BFA has entered
into a sub-advisory agreement with BIL (the “Sub-Adviser”), an affiliate
of
BFA, under which BFA pays the Sub-Adviser for services it provides a fee equal
to 0.60% of the
management fee paid to BFA under the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Sub-Adviser,
subject to the supervision and oversight of the Board and BFA, is responsible for
day-to-day management of specified assets in the Fund’s portfolio. BIL
also
serves as Sub-Adviser to the Subsidiary.
BFA is located at
400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. It is an indirect
wholly-owned subsidiary of
BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”). As of June 30,
2023, BFA and its affiliates
provided investment advisory services for assets of approximately $9.4
trillion. BFA, the
Sub-Adviser, and their affiliates trade and invest for their own accounts in the
actual securities and types of securities in which the Fund may also
invest, which may
affect the price of such securities. BFA is considered a CPO with respect to the
Fund under the CEA and is therefore subject to regulation by the SEC
and
the CFTC with respect to the Fund.
BIL is an
investment adviser located in the U.K. at Exchange Place One, 1 Semple
Street, Edinburgh
EH3 8BL, Scotland 011 44 131 472 7200. The Sub-Adviser is a registered
investment adviser and a commodity pool operator organized in 1999.
A discussion
regarding the basis for the approval by the Board of the Investment Advisory Agreement
with BFA and the
Sub-Advisory Agreement between BFA and the Sub-Adviser will
be available in the Fund's Annual Report for the period ending October
31,
2023.
From time to time,
a manager, analyst, or other employee of BlackRock or its affiliates
may
express views regarding a particular asset class, company, security, industry,
or market sector. The
views expressed by any such person are the views of only that individual as of
the time expressed and do not necessarily represent the views of BlackRock or any
other person within the BlackRock organization. Any such views are subject to change
at any time based upon market or other conditions and BlackRock disclaims any
responsibility to update such views. These views may not be relied on as
investment advice
and may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf
of
the Fund.
Portfolio
Managers. Richard Mejzak,
Tim Parsons, Greg Savage and Paul Whitehead are primarily
responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The Portfolio
Managers are
responsible for various functions related to portfolio management, including, but not
limited to, developing and implementing the Fund’s investment process and
investment strategy, researching and reviewing investment strategy and
overseeing members
of their respective portfolio management teams who have more limited
responsibilities.
Richard Mejzak has
been with BlackRock since 1990, including his years with Merrill Lynch Investment
Managers, which was acquired by BlackRock in 2006. Mr. Mejzak became a portfolio
manager for BFA in 2012. Mr. Mejzak has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since
inception (2023).
Tim Parsons has
been with BlackRock since 2007, including his time with Barclays Global Investors
(“BGI”), which merged
with BlackRock in 2009. Mr. Parsons has been