REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | ☒ |
Pre-Effective Amendment No. | □ |
Post-Effective Amendment No. 72 | ☒ |
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ☒ |
Amendment No. 71 | ☒ |
Counsel for the Fund: | |
John A. MacKinnon, Esq.
Sidley Austin LLP 787 Seventh Avenue New York, New York 10019 |
Janey Ahn, Esq.
BlackRock Advisors, LLC 55 East 52nd Street New York, New York 10055 |
Prospectus |
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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Details About the Fund | Information about how the Fund invests, including investment objective, investment process, principal strategies and risk factors | |
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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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General Information |
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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 |
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment) |
Investor A
Shares |
Investor C
Shares |
Institutional
Shares |
Class R
Shares |
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Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) | 5.25% | None | None | None | ||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) | None1 | 1.00%2 | None | 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 |
Class R
Shares |
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Management Fee3 | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.50% | ||||
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | 0.25% | 1.00% | None | 0.50% | ||||
Other Expenses4,5 | 0.18% | 0.29% | 0.16% | 0.22% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses5 | 0.93% | 1.79% | 0.66% | 1.22% | ||||
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements3,6 | (0.20)% | (0.31)% | (0.18)% | (0.24)% | ||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements3,6 | 0.73% | 1.48% | 0.48% | 0.98% |
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 as part of an investment of $1,000,000 or more. |
2 | There is no CDSC on Investor C Shares after one year. |
3 | As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 39, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Fund’s assets estimated to be attributable to investments in other equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2023. In addition, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to BlackRock indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates, through June 30, 2023. The contractual agreements 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. |
4 | Other Expenses have been restated to reflect current fees. |
5 | The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratios of expenses to average net assets given in the Fund’s most recent annual report, which do not include the restatement of Other Expenses to reflect current fees. |
6 | As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 39, 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 0.73% (for Investor A Shares), 1.48% (for Investor C Shares), 0.48% (for Institutional Shares) and 0.98% (for Class R Shares) of average daily net assets through June 30, 2023. 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 | $596 | $767 | $975 | $1,572 |
Investor C Shares | $251 | $501 | $910 | $1,825 |
Institutional Shares | $49 | $174 | $331 | $787 |
Class R Shares | $100 | $338 | $623 | $1,434 |
1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
Investor C Shares | $151 | $501 | $910 | $1,825 |
■ | Convertible Securities Risk — The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including: |
Volatility Risk — 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. | |
Counterparty Risk — Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. | |
Market and Illiquidity Risk — 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 Risk — 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. | |
Hedging Risk — Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging may result in certain adverse tax consequences. | |
Tax Risk — 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. Such treatment may be less favorable than that given to a direct investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund realizes from its investments. | |
Regulatory Risk — Derivative contracts, including, without limitation, swaps, currency forwards and non-deliverable forwards, are subject to regulation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) in the United States and under comparable regimes in Europe, Asia and other non-U.S. jurisdictions. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, certain derivatives are subject to margin requirements and swap dealers are required to collect margin from the Fund with respect to such derivatives. Specifically, regulations are now in effect that require swap dealers to post and collect variation margin (comprised of specified liquid instruments and subject to a required haircut) in connection with trading of over-the-counter (“OTC”) swaps with the Fund. Shares of investment companies (other than certain money market funds) may not be posted as collateral under these regulations. Requirements for posting of initial margin in connection with OTC swaps will be phased-in through at least 2021. In addition, regulations adopted by global prudential regulators that are now in effect require certain bank-regulated counterparties and certain of their affiliates to include in certain financial contracts, including many derivatives contracts, terms that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties, such as the Fund, to terminate such contracts, foreclose upon collateral, exercise other default rights or restrict transfers of credit support in the event that the counterparty and/or its affiliates are subject to certain types of resolution or insolvency proceedings. The implementation of these requirements with respect to derivatives, as well as regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act regarding clearing, mandatory trading and margining of other derivatives, may increase the costs and risks to the Fund of trading in these instruments and, as a result, may affect returns to investors in the Fund.
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On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies (“Rule 18f-4”). The Fund will be required to implement and comply with Rule 18f-4 by August 19, 2022. Once implemented, Rule 18f-4 will impose limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminate the asset segregation framework currently used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, treat derivatives as senior securities so that a failure to comply with the limits would result in a statutory violation and require funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program and appoint a derivatives risk manager. |
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■ | Equity Securities Risk — Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions. |
■ | High Portfolio Turnover Risk — The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. The sale of Fund portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance. |
■ | Investment Style Risk — Under certain market conditions, value investments have performed better during periods of economic recovery. Therefore, this investment style may over time go in and out of favor. At times when the investment style used by the Fund is out of favor, the Fund may underperform other equity funds that use different investment styles. |
■ | 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. | |
■ | 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. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. 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. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis and is subject to “Model Risk” as described below. This means you may lose money. |
A recent outbreak of an infectious coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
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■ | Model Risk — The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than as forecasted due to the factors incorporated into the models and the weighting of each factor, changes from historical trends, and issues in the construction and implementation of the models (including, but not limited to, software issues and other technological issues). There is no guarantee that BlackRock’s use of these models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. |
The information and data used in the models may be supplied by third parties. Inaccurate or incomplete data may limit the effectiveness of the models. In addition, some of the data that BlackRock uses may be historical data, which may not accurately predict future market movement. There is a risk that the models will not be successful in selecting investments or in determining the weighting of investment positions that will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective. | |
■ | “New Issues” Risk — “New issues” are IPOs of equity securities. Securities issued in IPOs have no trading history, and information about the companies may be available for very limited periods. In addition, the prices of securities sold in IPOs may be highly volatile or may decline shortly after the IPO. |
■ | Preferred Securities Risk — Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred securities of larger companies. |
■ | Small and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — Companies with small or mid-size market capitalizations will normally have more limited product lines, markets and financial resources and will be dependent upon a more limited management group than larger capitalized companies. In addition, it is more difficult to get information on smaller companies, which tend to be less well known, have shorter operating histories, do not have significant ownership by large investors and are followed by relatively few securities analysts. |
For the periods ended 12/31/20
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. — Investor A Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 13.21% | 12.77% | 10.79% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 11.77% | 9.97% | 9.28% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 8.49% | 9.41% | 8.46% |
BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. — Investor C Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 17.58% | 13.11% | 10.64% |
BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. — Institutional Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 19.80% | 14.28% | 11.67% |
BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. — Class R Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 19.20% | 13.70% | 11.07% |
Russell 2500TM Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
19.99% | 13.64% | 11.97% |
Russell 3000® Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
20.89% | 15.43% | 13.79% |
Name |
Portfolio Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Raffaele Savi | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Travis Cooke, CFA | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Richard Mathieson | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Investor A and Investor C Shares | Institutional Shares | Class R Shares | |
Minimum Initial
Investment |
$1,000 for all accounts except:
• $50, if establishing an Automatic Investment Plan. • There is no investment minimum for employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs). • There is no investment minimum for certain fee-based programs. |
There is no minimum initial investment
• 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. |
$100 for all accounts. |
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. | No subsequent minimum. |
■ | Borrowing — The Fund may borrow up to the limits set forth under the Investment Company Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief. |
■ | Foreign Securities — The Fund may invest in companies located in countries other than the United States. |
■ | Illiquid Investments — The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. |
■ | Investment Companies — The Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), 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 ETFs. |
■ | Money Market Securities — The Fund may invest in money market securities or commercial paper. |
■ | Real Estate Investment Trusts — The Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs are companies that own interests in real estate or in real estate-related loans or other interests, and have revenue primarily consisting of rent derived from owned, income producing real estate properties and capital gains from the sale of such properties. REITs can generally be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity REITs and mortgage REITs. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). |
■ | Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts — The Fund may enter into certain types of repurchase agreements or purchase and sale contracts. Under a repurchase agreement, the seller agrees to repurchase a security at a mutually agreed-upon time and price. A purchase and sale contract is similar to a repurchase agreement, but purchase and sale contracts also provide that the purchaser receives any interest on the security paid during the period. |
■ | Restricted Securities — 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. They may include Rule 144A securities, which are privately placed securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public, and securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers that are offered pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. |
■ | Reverse Repurchase Agreements — Reverse repurchase agreements are transactions in which the Fund sells a security with the obligation to repurchase the security shortly thereafter at a specified price which reflects a payment by the Fund. The Fund profits from entering into a reverse repurchase agreement by reinvesting the proceeds of the sale at a higher return than it has to pay to repurchase its security. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Temporary Defensive Strategies — The Fund may, as a temporary defensive measure, and without limitation, hold assets in other types of securities, including non-convertible preferred stock and debt securities, U.S. Government and money market securities, including repurchase agreements or cash, in such proportions as BlackRock may determine. Normally, a portion of the Fund’s assets would be held in these securities in anticipation of investment in equities or to meet redemptions. Short-term investments and temporary defensive positions may be more easily sold and may have more limited risk of loss but may limit the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. |
■ | Warrants — A warrant gives the Fund the right to buy stock. The warrant specifies the amount of underlying stock, the purchase (or “exercise”) price and the date the warrant expires. The Fund has no obligation to exercise the warrant and buy the stock. A warrant has value only if the Fund is able to exercise it or sell it before it expires. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — The purchase or sale of securities on a when-issued basis or 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. |
■ | Convertible Securities Risk — The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including: |
Volatility 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. | |
Counterparty Risk — Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. | |
Market and Illiquidity Risk — Some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than other securities. 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. The Fund could also suffer losses related to its derivatives positions as a result of unanticipated market movements, which losses are potentially unlimited. Finally, BlackRock may not be able to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates and other economic factors, which could cause the Fund’s derivatives positions to lose value. | |
Valuation Risk — 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 may also 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. | |
Hedging Risk — When a derivative is used as a hedge against a position that the Fund holds, any loss generated by the derivative generally should be substantially offset by gains on the hedged investment, and vice versa. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains. Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging may result in certain adverse tax consequences noted below. | |
Tax Risk — The federal income tax treatment of a derivative may not be as favorable as a direct investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund realizes from its investments. As a result, a larger portion of the Fund’s distributions may be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gains. In addition, certain derivatives are subject to mark-to-market or straddle provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. If such provisions are applicable, there could be an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by the Fund. In addition, the tax treatment of certain derivatives, such as swaps, is unsettled and |
may be subject to future legislation, regulation or administrative pronouncements issued by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). | |
Regulatory Risk — Derivative contracts, including, without limitation, swaps, currency forwards and non-deliverable forwards, are subject to regulation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) in the United States and under comparable regimes in Europe, Asia and other non-U.S. jurisdictions. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, certain derivatives are subject to margin requirements and swap dealers are required to collect margin from the Fund with respect to such derivatives. Specifically, regulations are now in effect that require swap dealers to post and collect variation margin (comprised of specified liquid instruments and subject to a required haircut) in connection with trading of over-the-counter (“OTC”) swaps with the Fund. Shares of investment companies (other than certain money market funds) may not be posted as collateral under these regulations. Requirements for posting of initial margin in connection with OTC swaps will be phased-in through at least 2021. In addition, regulations adopted by global prudential regulators that are now in effect require certain bank-regulated counterparties and certain of their affiliates to include in certain financial contracts, including many derivatives contracts, terms that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties, such as the Fund, to terminate such contracts, foreclose upon collateral, exercise other default rights or restrict transfers of credit support in the event that the counterparty and/or its affiliates are subject to certain types of resolution or insolvency proceedings. The implementation of these requirements with respect to derivatives, as well as regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act regarding clearing, mandatory trading and margining of other derivatives, may increase the costs and risks to the Fund of trading in these instruments and, as a result, may affect returns to investors in the Fund. | |
On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted new regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies (“Rule 18f-4”). The Fund will be required to implement and comply with Rule 18f-4 by August 19, 2022. Once implemented, Rule 18f-4 will impose limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminate the asset segregation framework currently used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the Investment Company Act, treat derivatives as senior securities so that a failure to comply with the limits would result in a statutory violation and require funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program and appoint a derivatives risk manager.
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In addition, other future regulatory developments may impact the Fund’s ability to invest or remain invested in certain derivatives. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which the Fund itself is regulated. BlackRock cannot predict the effects of any new governmental regulation that may be implemented on the ability of the Fund to use swaps or any other financial derivative product, and there can be no assurance that any new governmental regulation will not adversely affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. |
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Risks Specific to Certain Derivatives Used by the Fund |
■ | Equity Securities Risk — Common and preferred stocks represent equity ownership in a company. Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities will fluctuate and can decline and reduce the value of a portfolio investing in equities. The value of equity securities purchased by the Fund could decline if the financial condition of the companies the Fund invests in declines or if overall market and economic conditions deteriorate. The value of equity securities may also decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or an increase in production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. In addition, the value may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a company or industry, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or generally adverse investor sentiment. |
■ | High Portfolio Turnover Risk — The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. The sale of Fund portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance. |
■ | Investment Style Risk — Under certain market conditions, value investments have performed better during periods of economic recovery. Therefore, this investment style may over time go in and out of favor. At times when the investment style used by the Fund is out of favor, the Fund may underperform other equity funds that use different investment styles. |
■ | 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. 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. |
■ | 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. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. 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. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis and is subject to “Model Risk” as described below. This means you may lose money. |
A recent outbreak of an infectious coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
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■ | Model Risk — The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than as forecasted due to the factors incorporated into the models and the weighting of each factor, as well as the level and scope of changes from historical trends. In addition, issues in the construction and implementation of the models, including software or hardware malfunction, power loss, software bugs, malicious code, viruses, system crashes and other technological failures or various other events or circumstances within or beyond the control of BlackRock, may adversely impact the Fund. Please see also “Cyber Security Risk” below. There is no guarantee that BlackRock’s use of these models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. |
Some of the models used by BlackRock rely on historical data and may not accurately predict future market movements. The Fund bears the risk that the models used by BlackRock will not be successful in forecasting movements in the market or in determining the size, direction, and/or weighting of investment positions that will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective. In addition, the models may not be reliable in the event of unusual or disruptive events that cause market movements, which may be inconsistent with the historical performance of individual markets. In such instances, the models may produce unexpected results, which can result in losses for the Fund. Furthermore, because predictive models may be constructed based on data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of such data. | |
■ | “New Issues” Risk — “New issues” are IPOs of equity securities. Investments in companies that have recently gone public have the potential to produce substantial gains for the Fund. However, there is no assurance that the Fund will have access to profitable IPOs and therefore investors should not rely on these past gains as an indication of future performance. The investment performance of the Fund during periods when it is unable to invest significantly or at all in IPOs may be lower than during periods when the Fund is able to do so. In addition, as the Fund increases in size, the impact of IPOs on the Fund’s performance will generally decrease. Securities issued in IPOs are subject to many of the same risks as investing in companies with smaller market capitalizations. Securities issued in IPOs have no trading history, and information about the companies may be available for very limited periods. In addition, the prices of securities sold in IPOs may be highly volatile or may decline shortly after the IPO. When an IPO is brought to the market, availability may be limited and the Fund may not be able to buy any shares at the offering price, or, if it is able to buy shares, it may not be able to buy as many shares at the offering price as it would like. |
■ | Preferred Securities Risk — Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred securities of larger companies. |
■ | Small and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — Companies with small or mid-size market capitalizations will normally have more limited product lines, markets and financial resources and will be dependent upon a more limited management group than larger capitalized companies. In addition, it is more difficult to get information on smaller companies, which tend to be less well known, have shorter operating histories, do not have significant ownership by large investors and are followed by relatively few securities analysts. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Cyber Security Risk — Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund’s adviser, distributor, and other service providers, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the Fund’s service providers or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Foreign Securities Risk — Because the Fund may invest in companies located in countries other than the United States, the Fund may be exposed to risks associated with foreign investments. |
■ | The value of holdings traded outside the United States (and any hedging transactions in foreign currencies) will be affected by changes in currency exchange rates. |
■ | The costs of non-U.S. securities transactions tend to be higher than those of U.S. transactions. |
■ | Foreign holdings may be adversely affected by foreign government action. |
■ | International trade barriers or economic sanctions against certain non-U.S. countries may adversely affect these holdings. |
■ | The economies of certain countries may compare unfavorably with the U.S. economy. |
■ | Foreign securities markets may be smaller than the U.S. markets, which may make trading more difficult. |
■ | The Fund’s claims to recover foreign withholding taxes may not be successful, which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value. |
■ | Illiquid Investments Risk — The Fund’s illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid investments at an advantageous time or price. An investment may be illiquid due to, among other things, the lack of an active trading market. 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 the risks associated with illiquid investments. 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. |
■ | Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies, including ETFs, 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 not offset by BlackRock through waivers). 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. |
■ | Money Market Securities Risk — If market conditions improve while the Fund has invested some or all of its assets in high quality money market securities, this strategy could result in reducing the potential gain from the market upswing, thus reducing the Fund’s opportunity to achieve its investment objective. |
■ | REIT Investment Risk — In addition to the risks facing real estate-related securities, such as a decline in property values due to increasing vacancies, a decline in rents resulting from unanticipated economic, legal or technological developments or a decline in the price of securities of real estate companies due to a failure of borrowers to pay their loans or poor management, investments in REITs involve unique risks. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in limited volume, may engage in dilutive offerings of securities and may be more volatile than other securities. REIT issuers may also fail to maintain their exemptions from investment company registration or fail to qualify for the “dividends paid deduction” under the Internal Revenue Code, which allows REITs to reduce their corporate taxable income for dividends paid to their shareholders. Ordinary REIT dividends received by the Fund and distributed to the Fund’s shareholders will generally be taxable as ordinary income and will not constitute “qualified dividend income.” However, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, a non-corporate taxpayer who is a direct REIT shareholder may claim a 20% “qualified business income” deduction for ordinary REIT dividends, and a regulated investment company may report dividends as eligible for this deduction to the extent the regulated investment company’s income is derived from ordinary REIT dividends (reduced by allocable regulated investment company expenses). A shareholder may treat the dividends as such provided the regulated investment company and the shareholder satisfy applicable holding period requirements. |
■ | Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts Risk — If the other party to a repurchase agreement or purchase and sale contract defaults on its obligation under the agreement, the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. If the seller fails to repurchase the security in either situation and the market value of the security declines, the Fund may lose money. |
■ | Restricted Securities Risk — Limitations on the resale of restricted securities may have an adverse effect on their marketability, and may prevent the Fund from disposing of them promptly at advantageous prices. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market. In order to sell such securities, the Fund may have to bear the expense of registering the securities for resale and the risk of substantial delays in effecting the registration. Other transaction costs may be higher for restricted securities than unrestricted securities. Restricted securities may be difficult to value because market quotations may not be readily available, and the securities may have significant volatility. Also, the Fund may get only limited information about the issuer of a given restricted security, and therefore may be less able to predict a loss. Certain restricted securities may involve a high degree of business and financial risk and may result in substantial losses to the Fund. |
■ | Reverse Repurchase Agreements Risk — Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities and the value of the collateral held by the Fund, including the value of the investments made with cash collateral, is less than the value of the securities. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. In addition, reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the interest income earned in the investment of the proceeds will be less than the interest expense. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Valuation Risk — The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair valuation methodology or a price provided by an independent pricing service. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by the Fund, and the Fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. Pricing services that value fixed-income securities generally utilize a range of market-based and security-specific inputs and assumptions, as well as considerations about general market conditions, to establish a price. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but may be held or transactions may be conducted in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. The Fund’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers. |
■ | Warrants Risk — If the price of the underlying stock does not rise above the exercise price before the warrant expires, the warrant generally expires without any value and the Fund will lose any amount it paid for the warrant. Thus, investments in warrants may involve substantially more risk than investments in common stock. Warrants may trade in the same markets as their underlying stock; however, the price of the warrant does not necessarily move with the price of the underlying stock. |
■ | 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 C2,3 | Institutional | Class R | |
Availability | Generally available through Financial Intermediaries. | Generally available through Financial Intermediaries. Must be held through a Financial Intermediary. |
Limited to certain investors, including:
• Individuals and “Institutional Investors,” which include, but are not limited to, endowments, foundations, family offices, local, city and state governmental institutions, corporations and insurance company separate accounts, 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 and immediate family members of such persons, if they open an account directly with BlackRock. • Participants in certain programs sponsored by BlackRock or its affiliates or other Financial Intermediaries. • Tax-qualified accounts for insurance agents that are registered representatives of an insurance company’s broker-dealer that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer Institutional Shares, and the family members of such persons. • Clients investing through Financial Intermediaries that have entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer such shares on a platform that charges a transaction based sales commission outside of the Fund. • Clients investing through a self-directed IRA brokerage account program sponsored by a retirement plan record-keeper, provided that such program offers only mutual fund options and that the program maintains an account with the Fund on an omnibus basis. |
Available only to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. |
Investor A | Investor C2,3 | Institutional | Class R | |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees? |
No Distribution Fee.
0.25% Annual Service Fee. |
0.75% Annual Distribution Fee.
0.25% Annual Service Fee. |
No. |
0.25% Annual Distribution Fee.
0.25% Annual Service Fee. |
Redemption Fees? | No. | No. | No. | No. |
Conversion to Investor A Shares? | N/A |
Yes, automatically approximately eight years after the date of purchase. It is the Financial Intermediary’s responsibility to ensure that the shareholder is credited with the proper holding period. As of the Effective Date (as defined below), certain Financial Intermediaries, including group retirement recordkeeping platforms, may not have been tracking such holding periods and therefore may not be able to process such conversions. In such instances, the automatic conversion of Investor C Shares to Investor A Shares will occur approximately eight years after the Effective Date.
In addition, accounts that do not have a Financial Intermediary associated with them are not eligible to hold Investor C Shares, and any Investor C Shares held in such accounts will be automatically converted to Investor A Shares. |
No. | No. |
Investor A | Investor C2,3 | Institutional | Class R | |
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. These shares may make sense for investors who have a shorter investment horizon relative to Investor A Shares. | No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares. No distribution or service fees. | No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares. |
Disadvantage | You pay a sales charge up-front, and therefore you start off owning fewer 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. | Limited availability. | Limited availability. You pay ongoing distribution fees each year you own Class R 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. |
1 | Please see “Details About the Share Classes” for more information about each share class. |
2 | If you establish a new account, or have an existing account, directly with the 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 and accounts without an associated Financial Intermediary will not be eligible to hold Investor C Shares. |
3 | The Fund will not accept a purchase order of $500,000 or more for Investor C Shares (may be lower on funds that have set a lower breakpoint for purchasing Investor A Shares without a front-end sales charge). 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 Investment1 |
Dealer
Compensation as a % of Offering Price |
Less than $25,000 | 5.25% | 5.54% | 5.00% |
$25,000 but less than $50,000 | 4.75% | 4.99% | 4.50% |
$50,000 but less than $100,000 | 4.00% | 4.17% | 3.75% |
$100,000 but less than $250,000 | 3.00% | 3.09% | 2.75% |
$250,000 but less than $500,000 | 2.50% | 2.56% | 2.25% |
$500,000 but less than $750,000 | 2.00% | 2.04% | 1.75% |
$750,000 but less than $1,000,000 | 1.50% | 1.52% | 1.25% |
$1,000,000 and over2 | 0.00% | 0.00% | —2 |
1 | Rounded to the nearest one-hundredth percent. |
2 | If you invest $1,000,000 or more in Investor A Shares, you will not pay an initial sales charge. In that case, BlackRock compensates the 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% of the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or your redemption proceeds. Such deferred sales charge may be waived in connection with certain fee-based programs. |
i. | Buy a specified amount of Investor A, Investor C, Investor P, Institutional, Class K and/or Premier Shares, |
ii. | Make an investment in one or more Eligible Unlisted BlackRock Closed-End Funds and/or |
iii. | Make an investment through the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Program in one or more BlackRock Funds. |
i. | The current value of an investor’s existing Investor A and A1, Investor C, Investor P, Institutional, Class K and Premier Shares in most BlackRock Funds, |
ii. | The current value of an investor’s existing shares of Eligible Unlisted BlackRock Closed-End Funds and |
iii. | The investment in the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Program by the investor or by or on behalf of the investor’s spouse and children. |
■ | 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); |
■ | State sponsored 529 college savings plans; and |
■ | Accounts opened directly with the Fund that do not have a Financial Intermediary associated with the account. |
■ | Redemptions of shares purchased through certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and rollovers of current investments in the 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 72; |
■ | 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 the 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 (“SWP”) offered by the 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 the Fund. |
■ | Individuals and “Institutional Investors” with a minimum initial investment of $2 million who may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares; |
■ | Clients of Financial Intermediaries that: (i) charge such clients 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 no minimum initial investment; |
■ | Clients investing through Financial Intermediaries that have entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer such shares on a platform that charges a transaction based sales commission outside of the Fund, 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 the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to purchase such shares; |
■ | Trust department clients of Bank of America, N.A. and its 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 Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”) sponsored unit investment trusts (“UITs”) who reinvest dividends received from such UITs in shares of the Fund, who are not subject to any minimum initial investment; |
■ | Employees, officers and directors/trustees of BlackRock, Inc., BlackRock Funds, BofA Corp., Barclays or their respective affiliates and immediate family members of such persons, if they open an account directly with BlackRock, who are not subject to any minimum initial investment; |
■ | Tax-qualified accounts for insurance agents that are registered representatives of an insurance company’s broker-dealer that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer Institutional Shares, and the family members of such persons; and |
■ | Clients investing through a self-directed IRA brokerage account program sponsored by a retirement plan record-keeper, provided that such program offers only mutual fund options and that the program maintains an account with the Fund on an omnibus basis. |
■ | Answering customer inquiries regarding account status and history, the manner in which purchases, exchanges and redemptions or repurchases of shares may be effected and certain other matters pertaining to the customers’ investments; |
■ | Assisting customers in designating and changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; and |
■ | Providing other similar shareholder liaison services. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
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 and Class R 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. For more details on purchasing by internet see below. | |
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.
|
|
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 second 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 | |
How to Pay for Shares (continued) | Making payment for purchases (continued) | accept third-party checks. You may also wire Federal funds to the Fund to purchase shares, but you must call (800) 441-7762 before doing so to confirm the wiring instructions. |
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 C, Institutional or Class R 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) |
in Institutional Shares.
Payment of Redemption Proceeds |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued) | Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued) |
redeemed shares for which a redemption order is received before 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on a business day is normally sent to the redeeming shareholder the next business day, with receipt at the receiving bank within the next two business days (48-72 hours); provided that the Fund’s custodian is also open for business. Payment for redemption orders received after 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) or on a day when the Fund’s custodian is closed is normally sent on the next business day following redemption on which the Fund’s custodian is open for business.
***
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. |
Redemption Proceeds |
Under normal circumstances, the Fund expects to meet redemption requests by using cash or cash equivalents in its portfolio or by selling portfolio assets to generate cash. During periods of stressed market conditions, when a significant portion of the Fund’s portfolio may be comprised of less-liquid investments, the Fund may be more likely to limit cash redemptions and may determine to pay redemption proceeds by (i) borrowing under a line of credit it has entered into with a group of lenders, (ii) borrowing from another BlackRock Fund pursuant to an interfund lending program, to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions as set forth in the SAI, and/or (iii) transferring portfolio securities in-kind to you. The SAI includes more information about the Fund’s line of credit and interfund lending program, to the extent applicable.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Exchange Privilege | Selling shares of one BlackRock 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, to the extent such shares are offered by your Financial Intermediary. No exchange privilege is available for Class R Shares.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Exchange Privilege (continued) | Selling shares of one BlackRock Fund to purchase shares of another BlackRock Fund (“exchanging”) (continued) |
To exercise the exchange privilege, you may contact your Financial Intermediary. Alternatively, if your account is held directly with BlackRock, you may: (i) call (800) 441-7762 and speak with one of our representatives, (ii) make the exchange via the Internet by accessing your account online at www.blackrock.com, or (iii) send a written request to the Fund at the address on the back cover of this prospectus. Please note, if you indicated on your new account application that you did not want the Telephone Exchange Privilege, you will not be able to place exchanges via the telephone until you update this option either in writing or by calling (800) 441-7762. The Fund has the right to reject any telephone request for any reason.
|
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 AIP application. The minimum investment amount for an automatic investment is $50 per portfolio. |
Dividend Allocation Plan | Automatically invests your distributions into another BlackRock Fund of your choice pursuant to your instructions, without any fees or sales charges. | Dividend and capital gains distributions may be reinvested in your account to purchase additional shares or paid in cash. Using the Dividend Allocation Plan, you can direct your distributions to your bank account (checking or savings), to purchase shares of another fund at BlackRock without any fees or sales charges, or by check to a special payee. Please call (800) 441-7762 for details. If investing in another fund at BlackRock, the receiving fund must be open to new purchases. |
EZ Trader | Allows an investor to purchase or sell Investor Shares by telephone or over the Internet through ACH. |
(NOTE: This option is offered to shareholders whose accounts are held directly with BlackRock. Please speak with your Financial Intermediary if your account is held elsewhere.)
|
■ | 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 as may be permitted 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. |
Average Daily Net Assets |
Rate of
Management Fee |
Not exceeding $1 billion | 0.500% |
In excess of $1 billion but not exceeding $1.5 billion | 0.475% |
In excess of $1.5 billion | 0.450% |
Contractual Caps1 on
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2 (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) |
|
Investor A Shares | 0.73% |
Investor C Shares | 1.48% |
Institutional Shares | 0.48% |
Class R Shares | 0.98% |
1 | The contractual caps are in effect through June 30, 2023. 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 |
Raffaele Savi | Jointly and primarily 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. | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009; Managing Director of Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”) from 2007 to 2009; Principal of BGI from 2006 to 2007. |
Travis Cooke, CFA | Jointly and primarily 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. | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2012; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2009 to 2011, Principal of BGI from 2002 to 2009. |
Richard Mathieson | Jointly and primarily 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. | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2011; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2009 to 2011; Principal of BGI from 2008 to 2009; Equity Analyst of Exista UK from 2007 to 2008; Principal of BGI from 2005 to 2007; Associate of BGI from 2001 to 2005. |
Institutional | ||||||
Six Months
Ended 09/30/20 (unaudited) |
Year Ended March 31, | |||||
(For a share outstanding throughout each period) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $24.09 | $27.40 | $32.34 | $34.88 | $29.38 | $33.01 |
Net investment income(a) | 0.17 | 0.41 | 0.40 | 0.17(b) | 0.06(c) | 0.04 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 7.68 | (2.89) | 1.34 | 2.66 | 6.62 | (2.72) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 7.85 | (2.48) | 1.74 | 2.83 | 6.68 | (2.68) |
Distributions(d) | ||||||
From net investment income | (0.02) | (0.38) | (0.45) | (0.09) | — | (0.95) |
From net realized gain | — | (0.45) | (6.23) | (5.28) | (1.18) | — |
Total distributions | (0.02) | (0.83) | (6.68) | (5.37) | (1.18) | (0.95) |
Net asset value, end of period | $31.92 | $24.09 | $27.40 | $32.34 | $34.88 | $29.38 |
Total Return(e) | ||||||
Based on net asset value | 32.59%(f) | (9.60)% | 6.76% | 8.48% | 22.72% | (8.11)% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets(g) | ||||||
Total expenses | 0.89%(h)(i) | 0.85%(j) | 0.98%(j) | 1.07%(k) | 0.94%(k) | 1.08%(k) |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed | 0.48%(h)(i) | 0.48%(j) | 0.48%(j) | 0.92%(k) | 0.94%(k) | 1.08%(k) |
Net investment income | 1.16%(h)(i) | 1.44%(j) | 1.48%(j) | 0.52%(b)(k) | 0.19%(c)(k) | 0.12%(k) |
Supplemental Data | ||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) | $89,281 | $72,044 | $87,248 | $113,466 | $155,558 | $135,744 |
Portfolio turnover rate of the Master LLC | 59% | 123% | 142% | 147% | 68% | 71% |
(a) | Based on average shares outstanding. |
(b) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(c) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.03 per share and 0.08%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(d) | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations. |
(e) | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
(f) | Aggregate total return. |
(g) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated net expenses and/or net investment income. |
(h) | Annualized. |
(i) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.13%. |
(j) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%. |
(k) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%. |
Investor A | ||||||
Six Months
Ended 09/30/20 (unaudited) |
Year Ended March 31, | |||||
(For a share outstanding throughout each period) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $23.02 | $26.22 | $31.22 | $33.76 | $28.55 | $32.09 |
Net investment income (loss)(a) | 0.13 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.08(b) | (0.03)(c) | (0.02) |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 7.33 | (2.76) | 1.30 | 2.58 | 6.42 | (2.64) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 7.46 | (2.43) | 1.62 | 2.66 | 6.39 | (2.66) |
Distributions(d) | ||||||
From net investment income | —(e) | (0.32) | (0.39) | (0.02) | — | (0.88) |
From net realized gain | — | (0.45) | (6.23) | (5.18) | (1.18) | — |
Total distributions | —(e) | (0.77) | (6.62) | (5.20) | (1.18) | (0.88) |
Net asset value, end of period | $30.48 | $23.02 | $26.22 | $31.22 | $33.76 | $28.55 |
Total Return(f) | ||||||
Based on net asset value | 32.41%(g) | (9.79)% | 6.52% | 8.20% | 22.36% | (8.28)% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets(h) | ||||||
Total expenses | 1.13%(i)(j) | 1.12%(k) | 1.25%(k) | 1.33%(l) | 1.24%(l) | 1.26%(l) |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed | 0.73%(i)(j) | 0.73%(k) | 0.73%(k) | 1.19%(l) | 1.24%(l) | 1.26%(l) |
Net investment income (loss) | 0.91%(i)(j) | 1.19%(k) | 1.24%(k) | 0.23%(b)(l) | (0.10)%(c)(l) | (0.06)%(l) |
Supplemental Data | ||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) | $232,570 | $188,164 | $279,014 | $309,125 | $366,669 | $392,584 |
Portfolio turnover rate of the Master LLC | 59% | 123% | 142% | 147% | 68% | 71% |
(a) | Based on average shares outstanding. |
(b) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(c) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.03 per share and 0.08%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(d) | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations. |
(e) | Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share. |
(f) | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
(g) | Aggregate total return. |
(h) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated net expenses and/or net investment income. |
(i) | Annualized. |
(j) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.13%. |
(k) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%. |
(l) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%. |
Investor C | |||||||
Six Months
Ended 09/30/20 (unaudited) |
Year Ended March 31, | ||||||
(For a share outstanding throughout each period) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | ||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $14.52 | $16.83 | $22.38 | $25.28 | $21.80 | $24.72 | |
Net investment income (loss)(a) | 0.02 | 0.08 | 0.08 | (0.12)(b) | (0.22)(c) | (0.20) | |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 4.61 | (1.72) | 0.83 | 1.91 | 4.88 | (2.03) | |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 4.63 | (1.64) | 0.91 | 1.79 | 4.66 | (2.23) | |
Distributions(d) | |||||||
From net investment income | — | (0.22) | (0.23) | — | — | (0.69) | |
From net realized gain | — | (0.45) | (6.23) | (4.69) | (1.18) | — | |
Total distributions | — | (0.67) | (6.46) | (4.69) | (1.18) | (0.69) | |
Net asset value, end of period | $19.15 | $14.52 | $16.83 | $22.38 | $25.28 | $21.80 | |
Total Return(e) | |||||||
Based on net asset value | 31.89%(f) | (10.45)% | 5.73% | 7.35% | 21.33% | (9.02)% | |
Ratios to Average Net Assets(g) | |||||||
Total expenses | 1.92%(h)(i) | 1.98%(j) | 2.12%(j) | 2.16%(k) | 2.07%(k) | 2.09%(k) | |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed | 1.48%(h)(i) | 1.48%(j) | 1.48%(j) | 2.00%(k) | 2.07%(k) | 2.09%(k) | |
Net investment income (loss) | 0.17%(h)(i) | 0.44%(j) | 0.46%(j) | (0.52)%(b)(k) | (0.93)%(c)(k) | (0.89)%(k) | |
Supplemental Data | |||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) | $5,797 | $21,376 | $39,413 | $59,781 | $130,476 | $136,066 | |
Portfolio turnover rate of the Master LLC | 59% | 123% | 142% | 147% | 68% | 71% |
(a) | Based on average shares outstanding. |
(b) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(c) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.03 per share and 0.08%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(d) | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations. |
(e) | Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
(f) | Aggregate total return. |
(g) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated net expenses and/or net investment income. |
(h) | Annualized. |
(i) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.13%. |
(j) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%. |
(k) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%. |
Class R | ||||||
Six Months
Ended 09/30/20 (unaudited) |
Year Ended March 31, | |||||
(For a share outstanding throughout each period) | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
Net asset value, beginning of period | $16.66 | $19.18 | $24.61 | $27.65 | $23.63 | $26.74 |
Net investment income (loss)(a) | 0.07 | 0.19 | 0.19 | (0.00)(b)(c) | (0.11)(d) | (0.08) |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 5.30 | (1.98) | 0.95 | 2.07 | 5.31 | (2.20) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 5.37 | (1.79) | 1.14 | 2.07 | 5.20 | (2.28) |
Distributions(e) | ||||||
From net investment income | — | (0.28) | (0.34) | — | — | (0.83) |
From net realized gain | — | (0.45) | (6.23) | (5.11) | (1.18) | — |
Total distributions | — | (0.73) | (6.57) | (5.11) | (1.18) | (0.83) |
Net asset value, end of period | $22.03 | $16.66 | $19.18 | $24.61 | $27.65 | $23.63 |
Total Return(f) | ||||||
Based on net asset value | 32.23%(g) | (10.00)% | 6.31% | 7.87% | 21.97% | (8.50)% |
Ratios to Average Net Assets(h) | ||||||
Total expenses | 1.41%(i)(j) | 1.41%(k) | 1.54%(k) | 1.60%(l) | 1.55%(l) | 1.51%(l) |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed | 0.98%(i)(j) | 0.98%(k) | 0.98%(k) | 1.44%(l) | 1.55%(l) | 1.51%(l) |
Net investment income (loss) | 0.67%(i)(j) | 0.94%(k) | 0.98%(k) | (0.01)%(c)(l) | (0.42)%(d)(l) | (0.31)%(l) |
Supplemental Data | ||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) | $5,949 | $8,359 | $17,433 | $22,726 | $26,004 | $23,037 |
Portfolio turnover rate of the Master LLC | 59% | 123% | 142% | 147% | 68% | 71% |
(a) | Based on average shares outstanding. |
(b) | Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share. |
(c) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(d) | Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.03 per share and 0.08%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend. |
(e) | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations. |
(f) | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
(g) | Aggregate total return. |
(h) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated net expenses and/or net investment income. |
(i) | Annualized. |
(j) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.13%. |
(k) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%. |
(l) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%. |
■ | Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and |
■ | Log into your account. |
■ | Employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs. |
■ | Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same Fund (but not any other fund within BlackRock Funds). |
■ | Shares exchanged from Investor C Shares of the same fund in the month of or following the 7-year anniversary of the purchase date. To the extent that this prospectus elsewhere provides for a waiver with respect to exchanges of Investor C Shares or conversion of Investor C Shares following a shorter holding period, that waiver will apply. |
■ | Employees and registered representatives of Ameriprise Financial or its affiliates and their immediate family members. |
■ | Shares purchased by or through qualified accounts (including IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 401(k)s, 403(b) TSCAs subject to ERISA and defined benefit plans) that are held by a covered family member, defined as an Ameriprise financial advisor and/or the advisor’s spouse, advisor’s lineal ascendant (mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother, great grandfather), advisor’s lineal descendant (son, step-son, daughter, step-daughter, grandson, granddaughter, great grandson, great granddaughter) or any spouse of a covered family member who is a lineal descendant. |
■ | Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within BlackRock Funds, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (i.e. Rights of Reinstatement). |
■ | Breakpoint pricing, otherwise known as volume pricing, at dollar thresholds as described in the prospectus. |
■ | The applicable sales charge on a purchase of Investor A Shares is determined by taking into account all share classes (except certain money market funds and any assets held in group retirement plans) of BlackRock Funds held by the shareholder or in an account grouped by Edward Jones with other accounts for the purpose of providing certain pricing considerations (“pricing groups”). If grouping assets as a shareholder, this includes all share classes held on the Edward Jones platform and/or held on another platform. The inclusion of eligible fund family assets in the ROA calculation is dependent on the shareholder notifying Edward Jones of such assets at the time of calculation. Money market funds are included only if such shares were sold with a sales charge at the time of purchase or acquired in exchange for shares purchased with a sales charge. |
■ | The employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan may elect to establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping as opposed to including all share classes at a shareholder or pricing group level. |
■ | ROA is determined by calculating the higher of cost minus redemptions or market value (current shares multiplied by NAV). |
■ | Through a LOI, a shareholder can receive the sales charge and breakpoint discounts for purchases such shareholder intends to make over a 13-month period from the date Edward Jones receives the LOI. The LOI is determined by calculating the higher of cost or market value of qualifying holdings at LOI initiation in combination with the value that the shareholder intends to buy over a 13-month period to calculate the front-end sales charge and any breakpoint discounts. Each purchase the shareholder makes during that 13-month period will receive the sales charge and breakpoint discount that applies to the total amount. The inclusion of eligible BlackRock Funds assets in the LOI calculation is dependent on the shareholder notifying Edward Jones of such assets at the time of calculation. Purchases made before the LOI is received by Edward Jones are not adjusted under the LOI and will not reduce the sales charges previously paid. Sales charges will be adjusted if the LOI is not met. |
■ | If the employer maintaining a SEP IRA plan and/or SIMPLE IRA plan has elected to establish or change ROA for the IRA accounts associated with the plan to a plan-level grouping, LOIs will also be at the plan-level and may only be established by the employer. |
■ | Associates of Edward Jones and its affiliates and their family members who are in the same pricing group (as determined by Edward Jones under its policies and procedures) as the associate. This waiver will continue for the remainder of the associate’s life if the associate retires from Edward Jones in good-standing and remains in good standing pursuant to Edward Jones’ policies and procedures. |
■ | Shares purchased in an Edward Jones fee-based advisory program. |
■ | Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment. |
■ | Shares purchased from the proceeds of redeemed shares of BlackRock Funds so long as the following conditions are met: 1) the proceeds are from the sale of shares within 60 days of the purchase, and 2) the sale and purchase |
are made in the same share class and the same account or the purchase is made in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) with proceeds from liquidations in a non-retirement account. | |
■ | Shares exchanged into Investor A Shares from another share class so long as the exchange is into the same fund and was initiated at the discretion of Edward Jones. Edward Jones is responsible for any remaining CDSCs due to BlackRock, if applicable. Any future purchases are subject to the applicable sales charge as disclosed in the prospectus. |
■ | Exchanges from Investor C Shares to Investor A Shares of the same fund, generally, in the 84th month following the anniversary of the purchase date or earlier at the discretion of Edward Jones. |
■ | The death or disability of the shareholder. |
■ | Systematic withdrawals with up to 10% per year of the account value. |
■ | Return of excess contributions from an IRA. |
■ | Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts if the redemption is taken in or after the year the shareholder reaches qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations. |
■ | Shares sold to pay Edward Jones fees or costs in such cases where the transaction is initiated by Edward Jones. |
■ | Shares exchanged in an Edward Jones fee-based program. |
■ | Shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement. |
■ | Shares redeemed at the discretion of Edward Jones for Minimum Balances, as described below. |
■ | Initial purchase minimum: $250 |
■ | Subsequent purchase minimum: none |
■ | Edward Jones has the right to redeem at its discretion fund holdings with a balance of $250 or less. The following are examples of accounts that are not included in this policy: |
■ | A fee-based account held on an Edward Jones platform |
■ | A 529 account held on an Edward Jones platform |
■ | An account with an active systematic investment plan or LOI |
■ | At any time it deems necessary, Edward Jones has the authority to exchange at NAV a shareholder’s holdings in a fund to Investor A Shares of the same fund at NAV, provided that Edward Jones will be responsible for any remaining CDSC due to BlackRock, if applicable, and that the shareholders meet the eligibility requirements of the new share class. |
■ | Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other BlackRock Fund). |
■ | Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Janney or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Janney. |
■ | Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions from another BlackRock Fund, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within ninety (90) days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (i.e., right of reinstatement). |
■ | Employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans. |
■ | Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement. |
■ | Investor C shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and are converted to Investor A shares of the same fund pursuant to Janney’s policies and procedures. |
■ | Shares sold upon the death or disability of the shareholder. |
■ | Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund’s prospectus or SAI. |
■ | Shares purchased in connection with a return of excess contributions from an IRA account. |
■ | Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code. |
■ | Shares sold to pay Janney fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Janney. |
■ | Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement. |
■ | Shares exchanged into the same share class of a different fund. |
■ | Breakpoints as described in the Fund’s prospectus or SAI. |
■ | Rights of accumulation (“ROA”), which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts, will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of BlackRock Fund assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Janney. Eligible BlackRock Fund assets not held at Janney may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets. |
■ | Letters of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases within a BlackRock Fund, over a 13-month time period. Eligible BlackRock Fund assets not held at Janney Montgomery Scott may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets. |
■ | Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan/plan participants |
■ | Shares purchased by a 529 Plan (does not include 529 Plan units or 529-specific share classes or equivalents) |
■ | Shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program |
■ | Exchanges of shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program due to the holdings moving from such Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch’s policies relating to sales charge discounts and waivers |
■ | Shares purchased by third party investment advisors on behalf of their advisory clients through Merrill Lynch’s platform |
■ | Shares of funds purchased through the Merrill Edge Self-Directed platform (if applicable) |
■ | Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other BlackRock Fund) |
■ | Shares exchanged from Investor C (i.e. level-load) shares of the same Fund pursuant to Merrill Lynch’s policies relating to sales charge discounts and waivers |
■ | Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Merrill Lynch or its affiliates and their family members |
■ | Shares purchased by directors of the Fund, and employees of BlackRock or any of its affiliates, as described in the prospectus |
■ | Eligible shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions from another BlackRock Fund, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (known as Rights of Reinstatement). Automated transactions (i.e., systematic purchases and withdrawals) and purchases made after shares are automatically sold to pay Merrill Lynch’s account maintenance fees are not eligible for reinstatement. |
■ | Shares sold due to death or disability of the shareholder |
■ | Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund’s prospectus |
■ | Shares bought due to return of excess contributions from an IRA Account |
■ | Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code |
■ | Shares sold to pay Merrill Lynch fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Merrill Lynch |
■ | Shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement |
■ | Investor A and C Shares of a Fund held in the following IRA or other retirement brokerage accounts: Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Rollover IRAs, Inherited IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, BASIC Plans, Educational Savings Account and Medical Savings Accounts that are exchanged for Institutional shares of the same Fund due to transfer to certain fee based accounts or platforms |
■ | Investor A Shares sold, where such Investor A Shares were received as a result of exchanges of shares purchased through a Merrill Lynch affiliated investment advisory program due to the holdings moving from the program to a Merrill Lynch brokerage (non-advisory) account pursuant to Merrill Lynch’s policies relating to sales charge discounts and waivers |
■ | Breakpoints as described in this prospectus |
■ | Rights of Accumulation (ROA) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts as described in the Fund’s prospectus will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of BlackRock Fund assets held by accounts (including 529 program holdings, where applicable) within the purchaser’s household at Merrill Lynch. Eligible BlackRock Fund assets not held at Merrill Lynch may be included in the ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets |
■ | Letters of Intent (LOI) which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases of BlackRock Funds, through Merrill Lynch, over a 13-month period of time |
■ | Employer-sponsored retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans). For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans does not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, SAR-SEPs or Keogh plans |
■ | Morgan Stanley employee and employee-related accounts according to Morgan Stanley’s account linking rules |
■ | Shares purchased through reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions when purchasing shares of the same fund |
■ | Shares purchased through a Morgan Stanley self-directed brokerage account |
■ | Investor C Shares that are no longer subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and are exchanged for Investor A Shares of the same fund pursuant to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s share class conversion program |
■ | Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions within BlackRock Funds under a Rights of Reinstatement provision, provided the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge |
■ | Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement, deferred compensation and employee benefit plans (including health savings accounts) and trusts used to fund those plans, provided that the shares are not held in a commission-based brokerage account and shares are held for the benefit of the plan |
■ | Shares purchased by or through a 529 Plan |
■ | Shares purchased through an OPCO affiliated investment advisory program |
■ | Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing shares of the same fund (but not any other BlackRock Fund) |
■ | Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions from another BlackRock Fund, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (known as Rights of Reinstatement) |
■ | A shareholder in the Fund’s Investor C Shares will have their shares converted at net asset value to Investor A Shares (or the appropriate share class) of the Fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of OPCO |
■ | Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of OPCO or its affiliates and their family members |
■ | Shares purchased by directors or trustees of the Fund, and employees of the Fund’s investment adviser or any of its affiliates, as described in this prospectus |
■ | Shares sold due to death or disability of the shareholder |
■ | Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund’s prospectus |
■ | Shares bought due to return of excess contributions from an IRA account |
■ | Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations as described in the prospectus |
■ | Shares sold to pay OPCO fees but only if the transaction is initiated by OPCO |
■ | Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement |
■ | Breakpoints as described in this prospectus |
■ | Rights of Accumulation (“ROA”) and Letters of Intent (“LOI”) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of BlackRock Fund assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at OPCO. Eligible BlackRock Fund assets not held at OPCO may be included in the ROA or LOI calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets |
■ | Shares purchased in a Raymond James investment advisory program. |
■ | Shares purchased of the same Fund or another BlackRock Fund through a systematic reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend distributions. |
■ | Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Raymond James or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Raymond James. |
■ | Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions from another BlackRock Fund, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (known as Rights of Reinstatement). |
■ | A shareholder in the Fund’s Investor C shares will have their shares converted at net asset value to Investor A shares of the Fund if the shares are no longer subject to a CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of Raymond James. |
■ | Shares sold due to death or disability of the shareholder. |
■ | Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund’s prospectus. |
■ | Shares bought due to return of excess contributions from an IRA Account. |
■ | Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable IRS regulations as described in the Fund’s prospectus or SAI. |
■ | Shares sold to pay Raymond James fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Raymond James. |
■ | Shares acquired through a Right of Reinstatement. |
■ | Breakpoints as described in this prospectus. |
■ | Rights of accumulation which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of BlackRock Fund assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Raymond James. Eligible BlackRock Fund assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of rights of accumulation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets. |
■ | Letters of intent which allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases of BlackRock Funds over a 13-month time period. Eligible BlackRock Fund assets not held at Raymond James may be included in the calculation of letters of intent only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets. |
■ | Shares purchased through reinvestment of capital gains distributions and dividend reinvestment when purchasing share of the same fund |
■ | Shares purchased by employees and registered representatives of Baird or its affiliates and their family members as designated by Baird |
■ | Shares purchased from the proceeds of redemptions from another BlackRock Fund, provided (1) the repurchase occurs within 90 days following the redemption, (2) the redemption and purchase occur in the same account, and (3) redeemed shares were subject to a front-end or deferred sales charge (known as Rights of Reinstatement) |
■ | A shareholder in the Fund’s Investor C shares will have their shares converted at net asset value to Investor A shares of the fund if the shares are no longer subject to CDSC and the conversion is in line with the policies and procedures of Baird |
■ | Shares purchased by employer-sponsored retirement plans or charitable accounts in a transactional brokerage account at Baird, including 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans and defined benefit plans. For purposes of this provision, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs or SAR-SEPs |
■ | Shares sold due to death or disability of the shareholder |
■ | Shares sold as part of a systematic withdrawal plan as described in the Fund’s prospectus |
■ | Shares bought due to returns of excess contributions from an IRA account |
■ | Shares sold as part of a required minimum distribution for IRA and retirement accounts due to the shareholder reaching the qualified age based on applicable Internal Revenue Service regulations as described in the Fund’s prospectus |
■ | Shares sold to pay Baird fees but only if the transaction is initiated by Baird |
■ | Shares acquired through a right of reinstatement |
■ | Breakpoints as described in this prospectus |
■ | Rights of Accumulation (“ROA”) which entitle shareholders to breakpoint discounts will be automatically calculated based on the aggregated holding of BlackRock Fund assets held by accounts within the purchaser’s household at Baird. Eligible BlackRock Fund assets not held at Baird may be included in ROA calculation only if the shareholder notifies his or her financial advisor about such assets |
■ | Letters of Intent (“LOI”) allow for breakpoint discounts based on anticipated purchases of BlackRock Funds through Baird, over a 13-month period of time |
Prospectus |
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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Details About the Fund | Information about how the Fund invests, including investment objective, investment process, principal strategies and risk factors | |
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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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General Information |
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Glossary |
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Inside Back Cover |
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
Class K
Shares |
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Management Fee1 | 0.50% | |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | None | |
Other Expenses2,3 | 0.08% | |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses3 | 0.58% | |
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements1,4 | (0.15)% | |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements1,4 | 0.43% |
1 | As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 25, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Fund’s assets estimated to be attributable to investments in other equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2023. In addition, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to BlackRock indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates, through June 30, 2023. The contractual agreements 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 | Other Expenses have been restated to reflect current fees. |
3 | The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets given in the Fund’s most recent annual report, which does not include the restatement of Other Expenses to reflect current fees. |
4 | As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 25, 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 0.43% of average daily net assets through June 30, 2023. 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 | |
Class K Shares | $44 | $155 | $293 | $696 |
■ | Convertible Securities Risk — The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including: |
Volatility Risk — 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. | |
Counterparty Risk — Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. | |
Market and Illiquidity Risk — 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 Risk — 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. | |
Hedging Risk — Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging may result in certain adverse tax consequences. | |
Tax Risk — 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. Such treatment may be less favorable than that given to a direct investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund realizes from its investments. | |
Regulatory Risk — Derivative contracts, including, without limitation, swaps, currency forwards and non-deliverable forwards, are subject to regulation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) in the United States and under comparable regimes in Europe, Asia and other non-U.S. jurisdictions. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, certain derivatives are subject to margin requirements and swap dealers |
are required to collect margin from the Fund with respect to such derivatives. Specifically, regulations are now in effect that require swap dealers to post and collect variation margin (comprised of specified liquid instruments and subject to a required haircut) in connection with trading of over-the-counter (“OTC”) swaps with the Fund. Shares of investment companies (other than certain money market funds) may not be posted as collateral under these regulations. Requirements for posting of initial margin in connection with OTC swaps will be phased-in through at least 2021. In addition, regulations adopted by global prudential regulators that are now in effect require certain bank-regulated counterparties and certain of their affiliates to include in certain financial contracts, including many derivatives contracts, terms that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties, such as the Fund, to terminate such contracts, foreclose upon collateral, exercise other default rights or restrict transfers of credit support in the event that the counterparty and/or its affiliates are subject to certain types of resolution or insolvency proceedings. The implementation of these requirements with respect to derivatives, as well as regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act regarding clearing, mandatory trading and margining of other derivatives, may increase the costs and risks to the Fund of trading in these instruments and, as a result, may affect returns to investors in the Fund.
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On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies (“Rule 18f-4”). The Fund will be required to implement and comply with Rule 18f-4 by August 19, 2022. Once implemented, Rule 18f-4 will impose limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminate the asset segregation framework currently used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, treat derivatives as senior securities so that a failure to comply with the limits would result in a statutory violation and require funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program and appoint a derivatives risk manager. |
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■ | Equity Securities Risk — Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions. |
■ | High Portfolio Turnover Risk — The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. The sale of Fund portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance. |
■ | Investment Style Risk — Under certain market conditions, value investments have performed better during periods of economic recovery. Therefore, this investment style may over time go in and out of favor. At times when the investment style used by the Fund is out of favor, the Fund may underperform other equity funds that use different investment styles. |
■ | 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. |
■ | 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. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. 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. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis and is subject to “Model Risk” as described below. This means you may lose money. |
A recent outbreak of an infectious coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. | |
■ | Model Risk — The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than as forecasted due to the factors incorporated into the models and the weighting of each factor, changes from historical trends, and issues in the construction and implementation of the models (including, but not limited to, software issues and |
other technological issues). There is no guarantee that BlackRock’s use of these models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. | |
The information and data used in the models may be supplied by third parties. Inaccurate or incomplete data may limit the effectiveness of the models. In addition, some of the data that BlackRock uses may be historical data, which may not accurately predict future market movement. There is a risk that the models will not be successful in selecting investments or in determining the weighting of investment positions that will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective. | |
■ | “New Issues” Risk — “New issues” are IPOs of equity securities. Securities issued in IPOs have no trading history, and information about the companies may be available for very limited periods. In addition, the prices of securities sold in IPOs may be highly volatile or may decline shortly after the IPO. |
■ | Preferred Securities Risk — Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred securities of larger companies. |
■ | Small and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — Companies with small or mid-size market capitalizations will normally have more limited product lines, markets and financial resources and will be dependent upon a more limited management group than larger capitalized companies. In addition, it is more difficult to get information on smaller companies, which tend to be less well known, have shorter operating histories, do not have significant ownership by large investors and are followed by relatively few securities analysts. |
For the periods ended 12/31/20
Average Annual Total Returns |
1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years |
BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. — Class K Shares | |||
Return Before Taxes | 19.83% | 14.30% | 11.68% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 18.26% | 11.48% | 10.16% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | 12.44% | 10.66% | 9.23% |
Russell 2500TM Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
19.99% | 13.64% | 11.97% |
Russell 3000® Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
20.89% | 15.43% | 13.79% |
Name |
Portfolio Manager
of the Fund Since |
Title |
Raffaele Savi | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Travis Cooke, CFA | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
Richard Mathieson | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. |
■ | Borrowing — The Fund may borrow up to the limits set forth under the Investment Company Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief. |
■ | Foreign Securities — The Fund may invest in companies located in countries other than the United States. |
■ | Illiquid Investments — The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. |
■ | Investment Companies — The Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), 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 ETFs. |
■ | Money Market Securities — The Fund may invest in money market securities or commercial paper. |
■ | Real Estate Investment Trusts — The Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs are companies that own interests in real estate or in real estate-related loans or other interests, and have revenue primarily consisting of rent derived from owned, income producing real estate properties and capital gains from the sale of such properties. REITs can generally be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity REITs and mortgage REITs. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). |
■ | Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts — The Fund may enter into certain types of repurchase agreements or purchase and sale contracts. Under a repurchase agreement, the seller agrees to repurchase a security at a mutually agreed-upon time and price. A purchase and sale contract is similar to a repurchase agreement, but purchase and sale contracts also provide that the purchaser receives any interest on the security paid during the period. |
■ | Restricted Securities — 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. They may include Rule 144A securities, which are privately placed securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public, and securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers that are offered pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. |
■ | Reverse Repurchase Agreements — Reverse repurchase agreements are transactions in which the Fund sells a security with the obligation to repurchase the security shortly thereafter at a specified price which reflects a payment by the Fund. The Fund profits from entering into a reverse repurchase agreement by reinvesting the proceeds of the sale at a higher return than it has to pay to repurchase its security. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Temporary Defensive Strategies — The Fund may, as a temporary defensive measure, and without limitation, hold assets in other types of securities, including non-convertible preferred stock and debt securities, U.S. Government and money market securities, including repurchase agreements or cash, in such proportions as BlackRock may determine. Normally, a portion of the Fund’s assets would be held in these securities in anticipation of investment in equities or to meet redemptions. Short-term investments and temporary defensive positions may be more easily sold and may have more limited risk of loss but may limit the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. |
■ | Warrants — A warrant gives the Fund the right to buy stock. The warrant specifies the amount of underlying stock, the purchase (or “exercise”) price and the date the warrant expires. The Fund has no obligation to exercise the warrant and buy the stock. A warrant has value only if the Fund is able to exercise it or sell it before it expires. |
■ | When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments — The purchase or sale of securities on a when-issued basis or 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. |
■ | Convertible Securities Risk — The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock. |
■ | Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including: |
Volatility 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. | |
Counterparty Risk — Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. | |
Market and Illiquidity Risk — Some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than other securities. 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. The Fund could also suffer losses related to its derivatives positions as a result of unanticipated market movements, which losses are potentially unlimited. Finally, BlackRock may not be able to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates and other economic factors, which could cause the Fund’s derivatives positions to lose value. | |
Valuation Risk — 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 may also 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. | |
Hedging Risk — When a derivative is used as a hedge against a position that the Fund holds, any loss generated by the derivative generally should be substantially offset by gains on the hedged investment, and vice versa. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains. Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging may result in certain adverse tax consequences noted below. | |
Tax Risk — The federal income tax treatment of a derivative may not be as favorable as a direct investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund realizes from its investments. As a result, a larger portion of the Fund’s distributions may be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gains. In addition, certain derivatives are subject to mark-to-market or straddle provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. If such provisions are applicable, there could be an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by the Fund. In addition, the tax treatment of certain derivatives, such as swaps, is unsettled and |
may be subject to future legislation, regulation or administrative pronouncements issued by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). | |
Regulatory Risk — Derivative contracts, including, without limitation, swaps, currency forwards and non-deliverable forwards, are subject to regulation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) in the United States and under comparable regimes in Europe, Asia and other non-U.S. jurisdictions. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, certain derivatives are subject to margin requirements and swap dealers are required to collect margin from the Fund with respect to such derivatives. Specifically, regulations are now in effect that require swap dealers to post and collect variation margin (comprised of specified liquid instruments and subject to a required haircut) in connection with trading of over-the-counter (“OTC”) swaps with the Fund. Shares of investment companies (other than certain money market funds) may not be posted as collateral under these regulations. Requirements for posting of initial margin in connection with OTC swaps will be phased-in through at least 2021. In addition, regulations adopted by global prudential regulators that are now in effect require certain bank-regulated counterparties and certain of their affiliates to include in certain financial contracts, including many derivatives contracts, terms that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties, such as the Fund, to terminate such contracts, foreclose upon collateral, exercise other default rights or restrict transfers of credit support in the event that the counterparty and/or its affiliates are subject to certain types of resolution or insolvency proceedings. The implementation of these requirements with respect to derivatives, as well as regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act regarding clearing, mandatory trading and margining of other derivatives, may increase the costs and risks to the Fund of trading in these instruments and, as a result, may affect returns to investors in the Fund. | |
On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted new regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies (“Rule 18f-4”). The Fund will be required to implement and comply with Rule 18f-4 by August 19, 2022. Once implemented, Rule 18f-4 will impose limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminate the asset segregation framework currently used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the Investment Company Act, treat derivatives as senior securities so that a failure to comply with the limits would result in a statutory violation and require funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program and appoint a derivatives risk manager.
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In addition, other future regulatory developments may impact the Fund’s ability to invest or remain invested in certain derivatives. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which the Fund itself is regulated. BlackRock cannot predict the effects of any new governmental regulation that may be implemented on the ability of the Fund to use swaps or any other financial derivative product, and there can be no assurance that any new governmental regulation will not adversely affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. | |
Risks Specific to Certain Derivatives Used by the Fund |
■ | Equity Securities Risk — Common and preferred stocks represent equity ownership in a company. Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities will fluctuate and can decline and reduce the value of a portfolio investing in equities. The value of equity securities purchased by the Fund could decline if the financial condition of the companies the Fund invests in declines or if overall market and economic conditions deteriorate. The value of equity securities may also decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or an increase in production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. In addition, the value may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a company or industry, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or generally adverse investor sentiment. |
■ | High Portfolio Turnover Risk — The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. The sale of Fund portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance. |
■ | Investment Style Risk — Under certain market conditions, value investments have performed better during periods of economic recovery. Therefore, this investment style may over time go in and out of favor. At times when the investment style used by the Fund is out of favor, the Fund may underperform other equity funds that use different investment styles. |
■ | 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. 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. |
■ | 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. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. 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. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis and is subject to “Model Risk” as described below. This means you may lose money. |
A recent outbreak of an infectious coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. |
■ | Model Risk — The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than as forecasted due to the factors incorporated into the models and the weighting of each factor, as well as the level and scope of changes from historical trends. In addition, issues in the construction and implementation of the models, including software or hardware malfunction, power loss, software bugs, malicious code, viruses, system crashes and other technological failures or various other events or circumstances within or beyond the control of BlackRock, may adversely impact the Fund. Please see also “Cyber Security Risk” below. There is no guarantee that BlackRock’s use of these models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. |
Some of the models used by BlackRock rely on historical data and may not accurately predict future market movements. The Fund bears the risk that the models used by BlackRock will not be successful in forecasting movements in the market or in determining the size, direction, and/or weighting of investment positions that will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective. In addition, the models may not be reliable in the event of unusual or disruptive events that cause market movements, which may be inconsistent with the historical performance of individual markets. In such instances, the models may produce unexpected results, which can result in losses for the Fund. Furthermore, because predictive models may be constructed based on data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of such data. | |
■ | “New Issues” Risk — “New issues” are IPOs of equity securities. Investments in companies that have recently gone public have the potential to produce substantial gains for the Fund. However, there is no assurance that the Fund will have access to profitable IPOs and therefore investors should not rely on these past gains as an indication of future performance. The investment performance of the Fund during periods when it is unable to invest significantly or at all in IPOs may be lower than during periods when the Fund is able to do so. In addition, as the Fund increases in size, the impact of IPOs on the Fund’s performance will generally decrease. Securities issued in IPOs are subject to many of the same risks as investing in companies with smaller market capitalizations. Securities issued in IPOs have no trading history, and information about the companies may be available for very limited periods. In addition, the prices of securities sold in IPOs may be highly volatile or may decline shortly after the IPO. When an IPO is brought to the market, availability may be limited and the Fund may not be able to buy any shares at the offering price, or, if it is able to buy shares, it may not be able to buy as many shares at the offering price as it would like. |
■ | Preferred Securities Risk — Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred securities of larger companies. |
■ | Small and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk — Companies with small or mid-size market capitalizations will normally have more limited product lines, markets and financial resources and will be dependent upon a more limited management group than larger capitalized companies. In addition, it is more difficult to get information on smaller companies, which tend to be less well known, have shorter operating histories, do not have significant ownership by large investors and are followed by relatively few securities analysts. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Cyber Security Risk — Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund’s adviser, distributor, and other service providers, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the Fund’s service providers or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Foreign Securities Risk — Because the Fund may invest in companies located in countries other than the United States, the Fund may be exposed to risks associated with foreign investments. |
■ | The value of holdings traded outside the United States (and any hedging transactions in foreign currencies) will be affected by changes in currency exchange rates. |
■ | The costs of non-U.S. securities transactions tend to be higher than those of U.S. transactions. |
■ | Foreign holdings may be adversely affected by foreign government action. |
■ | International trade barriers or economic sanctions against certain non-U.S. countries may adversely affect these holdings. |
■ | The economies of certain countries may compare unfavorably with the U.S. economy. |
■ | Foreign securities markets may be smaller than the U.S. markets, which may make trading more difficult. |
■ | The Fund’s claims to recover foreign withholding taxes may not be successful, which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value. |
■ | Illiquid Investments Risk — The Fund’s illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid investments at an advantageous time or price. An investment may be illiquid due to, among other things, the lack of an active trading market. 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 the risks associated with illiquid investments. 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. |
■ | Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies, including ETFs, 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 not offset by BlackRock through waivers). 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. |
■ | Money Market Securities Risk — If market conditions improve while the Fund has invested some or all of its assets in high quality money market securities, this strategy could result in reducing the potential gain from the market upswing, thus reducing the Fund’s opportunity to achieve its investment objective. |
■ | REIT Investment Risk — In addition to the risks facing real estate-related securities, such as a decline in property values due to increasing vacancies, a decline in rents resulting from unanticipated economic, legal or technological developments or a decline in the price of securities of real estate companies due to a failure of borrowers to pay their loans or poor management, investments in REITs involve unique risks. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in limited volume, may engage in dilutive offerings of securities and may be more volatile than other securities. REIT issuers may also fail to maintain their exemptions from investment company registration or fail to qualify for the “dividends paid deduction” under the Internal Revenue Code, which allows REITs to reduce their corporate taxable income for dividends paid to their shareholders. Ordinary REIT dividends received by the Fund and distributed to the Fund’s shareholders will generally be taxable as ordinary income and will not constitute “qualified dividend income.” However, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, a non-corporate taxpayer who is a direct REIT shareholder may claim a 20% “qualified business income” deduction for ordinary REIT dividends, and a regulated investment company may report dividends as eligible for this deduction to the extent the regulated investment company’s income is derived from ordinary REIT dividends (reduced by allocable regulated investment company expenses). A shareholder may treat the dividends as such provided the regulated investment company and the shareholder satisfy applicable holding period requirements. |
■ | Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts Risk — If the other party to a repurchase agreement or purchase and sale contract defaults on its obligation under the agreement, the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. If the seller fails to repurchase the security in either situation and the market value of the security declines, the Fund may lose money. |
■ | Restricted Securities Risk — Limitations on the resale of restricted securities may have an adverse effect on their marketability, and may prevent the Fund from disposing of them promptly at advantageous prices. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market. In order to sell such securities, the Fund may have to bear the expense of registering the securities for resale and the risk of substantial delays in effecting the registration. Other transaction costs may be higher for restricted securities than unrestricted securities. Restricted securities may be difficult to value because market quotations may not be readily available, and the securities may have significant volatility. Also, the Fund may get only limited information about the issuer of a given restricted security, and therefore may be less able to predict a loss. Certain restricted securities may involve a high degree of business and financial risk and may result in substantial losses to the Fund. |
■ | Reverse Repurchase Agreements Risk — Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities and the value of the collateral held by the Fund, including the value of the investments made with cash collateral, is less than the value of the securities. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. In addition, reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the interest income earned in the investment of the proceeds will be less than the interest expense. |
■ | 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. |
■ | Valuation Risk — The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair valuation methodology or a price provided by an independent pricing service. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by the Fund, and the Fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. Pricing services that value fixed-income securities generally utilize a range of market-based and security-specific inputs and assumptions, as well as considerations about general market conditions, to establish a price. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but may be held or transactions may be conducted in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. The Fund’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers. |
■ | Warrants Risk — If the price of the underlying stock does not rise above the exercise price before the warrant expires, the warrant generally expires without any value and the Fund will lose any amount it paid for the warrant. Thus, investments in warrants may involve substantially more risk than investments in common stock. Warrants may trade in the same markets as their underlying stock; however, the price of the warrant does not necessarily move with the price of the underlying stock. |
■ | 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. |
Availability | Available only to (i) certain employee benefit plans, such as health savings accounts, and certain employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and SARSEPs) (collectively, “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,” which include, but are not limited to, endowments, foundations, family offices, banks and bank trusts, local, city, and state governmental institutions, corporations and insurance company separate accounts, 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, (iv) clients of private banks that purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to sell such shares; (v) fee-based advisory platforms of a Financial Intermediary that (a) has specifically acknowledged in a written agreement with the Distributor and/or its affiliate(s) that the Financial Intermediary shall offer such shares to fee-based advisory clients through an omnibus account held at the Fund or (b) transacts in the Fund’s shares through another intermediary that has executed such an agreement and (vi) any other investors who met the eligibility criteria for BlackRock Shares or Class K Shares prior to August 15, 2016 and have continually held Class K Shares of the Fund in the same account since August 15, 2016. |
Minimum Investment |
$5 million minimum initial investment for 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. |
i. | The current value of an investor’s existing Investor A and A1, Investor C, Investor P, Institutional, Class K and Premier Shares in most mutual funds sponsored and advised by BlackRock or its affiliates (“BlackRock Funds”), |
ii. | The current value of an investor’s existing shares of certain unlisted closed-end management investment companies sponsored and advised by BlackRock or its affiliates and |
iii. | The investment in the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Program by the investor or by or on behalf of the investor’s spouse and children. |
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.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Initial Purchase (continued) |
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:
|
|
Acquire additional shares by
reinvesting dividends and capital gains |
All dividends and capital gains distributions are automatically reinvested in shares of the Fund at net asset value. 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. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
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 Fund.
|
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.
|
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) |
that are reasonably believed to be genuine in accordance with such procedures. The Fund may refuse a telephone redemption request if it believes it is advisable to do so.
***
|
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. |
Redemption Proceeds |
Under normal circumstances, the Fund expects to meet redemption requests by using cash or cash equivalents in its portfolio or by selling portfolio assets to generate cash. During periods of stressed market conditions, when a significant portion of the Fund’s portfolio may be comprised of less-liquid investments, the Fund may be more likely to limit cash redemptions and may determine to pay redemption proceeds by (i) borrowing under a line of credit it has entered into with a group of lenders, (ii) borrowing from another BlackRock Fund pursuant to an interfund lending program, to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions as set forth in the SAI, and/or (iii) transferring portfolio securities in-kind to you. The SAI includes more information about the Fund’s line of credit and interfund lending program, to the extent applicable.
|
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Exchange Privilege | Selling shares of one BlackRock Fund to purchase shares of another BlackRock Fund (“exchanging”) |
Class K Shares of the Fund are generally exchangeable for shares of the same class of another BlackRock Fund, to the extent such shares are offered by your Financial Intermediary. Investors who currently own Class K Shares of the Fund may make exchanges into Class K Shares of other BlackRock Funds except for investors holding shares through certain client accounts at Financial Intermediaries that are omnibus with the Fund and do not meet applicable minimums. There is no required minimum amount with respect to exchanges of Class K Shares. You may only exchange into Class K Shares of a BlackRock Fund that is open to new investors or in which you have a current account, if the BlackRock Fund is closed to new investors.
|
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. Please contact your Financial Intermediary to accomplish the transfer of your Class K Shares. |
Your Choices | Important Information for You to Know | |
Transfer Shares to Another Financial Intermediary (continued) |
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 as may be permitted 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. |
Average Daily Net Assets |
Rate of
Management Fee |
Not exceeding $1 billion | 0.500% |
In excess of $1 billion but not exceeding $1.5 billion | 0.475% |
In excess of $1.5 billion | 0.450% |
Contractual Cap1 on
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2 (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) |
|
Class K Shares | 0.43% |
1 | The contractual cap is in effect through June 30, 2023. 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 |
Raffaele Savi | Jointly and primarily 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. | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009; Managing Director of Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”) from 2007 to 2009; Principal of BGI from 2006 to 2007. |
Travis Cooke, CFA | Jointly and primarily 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. | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2012; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2009 to 2011, Principal of BGI from 2002 to 2009. |
Richard Mathieson | Jointly and primarily 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. | 2017 | Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2011; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2009 to 2011; Principal of BGI from 2008 to 2009; Equity Analyst of Exista UK from 2007 to 2008; Principal of BGI from 2005 to 2007; Associate of BGI from 2001 to 2005. |
Class K | ||||
Six Months Ended
09/30/20 (unaudited) |
Year Ended March 31, |
Period from
01/25/18(a) to 03/31/18 |
||
(For a share outstanding throughout each period) | 2020 | 2019 | ||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $24.08 | $27.38 | $32.34 | $34.28 |
Net investment income (loss)(b) | 0.18 | 0.43 | 0.42 | (0.06) |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 7.67 | (2.89) | 1.32 | (1.88) |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations | 7.85 | (2.46) | 1.74 | (1.94) |
Distributions(c) | ||||
From net investment income | (0.02) | (0.39) | (0.47) | — |
From net realized gain | — | (0.45) | (6.23) | — |
Total distributions | (0.02) | (0.84) | (6.70) | — |
Net asset value, end of period | $31.91 | $24.08 | $27.38 | $32.34 |
Total Return(d) | ||||
Based on net asset value | 32.62%(e) | (9.53)% | 6.74% | (5.66)%(e) |
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f) | ||||
Total expenses | 0.79%(g)(h) | 0.77%(i) | 0.90%(i) | 0.87%(g) |
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed | 0.43%(g)(h) | 0.43%(i) | 0.43%(i) | 0.43%(g) |
Net investment income (loss) | 1.20%(g)(h) | 1.49%(i) | 1.53%(i) | (1.06)%(g) |
Supplemental Data | ||||
Net assets, end of period (000) | $2,038 | $1,549 | $2,241 | $2,736 |
Portfolio turnover rate of the Master LLC | 59% | 123% | 142% | 147% |
(a) | Commencement of operations. |
(b) | Based on average shares outstanding. |
(c) | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations. |
(d) | Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions. |
(e) | Aggregate total return. |
(f) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated net expenses and/or net investment income. |
(g) | Annualized. |
(h) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.13%. |
(i) | Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%. |
■ | Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and |
■ | Log into your account. |
Class | Ticker Symbol | |
Investor A Shares
|
MDSPX | |
Investor C Shares
|
MCSPX | |
Institutional Shares
|
MASPX | |
Class R Shares
|
MRSPX | |
Class K Shares
|
MKSPX |
BlackRock Advantage
SMID Cap Fund |
|
144A Securities | X |
Asset-Backed Securities | |
Asset-Based Securities | X |
Precious Metal-Related Securities | X |
Bank Loans | |
Borrowing and Leverage | X |
Cash Flows; Expenses | |
Cash Management | X |
Collateralized Debt Obligations | |
Collateralized Bond Obligations | |
Collateralized Loan Obligations | |
Commercial Paper | X |
Commodity-Linked Derivative Instruments and Hybrid Instruments | |
Qualifying Hybrid Instruments | |
Hybrid Instruments Without Principal Protection |
BlackRock Advantage
SMID Cap Fund |
|
Limitations on Leverage | |
Counterparty Risk | |
Convertible Securities | X |
Credit Linked Securities | X |
Cyber Security Issues | X |
Debt Securities | X |
Inflation-Indexed Bonds | |
Investment Grade Debt Obligations | X |
High Yield Investments (“Junk Bonds”) | |
Mezzanine Investments | |
Pay-in-kind Bonds | |
Supranational Entities | |
Depositary Receipts (ADRs, EDRs and GDRs) | X |
Derivatives | X |
Hedging | X |
Speculation | X |
Risk Factors in Derivatives | X |
Correlation Risk | X |
Counterparty Risk | X |
Credit Risk | X |
Currency Risk | X |
Illiquidity Risk | X |
Leverage Risk | X |
Market Risk | X |
Valuation Risk | X |
Volatility Risk | X |
Futures | X |
Swap Agreements | X |
Credit Default Swaps and Similar Instruments | |
Interest Rate Swaps, Floors and Caps | |
Total Return Swaps | X |
Options | X |
Options on Securities and Securities Indices | X |
Call Options | X |
Put Options | X |
Options on Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) Certificates | |
Options on Swaps (“Swaptions”) | X |
Foreign Exchange Transactions | X |
Spot Transactions and FX Forwards | X |
Currency Futures | X |
Currency Options | X |
Currency Swaps | X |
BlackRock Advantage
SMID Cap Fund |
|
Distressed Securities | |
Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Integration | X |
Equity Securities | X |
Real Estate-Related Securities | X |
Securities of Smaller or Emerging Growth Companies | X |
Exchange-Traded Notes (“ETNs”) | |
Foreign Investments | X |
Foreign Investment Risks | X |
Foreign Market Risk | X |
Foreign Economy Risk | X |
Currency Risk and Exchange Risk | X |
Governmental Supervision and Regulation/Accounting Standards | X |
Certain Risks of Holding Fund Assets Outside the United States | X |
Publicly Available Information | X |
Settlement Risk | X |
Sovereign Debt | |
Withholding Tax Reclaims Risk | X |
Funding Agreements | |
Guarantees | |
Illiquid Investments | X |
Index Funds: Information Concerning the Indexes | |
S&P 500 Index | |
Russell Indexes | |
MSCI Indexes | |
FTSE Indexes | |
Bloomberg Barclays Indexes | |
ICE BofA Indexes | |
Indexed and Inverse Securities | X |
Inflation Risk | X |
Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) Risk | X |
Interfund Lending Program | X |
Borrowing, to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions | X |
Lending, to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions | X |
Investment in Emerging Markets | X |
Brady Bonds | |
China Investments Risk | |
Investment in Other Investment Companies | X |
Exchange-Traded Funds | X |
Lease Obligations | |
LIBOR Risk | X |
Life Settlement Investments | |
Liquidity Risk Management | X |
BlackRock Advantage
SMID Cap Fund |
|
Master Limited Partnerships | X |
Merger Transaction Risk | X |
Money Market Obligations of Domestic Banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign Branches of U.S. Banks | X |
Money Market Securities | X |
Mortgage-Related Securities | |
Mortgage-Backed Securities | |
Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”) | |
Adjustable Rate Mortgage Securities | |
CMO Residuals | |
Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities | |
Tiered Index Bonds | |
TBA Commitments | |
Mortgage Dollar Rolls | |
Net Interest Margin (NIM) Securities | |
Municipal Investments | |
Risk Factors and Special Considerations Relating to Municipal Bonds | |
Description of Municipal Bonds | |
General Obligation Bonds | |
Revenue Bonds | |
Private Activity Bonds (“PABs”) | |
Moral Obligation Bonds | |
Municipal Notes | |
Municipal Commercial Paper | |
Municipal Lease Obligations | |
Tender Option Bonds | |
Yields | |
Variable Rate Demand Obligations (“VRDOs”) and Participating VRDOs | |
Transactions in Financial Futures Contracts on Municipal Indexes | |
Call Rights | |
Municipal Interest Rate Swap Transactions | |
Insured Municipal Bonds | |
Build America Bonds | |
Tax-Exempt Municipal Investments | |
Participation Notes | X |
Portfolio Turnover Rates | X |
Preferred Stock | X |
Tax-Exempt Preferred Shares | |
Trust Preferred Securities | |
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) | X |
Recent Market Events | X |
Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts | X |
Restricted Securities | X |
BlackRock Advantage
SMID Cap Fund |
|
Reverse Repurchase Agreements | X |
Rights Offerings and Warrants to Purchase | X |
Securities Lending | X |
Short Sales | |
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies | |
Standby Commitment Agreements | X |
Stripped Securities | |
Structured Notes | |
Taxability Risk | |
Temporary Defensive Measures | X |
U.S. Government Obligations | X |
U.S. Treasury Obligations | X |
U.S. Treasury Rolls | |
Utility Industries | X |
When-Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments | X |
Yields and Ratings | |
Zero Coupon Securities |
Directors | Experience, Qualifications and Skills | |
Independent Directors | ||
Bruce R. Bond | Bruce R. Bond has served for approximately 20 years on the board of registered investment companies, having served as a member of the boards of certain BlackRock-advised Funds and 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. | |
Susan J. Carter | Susan J. Carter has over 35 years of experience in investment management. She has served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Commonfund Capital, Inc. (“CCI”), a registered investment adviser focused on non-profit investors, from 1997 to 2013, Chief Executive Officer of CCI from 2013 to 2014 and Senior Advisor to CCI in 2015. Ms. Carter also served as trustee to the Pacific Pension Institute from 2014 to 2018. She currently serves as trustee to the Financial Accounting Foundation, Advisory Board Member for the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship at Tuck School of Business, Board Member for Girls Who Invest, Advisory Board Member for Bridges Fund Management and Practitioner Advisory Board Member for Private Capital Research Institute (“PCRI”). These positions have provided her with insight and perspective on the markets and the economy. | |
Collette Chilton | Collette Chilton has over 20 years of experience in investment management. She has held the position of Chief Investment Officer of Williams College since October 2006. Prior to that she was President and Chief Investment Officer of Lucent Asset Management Corporation, where she oversaw approximately $40 billion in pension and retirement savings assets for the company. These positions have provided her with insight and perspective on the markets and the economy. | |
Neil A. Cotty | Neil A. Cotty has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including 19 years at Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates, where he served, at different times, as the Chief Financial Officer of various businesses including Investment Banking, Global Markets, Wealth Management and Consumer and also served ten years as the Chief Accounting Officer for Bank of America Corporation. Mr. Cotty has been determined by the Audit Committee to be an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the applicable Commission rules. | |
Lena G. Goldberg | Lena G. Goldberg has more than 20 years of business and oversight experience, most recently through her service as a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School. Prior thereto, she held legal and management positions at FMR LLC/Fidelity Investments as well as positions on the boards of various Fidelity subsidiaries over a 12-year period. She has additional corporate governance experience as a member of board and advisory committees for privately held corporations and non-profit organizations. Ms. Goldberg also has more than 17 years of legal experience as an attorney in private practice, including as a partner in a law firm. |
Directors | Experience, Qualifications and Skills | |
Henry R. Keizer | Henry R. Keizer brings over 40 years of executive, financial, operational, strategic and global expertise gained through his 35 year career at KPMG, a global professional services organization and by his service as a director to both publicly and privately held organizations. He has extensive experience with issues facing complex, global companies and expertise in financial reporting, accounting, auditing, risk management, and regulatory affairs for such companies. Mr. Keizer’s experience also includes service as an audit committee chair to both publicly and privately held organizations across numerous industries including professional services, property and casualty reinsurance, insurance, diversified financial services, banking, direct to consumer, business to business and technology. Mr. Keizer is a certified public accountant and also served on the board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Keizer has been determined by the Audit Committee to be an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the applicable Commission rules. | |
Cynthia A. Montgomery | Cynthia A. Montgomery has served for over 20 years on the boards of registered investment companies, most recently as a member of the boards of certain BlackRock-advised Funds and predecessor funds, including the legacy Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P. (“MLIM”) funds. The Board benefits from Ms. Montgomery’s more than 20 years of academic experience as a professor at Harvard Business School where she taught courses on corporate strategy and corporate governance. Ms. Montgomery also has business management and corporate governance experience through her service on the corporate boards of a variety of public companies. She has also authored numerous articles and books on these topics. | |
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. | |
Joseph P. Platt | Joseph P. Platt has served for over 15 years on the boards of registered investment companies, most recently as a member of the boards of certain BlackRock-advised Funds and predecessor funds, including the legacy BlackRock funds. Mr. Platt currently serves as general partner at Thorn Partners, LP, a private investment company. Prior to his joining Thorn Partners, LP, he was an owner, director and executive vice president with Johnson and Higgins, an insurance broker and employee benefits consultant. He has over 25 years of experience in the areas of insurance, compensation and benefits. Mr. Platt also serves on the boards of public, private and non-profit companies. | |
Mark Stalnecker | Mark Stalnecker has gained a wealth of experience in investing and asset management from his over 13 years of service as the Chief Investment Officer of the University of Delaware as well as from his various positions with First Union Corporation, including Senior Vice President and State Investment Director of First Investment Advisors. The Board benefits from his experience and perspective as the Chief Investment Officer of a university endowment and from the oversight experience he gained from service on various private and non-profit boards. | |
Kenneth L. Urish | Kenneth L. Urish has served for over 15 years on the boards of registered investment companies, most recently as a member of the boards of certain BlackRock-advised Funds and predecessor funds, including the legacy BlackRock funds. He has over 30 years of experience in public accounting. Mr. Urish has served as a managing member of an accounting and consulting firm. Mr. Urish has been determined by the Audit Committee to be an audit committee financial expert, as such term is defined in the applicable Commission rules. |
Directors | Experience, Qualifications and Skills | |
Claire A. Walton | Claire A. Walton has over 25 years of experience in investment management. She has served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Liberty Square Asset Management, LP from 1998 to 2015, an investment manager that specialized in long/short non-U.S. equity investments, and has been an owner and General Partner of Neon Liberty Capital Management, LLC since 2003, a firm focusing on long/short equities in global emerging and frontier markets. These positions have provided her with insight and perspective on the markets and the economy. | |
Interested Directors | ||
Robert Fairbairn | Robert Fairbairn has more than 25 years of experience with BlackRock, Inc. and over 30 years of experience in finance and asset management. In particular, Mr. Fairbairn’s positions as Vice Chairman of BlackRock, Inc., Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive and Global Operating Committees and Co-Chair of BlackRock’s Human Capital Committee 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 Global Head of BlackRock’s Retail and iShares® businesses, Head of BlackRock’s Global Client Group, Chairman of BlackRock’s international businesses and his previous oversight over BlackRock’s Strategic Partner Program and Strategic Product Management Group. Mr. Fairbairn also serves as a board member for the funds in the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex. | |
John M. Perlowski | John M. Perlowski’s experience as Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009, as the Head of BlackRock Global Accounting and Product 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. Mr. Perlowski also serves as a board member for the funds in the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex. |
Name
and Year of Birth1,2 |
Position(s)
Held (Length of Service)3 |
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Other Investment Company Directorships Held During Past Five Years |
||||
Independent Directors | ||||||||
Mark Stalnecker
|
Chair of the Board and Director
(Since 2019) |
Chief Investment Officer, University of Delaware from 1999 to 2013; Trustee and Chair of the Finance and Investment Committees, Winterthur Museum and Country Estate from 2005 to 2016; Member of the Investment Committee, Delaware Public Employees’ Retirement System since 2002; Member of the Investment Committee, Christiana Care Health System from 2009 to 2017; Member of the Investment Committee, Delaware Community Foundation from 2013 to 2014; Director and Chair of the Audit Committee, SEI Private Trust Co. from 2001 to 2014. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Bruce R. Bond
|
Director
(Since 2007) |
Board Member, Amsphere Limited (software) since 2018; 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. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Susan J. Carter
|
Director
(Since 2019) |
Director, Pacific Pension Institute from 2014 to 2018; Advisory Board Member, Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship at Tuck School of Business since 1997; Senior Advisor, CCI (investment adviser) in 2015; Chief Executive Officer, CCI from 2013 to 2014; President & Chief Executive Officer, CCI from 1997 to 2013; Advisory Board Member, Girls Who Invest from 2015 to 2018 and Board Member thereof since 2018; Advisory Board Member, Bridges Fund Management since 2016; Trustee, Financial Accounting Foundation since 2017; Practitioner Advisory Board Member, PCRI since 2017; Lecturer in the Practice of Management, Yale School of Management since 2019. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Collette Chilton
|
Director
(Since 2019) |
Chief Investment Officer, Williams College since 2006; Chief Investment Officer, Lucent Asset Management Corporation from 1998 to 2006; Director, Boys and Girls Club of Boston since 2017; Director, B1 Capital since 2018; Director, David and Lucile Packard Foundation since 2020. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Neil A. Cotty
|
Director
(Since 2019) |
Bank of America Corporation from 1996 to 2015, serving in various senior finance leadership roles, including Chief Accounting Officer from 2009 to 2015, Chief Financial Officer of Global Banking, Markets and Wealth Management from 2008 to 2009, Chief Accounting Officer from 2004 to 2008, Chief Financial Officer of Consumer Bank from 2003 to 2004, Chief Financial Officer of Global Corporate Investment Bank from 1999 to 2002. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None |
Name
and Year of Birth1,2 |
Position(s)
Held (Length of Service)3 |
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Other Investment Company Directorships Held During Past Five Years |
||||
Lena G. Goldberg
|
Director
(Since 2016) |
Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School since 2008; Director, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. since 2013; FMR LLC/Fidelity Investments (financial services) from 1996 to 2008, serving in various senior roles including Executive Vice President – Strategic Corporate Initiatives and Executive Vice President and General Counsel; Partner, Sullivan & Worcester LLP from 1985 to 1996 and Associate thereof from 1979 to 1985. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Henry R. Keizer
|
Director
(Since 2016) |
Director, Park Indemnity Ltd. (captive insurer) since 2010; Director, MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation and MUFG Union Bank, N.A. (financial and bank holding company) from 2014 to 2016; Director, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants from 2009 to 2011; Director, KPMG LLP (audit, tax and advisory services) from 2004 to 2005 and 2010 to 2012; Director, KPMG International in 2012, Deputy Chairman and Chief Operating Officer thereof from 2010 to 2012 and U.S. Vice Chairman of Audit thereof from 2005 to 2010; Global Head of Audit, KPMGI (consortium of KPMG firms) from 2006 to 2010; Director, YMCA of Greater New York from 2006 to 2010. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | Hertz Global Holdings (car rental); Sealed Air Corp. (packaging); Montpelier Re Holdings, Ltd. (publicly held property and casualty reinsurance) from 2013 to 2015; WABCO (commercial vehicle safety systems) from 2015 to 2020. | ||||
Cynthia A. Montgomery
|
Director
(Since 2019) |
Professor, Harvard Business School since 1989. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. (manufacturing) from 1995 to 2016. | ||||
Donald C. Opatrny
|
Director
(Since 2015) |
Trustee, Vice Chair, Member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Investment Committee, Cornell University from 2004 to 2019; President, Trustee and Member of the Investment Committee, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum from 2007 to 2014; Member of the Board and Investment Committee, University School from 2007 to 2018; Member of the Investment Committee, Mellon Foundation from 2009 to 2015; Trustee, Artstor (a Mellon Foundation affiliate) from 2010 to 2015; President and Trustee, the Center for the Arts, Jackson Hole from 2011 to 2018; Director, Athena Capital Advisors LLC (investment management firm) since 2013; Trustee and Chair of the Investment Committee, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole since 2014; Member of Affordable Housing Supply Board of Jackson, Wyoming since 2017; Member, Investment Funds Committee, State of Wyoming since 2017; Trustee, Phoenix Art Museum since 2018; Trustee, Arizona Community Foundation and Member of Investment Committee since 2020. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Joseph P. Platt
|
Director
(Since 2019) |
General Partner, Thorn Partners, LP (private investments) since 1998; Director, WQED Multi-Media (public broadcasting not-for-profit) since 2001; Chair, Basic Health International (non-profit) since 2015. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (reinsurance company); Consol Energy Inc. |
Name
and Year of Birth1,2 |
Position(s)
Held (Length of Service)3 |
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
Number of
BlackRock- Advised Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”) Consisting of Investment Portfolios (“Portfolios”) Overseen |
Public
Company and Other Investment Company Directorships Held During Past Five Years |
||||
Kenneth L. Urish
|
Director
(Since 2019) |
Managing Partner, Urish Popeck & Co., LLC (certified public accountants and consultants) since 1976; Past-Chairman of the Professional Ethics Committee of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Committee Member thereof since 2007; Member of External Advisory Board, The Pennsylvania State University Accounting Department since founding in 2001; Principal, UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors, LLC since 2013; Trustee, The Holy Family Institute from 2001 to 2010; President and Trustee, Pittsburgh Catholic Publishing Associates from 2003 to 2008; Director, Inter-Tel from 2006 to 2007; Member, Advisory Board, ESG Competent Boards since 2020. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Claire A. Walton
|
Director
(Since 2019) |
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Liberty Square Asset Management, LP from 1998 to 2015; General Partner of Neon Liberty Capital Management, LLC since 2003; Director, Boston Hedge Fund Group from 2009 to 2018; Director, Woodstock Ski Runners since 2013; Director, Massachusetts Council on Economic Education from 2013 to 2015. | 32 RICs consisting of 153 Portfolios | None | ||||
Interested Directors4 | ||||||||
Robert Fairbairn
|
Director
(Since 2015) |
Vice Chairman of BlackRock, Inc. since 2019; Member of BlackRock’s Global Executive and Global Operating Committees; Co-Chair of BlackRock’s Human Capital Committee; Senior Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2010 to 2019; oversaw BlackRock’s Strategic Partner Program and Strategic Product Management Group from 2012 to 2019; Member of the Board of Managers of BlackRock Investments, LLC from 2011 to 2018; Global Head of BlackRock’s Retail and iShares® businesses from 2012 to 2016. | 116 RICs consisting of 261 Portfolios | None | ||||
John M. Perlowski5
|
Director
(Since 2015) President and Chief Executive Officer (Since 2010) |
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2009; Head of BlackRock Global Accounting and Product Services since 2009; Advisory Director of Family Resource Network (charitable foundation) since 2009. | 118 RICs consisting of 263 Portfolios | None |
1 | The address of each Director is c/o BlackRock, Inc., 55 East 52nd Street, New York, New York 10055. |
2 | Each Independent 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 Fund’s by-laws or charter or statute, or until December 31 of the year in which he or she turns 75. Directors who are “interested persons,” as defined in the Investment Company Act, serve until their successor is duly elected and qualifies or until their earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal as provided by the Fund’s by-laws or statute, or until December 31 of the year in which they turn 72. The Board may determine to extend the terms of Independent Directors on a case-by-case basis, as appropriate. |
3 | 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. In addition, effective January 1, 2019, three BlackRock Fund Complexes were realigned and consolidated into two BlackRock Fund Complexes. As a result, although the chart shows the year that each Independent Director joined the Board, certain Independent Directors first became members of the boards of other BlackRock-advised Funds, legacy MLIM funds or legacy BlackRock funds as follows: Bruce R. Bond, 2005; Susan J. Carter, 2016; Collette Chilton, 2015; Neil A. Cotty, 2016; Cynthia A. Montgomery, 1994; Joseph P. Platt, 1999; Mark Stalnecker, 2015; Kenneth L. Urish, 1999; Claire A. Walton, 2016. |
4 | Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Perlowski are both “interested persons,” as defined in the Investment Company Act, of the Fund based on their positions with BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates. Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Perlowski are also board members of the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex. |
5 | Mr. Perlowski is also a trustee of the BlackRock Credit Strategies Fund and BlackRock Private Investments Fund. |
Name
and Year of Birth1,2 |
Position(s) Held
(Length of Service) |
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years |
||
Officers Who Are Not Directors | ||||
Jennifer McGovern
|
Vice President
(Since 2014) |
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2016; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2011 to 2015; Head of Americas Product Development and Governance for BlackRock’s Global Product Group since 2019; Head of Product Structure and Oversight for BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory Group from 2013 to 2019. | ||
Trent Walker
|
Chief
Financial Officer (Since 2021) |
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since September 2019; Executive Vice President of PIMCO from 2016 to 2019; Senior Vice President of PIMCO from 2008 to 2015; Treasurer from 2013 to 2019 and Assistant Treasurer from 2007 to 2017 of PIMCO Funds, PIMCO Variable Insurance Trust, PIMCO ETF Trust, PIMCO Equity Series, PIMCO Equity Series VIT, PIMCO Managed Accounts Trust, 2 PIMCO-sponsored interval funds and 21 PIMCO-sponsored closed-end funds. | ||
Jay M. Fife
|
Treasurer
(Since 2007) |
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2007. | ||
Charles Park
|
Chief
Compliance Officer (Since 2014) |
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer for certain BlackRock-advised Funds from 2014 to 2015; Chief Compliance Officer of BlackRock Advisors, LLC and the BlackRock-advised Funds in the BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex and the BlackRock Fixed-Income 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. | ||
Lisa Belle
|
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer
(Since 2019) |
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2019; Global Financial Crime Head for Asset and Wealth Management of JP Morgan from 2013 to 2019; Managing Director of RBS Securities from 2012 to 2013; Head of Financial Crimes for Barclays Wealth Americas from 2010 to 2012. | ||
Janey Ahn
|
Secretary
(Since 2019) |
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2018; Director of BlackRock, Inc. from 2009 to 2017. |
1 | The address of each Officer is c/o BlackRock, Inc., 55 East 52nd Street, New York, New York 10055. |
2 | Officers of the Fund serve at the pleasure of the Board. |
Name |
Dollar Range
of Equity Securities in the Fund |
Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities in Supervised Funds |
||
Independent Directors: | ||||
Bruce R. Bond
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Susan J. Carter
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Collette Chilton
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Neil A. Cotty
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Lena G. Goldberg
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Henry R. Keizer
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Cynthia A. Montgomery
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Donald C. Opatrny
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Joseph P. Platt
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Mark Stalnecker
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Kenneth L. Urish
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
Claire A. Walton
|
None | Over $100,000 |
Name |
Dollar Range
of Equity Securities in the Fund |
Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities in Supervised Funds |
||
Interested Directors: | ||||
Robert Fairbairn
|
None | Over $100,000 | ||
John M. Perlowski
|
None | Over $100,000 |
Name |
Compensation
from the Master LLC |
Estimated
Annual Benefits upon Retirement |
Aggregate
Compensation from the Master LLC and Other BlackRock- Advised Funds1 |
|||
Independent Directors: | ||||||
Bruce R. Bond
|
$1,001 | None | $400,000 | |||
Susan J. Carter
|
$1,001 | None | $400,000 | |||
Collette Chilton
|
$1,001 | None | $400,000 | |||
Neil A. Cotty
|
$1,001 | None | $400,000 | |||
Lena G. Goldberg2
|
$1,142 | None | $430,000 | |||
Robert M. Hernandez3
|
$846 | None | N/A | |||
Henry R. Keizer4
|
$1,142 | None | $430,000 | |||
Cynthia A. Montgomery5
|
$1,142 | None | $430,000 | |||
Donald C. Opatrny6
|
$1,142 | None | $430,000 | |||
Joseph P. Platt
|
$1,001 | None | $400,000 | |||
Mark Stalnecker7
|
$1,556 | None | $520,000 | |||
Kenneth L. Urish
|
$1,001 | None | $400,000 | |||
Claire A. Walton
|
$1,001 | None | $400,000 | |||
Interested Directors: | ||||||
Robert Fairbairn
|
None | None | None | |||
John M. Perlowski
|
None | None | None |
1 | For the number of BlackRock-advised Funds from which each Director receives compensation, see the Biographical Information chart beginning on page I-13. |
2 | Chair of the Compliance Committee. |
3 | Mr. Hernandez retired as a Director of the Fund and Director of the Master LLC effective December 31, 2019. |
4 | Chair of the Audit Committee. |
5 | Chair of the Governance Committee. |
6 | Chair of the Performance Oversight Committee. |
7 | Chair of the Board and Chair of the Ad Hoc Topics Committee. |
Average Daily Net Assets | Rate of Management Fee | |
First $1 billion
|
0.500% | |
$ 1 billion - $1.5 billion
|
0.475% | |
Greater than $1.5 billion
|
0.450% |
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
Paid to the
Manager |
Waived by the
Manager |
||
2020
|
$1,987,658 | $466,562 | ||
2019
|
$2,303,015 | $561,516 | ||
2018
|
$3,062,667 | $2,404 |
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 |
Travis Cooke | 33 | 37 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
$10.20 Billion | $8.85 Billion | $7.14 Billion | $0 | $1.19 Billion | $5.06 Billion | |
Richard Mathieson | 23 | 82 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
$10.37 Billion | $11.77 Billion | $21.74 Billion | $0 | $122.83 Million | $6.04 Billion | |
Raffaele Savi | 32 | 41 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
$12.17 Billion | $14.42 Billion | $20.31 Billion | $0 | $1.27 Billion | $9.47 Billion |
Portfolio Manager |
Dollar Range of Equity
Securities Beneficially Owned |
|
Raffaele Savi
|
$10,001-$50,000 | |
Travis Cooke, CFA
|
$10,001-$50,000 | |
Richard Mathieson
|
$1-$10,000 |
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
Paid to
BlackRock |
Fees Waived
by BlackRock |
Fees Reimbursed
by BlackRock |
|||
2020
|
$993,348 | $992,556 | $577,585 | |||
2019
|
$1,150,523 | $1,136,505 | $702,219 | |||
2018
|
$1,529,606 | $399,282 | $509,603 |
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
Paid to
BNY Mellon1 |
Paid to
the Manager |
||
2020
|
$65,834 | $5,018 | ||
2019
|
$65,027 | $4,544 | ||
2018
|
$99,200 | $7,148 |
1 | For providing services to the Master LLC and each feeder fund that invested its assets in the Master LLC. |
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, | Fees Paid to BlackRock | Fees Waived by BlackRock | ||
2020
|
$6,467 | $6,467 | ||
2019
|
$11,505 | $11,505 | ||
2018
|
$9,824 | $3,804 |
Investor A Shares | ||||||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
Gross
Sales Charges Collected |
Sales Charges
Retained by BRIL |
Sales Charges
Paid to Affiliates |
CDSCs Received
on Redemption of Load Waived Shares |
||||
2020
|
$27,121 | $2,452 | $2,452 | $16 | ||||
2019
|
$39,485 | $3,194 | $3,194 | $0 |
Investor A Shares | ||||||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
Gross
Sales Charges Collected |
Sales Charges
Retained by BRIL |
Sales Charges
Paid to Affiliates |
CDSCs Received
on Redemption of Load Waived Shares |
||||
2018
|
$33,753 | $3,423 | $3,423 | $195 |
Investor C Shares | ||||
For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
CDSCs Received
by BRIL |
CDSCs Paid
to Affiliates |
||
2020
|
$270 | $270 | ||
20191
|
$36 | $36 | ||
2018
|
$1,129 | $1,129 |
Class Name | Paid to BRIL | |
Investor A Shares
|
$650,105 | |
Investor C Shares
|
$334,760 | |
Class R Shares
|
$70,235 |
Investor A
Shares |
|
Net Assets
|
$188,163,917 |
Number of Shares Outstanding
|
8,174,126 |
Net Asset Value Per Share (net assets divided by number of shares outstanding)
|
$23.02 |
Sales Charge (5.25% of offering price; 5.54% of net asset value per share)1
|
$1.28 |
Offering Price
|
$24.30 |
1 | Rounded to the nearest one-hundredth percent; assumes maximum sales charge applicable. |
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
Aggregate Brokerage
Commissions Paid |
Commissions Paid
to Affiliates |
||
2020
|
$156,389 | $0 |
Fiscal Year Ended March 31, |
Aggregate Brokerage
Commissions Paid |
Commissions Paid
to Affiliates |
||
2019
|
$253,3281 | $0 | ||
2018
|
$751,228 | $0 |
1 | The decrease in brokerage commissions paid by the Master LLC in fiscal year 2019 as compared to prior fiscal year was due to strategy changes and accompanying increased trading activity that took place during the fiscal year 2018. |
Amount of
Commissions Paid to Brokers for Providing 28(e) Eligible Research Services |
Amount of Brokerage
Transactions Involved |
|
$71,977 | $393,091,411 |
Regular Broker-Dealer | Debt (D) / Equity (E) | Aggregate Holdings (000’s) | ||
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
|
E | 3,226 | ||
Banc of America Securities LLC
|
E | 1,811 | ||
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC
|
E | 1,413 | ||
Wells Fargo & Co.
|
E | 1,322 | ||
Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.
|
E | 639 | ||
Goldman Sachs & Co.
|
E | 203 |
(1) | selecting borrowers from an approved list of borrowers and executing a securities lending agreement as agent on behalf of the Master LLC with each such borrower; |
(2) | negotiating the terms of securities loans, including the amount of fees; |
(3) | directing the delivery of loaned securities; |
(4) | monitoring the daily value of the loaned securities and directing the payment of additional collateral or the return of excess collateral, as necessary; |
(5) | investing cash collateral received in connection with any loaned securities; |
(6) | monitoring distributions on loaned securities (for example, interest and dividend activity); |
(7) | in the event of default by a borrower with respect to any securities loan, using the collateral or the proceeds of the liquidation of collateral to purchase replacement securities of the same issue, type, class and series as that of the loaned securities; and |
(8) | terminating securities loans and arranging for the return of loaned securities to the Master LLC at loan termination. |
Master Advantage SMID Cap LLC | |
Gross income from securities lending activities
|
$72,831 |
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services | |
Securities lending income paid to BIM for services as securities lending agent
|
$12,335 |
Cash collateral management expenses not included in securities lending income paid to BIM
|
$680 |
Administrative fees not included in securities lending income paid to BIM
|
$0 |
Indemnification fees not included in securities lending income paid to BIM
|
$0 |
Rebates (paid to borrowers)
|
$24,074 |
Other fees not included in securities lending income paid to BIM
|
$0 |
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities
|
$37,089 |
Net income from securities lending activities
|
$35,742 |
Name | Address | Percentage | Class | |||
Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800 East Deer Lake Drive
3rd Floor Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
69.00% | Investor A Shares | |||
National Financial Services LLC |
499 Washington Boulevard
5th Floor Jersey City, NJ 07310-2010 |
11.46% | Investor C Shares | |||
Wells Fargo Clearing Services |
2801 Market Street
St. Louis, MO 63103 |
8.07% | Investor C Shares | |||
Pershing LLC |
1 Pershing Plaza
Jersey City, NJ 07399-0001 |
6.64% | Investor C Shares | |||
LPL Financial |
4707 Executive Drive
San Diego, CA 92121-3091 |
6.41% | Investor C Shares | |||
Raymond James |
880 Carillon Parkway
St. Petersburg, FL 33716-1102 |
6.14% | Investor C Shares | |||
Mid Atlantic Trust Company |
1251 Waterfront Place, Suite 525
Pittsburgh, PA 15222 |
5.61% | Investor C Shares | |||
Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800 East Deer Lake Drive
3rd Floor Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
5.34% | Investor C Shares | |||
Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800 East Deer Lake Drive
3rd Floor Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
44.14% | Institutional Shares | |||
National Financial Services LLC |
499 Washington Boulevard
5th Floor Jersey City, NJ 07310-2010 |
5.36% | Institutional Shares | |||
Merrill Lynch, Pierce,
Fenner & Smith Incorporated |
4800 East Deer Lake Drive
3rd Floor Jacksonville, FL 32246-6484 |
24.69% | Class R Shares | |||
Foothill Pulmonary and
Critical Care Consultants Medical Group, Inc. |
8515 East Orchard Road
Greenwood Village, CO 80111 |
7.82% | Class R Shares | |||
State Street Bank and Trust |
1 Lincoln Street
Boston, MA 02111 |
6.37% | Class R Shares | |||
Fidelity Investments Institutional
Operations Company, Inc. |
100 Magellan Way
Covington, KY 41015-1987 |
5.11% | Class R Shares | |||
Mid Atlantic Trust Company |
1251 Waterfront Place, Suite 525
Pittsburgh, PA 15222 |
5.06% | Class R Shares | |||
Ascensus Trust Company |
P.O. Box 10758
Fargo, ND 58106 |
5.02% | Class R Shares | |||
Edward D. Jones & Co. |
12555 Manchester Road
St. Louis, MO 63131-3710 |
96.59% | Class K 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. |
• | Junk bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed-income securities even under normal economic conditions. 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. 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, and such quotations may not be the actual prices available for a purchase or sale. Because junk bonds are less liquid than higher rated bonds, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of a Fund’s portfolio securities than in the case of securities trading in a more liquid market. |
• | 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 NAV 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 directly or indirectly 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. |
Mortgage-Related Securities. |
• | Portfolio Holdings: “Portfolio Holdings” are a Fund’s portfolio securities and other instruments, and include, but are not limited to: |
• | for equity securities, information such as issuer name, CUSIP, ticker symbol, total shares and market value; |
• | for fixed income securities, information such as issuer name, CUSIP, ticker symbol, coupon, maturity, current face value and market value; |
• | for all securities, information such as quantity, SEDOL, market price, yield, WAL, duration and convexity as of a specific date; |
• | for derivatives, indicative data including, but not limited to, pay leg, receive leg, notional amount, reset frequency and trade counterparty; and |
• | for trading strategies, specific portfolio holdings, including the number of shares held, weightings of particular holdings, trading details, pending or recent transactions and portfolio management plans to purchase or sell particular securities or allocation within particular sectors. |
• | Portfolio Characteristics (excluding Liquidity Metrics): “Portfolio Characteristics” include, but are not limited to, sector allocation, credit quality breakdown, maturity distribution, duration and convexity measures, average credit quality, average maturity, average coupon, top 10 holdings with percent of the fund held, average market capitalization, capitalization range, risk related information (e.g., value at risk, standard deviation), ROE, P/E, P/B, P/CF, P/S and EPS. |
• | Additional characteristics specific to money market funds include, but are not limited to, historical daily and weekly liquid assets (as defined under Rule 2a-7) and historical fund net inflows and outflows. |
• | Portfolio Characteristics — Liquidity Metrics: |
• | “Liquidity Metrics” which seek to ascertain a Fund’s liquidity profile under BlackRock’s global liquidity risk methodology which include but are not limited to: (a) disclosure regarding the number of days needed to liquidate a portfolio or the portfolio’s underlying investments; and (b) the percentage of a Fund’s NAV invested in a particular liquidity tier under BlackRock’s global liquidity risk methodology. |
• | The dissemination of position-level liquidity metrics data and any non-public regulatory data pursuant to SEC Rule 22e-4 (including SEC liquidity tiering) is not permitted unless pre-approved. |
• | Disclosure of Liquidity Metrics pursuant to Section 3 of the Policy should be reviewed by BlackRock’s Risk and Quantitative Analysis Group and the relevant portfolio management team prior to dissemination. |
* | Global Allocation Exception: For purposes of portfolio holdings, Global Allocation funds include 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. Information on certain Portfolio Characteristics of BlackRock Global Allocation Portfolio and BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Fund is available, upon request, to insurance companies that use these funds as underlying investments (and to advisers and sub-advisers of funds invested in BlackRock Global Allocation Portfolio and BlackRock Global Allocation V.I. Fund) in their variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies on a weekly basis (or such other period as may be determined to be appropriate). Disclosure of such characteristics of these two funds constitutes a disclosure of Confidential Information and is being made for reasons deemed appropriate by BlackRock and in accordance with the requirements set forth in these guidelines. If Portfolio Characteristics are disclosed to one party, they must also be disclosed to all other parties requesting the same information. |
** | Strategic Income Opportunities Exception: Information on certain Portfolio Characteristics of BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio of BlackRock Funds V may be made available to shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries, consultants and third party data providers, upon request on a more frequent basis as may be deemed appropriate by BlackRock from time-to-time. If Portfolio Characteristics are disclosed to one party, they must also be disclosed to all other parties requesting the same information. |
Money Market Funds | ||
Time Periods | ||
Prior to 5 Calendar Days
After Month-End |
5 Calendar Days After
Month-End to Date of Public Filing |
|
Portfolio
Holdings |
Cannot disclose without non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement and CCO approval except the following portfolio holdings information may be released as follows:
• Weekly portfolio holdings information released on the website at least one business day after week-end. • Other information as may be required under Rule 2a-7 (e.g., name of issuer, category of investment, principal amount, maturity dates, yields). |
May disclose to shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries, consultants and third-party data providers. If portfolio holdings are disclosed to one party, they must also be disclosed to all other parties requesting the same information. |
Portfolio
Characteristics |
Cannot disclose without non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement and CCO approval except the following information may be released on the Fund’s website daily:
• Historical NAVs calculated based on market factors (e.g., marked-to-market) • Percentage of fund assets invested in daily and weekly liquid assets (as defined under Rule 2a-7) • Daily net inflows and outflows • Yields, SEC yields, WAM, WAL, current assets • Other information as may be required by Rule 2a-7 |
May disclose to shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries, consultants and third-party data providers. If Portfolio Characteristics are disclosed to one party, they must also be disclosed to all other parties requesting the same information. |
(i) | the preparation and posting of the Fund’s Portfolio Holdings and/or Portfolio Characteristics to its website on a more frequent basis than authorized above; |
(ii) | the disclosure of the Fund’s Portfolio Holdings to third-party service providers not noted above; and |
(iii) | the disclosure of the Fund’s Portfolio Holdings and/or Portfolio Characteristics to other parties for legitimate business purposes. |
• | Fund Fact Sheets are available 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. |
• | Money Market Performance Reports are typically available to shareholders, prospective shareholders, intermediaries and consultants by the tenth calendar day of the month (and on a one day lag for certain institutional funds). They contain monthly money market Fund performance, rolling 12-month average and benchmark performance. |
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. | Pricing Vendors — Refinitiv, ICE Data Services, Bloomberg, IHS Markit, JP Morgan Pricing-Direct, Loan Pricing Corporation, Valuation Research Corporation, Murray, Devine & Co., Inc. and WM Company PLC. |
10. | Portfolio Compliance Consultants — Oracle Financial Services. |
11. | Third-party feeder funds — Stock Index Fund, a series of Homestead Funds, Inc.; Transamerica Stock Index, a series of Transamerica Funds; and Alight Money Market Fund, a series of Alight Series Trust and their respective boards, sponsors, administrators and other service providers. |
12. | Affiliated feeder funds — Treasury Money Market Fund (Cayman) and its board, sponsor, administrator and other service providers. |
13. | Other — Investment Company Institute, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P., Mizuho Asset Management Co., Ltd., Nationwide Fund Advisors, State Street Bank and Trust Company, Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc., Silicon Valley Bank and BNY Mellon Markets. |
$1 million but less than $3 million
|
1.00% |
$3 million but less than $15 million
|
0.50% |
$15 million and above
|
0.25% |
$250,000 but less than $3 million
|
1.00% |
$3 million but less than $15 million
|
0.50% |
$15 million and above
|
0.25% |
$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
|
0.50% |
$3 million but less than $15 million
|
0.25% |
$15 million and above
|
0.15% |
$250,000 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
|
0.15% |
$3 million but less than $15 million
|
0.10% |
$15 million and above
|
0.05% |
$500,000 but less than $3 million
|
0.75% |
$3 million but less than $15 million
|
0.50% |
$15 million and above
|
0.25% |
$250,000 and above
|
0.50% |
$100,000 and above
|
0.25% |
$250,000 and above
|
0.25% |
$250,000 but less than $4 million
|
1.00% |
$4 million but less than $10 million
|
0.50% |
$10 million and above
|
0.25% |
$250,000 but less than $3 million
|
0.75% |
$3 million but less than $15 million
|
0.50% |
$15 million and above
|
0.25% |
$1,000,000 and above
|
0.10% |
$1,000,000 and above
|
0.15% |
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 | Ratings of Prime-1 reflect a superior ability to repay short-term obligations. |
P-2 | Ratings of Prime-2 reflect a strong ability to repay short-term obligations. |
P-3 | Ratings of Prime-3 reflect 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 a sufficiently strong short-term rating or may lack the structural or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand. |
• | The likelihood of payment—the capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitments on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation; |
• | The nature and provisions of the financial obligation, and the promise S&P imputes; and |
• | The protection afforded by, and relative position of, the financial obligation in the event of a 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 S&P. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments 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 commitments 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 commitments 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 weaken the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments 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 exposure 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 that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments 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 commitments on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments 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 commitments 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 commitments 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 S&P 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 with 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 S&P 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. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring. |
A-1 | A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by S&P. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments 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 commitments 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 commitments 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 weaken an obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments 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 that 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 commitments 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 S&P 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. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring. |
• | 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. |
S&P’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. |
D | ‘D’ is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed debt restructuring, or 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. |
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. |
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B-6 |
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B-7 |
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B-7 |
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B-8 |
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B-9 |
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B-9 |
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B-9 |
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B-9 |
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B-10 |
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B-10 |
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B-11 |
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B-12 |
If you would like additional information, please contact:
ContactStewardship@blackrock.com |
• | Boards and directors |
• | Auditors and audit-related issues |
• | Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions |
• | Compensation and benefits |
• | Environmental and social issues |
• | General corporate governance matters and shareholder protections |
• | establishing an appropriate corporate governance structure |
• | supporting and overseeing management in setting long-term strategic goals, applicable measures of value-creation and milestones that will demonstrate progress, and steps taken if any obstacles are anticipated or incurred |
• | ensuring the integrity of financial statements |
• | making independent decisions regarding mergers, acquisitions and disposals |
• | establishing appropriate executive compensation structures |
• | addressing business issues, including environmental and social issues, when they have the potential to materially impact company reputation and performance |
• | current or former employment at the company or a subsidiary within the past several years |
• | being, or representing, a shareholder with a substantial shareholding in the company |
• | interlocking directorships |
• | having any other interest, business or other relationship which could, or could reasonably be perceived to, materially interfere with the director’s ability to act in the best interests of the company |
• | The company has already taken sufficient steps to address the concern |
• | The company is in the process of actively implementing a response |
• | There is a clear and material economic disadvantage to the company in the near-term if the issue is not addressed in the manner requested by the shareholder proposal |
• | BlackRock clients who may be issuers of securities or proponents of shareholder resolutions |
• | BlackRock business partners or third parties who may be issuers of securities or proponents of shareholder resolutions |
• | BlackRock employees who may sit on the boards of public companies held in Funds managed by BlackRock |
• | Significant BlackRock, Inc. investors who may be issuers of securities held in Funds managed by BlackRock |
• | Securities of BlackRock, Inc. or BlackRock investment funds held in Funds managed by BlackRock |
• | BlackRock, Inc. board members who serve as senior executives of public companies held in Funds managed by BlackRock |
• | Adopted the Guidelines which are designed to protect and enhance the economic value of the companies in which BlackRock invests on behalf of clients. |
• | Established a reporting structure that separates BIS from employees with sales, vendor management or business partnership roles. In addition, BlackRock seeks to ensure that all engagements with corporate issuers, dissident shareholders or shareholder proponents are managed consistently and without regard to BlackRock’s relationship with such parties. Clients or business partners are not given special treatment or differentiated access to BIS. BIS prioritizes engagements based on factors including but not limited to our need for additional information to make a voting decision or our view on the likelihood that an engagement could lead to positive outcome(s) over time for the economic value of the company. Within the normal course of business, BIS may engage directly with BlackRock clients, business partners and/or third parties, and/or with employees with sales, vendor management or business partnership roles, in discussions regarding our approach to stewardship, general corporate governance matters, client reporting needs, and/or to otherwise ensure that proxy-related client service levels are met. |
• | Determined to engage, in certain instances, an independent fiduciary to vote proxies as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest, to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements, or as may be otherwise required by applicable law. In such circumstances, the independent fiduciary provides BlackRock’s proxy voting agent with instructions, in accordance with the Guidelines, as to how to vote such proxies, and BlackRock’s proxy voting agent votes the proxy in accordance with the independent fiduciary’s determination. BlackRock uses an independent fiduciary to vote proxies of (i) any company that is affiliated with BlackRock, Inc., (ii) any public company that includes BlackRock employees on its board of directors, (iii) The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., (iv) any public company of which a BlackRock, Inc. board member serves as a senior executive, and (v) companies when legal or regulatory requirements compel BlackRock to use an independent fiduciary. In selecting an independent fiduciary, we assess several characteristics, including but not limited to: independence, an ability to analyze proxy issues and vote in the best economic interest of our clients, reputation for reliability and integrity, and operational capacity to accurately deliver the assigned votes in a timely manner. We may engage more than one independent fiduciary, in part in order to mitigate potential or perceived conflicts of interest at an independent fiduciary. The Global Committee appoints and reviews the performance of the independent fiduciar(ies), generally on an annual basis. |
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B-21 |
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B-23 |
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B-25 |
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B-26 |
If you would like additional information, please contact:
ContactStewardship@blackrock.com |
• | Boards and directors |
• | Auditors and audit-related issues |
• | Capital structure |
• | Mergers, asset sales, and other special transactions |
• | Executive compensation |
• | Environmental and social issues |
• | General corporate governance matters |
• | Shareholder protections |
• | Employment as a senior executive by the company or a subsidiary within the past five years |
• | An equity ownership in the company in excess of 20% |
• | Having any other interest, business, or relationship which could, or could reasonably be perceived to, materially interfere with the director’s ability to act in the best interests of the company |
We may vote against directors serving on key committees that we do not consider to be independent. |
• | Where the board has failed to exercise oversight with regard to accounting practices or audit oversight, we will consider voting against the current audit committee, and any other members of the board who may be responsible. For example, this may apply to members of the audit committee during a period when the board failed to facilitate quality, independent auditing if substantial accounting irregularities suggest insufficient oversight by that committee |
• | Members of the compensation committee during a period in which executive compensation appears excessive relative to performance and peers, and where we believe the compensation committee has not already substantially addressed this issue |
• | The chair of the nominating / governance committee, or where no chair exists, the nominating / governance committee member with the longest tenure, where the board is not comprised of a majority of independent directors. However, this would not apply in the case of a controlled company |
• | Where it appears the director has acted (at the company or at other companies) in a manner that compromises his / her reliability to represent the best long-term economic interests of shareholders |
• | Where a director has a pattern of poor attendance at combined board and applicable key committee meetings. Excluding exigent circumstances, BlackRock generally considers attendance at less than 75% of the combined board and applicable key committee meetings by a board member to be poor attendance |
• | Where a director serves on an excess number of boards, which may limit his / her capacity to focus on each board’s requirements. The following illustrates the maximum number of boards on which a director may serve, before he / she is considered to be over-committed: |
Public Company CEO | # Outside Public Boards* | Total # of Public Boards | |
Director A | ✓ | 1 | 2 |
Director B | 3 | 4 |
* | In addition to the company under review |
• | The independent chair or lead independent director, members of the nominating / governance committee, and / or the longest tenured director(s), where we observe a lack of board responsiveness to shareholders, evidence of board entrenchment, and / or failure to promote adequate board succession planning |
• | The chair of the nominating / governance committee, or where no chair exists, the nominating / governance committee member with the longest tenure, where board member(s) at the most recent election of directors have received withhold votes from more than 30% of shares voted and the board has not taken appropriate action to respond to shareholder concerns. This may not apply in cases where BlackRock did not support the initial withhold vote |
• | The independent chair or lead independent director and / or members of the nominating / governance committee, where a board fails to implement shareholder proposals that receive a majority of votes cast at a prior shareholder meeting, and the proposals, in our view, have a direct and substantial impact on shareholders’ fundamental rights or long-term economic interests |
• | The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board implements or renews a poison pill without shareholder approval |
• | The independent chair or lead independent director and members of the governance committee, where a board amends the charter / articles / bylaws such that the effect may be to entrench directors or to significantly reduce shareholder rights |
• | Members of the compensation committee where the company has repriced options without shareholder approval |
• | If a board maintains a classified structure, it is possible that the director(s) with whom we have a particular concern may not be subject to election in the year that the concern arises. In such situations, if we have a concern regarding a committee or committee chair that is not up for re-election, we will generally register our concern by withholding votes from all available members of the relevant committee. |
• | The mix of competencies, experience, and other qualities required to effectively oversee and guide management in light of the stated long-term strategy of the company |
• | The process by which candidates are identified and selected, including whether professional firms or other sources outside of incumbent directors’ networks have been engaged to identify and / or assess candidates |
• | The process by which boards evaluate themselves and any significant outcomes of the evaluation process, without divulging inappropriate and / or sensitive details |
• | The consideration given to board diversity, including, but not limited to, gender, ethnicity, race, age, experience, geographic location, skills, and perspective in the nomination process |
• | Appears to have a legitimate financing motive for requesting blank check authority |
• | Has committed publicly that blank check preferred shares will not be used for anti-takeover purposes |
• | Has a history of using blank check preferred stock for financings |
• | Has blank check preferred stock previously outstanding such that an increase would not necessarily provide further anti-takeover protection but may provide greater financing flexibility |
• | The degree to which the proposed transaction represents a premium to the company’s trading price. We consider the share price over multiple time periods prior to the date of the merger announcement. In most cases, business combinations should provide a premium. We may consider comparable transaction analyses provided by the parties’ financial advisors and our own valuation assessments. For companies facing insolvency or bankruptcy, a premium may not apply |
• | There should be clear strategic, operational, and / or financial rationale for the combination |
• | Unanimous board approval and arm’s-length negotiations are preferred. We will consider whether the transaction involves a dissenting board or does not appear to be the result of an arm’s-length bidding process. We may also consider whether executive and / or board members’ financial interests in a given transaction appear likely to affect their ability to place shareholders’ interests before their own |
• | We prefer transaction proposals that include the fairness opinion of a reputable financial advisor assessing the value of the transaction to shareholders in comparison to recent similar transactions |
• | Whether we believe that the triggering event is in the best interest of shareholders |
• | Whether management attempted to maximize shareholder value in the triggering event |
• | The percentage of total premium or transaction value that will be transferred to the management team, rather than shareholders, as a result of the golden parachute payment |
• | Whether excessively large excise tax gross-up payments are part of the pay-out |
• | Whether the pay package that serves as the basis for calculating the golden parachute payment was reasonable in light of performance and peers |
• | Whether the golden parachute payment will have the effect of rewarding a management team that has failed to effectively manage the company |
• | The company has experienced significant stock price decline as a result of macroeconomic trends, not individual company performance |
• | Directors and executive officers are excluded; the exchange is value neutral or value creative to shareholders; tax, accounting, and other technical considerations have been fully contemplated |
• | There is clear evidence that absent repricing, the company will suffer serious employee incentive or retention and recruiting problems |
• | The company has already taken sufficient steps to address the concern |
• | The company is in the process of actively implementing a response |
• | There is a clear and material economic disadvantage to the company in the near-term if the issue is not addressed in the manner requested by the shareholder proposal |
Name | Position(s) and Office(s) with BRIL |
Position(s) and
Office(s) with Registrant |
Abigail Reynolds | Chairman and Member, Board of Managers, and Chief Executive Officer | None |
Christopher Meade | Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Senior Managing Director | None |
Lauren Bradley | Chief Financial Officer and Vice President | None |
Gregory Rosta | Chief Compliance Officer and Director | None |
Jon Maro | Chief Operating Officer and Director | None |
Andrew Dickson | Secretary and Managing Director | None |
Terri Slane | Assistant Secretary and Director | None |
Anne Ackerley | Member, Board of Managers, and Managing Director | None |
Michael Bishopp | Managing Director | None |
Thomas Callahan | Member, Board of Managers, and Managing Director | None |
Samara Cohen | Managing Director | None |
Jonathan Diorio | Managing Director | None |
Lisa Hill | Managing Director | None |
Brendan Kyne | Managing Director | None |
Paul Lohrey | Managing Director | None |
Martin Small | Member, Board of Managers, and Managing Director | None |
Jonathan Steel | Managing Director | None |
Name | Position(s) and Office(s) with BRIL |
Position(s) and
Office(s) with Registrant |
Ariana Brown | Director | None |
Chris Nugent | Director | None |
Lourdes Sanchez | Vice President | None |
Lisa Belle | Anti-Money Laundering Officer | Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer |
Zach Buchwald | Member, Board of Managers | None |
Gerald Pucci | Member, Board of Managers | None |
Philip Vasan | Member, Board of Managers | None |
BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap 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) | March 1, 2021 | ||
/s/ Trent Walker
(Trent Walker) |
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
March 1, 2021 | ||
Bruce R. Bond*
(Bruce R. Bond) |
Director | |||
Susan J. Carter*
(Susan J. Carter) |
Director | |||
Collette Chilton*
(Collette Chilton) |
Director | |||
Neil A. Cotty*
(Neil A. Cotty) |
Director | |||
Lena G. Goldberg*
(Lena G. Goldberg) |
Director | |||
Henry R. Keizer*
(Henry R. Keizer) |
Director | |||
Cynthia A. Montgomery*
(Cynthia A. Montgomery) |
Director | |||
Donald C. Opatrny*
(Donald C. Opatrny) |
Director | |||
Joseph P. Platt*
(Joseph P. Platt) |
Director | |||
Mark Stalnecker*
(Mark Stalnecker) |
Director | |||
Kenneth L. Urish*
(Kenneth L. Urish) |
Director |
Signature | Title | Date | ||
Claire A. Walton*
(Claire A. Walton) |
Director | |||
Robert Fairbairn*
(Robert Fairbairn) |
Director | |||
*By: /s/ Janey Ahn
(Janey Ahn, Attorney-In-Fact) |
March 1, 2021 |
Exhibit
Number |
Description | |
4(a) | — | Form of Investment Management Agreement between the Registrant and BlackRock Advisors, LLC. |
8(g)(4) | — | Form of Amendment No. 3 to the Administration Agreement. |
10(a) | — | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. |
Exhibit 4(a)
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT, dated March 1, 2021, between BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (the Fund), a Maryland corporation, and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the Advisor), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Advisor has agreed to furnish investment advisory services to the Fund, an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act); and
WHEREAS, this Agreement has been approved in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act, and the Advisor is willing to furnish such services upon the terms and conditions herein set forth;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual premises and covenants herein contained and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, it is agreed by and between the parties hereto as follows:
1. In General. The Advisor agrees, all as more fully set forth herein, to act as investment advisor to the Fund with respect to the investment of the Funds assets and to supervise and arrange for the day to day operations of the Fund and the purchase of securities for and the sale of securities held in the investment portfolio of the Fund.
2. Duties and Obligations of the Advisor with Respect to Investment of Assets of the Fund. Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section and subject to the direction and control of the Funds board of directors (the Board of Directors or Directors), the Advisor shall (i) act as investment advisor for and supervise and manage the investment and reinvestment of the Funds assets and in connection therewith have complete discretion in purchasing and selling securities and other assets for the Fund and in voting, exercising consents and exercising all other rights appertaining to such securities and other assets on behalf of the Fund; (ii) supervise continuously the investment program of the Fund and the composition of its investment portfolio; (iii) arrange, subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 hereof, for the purchase and sale of securities and other assets held in the investment portfolio of the Fund; and (iv) provide investment research to the Fund.
3. Duties and Obligations of Advisor with Respect to the Administration of the Fund. The Advisor also agrees to furnish office facilities and equipment and clerical, bookkeeping and administrative services (other than such services, if any, provided by the Funds custodian, transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent (the Custodian, Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent, respectively) and other service providers) for the Fund. To the extent requested by the Fund, the Advisor agrees to provide the following administrative services:
(a) Oversee the determination and publication of the Funds net asset value in accordance with the Funds policy as adopted from time to time by the Board of Directors;
(b) Oversee the maintenance by the Custodian, Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent of certain books and records of the Fund as required under Rule 31a-1(b)(4) of the 1940 Act and maintain (or oversee maintenance by such other persons as approved by the Board of Directors) such other books and records required by law or for the proper operation of the Fund;
(c) Oversee the preparation and filing of the Funds federal, state and local income tax returns and any other required tax returns;
(d) Review the appropriateness of and arrange for payment of the Funds expenses;
(e) Prepare for review and approval by officers of the Fund financial information for the Funds semiannual and annual reports, proxy statements and other communications with shareholders required or otherwise to be sent to Fund shareholders, and arrange for the printing and dissemination of such reports and communications to shareholders;
(f) Prepare for review by an officer of the Fund the Funds periodic financial reports required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form N-CEN, Form N-CSR, Form N-PX, Form N-PORT, and such other reports, forms and filings, as may be mutually agreed upon;
(g) Prepare such reports relating to the business and affairs of the Fund as may be mutually agreed upon and not otherwise appropriately prepared by the Custodian, counsel or auditors;
(h) Make such reports and recommendations to the Board of Directors concerning the performance of the independent accountants as the Board of Directors may reasonably request or deems appropriate;
(i) Make such reports and recommendations to the Board of Directors concerning the performance and fees of the Custodian, Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent as the Board of Directors may reasonably request or deems appropriate;
(j) Oversee and review calculations of fees paid to the Funds service providers;
(k) Oversee the Funds portfolio and perform necessary calculations as required under Section 18 of the 1940 Act;
(l) Consult with the Funds officers, independent accountants, legal counsel, Custodian, accounting agent, Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent in establishing the accounting policies of the Fund and monitor financial and shareholder accounting services;
(m) Determine the amounts available for distribution as dividends and distributions to be paid by the Fund to its shareholders; prepare and arrange for the printing of dividend notices to shareholders; and provide the Dividend Disbursing Agent and Custodian with such information as is required for such parties to effect the payment of dividends and distributions and to implement the Funds dividend reinvestment plan;
(n) Prepare such information and reports as may be required by any banks from which the Fund borrows funds;
(o) Provide such assistance to the Custodian and the Funds counsel and auditors as generally may be required to properly carry on the business and operations of the Fund;
(p) Respond to or refer to the Funds officers or Transfer Agent, shareholder (including any potential shareholder) inquiries relating to the Fund; and
(q) Supervise any other aspects of the Funds administration as may be agreed to by the Fund and the Advisor.
All services are to be furnished through the medium of any directors, officers or employees of the Advisor or its affiliates as the Advisor deems appropriate in order to fulfill its obligations hereunder.
The Fund will reimburse the Advisor or its affiliates for all out of pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with the performance of the administrative services described in this paragraph 3. The Fund will reimburse the Advisor and its affiliates for their costs in providing accounting services to the Fund.
4. Covenants. (a) In the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Advisor shall at all times conform to, and act in accordance with, any requirements imposed by: (i) the provisions of the 1940 Act and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and all applicable Rules and Regulations of the SEC; (ii) any other applicable provision of law; (iii) the provisions of the Charter and By Laws of the Fund, as such documents are amended from time to time; (iv) the investment objectives and policies of the Fund as set forth in its Registration Statement on Form N-1A and/or the resolutions of the Board of Directors; and (v) any policies and determinations of the Board of Directors.
(b) In addition, the Advisor will:
(i) place orders either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer. Subject to the other provisions of this paragraph, in placing orders with brokers and dealers, the Advisor will attempt to obtain the best price and the most favorable execution of its orders. In placing orders, the Advisor will consider the experience and skill of the firms securities traders as well as the firms financial responsibility and administrative efficiency. Consistent with this obligation, the Advisor may select brokers on the basis of the research, statistical and pricing services they provide to the Fund and other clients of the Advisor. Information and research received from such brokers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the Advisor hereunder. A
commission paid to such brokers may be higher than that which another qualified broker would have charged for effecting the same transaction, provided that the Advisor determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in terms either of the transaction or the overall responsibility of the Advisor to the Fund and its other clients and that the total commissions paid by the Fund will be reasonable in relation to the benefits to the Fund over the long term. Subject to the foregoing and the provisions of the 1940 Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and other applicable provisions of law, the Advisor may select brokers and dealers with which it or the Fund is affiliated;
(ii) maintain a policy and practice of conducting its investment advisory services hereunder independently of the commercial banking operations of its affiliates. When the Advisor makes investment recommendations for the Fund, its investment advisory personnel will not inquire or take into consideration whether the issuer of securities proposed for purchase or sale for the Funds account are customers of the commercial department of its affiliates; and
(iii) treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Fund all records and other information relative to the Fund, and the Funds prior, current or potential shareholders, and will not use such records and information for any purpose other than performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Fund, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where the Advisor may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or when so requested by the Fund.
5. Services Not Exclusive. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent the Advisor or any officer, employee or other affiliate thereof from acting as investment advisor for any other person, firm or corporation, or from engaging in any other lawful activity, and shall not in any way limit or restrict the Advisor or any of its officers, employees or agents from buying, selling or trading any securities for its or their own accounts or for the accounts of others for whom it or they may be acting; provided, however, that the Advisor will undertake no activities which, in its judgment, will adversely affect the performance of its obligations under this Agreement.
6. Sub-Advisors. The Advisor may from time to time, in its sole discretion to the extent permitted by applicable law, appoint one or more sub-advisors, including, without limitation, affiliates of the Advisor, to perform investment advisory services with respect to the Fund. The Advisor may terminate any or all sub-advisors in its sole discretion at any time to the extent permitted by applicable law.
7. Books and Records. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Advisor hereby agrees that all records which it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any such records upon the Funds request. The Advisor further agrees to preserve for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act.
8. Expenses. During the term of this Agreement, the Advisor will bear all costs and expenses of its employees and any overhead incurred in connection with its duties hereunder and shall bear the costs of any salaries or Directors fees of any officers or Directors of the Fund who are affiliated persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Advisor; provided that the Board of Directors may approve reimbursement to the Advisor of the pro rata portion of the salaries, bonuses, health insurance, retirement benefits and all similar employment costs for the time spent on Fund operations (including, without limitation, compliance matters) (other than the provision of investment advice and administrative services required to be provided hereunder) of all personnel employed by the Advisor who devote substantial time to Fund operations or the operations of other investment companies advised by the Advisor.
9. Compensation of the Advisor. (a) The Fund agrees to pay to the Advisor and the Advisor agrees to accept as full compensation for all services rendered by the Advisor as such, a monthly fee (the Investment Advisory Fee) in arrears at an annual rate equal to the amount set forth in Schedule A hereto of the average daily value of the Funds Net Assets. Net Assets means the total assets of the Fund minus the sum of the accrued liabilities. For any period less than a month during which this Agreement is in effect, the fee shall be prorated according to the proportion which such period bears to a full month of 28, 29, 30 or 31 days, as the case may be.
(b) For purposes of this Agreement, the net assets of the Fund shall be calculated pursuant to the procedures adopted by resolutions of the Directors for calculating the value of the Funds assets or delegating such calculations to third parties.
10. Indemnity. (a) The Fund may, in the discretion of the Board of Directors, indemnify the Advisor, and each of the Advisors directors, officers, employees, agents, associates and controlling persons and the directors, partners, members, officers, employees and agents thereof (including any individual who serves at the Advisors request as director, officer, partner, member, trustee or the like of another entity) (each such person being an Indemnitee) against any liabilities and expenses, including amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and counsel fees (all as provided in accordance with applicable state law) reasonably incurred by such Indemnitee in connection with the defense or disposition of any action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil or criminal, before any court or administrative or investigative body in which such Indemnitee may be or may have been involved as a party or otherwise or with which such Indemnitee may be or may have been threatened, while acting in any capacity set forth herein or thereafter by reason of such Indemnitee having acted in any such capacity, except with respect to any matter as to which such Indemnitee shall have been adjudicated not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Indemnitees action was in the best interest of the Fund and furthermore, in the case of any criminal proceeding, so long as such Indemnitee had no reasonable cause to believe that the conduct was unlawful; provided, however, that (1) no Indemnitee shall be indemnified hereunder against any liability to the Fund or its shareholders or any expense of such Indemnitee arising by reason of (i) willful misfeasance, (ii) bad faith, (iii) gross negligence or (iv) reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Indemnitees position (the conduct referred to in such clauses (i) through (iv) being sometimes referred to herein as disabling conduct), (2) as to any matter disposed of by settlement or a compromise payment by such Indemnitee, pursuant to a consent decree or otherwise, no indemnification either for said payment or for any other expenses shall be provided unless there has been a determination that such settlement or compromise is in the best interests of the Fund and that such Indemnitee appears to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Indemnitees action was in the best interest of the Fund and did not involve disabling conduct by such Indemnitee and (3) with respect to any action, suit or other proceeding voluntarily prosecuted by any Indemnitee as plaintiff, indemnification shall be mandatory only if the prosecution of such action, suit or other proceeding by such Indemnitee was authorized by a majority of the full Board of Directors.
(b) The Fund may make advance payments in connection with the expenses of defending any action with respect to which indemnification might be sought hereunder if the Fund receives a written affirmation of the Indemnitees good faith belief that the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification has been met and a written undertaking to reimburse the Fund unless it is subsequently determined that such Indemnitee is entitled to such indemnification and if the Directors determine that the facts then known to them would not preclude indemnification. In addition, at least one of the following conditions must be met: (A) the Indemnitee shall provide security for such Indemnitee undertaking, (B) the Fund shall be insured against losses arising by reason of any unlawful advance, or (C) a majority of a quorum consisting of Directors who are neither interested persons of the Fund (as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act) nor parties to the proceeding (Disinterested Non Party Directors) or an independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall determine, based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial type inquiry), that there is reason to believe that the Indemnitee ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.
(c) All determinations with respect to the standards for indemnification hereunder shall be made (1) by a final decision on the merits by a court or other body before whom the proceeding was brought that such Indemnitee is not liable or is not liable by reason of disabling conduct, or (2) in the absence of such a decision, by (i) a majority vote of a quorum of the Disinterested Non Party Directors, or (ii) if such a quorum is not obtainable or, even if obtainable, if a majority vote of such quorum so directs, independent legal counsel in a written opinion. All determinations that advance payments in connection with the expense of defending any proceeding shall be authorized and shall be made in accordance with the immediately preceding clause (2) above.
The rights accruing to any Indemnitee under these provisions shall not exclude any other right to which such Indemnitee may be lawfully entitled.
11. Limitation on Liability. The Advisor will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Advisor or by the Fund in connection with the performance of this Agreement, except a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation for services or a loss resulting
from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its duties under this Agreement. As used in this Section 11, the term Advisor shall include any affiliates of the Advisor performing services for the Fund contemplated hereby and partners, directors, officers and employees of the Advisor and of such affiliates.
12. Duration and Termination. This Agreement shall become effective as of the date hereof and, unless sooner terminated with respect to the Fund as provided herein, shall continue in effect for a period of two years. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund for successive periods of 12 months, provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by both (a) the vote of a majority of the Board of Directors or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund at the time outstanding and entitled to vote, and (b) by the vote of a majority of the Directors who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any party to this Agreement, cast in person (or otherwise, as consistent with applicable laws, regulations and related guidance and relief) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by the Fund at any time, without the payment of any penalty, upon giving the Advisor 60 days notice (which notice may be waived by the Advisor), provided that such termination by the Fund shall be directed or approved by the vote of a majority of the Directors in office at the time or by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund entitled to vote, or by the Advisor on 60 days written notice (which notice may be waived by the Fund). This Agreement will also immediately terminate in the event of its assignment. (As used in this Agreement, the terms majority of the outstanding voting securities, interested person and assignment shall have the same meanings of such terms in the 1940 Act.)
13. Notices. Any notice under this Agreement shall be in writing to the other party at such address as the other party may designate from time to time for the receipt of such notice and shall be deemed to be received on the earlier of the date actually received or on the fourth day after the postmark if such notice is mailed first class postage prepaid.
14. Amendment of this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended by the parties only if such amendment is specifically approved by the vote of the Board of Directors, including a majority of those Directors who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any such party cast in person (or otherwise, as consistent with applicable laws, regulations and related guidance and relief) at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval and, where required by the 1940 Act, by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
15. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York for contracts to be performed entirely therein without reference to choice of law principles thereof and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act. To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of New York, or any of the provisions, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control.
16. Miscellaneous. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or delimit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on, and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.
17. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts by the parties hereto, each of which shall constitute an original counterpart, and all of which, together, shall constitute one Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused the foregoing instrument to be executed by their duly authorized officers, all as of the day and the year first above written.
BLACKROCK ADVANTAGE SMID CAP FUND, INC. |
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By: |
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Name: | John M. Perlowski | |
Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer |
BLACKROCK ADVISORS, LLC as Advisor to the Fund |
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By: |
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Name: | Trent Walker | |
Title: | Managing Director |
Schedule A
Investment Advisory Fee
0.50% of the average daily Net Assets of the Fund not exceeding $1 billion, 0.475% of that portion of the average daily Net Assets of the Fund in excess of $1 billion but not exceeding $1.5 billion; and 0.45% of that portion of the average daily Net Assets of the Fund in excess of $1.5 billion.
Exhibit 8(g)(4)
Amendment No. 3 to the Administration Agreement
This Amendment No. 3 dated as of March 1, 2021 (the Amendment) to the Administration Agreement (as defined below) is entered into by and among BlackRock FundsSM, BlackRock Funds II, BlackRock Funds IV and BlackRock Funds V (collectively, the Trusts), each a Massachusetts business trust, BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. and BlackRock Large Cap Series Funds, Inc., each a Maryland corporation, and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the Administrator), a Delaware limited liability company. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meaning or meanings as set forth in the Administration Agreement.
WHEREAS, the Trusts and BlackRock Large Cap Series Funds, Inc. (collectively, the Existing Funds) and the Administrator have entered into an Administration Agreement dated January 1, 2015 (the Administration Agreement), as amended, pursuant to which each of the Existing Funds retained the Administrator to provide certain administration services with respect to each Existing Fund and certain of their respective series;
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (the New Fund), including a majority of those Directors who are not interested persons of the New Fund, approved the appointment of the Administrator to provide certain administration services to the New Fund at a meeting held on November 10, 2020; and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to add the New Fund as a party to the Administration Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:
1. Appointment. The New Fund hereby appoints the Administrator to act as the administrator of the New Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in the Administration Agreement. The Administrator hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services set forth in the Administration Agreement with respect to the New Fund.
2. Capitalized Terms. From and after the date hereof, the terms Trust and Fund as used in the Administration Agreement shall be deemed to include the New Fund. From and after the date hereof, the terms Trustees and Board of Trustees as used in the Administration Agreement shall be deemed to include the Directors and Board of Directors, respectively, of the New Fund. From and after the date hereof, the term Declaration of Trust shall be deemed to include the Articles of Incorporation of the New Fund, as amended from time to time.
3. Schedule. Schedule B to the Administration Agreement shall be amended to add the New Fund so that Schedule B is amended and restated as attached hereto.
4. Compensation. The Administrator shall receive from the New Fund a fee pursuant to Schedule A of the Administration Agreement.
5. Miscellaneous.
(a) |
Except to the extent supplemented hereby, the Administration Agreement shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect, and is hereby ratified and confirmed in all respects as supplemented hereby. |
(b) |
The names BlackRock FundsSM and Trustees of BlackRock FundsSM, BlackRock Funds II and Trustees of BlackRock Funds II, BlackRock Funds IV and Trustees of BlackRock Funds IV, and BlackRock Funds V and Trustees of BlackRock Funds V refer respectively to the applicable Trust created and the Trustees, as trustees but not individually or personally, acting from time to time under a Declaration of Trust, as amended from time to time, which is hereby referred to and a copy of which is on file at the office of the Secretary of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and at the principal office of the applicable Trust. The obligations of BlackRock FundsSM, BlackRock Funds II, BlackRock Funds IV and BlackRock Funds V entered into in the name or on behalf thereof by any of the Trustees, officers, representatives or agents are made not individually, but in such capacities, and are not binding upon any of the Trustees, Shareholders, officers, representatives or agents of the applicable Trust personally, but bind only the Trust Property, and all persons dealing with any Fund or class of Shares of the Trust must look solely to the Trust Property belonging to such Fund or class for the enforcement of any claims against the Trust. |
* * *
- 2 -
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to the Administration Agreement to be executed by their officers designated below as of the day and year first above written.
BLACKROCK ADVANTAGE SMID CAP FUND, INC. |
By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
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BLACKROCK FUNDSSM on behalf of each BlackRock FundsSM Fund listed on Schedule B |
By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
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BLACKROCK FUNDS II on behalf of each BlackRock Funds II Fund listed on Schedule B |
By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
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BLACKROCK FUNDS IV on behalf of each BlackRock Funds IV Fund listed on Schedule B |
By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
BLACKROCK FUNDS V on behalf of each BlackRock Funds V Fund listed on Schedule B |
By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
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BLACKROCK LARGE CAP SERIES FUNDS, INC. on behalf of each BlackRock Large Cap Series Funds, Inc. Fund listed on Schedule B |
By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
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BLACKROCK ADVISORS, LLC |
By: |
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Name: |
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Title: |
Schedule B
Fund |
BLK Ticker |
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1. BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. |
MF_VO |
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BlackRock FundsSM |
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2. |
BlackRock Advantage Emerging Markets Fund |
BR_EMR-AGG |
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3. |
BlackRock Advantage ESG Emerging Markets Equity Fund |
BR_EMR_ESG |
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4. |
BlackRock Advantage ESG International Equity Fund |
BR_GO_ESG |
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5. |
BlackRock Advantage ESG U.S. Equity Fund |
BR_IMPR3 |
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6. |
BlackRock Advantage International Fund |
BR_GO_AG |
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7. |
BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Growth Fund |
BR_FLEX_AG |
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8. |
BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Core Fund |
BR_DSCC |
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9. |
BlackRock Advantage Small Cap Growth Fund |
BR_SCGE |
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10. |
BlackRock China A Opportunities Fund |
BR_CHOPS |
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11. |
BlackRock Commodity Strategies Fund |
BR_CSF-AGG |
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12. |
BlackRock Cayman Commodity Strategies Fund, Ltd. |
BR_CSF-CMN |
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13. |
BlackRock Defensive Advantage Emerging Markets Fund |
BR_DAEM |
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14. |
BlackRock Defensive Advantage International Fund |
BR_DAINTL |
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15. |
BlackRock Defensive Advantage U.S. Fund |
BR_DAUS |
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16. |
BlackRock Energy Opportunities Fund |
BR_ACGR |
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17. |
BlackRock Exchange Portfolio |
BR_EXC |
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18. |
BlackRock Global Long/Short Equity Fund |
BR_GLS-AGG |
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19. |
BlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio |
BR_HS |
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20. |
BlackRock High Equity Income Fund |
BR_USOPP |
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21. |
BlackRock International Dividend Fund |
BR_ISCE |
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22. |
BlackRock Mid-Cap Growth Equity Portfolio |
BR_MCGE |
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23. |
BlackRock Real Estate Securities Fund |
BR_REIT-AG |
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24. |
BlackRock Short Obligations Fund |
BR_SHOBLIG |
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25. |
BlackRock Tactical Opportunities Fund |
BR_AA |
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26. |
BlackRock Technology Opportunities Fund |
BR_GST |
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27. |
BlackRock Total Factor Fund |
BR-SRA-AG |
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28. |
BlackRock Cayman Strategic Risk Allocation Fund, Ltd. |
BR-SRA-CAY |
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29. |
BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund |
BR-MM |
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BlackRock Funds II |
||||
30. |
BlackRock 20/80 Target Allocation Fund |
BR_CON |
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31. |
BlackRock 40/60 Target Allocation Fund |
BR_MOD |
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32. |
BlackRock 60/40 Target Allocation Fund |
BR_GRW |
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33. |
BlackRock 80/20 Target Allocation Fund |
BR_AGR |
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34. |
BlackRock Dynamic High Income Portfolio |
BR-DHI-AG |
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35. |
BlackRock Global Dividend Portfolio |
BR-IBP-AG |
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36. |
BlackRock Managed Income Fund |
BR-MI-AG |
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37. |
BlackRock Multi-Asset Income Portfolio |
BR-INC-AG |
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38. |
BlackRock Retirement Income 2030 Fund |
BR-RI2030 |
1
39. |
BlackRock Retirement Income 2040 Fund |
BR-RI2040 |
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BlackRock Funds IV | ||||
40. |
BlackRock Global Long/Short Credit Fund |
BR-GC-AG |
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41. |
BlackRock Systematic ESG Bond Fund |
BR-IMPBD |
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42. |
BlackRock Systematic Multi-Strategy Fund |
BR-SMS-AG |
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BlackRock Funds V | ||||
43. |
BlackRock Core Bond Portfolio |
BR-CORE |
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44. |
BlackRock Emerging Markets Bond Fund |
BR-EMDHD |
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45. |
BlackRock Emerging Markets Flexible Dynamic Bond Portfolio |
BR-EMD |
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46. |
BlackRock Floating Rate Income Portfolio |
BR-FRI |
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47. |
BlackRock GNMA Portfolio |
BR-GNMA |
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48. |
BlackRock High Yield Bond Portfolio |
BR-HIYLD |
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49. |
BlackRock Income Fund |
BR-MSB-AGG |
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50. |
BlackRock Inflation Protected Bond Portfolio |
BR-IP-AGG |
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51. |
BlackRock Low Duration Bond Portfolio |
BR-LO-AGG |
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52. |
BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio |
BR-SIP-AG |
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53. |
BlackRock U.S. Government Bond Portfolio |
BR-INTG |
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BlackRock Large Cap Series Funds, Inc. | ||||
54. |
BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Core Fund |
FF_LCC |
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55. |
BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Value Fund |
MF_LCV |
Schedule B, dated March 1, 2021
2
Exhibit 10(a)
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement No. 2-60836 on Form N-1A of our reports dated May 22, 2020, relating to the financial statements and financial highlights of BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (formerly known as BlackRock Advantage U.S. Total Market Fund, Inc.) (the Fund) and Master Advantage SMID Cap LLC (formerly known as Master Advantage U.S. Total Market LLC), appearing in the Annual Report on Form N-CSR of the Fund for the year ended March 31, 2020, and to the references to us under the headings Financial Highlights and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm in the Prospectuses and Independent Registered Public Accountants and Financial Statements in the Statement of Additional Information, which are part of such Registration Statement.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
March 1, 2021