Example, affect the Fund’s performance.
During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 140% of the average value
of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund pursues an ESG uplift strategy by seeking to maintain (i) an aggregate ESG
assessment at a portfolio level that is at least 10% better than that of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the “Benchmark”) and (ii) an aggregate carbon emissions assessment at a portfolio level that is at least 20% lower than that of the Benchmark. BlackRock makes
such assessments by utilizing Fund management’s proprietary framework as well as certain third-party data. These assessments versus the Benchmark are determined at the time
of investment and the Fund may deviate from its uplift targets due to, among other factors, market movements or changes in data. In addition, the Fund utilizes exclusionary screens based on certain ESG criteria, which are described below.
Under normal circumstances, the Fund seeks to invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities issued by, or tied economically to, companies in emerging
markets and derivatives that provide investment exposure to such securities or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. BlackRock considers an emerging market country to include any country that is: (1)
generally recognized to be an emerging market country by the international financial community, including the World Bank; (2) classified by the United Nations as a developing
country; or (3) included in the Benchmark. BlackRock determines that an investment is tied economically to an emerging market if such investment satisfies one or more of the following conditions: (1) the issuer’s primary trading market is in an emerging market; (2) the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenue from, or has at least 50% of its assets in emerging markets; or
(3) the investment is included in an index representative of emerging markets.
Generally, the Fund will invest in equities or other financial instruments that are components of, or have characteristics similar to, the securities included in the Benchmark. The Benchmark is a capitalization-weighted index from a broad
range of industries chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. As of July 31, 2026, the issuers in the Benchmark have a market capitalization ranging from $163 million to $1.848 trillion.
Equity securities in which the Fund invests include common stock, preferred stock and depositary receipts. The Fund may also purchase convertible securities. From time to time, the Fund may invest in shares of companies through
“new issues” or initial public offerings (“IPOs”).
To determine the Fund’s investable universe, Fund management first seeks to screen out certain issuers based on ESG criteria determined by BlackRock, subject to the considerations noted below. Such screening criteria principally
includes: (i) issuers that derive more than zero percent of revenue from the production of controversial weapons; (ii) issuers that derive more than zero percent of revenue from the production of civilian firearms; (iii) issuers that
derive more than zero percent of revenue from the production of tobacco-related products; (iv) issuers that derive more than five percent of revenue from thermal coal generation, unless such issuers either (a) have made certain commitments
to reduce climate impact or (b) derive at least fifty percent of revenue from alternative energy sources; (v) issuers that derive more than five percent of revenue from thermal
coal mining; and (vi) issuers that derive more than five percent of revenue from oil sands extraction.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Fund may invest in green bonds of issuers that exceed the thresholds stated in (iv),
(v) and (vi) above. The Fund relies on one or more third-party ratings agencies to identify issuers for purposes of the above screening criteria. Third-party rating agencies may base the above screening criteria on an estimate when revenue
for a covered business activity is not disclosed by the issuer or publicly available.
The Fund’s screening criteria is measured at the time of investment and is dependent upon information and data that
may be incomplete, inaccurate, unavailable or estimated. Where the Fund’s criteria looks solely to third-party ratings or data, issuers are only screened to the extent such ratings or data have been assigned or made available by the third
parties. This screening criteria is subject to change over time at BlackRock’s discretion. 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 criteria used by BlackRock.
The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by investing in equity securities in a disciplined manner, by using proprietary return forecast models that incorporate quantitative analysis. These forecast models are designed to
identify aspects of mispricing across stocks which the Fund can seek to capture by over- and under-weighting particular equities while seeking to control incremental risk. The investment process is driven with systematic and quantitative
implementation based on an issuer’s expected returns, which include measurable ESG characteristics, risk and transaction costs, as determined by BlackRock’s proprietary research.