VCIT Vanguard Intermediate Term Corporate Bond

PROSPECTUS

and other fixed-income securities is generally greater for those securities with longer maturities. Fluctuations in the market price of the Fund’s investments will not affect interest income derived from instruments already owned by the Fund, but will be reflected in the Fund’s net asset value. The Fund may lose money if short-term or long-term interest rates rise sharply in a manner not anticipated by Fund management. To the extent the Fund invests in debt securities that may be prepaid at the option of the obligor (such as mortgage-backed securities), the sensitivity of such securities to changes in interest rates may increase (to the detriment of the Fund) when interest rates rise. Moreover, because rates on certain floating rate debt securities typically reset only periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates (and particularly sudden and significant changes) can be expected to cause some fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund to the extent that it invests in floating rate debt securities. These basic principles of bond prices also apply to U.S. Government securities. A security backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Government is guaranteed only as to its stated interest rate and face value at maturity, not its current market price. Just like other fixed-income securities, government-guaranteed securities will fluctuate in value when interest rates change.

During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 12.06% (quarter ended June 30, 2009) and the lowest return for a quarter was –12.18% (quarter ended September 30, 2008).

As of 12/31/13 Average Annual Total Returns				1 Year				5 Years				10 Years 1
BlackRock Global Allocation Fund — Investor A Shares
Return Before Taxes				8.42%				8.95%				7.60%
Return After Taxes on Distributions				6.74%				8.12%				6.34%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares				5.67%				6.83%				5.74%
BlackRock Global Allocation Fund — Investor B Shares
Return Before Taxes				9.01%				8.96%				7.49%
BlackRock Global Allocation Fund — Investor C Shares
Return Before Taxes				12.60%				9.32%				7.36%
BlackRock Global Allocation Fund — Institutional Shares
Return Before Taxes				14.71%				10.43%				8.46%
BlackRock Global Allocation Fund — Class R Shares
Return Before Taxes				14.02%				9.75%				7.84%
FTSE World Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				24.67%				15.62%				7.87%
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				32.39%				17.94%				7.41%
FTSE World (ex US) Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				17.41%				13.39%				8.16%
BofA Merrill Lynch Current 5-Year US Treasury Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				(2.42)%				2.77%				4.21%
Citigroup Non-US Dollar World Government Bond Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				(4.56)%				2.27%				4.10%
Reference Benchmark (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				13.67%				10.94%				6.71%

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In 2006, a portion of the Fund’s total investment return for each share class consisted of a payment by the Fund’s former investment manager in order to resolve a regulatory issue relating to an investment.

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After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual Federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor A Shares only, and the after-tax returns for Investor B, Investor C, Institutional and Class R Shares will vary.

Investment Manager

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The Fund’s investment manager is BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“BlackRock”). The Fund’s sub-adviser is BlackRock Investment Management, LLC. Where applicable, the use of the term BlackRock also refers to the Fund’s sub-adviser.

Portfolio Managers

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Name				Portfolio Manager of the Fund Since				Title
Dennis Stattman, CFA				1989				Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Dan Chamby, CFA				2003				Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Aldo Roldan, PhD				2006				Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

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You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. To purchase or sell shares you should contact your Financial Intermediary, or, if you hold your shares through the Fund, you should contact the Fund by phone at (800) 441-7762, by mail (c/o BlackRock Funds, P.O. Box 9819, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8019), or by the Internet at www.blackrock.com/funds. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:

Investor A and Investor C Shares

Investor B Shares

Institutional Shares

Class R Shares

Minimum Initial Investment

$1,000 for all accounts except: · $250 for certain fee- based programs. · $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. · $50, if establishing an Automatic Investment Plan (“AIP”).

Available only through exchanges and dividend reinvestments by current holders and for purchase by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans.

$2 million for institutions and individuals. Institutional Shares are available to clients of registered investment advisers who have $250,000 invested in the Fund.

$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).

N/A

No subsequent minimum.

No subsequent minimum.

 

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Tax Information

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The Fund’s dividends and distributions may be subject to Federal income taxes and may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are a tax-exempt investor or are investing through a retirement plan, in which case you may be subject to Federal income tax upon withdrawal from such tax deferred arrangements.

Payments to Broker/Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

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If you purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary, the Fund and BlackRock Investments, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, or its affiliates may pay the Financial Intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Financial Intermediary and your individual financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual Financial Intermediary or visit your Financial Intermediary’s website for more information.

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Details About the Fund

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Included in this prospectus are sections that tell you about buying and selling shares, management information, shareholder features of the Fund and your rights as a shareholder.

How the Fund Invests

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Investment Objective

The investment objective of the Fund is to provide high total investment return through a fully managed investment policy utilizing United States and foreign equity securities, debt and money market securities, the combination of which will be varied from time to time both with respect to types of securities and markets in response to changing market and economic trends. In other words, the Fund seeks to achieve a combination of capital growth and income.

This investment objective is a fundamental policy of the Fund and may not be changed without approval of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities, as defined in the Investment Company Act.

Investment Process

In making investment decisions, Fund management tries to identify the long term trends and changes that could benefit particular markets and/or industries relative to other markets and industries. Fund management will consider a variety of factors when selecting the markets, such as the rate of economic growth, natural resources, capital reinvestment and the social and political environment.

In deciding between equity and debt investments, Fund management looks at a number of factors, such as the relative opportunity for capital appreciation, capital recovery risk, dividend yields and the level of interest rates paid on debt securities of different maturities.

Fund management will invest in “junk” bonds, corporate loans and distressed securities only when it believes that they will provide an attractive total return, relative to their risk, as compared to higher quality debt securities.

Fund management will invest in distressed securities when Fund management believes they offer significant potential for higher returns or can be exchanged for other securities that offer this potential. However, there can be no assurance that the Fund will generally achieve these returns or that the issuer will make an exchange offer or adopt a plan of reorganization.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing in both equity and debt securities, including money market securities and other short-term securities or instruments, of issuers located around the world. There is no limit on the percentage of assets the Fund can invest in a particular type of security. Generally, the Fund seeks diversification across markets, industries and issuers as one of its strategies to reduce volatility. Except as described below, the Fund has no geographic limits on where its investments may be located. This flexibility allows Fund management to look for investments in markets around the world that it believes will provide the best relative asset allocation to meet the Fund’s objective.

Fund management uses the Fund’s investment flexibility to create a portfolio of assets that, over time, tends to be relatively balanced between equity and debt securities and that is widely diversified among many individual investments. The Fund may invest in both developed and emerging markets. As of October 31, 2013, the Fund was invested in 47 different countries with approximately 47% of its total assets invested outside of the United States. In addition to investing in foreign securities, the Fund actively manages its exposure to foreign currencies through the use of forward currency contracts and other currency derivatives. From time to time, the Fund may own foreign cash equivalents or foreign bank deposits as part of the Fund’s investment strategy. The Fund will also invest in non-U.S. currencies, however, the Fund may underweight or overweight a currency based on the Fund management team’s outlook.

The Fund may also invest in 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

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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”).

The Fund’s composite Reference Benchmark has at all times since the Fund’s formation included a 40% weighting in non-US securities. Throughout its history, the Fund has maintained a weighting in non-US securities, often exceeding the 40% Reference Benchmark weighting and rarely falling below this allocation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will continue to allocate a substantial amount (approximately 40% or more — unless market conditions are not deemed favorable by BlackRock, in which case the Fund would invest at least 30%) — of its total assets in securities of (i) foreign government issuers, (ii) issuers organized or located outside the U.S., (iii) issuers which primarily trade in a market located outside the U.S., or (iv) issuers doing a substantial amount of business outside the U.S., which the Fund considers to be companies that derive at least 50% of their revenue or profits from business outside the U.S. or have at least 50% of their sales or assets outside the U.S. The Fund will allocate its assets among various regions and countries, including the United States (but in no less than three different countries). For temporary defensive purposes the Fund may deviate very substantially from the allocation described above.

The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in securities related to real assets (like real estate- or precious metals-related securities) such as stock, bonds or convertible bonds issued by real estate investment trusts or companies that mine precious metals.

The Fund may seek to provide exposure to the investment returns of real assets that trade in the commodity markets through investment in commodity-linked derivative instruments and investment vehicles such as exchange traded funds that invest exclusively in commodities and are designed to provide this exposure without direct investment in physical commodities. The Fund may also gain exposure to commodity markets by investing in the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary invests primarily in commodity-related instruments. The Subsidiary may also hold cash and invest in other instruments, including fixed income securities, either as investments or to serve as margin or collateral for the Subsidiary’s derivative positions. BlackRock is the manager of the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary (unlike the Fund) may invest without limitation in commodity-related instruments. However, the Subsidiary is otherwise subject to the same fundamental, non-fundamental and certain other investment restrictions as the Fund. The Fund will limit its investments in the Subsidiary to 25% of its total assets.

The Subsidiary is managed pursuant to compliance policies and procedures that are the same, in all material respects, as the policies and procedures adopted by the Fund. As a result, BlackRock, in managing the Subsidiary’s portfolio, is subject to the same investment policies and restrictions that apply to the management of the Fund, and, in particular, to the requirements relating to portfolio leverage, liquidity, brokerage, and the timing and method of the valuation of the Subsidiary’s portfolio investments and shares of the Subsidiary. These policies and restrictions are described in detail in the SAI. The Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer oversees implementation of the Subsidiary’s policies and procedures, and makes periodic reports to the Board regarding the Subsidiary’s compliance with its policies and procedures. The Fund and Subsidiary test for compliance with certain investment restrictions on a consolidated basis, except that with respect to its investments in certain securities that may involve leverage, the Subsidiary complies with asset segregation requirements to the same extent as the Fund.

BlackRock provides investment management and other services to the Subsidiary. BlackRock does not receive separate compensation from the Subsidiary for providing it with investment management or administrative services. However, the Fund pays BlackRock based on the Fund’s assets, including the assets invested in the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will also enter into separate contracts for the provision of custody, transfer agency, and audit services with the same or with affiliates of the same service providers that provide those services to the Fund.

The financial statements of the Subsidiary will be consolidated with the Fund’s financial statements in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports. The Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports are distributed to shareholders, and copies of the reports are provided without charge upon request as indicated on the back cover of this prospectus. Please refer to the SAI for additional information about the organization and management of the Subsidiary.

Equity Securities — The Fund can invest in all types of equity securities, including common stock, preferred stock, warrants, convertible securities and stock purchase rights of companies of any market capitalization. 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. Fund management may seek to invest in the stock of smaller or emerging growth companies that it expects will provide a higher total return than other equity investments. Investing in smaller or emerging growth companies involves greater risk than investing in more established companies.

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Debt Securities — The Fund can invest in all types of debt securities, including U.S. and foreign government bonds, corporate bonds and convertible bonds, mortgage and asset backed securities, and securities issued or guaranteed by certain international organizations such as the World Bank.

The Fund may invest up to 35% of its total assets in “junk” bonds, corporate loans and distressed securities. Junk bonds are bonds that are rated below investment grade by independent rating agencies or are bonds that are not rated but which Fund management considers to be of comparable quality. Corporate loans are direct obligations of U.S. or foreign companies, which may include corporations, partnerships, trusts or other corporate-like entities. Distressed securities are securities, including loans purchased in the secondary market, that are the subject of bankruptcy proceedings or otherwise in default or in risk of being in default as to the repayment of principal and/or interest at the time of acquisition by the Fund or that are rated in the lower rating categories by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (for example, Ca or lower by Moody’s and CC or lower by S&P or Fitch or, if unrated, are in the judgment of BlackRock of equivalent quality (“Distressed Securities”)). These securities offer the possibility of relatively higher returns but are significantly riskier than higher rated debt securities.

Derivatives — The Fund may use derivatives, including options, futures, indexed securities, inverse securities, swaps and forward contracts both to seek to increase the return of the Fund and to hedge (or protect) the value of its assets against adverse movements in currency exchange rates, interest rates and movements in the securities markets. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security, a commodity (such as oil or gas), a currency or an index, including but not limited to the S&P 500 Index and the VIX. The use of options, futures, indexed securities, inverse securities, swaps and forward contracts can be effective in protecting or enhancing the value of the Fund’s assets.

Other Strategies

In addition to the principal strategies discussed above, the Fund may also invest or engage in the following investments/strategies:

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Borrowing — The Fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes, including to meet redemptions, for the payment of dividends, for share repurchases or for the clearance of transactions.

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Depositary Receipts — The Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers in the form of depositary receipts or other securities that are convertible into securities of foreign issuers. American Depositary Receipts are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company that evidence underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. European Depositary Receipts (issued in Europe) and Global Depositary Receipts (issued throughout the world) each evidence a similar ownership arrangement. The Fund may invest in unsponsored depositary receipts.

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Illiquid/Restricted Securities — The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities that it cannot sell within seven days at approximately current value. The Subsidiary will also limit its investment in illiquid securities to 15% of its net assets. In applying the illiquid securities restriction to the Fund, the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary is considered to be liquid. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale (i.e., certain Rule 144A securities). They may include private placement securities that have not been registered under the applicable securities laws. Restricted securities may not be listed on an exchange and may have no active trading market. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public, and will be considered liquid if they can be sold within seven days at approximately current value.

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Indexed and Inverse Securities — The Fund may invest in securities that provide a return based on fluctuations in a stock or other financial index. For example, the Fund may invest in a security that increases in value with the price of a particular securities index. In some cases, the return of the security may be inversely related to the price of the index. This means that the value of the security will rise as the price of the index falls and vice versa. Although these types of securities can make it easier for the Fund to access certain markets or hedge risks of other assets held by the Fund, these securities are subject to the risks related to the underlying index or other assets.

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Investment Companies and Trusts — The Fund has the ability to invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds, unit investment trusts, and open-end and closed-end funds. The Fund may invest in affiliated investment companies, including affiliated money market funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds, and affiliated trusts.

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Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities — The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities represent interests in “pools” of mortgages or other assets, including consumer loans or receivables held in trust.

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Non-U.S. Dollar Cash Investments — The Fund may hold non-U.S. dollar cash investments.

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Repurchase Agreements, 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.

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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.

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Short Sales — The Fund may engage in short sales, which are transactions in which the Fund sells securities borrowed from others with the expectation that the price of the security will fall before the Fund must purchase the security to return it to the lender. The Fund may make short sales of securities, either as a hedge against potential declines in value of a portfolio security or to realize appreciation when a security that the Fund does not own declines in value. The Fund will not make a short sale if, after giving effect to such sale, the market value of all securities sold short exceeds 20% of the value of its total assets. However, the Fund may make short sales “against the box” without being subject to this limitation. In this type of short sale, at the time of the sale, the Fund owns or has the immediate and unconditional right to acquire the identical securities at no additional cost.

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Short-Term Securities or Instruments — The Fund can invest in high quality short-term U.S. dollar or non-U.S. dollar denominated fixed income securities or other instruments, such as U.S. or foreign government securities, commercial paper and money market instruments issued by U.S. or foreign commercial banks or depository institutions. Fund management may increase the Fund’s investment in these instruments in times of market volatility or when it believes that it is prudent or timely to be invested in lower yielding but less risky securities. Large investments in such securities or instruments may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.

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Standby Commitment Agreements — Standby commitment agreements commit the Fund, for a stated period of time, to purchase a stated amount of securities that may be issued and sold to the Fund at the option of the issuer.

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Temporary Defensive Strategies — For temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may restrict the markets in which it invests and may invest without limitation in cash, cash equivalents, money market securities, such as U.S. Treasury and agency obligations, other U.S. Government securities, short-term debt obligations of corporate issuers, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances, commercial paper (short term, unsecured, negotiable promissory notes of a domestic or foreign issuer) or other high quality fixed income securities. Temporary defensive positions may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

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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.

ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TEAM OF THE FUND

The Fund is managed by a team of financial professionals. Dennis Stattman, CFA, Dan Chamby, CFA and Aldo Roldan, PhD are the Fund’s portfolio managers, and are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund. Please see “Management of the Fund — Portfolio Manager Information” for additional information on the portfolio management team.

Investment Risks

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This section contains a discussion of the general risks of investing in the Fund. The “Investment Objectives and Policies” section in the SAI also includes more information about the Fund, its investments and the related risks. As with any fund, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objective or that the Fund’s performance will be positive for any period of time. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any bank or governmental agency.

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Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund:

Commodities Related Investments Risks — Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative investments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or sectors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments.

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.

Corporate Loans Risk — Commercial banks and other financial institutions or institutional investors make corporate loans to companies that need capital to grow or restructure. Borrowers generally pay interest on corporate loans at rates that change in response to changes in market interest rates such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or the prime rates of U.S. banks. As a result, the value of corporate loan investments is generally less exposed to the adverse effects of shifts in market interest rates than investments that pay a fixed rate of interest. However, because the trading market for certain corporate loans may be less developed than the secondary market for bonds and notes, the Fund may experience difficulties in selling its corporate loans. Leading financial institutions often act as agent for a broader group of lenders, generally referred to as a syndicate. The syndicate’s agent arranges the corporate loans, holds collateral and accepts payments of principal and interest. If the agent develops financial problems, the Fund may not recover its investment or recovery may be delayed. By investing in a corporate loan, the Fund may become a member of the syndicate.

The corporate loans in which the Fund invests are subject to the risk of loss of principal and income. Although borrowers frequently provide collateral to secure repayment of these obligations they do not always do so. If they do provide collateral, the value of the collateral may not completely cover the borrower’s obligations at the time of a default. If a borrower files for protection from its creditors under the U.S. bankruptcy laws, these laws may limit the Fund’s rights to its collateral. In addition, the value of collateral may erode during a bankruptcy case. In the event of a bankruptcy, the holder of a corporate loan may not recover its principal, may experience a long delay in recovering its investment and may not receive interest during the delay.

Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things.

Interest Rate Risk — The market value of bonds and other fixed-income securities changes in response to interest rate changes and other factors. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates. For example, if interest rates increase by 1%, assuming a current portfolio duration of ten years, and all other factors being equal, the value of the Fund’s portfolio would be expected to decrease by 10%. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of bonds and other fixed-income securities is generally greater for those securities with longer maturities. Fluctuations in the market price of the Fund’s investments will not affect interest income derived from instruments already owned by the Fund, but will be reflected in the Fund’s net asset value. The Fund may lose money if short-term or long-term interest rates rise sharply in a manner not anticipated by Fund management. To the extent the Fund invests in debt securities that may be prepaid at the option of the obligor (such as mortgage-backed securities), the sensitivity of such securities to changes in interest rates may increase (to the detriment of the Fund) when interest rates rise. Moreover, because rates on certain floating rate debt securities typically reset only periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates (and particularly sudden and significant changes) can be expected to cause some fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund to the extent that it invests in floating rate debt securities. These basic principles of bond prices also apply to U.S. Government securities. A security backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Government is guaranteed only as to its stated interest rate and face value at maturity, not its current market price. Just like other fixed-income securities, government-guaranteed securities will fluctuate in value when interest rates change.

Credit Risk — Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt security (i.e., the borrower) will not be able to make principal and interest payments when due. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also affect the value of the Fund’s investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on the issuer’s financial condition and on the terms of the securities.

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Extension Risk — When interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these obligations to fall. Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. The value of longer-term securities generally changes more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, securities may exhibit additional volatility and may lose value.

Prepayment Risk — When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than originally anticipated, and the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields. In periods of falling interest rates, the rate of prepayments tends to increase (as does price fluctuation) as borrowers are motivated to pay off debt and refinance at new lower rates. During such periods, reinvestment of the prepayment proceeds by the management team will generally be at lower rates of return than the return on the assets that were prepaid. Prepayment reduces the yield to maturity and the average life of the security.

Derivatives Risk — Derivatives are volatile and 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 perfectly 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 Liquidity 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 of 1986, as amended (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 — Recent legislation calls for new regulation of the derivatives markets. The extent and impact of the regulation is not yet known and may not be known for some time. In particular, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act (the “Reform Act”) may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives. The Reform Act substantially increases regulation of the over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives market and participants in that market, including imposing clearing and reporting requirements on transactions involving instruments that fall within the Reform Act’s definition of “swap” and “security-based swap,” which terms generally include OTC derivatives and imposing registration and potential substantive requirements on certain swap and security-based swap market participants. In addition, under the Reform Act, the Fund may be subject to additional recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Other future regulatory developments may also 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

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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

Swaps — Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into for periods ranging from a few weeks to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments, which can be adjusted for an interest factor. Swap agreements involve the risk that the party with whom the Fund has entered into the swap will default on its obligation to pay the Fund and the risk that the Fund will not be able to meet its obligations to pay the other party to the agreement.

Credit Default Swaps — Credit default swaps may have as reference obligations one or more securities that are not currently held by the Fund. The protection “buyer” may be obligated to pay the protection “seller” an up-front payment or a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract, provided generally that no credit event on a reference obligation has occurred. Credit default swaps involve special risks in addition to those mentioned above because they are difficult to value, are highly susceptible to liquidity and credit risk, and generally pay a return to the party that has paid the premium only in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (as opposed to a credit downgrade or other indication of financial difficulty).

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts — Forward foreign currency exchange transactions are OTC contracts to purchase or sell a specified amount of a specified currency or multinational currency unit at a price and future date set at the time of the contract. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts do not eliminate fluctuations in the value of non-U.S. securities but rather allow the Fund to establish a fixed rate of exchange for a future point in time. This strategy can have the effect of reducing returns and minimizing opportunities for gain.

Indexed and Inverse Securities — Indexed and inverse securities provide a potential return based on a particular index of value or interest rates. The Fund’s return on these securities will be subject to risk with respect to the value of the particular index. These securities are subject to leverage risk and correlation risk. Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate.

Futures — Futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts that obligate a purchaser to take delivery, and a seller to make delivery, of a specific amount of an asset at a specified future date at a specified price. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts and options are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by a Fund and the price of the futures contract or option; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the investment advisor’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; and (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations.

Options — An option is an agreement that, for a premium payment or fee, gives the option holder (the purchaser) the right but not the obligation to buy (a “call option”) or sell (a “put option”) the underlying asset (or settle for cash an amount based on an underlying asset, rate, or index) at a specified price (the “exercise price”) during a period of time or on a specified date. Investments in options are considered speculative. When the Fund purchases an option, it may lose the premium paid for it if the price of the underlying security or other assets decreased or remained the same (in the case of a call option) or increased or remained the same (in the case of a put option). If a put or call option purchased by the Fund were permitted to expire without being sold or exercised, its premium would represent a loss to the Fund. To the extent that the Fund writes or sells an option, if the decline or increase in the underlying asset is significantly below or above the exercise price of the written option, the Fund could experience a substantial loss.

Commodity-Linked Derivatives — The value of a commodity-linked derivative investment typically is based upon the price movements of a commodity, a commodity futures contract or commodity index, or some other readily measurable economic variable. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, volatility of the underlying benchmark, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The value of commodity-linked derivatives will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying commodity or related index. Investments in commodity-linked derivatives may be subject to greater volatility than non-derivative based investments. A highly liquid secondary market may not exist for certain commodity-linked derivatives, and there can be no assurance that one will develop.

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Commodity-linked derivatives also may be subject to credit and interest rate risks that in general affect the values of fixed income securities. Therefore, at maturity, the Fund may receive more or less principal than it originally invested. The Fund might receive interest payments that are more or less than the stated coupon interest payments.

In connection with the Fund’s direct and indirect investments in commodity-linked derivatives, the Fund will attempt to manage its counterparty exposure so as to limit its exposure to any one counterparty. However, due to the limited number of entities that may serve as counterparties (and which the Fund believes are creditworthy) at any one time the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties and may invest in commodity-linked notes issued by a limited number of issuers that will act as counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to limit exposure to any one counterparty at all times.

Distressed Securities Risk — Distressed securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment. In addition, distressed securities involve the substantial risk that principal will not be repaid. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment. The Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio company, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.

Emerging Markets Risk — The risks of foreign investments are usually much greater for emerging markets. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative. Emerging markets include those in countries defined as emerging or developing by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation or the United Nations. Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. They are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets. Since these markets are often small, they may be more likely to suffer sharp and frequent price changes or long-term price depression because of adverse publicity, investor perceptions or the actions of a few large investors. In addition, traditional measures of investment value used in the United States, such as price to earnings ratios, may not apply to certain small markets. Also, there may be less publicly available information about issuers in emerging markets than would be available about issuers in more developed capital markets, and such issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those to which U.S. companies are subject.

Many emerging markets have histories of political instability and abrupt changes in policies. As a result, their governments are more likely to take actions that are hostile or detrimental to private enterprise or foreign investment than those of more developed countries, including expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, high rates of inflation or unfavorable diplomatic developments. In the past, governments of such nations have expropriated substantial amounts of private property, and most claims of the property owners have never been fully settled. There is no assurance that such expropriations will not reoccur. In such an event, it is possible that the Fund could lose the entire value of its investments in the affected market. Some countries have pervasiveness of corruption and crime that may hinder investments. Certain emerging markets may also face other significant internal or external risks, including the risk of war, and ethnic, religious and racial conflicts. In addition, governments in many emerging market countries participate to a significant degree in their economies and securities markets, which may impair investment and economic growth. National policies that may limit the Fund’s investment opportunities include restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests.

Emerging markets may also have differing legal systems and the existence or possible imposition of exchange controls, custodial restrictions or other foreign or U.S. governmental laws or restrictions applicable to such investments. Sometimes, they may lack or be in the relatively early development of legal structures governing private and foreign investments and private property. Many emerging markets do not have income tax treaties with the United States, and as a result, investments by the Fund may be subject to higher withholding taxes in such countries. In addition, some countries with emerging markets may impose differential capital gains taxes on foreign investors.

Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because the Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be unreliable. The possibility of fraud, negligence, undue influence being exerted by the issuer or refusal to recognize ownership exists in some emerging markets, and, along with other factors, could result in ownership registration being completely lost. The Fund would

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absorb any loss resulting from such registration problems and may have no successful claim for compensation. In addition, communications between the United States and emerging market countries may be unreliable, increasing the risk of delayed settlements or losses of security certificates.

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. They 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, they 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.

Foreign Securities Risk — Securities traded in foreign markets have often (though not always) performed differently from securities traded in the United States. However, such investments often involve special risks not present in U.S. investments that can increase the chances that the Fund will lose money. In particular, the Fund is subject to the risk that because there may be fewer investors on foreign exchanges and a smaller number of securities traded each day, it may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell securities on those exchanges. In addition, prices of foreign securities may go up and down more than prices of securities traded in the United States.

Certain Risks of Holding Fund Assets Outside the United States — The Fund generally holds its foreign securities and cash in foreign banks and securities depositories. Some foreign banks and securities depositories may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business. In addition, there may be limited or no regulatory oversight of their operations. Also, the laws of certain countries limit the Fund’s ability to recover its assets if a foreign bank, depository or issuer of a security, or any of their agents, goes bankrupt. In addition, it is often more expensive for the Fund to buy, sell and hold securities in certain foreign markets than in the United States. The increased expense of investing in foreign markets reduces the amount the Fund can earn on its investments and typically results in a higher operating expense ratio for the Fund than for investment companies invested only in the United States.

Currency Risk — Securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests may be denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For this reason, changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.

Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency loses value because the currency is worth fewer U.S. dollars. Conversely, when the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency gains value because the currency is worth more U.S. dollars. This risk, generally known as “currency risk,” means that, to the extent the Fund is invested in securities denominated in a foreign currency, a strong U.S. dollar will reduce returns for U.S. investors while a weak U.S. dollar will increase those returns.

Foreign Economy Risk — The economies of certain foreign markets may not compare favorably with the economy of the United States with respect to such issues as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and balance of payments position. Certain foreign economies may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of punitive taxes. In addition, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investments in their capital markets or in certain industries. Any of these actions could severely affect securities prices or impair the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer the Fund’s assets or income back into the United States, or otherwise adversely affect the Fund’s operations.

Other potential foreign market risks include foreign exchange controls, difficulties in pricing securities, defaults on foreign government securities, difficulties in enforcing legal judgments in foreign courts and political and social instability. Diplomatic and political developments, including rapid and adverse political changes, social instability, regional conflicts, terrorism and war, could affect the economies, industries and securities and currency markets, and the value of the Fund’s investments, in non-U.S. countries. These factors are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict and take into account with respect to the Fund’s investments.

Governmental Supervision and Regulation/Accounting Standards — Many foreign governments do not supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to the same extent as such regulations exist in the United States. They also may not have laws to protect investors that are comparable to U.S. securities laws. For

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example, some foreign countries may have no laws or rules against insider trading. Insider trading occurs when a person buys or sells a company’s securities based on material non-public information about that company. In addition, some countries may have legal systems that may make it difficult for the Fund to vote proxies, exercise shareholder rights, and pursue legal remedies with respect to its foreign investments. Accounting standards in other countries are not necessarily the same as in the United States. If the accounting standards in another country do not require as much detail as U.S. accounting standards, it may be harder for Fund management to completely and accurately determine a company’s financial condition.

Settlement Risk — Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets differ significantly from those in the United States. Foreign settlement and clearance procedures and trade regulations also may involve certain risks (such as delays in payment for or delivery of securities) not typically associated with the settlement of U.S. investments.

At times, settlements in certain foreign countries have not kept pace with the number of securities transactions. These problems may make it difficult for the Fund to carry out transactions. If the Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a purchase of securities, it may miss attractive investment opportunities and certain of its assets may be uninvested with no return earned thereon for some period. If the Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a sale of securities, it may lose money if the value of the security then declines or, if it has contracted to sell the security to another party; the Fund could be liable for any losses incurred.

European Economic Risk — The European financial markets have recently experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about economic downturns in, or rising government debt levels of several European countries. These events may spread to other countries in Europe. These events may affect the value and liquidity of certain of the Fund’s investments.

Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not work, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructuring by governments and others of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. In addition, one or more countries may abandon the Euro, the common currency of the European Union, and/or withdraw from the European Union. The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, is not clear but could be significant and far reaching.

Junk Bonds Risk — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. The major risks of junk bond investments include:

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Junk bonds may be issued by less creditworthy issuers. Issuers of junk bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. In the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, claims of other creditors may have priority over the claims of junk bond holders, leaving few or no assets available to repay junk bond holders.

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Prices of junk bonds are subject to extreme price fluctuations. Adverse changes in an issuer’s industry and general economic conditions may have a greater impact on the prices of junk bonds than on other higher rated fixed-income securities.

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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.

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Junk bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If the issuer redeems junk bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income.

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Junk bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed-income securities, even under normal economic conditions. There are fewer dealers in the junk bond market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted for junk bonds by the dealers. Because they are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of the Fund’s securities than is the case with securities trading in a more liquid market.

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The Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer.

The credit rating of a high yield security does not necessarily address its market value risk. Ratings and market value may change from time to time, positively or negatively, to reflect new developments regarding the issuer.

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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. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.

Mid Cap Securities Risk — The securities of mid cap companies generally trade in lower volumes and are generally subject to greater and less predictable price changes than the securities of larger capitalization companies.

Precious Metal Related Securities Risk — Prices of precious metals and of precious metal related securities historically have been very volatile. The high volatility of precious metal prices may adversely affect the financial condition of companies involved with precious metals. The production and sale of precious metals by governments or central banks or other larger holders can be affected by various economic, financial, social and political factors, which may be unpredictable and may have a significant impact on the prices of precious metals. Other factors that may affect the prices of precious metals and securities related to them include changes in inflation, the outlook for inflation and changes in industrial and commercial demand for precious metals.

Some precious metals mining operation companies may hedge, to varying degrees, their exposure to falls in precious metals prices by selling forward future production. This may limit the company’s ability to benefit from future increases in the price of precious metals, thereby lowering returns to the Fund. Hedging techniques also have their own risk, including the possibility that a mining company or other party will be unable to meet its contractual obligations and potential margin requirements.

Other factors that may affect the prices of precious metals and securities related to them include changes in inflation, the outlook for inflation and changes in industrial and commercial demand for precious metals. Additionally, increased environmental or labor costs may depress the value of mining and metal investments.

Real Estate Related Securities Risk — The main risk of real estate related securities is that the value of the underlying real estate may go down. Many factors may affect real estate values. These factors include both the general and local economies, vacancy rates, tenant bankruptcies, the ability to re-lease space under expiring leases on attractive terms, the amount of new construction in a particular area, the laws and regulations (including zoning, environmental and tax laws) affecting real estate and the costs of owning, maintaining and improving real estate. The availability of mortgage financing and changes in interest rates also affect real estate values. If the Fund’s real estate related investments own real estate assets which are concentrated in one geographic area or in one property type, the Fund will be particularly subject to the risks associated with that area or property type. Many issuers of real estate related securities are highly leveraged, which increases the risk to holders of such securities. The value of the securities the Fund buys will not necessarily track the value of the underlying investments of the issuers of such securities.

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 and may be more volatile than other securities.

Small Cap and Emerging Growth Securities Risk — Small cap or emerging growth companies may have limited product lines or markets. They may be less financially secure than larger, more established companies. They may depend on a small number of key personnel. If a product fails or there are other adverse developments, or if management changes, the Fund’s investment in a small cap company or emerging growth company may lose substantial value. 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.

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The securities of small cap or emerging growth companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger cap securities or the market as a whole. In addition, small cap or emerging growth securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings. Investing in small cap or emerging growth securities requires a longer term view.

Sovereign Debt Risk — Sovereign debt instruments are subject to the risk that a governmental entity may delay or refuse to pay interest or repay principal on its sovereign debt, due, for example, to cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity’s debt position in relation to the economy or the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies. If a governmental entity defaults, it may ask for more time in which to pay or for further loans. There is no legal process for collecting sovereign debt that a government does not pay nor are there bankruptcy proceedings through which all or part of the sovereign debt that a governmental entity has not repaid may be collected.

Structured Notes Risk — Structured notes and other related instruments purchased by the Fund are generally privately negotiated debt obligations where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to the performance of a specific asset, benchmark asset, market or interest rate (“reference measure”). The interest rate or the principal amount payable upon maturity or redemption may increase or decrease, depending upon changes in the value of the reference measure. The terms of a structured note may provide that, in certain circumstances, no principal is due at maturity and, therefore, may result in a loss of invested capital by the Fund. The interest and/or principal payments that may be made on a structured product may vary widely, depending on a variety of factors, including the volatility of the reference measure.

Structured notes may be positively or negatively indexed, so the appreciation of the reference measure may produce an increase or a decrease in the interest rate or the value of the principal at maturity. The rate of return on structured notes may be determined by applying a multiplier to the performance or differential performance of reference measures. Application of a multiplier involves leverage that will serve to magnify the potential for gain and the risk of loss.

The purchase of structured notes exposes the Fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the structured product. Structured notes may also be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to price accurately than less complex securities and instruments or more traditional debt securities.

Subsidiary Risk — By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The commodity-related instruments held by the Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the Fund (see “Commodities Related Investment Risks” above). These risks are described elsewhere in this prospectus. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act, and, unless otherwise noted in this prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the Investment Company Act. However, the Fund wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, and the Fund and the Subsidiary are both managed by BlackRock, making it unlikely that the Subsidiary will take action contrary to the interests of the Fund and its shareholders. The Board has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of the Fund, including its investment in the Subsidiary, and the Fund’s role as sole shareholder of the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will be subject to the same investment restrictions and limitations, and follow the same compliance policies and procedures, as the Fund. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this prospectus and the SAI and could adversely affect the Fund. For example, the Cayman Islands does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns.

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 loses 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.

The Fund may also be subject to certain other risks associated with its investments and investment strategies, including:

Borrowing Risk — Although the Fund may borrow only for temporary or emergency purposes, 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.

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Depositary Receipts Risk — The issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not obligated to disclose information that is, in the United States, considered material. Therefore, there may be less information available regarding these issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the depositary receipts. Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted.

Expense Risk — Fund expenses are subject to a variety of factors, including fluctuations in the Fund’s net assets. Accordingly, actual expenses may be greater or less than those indicated. For example, to the extent that the Fund’s net assets decrease due to market declines or redemptions, the Fund’s expenses will increase as a percentage of Fund net assets. During periods of high market volatility, these increases in the Fund’s expense ratio could be significant.

Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk — Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate.

Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies. To the extent the Fund is held by an affiliated fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited.

Liquidity Risk — Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. The Fund’s investments in illiquid securities may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquid investments may become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions.

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risks — Mortgage-backed securities (residential and commercial) and asset-backed securities represent interests in “pools” of mortgages or other assets, including consumer loans or receivables held in trust. Although asset-backed and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) generally experience less prepayment than residential mortgage-backed securities, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, like traditional fixed-income securities, are subject to credit, interest rate, prepayment and extension risks.

Small movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain mortgage-backed securities. The Fund’s investments in asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with mortgage-related securities, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. These securities also are subject to the risk of default on the underlying mortgage or assets, particularly during periods of economic downturn. Certain CMBS are issued in several classes with different levels of yield and credit protection. The Fund’s investments in CMBS with several classes may be in the lower classes that have greater risks than the higher classes, including greater interest rate, credit and prepayment risks.

Mortgage-backed securities may be either pass-through securities or collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”). Pass-through securities represent a right to receive principal and interest payments collected on a pool of mortgages, which are passed through to security holders. CMOs are created by dividing the principal and interest payments collected on a pool of mortgages into several revenue streams (tranches) with different priority rights to portions of the underlying mortgage payments. Certain CMO tranches may represent a right to receive interest only (“IOs”), principal only (“POs”) or an amount that remains after floating-rate tranches are paid (an inverse floater). These securities are frequently referred to as “mortgage derivatives” and may be extremely sensitive to changes in interest rates. Interest rates on inverse floaters, for example, vary inversely with a short-term floating rate (which may be reset periodically). Interest rates on inverse floaters will decrease when short-term rates increase, and will increase when short-term rates decrease. These securities have the effect of providing a degree of investment leverage. In response to changes in market interest rates or other market conditions, the value of an inverse floater may increase or decrease at a multiple of the increase or decrease in the value of the underlying securities. If the Fund invests in CMO tranches (including CMO tranches issued by government agencies) and interest rates move in a manner not anticipated by Fund management, it is possible that the Fund could lose all or substantially all of its investment. Certain mortgage-backed securities in which the Fund may invest may also provide a degree of investment leverage, which could cause the Fund to lose all or substantially all of its investment.

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The mortgage market in the United States has experienced difficulties that may adversely affect the performance and market value of certain of the Fund’s mortgage-related investments. Delinquencies and losses on mortgage loans (including subprime and second-lien mortgage loans) generally have increased and may continue to increase, and a decline in or flattening of real-estate values (as has been experienced and may continue to be experienced in many housing markets) may exacerbate such delinquencies and losses. Also, a number of mortgage loan originators have experienced serious financial difficulties or bankruptcy. Reduced investor demand for mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities and increased investor yield requirements have caused limited liquidity in the secondary market for mortgage-related securities, which can adversely affect the market value of mortgage-related securities. It is possible that such limited liquidity in such secondary markets could continue or worsen.

Asset-backed securities entail certain risks not presented by mortgage-backed securities, including the risk that in certain states it may be difficult to perfect the liens securing the collateral backing certain asset-backed securities. In addition, certain asset-backed securities are based on loans that are unsecured, which means that there is no collateral to seize if the underlying borrower defaults.

Repurchase Agreements, Purchase and Sale Contracts Risks — 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.

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.

Short Sales Risk — Because making short sales in securities that it does not own exposes the Fund to the risks associated with those securities, such short sales involve speculative exposure risk. The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the security sold short. The Fund will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those dates. As a result, if the Fund makes short sales in securities that increase in value, it will likely underperform similar funds that do not make short sales in securities they do not own. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to close out a short sale position at any particular time or at an acceptable price. Although the Fund’s gain is limited to the amount at which it sold a security short, its potential loss is limited only by the maximum attainable price of the security, less the price at which the security was sold. The Fund may also pay transaction costs and borrowing fees in connection with short sales.

Standby Commitment Agreements Risk — Standby commitment agreements involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery to the Fund and will no longer be worth what the Fund has agreed to pay for it. These agreements also involve the risk that if the security goes up in value, the counterparty will decide not to issue the security. In this case, the Fund loses both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price.

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risks — 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.

25

Account Information

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How to Choose the Share Class that Best Suits Your Needs

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The Fund currently offers multiple share classes (Investor A, Investor B, Investor C, Institutional and Class R Shares in this prospectus), each with its own sales charge and expense structure, allowing you to invest in the way that best suits your needs. Each share class represents an ownership interest in the same investment portfolio. When you choose your class of shares, you should consider the size of your investment and how long you plan to hold your shares. Either your financial professional or Financial Intermediary (including BlackRock, PNC and their respective affiliates) can help you determine which share class is best suited to your personal financial goals. Investor A Shares, Investor B Shares and Investor C Shares are sometimes referred to herein collectively as “Investor Shares.”

For example, if you select Institutional Shares, you will not pay any sales charge. However, only certain investors may buy Institutional Shares. If you select Investor A Shares, you generally pay a sales charge at the time of purchase and an ongoing service fee of 0.25% per year. You may be eligible for a sales charge reduction or waiver.

If you select Investor C or Class R Shares, you will invest the full amount of your purchase price, but you will be subject to a distribution fee of 0.75% per year for Investor C Shares and 0.25% per year for Class R Shares and a service fee of 0.25% per year for both classes of shares under plans adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. In addition, you may be subject to a deferred sales charge when you sell Investor C Shares within one year. Classes with lower expenses will have higher net asset values and dividends relative to other share classes.

Investor B Shares are offered on a very limited basis as described below. Investor B Shares are subject to ongoing service and distribution fees and may be subject to a deferred sales charge.

The Fund’s shares are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of BlackRock.

26

The table below summarizes key features of each of the share classes of the Fund.

Share Classes at a Glance ¹

		Investor A		Investor B		Investor C 2,3		Institutional		Class R
Availability		Generally available through Financial Intermediaries.		Available only through exchanges and dividend reinvestments, and by current holders and for purchase by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans.		Generally available through Financial Intermediaries.		Limited to certain investors, including: · Current Institutional shareholders that meet certain requirements · Certain employer-sponsored retirement plans · Participants in certain programs sponsored by BlackRock or its affiliates or other Financial Intermediaries · Certain employees and affiliates of BlackRock or its affiliates		Available only to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Minimum Investment		$1,000 for all accounts except: · $250 for certain fee-based programs · $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans · $50, if establishing an AIP		Investor B Shares are not generally available for purchase (see above).		$1,000 for all accounts except: · $250 for certain fee-based programs · $100 for certain employer-sponsored retirement plans · $50, if establishing an AIP		$2 million for institutions and individuals. Institutional Shares are available to clients of registered investment advisers who have $250,000 invested in the Fund.		$100 for all accounts.
Initial Sales Charge?		Yes. Payable at time of purchase. Lower sales charges are available for larger investments.		No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund.		No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund.		No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund.		No. Entire purchase price is invested in shares of the Fund.
Deferred Sales Charge?		No. (May be charged for purchases of $1 million or more that are redeemed within 18 months).		Yes. Payable if you redeem within six years of purchase.		Yes. Payable if you redeem within one year of purchase.		No.		No.
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees?		No Distribution Fee. 0.25% Annual Service Fee.		0.75% Annual 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.		No.

 

27

Share Classes at a Glance ¹

		Investor A		Investor B		Investor C 2,3		Institutional		Class R
Conversion to Investor A Shares?		N/A		Yes, automatically after approximately eight years.		No.		No.		No.
Advantage		Makes sense for investors who are eligible to have the sales charge reduced or eliminated or who have a long-term investment horizon because there are no ongoing distribution fees.		No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares.		No up-front sales charge so you start off owning more shares. 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 fee.		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.		Limited availability. You pay ongoing distribution fees each year you own Investor B Shares, which means that you can expect lower total performance than Investor A Shares.		You pay ongoing distribution fees each year you own Investor C Shares, which means that over the long term you can expect higher total fees per share than Investor A Shares and, as a result, lower total performance.		Limited availability.		Limited availability. You pay ongoing distribution fees each year you own shares, which means that you can expect lower total performance per share than Investor A Shares. Class R Shares do not convert to Investor A Shares, so you will continue paying the ongoing distribution fees as long as you hold the Class R Shares. Over the long term, this can add up to higher total fees than Investor A Shares. There is limited availability of these shares.

1

Please see “Details About the Share Classes” for more information about each share class.

2

If you establish a new 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.

3

The Fund will not accept a purchase order of $500,000 or more for Investor C Shares. Your Financial Intermediary may set a lower maximum for Investor C Shares.

The following pages will cover the additional details of each share class, including the Institutional Shares requirements, the sales charge table for Investor A Shares, reduced sales charge information, Investor B and Investor C Share CDSC information, and sales charge waivers.

More information about existing sales charge reductions and waivers is available free of charge in a clear and prominent format via hyperlink at www.blackrock.com and in the SAI, which is available on the website or on request.

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Details About the Share Classes

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Investor A Shares — Initial Sales Charge Option

The following table shows the front-end sales charges that you may pay if you buy Investor A Shares. The offering price for Investor A Shares includes any front-end sales charge. The front-end sales charge expressed as a percentage of the offering price may be higher or lower than the charge described below due to rounding. Similarly, any contingent deferred sales charge paid upon certain redemptions of Investor A Shares expressed as a percentage of the applicable redemption amount may be higher or lower than the charge described below due to rounding. You may qualify for a reduced front-end sales charge. Purchases of Investor A Shares at certain fixed dollar levels, known as “breakpoints,” cause a reduction in the front-end sales charge. Once you achieve a breakpoint, you pay that sales charge on your entire purchase amount (and not just the portion above the breakpoint). If you select Investor A Shares, you will pay a sales charge at the time of purchase as shown in the following table.

Your Investment				Sales Charge as a % of Offering Price				Sales Charge as a % of Your Investment 1				Dealer Compensation as a % of Offering Price
Less than $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 over 2				0.00%				0.00%				—

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. See the SAI for details. 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.

No initial sales charge applies to Investor A Shares that you buy through reinvestment of Fund dividends or capital gains.

Sales Charges Reduced or Eliminated for Investor A Shares

There are several ways in which the sales charge can be reduced or eliminated. Purchases of Investor A Shares at certain fixed dollar levels, known as “breakpoints,” cause a reduction in the front-end sales charge (as described above in the “Investor A Shares — Initial Sales Charge Option” section). Additionally, the front-end sales charge can be reduced or eliminated through one or a combination of the following: a Letter of Intent, the right of accumulation, the reinstatement privilege (described under “Account Services and Privileges”), or a waiver of the sales charge (described below).

Reductions or eliminations through a Letter of Intent or right of accumulation will apply to the value of all qualifying holdings in shares of mutual funds sponsored and advised by BlackRock or its affiliates (“BlackRock Funds”) owned by (a) the investor, or (b) the investor’s spouse and any children and a trust, custodial account or fiduciary account for the benefit of any such individuals. For this purpose, the value of an investor’s holdings means the offering price of the newly purchased shares (including any applicable sales charge) plus the current value (including any sales charges paid) of all other shares the investor already holds taken together.

Qualifying Holdings —

Investor Shares, Institutional Shares (in most BlackRock Funds) and investments in the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Program.

Qualifying Holdings may include shares held in accounts held at a Financial Intermediary, including personal accounts, certain retirement accounts, UGMA/UTMA accounts, Joint Tenancy accounts, trust accounts and Transfer on Death accounts, as well as shares purchased by a trust of which the investor is a beneficiary. For purposes of the Letter of Intent and right of accumulation, the investor may not combine with the investor’s other holdings shares held in pension, profit sharing or other employer-sponsored retirement plans if those shares are held in the name of a nominee or custodian.

In order to receive a reduced sales charge, at the time an investor purchases shares of the Fund, the investor should inform the Financial Intermediary and/or BlackRock Funds of any other shares of the Fund or any other BlackRock Fund that qualify for a reduced sales charge. Failure by the investor to notify the Financial Intermediary or BlackRock Funds may result in the investor not receiving the sales charge reduction to which the investor is otherwise entitled.

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The Financial Intermediary or BlackRock Funds may request documentation — including account statements and records of the original cost of the shares owned by the investor, the investor’s spouse and/or children showing that the investor qualifies for a reduced sales charge. The investor should retain these records because — depending on where an account is held or the type of account — the Fund and/or the investor’s Financial Intermediary or BlackRock Funds may not be able to maintain this information.

For more information, see the SAI or contact your Financial Intermediary.

Letter of Intent

An investor may qualify for a reduced front-end sales charge immediately by signing a “Letter of Intent” stating the investor’s intention to buy a specified amount of Investor A, Investor C or Institutional Shares and/or make an investment through the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Program in one or more BlackRock Funds within the next 13 months that would, if bought all at once, qualify the investor for a reduced sales charge. The initial investment must meet the minimum initial purchase requirement. The 13-month Letter of Intent period commences on the day that the Letter of Intent is received by the Fund, and the investor must tell the Fund that later purchases are subject to the Letter of Intent. Purchases submitted prior to the date the Letter of Intent is received by the Fund are not counted toward the sales charge reduction. During the term of the Letter of Intent, the Fund will hold Investor A Shares representing up to 5% of the indicated amount in an escrow account for payment of a higher sales load if the full amount indicated in the Letter of Intent is not purchased. If the full amount indicated is not purchased within the 13-month period, and the investor does not pay the higher sales load within 20 days, the Fund will redeem enough of the Investor A Shares held in escrow to pay the difference.

Right of Accumulation

Investors have a “right of accumulation” under which the current value of an investor’s existing Investor A and A1, Investor B, B1 and B3, Investor C, C1, C2 and C3, and Institutional Shares and the investment in the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Program by the investor or by or on behalf of the investor’s spouse and children may be combined with the amount of the current purchase in determining whether an investor qualifies for a breakpoint and a reduced front-end sales charge. Financial Intermediaries may value current holdings of their customers differently for purposes of determining whether an investor qualifies for a breakpoint and a reduced front-end sales charge, although customers of the same Financial Intermediary will be treated similarly. In order to use this right, the investor must alert BlackRock to the existence of any previously purchased shares.

Other Front-End Sales Charge Waivers

The following persons may also buy Investor A Shares without paying a sales charge:

n

Certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. For purposes of this sales charge waiver, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs;

n

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;

n

Insurance company separate accounts;

n

Registered investment advisers, trust companies and bank trust departments exercising discretionary investment authority with respect to amounts to be invested in the Fund;

n

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;

n

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;

n

Persons associated with the Fund, the Fund’s manager, the Fund’s sub-adviser, transfer agent, Distributor, fund accounting agents, Barclays PLC (“Barclays”) and their respective affiliates (to the extent permitted by these firms) including: (a) officers, directors and partners; (b) employees and retirees; (c) employees of firms who have entered into selling agreements to distribute shares of BlackRock Funds; (d) immediate family members of such persons; and (e) any trust, pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for any of the persons set forth in (a) through (d); and

n

State sponsored 529 college savings plans.

The availability of Investor A Shares sales charge waivers may depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of your Financial Intermediary; consult your financial adviser.

30

Investor A Shares at Net Asset Value

If you invest $1,000,000 or more in Investor A Shares, you will not pay any initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Investor A 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. For a discussion on waivers, see “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Waivers.”

If you are eligible to buy both Investor A and Institutional Shares, you should buy Institutional Shares since Investor A Shares are subject to a front end sales charge and an annual 0.25% service fee, while Institutional Shares are not. The Distributor normally pays the annual Investor A Shares service fee to dealers as a shareholder servicing fee on a monthly basis.

Investor B and Investor C Shares — Deferred Sales Charge Options

Investor B Shares are currently available for purchase only through exchanges and dividend reinvestments by current holders of Investor B Shares and for purchases by certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. If you select Investor C Shares, you do not pay an initial sales charge at the time of purchase. However, if you redeem your Investor B Shares within six years after purchase or your Investor C Shares within one year after purchase, you may be required to pay a deferred sales charge. The charge will apply to the lesser of the original cost of shares being redeemed or the proceeds of your redemption. No deferred sales charge applies to shares that you buy through reinvestment of dividends or capital gains. You will also pay distribution fees of 0.75% and service fees of 0.25% for both classes of shares each year.

Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. The Distributor uses the money that it receives from the deferred sales charges and the distribution fees to cover the costs of marketing, advertising and compensating the financial professional or Financial Intermediary who assists you in purchasing Fund shares.

The Distributor currently pays dealers a sales concession of 4.00% of the purchase price of Investor B Shares from its own resources at the time of sale. The Distributor also normally pays the annual Investor B Shares service fee to dealers as a shareholder servicing fee on a monthly basis. The Distributor normally retains the Investor B Shares distribution fee.

The Distributor currently pays dealers a sales concession of 1.00% of the purchase price of Investor C Shares from its own resources at the time of sale. The Distributor pays the annual Investor C Shares distribution fee and the annual Investor C Shares service fee as an ongoing concession and as a shareholder servicing fee, respectively, to dealers for Investor C Shares held for over a year and normally retains the Investor C Shares distribution fee and service fee during the first year after purchase. For certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, the Distributor will pay the full Investor C Shares distribution fee and service fee to dealers beginning in the first year after purchase in lieu of paying the sales concession. The foregoing may depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of your Financial Intermediary; consult your financial adviser.

Investor B Shares

If you redeem Investor B Shares within six years after purchase, you may be charged a deferred sales charge. No deferred sales charge applies to shares that you buy through reinvestment of dividends or capital gains. When you redeem Investor B Shares, the redemption order is processed so that the lowest deferred sales charge is charged. Investor B Shares that are not subject to the deferred sales charge are redeemed first. After that, the Fund redeems the Shares that have been held the longest. The amount of the charge gradually decreases as you hold your shares over time, according to the following schedule:

Years Since Purchase				Sales Charge 1
0 – 1				4.50%
1 – 2				4.00%
2 – 3				3.50%
3 – 4				3.00%
4 – 5				2.00%
5 – 6				1.00%
6 and thereafter				0.00%

 

1

The percentage charge will apply to the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or the proceeds of your redemption. Not all BlackRock Funds have identical deferred sales charge schedules. If you exchange your shares for shares of another BlackRock Fund, the original deferred sales charge schedule will apply.

31

Any CDSC paid on a redemption of Investor B Shares expressed as a percentage of the applicable redemption amount may be higher or lower than the charge described due to rounding.

Your Investor B Shares convert automatically into Investor A Shares approximately eight years after purchase. Any Investor B Shares received through reinvestment of dividends paid on converting shares will also convert pro rata based on the amount of shares being converted. Investor A Shares are subject to lower annual expenses than Investor B Shares. The conversion of Investor B Shares to Investor A Shares is not a taxable event for Federal income tax purposes.

Different conversion schedules apply to Investor B Shares of different BlackRock Funds. For example, Investor B Shares of fixed-income funds typically convert approximately ten years after purchase compared to approximately eight years for equity funds. If you acquire your Investor B Shares in an exchange from another BlackRock Fund with a different conversion schedule, the conversion schedule that applies to the shares you acquire in the exchange will apply. The length of time that you hold both the original and exchanged Investor B Shares in both funds will count toward the conversion schedule. The conversion schedule may be modified in certain other cases as well.

Investor C Shares

If you redeem Investor C Shares within one year after purchase, you may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00%. The charge will apply to the lesser of the original cost of the shares being redeemed or the proceeds of your redemption. When you redeem Investor C Shares, the redemption order is processed so that the lowest deferred sales charge is charged. Investor C Shares that are not subject to the deferred sales charge are redeemed first. In addition, you will not be charged a deferred sales charge when you redeem shares that you acquire through reinvestment of Fund dividends or capital gains. Any CDSC paid on the redemptions of Investor C Shares expressed as a percentage of the applicable redemption amount may be higher or lower than the charge described due to rounding.

Investor C Shares do not offer a conversion privilege.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Waivers

The deferred sales charge relating to Investor A, Investor B and Investor C Shares may be reduced or waived in certain circumstances, such as:

n

Redemptions of shares purchased through certain employer-sponsored retirement plans and rollovers of current investments in the Fund through such plans;

n

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”;

n

Redemptions made in connection with minimum required distributions from IRA or 403(b)(7) accounts due to the shareholder reaching the age of 70 1 ⁄ 2 ;

n

Certain post-retirement withdrawals from an IRA or other retirement plan if you are over 59 1 ⁄ 2 years old and you purchased your shares prior to October 2, 2006;

n

Redemptions made with respect to certain retirement plans sponsored by the Fund, BlackRock or an affiliate;

n

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);

n

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;

n

Involuntary redemptions made of shares in accounts with low balances;

n

Certain redemptions made through the Systematic Withdrawal Plan offered by the Fund, BlackRock or an affiliate;

n

Redemptions related to the payment of BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company custodial IRA fees; and

n

Redemptions when a shareholder can demonstrate hardship, in the absolute discretion of the Fund.

More information about existing sales charge reductions and waivers is available free of charge in a clear and prominent format via hyperlink at www.blackrock.com and in the SAI, which is available on the website or on request.

Institutional Shares

Institutional Shares are not subject to any sales charge. Only certain investors are eligible to buy Institutional Shares. Your Financial Intermediary can help you determine whether you are eligible to buy Institutional Shares. The Fund may permit a lower initial investment for certain investors if their purchase, combined with purchases by other investors received together by the Fund, meets the minimum investment requirement.

32

Eligible Institutional investors include the following:

n

Investors who currently own Institutional Shares of the Fund may make additional purchases of Institutional Shares of the Fund directly from the Fund;

n

Institutional and individual retail investors with a minimum investment of $2 million who purchase directly from the Fund;

n

Certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs;

n

Investors in selected fee-based programs;

n

Clients of registered investment advisers who have $250,000 invested in the Fund;

n

Trust department clients of PNC Bank and Bank of America, N.A. and their affiliates for whom they (i) act in a fiduciary capacity (excluding participant directed employee benefit plans); (ii) otherwise have investment discretion; or (iii) act as custodian for at least $2 million in assets;

n

Unaffiliated banks, thrifts or trust companies that have agreements with the Distributor;

n

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; and

n

Employees, officers and directors/trustees of BlackRock, Inc., BlackRock Funds, BofA Corp., PNC, Barclays or their respective affiliates.

Class R Shares

Class R Shares are available only to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. For this purpose, employer-sponsored retirement plans do not include SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs. If you buy Class R Shares, you will pay neither an initial sales charge nor a CDSC. However, Class R Shares are subject to a distribution fee of 0.25% per year and a service fee of 0.25% per year. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Class R Shares do not offer a conversion privilege.

The Distributor currently pays the annual Class R Shares distribution fee and annual Class R Shares service fee to dealers as an ongoing concession and as a shareholder servicing fee, respectively, on a monthly basis.

Distribution and Service Payments

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The Fund has adopted plans (the “Plans”) that allow the Fund to pay distribution fees for the sale of its shares under Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act and shareholder servicing fees for certain services provided to its shareholders.

Plan Payments

Under the Plans, Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares pay a distribution fee to the Distributor, and/or its affiliates including PNC and its affiliates, for distribution and sales support services. The distribution fees may be used to pay the Distributor for distribution services and to pay the Distributor and affiliates of BlackRock and PNC for sales support services provided in connection with the sale of Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares. The distribution fees may also be used to pay Financial Intermediaries for sales support services and related expenses. All Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares pay a maximum distribution fee per year that is a percentage of the average daily net asset value of the Fund attributable to Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares, as applicable. Institutional and Investor A Shares do not pay a distribution fee.

Under the Plans, the Fund also pays shareholder servicing fees (also referred to as shareholder liaison services fees) to Financial Intermediaries for providing support services to their customers who own Investor A, Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares of the Fund. The shareholder servicing fee payment is calculated as a percentage of the average daily net asset value of Investor A, Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares of the Fund. All Investor A, Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares pay this shareholder servicing fee. Institutional Shares do not pay a shareholder servicing fee.

In return for the shareholder servicing fee, Financial Intermediaries (including BlackRock) may provide one or more of the following services to their customers who own Investor A, Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares:

n

Responding to customer questions on the services performed by the Financial Intermediary and investments in Investor A, Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares;

n

Assisting customers in choosing and changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; and

33

n

Providing other similar shareholder liaison services.

The shareholder servicing fees payable pursuant to the Plans are paid to compensate Financial Intermediaries for the administration and servicing of shareholder accounts and are not costs which are primarily intended to result in the sale of the Fund’s shares. Because the fees paid by the Fund under the Plans are paid out of Fund assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. In addition, the distribution fees paid by Investor B, Investor C and Class R Shares may over time cost investors more than the front-end sales charge on Investor A Shares. For more information on the Plans, including a complete list of services provided thereunder, see the SAI.

Other Payments by the Fund

In addition to, rather than in lieu of, distribution and shareholder servicing fees that the Fund may pay to a Financial Intermediary pursuant to the Plans and fees the Fund pays to its transfer agent, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (the “Transfer Agent”), BlackRock, on behalf of the Fund, may enter into non-Plan agreements with a Financial Intermediary pursuant to which the Fund will pay a Financial Intermediary for administrative, networking, recordkeeping, subtransfer agency and shareholder services. These non-Plan payments are generally based on either (1) a percentage of the average daily net assets of Fund shareholders serviced by a Financial Intermediary or (2) a fixed dollar amount for each account serviced by a Financial Intermediary. The aggregate amount of these payments may be substantial.

Other Payments by BlackRock

The Plans permit BlackRock, the Distributor and their affiliates to make payments relating to distribution and sales support activities out of their past profits or other sources available to them (and not as an additional charge to the Fund). From time to time, BlackRock, the Distributor or their affiliates also may pay a portion of the fees for administrative, networking, recordkeeping, sub-transfer agency and shareholder services described above at its or their own expense and out of its or their profits. BlackRock, the Distributor and their affiliates may compensate affiliated and unaffiliated Financial Intermediaries for the sale and distribution of shares of the Fund or for these other services to the Fund and shareholders. These payments would be in addition to the Fund payments described in this prospectus and may be a fixed dollar amount, may be based on the number of customer accounts maintained by the Financial Intermediary, or may be based on a percentage of the value of shares sold to, or held by, customers of the Financial Intermediary. The aggregate amount of these payments by BlackRock, the Distributor and their affiliates may be substantial. Payments by BlackRock may include amounts that are sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing” payments. In some circumstances, these revenue sharing payments may create an incentive for a Financial Intermediary, its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the Fund to you. Please contact your Financial Intermediary for details about payments it may receive from the Fund or from BlackRock, the Distributor or their affiliates. For more information, see the SAI.

How to Buy, Sell, Exchange and Transfer Shares

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The chart on the following pages summarizes how to buy, sell, exchange and transfer shares through your Financial Intermediary. You may also buy, sell, exchange and transfer shares through BlackRock, if your account is held directly with BlackRock. To learn more about buying, selling, exchanging or transferring shares through BlackRock, call (800) 441-7762. Because the selection of a mutual fund involves many considerations, your Financial Intermediary may help you with this decision.

The Fund may reject any purchase order, modify or waive the minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for any shareholders and suspend and resume the sale of any share class of the Fund at any time for any reason.

In addition, the Fund may waive certain requirements regarding the purchase, sale, exchange or transfer of shares described below.

Under certain circumstances, if no activity occurs in an account within a time period specified by state law, a shareholder’s shares in the Fund may be transferred to that state.

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How to Buy Shares

		Your Choices		Important Information for You to Know
Initial Purchase		First, select the share class appropriate for you		Refer to the “Share Classes at a Glance” table in this prospectus (be sure to read this prospectus carefully). When you place your initial order, you must indicate which share class you select (if you do not specify a share class and do not qualify to purchase Institutional Shares, you will receive Investor A Shares).
				Certain factors, such as the amount of your investment, your time frame for investing, and your financial goals, may affect which share class you choose. Your Financial Intermediary can help you determine which share class is appropriate for you. Class R Shares are available only to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans.
		Next, determine the amount of your investment		· Refer to the minimum initial investment in the “Share Classes at a Glance” table of this prospectus. Be sure to note the maximum investment amounts in Investor C Shares.
				· See “Account Information — Details About the Share Classes” for information on a lower initial investment requirement for certain Fund investors if their purchase, combined with purchases by other investors received together by the Fund, meets the minimum investment requirement.
		Have your Financial Intermediary submit your purchase order		The price of your shares is based on the next calculation of the Fund’s net asset value after your order is placed. Any purchase orders placed prior to the close of business on the 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.
				The Fund may reject any order to buy shares and may suspend the sale of shares at any time. Other financial intermediaries may charge a processing fee to confirm a purchase.
		Or contact BlackRock (for accounts held directly with BlackRock)		To purchase shares directly with BlackRock, call (800) 441-7762 and request a new account application. Mail the completed application along with a check payable to “BlackRock Funds” to the Transfer Agent at the address on the application.
Add to Your Investment		Purchase additional shares		For Investor A and Investor C Shares, the minimum investment for additional purchases is generally $50 for all accounts (with the exception of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans which may have a lower minimum for additional purchases). (The minimums for additional purchases may be waived under certain circumstances.) Institutional and Class R Shares have no minimum for additional purchases.
		Have your financial professional or 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.
				Purchase in Writing: You may send a written request to BlackRock at the address on the back cover of this prospectus.
				Purchase by VRU: Investor Shares may also be purchased by use of the Fund’s automated voice response unit service (“VRU”) at (800) 441-7762.

 

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How to Buy Shares (continued)

		Your Choices		Important Information for You to Know
Add to Your Investment (continued)		Or contact BlackRock (for accounts held directly with BlackRock) (continued)		Purchase by Internet: You may purchase your shares, and view activity in your account, by logging onto the BlackRock website at www.blackrock.com/funds. Purchases made on the Internet using the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) network will have a trade date that is the day after the purchase is made.
				Certain institutional clients’ purchase orders of Institutional Shares placed by wire prior to the close of business on the NYSE will be priced at the net asset value determined that day. Contact your Financial Intermediary or BlackRock for further information. The Fund limits Internet purchases in shares of the Fund to $25,000 per trade. Different maximums may apply to certain institutional investors.
				Please read the On-Line Services Disclosure Statement and User Agreement, the Terms and Conditions page and the Consent to Electronic Delivery Agreement (if you consent to electronic delivery), before attempting to transact online.
				The Fund employs reasonable procedures to confirm that transactions entered over the Internet are genuine. By entering into the User Agreement with the Fund in order to open an account through the website, the shareholder waives any right to reclaim any losses from the Fund or any of its affiliates, incurred through fraudulent activity.
		Acquire additional shares by reinvesting dividends and capital gains		All dividends and capital gains distributions are automatically reinvested without a sales charge. To make any changes to your dividend and/or capital gains distributions options, please call (800) 441-7762, or contact your Financial Intermediary (if your account is not held directly with BlackRock).
		Participate in the Automatic Investment Plan		BlackRock’s AIP allows you to invest a specific amount on a periodic basis from your checking or savings account into your investment account.
				Refer to the “Account Services and Privileges” section of this prospectus for additional information.
How to Pay for Shares		Making payment for purchases		Payment for an order must be made in Federal funds or other immediately available funds by the time specified by your Financial Intermediary, but in no event later than 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on the third business day (in the case of Investor Shares) or 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.
				For shares purchased directly from the Fund, a check payable to BlackRock Funds which bears the name of the Fund must accompany a completed purchase application. There is a $20 fee for each purchase check that is returned due to insufficient funds. The Fund does not 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.

 

36

How to Sell Shares

		Your Choices		Important Information for You to Know
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares		Have your Financial Intermediary submit your sales order		You can make redemption requests through your Financial Intermediary. Shareholders should indicate whether they are redeeming Investor A, Investor B, Investor C, 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.
				Financial Intermediaries may charge a fee to process a redemption of shares.
				The Fund may reject an order to sell shares under certain circumstances.
		Selling shares held directly with BlackRock		Methods of Redeeming
				Redeem by Telephone: You may redeem Investor Shares held directly at BlackRock by telephone request if certain conditions are met and if the amount being sold is less than (i) $100,000 for payments by check or (ii) $250,000 for payments through ACH or wire transfer. Certain redemption requests, such as those in excess of these amounts, must be in writing with a medallion signature guarantee. For Institutional Shares, certain redemption requests may require written instructions with a medallion signature guarantee. Call (800) 441-7762 for details. You can obtain a medallion signature guarantee stamp from a bank, securities dealer, securities broker, credit union, savings and loan association, national securities exchange or registered securities association. A notary public seal will not be acceptable.
				The Fund, its administrators and the Distributor will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone are genuine. The Fund and its service providers will not be liable for any loss, liability, cost or expense for acting upon telephone instructions 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.
				During periods of substantial economic or market change, telephone redemptions may be difficult to complete. Please find alternative redemption methods below.
				Redeem by VRU: Investor Shares may also be redeemed by use of the Fund’s automated VRU service. Payment for Investor Shares redeemed by VRU may be made for non-retirement accounts in amounts up to $25,000, either through check, ACH or wire.
				Redeem by Internet: You may redeem in your account, by logging onto the BlackRock website at www.blackrock.com/funds. Proceeds from Internet redemptions may be sent via check, ACH or wire to the bank account of record. Payment for Investor Shares redeemed by Internet may be made for non-retirement accounts in amounts up to $25,000, either through check, ACH or wire. Different maximums may apply to investors in Institutional Shares.

 

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How to Sell Shares (continued)

		Your Choices		Important Information for You to Know
Full or Partial Redemption of Shares (continued)		Selling shares held directly with BlackRock (continued)		Redeem in Writing: You may sell shares held at BlackRock by writing to BlackRock, P.O. Box 9819, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8019 or for overnight delivery, 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, Massachusetts 01588. All shareholders on the account must sign the letter. A medallion signature guarantee will generally be required but may be waived in certain limited circumstances. You can obtain a medallion signature guarantee stamp from a bank, securities dealer, securities broker, credit union, savings and loan association, national securities exchange or registered securities association. A notary public seal will not be acceptable. If you hold stock certificates, return the certificates with the letter.
				Proceeds from redemptions may be sent via check, ACH or wire to the bank account of record.
				Payment of Redemption Proceeds: Redemption proceeds may be paid by check or, if the Fund has verified banking information on file, through ACH or by wire transfer.
				Payment by Check: BlackRock will normally mail redemption proceeds within seven days following receipt of a properly completed request. Shares can be redeemed by telephone and the proceeds sent by check to the shareholder at the address on record. Shareholders will pay $15 for redemption proceeds sent by check via overnight mail. You are responsible for any additional charges imposed by your bank for this service.
				Payment by Wire Transfer: Payment for redeemed shares for which a redemption order is received before 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on a business day is normally made in Federal funds wired to the redeeming shareholder on the next business day, 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 wired in Federal funds on the next business day following redemption on which the Fund’s custodian is open for business. The Fund reserves the right to wire redemption proceeds within seven days after receiving a redemption order if, in the judgment of the Fund, an earlier payment could adversely affect the Fund.
				If a shareholder has given authorization for expedited redemption, shares can be redeemed by Federal wire transfer to a single previously designated bank account. Shareholders will pay $7.50 for redemption proceeds sent by Federal wire transfer. You are responsible for any additional charges imposed by your bank for this service. No charge for wiring redemption payments with respect to Institutional Shares is imposed by the Fund.
				The Fund is not responsible for the efficiency of the Federal wire system or the shareholder’s firm or bank. To change the name of the single, designated bank account to receive wire redemption proceeds, it is necessary to send a written request to the Fund at the address on the back cover of this prospectus.
				Payment by ACH: Redemption proceeds may be sent to the shareholder’s bank account (checking or savings) via ACH. Payment for 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.
				The Fund reserves the right to send redemption proceeds within seven days after receiving a redemption order if, in the judgment of the Fund, an earlier payment could adversely affect the Fund. No charge for sending redemption payments via ACH is imposed by the Fund.
				* * *
				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.

 

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How to Exchange Shares or Transfer Your Account

		Your Choices		Important Information for You to Know
Exchange Privilege		Selling shares of one fund to purchase shares of another BlackRock Fund (“exchanging”)		Investor or Institutional Shares of the Fund are generally exchangeable for shares of the same class of another BlackRock Fund. No exchange privilege is available for Class R Shares.
				You can exchange $1,000 or more of Investor Shares from one fund into the same class of another fund which offers that class of shares (you can exchange less than $1,000 of Investor Shares if you already have an account in the fund into which you are exchanging). Investors who currently own Institutional Shares of the Fund may make exchanges into Institutional 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 Institutional Shares.
				You may only exchange into a share class and fund that are open to new investors or in which you have a current account if the fund is closed to new investors.
				Some of the BlackRock Funds impose a different initial or deferred sales charge schedule. The CDSC will continue to be measured from the date of the original purchase. The CDSC schedule applicable to your original purchase will apply to the shares you receive in the exchange and any subsequent exchange.
				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/funds, 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.
				Although there is currently no limit on the number of exchanges that you can make, the exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time in the future. The Fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege at any time for any reason, including if the Fund believes, in its sole discretion, that you are engaging in market timing activities. See “Short Term Trading Policy” below. For Federal income tax purposes a share exchange is a taxable event and a capital gain or loss may be realized. Please consult your tax adviser or other Financial Intermediaries before making an exchange request.
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.
				If your account is held directly with BlackRock, you may call (800) 441-7762 with any questions; otherwise please contact your Financial Intermediary to accomplish the transfer of shares.
		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.
				If your account is held directly with BlackRock, you may call (800) 441-7762 with any questions; otherwise please contact your Financial Intermediary to accomplish the transfer of shares.

 

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Account Services and Privileges

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The following table provides examples of account services and privileges available in your BlackRock account. Certain of these account services and privileges are only available to shareholders of Investor Shares whose accounts are held directly with BlackRock. If your account is held directly with BlackRock, please call (800) 441-7762 or visit www.blackrock.com/funds for additional information as well as forms and applications. Otherwise, please contact your Financial Intermediary for assistance in requesting one or more of the following services and privileges.

Automatic Investment Plan		Allows systematic investments on a periodic basis from your checking or savings account.		BlackRock’s AIP allows you to invest a specific amount on a periodic basis from your checking or savings account into your investment account. You may apply for this option upon account opening or by completing the Automatic Investment Plan application. The minimum investment amount for an automatic investment is $50 per portfolio. There is no AIP for Investor B Shares.
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 special payee. Please call (800) 441-7762 for details. If investing in another BlackRock Fund, 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).
				Prior to establishing an EZ Trader account, please contact your bank to confirm that it is a member of the ACH system. Once confirmed, complete an application, making sure to include the appropriate bank information, and return the application to the address listed on the form.
				Prior to placing a telephone or Internet purchase or sale order, please call (800) 441-7762 to confirm that your bank information has been updated on your account. Once this is established, you may place your request to sell shares with the Fund by telephone or Internet. Proceeds will be sent to your pre-designated bank account.
Systematic Exchange Plan		This feature can be used by investors to systematically exchange money from one fund to up to four other funds.		A minimum of $10,000 in the initial BlackRock Fund is required and investments in any additional funds must meet minimum initial investment requirements.
Systematic Withdrawal Plan (“SWP”)		This feature can be used by investors who want to receive regular distributions from their accounts.		To start an SWP a shareholder must have a current investment of $10,000 or more in a BlackRock Fund.
				Shareholders can elect to receive cash payments of $50 or more at any interval they choose. Shareholders may sign up by completing the SWP Application Form which may be obtained from BlackRock. Shareholders should realize that if withdrawals exceed income the invested principal in their account will be depleted.
				To participate in the SWP, shareholders must have their dividends reinvested. Shareholders may change or cancel the SWP at any time, with a minimum of 24 hours notice. If a shareholder purchases additional Investor A Shares of a fund at the same time he or she redeems shares through the SWP, that investor may lose money because of the sales charge involved. No CDSC will be assessed on redemptions of Investor A, Investor B or Investor C Shares made through the SWP that do not exceed 12% of the account’s net asset value on an annualized basis. For example, monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual SWP redemptions of Investor A, Investor B or Investor C Shares will not be subject to the CDSC if they do not exceed 1%, 3% and 6%, respectively, of an account’s net asset value on the redemption date. SWP redemptions of Investor A, Investor B or Investor C Shares in excess of this limit will still pay any applicable CDSC.
				Ask your financial adviser or Financial Intermediary for details.

 

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Reinstatement Privilege								If you redeem Investor A or Institutional Shares, and within 60 days buy new Investor A Shares of the same or another BlackRock Fund (equal to all or a portion of the redemption amount), you will not pay a sales charge on the new purchase amount. This right may be exercised once a year and within 60 days of the redemption, provided that the Investor A Share class of that fund is currently open to new investors or the shareholder has a current account in that closed fund. Shares will be purchased at the net asset value calculated at the close of trading on the day the request is received. To exercise this privilege, the Fund must receive written notification from the shareholder of record or the Financial Intermediary of record at the time of purchase. Investors should consult a tax adviser concerning the tax consequences of exercising this reinstatement privilege.

 

Fund’s Rights

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The Fund may:

n

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;

n

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;

n

Redeem shares for property other than cash if conditions exist which make cash payments undesirable in accordance with its rights under the Investment Company Act; and

n

Redeem shares involuntarily in certain cases, such as when the value of a shareholder account falls below a specified level.

Note on Low Balance Accounts. Because of the high cost of maintaining smaller shareholder accounts, BlackRock has set a minimum balance of $500 in each Fund position you hold within your account (“Fund Minimum”), and may take one of two actions if the balance in the Fund falls below the Fund Minimum.

First, the Fund may redeem the shares in your account (without charging any deferred sales charge) if the net asset value of your account falls below $250 for any reason, including market fluctuation. You will be notified that the value of your account is less than $250 before the Fund makes an involuntary redemption. The notification will provide you with a 90 calendar day period to make an additional investment in order to bring the value of your account to at least $250 before the Fund makes an involuntary redemption or to the Fund Minimum in order not to be assessed an annual low balance fee of $20, as set forth below. This involuntary redemption may not apply to accounts of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, selected fee-based programs, accounts established under the Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minors Acts, and certain intermediary accounts.

Second, the Fund charges an annual $20 low balance fee on all fund accounts that have a balance below the Fund Minimum for any reason, including market fluctuation. The low balance fee will be assessed on fund accounts in all BlackRock funds, regardless of a fund’s minimum investment amount. The fee will be deducted from the fund account only once per calendar year. You will be notified that the value of your account is less than the Fund Minimum before the fee is imposed. You will then have a 90 calendar day period to make an additional investment to bring the value of your account to the Fund Minimum before the Fund imposes the low balance fee. This low balance fee does not apply to accounts of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans, selected fee-based programs, or, accounts established under the Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minors Acts.

Participation in Fee-Based Programs

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If you participate in certain fee-based programs offered by BlackRock or an affiliate of BlackRock, or Financial Intermediaries that have agreements with the Distributor, you may be able to buy Institutional Shares, including by exchange from other share classes. Sales charges on the shares being exchanged may be reduced or waived under certain circumstances. You generally cannot transfer shares held through a fee-based program into another account. Instead, you will have to redeem your shares held through the program and purchase shares of another class, which may be subject to distribution and service fees. This may be a taxable event and you will pay any applicable sales charges.

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Shareholders that participate in a fee-based program generally have two options at termination. The program can be terminated and the shares liquidated or the program can be terminated and the shares held in an account. In general, when a shareholder chooses to continue to hold the shares, whatever share class was held in the program can be held after termination. Shares that have been held for less than specified periods within the program may be subject to a fee upon redemption. Shareholders that held Investor A or Institutional Shares in the program are eligible to purchase additional shares of the respective share class of the Fund, but may be subject to upfront sales charges with respect to Investor A Shares. Additional purchases of Institutional Shares are permitted only if you have an existing position at the time of purchase or are otherwise eligible to purchase Institutional Shares.

Details about these features and the relevant charges are included in the client agreement for each fee-based program and are available from your financial professional or Financial Intermediary.

Short-Term Trading Policy

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The Board of Directors (the “Board”) has determined that the interests of long-term shareholders and the Fund’s ability to manage its investments may be adversely affected when shares are repeatedly bought, sold or exchanged in response to short-term market fluctuations — also known as “market timing.” The Fund is not designed for market timing organizations or other entities using programmed or frequent purchases and sales or exchanges. The exchange privilege for Investor Shares and Institutional Shares is not intended as a vehicle for short-term trading. Excessive purchase and sale or exchange activity may interfere with portfolio management, increase expenses and taxes and may have an adverse effect on the performance of the Fund and its returns to shareholders. For example, large flows of cash into and out of the Fund may require the management team to allocate a significant amount of assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining such assets in securities selected to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the Fund to sell securities at less favorable prices, and transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions, can reduce the Fund’s performance.

A Fund’s investment in non-U.S. securities is subject to the risk that an investor may seek to take advantage of a delay between the change in value of the fund’s portfolio securities and the determination of the fund’s net asset value as a result of different closing times of U.S. and non-U.S. markets by buying or selling fund shares at a price that does not reflect their true value. A similar risk exists for funds that invest in securities of small capitalization companies, securities of issuers located in emerging markets or high yield securities (junk bonds) that are thinly traded and therefore may have actual values that differ from their market prices. This short-term arbitrage activity can reduce the return received by long-term shareholders. The Fund will seek to eliminate these opportunities by using fair value pricing, as described in “Valuation of Fund Investments” below.

The Fund discourages market timing and seeks to prevent frequent purchases and sales or exchanges of Fund shares that it determines may be detrimental to the Fund or long-term shareholders. The Board has approved the policies discussed below to seek to deter market timing activity. The Board has not adopted any specific numerical restrictions on purchases, sales and exchanges of Fund shares because certain legitimate strategies will not result in harm to the Fund or shareholders.

If as a result of its own investigation, information provided by a Financial Intermediary or other third party, or otherwise, the Fund believes, in its sole discretion, that your short-term trading is excessive or that you are engaging in market timing activity, it reserves the right to reject any specific purchase or exchange order. If the Fund rejects your purchase or exchange order, you will not be able to execute that transaction, and the Fund will not be responsible for any losses you therefore may suffer. For transactions placed directly with the Fund, the Fund may consider the trading history of accounts under common ownership or control for the purpose of enforcing these policies. Transactions placed through the same Financial Intermediary on an omnibus basis may be deemed part of a group for the purpose of this policy and may be rejected in whole or in part by the Fund. Certain accounts, such as omnibus accounts and accounts at Financial Intermediaries, however, include multiple investors and such accounts typically provide the Fund with net purchase or redemption and exchange requests on any given day where purchases, redemptions and exchanges of shares are netted against one another and the identity of individual purchasers, redeemers and exchangers whose orders are aggregated may not be known by the Fund. While the Fund monitors for market timing activity, the Fund may be unable to identify such activities because the netting effect in omnibus accounts often makes it more difficult to locate and eliminate market timers from the Fund. The Distributor has entered into agreements with respect to Financial Intermediaries that maintain omnibus accounts with the Transfer Agent pursuant to which such Financial Intermediaries undertake to cooperate with the Distributor in monitoring purchase, exchange and redemption orders by their customers in order to detect and prevent short-term or excessive trading in the Fund’s shares through such accounts. Identification of market timers may also be limited by operational systems and technical limitations. In

42

the event that a Financial Intermediary is determined by the Fund to be engaged in market timing or other improper trading activity, the Fund’s Distributor may terminate such Financial Intermediary’s agreement with the Distributor, suspend such Financial Intermediary’s trading privileges or take other appropriate actions.

There is no assurance that the methods described above will prevent market timing or other trading that may be deemed abusive.

The Fund may from time to time use other methods that it believes are appropriate to deter market timing or other trading activity that may be detrimental to the Fund or long-term shareholders.

43

Management of the Fund

---

BlackRock

---

BlackRock, the Fund’s investment adviser, manages the Fund’s investments and its business operations subject to the oversight of the Board. While BlackRock is ultimately responsible for the management of the Fund, it is able to draw upon the trading, research and expertise of its asset management affiliates for portfolio decisions and management with respect to certain portfolio securities. BlackRock is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc.

BlackRock, a registered investment adviser, was organized in 1994 to perform advisory services for investment companies. BlackRock Investment Management, LLC, the Fund’s sub-adviser (the “Sub-Adviser”), is a registered investment adviser organized in 1999. BlackRock and its affiliates had approximately $4.324 trillion in investment company and other portfolio assets under management as of December 31, 2013.

The Fund has entered into a management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with BlackRock. Under the Management Agreement BlackRock receives for its services to the Fund a fee at the annual rate of 0.75% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

BlackRock has entered into a sub-advisory agreement with the Sub-Adviser, an affiliate of BlackRock. Under the sub-advisory agreement BlackRock pays the Sub-Adviser for services it provides a fee equal to a percentage of the management fee paid to BlackRock under the Management Agreement. The Sub-Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio. Prior to July 1, 2013, BlackRock International Limited was a sub-adviser to the Fund and received for its services a fee from BlackRock equal to a percentage of the management fee paid to BlackRock under the Management Agreement.

BlackRock has agreed to voluntarily waive a portion of its management fee payable by the Fund so that such fee is reduced for average daily net assets of the Fund as follows:

In Excess of				Not Exceeding				Rate Waived to
$0				$10 billion				0.75%
$10 billion				$15 billion				0.69%
$15 billion				$20 billion				0.68%
$20 billion				$25 billion				0.67%
$25 billion				$30 billion				0.65%
$30 billion				$40 billion				0.63%
$40 billion				$60 billion				0.62%
$60 billion				$80 billion				0.61%
$80 billion				—				0.60%

 

This voluntary waiver may be reduced or discontinued at any time without notice.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2013, the Manager received a fee, net of the applicable waivers, at the annual rate of 0.66% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

The Manager voluntarily agreed to waive its investment advisory fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to the Manager indirectly through its investment in affiliated money market funds.

44

BlackRock has agreed to voluntarily waive management fees to the amounts noted in the table above. After taking into account this voluntary fee waiver, the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses were as follows:

				Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses* after giving effect to voluntary waivers on Management Fees 1,2 (excluding Interest Expense, Dividend Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses)
Investor A Shares				1.05%
Investor B Shares				1.86%
Investor C Shares				1.80%
Institutional Shares				0.78%
Class R Shares				1.39%

	*	As a percentage of average daily net assets.
	1	Voluntary waivers may be reduced or discontinued at any time without notice.

2

Voluntary waivers are based on the management fee received by BlackRock, net of the applicable waivers for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2013.

A discussion of the basis for the Board of Directors’ approval of the Management Agreement with BlackRock and the sub-advisory agreement between BlackRock and the Sub-Adviser is included in the Fund’s annual shareholder report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2013.

From time to time, a manager, analyst, or other employee of BlackRock or its affiliates may express views regarding a particular asset class, company, security, industry, or market sector. The views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of BlackRock or any other person within the BlackRock organization. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and BlackRock disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as investment advice and, because investment decisions for the Fund are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of the Fund.

As discussed above, the Fund intends to gain exposure to commodities markets by investing in the Subsidiary. BlackRock provides investment management and other services to the Subsidiary. BlackRock does not receive separate compensation from the Subsidiary for providing it with investment management or administrative services. However, the Fund pays BlackRock based on the Fund’s assets, including the assets in the Subsidiary.

Legal Proceedings . On February 21, 2014, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey by Owen Clancy and Jack Hornstein, purported investors in the Fund, against BlackRock, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC and BlackRock International Limited (collectively, the “Defendants”) for alleged violations of Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act (the “Clancy Complaint”). The Clancy Complaint purports to be brought derivatively on behalf of the Fund. The Clancy Complaint alleges that the Defendants breached their fiduciary duties under the Investment Company Act by charging excessive investment advisory fees, and that the investment advisory agreement between the Fund and BlackRock is unenforceable under Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act. The plaintiffs seek injunctive relief, rescission of the investment advisory agreement and compensatory damages, including repayment to the Fund of all allegedly excessive investment advisory fees paid by the Fund from one year prior to the filing of the lawsuit plus lost investment returns on those amounts and interest. The Defendants believe the claims in the Clancy Complaint are without merit and intend to vigorously defend the action.

On March 28, 2014, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey by Brendan Foote, in his capacity as trustee on behalf of the Separate Property TR U/A DTD 10-26-12, a purported investor in the Fund, against BlackRock (the “Foote Complaint”). The Foote Complaint purports to be brought derivatively on behalf of the Fund. The Foote Complaint alleges that BlackRock breached its fiduciary duties by charging excessive investment advisory fees, in alleged violation of Section 36(b) of the Investment Company Act. The plaintiff seeks injunctive and declaratory relief, rescission of the investment advisory agreement and compensatory damages, including repayment to the Fund of all allegedly excessive investment advisory fees paid by the Fund from one year prior to the filing of the lawsuit. BlackRock believes the claims in the Foote Complaint are without merit and intends to vigorously defend the action.

45

Portfolio Manager Information

---

Information regarding the portfolio managers of the Fund is set forth below. Further information regarding the portfolio managers, including other accounts managed, compensation, ownership of Fund shares, and possible conflicts of interest, is available in the Fund’s SAI.

The Fund is managed by a team of financial professionals. Dennis Stattman, CFA, Dan Chamby, CFA and Aldo Roldan, PhD are jointly and primarily responsible for the management of the Fund.

Portfolio Manager		Primary Role		Since		Title and Recent Biography
Dennis Stattman, CFA		Jointly responsible for the management of the Fund’s portfolio, including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund		1989		Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006 and Head of BlackRock’s Global Allocation Team.
Dan Chamby, CFA		Jointly responsible for the management of the Fund’s portfolio, including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund		2003		Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2007; Director of BlackRock, Inc. in 2006.
Aldo Roldan, PhD		Jointly responsible for the management of the Fund’s portfolio, including setting the Fund’s overall investment strategy and overseeing the management of the Fund		2006		Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2008; Director of BlackRock, Inc from 2006 to 2007.

 

Conflicts of Interest

---

The investment activities of BlackRock and its affiliates (including BlackRock, Inc. and PNC and their affiliates, directors, partners, trustees, managing members, officers and employees (collectively, the “Affiliates”)) in the management of, or their interest in, their own accounts and other accounts they manage, may present conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Fund and its shareholders. BlackRock and its Affiliates provide investment management services to other funds and discretionary managed accounts that follow investment programs similar to that of the Fund. BlackRock and its Affiliates are involved worldwide with a broad spectrum of financial services and asset management activities and may engage in the ordinary course of business in activities in which their interests or the interests of their clients may conflict with those of the Fund. One or more Affiliates act or may act as an investor, investment banker, research provider, investment manager, financier, advisor, market maker, trader, prime broker, lender, agent and principal, and have other direct and indirect interests, in securities, currencies and other instruments in which the Fund directly and indirectly invests. Thus, it is likely that the Fund will have multiple business relationships with and will invest in, engage in transactions with, make voting decisions with respect to, or obtain services from entities for which an Affiliate performs or seeks to perform investment banking or other services. One or more Affiliates may engage in proprietary trading and advise accounts and funds that have investment objectives similar to those of the Fund and/or that engage in and compete for transactions in the same types of securities, currencies and other instruments as the Fund. The trading activities of these Affiliates are carried out without reference to positions held directly or indirectly by the Fund and may result in an Affiliate having positions that are adverse to those of the Fund. No Affiliate is under any obligation to share any investment opportunity, idea or strategy with the Fund. As a result, an Affiliate may compete with the Fund for appropriate investment opportunities. The results of the Fund’s investment activities, therefore, may differ from those of an Affiliate and of other accounts managed by an Affiliate and it is possible that the Fund could sustain losses during periods in which one or more Affiliates and other accounts achieve profits on their trading for proprietary or other accounts. The opposite result is also possible. In addition, the Fund may, from time to time, enter into transactions in which an Affiliate or its other clients have an adverse interest. Furthermore, transactions undertaken by Affiliate-advised clients may adversely impact the Fund. Transactions by one or more Affiliate-advised clients or BlackRock may have the effect of diluting or otherwise disadvantaging the values, prices or investment strategies of the Fund. The Fund’s activities may be limited because of regulatory restrictions applicable to one or more Affiliates, and/or their internal policies designed to comply with such restrictions. In addition, the Fund may invest in securities of companies with which an Affiliate has or is trying to develop investment banking relationships or in which an Affiliate has significant debt or equity investments. The Fund also may invest in securities of companies for which an Affiliate provides or may someday provide research coverage. An Affiliate may have business relationships with and purchase or distribute or sell services or products from or to

46

distributors, consultants or others who recommend the Fund or who engage in transactions with or for the Fund, and may receive compensation for such services. The Fund may also make brokerage and other payments to Affiliates in connection with the Fund’s portfolio investment transactions.

Under a securities lending program approved by the Board, the Fund has retained an Affiliate of BlackRock to serve as the securities lending agent for the Fund to the extent that the Fund participates in the securities lending program. For these services, the lending agent will receive a fee from the Fund, including a fee based on the returns earned on the Fund’s investment of the cash received as collateral for the loaned securities. In addition, one or more Affiliates may be among the entities to which the Fund may lend its portfolio securities under the securities lending program.

The activities of Affiliates may give rise to other conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Fund and its shareholders. BlackRock has adopted policies and procedures designed to address these potential conflicts of interest. See the SAI for further information.

Valuation of Fund Investments

---

When you buy shares, you pay the net asset value, plus any applicable sales charge. This is the offering price. Shares are also redeemed at their net asset value, minus any applicable deferred sales charge. The Fund calculates the net asset value of each class of its shares (generally by using market quotations) each day the NYSE is open as of the close of business on the NYSE, based on prices at the time of closing. The NYSE generally closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The net asset value used in determining your share price is the next one calculated after your purchase or redemption order is placed.

Generally, Institutional Shares will have the highest net asset value because that class has the lowest expenses, Investor A Shares will have a higher net asset value than Investor B, Investor C or Class R Shares, and Class R Shares will have a higher net asset value than Investor B or Investor C Shares. Also, dividends paid on Investor A, Institutional and Class R Shares will generally be higher than dividends paid on Investor B and Investor C Shares because Investor A, Institutional and Class R Shares have lower expenses.

The Fund’s assets and liabilities are valued primarily on the basis of market quotations. Equity investments and other instruments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value, which is generally determined using the last reported sale price on the exchange or market on which the security or instrument is primarily traded at the time of valuation. The Fund values fixed income portfolio securities and non-exchange traded derivatives using market prices provided directly from one or more broker-dealers, market makers, or independent third-party pricing services which may use matrix pricing and valuation models to derive values, each in accordance with valuation procedures approved by the Board. Short-term debt securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less are valued on the basis of amortized cost.

Foreign currency exchange rates are generally determined as of the close of business on the NYSE. Foreign securities owned by the Fund may trade on weekends or other days when the Fund does not price its shares. As a result, the Fund’s net asset value may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem the Fund’s shares.

Generally, trading in foreign securities, U.S. government securities and money market instruments and certain fixed income securities is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of business on the NYSE. The values of such securities used in computing the net asset value of the Fund’s shares are determined as of such times.

When market quotations are not readily available or are not believed by BlackRock to be reliable, the Fund’s investments are valued at fair value. Fair value determinations are made by BlackRock in accordance with procedures approved by the Board. BlackRock may conclude that a market quotation is not readily available or is unreliable if a security or other asset or liability does not have a price source due to its lack of liquidity, if BlackRock believes a market quotation from a broker-dealer or other source is unreliable, where the security or other asset or other liability is thinly traded (e.g., municipal securities, certain small cap and emerging growth companies, and certain non-U.S. securities) or where there is a significant event subsequent to the most recent market quotation. For this purpose, a “significant event” is deemed to occur if BlackRock determines, in its business judgment prior to or at the time of pricing the Fund’s assets or liabilities, that it is likely that the event will cause a material change to the last closing market price of one or more assets or liabilities held by the Fund. For instance, significant events may occur between the foreign market close and the close of business on the NYSE that may not be reflected in the computation of the Fund’s net assets. If such event occurs, those instruments may be fair valued. Similarly, foreign securities whose values are affected by volatility that occurs in U.S. markets on a trading day after the close of foreign securities markets may be fair valued.

47

For certain foreign securities, a third-party vendor supplies evaluated, systematic fair value pricing based upon the movement of a proprietary multi-factor model after the relevant foreign markets have closed. This systematic fair value pricing methodology is designed to correlate the prices of foreign securities following the close of the local markets to the price that might have prevailed as of a Fund’s pricing time.

Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of a security. The fair value of one or more securities may not, in retrospect, be the price at which those assets could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used in determining the Fund’s net asset value.

The Fund may accept orders from certain authorized Financial Intermediaries or their designees. The Fund will be deemed to receive an order when accepted by the intermediary or designee and the order will receive the net asset value next computed by the Fund after such acceptance. If the payment for a purchase order is not made by a designated later time, the order will be canceled and the Financial Intermediary could be held liable for any losses.

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

---

BUYING A DIVIDEND

Unless your investment is in a tax deferred account, you may want to avoid buying shares shortly before the Fund pays a dividend. The reason? If you buy shares when the Fund has declared but not yet distributed ordinary income or capital gains, you will pay the full price for the shares and then receive a portion of the price back in the form of a taxable dividend. Before investing you may want to consult your tax adviser.

 

The Fund will distribute net investment income, if any, and net realized capital gain, if any, at least annually. This is the “Distribution Requirement.” The Fund may also pay a special distribution at the end of the calendar year to comply with Federal tax requirements. Dividends may be reinvested automatically in shares of the Fund at net asset value without a sales charge or may be taken in cash. If you would like to receive dividends in cash, contact your Financial Intermediary or the Fund. Although this cannot be predicted with any certainty, the Fund anticipates that a significant amount of its dividends, if any, will consist of capital gains. Capital gains may be taxable to you at different rates depending on how long the Fund held the assets sold.

You will pay tax on dividends from the Fund whether you receive them in cash or additional shares. If you redeem Fund shares or exchange them for shares of another fund, you generally will be treated as having sold your shares and any gain on the transaction may be subject to tax. Certain dividend income received by the Fund, including dividends received from qualifying foreign corporations, and long-term capital gains are eligible for taxation at a maximum rate of 15% for individuals with incomes below approximately $400,000 ($450,000 if married filing jointly), amounts adjusted annually for inflation, and 20% for individuals with any income in excess of those amounts that is long-term capital gain. To the extent the Fund makes any distributions derived from long-term capital gains and qualifying dividend income, such distributions will be eligible for taxation at the reduced rate.

The Subsidiary will not be subject to Federal income tax. It will, however, be considered a controlled foreign corporation, and the Fund will be required to include as income annually amounts earned by the Subsidiary during that year. Gains from the sales of investments by the Subsidiary will not be eligible for capital gains treatment but instead will be treated as ordinary income when included in income by the Fund. Furthermore, the Fund will be subject to the Distribution Requirement on such Subsidiary’s net income, whether or not the Subsidiary makes a distribution to the Fund during the taxable year.

A 3.8% Medicare contribution tax is imposed on the net investment income (which includes, but is not limited to, interest, dividends and net gain from investments) of U.S. individuals with income exceeding $200,000 or $250,000 if married and filing jointly, and of trusts and estates.

If you are neither a tax resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, the Fund’s ordinary income dividends (which include distributions of net short-term capital gain) will generally be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax, unless a lower treaty rate applies. However, for taxable years of the Fund beginning before January 1, 2014, certain distributions reported by a Fund as either interest related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends and paid to a foreign shareholder will be eligible for an exemption from U.S. withholding tax.

A 30% withholding tax will be imposed on U.S.-source dividends, interest and other income items paid after June 30, 2014, and proceeds from the sale of property producing U.S.-source dividends and interest paid after December 31, 2016 to (i) foreign financial institutions including non-U.S. investment funds, unless they agree to collect and disclose to the IRS information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. account holders and (ii) certain other foreign entities

48

unless they certify certain information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. owners. To avoid withholding, foreign financial institutions will need to (i) enter into agreements with the IRS that state that they will provide the IRS information including the names, addresses and taxpayer identification numbers of direct and indirect U.S. account holders, comply with due diligence procedures with respect to the identification of U.S. accounts, report to the IRS certain information with respect to U.S. accounts maintained, agree to withhold tax on certain payments made to non-compliant foreign financial institutions or to account holders who fail to provide the required information, and determine certain other information as to their account holders, or, (ii) in the event that an intergovernmental agreement and implementing legislation are adopted, provide local revenue authorities with similar account holder information. Other foreign entities will need to provide the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner or certifications of no substantial U.S. ownership unless certain exceptions apply.

Dividends and interest received by the Fund may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. You may be able to claim a credit or take a deduction for foreign taxes paid by the Fund if certain requirements are met.

By law, your dividends and redemption proceeds will be subject to a 28% withholding tax if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number or the number you have provided is incorrect.

This Section summarizes some of the consequences under current Federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax adviser about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the Fund under all applicable tax laws.

49

Financial Highlights

---

The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the periods shown. Certain information reflects the financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and/or distributions). The information has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Fund’s Annual Report, which is available upon request.

		Institutional
		Year Ended October 31,
		Consolidated
		2013				2012				2011				2010				2009
Per Share Operating Performance
Net asset value, beginning of year		$	19.54			$	19.16			$	19.07			$	17.42			$	15.20
Net investment income 1			0.28				0.31				0.38				0.33				0.35
Net realized and unrealized gain			2.43				0.64				0.08	2			1.65	2			2.61	2
Net increase from investment operations			2.71				0.95				0.46				1.98				2.96
Dividends and distributions from: 3
Net investment income			(0.30	)			(0.38	)			(0.37	)			(0.33	)			(0.74	)
Net realized gain			—				(0.19	)			—				—				—
Total dividends and distributions			(0.30	)			(0.57	)			(0.37	)			(0.33	)			(0.74	)
Net asset value, end of year		$	21.95			$	19.54			$	19.16			$	19.07			$	17.42
Total Investment Return 4
Based on net asset value			13.97	%			5.20	%			2.39	%			11.54	%			20.43	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets
Total expenses			0.87	%			0.87	%			0.87	%			0.88	%			0.91	%
Total expenses after fees waived			0.78	%			0.79	%			0.78	%			0.81	%			0.87	%
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense, dividend expense and stock loan fees			0.78	%			0.79	%			0.78	%			0.81	%			0.85	%
Net investment income			1.35	%			1.61	%			1.92	%			1.83	%			2.26	%
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of year (000)		$	20.968,279			$	18,657,773			$	16,879,389			$	12,894,088			$	8,066,571
Portfolio turnover			50	%			39	%			31	%			29	%			33	%

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding.

2

Includes a redemption fee, which is less than $0.01 per share.

3

Determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations.

4

Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

50

Financial Highlights (continued)

---

    

				Investor A
				Year Ended October 31,
				Consolidated
				2013				2012				2011				2010				2009
Per Share Operating Performance
Net asset value, beginning of year				$	19.44			$	19.06			$	18.97			$	17.34			$	15.13
Net investment income 1					0.22				0.25				0.32				0.28				0.31
Net realized and unrealized gain					2.41				0.65				0.09	2			1.64	2			2.60	2
Net increase from investment operations					2.63				0.90				0.41				1.92				2.91
Dividends and distributions from: 3
Net investment income					(0.24	)			(0.33	)			(0.32	)			(0.29	)			(0.70	)
Net realized gain					—				(0.19	)			—				—				—
Total dividends and distributions					(0.24	)			(0.52	)			(0.32	)			(0.29	)			(0.70	)
Net asset value, end of year				$	21.83			$	19.44			$	19.06			$	18.97			$	17.34
Total Investment Return 4
Based on net asset value					13.63	%			4.92	%			2.13	%			11.20	%			20.14	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets
Total expenses					1.13	%			1.15	%			1.14	%			1.15	%			1.18	%
Total expenses after fees waived					1.05	%			1.07	%			1.06	%			1.08	%			1.13	%
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense, dividend expense and stock loan fees					1.05	%			1.07	%			1.06	%			1.08	%			1.12	%
Net investment income					1.08	%			1.33	%			1.63	%			1.56	%			2.00	%
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of year (000)				$	18,858,846			$	17,292,587			$	17,638,914			$	15,724,095			$	11,844,981
Portfolio turnover					50	%			39	%			31	%			29	%			33	%

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding.

2

Includes a redemption fee, which is less than $0.01 per share.

3

Determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations.

4

Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

51

Financial Highlights (continued)

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				Investor B
				Year Ended October 31,
				Consolidated
				2013				2012				2011				2010				2009
Per Share Operating Performance
Net asset value, beginning of year				$	18.96			$	18.57			$	18.49			$	16.91			$	14.76
Net investment income 1					0.06				0.09				0.10				0.13				0.18
Net realized and unrealized gain					2.35				0.65				0.14	2			1.61	2			2.53	2
Net increase from investment operations					2.41				0.74				0.24				1.74				2.71
Dividends and distributions from: 3
Net investment income					(0.06	)			(0.16	)			(0.16	)			(0.16	)			(0.56	)
Net realized gain					—				(0.19	)			—				—				—
Total dividends and distributions					(0.06	)			(0.35	)			(0.16	)			(0.16	)			(0.56	)
Net asset value, end of year				$	21.31			$	18.96			$	18.57			$	18.49			$	16.91
Total Investment Return 4
Based on net asset value					12.75	%			4.10	%			1.25	%			10.35	%			19.15	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets
Total expenses					1.95	%			1.95	%			1.97	%			1.96	%			2.00	%
Total expenses after fees waived					1.86	%			1.86	%			1.87	%			1.89	%			1.95	%
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense, dividend expense and stock loan fees					1.86	%			1.86	%			1.87	%			1.89	%			1.94	%
Net investment income					0.28	%			0.51	%			0.50	%			0.74	%			1.17	%
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of year (000)				$	500,197			$	660,370			$	930,028			$	1,209,744			$	1,442,397
Portfolio turnover					50	%			39	%			31	%			29	%			33	%

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding.

2

Includes a redemption fee, which is less than $0.01 per share.

3

Determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations.

4

Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

52

Financial Highlights (continued)

---

    

				Investor C
				Year Ended October 31,
				Consolidated
				2013				2012				2011				2010				2009
Per Share Operating Performance
Net asset value, beginning of year				$	18.06			$	17.75			$	17.70			$	16.21			$	14.19
Net investment income 1					0.06				0.10				0.16				0.13				0.18
Net realized and unrealized gain					2.26				0.59				0.08	2			1.54	2			2.43	2
Net increase from investment operations					2.32				0.69				0.24				1.67				2.61
Dividends and distributions from: 3
Net investment income					(0.11	)			(0.19	)			(0.19	)			(0.18	)			(0.59	)
Net realized gain					—				(0.19	)			—				—				—
Total dividends and distributions					(0.11	)			(0.38	)			(0.19	)			(0.18	)			(0.59	)
Net asset value, end of year				$	20.27			$	18.06			$	17.75			$	17.70			$	16.21
Total Investment Return 4
Based on net asset value					12.86	%			4.08	%			1.34	%			10.37	%			19.24	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets
Total expenses					1.88	%			1.90	%			1.90	%			1.91	%			1.94	%
Total expenses after fees waived					1.80	%			1.82	%			1.81	%			1.84	%			1.89	%
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense, dividend expense and stock loan fees					1.80	%			1.82	%			1.81	%			1.84	%			1.88	%
Net investment income					0.33	%			0.58	%			0.89	%			0.81	%			1.23	%
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of year (000)				$	16,170,658			$	15,179,009			$	15,853,615			$	14,921,531			$	11,251,502
Portfolio turnover					50	%			39	%			31	%			29	%			33	%

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding.

2

Includes a redemption fee, which is less than $0.01 per share.

3

Determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations.

4

Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

53

Financial Highlights (concluded)

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				Class R
				Year Ended October 31,
				Consolidated
				2013				2012				2011				2010				2009
Per Share Operating Performance
Net asset value, beginning of year				$	18.78			$	18.44			$	18.36			$	16.80			$	14.69
Net investment income 1					0.15				0.18				0.21				0.21				0.25
Net realized and unrealized gain					2.33				0.62				0.13	2			1.59	2			2.51	2
Net increase from investment operations					2.48				0.80				0.34				1.80				2.76
Dividends and distributions from: 3
Net investment income					(0.18	)			(0.27	)			(0.26	)			(0.24	)			(0.65	)
Net realized gain					—				(0.19	)			—				—				—
Total dividends and distributions					(0.18	)			(0.46	)			(0.26	)			(0.24	)			(0.65	)
Net asset value, end of year				$	21.08			$	18.78			$	18.44			$	18.36			$	16.80
Total Investment Return 4
Based on net asset value					13.26	%			4.52	%			1.84	%			10.83	%			19.67	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets
Total expenses					1.48	%			1.51	%			1.47	%			1.49	%			1.54	%
Total expenses after fees waived					1.39	%			1.43	%			1.38	%			1.42	%			1.49	%
Total expenses after fees waived and excluding interest expense, dividend expense and stock loan fees					1.39	%			1.43	%			1.38	%			1.42	%			1.48	%
Net investment income					0.74	%			0.97	%			1.11	%			1.22	%			1.65	%
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of year (000)				$	1,296,522			$	1,171,179			$	1,077,174			$	926,471			$	576,189
Portfolio turnover					50	%			39	%			31	%			29	%			33	%

 

1

Based on average shares outstanding.

2

Includes a redemption fee, which is less than $0.01 per share.

3

Determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations.

4

Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of dividends and distributions.

54

General Information

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Shareholder Documents

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Electronic Access to Annual Reports, Semi-Annual Reports and Prospectuses

Electronic copies of most financial reports and prospectuses are available on BlackRock’s website. Shareholders can sign up for e-mail notifications of annual and semi-annual reports and prospectuses by enrolling in the Fund’s electronic delivery program. To enroll:

Shareholders Who Hold Accounts with Investment Advisers, Banks or Brokerages: Please contact your Financial Intermediary. Please note that not all investment advisers, banks or brokerages may offer this service.

Shareholders Who Hold Accounts Directly With BlackRock:

n

Access the BlackRock website at http://www.blackrock.com/edelivery; and

n

Log into your account

Delivery of Shareholder Documents

The Fund delivers only one copy of shareholder documents, including prospectuses, shareholder reports and proxy statements, to shareholders with multiple accounts at the same address. This practice is known as “householding” and is intended to eliminate duplicate mailings and reduce expenses. Mailings of your shareholder documents may be householded indefinitely unless you instruct us otherwise. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact the Fund at (800) 441-7762.

Certain Fund Policies

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Anti-Money Laundering Requirements

The Fund is subject to the USA PATRIOT Act (the “Patriot Act”). The Patriot Act is intended to prevent the use of the U.S. financial system in furtherance of money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities. Pursuant to requirements under the Patriot Act, the Fund is required to obtain sufficient information from shareholders to enable it to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of its shareholders. This information will be used to verify the identity of investors or, in some cases, the status of Financial Intermediaries. Such information may be verified using third-party sources. This information will be used only for compliance with the Patriot Act or other applicable laws, regulations and rules in connection with money laundering, terrorism or economic sanctions.

The Fund reserves the right to reject purchase orders from persons who have not submitted information sufficient to allow the Fund to verify their identity. The Fund also reserves the right to redeem any amounts in the Fund from persons whose identity it is unable to verify on a timely basis. It is the Fund’s policy to cooperate fully with appropriate regulators in any investigations conducted with respect to potential money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities.

BlackRock Privacy Principles

BlackRock is committed to maintaining the privacy of its current and former fund investors and individual clients (collectively, “Clients”) and to safeguarding their nonpublic personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information BlackRock collects, how we protect that information and why in certain cases we share such information with select parties.

If you are located in a jurisdiction where specific laws, rules or regulations require BlackRock to provide you with additional or different privacy-related rights beyond what is set forth below, then BlackRock will comply with those specific laws, rules or regulations.

BlackRock obtains or verifies personal nonpublic information from and about you from different sources, including the following: (i) information we receive from you or, if applicable, your Financial Intermediary, on applications, forms or other documents; (ii) information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others; (iii) information we receive from a consumer reporting agency; and (iv) from visits to our website.

55

BlackRock does not sell or disclose to nonaffiliated third parties any nonpublic personal information about its Clients, except as permitted by law, or as is necessary to respond to regulatory requests or to service Client accounts. These nonaffiliated third parties are required to protect the confidentiality and security of this information and to use it only for its intended purpose.

We may share information with our affiliates to service your account or to provide you with information about other BlackRock products or services that may be of interest to you. In addition, BlackRock restricts access to nonpublic personal information about its Clients to those BlackRock employees with a legitimate business need for the information. BlackRock maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that are designed to protect the nonpublic personal information of its Clients, including procedures relating to the proper storage and disposal of such information.

Statement of Additional Information

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If you would like further information about the Fund, including how it invests, please see the SAI.

For a discussion of the Fund’s policies and procedures regarding the selective disclosure of its portfolio holdings, please see the SAI. The Fund makes its top ten holdings available on a monthly basis at www.blackrock.com generally within 5 business days after the end of the month to which the information applies.

56

Glossary

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This glossary contains an explanation of some of the common terms used in this prospectus. For additional information about the Fund, please see the SAI.

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses — fees and expenses charged by other investment companies in which the Fund invests a portion of its assets.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses — expenses that cover the costs of operating the Fund.

BofA Merrill Lynch Current 5-Year US Treasury Index — an unmanaged index designed to track the total return of the current coupon five-year U.S. Treasury bond.

Citigroup Non-US Dollar World Government Bond Index — an unmanaged, market capitalization-weighted index that tracks 22 government bond indices, excluding the United States.

Distribution Fees — fees used to support the Fund’s marketing and distribution efforts, such as compensating Financial Intermediaries, advertising and promotion.

Dividend Expense — represents dividends paid to lenders of borrowed securities. Dividend Expenses will vary depending on whether the securities the Fund sells short pay dividends and the amount of those dividends.

FTSE World Index — a broad-based capitalization-weighted index comprised of 2,431 equities from 35 countries in 4 regions, including the United States.

FTSE World (ex US) Index — an unmanaged capitalization-weighted index comprised of 1,816 equities in 34 countries, excluding the United States.

Management Fee — a fee paid to BlackRock for managing the Fund.

Other Expenses — include accounting, transfer agency, custody, professional fees and registration fees.

Reference Benchmark — an unmanaged weighted Index comprised as follows: 36% of the S&P 500 Index; 24% FTSE World (ex US) Index; 24% BofA Merrill Lynch Current 5-Year US Treasury Index; and 16% Citigroup Non-US Dollar World Government Bond Index.

Service Fees — fees used to compensate Financial Intermediaries for certain shareholder servicing activities.

Shareholder Fees — these fees include sales charges that you may pay when you buy or sell shares of the Fund.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index — an unmanaged index that covers 500 industrial, utility, transportation and financial companies of the US markets (mostly New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) issues) representing about 75% of NYSE market capitalization and 30% of NYSE issues.

57

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For More Information

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Fund and Service Providers

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FUND

BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, Inc.
100 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809

Written Correspondence:
P.O. Box 9819
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8019

Overnight Mail:
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, Massachusetts 01588
(800) 441-7762

MANAGER

BlackRock Advisors, LLC
100 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809

SUB-ADVISER

BlackRock Investment Management, LLC
1 University Square Drive
Princeton, New Jersey 08540-6455

TRANSFER AGENT

BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.
301 Bellevue Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19809

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Deloitte & Touche LLP
200 Berkeley Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116

ACCOUNTING SERVICES PROVIDER

State Street Bank and Trust Company
100 Summer Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110

DISTRIBUTOR

BlackRock Investments, LLC
40 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022

CUSTODIAN

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
40 Water Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02109

COUNSEL

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
787 Seventh Avenue
New York, New York 10019-6099

Additional Information

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This prospectus contains important information you should know before investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference. More information about the Fund is available at no charge upon request. This information includes:

Annual/Semi-Annual Reports

These reports contain additional information about each of the Fund’s investments. The annual report describes the Fund’s performance, lists portfolio holdings, and discusses recent market conditions, economic trends and Fund investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance for the last fiscal year.

Statement of Additional Information

A Statement of Additional Information, (“SAI”) dated February 28, 2014, has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SAI, which includes additional information about the Fund, may be obtained free of charge, along with the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports, by calling (800) 441-7762. The SAI, as supplemented from time to time, is incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

BlackRock Investor Services

Representatives are available to discuss account balance information, mutual fund prospectuses, literature, programs and services available. Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Eastern time), on any business day. Call: (800) 441-7762.

Purchases and Redemptions

Call your Financial Intermediary or BlackRock Investor Services at (800) 441-7762.

World Wide Web

General Fund information and specific Fund performance, including the SAI and annual/semi-annual reports, can be accessed free of charge at www.blackrock.com/prospectus. Mutual fund prospectuses and literature can also be requested via this website.

Written Correspondence

BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, Inc
P.O. Box 9819
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8019

Overnight Mail

BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, Inc
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, Massachusetts 01588

Internal Wholesalers/Broker Dealer Support

Available on any business day to support investment professionals. Call: (800) 882-0052

Portfolio Characteristics and Holdings

A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures related to disclosure of portfolio characteristics and holdings is available in the SAI.

For information about portfolio holdings and characteristics, BlackRock fund shareholders and prospective investors may call (800) 882-0052.

Securities and Exchange Commission

You may also view and copy public information about the Fund, including the SAI, by visiting the EDGAR database on the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov) or the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Copies of this information can be obtained, for a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the Public Reference Room of the SEC, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information about obtaining documents on the SEC’s website without charge may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. No one is authorized to provide you with information that is different from information contained in this prospectus.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE # 811-05576
© BlackRock Advisors, LLC

PRO-10810-0214R

 

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