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      APRIL 29, 2024

 

2024 Summary Prospectus

 

BlackRock ETF Trust

 

 

BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Income ETF | BALI | CBOE

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus (including amendments and supplements), reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s statement of additional information, online at https://www.blackrock.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-474-2737 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus.request@blackrock.com, or from your financial professional. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated April 29, 2024, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus

 

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

 

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee


BLACKROCK ADVANTAGE LARGE CAP INCOME ETF

Ticker: BALI       Stock Exchange: CBOE

Investment Objective

The BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Income ETF (the “Fund”) seeks consistent income with lower volatility than the broader U.S. equity market.

Fees and Expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between BlackRock ETF Trust (the “Trust”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except: (i) the management fees, (ii) interest expenses, (iii) taxes, (iv) expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, (v) distribution fees or expenses, and (vi) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses. The Fund may incur “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.” Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses reflect the Fund’s pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a result of investing in other investment companies. The impact of Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses is included in the total returns of the Fund.

You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)
Management
Fees1
  Distribution and
Service (12b-1)
Fees
  Other
Expenses
  Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
  Fee
Waiver1
  Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
After Fee Waiver1
0.35%   None   None   0.35%     0.35%

 

1 

As described in the “Management” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 17, BFA has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees in an amount equal to the aggregate Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any, attributable to investments by the Fund in other funds advised by BFA or its affiliates through June 30, 2025. The agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Trust or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.

Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of owning shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

1 Year

 

3 Years

$36   $113

 

 

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Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. From inception (September 26, 2023) to the most recent fiscal year end, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 23% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in large cap equity securities and derivatives that have similar economic characteristics to such securities. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by employing the following strategies:

 

    holding long positions in U.S. large cap equity securities,

 

    selling (writing) call options on a large cap equity index, such as the S&P 500 Index, and

 

    buying futures on a large cap equity index, such as the S&P 500 Index.

The Fund will invest primarily in equity securities of large cap companies. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% test, large cap equity securities are equity securities of companies that, at the time of purchase, have a market capitalization within the range of companies included in the S&P 500 Index. As of March 31, 2024, the market capitalization range of

companies included in the S&P 500 Index is $5.1 billion to $3.1 trillion. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock and convertible securities or other financial instruments that are components of, or have characteristics similar to, securities included in a large cap equity index, such as the S&P 500 Index. From time to time, the Fund may invest in shares of companies through initial public offerings (“IPOs”).

To generate income, the Fund will sell (write) call options on a large cap equity index, such as the S&P 500 Index. An options contract is an agreement between a buyer and seller that gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy (in the case of a call option) a particular asset at a specified future date at an agreed upon price (commonly known as the “strike price”). When the Fund writes (sells) a call option, the Fund is entitled to receive a premium. Although not perfectly correlated, such call options may have the impact of capping potential gains from the Fund’s long position in equity securities. Therefore, to reduce the potential impact of this cap on the potential gains (with actual results dependent on various factors including the degree of options and futures activity over time), the Fund will buy futures on a large cap equity index.

The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by investing in securities in a disciplined manner, by using proprietary return forecast models that incorporate quantitative analysis. These forecast models are designed to prioritize insights that demonstrate downside protection as well as identify aspects of mispricing across stocks which the Fund can seek to capture by over-and under-weighting particular equity securities while

 

 

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seeking to control incremental risk. BFA then constructs and rebalances the portfolio by integrating its investment insights with the model-based optimization process.

Summary of Principal Risks

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund’s performance could trail that of other investments. The Fund is subject to certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Unlike many exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), the Fund is not an index-based ETF. Certain key risks are prioritized below (with others following in alphabetical order), but the relative significance of any risk is difficult to predict and may change over time. You should review each risk factor carefully.

Call Option Risk. When the Fund sells call options on a large cap equity index, it receives a premium but it takes on the risk that these options may reduce any profit from increases in the market value of the long equity positions held by the Fund. Any such reduction in profits would be the difference between the payoff of the call option and the premium received. The Fund would also retain the risk of loss if the long equity positions decline in value. The premiums received from the options may not be sufficient to offset any losses sustained from the long equity positions.

Factors that may influence the value of the options generally include the underlying asset’s price, interest rates, dividends, the actual and implied volatility levels of the underlying asset’s

price, and the remaining time until the options expire, among others. The value of the options written by the Fund typically do not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying asset’s price on a day-to-day basis due to these factors.

Implied volatility is one of the primary inputs in options pricing. As volatility increases, the value of an option also increases (and vice-versa). Changes in the level of volatility can affect the amount of premium the Fund will receive from writing options.

In less liquid markets, initiating or terminating the options positions may require the acceptance of a discounted price or payment of a premium and may take longer to complete. In a less liquid market, the purchase or liquidation of a large number of options may significantly impact the price of the options and may adversely impact the value of your investment. Additionally, to the extent market participants are not willing or able to enter into option transactions with the Fund at prices that reflect the market price of the Fund shares, the Fund’s NAV and, in turn the share price of the Fund, could be negatively impacted.

Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Common stocks generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.

Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market

 

 

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conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large-capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.

Model Risk. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than as forecasted due to the factors incorporated into the models and the weighting of each factor, changes from historical trends, and issues in the construction and implementation of the models (including, but not limited to, software issues and other technological issues). There is no guarantee that BFA’s use of these models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund. The information and data used in the models may be supplied by third parties. Inaccurate or incomplete data may limit the effectiveness of the models. In addition, some of the data that BFA uses may be historical data, which may not accurately predict future market movement. There is a risk that the models will not be successful in selecting investments or in determining the weighting of investment positions that will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Futures Contract Risk. 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. Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing ownership stake in an

issuer, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for settlement in cash based on the level of the reference rate. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are: (i) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the index and the price of the futures contract; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iii) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (iv) BFA’s inability to predict correctly the direction of prices and other economic factors; and (v) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations.

Distribution Tax Risk. The Fund currently expects to make distributions on a regular basis. While the Fund will normally pay its income as distributions, the Fund’s distributions may exceed the Fund’s income and gains for the Fund’s taxable year. The Fund may be required to reduce its distributions if it has insufficient income. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a return of capital. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s minimum distribution requirements, but not in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits, will be taxable to Fund shareholders and will not constitute nontaxable returns of capital. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder’s cost basis and will result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those Fund shares on which the distribution was received are sold. Once a Fund shareholder’s cost basis is reduced to zero, further distributions will be treated as capital gain, if the Fund

 

 

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shareholder holds shares of the Fund as capital assets. Because the Fund’s distributions may consist of return of capital, the Fund may not be an appropriate investment for investors who do not want their principal investment in the Fund to decrease over time or who do not wish to receive return of capital in a given period.

Counterparty Risk. Derivatives, such as futures contracts, are 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.

Clearing Member Default Risk. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options and futures, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house, such as the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”), rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members. In cleared derivatives positions, the Fund will make payments (including margin payments) to and receive payments from a clearing house through their accounts at clearing members. Customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any options contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. As a result, assets deposited by the Fund with any clearing member as margin for options may, in certain circumstances, be used to

satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing member. In addition, although clearing members guarantee performance of their clients’ obligations to the clearing house, there is a risk that the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the clearing member’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing member’s customers for the relevant account class. The Fund is also subject to the risk that a limited number of clearing members are willing to transact on the Fund’s behalf, which heightens the risks associated with a clearing member’s default. If a clearing member defaults, the Fund could lose some or all of the benefits of a transaction entered into by the Fund with the clearing member. If the Fund cannot find a clearing member to transact with on the Fund’s behalf, the Fund may be unable to effectively implement its investment strategy.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities or other assets. High portfolio turnover (considered by the Fund to mean higher than 100% annually) 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. Given the frequency of sales, in any given year, all or a substantial portion of such gain or loss may be short-term capital gain or loss and, in the event of either net short-term or long-term realized gain, would increase an investor’s tax liability unless shares are held through a tax-deferred or exempt vehicle. These effects of higher than normal portfolio

 

 

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turnover may adversely affect Fund performance.

Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of this Prospectus), a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, or a fund may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time in order to facilitate commencement of the Fund’s operations or to allow the Fund to achieve size or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, which could negatively impact the Fund.

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of this Prospectus) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund’s adviser, distributor, and other service providers, market makers, Authorized

Participants, hedging counterparties to the Fund or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of the Fund’s service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, hedging counterparties to the Fund or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Depositary Receipts Risk. The Fund will invest in stocks of foreign corporations. The Fund’s investment in such stocks will be in the form of depositary receipts including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). While the use of ADRs and GDRs, which are traded on exchanges and represent an ownership in a foreign security, provide an alternative to directly purchasing the underlying foreign securities in their respective markets and currencies, investments in ADRs and GDRs continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including political, economic, and currency risk.

Derivatives Risk. The Fund may invest in certain types of derivatives contracts, including options and futures, which can be more sensitive to changes in interest rates or to sudden fluctuations in market prices than conventional securities, which can result in greater losses to the Fund. The Fund’s use of derivatives for hedging

 

 

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purposes are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying index, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging strategy will be effective. The hedging strategy may also result in certain adverse tax consequences.

Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Markets may experience temporary closures, extreme volatility, severe losses, reduced liquidity and increased trading costs. Such events may adversely affect the Fund and its investments and may impact the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or cause increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV. Despite the development of vaccines, the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects cannot be predicted with certainty.

Investment Companies and ETFs Risk. Subject to the limitations set forth in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) and the rules thereunder, the Fund may acquire shares in other investment companies and in ETFs, some of which may be affiliated investment companies. The market value of the shares of other investment companies and ETFs may differ from their net asset value. As an investor in investment companies and ETFs, the Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its investment advisory and administration fees, while

continuing to pay its own advisory and administration fees and other expenses (to the extent not offset by BFA through waivers). As a result, shareholders will be absorbing duplicate levels of fees with respect to investments in other investment companies and ETFs (to the extent not offset by BFA through waivers).

The securities of other investment companies and ETFs in which the Fund may invest may be leveraged. As a result, the Fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities. An investment in securities of other investment companies and ETFs that use leverage may expose the Fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the Fund’s long-term returns on such securities (and, indirectly, the long-term returns of shares of the Fund) will be diminished.

As with other investments, investments in other investment companies, including ETFs, are subject to market and selection risk. 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.

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares, or may invest in the Fund and hold their investment for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment.

Leverage Risk. The Fund’s use of derivative contracts may give risk to a

 

 

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form of economic leverage and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet the applicable requirements of the 1940 Act, and the rules thereunder. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio may be magnified when the Fund uses leverage.

Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk, which is the risk that the investment process, techniques and analyses applied by BFA will not produce the desired results, and those securities or other financial instruments selected by BFA may result in returns that are inconsistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In addition, legislative, regulatory, or tax developments may affect the investment techniques available to BFA in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.

Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruptions in the

creation/redemption process. Unlike some ETFs that track specific indexes, the Fund does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Index-based ETFs have generally traded at prices that closely correspond to NAV per share. Given the high level of transparency of the Fund’s holdings, BFA believes that the trading experience of the Fund should be similar to that of index-based ETFs. However, ETFs that do not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index have a limited trading history and, therefore, there can be no assurance as to whether, and/or the extent to which, the Fund’s shares will trade at premiums or discounts to NAV. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUND’S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified.” This means that, compared with other funds that are classified as “diversified,” the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the Fund’s performance may depend on the performance of a small number of issuers.

Risk of Investing in the U.S. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.

Small Fund Risk. When the Fund’s size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange. Any resulting liquidation of the Fund could cause the

 

 

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Fund to incur elevated transaction costs for the Fund and negative tax consequences for its shareholders.

Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. However, the federal income tax treatment of certain aspects of the proposed operations of the Fund are not entirely clear. This includes the tax aspects of the Fund’s options strategy, its hedging strategy, the possible application of the “straddle” rules, and various loss limitation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. To qualify and maintain its status as a RIC, the Fund must meet certain income, diversification and distributions tests. For purposes of the diversification test, the identification of the issuer (or, in some cases, issuers) of a particular Fund investment can depend on the terms and conditions of that investment. In particular, there is no published Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) guidance or case law on how to determine the “issuer” of certain derivatives that the Fund will enter into.

The Fund’s investments in offsetting positions may affect the character of gains or losses realized by the Fund under the Internal Revenue Code’s “straddle” rules and may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by the Fund. Certain options may not qualify as “Section 1256 contracts” under Section 1256 of the Internal Revenue Code, and disposition

of such options will likely result in short-term capital gains or losses.

Performance Information

As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has been in operation for less than one full calendar year and therefore does not report its performance information. The Fund’s benchmark is the S&P 500 Index.

Management

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser. The Fund’s investment adviser is BFA. The Fund’s sub-adviser is BlackRock International Limited (“BIL” or the “Sub-Adviser”).

Portfolio Managers. Robert Fisher, CFA, Raffaele Savi and Travis Cooke, CFA (the “Portfolio Managers”) are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Messrs. Fisher, Savi and Cooke have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since September 2023.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Individual shares of the Fund may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”).

 

 

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Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”), in which case, your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), BFA or other related companies may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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For more information visit www.blackrock.com or call 1-800-474-2737

Investment Company Act File # 811-23402

 

SPRO-ADV-LCI-0424

 

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