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font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The investment objective of BlackRock Event Driven Equity Fund (the “Fund”) is to seek long-term capital growth.</span></div> Fees and Expenses of the Fund <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Amounts in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the table are rounded to the nearest basis point, which in some cases may be </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">“</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">0.00.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">”</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">You may pay other fees, such </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">as brokerage commissions and other fees to your financial professional or your selected securities dealer, broker, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">investment adviser, service provider or industry professional (including BlackRock Advisors, LLC (</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">“</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">BlackRock</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">) and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">its affiliates) (each, a </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">“</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">Financial Intermediary</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-weight: bold;">), which are not reflected in the table and example below.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> You may</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in the</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> fund complex advised by BlackRock or its affiliates. More information about these and other discounts is available </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">from your Financial Intermediary and in the “Details About the Share Classes” and the “Intermediary-Defined Sales </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Charge Waiver Policies” sections on pages </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">32</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">A-1</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">, respectively, of the Fund’s prospectus and in the “Purchase of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Shares” section on page </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">II-97</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> of Part II of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 1pt; line-height: 0.93pt;"> </span></div> You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in the fund complex advised by BlackRock or its affiliates. 25000 Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) 0.0525 0 0 0 0.0100 0 Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 0.0113 0.0113 0.0113 0.0025 0.0100 0 0.0011 0.0012 0.0011 0.0008 0.0008 0.0008 0.0157 0.0233 0.0132 -0.0006 -0.0006 -0.0006 0.0151 0.0227 0.0126 <div style="float: left; line-height: 7.44pt; margin-left: 9.6pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 7.44pt;">A contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor A Shares made within 18 months after </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 7.44pt;">purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase as part of an investment of $250,000 or more.</span></div> June 30, 2028 The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratios of expenses to average net assets given in the Fund’s most recent Annual Financial Statements and Additional Information, which do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. Example: <div style="line-height: 10.695pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 1pt; line-height: 0.93pt;"> </span></div> 671 989 1330 2290 330 722 1240 2472 128 412 718 1585 You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:  230 722 1240 2472 Portfolio Turnover: <div style="line-height: 10.695pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">145</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">% of the average value of its portfolio.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> 1.45 Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> purposes) in equity securities and related derivative instruments with similar economic characteristics. Investments in</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. The Fund </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">seeks to achieve its investment objective by employing an event driven strategy, primarily investing in companies that </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">have announced a material change or in companies that BlackRock expects to undergo a material change. A material </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">change that could impact the price of securities for purposes of the Fund’s investment strategies is referred to herein </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">as a “catalyst.” The Fund focuses on identifying investments that have a sufficiently defined catalyst. These catalysts </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">span a broad spectrum and include, for example, announced mergers and acquisitions, spinoffs and split-offs, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">financial or strategic restructurings, management changes, synergistic acquisitions, as well as other transformative </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">events. The intended goal of the Fund is to profit when the price of a security changes to reflect more accurately the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">likelihood and potential impact of the occurrence, or non-occurrence, of the extraordinary event. This can be done by </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">taking a long position in a security or other financial instrument that is believed to be underpriced or a short position in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">a security or other financial instrument that is believed to be overpriced. The Fund generally maintains long positions </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">through direct positions in equity securities, but may also take long positions through the use of swap agreements and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">other derivative instruments. The Fund generally maintains short positions through the use of swap agreements and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">other derivative instruments, but may also take short positions directly. At times, the Fund may have significant short </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">positions in equity securities and equity-related instruments.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund normally invests in both U.S. and non-U.S. securities. Non-U.S. securities may be denominated in either U.S. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">dollars or foreign currencies. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers of any market capitalization.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund’s investment in equity securities may include common stock, preferred stock, non-convertible preferred stock </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">and depositary receipts. The Fund may gain exposure to equity securities through derivatives. The Fund may also </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">purchase securities convertible into common stock.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in fixed-income </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities and related derivative instruments with similar economic characteristics. The Fund’s investment in fixed-income</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> securities may include fixed and floating rate corporate bonds and municipal securities. The Fund may invest in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">debt securities of any credit quality, as determined by Fund management, which may include high yield securities </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">(commonly called “junk bonds”).</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may invest in derivatives, including but not limited to, total return swaps (some of which may be referred to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">as contracts for difference), credit default swaps, futures, options and foreign exchange transactions, for hedging </span></div> <div style="line-height: 10.695pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">purposes, as well as to enhance the return on its portfolio investments. There is no limit to the Fund’s ability to invest </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">in derivatives, except as may be limited by requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">“Investment Company Act”) and related rules and regulations adopted thereunder, and at times the Fund may utilize </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">derivatives to a significant extent.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may also invest in indexed and inverse securities.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">When consistent with the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund’s investments may include short-term investments </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">such as cash and cash equivalents, U.S. Government and agency securities, money market funds (including funds that </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">may be affiliated with or sponsored or managed by BlackRock), commercial paper, certificates of deposit and other </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">bank deposits and bankers’ acceptances.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may invest in securities of companies without an identified catalyst to hedge unwanted exposures to an </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">industry or the market as a whole.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its primary investment strategies.</span></div> Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities and related derivative instruments with similar economic characteristics. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in fixed-income </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities and related derivative instruments with similar economic characteristics. The Fund’s investment in fixed-income</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> securities may include fixed and floating rate corporate bonds and municipal securities. The Fund may invest in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">debt securities of any credit quality, as determined by Fund management, which may include high yield securities </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">(commonly called “junk bonds”).</span></div> You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other Government agency. <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Equity Securities Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Event Driven Strategies Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> —The Fund may invest in event driven strategies, which entail investing in companies </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">involved, or potentially involved, in significant corporate actions. Investment decisions may take into account </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">BlackRock’s perceptions of the likelihood that an event or transaction will occur, the amount of time that the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">process will take and the perceived expected value following the catalyst. The success of event driven trading </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">depends on the successful prediction of whether various catalyst events will occur or be consummated. If a </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">proposed transaction appears likely not to be consummated or in fact is not consummated or is delayed, the market </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">price of the securities purchased by the Fund may decline sharply and result in losses to the Fund.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may purchase securities at prices only slightly below the anticipated value to be paid or exchanged for the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities in the proposed merger, exchange offer, cash tender offer or other similar transaction. The purchase </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">price to the Fund may be substantially above the prices at which such securities traded immediately prior to the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">announcement of such merger, exchange offer, cash tender offer or other similar transaction. If the proposed </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">merger, exchange offer, cash tender offer or other similar transaction appears likely not to be consummated or in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">fact is not consummated or is delayed, or if the value of a transaction is reduced, the market price of the security to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">be tendered or exchanged may, and likely will, decline sharply by an amount greater than the difference between the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Fund’s purchase price and the anticipated consideration to be paid.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">In addition, where a security to be issued in a merger or exchange offer has been sold short in the expectation that </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the short position will be covered by delivery of such security when issued, failure of the merger or exchange offer </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">to be consummated may force the Fund to cover its short sale, with a resulting, and perhaps significant, loss.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">In addition, if BlackRock determines that the offer price for a security which is the subject of a tender offer is likely </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">to be increased, either by the original bidder or by another party, the Fund may purchase securities above the offer </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">price, thereby exposing the Fund to an even greater degree of risk of loss.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Where BlackRock determines that it is probable that a transaction will not be consummated, the Fund may sell the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities of the target company short, at times significantly below the announced tender or offering prices for the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities in the transaction. If the transaction, or another transaction, such as a “defensive” merger or a “friendly” </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">tender offer, is consummated at the announced price or a higher price, the Fund may be forced to cover the short </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">position in the market at a higher price than the short sale price, with a resulting, and perhaps significant, loss.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The consummation of mergers, exchange offers, cash tender offers or other similar transactions can be prevented </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">or delayed by a variety of factors. Transactions may also be contingent on certain contractual conditions precedent.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Offerors in tender or exchange offers customarily reserve the right to cancel such offers in a variety of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">circumstances. An exchange offer or a cash tender offer may be made for less than all of the outstanding securities </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">of an issuer, with the provision that, if a greater number is tendered, securities will be accepted on a pro rata basis. </span></div> <div style="line-height: 10.695pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Thus, after the completion of the offer, and at a time when the market price of the securities has declined below its </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">cost, the Fund may have returned to it, and be forced to sell at a loss, a portion of the securities it tendered.</span></div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.0pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Derivatives Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Fund’s returns and/or </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">increase volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including:</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Leverage Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— The Fund’s use of derivatives can magnify the Fund’s gains and losses. Relatively small market </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">movements may result in large changes in the value of a derivatives position and can result in losses that greatly </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">exceed the amount originally invested.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Market Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">other securities. The Fund could also suffer losses related to its derivatives positions as a result of unanticipated </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">market movements, which losses are potentially unlimited. Finally, BlackRock may not be able to predict correctly </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the direction of securities prices, interest rates and other economic factors, which could cause the Fund’s </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">derivatives positions to lose value.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Counterparty Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">transaction will be unable or unwilling to fulfill its contractual obligation, and the related risks of having concentrated </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">exposure to such a counterparty.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Illiquidity Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">difficult for the Fund to value accurately.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Operational Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— The use of derivatives includes the risk of potential operational issues, including documentation </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">issues, settlement issues, systems failures, inadequate controls and human error.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Legal Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — The risk of insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">enforceability of a contract.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Volatility and Correlation Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Valuation Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Valuation for derivatives may not be readily available in the market. Valuation may be more difficult </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">in times of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">instruments or quote prices for them.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Hedging Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">security, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">may result in certain adverse tax consequences.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Tax Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">commodity-linked derivative instruments, are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">regulations or other legally binding authority. Such treatment may be less favorable than that given to a direct </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">realizes from its investments.</span></div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Convertible Securities Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest, principal or dividends when due, and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">issuer’s creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">underlying common stock, including the potential for increased volatility in the price of the convertible security.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Short Sales and Short Position Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">—</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> Because making short sales or taking short positions in securities that it </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">does not own would expose the Fund to the risks associated with those securities, such short sales or positions </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">involve speculative exposure risk. In such situations, the Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short sale or position </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">if the price of the reference instrument increases after the Fund entered into the short sale or position. The Fund </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">may engage in short sales and gain short exposure through certain derivative instruments, such as futures, options </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">or swaps. The Fund may lose more money than the actual cost of a short sale or position and the potential losses </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">are theoretically unlimited on a short sale or position.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Debt Securities Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">extension risk, and prepayment risk, each of which are described in further detail below:</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Credit Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt security (i.e., the borrower) will not be </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">able to make payments of interest and principal when due. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the market’s </span></div> <div style="line-height: 10.695pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also affect the value of the Fund’s investment in that issuer. The </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">degree of credit risk depends on both the financial condition of the issuer and the terms of the obligation.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Interest Rate Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — The market value of bonds and other fixed-income securities changes in response to interest </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">rate changes and other factors. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates during a period of low interest rates. For example, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">if interest rates increase by 1%, assuming a current portfolio duration of ten years, and all other factors being </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">equal, the value of the Fund’s investments would be expected to decrease by 10%. (Duration is a measure of the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">price sensitivity of a debt security or portfolio of debt securities to relative changes in interest rates.) The magnitude </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">of these fluctuations in the market price of bonds and other fixed-income securities is generally greater for those </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities with longer maturities. Fluctuations in the market price of the Fund’s investments will not affect interest </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">income derived from instruments already owned by the Fund, but will be reflected in the Fund’s net asset value. The </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Fund may lose money if short-term or long-term interest rates rise sharply in a manner not anticipated by Fund </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">management.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">To the extent the Fund invests in debt securities that may be prepaid at the option of the obligor (such as mortgage-backed</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> securities), the sensitivity of such securities to changes in interest rates may increase (to the detriment of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the Fund) when interest rates rise. Moreover, because rates on certain floating rate debt securities typically reset </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">only periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates (and particularly sudden and significant changes) can be </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">expected to cause some fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund to the extent that it invests in floating rate </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">debt securities.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">These basic principles of bond prices also apply to U.S. Government securities. A security backed by the “full faith </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">and credit” of the U.S. Government is guaranteed only as to its stated interest rate and face value at maturity, not </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">its current market price. Just like other fixed-income securities, government-guaranteed securities will fluctuate in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">value when interest rates change.</span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">A general rise in interest rates has the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed-income securities on a large </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">scale, which may increase redemptions from funds that hold large amounts of fixed-income securities. Heavy </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">redemptions could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value and could </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">hurt the Fund’s performance.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Extension Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — When interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more slowly than </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">anticipated, causing the value of these obligations to fall.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic;">Prepayment Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">originally anticipated, and the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Depositary Receipts Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition to investment risks associated with the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">underlying issuer, depositary receipts expose the Fund to additional risks associated with the non-uniform terms </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">that apply to depositary receipt programs, credit exposure to the depository bank and to the sponsors and other </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">parties with whom the depository bank establishes the programs, currency risk and the risk of an illiquid market for </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">depositary receipts. The issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not obligated to disclose information that </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">is, in the United States, considered material. Therefore, there may be less information available regarding these </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the depositary </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">receipts. While depositary receipts provide an alternative to directly purchasing underlying foreign securities in their </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">respective markets and currencies, they continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">directly in foreign securities, including political, economic, and currency risk.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Emerging Markets Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging financial markets have far lower trading volumes and less </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">liquidity than developed markets.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.0pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Foreign Securities Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— Foreign investments often involve special risks not present in U.S. investments that can </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">increase the chances that the Fund will lose money. These risks include:</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 493.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund generally holds its foreign securities and cash in foreign banks and securities depositories, which may </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business and may be subject to only limited or no regulatory </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">oversight.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 493.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 493.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The economies of certain foreign markets may not compare favorably with the economy of the United States with </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">respect to such issues as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and balance of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">payments position.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 493.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The governments of certain countries, or the U.S. Government with respect to certain countries, may prohibit or </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">impose substantial restrictions through capital controls and/or sanctions on foreign investments in the capital </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">markets or certain industries in those countries, which may prohibit or restrict the ability to own or transfer </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">currency, securities, derivatives or other assets.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 493.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Many foreign governments do not supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the same extent as does the United States and may not have laws to protect investors that are comparable to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">U.S. securities laws.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 493.0pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets may result in delays in payment for or delivery of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities not typically associated with settlement and clearance of U.S. investments.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 493.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The Fund’s claims to recover foreign withholding taxes may not be successful, and if the likelihood of recovery of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">foreign withholding taxes materially decreases, due to, for example, a change in tax regulation or approach in the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">foreign country, accruals in the Fund’s net asset value for such refunds may be written down partially or in full, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">which will adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">High Portfolio Turnover Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">other securities. The sale of Fund portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies. These effects </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">High Yield Bonds Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">junk bonds are high risk investments that are considered speculative and may cause income and principal losses </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">for the Fund.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Illiquid Investments Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— The Fund may not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Liquid investments may become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">There can be no assurance that a security or instrument that is deemed to be liquid when purchased will continue </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">to be liquid for as long as it is held by the Fund, and any security or instrument held by the Fund may be deemed an </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">illiquid investment pursuant to the Fund’s liquidity risk management program. The Fund’s illiquid investments may </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid investments at an advantageous time </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">or price. In addition, if the Fund is limited in its ability to dispose of illiquid investments during periods when </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">shareholders are redeeming or selling their shares or the Fund’s net assets otherwise shrink, the Fund will need to </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">dispose of liquid securities to meet redemption requests and illiquid securities will become a larger portion of the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Fund’s holdings. An investment may be illiquid due to, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active trading market. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have greater exposure to the risks associated with illiquid investments. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions or sales of Fund </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">shares may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Indexed and inverse securities provide a potential return based on a </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">particular index of value or interest rates. The Fund’s return on these securities will be subject to risk with respect </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">to the value of the particular index. These securities are subject to leverage risk and correlation risk. Certain </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Leverage Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or </span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div style="line-height: 10.695pt; margin-left: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">to meet the applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act and the rules thereunder. Increases and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage.</span></div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.0pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Market Risk and Selection Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. An investor could </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">lose money over short periods due to fluctuation in the Fund’s net asset value in response to short-term market </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">movements and over longer periods during market downturns. Securities or other investments held by the Fund may </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">underperform the markets, the relevant indices or benchmarks, or the securities selected by other funds with </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">similar investment objectives and investment strategies, or may otherwise fail to perform as intended. The value of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The success of the Fund’s activities could be affected by interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">economic uncertainty, changes in laws, tariffs and trade barriers, supply chain disruptions, economic sanctions, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">currency exchange controls, and local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, natural and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">recessions, or other events.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; line-height: 10.695pt;"> </span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-top: 4pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Recent policy initiatives undertaken by the U.S. government have the potential to impact international relations, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">trade agreements and the overall regulatory environment in ways that could create uncertainty and instability in </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">domestic and global markets, and could adversely affect the investment performance of the Fund. In particular, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">actions taken by the U.S. government in respect of international trade relations could lead to trade wars, increased </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">costs for imported goods, disruptions in supply chains, reduced foreign investment, and instability in regions where </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the Fund invests.</span></div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Operational and Technology Risks </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— The Fund is directly and indirectly susceptible to operational and technology </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">risks, including those related to human errors, processing errors, communication errors, systems failures, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">cybersecurity incidents, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (“AI”), which may result in losses </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">for the Fund and its shareholders or may impair the Fund’s operations. While the Fund’s service providers are </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">required to have appropriate operational, information security and cybersecurity risk management policies and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Fund. Operational and technology risks </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">for the issuers in which the Fund invests could also result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">may cause the Fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.0pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Preferred Securities Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred securities </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">are subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred securities of </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">larger companies.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Small and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">— Companies with small or mid-size market capitalizations will </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">normally have more limited product lines, markets and financial resources and will be dependent upon a more </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">limited management group than larger capitalized companies. In addition, it is more difficult to get information on </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">smaller companies, which tend to be less well known, have shorter operating histories, do not have significant </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">ownership by large investors and are followed by relatively few securities analysts.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> <div> <div style="clear: both; margin-top: 4.805pt; position: relative; width: 100%;"> <div style="float: left; line-height: 9.87pt; text-align: left; width: 8pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 8.37pt; position: relative; top: -0.5pt;">◼</span></div> <div style="float: left; line-height: 10.80pt; margin-left: 4pt; text-align: left; width: 505.00pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">U.S. Government Obligations Risk</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> — Certain securities in which the Fund may invest, including securities issued by </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">certain U.S. Government agencies and U.S. Government sponsored enterprises, are not guaranteed by the U.S. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Government or supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. In addition, circumstances could arise </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal on U.S. Government obligations, such as reaching the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">legislative “debt ceiling.” Such non-payment could result in losses to the Fund and substantial negative </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">consequences for the U.S. economy and the global financial system.</span></div> </div> <div style="clear: both; position: relative;"> </div> </div> Performance Information <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">The information shows you how the Fund’s performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> risks of investing in the Fund. The table compares the Fund’s performance to that of the Russell 1000 Index and the </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index. To the extent that dividends and distributions have been paid by the Fund, </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">the performance information for the Fund in the chart and table assumes reinvestment of the dividends and </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> results. Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. </span></div> <div style="line-height: 10.695pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">However, the table includes all applicable fees and sales charges. If the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">had not waived or reimbursed certain Fund expenses during these periods, the Fund’s returns would have been lower. </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">Updated information on the Fund’s performance, including its current net asset value, can be obtained by visiting </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">www.blackrock.com or can be obtained by phone at </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">(800) 882-0052</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">.</span></div> 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. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results.  Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. However, the table includes all applicable fees and sales charges. www.blackrock.com (800) 882-0052 Investor A Shares ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS BlackRock Event Driven Equity Fund As of 12/31 <div style="margin-top: 6pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 5.66% (quarter ended </span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a quarter was -5.16% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). The year-to-date return</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> as of June 30, 2026 was 2.43%.</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 1pt; line-height: 0.93pt;"> </span></div> highest return 0.0566 2020-06-30 lowest return -0.0516 2020-03-31 year-to-date return 2026-06-30 0.0243 For the periods ended 12/31/25Average Annual Total Returns 0.0251 0.0218 0.0398 0.0098 0.0119 0.0290 0.0166 0.0128 0.0264 0.0644 0.0254 0.0393 0.0843 0.0355 0.0481 0.1737 0.1359 0.1459 0.0418 0.0317 0.0218 <div style="margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;">After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for</span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 9.30pt;"> Investor A Shares only, and the after-tax returns for Investor C and Institutional Shares will vary.</span></div> 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. After-tax returns are shown for Investor A Shares only, and the after-tax returns for Investor C and Institutional Shares will vary. As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 48, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Fund’s assets estimated to be attributable to investments in other equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2028. In addition, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to BlackRock indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates, through June 30, 2028. The contractual agreements may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratios of expenses to average net assets given in the Fund’s most recent Annual Financial Statements and Additional Information, which do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. As described in the “Management of the Fund” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 48, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 1.65% (for Investor A Shares), 2.39% (for Investor C Shares) and 1.38% (for Institutional Shares) of average daily net assets through June 30, 2028. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Fund or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. A contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor A Shares made within 18 months after purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase as part of an investment of $250,000 or more. On December 1, 2023, the Fund began to compare its performance to the standard pricing time of the ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index (the “Index”). Index data prior to March 1, 2021 is for the Index’s standard pricing time of 3pm. Index data from March 1, 2021 through November 30, 2023 is for a custom 4pm pricing variant of the Index. Index returns beginning on December 1, 2023 reflect the Index’s new standard pricing time of 4pm. The change of the Index’s standard pricing time from 3pm to 4pm resulted in the discontinuation of the custom 4pm pricing variant used from March 1, 2021 through November 30, 2023. There is no CDSC on Investor C Shares after one year.