BlackRock utilizes a proprietary
sustainability scoring system, fundamental sector research and third-party ESG data in constructing the Fund’s portfolio. Fund management also selects and weights
securities based on an issuer’s ability to manage the ESG risks to which its business is exposed, as determined by BlackRock.
While Fund management considers ESG characteristics as well as climate risk exposure
and climate opportunities, only one or two of these categories may be considered with respect to a particular investment or sector, and categories may be weighted differently according to the type of investment being considered. In addition, the Fund may
gain indirect exposure (through, including but not limited to, derivatives and investments in other investment companies) to issuers with exposures that are inconsistent with the ESG-related criteria used by Fund management.
The Fund seeks to maintain certain ESG characteristics, climate risk exposure and
climate opportunities relative to the Benchmark. Specifically, with respect to the Fund’s investments in certain sectors of fixed income instruments, the Fund generally seeks to invest in a portfolio that, in BlackRock’s view, (i) has an aggregate ESG assessment that is
better than that of the Benchmark, (ii) has an aggregate carbon emissions assessment that is lower than that of the Benchmark, and (iii) in the aggregate, includes issuers that BlackRock believes are better positioned to capture climate
opportunities relative to the issuers in the Benchmark. Fund management makes such assessments based on BlackRock’s ESG research, which includes due diligence of ESG risks
and opportunities facing an issuer, as well as third-party ESG ratings. The Fund may invest in other sectors that are not included in such assessments.
The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in securities of foreign issuers, of
which 20% (as a percentage of the Fund’s net assets) may be in emerging markets issuers. Investments in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers, excluding issuers from emerging markets, are permitted beyond the 30% limit. This means that the Fund may
invest in such U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers without limit.
The Fund may invest in various types of mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage-backed securities represent the right to receive a portion of principal and/or interest payments made on a pool of residential or commercial mortgage loans.
Mortgage-backed securities frequently react differently to changes in interest rates than other fixed-income securities. The Fund may also enter into reverse repurchase agreements and mortgage dollar rolls.
The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities of any duration or maturity. Fixed-income securities frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund at certain times prior to maturity at
a specified price, which is generally the amount due at maturity. In many cases, when interest rates go down, issuers redeem fixed-income securities that allow for redemption. When an issuer redeems fixed-income securities, the Fund may
receive less than the market value of the securities prior to redemption. In addition, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in new fixed-income securities with lower yields
and therefore lose expected future income.
The Fund may use
derivatives, including, but not limited to, interest rate, total return and credit default swaps, options, futures, options on futures and swaps, for hedging purposes, as well as
to increase the return on its portfolio investments. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security or an index such as the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index or the CSFB High Yield Index. The Fund may also invest in credit-linked notes,
credit-linked trust certificates, structured notes, or other instruments evidencing interests in special purpose vehicles, trusts, or other entities that hold or represent
interests in fixed-income securities.
The Fund may invest up to 20%
of its net assets in fixed-income securities that are rated below investment grade by the Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (“NRSROs”), including
Moody’s, S&P or Fitch or in unrated securities of equivalent credit quality. Split rated bonds will be considered to have the higher credit rating.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in collateralized debt obligations
(“CDOs”), of which 10% (as a percentage of the Fund’s net assets) may be in collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”). CDOs are types of
asset-backed securities. CLOs are ordinarily issued by a trust or other special purpose entity and are typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and non-U.S. senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans,
and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans, held by such issuer.
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 that exclusively invest in precious metals, which are designed to provide this exposure without direct investment in physical commodities. The Fund
may also gain exposure to commodity markets by investing up to 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fund formed in the Cayman Islands,
which invests primarily in commodity-related instruments.
The financial statements of the Subsidiary are consolidated with the Fund’s financial statements in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Financial Statements and Additional Information. The Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Financial