(excluding
acquired fund fees and expenses, if any). Any such voluntary waiver or
reimbursement may
be eliminated by BFA at any time.
BFA is located at
400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. It is an indirect
wholly-owned subsidiary of
BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”). As of March 31,
2023, BFA and its affiliates
provided investment advisory services for assets in excess of $9.1 trillion.
BFA
and its 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.
A discussion
regarding the basis for the approval by the Trust's Board of Trustees (the
“Board”) of the
Investment Advisory Agreement with BFA will be available in the Fund's
Annual Report for
the period ending October 31, 2023.
Portfolio
Managers. James Mauro and
Karen Uyehara 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, investing cash
inflows, coordinating with members of their respective portfolio management teams
to focus on certain asset classes, implementing investment strategy,
researching and reviewing investment strategy and overseeing members of
their
respective portfolio management teams who have more limited
responsibilities.
James Mauro has
been employed by BFA or its affiliates as a portfolio manager since 2011. Prior to
that, Mr. Mauro was a Vice President at State Street Global Advisors. Mr.
Mauro
has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception (2023).
Karen Uyehara has
been employed by BFA or its affiliates as a senior portfolio manager
since
2010. Prior to that, Ms. Uyehara was a portfolio manager at Western Asset
Management Company
(WAMCO). Ms. Uyehara has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since
inception (2023).
The Fund's SAI
provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers' compensation,
other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers and the Portfolio Managers'
ownership (if any) of shares in the Fund.
Administrator,
Custodian and Transfer Agent. State Street Bank
and Trust Company
(“State
Street”) is the
administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Fund. JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A. serves as custodian for the Fund in connection with
certain securities
lending activities.
Conflicts
of Interest. The investment
activities of BFA and its affiliates (including BlackRock and its
subsidiaries (collectively, the “Affiliates”)), and their
respective directors,
officers or employees, in the management of, or their interest in, their own
accounts and other
accounts they manage, may present conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the
Fund and its shareholders. BFA and its Affiliates provide investment
management
services to other funds and discretionary managed accounts that may follow investment
programs similar to that of the Fund. BFA and its Affiliates are involved worldwide
with a broad spectrum of financial services and asset management activities and may
engage in the ordinary course of business in activities in which their
interests or the
interests of their clients may conflict with those of the Fund. BFA or
one
or more Affiliates act, or may act, as an investor, research provider,
investment manager, commodity
pool operator, commodity trading advisor, financier, underwriter,