | X |
Reverse Repurchase Agreements | X | X | X |
Rights Offerings and Warrants to Purchase | |||
Securities Lending | X | X | X |
Short Sales | |||
Sovereign Debt | |||
Standby Commitment Agreements | |||
Stripped Securities | |||
Structured Notes | |||
Supranational Entities | |||
Tax-Exempt Derivatives | X | X | X |
Tax-Exempt Preferred Shares | X | X | X |
Taxability Risk | X | X | X |
Trust Preferred Securities | X | X | X |
U.S. Government Obligations | X | X | X |
U.S. Treasury Obligations | X | X | X |
Utility Industries | X | X | |
When Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments | X | X | X |
Yields and Ratings | X | X | X |
Zero Coupon Securities | X | X | X |
Directors | Experience, Qualifications and Skills | |
Independent Directors | ||
James H. Bodurtha | James H. Bodurtha has served for more than 22 years on the boards of registered investment companies, most recently as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including as Chairman of the Board of certain of the legacy-Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P. (“MLIM”) funds. Prior thereto, Mr. Bodurtha was counsel to and a member of the Board of a smaller bank-sponsored mutual funds group. In addition, Mr. Bodurtha is a member of, and previously served as Chairman of, the Independent Directors Council and served for 11 years as an independent director on the Board of Governors of the Investment Company Institute. He also has more than 30 years of executive management and business experience through his work as a consultant and as the chairman of the board of a privately-held company. In addition, Mr. Bodurtha has more than 20 years of legal experience as a corporate attorney and partner in a law firm, where his practice included counseling registered investment companies and their boards. | |
Bruce R. Bond | Bruce R. Bond has served for approximately 17 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including the legacy-BlackRock funds and the State Street Research Mutual Funds. He also has executive management and business experience, having served as president and chief executive officer of several communications networking companies. Mr. Bond also has corporate governance experience from his service as a director of a computer equipment company. | |
Valerie G. Brown | Valerie G. Brown has more than 25 years of experience in the securities and financial services industry, having served as a director and committee chair for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, for 4 years, and as a director and vice chairman of the board of the Financial Services Institute, for 5 years. She also has oversight and executive management experience, having served for more than four years as the chief executive officer and director of a brokerage and investment adviser firm. | |
Donald W. Burton | Donald W. Burton has served for approximately 28 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including the legacy-MLIM and Raymond James funds. He also has more than 30 years of investment management business experience, having served as the managing general partner of an investment partnership, and a member of the Investment Advisory Council of the Florida State Board of Administration. In addition, Mr. Burton has corporate governance experience, having served as a board member of publicly-held financial, health-care, and telecommunications companies. |
Directors | Experience, Qualifications and Skills | |
The
Honorable
Stuart E. Eizenstat |
The Honorable Stuart E. Eizenstat has served for approximately 13 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including the legacy-BlackRock funds. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business & Agricultural Affairs, and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury during the Clinton Administration. He was Director of the White House Domestic Policy Staff and Chief Domestic Policy Adviser to President Carter. In addition, Mr. Eizenstat is a practicing attorney and Head of the International Practice at a major international law firm. Mr. Eizenstat has business and executive management experience and corporate governance experience through his service on the advisory boards and corporate boards of publicly-held consumer, energy, environmental delivery, metallurgical and telecommunications companies. Mr. Eizenstat has been determined by the Audit Committee to be an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the applicable SEC rules. | |
Kenneth A. Froot | Kenneth A. Froot has served for approximately 19 years on the boards of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including the legacy-MLIM funds. The Equity-Bond Board benefits from Mr. Froot’s years of academic experience, having served as a professor of finance at Harvard University since 1992 and teaching courses on capital markets, international finance, and risk management. Mr. Froot has published numerous articles and books on a range of topics, including, among others, the financing of risk, risk management, the global financial system, currency analysis, foreign investing, and investment style strategies. He has served as a director of research for Harvard Business School for approximately 6 years, and as a managing partner of an investment partnership. In addition, Mr. Froot has served as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and served on the staff of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers and the Economic Advisory Board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. | |
Robert M. Hernandez | Robert M. Hernandez has served for approximately 20 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as Chairman of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Audit and Nominating/Governance Committees of its predecessor funds, including certain legacy-BlackRock funds. Mr. Hernandez has business and executive experience through his service as group president, chief financial officer, Chairman and vice chairman, among other positions, of publicly-held energy, steel, and metal companies. He has served as a director of other public companies in various industries throughout his career. He also has broad corporate governance experience, having served as a board member of publicly-held energy, insurance, chemicals, metals and electronics companies. Mr. Hernandez has been determined by the Audit Committee to be an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the applicable SEC rules. | |
John F. O’Brien | John F. O’Brien has served for approximately 9 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including the legacy-MLIM funds. He also has investment management experience, having served as the president, director, and chairman of the board of an investment management firm and a life insurance company. Mr. O’Brien also has broad corporate governance and audit committee experience, having served as a board member and audit committee member of publicly-held financial, medical, energy, chemical, retail, life insurance, and auto parts manufacturing companies, and as a director of a not-for-profit organization. | |
Donald C. Opatrny | Donald C. Opatrny has more than 39 years of business, oversight and executive experience, including through his service as president, director and investment committee chair for academic and not-for-profit organizations, and his experience as a partner, managing director and advisory director at Goldman Sachs for 32 years. He also has investment management experience as a board member of Athena Capital Advisors LLC. |
Directors | Experience, Qualifications and Skills | |
Roberta Cooper Ramo | Roberta Cooper Ramo has served for approximately 14 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including the legacy-MLIM funds. She is a practicing attorney and shareholder in a law firm for more than 30 years. Ms. Ramo has oversight experience through her service as chairman of the board of a retail company and as president of the American Bar Association and the American Law Institute and as President, for 2 years, and Member of the Board of Regents, for 6 years, of the University of New Mexico. She also has corporate governance experience, having served on the boards of United New Mexico Bank and the First National Bank of New Mexico and on the boards of non-profit organizations. | |
David H. Walsh | David H. Walsh has served for approximately 11 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including the legacy-MLIM funds. Mr. Walsh has investment management experience, having served as a consultant with Putnam Investments (“Putnam”) from 1993 to 2003, and employed in various capacities at Putnam from 1971 to 1992. He has oversight experience, serving as the director of an academic institute, and a board member of various not-for-profit organizations. | |
Fred G. Weiss | Fred G. Weiss has served for approximately 16 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the Board of the Equity-Bond Complex and its predecessor funds, including as Chairman of the board of certain of the legacy-MLIM funds. He also has more than 30 years of business and executive management experience, having served in senior executive positions of two public companies where he was involved in both strategic planning and corporate development, as Chairman of the Committee on Investing Employee Assets (CIBA) and as a managing director of an investment consulting firm. Mr. Weiss also has corporate governance experience, having served as a board member of a publicly-held global technology company and a pharmaceutical company, and as a director of a not-for-profit foundation. Mr. Weiss has been determined by the Audit Committee to be an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the applicable SEC rules. | |
Interested Directors | ||
Robert Fairbairn | Robert Fairbairn has more than 20 years of experience with BlackRock, Inc. and over 28 years in finance and asset management. In particular, Mr. Fairbairn’s positions as Senior Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc., Global Head of BlackRock’s Retail and iShares businesses, and Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive and Global Operating Committees provide the Board with a wealth of practical business knowledge and leadership. In addition, Mr. Fairbairn has global investment management and oversight experience through his former positions as Head of BlackRock’s Global Client Group and Chairman of BlackRock’s international businesses. Prior to joining BlackRock, Mr. Fairbairn was Senior Vice President and Head of the EMEA Pacific region at MLIM, a member of the MLIM Executive Committee, head of the EMEA Sales Division and Chief Operating Officer of the EMEA Pacific region. | |
Henry Gabbay | Henry Gabbay’s many years of experience in finance provide the Board with a wealth of practical business knowledge and leadership. In particular, Mr. Gabbay’s experience as a Consultant for and Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc., Chief Administrative Officer of BlackRock Advisors, LLC and President of BlackRock Funds provides the Funds with greater insight into the analysis and evaluation of both their existing investment portfolios and potential future investments as well as enhanced oversight of their investment decisions and investment valuation processes. In addition, Mr. Gabbay’s former positions as Chief Administrative Officer of BlackRock Advisors, LLC and as Treasurer of certain closed-end funds in the BlackRock Fund Complex provide the Board with direct knowledge of the operations of the BlackRock-advised Funds and their investment adviser. Mr. Gabbay’s previous service on and long-standing relationship with the Board also provide him with a specific understanding of the BlackRock-advised Funds, their operations, and the business and regulatory issues facing the BlackRock-advised Funds. |
Directors | Experience, Qualifications and Skills | |
John M. Perlowski | Mr. Perlowski’s experience as Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009, as the Global Head of BlackRock Fund Services since 2009, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of the BlackRock-advised Funds provides him with a strong understanding of the BlackRock-advised Funds, their operations, and the business and regulatory issues facing the BlackRock-advised Funds. Mr. Perlowski’s prior position as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Global Product Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and his former service as Treasurer and Senior Vice President of the Goldman Sachs Mutual Funds and as Director of the Goldman Sachs Offshore Funds provides the Board with the benefit of his experience with the management practices of other financial companies. |
Name,
Address
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with the Corporation |
Length
of
Time Served 1,2 |
Principal
Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number
of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Investment Company Directorships |
|||||
Independent Directors | ||||||||||
James
H. Bodurtha
3
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Director, The China Business Group, Inc. (consulting and investing firm) from 1996 to 2013 and Executive Vice President thereof from 1996 to 2003; Chairman of the Board, Berkshire Holding Corporation since 1980. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
Bruce
R. Bond
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Trustee and Member of the Governance Committee, State Street Research Mutual Funds from 1997 to 2005; Board Member of Governance, Audit and Finance Committee, Avaya Inc. (computer equipment) from 2003 to 2007. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
Valerie
G. Brown
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2015 to present | Chief Executive Officer and Director, Cetera Financial Group (broker-dealer and registered investment adviser services) from 2010 to 2014; Director and Vice Chairman of the Board, Financial Services Institute (trade organization) from 2009 to 2014; Director and Committee Chair, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (trade organization) from 2006 to 2014. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
Donald
W. Burton
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Managing General Partner, The Burton Partnership, LP (an investment partnership) since 1979; Managing General Partner, The Burton Partnership (QP), LP (an investment partnership) since 2000; Managing General Partner, The South Atlantic Venture Funds from 1983 to 2012; Director, IDology, Inc. (technology solutions) since 2006; Director, Knology, Inc. (telecommunications) from 1996 to 2012; Director, Capital Southwest (financial) from 2006 to 2012. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None |
Name,
Address
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with the Corporation |
Length
of
Time Served 1,2 |
Principal
Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number
of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Investment Company Directorships |
|||||
Honorable
Stuart E. Eizenstat
4
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Partner and Head of International Practice, Covington and Burling LLP (law firm) since 2001; International Advisory Board Member, The Coca-Cola Company from 2002 to 2011; Advisory Board Member, Veracity Worldwide LLC (risk management) from 2007 to 2012; Member of the International Advisory Board GML Ltd. (energy) since 2003; Advisory Board Member, BT Americas (telecommunications) from 2004 to 2009. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | Alcatel-Lucent (telecommunications); Global Specialty Metallurgical; UPS Corporation (delivery service) | |||||
Kenneth
A. Froot
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Professor, Harvard University from 1993 to 2012. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
Robert
M. Hernandez
5
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Director, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of USX Corporation (energy and steel business) from 1991 to 2001; Director, TE Connectivity (electronics) from 2006 to 2012. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | ACE Limited (insurance company); Eastman Chemical Company | |||||
John
F. O’Brien
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Chairman, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute since 2009 and Trustee thereof from 2003 to 2009. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | Cabot Corporation (chemicals); LKQ Corporation (auto parts manufacturing); TJX Companies, Inc. (retailer) | |||||
Donald
C. Opatrny
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2015 to present | Trustee, Member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Investment Committee, Cornell University since 2004; Member of the Board and Investment Committee, University School since 2007; Member of the Investment Committee, Mellon Foundation from 2009 to 2015; President and Trustee, the Center for the Arts, Jackson Hole since 2011; Director, Athena Capital Advisors LLC (investment management firm) since 2013; Trustee and Chair of the Investment Committee, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole since 2014; Trustee, Artstor (a Mellon Foundation affiliate) since 2010; President, Trustee and Member of the Investment Committee, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum from 2007 to 2014. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
Roberta
Cooper Ramo
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Shareholder and Attorney, Modrall, Sperling, Roehl, Harris & Sisk, P.A. (law firm) since 1993; Chairman of the Board, Cooper’s Inc. (retail) since 1999; Director, ECMC Group (service provider to students, schools and lenders) since 2001; President, The American Law Institute (non-profit) since 2008; Vice President, Santa Fe Opera (non-profit), since 2011; Chair, Think New Mexico (non-profit), since 2013. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None |
Name,
Address
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with the Corporation |
Length
of
Time Served 1,2 |
Principal
Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number
of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Investment Company Directorships |
|||||
David
H. Walsh
6
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Director, National Museum of Wildlife Art since 2007; Trustee, University of Wyoming Foundation from 2008 to 2012; Director, The American Museum of Fly Fishing since 1997. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
Fred
G. Weiss
7
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Managing Director, FGW Consultancy LLC (consulting and investment company) since 1997; Director, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research since 2000; Director, BTG International plc (medical technology commercialization company) from 2001 to 2007. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios |
Allergan
plc
(Pharmaceuticals) |
|||||
Interested Directors 8 | ||||||||||
Robert
Fairbairn
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2015 to present | Senior Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2010; Global Head of BlackRock’s Retail and iShares businesses since 2012; Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive and Global Operating Committees; Head of BlackRock’s Global Client Group from 2009 to 2012; Chairman of BlackRock’s international businesses from 2007 to 2010. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
Henry
Gabbay
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director | 2007 to present | Consultant, BlackRock, Inc. from 2007 to 2008; Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. from 1989 to 2007; Chief Administrative Officer, BlackRock Advisors, LLC from 1998 to 2007; President of BlackRock Funds and BlackRock Allocation Target Shares (formerly, BlackRock Bond Allocation Target Shares) from 2005 to 2007 and Treasurer of certain closed-end funds in the BlackRock Fund Complex from 1989 to 2006. | 28 RICs consisting of 98 Portfolios | None | |||||
John
M. Perlowski
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer | 2015 to present (Director); 2010 to present (President and Chief Executive Officer) | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009; Global Head of BlackRock Fund Services since 2009; Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Global Product Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. from 2003 to 2009; Treasurer of Goldman Sachs Mutual Funds from 2003 to 2009 and Senior Vice President thereof from 2007 to 2009; Director of Goldman Sachs Offshore Funds from 2002 to 2009; Director of Family Resource Network (charitable foundation) since 2009. | 136 RICs consisting of 334 Portfolios | None |
1 | Each Director holds office until his or her successor is duly elected and qualifies or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal as provided by the Corporation’s by-laws or charter or statute. In no event may an Independent Director hold office beyond December 31 of the year in which he or she turns 75. In no event may an Interested Director hold office beyond December 31 of the year in which he or she turns 72. |
2 | Following the combination of MLIM and BlackRock, Inc. in September 2006, the various legacy MLIM and legacy BlackRock Fund boards were realigned and consolidated into three new Fund boards in 2007. As a result, although the chart shows certain Directors as joining the Fund’s board in 2007, each Director first became a member of the board of directors/trustees of other legacy MLIM or legacy BlackRock Funds as follows: James H. Bodurtha, 1995; Bruce R. Bond, 2005; Donald W. Burton, 2002; Honorable Stuart E. Eizenstat, 2001; Kenneth A. Froot, 2005; Robert M. Hernandez, 1996; John F. O’Brien, 2005; Roberta Cooper Ramo, 1999; David H. Walsh, 2003; and Fred G. Weiss, 1998. |
3 | Chairman of the Compliance Committee. |
4 | Chairman of the Governance Committee. |
5 | Chairman of the Board of Directors. |
6 | Chairman of the Performance Committee. |
7 | Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee. |
8 | Messrs. Fairbairn and Perlowski are both “interested persons,” as defined in the Investment Company Act, of the Corporation based on their positions with BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates. Mr. Gabbay may be deemed an “interested person” of the Corporation based on his former positions with BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates. Mr. Gabbay does not currently serve as an officer or employee of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates or own any securities of BlackRock, Inc. or The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Mr. Gabbay is a non-management Interested Director. |
Name,
Address
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with the Corporation |
Length
of
Time Served 1 |
Principal
Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number
of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Investment Company Directorships |
|||||
Fund Officers | ||||||||||
Jennifer
McGovern
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Vice President | 2014 to present | Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2011; Head of Product Structure and Oversight for BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory Group since 2013; Vice President of BlackRock, Inc. from 2008 to 2010. | 61 RICs consisting of 259 Portfolios | None | |||||
Neal
J. Andrews
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Chief Financial Officer | 2007 to present | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006; Senior Vice President and Line of Business Head of Fund Accounting and Administration at PNC Global Investment Servicing (U.S.) Inc. from 1992 to 2006. | 136 RICs consisting of 334 Portfolios | None | |||||
Jay
M. Fife
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Treasurer | 2007 to present | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2007; Director of BlackRock, Inc. in 2006; Assistant Treasurer of the MLIM and Fund Asset Management, L.P. advised funds from 2005 to 2006; Director of MLIM Fund Services Group from 2001 to 2006. | 136 RICs consisting of 334 Portfolios | None | |||||
Charles
Park
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Chief Compliance Officer | 2014 to present | Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer for the BlackRock-advised Funds in the Equity-Bond Complex, the Equity-Liquidity Complex and the Closed-End Complex from 2014 to 2015; Chief Compliance Officer of BlackRock Advisors, LLC and the BlackRock-advised Funds in the Equity-Bond Complex, the Equity-Liquidity Complex and the Closed-End Complex since 2014; Principal of and Chief Compliance Officer for iShares ® Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC since 2012 and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) since 2006; Chief Compliance Officer for the BFA-advised iShares exchange traded funds since 2006; Chief Compliance Officer for BlackRock Asset Management International Inc. since 2012. | 141 RICs consisting of 648 Portfolios | None | |||||
Fernanda
Piedra
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Anti-Money Laudering Compliance Officer | 2015 to present | Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2014; Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer and Regional Head of Financial Crime for the Americas at BlackRock, Inc. since 2014; Head of Regulatory Changes and Remediation for the Asset Wealth Management Division of Deutsche Bank from 2010 to 2014; Vice President of Goldman Sachs (Anti-Money Laundering/Suspicious Activities Group) from 2004 to 2010. |
141
RICs consisting of
648 Portfolios |
None |
Name,
Address
and Year of Birth |
Position(s)
Held with the Corporation |
Length
of
Time Served 1 |
Principal
Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number
of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Investment Company Directorships |
|||||
Benjamin
Archibald
55 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10055 |
Secretary | 2012 to present | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2014; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2010 to 2013; Secretary of the iShares exchange traded funds since 2015; Secretary of the BlackRock-advised mutual funds since 2012. | 61 RICs consisting of 259 Portfolios | None |
1 | Officers of the Corporation serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. |
Name of Director |
Aggregate
Dollar
Range of Equity Securities in the National Fund |
Aggregate
Dollar
Range of Equity Securities in the Short-Term Fund |
Aggregate
Dollar
Range of Equity Securities in the High Yield Fund |
Aggregate
Dollar
Range of Equity Securities in BlackRock-advised Funds |
||||
Interested Directors: | ||||||||
Robert
Fairbairn
1
|
None | None | None | $50,001 – $100,000 | ||||
Henry
Gabbay.
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
John M.
Perlowski
1
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Independent Directors: | ||||||||
James H.
Bodurtha
|
$10,001 – $50,000 | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Bruce R.
Bond
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Valerie G.
Brown
2
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Donald W.
Burton
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Honorable Stuart E.
Eizenstat
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Kenneth A.
Froot
|
None | None | None | $50,001 – $100,000 | ||||
Robert M. Hernandez
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
John F. O’Brien
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Donald C.
Opatrny
2
|
None | None | None | None | ||||
Roberta Cooper Ramo
|
None | None | $10,001 – $50,000 | Over $100,000 | ||||
David H.
Walsh
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Fred G.
Weiss
|
None | None | None | Over $100,000 |
1 | Each of Messrs. Fairbairn and Perlowski was appointed to serve as a Director of the Corporation effective January 1, 2015. |
2 | Each of Ms. Brown and Mr. Opatrny was appointed to serve as a Director of the Corporation effective as of the close of business on May 13, 2015. |
Name 1 |
Aggregate
Compensation from the High Yield Municipal Fund |
Aggregate
Compensation from the National Municipal Fund |
Aggregate
Compensation from the Short-Term Municipal Fund |
Estimated
Annual
Benefits Upon Retirement |
Aggregate
Compensation from the Funds and Other BlackRock- Advised Funds |
|||||
Interested Directors: 2 | ||||||||||
Paul L.
Audet
3
|
None | None | None | None | None | |||||
Robert
Fairbairn
4
|
None | None | None | None | None | |||||
Laurence D.
Fink
3
|
None | None | None | None | None | |||||
Henry Gabbay
|
$1,811 | $5,228 | $1,957 | None | $640,000 | |||||
John M.
Perlowski
4
|
None | None | None | None | None | |||||
Independent Directors: | ||||||||||
James H.
Bodurtha
5
|
$2,148 | $6,720 | $2,408 | None | $340,000 | |||||
Bruce R.
Bond
|
$2,053 | $5,863 | $2,270 | None | $305,000 | |||||
Valerie G.
Brown
6
|
$367 | $886 | $383 | None | None | |||||
Donald W.
Burton
|
$1,745 | $5,555 | $1,961 | None | $305,000 | |||||
Honorable Stuart E. Eizenstat
7
|
$2,148 | $6,720 | $2,408 | None | $340,000 | |||||
Kenneth A. Froot
|
$1,745 | $5,555 | $1,961 | None | $280,000 | |||||
Robert M.
Hernandez
8
|
$2,363 | $8,677 | $2,722 | None | $420,000 | |||||
John F.
O’Brien
|
$2,053 | $5,863 | $2,270 | None | $305,000 | |||||
Donald C.
Opatrny
6
|
$367 | $886 | $383 | None | None | |||||
Roberta Cooper
Ramo
|
$2,053 | $5,863 | $2,270 | None | $305,000 | |||||
David H.
Walsh
9
|
$2,148 | $6,720 | $2,408 | None | $340,000 | |||||
Fred G. Weiss
10
|
$2,242 | $7,576 | $2,545 | None | $375,000 |
1 | For the number of BlackRock-advised Funds from which each Director receives compensation see the Biographical Information Chart beginning on page I-14. |
2 | Messrs. Fairbairn and Perlowski receive no compensation from the BlackRock-advised Funds for their service as a Trustee/Director. Mr. Gabbay receives compensation from the BlackRock-advised Funds for his service as a non-management Interested Trustee/Director. Mr. Gabbay began receiving compensation from the BlackRock-advised Funds for his service as a Trustee/Director effective January 1, 2009. |
3 | Each of Messrs. Audet and Fink resigned as a Director of the Corporation and as a director or trustee of all other BlackRock-advised Funds effective December 31, 2014. |
4 | Each of Messrs. Fairbairn and Perlowski was appointed to serve as a Director of the Corporation effective January 1, 2015. |
5 | Chairman of the Compliance Committee. |
6 | Each of Ms. Brown and Mr. Opatrny was appointed to serve as a Director of the Corporation effective as of the close of business on May 13, 2015. |
7 | Chairman of the Governance Committee. |
8 | Chairman of the Board of Directors. |
9 | Chairman of the Performance Committee. |
10 | Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Audit Committee. |
Management Fee Rate | ||||
Aggregate of average daily net assets of the two combined Funds |
National
Fund |
Short-Term
Fund |
||
First $250
million
|
0.450% | 0.400% | ||
$250 million — $400
million
|
0.425% | 0.375% | ||
$400 million — $550
million
|
0.425% | 0.350% | ||
Greater than $550
million
|
0.425% | 0.325% |
Management Fee Rate | ||
Aggregate of average daily net assets of the Fund | National Fund | |
First $250
million
|
0.500% | |
$250 million — $400
million
|
0.475% | |
$400 million — $550
million
|
0.475% | |
Greater than $550
million
|
0.475% |
National Fund | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
Paid
to the
Manager |
Waived
by the
Manager 1,2 |
Reimbursements
by the Manager 2 |
|||
2015
|
$23,508,698 | $2,492,878 | $2,351,313 | |||
2014
|
$21,264,731 | $2,325,780 | $1,621,052 | |||
2013
|
$24,879,284 | $2,733,141 | $1,947,140 |
Short-Term Fund | ||||||
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
Paid
to the
Manager |
Waived
by the
Manager 1,3 |
Reimbursements
by the Manager 3 |
|||
2015
|
$2,493,990 | $22,147 | $626,735 | |||
2014
|
$2,844,872 | $ 6,946 | $641,737 | |||
2013
|
$3,025,980 | $ 5,413 | $631,916 |
High Yield Fund | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
Paid
to the
Manager |
Waived
by the
Manager 1 |
||
2015
|
$2,915,229 | $2,101 | ||
2014
|
$1,820,923 | $6,987 | ||
2013
|
$1,981,553 | $9,346 |
1 | The Manager may waive a portion of each Fund’s management fee in connection with each Fund’s investment in an affiliated money market. |
2 | The Manager has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit expenses (excluding interest expenses acquired fund fees and expenses and certain other fund expenses) as follows: 0.72% (for Investor A Shares); 1.23% (for Investor B Shares), 1.47% (for Investor C Shares), 1.28% (for Investor C1 Shares) and 0.46% (for BlackRock Shares). |
3 | The Manager has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit expenses (excluding interest expense, acquired fund fees and expenses and certain other fund expenses) as follows: 0.69% (for Investor A Shares), 0.52% (for Investor A1 Shares), 1.55% (for Investor C Shares) and 0.40% (for Institutional Shares). The waiver and/or reimbursement of fees and/or expenses was voluntary prior to October 28, 2014. |
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, | National Fund | Short-Term Fund | High Yield Fund | |||
2015
|
N/A | N/A | N/A | |||
2014
|
$11,139,963 | $1,673,487 | $1,066,849 | |||
2013
|
$13,580,166 | $1,838,514 | $1,167,882 |
Number
of Other Accounts Managed
and Assets by Account Type |
Number
of Other Accounts and Assets for Which
Advisory Fee is Performance-Based |
|||||
Name of Portfolio Manager |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, Jr., CFA | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$23.60 Billion | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$17.54 Billion | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Number
of Other Accounts Managed
and Assets by Account Type |
Number
of Other Accounts and Assets for Which
Advisory Fee is Performance-Based |
|||||
Name of Portfolio Manager |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Peter Hayes | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$6.06 Billion | $0 | $33.23 Billion | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Marie Sheehan | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$0 | $0 | $5.99 Billion | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Number
of Other Accounts Managed
and Assets by Account Type |
Number
of Other Accounts and Assets for Which
Advisory Fee is Performance-Based |
|||||
Name of Portfolio Manager |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Theodore R. Jaeckel, Jr., CFA | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Number
of Other Accounts Managed
and Assets by Account Type |
Number
of Other Accounts and Assets for Which
Advisory Fee is Performance-Based |
|||||
Name of Portfolio Manager |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
Other
Registered Investment Companies |
Other
Pooled
Investment Vehicles |
Other
Accounts |
$28.34 Billion | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Walter O’Connor, CFA | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$22.28 Billion | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Portfolio Manager | Benchmark | |
Peter Hayes | Lipper Closed-End General Bond Fund classification, a sub-set of the Lipper Short Municipal Debt Fund classification. Due to Portfolio Manager Peter Hayes’ unique position (Portfolio Manager and Chief Investment Officer of Tax Exempt Fixed Income) his compensation does not solely reflect his role as a Portfolio Manager of the funds managed by him. The performance of his fund(s) are included in consideration of his incentive compensation but given his unique role it is not the sole driver of compensation. | |
Theodore
R. Jaeckel, Jr., CFA
Walter O’ Connor, CFA Marie Sheehan |
A combination of market-based indices (e.g., Standard & Poor’s Municipal Bond Index), certain customized indices and certain fund industry peer groups. |
Portfolio Manager | Portfolio(s) Managed | Dollar Range of Equity Securities Owned | ||
Theodore R. Jaeckel, Jr.,
CFA
|
National Fund | $50,001 – $100,000 | ||
High Yield Fund | $100,001 – $500,000 | |||
Walter O’Connor, CFA
|
National Fund | $50,001 – $100,000 | ||
High Yield Fund | None | |||
Peter J.
Hayes
|
Short-Term Fund | $50,001 – $100,000 | ||
Marie
Sheehan
|
Short-Term Fund | None |
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, | National Fund | Short-Term Fund | High Yield Fund | |||
2015 | ||||||
Paid to the
Manager
|
$71,055 | $4,253 | $3,402 | |||
2014 | ||||||
Paid to the
Manager
|
$98,381 | $4,859 | $2,996 | |||
2013 | ||||||
Paid to the
Manager
|
$88,570 | $6,408 | $2,437 |
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, | National Fund | Short-Term Fund | High Yield Fund | |||
2015 | ||||||
Paid to State
Street
|
$706,151 | $157,229 | $125,929 | |||
Paid to the
Manager
|
$ 49,545 | $ 7,898 | $ 6,061 | |||
2014 | ||||||
Paid to State
Street
|
$635,057 | $161,703 | $ 65,520 | |||
Paid to the
Manager
|
$ 46,673 | $ 7,787 | $ 3,370 | |||
2013 | ||||||
Paid to State Street
|
$805,201 | $204,797 | $108,128 | |||
Paid to the
Manager
|
$ 58,616 | $ 10,862 | $ 3,895 |
Investor A Shares | ||||||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
Gross
Sales
Charges Collected |
Sales
Charges
Retained by BRIL |
Sales
Charges
Paid To Affiliates |
CDSCs
Received
on Redemption of Load-Waived Shares |
||||
National Fund | ||||||||
2015
|
$1,298,229 | $102,193 | $102,193 | $ 56,969 | ||||
2014
|
$ 843,222 | $ 69,403 | $ 69,403 | $ 50,957 | ||||
2013
|
$3,198,424 | $249,274 | $249,274 | $134,796 | ||||
Short-Term Fund | ||||||||
2015
|
$ 36,681 | $ 3,519 | $ 3,519 | $ 5,813 | ||||
2014
|
$ 49,438 | $ 4,593 | $ 4,593 | $ 32,000 | ||||
2013
|
$ 50,225 | $ 4,492 | $ 4,492 | $ 39,018 | ||||
High Yield Fund | ||||||||
2015
|
$ 427,245 | $ 45,223 | $ 45,223 | $234,143 | ||||
2014
|
$ 278,896 | $ 22,056 | $ 22,056 | $ 35,912 | ||||
2013
|
$ 629,037 | $ 48,876 | $ 48,876 | $169,166 |
Investor A1 Shares | ||||||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
Gross
Sales
Charges Collected |
Sales
Charges
Retained by BRIL |
Sales
Charges
Paid To Affiliates |
CDSCs
Received
on Redemption of Load-Waived Shares |
||||
Short-Term Fund | ||||||||
2015
|
$0 | $0 | $0 | $ 0 | ||||
2014
|
$0 | $0 | $0 | $63 | ||||
2013
|
$0 | $0 | $0 | $ 0 |
Investor B Shares 1 | ||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
CDSCs
Received
by BRIL |
CDSCs
paid
to Affiliates |
||
National Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 52 | $ 52 | ||
2014
|
$1,084 | $1,084 | ||
2013
|
$1,897 | $1,897 |
Investor B Shares 1 | ||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
CDSCs
Received
by BRIL |
CDSCs
paid
to Affiliates |
||
Short-Term Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 0 | $ 0 | ||
2014
|
$ 0 | $ 0 | ||
2013
|
$ 949 | $ 949 |
1 | Additional Investor B CDSCs payable to the Distributors may have been waived or converted to a contingent obligation in connection with a shareholder’s participation in certain fee-based programs. Effective June 10, 2013, all issued and outstanding Investor B Shares of the Short-Term Fund were converted into Investor A1 Shares. |
Investor B1 Shares 1 | ||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
CDSCs
Received
by BRIL |
CDSCs
paid
to Affiliates |
||
National Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 0 | $ 0 | ||
2014
|
$ 0 | $ 0 | ||
2013
|
$29 | $29 |
1 | Effective June 10, 2013, all issued and outstanding Investor B1 Shares of the National Fund were converted into Investor A Shares. |
Investor C Shares | ||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
CDSCs
Received
by BRIL |
CDSCs
paid
to Affiliates |
||
National Fund | ||||
2015
|
$35,282 | $35,282 | ||
2014
|
$69,152 | $69,152 | ||
2013
|
$82,028 | $82,028 | ||
Short-Term Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 3,606 | $ 3,606 | ||
2014
|
$ 5,839 | $ 5,839 | ||
2013
|
$10,286 | $10,286 | ||
High Yield Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 5,551 | $ 5,551 | ||
2014
|
$13,251 | $13,251 | ||
2013
|
$15,459 | $15,459 |
Investor C1 Shares | ||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
CDSCs
Received
by BRIL |
CDSCs
paid
to Affiliates |
||
National Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 475 | $ 475 | ||
2014
|
$2,220 | $2,220 | ||
2013
|
$ 74 | $ 74 |
Paid to BRIL | ||||||
Class Name | National Fund | Short-Term Fund | High Yield Fund | |||
Investor A
Shares
|
$5,416,057 | $270,334 | $381,253 | |||
Investor A1
Shares
|
N/A | $ 35,409 | N/A | |||
Investor B Shares
|
$ 25,405 | N/A | N/A |
Paid to BRIL | ||||||
Class Name | National Fund | Short-Term Fund | High Yield Fund | |||
Investor C
Shares
|
$3,953,471 | $351,523 | $522,631 | |||
Investor C1 Shares
|
$ 547,792 | N/A | N/A | |||
Service Class
|
$ 3,127 | N/A | N/A |
Investor A Shares | |||
National Fund | High Yield Fund | ||
Net
Assets
|
$2,388,743,371 | $156,348,151 | |
Number of Shares Outstanding
|
219,745.396 | 16,885,736 | |
Net Asset Value Per Share (net assets divided by number
of shares
outstanding)
|
$10.87 | $9.26 | |
Sales Charge (for Investor A Shares: 4.25% of offering price; 4.44% of net asset value per
share)
1
|
$0.48 | $0.41 | |
Offering Price
|
$11.35 | $9.67 |
Short-Term Fund | |||
Investor A Shares | Investor A1 Shares | ||
Net Assets
|
$100,979,675 | $33,292,392 | |
Number of Shares
Outstanding
|
9,981,300 | 3,289,718 | |
Net Asset Value Per Share (net assets divided by number
of shares
outstanding)
|
$10.12 | $10.12 | |
Sales Charge (for Investor A and Investor A1 Shares: 3.00% and 1.00% of offering price; 3.09% and 1.01% of net asset value per share,
respectively)
1
|
$0.31 | $0.10 | |
Offering Price
|
$10.43 | $10.22 |
1 | Assumes maximum sales charge is applicable. |
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
Total
Brokerage
Commissions Paid |
Commissions
Paid
to Affiliates |
||
National Fund | ||||
2015
|
$23,275 | $0 | ||
2014
|
$ 8,838 | $0 | ||
2013
|
$10,490 | $0 | ||
Short-Term Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 230 | $0 | ||
2014
|
$ 0 | $0 | ||
2013
|
$ 0 | $0 |
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, |
Total
Brokerage
Commissions Paid |
Commissions
Paid
to Affiliates |
||
High Yield Fund | ||||
2015
|
$ 4,714 | $0 | ||
2014
|
$ 3,673 | $0 | ||
2013
|
$ 937 | $0 |
Name | Address | % | Class | |||
*NFS LLC FEBO |
499
Washington Blvd.
Jersey City, NJ 07310 |
56.97% | Investor A Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
16.39% | Investor A Shares | |||
*American Enterprise Investment Svc. |
707
2nd Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55402 |
6.10% | Investor A Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
62.44% | Investor B Shares | |||
*First Clearing, LLC |
2801
Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103 |
9.90% | Investor B Shares | |||
*Morgan Stanley & Co |
Harborside
Financial Center Plaza II
3rd Floor Jersey City, NJ 07311 |
5.62% | Investor B Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
52.80% | Investor C Shares | |||
*Morgan Stanley & Co. |
Harborside
Financial Center Plaza II
3rd Floor Jersey City, NJ 07311 |
13.04% | Investor C Shares | |||
*First Clearing, LLC |
2801
Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103 |
8.13% | Investor C Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
78.93% | Investor C1 Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
26.82% | Institutional Class | |||
*Edward D. Jones and Co. for the Benefit of Customers |
12555
Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63131-3710 |
24.96% | Institutional Class | |||
*Saxon and Co. |
PO
Box 7780-1888
Philadelphia, PA 19182 |
14.46% | Institutional Class | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
53.30% | BlackRock Shares |
Name | Address | % | Class | |||
*Morgan Stanley & Co. |
Harborside
Financial Center Plaza II
3rd Floor Jersey City, NJ 07311 |
5.70% | BlackRock Shares | |||
*Mainsource Bank |
201
North Broadway
Greensboro, IN 47240 |
24.44% | Service Shares | |||
*NFS LLC FEBO |
499
Washington Blvd
Jersey City, NJ 07310 |
23.60% | Service Shares | |||
*TD Ameritrade Inc. |
PO
Box 2226
Omaha, NE 68103-2226 |
12.24% | Service Shares | |||
Gloria Becker and Alvin Becker JTWROS |
301
Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809 |
8.18% | Service Shares | |||
William N. Barlow and Dixie A. Barlow |
301
Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809 |
8.03% | Service Shares | |||
Edward Groh Jr. |
301
Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809 |
6.23% | Service Shares |
* | Record holder that does not beneficially hold the shares. |
Name | Address | % | Class | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
47.57% | Investor A Shares | |||
*UBS WM USA |
499
Washington Blvd. 9th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07310-2055 |
10.18% | Investor A Shares | |||
*Edward D. Jones and Co. for the Benefit of Customers |
12555
Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63131-3710 |
8.22% | Investor A Shares | |||
*BNY
Mellon Investment Servicing Inc.
FBO Primerica Financial Services |
760
Moore Road
King of Prussia, PA 19406 |
6.60% | Investor A Shares | |||
*Pershing LLC |
1
Pershing Plaza
Jersey City, NJ 07399-0001 |
6.12% | Investor A Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
87.03% | Investor A1 Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
66.61% | Investor C Shares | |||
*First Clearing, LLC |
2801
Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103 |
11.17% | Investor C Shares | |||
*Morgan Stanley & Co. |
Harborside
Financial Center Plaza II
3rd Floor Jersey City, NJ 07311 |
5.80% | Investor C Shares | |||
*UBS WM USA |
499
Washington Blvd. 9th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07310-2055 |
5.13% | Investor C Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
52.63% | Institutional Class | |||
*Saxon and Co. |
PO
Box 7780-1888
Philadelphia, PA 19182 |
6.65% | Institutional Class | |||
*Saxon and Co. |
PO
Box 7780-1888
Philadelphia, PA 19182 |
6.70% | Institutional Class |
Name | Address | % | Class | |||
*Mac & Co. |
525
William Penn Place
PO Box 3198 Pittsburgh, PA 15230-3198 |
69.06% | Class K Shares | |||
*Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. |
101
Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94104-4122 |
20.73% | Class K Shares | |||
*Pershing LLC |
1
Pershing Plaza
Jersey City, NJ 07399-0001 |
5.15% | Class K Shares | |||
Bank
of America
FBO Nicole Ross |
301
Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809 |
5.06% | Class K Shares |
* | Record holder that does not beneficially hold the shares. |
Name | Address | % | Class | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
34.33% | Investor A Shares | |||
*NFS LLC FEBO |
499
Washington Blvd
Jersey City, NJ 07310 |
12.03% | Investor A Shares | |||
*Edward D. Jones and Co. for the Benefit of Customers |
12555
Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63131-3710 |
11.65% | Investor A Shares | |||
*UBS WM USA |
499
Washington Blvd. 9th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07310-2055 |
9.45% | Investor A Shares | |||
*American Enterprise Investment Svc. |
707
2nd Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55402 |
8.99% | Investor A Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
39.57% | Investor C Shares | |||
*Morgan Stanley & Co. |
Harborside
Financial Center Plaza II
3rd Floor Jersey City, NJ 07311 |
12.56% | Investor C Shares | |||
*UBS WM USA |
499
Washington Blvd. 9th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07310-2055 |
11.18% | Investor C Shares | |||
*First Clearing, LLC |
2801
Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103 |
10.07% | Investor C Shares | |||
*Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800
Deer Lake Drive East
Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
57.00% | Institutional Class | |||
*TD Ameritrade Inc. |
PO
Box 2226
Omaha, NE 68103-2226 |
6.42% | Institutional Class | |||
*UBS WM USA |
499
Washington Blvd. 9th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07310-2055 |
6.29% | Institutional Class | |||
*Charles Schwab and Co, Inc. |
101
Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94104-4122 |
5.66% | Institutional Class |
* | Record holder that does not beneficially hold the shares. |
• | Junk bonds may be issued by less creditworthy companies. These securities are vulnerable to adverse changes in the issuer’s industry and to general economic conditions. Issuers of junk bonds may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments or the unavailability of additional financing. |
• | The issuers of junk bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. If the issuer experiences financial stress, it may be unable to meet its debt obligations. The issuer’s ability to pay its debt obligations also may be lessened by specific issuer developments, or the unavailability of additional financing. Issuers of high yield securities are often in the growth stage of their development and/or involved in a reorganization or takeover. |
• | Junk bonds are frequently ranked junior to claims by other creditors. If the issuer cannot meet its obligations, the senior obligations are generally paid off before the junior obligations, which will potentially limit a Fund’s ability to fully recover principal or to receive interest payments when senior securities are in default. Thus, investors in high yield securities have a lower degree of protection with respect to principal and interest payments then do investors in higher rated securities. |
• | Junk bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from a Fund before it matures. If an issuer redeems the junk bonds, a Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income. |
• | Prices of junk bonds are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Negative economic developments may have a greater impact on the prices of junk bonds than on those of other higher rated fixed income securities. |
• | The secondary markets for high yield securities are not as liquid as the secondary markets for higher rated securities. The secondary markets for high yield securities are concentrated in relatively few market makers and participants in the markets are mostly institutional investors, including insurance companies, banks, other financial institutions and mutual funds. In addition, the trading volume for high yield securities is generally lower than that for higher rated securities and the secondary markets could contract under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. Under certain economic and/or market conditions, a Fund may have difficulty disposing of certain high yield securities due to the limited number of investors in that sector of the market. An illiquid secondary market may adversely affect the market price of the high yield security, which may result in increased difficulty selling the particular issue and obtaining accurate market quotations on the issue when valuing a Fund’s assets. Market quotations |
on high yield securities are available only from a limited number of dealers, and such quotations may not be the actual prices available for a purchase or sale. When the secondary market for high yield securities becomes more illiquid, or in the absence of readily available market quotations for such securities, the relative lack of reliable objective data makes it more difficult to value a Fund’s securities, and judgment plays a more important role in determining such valuations. | |
• | A Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer. |
• | The junk bond markets may react strongly to adverse news about an issuer or the economy, or to the perception or expectation of adverse news, whether or not it is based on fundamental analysis. Additionally, prices for high yield securities may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. These developments could adversely affect a Fund’s net asset value and investment practices, the secondary market for high yield securities, the financial condition of issuers of these securities and the value and liquidity of outstanding high yield securities, especially in a thinly traded market. For example, federal legislation requiring the divestiture by federally insured savings and loan associations of their investments in high yield bonds and limiting the deductibility of interest by certain corporate issuers of high yield bonds adversely affected the market in the past. |
• | The rating assigned by a rating agency evaluates the issuing agency’s assessment of the safety of a non-investment grade security’s principal and interest payments, but does not address market value risk. Because such ratings of the ratings agencies may not always reflect current conditions and events, in addition to using recognized rating agencies and other sources, the sub-adviser performs its own analysis of the issuers whose non-investment grade securities a Fund holds. Because of this, the Fund’s performance may depend more on the sub-adviser’s own credit analysis than in the case of mutual funds investing in higher-rated securities. |
(a) | U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued or supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks or savings institutions with total assets in excess of $1 billion (including obligations of foreign branches of such banks); |
(b) | high quality commercial paper and other obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. and foreign corporations and other issuers rated (at the time of purchase) A-2 or higher by S&P, Prime-2 or higher by Moody’s or F-2 or higher by Fitch, as well as high quality corporate bonds rated (at the time of purchase) A or higher by those rating agencies; |
(c) | unrated notes, paper and other instruments that are of comparable quality to the instruments described in (b) above as determined by the Fund’s Manager; |
(d) | asset-backed securities (including interests in pools of assets such as mortgages, installment purchase obligations and credit card receivables); |
(e) | securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government or by its agencies or authorities and related custodial receipts; |
(f) | dollar-denominated securities issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their political subdivisions, agencies or authorities; |
(g) | funding agreements issued by highly-rated U.S. insurance companies; |
(h) | securities issued or guaranteed by state or local governmental bodies; |
(i) | repurchase agreements relating to the above instruments; |
(j) | municipal bonds and notes whose principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S. Government or one of its agencies or authorities or which otherwise depend on the credit of the United States; |
(k) | fixed and variable rate notes and similar debt instruments rated MIG-2, VMIG-2 or Prime-2 or higher by Moody’s, SP-2 or A-2 or higher by S&P, or F-2 or higher by Fitch; |
(l) | tax-exempt commercial paper and similar debt instruments rated Prime-2 or higher by Moody’s, A-2 or higher by S&P, or F-2 or higher by Fitch; |
(m) | municipal bonds rated A or higher by Moody’s, S&P or Fitch; |
(n) | unrated notes, paper or other instruments that are of comparable quality to the instruments described above, as determined by the Fund’s Manager under guidelines established by the Board; and |
(o) | municipal bonds and notes which are guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government or an agency or instrumentality thereof or which otherwise depend directly or indirectly on the credit of the United States. |
1. | Month-end portfolio characteristics are available to shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries and consultants on the fifth calendar day after month-end. 1 |
2. | Fund Fact Sheets, which contain certain portfolio characteristics, are available, in both hard copy and electronically, to shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries and consultants on a monthly or quarterly basis no earlier than the fifth calendar day after the end of a month or quarter. |
3. | Money Market Performance Reports, which contain money market fund performance for the recent month, rolling 12-month average yields and benchmark performance, are available on a monthly basis to shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries and consultants by the tenth calendar day of the month. This information may also be obtained electronically upon request. |
• | Generally, month-end portfolio holdings may be made available to fund shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries, consultants and third party data providers ( e.g. , Lipper, Morningstar and Bloomberg) on the 20th calendar day after the end of each month; except for BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, Inc., BlackRock Global Allocation Portfolio of BlackRock Series Fund, Inc. and BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Fund of BlackRock Variable Series Funds, Inc., whose holdings may be made available on the 40 th calendar day after the end of the quarter (based on each Fund’s fiscal year end). 1 |
• | Weekly portfolio holdings made available to fund shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries and consultants on the next business day after the end of the weekly period. |
1 | The precise number of days specified above may vary slightly from period to period depending on whether the specified calendar day falls on a weekend or holiday. |
• | Weekly portfolio holdings and characteristics made available to third-party data providers ( e.g. , Lipper, Morningstar, Bloomberg, S&P, Fitch, Moody’s, Crane Data and iMoneyNet, Inc.) on the next business day after the end of the weekly period. |
1. | Fund’s Board of Directors and, if necessary independent Directors’ counsel and Fund counsel |
2. | Fund’s Transfer Agent |
3. | Fund’s Custodian |
4. | Fund’s Administrator, if applicable |
5. | Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm |
6. | Fund’s accounting services provider |
7. | Independent rating agencies — Morningstar, Inc., Lipper Inc., S&P, Moody’s, Fitch |
8. | Information aggregators — Markit on Demand, Thomson Financial and Bloomberg, eVestments Alliance, Informa/PSN Investment Solutions, Crane Data, and iMoneyNet |
9. | Sponsors of 401(k) plans that include BlackRock-advised funds — E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Company, Inc. |
10. | Consultants for pension plans that invest in BlackRock-advised funds — Rocaton Investment Advisors, LLC, Mercer Investment Consulting, Callan Associates, Brockhouse & Cooper, Cambridge Associates, Morningstar/Investorforce, Russell Investments (Mellon Analytical Solutions), and Wilshire Associates |
11. | Pricing Vendors — Reuters Pricing Service, Bloomberg, FT Interactive Data (FT IDC), ITG, Telekurs Financial, FactSet Research Systems, Inc., JP Morgan Pricing Direct (formerly Bear Stearns Pricing Service), Standard and Poor’s Security Evaluations Service, Lehman Index Pricing, Bank of America High Yield Index, Loan Pricing Corporation (LPC), LoanX, Super Derivatives, IBOXX Index, Barclays Euro Gov’t Inflation-Linked Bond Index, JPMorgan Emerging & Developed Market Index, Reuters/WM Company, Nomura BPI Index, Japan Securities Dealers Association, Valuation Research Corporate and Murray, Devine & Co., Inc. |
12. | Portfolio Compliance Consultants — Oracle/i-Flex Solutions, Inc. |
13. | Third-party feeder funds — Hewitt Money Market Fund, Hewitt Series Fund, Hewitt Financial Services LLC, Homestead, Inc., Transamerica, State Farm Mutual Fund, Sterling Capital Funds and their respective boards, sponsors, administrators and other service providers |
14. | Affiliated feeder funds — BlackRock Cayman Prime Money Market Fund, Ltd. and BlackRock Cayman Treasury Money Market Fund Ltd., and their respective boards, sponsors, administrators and other service providers |
15. | Other — Investment Company Institute and Mizuho Asset Management Co., Ltd. |
$1 million but less than $3
million
|
0.50% |
$3 million but less than $15
million
|
0.25% |
$15 million and
above
|
0.15% |
$1 million but less than $3
million
|
0.75% |
$3 million but less than $15
million
|
0.50% |
$15 million and
above
|
0.25% |
$1 million but less than $3
million
|
0.15% |
$3 million but less than $15
million
|
0.10% |
$15 million and above
|
0.05% |
$1 million but less than $3
million
|
1.00% |
$3 million but less than $15
million
|
0.50% |
$15 million and
above
|
0.25% |
$500,000 but less than $3
million
|
0.75% |
$3 million but less than $15
million
|
0.50% |
$15 million and
above
|
0.25% |
$1 million but less than $4
million
|
1.00% |
$4 million but less than $10
million
|
0.50% |
$10 million and
above
|
0.25% |
$250,000 and above
|
0.50% |
$250,000 but less than $4
million
|
1.00% |
$4 million but less than $10
million
|
0.50% |
$10 million and
above
|
0.25% |
Years
Since Purchase
Payment Made |
CDSC
as a Percentage
of Dollar Amount Subject to Charge* |
|
0 –
1
|
4.00% | |
1 –
2
|
4.00% | |
2 –
3
|
3.00% | |
3 –
4
|
3.00% | |
4 –
5
|
2.00% | |
5 –
6
|
1.00% | |
6 and
thereafter
|
None |
Years
Since Purchase
Payment Made |
CDSC
as a Percentage
of Dollar Amount Subject to Charge* |
|
0 –
1
|
4.50% | |
1 –
2
|
4.00% | |
2 –
3
|
3.50% | |
3 –
4
|
3.00% | |
4 –
5
|
2.00% | |
5 –
6
|
1.00% | |
6 and
thereafter
|
None |
* | The percentage charge will apply to the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or the proceeds of your redemption. Shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends are not subject to a deferred sales charge. Not all BlackRock funds have identical deferred sales charge schedules. If you exchange your shares for shares of another fund, the original charge will apply. |
Aaa | Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk. |
Aa | Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk. |
A | Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk. |
Baa | Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics. |
Ba | Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk. |
B | Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk. |
Caa | Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk. |
Ca | Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest. |
C | Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest. |
P-1 | Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations. |
P-2 | Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations. |
P-3 | Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations. |
NP | Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories. |
MIG 1 | This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing. |
MIG 2 | This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group. |
MIG 3 | This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established. |
SG | This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection. |
VMIG 1 | This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. |
VMIG 2 | This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. |
VMIG 3 | This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. |
SG | This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. |
• | Likelihood of payment — capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation; |
• | Nature of and provisions of the obligation, and the promise we impute; |
• | Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights. |
AAA | An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong. |
AA | An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong. |
A | An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong. |
BBB | An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
BB;
B; CCC; CC; and C |
Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions. |
BB | An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
B | An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
CCC | An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
CC | An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘CC’ rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poor’s expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default. |
C | An obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher. |
D | An obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer. |
NR | This indicates that no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor’s does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy. |
A-1 | A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong. |
A-2 | A short-term obligation rated ‘A-2’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory. |
A-3 | A short-term obligation rated ‘A-3’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
B | A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments. |
C | A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. |
D | A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer. |
• | Amortization schedule — the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and |
• | Source of payment — the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note. |
Standard & Poor’s municipal short-term note rating symbols are as follows: |
SP-1 | Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation. |
SP-2 | Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes. |
SP-3 | Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest. |
AAA | Highest credit quality. ‘AAA’ ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events. |
AA | Very high credit quality. ‘AA’ ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events. |
A | High credit quality. ‘A’ ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings. |
BBB | Good credit quality. ‘BBB’ ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. |
BB | Speculative. ‘BB’ ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met. |
B | Highly speculative. ‘B’ ratings indicate that material credit risk is present. |
CCC | Substantial credit risk. ‘CCC’ ratings indicate that substantial credit risk is present. |
CC | Very high levels of credit risk. ‘CC’ ratings indicate very high levels of credit risk. |
C | Exceptionally high levels of credit risk. ‘C’ indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk. |
F1 | Highest short-term credit quality. Indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature. |
F2 | Good short-term credit quality. Good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. |
F3 | Fair short-term credit quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate. |
B | Speculative short-term credit quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions. |
C | High short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility. |
RD | Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only. |
D | Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation. |
1 | iShares MSCI All Peru Capped ETF, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF, iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF and iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF have separate Fund Proxy Voting Policies. |
Page | |
|
B-5 |
|
B-5 |
|
B-5 |
|
B-6 |
|
B-7 |
|
B-7 |
|
B-8 |
|
B-8 |
|
B-8 |
|
B-9 |
|
B-9 |
|
B-9 |
|
B-10 |
|
B-11 |
|
B-11 |
• | Boards and directors |
• | Auditors and audit-related issues |
• | Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions |
• | Remuneration and benefits |
• | Social, ethical and environmental issues |
• | General corporate governance matters |
• | establishing an appropriate corporate governance structure; |
• | supporting and overseeing management in setting strategy; |
• | ensuring the integrity of financial statements; |
• | making decisions regarding mergers, acquisitions and disposals; |
• | establishing appropriate executive compensation structures; and |
• | addressing business issues including social, ethical and environmental issues when they have the potential to materially impact company reputation and performance. |
• | current employment at the company or a subsidiary; |
• | former employment within the past several years as an executive of the company; |
• | providing substantial professional services to the company and/or members of the company’s management; |
• | having had a substantial business relationship in the past three years; |
• | having, or representing a shareholder with, a substantial shareholding in the company; |
• | being an immediate family member of any of the aforementioned; and |
• | interlocking directorships. |
• | BlackRock has adopted a proxy voting oversight structure whereby the Corporate Governance Committees oversee the voting decisions and other activities of the Corporate Governance Group, and particularly its activities with respect to voting in the relevant region of each Corporate Governance Committee’s jurisdiction. |
• | The Corporate Governance Committees have adopted Guidelines for each region, which set forth the firm’s views with respect to certain corporate governance and other issues that typically arise in the proxy voting context. The Corporate Governance Committees receive periodic reports regarding the specific votes cast by the Corporate Governance Group and regular updates on material process issues, procedural changes and other matters of concern to the Corporate Governance Committees. |
• | BlackRock’s Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee oversees the Global Head, the Corporate Governance Group and the Corporate Governance Committees. The Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee conducts a review, at least annually, of the proxy voting process to ensure compliance with BlackRock’s risk policies and procedures. |
• | BlackRock maintains a reporting structure that separates the Global Head and Corporate Governance Group from employees with sales responsibilities. In addition, BlackRock maintains procedures intended to ensure that all engagements with corporate issuers or dissident shareholders are managed consistently and without regard to BlackRock’s relationship with the issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder. Within the normal course of business, the Global Head or Corporate Governance Group may engage directly with BlackRock clients, and with employees with sales responsibilities, in discussions regarding general corporate governance policy matters, and to otherwise ensure that proxy-related client service levels are met. The Global Head or Corporate Governance Group does not discuss any specific voting matter with a client prior to the disclosure of the vote decision to all applicable clients after the shareholder meeting has taken place, except if the client is acting in the capacity as issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder and is engaging through the established procedures independent of the client relationship. |
• | In certain instances, BlackRock may determine to engage an independent fiduciary to vote proxies as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest or as otherwise required by applicable law. The independent fiduciary may either vote such proxies or provide BlackRock with instructions as to how to vote such proxies. In the latter case, BlackRock votes the proxy in accordance with the independent fiduciary’s determination. Use of an independent fiduciary has been adopted for voting the proxies related to any company that is affiliated with BlackRock or any company that includes BlackRock employees on its board of directors. |
Exhibit
Number |
Description | |
1(a) | — | Articles of Incorporation, dated September 30, 1976.(a) |
(b) | — | Articles of Amendment, dated October 4, 1976.(a) |
(c) | — | Articles of Amendment changing the name of the Registrant, dated April 22, 1977.(a) |
(d) | — | Articles of Amendment increasing the number of shares of authorized capital stock, dated September 21, 1979.(a) |
(e) | — | Articles of Amendment increasing the number of shares of authorized capital stock, dated June 11, 1984.(a) |
(f) | — | Articles of Amendment increasing the number of shares of authorized capital stock, dated January 28, 1987.(a) |
(g) | — | Articles of Amendment increasing the number of shares of authorized capital stock, dated March 2, 1987.(a) |
(h) | — | Articles of Amendment reclassifying shares of common stock, dated September 30, 1988.(a) |
(i) | — | Articles Supplementary to the Articles of Incorporation increasing the number of shares of authorized capital stock, dated May 21, 1990.(a) |
(j) | — | Articles Supplementary to the Articles of Incorporation reclassifying shares of common stock, dated June 21, 1991.(a) |
(k) | — | Articles Supplementary to the Articles of Incorporation increasing the number of shares of authorized capital stock, dated October 18, 1994.(a) |
(l) | — | Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation, dated October 21, 1994.(a) |
(m) | — | Articles of Amendment to Articles Supplementary renaming issued and outstanding shares of capital stock, dated October 4, 2001.(b) |
(n) | — | Articles of Amendment redesignating Class A Common Stock into Class I Common Stock and Class D Common Stock into Class A Common Stock, dated April 14, 2003.(b) |
(o) | — | Articles of Amendment to Articles Supplementary to Articles of Incorporation designating Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock, Class C Common Stock and Class I Common Stock of BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund (formerly, Limited Maturity Portfolio), dated December 28, 2004.(n) |
(p) | — | Articles Supplementary to Articles of Incorporation increasing the authorized capital stock and reclassifying shares of authorized capital stock, dated March 10, 2006.(c) |
(q) | — | Articles of Amendment to Articles Supplementary to Articles of Incorporation increasing the authorized capital stock and reclassifying shares of authorized common stock, dated July 7, 2006.(d) |
(r) | — | Form of Articles of Amendment changing name to BlackRock Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.(n) |
(s) | — | Form of Articles of Amendment Reclassifying Shares of Authorized Capital Stock.(n) |
(t) | — | Form of Articles Supplementary to Articles of Incorporation Increasing the Authorized Capital Stock.(n) |
(u) | — | Articles of Amendment changing the name of a series of the Registrant.(s) |
(v) | — | Form of Articles Supplementary reclassifying shares of common stock.(s) |
(w) | — | Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation converting the BlackRock Shares of BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund Common Stock into Class K Common Stock.* |
2 | — | Amended and Restated By-Laws, dated December 9, 2008.(r) |
3 | — | Instruments Defining Rights of Security Holders, Incorporated by Reference to Exhibits 1 and 2 above. |
4(a) | — | Form of Investment Management Agreement between Registrant and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Investment Adviser”), with respect to the BlackRock National Municipal Fund and the BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund.(r) |
Exhibit
Number |
Description | |
(b) | — | Form of Investment Management Agreement between Registrant and the Investment Adviser, with respect to the BlackRock High Yield Municipal Fund.(n) |
5 | — | Form of Unified Distribution Agreement between Registrant and BlackRock Investments, Inc.(p) |
6 | — | Inapplicable. |
7 | — | Form of Custodian Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York dated October 26, 2001.(e) |
8(a) | — | Form of Transfer Agency and Shareholder Services Agreement between Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (o) |
(b) | — | Form of Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement among the Registrant, a syndicate of banks and certain other parties.(g) |
(c) | — | Form of Administrative Services Agreement between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company.(h) |
(d) | — | Form of Third Amended and Restated Securities Lending Agency Agreement between the Registrant and BlackRock Investment Management, LLC.(x) |
(e) | — | Form of Amended and Restated Shareholders’ Administrative Services Agreement between the Registrant and the Investment Adviser.(t) |
(f) | — | Form of Appendix A to the Amended and Restated Shareholders’ Administrative Services Agreement between the Registrant and Investment Adviser.(u) |
(g) | — | Form of Seventh Amended and Restated Expense Limitation Agreement, by and between the Registrant and BlackRock Advisors, LLC, among others. (v) |
9 | — | Opinion and Consent of Rogers & Wells LLP.(l) |
10 | — | Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered public accounting firm for the Registrant.* |
11 | — | Inapplicable. |
12(a) | — | Letter from Fund Asset Management, Inc. with respect to the purchase of 10,417 shares of Registrant’s Common Stock.(j) |
(b) | — | Letter from Fund Asset Management, L.P. with respect to the purchase of shares of Registrant’s Class C and Class D Common Stock of the National Fund.(k) |
(c) | — | Letter from Fund Asset Management, L.P. with respect to the purchase of shares of Registrant’s Class C and Class D Common Stock of the Short-Term Fund.(k) |
(d) | — | Certificate of the Sole Stockholder from Fund Asset Management, L.P. with respect to the purchase of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock of the High Yield Portfolio, dated July 10, 2006.(d) |
13(a) | — | Form of Unified Investor A Distribution Plan.(p) |
(b) | — | Form of Unified Investor A1 Distribution Plan.(p) |
(c) | — | Form of Unified Investor B Distribution Plan.(p) |
(d) | — | Form of Unified Investor C Distribution Plan.(p) |
(e) | — | Form of Unified Investor C1 Distribution Plan.(p) |
14 | — | Plan pursuant to Rule 18f-3.(f) |
15 | — | Reserved. |
16(a) | — | Code of Ethics of Registrant.(i) |
(b) | — | Code of Ethics of BlackRock Investments, Inc.(i) |
(c) | — | Code of Ethics of the Investment Adviser.(i) |
17 | — | Power of Attorney.(m) |
* | Filed herewith. |
(a) | Filed on October 4, 2004 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 30 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 2-57354) (the “Registration Statement”). |
(b) | Filed on October 14, 2003 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to the Registration Statement. |
(c) | Filed on March 15, 2006 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 32 to the Registration Statement. |
(d) | Filed on July 11, 2006 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 to the Registration Statement. |
(e) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 7 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 13 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of The Asset Program, Inc. (File No. 33-53887), filed on March 21, 2002. |
(f) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 51 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of BlackRock Basic Value Fund, Inc. (File No. 2-58521), filed on February 3, 2015. |
(g) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit h(13) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 67 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of Master Investment Portfolio (Registration No. 811-08162), filed on April 29, 2015. |
(h) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8(d) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of BlackRock Focus Growth Fund, Inc. (formerly, Merrill Lynch Focus Twenty Fund, Inc.) (File No. 333-89775), filed on March 20, 2001. |
(i) | Incorporated by reference to an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 48 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of BlackRock Value Opportunities Fund, Inc. (File No. 60836), filed on July 28, 2014. |
(j) | Filed on August 10, 1979 as Exhibit 13 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement. |
(k) | Filed on October 18, 1994 as Exhibits 13(b), 13(c) and 13(d), respectively, to Post-Effective Amendment No. 19 to the Registration Statement. |
(l) | Filed on October 29, 1999 as Exhibit 9 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 25 to the Registration Statement. |
(m) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 16 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 34 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of BlackRock Mid Cap Value Opportunities Series, Inc. (File No. 33-53887), filed on May 26, 2015. |
(n) | Filed on September 29, 2006 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 37 to the Registration Statement. |
(o) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8(a) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 48 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of BlackRock Series Fund, Inc. (File No. 69062), filed on April 18, 2014. |
(p) | Filed on October 28, 2008 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 41 to the Registration Statement. |
(r) | Filed on October 29, 2009, as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 43 to the Registration Statement. |
(s) | Filed on October 27, 2011 as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 48 to the Registration Statement. |
(t) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8(i) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 35 to the Registration Statement of BlackRock EuroFund (File No. 33-04026) filed on October 26, 2012. |
(u) | Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 8(f) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 138 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of BlackRock Funds II (File No. 333-142542), filed on October 31, 2014. |
(v) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8(f) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 50 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of Funds for Institutions Series (File No. 33-14190), filed on August 26, 2015. |
(x) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 8(d) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 41 of the Registration Statement on Form N-1A of BlackRock California Municipal Opportunities Fund of BlackRock California Municipal Series Trust (File No. 2-96581), filed on January 26, 2015. |
Name | Position(s) and Office(s) with BRIL |
Position(s)
and
Office(s) with Registrant |
Anne Ackerley | Managing Director | None |
Matthew Mallow | General Counsel and Senior Managing Director | None |
Russell McGranahan | Secretary and Managing Director | None |
Ned Montenecourt | Chief Compliance Officer and Director | None |
Saurabh Pathak | Chief Financial Officer and Director | None |
Francis Porcelli | Managing Director and Member, Board of Managers | None |
Brenda Sklar | Managing Director | None |
Lisa Hill | Managing Director | None |
Joseph Craven | Managing Director | None |
Terri Slane | Director and Assistant Secretary | None |
Chris Nugent | Director | None |
Melissa Walker | Vice President and Assistant Secretary | None |
Richard Prager | Member, Board of Managers | None |
Christopher Vogel | Member, Board of Managers | None |
BlackRock
Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
(Registrant) |
|
By: | /s/ John M. Perlowski |
(John
M. Perlowski,
President and Chief Executive Officer) |
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/
John M. Perlowski
(John M. Perlowski) |
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | October 28, 2015 | ||
/s/
Neal J. Andrews
(Neal J. Andrews) |
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | October 28, 2015 | ||
James H.
Bodurtha*
(James H. Bodurtha) |
Director | |||
Bruce R.
Bond*
(Bruce R. Bond) |
Director | |||
Valerie
G. Brown*
(Valerie G. Brown) |
Director | |||
Donald W.
Burton*
(Donald W. Burton) |
Director | |||
Stuart E.
Eizenstat*
(Stuart E. Eizenstat) |
Director | |||
Kenneth A.
Froot*
(Kenneth A. Froot) |
Director | |||
Robert M.
Hernandez*
(Robert M. Hernandez) |
Director | |||
John F.
O’Brien*
(John F. O’Brien) |
Director | |||
Donald
C. Opatrny*
(Donald C. Opatrny) |
Director | |||
Roberta Cooper Ramo*
(Roberta Cooper Ramo) |
Director |
Signature | Title | Date | ||
David H.
Walsh*
(David H. Walsh) |
Director | |||
Fred G.
Weiss*
(Fred G. Weiss) |
Director | |||
Robert
Fairbairn*
(Robert Fairbairn) |
Director | |||
Henry Gabbay*
(Henry Gabbay) |
Director | |||
*By:
/s/ Benjamin Archibald
(Benjamin Archibald, Attorney-In-Fact) |
October 28, 2015 |
Exhibits | Description | |
1(w) | — | Articles of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation converting the BlackRock Shares of BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund into Class K Common Stock of BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Bond Fund |
10 | — | Consent of independent registered public accounting firm for the Registrant |
Exhibit 1(w)
BLACKROCK MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC.
ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT
BLACKROCK MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC., a Maryland corporation (the Corporation), does hereby certify to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of the State of Maryland that:
FIRST : Pursuant to Section 2-605 of the Maryland General Corporation Law (the MGCL), the charter of the Corporation is hereby amended by renaming the class of stock of the BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund series of the Corporation as set forth below:
Current Name of Class of BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund |
New Name of Class of BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund |
|
BlackRock Common Stock | Class K Common Stock |
SECOND : The amendment to the charter of the Corporation that is effected by these Articles of Amendment has been approved by a majority of the entire board of directors of the Corporation and is limited to a change expressly authorized by Section 2-605(a)(2) of the MGCL to be made without action by the stockholders of the Corporation.
THIRD : The authorized stock of the Corporation has not been increased by these Articles of Amendment.
FOURTH : As amended hereby, the charter of the Corporation shall remain in full force and effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, BLACKROCK MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC., has caused these Articles of Amendment to be signed in its name and on its behalf by the person named below who acknowledges that these Articles of Amendment are the act of the Corporation and that, as to all matters and facts required to be verified under oath and to the best of his knowledge, information and belief under the penalties of perjury, the matters and facts set forth herein are true in all material respects, as of this 31st day of August 2015.
BLACKROCK MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC. | ||
By: |
/s/ John M. Perlowski |
|
Name: | John M. Perlowski | |
Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer |
Witness:
/s/ Benjamin Archibald
Name: Benjamin Archibald
Title: Secretary
- 2 -
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Post-Effective Amendment No. 56 to Registration Statement No. 002-57354 on Form N-1A of our report dated August 24, 2015, relating to the financial statements and financial highlights of BlackRock High Yield Municipal Fund, BlackRock National Municipal Fund, and BlackRock Short-Term Municipal Fund of BlackRock Municipal Bond Fund, Inc. (the Funds), appearing in the Annual Report on Form N-CSR of the Funds for the year ended June 30, 2015. We also consent to the references to us under the headings Financial Highlights and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm in the Prospectuses and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and Financial Statements in the Statement of Additional Information, which are part of such Registration Statement.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
October 28, 2015