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.
A general rise in interest rates has the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed-income securities on a large
scale, which may increase redemptions from funds that hold large amounts of fixed-income securities. Heavy
redemptions could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value and could hurt the Fund’s performance.
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.
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.
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Derivatives Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase
volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including:
Leverage Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives can
magnify the Fund’s gains and losses. Relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of a derivatives position and can result in losses that
greatly exceed the amount originally invested.
Market Risk — Some derivatives are more sensitive to interest
rate changes and market price fluctuations than other securities. 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.
Counterparty Risk — Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction
will be unable or unwilling to fulfill its contractual obligation, and the related risks of having concentrated exposure to such a counterparty.
Illiquidity Risk — The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund to sell
or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately.
Operational Risk — The use of derivatives includes the risk of potential operational issues, including documentation issues,
settlement issues, systems failures, inadequate controls and human error.
Legal Risk — The risk of insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of
counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
Volatility and Correlation Risk — Volatility is defined as
the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the
fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets.
Valuation Risk — Valuation for derivatives may not be readily available in the market. Valuation may be more difficult in times
of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them.
Hedging Risk — Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and
there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging may result in certain adverse tax consequences.
Tax Risk — Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and commodity-linked
derivative instruments, are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding authority. Such treatment may be less favorable
than that given to a direct investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund realizes from its investments.
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Dollar Rolls Risk — Dollar rolls involve the risk that the market value of the securities that the Fund is committed to buy may
decline below the price of the securities the Fund has sold. These transactions may involve leverage.
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High Portfolio Turnover Risk — The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more
than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and
on reinvestment in other securities. The sale of Fund portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to