Principal
Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund is intended to be used as part of a broader separately managed account program
administered directly by BlackRock. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of the investor’s complete investment program. The Fund is not designed to be used as a stand-alone investment.
The Fund may invest in a portfolio of securities and other financial instruments, including derivative instruments, in an attempt to provide returns that are the inverse of its benchmark index, the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond
Index. The Fund’s return is intended to move in the opposite direction of the return of a traditional fixed-income fund. Unlike a traditional fixed-income fund, the value of the Fund is expected to move in the same direction as that of
interest rates. The value of a traditional fixed-income fund generally drops as interest rates rise, however, it is expected that the Fund will provide positive returns in a rising interest rate environment. Under normal circumstances,
the Fund maintains an average portfolio duration that is within ±20% of the inverse duration of its benchmark, as calculated by BlackRock. As of June 30, 2024, the average duration of the Fund’s benchmark was -6.75 years, as
calculated by BlackRock.
The Fund will seek to pursue its investment objective primarily by engaging in short sales of U.S. Treasury securities
and by investing in derivative instruments that provide returns that are inverse to those available by investing directly in U.S. Treasury securities. Derivative instruments that the Fund may invest in include, but are not limited to, futures
(including U.S. Treasury futures), options, forward contracts and/or swaps, including interest rate swaps, swaptions and total return swaps.
The Fund may also invest significantly in a variety of short-term fixed-income instruments, including, but not limited to,
U.S. government securities, U.S. government agency securities, securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored
enterprises and U.S. government instrumentalities, investment grade corporate bonds or bonds determined by Fund management to be of similar quality, asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities. The Fund will invest in
these short-term fixed-income instruments in order to generate income to cover some or all of the costs associated with the Fund’s derivative positions. A significant portion of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in cash and cash equivalents and held by the Fund in connection with its derivative positions. The Fund will also invest a significant
portion of its total assets in cash and cash equivalents to use for margin requirements for its derivative positions.
The Fund may invest in other investment companies, such as exchange-traded funds, unit
investment trusts, and open-end and closed-end funds, including affiliated investment companies and affiliated and unaffiliated money market funds. As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund intends to invest a significant portion of its assets in the BATS:
Series S Portfolio (the
“BATS-S”). The investment objective of BATS-S is to seek to maximize total return, consistent with income generation and prudent
investment management. In pursuit of its investment objective, BATS-S principally invests in commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities; obligations of non-U.S.
governments and supra-national organizations, such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which are chartered to promote economic development; obligations of domestic and non-U.S. corporations; asset-backed securities; collateralized
mortgage obligations; U.S. Treasury and agency securities; when-issued and delayed delivery securities; derivatives; cash equivalent investments; repurchase agreements and
reverse repurchase agreements; and dollar rolls.
The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio instruments to achieve
its investment objective.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
Risk is inherent in all investing. The value of your investment in the Fund, as well as
the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly from day to day and over time. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The following is a
summary description of principal risks of investing in the Fund. The relative significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.
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Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk, extension risk, and
prepayment risk, each of which are described in further detail below:
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 payments of interest and principal 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 both the financial condition of the issuer and the terms of the obligation.
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.