LOGO    APRIL 29, 2024

 

 

 

Summary Prospectus

 

BlackRock Funds III | Institutional Shares

 

 

BlackRock Diversified Equity Fund

Institutional: BDVEX

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 (800) 537-4942 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.

This Summary Prospectus contains information you should know before investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference.

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


Summary Prospectus

 

 

 

Key Facts About BlackRock Diversified Equity Fund

Investment Objective

 

The investment objective of BlackRock Diversified Equity Fund (the “Fund”), a series of BlackRock Funds III (the “Trust”), is to seek to provide long-term appreciation of capital.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell Institutional Shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to your financial professional or your selected securities dealer, broker, investment adviser, service provider or industry professional (including BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) and its affiliates) (each, a “Financial Intermediary”), which are not reflected in the table and example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

  

Institutional

Shares

Management Fee1,2,3

       0.25%

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

       None

Other Expenses4

       0.26%

Administration Fees

       0.25%  

Independent Expenses4

       0.01%  

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses5

       0.01%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses5

       0.52%  

Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements2,3,4

       (0.11)%  

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements2,3,4

       0.41%  

 

1

The fees and expenses shown in the table above include the expenses of both the Fund and the Fund’s share of the allocated expenses of Diversified Equity Master Portfolio (the “Master Portfolio”), a series of Master Investment Portfolio (“MIP”). Management fees are paid by the Master Portfolio.

 

2 

As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 31, BFA, the investment adviser for the Master Portfolio, has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Master Portfolio’s assets estimated to be attributable to investments in other equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by BFA or its affiliates that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2025. In addition, BFA has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Master Portfolio pays to BFA indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by BFA or its affiliates, through June 30, 2025. The contractual agreements may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of MIP or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Master Portfolio.

 

3 

BFA has contractually agreed to waive 0.095% of its management fee through June 30, 2025. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of MIP or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Master Portfolio.

 

4

Independent Expenses consist of the Fund’s allocable portion of the fees and expenses of the independent trustees of the Trust and MIP, counsel to such independent trustees and the independent registered public accounting firm that provides audit services to the Fund and the Master Portfolio. BFA and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“BAL”), the administrator for the Fund, have contractually agreed to reimburse, or provide offsetting credits to, the Fund and the Master Portfolio, as applicable, for Independent Expenses through June 30, 2025. After giving effect to such contractual arrangements, Independent Expenses will be 0.00%. Such contractual arrangements may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Trust and of MIP, as applicable, or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund and the Master Portfolio.

 

5 

The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets given in the Fund’s most recent annual report, which does not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Example:

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem 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  

Institutional Shares

   $ 42        $ 156  

Portfolio Turnover:

The Fund pays 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 shares are

 

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held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Master Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 125% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

 

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities, including common stock, preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock and securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock. This is a non-fundamental policy of the Fund and may not be changed without 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders.

The Fund does not limit its investments to companies of any particular size, and may invest in equity securities of companies of any market capitalization.

Equity securities include securities representing shares of ownership of a corporation (“common stock”), preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock and securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock. Preferred stock is a class of stock that often pays dividends at a specified rate and has preference over common stock in dividend payments and liquidation of assets. Convertible securities typically pay current income as either interest (debt security convertibles) or dividends (preferred stock), and their value usually reflects both the stream of current income payments and the market value of the underlying common stock.

The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers from any country, including emerging market countries, and may invest in securities denominated in both U.S. dollars and non-U.S. dollar currencies.

The Fund may use derivatives to hedge its portfolio against market and currency risks or to gain exposure to equity markets. The Fund may also use derivatives to hedge its investment portfolio against interest rate risks or to seek to enhance its return. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security, a commodity (such as oil or gold), a currency or an index such as the Russell® 1000 Index. The derivatives that the Fund may use include options on portfolio positions or currencies, financial and currency futures, options on such futures, forward foreign currency transactions and swaps.

The Fund may also invest in indexed and inverse securities.

The Fund is a “feeder” fund that invests all of its assets in the Master Portfolio, which has the same investment objective and strategies as the Fund. All investments are made at the Master Portfolio level. This structure is sometimes called a “master/feeder” structure. The Fund’s investment results will correspond directly to the investment results of the Master Portfolio. For simplicity, this prospectus uses the name of the Fund or the term “Fund” (as applicable) to include the Master Portfolio.

The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its primary investment strategies.

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 the 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.

 

 

Equity Securities Risk — Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

 

 

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, BFA 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.

 

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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.

 

 

Foreign Securities Risk — Foreign investments often involve special risks not present in U.S. investments that can increase the chances that the Fund will lose money. These risks include:

 

   

The Fund generally holds its foreign securities and cash in foreign banks and securities depositories, which may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business and may be subject to only limited or no regulatory oversight.

 

   

Changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.

 

   

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.

 

   

The governments of certain countries, or the U.S. Government with respect to certain countries, may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions through capital controls and/or sanctions on foreign investments in the capital markets or certain industries in those countries, which may prohibit or restrict the ability to own or transfer currency, securities, derivatives or other assets.

 

   

Many foreign governments do not supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to the same extent as does the United States and may not have laws to protect investors that are comparable to U.S. securities laws.

 

   

Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets may result in delays in payment for or delivery of securities not typically associated with settlement and clearance of U.S. investments.

 

   

The Fund’s claims to recover foreign withholding taxes may not be successful, and if the likelihood of recovery of foreign withholding taxes materially decreases, due to, for example, a change in tax regulation or approach in the foreign country, accruals in the Fund’s net asset value for such refunds may be written down partially or in full, which will adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value.

 

   

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 as well as acts of war in the region. These events may spread to other countries in Europe and may affect the value and liquidity of certain of the Fund’s investments.

 

 

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, principal 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, including the potential for increased volatility in the price of the convertible security.

 

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Emerging Markets Risk — Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging securities markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets.

 

 

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 shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance.

 

 

Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk — 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.

 

 

Investment Style Risk — Under certain market conditions, growth investments have performed better during the later stages of economic expansion and value investments have performed better during periods of economic recovery. Therefore, these investment styles may over time go in and out of favor. At times when the investment style used by the Fund is out of favor, the Fund may underperform other equity funds that use different investment styles.

 

 

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. 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 Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), and the rules thereunder. 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. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. 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.

An outbreak of an infectious coronavirus (COVID-19) that was first detected in December 2019 developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. Although vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the duration of the pandemic and its effects cannot be predicted with certainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.

 

 

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.

 

 

Preferred Securities Risk — Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred securities are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred securities of larger companies.

 

 

Risk of Investing in the United States — 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 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 more limited management group than larger capitalized companies.

 

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Performance Information

 

The information shows you how the Fund’s performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Institutional Shares commenced operations on September 19, 2023. As a result, for periods prior to September 19, 2023, the chart and table are based on the performance of the Master Portfolio in which the Fund invests all of its assets, adjusted to reflect the estimated annual fund fees and operating expenses of the Institutional Shares of the Fund. The table compares the Fund’s performance to that of the Russell 1000® Index. To the extent that dividends and distributions have been paid by the Master Portfolio, the performance information for the Fund in the chart and table assumes reinvestment of the dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. The table includes all applicable fees and sales charges. If BlackRock and its affiliates had not waived or reimbursed certain Master Portfolio and/or Fund expenses during these periods, the Master Portfolio’s/Fund’s return would have been lower. Updated information on the Fund’s performance, including its current net asset value, can be obtained by visiting http://www.blackrock.com/funds or can be obtained by phone at (800) 882-0052.

Institutional Shares

ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

BlackRock Diversified Equity Fund

As of 12/31

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During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 22.19% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a quarter was –20.56% (quarter ended March 31, 2020).

 

For the periods ended 12/31/23

Average Annual Total Returns

   1 Year      5 Years      10 Years  

BlackRock Diversified Equity Fund — Institutional Shares

        

Return Before Taxes

     26.32      15.30      11.36

Return After Taxes on Distributions

     26.20      15.28      11.35

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

     15.62      12.35      9.47

Russell 1000 Index®

(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

     26.53      15.52      11.80

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.

Investment Manager

 

The Master Portfolio’s investment manager is BlackRock Fund Advisors (previously defined as “BFA”).

Portfolio Managers

 

 

Portfolio Manager

   Portfolio Manager of the Master
Portfolio Since
   Title

Philip Green

   2016    Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

Michael Pensky

   2024    Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

Daniel Felder

   2024    Director of BlackRock, Inc.

 

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Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund each day the New York Stock Exchange 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) 537-4942, by mail (c/o BlackRock Funds III, P.O. Box 534429, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15253-4429), or by the Internet at www.blackrock.com. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:

 

     Institutional Shares
Minimum Initial Investment  

There is no minimum initial investment for:

•  Employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles, unaffiliated thrifts and unaffiliated banks and trust companies, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to purchase such shares.

•  Clients of Financial Intermediaries that: (i) charge such clients a fee for advisory, investment consulting, or similar services or (ii) have entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to offer Institutional Shares through a no-load program or investment platform.

•  Clients investing through a self-directed IRA brokerage account program sponsored by a retirement plan record-keeper, provided that such program offers only mutual fund options and that the program maintains an account with the Fund on an omnibus basis.

 

$2 million for individuals and “Institutional Investors,” which include, but are not limited to, endowments, foundations, family offices, local, city, and state governmental institutions, corporations and insurance company separate accounts who may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to purchase such shares.

 

$1,000 for:

•  Clients investing through Financial Intermediaries that offer such shares on a platform that charges a transaction based sales commission outside of the Fund.

•  Tax-qualified accounts for insurance agents that are registered representatives of an insurance company’s broker-dealer that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to offer Institutional Shares, and the family members of such persons.

Minimum Additional Investment   No subsequent minimum.

Tax Information

 

Different income tax rules apply depending on whether you are invested through a qualified tax-exempt plan described in section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. If you are invested through such a plan (and Fund shares are not “debt-financed property” to the plan), then the dividends paid by the Fund and the gain realized from a redemption or exchange of Fund shares will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes until you withdraw or receive distributions from the plan. If you are not invested through such a plan, then the Fund’s dividends and gain from a redemption or exchange may be subject to U.S. federal income taxes and may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are a tax-exempt investor.

Payments to Broker/Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

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 related 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 professional or visit your Financial Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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Details About the Fund

 

 

 

Included in this prospectus are sections that tell you about buying and selling shares, management information, shareholder features of BlackRock Diversified Equity Fund (the “Fund”), a series of BlackRock Funds III (the “Trust”), and your rights as a shareholder.

The Fund is a “feeder fund” that invests all of its assets in Diversified Equity Master Portfolio (the “Master Portfolio”), a series of Master Investment Portfolio (“MIP”), that has the same investment objective and strategies as the Fund. All investments will be made at the Master Portfolio level. This structure is sometimes called a “master/feeder” structure. The Fund’s investment results will correspond directly to the investment results of the Master Portfolio. For simplicity, this prospectus uses the name of the Fund or the term “Fund” to include, where applicable, the Master Portfolio.

How the Fund Invests

 

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the Fund is to seek to provide long-term appreciation of capital.

If the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) determines that the investment objective of the Fund should be changed, shareholders will be given at least 30 days’ notice before any such change is made. However, such change can be effected without shareholder approval.

Investment Process

BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) engages in a variety of different activities and methods of analysis when choosing investments for the Fund, such as:

 

 

Reviewing and allocating varying percentages of the Fund to equity investment management team members responsible for security selection utilizing various investment styles and disciplines, including, but not limited to, stocks of large and small capitalization companies;

 

 

Utilizing a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis (a method of stock market analysis that concentrates on “fundamental” information about the company (such as its income statement, balance sheet, earnings and sales history, products and management) to attempt to forecast future stock value) to evaluate the relative attractiveness of various segments in the equity universe, defined by style, capitalization range and geographic location; and

 

 

Identifying macroeconomic insights that BFA believes have the potential to outperform investments in the market as a whole. These themes may reflect changes in the global macroeconomic and policy backdrop.

To a limited extent, BFA may, when choosing investments for the Fund, engage in fundamental analysis and bottom-up security selection that, in turn, drive sector and industry weightings as well as average market capitalization. BFA may assess each stock’s changing characteristics relative to its contribution to portfolio risk within that discipline and selling the stock when it no longer offers an appropriate return-to-risk trade-off.

The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its primary investment strategies.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities, including common stock, preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock and securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock. This is a non-fundamental policy of the Fund and may not be changed without 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders.

The Fund does not limit its investments to companies of any particular size, and may invest in equity securities of companies of any market capitalization.

Equity securities include securities representing shares of ownership of a corporation (“common stock”), preferred stock, securities convertible into common stock and securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock. Preferred stock is a class of stock that often pays dividends at a specified rate and has preference over common stock in dividend payments and liquidation of assets. Convertible securities typically pay current income as either interest (debt security convertibles) or dividends (preferred stock), and their value usually reflects both the stream of current income payments and the market value of the underlying common stock.

The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers from any country, including emerging market countries, and may invest in securities denominated in both U.S. dollars and non-U.S. dollar currencies.

 

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INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE # 811-07332

PRO-DEF-0424

 

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