The Trust and the Advisor have entered into a fee waiver agreement (the “Fee Waiver Agreement”), pursuant to which the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Trust’s assets attributable to investments in any equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by the Advisor or its affiliates and other exchange-traded products sponsored by the Advisor or its affiliates, in each case that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2027. In addition, pursuant to the Fee Waiver Agreement, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Trust pays to the Advisor indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by the Advisor or its affiliates, through June 30, 2027. The Fee Waiver Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, only by the Trust (upon the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act), of the Trust or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust), upon 90 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Advisor. false 424B2 0001233681 0001233681 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2025-08-06 2025-08-06 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2025-08-08 2025-08-08 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2023-01-01 2023-03-31 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2024-01-01 2024-03-31 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2025-01-01 2025-03-31 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2023-04-01 2023-06-30 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2024-04-01 2024-06-30 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2025-04-01 2025-06-30 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2023-07-01 2023-09-30 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2024-07-01 2024-09-30 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2023-10-01 2023-12-31 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2024-10-01 2024-12-31 0001233681 bldit:CommonSharesMember 2025-08-06 iso4217:USD iso4217:USD xbrli:shares xbrli:pure xbrli:shares
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)
Securities Act File No. 333-286028
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated August 8, 2025)
BLACKROCK LIMITED DURATION INCOME TRUST
Up to 12,000,000 Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust (the “Trust,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is offering for sale up to 12,000,000 of our common shares of beneficial interest (“common shares”). Our common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “BLW.” As of the close of business on August 6, 2025, the last reported net asset value per share of our common shares was $14.01 and the last reported sale price per share of our common shares on the NYSE was $14.15.
The Trust is a diversified, closed‑end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). The Trust’s investment objective is to provide current income and capital appreciation. The Trust’s investment adviser is BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”). BlackRock International Limited and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited serve as sub‑advisers to the Trust (each, a “Sub‑Advisor”).
The Trust has entered into a distribution agreement dated August 12, 2025 (the “Distribution Agreement”) with BlackRock Investments, LLC (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of the Advisor, to provide for distribution of the Trust’s common shares. The Distributor has entered into a sub‑placement agent agreement dated August 12, 2025 (the “Sub‑Placement Agent Agreement”) with UBS Securities LLC (the “Sub‑Placement Agent”) with respect to the Trust relating to the common shares offered by this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. In accordance with the terms of the Sub‑Placement Agent Agreement, the Trust may offer and sell its common shares from time to time through the Sub‑Placement Agent as sub‑placement agent for the offer and sale of its common shares. Under the Investment Company Act, the Trust may not sell any common shares at a price below the current net asset value of such common shares, exclusive of any distributing commission or discount.
Sales of our common shares, if any, under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including sales made directly on the NYSE or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange.
The Trust will compensate the Distributor with respect to sales of common shares at a commission rate of 1.00% of the gross proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s common shares. Out of this commission, the Distributor will compensate the Sub‑Placement Agent at a rate of up to 0.80% of the gross sales proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s common shares sold by the Sub‑Placement Agent. In connection with the sale of the common shares on the Trust’s behalf, the Distributor may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation of the Distributor may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts.
Investing in the Trust’s common shares involves certain risks, including risks of leverage, that are described in the “Risks” section beginning on page 53 of the accompanying Prospectus and the “Leverage” section beginning on page 49 of the accompanying Prospectus.
NEITHER THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR DETERMINED IF THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT IS TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
August 12, 2025
S-1

This Prospectus Supplement, together with the accompanying Prospectus, sets forth concisely the information about the Trust that a prospective investor should know before investing. You should read this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus, which contain important information, before deciding whether to invest in the common shares. You should retain the accompanying Prospectus and this Prospectus Supplement for future reference. A Statement of Additional Information dated August 8, 2025 (the “SAI”), containing additional information about the Trust, has been filed with the SEC and, as amended from time to time, is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. This Prospectus Supplement, the accompanying Prospectus and the SAI are part of a “shelf” registration statement filed with the SEC. This Prospectus Supplement describes the specific details regarding this offering, including the method of distribution. If information in this Prospectus Supplement is inconsistent with the accompanying Prospectus or the SAI, you should rely on this Prospectus Supplement. You may call (800) 882‑0052, visit the Trust’s website (http://www.blackrock.com) or write to the Trust to obtain, free of charge, copies of the SAI and the Trust’s semi-annual and annual reports, as well as to obtain other information about the Trust or to make shareholder inquiries. The SAI, as well as the Trust’s semi-annual and annual reports, are also available for free on the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov). You may also e‑mail requests for these documents to publicinfo@sec.gov. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Trust’s website is not part of this Prospectus Supplement or the accompanying Prospectus.
You should not construe the contents of this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus as legal, tax or financial advice. You should consult with your own professional advisors as to the legal, tax, financial or other matters relevant to the suitability of an investment in the Trust.
The Trust’s common shares do not represent a deposit or an obligation of, and are not guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or other insured depository institution, and are not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency.
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. Neither the Trust nor the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide you with different information. The Trust is not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date of this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus, respectively. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. In this Prospectus Supplement and in the accompanying Prospectus, unless otherwise indicated, “Trust,” “us,” “our” and “we” refer to BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust, a Delaware statutory trust.
S-2

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prospectus Supplement

|  | Page |
CAUTIONARY NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS |  |  | S-4 |
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY |  |  | S-5 |
SUMMARY OF TRUST EXPENSES |  |  | S-6 |
USE OF PROCEEDS |  |  | S-7 |
CAPITALIZATION |  |  | S-8 |
PRICE RANGE OF COMMON SHARES |  |  | S-9 |
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |  |  | S-9 |
LEGAL MATTERS |  |  | S-10 |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |  |  | S-10 |

Prospectus

|  | Page |
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY |  |  | 1 |
SUMMARY OF TRUST EXPENSES |  |  | 5 |
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |  |  | 6 |
USE OF PROCEEDS |  |  | 9 |
THE TRUST |  |  | 9 |
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES |  |  | 9 |
THE TRUST’S INVESTMENTS |  |  | 11 |
LEVERAGE |  |  | 49 |
RISKS |  |  | 53 |
HOW THE TRUST MANAGES RISK |  |  | 85 |
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST |  |  | 85 |
NET ASSET VALUE |  |  | 89 |
DISTRIBUTIONS |  |  | 92 |
DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN |  |  | 93 |
RIGHTS OFFERINGS |  |  | 93 |
TAX MATTERS |  |  | 94 |
TAXATION OF HOLDERS OF RIGHTS |  |  | 101 |
CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THE AGREEMENT AND DECLARATION OF TRUST AND BYLAWS |  |  | 101 |
CLOSED-END FUND STRUCTURE |  |  | 103 |
REPURCHASE OF COMMON SHARES |  |  | 104 |
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |  |  | 104 |
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE |  |  | 105 |
PRIVACY PRINCIPLES OF THE TRUST |  |  | 106 |

S-3

CAUTIONARY NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Prospectus Supplement, the accompanying Prospectus and the SAI contain “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words “may,” “will,” “intend,” “expect,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “anticipate,” and similar terms and the negative of such terms. Such forward-looking statements may be contained in this Prospectus Supplement as well as in the accompanying Prospectus. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Several factors that could materially affect our actual results are the performance of the portfolio of securities we hold, the price at which our shares will trade in the public markets and other factors discussed in our periodic filings with the SEC.
Although we believe that the expectations expressed in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in our forward-looking statements. Our future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, such as those disclosed in the “Risks” section of the accompanying Prospectus. All forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus Supplement or the accompanying Prospectus are made as of the date of this Prospectus Supplement or the accompanying Prospectus, as the case may be. Except for our ongoing obligations under the federal securities laws, we do not intend, and we undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this Prospectus Supplement, the accompanying Prospectus and the SAI are excluded from the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act.
Currently known risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited to, the factors described in the “Risks” section of the accompanying Prospectus. We urge you to review carefully those sections for a more detailed discussion of the risks of an investment in our common shares.
S-4

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY
The following summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the more detailed information included elsewhere in this Prospectus Supplement and in the accompanying Prospectus and in the SAI.
The Trust
The Trust is a diversified, closed‑end management investment company. The Trust’s investment objective is to provide current income and capital appreciation. There can be no assurance that the Trust’s investment objective will be achieved or that the Trust’s investment program will be successful. The Trust’s common shares are listed for trading on the NYSE under the symbol “BLW.”
Investment Advisor and Sub‑Advisors
BlackRock Advisors, LLC (previously defined as the “Advisor”) is the Trust’s investment adviser. BlackRock International Limited (“BIL”) and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (“BSL”) serve as sub‑advisers to the Trust (each, previously defined as a “Sub‑Advisor”). The Advisor receives an annual fee, payable monthly, in an amount equal to 0.55% of the average weekly value of the Trust’s Managed Assets. “Managed Assets” means the total assets of the Trust (including any assets attributable to money borrowed for investment purposes) minus the sum of the Trust’s accrued liabilities (other than money borrowed for investment purposes). The Advisor, and not the Trust, pays BIL and BSL, for services they provide for that portion of the Trust for which BIL and BSL, as applicable, acts as sub‑adviser, a monthly fee that is equal to a percentage of the investment advisory fees paid by the Trust to the Advisor.
The Offering
The Trust has entered into the Distribution Agreement with the Distributor to provide for distribution of the Trust’s common shares. The Distributor has entered into the Sub‑Placement Agent Agreement with the Sub‑Placement Agent with respect to the Trust relating to the common shares offered by this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. In accordance with the terms of the Sub‑Placement Agent Agreement, the Trust may offer and sell its common shares from time to time through the Sub‑Placement Agent as sub‑placement agent for the offer and sale of its common shares. The Trust will compensate the Distributor with respect to sales of common shares at a commission rate of 1.00% of the gross proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s common shares. Out of this commission, the Distributor will compensate the Sub‑Placement Agent at a rate of up to 0.80% of the gross sales proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s common shares sold by the Sub‑Placement Agent.
The provisions of the Investment Company Act generally require that the public offering price of common shares (less any underwriting commissions and discounts) must equal or exceed the net asset value per share of a company’s common shares (calculated within 48 hours of pricing).
Sales of our common shares, if any, under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the NYSE or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange.
Use of Proceeds
We currently anticipate that we will be able to invest all of the net proceeds of any sales of common shares pursuant to this Prospectus Supplement in accordance with our investment objective and policies as described in the accompanying Prospectus under “The Trust’s Investments” within approximately three months of the receipt of such proceeds. Such investments may be delayed if suitable investments are unavailable at the time or for other reasons, such as market volatility and lack of liquidity in the markets of suitable investments. Pending such investment, it is anticipated that the proceeds will be invested in short-term, tax‑exempt or taxable investment grade securities or in high quality, short-term money market instruments. Depending on market conditions and operations, a portion of the cash held by the Trust, including any proceeds raised from the offering, may be used to pay distributions in accordance with the Trust’s distribution policy and may be a return of capital.
S-5

SUMMARY OF TRUST EXPENSES
The following table and example are intended to assist you in understanding the various costs and expenses directly or indirectly associated with investing in our common shares.

Shareholder Transaction Expenses |  |  |  |

Maximum sales load paid by you (as a percentage of offering price)(1) |  |  | 1.00% |
Offering expenses borne by the Trust (as a percentage of offering price)(2) |  |  | 0.02% |
Dividend reinvestment plan fees |  |  | $0.02 per share for open-market purchases of common shares | (3)
Dividend reinvestment plan sale transaction fee |  |  | $2.50 | (3)

Estimated Annual Expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common shares) |  |  |  |

Management Fees(4)(5) |  |  | 0.90% |
Interest Payments on Borrowed Funds(6) |  |  | 3.46% |
Other Expenses |  |  | 0.11% |
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(7) |  |  | 0.01% |
Total Annual Expenses(7) |  |  | 4.48% |
Fee Waivers(5) |  |  | — |
Total Annual Expenses after Fee Waivers(5) |  |  | 4.48% |

(1) | Represents the estimated commission with respect to the Trust’s common shares being sold in this offering. There is no guarantee that there will be any sales of the Trust’s common shares pursuant to this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. Actual sales of the Trust’s common shares under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus, if any, may be less than as set forth under “Capitalization” below. In addition, the price per share of any such sale may be greater than or less than the price set forth under “Capitalization” below, depending on market price of the Trust’s common shares at the time of any such sale.

(2) | Based on a sale price per share of $14.15, which represents the last reported sale price per share of the Trust’s common shares on the NYSE on August 6, 2025. Assumes all of the common shares being offered by this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus are sold. Represents the initial offering costs incurred by the Trust in connection with this offering, which are estimated to be $136,730. Offering costs generally include, but are not limited to, the preparation, review and filing with the SEC of the Trust’s registration statement, the preparation, review and filing of any associated marketing or similar materials, costs associated with the printing, mailing or other distribution of the Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus and/or marketing materials, associated filing fees, NYSE listing fees, and legal and auditing fees associated with the offering.

(3) | Computershare Trust Company, N.A.’s (the “Reinvestment Plan Agent’s”) fees for the handling of the reinvestment of dividends will be paid by the Trust. However, you will pay a $0.02 per share fee incurred in connection with open-market purchases, which will be deducted from the value of the dividend. You will also be charged a $2.50 sales fee and pay a $0.15 per share fee if you direct the Reinvestment Plan Agent to sell your common shares held in a dividend reinvestment account. Per share fees include any applicable brokerage commissions the Reinvestment Plan Agent is required to pay.

(4) | The Trust currently pays the Advisor a monthly fee at an annual contractual investment management fee rate of 0.55% of the average weekly value of the Trust’s Managed Assets.

(5) | The Trust and the Advisor have entered into a fee waiver agreement (the “Fee Waiver Agreement”), pursuant to which the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Trust’s assets attributable to investments in any equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by the Advisor or its affiliates and other exchange-traded products sponsored by the Advisor or its affiliates, in each case that have a contractual management fee, through

S-6

| June 30, 2027. In addition, pursuant to the Fee Waiver Agreement, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Trust pays to the Advisor indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by the Advisor or its affiliates, through June 30, 2027. The Fee Waiver Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, only by the Trust (upon the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act), of the Trust or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust), upon 90 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Advisor.

(6) | Assumes the use of leverage in the form of reverse repurchase agreements representing 39.6% of Managed Assets at an annual interest expense to the Trust of 5.42%, which is based on current market conditions. The actual amount of interest expense borne by the Trust will vary over time in accordance with the level of the Trust’s use of reverse repurchase agreements and variations in market interest rates. Interest expense is required to be treated as an expense of the Trust for accounting purposes.

(7) | The total annual expenses do not correlate to the ratios to average net assets shown in the Trust’s Financial Highlights for the year ended December 31, 2024, which do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.

Example
The following example illustrates the expenses (including the sales load of $10.00 and offering costs of $0.25) that you would pay on a $1,000 investment in common shares, assuming (i) total net annual expenses of 4.48% of net assets attributable to common shares, and (ii) a 5% annual return:

|  | One Year |  |  | Three Years |  |  | Five Years |  |  | Ten Years |
Total expenses incurred |  | $ | 55 |  |  | $ | 144 |  |  | $ | 235 |  |  | $ | 465 |

The example should not be considered a representation of future expenses. The example assumes that the estimated “Other Expenses” set forth in the Estimated Annual Expenses table are accurate and that all dividends and distributions are reinvested at net asset value. Actual expenses may be greater or less than those assumed. Moreover, the Trust’s actual rate of return may be greater or less than the hypothetical 5% return shown in the example.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Sales of our common shares, if any, under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus may be made in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the NYSE or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange. There is no guarantee that there will be any sales of our common shares pursuant to this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. Actual sales, if any, of our common shares under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus may be less than as set forth below in this paragraph. In addition, the price per share of any such sale may be greater or less than the price set forth in this paragraph, depending on the market price of our common shares at the time of any such sale. As a result, the actual net proceeds we receive may be more or less than the amount of net proceeds estimated in this Prospectus Supplement. Assuming the sale of all of the common shares offered under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus, at the last reported sale price of $14.15 per share for our common shares on the NYSE as of August 6, 2025 we estimate that the net proceeds of this offering will be approximately $167,965,270 after deducting the estimated sales load and the estimated initial offering expenses payable by the Trust, if any.
The net proceeds from the issuance of common shares hereunder will be invested in accordance with the Trust’s investment objective and policies as set forth in this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. We currently anticipate that we will be able to invest all of the net proceeds in accordance with our investment objective and policies within approximately three months of the receipt of such proceeds. Such investments
S-7

may be delayed if suitable investments are unavailable at the time or for other reasons, such as market volatility and lack of liquidity in the markets of suitable investments. Pending such investment, it is anticipated that the proceeds will be invested in short-term, tax‑exempt or taxable investment grade securities or in high quality, short-term money market instruments. Depending on market conditions and operations, a portion of the cash held by the Trust, including any proceeds raised from the offering, may be used to pay distributions in accordance with the Trust’s distribution policy and may be a return of capital. A return of capital is a return to investors of a portion of their original investment in the Trust. In general terms, a return of capital would involve a situation in which a Trust distribution (or a portion thereof) represents a return of a portion of a shareholder’s investment in the Trust, rather than making a distribution that is funded from the Trust’s earned income or other profits. Although return of capital distributions may not be currently taxable, such distributions would decrease the basis of a shareholder’s shares, and therefore, may increase a shareholder’s tax liability for capital gains upon a sale of shares, even if sold at a loss to the shareholder’s original investments.
CAPITALIZATION
The Trust may offer and sell up to 12,000,000 common shares, $0.001 par value per share, from time to time through the Sub‑Placement Agent as sub‑placement agent under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. There is no guarantee that there will be any sales of the Trust’s common shares pursuant to this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. The table below assumes that the Trust will sell 12,000,000 common shares at a price of $14.15 per share (which represents the last reported sales price per share of the Trust’s common shares on the NYSE on August 6, 2025). Actual sales, if any, of the Trust’s common shares under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus may be greater or less than $14.15 per share, depending on the market price of the Trust’s common shares at the time of any such sale. The Trust and the Distributor will determine whether any sales of the Trust’s common shares will be authorized on a particular day; the Trust and the Distributor, however, will not authorize sales of the Trust’s common shares if the per share price of the shares is less than the current net asset value per share plus the per share amount of the commission to be paid to the Distributor (the “Minimum Price”). The Trust and the Distributor may also not authorize sales of the Trust’s common shares on a particular day even if the per share price of the shares is equal to or greater than the Minimum Price, or may only authorize a fixed number of shares to be sold on any particular day. The Trust and the Distributor will have full discretion regarding whether sales of Trust common shares will be authorized on a particular day and, if so, in what amounts.
The following table sets forth the Trust’s capitalization (1) on a historical basis as of December 31, 2024 (audited); and (2) on a pro forma basis as adjusted to reflect the assumed sale of 12,000,000 common shares at $14.15 per share (the last reported price per share of the Trust’s common shares on the NYSE on August 6, 2025), in an offering under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus, after deducting the assumed commission of $1,698,000 (representing an estimated commission to the Distributor of 1.00% of the gross proceeds of the sale of Trust common shares, out of which the Distributor will compensate the Sub‑Placement Agent at a rate of up to 0.80% of the gross sales proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s common shares sold by the Sub‑Placement Agent) and the estimated initial offering expenses payable by the Trust, if any.

|  | As of December 31, 2024 (audited) |  |  | As adjusted for Offering (unaudited) |
Common shares |  |  | 153,583,202 |  |  |  | 165,583,202 |
Paid in Capital |  | $ | 1,734,721,525 |  |  | $ | 1,902,686,795 |
Undistributed NII |  | $ | (299,911,605) |  |  | $ | (299,911,605) |
Accumulated Loss |  | $ | (23,456,883) |  |  | $ | (23,456,883) |
Net appreciation |  | $ | 27,326,200 |  |  | $ | 27,326,200 |
Net Assets |  | $ | 1,485,593,003 |  |  | $ | 1,653,558,273 |
Net Asset Value (“NAV”) |  | $ | 9.67 |  |  | $ | 9.99 |

S-8

PRICE RANGE OF COMMON SHARES
The following table sets forth, for the quarters indicated, the highest and lowest daily closing prices on the NYSE per common share, and the NAV per common share and the premium to or discount from NAV, on the date of each of the high and low market prices. The table also sets forth the number of common shares traded on the NYSE during the respective quarters.

|  | NYSE Market Price Per Common Share |  |  | NAV per Common Share on Date of Market Price |  |  | Premium/ (Discount) on Date of Market Price |  |  | Trading Volume |
During Quarter Ended |  | High |  |  | Low |  |  | High |  |  | Low |  |  | High |  |  | Low |  |  |  |
June 30, 2025 |  | $ | 14.21 |  |  | $ | 12.75 |  |  | $ | 13.96 |  |  | $ | 13.97 |  |  |  | 1.79 | % |  |  | (4.64 | )% |  |  | 5,723,255 |
March 31, 2025 |  | $ | 14.38 |  |  | $ | 13.95 |  |  | $ | 14.11 |  |  | $ | 13.80 |  |  |  | 1.91 | % |  |  | 1.09 | % |  |  | 6,997,202 |
December 31, 2024 |  | $ | 14.51 |  |  | $ | 13.98 |  |  | $ | 14.31 |  |  | $ | 13.99 |  |  |  | 1.40 | % |  |  | (0.07 | )% |  |  | 5,952,894 |
September 30, 2024 |  | $ | 14.61 |  |  | $ | 13.87 |  |  | $ | 14.33 |  |  | $ | 13.96 |  |  |  | 1.95 | % |  |  | (0.64 | )% |  |  | 6,736,481 |
June 30, 2024 |  | $ | 14.05 |  |  | $ | 13.30 |  |  | $ | 14.05 |  |  | $ | 13.83 |  |  |  | 0.00 | % |  |  | (3.83 | )% |  |  | 5,465,449 |
March 31, 2024 |  | $ | 14.22 |  |  | $ | 13.56 |  |  | $ | 14.12 |  |  | $ | 13.97 |  |  |  | 0.71 | % |  |  | (2.93 | )% |  |  | 5,369,373 |
December 31, 2023 |  | $ | 13.98 |  |  | $ | 12.38 |  |  | $ | 14.11 |  |  | $ | 13.23 |  |  |  | (0.92 | )% |  |  | (6.42 | )% |  |  | 5,878,380 |
September 30, 2023 |  | $ | 13.29 |  |  | $ | 12.73 |  |  | $ | 13.74 |  |  | $ | 13.51 |  |  |  | (3.28 | )% |  |  | (5.77 | )% |  |  | 4,428,629 |
June 30, 2023 |  | $ | 13.25 |  |  | $ | 12.46 |  |  | $ | 13.78 |  |  | $ | 13.41 |  |  |  | (3.85 | )% |  |  | (7.08 | )% |  |  | 4,145,993 |
March 31, 2023 |  | $ | 14.10 |  |  | $ | 12.52 |  |  | $ | 14.26 |  |  | $ | 13.47 |  |  |  | (1.12 | )% |  |  | (7.05 | )% |  |  | 5,390,067 |

As of August 6, 2025, the NAV per common share of the Trust was $14.01 and the market price per common share was $14.15, representing a premium to NAV of 1.00%. Common shares of the Trust have historically traded at both a premium and discount to NAV.
As of August 6, 2025, the Trust has 38,808,580 common shares outstanding.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Under the Sub‑Placement Agent Agreement, upon instructions from the Distributor, the Sub‑Placement Agent will use its reasonable best efforts to sell, as sub‑placement agent, common shares under the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Sub‑Placement Agent Agreement. The Distributor will instruct the Sub‑Placement Agent as to the amount of Trust common shares authorized for sale by the Sub‑Placement Agent on any particular day that is a trading day for the exchange on which the Trust’s common shares are listed and primarily trade. The Distributor will also instruct the Sub‑Placement Agent not to sell Trust common shares if the sales cannot be effected at or above a price designated by the Distributor, which price will at least be equal to the Minimum Price and which price, may, in the discretion of the Distributor and the Trust, be above the Minimum Price. The Distributor and the Trust may, in their discretion, determine not to authorize sales of the Trust’s common shares on a particular day even if the per share price of the shares is equal to or greater than the Minimum Price. The Trust and the Distributor will have full discretion regarding whether sales of Trust common shares will be authorized on a particular day and, if so, in what amounts. The Trust, the Distributor or the Sub‑Placement Agent may suspend a previously authorized offering of Trust common shares upon proper notice and subject to other conditions.
The Sub‑Placement Agent will provide written confirmation to the Distributor following the close of trading on a day on which Trust common shares are sold under the Sub‑Placement Agent Agreement. Each confirmation will include the number of shares sold, the net proceeds to the Trust and the compensation the Sub‑Placement Agent is owed in connection with the sales.
The Trust will compensate the Distributor with respect to sales of common shares at a commission rate of 1.00% of the gross proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s common shares. Out of this commission, the Distributor will
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compensate the Sub‑Placement Agent at a rate of up to 0.80% of the gross sales proceeds of the sale of the Trust’s common shares sold by the Sub‑Placement Agent. There is no guarantee that there will be any sales of the Trust’s common shares pursuant to this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus. Actual sales, if any, of the Trust’s common shares under this Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus may be greater or less than the most recent market price set forth in this Prospectus Supplement, depending on the market price of the Trust’s common shares at the time of any such sale; provided, however, that sales will not be made at less than the Minimum Price.
Settlements of sales of common shares will occur on the first business day following the date on which any such sales are made, in return for payment of the net proceeds to the Trust.
In connection with the sale of common shares on behalf of the Trust, the Distributor may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation of the Distributor may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts.
The offering of the Trust’s common shares pursuant to the Distribution Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the sale of all common shares subject thereto or (ii) termination of the Distribution Agreement. The Trust and the Distributor each have the right to terminate the Distribution Agreement in its discretion upon advance notice to the other party.
The Sub‑Placement Agent, its affiliates and their respective employees hold or may hold in the future, directly or indirectly, investment interests in BlackRock, Inc., the parent company of the Distributor, and funds advised by the Advisor and its affiliates. The interests held by employees of the Sub‑Placement Agent or its affiliates are not attributable to, and no investment discretion is held by, the Sub‑Placement Agent or its affiliates.
The Trust has agreed to indemnify the Distributor and hold the Distributor harmless against certain liabilities, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act, except for any liability to the Trust or its investors to which the Distributor would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under its agreement with the Trust.
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the common shares will be passed upon for the Trust by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, New York, New York, counsel to the Trust. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP may rely as to certain matters of Delaware law on the opinion of Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP, Wilmington, Delaware.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus constitute part of a Registration Statement filed by the Trust with the SEC under the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act. This Prospectus Supplement and the accompanying Prospectus omit certain of the information contained in the Registration Statement, and reference is hereby made to the Registration Statement and related exhibits for further information with respect to the Trust and the common shares offered hereby. Any statements contained herein concerning the provisions of any document are not necessarily complete, and, in each instance, reference is made to the copy of such document filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or otherwise filed with the SEC. Each such statement is qualified in its entirety by such reference. The complete Registration Statement may be obtained from the SEC upon payment of the fee prescribed by its rules and regulations or free of charge through the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov).
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BASE PROSPECTUS
12,000,000 Shares
BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust
Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
Rights to Purchase Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust (the “Trust,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is a diversified, closed‑end management investment company. The Trust’s investment objective is to provide current income and capital appreciation. The Trust’s portfolio normally has an average portfolio duration of less than five years (including the effect of anticipated leverage), although it may be longer from time to time depending on market conditions.
We may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings, up to 12,000,000 of our common shares of beneficial interest, par value $0.001 per share (“common shares”). We may also offer subscription rights to purchase our common shares. Common shares may be offered at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to this Prospectus (each, a “Prospectus Supplement”). You should read this Prospectus and the applicable Prospectus Supplement carefully before you invest in our common shares.
Our common shares may be offered directly to one or more purchasers, including existing shareholders in a rights offering, through agents designated from time to time by us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. The Prospectus Supplement relating to the offering will identify any agents or underwriters involved in the sale of our common shares, and will set forth any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between us and our agents or underwriters, or among our underwriters, or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. The Prospectus Supplement relating to any offering of rights will set forth the number of common shares issuable upon the exercise of each right (or number of rights) and the other terms of such rights offering. We may not sell any of our common shares through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of a Prospectus Supplement describing the method and terms of the particular offering of our common shares.
Our common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “BLW.” The last reported sale price of our common shares, as reported by the NYSE on July 24, 2025 was $14.12 per common share. The net asset value of our common shares at the close of business on July 24, 2025 was $13.97 per common share. Rights issued by the Trust may also be listed on a securities exchange.
Investing in the Trust’s common shares involves certain risks, including risks of leverage, that are described in the “Risks” section beginning on page 53 of this Prospectus and the “Leverage” section beginning on page 49 of this Prospectus.
Shares of closed‑end management investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value. The Trust’s common shares have traded at a discount to net asset value, including during recent periods. If the Trust’s common shares trade at a discount to their net asset value, the risk of loss may increase for purchasers in a public offering.
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Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
This Prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC using the “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, we may offer, from time to time, separately or together in one or more offerings, the securities described in this Prospectus. The securities may be offered at prices and on terms described in one or more supplements to this Prospectus. This Prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time we use this Prospectus to offer securities, we will provide a Prospectus Supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The Prospectus Supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this Prospectus. This Prospectus, together with any Prospectus Supplement, sets forth concisely the information about the Trust that a prospective investor should know before investing. You should read this Prospectus and applicable Prospectus Supplement, which contain important information, before deciding whether to invest in the common shares. You should retain the Prospectus and Prospectus Supplement for future reference. A Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), dated August 8, 2025, containing additional information about the Trust, has been filed with the SEC and, as amended from time to time, is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this Prospectus. You may call (800) 882‑0052, visit the Trust’s website (http://www.blackrock.com) or write to the Trust to obtain, free of charge, copies of the SAI and the Trust’s semi-annual and annual reports, as well as to obtain other information about the Trust or to make shareholder inquiries. The SAI, as well as the Trust’s semi-annual and annual reports, are also available for free on the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov). You may also e‑mail requests for these documents to publicinfo@sec.gov. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Trust’s website is not part of this Prospectus.
You should not construe the contents of this Prospectus as legal, tax or financial advice. You should consult with your own professional advisors as to the legal, tax, financial or other matters relevant to the suitability of an investment in the Trust.
The Trust’s common shares do not represent a deposit or an obligation of, and are not guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or other insured depository institution, and are not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency.
Prospectus dated August 8, 2025
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

|  | Page |
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY |  |  | 1 |
SUMMARY OF TRUST EXPENSES |  |  | 5 |
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |  |  | 6 |
USE OF PROCEEDS |  |  | 9 |
THE TRUST |  |  | 9 |
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES |  |  | 9 |
THE TRUST’S INVESTMENTS |  |  | 11 |
LEVERAGE |  |  | 49 |
RISKS |  |  | 53 |
HOW THE TRUST MANAGES RISK |  |  | 85 |
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST |  |  | 85 |
NET ASSET VALUE |  |  | 89 |
DISTRIBUTIONS |  |  | 92 |
DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN |  |  | 93 |
RIGHTS OFFERINGS |  |  | 93 |
TAX MATTERS |  |  | 94 |
TAXATION OF HOLDERS OF RIGHTS |  |  | 101 |
CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THE AGREEMENT AND DECLARATION OF TRUST AND BYLAWS |  |  | 101 |
CLOSED‑END FUND STRUCTURE |  |  | 103 |
REPURCHASE OF COMMON SHARES |  |  | 104 |
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |  |  | 104 |
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE |  |  | 105 |
PRIVACY PRINCIPLES OF THE TRUST |  |  | 106 |

You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this Prospectus and any related Prospectus Supplement in making your investment decisions. The Trust has not authorized any person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. The Trust is not making an offer to sell the common shares in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information in this Prospectus and any Prospectus Supplement is accurate only as of the dates on their covers. The Trust’s business, financial condition and prospects may have changed since the date of its description in this Prospectus or the date of its description in any Prospectus Supplement.
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This is only a summary of certain information relating to BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust. This summary may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our common shares. You should consider the more detailed information contained in the Prospectus and in any related Prospectus Supplement and in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) before purchasing common shares.

The Trust | BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust is a diversified, closed‑end management investment company. Throughout this Prospectus, we refer to BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust simply as the “Trust” or as “we,” “us” or “our.” See “The Trust.”

| The Trust’s common shares are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “BLW.” As of July 24, 2025, the net assets of the Trust were $540,914,679, the total assets of the Trust were $875,028,196 and the Trust had 38,733,559 common shares outstanding. The last reported sale price of the Trust’s common shares, as reported by the NYSE on July 24, 2025 was $14.12 per common share. The net asset value (“NAV”) of the Trust’s common shares at the close of business on July 24, 2025 was $13.97 per common share. See “Description of Shares.” Rights issued by the Trust may also be listed on a securities exchange.

The Offering | We may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings, up to 12,000,000 of our common shares on terms to be determined at the time of the offering. We may also offer subscription rights to purchase our common shares. The common shares may be offered at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more Prospectus Supplements. You should read this Prospectus and the applicable Prospectus Supplement carefully before you invest in our common shares. Our common shares may be offered directly to one or more purchasers, through agents designated from time to time by us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. The offering price per common share will not be less than the NAV per common share at the time we make the offering, exclusive of any underwriting commissions or discounts, provided that rights offerings that meet certain conditions may be offered at a price below the then current NAV. See “Rights Offerings.” The Prospectus Supplement relating to the offering will identify any agents, underwriters or dealers involved in the sale of our common shares, and will set forth any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between us and our agents or underwriters, or among our underwriters, or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. See “Plan of Distribution.” The Prospectus Supplement relating to any offering of rights will set forth the number of common shares issuable upon the exercise of each right (or number of rights) and the other terms of such rights offering. We may not sell any of our common shares through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of a Prospectus Supplement describing the method and terms of the particular offering of our common shares.

Use of Proceeds | The net proceeds from the issuance of common shares hereunder will be invested in accordance with our investment objective and policies as appropriate investment opportunities are identified, which is expected to be

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| substantially completed in approximately three months from the date on which the proceeds from an offering are received by the Trust; however, the identification of appropriate investment opportunities pursuant to the Trust’s investment style or changes in market conditions could result in the Trust’s anticipated investment period extending to as long as six months. See “Use of Proceeds.”

Investment Objective and Policies | Please refer to the section of the Trust’s most recent annual report on Form N‑CSR entitled “Investment Objectives, Policies and Risks—Investment Objectives and Policies—BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust (BLW)”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for a discussion of the Trust’s investment objective and policies.

Leverage | The Trust currently utilizes leverage for investment purposes in the form of reverse repurchase agreements. As of July 24, 2025, this leverage represented approximately 38.18% of the Trust’s Managed Assets (approximately 61.77% of the Trust’s net assets). “Managed Assets” means the total assets of the Trust (including any assets attributable to money borrowed for investment purposes) minus the sum of the Trust’s accrued liabilities (other than money borrowed for investment purposes). The Trust may borrow from banks and other financial institutions and may also borrow additional funds using such investment techniques as the Advisors (as defined below) may from time to time determine. Of these investment techniques, the Trust expects primarily to use reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls. The Trust has the ability to utilize leverage through borrowings in an amount up to 33 1/3% of the value of its Managed Assets (which includes the amount obtained from such borrowings).

| The Trust also has the ability to utilize leverage through the issuance of preferred shares in an amount up to 50% of the value of its Managed Assets (which includes the amount obtained from such issuance). The Trust does not currently anticipate issuing any preferred shares; thus, the Trust will limit its borrowing to 33 1/3% of the Trust’s Managed Assets. If preferred shares are issued, however, the Trust’s borrowing limit will be proportionately reduced so that the Trust’s aggregate leverage will not exceed 33 1/3% of the Trust’s Managed Assets. See “Leverage.”

| The use of leverage is subject to numerous risks. When leverage is employed, the NAV and market price of the common shares and the yield to holders of common shares will be more volatile than if leverage were not used. For example, a rise in short-term interest rates will generally cause the Trust’s NAV to decline more than if the Trust had not used leverage. A reduction in the Trust’s NAV may cause a reduction in the market price of its common shares. The Trust cannot assure you that the use of leverage will result in a higher yield on the common shares. When the Trust uses leverage, the management fee payable to the Advisor will be higher than if the Trust did not use leverage because these fees are calculated on the basis of the Trust’s Managed Assets, which include the proceeds of leverage. The Trust’s leveraging strategy may not be successful.

| See “Leverage.”

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Investment Advisor and Sub‑Advisors | BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”) is the Trust’s investment adviser. The Advisor receives an annual fee, payable monthly, in an amount equal to 0.55% of the average weekly value of the Trust’s Managed Assets. BlackRock International Limited (“BIL”) and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (“BSL” and together with BIL, the “Sub‑Advisors” and collectively with the Advisor, the “Advisors”) serve as the Trust’s sub‑advisers. The Advisor, and not the Trust, pays BIL and BSL, for services they provide for that portion of the Trust for which BIL and BSL, as applicable, acts as Sub‑Advisor, a monthly fee that is equal to a percentage of the investment advisory fees paid by the Trust to the Advisor. See “Management of the Trust—Investment Advisor and Sub‑Advisors.”

Distributions | The Trust intends to make regular monthly cash distributions of all or a portion of its net investment income to holders of the Trust’s common shares.

| The Trust has, with the approval of the Board, adopted a managed distribution plan, consistent with its investment objective and policies, to support a level distribution of income, capital gains and/or return of capital (the “Distribution Plan”). Under the Distribution Plan, the Trust will distribute all available investment income to its shareholders as required by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). If sufficient income (inclusive of net investment income and short-term capital gains) is not earned on a monthly basis, the Trust will distribute long-term capital gains and/or return of capital to shareholders in order to maintain a level distribution. A return of capital distribution may involve a return of the shareholder’s original investment. Though not currently taxable, such a distribution may lower a shareholder’s basis in the Trust, thus potentially subjecting the shareholder to future tax consequences in connection with the sale of Trust shares, even if sold at a loss to the shareholder’s original investment. Each monthly distribution to shareholders is expected to be at a fixed amount established by the Board; however, the Trust may make additional distributions from time to time, including additional capital gain distributions at the end of the taxable year, if required to meet requirements imposed by the Code and/or the Investment Company Act. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Trust’s investment performance from the amount of these distributions or from the terms of the Distribution Plan. The Trust’s Board may amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Plan at any time without prior notice to the Trust’s shareholders if it deems such actions to be in the best interests of the Trust or its shareholders.

| Various factors will affect the level of the Trust’s income, including the asset mix and the Trust’s use of options and hedging. To permit the Trust to maintain a more stable monthly distribution, the Trust may from time to time distribute less than the entire amount of income earned in a particular period. The undistributed income would be available to supplement future distributions. As a result, the distributions paid by the Trust for any particular monthly period may be more or less than the amount of income actually earned by the Trust during that period. Undistributed income will add to the Trust’s NAV (and indirectly benefits the Advisor by increasing its fee) and, correspondingly, distributions from undistributed income will reduce the Trust’s NAV. The Trust intends to distribute any long-term capital gains not distributed under the Distribution Plan annually.

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| Shareholders will automatically have all dividends and distributions reinvested in common shares of the Trust in accordance with the Trust’s dividend reinvestment plan, unless an election is made to receive cash by contacting the Reinvestment Plan Agent (as defined herein), at (800) 699‑1236. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.”

| Under normal market conditions, the Advisors seek to manage the Trust in a manner such that the Trust’s distributions are reflective of the Trust’s current and projected income and gains. The distribution level of the Trust is subject to change based upon a number of factors, including the current and projected level of the Trust’s income and gains, and may fluctuate over time.

Listing | The Trust’s common shares are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “BLW.” See “Description of Shares—Common Shares.”

Custodian and Transfer Agent | State Street Bank and Trust Company serves as the Trust’s custodian, and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. serves as the Trust’s transfer agent.

Administrator | State Street Bank and Trust Company serves as the Trust’s administrator and fund accountant.

Market Price of Shares | Common shares of closed‑end investment companies frequently trade at prices lower than their NAV. The Trust cannot assure you that its common shares will trade at a price higher than or equal to NAV. See “Use of Proceeds.” The Trust’s common shares trade in the open market at market prices that are a function of several factors, including dividend levels (which are in turn affected by expenses), NAV, call protection for portfolio securities, portfolio credit quality, liquidity, dividend stability, relative demand for and supply of the common shares in the market, general market and economic conditions, market sentiment and other factors. See “Leverage,” “Risks,” “Description of Shares” and “Repurchase of Common Shares.” The common shares are designed primarily for long-term investors and you should not purchase common shares of the Trust if you intend to sell them shortly after purchase.

Special Risk Considerations | An investment in common shares of the Trust involves risk. Please refer to the section of the Trust’s most recent annual report on Form N‑CSR entitled “Investment Objectives, Policies and Risks—Risk Factors”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for a discussion of the risks of investing in the Trust. You should carefully consider those risks, which are described in more detail under “Risks” beginning on page 50 of this Prospectus, along with additional risks relating to investments in the Trust.

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SUMMARY OF TRUST EXPENSES

Shareholder Transaction Expenses |  |  |  |
Sales load paid by you (as a percentage of offering price)(1) |  |  | 1.00% |
Offering expenses borne by the Trust (as a percentage of offering price)(1) |  |  | 0.02% |
Dividend reinvestment plan fees |  |  | $0.02 per share for open‑market purchases of common shares(2) |
Dividend reinvestment plan sale transaction fee |  |  | $2.50(2) |
Estimated Annual Expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common shares) |  |  |  |
Management Fees(3)(4) |  |  | 0.90% |
Interest Payments on Borrowed Funds(5) |  |  | 3.46% |
Other Expenses |  |  | 0.11% |
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(6) |  |  | 0.01% |
Total Annual Expenses(6) |  |  | 4.48% |
Fee Waivers(4) |  |  | — |
Total Annual Expenses after Fee Waivers(4) |  |  | 4.48% |

(1) | If the common shares are sold to or through underwriters, the Prospectus Supplement will set forth any applicable sales load and the estimated offering expenses. Trust shareholders will pay all offering expenses involved with an offering.

(2) | The Reinvestment Plan Agent’s (as defined below under “Dividend Reinvestment Plan”) fees for the handling of the reinvestment of dividends will be paid by the Trust. However, you will pay a $0.02 per share fee incurred in connection with open-market purchases, which will be deducted from the value of the dividend. You will also be charged a $2.50 sales fee and pay a $0.15 per share fee if you direct the Reinvestment Plan Agent to sell your common shares held in a dividend reinvestment account. Per share fees include any applicable brokerage commissions the Reinvestment Plan Agent is required to pay.

(3) | The Trust currently pays the Advisor a monthly fee at an annual contractual investment management fee rate of 0.55% of the average weekly value of the Trust’s Managed Assets.

(4) | The Trust and the Advisor have entered into a fee waiver agreement (the “Fee Waiver Agreement”), pursuant to which the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Trust’s assets attributable to investments in any equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) managed by the Advisor or its affiliates and other exchange-traded products sponsored by the Advisor or its affiliates, in each case that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2027. In addition, pursuant to the Fee Waiver Agreement, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Trust pays to the Advisor indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by the Advisor or its affiliates, through June 30, 2027. The Fee Waiver Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, only by the Trust (upon the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), of the Trust (the “Independent Trustees”)) or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust), upon 90 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Advisor.

(5) | The Trust uses leverage in the form of reverse repurchase agreements representing 39.6% of Managed Assets at an annual interest expense to the Trust of 5.42%, which is based on current market conditions. The actual amount of interest expense borne by the Trust will vary over time in accordance with the level of the Trust’s use of reverse repurchase agreements and variations. Interest expense is required to be treated as an expense of the Trust for accounting purposes.

(6) | The total annual expenses do not correlate to the ratios to average net assets shown in the Trust’s Financial Highlights for the year ended December 31, 2024, which do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.

The following example illustrates the expenses (including the sales load of $10.00 and offering costs of $0.25) that you would pay on a $1,000 investment in common shares, assuming (i) total net annual expenses of 4.48% of net assets attributable to common shares, and (ii) a 5% annual return:

|  | One Year |  |  | Three Years |  |  | Five Years |  |  | Ten Years |
Total expenses incurred |  | $ | 55 |  |  | $ | 144 |  |  | $ | 235 |  |  | $ | 465 |

The example should not be considered a representation of future expenses. The example assumes that the estimated “Other Expenses” set forth in the Estimated Annual Expenses table are accurate and that all dividends and distributions are reinvested at NAV. Actual expenses may be greater or less than those assumed. Moreover, the Trust’s actual rate of return may be greater or less than the hypothetical 5% return shown in the example.
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Trust’s financial performance for the periods presented. Certain information reflects financial results for a single common share of the Trust. The information for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020 has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered public accounting firm for the Trust. The report of Deloitte & Touche LLP is included in the Trust’s December 31, 2024 annual report, is incorporated by reference into the Prospectus and SAI and can be obtained by shareholders. The information in the table below for the fiscal period ended December 31, 20191 and the fiscal years ended August 31, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 is derived from the Trust’s financial statements for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2019. The Trust’s financial statements are included in the Trust’s annual report and are incorporated by reference into the Prospectus and SAI.

1 | Following the Trust’s fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the Trust changed its fiscal year end from August 31 to December 31.

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

|  | BLW |
|  | Year Ended 12/31/24 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/23 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/22 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/21 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/20 |
Net asset value, beginning of year |  | $ | 14.11 |  |  | $ | 13.51 |  |  | $ | 16.44 |  |  | $ | 16.93 |  |  | $ | 17.05 |
Net investment income(a) |  |  | 1.14 |  |  |  | 1.11 |  |  |  | 0.97 |  |  |  | 1.00 |  |  |  | 0.98 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |  |  | 0.12 |  |  |  | 0.70 |  |  |  | (2.82 | ) |  |  | (0.31 | ) |  |  | 0.08 |
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations |  |  | 1.26 |  |  |  | 1.81 |  |  |  | (1.85 | ) |  |  | 0.69 |  |  |  | 1.06 |
Distributions(b) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
From net investment income |  |  | (1.18 | ) |  |  | (1.07 | ) |  |  | (0.92 | ) |  |  | (1.02 | ) |  |  | (1.03 | )
Return of capital |  |  | (0.15 | ) |  |  | (0.14 | ) |  |  | (0.16 | ) |  |  | (0.16 | ) |  |  | (0.15 | )
Total distributions |  |  | (1.33 | ) |  |  | (1.21 | ) |  |  | (1.08 | ) |  |  | (1.18 | ) |  |  | (1.18 | )
Net asset value, end of year |  | $ | 14.04 |  |  | $ | 14.11 |  |  | $ | 13.51 |  |  | $ | 16.44 |  |  | $ | 16.93 |
Market price, end of year |  | $ | 14.13 |  |  | $ | 13.98 |  |  | $ | 13.07 |  |  | $ | 16.85 |  |  | $ | 15.92 |
Total Return(c) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Based on net asset value |  |  | 9.34 | % |  |  | 14.41 | % |  |  | (10.96 | )% |  |  | 4.18 | %(d) |  |  | 7.58 | %
Based on market price |  |  | 11.06 | % |  |  | 17.17 | % |  |  | (15.96 | )% |  |  | 13.55 | % |  |  | 5.24 | %
Ratios to Average Net Assets(e) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Total expenses |  |  | 4.47 | % |  |  | 3.64 | % |  |  | 2.04 | % |  |  | 1.18 | % |  |  | 1.39 | %
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed |  |  | 4.47 | % |  |  | 3.64 | % |  |  | 2.04 | % |  |  | 1.18 | % |  |  | 1.39 | %
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and excluding interest expense |  |  | 1.01 | % |  |  | 0.94 | % |  |  | 0.96 | % |  |  | 0.92 | % |  |  | 0.90 | %
Net investment income |  |  | 8.13 | % |  |  | 8.10 | % |  |  | 6.70 | % |  |  | 5.90 | % |  |  | 6.07 | %
Supplemental Data |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net assets, end of year (000) |  | $ | 514,291 |  |  | $ | 503,770 |  |  | $ | 482,587 |  |  | $ | 587,146 |  |  | $ | 603,933 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of year (000) |  | $ | 337,676 |  |  | $ | 276,235 |  |  | $ | 275,639 |  |  | $ | 312,356 |  |  | $ | 275,105 |
Portfolio turnover rate(f) |  |  | 95 | % |  |  | 106 | % |  |  | 77 | % |  |  | 66 | % |  |  | 65 | %

(a) | Based on average shares outstanding.

(b) | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

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(c) | Total returns based on market price, which can be significantly greater or less than the net asset value, may result in substantially different returns. Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions at actual reinvestment prices.

(d) | Includes payment from an affiliate, which had no impact on the Fund’s total return.

(e) | Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

(f) | Includes mortgage dollar roll transactions (“MDRs”). Additional information regarding portfolio turnover rate is as follows:

|  | Year Ended 12/31/24 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/23 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/22 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/21 |  |  | Year Ended 12/31/20 |
Portfolio turnover rate (excluding MDRs) |  |  | 75 | % |  |  | 70 | % |  |  | 58 | % |  |  | 52 | % |  |  | 58 | %

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(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

|  | BLW |
|  | Period from 09/01/19 to 12/31/19 |  |  | Year Ended August 31, |
|  | 2019 |  |  | 2018 |  |  | 2017 |  |  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 (a) |
Net asset value, beginning of period |  | $ | 17.03 |  |  | $ | 16.71 |  |  | $ | 17.02 |  |  | $ | 16.84 |  |  | $ | 17.04 |  |  | $ | 18.09 |
Net investment income(b) |  |  | 0.31 |  |  |  | 0.94 |  |  |  | 0.95 |  |  |  | 1.01 |  |  |  | 1.32 |  |  |  | 1.16 |
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) |  |  | 0.18 |  |  |  | 0.33 |  |  |  | (0.31 | ) |  |  | 0.44 |  |  |  | (0.22 | ) |  |  | (0.92 | )
Net increase from investment operations |  |  | 0.49 |  |  |  | 1.27 |  |  |  | 0.64 |  |  |  | 1.45 |  |  |  | 1.10 |  |  |  | 0.24 |
Distributions from net investment income(c) |  |  | (0.47 | ) |  |  | (0.95 | ) |  |  | (0.95 | ) |  |  | (1.27 | ) |  |  | (1.30 | ) |  |  | (1.29 | )
Net asset value, end of period |  | $ | 17.05 |  |  | $ | 17.03 |  |  | $ | 16.71 |  |  | $ | 17.02 |  |  | $ | 16.84 |  |  | $ | 17.04 | (d)
Market price, end of period |  | $ | 16.39 |  |  | $ | 15.44 |  |  | $ | 15.06 |  |  | $ | 15.99 |  |  | $ | 15.74 |  |  | $ | 14.60 |
Total Return(e) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Based on net asset value |  |  | 3.11 | %(f) |  |  | 8.77 | % |  |  | 4.42 | % |  |  | 9.62 | % |  |  | 7.78 | % |  |  | 2.23 | %(d)
Based on market price |  |  | 9.32 | %(f) |  |  | 9.41 | % |  |  | 0.18 | % |  |  | 10.18 | % |  |  | 17.59 | % |  |  | (5.74 | )%
Ratios to Average Net Assets(g) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Total expenses |  |  | 1.64 | %(h)(i) |  |  | 1.81 | % |  |  | 1.73 | % |  |  | 1.45 | % |  |  | 1.21 | % |  |  | 1.15 | %
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed |  |  | 1.64 | %(h)(i) |  |  | 1.81 | % |  |  | 1.73 | % |  |  | 1.45 | % |  |  | 1.21 | % |  |  | 1.15 | %
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed and excluding interest expense |  |  | 0.89 | %(h) |  |  | 0.84 | % |  |  | 0.89 | % |  |  | 0.89 | % |  |  | 0.89 | % |  |  | 0.92 | %
Net investment income |  |  | 5.32 | %(h) |  |  | 5.69 | % |  |  | 5.60 | % |  |  | 6.00 | % |  |  | 8.04 | % |  |  | 6.65 | %
Supplemental Data |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Net assets, end of period (000) |  | $ | 611,068 |  |  | $ | 610,251 |  |  | $ | 612,048 |  |  | $ | 629,728 |  |  | $ | 623,219 |  |  | $ | 630,388 |
Borrowings outstanding, end of period (000) |  | $ | 213,399 |  |  | $ | 202,539 |  |  | $ | 234,622 |  |  | $ | 252,280 |  |  | $ | 263,445 |  |  | $ | 264,036 |
Portfolio turnover rate |  |  | 14 | % |  |  | 50 | % |  |  | 50 | % |  |  | 55 | % |  |  | 54 | % |  |  | 47 | %

(a) | Consolidated Financial Highlights.

(b) | Based on average shares outstanding.

(c) | Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(d) | For financial reporting purposes, the market value of certain investments were adjusted as of report date. Accordingly, the net asset value per share and total return performance presented herein are different than the information previously published on August 31, 2015.

(e) | Total returns based on market price, which can be significantly greater or less than the net asset value, may result in substantially different returns. Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions at actual reinvestment prices.

(f) | Aggregate total return.

(g) | Excludes expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds as follows:

|  | Period from 09/01/19 to 12/31/19 |  |  | Year Ended August 31, |
|  | 2019 |  |  | 2018 |  |  | 2017 |  |  | 2016 |  |  | 2015 |
Investments in underlying funds |  |  | 0.02 | % |  |  | 0.02 | % |  |  | — | % |  |  | — | % |  |  | — | % |  |  | — | %

(h) | Annualized.

(i) | Audit costs were not annualized in the calculation of the expense ratios. If these expenses were annualized, the total expenses and total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed would have been 1.66%.

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USE OF PROCEEDS
The net proceeds from the issuance of common shares hereunder will be invested in accordance with the Trust’s investment objective and policies as stated below. We currently anticipate that we will be able to invest all of the net proceeds in accordance with our investment objective and policies within approximately three months from the date on which the proceeds from an offering are received by the Trust. . Such investments may be delayed if suitable investments are unavailable at the time or for other reasons, such as market volatility and lack of liquidity in the markets of suitable investments. Pending such investment, it is anticipated that the proceeds will be invested in short-term, tax‑exempt or taxable investment grade securities or in high quality, short-term money market instruments.
THE TRUST
The Trust is a diversified, closed‑end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act. The Trust was formed as a Delaware statutory trust on May 16, 2003, pursuant to an Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as subsequently amended and restated, governed by the laws of the State of Delaware and the Certificate of Trust filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The Trust’s principal office is located at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809, and its telephone number is (800) 882‑0052.
The Trust commenced operations on July 30, 2003, upon the initiation of an initial public offering of 34,300,000 of its common shares. The proceeds of such offering were approximately $653.758 million after the payment of organizational and offering expenses. The Trust’s common shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol “BLW.”
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES
Common Shares
The Trust is a statutory trust formed under the laws of Delaware and governed by an Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated as of June 10, 2003 (the “Agreement and Declaration of Trust”). The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of common shares of beneficial interest, par value $0.001 per share. Each full common share shall be entitled to one vote and fractional Shares shall be entitled to a vote of such fraction and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the terms of this offering, will be fully paid and, under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, the purchasers of the common shares will have no obligation to make further payments for the purchase of the common shares or contributions to the Trust solely by reason of their ownership of the common shares, except that the Trustees shall have the power to cause shareholders to pay certain expenses of the Trust by setting off charges due from shareholders from declared but unpaid dividends or distributions owed the shareholders and/or by reducing the number of common shares owned by each respective shareholder. When preferred shares are outstanding, the holders of common shares will not be entitled to receive any distributions from the Trust unless all accrued dividends on preferred shares have been paid, unless asset coverage (as defined in the Investment Company Act) with respect to preferred shares would be at least 200% after giving effect to the distributions and unless certain other requirements imposed by any rating agencies rating the preferred shares have been met. See “Description of Shares—Preferred Shares” in the SAI. All common shares are equal as to dividends, assets and voting privileges and, except in limited circumstances, have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights. The Trust will send annual and semi-annual reports, including financial statements, to all holders of its shares.
Unlike open‑end funds, closed‑end funds like the Trust do not continuously offer shares and do not provide daily redemptions. Rather, if a shareholder determines to buy additional common shares or sell shares already held, the shareholder may do so by trading through a broker on the NYSE or otherwise. Shares of closed‑end investment companies frequently trade on an exchange at prices lower than NAV. Shares of closed‑end investment
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companies like the Trust have during some periods traded at prices higher than NAV and during other periods have traded at prices lower than NAV. Because the market value of the common shares may be influenced by such factors as dividend levels (which are in turn affected by expenses), call protection on its portfolio securities, dividend stability, portfolio credit quality, the Trust’s NAV, relative demand for and supply of such shares in the market, general market and economic conditions, market sentiment and other factors beyond the control of the Trust, the Trust cannot assure you that its common shares will trade at a price equal to or higher than NAV in the future. The common shares are designed primarily for long-term investors and you should not purchase the common shares if you intend to sell them soon after purchase. See “Repurchase of Common Shares” below and “Repurchase of Common Shares” in the SAI.
The Trust’s outstanding common shares are, and when issued, the common shares offered by this Prospectus will be, publicly held and listed and traded on the NYSE under the symbol “BLW.” The Trust determines its NAV on a daily basis. The following table sets forth, for the quarters indicated, the highest and lowest daily closing prices on the NYSE per common share, and the NAV per common share and the premium to or discount from NAV, on the date of each of the high and low market prices. The table also sets forth the number of common shares traded on the NYSE during the respective quarters.

|  | NYSE Market Price Per Common Share |  |  | NAV per Common Share on Date of Market Price |  |  | Premium/(Discount) on Date of Market Price |  |  | Trading Volume |
During Quarter Ended |  | High |  |  | Low |  |  | High |  |  | Low |  |  | High |  |  | Low |  |  |  |
June 30, 2025 |  | $ | 14.21 |  |  | $ | 12.75 |  |  | $ | 13.96 |  |  | $ | 13.97 |  |  |  | 1.79 | % |  |  | (4.64) | % |  |  | 5,723,255 |
March 31, 2025 |  | $ | 14.38 |  |  | $ | 13.95 |  |  | $ | 14.11 |  |  | $ | 13.80 |  |  |  | 1.91 | % |  |  | 1.09 | % |  |  | 6,997,202 |
December 31, 2024 |  | $ | 14.51 |  |  | $ | 13.98 |  |  | $ | 14.31 |  |  | $ | 13.99 |  |  |  | 1.40 | % |  |  | (0.07 | )% |  |  | 5,952,894 |
September 30, 2024 |  | $ | 14.61 |  |  | $ | 13.87 |  |  | $ | 14.33 |  |  | $ | 13.96 |  |  |  | 1.95 | % |  |  | (0.64 | )% |  |  | 6,736,481 |
June 30, 2024 |  | $ | 14.05 |  |  | $ | 13.30 |  |  | $ | 14.05 |  |  | $ | 13.83 |  |  |  | 0.00 | % |  |  | (3.83 | )% |  |  | 5,465,449 |
March 31, 2024 |  | $ | 14.22 |  |  | $ | 13.56 |  |  | $ | 14.12 |  |  | $ | 13.97 |  |  |  | 0.71 | % |  |  | (2.93 | )% |  |  | 5,369,373 |
December 31, 2023 |  | $ | 13.98 |  |  | $ | 12.38 |  |  | $ | 14.11 |  |  | $ | 13.23 |  |  |  | (0.92 | )% |  |  | (6.42 | )% |  |  | 5,878,380 |
September 30, 2023 |  | $ | 13.29 |  |  | $ | 12.73 |  |  | $ | 13.74 |  |  | $ | 13.51 |  |  |  | (3.28 | )% |  |  | (5.77 | )% |  |  | 4,428,629 |
June 30, 2023 |  | $ | 13.25 |  |  | $ | 12.46 |  |  | $ | 13.78 |  |  | $ | 13.41 |  |  |  | (3.85 | )% |  |  | (7.08 | )% |  |  | 4,145,993 |
March 31, 2023 |  | $ | 14.10 |  |  | $ | 12.52 |  |  | $ | 14.26 |  |  | $ | 13.47 |  |  |  | (1.12) | % |  |  | (7.05) | % |  |  | 5,390,067 |

As of July 24, 2025, the NAV per common share of the Trust was $13.97 and the market price per common share was $14.12, representing a premium to NAV of 1.07%. Common shares of the Trust have historically traded at both a premium and discount to NAV.
As of July 24, 2025, the Trust has 38,733,559 common shares outstanding.
Preferred Shares
The Agreement and Declaration of Trust provides that the Board may authorize and issue preferred shares, with rights as determined by the Board, by action of the Board without the approval of the holders of the common shares. Holders of common shares have no preemptive right to purchase any preferred shares that might be issued. The Trust does not currently intend to issue preferred shares. Under the Investment Company Act, the Trust is not permitted to issue preferred shares unless immediately after such issuance the value of the Trust’s total assets is at least 200% of the liquidation value of the outstanding preferred shares (i.e., the liquidation value may not exceed 50% of the Trust’s total assets). In addition, the Trust is not permitted to declare any cash dividend or other distribution on its common shares unless, at the time of such declaration, the value of the Trust’s total assets is at least 200% of such liquidation value. If the Trust issues preferred shares, it may be subject to restrictions imposed by the guidelines of one or more rating agencies that may issue ratings for preferred shares issued by the Trust. These guidelines may impose asset coverage or portfolio composition requirements that are more stringent than those imposed on the Trust by the Investment Company Act. It is not
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anticipated that these covenants or guidelines would impede the Advisors from managing the Trust’s portfolio in accordance with the Trust’s investment objective and policies. Please see “Description of Shares” in the SAI for more information.
Authorized and Outstanding Shares
The following table provides the Trust’s authorized shares and common shares outstanding as of July 24, 2025.

Title of Class |  | Amount Authorized |  |  | Amount Held by Trust or for its Account |  |  | Amount Outstanding Exclusive of Amount held by Trust |
Common Shares |  |  | Unlimited |  |  |  | 0 |  |  |  | 38,733,559 |

THE TRUST’S INVESTMENTS
Investment Objective and Policies
Please refer to the section of the Trust’s most recent annual report on Form N‑CSR entitled “Investment Objectives, Policies and Risks—Investment Objectives and Policies—BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust (BLW)”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for a discussion of the Trust’s investment objective and policies.
Investment Process
In selecting securities for the Trust, the Advisors will seek to identify issuers and industries that the Advisors believe are likely to experience stable or improving financial conditions. The Advisors’ analysis will include:

| ● |  | credit research on the issuers’ financial strength;

| ● |  | assessment of the issuers’ ability to meet principal and interest payments;

| ● |  | general industry trends;

| ● |  | the issuers’ managerial strength;

| ● |  | changing financial conditions;

| ● |  | borrowing requirements or debt maturity schedules; and

| ● |  | the issuers’ responsiveness to changes in business conditions and interest rates.

The Advisors will consider relative values among issuers based on anticipated cash flow, interest or dividend coverage, asset coverage and earnings prospects. Using these tools, the Advisors will seek to add consistent value and control performance volatility consistent with the Trust’s investment objective and policies. The Advisors believe this strategy should enhance the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective. In managing the assets of the Trust, the Advisors will utilize an active management approach that stresses the flexibility to reallocate investments as appropriate. The Advisors will diversify the Trust’s portfolio of assets in an effort to minimize exposure to individual securities, issuers and industries.
The Advisors’ analysis continues on an ongoing basis for any securities in which the Trust has invested. Although the Advisors use due care in making such analysis, there can be no assurance that such analysis will reveal factors that may impair the value of such securities.
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Portfolio Contents and Techniques
The Trust may invest in the following instruments and use the following investment techniques, subject to any limitations set forth herein. There is no guarantee the Trust will buy all of the types of securities or use all of the investment techniques that are described herein and in the SAI.
Corporate Bonds. Corporate bonds are debt obligations issued by corporations. Corporate bonds may be either secured or unsecured. Collateral used for secured debt includes real property, machinery, equipment, accounts receivable, stocks, bonds or notes. If a bond is unsecured, it is known as a debenture. Bondholders, as creditors, have a prior legal claim over common and preferred stockholders as to both income and assets of the corporation for the principal and interest due them and may have a prior claim over other creditors if liens or mortgages are involved. Interest on corporate bonds may be fixed or floating, or the bonds may be zero coupons. Interest on corporate bonds is typically paid semi-annually and is fully taxable to the bondholder. Corporate bonds contain elements of both interest rate risk and credit risk. The market value of a corporate bond generally may be expected to rise and fall inversely with interest rates and may also be affected by the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace. Corporate bonds usually yield more than government or agency bonds due to the presence of credit risk.
High Yield Securities (“Junk Bonds”). The Trust may invest in securities rated, at the time of investment, below investment grade quality such as those rated Ba or below by Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or BB or below by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”), or securities comparably rated by other rating agencies or in unrated securities determined by the Advisors to be of comparable quality. Such securities, sometimes referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds, are predominantly speculative with respect to the capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the security and generally involve greater price volatility than securities in higher rating categories. Often the protection of interest and principal payments with respect to such securities may be very moderate and issuers of such securities face major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial or economic conditions which could lead to inadequate capacity to meet timely interest and principal payments.
Lower grade securities, though high yielding, are characterized by high risk. They may be subject to certain risks with respect to the issuing entity and to greater market fluctuations than certain lower yielding, higher rated securities. The secondary market for lower grade securities may be less liquid than that of higher rated securities. Adverse conditions could make it difficult at times for the Trust to sell certain securities or could result in lower prices than those used in calculating the Trust’s NAV.
The prices of fixed income securities generally are inversely related to interest rate changes; however, the price volatility caused by fluctuating interest rates of securities also is inversely related to the coupons of such securities. Accordingly, below investment grade securities may be relatively less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher quality securities of comparable maturity because of their higher coupon. The investor receives this higher coupon in return for bearing greater credit risk. The higher credit risk associated with below investment grade securities potentially can have a greater effect on the value of such securities than may be the case with higher quality issues of comparable maturity.
Lower grade securities may be particularly susceptible to economic downturns. It is likely that an economic recession could severely disrupt the market for such securities and may have an adverse impact on the value of such securities. In addition, it is likely that any such economic downturn could adversely affect the ability of the issuers of such securities to repay principal and pay interest thereon and increase the incidence of default for such securities.
The ratings of Moody’s, S&P and other rating agencies represent their opinions as to the quality of the obligations which they undertake to rate. Ratings are relative and subjective and, although ratings may be useful in evaluating the safety of interest and principal payments, they do not evaluate the market value risk of such
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obligations. Although these ratings may be an initial criterion for selection of portfolio investments, the Advisors also will independently evaluate these securities and the ability of the issuers of such securities to pay interest and principal. To the extent that the Trust invests in lower grade securities that have not been rated by a rating agency, the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective will be more dependent on the Advisors’ credit analysis than would be the case when the Trust invests in rated securities.
Distressed and Defaulted Securities. The Trust may invest in securities of financially distressed and bankrupt issuers, including debt obligations that are in covenant or payment default. Such investments generally trade significantly below par and are considered speculative. The repayment of defaulted obligations is subject to significant uncertainties. Defaulted obligations might be repaid only after lengthy workout or bankruptcy proceedings, during which the issuer might not make any interest or other payments. Typically such workout or bankruptcy proceedings result in only partial recovery of cash payments or an exchange of the defaulted obligation for other debt or equity securities of the issuer or its affiliates, which may in turn be illiquid or speculative.
Senior Loans. The senior loans in which the Trust invests may consist of direct obligations of a borrower undertaken to finance the growth of the borrower’s business, internally or externally, or to finance a capital restructuring. Senior loans may also include debtor in possession financings pursuant to Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and obligations of a borrower issued in connection with a restructuring pursuant to Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. A significant portion of such senior loans are highly leveraged loans such as leveraged buy‑out loans, leveraged recapitalization loans and other types of acquisition loans. Such senior loans may be structured to include both term loans, which are generally fully funded at the time of the Trust’s investment, and revolving credit facilities or delayed draw term loans, which would require the Trust to make additional investments in the senior loans as required under the terms of the credit facility. Such senior loans may also include receivables purchase facilities, which are similar to revolving credit facilities secured by a borrower’s receivables, senior loans designed to provide “bridge” financing to a borrower pending the sale of identified assets or the arrangement of longer-term loans or the issuance and sale of debt obligations or senior loans of borrowers that have obtained bridge loans from other parties. Senior loans generally are issued in the form of senior syndicated loans, but the Trust also may invest from time to time in privately placed notes, credit linked notes, structured notes or other instruments with credit and pricing terms which are, in the opinion of the Advisors, consistent with investments in senior loan obligations.
The senior loans in which the Trust invests typically have stated maturities ranging from five to nine years, though such stated maturities could vary from this range and the Trust is not subject to any restrictions with respect to the maturity of senior loans held in its portfolio. As a result, as short-term interest rates increase, interest payable to the Trust from its investments in senior loans should increase, and as short-term interest rates decrease, interest payable to the Trust from its investments in senior loans should decrease. Because of prepayments, the Advisors expect the average life of the senior loans in which the Trust invests to be shorter than the stated maturity.
The senior loans in which the Trust invests generally hold a senior position in the capital structure of the borrower. Such loans may include loans that hold the most senior position, loans that hold an equal ranking with other senior debt, or loans that are, in the judgment of the Advisors, in the category of senior debt. A senior position in the borrower’s capital structure generally gives the holder of the senior loan a claim on some or all of the borrower’s assets that is senior to that of subordinated debt, preferred stock and common stock in the event the borrower defaults or becomes bankrupt. The senior loans in which the Trust invests may be wholly or partially secured by collateral, or may be unsecured. In the event of a default, the ability of an investor to have access to any collateral may be limited by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. The value of the collateral also may decline subsequent to the Trust’s investment in the senior loan. Under certain circumstances, the collateral may be released with the consent of the Agent Bank and Co‑Lenders (each as defined below), or pursuant to the terms of the underlying credit agreement with the borrower. There is no assurance that the liquidation of the collateral will satisfy the borrower’s obligation in the event of nonpayment of scheduled interest or principal, or
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that the collateral could be readily liquidated. As a result, the Trust might not receive payments to which it is entitled and thereby may experience a decline in the value of the investment, and possibly, its NAV.
In the case of highly leveraged senior loans, a borrower is often required to pledge collateral that may include (i) working capital assets, such as accounts receivable and inventory, (ii) tangible fixed assets, such as real property, buildings and equipment, (iii) intangible assets, such as trademarks, copyrights and patent rights and/or (iv) security interests in securities of subsidiaries or affiliates. Collateral also may include guarantees or other credit support by subsidiaries or affiliates. In some cases the only collateral for the senior loan is the stock of the borrower and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates. To the extent a senior loan is secured by stock of the borrower and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates, such stock may lose all of its value in the event of a bankruptcy or insolvency of the borrower. In the case of senior loans to privately held companies, the companies’ owners may provide additional credit support in the form of guarantees and/or pledges of other securities that they own.
In the case of project finance loans, the borrower is generally a special purpose entity that pledges undeveloped land and other non‑income producing assets as collateral and obtains construction completion guaranties from third parties, such as the project sponsor. Project finance credit facilities typically provide for payment of interest from escrowed funds during a scheduled construction period, and for the pledge of current and fixed assets after the project is constructed and becomes operational. During the construction period, however, the lenders bear the risk that the project will not be constructed in a timely manner, or will exhaust project funds prior to completion. In such an event, the lenders may need to take legal action to enforce the completion guaranties, or may need to lend more money to the project on less favorable financing terms, or may need to liquidate the undeveloped project assets. There can be no assurance in any of such cases that the lenders will recover all of their invested capital.
The rate of interest payable on senior floating rate loans is established as the sum of a base lending rate plus a specified margin. These base lending rates generally are the prime rate (“Prime Rate”) of a designated U.S. bank, Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), the Certificate of Deposit (“CD”) rate or another base lending rate used by commercial lenders. The interest rate on Prime Rate-based senior loans floats daily as the Prime Rate changes, while the interest rate on SOFR-based and CD‑based senior loans is reset periodically, typically every one, two, three or six months. Certain of the senior floating rate loans in which the Trust invests permit the borrower to select an interest rate reset period of up to one year. A portion of the Trust’s portfolio may be invested in senior loans with interest rates that are fixed for the term of the loan. Investment in senior loans with longer interest rate reset periods or fixed interest rates may increase fluctuations in the Trust’s NAV, and potentially the market price of the Trust’s common shares, as a result of changes in interest rates.
The Trust may receive and/or pay certain fees in connection with its lending activities. These fees are in addition to interest payments received and may include facility fees, commitment fees, amendment and waiver fees, commissions and prepayment fees. In certain circumstances, the Trust may receive a prepayment fee on the prepayment of a senior loan by a borrower. In connection with the acquisition of senior loans or other debt securities, the Trust also may acquire warrants and other debt and equity securities of the borrower or issuer or its affiliates. The Trust may also acquire other debt and equity securities of the borrower or issuer in connection with an amendment, waiver, conversion or exchange of a senior loan or in connection with a bankruptcy or workout of the borrower or issuer.
In making an investment in a senior loan, the Advisors will consider factors deemed by it to be appropriate to the analysis of the borrower and the senior loan. The Advisors perform their own independent credit analysis of the borrower in addition to utilizing information prepared and supplied by the Agent Bank, Co‑Lender or Participant (each defined below) from whom the Trust purchases its interest in a senior loan. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the legal/protective features associated with the securities (such as their position in the borrower’s capital structure and any security through collateral), financial ratios of the borrower such as pre‑tax interest coverage, leverage ratios, and the ratios of cash flows to total debts and the ratio of tangible assets to debt. In its analysis of these factors, the Advisors also will be influenced by the nature of the industry in which the borrower
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is engaged, the nature of the borrower’s assets and the Advisors’ assessments of the general quality of the borrower. The Advisors’ analysis continues on an ongoing basis for any senior loans in which the Trust has invested. Although the Advisors use due care in making such analysis, there can be no assurance that such analysis will disclose factors that may impair the value of the senior loan.
Senior loans made in connection with highly leveraged transactions are subject to greater credit risks than other senior loans in which each Trust may invest. These credit risks include a greater possibility of default or bankruptcy of the borrower and the assertion that the pledging of collateral to secure the loan constituted a fraudulent conveyance or preferential transfer which can be nullified or subordinated to the rights of other creditors of the borrower under applicable law.
Many senior loans in which the Trust invests may not be rated by a rating agency, are not registered with the SEC, or any state securities commission, and are not listed on any national securities exchange. Borrowers may have outstanding debt obligations that are rated below investment grade by a rating agency. Many of the senior loans in which the Trust invests will have been assigned below investment grade ratings by independent rating agencies. In the event senior loans are not rated, they are likely to be the equivalent of below investment grade quality. The Advisors do not view ratings as the determinative factor in its investment decisions and relies more upon its credit analysis abilities than upon ratings.
The Trust has no policy with regard to minimum ratings for senior loans in which it may invest. The Trust may purchase and retain in its portfolio senior loans where the borrower has experienced, or may be perceived to be likely to experience, credit problems, including involvement in or recent emergence from bankruptcy reorganization proceedings or other forms of debt restructuring. Such investments may provide opportunities for enhanced income as well as capital appreciation, although they also will be subject to greater risk of loss. At times, in connection with the restructuring of a senior loan either outside of bankruptcy court or in the context of bankruptcy court proceedings, the Trust may determine or be required to accept equity securities or junior fixed income securities in exchange for all or a portion of a senior loan.
The secondary market for trading of senior loans continues to develop and mature. One of the effects of a more active and liquid secondary market, however, is that a senior loan may trade at a premium or discount to the principal amount, or par value, of the loan. There are many factors that influence the market value of a senior loan, including technical factors relating to the operation of the loan market, supply and demand conditions, market perceptions about the credit quality or financial condition of the borrower or more general concerns about the industry in which the borrower operates. The Trust participates in this secondary market for senior loans, purchasing and selling loans that may trade at a premium or discount to the par value of the loan. However, no active trading market may exist for some senior loans and some loans may be subject to restrictions on resale. A secondary market may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which may impair the ability to realize full value and thus cause a material decline in the Trust’s NAV. In addition, the Trust may not be able to readily dispose of its senior loans at prices that approximate those at which the Trust could sell such loans if they were more widely-traded and, as a result of such illiquidity, the Trust may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions if necessary to raise cash to meet its obligations. During periods of limited supply and liquidity of senior loans, the Trust’s yield may be lower.
When interest rates decline, the value of a fund invested in fixed rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of a fund invested in fixed rate obligations can be expected to decline. Although changes in prevailing interest rates can be expected to cause some fluctuations in the value of floating rate senior loans (due to the fact that floating rates on senior loans only reset periodically), the value of floating rate senior loans is substantially less sensitive to changes in market interest rates than fixed rate instruments. As a result, to the extent the Trust invests in floating rate senior loans, the Trust’s portfolio may be less volatile and less sensitive to changes in market interest rates than if the Trust invested in fixed rate obligations. Similarly, a sudden and significant increase in market interest rates may cause a decline in the value of these investments and in the Trust’s NAV. Other factors (including, but not limited to, rating downgrades,
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credit deterioration, a large downward movement in stock prices, a disparity in supply and demand of certain securities or market conditions that reduce liquidity) can reduce the value of senior loans and other debt obligations, impairing the Trust’s NAV.
A borrower must comply with various restrictive covenants contained in any credit agreement between the borrower and the lending syndicate. Such covenants, in addition to requiring the scheduled payment of interest and principal, may include restrictions on dividend payments and other distributions to stockholders, provisions requiring the borrower to maintain specific financial ratios or relationships, limits on total debt and restrictions on the borrower’s ability to pledge its assets. In addition, the loan agreement may contain a covenant requiring the borrower to prepay the senior loan with any excess cash flow. Excess cash flow generally includes net cash flow after scheduled debt service payments and permitted capital expenditures, among other things, as well as the proceeds from asset dispositions or sales of securities. A breach of a covenant (after giving effect to any cure period) which is not waived by the Agent Bank and the lending syndicate normally is an event of default (i.e., the Agent Bank has the right to call the outstanding senior loan).
Senior loans usually require, in addition to scheduled payments of interest and principal, the prepayment of the senior loan from excess cash flow, as discussed above, and typically permit the borrower to prepay at its election. The degree to which borrowers prepay senior loans, whether as a contractual requirement or at their election, may be affected by general business conditions, the financial condition of the borrower and competitive conditions among lenders, among other factors. Accordingly, prepayments cannot be predicted with accuracy. Upon a prepayment, the Trust may receive both a prepayment fee from the prepaying borrower and a facility fee on the purchase of a new senior loan with the proceeds from the prepayment of the former. Such fees may mitigate any adverse impact on the yield on the Trust’s portfolio which may arise as a result of prepayments and the reinvestment of such proceeds in senior loans bearing lower interest rates.
A senior loan in which the Trust may invest typically is originated, negotiated and structured by a syndicate of lenders (“Co‑Lenders”) consisting of commercial banks, thrift institutions, insurance companies, finance companies, investment banking firms, securities brokerage houses or other financial institutions or institutional investors, one or more of which administers the loan on behalf of the syndicate (the “Agent Bank”). Co‑Lenders may sell senior loans to third parties (“Participants”). The Trust invests in a senior loan either by participating in the primary distribution as a Co‑Lender at the time the loan is originated or by buying an assignment or participation interest in the senior loan in the secondary market from a Co‑Lender or a Participant.
The Trust may invest in a senior loan at origination as a Co‑Lender or by acquiring an assignment or participation interest in the secondary market from a Co‑Lender or Participant. If the Trust purchases an assignment, the Trust typically accepts all of the rights of the assigning lender in a senior loan, including the right to receive payments of principal and interest and other amounts directly from the borrower and to enforce its rights as a lender directly against the borrower and assumes all of the obligations of the assigning lender, including any obligations to make future advances to the borrower. As a result, therefore, the Trust has the status of a Co‑Lender. In some cases, the rights and obligations acquired by a purchaser of an assignment may differ from, and may be more limited than, the rights and obligations of the assigning lender. The Trust also may purchase a participation in a portion of the rights of a Co‑Lender or Participant in a senior loan by means of a participation agreement. A participation is similar to an assignment in that the Co‑Lender or Participant transfers to the Trust all or a portion of an interest in a senior loan. Unlike an assignment, however, a participation does not establish any direct relationship between the Trust and the borrower. In such a case, the Trust is required to rely on the Co‑Lender or Participant that sold the participation not only for the enforcement of the Trust’s rights against the borrower but also for the receipt and processing of payments due to the Trust under the senior loans.
Because it may be necessary to assert through a Co‑Lender or Participant such rights as may exist against the borrower, in the event the borrower fails to pay principal and interest when due, the Trust may be subject to delays, expenses and risks that are greater than those that would be involved if the Trust could enforce its rights directly against the borrower. Moreover, under the terms of a participation, the Trust may be regarded as a
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creditor of the Co‑Lender or Participant that sold the participation (rather than of the borrower), so that the Trust may also be subject to the risk that the Co‑Lender or Participant may become insolvent. Similar risks may arise with respect to the Agent Bank, as described below. Further, in the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the borrower, the obligation of the borrower to repay the senior loan may be subject to certain defenses that can be asserted by such borrower as a result of improper conduct by the Agent Bank, Co‑Lender or Participant.
In a typical senior loan, the Agent Bank administers the terms of the credit agreement and is responsible for the collection of principal and interest and fee payments from the borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the credit of all lenders which are parties to the credit agreement. The Trust generally relies on the Agent Bank (or the Co‑Lender or Participant that sold the Trust a participation interest) to collect its portion of the payments on the senior loan. Furthermore, the Trust generally relies on the Agent Bank to use appropriate creditor remedies against the borrower. Typically, under credit agreements, the Agent Bank is given broad discretion in enforcing the credit agreement, and is obligated to use only the same care it would use in the management of its own property. The borrower compensates the Agent Bank for these services. Such compensation may include special fees paid on structuring and funding the senior loan and other fees paid on a continuing basis.
In the event that an Agent Bank becomes insolvent, or has a receiver, conservator, or similar official appointed for it by the appropriate bank regulatory authority or becomes a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding, assets held by the Agent Bank under the credit agreement should remain available to holders of senior loans.
If, however, assets held by the Agent Bank for the benefit of the Trust were determined by an appropriate regulatory authority or court to be subject to the claims of the Agent Bank’s general or secured creditors, the Trust might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on a senior loan or suffer a loss of principal and/or interest. In situations involving a Co‑Lender or Participant that sold the Trust a participation interest, similar risks may arise, as described above.
The Trust may have certain obligations pursuant to a credit agreement, which may include the obligation to make future advances to the borrower in connection with revolving credit facilities in certain circumstances. These commitments may have the effect of requiring the Trust to increase its investment in a borrower at a time it might not be desirable to do so (including at a time when the borrower’s financial condition makes it unlikely that such amounts will be repaid). The Trust currently intends to reserve against such contingent obligations by designating sufficient investments in liquid assets on its books and records.
The Trust may obtain exposure to senior loans through the use of derivative instruments, which have recently become increasingly available. The Advisors may utilize these instruments and similar instruments that may be available in the future. The Trust may invest in a derivative instrument known as a Select Aggregate Market Index (“SAMI”), which provides investors with exposure to a reference basket of senior loans. SAMIs are structured as floating rate instruments. SAMIs consist of a basket of credit default swaps whose underlying reference securities are senior secured loans. While investing in SAMIs will increase the universe of floating rate fixed income securities to which the Trust is exposed, such investments entail risks that are not typically associated with investments in other floating rate fixed income securities. The liquidity of the market for SAMIs will be subject to liquidity in the secured loan and credit derivatives markets. Investment in SAMIs involves many of the risks associated with investments in derivative instruments discussed generally herein.
Second Lien Loans. The Trust may invest in second lien or other subordinated or unsecured floating rate and fixed rate loans or debt. Second lien loans have the same characteristics as senior loans except that such loans are second in lien property rather than first. Second lien loans typically have adjustable floating rate interest payments. Accordingly, the risks associated with second lien loans are higher than the risk of loans with first priority over the collateral. In the event of default on a second lien loan, the first priority lien holder has first claim to the underlying collateral of the loan. It is possible that no collateral value would remain for the second priority lien holder, which may result in a loss of investment to the Trust.
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Mezzanine Loans. The Trust may invest in mezzanine loans. Structurally, mezzanine loans usually rank subordinate in priority of payment to senior debt, such as senior bank debt, and are often unsecured. However, mezzanine loans rank senior to common and preferred equity in a borrower’s capital structure. Mezzanine debt is often used in leveraged buyout and real estate finance transactions. Typically, mezzanine loans have elements of both debt and equity instruments, offering the fixed returns in the form of interest payments associated with senior debt, while providing lenders an opportunity to participate in the capital appreciation of a borrower, if any, through an equity interest. This equity interest typically takes the form of warrants. Due to their higher risk profile and often less restrictive covenants as compared to senior loans, mezzanine loans generally earn a higher return than senior secured loans. The warrants associated with mezzanine loans are typically detachable, which allows lenders to receive repayment of their principal on an agreed amortization schedule while retaining their equity interest in the borrower. Mezzanine loans also may include a “put” feature, which permits the holder to sell its equity interest back to the borrower at a price determined through an agreed-upon formula. Mezzanine investments may be issued with or without registration rights. Similar to other high yield securities, maturities of mezzanine investments are typically seven to ten years, but the expected average life is significantly shorter at three to five years; however, maturities and expected average lives could vary from these ranges and the Trust is not subject to any restrictions with respect to the maturities or expected average lives of mezzanine loans held in its portfolio. Mezzanine investments are usually unsecured and subordinate to other obligations of the issuer.
Debtor‑In‑Possession Financings. The Trust may invest in “debtor‑in‑possession” or “DIP” financings newly issued in connection with “special situation” restructuring and refinancing transactions. DIP financings are loans to a debtor‑in‑possession in a proceeding under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that has been approved by the bankruptcy court. These financings allow the entity to continue its business operations while reorganizing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. DIP financings are typically fully secured by a lien on the debtor’s otherwise unencumbered assets or secured by a junior lien on the debtor’s encumbered assets (so long as the loan is fully secured based on the most recent current valuation or appraisal report of the debtor). DIP financings are often required to close with certainty and in a rapid manner in order to satisfy existing creditors and to enable the issuer to emerge from bankruptcy or to avoid a bankruptcy proceeding.
Mortgage Related Securities. Mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) include structured debt obligations collateralized by pools of commercial (“CMBS”) or residential (“RMBS”) mortgages. Pools of mortgage loans and mortgage-backed loans, such as mezzanine loans, are assembled as securities for sale to investors by various governmental, government-related and private organizations. MBS include complex instruments such as collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), stripped MBS, mortgage pass-through securities and interests in Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”). The MBS in which the Trust may invest include those with fixed, floating or variable interest rates, those with interest rates that change based on multiples of changes in a specified reference interest rate or index of interest rates and those with interest rates that change inversely to changes in interest rates, as well as those that do not bear interest. The Trust may invest in RMBS and CMBS issued by governmental entities and private issuers, including subordinated MBS and residual interests. The Trust may invest in sub‑prime mortgages or MBS that are backed by sub‑prime mortgages.
In general, losses on a mortgaged property securing a mortgage loan included in a securitization will be borne first by the equity holder of the property, then by a cash reserve fund or letter of credit, if any, then by the holder of a mezzanine loan or B‑Note, if any, then by the “first loss” subordinated security holder (generally, the “B‑Piece” buyer) and then by the holder of a higher rated security. The Trust may invest in any class of security included in a securitization. In the event of default and the exhaustion of any equity support, reserve fund, letter of credit, mezzanine loans or B‑Notes, and any classes of securities junior to those in which the Trust invests, the Trust will not be able to recover all of its investment in the MBS it purchases. MBS in which the Trust invests may not contain reserve funds, letters of credit, mezzanine loans and/or junior classes of securities. The prices of lower credit quality securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than more highly rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic downturns or individual issuer developments.
Mortgage Pass-Through Securities. Mortgage pass-through securities differ from other forms of fixed income securities, which normally provide for periodic payment of interest in fixed amounts with principal
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payments at maturity or specified call dates. Instead, these securities provide a monthly payment which consists of both interest and principal payments. In effect, these payments are a “pass through” of the monthly payments made by the individual borrowers on their residential or commercial mortgage loans, net of any fees paid to the issuer or guarantor of such securities. Additional payments are caused by repayments of principal resulting from the sale of the underlying property, refinancing or foreclosure, net of fees or costs that may be incurred. Some mortgage related securities (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”)) are described as “modified pass-through.” These securities entitle the holder to receive all interest and principal payments owed on the mortgage pool, net of certain fees, at the scheduled payment dates regardless of whether or not the mortgagor actually makes the payment.
RMBS. RMBS are securities the payments on which depend primarily on the cash flow from residential mortgage loans made to borrowers that are secured, on a first priority basis or second priority basis, subject to permitted liens, easements and other encumbrances, by residential real estate (one‑ to four-family properties), the proceeds of which are used to purchase real estate and purchase or construct dwellings thereon or to refinance indebtedness previously used for such purposes. Non‑agency residential mortgage loans are obligations of the borrowers thereunder only and are not typically insured or guaranteed by any other person or entity. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by residential property is dependent upon the income or assets of the borrower. A number of factors, including a general economic downturn, acts of God, terrorism, social unrest and civil disturbances, may impair a borrower’s ability to repay its loans.
Agency RMBS. The principal U.S. governmental guarantor of mortgage related securities is GNMA, which is a wholly owned U.S. government corporation. GNMA is authorized to guarantee, with the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, the timely payment of principal and interest on securities issued by institutions approved by GNMA (such as savings and loan institutions, commercial banks and mortgage bankers) and backed by pools of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (the “FHA”) or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”). MBS issued by GNMA include GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as “Ginnie Maes”) which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by GNMA and such guarantees are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. GNMA certificates also are supported by the authority of GNMA to borrow funds from the U.S. Treasury to make payments under its guarantee.
Government-related guarantors (i.e., not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government) include the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”). FNMA is a government-sponsored corporation the common stock of which is owned entirely by private stockholders. FNMA purchases conventional (i.e., not insured or guaranteed by any government agency) residential mortgages from a list of approved seller/servicers which include state and federally chartered savings and loan associations, mutual savings banks, commercial banks and credit unions and mortgage bankers. Pass-through securities issued by FNMA (also known as “Fannie Maes”) are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by FNMA, but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. FHLMC was created by Congress in 1970 for the purpose of increasing the availability of mortgage credit for residential housing. It is a government-sponsored corporation that issues FHLMC Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as “Freddie Macs” or “PCs”), which are pass-through securities, each representing an undivided interest in a pool of residential mortgages. FHLMC guarantees the timely payment of interest and ultimate collection of principal, but PCs are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
In 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) placed FNMA and FHLMC into conservatorship. FNMA and FHLMC are continuing to operate as going concerns while in conservatorship and each remains liable for all of its obligations, including its guaranty obligations, associated with its MBS.
As the conservator, FHFA succeeded to all rights, titles, powers and privileges of FNMA and FHLMC and of any stockholder, officer or director of FNMA and FHLMC with respect to FNMA and FHLMC and the assets of FNMA and FHLMC. In connection with the conservatorship, the U.S. Treasury entered into a Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement with each of FNMA and FHLMC pursuant to which the U.S. Treasury would
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purchase up to an aggregate of $100 billion of each of FNMA and FHLMC to maintain a positive net worth in each enterprise. This agreement contains various covenants that severely limit each enterprise’s operations. In exchange for entering into these agreements, the U.S. Treasury received $1 billion of each enterprise’s senior preferred stock and warrants to purchase 79.9% of each enterprise’s common stock. In February 2009, the U.S. Treasury doubled the size of its commitment to each enterprise under the Senior Preferred Stock Program to $200 billion. The U.S. Treasury’s obligations under the Senior Preferred Stock Program are for an indefinite period of time for a maximum amount of $200 billion per enterprise. In December 2009, the U.S. Treasury announced further amendments to the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements which included additional financial support to certain governmentally supported entities, including the Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLBs”), FNMA and FHLMC. It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict the future political, regulatory or economic changes that could impact FNMA, FHLMC and the FHLBs, and the values of their related securities or obligations. There is no assurance that the obligations of such entities will be satisfied in full, or that such obligations will not decrease in value or default.
Under the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 (the “Reform Act”), which was included as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, FHFA, as conservator or receiver, has the power to repudiate any contract entered into by FNMA or FHLMC prior to FHFA’s appointment as conservator or receiver, as applicable, if FHFA determines, in its sole discretion, that performance of the contract is burdensome and that repudiation of the contract promotes the orderly administration of FNMA’s or FHLMC’s affairs. The Reform Act requires FHFA to exercise its right to repudiate any contract within a reasonable period of time after its appointment as conservator or receiver. FHFA, in its capacity as conservator, has indicated that it has no intention to repudiate the guaranty obligations of FNMA or FHLMC because FHFA views repudiation as incompatible with the goals of the conservatorship. However, in the event that FHFA, as conservator or if it is later appointed as receiver for FNMA or FHLMC, were to repudiate any such guaranty obligation, the conservatorship or receivership estate, as applicable, would be liable for actual direct compensatory damages in accordance with the provisions of the Reform Act. Any such liability could be satisfied only to the extent of FNMA’s or FHLMC’s assets available therefor. In the event of repudiation, the payments of interest to holders of FNMA or FHLMC MBS would be reduced if payments on the mortgage loans represented in the mortgage loan groups related to such MBS are not made by the borrowers or advanced by the servicer. Any actual direct compensatory damages for repudiating these guaranty obligations may not be sufficient to offset any shortfalls experienced by such MBS holders. Further, in its capacity as conservator or receiver, FHFA has the right to transfer or sell any asset or liability of FNMA or FHLMC without any approval, assignment or consent. Although FHFA has stated that it has no present intention to do so, if FHFA, as conservator or receiver, were to transfer any such guaranty obligation to another party, holders of FNMA or FHLMC MBS would have to rely on that party for satisfaction of the guaranty obligation and would be exposed to the credit risk of that party. In addition, certain rights provided to holders of MBS issued by FNMA and FHLMC under the operative documents related to such securities may not be enforced against FHFA, or enforcement of such rights may be delayed, during the conservatorship or any future receivership. The operative documents for FNMA and FHLMC MBS may provide (or with respect to securities issued prior to the date of the appointment of the conservator may have provided) that upon the occurrence of an event of default on the part of FNMA or FHLMC, in its capacity as guarantor, which includes the appointment of a conservator or receiver, holders of such MBS have the right to replace FNMA or FHLMC as trustee if the requisite percentage of MBS holders consent. The Reform Act prevents MBS holders from enforcing such rights if the event of default arises solely because a conservator or receiver has been appointed.
Non‑Agency RMBS. Non‑agency RMBS are issued by commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage bankers, private mortgage insurance companies and other non‑governmental issuers. Timely payment of principal and interest on RMBS backed by pools created by non‑governmental issuers often is supported partially by various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance. The insurance and guarantees are issued by government entities, private insurers and the mortgage poolers. There can be no assurance that the private insurers or mortgage poolers can meet their obligations under the policies, so that if the issuers default on their obligations, the holders of the security could sustain a loss. No insurance or
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guarantee covers the Trust or the price of the Trust’s common shares. RMBS issued by non‑governmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than government agency and government-related securities because there are no direct or indirect government guarantees of payment.
CMBS. CMBS generally are multi-class debt or pass-through certificates secured or backed by mortgage loans on commercial properties. CMBS generally are structured to provide protection to the senior class investors against potential losses on the underlying mortgage loans. This protection generally is provided by having the holders of subordinated classes of securities (“Subordinated CMBS”) take the first loss if there are defaults on the underlying commercial mortgage loans. Other protection, which may benefit all of the classes or particular classes, may include issuer guarantees, reserve funds, additional Subordinated CMBS, cross-collateralization and over-collateralization.
The Trust may invest in Subordinated CMBS, which are subordinated in some manner as to the payment of principal and/or interest to the holders of more senior CMBS arising out of the same pool of mortgages and which are often referred to as “B‑Pieces.” The holders of Subordinated CMBS typically are compensated with a higher stated yield than are the holders of more senior CMBS. On the other hand, Subordinated CMBS typically subject the holder to greater risk than senior CMBS and tend to be rated in a lower rating category (frequently a substantially lower rating category) than the senior CMBS issued in respect of the same mortgage pool. Subordinated CMBS generally are likely to be more sensitive to changes in prepayment and interest rates and the market for such securities may be less liquid than is the case for traditional income securities and senior CMBS.
CMOs. A CMO is a multi-class bond backed by a pool of mortgage pass-through certificates or mortgage loans. CMOs may be collateralized by (i) GNMA, FNMA or FHLMC pass-through certificates, (ii) unsecuritized mortgage loans insured by the FHA or guaranteed by the VA, (iii) unsecuritized conventional mortgages, (iv) other MBS or (v) any combination thereof. Each class of a CMO, often referred to as a “tranche,” is issued at a specific coupon rate and has a stated maturity or final distribution date. Principal prepayments on collateral underlying a CMO may cause it to be retired substantially earlier than its stated maturity or final distribution date. The principal and interest on the underlying mortgages may be allocated among the several classes of a series of a CMO in many ways. One or more tranches of a CMO may have coupon rates which reset periodically at a specified increment over an index, such as SOFR (or sometimes more than one index). These floating rate CMOs typically are issued with lifetime caps on the coupon rate thereon. CMO residuals represent the interest in any excess cash flow remaining after making the payments of interest and principal on the tranches issued by the CMO and the payment of administrative expenses and management fees.
The Trust may invest in inverse floating rate CMOs. Inverse floating rate CMOs constitute a tranche of a CMO with a coupon rate that moves in the reverse direction relative to an applicable index such as LIBOR. Accordingly, the coupon rate thereon will increase as interest rates decrease. Inverse floating rate CMOs are typically more volatile than fixed or floating rate tranches of CMOs. Many inverse floating rate CMOs have coupons that move inversely to a multiple of an index. The effect of the coupon varying inversely to a multiple of an applicable index creates a leverage factor. Inverse floating rate debt instruments (“inverse floaters”) based on multiples of a stated index are designed to be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and can subject the holders thereof to extreme reductions of yield and loss of principal. The market for inverse floating rate CMOs with highly leveraged characteristics at times may be very thin. The Trust’s ability to dispose of its positions in such securities will depend on the degree of liquidity in the markets for such securities. It is impossible to predict the amount of trading interest that may exist in such securities, and therefore the future degree of liquidity.
Stripped MBS. Stripped MBS are created by segregating the cash flows from underlying mortgage loans or mortgage securities to create two or more new securities, each receiving a specified percentage of the underlying security’s principal or interest payments. Mortgage securities may be partially stripped so that each investor class receives some interest and some principal. When securities are completely stripped, however, all of the interest is distributed to holders of one type of security, known as an interest-only security (or “IO”), and all of the principal is distributed to holders of another type of security, known as a principal-only security (or “PO”). Strips can be
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created in a pass-through structure or as tranches of a CMO. The yields to maturity on IOs and POs are very sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Trust may not fully recoup its initial investment in IOs. Conversely, if the underlying mortgage assets experience less than anticipated prepayments of principal, the yield on POs could be materially and adversely affected.
Adjustable Rate Mortgage Securities. Adjustable rate mortgages (“ARMs”) have interest rates that reset at periodic intervals. Acquiring ARMs permits the Trust to participate in increases in prevailing current interest rates through periodic adjustments in the coupons of mortgages underlying the pool on which ARMs are based. Such ARMs generally have higher current yield and lower price fluctuations than is the case with more traditional fixed income securities of comparable rating and maturity. In addition, when prepayments of principal are made on the underlying mortgages during periods of rising interest rates, the Trust may potentially reinvest the proceeds of such prepayments at rates higher than those at which they were previously invested. Mortgages underlying most ARMs, however, have limits on the allowable annual or lifetime increases that can be made in the interest rate that the mortgagor pays. Therefore, if current interest rates rise above such limits over the period of the limitation, the Trust, when holding an ARM, does not benefit from further increases in interest rates. Moreover, when interest rates are in excess of the coupon rates (i.e., the rates being paid by mortgagors) of the mortgages, ARMs behave more like fixed income securities and less like adjustable-rate securities and are subject to the risks associated with fixed income securities. In addition, during periods of rising interest rates, increases in the coupon rate of ARMs generally lag current market interest rates slightly, thereby creating the potential for capital depreciation on such securities.
Sub‑Prime Mortgages. Sub‑prime mortgages are mortgages rated below “A” by Moody’s, S&P or Fitch. Historically, sub‑prime mortgage loans have been made to borrowers with blemished (or non‑existent) credit records, and the borrower is charged a higher interest rate to compensate for the greater risk of delinquency and the higher costs of loan servicing and collection. Sub‑prime mortgages are subject to both state and federal anti-predatory lending statutes that carry potential liability to secondary market purchasers such as the Trust. Sub‑prime mortgages have certain characteristics and associated risks similar to below investment grade securities, including a higher degree of credit risk, and certain characteristics and associated risks similar to MBS, including prepayment risk.
Mortgage Related ABS. Asset-backed securities (“ABS”) are bonds backed by pools of loans or other receivables. ABS are created from many types of assets, including in some cases mortgage related asset classes, such as home equity loan ABS. Home equity loan ABS are subject to many of the same risks as RMBS, including interest rate risk and prepayment risk.
Mortgage REITs. A real estate investment trust (“REIT”) is a corporation, or a business trust that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation, that meets the definitional requirements applicable to REITs under the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct dividends paid, thereby generally eliminating corporate level U.S. federal income tax and effectively making the REIT a pass-through vehicle for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things, invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs) or cash and government securities, derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property, and distribute to shareholders annually substantially all of its otherwise taxable income. Mortgage REITs invest mostly in mortgages on real estate, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans, and the main source of their income is mortgage interest payments. The value of securities issued by REITs is affected by tax and regulatory requirements and by perceptions of management skill. They also are subject to heavy cash flow dependency and the possibility of failing to qualify for REIT status under the Code or to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act.
Mortgage Related Derivative Instruments. The Trust may invest in MBS credit default swaps. MBS credit default swaps include swaps the reference obligation for which is an MBS or related index, such as the CMBX
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Index (a tradeable index referencing a basket of CMBS), the TRX Index (a tradeable index referencing total return swaps based on CMBS) or the ABX Index (a tradeable index referencing a basket of sub‑prime MBS). The Trust may engage in other derivative transactions related to MBS, including purchasing and selling exchange-listed and over‑the‑counter put and call options, futures and forwards on mortgages and MBS. The Trust may invest in newly developed mortgage related derivatives that may hereafter become available.
Net Interest Margin (NIM) Securities. The Trust may invest in net interest margin (“NIM”) securities. These securities are derivative interest-only mortgage securities structured off home equity loan transactions. NIM securities receive any “excess” interest computed after paying coupon costs, servicing costs and fees and any credit losses associated with the underlying pool of home equity loans. Like traditional stripped MBS, the yield to maturity on a NIM security is sensitive not only to changes in prevailing interest rates but also to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the underlying home equity loans. NIM securities are highly sensitive to credit losses on the underlying collateral and the timing in which those losses are taken.
Tiered Index Bonds. Tiered index bonds are relatively new forms of mortgage-related securities. The interest rate on a tiered index bond is tied to a specified index or market rate. So long as this index or market rate is below a predetermined “strike” rate, the interest rate on the tiered index bond remains fixed. If, however, the specified index or market rate rises above the “strike” rate, the interest rate of the tiered index bond will decrease. Thus, under these circumstances, the interest rate on a tiered index bond, like an inverse floater, will move in the opposite direction of prevailing interest rates, with the result that the price of the tiered index bond may be considerably more volatile than that of a fixed-rate bond.
TBA Commitments. The Trust may enter into “to be announced” or “TBA” commitments. TBA commitments are forward agreements for the purchase or sale of securities, including MBS, for a fixed price, with payment and delivery on an agreed upon future settlement date. The specific securities to be delivered are not identified at the trade date. However, delivered securities must meet specified terms, including issuer, rate and mortgage terms.
Other Mortgage Related Securities. Other mortgage related securities include securities other than those described above that directly or indirectly represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans on real property. Other mortgage related securities may be equity or debt securities issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, homebuilders, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks, partnerships, trusts and special purpose entities of the foregoing.
Asset-Backed Securities. ABS are a form of structured debt obligation. The securitization techniques used for ABS are similar to those used for MBS. ABS are bonds backed by pools of loans or other receivables. The collateral for these securities may include home equity loans, automobile and credit card receivables, boat loans, computer leases, airplane leases, mobile home loans, recreational vehicle loans and hospital account receivables. The Trust may invest in these and other types of ABS that may be developed in the future. ABS present certain risks that are not presented by mortgage related securities. Primarily, these securities may provide the Trust with a less effective security interest in the related collateral than do mortgage related securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that recoveries on the underlying collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on these securities.
REITs. REITs are subject to certain risks which differ from an investment in common stocks. REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to purchase or finance real estate. REITs may concentrate their investments in specific geographic areas or in specific property types (e.g., hotels, shopping malls, residential complexes and office buildings). The market value of REIT shares and the ability of REITs to distribute income may be adversely affected by several factors, including rising interest rates, changes in the national, state and local economic climate and real estate conditions, perceptions of prospective tenants of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of the properties, the ability of the owners to provide adequate management, maintenance and
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insurance, the cost of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act, increased competition from new properties, the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws, changes in real estate taxes and other operating expenses, adverse changes in governmental rules and fiscal policies, adverse changes in zoning laws and other factors beyond the control of the REIT issuers. In addition, distributions received by the Trust from REITs may consist of dividends, capital gains and/or return of capital. As REITs generally pay a higher rate of dividends (on a pre‑tax basis) than operating companies, to the extent application of the Trust’s investment strategy results in the Trust investing in REIT shares, the percentage of the Trust’s dividend income received from REIT shares will likely exceed the percentage of the Trust’s portfolio which is comprised of REIT shares. There are three general categories of REITs: equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest primarily in direct fee ownership or leasehold ownership of real property; they derive most of their income from rents. Mortgage REITs invest mostly in mortgages on real estate, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans, and the main source of their income is mortgage interest payments. Hybrid REITs hold both ownership and mortgage interests in real estate.
Collateralized Debt Obligations. The Trust may invest in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), which include collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) and other similarly structured securities. CDOs are types of asset-backed securities. A CBO is ordinarily issued by a fund or other special purpose entity (“SPE”) and is typically backed by a diversified pool of fixed income securities (which may include high risk, below investment grade securities) held by such issuer. A CLO is ordinarily issued by a trust or other SPE and is typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and non‑U.S. senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans, held by such issuer. Although certain CDOs may benefit from credit enhancement in the form of a senior-subordinate structure, over-collateralization or bond insurance, such enhancement may not always be present, and may fail to protect the Trust against the risk of loss on default of the collateral. Certain CDO issuers may use derivatives contracts to create “synthetic” exposure to assets rather than holding such assets directly, which entails the risks of derivative instruments described elsewhere in this Prospectus. CDOs may charge management fees and administrative expenses, which are in addition to those of the Trust.
For both CBOs and CLOs, the cash flows from the SPE are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The riskiest portion is the “equity” tranche, which bears the first loss from defaults from the bonds or loans in the SPE and serves to protect the other, more senior tranches from default (though such protection is not complete). Since it is partially protected from defaults, a senior tranche from a CBO or CLO typically has higher ratings and lower yields than its underlying securities, and may be rated investment grade. Despite the protection from the equity tranche, CBO or CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, downgrades of the underlying collateral by rating agencies, forced liquidation of the collateral pool due to a failure of coverage tests, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults as well as investor aversion to CBO or CLO securities as a class. Interest on certain tranches of a CDO may be paid in kind or deferred and capitalized (paid in the form of obligations of the same type rather than cash), which involves continued exposure to default risk with respect to such payments.
Delayed Funding Loans and Revolving Credit Facilities. The Trust may enter into, or acquire participations in, delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities, in which a bank or other lender agrees to make loans up to a maximum amount upon demand by the borrower during a specified term. These commitments may have the effect of requiring the Trust to increase its investment in a company at a time when it might not be desirable to do so (including at a time when the company’s financial condition makes it unlikely that such amounts will be repaid). Delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities are subject to credit, interest rate and liquidity risk and the risks of being a lender.
Zero-Coupon Bonds, Step‑Ups and Pay‑In‑Kind Securities. Zero-coupon bonds pay interest only at maturity rather than at intervals during the life of the security. Like zero‑coupon bonds, “step up” bonds pay no interest
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initially but eventually begin to pay a coupon rate prior to maturity, which rate may increase at stated intervals during the life of the security. Pay‑in‑kind securities (“PIKs”) are debt obligations that pay “interest” in the form of other debt obligations, instead of in cash. Each of these instruments is normally issued and traded at a deep discount from face value. Zero-coupon bonds, step‑ups and PIKs allow an issuer to avoid or delay the need to generate cash to meet current interest payments and, as a result, may involve greater credit risk than bonds that pay interest currently or in cash. The Trust would be required to distribute the income on these instruments as it accrues, even though the Trust will not receive the income on a current basis or in cash. Thus, the Trust may have to sell other investments, including when it may not be advisable to do so, to make income distributions to its shareholders.
Premium Securities. The Trust may invest in income securities bearing coupon rates higher than prevailing market rates. Such “premium” securities are typically purchased at prices greater than the principal amounts payable on maturity. The Trust will not amortize the premium paid for such securities in calculating its net investment income. As a result, in such cases the purchase of such securities provides the Trust a higher level of investment income distributable to shareholders on a current basis than if the Trust purchased securities bearing current market rates of interest. Although such securities bear coupon rates higher than prevailing market rates, because they are purchased at a price in excess of par value, the yield earned by the Trust on such investments may not exceed prevailing market yields. If an issuer were to redeem securities held by the Trust during a time of declining interest rates, the Trust may not be able to reinvest the proceeds in securities providing the same investment return as the securities redeemed. If securities purchased by the Trust at a premium are called or sold prior to maturity, the Trust will recognize a capital loss to the extent the call or sale price is less than the purchase price. Additionally, the Trust will recognize a capital loss if it holds such securities to maturity.
U.S. Government Debt Securities. The Trust may invest in debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, including U.S. Treasury obligations, which differ in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance. Such obligations include U.S. Treasury bills (maturity of one year or less), U.S. Treasury notes (maturity of one to ten years) and U.S. Treasury bonds (generally maturities of greater than ten years), including the principal components or the interest components issued by the U.S. government under the separate trading of registered interest and principal securities program (i.e., “STRIPS”), all of which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
Municipal Securities. Set forth below is a detailed description of the municipal securities in which the Trust invests. Information with respect to ratings assigned to tax‑exempt obligations that the Trust may purchase is set forth in “Appendix A—Ratings of Investments” in the SAI. Obligations are included within the term municipal securities if the interest paid thereon is excluded from gross income for federal income tax purposes in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer.
Municipal securities include debt obligations issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, refunding of outstanding obligations and obtaining funds for general operating expenses and loans to other public institutions and facilities. In addition, certain types of PABs are issued by or on behalf of public authorities to finance various privately owned or operated facilities, including among other things, airports, public ports, mass commuting facilities, multi-family housing projects, as well as facilities for water supply, gas, electricity, sewage or solid waste disposal and other specialized facilities. Other types of PABs, the proceeds of which are used for the construction, equipment or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal securities. The interest on municipal securities may bear a fixed rate or be payable at a variable or floating rate. The two principal classifications of municipal securities are “general obligation” bonds and “revenue” bonds, which latter category includes PABs and, for bonds issued on or before August 15, 1986, industrial development bonds. Municipal securities typically are issued to finance public projects, such as roads or public buildings, to pay general operating expenses or to refinance outstanding debt. Municipal securities may also be issued for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned industrial development and pollution control projects. General obligation bonds are backed by the full faith and credit, or taxing authority, of the issuer
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and may be repaid from any revenue source. Revenue bonds may be repaid only from the revenues of a specific facility or source. Municipal securities may be issued on a long-term basis to provide permanent financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments and mortgage payments. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of the later issuance of long-term debt.
The municipal securities in which the Trust invests pay interest or income that, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer, is exempt from regular Federal income tax. The Advisors do not conduct its own analysis of the tax status of the interest paid by municipal securities held by the Trust, but will rely on the opinion of counsel to the issuer of each such instrument. The Trust may also invest in municipal securities issued by United States Territories (such as Puerto Rico or Guam) that are exempt from regular Federal income tax. In addition to the types of municipal securities described in this Prospectus, the Trust may invest in other securities that pay interest or income that is, or make other distributions that are, exempt from regular Federal income tax and/or state and local personal taxes, regardless of the technical structure of the issuer of the instrument. The Trust treats all of such tax‑exempt securities as municipal securities.
The yields on municipal securities are dependent on a variety of factors, including prevailing interest rates and the condition of the general money market and the municipal security market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The market value of municipal securities will vary with changes in interest rate levels and as a result of changing evaluations of the ability of bond issuers to meet interest and principal payments.
The Trust has not established any limit on the percentage of its portfolio that may be invested in PABs. The Trust may not be a suitable investment for investors who are already subject to the federal alternative minimum tax or who would become subject to the federal alternative minimum tax as a result of an investment in the Trust’s common shares.
General Obligation Bonds. General obligation bonds are typically secured by the issuer’s pledge of its faith, credit and taxing power for the repayment of principal and the payment of interest. The taxing power of any governmental entity may be limited, however, by provisions of its state constitution or laws, and an entity’s creditworthiness will depend on many factors, including potential erosion of its tax base due to population declines, natural disasters, declines in the state’s industrial base or inability to attract new industries, economic limits on the ability to tax without eroding the tax base, state legislative proposals or voter initiatives to limit ad valorem real property taxes and the extent to which the entity relies on federal or state aid, access to capital markets or other factors beyond the state’s or entity’s control. Accordingly, the capacity of the issuer of a general obligation bond as to the timely payment of interest and the repayment of principal when due is affected by the issuer’s maintenance of its tax base.
Revenue Bonds. Revenue or special obligation bonds are typically payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise tax or other specific revenue sources such as payments from the user of the facility being financed. Accordingly, the timely payment of interest and the repayment of principal in accordance with the terms of the revenue or special obligation bond is a function of the economic viability of such facility or such revenue source. Revenue bonds issued by state or local agencies to finance the development of low‑income, multi‑family housing involve special risks in addition to those associated with municipal securities generally, including that the underlying properties may not generate sufficient income to pay expenses and interest costs. Such bonds are generally non‑recourse against the property owner, may be junior to the rights of others with an interest in the properties, may pay interest that changes based in part on the financial performance of the property, may be prepayable without penalty and may be used to finance the construction of housing developments which, until completed and rented, do not generate income to pay interest. Increases in interest rates payable on senior obligations may make it more difficult for issuers to meet payment obligations on subordinated bonds.
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Municipal Notes. Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, repayment on the note may be delayed or the note may not be fully repaid, and the Trust may lose money.
Municipal Commercial Paper. Municipal commercial paper is generally unsecured and issued to meet short-term financing needs. The lack of security presents some risk of loss to the Trust since, in the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, unsecured creditors are repaid only after the secured creditors out of the assets, if any, that remain.
PABs. The Trust may purchase municipal securities classified as PABs. Interest received on certain PABs is treated as an item of “tax preference” for purposes of the federal alternative minimum tax and may impact the overall tax liability of certain investors in the Trust. PABs, formerly referred to as industrial development bonds, are issued by, or on behalf of, states, municipalities or public authorities to obtain funds to provide privately operated housing facilities, airport, mass transit or port facilities, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal or hazardous waste treatment or disposal facilities and certain local facilities for water supply, gas or electricity. Other types of PABs, the proceeds of which are used for the construction, equipment, repair or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal securities, although the federal tax laws may place substantial limitations on the size of such issues. Such bonds are secured primarily by revenues derived from loan repayments or lease payments due from the entity which may or may not be guaranteed by a parent company or otherwise secured. PABs generally are not secured by a pledge of the taxing power of the issuer of such bonds. Therefore, an investor should be aware that repayment of such bonds generally depends on the revenues of a private entity and be aware of the risks that such an investment may entail. The continued ability of an entity to generate sufficient revenues for the payment of principal and interest on such bonds will be affected by many factors including the size of the entity, capital structure, demand for its products or services, competition, general economic conditions, government regulation and the entity’s dependence on revenues for the operation of the particular facility being financed.
Moral Obligation Bonds. Municipal securities may also include “moral obligation” bonds, which are normally issued by special purpose public authorities. If an issuer of moral obligation bonds is unable to meet its obligations, the repayment of such bonds becomes a moral commitment but not a legal obligation of the state or municipality in question.
Municipal Lease Obligations. Also included within the general category of municipal securities are certificates of participation (“COPs”) issued by government authorities or entities to finance the acquisition or construction of equipment, land and/or facilities. COPs represent participations in a lease, an installment purchase contract or a conditional sales contract (hereinafter collectively called “lease obligations”) relating to such equipment, land or facilities. Municipal leases, like other municipal debt obligations, are subject to the risk of non‑payment. Although lease obligations do not constitute general obligations of the issuer for which the issuer’s unlimited taxing power is pledged, a lease obligation is frequently backed by the issuer’s covenant to budget for, appropriate and make the payments due under the lease obligation. However, certain lease obligations contain “non‑appropriation” clauses which provide that the issuer has no obligation to make lease or installment purchase payments in future years unless money is appropriated for such purpose on a yearly basis. Although “non‑appropriation” lease obligations are secured by the leased property, disposition of the property in the event of foreclosure might prove difficult and the value of the property may be insufficient to issue lease obligations. Certain investments in lease obligations may be illiquid.
The ability of issuers of municipal leases to make timely lease payments may be adversely impacted in general economic downturns and as relative governmental cost burdens are allocated and reallocated among federal, state and local governmental units. Such non‑payment would result in a reduction of income to the Trust, and could result in a reduction in the value of the municipal lease experiencing non‑payment and a potential decrease in the NAV of the Trust. Issuers of municipal lease obligations might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. In the event of bankruptcy of such an issuer, the Trust could experience delays and limitations
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with respect to the collection of principal and interest on such municipal leases and the Trust may not, in all circumstances, be able to collect all principal and interest to which it is entitled. To enforce its rights in the event of a default in lease payments, the Trust might take possession of and manage the assets securing the issuer’s obligations on such securities, which may increase the Trust’s operating expenses and adversely affect the NAV of the Trust. When the lease contains a non‑appropriation clause, however, the failure to pay would not be a default and the Trust would not have the right to take possession of the assets. Any income derived from the Trust’s ownership or operation of such assets may not be tax‑exempt or may fail to generate qualifying income for purposes of the income tests applicable to regulated investment companies. In addition, the Trust’s intention to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code may limit the extent to which the Trust may exercise its rights by taking possession of such assets, because as a regulated investment company the Trust is subject to certain limitations on its investments and on the nature of its income.
Zero-Coupon Bonds. Municipal securities may include zero‑coupon bonds. Zero-coupon bonds are securities that are sold at a discount to par value and do not pay interest during the life of the security. The discount approximates the total amount of interest the security will accrue and compound over the period until maturity at a rate of interest reflecting the market rate of the security at the time of issuance. Upon maturity, the holder of a zero‑coupon bond is entitled to receive the par value of the security.
While interest payments are not made on such securities, holders of such securities are deemed to have received income (“phantom income”) annually, notwithstanding that cash may not be received currently. The effect of owning instruments that do not make current interest payments is that a fixed yield is earned not only on the original investment but also, in effect, on all discount accretion during the life of the obligations. This implicit reinvestment of earnings at a fixed rate eliminates the risk of being unable to invest distributions at a rate as high as the implicit yield on the zero‑coupon bond, but at the same time eliminates the holder’s ability to reinvest at higher rates in the future. For this reason, some of these securities may be subject to substantially greater price fluctuations during periods of changing market interest rates than are comparable securities that pay interest currently. Longer term zero‑coupon bonds are more exposed to interest rate risk than shorter term zero‑coupon bonds. These investments benefit the issuer by mitigating its need for cash to meet debt service, but also require a higher rate of return to attract investors who are willing to defer receipt of cash.
The Trust accrues income with respect to these securities for U.S. federal income tax and accounting purposes prior to the receipt of cash payments. Zero-coupon bonds may be subject to greater fluctuation in value and less liquidity in the event of adverse market conditions than comparably rated securities that pay cash interest at regular intervals.
Further, to maintain its qualification for pass-through treatment under the federal tax laws, the Trust is required to distribute income to its shareholders and, consequently, may have to dispose of other, more liquid portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances or may have to leverage itself by borrowing in order to generate the cash to satisfy these distributions. The required distributions may result in an increase in the Trust’s exposure to zero‑coupon bonds.
In addition to the above-described risks, there are certain other risks related to investing in zero‑coupon bonds. During a period of severe market conditions, the market for such securities may become even less liquid. In addition, as these securities do not pay cash interest, the Trust’s investment exposure to these securities and their risks, including credit risk, will increase during the time these securities are held in the Trust’s portfolio.
Pre‑Refunded Municipal Securities. The principal of, and interest on, pre‑refunded municipal securities are no longer paid from the original revenue source for the securities. Instead, the source of such payments is typically an escrow fund consisting of U.S. Government securities. The assets in the escrow fund are derived from the proceeds of refunding bonds issued by the same issuer as the pre‑refunded municipal securities. Issuers of municipal securities use this advance refunding technique to obtain more favorable terms with respect to securities that are not yet subject to call or redemption by the issuer. For example, advance refunding enables an
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issuer to refinance debt at lower market interest rates, restructure debt to improve cash flow or eliminate restrictive covenants in the indenture or other governing instrument for the pre‑refunded municipal securities.
However, except for a change in the revenue source from which principal and interest payments are made, the pre‑refunded municipal securities remain outstanding on their original terms until they mature or are redeemed by the issuer.
Special Taxing Districts. Special taxing districts are organized to plan and finance infrastructure developments to induce residential, commercial and industrial growth and redevelopment. The bond financing methods such as tax increment finance, tax assessment, special services district and Mello-Roos bonds (a type of municipal security established by the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982), are generally payable solely from taxes or other revenues attributable to the specific projects financed by the bonds without recourse to the credit or taxing power of related or overlapping municipalities. They often are exposed to real estate development-related risks and can have more taxpayer concentration risk than general tax‑supported bonds, such as general obligation bonds. Further, the fees, special taxes, or tax allocations and other revenues that are established to secure such financings are generally limited as to the rate or amount that may be levied or assessed and are not subject to increase pursuant to rate covenants or municipal or corporate guarantees. The bonds could default if development failed to progress as anticipated or if larger taxpayers failed to pay the assessments, fees and taxes as provided in the financing plans of the districts.
Indexed and Inverse Floating Rate Securities. The Trust may invest in municipal securities (and Non‑Municipal Tax‑Exempt Securities) that yield a return based on a particular index of value or interest rates. For example, the Trust may invest in municipal securities that pay interest based on an index of municipal security interest rates. The principal amount payable upon maturity of certain municipal securities also may be based on the value of the index. To the extent the Trust invests in these types of municipal securities, the Trust’s return on such municipal securities will be subject to risk with respect to the value of the particular index. Interest and principal payable on the municipal securities may also be based on relative changes among particular indices. Also, the Trust may invest in so‑called “inverse floating rate bonds” or “residual interest bonds” on which the interest rates vary inversely with a short-term floating rate (which may be reset periodically by a Dutch auction, a remarketing agent, or by reference to a short-term tax‑exempt interest rate index). The Trust may purchase synthetically created inverse floating rate bonds evidenced by custodial or trust receipts. Generally, income on inverse floating rate bonds will decrease when short-term interest rates increase, and will increase when short-term interest rates decrease. Such securities have the effect of providing a degree of investment leverage, since they may increase or decrease in value in response to changes, as an illustration, in market interest rates at a rate which is a multiple (typically two) of the rate at which fixed rate long-term tax‑exempt securities increase or decrease in response to such changes. As a result, the market values of such securities will generally be more volatile than the market values of fixed rate tax‑exempt securities. To seek to limit the volatility of these securities, the Trust may purchase inverse floating rate bonds with shorter-term maturities or limitations on the extent to which the interest rate may vary. Certain investments in such obligations may be illiquid.
When-Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments. The Trust may purchase or sell securities that it is entitled to receive on a when-issued basis. The Trust may also purchase or sell securities on a delayed delivery basis. The Trust may also purchase or sell securities through a forward commitment. These transactions involve the purchase or sale of securities by the Trust at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. The purchase will be recorded on the date the Trust enters into the commitment and the value of the securities will thereafter be reflected in the Trust’s NAV. The Trust has not established any limit on the percentage of its assets that may be committed in connection with these transactions.
There can be no assurance that a security purchased on a when-issued basis will be issued or that a security purchased or sold through a forward commitment will be delivered. A default by a counterparty may result in the
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Trust missing the opportunity of obtaining a price considered to be advantageous. The value of securities in these transactions on the delivery date may be more or less than the Trust’s purchase price. The Trust may bear the risk of a decline in the value of the security in these transactions and may not benefit from an appreciation in the value of the security during the commitment period.
If deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, the Trust may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it has been entered into, and may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Trust on the settlement date. In these cases the Trust may realize a taxable capital gain or loss.
When the Trust engages in when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the trade. Failure of such party to do so may result in the Trust’s incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price considered to be advantageous.
The market value of the securities underlying a commitment to purchase securities, and any subsequent fluctuations in their market value, is taken into account when determining the market value of the Trust starting on the day the Trust agrees to purchase the securities. The Trust does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until they are paid for and delivered on the settlement date.
Rule 18f‑4 under the 1940 Act permits the Trust to enter into when‑issued or forward‑settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including to‑be‑announced (“TBA”) commitments, and dollar rolls) and non‑standard settlement cycle securities notwithstanding the limitation on the issuance of senior securities in Section 18 of the 1940 Act, provided that the Trust intends to physically settle the transaction and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed‑Settlement Securities Provision”). If a when‑issued, forward‑settling or non‑standard settlement cycle security does not satisfy the Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision, then it is treated as a derivatives transaction under Rule 18f‑4.
Yields. Yields on municipal securities are dependent on a variety of factors, including the general condition of the money market and of the municipal security market, the size of a particular offering, the financial condition of the issuer, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The ability of the Trust to achieve its investment objective is also dependent on the continuing ability of the issuers of the securities in which the Trust invests to meet their obligations for the payment of interest and principal when due. There are variations in the risks involved in holding municipal securities, both within a particular classification and between classifications, depending on numerous factors. Furthermore, the rights of owners of municipal securities and the obligations of the issuer of such municipal securities may be subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws and court decisions affecting the rights of creditors generally and to general equitable principles, which may limit the enforcement of certain remedies.
Preferred Securities. The Trust may invest in preferred securities. There are two basic types of preferred securities. The first type, sometimes referred to as traditional preferred securities, consists of preferred stock issued by an entity taxable as a corporation. The second type, sometimes referred to as trust preferred securities, are usually issued by a trust or limited partnership and represent preferred interests in deeply subordinated debt instruments issued by the corporation for whose benefit the trust or partnership was established.
Traditional Preferred Securities. Traditional preferred securities generally pay fixed or adjustable rate dividends to investors and generally have a “preference” over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of a company’s assets. This means that a company must pay dividends on preferred stock before paying any dividends on its common stock. In order to be payable, distributions on such preferred securities must be declared by the issuer’s board of directors. Income payments on typical preferred securities currently outstanding are cumulative, causing dividends and distributions to accumulate even if not declared by the board of directors or otherwise made payable. In such a case all accumulated dividends must be paid before any dividend on the common stock can be paid. However, some traditional preferred stocks are non‑cumulative, in which case dividends do not accumulate and need not ever be paid. A portion of the portfolio may include investments in non‑cumulative preferred securities, whereby the issuer does not have an obligation to make up
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any arrearages to its shareholders. Should an issuer of a non‑cumulative preferred stock held by the Trust determine not to pay dividends on such stock, the amount of dividends the Trust pays may be adversely affected. There is no assurance that dividends or distributions on the traditional preferred securities in which the Trust invests will be declared or otherwise made payable.
Preferred stockholders usually have no right to vote for corporate directors or on other matters. Shares of traditional preferred securities have a liquidation value that generally equals the original purchase price at the date of issuance. The market value of preferred securities may be affected by favorable and unfavorable changes impacting companies in the utilities and financial services sectors, which are prominent issuers of preferred securities, and by actual and anticipated changes in tax laws, such as changes in corporate income tax rates or the “Dividends Received Deduction.” Because the claim on an issuer’s earnings represented by traditional preferred securities may become onerous when interest rates fall below the rate payable on such securities, the issuer may redeem the securities. Thus, in declining interest rate environments in particular, the Trust’s holdings, if any, of higher rate-paying fixed rate preferred securities may be reduced and the Trust may be unable to acquire securities of comparable credit quality paying comparable rates with the redemption proceeds.
Trust Preferred Securities. Trust preferred securities are typically issued by corporations, generally in the form of interest-bearing notes with preferred security characteristics, or by an affiliated business trust of a corporation, generally in the form of beneficial interests in subordinated debentures or similarly structured securities. The trust preferred securities market consists of both fixed and adjustable coupon rate securities that are either perpetual in nature or have stated maturity dates.
Trust preferred securities are typically junior and fully subordinated liabilities of an issuer or the beneficiary of a guarantee that is junior and fully subordinated to the other liabilities of the guarantor. In addition, trust preferred securities typically permit an issuer to defer the payment of income for eighteen months or more without triggering an event of default. Generally, the deferral period is five years or more. Because of their subordinated position in the capital structure of an issuer, the ability to defer payments for extended periods of time without default consequences to the issuer, and certain other features (such as restrictions on common dividend payments by the issuer or ultimate guarantor when full cumulative payments on the trust preferred securities have not been made), these trust preferred securities are often treated as close substitutes for traditional preferred securities, both by issuers and investors. Trust preferred securities have many of the key characteristics of equity due to their subordinated position in an issuer’s capital structure and because their quality and value are heavily dependent on the profitability of the issuer rather than on any legal claims to specific assets or cash flows.
Convertible Securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock or other equity security of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion, convertible securities have characteristics similar to nonconvertible income securities in that they ordinarily provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stocks of the same or similar issuers, but lower yields than comparable nonconvertible securities. The value of a convertible security is influenced by changes in interest rates, with investment value declining as interest rates increase and increasing as interest rates decline. The credit standing of the issuer and other factors also may have an effect on the convertible security’s investment value. Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure but are usually subordinated to comparable nonconvertible securities. Convertible securities may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument.
A “synthetic” or “manufactured” convertible security may be created by the Trust or by a third party by combining separate securities that possess the two principal characteristics of a traditional convertible security: an income producing component and a convertible component. The income-producing component is achieved by investing in non‑convertible, income-producing securities such as bonds, preferred stocks and money market instruments. The convertible component is achieved by investing in securities or instruments such as warrants or
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options to buy common stock at a certain exercise price, or options on a stock index. Unlike a traditional convertible security, which is a single security having a single market value, a synthetic convertible comprises two or more separate securities, each with its own market value. Because the “market value” of a synthetic convertible security is the sum of the values of its income-producing component and its convertible component, the value of a synthetic convertible security may respond differently to market fluctuations than a traditional convertible security. The Trust also may purchase synthetic convertible securities created by other parties, including convertible structured notes. Convertible structured notes are income-producing debentures linked to equity. Convertible structured notes have the attributes of a convertible security; however, the issuer of the convertible note (typically an investment bank), rather than the issuer of the underlying common stock into which the note is convertible, assumes credit risk associated with the underlying investment and the Trust in turn assumes credit risk associated with the issuer of the convertible note.
Contingent Convertible Securities. One type of convertible security in which the Trust may invest is contingent convertible securities, sometimes referred to as “CoCos.” CoCos are a form of hybrid debt security issued by banking institutions that are intended to either automatically convert into equity or have their principal written down upon the occurrence of certain “trigger events,” which may include a decline in the issuer’s capital below a specified threshold level, increase in the issuer’s risk weighted assets, the share price of the issuer falling to a particular level for a certain period of time and certain regulatory events. CoCos’ unique equity conversion or principal write-down features are tailored to the issuing banking institution and its regulatory requirements. CoCos are a newer form of instrument and the regulatory environment for these instruments continues to evolve.
Restricted and Illiquid Investments. The Trust may invest in restricted, illiquid or less liquid investments or investments in which no secondary trading market is readily available or which are otherwise illiquid, including private placement securities.
The liquidity of an investment relates to the ability to dispose easily of the investment and the price to be obtained upon disposition of the investment, which may be less than would be obtained for a comparable more liquid investment. “Illiquid investments” are investments which cannot be sold within seven days in the ordinary course of business at approximately the value used by the Trust in determining its NAV. Illiquid investments may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments. Investment of the Trust’s assets in illiquid investments may restrict the ability of the Trust to dispose of its investments in a timely fashion and for a fair price as well as its ability to take advantage of market opportunities. The risks associated with illiquidity will be particularly acute where the Trust’s operations require cash, such as when the Trust pays dividends, and could result in the Trust borrowing to meet short-term cash requirements or incurring capital losses on the sale of illiquid investments.
“Restricted securities” are securities that are not registered under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may be sold in private placement transactions between issuers and their purchasers and may be neither listed on an exchange nor traded in other established markets. In many cases, privately placed securities may not be freely transferable under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction or due to contractual restrictions on resale. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately placed securities may be less liquid and more difficult to value than publicly traded securities. To the extent that privately placed securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from the sales, due to restrictions on resale, could be less than those originally paid by the Trust or less than their fair market value. In addition, issuers whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements that may be applicable if their securities were publicly traded. If any privately placed securities held by the Trust are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being resold, the Trust may be required to bear the expenses of registration. Certain of the Trust’s investments in private placements may consist of direct investments and may include investments in smaller, less seasoned issuers, which may involve greater risks. These issuers may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or they may be dependent on a limited management group. In making investments in such securities, the Trust may obtain access to material nonpublic information, which may restrict the Trust’s ability to conduct portfolio transactions in such securities.
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Some of these securities are new and complex, and trade only among institutions; the markets for these securities are still developing, and may not function as efficiently as established markets. Also, because there may not be an established market price for these securities, the Trust may have to estimate their value, which means that their valuation (and thus the valuation of the Trust) may have a subjective element.
Transactions in restricted or illiquid securities may entail registration expense and other transaction costs that are higher than those for transactions in unrestricted or liquid securities eligible for trading on national securities exchanges or in the over‑the‑counter markets. Where registration is required for restricted or illiquid securities a considerable time period may elapse between the time the Trust decides to sell the security and the time it is actually permitted to sell the security under an effective registration statement. If during such period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Trust may obtain less favorable pricing terms then when it decided to sell the security.
Non‑U.S. Securities. The Trust may invest in securities of non‑U.S. issuers (“Non‑U.S. Securities”). Subject to the Trust’s investment policies, these securities may be U.S. dollar-denominated or non‑U.S. dollar-denominated. Some Non‑U.S. Securities may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Similarly, there is less volume and liquidity in most foreign securities markets than in the United States and, at times, greater price volatility than in the United States. Because evidence of ownership of such securities usually is held outside the United States, the Trust will be subject to additional risks if it invests in Non‑U.S. Securities, which include adverse political and economic developments, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits and adoption of governmental restrictions which might adversely affect or restrict the payment of principal and interest on the foreign securities to investors located outside the country of the issuer, whether from currency blockage or otherwise. Non‑U.S. Securities may trade on days when the common shares are not priced or traded.
Emerging Markets Investments. The Trust may invest in securities of issuers located in emerging market countries, including securities denominated in currencies of emerging market countries. Emerging market countries generally include every nation in the world except the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and most countries located in Western Europe. These issuers may be subject to risks that do not apply to issuers in larger, more developed countries. These risks are more pronounced to the extent the Trust invests significantly in one country. Less information about non‑U.S. issuers or markets may be available due to less rigorous disclosure and accounting standards or regulatory practices. Many non‑U.S. markets are smaller, less liquid and more volatile than U.S. markets. In a changing market, the Advisors may not be able to sell the Trust’s portfolio securities in amounts and at prices it considers reasonable. The U.S. dollar may appreciate against non‑U.S. currencies or an emerging market government may impose restrictions on currency conversion or trading. The economies of non‑U.S. countries may grow at a slower rate than expected or may experience a downturn or recession. Economic, political and social developments may adversely affect emerging market countries and their securities markets.
Equity Securities. The Trust may invest in equity securities, including common stocks and warrants. Common stock represents an equity ownership interest in a company. The Trust may hold or have exposure to common stocks of issuers of any size, including small and medium capitalization stocks. Warrants are privileges issued by corporations enabling the owners to subscribe to and purchase a specified number of shares of the corporation at a specified price during a specified period of time. Warrants normally have a short life span to expiration. The purchase of warrants involves the risk that the Trust could lose the purchase value of a right or warrant if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not exercised prior to the warrants’ expiration. Also, the purchase of warrants involves the risk that the effective price paid for the warrant added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed security’s market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security. Buying a warrant does not make the Trust a shareholder of the underlying stock.
Sovereign Governmental and Supranational Debt. The Trust may invest in all types of debt securities of governmental issuers in all countries, including emerging market countries. These sovereign debt securities may include without limitation: debt securities issued or guaranteed by governments, governmental agencies or instrumentalities and political subdivisions; debt securities issued by government owned, controlled or sponsored
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entities; interests in entities organized and operated for the purpose of restructuring the investment characteristics of instruments issued by any of the above issuers; Brady Bonds, which are debt securities issued under the framework of the Brady Plan as a means for debtor nations to restructure their outstanding external indebtedness; participations in loans between emerging market governments and financial institutions; or debt securities issued by supranational entities such as the World Bank. A supranational entity is a bank, commission or company established or financially supported by the national governments of one or more countries to promote reconstruction or development. Sovereign government and supranational debt involve all the risks described herein regarding foreign and emerging markets investments as well as the risk of debt moratorium, repudiation or renegotiation.
Brady Bonds are debt securities, generally denominated in U.S. dollars, issued under the framework of the Brady Plan as a means for debtor nations to restructure their outstanding external indebtedness. In restructuring its external debt under the Brady Plan framework, a debtor nation negotiates with its existing bank lenders as well as multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (the “IMF”). The Brady Plan framework, as it has developed, contemplates the exchange of external commercial bank debt for newly issued bonds known as “Brady Bonds.” Brady Bonds may also be issued in respect of new money being advanced by existing lenders in connection with the debt restructuring. The World Bank and/or the IMF support the restructuring by providing funds pursuant to loan agreements or other arrangements which enable the debtor nation to collateralize the new Brady Bonds or to repurchase outstanding bank debt at a discount. Under these arrangements with the World Bank and/or the IMF, debtor nations have been required to agree to the implementation of certain domestic monetary and fiscal reforms. Such reforms have included the liberalization of trade and foreign investment, the privatization of state-owned enterprises and the setting of targets for public spending and borrowing. These policies and programs seek to promote the debtor country’s economic growth and development. Investors should also recognize that the Brady Plan only sets forth general guiding principles for economic reform and debt reduction, emphasizing that solutions must be negotiated on a case‑by‑case basis between debtor nations and their creditors.
Brady Bonds involve various risk factors described elsewhere associated with investing in foreign securities, including the history of defaults with respect to commercial bank loans by public and private entities of countries issuing Brady Bonds. In light of the residual risk of Brady Bonds and, among other factors, the history of defaults, investments in Brady Bonds are considered speculative. There can be no assurance that Brady Bonds in which the Trust may invest will not be subject to restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit, which may cause the Trust to suffer a loss of interest or principal on any of its holdings.
Inflation-Indexed Bonds. Inflation-indexed bonds (other than municipal inflation-indexed bonds and certain corporate inflation-indexed bonds) are fixed income securities the principal value of which is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. If the index measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation-indexed bonds (other than municipal inflation-indexed bonds and certain corporate inflation-indexed bonds) will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed bonds (“TIPs”). For bonds that do not provide a similar guarantee, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal. With regard to municipal inflation-indexed bonds and certain corporate inflation-indexed bonds, the inflation adjustment is typically reflected in the semi-annual coupon payment. As a result, the principal value of municipal inflation-indexed bonds and such corporate inflation-indexed bonds does not adjust according to the rate of inflation.
Variable and Floating Rate Instruments. Variable and floating rate securities provide for a periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid on the obligations. The terms of such obligations provide that interest rates are adjusted periodically based upon an interest rate adjustment index as provided in the respective obligations. The adjustment intervals may be regular, and range from daily up to annually, or may be event-based, such as based on a change in the prime rate.
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The interest rate on a floating rate security is a variable rate which is tied to another interest rate, such as a money-market index or Treasury bill rate. The interest rate on a floating rate security resets periodically, typically every six months. Because of the interest rate reset feature, floating rate securities provide the Trust with a certain degree of protection against rises in interest rates, although the Trust will participate in any declines in interest rates as well.
Inverse Floating Rate Securities. An inverse floater is a type of debt instrument that bears a floating or variable interest rate that moves in the opposite direction to interest rates generally or the interest rate on another security or index. Changes in interest rates generally, or the interest rate of the other security or index, inversely affect the interest rate paid on the inverse floater, with the result that the inverse floater’s price will be considerably more volatile than that of a fixed rate bond. The Trust may invest in inverse floaters, which brokers typically create by depositing an income-producing instrument, including a mortgage related security, in a trust. The trust in turn issues a variable rate security and inverse floaters. The interest rate for the variable rate security is typically determined by an index or an auction process, while the inverse floater holder receives the balance of the income from the underlying income-producing instrument less an auction fee. The market prices of inverse floaters may be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and prepayment rates on the underlying securities, and may decrease significantly when interest rates increase or prepayment rates change. In a transaction in which the Trust purchases an inverse floater from a trust, and the underlying security was held by the Trust prior to being deposited into the trust, the Trust typically treats the transaction as a secured borrowing for financial reporting purposes. As a result, for financial reporting purposes, the Trust will generally incur a non‑cash interest expense with respect to interest paid by the trust on the variable rate securities and will recognize additional interest income in an amount directly corresponding to the non‑cash interest expense. Therefore, the Trust’s NAV per common share and performance are not affected by the non‑cash interest expense. This accounting treatment does not apply to inverse floaters acquired by the Trust when the Trust did not previously own the underlying bond.
Strategic Transactions and Other Management Techniques. The Trust may engage in various strategic transactions for hedging and risk management purposes or to enhance total return (“Strategic Transactions”). Strategic Transactions involve the use of derivative instruments. Such instruments may include, but are not limited to, financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including, but not limited to, credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts and other derivative instruments. If the Trust engages in Strategic Transactions for hedging and risk management purposes, it primarily intends to use strategies that include swaps (including interest rate swaps), financial futures contracts, options on financial futures or options based either on an index of long-term securities or on taxable debt securities whose prices, in the opinion of the Advisors, correlate with the prices of the Trust’s investments. If the Trust engages in Strategic Transactions to enhance total return, it primarily intends to use the same strategies as discussed above for hedging and risk management purposes and, in addition, to engage in credit derivative transactions, including credit default swaps. There is no assurance that these derivative strategies will be available at any time or that the Advisors will determine to use them for hedging or risk management purposes or to enhance total return or, if used, that the strategies will be successful.
There is no particular strategy that requires use of one technique rather than another as the decision to use any particular strategy or instrument is a function of market conditions and the composition of the portfolio. The ability of the Trust to use Strategic Transactions successfully will depend on the Advisors’ ability to predict pertinent market movements as well as sufficient correlation among the instruments, which cannot be assured. Strategic Transactions subject the Trust to the risk that, if the Advisors incorrectly forecasts market values, interest rates or other applicable factors, the Trust’s performance could suffer. Certain of these Strategic Transactions, such as investments in inverse floating rate securities and credit default swaps, may provide investment leverage to the Trust’s portfolio. The Trust is not required to use derivatives or other portfolio strategies to seek to hedge its portfolio and may choose not to do so.
The use of Strategic Transactions may result in losses greater than if they had not been used, may require the Trust to sell or purchase portfolio securities at inopportune times or for prices other than current market values,
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may limit the amount of appreciation the Trust can realize on an investment or may cause the Trust to hold a security that it might otherwise sell. Furthermore, the Trust may only engage in Strategic Transactions from time to time and may not necessarily be engaging in hedging activities when movements in interest rates occur.
The SAI contains further information about the characteristics, risks and possible benefits of Strategic Transactions and the Trust’s other policies and limitations (which are not fundamental policies) relating to Strategic Transactions. Certain provisions of the Code may restrict or affect the ability of the Trust to engage in Strategic Transactions. In addition, the use of certain Strategic Transactions may give rise to taxable income and have certain other consequences.
Swaps. The Trust may enter into swap agreements, including interest rate and index swap agreements. Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a few weeks to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties are calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” i.e., the dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate, in a particular foreign currency, or in a “basket” of securities representing a particular index. The “notional amount” of the swap agreement is only a fictive basis on which to calculate the obligations that the parties to a swap agreement have agreed to exchange. The Trust’s obligations (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the “net amount”).
Whether the Trust’s use of swap agreements will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend on the Advisors’ ability to correctly predict whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Moreover, the Trust bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. Swap agreements also bear the risk that the Trust will not be able to meet its payment obligations to the counterparty. Restrictions imposed by the tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies may limit the Trust’s ability to use swap agreements. It is possible that developments in the swap market, including government regulation, could adversely affect the Trust’s ability to terminate existing swap agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.
Swaptions. A swaption is a contract that gives a counterparty the right (but not the obligation) to enter into a new swap agreement or to shorten, extend, cancel or otherwise modify an existing swap agreement, at some designated future time on specified terms. The Trust may write (sell) and purchase put and call swaptions. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, the Trust may incur a greater degree of risk when it writes a swaption than it would incur when it purchases a swaption with the same terms. When the Trust purchases a swaption, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when the Trust writes a swaption, upon exercise of the option the Trust will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement, and the Trust could be exposed to losses in excess of the amount of premium it received from the purchaser of the swaption.
Credit Default Swaps. The Trust may enter into credit default swap agreements. The credit default swap agreement may have as reference obligations one or more securities that are not currently held by the Trust. The protection “buyer” in a credit default contract may be obligated to pay the protection “seller” an upfront or a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract, provided that no credit event on the reference obligation occurs. If a credit event occurs, the seller generally must pay the buyer the “par value” (full notional amount) of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity described in the swap, or if the swap is cash settled the seller may be required to deliver the related net cash amount (the difference between the market value of the reference obligation and its par value). The Trust may be either the buyer or seller in the transaction. If the Trust is a buyer and no credit event occurs, the Trust will generally receive no payments from its counterparty under the swap if the swap is held through its termination
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date. However, if a credit event occurs, the buyer generally may elect to receive the full notional amount of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity, the value of which may have significantly decreased. As a seller, the Trust generally receives an upfront payment or a fixed rate of income throughout the term of the swap, which typically is between six months and three years, provided that there is no credit event. If a credit event occurs, generally the seller must pay the buyer the full notional amount of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity, the value of which may have significantly decreased. As the seller, the Trust would effectively add leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to its Managed Assets, the Trust would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap in excess of any premium and margin required to establish and maintain the position.
Credit default swap agreements involve greater risks than if the Trust had taken a position in the reference obligation directly (either by purchasing or selling) since, in addition to general market risks, credit default swaps are subject to illiquidity risk, counterparty risk and credit risks. A buyer generally will also lose its upfront payment or any periodic payments it makes to the seller counterparty and receive no payments from its counterparty should no credit event occur and the swap is held to its termination date. If a credit event were to occur, the value of any deliverable obligation received by the seller, coupled with the upfront or periodic payments previously received, may be less than the full notional amount it pays to the buyer, resulting in a loss of value to the seller. A seller of a credit default swap or similar instrument is exposed to many of the same risks of leverage since, if a credit event occurs, the seller generally will be required to pay the buyer the full notional amount of the contract net of any amounts owed by the buyer related to its delivery of deliverable obligations. The Trust’s obligations under a credit default swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owed to the Trust).
In addition, the credit derivatives market is subject to a changing regulatory environment. It is possible that regulatory or other developments in the credit derivatives market could adversely affect the Trust’s ability to successfully use credit derivatives.
Total Return Swaps. Total return swap agreements are contracts in which one party agrees to make periodic payments to another party based on the change in market value of the assets underlying the contract, which may include a specified security, basket of securities or securities indices during the specified period, in return for periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or the total return from other underlying assets. Total return swap agreements may be used to obtain exposure to a security or market without owning or taking physical custody of such security or investing directly in such market. Total return swap agreements may effectively add leverage to the Trust’s portfolio because, in addition to its Managed Assets, the Trust would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap in excess of any premium and margin required to establish and maintain the position.
Total return swap agreements are subject to market risk as well as the risk that a counterparty will default on its payment obligations to the Trust thereunder. Swap agreements also bear the risk that the Trust will not be able to meet its obligation to the counterparty. Generally, the Trust will enter into total return swaps on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted against one another with the Trust receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments).
Interest Rate Transactions. The Trust may enter into interest rate swaps and purchase or sell interest rate caps and floors primarily to preserve a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio as a duration management technique or to protect against any increase in the price of securities the Trust anticipates purchasing at a later date. The Trust intends to use these transactions for duration and risk management purposes and not as a speculative investment. The Trust will not sell interest rate caps or floors that it does not own. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Trust with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, e.g., an exchange of floating rate payments for fixed rate payments with respect to a notional amount of principal. The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent
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that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate floor.
The Trust may enter into interest rate swaps, caps and floors on either an asset-based or liability-based basis, depending on whether it is offsetting volatility with respect to its assets or liabilities. Usually, payments with respect to interest rate swaps will be made on a net basis, i.e., the two payment streams are netted out, with the Trust receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments on the payment dates. If there is a default by the other party to an uncleared interest rate swap transaction, generally the Trust will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. With respect to interest rate swap transactions cleared through a central clearing counterparty, a clearing organization will be substituted for the counterparty and will guaranty the parties’ performance under the swap agreement. However, there can be no assurance that the clearing organization will satisfy its obligation to the Trust or that the Trust would be able to recover the full amount of assets deposited on its behalf with the clearing organization in the event of the default by the clearing organization or the Trust’s clearing broker. Certain U.S. federal income tax requirements may limit the Trust’s ability to engage in interest rate swaps. Distributions attributable to transactions in interest rate swaps generally will be taxable as ordinary income to shareholders.
Foreign Currency Transactions. The Trust’s common shares are priced in U.S. dollars and the distributions paid by the Trust to common shareholders are paid in U.S. dollars. However, a portion of the Trust’s assets may be denominated in non‑U.S. currencies and the income received by the Trust from such securities will be paid in non‑U.S. currencies. The Trust also may invest in or gain exposure to non‑U.S. currencies for investment or hedging purposes. The Trust’s investments in securities that trade in, or receive revenues in, non‑U.S. currencies will be subject to currency risk, which is the risk that fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies may negatively affect an investment. The Trust may (but is not required to) hedge some or all of its exposure to non‑U.S. currencies through the use of derivative strategies, including forward foreign currency exchange contracts, foreign currency futures contracts and options on foreign currencies and foreign currency futures. Suitable hedging transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that the Trust will engage in such transactions at any given time or from time to time when they would be beneficial. Although the Trust has the flexibility to engage in such transactions, the Advisors may determine not to do so or to do so only in unusual circumstances or market conditions. These transactions may not be successful and may eliminate any chance for the Trust to benefit from favorable fluctuations in relevant foreign currencies. The Trust may also use derivatives contracts for purposes of increasing exposure to a foreign currency or to shift exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one currency to another.
Foreign Exchange Transactions. The Trust may engage in spot and forward foreign exchange transactions and currency swaps, purchase and sell options on currencies and purchase and sell currency futures and related options thereon (collectively, “Currency Instruments”). Such transactions could be effected with respect to hedges on foreign dollar denominated securities owned by the Trust, sold by the Trust but not yet delivered, or committed or anticipated to be purchased by the Trust. As an illustration, the Trust may use such techniques to hedge the stated value in U.S. dollars of an investment in a yen‑denominated security. In such circumstances, for example, the Trust may purchase a foreign currency put option enabling it to sell a specified amount of yen for dollars at a specified price by a future date. To the extent the hedge is successful, a loss in the value of the yen relative to the dollar will tend to be offset by an increase in the value of the put option. To offset, in whole or in part, the cost of acquiring such a put option, the Trust may also sell a call option which, if exercised, requires it to sell a specified amount of yen for dollars at a specified price by a future date (a technique called a “straddle”). By selling such a call option in this illustration, the Trust gives up the opportunity to profit without limit from increases in the relative value of the yen to the dollar. “Straddles” of the type that may be used by the Trust are considered to constitute hedging transactions. The Trust may not attempt to hedge any or all of its foreign portfolio positions.
Forward Foreign Currency Contracts. The Trust may enter into forward currency contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars or another foreign currency. A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed
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number of days (term) from the date of the forward currency contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time the forward currency contract is entered into. Forward currency contracts are traded directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. The Trust may purchase a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar price of a security denominated in a foreign currency that the Trust intends to acquire. The Trust may sell a forward currency contract to lock in the U.S. dollar equivalent of the proceeds from the anticipated sale of a security or a dividend or interest payment denominated in a foreign currency. The Trust may also use forward currency contracts to shift the Trust’s exposure to foreign currency exchange rate changes from one currency to another. For example, if the Trust owns securities denominated in a foreign currency and the Advisors believe that currency will decline relative to another currency, the Trust might enter into a forward currency contract to sell the appropriate amount of the first foreign currency with payment to be made in the second currency. The Trust may also purchase forward currency contracts to enhance income when the Advisors anticipate that the foreign currency will appreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency do not present attractive investment opportunities. The Trust may also use forward currency contracts to hedge against a decline in the value of existing investments denominated in a foreign currency. Such a hedge would tend to offset both positive and negative currency fluctuations, but would not offset changes in security values caused by other factors. The Trust could also hedge the position by entering into a forward currency contract to sell another currency expected to perform similarly to the currency in which the Trust’s existing investments are denominated. This type of transaction could offer advantages in terms of cost, yield or efficiency, but may not hedge currency exposure as effectively as a simple forward currency transaction to sell U.S. dollars. This type of transaction may result in losses if the currency used to hedge does not perform similarly to the currency in which the hedged securities are denominated. The Trust may also use forward currency contracts in one currency or a basket of currencies to attempt to hedge against fluctuations in the value of securities denominated in a different currency if the Advisors anticipate that there will be a correlation between the two currencies.
The cost to the Trust of engaging in forward currency contracts varies with factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Because forward currency contracts are usually entered into on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are usually involved. When the Trust enters into a forward currency contract, it relies on the counterparty to make or take delivery of the underlying currency at the maturity of the contract. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of some or all of any expected benefit of the transaction. Secondary markets generally do not exist for forward currency contracts, with the result that closing transactions generally can be made for forward currency contracts only by negotiating directly with the counterparty. Thus, there can be no assurance that the Trust will in fact be able to close out a forward currency contract at a favorable price prior to maturity. In addition, in the event of insolvency of the counterparty, the Trust might be unable to close out a forward currency contract. In either event, the Trust would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. The precise matching of forward currency contract amounts and the value of the securities involved generally will not be possible because the value of such securities, measured in the foreign currency, will change after the forward currency contract has been established. Thus, the Trust might need to purchase or sell foreign currencies in the spot (cash) market to the extent such foreign currencies are not covered by forward currency contracts. The projection of short-term currency market movements is extremely difficult and the successful execution of a short-term hedging strategy is highly uncertain.
Put and Call Options on Securities and Indices. The Trust may purchase and sell put and call options on securities and indices. A put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell and the writer the obligation to buy the underlying security at the exercise price during the option period. The Trust may also purchase and sell options on bond indices (“index options”). Index options are similar to options on securities except that, rather than taking or making delivery of securities underlying the option at a specified price upon exercise, an index option gives the holder the right to receive cash upon exercise of the option if the level of the bond index upon which the option is based is greater, in the case of a call, or less, in the case of a put, than the exercise price of the option. The purchase of a put option on a debt security could protect the Trust’s holdings in a security or a number of securities against a substantial decline in the market value. A call option gives the purchaser of the
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option the right to buy and the seller the obligation to sell the underlying security or index at the exercise price during the option period or for a specified period prior to a fixed date. The purchase of a call option on a security could protect the Trust against an increase in the price of a security that it intended to purchase in the future.
Writing Covered Call Options. The Trust is authorized to write (i.e., sell) covered call options with respect to municipal securities it owns, thereby giving the holder of the option the right to buy the underlying security covered by the option from the Trust at the stated exercise price until the option expires. The Trust writes only covered call options, which means that so long as the Trust is obligated as the writer of a call option, it will own the underlying securities subject to the option.
The Trust receives a premium from writing a call option, which increases the Trust’s return on the underlying security in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. By writing a call, the Trust limits its opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of the underlying security above the exercise price of the option for as long as the Trust’s obligation as a writer continues. Covered call options serve as a partial hedge against a decline in the price of the underlying security. The Trust may engage in closing transactions in order to terminate outstanding options that it has written.
Financial Futures Transactions and Options. The Trust is authorized to purchase and sell certain exchange traded financial futures contracts (“financial futures contracts”) in order to hedge its investments against declines in value, and to hedge against increases in the cost of securities it intends to purchase or to seek to enhance the Trust’s return. However, any transactions involving financial futures or options (including puts and calls associated therewith) will be in accordance with the Trust’s investment policies and limitations. A financial futures contract obligates the seller of a contract to deliver and the purchaser of a contract to take delivery of the type of financial instrument covered by the contract, or in the case of index-based futures contracts to make and accept a cash settlement, at a specific future time for a specified price. To hedge its portfolio, the Trust may take an investment position in a futures contract which will move in the opposite direction from the portfolio position being hedged. A sale of financial futures contracts may provide a hedge against a decline in the value of portfolio securities because such depreciation may be offset, in whole or in part, by an increase in the value of the position in the financial futures contracts. A purchase of financial futures contracts may provide a hedge against an increase in the cost of securities intended to be purchased because such appreciation may be offset, in whole or in part, by an increase in the value of the position in the futures contracts.
Distributions, if any, of net long-term capital gains from certain transactions in futures or options are taxable at long-term capital gains rates for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Futures Contracts. A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a security or, in the case of an index-based futures contract, to make and accept a cash settlement for a set price on a future date. A majority of transactions in futures contracts, however, do not result in the actual delivery of the underlying instrument or cash settlement, but are settled through liquidation, i.e., by entering into an offsetting transaction. Futures contracts have been designed by boards of trade which have been designated “contracts markets” by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”).
The purchase or sale of a futures contract differs from the purchase or sale of a security in that no price or premium is paid or received. Instead, an amount of cash or securities acceptable to the broker and the relevant contract market, which varies, but is generally about 5% of the contract amount, must be deposited with the broker. This amount is known as “initial margin” and represents a “good faith” deposit assuring the performance of both the purchaser and seller under the futures contract. Subsequent payments to and from the broker, called “variation margin,” are required to be made on a daily basis as the price of the futures contract fluctuates making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking to the market.” At any time prior to the settlement date of the futures contract, the position may be closed out by taking an opposite position that will operate to terminate the position in the futures contract. A final determination of variation margin is then made, additional cash is required to be paid to or released by the broker and the purchaser realizes a loss or gain. In addition, a nominal commission is paid on each completed sale transaction.
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The Trust may also purchase and sell financial futures contracts on U.S. Government securities as a hedge against adverse changes in interest rates as described below. With respect to U.S. Government securities, currently there are financial futures contracts based on long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, U.S. Treasury notes, Government National Mortgage Association Certificates and three-month U.S. Treasury bills. The Trust may purchase and write call and put options on futures contracts on U.S. Government securities and purchase and sell municipal security index futures contracts in connection with its hedging strategies.
The Trust also may engage in other futures contracts transactions such as futures contracts on other municipal bond indices that may become available if the Advisors should determine that there is normally a sufficient correlation between the prices of such futures contracts and the municipal securities in which the Trust invests to make such hedging appropriate.
Futures Strategies. The Trust may sell a financial futures contract (i.e., assume a short position) in anticipation of a decline in the value of its investments resulting from an increase in interest rates or otherwise. The risk of decline could be reduced without employing futures as a hedge by selling investments and either reinvesting the proceeds in securities with shorter maturities or by holding assets in cash. This strategy, however, entails increased transaction costs in the form of dealer spreads and typically would reduce the average yield of the Trust’s portfolio securities as a result of the shortening of maturities. The sale of futures contracts provides an alternative means of hedging against declines in the value of its investments. As such values decline, the value of the Trust’s positions in the futures contracts will tend to increase, thus offsetting all or a portion of the depreciation in the market value of the Trust’s investments that are being hedged. While the Trust will incur commission expenses in selling and closing out futures positions, commissions on futures transactions are typically lower than transaction costs incurred in the purchase and sale of the Trust’s investments being hedged. In addition, the ability of the Trust to trade in the standardized contracts available in the futures markets may offer a more effective defensive position than a program to reduce the average maturity of the portfolio securities due to the unique and varied credit and technical characteristics of the instruments available to the Trust. Employing futures as a hedge also may permit the Trust to assume a defensive posture without reducing the yield on its investments beyond any amounts required to engage in futures trading.
When the Trust intends to purchase a security, the Trust may purchase futures contracts as a hedge against any increase in the cost of such security resulting from a decrease in interest rates or otherwise, that may occur before such purchase can be effected. Subject to the degree of correlation between such securities and the futures contracts, subsequent increases in the cost of such securities should be reflected in the value of the futures held by the Trust. As such purchases are made, an equivalent amount of futures contracts will be closed out. Due to changing market conditions and interest rate forecasts, however, a futures position may be terminated without a corresponding purchase of portfolio securities.
Call Options on Futures Contracts. The Trust may also purchase and sell exchange traded call and put options on financial futures contracts. The purchase of a call option on a futures contract is analogous to the purchase of a call option on an individual security. Depending on the pricing of the option compared to either the futures contract upon which it is based or the price of the underlying securities, it may or may not be less risky than ownership of the futures contract or underlying securities. Like the purchase of a futures contract, the Trust may purchase a call option on a futures contract to hedge against a market advance when the Trust is not fully invested.
The writing of a call option on a futures contract constitutes a partial hedge against declining prices of the securities which are deliverable upon exercise of the futures contract. If the futures price at expiration is below the exercise price, the Trust will retain the full amount of the option premium, which provides a partial hedge against any decline that may have occurred in the Trust’s portfolio holdings.
Put Options on Futures Contracts. The purchase of a put option on a futures contract is analogous to the purchase of a protective put option on portfolio securities. The Trust may purchase a put option on a futures contract to hedge the Trust’s portfolio against the risk of rising interest rates.
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The writing of a put option on a futures contract constitutes a partial hedge against increasing prices of the securities which are deliverable upon exercise of the futures contract. If the futures price at expiration is higher than the exercise price, the Trust will retain the full amount of the option premium, which provides a partial hedge against any increase in the price of securities which the Trust intends to purchase.
The writer of an option on a futures contract is required to deposit initial and variation margin pursuant to requirements similar to those applicable to futures contracts. Premiums received from the writing of an option will be included in initial margin. The writing of an option on a futures contract involves risks similar to those relating to futures contracts.
The CFTC subjects advisers to registered investment companies to regulation by the CFTC if a fund that is advised by the investment adviser either (i) invests, directly or indirectly, more than a prescribed level of its liquidation value in CFTC-regulated futures, options and swaps (“CFTC Derivatives”), or (ii) markets itself as providing investment exposure to such instruments. To the extent the Trust uses CFTC Derivatives, it intends to do so below such prescribed levels and will not market itself as a “commodity pool” or a vehicle for trading such instruments. Accordingly, the Advisor has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) pursuant to Rule 4.5 under the CEA. The Advisor is not, therefore, subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator” under the CEA in respect of the Trust.
Additional Information About Options. The Trust’s ability to close out its position as a purchaser or seller of an exchange-listed put or call option is dependent upon the existence of a liquid secondary market on option exchanges. Among the possible reasons for the absence of a liquid secondary market on an exchange are: (i) insufficient trading interest in certain options; (ii) restrictions on transactions imposed by an exchange; (iii) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities; (iv) interruption of the normal operations on an exchange; (v) inadequacy of the facilities of an exchange or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) to handle current trading volume; or (vi) a decision by one or more exchanges to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options on that exchange that had been listed by the OCC as a result of trades on that exchange would generally continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms. Over‑the‑counter (“OTC”) options are purchased from or sold to dealers, financial institutions or other counterparties which have entered into direct agreements with the Trust. With uncleared OTC options, such variables as expiration date, exercise price and premium will be agreed upon between the Trust and the counterparty, without the intermediation of a third party such as the OCC. If the counterparty fails to make or take delivery of the securities underlying an option it has written, or otherwise settle the transaction in accordance with the terms of that option as written, the Trust would lose the premium paid for the option as well as any anticipated benefit of the transaction. OTC options and assets used to cover OTC options written by the Trust are considered by the staff of the SEC to be illiquid. The illiquidity of such options or assets may prevent a successful sale of such options or assets, result in a delay of sale, or reduce the amount of proceeds that might otherwise be realized.
The Trust may engage in options and futures transactions on exchanges and options in the over‑the‑counter markets. The Trust will only enter into OTC options with counterparties the Advisors believe to be creditworthy at the time they enter into such transactions.
The hours of trading for options on debt securities may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent that the option markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot immediately be reflected in the option markets.
Structured Instruments. The Trust may invest in structured instruments. While structured instruments may offer the potential for a favorable rate of return from time to time, they also entail certain risks. Structured instruments
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may be less liquid than other securities and the price of structured instruments may be more volatile. In some cases, depending on the terms of the embedded index, a structured instrument may provide that the principal and/or interest payments may be adjusted below zero. Structured instruments also may involve significant credit risk and risk of default by the counterparty. Structured instruments may also be illiquid. Like other sophisticated strategies, the Trust’s use of structured instruments may not work as intended.
Structured Notes. The Trust may invest in “structured” notes and other related instruments, which are privately negotiated debt obligations in which the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to the performance of a benchmark asset, market or interest rate (an “embedded index”), such as selected securities, an index of securities or specified interest rates, or the differential performance of two assets or markets. Structured instruments may be issued by corporations, including banks, as well as by governmental agencies. Structured instruments frequently are assembled in the form of medium-term notes, but a variety of forms are available and may be used in particular circumstances. The terms of such structured instruments normally provide that their principal and/or interest payments are to be adjusted upwards or downwards (but ordinarily not below zero) to reflect changes in the embedded index while the structured instruments are outstanding. As a result, the interest and/or principal payments that may be made on a structured product may vary widely, depending on a variety of factors, including the volatility of the embedded index and the effect of changes in the embedded index on principal and/or interest payments. The rate of return on structured notes may be determined by applying a multiplier to the performance or differential performance of the referenced index(es) or other asset(s). Application of a multiplier involves leverage that will serve to magnify the potential for gain and the risk of loss.
Event-Linked Securities. The Trust may obtain event-linked exposure by investing in “event-linked bonds” or “event-linked swaps” or by implementing “event-linked strategies.” Event-linked exposure results in gains or losses that typically are contingent upon, or formulaically related to, defined trigger events. Examples of trigger events include hurricanes, earthquakes, weather-related phenomena or statistics relating to such events. Some event-linked bonds are commonly referred to as “catastrophe bonds.” If a trigger event occurs, the Trust may lose a portion of or its entire principal invested in the bond or the entire notional amount of a swap. Event-linked exposure often provides for an extension of maturity to process and audit loss claims when a trigger event has, or possibly has, occurred. An extension of maturity may increase volatility. Event-linked exposure may also expose the Trust to certain other risks including credit risk, counterparty risk, adverse regulatory or jurisdictional interpretations and adverse tax consequences. Event-linked exposures may also be subject to liquidity risk.
Equity-Linked Notes. Equity-linked notes are hybrid securities with characteristics of both fixed income and equity securities. An equity-linked note is a debt instrument, usually a bond, that pays interest based upon the performance of an underlying equity, which can be a single stock, basket of stocks or an equity index. Instead of paying a predetermined coupon, equity-linked notes link the interest payment to the performance of a particular equity market index or basket of stocks or commodities. The interest payment is typically based on the percentage increase in an index from a predetermined level, but alternatively may be based on a decrease in the index. The interest payment may in some cases be leveraged so that, in percentage terms, it exceeds the relative performance of the market. Equity-linked notes generally are subject to the risks associated with the securities of equity issuers, default risk and counterparty risk.
Credit Linked Notes. A credit-linked note (“CLN”) is a derivative instrument. It is a synthetic obligation between two or more parties where the payment of principal and/or interest is based on the performance of some obligation (a reference obligation). In addition to the credit risk of the reference obligations and interest rate risk, the buyer/seller of the CLN is subject to counterparty risk.
Hybrid Instruments. A hybrid instrument is a type of potentially high-risk derivative that combines a traditional bond, stock or commodity with an option or forward contract. Generally, the principal amount, amount payable upon maturity or redemption, or interest rate of a hybrid is tied (positively or negatively) to the price of some commodity, currency or securities index or another interest rate or some other economic factor (each a “benchmark”). The interest rate or (unlike most fixed income securities) the principal amount payable at maturity
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of a hybrid security may be increased or decreased, depending on changes in the value of the benchmark. An example of a hybrid could be a bond issued by an oil company that pays a small base level of interest with additional interest that accrues in correlation to the extent to which oil prices exceed a certain predetermined level. Such a hybrid instrument would be a combination of a bond and a call option on oil. Hybrids can be used as an efficient means of pursuing a variety of investment goals, including currency hedging, duration management and increased total return. Hybrids may not bear interest or pay dividends. The value of a hybrid or its interest rate may be a multiple of a benchmark and, as a result, may be leveraged and move (up or down) more steeply and rapidly than the benchmark. These benchmarks may be sensitive to economic and political events, such as commodity shortages and currency devaluations, which cannot be readily foreseen by the purchaser of a hybrid. Under certain conditions, the redemption value of a hybrid could be zero. Thus, an investment in a hybrid may entail significant market risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional, U.S. dollar-denominated bond that has a fixed principal amount and pays a fixed rate or floating rate of interest. The purchase of hybrids also exposes the Trust to the credit risk of the issuer of the hybrids. These risks may cause significant fluctuations in the NAV of the Trust’s common shares if the Trust invests in hybrid instruments.
Other Investment Companies. The Trust may invest in securities of other investment companies (including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and business development companies (“BDCs”), subject to applicable regulatory limits. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Trust will bear its ratable share of that investment company’s expenses and will remain subject to payment of the Trust’s advisory and other fees and expenses with respect to assets so invested. Holders of common shares will therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Trust invests in other investment companies. The Advisors will take expenses into account when evaluating the investment merits of an investment in an investment company relative to available equity and/or fixed income securities investments. In addition, the securities of other investment companies may be leveraged and will therefore be subject to the same leverage risks to which the Trust may be subject to the extent it employs a leverage strategy. The NAV and market value of securities of leveraged shares will be more volatile and the yield to shareholders will tend to fluctuate more than the yield generated by unleveraged shares. Investment companies may have investment policies that differ from those of the Trust. In addition, to the extent the Trust invests in other investment companies, the Trust will be dependent upon the investment and research abilities of persons other than the Advisors.
The Trust may invest in ETFs, which are investment companies that typically aim to track or replicate a desired index, such as a sector, market or global segment. ETFs are typically passively managed and their shares are traded on a national exchange or The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. ETFs do not sell individual shares directly to investors and only issue their shares in large blocks known as “creation units.” The investor purchasing a creation unit may sell the individual shares on a secondary market. Therefore, the liquidity of ETFs depends on the adequacy of the secondary market. There can be no assurance that an ETF’s investment objective will be achieved, as ETFs based on an index may not replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weightings of securities in the index. ETFs are subject to the risks of investing in the underlying securities. The Trust, as a holder of the securities of the ETF, will bear its pro rata portion of the ETF’s expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses are in addition to the direct expenses of the Trust’s own operations.
Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts. The Trust may invest in repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is a contractual agreement whereby the seller of securities agrees to repurchase the same security at a specified price on a future date agreed upon by the parties. The agreed upon repurchase price determines the yield during the Trust’s holding period. Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans collateralized by the underlying security that is the subject of the repurchase contract. Income generated from transactions in repurchase agreements will be taxable. The risk to the Trust is limited to the ability of the issuer to pay the agreed upon repurchase price on the delivery date; however, although the value of the underlying collateral at the time the transaction is entered into always equals or exceeds the agreed upon repurchase price, if the value of the collateral declines there is a risk of loss of both principal and interest. In the event of default, the collateral may be sold but the Trust might incur a loss if the value of the collateral declines, and might incur disposition costs or experience delays in connection with liquidating the collateral. In addition, if bankruptcy
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proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller of the security, realization upon the collateral by the Trust may be delayed or limited. The Advisors will monitor the value of the collateral at the time the transaction is entered into and at all times subsequent during the term of the repurchase agreement in an effort to determine that such value always equals or exceeds the agreed upon repurchase price. In the event the value of the collateral declines below the repurchase price, the Advisors will demand additional collateral from the issuer to increase the value of the collateral to at least that of the repurchase price, including interest.
A purchase and sale contract is similar to a repurchase agreement, but differs from a repurchase agreement in that the contract arrangements stipulate that the securities are owned by the Trust. In the event of a default under such a repurchase agreement or a purchase and sale contract, instead of the contractual fixed rate of return, the rate of return to the Trust shall be dependent upon intervening fluctuations of the market value of such security and the accrued interest on the security. In such event, the Trust would have rights against the seller for breach of contract with respect to any losses arising from market fluctuations following the failure of the seller to perform.
Short Sales. The Trust may make short sales of securities. A short sale is a transaction in which the Trust sells a security it does not own in anticipation that the market price of that security will decline. The Trust may make short sales to hedge positions, for duration and risk management, in order to maintain portfolio flexibility or, to the extent applicable, to enhance income or gain. When the Trust makes a short sale, it must borrow the security sold short and deliver it to the broker-dealer through which it made the short sale as collateral for its obligation to deliver the security upon conclusion of the sale. The Trust may have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and is often obligated to pay over to the securities lender any income, distributions or dividends received on such borrowed securities until it returns the security to the securities lender. The Trust’s obligation to replace the borrowed security will be secured by collateral deposited with the securities lender, usually cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid assets. Depending on arrangements made with the securities lender regarding payment over of any income, distributions or dividends received by the Trust on such security, the Trust may not receive any payments (including interest) on its collateral deposited with such securities lender. If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Trust replaces the borrowed security, the Trust will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the Trust will realize a gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss increased, by the transaction costs described above. Although the Trust’s gain is limited to the price at which it sold the security short, its potential loss is theoretically unlimited. The Trust may also make short sales “against the box.” In this type of short sale, at the time of the sale, the Trust owns or has the immediate and unconditional right to acquire at no additional cost the identical security. The Trust must comply with Rule 18f‑4 under the Investment Company Act with respect to its short sale borrowings, which are considered derivatives transactions under the Rule. See “Additional Risk Factors—Risk Factors in Strategic Transactions and Derivatives—Rule 18f‑4 Under the Investment Company Act” in the SAI.
Bank Obligations. Bank obligations may include certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances and fixed time deposits. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates issued against funds deposited in a commercial bank for a definite period of time and earning a specified return. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable drafts or bills of exchange, normally drawn by an importer or exporter to pay for specific merchandise, which are “accepted” by a bank, meaning, in effect, that the bank unconditionally agrees to pay the face value of the instrument on maturity. Fixed time deposits are bank obligations payable at a stated maturity date and bearing interest at a fixed rate. Fixed time deposits may be withdrawn on demand by the investor, but may be subject to early withdrawal penalties, which vary depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. There are no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in a fixed time deposit to a third party, although there is no market for such deposits.
Obligations of foreign banks involve somewhat different investment risks than those affecting obligations of U.S. banks, including the possibilities that their liquidity could be impaired because of future political and economic developments, that their obligations may be less marketable than comparable obligations of U.S. banks, that a foreign jurisdiction might impose withholding taxes on interest income payable on those obligations, that foreign deposits may be seized or nationalized, that foreign governmental restrictions such as exchange controls may be
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adopted which might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on those obligations and that the selection of those obligations may be more difficult because there may be less publicly available information concerning foreign banks or the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements applicable to foreign banks may differ from those applicable to U.S. banks. Foreign banks are not generally subject to examination by any U.S. government agency or instrumentality.
Participation Notes. The Trust may buy participation notes from a bank or broker-dealer (“issuer”) that entitle the Trust to a return measured by the change in value of an identified underlying security or basket of securities (collectively, the “underlying security”). Participation notes are typically used when a direct investment in the underlying security is restricted due to country-specific regulations.
The Trust is subject to counterparty risk associated with each issuer. Investment in a participation note is not the same as investment in the constituent shares of the company. A participation note represents only an obligation of the issuer to provide the Trust the economic performance equivalent to holding shares of an underlying security. A participation note does not provide any beneficial or equitable entitlement or interest in the relevant underlying security. In other words, shares of the underlying security are not in any way owned by the Trust. However each participation note synthetically replicates the economic benefit of holding shares in the underlying security. Because a participation note is an obligation of the issuer, rather than a direct investment in shares of the underlying security, the Trust may suffer losses potentially equal to the full value of the participation note if the issuer fails to perform its obligations.
The counterparty may, but is not required to, purchase the shares of the underlying security to hedge its obligation. The Trust may, but is not required to, purchase credit protection against the default of the issuer. When the participation note expires or the Trust exercises the participation note and closes its position, the Trust receives a payment that is based upon the then-current value of the underlying security converted into U.S. dollars (less transaction costs). The price, performance and liquidity of the participation note are all linked directly to the underlying security. The Trust’s ability to redeem or exercise a participation note generally is dependent on the liquidity in the local trading market for the security underlying the participation note.
When-Issued, Delayed Delivery and Forward Commitment Securities. The Trust may purchase securities on a “when-issued” basis and may purchase or sell securities on a “forward commitment” basis (including on a “TBA” (to be announced) basis) or on a “delayed delivery” basis. When such transactions are negotiated, the price, which is generally expressed in yield terms, is fixed at the time the commitment is made, but delivery and payment for the securities take place at a later date. When-issued securities and forward commitments may be sold prior to the settlement date. If the Trust disposes of the right to acquire a when-issued security prior to its acquisition or disposes of its right to deliver or receive against a forward commitment, it might incur a gain or loss. There is always a risk that the securities may not be delivered and that the Trust may incur a loss. Settlements in the ordinary course are not treated by the Trust as when-issued or forward commitment transactions and accordingly are not subject to the foregoing restrictions.
Rule 18f‑4 under the Investment Company Act permits the Trust to enter into when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including TBA commitments, and dollar rolls) and non‑standard settlement cycle securities notwithstanding the limitation on the issuance of senior securities in Section 18 of the Investment Company Act, provided that the Trust intends to physically settle the transaction and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision”). If a when-issued, forward-settling or non‑standard settlement cycle security does not satisfy the Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision, then it is treated as a derivatives transaction under Rule 18f‑4. See “Additional Risk Factors—Risk Factors in Strategic Transactions and Derivatives—Rule 18f‑4 Under the Investment Company Act” in the SAI.
Standby Commitment Agreements. The Trust from time to time may enter into standby commitment agreements. Such agreements commit the Trust, for a stated period of time, to purchase a stated amount of a fixed income security that may be issued and sold to the Trust at the option of the issuer. The price and coupon of the security
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is fixed at the time of the commitment. At the time of entering into the agreement the Trust may be paid a commitment fee, regardless of whether or not the security ultimately is issued. The Trust will enter into such agreements only for the purpose of investing in the security underlying the commitment at a yield and price which is considered advantageous to the Trust. The Trust at all times will designate on its books and records cash or other liquid assets with a value equal to the purchase price of the securities underlying the commitment.
There can be no assurance that the securities subject to a standby commitment will be issued and the value of the security, if issued, on the delivery date may be more or less than its purchase price. Since the issuance of the security underlying the commitment is at the option of the issuer, the Trust may bear the risk of decline in the value of such security and may not benefit from an appreciation in the value of the security during the commitment period.
The purchase of a security subject to a standby commitment agreement and the related commitment fee will be recorded on the date on which the security reasonably can be expected to be issued and the value of the security thereafter will be reflected in the calculation of the Trust’s NAV. The cost basis of the security will be adjusted by the amount of the commitment fee. In the event the security is not issued, the commitment fee will be recorded as income on the expiration date of the standby commitment.
Temporary Defensive Positions. During temporary defensive periods, if the Advisors determine that market conditions warrant, and also during the period in which the net proceeds of this offering of common shares (or preferred shares, should the Trust determine to issue preferred shares in the future) are being invested, the Trust may invest any percentage of its assets without limitation in cash, cash equivalents, money market securities, such as U.S. Treasury and agency obligations, other U.S. government securities, short-term debt obligations of corporate issuers, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances, commercial paper (short-term, unsecured, negotiable promissory notes of a domestic or foreign issuer), repurchase agreements, obligations of supranational organizations, bank obligations, including U.S. subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks, or other high quality fixed income securities. Temporary defensive positions may affect the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective. Generally, such obligations will mature within one year from the date of settlement, but may mature within two years from the date of settlement.
Short-Term Debt Securities. Short-term debt securities are defined to include, without limitation:

| ● |  | U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest that are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. government securities include securities issued by (a) the FHA, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration and GNMA, whose securities are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States; (b) the FHLBs, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, and Tennessee Valley Authority, whose securities are supported by the right of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; (c) FNMA, whose securities are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or instrumentality; and (d) the Student Loan Marketing Association, whose securities are supported only by its credit. While the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it always will do so since it is not so obligated by law. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities. Consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.

| ● |  | Certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or a savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return, and are normally negotiable. The issuer of a certificate of deposit agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Certificates of deposit purchased by the Trust may not be fully insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

| ● |  | Repurchase agreements, which involve purchases of debt securities.

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| ● |  | Commercial paper, which consists of short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Trust and a corporation. There is no secondary market for such notes. However, they are redeemable by the Trust at any time. The Advisors will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios) and will continuously monitor the corporation’s ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Trust’s liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand.

New Products. The financial markets continue to evolve and financial products continue to be developed. The Trust reserves the right to invest in new financial products as they are developed or become more widely accepted. As with any new financial product, these products will entail risks, including risks to which the Trust currently is not subject.
Securities Lending. The Trust may lend portfolio securities to certain borrowers determined to be creditworthy by the Advisor, including to borrowers affiliated with the Advisor. The borrowers provide collateral that is maintained in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned. No securities loan will be made on behalf of the Trust if, as a result, the aggregate value of all securities loans of the Trust exceeds one‑third of the value of the Trust’s total assets (including the value of the collateral received). The Trust may terminate a loan at any time and obtain the return of the securities loaned. The Trust receives the value of any interest or cash or non‑cash distributions paid on the loaned securities.
With respect to loans that are collateralized by cash, the borrower may be entitled to receive a fee based on the amount of cash collateral. The Trust is compensated by the difference between the amount earned on the reinvestment of cash collateral and the fee paid to the borrower. In the case of collateral other than cash, the Trust is compensated by a fee paid by the borrower equal to a percentage of the market value of the loaned securities. Any cash collateral received by the Trust for such loans, and uninvested cash, may be invested, among other things, in a private investment company managed by an affiliate of the Advisor or in registered money market funds advised by the Advisor or their affiliates; such investments are subject to investment risk.
The Trust conducts its securities lending pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC permitting it to lend portfolio securities to borrowers affiliated with the Trust and to retain an affiliate of the Trust as lending agent. To the extent that the Trust engages in securities lending, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BIM”), an affiliate of the Advisor, acts as securities lending agent for the Trust, subject to the overall supervision of the Advisor. BIM administers the lending program in accordance with guidelines approved by the Board.
To the extent the Trust engages in securities lending, the Trust retains a portion of securities lending income and remits a remaining portion to BIM as compensation for its services as securities lending agent. Securities lending income is equal to the total of income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral (and excludes collateral investment expenses as defined below), and any fees or other payments to and from borrowers of securities. As securities lending agent, BIM bears all operational costs directly related to securities lending. The Trust is responsible for expenses in connection with the investment of cash collateral received for securities on loan (the “collateral investment expenses”). The cash collateral is invested in a private investment company managed by the Advisor or its affiliates. However, BIM has agreed to cap the collateral investment expenses of the private investment company to an annual rate of 0.04%. In addition, in accordance with the exemptive order, the investment adviser to the private investment company will not charge any advisory fees with respect to shares purchased by the Trust. Such shares also will not be subject to a sales load, distribution fee or service fee. If the private investment company’s weekly liquid assets fall below 30% of its total assets, BIM, as managing member of the private investment company, is permitted at any time, if it determines it to be in the best interests of the private investment company, to impose a liquidity fee of up to 2% of the value of units withdrawn or impose a redemption gate that temporarily suspends the right of withdrawal out of the private investment company. In addition, if the private investment company’s weekly liquid assets fall below 10% of its total assets at the end of
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any business day, the private investment company will impose a liquidity fee in the default amount of 1% of the amount withdrawn, generally effective as of the next business day, unless BIM determines that a higher (not to exceed 2%) or lower fee level or not imposing a liquidity fee is in the best interests of the private investment company. The shares of the private investment company purchased by the Trust would be subject to any such liquidity fee or redemption gate imposed.
Under the securities lending program, the Trust is categorized into a specific asset class. The determination of the Trust’s asset class category (fixed income, domestic equity, international equity, or fund of funds), each of which may be subject to a different fee arrangement, is based on a methodology agreed to between the Trust and BIM.
Pursuant to the current securities lending agreement: (i) if the Trust were to engage in securities lending, the Trust retains 82% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment expenses), and (ii) this amount can never be less than 70% of the sum of securities lending income plus collateral investment expenses.
In addition, commencing the business day following the date that the aggregate securities lending income earned across the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex in a calendar year exceeds a specified threshold, the Trust, pursuant to the current securities lending agreement, will receive for the remainder of that calendar year securities lending income as follows: (i) if the Trust were to engage in securities lending, 85% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment expenses); and (ii) this amount can never be less than 70% of the sum of securities lending income plus collateral investment expenses.
Other Investment Policies
Project Loans. The Trust may invest in project loans, which are fixed income securities of issuers whose revenues are primarily derived from mortgage loans to multi-family, nursing home and other real estate development projects.
Guaranteed Investment Contracts. The Trust may make investments in guaranteed investment contracts issued by highly rated U.S. insurance companies. Under these contracts, the Trust makes cash contributions to a deposit fund of the insurance company’s general account. The insurance company then credits to the Trust, on a monthly basis, interest which is based on an index, but is guaranteed not to be less than a certain minimum rate.
Rights Offerings. The Trust may participate in rights offerings. Subscription rights normally have a short life span to expiration. The purchase of rights involves the risk that the Trust could lose the purchase value of a right if the right to subscribe to additional shares is not exercised prior to the rights’ expiration. Also, the purchase of rights involves the risk that the effective price paid for the right added to the subscription price of the related security may exceed the value of the subscribed security’s market price such as when there is no movement in the level of the underlying security.
LEVERAGE
The Trust currently utilizes leverage for investment purposes in the form of reverse repurchase agreements. As of July 24, 2025, this leverage represented approximately 38.18% of the Trust’s Managed Assets (approximately 61.77% of the Trust’s net assets). The Trust may borrow from banks and other financial institutions and may also borrow additional funds using such investment techniques as the Advisors may from time to time determine. Of these investment techniques, the Trust expects primarily to use reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls. The Trust has the ability to utilize leverage through borrowings in an amount up to 33 1/3% of the value of its Managed Assets (which includes the amount obtained from such borrowings).
The use of leverage, including investments in reverse repurchase agreements, can create risks. When leverage is employed, the NAV and market price of the common shares and the yield to holders of common shares will be
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more volatile than if leverage were not used. Changes in the value of the Trust’s portfolio, including securities bought with the proceeds of leverage, will be borne entirely by the holders of common shares. If there is a net decrease or increase in the value of the Trust’s investment portfolio, leverage will decrease or increase, as the case may be, the NAV per common share to a greater extent than if the Trust did not utilize leverage. A reduction in the Trust’s NAV may cause a reduction in the market price of its shares. During periods in which the Trust is using leverage, the fee paid to the Advisors for advisory services will be higher than if the Trust did not use leverage, because the fees paid will be calculated on the basis of the Trust’s Managed Assets, which includes the proceeds from leverage. The Trust’s leveraging strategy may not be successful.
Certain types of leverage the Trust may use may result in the Trust being subject to covenants relating to asset coverage and portfolio composition requirements. The Trust may be subject to certain restrictions on investments imposed by one or more lenders or by guidelines of one or more rating agencies, which may issue ratings for any short-term debt securities or preferred shares issued by the Trust. The terms of any borrowings or rating agency guidelines may impose asset coverage or portfolio composition requirements that are more stringent than those imposed by the Investment Company Act. The Advisors do not believe that these covenants or guidelines will impede it from managing the Trust’s portfolio in accordance with its investment objective and policies if the Trust were to utilize leverage.
Under the Investment Company Act, the Trust is not permitted to issue senior securities if, immediately after the issuance of such senior securities, the Trust would have an asset coverage ratio (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of less than 300% with respect to senior securities representing indebtedness (i.e., for every dollar of indebtedness outstanding, the Trust is required to have at least three dollars of assets) or less than 200% with respect to senior securities representing preferred shares (i.e., for every dollar of preferred shares outstanding, the Trust is required to have at least two dollars of assets). The Investment Company Act also provides that the Trust may not declare distributions, or purchase its stock (including through tender offers) if, immediately after doing so, it will have an asset coverage ratio of less than 300% or 200%, as applicable. Under the Investment Company Act, certain short-term borrowings (such as for cash management purposes) are not subject to these limitations if (i) repaid within 60 days, (ii) not extended or renewed, and (iii) not in excess of 5% of the total assets of the Trust.
Effects of Leverage
Assuming that leverage will represent approximately 38.18% of the Trust’s Managed Assets and that the Trust will bear expenses relating to that leverage at an average annual rate of 2.11%, the income generated by the Trust’s portfolio (net of estimated expenses) must exceed 0.81% in order to cover the expenses specifically related to the Trust’s use of leverage. Of course, these numbers are merely estimates used for illustration. Actual leverage expenses will vary frequently and may be significantly higher or lower than the rate estimated above.
The following table is furnished in response to requirements of the SEC. It is designed to illustrate the effect of leverage on common share total return, assuming investment portfolio total returns (comprised of income and changes in the value of investments held in the Trust’s portfolio) of (10)%, (5)%, 0%, 5% and 10%. These assumed investment portfolio returns are hypothetical figures and are not necessarily indicative of the investment portfolio returns experienced or expected to be experienced by the Trust. The table further reflects the use of leverage representing 38.18% of the Trust’s Managed Assets and an assumed annual cost of leverage of 2.11%.

Assumed Portfolio Total Return (Net of Expenses) |  |  | (10.00 | )% |  |  | (5.00 | )% |  |  | 0 | % |  |  | 5.00 | % |  |  | 10.00 | %
Common Share Total Return |  |  | (17.48 | )% |  |  | (9.39 | )% |  |  | (1.31 | )% |  |  | 6.78 | % |  |  | 14.87 | %

Common share total return is composed of two elements: the common share dividends paid by the Trust (the amount of which is largely determined by the net investment income of the Trust after paying for any leverage used by the Trust) and gains or losses on the value of the securities the Trust owns. As required by SEC rules, the table assumes that the Trust is more likely to suffer capital losses than to enjoy capital appreciation. For example,
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to assume a total return of 0% the Trust must assume that the interest it receives on its investments is entirely offset by losses in the value of those securities.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements
The Trust may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with respect to its portfolio investments subject to the investment restrictions set forth herein. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Trust with an agreement by the Trust to repurchase the securities at an agreed upon price, date and interest payment. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities acquired in connection with the reverse repurchase agreement may decline below the price of the securities the Trust has sold but is obligated to repurchase. Also, reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities retained in lieu of sale by the Trust in connection with the reverse repurchase agreement may decline in price.
If the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, such buyer or its trustee or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce the Trust’s obligation to repurchase the securities and the Trust’s use of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement may effectively be restricted pending such decision. Also, the Trust would bear the risk of loss to the extent that the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement are less than the value of the securities subject to such agreement.
The Trust also may effect simultaneous purchase and sale transactions that are known as “sale-buybacks.” A sale-buyback is similar to a reverse repurchase agreement, except that in a sale-buyback, the counterparty that purchases the security is entitled to receive any principal or interest payments made on the underlying security pending settlement of the Trust’s repurchase of the underlying security.
In accordance with Rule 18f‑4 under the Investment Company Act, when the Trust engages in reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, the Trust may either (i) maintain asset coverage of at least 300% with respect to such transactions and any other borrowings in the aggregate, or (ii) treat such transactions as “derivatives transactions” and comply with Rule 18f‑4 with respect to such transactions. See “Additional Risk Factors—Risk Factors in Strategic Transactions and Derivatives—Rule 18f‑4 Under the Investment Company Act” in the SAI.
Dollar Roll Transactions
The Trust may enter into “dollar roll” transactions. In a dollar roll transaction, the Trust sells a mortgage related security or other security to a dealer and simultaneously agrees to repurchase a similar security (but not the same security) in the future at a pre‑determined price. A dollar roll transaction can be viewed, like a reverse repurchase agreement, as a collateralized borrowing in which the Trust pledges a mortgage related security to a dealer to obtain cash. However, unlike reverse repurchase agreements, the dealer with which the Trust enters into a dollar roll transaction is not obligated to return the same securities as those originally sold by the Trust, but rather only securities which are “substantially identical,” which generally means that the securities repurchased will bear the same interest rate and a similar maturity as those sold, but pools of mortgages collateralizing those securities may have different prepayment histories than those sold.
During the period between the sale and repurchase, the Trust will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold. Proceeds of the sale will be invested in additional instruments for the Trust and the income from these investments will generate income for the Trust. If such income does not exceed the income, capital appreciation and gain that would have been realized on the securities sold as part of the dollar roll, the use of this technique will diminish the investment performance of the Trust compared with what the performance would have been without the use of dollar rolls.
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Dollar roll transactions involve the risk that the market value of the securities the Trust is required to purchase may decline below the agreed upon repurchase price of those securities. The Trust’s right to purchase or repurchase securities may be restricted. Successful use of mortgage dollar rolls may depend upon the investment manager’s ability to correctly predict interest rates and prepayments. There is no assurance that dollar rolls can be successfully employed.
Rule 18f‑4 under the Investment Company Act permits the Trust to enter into when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including TBA commitments, and dollar rolls) and non‑standard settlement cycle securities notwithstanding the limitation on the issuance of senior securities in Section 18 of the Investment Company Act, provided that the Trust intends to physically settle the transaction and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision”). If a when-issued, forward-settling or non‑standard settlement cycle security does not satisfy the Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision, then it is treated as a derivatives transaction under Rule 18f‑4. See “Additional Risk Factors—Risk Factors in Strategic Transactions and Derivatives—Rule 18f‑4 Under the Investment Company Act” in the SAI.
Credit Facility
The Trust is permitted to leverage its portfolio by entering into one or more credit facilities. If the Trust enters into a credit facility, the Trust may be required to prepay outstanding amounts or incur a penalty rate of interest upon the occurrence of certain events of default. The Trust would also likely have to indemnify the lenders under the credit facility against liabilities they may incur in connection therewith. In addition, the Trust expects that any credit facility would contain covenants that, among other things, likely would limit the Trust’s ability to pay distributions in certain circumstances, incur additional debt, change certain of its investment policies and engage in certain transactions, including mergers and consolidations, and require asset coverage ratios in addition to those required by the Investment Company Act. The Trust may be required to pledge its assets and to maintain a portion of its assets in cash or high-grade securities as a reserve against interest or principal payments and expenses. The Trust expects that any credit facility would have customary covenant, negative covenant and default provisions. There can be no assurance that the Trust will enter into an agreement for a credit facility or one on terms and conditions representative of the foregoing, or that additional material terms will not apply. In addition, if entered into, a credit facility may in the future be replaced or refinanced by one or more credit facilities having substantially different terms or by the issuance of preferred shares.
Preferred Shares
The Trust also has the ability to utilize leverage through the issuance of preferred shares in an amount up to 50% of the value of its Managed Assets (which includes the amount obtained from such issuance). The Trust does not currently anticipate issuing any preferred shares; thus, the Trust will limit its borrowing to 33 1/3% of the Trust’s Managed Assets. If preferred shares are issued, however, the Trust’s borrowing limit will be proportionately reduced so that the Trust’s aggregate leverage will not exceed 33 1/3% of the Trust’s Managed Assets.
Derivatives
The Trust may enter into derivative transactions that have leverage embedded in them. Derivative transactions that the Trust may enter into and the risks associated with them are described elsewhere in this Prospectus and are also referred to as “Strategic Transactions.” The Trust cannot assure you that investments in derivative transactions that have leverage embedded in them will result in a higher return on its common shares.
Under Rule 18f‑4 under the Investment Company Act, among other things, the Trust must either use derivatives in a limited manner or comply with an outer limit on fund leverage risk based on value‑at‑risk. See “Additional Risk Factors—Risk Factors in Strategic Transactions and Derivatives—Rule 18f‑4 Under the Investment Company Act” in the SAI.
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Temporary Borrowings
The Trust may also borrow money as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes, including the payment of dividends and the settlement of securities transactions which otherwise might require untimely dispositions of Trust securities.
RISKS
The NAV and market price of, and dividends paid on, the common shares will fluctuate with and be affected by, among other things, the risks of investing in the Trust.
General Risks
Please refer to the section of the Trust’s most recent annual report on Form N‑CSR entitled “Trust Investment Objectives, Policies and Risks—Risk Factors”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for a discussion of the general risks of investing in the Trust.
Other Risks
Second Lien Loans Risk
Second lien loans generally are subject to similar risks as those associated with investments in senior loans. Because second lien loans are subordinated or unsecured and thus lower in priority of payment to senior loans, they are subject to the additional risk that the cash flow of the borrower and property securing the loan or debt, if any, may be insufficient to meet scheduled payments after giving effect to the senior secured obligations of the borrower. This risk is generally higher for subordinated unsecured loans or debt, which are not backed by a security interest in any specific collateral. Second lien loans generally have greater price volatility and may be less liquid than senior loans.
There is also a possibility that originators will not be able to sell participations in second lien loans, which would create greater credit risk exposure for the holders of such loans. Second lien loans share the same risks as other below investment grade securities.
Mezzanine Securities Risk
Mezzanine securities generally are rated below investment grade and frequently are unrated and present many of the same risks as senior loans, second lien loans and non‑investment grade bonds. However, unlike senior loans and second lien loans, mezzanine securities are not a senior or secondary secured obligation of the related borrower. They typically are the most subordinated debt obligation in an issuer’s capital structure. Mezzanine securities also may often be unsecured. Mezzanine securities therefore are subject to the additional risk that the cash flow of the related borrower and the property securing the loan may be insufficient to repay the scheduled obligation after giving effect to any senior obligations of the related borrower. Mezzanine securities will be subject to certain additional risks to the extent that such loans may not be protected by financial covenants or limitations upon additional indebtedness. Investment in mezzanine securities is a highly specialized investment practice that depends more heavily on independent credit analysis than investments in other types of debt obligations.
Bank Loans Risk
The market for bank loans may not be highly liquid and the Trust may have difficulty selling them. These investments are subject to both interest rate risk and credit risk. These investments expose the Trust to the credit risk of both the financial institution and the underlying borrower.
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Corporate Bonds Risk
The market value of a corporate bond generally may be expected to rise and fall inversely with interest rates. The market value of intermediate and longer-term corporate bonds is generally more sensitive to changes in interest rates than is the market value of shorter-term corporate bonds. The market value of a corporate bond also may be affected by factors directly related to the issuer, such as investors’ perceptions of the creditworthiness of the issuer, the issuer’s financial performance, perceptions of the issuer in the market place, performance of management of the issuer, the issuer’s capital structure and use of financial leverage and demand for the issuer’s goods and services. Certain risks associated with investments in corporate bonds are described elsewhere in this Prospectus in further detail. There is a risk that the issuers of corporate bonds may not be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by an instrument. Corporate bonds of below investment grade quality are often high risk and have speculative characteristics and may be particularly susceptible to adverse issuer-specific developments.
Distressed Securities Risk
Distressed securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Trust will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment. In addition, distressed securities involve the substantial risk that principal will not be repaid. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment. The Trust may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio company, the Trust may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.
Yield and Ratings Risk
The yields on certain debt obligations are dependent on a variety of factors, including general market conditions, conditions in the particular market for the obligation, the financial condition of the issuer, the size of the offering, the maturity of the obligation and the ratings of the issue. The ratings of Moody’s, S&P and Fitch Ratings, Inc. (“Fitch”), which are described in Appendix A, represent their respective opinions as to the quality of the obligations they undertake to rate. Ratings, however, are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, obligations with the same rating, maturity and interest rate may have different market prices. Subsequent to its purchase by the Trust, a rated security may cease to be rated. The Advisors will consider such an event in determining whether the Trust should continue to hold the security.
Unrated Securities Risk
Because the Trust may purchase securities that are not rated by any rating organization, the Advisors may, after assessing their credit quality, internally assign ratings to certain of those securities in categories similar to those of rating organizations. Some unrated securities may not have an active trading market or may be difficult to value, which means the Trust might have difficulty selling them promptly at an acceptable price. To the extent that the Trust invests in unrated securities, the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective will be more dependent on the Advisors’ credit analysis than would be the case when the Trust invests in rated securities.
Debtor‑in‑Possession (DIP) Financing Risk
The Trust’s participation in DIP financings is subject to risks. DIP financings are arranged when an entity seeks the protections of the bankruptcy court under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and must be approved by the bankruptcy court. These financings allow the entity to continue its business operations while reorganizing under Chapter 11. DIP financings are typically fully secured by a lien on the debtor’s otherwise unencumbered
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assets or secured by a junior lien on the debtor’s encumbered assets (so long as the loan is fully secured based on the most recent current valuation or appraisal report of the debtor). DIP financings are often required to close with certainty and in a rapid manner in order to satisfy existing creditors and to enable the issuer to emerge from bankruptcy or to avoid a bankruptcy proceeding. There is a risk that the borrower will not emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and be forced to liquidate its assets under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In the event of liquidation, the Trust’s only recourse will be against the property securing the DIP financing.
Mortgage Related Securities Risks
Investing in MBS entails various risks. MBS represent an interest in a pool of mortgages. The risks associated with MBS include: credit risk associated with the performance of the underlying mortgage properties and of the borrowers owning these properties; risks associated with their structure and execution (including the collateral, the process by which principal and interest payments are allocated and distributed to investors and how credit losses affect issuing vehicles and the return to investors in such MBS); whether the collateral represents a fixed set of specific assets or accounts, whether the underlying collateral assets are revolving or closed‑end, under what terms (including maturity of the MBS) any remaining balance in the accounts may revert to the issuing entity and the extent to which the entity that is the actual source of the collateral assets is obligated to provide support to the issuing vehicle or to the investors in such MBS; risks associated with the servicer of the underlying mortgages; adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances, which are more likely to have an adverse impact on MBS secured by loans on certain types of commercial properties than on those secured by loans on residential properties; prepayment risk, which can lead to significant fluctuations in the value of the MBS; loss of all or part of the premium, if any, paid; and decline in the market value of the security, whether resulting from changes in interest rates, prepayments on the underlying mortgage collateral or perceptions of the credit risk associated with the underlying mortgage collateral. In addition, the Trust’s level of investment in MBS of a particular type or in MBS issued or guaranteed by affiliated obligors, serviced by the same servicer or backed by underlying collateral located in a specific geographic region, may subject the Trust to additional risk. To the extent the Trust invests in junior tranches of MBS, it will be subject to additional risks, such as the risk that the proceeds that would otherwise be distributed to the Trust will be used to pay down more senior tranches.
When market interest rates decline, more mortgages are refinanced and the securities are paid off earlier than expected. Prepayments may also occur on a scheduled basis or due to foreclosure. During such periods, the reinvestment of prepayment proceeds by the Trust will generally be at lower rates than the rates that were carried by the obligations that have been prepaid. When market interest rates increase, the market values of MBS decline. At the same time, however, mortgage refinancings and prepayments slow, lengthening the effective maturities of these securities. As a result, the negative effect of the rate increase on the market value of MBS is usually more pronounced than it is for other types of fixed-income securities. Moreover, the relationship between borrower prepayments and changes in interest rates may mean some high-yielding mortgage related and other asset-backed securities have less potential for increases in value if market interest rates were to fall than conventional bonds with comparable maturities.
In general, losses on a mortgaged property securing a mortgage loan included in a securitization will be borne first by the equity holder of the property, then by a cash reserve fund or letter of credit, if any, then by the holder of a mezzanine loan or B‑Note, if any, then by the “first loss” subordinated security holder (generally, the ”B‑Piece” buyer) and then by the holder of a higher rated security. The Trust could invest in any class of security included in a securitization. In the event of default and the exhaustion of any equity support, reserve fund, letter of credit, mezzanine loans or B‑Notes, and any classes of securities junior to those in which the Trust invests, the Trust will not be able to recover all of its investment in the MBS it purchases. MBS in which the Trust invests may not contain reserve funds, letters of credit, mezzanine loans and/or junior classes of securities. The prices of lower credit quality securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than more highly rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic downturns or individual issuer developments.
MBS generally are classified as either RMBS or CMBS, each of which are subject to certain specific risks as further described below.
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RMBS Risks. RMBS are securities the payments on which depend primarily on the cash flow from residential mortgage loans made to borrowers that are secured by residential real estate. Non‑agency residential mortgage loans are obligations of the borrowers thereunder only and are not typically insured or guaranteed by any other person or entity. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by residential property is dependent upon the income or assets of the borrower. A number of factors, including a general economic downturn, acts of God, terrorism, social unrest and civil disturbances, may impair a borrower’s ability to repay its loans.
Agency RMBS Risks. MBS issued by FNMA or FHLMC are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by FNMA or FHLMC, but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. In 2008, the FHFA placed FNMA and FHLMC into conservatorship. FNMA and FHLMC are continuing to operate as going concerns while in conservatorship and each remains liable for all of its obligations, including its guaranty obligations, associated with its MBS. As the conservator, FHFA succeeded to all rights, titles, powers and privileges of FNMA and FHLMC and of any stockholder, officer or director of FNMA and FHLMC with respect to FNMA and FHLMC and the assets of FNMA and FHLMC. In connection with the conservatorship, the U.S. Treasury entered into an agreement with each of FNMA and FHLMC that contains various covenants that severely limit each enterprise’s operations. There is no assurance that the obligations of such entities will be satisfied in full, or that such obligations will not decrease in value or default.
Under the Reform Act, FHFA, as conservator or receiver, has the power to repudiate any contract entered into by FNMA or FHLMC prior to FHFA’s appointment as conservator or receiver, as applicable, if FHFA determines, in its sole discretion, that performance of the contract is burdensome and that repudiation of the contract promotes the orderly administration of FNMA’s or FHLMC’s affairs. In the event that FHFA, as conservator of, or if it is later appointed as receiver for, FNMA or FHLMC, were to repudiate any such guaranty obligation, the conservatorship or receivership estate, as applicable, would be liable for actual direct compensatory damages in accordance with the provisions of the Reform Act. Any such liability could be satisfied only to the extent of FNMA’s or FHLMC’s assets available therefor. In the event of repudiation, the payments of interest to holders of FNMA or FHLMC MBS would be reduced if payments on the mortgage loans represented in the mortgage loan groups related to such MBS are not made by the borrowers or advanced by the servicer. Any actual direct compensatory damages for repudiating these guaranty obligations may not be sufficient to offset any shortfalls experienced by such MBS holders. Further, in its capacity as conservator or receiver, FHFA has the right to transfer or sell any asset or liability of FNMA or FHLMC without any approval, assignment or consent. If FHFA, as conservator or receiver, were to transfer any such guaranty obligation to another party, holders of FNMA or FHLMC MBS would have to rely on that party for satisfaction of the guaranty obligation and would be exposed to the credit risk of that party. In addition, certain rights provided to holders of MBS issued by FNMA and FHLMC under the operative documents related to such securities may not be enforced against FHFA, or enforcement of such rights may be delayed, during the conservatorship or any future receivership. The operative documents for FNMA and FHLMC MBS may provide (or with respect to securities issued prior to the date of the appointment of the conservator may have provided) that upon the occurrence of an event of default on the part of FNMA or FHLMC, in its capacity as guarantor, which includes the appointment of a conservator or receiver, holders of such MBS have the right to replace FNMA or FHLMC as trustee if the requisite percentage of MBS holders consent. The Reform Act prevents MBS holders from enforcing such rights if the event of default arises solely because a conservator or receiver has been appointed.
RMBS Legal Risks. Legal risks associated with RMBS can arise as a result of the procedures followed in connection with the origination of the mortgage loans or the servicing thereof, which may be subject to various federal and state laws (including, without limitation, predatory lending laws), public policies and principles of equity that regulate interest rates and other charges, require certain disclosures, require licensing of originators, prohibit discriminatory lending practices, regulate the use of consumer credit information and debt collection practices and may limit the servicer’s ability to collect all or part of the principal of or interest on a residential mortgage loan, entitle the borrower to a refund of amounts previously paid by it or subject the servicer to damages and sanctions. Specifically, provisions of federal predatory lending laws, such as the federal Truth‑in‑Lending Act (as supplemented by the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994) and
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Regulation Z, and various recently enacted state predatory lending laws provide that a purchaser or assignee of specified types of residential mortgage loans (including an issuer of RMBS) may be held liable for violations by the originator of such mortgage loans. Under such assignee liability provisions, a borrower is generally given the right to assert against a purchaser of its mortgage loan any affirmative claims and defenses to payment that such borrower could assert against the originator of the loan or, where applicable, the home improvement contractor that arranged the loan. Liability under such assignee liability provisions could, therefore, result in a disruption of cash flows allocated to the holders of RMBS where either the issuer of such RMBS is liable for damages or is unable to enforce payment by the borrower.
In most but not all cases, the amount recoverable against a purchaser or assignee under such assignee liability provisions is limited to amounts previously paid and still owed by the borrower. Moreover, sellers of residential mortgage loans to an issuer of RMBS typically represent that the loans have been originated in accordance with all applicable laws and in the event such representation is breached, the seller typically must repurchase the offending loan. Notwithstanding these protections, an issuer of RMBS may be exposed to an unquantifiable amount of potential assignee liability because, first, the amount of potential assignee liability under certain predatory lending laws is unclear and has yet to be litigated, and, second, in the event a predatory lending law does not prohibit class action lawsuits, it is possible that an issuer of RMBS could be liable for damages for more than the original principal amount of the offending loans held by it. In such circumstances the issuer of RMBS may be forced to seek contribution from other parties, who may no longer exist or have adequate funds available to fund such contribution.
In addition, structural and legal risks of RMBS include the possibility that, in a bankruptcy or similar proceeding involving the originator or the servicer (often the same entity or affiliates), the assets of the issuer could be treated as never having been truly sold by the originator to the issuer and could be substantively consolidated with those of the originator, or the transfer of such assets to the issuer could be voided as a fraudulent transfer. Challenges based on such doctrines could result also in cash flow delays and losses on the related issue of RMBS.
Non‑Agency RMBS Risks. Non‑agency RMBS are securities issued by non‑governmental issuers. Non-agency RMBS have no direct or indirect government guarantees of payment and are subject to various risks as described herein.
Borrower Credit Risk. Credit-related risk on RMBS arises from losses due to delinquencies and defaults by the borrowers in payments on the underlying mortgage loans and breaches by originators and servicers of their obligations under the underlying documentation pursuant to which the RMBS are issued. Non‑agency residential mortgage loans are obligations of the borrowers thereunder only and are not typically insured or guaranteed by any other person or entity. The rate of delinquencies and defaults on residential mortgage loans and the aggregate amount of the resulting losses will be affected by a number of factors, including general economic conditions, particularly those in the area where the related mortgaged property is located, the level of the borrower’s equity in the mortgaged property and the individual financial circumstances of the borrower. If a residential mortgage loan is in default, foreclosure on the related residential property may be a lengthy and difficult process involving significant legal and other expenses. The net proceeds obtained by the holder on a residential mortgage loan following the foreclosure on the related property may be less than the total amount that remains due on the loan. The prospect of incurring a loss upon the foreclosure of the related property may lead the holder of the residential mortgage loan to restructure the residential mortgage loan or otherwise delay the foreclosure process.
Mortgage Loan Market Risk. In the recent past, the residential mortgage market in the United States experienced difficulties that adversely affected the performance and market value of certain mortgages and mortgage related securities. Delinquencies and losses on residential mortgage loans (especially sub‑prime and second lien mortgage loans) generally increased during this period and declines in or flattening of housing values in many housing markets were generally viewed as exacerbating such delinquencies and losses. Borrowers with ARMs are more sensitive to changes in interest rates, which affect their monthly mortgage payments, and may be unable to secure replacement mortgages at comparably low interest rates.
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At any one time, a portfolio of RMBS may be backed by residential mortgage loans that are highly concentrated in only a few states or regions. As a result, the performance of such residential mortgage loans may be more susceptible to a downturn in the economy, including in particular industries that are highly represented in such states or regions, natural calamities and other adverse conditions affecting such areas. The economic downturn experienced in the recent past at the national level, and the more serious economic downturn experienced in the recent past in certain geographic areas of the United States, including in particular areas of the United States where rates of delinquencies and defaults on residential mortgage loans were particularly high, is generally viewed as having contributed to the higher rates of delinquencies and defaults on the residential mortgage loans underlying RMBS during this period. There also can be no assurance that areas of the United States that mostly avoided higher rates of delinquencies and defaults on residential mortgage loans during this period would continue to do so if an economic downturn were to reoccur at the national level.
Another factor that may contribute to, and may in the future result in, higher delinquency and default rates is the increase in monthly payments on ARMs. Any increase in prevailing market interest rates may result in increased payments for borrowers who have ARMs. Moreover, with respect to hybrid mortgage loans (which are mortgage loans combining fixed and adjustable rate features) after their initial fixed rate period or other adjustable-rate mortgage loans, interest-only products or products having a lower rate, and with respect to mortgage loans with a negative amortization feature which reach their negative amortization cap, borrowers may experience a substantial increase in their monthly payment even without an increase in prevailing market interest rates. Increases in payments for borrowers may result in increased rates of delinquencies and defaults on residential mortgage loans underlying the non‑agency RMBS.
As a result of rising concerns about increases in delinquencies and defaults on residential mortgage loans (particularly on sub‑prime and adjustable-rate mortgage loans) and as a result of increasing concerns about the financial strength of originators and servicers and their ability to perform their obligations with respect to non‑agency RMBS, there may be an adverse change in the market sentiments of investors about the market values and volatility and the degree of risk of non-agency RMBS generally. Some or all of the underlying residential mortgage loans in an issue of non-agency RMBS may have balloon payments due on their respective maturity dates. Balloon residential mortgage loans involve a greater risk to a lender than fully amortizing loans, because the ability of a borrower to pay such amount will normally depend on its ability to obtain refinancing of the related mortgage loan or sell the related mortgaged property at a price sufficient to permit the borrower to make the balloon payment, which will depend on a number of factors prevailing at the time such refinancing or sale is required, including, without limitation, the strength of the local or national residential real estate markets, interest rates and general economic conditions and the financial condition of the borrower. If borrowers are unable to make such balloon payments, the related issue of non‑agency RMBS may experience losses.
The Trust may acquire RMBS backed by collateral pools of mortgage loans that have been originated using underwriting standards that are less restrictive than those used in underwriting “prime mortgage loans” and “Alt‑A mortgage loans.” These lower standards include mortgage loans made to borrowers having imperfect or impaired credit histories, mortgage loans where the amount of the loan at origination is 80% or more of the value of the mortgage property, mortgage loans made to borrowers with low credit scores, mortgage loans made to borrowers who have other debt that represents a large portion of their income and mortgage loans made to borrowers whose income is not required to be disclosed or verified and are commonly referred to as “sub‑prime” mortgage loans. Sub‑prime mortgage loans have in recent periods experienced increased rates of delinquency, foreclosure, bankruptcy and loss, and they are likely to continue to experience delinquency, foreclosure, bankruptcy and loss rates that are higher, and that may be substantially higher, than those experienced by mortgage loans underwritten in a more traditional manner. Certain categories of RMBS, such as option ARM RMBS and sub‑prime RMBS, have been referred to by the financial media as “toxic assets.”
CMBS Risks. CMBS are, generally, securities backed by obligations (including certificates of participation in obligations) that are principally secured by mortgages on real property or interests therein having a multifamily
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or commercial use, such as regional malls, other retail space, office buildings, industrial or warehouse properties, hotels, nursing homes and senior living centers. The market for CMBS developed more recently and, in terms of total outstanding principal amount of issues, is relatively small compared to the market for single-family RMBS.
CMBS are subject to particular risks, including lack of standardized terms, shorter maturities than residential mortgage loans and payment of all or substantially all of the principal only at maturity rather than regular amortization of principal. Additional risks may be presented by the type and use of a particular commercial property. Special risks are presented by hospitals, nursing homes, hospitality properties and certain other property types. Commercial property values and net operating income are subject to volatility, which may result in net operating income becoming insufficient to cover debt service on the related mortgage loan. The repayment of loans secured by income-producing properties is typically dependent upon the successful operation of the related real estate project rather than upon the liquidation value of the underlying real estate. Furthermore, the net operating income from and value of any commercial property is subject to various risks, including changes in general or local economic conditions and/or specific industry segments; the solvency of the related tenants; declines in real estate values; declines in rental or occupancy rates; increases in interest rates, real estate tax rates and other operating expenses; changes in governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies; acts of God; new and ongoing epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases and other global health events; natural/environmental disasters; terrorist threats and attacks and social unrest and civil disturbances. Consequently, adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances are more likely to have an adverse impact on MBS secured by loans on commercial properties than on those secured by loans on residential properties. In addition, commercial lending generally is viewed as exposing the lender to a greater risk of loss than one‑ to four-family residential lending. Commercial lending, for example, typically involves larger loans to single borrowers or groups of related borrowers than residential one‑ to four-family mortgage loans. In addition, the repayment of loans secured by income producing properties typically is dependent upon the successful operation of the related real estate project and the cash flow generated therefrom.
The exercise of remedies and successful realization of liquidation proceeds relating to CMBS is also highly dependent on the performance of the servicer or special servicer. In many cases, overall control over the special servicing of related underlying mortgage loans will be held by a “directing certificateholder” or a “controlling class representative,” which is appointed by the holders of the most subordinate class of CMBS in such series.
The Trust may not have the right to appoint the directing certificateholder. In connection with the servicing of the specially serviced mortgage loans, the related special servicer may, at the direction of the directing certificateholder, take actions with respect to the specially serviced mortgage loans that could adversely affect the Trust’s interests. There may be a limited number of special servicers available, particularly those that do not have conflicts of interest.
The Trust may invest in Subordinated CMBS issued or sponsored by commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage bankers, private mortgage insurance companies and other non‑governmental issuers. Subordinated CMBS have no governmental guarantee and are subordinated in some manner as to the payment of principal and/or interest to the holders of more senior CMBS arising out of the same pool of mortgages.
Subordinated CMBS are often referred to as “B‑Pieces.” The holders of Subordinated CMBS typically are compensated with a higher stated yield than are the holders of more senior CMBS. On the other hand, Subordinated CMBS typically subject the holder to greater risk than senior CMBS and tend to be rated in a lower rating category (frequently a substantially lower rating category) than the senior CMBS issued in respect of the same mortgage pool. Subordinated CMBS generally are likely to be more sensitive to changes in prepayment and interest rates and the market for such securities may be less liquid than is the case for traditional income securities and senior CMBS.
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Stripped MBS Risk. Stripped MBS may be subject to additional risks. One type of stripped MBS pays to one class all of the interest from the mortgage assets (the “IO class”), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the “PO class”). The yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the underlying mortgage assets and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on the Trust’s yield to maturity from these securities. If the assets underlying the IO class experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Trust may fail to recoup fully, or at all, its initial investment in these securities. Conversely, PO class securities tend to decline in value if prepayments are slower than anticipated.
CMO Risk. There are certain risks associated specifically with CMOs. CMOs are debt obligations collateralized by mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities. The average life of a CMO is determined using mathematical models that incorporate prepayment assumptions and other factors that involve estimates of future economic and market conditions. Actual future results may vary from these estimates, particularly during periods of extreme market volatility. Further, under certain market conditions, such as those that occurred during the recent downturn in the mortgage markets, the weighted average life of certain CMOs may not accurately reflect the price volatility of such securities. For example, in periods of supply and demand imbalances in the market for such securities and/or in periods of sharp interest rate movements, the prices of CMOs may fluctuate to a greater extent than would be expected from interest rate movements alone. CMOs issued by private entities are not obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities and are not guaranteed by any government agency, although the securities underlying a CMO may be subject to a guarantee. Therefore, if the collateral securing the CMO, as well as any third party credit support or guarantees, is insufficient to make payments when due, the holder could sustain a loss.
Inverse floating rate CMOs are typically more volatile than fixed or floating rate tranches of CMOs. Many inverse floating rate CMOs have coupons that move inversely to a multiple of an index. The effect of the coupon varying inversely to a multiple of an applicable index creates a leverage factor. Inverse floaters based on multiples of a stated index are designed to be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and can subject the holders thereof to extreme reductions of yield and loss of principal. The market for inverse floating rate CMOs with highly leveraged characteristics at times may be very thin. The Trust’s ability to dispose of its positions in such securities will depend on the degree of liquidity in the markets for such securities. It is impossible to predict the amount of trading interest that may exist in such securities, and therefore the future degree of liquidity.
The Trust may also invest in REMICs, which are CMOs that qualify for special tax treatment under the Code and invest in certain mortgages principally secured by interests in real property and other permitted investments.
Credit Risk Associated With Originators and Servicers of Mortgage Loans. A number of originators and servicers of residential and commercial mortgage loans, including some of the largest originators and servicers in the residential and commercial mortgage loan market, have experienced serious financial difficulties, including some that are now or were subject to federal insolvency proceedings. These difficulties have resulted from many factors, including increased competition among originators for borrowers, decreased originations by such originators of mortgage loans and increased delinquencies and defaults on such mortgage loans, as well as from increases in claims for repurchases of mortgage loans previously sold by them under agreements that require repurchase in the event of breaches of representations regarding loan quality and characteristics. Such difficulties may affect the performance of MBS backed by mortgage loans. Furthermore, the inability of the originator to repurchase such mortgage loans in the event of loan representation breaches or the servicer to repurchase such mortgage loans upon a breach of its servicing obligations also may affect the performance of related MBS. Delinquencies and losses on, and, in some cases, claims for repurchase by the originator of, mortgage loans originated by some mortgage lenders have recently increased as a result of inadequate underwriting procedures and policies, including inadequate due diligence, failure to comply with predatory and other lending laws and, particularly in the case of any “no documentation” or “limited documentation” mortgage loans that may support non‑agency RMBS, inadequate verification of income and
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employment history. Delinquencies and losses on, and claims for repurchase of, mortgage loans originated by some mortgage lenders have also resulted from fraudulent activities of borrowers, lenders, appraisers, and other residential mortgage industry participants such as mortgage brokers, including misstatements of income and employment history, identity theft and overstatements of the appraised value of mortgaged properties. Many of these originators and servicers are very highly leveraged. These difficulties may also increase the chances that these entities may default on their warehousing or other credit lines or become insolvent or bankrupt and thereby increase the likelihood that repurchase obligations will not be fulfilled and the potential for loss to holders of non‑agency MBS and subordinated security holders.
The servicers of non‑agency MBS are often the same entities as, or affiliates of, the originators of these mortgage loans. Accordingly, the financial risks relating to originators of MBS described immediately above also may affect the servicing of MBS. In the case of such servicers, and other servicers, financial difficulties may have a negative effect on the ability of servicers to pursue collection on mortgage loans that are experiencing increased delinquencies and defaults and to maximize recoveries on sale of underlying properties following foreclosure. In recent years, a number of lenders specializing in residential mortgages have sought bankruptcy protection, shut down or been refused further financings from their lenders.
MBS typically provide that the servicer is required to make advances in respect of delinquent mortgage loans. However, servicers experiencing financial difficulties may not be able to perform these obligations or obligations that they may have to other parties of transactions involving these securities. Like originators, these entities are typically very highly leveraged. Such difficulties may cause servicers to default under their financing arrangements. In certain cases, such entities may be forced to seek bankruptcy protection. Due to the application of the provisions of bankruptcy law, servicers who have sought bankruptcy protection may not be required to advance such amounts. Even if a servicer were able to advance amounts in respect of delinquent mortgage loans, its obligation to make such advances may be limited to the extent that it does not expect to recover such advances due to the deteriorating credit of the delinquent mortgage loans or declining value of the related mortgaged properties. Moreover, servicers may overadvance against a particular mortgage loan or charge too many costs of resolution or foreclosure of a mortgage loan to a securitization, which could increase the potential losses to holders of MBS. In such transactions, a servicer’s obligation to make such advances may also be limited to the amount of its servicing fee. In addition, if an issue of MBS provides for interest on advances made by the servicer, in the event that foreclosure proceeds or payments by borrowers are not sufficient to cover such interest, such interest will be paid to the servicer from available collections or other mortgage income, thereby reducing distributions made on the MBS and, in the case of senior-subordinated MBS described below, first from distributions that would otherwise be made on the most subordinated MBS of such issue. Any such financial difficulties may increase the possibility of a servicer termination and the need for a transfer of servicing and any such liabilities or inability to assess such liabilities may increase the difficulties and costs in affecting such transfer and the potential loss, through the allocation of such increased cost of such transfer, to subordinated security holders.
There can be no assurance that originators and servicers of mortgage loans will not continue to experience serious financial difficulties or experience such difficulties in the future, including becoming subject to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, or that underwriting procedures and policies and protections against fraud will be sufficient in the future to prevent such financial difficulties or significant levels of default or delinquency on mortgage loans. Because the recent financial difficulties experienced by such originators and servicers is unprecedented and unpredictable, the past performance of the residential and commercial mortgage loans originated and serviced by them (and the corresponding performance of the related MBS) is not a reliable indicator of the future performance of such residential mortgage loans (or the related MBS).
In some cases, servicers of MBS have been the subject of legal proceedings involving the origination and/or servicing practices of such servicers. Large groups of private litigants and states’ attorneys general have brought such proceedings. Because of the large volume of mortgage loans originated and serviced by such servicers, such litigation can cause heightened financial strain on servicers. In other cases, origination and servicing practices
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may cause or contribute to such strain, because of representation and warranty repurchase liability arising in MBS and mortgage loan sale transactions. Any such financial strain could cause servicers to service below required standards, causing delinquencies and losses in any related MBS transaction to rise, and in extreme cases could cause the servicer to seek the protection of any applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law. In any such proceeding, it is unclear whether the fees that the servicer charges in such transactions would be sufficient to permit that servicer or a successor servicer to service the mortgage loans in such transaction adequately. If such fees had to be increased, it is likely that the most subordinated security holders in such transactions would be effectively required to pay such increased fees. Finally, these entities may be the subject of future laws designed to protect consumers from defaulting on their mortgage loans. Such laws may have an adverse effect on the cash flows paid under such MBS.
Additional Risks of Mortgage Related Securities. Additional risks associated with investments in MBS include:
Interest Rate Risk. In addition to the interest rate risks described above, certain MBS may be subject to additional risks as the rate of interest payable on certain MBS may be set or effectively capped at the weighted average net coupon of the underlying mortgage loans themselves, often referred to as an “available funds cap.” As a result of this cap, the return to the holder of such MBS is dependent on the relative timing and rate of delinquencies and prepayments of mortgage loans bearing a higher rate of interest. In general, early prepayments will have a greater negative impact on the yield to the holder of such MBS.
Structural Risk. Because MBS generally are ownership or participation interests in pools of mortgage loans secured by a pool of properties underlying the mortgage loan pool, the MBS are entitled to payments provided for in the underlying agreement only when and if funds are generated by the underlying mortgage loan pool. This likelihood of the return of interest and principal may be assessed as a credit matter. However, the holders of MBS do not have the legal status of secured creditors, and cannot accelerate a claim for payment on their securities, or force a sale of the mortgage loan pool in the event that insufficient funds exist to pay such amounts on any date designated for such payment. The holders of MBS do not typically have any right to remove a servicer solely as a result of a failure of the mortgage pool to perform as expected.
Subordination Risk. MBS may be subordinated to one or more other senior classes of securities of the same series for purposes of, among other things, offsetting losses and other shortfalls with respect to the related underlying mortgage loans. For example, in the case of certain MBS, no distributions of principal will generally be made with respect to any class until the aggregate principal balances of the corresponding senior classes of securities have been reduced to zero. As a result, MBS may be more sensitive to risk of loss, writedowns, the non‑fulfillment of repurchase obligations, overadvancing on a pool of loans and the costs of transferring servicing than senior classes of securities.
Prepayment, Extension and Redemption Risks. MBS may reflect an interest in monthly payments made by the borrowers who receive the underlying mortgage loans. Although the underlying mortgage loans are for specified periods of time, such as 20 or 30 years, the borrowers can, and historically have paid them off sooner. When a prepayment happens, a portion of the MBS which represents an interest in the underlying mortgage loan will be prepaid. A borrower is more likely to prepay a mortgage which bears a relatively high rate of interest. This means that in times of declining interest rates, a portion of the Trust’s higher yielding securities are likely to be redeemed and the Trust will probably be unable to replace them with securities having as great a yield. In addition to reductions in the level of market interest rates and the prepayment provisions of the mortgage loans, repayments on the residential mortgage loans underlying an issue of RMBS may also be affected by a variety of economic, geographic and other factors, including the size difference between the interest rates on the underlying residential mortgage loans (giving consideration to the cost of refinancing) and prevailing mortgage rates and the availability of refinancing. Prepayments can result in lower yields to shareholders. The increased likelihood of prepayment when interest rates decline also limits market price appreciation of MBS. This is known as prepayment risk.
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Except in the case of certain types of RMBS, the mortgage loans underlying RMBS generally do not contain prepayment penalties and a reduction in market interest rates will increase the likelihood of prepayments on the related RMBS. In the case of certain home equity loan securities and certain types of RMBS, even though the underlying mortgage loans often contain prepayment premiums, such prepayment premiums may not be sufficient to discourage borrowers from prepaying their mortgage loans in the event of a reduction in market interest rates, resulting in a reduction in the yield to maturity for holders of the related RMBS. RMBS typically contain provisions that require repurchase of mortgage loans by the originator or other seller in the event of a breach of a representation or warranty regarding loan quality and characteristics of such loan. Any repurchase of a mortgage loan as a result of a breach has the same effect on the yield received on the related issue of RMBS as a prepayment of such mortgage loan. Any increase in breaches of representations and the consequent repurchases of mortgage loans that result from inadequate underwriting procedures and policies and protections against fraud will have the same effect on the yield on the related RMBS as an increase in prepayment rates.
Risk of prepayment may be reduced for commercial real estate property loans containing significant prepayment penalties or prohibitions on principal payments for a period of time following origination.
MBS also are subject to extension risk. Extension risk is the possibility that rising interest rates may cause prepayments to occur at a slower than expected rate. This particular risk may effectively change a security which was considered short or intermediate term into a long-term security. The values of long-term securities generally fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than short or intermediate-term securities.
In addition, MBS may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer. If a MBS held by the Trust is called for redemption, the Trust will be required to permit the issuer to redeem or ”pay‑off” the security, which could have an adverse effect on the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Spread Widening Risk. The prices of MBS may decline substantially, for reasons that may not be attributable to any of the other risks described in the prospectus. In particular, purchasing assets at what may appear to be “undervalued” levels is no guarantee that these assets will not be trading at even more “undervalued” levels at a time of valuation or at the time of sale. It may not be possible to predict, or to protect against, such “spread widening” risk.
Illiquidity Risk. The liquidity of MBS varies by type of security; at certain times the Trust may encounter difficulty in disposing of such investments. Because MBS have the potential to be less liquid than other securities, the Trust may be more susceptible to illiquidity risk than funds that invest in other securities. In the past, in stressed markets, certain types of MBS suffered periods of illiquidity when disfavored by the market. Due to increased instability in the credit markets, the market for some MBS has experienced reduced liquidity and greater volatility with respect to the value of such securities, making it more difficult to value such securities.
Asset-Backed Securities Risks
ABS involve certain risks in addition to those presented by MBS. There is the possibility that recoveries on the underlying collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on these securities. Relative to MBS, ABS may provide the Trust with a less effective security interest in the underlying collateral and are more dependent on the borrower’s ability to pay. If many borrowers on the underlying loans default, losses could exceed the credit enhancement level and result in losses to investors in an ABS transaction. Finally, ABS have structure risk due to a unique characteristic known as early amortization, or early payout, risk. Built into the structure of most ABS are triggers for early payout, designed to protect investors from losses. These triggers are unique to each transaction and can include a significant rise in defaults on the underlying loans, a sharp drop in the credit enhancement level or the bankruptcy of the originator. Once early amortization begins, all incoming
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loan payments (after expenses are paid) are used to pay investors as quickly as possible based upon a predetermined priority of payment. As a result, proceeds that would otherwise be distributed to holders of a junior tranche may be diverted to pay down more senior tranches.
The collateral underlying ABS may constitute assets related to a wide range of industries and sectors, such as credit card and automobile receivables. Credit card receivables are generally unsecured and the debtors are entitled to the protection of a number of state and federal consumer credit laws, many of which give debtors the right to set off certain amounts owed on the credit cards, thereby reducing the balance due. Most issuers of automobile receivables permit the servicers to retain possession of the underlying obligations. If the servicer were to sell these obligations to another party, there is a risk that the purchaser would acquire an interest superior to that of the holders of the related automobile receivables. In addition, because of the large number of vehicles involved in a typical issuance and technical requirements under state laws, the trustee for the holders of the automobile receivables may not have an effective security interest in all of the obligations backing such receivables. If the economy of the United States deteriorates, defaults on securities backed by credit card, automobile and other receivables may increase, which may adversely affect the value of any ABS owned by Trust. There is the possibility that recoveries on the underlying collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on these securities. In the past, certain automobile manufacturers have been granted access to emergency loans from the U.S. Government and have experienced bankruptcy. These events may adversely affect the value of securities backed by receivables from the sale or lease of automobiles.
Some ABS, particularly home equity loan transactions, are subject to interest rate risk and prepayment risk. A change in interest rates can affect the pace of payments on the underlying loans, which in turn, affects total return on the securities.
Zero Coupon Securities Risk
While interest payments are not made on such securities, holders of such securities are deemed to have received income (“phantom income”) annually, notwithstanding that cash may not be received currently. The effect of owning instruments that do not make current interest payments is that a fixed yield is earned not only on the original investment but also, in effect, on all discount accretion during the life of the obligations. This implicit reinvestment of earnings at a fixed rate eliminates the risk of being unable to invest distributions at a rate as high as the implicit yield on the zero coupon bond, but at the same time eliminates the holder’s ability to reinvest at higher rates in the future. For this reason, some of these securities may be subject to substantially greater price fluctuations during periods of changing market interest rates than are comparable securities that pay interest currently. Longer term zero coupon bonds are more exposed to interest rate risk than shorter term zero coupon bonds. These investments benefit the issuer by mitigating its need for cash to meet debt service, but also require a higher rate of return to attract investors who are willing to defer receipt of cash. Because zero‑coupon bonds allow an issuer to defer the need to generate cash to meet current interest payments, these investments may involve greater credit risk than bonds that pay interest currently or in cash. In addition, zero coupon bonds may be difficult to value accurately because their continuing accruals require continuing judgments about the collectability of the deferred payments and the value of any associated collateral.
Pay‑in‑Kind Bonds Risk
Similar to zero coupon obligations, pay‑in‑kind bonds also carry additional risk as holders of these types of securities realize no cash until the cash payment date unless a portion of such securities is sold and, if the issuer defaults, the Trust may obtain no return at all on its investment. The market price of pay‑in‑kind bonds is affected by interest rate changes to a greater extent, and therefore tends to be more volatile, than that of securities which pay interest in cash. Because pay‑in‑kind bonds allow an issuer to defer the need to generate cash to meet current interest payments, these investments may involve greater credit risk than bonds that pay interest currently or in cash. In addition, pay‑in‑kind bonds may be difficult to value accurately because their continuing accruals require continuing judgments about the collectability of the deferred payments and the value of any associated
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collateral. Additionally, interest on pay‑in‑kind bonds has the effect of generating investment income, and the deferral of interest on pay‑in‑kind bonds increases the loan‑to‑value ratio at a compounding rate. Current federal tax law requires the holder of certain pay‑in‑kind bonds to accrue income with respect to these securities prior to the receipt of cash payments. To maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company and avoid liability for U.S. federal income and excise taxes, the Trust may be required to distribute income accrued with respect to these securities and may have to dispose of portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances in order to generate cash to satisfy these distribution requirements.
Insolvency of Issuers of Indebtedness Risk
Various laws enacted for the protection of creditors may apply to indebtedness in which the Trust invests. The information in this and the following paragraph is applicable with respect to U.S. issuers subject to U.S. federal bankruptcy law. Insolvency considerations may differ with respect to other issuers. If, in a lawsuit brought by an unpaid creditor or representative of creditors of an issuer of indebtedness, a court were to find that the issuer did not receive fair consideration or reasonably equivalent value for incurring the indebtedness and that, after giving effect to such indebtedness, the issuer (i) was insolvent, (ii) was engaged in a business for which the remaining assets of such issuer constituted unreasonably small capital or (iii) intended to incur, or believed that it would incur, debts beyond its ability to pay such debts as they mature, such court could determine to invalidate, in whole or in part, such indebtedness as a fraudulent conveyance, to subordinate such indebtedness to existing or future creditors of such issuer, or to recover amounts previously paid by such issuer in satisfaction of such indebtedness. The measure of insolvency for purposes of the foregoing will vary. Generally, an issuer would be considered insolvent at a particular time if the sum of its debts was then greater than all of its property at a fair valuation, or if the present fair saleable value of its assets was then less than the amount that would be required to pay its probable liabilities on its existing debts as they became absolute and matured. There can be no assurance as to what standard a court would apply in order to determine whether the issuer was “insolvent” after giving effect to the incurrence of the indebtedness in which the Trust invested or that, regardless of the method of valuation, a court would not determine that the issuer was “insolvent” upon giving effect to such incurrence. In addition, in the event of the insolvency of an issuer of indebtedness in which the Trust invests, payments made on such indebtedness could be subject to avoidance as a “preference” if made within a certain period of time (which may be as long as one year) before insolvency.
The Trust does not anticipate that it will engage in conduct that would form the basis for a successful cause of action based upon fraudulent conveyance, preference or subordination. There can be no assurance, however, as to whether any lending institution or other party from which the Trust may acquire such indebtedness engaged in any such conduct (or any other conduct that would subject such indebtedness and the Trust to insolvency laws) and, if it did, as to whether such creditor claims could be asserted in a U.S. court (or in the courts of any other country) against the Trust.
Indebtedness consisting of obligations of non‑U.S. issuers may be subject to various laws enacted in the countries of their issuance for the protection of creditors. These insolvency considerations will differ depending on the country in which each issuer is located or domiciled and may differ depending on whether the issuer is a non‑sovereign or a sovereign entity.
Warrants Risk
If the price of the underlying stock does not rise above the exercise price before the warrant expires, the warrant generally expires without any value and the Trust will lose any amount it paid for the warrant. Thus, investments in warrants may involve substantially more risk than investments in common stock. Warrants may trade in the same markets as their underlying stock; however, the price of the warrant does not necessarily move with the price of the underlying stock.
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Rights Risk
The failure to exercise subscription rights to purchase common stock would result in the dilution of the Trust’s interest in the issuing company. The market for such rights is not well developed, and, accordingly, the Trust may not always realize full value on the sale of rights.
Convertible Securities Risk
The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock.
Contingent Convertible Securities Risk
CoCos are subject to additional risk factors in addition to those related to convertible securities. CoCos are a newer form of instrument and the regulatory environment for these instruments continues to evolve. Because the market for such securities is evolving, it is uncertain how the larger market for CoCos would react to a trigger event, coupon cancellation, write-down of par value or coupon suspension (as described below) applicable to a single issuer. Following conversion of a CoCo, because the common stock of the issuer may not pay a dividend, investors in such securities could experience reduced yields or no yields at all.
There are special risks associated with investing in CoCos, including:
Loss Absorption Risk. CoCos have fully discretionary coupons. This means coupons can potentially be cancelled at the banking institution’s discretion or at the request of the relevant regulatory authority in order to help the bank absorb losses. The liquidation value of a CoCo may be adjusted downward to below the original par value or written off entirely under certain circumstances. The write-down of the security’s par value may occur automatically and would not entitle holders to institute bankruptcy proceedings against the issuer. In addition, an automatic write-down could result in a reduced income rate if the dividend or interest payment associated with the security is based on the security’s par value. Coupon payments may also be subject to approval by the issuer’s regulator and may be suspended in the event there are insufficient distributable reserves. Due to uncertainty surrounding coupon payments, CoCos may be volatile and their price may decline rapidly in the event that coupon payments are suspended.
Subordinated Instruments. CoCos will, in the majority of circumstances, be issued in the form of subordinated debt instruments in order to provide the appropriate regulatory capital treatment prior to a conversion. Accordingly, in the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding‑up of an issuer prior to a conversion having occurred, the rights and claims of the holders of the CoCos, such as the Trust, against the issuer in respect of or arising under the terms of the CoCos shall generally rank junior to the claims of all holders of unsubordinated obligations of the issuer. In addition, if the CoCos are converted into the issuer’s underlying equity securities following a conversion event (i.e., a “trigger”), each holder will be subordinated due to their conversion from being the holder of a debt instrument to being the holder of an equity instrument. Such conversion may be automatic.
Unpredictable Market Value Fluctuate. The value of CoCos is unpredictable and will be influenced by many factors including, without limitation: (i) the creditworthiness of the issuer and/or fluctuations in such issuer’s applicable capital ratios; (ii) supply and demand for the CoCos; (iii) general market conditions and available liquidity; and (iv) economic, financial and political events that affect the issuer, its particular market or the financial markets in general.
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Municipal Securities Risk
Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. These risks include:
General Obligation Bonds Risks. The full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality that issues a general obligation bond secures payment of interest and repayment of principal. Timely payments depend on the issuer’s credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base.
Revenue Bonds Risks. Revenue bonds issued by state or local agencies to finance the development of low‑income, multi-family housing involve special risks in addition to those associated with municipal bonds generally, including that the underlying properties may not generate sufficient income to pay expenses and interest costs. Payments of interest and principal on revenue bonds are made only from the revenues generated by a particular facility, class of facilities or the proceeds of a special tax or other revenue source. These payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source. Such bonds are generally nonrecourse against the property owner, may be junior to the rights of others with an interest in the properties, may pay interest that changes based in part on the financial performance of the property, may be prepayable without penalty and may be used to finance the construction of housing developments which, until completed and rented, do not generate income to pay interest. Increases in interest rates payable on senior obligations may make it more difficult for issuers to meet payment obligations on subordinated bonds.
Private Activity Bonds Risks. Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment. If the private enterprise defaults on its payments, the Trust may not receive any income or get its money back from the investment. These bonds may subject certain investors in the Trust to the federal alternative minimum tax.
Moral Obligation Bonds Risks. Moral obligation bonds are generally issued by special purpose public authorities of a state or municipality. If the issuer is unable to meet its obligations, repayment of these bonds becomes a moral commitment, but not a legal obligation, of the state or municipality.
Municipal Notes Risks. Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of, and are secured by, tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the Trust may lose money.
Municipal Lease Obligations Risks. In a municipal lease obligation, the issuer agrees to make payments when due on the lease obligation. The issuer will generally appropriate municipal funds for that purpose, but is not obligated to do so. Although the issuer does not pledge its unlimited taxing power for payment of the lease obligation, the lease obligation is secured by the leased property. However, if the issuer does not fulfill its payment obligation it may be difficult to sell the property and the proceeds of a sale may not cover the Trust’s loss.
Municipal leases and certificates of participation involve special risks not normally associated with general obligations or revenue bonds. Leases and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which normally provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the governmental issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. The debt issuance limitations are deemed to be inapplicable because of the inclusion in many leases or contracts of “nonappropriation” clauses that relieve the governmental issuer of any obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body on a yearly or other periodic basis. In addition, such leases or contracts may be
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subject to the temporary abatement of payments in the event that the governmental issuer is prevented from maintaining occupancy of the lease premises or utilizing the leased equipment. Although the obligations may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of nonappropriation or foreclosure might prove difficult, time consuming and costly, and may result in a delay in recovering or the failure to fully recover ownership of the assets.
Certificates of participation, which represent interests in unmanaged pools of municipal leases or installment contracts, involve the same risks as the underlying municipal leases. In addition, the Trust may be dependent upon the municipal authority issuing the certificate of participation to exercise remedies with respect to the underlying securities.
Certificates of participation also entail a risk of default or bankruptcy, both of the issuer of the municipal lease and also the municipal agency issuing the certificate of participation.
Liquidity of Investments. Certain municipal bonds in which the Trust invests may lack an established secondary trading market or are otherwise considered illiquid. Liquidity of a security relates to the ability to easily dispose of the security and the price to be obtained and does not generally relate to the credit risk or likelihood of receipt of cash at maturity. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments.
The financial markets in general, and certain segments of the municipal securities markets in particular, have in recent years experienced periods of extreme secondary market supply and demand imbalance, resulting in a loss of liquidity during which market prices were suddenly and substantially below traditional measures of intrinsic value. During such periods some securities could be sold only at arbitrary prices and with substantial losses. Periods of such market dislocation may occur again at any time.
Because the Trust does not expect that it will invest more 50% of its assets in tax‑exempt municipal securities, the Trust will not be eligible to pass tax‑exempt interest through to its shareholders in the form of “exempt-interest dividends.” The amount of tax‑exempt interest earned by the Trust will, however, generally increase the Trust’s earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, distributions of the Trust attributable to tax‑exempt interest will generally be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income that is not eligible for the preferential tax rates applicable to “qualified dividend income,” even though the tax‑exempt income, if earned directly by the shareholder, would not have been subject to U.S. federal income tax.
Municipal Securities Market Risk
Economic exposure to the municipal securities market involves certain risks. The municipal market is one in which dealer firms make markets in bonds on a principal basis using their proprietary capital, and during the financial crisis of 2007-2009 these firms’ capital was severely constrained. As a result, some firms were unwilling to commit their capital to purchase and to serve as a dealer for municipal securities. Certain municipal securities may not be registered with the SEC or any state securities commission and will not be listed on any national securities exchange. The amount of public information available about the municipal securities to which the Trust is economically exposed is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds, and the investment performance of the Trust may therefore be more dependent on the analytical abilities of the Advisors than would be a fund investing solely in stocks or taxable bonds. The secondary market for municipal securities, particularly the below investment grade securities to which the Trust may be economically exposed, also tends to be less well-developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the Trust’s ability to sell such securities at attractive prices or at prices approximating those at which the Trust currently values them.
In addition, many state and municipal governments that issue securities are under significant economic and financial stress and may not be able to satisfy their obligations. The ability of municipal issuers to make timely payments of interest and principal may be diminished during general economic downturns and as governmental cost burdens are reallocated among federal, state and local governments. The taxing power of any governmental
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entity may be limited by provisions of state constitutions or laws and an entity’s credit will depend on many factors, including the entity’s tax base, the extent to which the entity relies on federal or state aid, and other factors which are beyond the entity’s control. In addition, laws enacted in the future by Congress or state legislatures or referenda could extend the time for payment of principal and/or interest, or impose other constraints on enforcement of such obligations or on the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. Issuers of municipal securities might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. In the event of bankruptcy of such an issuer, holders of municipal securities could experience delays in collecting principal and interest and such holders may not, in all circumstances, be able to collect all principal and interest to which they are entitled. To enforce its rights in the event of a default in the payment of interest or repayment of principal, or both, the Trust may take possession of and manage the assets securing the issuer’s obligations on such securities, which may increase the Trust’s operating expenses. Any income derived from the Trust’s ownership or operation of such assets may not be tax‑exempt or may fail to generate qualifying income for purposes of the income tests applicable to RICs.
Taxable Municipal Securities Risk. Build America Bonds involve similar risks as municipal bonds, including credit and market risk. In particular, should a Build America Bond’s issuer fail to continue to meet the applicable requirements imposed on the bonds as provided by the ARRA , it is possible that such issuer may not receive federal cash subsidy payments, impairing the issuer’s ability to make scheduled interest payments. The Build America Bond program expired on December 31, 2010 and no further issuance is permitted unless Congress renews the program. As a result, the number of available Build America Bonds is limited, which may negatively affect the value of the Build America Bonds. In addition, there can be no assurance that Build America Bonds will be actively traded. It is difficult to predict the extent to which a market for such bonds will continue, meaning that Build America Bonds may experience greater illiquidity than other municipal obligations. The Build America Bonds outstanding as of December 31, 2010 will continue to be eligible for the federal interest rate subsidy, which continues for the life of the Build America Bonds; however, no bonds issued following expiration of the Build America Bond program will be eligible for the U.S. federal tax subsidy.
General Risk Factors in Hedging Foreign Currency
Hedging transactions involving Currency Instruments involve substantial risks, including correlation risk. While the Trust’s use of Currency Instruments to effect hedging strategies is intended to reduce the volatility of the NAV of the Trust’s common shares, the NAV of the Trust’s common shares will fluctuate. Moreover, although Currency Instruments may be used with the intention of hedging against adverse currency movements, transactions in Currency Instruments involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that the Trust’s hedging strategies will be ineffective. To the extent that the Trust hedges against anticipated currency movements that do not occur, the Trust may realize losses and decrease its total return as the result of its hedging transactions. Furthermore, the Trust will only engage in hedging activities from time to time and may not be engaging in hedging activities when movements in currency exchange rates occur.
It may not be possible for the Trust to hedge against currency exchange rate movements, even if correctly anticipated, in the event that (i) the currency exchange rate movement is so generally anticipated that the Trust is not able to enter into a hedging transaction at an effective price, or (ii) the currency exchange rate movement relates to a market with respect to which Currency Instruments are not available and it is not possible to engage in effective foreign currency hedging. The cost to the Trust of engaging in foreign currency transactions varies with such factors as the currencies involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Since transactions in foreign currency exchange usually are conducted on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are involved.
Foreign Currency Forwards Risk
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts do not eliminate fluctuations in the value of Non‑U.S. Securities (as defined in the prospectus) but rather allow the Trust to establish a fixed rate of exchange for a future point in time. This strategy can have the effect of reducing returns and minimizing opportunities for gain.
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In connection with its trading in forward foreign currency contracts, the Trust will contract with a foreign or domestic bank, or foreign or domestic securities dealer, to make or take future delivery of a specified amount of a particular currency. There are no limitations on daily price moves in such forward contracts, and banks and dealers are not required to continue to make markets in such contracts. There have been periods during which certain banks or dealers have refused to quote prices for such forward contracts or have quoted prices with an unusually wide spread between the price at which the bank or dealer is prepared to buy and that at which it is prepared to sell. Governmental imposition of credit controls might limit any such forward contract trading. With respect to its trading of forward contracts, if any, the Trust will be subject to the risk of bank or dealer failure and the inability of, or refusal by, a bank or dealer to perform with respect to such contracts. Any such default would deprive the Trust of any profit potential or force the Trust to cover its commitments for resale, if any, at the then market price and could result in a loss to the Trust.
The Trust may also engage in proxy hedging transactions to reduce the effect of currency fluctuations on the value of existing or anticipated holdings of portfolio securities. Proxy hedging is often used when the currency to which the Trust is exposed is difficult to hedge or to hedge against the dollar. Proxy hedging entails entering into a forward contract to sell a currency whose changes in value are generally considered to be linked to a currency or currencies in which some or all of the Trust’s securities are, or are expected to be, denominated, and to buy U.S. dollars. Proxy hedging involves some of the same risks and considerations as other transactions with similar instruments. Currency transactions can result in losses to the Trust if the currency being hedged fluctuates in value to a degree or in a direction that is not anticipated. In addition, there is the risk that the perceived linkage between various currencies may not be present or may not be present during the particular time that the Trust is engaging in proxy hedging. The Trust may also cross-hedge currencies by entering into forward contracts to sell one or more currencies that are expected to decline in value relative to other currencies to which the Trust has or in which the Trust expects to have portfolio exposure. For example, the Trust may hold both Canadian government bonds and Japanese government bonds, and the Advisors may believe that Canadian dollars will deteriorate against Japanese yen. The Trust would sell Canadian dollars to reduce its exposure to that currency and buy Japanese yen. This strategy would be a hedge against a decline in the value of Canadian dollars, although it would expose the Trust to declines in the value of the Japanese yen relative to the U.S. dollar.
Some of the forward non‑U.S. currency contracts entered into by the Trust may be classified as non‑deliverable forwards (“NDFs”). NDFs are cash-settled, short-term forward contracts that may be thinly traded or are denominated in non‑convertible foreign currency, where the profit or loss at the time at the settlement date is calculated by taking the difference between the agreed upon exchange rate and the spot rate at the time of settlement, for an agreed upon notional amount of funds. All NDFs have a fixing date and a settlement date. The fixing date is the date at which the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate and the agreed upon exchange rate is calculated. The settlement date is the date by which the payment of the difference is due to the party receiving payment. NDFs are commonly quoted for time periods of one month up to two years, and are normally quoted and settled in U.S. dollars. They are often used to gain exposure to and/or hedge exposure to foreign currencies that are not internationally traded.
Currency Futures Risk
The Trust may also seek to hedge against the decline in the value of a currency or to enhance returns through use of currency futures or options thereon. Currency futures are similar to forward foreign exchange transactions except that futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts while forward foreign exchange transactions are traded in the OTC market. Currency futures involve substantial currency risk, and also involve leverage risk.
Currency Options Risk
The Trust may also seek to hedge against the decline in the value of a currency or to enhance returns through the use of currency options. Currency options are similar to options on securities. For example, in consideration for an option premium the writer of a currency option is obligated to sell (in the case of a call option) or purchase (in
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the case of a put option) a specified amount of a specified currency on or before the expiration date for a specified amount of another currency. The Trust may engage in transactions in options on currencies either on exchanges or OTC markets. Currency options involve substantial currency risk, and may also involve credit, leverage or illiquidity risk.
Currency Swaps Risk
The Trust may enter into currency swaps. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the rights of the Trust and another party to make or receive payments in specified currencies. The Trust may also hedge portfolio positions through currency swaps, which are transactions in which one currency is simultaneously bought for a second currency on a spot basis and sold for the second currency on a forward basis. Currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Because currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations.
Over‑The‑Counter Trading Risk
The derivative instruments that may be purchased or sold by the Trust may include instruments not traded on an exchange. The risk of nonperformance by the counterparty to an instrument may be greater than, and the ease with which the Trust can dispose of or enter into closing transactions with respect to an instrument may be less than, the risk associated with an exchange traded or cleared OTC instrument. In addition, significant disparities may exist between “bid” and “asked” prices for derivative instruments that are not traded on an exchange. The absence of liquidity may make it difficult or impossible for the Trust to sell such instruments promptly at an acceptable price. Derivative instruments not traded on exchanges also are not subject to the same type of government regulation as exchange traded or cleared OTC instruments, and many of the protections afforded to participants in a regulated environment may not be available in connection with the transactions. Because derivatives traded in OTC markets generally are not guaranteed by an exchange or clearing corporation and generally do not require payment of margin, to the extent that the Trust has unrealized gains in such instruments or has deposited collateral with its counterparties the Trust is at risk that its counterparties will become bankrupt or otherwise fail to honor its obligations.
Event Risk
Event risk is the risk that corporate issuers may undergo restructurings, such as mergers, leveraged buyouts, takeovers, or similar events financed by increased debt. As a result of the added debt, the credit quality and market value of a company’s bonds and/or other debt securities may decline significantly.
Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk
The Trust may invest in securities the potential return of which is based on the change in a specified interest rate or equity index (an “indexed security”). For example, the Trust may invest in a security that pays a variable amount of interest or principal based on the current level of the French or Korean stock markets. The Trust may also invest in securities whose return is inversely related to changes in an interest rate or index (“inverse securities”). In general, the return on inverse securities will decrease when the underlying index or interest rate goes up and increase when that index or interest rate goes down.
Inverse Floater and Related Securities Risk
Investments in inverse floaters, residual interest tender option bonds and similar instruments expose the Trust to the same risks as investments in fixed income securities and derivatives, as well as other risks, including those associated with leverage and increased volatility. An investment in these securities typically will involve greater
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risk than an investment in a fixed rate security. Distributions on inverse floaters, residual interest tender option bonds and similar instruments will typically bear an inverse relationship to short term interest rates and typically will be reduced or, potentially, eliminated as interest rates rise. Inverse floaters, residual interest tender option bonds and similar instruments will underperform the market for fixed rate securities in a rising interest rate environment. Inverse floaters may be considered to be leveraged to the extent that their interest rates vary by a magnitude that exceeds the magnitude of the change in a reference rate of interest (typically a short term interest rate). The leverage inherent in inverse floaters is associated with greater volatility in their market values. Investments in inverse floaters, residual interest tender option bonds and similar instruments that have fixed income securities underlying them will expose the Trust to the risks associated with those fixed income securities and the values of those investments may be especially sensitive to changes in prepayment rates on the underlying fixed income securities.
Inflation-Indexed Bonds Risk
The Trust may invest in inflation-indexed bonds, which are fixed-income securities or other instruments whose principal value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. Two structures are common. The U.S. Treasury and some other issuers use a structure that accrues inflation into the principal value of the bond. Most other issuers pay out the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) accruals as part of a semi-annual coupon.
Inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Treasury have maturities of five, ten or thirty years, although it is possible that securities with other maturities will be issued in the future. The U.S. Treasury securities pay interest on a semi-annual basis, equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation-adjusted principal amount. For example, if the Trust purchased an inflation-indexed bond with a par value of $1,000 and a 3% real rate of return coupon (payable 1.5% semi-annually), and inflation over the first six months was 1%, the mid‑year par value of the bond would be $1,010 and the first semi-annual interest payment would be $15.15 ($1,010 times 1.5%). If inflation during the second half of the year resulted in the whole year’s inflation equaling 3%, the end‑of‑year par value of the bond would be $1,030 and the second semi-annual interest payment would be $15.45 ($1,030 times 1.5%).
If the periodic adjustment rate measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation-indexed bonds will be adjusted downward, and, consequently, the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed in the case of U.S. Treasury inflation-indexed bonds, even during a period of deflation. However, the current market value of the bonds is not guaranteed, and will fluctuate. The Trust may also invest in other inflation related bonds which may or may not provide a similar guarantee. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal. In addition, if the Trust purchases inflation-indexed bonds offered by foreign issuers, the rate of inflation measured by the foreign inflation index may not be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States.
The value of inflation-indexed bonds is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates, in turn, are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. Therefore, if inflation were to rise at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation-indexed bonds. In contrast, if nominal interest rates increased at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation-indexed bonds. There can be no assurance, however, that the value of inflation-indexed bonds will be directly correlated to changes in interest rates.
While these securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in value. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in currency exchange rates), investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the bond’s inflation measure.
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In general, the measure used to determine the periodic adjustment of U.S. inflation-indexed bonds is the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (“CPI‑U”), which is calculated monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI‑U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy. Inflation-indexed bonds issued by a foreign government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index, calculated by that government. There can be no assurance that the CPI‑U or any foreign inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a foreign country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States.
Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed bond will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though investors do not receive their principal until maturity.
Structured Investments Risk
The Trust may invest in structured products, including structured notes, ELNs and other types of structured products. Holders of structured products bear the risks of the underlying investments, index or reference obligation and are subject to counterparty risk.
The Trust may have the right to receive payments only from the structured product and generally does not have direct rights against the issuer or the entity that sold the assets to be securitized. While certain structured products enable the investor to acquire interests in a pool of securities without the brokerage and other expenses associated with directly holding the same securities, investors in structured products generally pay their share of the structured product’s administrative and other expenses.
Although it is difficult to predict whether the prices of indices and securities underlying structured products will rise or fall, these prices (and, therefore, the prices of structured products) will be influenced by the same types of political and economic events that affect issuers of securities and capital markets generally. If the issuer of a structured product uses shorter term financing to purchase longer term securities, the issuer may be forced to sell its securities at below market prices if it experiences difficulty in obtaining such financing, which may adversely affect the value of the structured products owned by the Trust.
Structured Notes Risk. Investments in structured notes involve risks, including credit risk and market risk. Where the Trust’s investments in structured notes are based upon the movement of one or more factors, including currency exchange rates, interest rates, referenced bonds and stock indices, depending on the factor used and the use of multipliers or deflators, changes in interest rates and movement of the factor may cause significant price fluctuations. Additionally, changes in the reference instrument or security may cause the interest rate on the structured note to be reduced to zero and any further changes in the reference instrument may then reduce the principal amount payable on maturity. Structured notes may be less liquid than other types of securities and more volatile than the reference instrument or security underlying the note.
Event-Linked Securities Risk. Event-linked securities are a form of derivative issued by insurance companies and insurance-related special purpose vehicles that apply securitization techniques to catastrophic property and casualty damages. Unlike other insurable low‑severity, high-probability events, the insurance risk of which can be diversified by writing large numbers of similar policies, the holders of a typical event-linked securities are exposed to the risks from high-severity, low‑probability events such as that posed by major earthquakes or hurricanes. If a catastrophe occurs that “triggers” the event-linked security, investors in such security may lose some or all of the capital invested. In the case of an event, the funds are paid to the bond sponsor—an insurer, reinsurer or corporation—to cover losses. In return, the bond sponsors pay interest to investors for this catastrophe protection. Event-linked securities can be structured to pay‑off on three types of variables—insurance-industry catastrophe loss indices, insured-specific catastrophe losses and parametric indices based on the physical characteristics of catastrophic events. Such variables are difficult to predict or model, and the risk and potential return profiles of event-linked securities may be difficult to assess. Catastrophe-related
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event-linked securities have been in use since the 1990s, and the securitization and risk-transfer aspects of such event-linked securities are beginning to be employed in other insurance and risk-related areas. No active trading market may exist for certain event-linked securities, which may impair the ability of the Trust to realize full value in the event of the need to liquidate such assets.
Equity-Linked Notes Risk. ELNs are hybrid securities with characteristics of both fixed-income and equity securities. An ELN is a debt instrument, usually a bond, that pays interest based upon the performance of an underlying equity, which can be a single stock, basket of stocks or an equity index. The interest payment on an ELN may in some cases be leveraged so that, in percentage terms, it exceeds the relative performance of the market. ELNs generally are subject to the risks associated with the securities of equity issuers, default risk and counterparty risk.
Credit-Linked Notes Risk. A credit-linked note is a derivative instrument. It is a synthetic obligation between two or more parties where the payment of principal and/or interest is based on the performance of some obligation (a reference obligation). In addition to the credit risk of the reference obligations and interest rate risk, the buyer/seller of the credit-linked note is subject to counterparty risk.
Repurchase Agreements and Purchase and Sale Contracts Risk
Subject to its investment objective and policies, the Trust may enter into repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements typically involve the acquisition by the Trust of fixed-income securities from a selling financial institution such as a bank, savings and loan association or broker-dealer. The agreement provides that the Trust will sell the securities back to the institution at a fixed time in the future. The Trust does not bear the risk of a decline in the value of the underlying security unless the seller defaults under its repurchase obligation. In the event of the bankruptcy or other default of a seller of a repurchase agreement, the Trust could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying securities and losses, including possible decline in the value of the underlying security during the period in which the Trust seeks to enforce its rights thereto; possible lack of access to income on the underlying security during this period; and expenses of enforcing its rights. While repurchase agreements involve certain risks not associated with direct investments in fixed-income securities, the Trust follows procedures approved by the Board that are designed to minimize such risks. In addition, the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the repurchase agreement. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Trust generally will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercise of the Trust’s right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Trust could suffer a loss.
When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments Risk
When-issued and delayed delivery securities and forward commitments involve the risk that the security the Trust buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Trust may lose both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price.
Securities Lending Risk
The Trust may lend securities to financial institutions. Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including operational risk (i.e., the risk of losses resulting from problems in the settlement and accounting process), “gap” risk (i.e., the risk of a mismatch between the return on cash collateral reinvestments and the fees the Trust has agreed to pay a borrower), and credit, legal, counterparty and market risk. If a securities lending counterparty were to default, the Trust would be subject to the risk of a possible delay in receiving collateral or in recovering the loaned securities, or to a possible loss of rights in the collateral. In the event a borrower does not return the Trust’s securities as agreed, the Trust may experience losses if the proceeds received from liquidating the collateral do not at least equal the value of the loaned security at the time the collateral is liquidated, plus the
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transaction costs incurred in purchasing replacement securities. This event could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Trust. The Trust could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan. Substitute payments for dividends received by the Trust for securities loaned out by the Trust will generally not be considered qualified dividend income. The securities lending agent will take the tax effects on shareholders of this difference into account in connection with the Trust’s securities lending program. Substitute payments received on tax‑exempt securities loaned out will generally not be tax‑exempt income.
Short Sales Risk
Short-selling involves selling securities which may or may not be owned and borrowing the same securities for delivery to the purchaser, with an obligation to replace the borrowed securities at a later date. If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Trust replaces the borrowed security, the Trust will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the Trust will realize a capital gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss will be increased, by the transaction costs incurred by the Trust, including the costs associated with providing collateral to the broker-dealer (usually cash and liquid securities) and the maintenance of collateral with its custodian. Although the Trust’s gain is limited to the price at which it sold the security short, its potential loss is theoretically unlimited.
Short-selling necessarily involves certain additional risks. However, if the short seller does not own the securities sold short (an uncovered short sale), the borrowed securities must be replaced by securities purchased at market prices in order to close out the short position, and any appreciation in the price of the borrowed securities would result in a loss. Uncovered short sales expose the Trust to the risk of uncapped losses until a position can be closed out due to the lack of an upper limit on the price to which a security may rise. Purchasing securities to close out the short position can itself cause the price of the securities to rise further, thereby exacerbating the loss. There is the risk that the securities borrowed by the Trust in connection with a short-sale must be returned to the securities lender on short notice. If a request for return of borrowed securities occurs at a time when other short-sellers of the security are receiving similar requests, a “short squeeze” can occur, and the Trust may be compelled to replace borrowed securities previously sold short with purchases on the open market at the most disadvantageous time, possibly at prices significantly in excess of the proceeds received at the time the securities were originally sold short.
Inflation Risk
Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investment will be worth less in the future, as inflation decreases the value of money. Inflation rates may change frequently and drastically as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy. As inflation increases, the real value of the common shares and distributions on those shares can decline. In addition, during any periods of rising inflation, interest rates on any borrowings by the Trust would likely increase, which would tend to further reduce returns to the holders of common shares.
Deflation Risk
Deflation risk is the risk that prices throughout the economy decline over time, which may have an adverse effect on the market valuation of companies, their assets and their revenues. In addition, deflation may have an adverse effect on the creditworthiness of issuers and may make issuer default more likely, which may result in a decline in the value of the Trust’s portfolio.
EMU and Redenomination Risk
As the European debt crisis progressed the possibility of one or more Eurozone countries exiting the European Monetary Union (“EMU”), or even the collapse of the Euro as a common currency, arose, creating significant
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volatility at times in currency and financial markets generally. The effects of the collapse of the Euro, or of the exit of one or more countries from the EMU, on the U.S. and global economy and securities markets are impossible to predict and any such events could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Trust’s portfolio. Any partial or complete dissolution of the EMU could have significant adverse effects on currency and financial markets, and on the values of the Trust’s portfolio investments. If one or more EMU countries were to stop using the Euro as its primary currency, the Trust’s investments in such countries may be redenominated into a different or newly adopted currency. As a result, the value of those investments could decline significantly and unpredictably. In addition, securities or other investments that are redenominated may be subject to foreign currency risk, liquidity risk and valuation risk to a greater extent than similar investments currently denominated in Euros. To the extent a currency used for redenomination purposes is not specified in respect of certain EMU‑related investments, or should the Euro cease to be used entirely, the currency in which such investments are denominated may be unclear, making such investments particularly difficult to value or dispose of. The Trust may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek judicial or other clarification of the denomination or value of such securities.
Allocation Risk
The Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective depends upon the Advisors’ skill in determining the Trust’s strategic asset class allocation and in selecting the best mix of investments. There is a risk that the Advisors’ evaluations and assumptions regarding asset classes or investments may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.
The Trust’s allocation of its investments across various segments of the securities markets and various countries, regions, asset classes and sectors may vary significantly over time based on the Advisors’ analysis and judgment. As a result, the particular risks most relevant to an investment in the Trust, as well as the overall risk profile of the Trust’s portfolio, may vary over time. The Advisors employs an active approach to the Trust’s investment allocations, but there is no guarantee that the Advisors’ allocation strategy will produce the desired results. The percentage of the Trust’s total assets allocated to any category of investment may at any given time be significantly less than the maximum percentage permitted pursuant to the Trust’s investment policies. It is possible that the Trust will focus on an investment that performs poorly or underperforms other investments under various market conditions. The flexibility of the Trust’s investment policies and the discretion granted to the Advisors to invest the Trust’s assets across various segments, classes and geographic regions of the securities markets and in securities with various characteristics means that the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective may be more dependent on the success of its investment advisers than other investment companies.
Risks Associated with Recent Market Events
Although interest rates were unusually low in recent years in the U.S. and abroad, in 2022, the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks raised interest rates as part of their efforts to address rising inflation. The Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have started to lower interest rates, though economic or other factors, such as inflation, could stop such changes. It is difficult to accurately predict the pace at which interest rates might change, the timing, frequency or magnitude of any such changes in interest rates, or when such changes might stop or again reverse course. Additionally, various economic and political factors could cause the Federal Reserve or other foreign central banks to change their approach in the future and such actions may result in an economic slowdown both in the U.S. and abroad. Unexpected changes in interest rates could lead to significant market volatility or reduce liquidity in certain sectors of the market. Deteriorating economic fundamentals may, in turn, increase the risk of default or insolvency of particular issuers, negatively impact market value, cause credit spreads to widen, and reduce bank balance sheets. Any of these could cause an increase in market volatility, reduce liquidity across various markets or decrease confidence in the markets, which could negatively affect the value of debt instruments held by the Trust and result in a negative impact on the Trust’s performance. See “—Inflation Risk”.
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Political and diplomatic events within the United States, including a contentious domestic political environment, changes in political party control of one or more branches of the U.S. Government, the U.S. Government’s inability at times to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, the threat of a U.S. Government shutdown, and disagreements over, or threats not to increase, the U.S. Government’s borrowing limit (or “debt ceiling”), as well as political and diplomatic events abroad, may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. A downgrade of the ratings of U.S. Government debt obligations, or concerns about the U.S. Government’s credit quality in general, could have a substantial negative effect on the U.S. and global economies. For example, concerns about the U.S. Government’s credit quality may cause increased volatility in the stock and bond markets, higher interest rates, reduced prices and liquidity of U.S. Treasury securities, and/or increased costs of various kinds of debt. Moreover, although the U.S. Government has honored its credit obligations, there remains a possibility that the United States could default on its obligations. The consequences of such an unprecedented event are impossible to predict, but it is likely that a default by the United States would be highly disruptive to the U.S. and global securities markets and could significantly impair the value of the Trust’s investments.
In recent years, some countries, including the United States, have adopted more protectionist trade policies. Slowing global economic growth, the rise in protectionist trade policies, inflationary pressures, changes to some major international trade agreements, risks associated with the trade agreements between countries and regions, including the U.S. and other foreign nations, political or economic dysfunction within some countries or regions, including the U.S., and dramatic changes in commodity and currency prices could affect the economies of many nations in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. In addition, if the U.S. dollar continues to be strong, it may decrease foreign demand for U.S. assets, which could have a negative impact on certain issuers and/or industries.
Reference Rate Replacement Risk
The Trust may be exposed to financial instruments that recently transitioned from, or continue to be tied to, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) to determine payment obligations, financing terms, hedging strategies or investment value.
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, has ceased publishing all LIBOR settings. In April 2023, however, the FCA announced that some USD LIBOR settings would continue to be published under a synthetic methodology until September 30, 2024 for certain legacy contracts. After September 30, 2024, the remaining synthetic LIBOR settings ceased to be published, and all LIBOR settings have permanently ceased. SOFR is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities in the repurchase agreement (“repo”) market and has been used increasingly on a voluntary basis in new instruments and transactions. Under U.S. regulations that implement a statutory fallback mechanism to replace LIBOR, benchmark rates based on SOFR have replaced LIBOR in certain financial contracts.
Neither the effect of the LIBOR transition process nor its ultimate success can yet be known. While some existing LIBOR-based instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate-setting methodology, there may be significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies to replicate LIBOR. Not all existing LIBOR-based instruments may have alternative rate-setting provisions and there remains uncertainty regarding the willingness and ability of issuers to add alternative rate-setting provisions in certain existing instruments. Parties to contracts, securities or other instruments using LIBOR may disagree on transition rates or the application of transition regulation, potentially resulting in uncertainty of performance and the possibility of litigation. The Trust may have instruments linked to other interbank offered rates that may also cease to be published in the future.
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Market Disruption and Geopolitical Risk
The occurrence of events similar to those in recent years, such as the aftermath of the war in Iraq, instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Syria and the Middle East, international war or conflict (including the Israel-Hamas war), new and ongoing epidemics and pandemics of infectious diseases and other global health events, natural/environmental disasters, terrorist attacks in the United States and around the world, social and political discord, debt crises (such as the Greek crisis), sovereign debt downgrades, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, increasingly strained relations between the United States and a number of foreign countries, including historical adversaries, such as North Korea, Iran, China and Russia, and the international community generally, new and continued political unrest in various countries, such as Venezuela and Spain, the exit or potential exit of one or more countries from the EU or the EMU, and continued changes in the balance of political power among and within the branches of the U.S. government, among others, may result in market volatility, may have long term effects on the U.S. and worldwide financial markets, and may cause further economic uncertainties in the United States and worldwide.
Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The extent and duration of the military action, resulting sanctions and resulting future market disruptions, including declines in its stock markets and the value of the ruble against the U.S. dollar, in the region are impossible to predict, but could be significant. Any such disruptions caused by Russian military action or other actions (including cyberattacks and espionage) or resulting actual and threatened responses to such activity, including purchasing and financing restrictions, boycotts or changes in consumer or purchaser preferences, sanctions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Russian government, Russian companies or Russian individuals, including politicians, could have a severe adverse effect on Russia and the European region, including significant negative impacts on the Russian economy, the European economy and the markets for certain securities and commodities, such as oil and natural gas, and may likely have collateral impacts on such sectors globally as well as other sectors. How long such military action and related events will last cannot be predicted.
Trade tensions between the United States and China have led to concerns about economic stability and could have an adverse impact on global economic conditions. The United States and China have each been implementing increased tariffs on imports from the other, and the United States has also adopted certain targeted measures such as export controls or sanctions implicating Chinese companies and officials. While certain trade agreements have been agreed between the two countries, there remains much uncertainty as to whether the trade negotiations between the United States and China will be successful and how the trade war between the United States and China will progress. Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the trade tensions and the potential for a trade war could cause the U.S. dollar to decline against safe haven currencies, such as the Japanese yen and the Euro. Events such as these and their consequences are difficult to predict and it is unclear whether further tariffs may be imposed or other escalating actions may be taken in the future. If the trade war between the United States and China continues or escalates, or if additional tariffs or trade restrictions are implemented by the United States, China or other countries in connection with a global trade war, there could be material adverse effects on the global economy, and the Trust and its portfolio investments could be materially and adversely affected.
On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union (Brexit), subject to a transitional period that ended December 31, 2020. The United Kingdom and European Union have reached an agreement on the terms of their future trading relationship effective January 1, 2021, which principally relates to the trading of goods rather than services, including financial services. Further discussions are to be held between the United Kingdom and the European Union in relation to matters not covered by the trade agreement, such as financial services. The Trust faces risks associated with the potential uncertainty and consequences that may follow Brexit, including with respect to volatility in exchange rates and interest rates. Brexit could adversely affect European or worldwide political, regulatory, economic or market conditions and could contribute to instability in global political institutions, regulatory agencies and financial markets. Brexit has also led to legal uncertainty and could lead to politically divergent national laws and regulations as a new relationship between the United Kingdom and European Union is defined and the United Kingdom determines which European Union laws to replace or
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replicate. Any of these effects of Brexit could adversely affect any of the companies to which the Trust has exposure and any other assets that the Trust invests in. The political, economic and legal consequences of Brexit are not yet known. In the short term, financial markets may experience heightened volatility, particularly those in the United Kingdom and Europe, but possibly worldwide. The United Kingdom and Europe may be less stable than they have been in recent years, and investments in the United Kingdom and the European Union may be difficult to value or subject to greater or more frequent volatility. In the longer term, there is likely to be a period of significant political, regulatory and commercial uncertainty as the United Kingdom continues to negotiate the terms of its future trading relationship with the European Union.
Cybersecurity incidents affecting particular companies or industries may adversely affect the economies of particular countries, regions or parts of the world in which the Trust invests.
The occurrence of any of these above events could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of the Trust’s portfolio. The Trust does not know how long the securities markets may be affected by similar events and cannot predict the effects of similar events in the future on the U.S. economy and securities markets. There can be no assurance that similar events and other market disruptions will not have other material and adverse implications.
Regulation and Government Intervention Risk
Federal, state, and other governments, their regulatory agencies or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the regulation of the issuers in which the Trust invests in ways that are unforeseeable. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which the Trust is regulated. Such legislation or regulation could limit or preclude the Trust’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
In light of popular, political and judicial focus on finance related consumer protection, financial institution practices are also subject to greater scrutiny and criticism generally. In the case of transactions between financial institutions and the general public, there may be a greater tendency toward strict interpretation of terms and legal rights in favor of the consuming public, particularly where there is a real or perceived disparity in risk allocation and/or where consumers are perceived as not having had an opportunity to exercise informed consent to the transaction. In the event of conflicting interests between retail investors holding common shares of a closed‑end investment company such as the Trust and a large financial institution, a court may similarly seek to strictly interpret terms and legal rights in favor of retail investors.
The Trust may be affected by governmental action in ways that are not foreseeable, and there is a possibility that such actions could have a significant adverse effect on the Trust and its ability to achieve its investment objective.
Investment Company Act Regulations
The Trust is a registered closed‑end management investment company and as such is subject to regulations under the Investment Company Act. Generally speaking, any contract or provision thereof that is made, or where performance involves a violation of the Investment Company Act or any rule or regulation thereunder is unenforceable by either party unless a court finds otherwise.
Regulation as a “Commodity Pool”
The CFTC subjects advisers to registered investment companies to regulation by the CFTC if a fund that is advised by the investment adviser either (i) invests, directly or indirectly, more than a prescribed level of its liquidation value in CFTC-regulated futures, options and swaps (“CFTC Derivatives”), or (ii) markets itself as providing investment exposure to such instruments. To the extent the Trust uses CFTC Derivatives, it intends to do so below such prescribed levels and will not market itself as a “commodity pool” or a vehicle for trading such
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instruments. Accordingly, the Advisor has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the CEA pursuant to Rule 4.5 under the CEA. The Advisor is not, therefore, subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator” under the CEA in respect of the Trust.
Failures of Futures Commission Merchants and Clearing Organizations Risk
The Trust is required to deposit funds to margin open positions in cleared derivative instruments (both futures and swaps) with a clearing broker registered as a “futures commission merchant” (“FCM”). The CEA requires an FCM to segregate all funds received from customers with respect to any orders for the purchase or sale of U.S. domestic futures contracts and cleared swaps from the FCM’s proprietary assets. Similarly, the CEA requires each FCM to hold in a separate secure account all funds received from customers with respect to any orders for the purchase or sale of foreign futures contracts and segregate any such funds from the funds received with respect to domestic futures contracts. However, all funds and other property received by an FCM from its customers are held by an FCM on a commingled basis in an omnibus account and amounts in excess of assets posted to the clearing organization may be invested by an FCM in certain instruments permitted under the applicable regulation. There is a risk that assets deposited by the Trust with any FCM as margin for futures contracts or commodity options may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Trust’s FCM. In addition, the assets of the Trust posted as margin against both swaps and futures contracts may not be fully protected in the event of the FCM’s bankruptcy.
Legal, Tax and Regulatory Risks
Legal, tax and regulatory changes could occur that may have material adverse effects on the Trust.
To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally accorded to RICs, the Trust must, among other things, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from certain prescribed sources and distribute for each taxable year at least 90% of its “investment company taxable income” (generally, ordinary income plus the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss). If for any taxable year the Trust does not qualify as a RIC, all of its taxable income for that year (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and such distributions would be taxable as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Trust’s current and accumulated earnings and profits.
The current presidential administration has called for significant changes to U.S. fiscal, tax, trade, healthcare, immigration, foreign, and government regulatory policy. In this regard, there is significant uncertainty with respect to legislation, regulation and government policy at the federal level, as well as the state and local levels. Recent events have created a climate of heightened uncertainty and introduced new and difficult‑to‑quantify macroeconomic and political risks with potentially far‑reaching implications. There has been a corresponding meaningful increase in the uncertainty surrounding interest rates, inflation, foreign exchange rates, trade volumes and fiscal and monetary policy. To the extent the U.S. Congress or the current presidential administration implements changes to U.S. policy, those changes may impact, among other things, the U.S. and global economy, international trade and relations, unemployment, immigration, corporate taxes, healthcare, the U.S. regulatory environment, inflation and other areas. Although the Trust cannot predict the impact, if any, of these changes to the Trust’s business, they could adversely affect the Trust’s business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Until the Trust knows what policy changes are made and how those changes impact the Trust’s business and the business of the Trust’s competitors over the long term, the Trust will not know if, overall, the Trust will benefit from them or be negatively affected by them.
The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department. Revisions in U.S. federal tax laws and interpretations of these laws could adversely affect the tax consequences of your investment.
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Potential Conflicts of Interest of the Advisor, the Sub‑Advisors and Others
The investment activities of the Advisor, the Sub‑Advisors and their affiliates (including BlackRock, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Affiliates”)), and their respective directors, officers or employees, in managing their own accounts and other accounts, may present conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Trust and its shareholders. The Advisor and its Affiliates may engage in proprietary trading and advise accounts and other funds that have investment objectives similar to those of the Trust and/or that engage in and compete for transactions in the same or similar types of securities, currencies and other assets as are held by the Trust. Subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act, the Advisor and its Affiliates intend to engage in such activities and may receive compensation from third parties for their services. Neither the Advisor nor any Affiliate is under any obligation to share any investment opportunity, idea or strategy with the Trust. As a result, an Affiliate may compete with the Trust for appropriate investment opportunities. The results of the Trust’s investment activities, therefore, may differ from those of an Affiliate and of other accounts managed by an Affiliate. It is possible that the Trust could sustain losses during periods in which one or more Affiliates and other accounts achieve profits on their trading for proprietary or other accounts. The opposite result is also possible. The Advisor has adopted policies and procedures designed to address potential conflicts of interest. For additional information about potential conflicts of interest and the way in which BlackRock addresses such conflicts, please see “Conflicts of Interest” and “Management of the Trust—Portfolio Management—Potential Material Conflicts of Interest” in the SAI.
Defensive Investing Risk
For defensive purposes, the Trust may allocate assets into cash or short-term fixed-income securities without limitation. In doing so, the Trust may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective. Further, the value of short-term fixed-income securities may be affected by changing interest rates and by changes in credit ratings of the investments. If the Trust holds cash uninvested it will be subject to the credit risk of the depository institution holding the cash.
Decision-Making Authority Risk
Investors have no authority to make decisions or to exercise business discretion on behalf of the Trust, except as set forth in the Trust’s governing documents. The authority for all such decisions is generally delegated to the Board, which in turn, has delegated the day‑to‑day management of the Trust’s investment activities to the Advisors, subject to oversight by the Board.
Management Risk
The Trust is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Advisors and the individual portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Trust, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. The Trust may be subject to a relatively high level of management risk because the Trust may invest in derivative instruments, which may be highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with equities and bonds.
Valuation Risk
The Trust is subject to valuation risk, which is the risk that one or more of the securities in which the Trust invests are valued at prices that the Trust is unable to obtain upon sale due to factors such as incomplete data, market instability or human error. The Advisor may use an independent pricing service or prices provided by dealers to value securities at their market value. Because the secondary markets for certain investments may be limited, such instruments may be difficult to value. See “Net Asset Value.” When market quotations are not available, the Advisor may price such investments pursuant to a number of methodologies, such as computer-based analytical modeling or individual security evaluations. These methodologies generate approximations of
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market values, and there may be significant professional disagreement about the best methodology for a particular type of financial instrument or different methodologies that might be used under different circumstances. In the absence of an actual market transaction, reliance on such methodologies is essential, but may introduce significant variances in the ultimate valuation of the Trust’s investments. Technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers may also impact the Trust’s ability to value its investments and the calculation of the Trust’s NAV.
When market quotations are not readily available or are believed by the Advisor to be unreliable, the Advisor will fair value the Trust’s investments in accordance with its policies and procedures. Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of an asset or liability. The fair value of an asset or liability held by the Trust is the amount the Trust might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that asset or the cost to extinguish that liability in an arm’s length transaction. Fair value pricing may require determinations that are inherently subjective and inexact about the value of a security or other asset. As a result, there can be no assurance that fair value priced assets will not result in future adjustments to the prices of securities or other assets, or that fair value pricing will reflect a price that the Trust is able to obtain upon sale, and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security or other asset will be materially different from quoted or published prices, from the prices used by others for the same security or other asset and/or from the value that actually could be or is realized upon the sale of that security or other asset. For example, the Trust’s NAV could be adversely affected if the Trust’s determinations regarding the fair value of the Trust’s investments were materially higher than the values that the Trust ultimately realizes upon the disposal of such investments. Where market quotations are not readily available, valuation may require more research than for more liquid investments. In addition, elements of judgment may play a greater role in valuation in such cases than for investments with a more active secondary market because there is less reliable objective data available.
Because of overall size, duration and maturities of positions held by the Trust, the value at which its investments can be liquidated may differ, sometimes significantly, from the interim valuations obtained by the Trust. In addition, the timing of liquidations may also affect the values obtained on liquidation. Securities held by the Trust may routinely trade with bid‑offer spreads that may be significant. There can be no guarantee that the Trust’s investments could ultimately be realized at the Trust’s valuation of such investments. In addition, the Trust’s compliance with the asset diversification tests applicable to regulated investment companies depends on the fair market values of the Trust’s assets, and, accordingly, a challenge to the valuations ascribed by the Trust could affect its ability to comply with those tests or require it to pay penalty taxes in order to cure a violation thereof.
The Trust’s NAV per common share is a critical component in several operational matters including computation of advisory and services fees. Consequently, variance in the valuation of the Trust’s investments will impact, positively or negatively, the fees and expenses shareholders will pay.
Reliance on the Advisor and Sub‑Advisors Risk
The Trust is dependent upon services and resources provided by the Advisors, and therefore the Advisors’ parent, BlackRock. The Advisors are not required to devote their full time to the business of the Trust and there is no guarantee or requirement that any investment professional or other employee of the Advisors will allocate a substantial portion of his or her time to the Trust. The loss of one or more individuals involved with the Advisors could have a material adverse effect on the performance or the continued operation of the Trust. For additional information on the Advisors and BlackRock, see “Management of the Trust—Investment Advisor and Sub‑Advisors.”
Reliance on Service Providers Risk
The Trust must rely upon the performance of service providers to perform certain functions, which may include functions that are integral to the Trust’s operations and financial performance. Failure by any service provider to
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carry out its obligations to the Trust in accordance with the terms of its appointment, to exercise due care and skill or to perform its obligations to the Trust at all as a result of insolvency, bankruptcy or other causes could have a material adverse effect on the Trust’s performance and returns to shareholders. The termination of the Trust’s relationship with any service provider, or any delay in appointing a replacement for such service provider, could materially disrupt the business of the Trust and could have a material adverse effect on the Trust’s performance and returns to shareholders.
Information Technology Systems Risk
The Trust is dependent on the Advisors for certain management services as well as back-office functions. The Advisors depend on information technology systems in order to assess investment opportunities, strategies and markets and to monitor and control risks for the Trust. It is possible that a failure of some kind which causes disruptions to these information technology systems could materially limit the Advisors’ ability to adequately assess and adjust investments, formulate strategies and provide adequate risk control. Any such information technology-related difficulty could harm the performance of the Trust. Further, failure of the back-office functions of the Advisors to process trades in a timely fashion could prejudice the investment performance of the Trust.
Operational and Technology Risks
The Trust and the entities with which it interacts directly or indirectly are susceptible to operational and technology risks, including those related to human errors, processing errors, communication errors, systems failures, cybersecurity incidents, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (“AI”), which may result in losses for the Trust and its shareholders or impair the Trust’s operations. These entities include, but are not limited to, the Trust’s adviser, administrator, distributor, other service providers (e.g., index and benchmark providers, accountants, custodians, and transfer agents), financial intermediaries, counterparties, market makers, authorized participants, listing exchanges, other financial market operators, and governmental authorities. Operational and technology risks for the issuers in which the Trust invests could also result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Trust’s investments in such issuers to lose value. The Trust may incur substantial costs in order to mitigate operational and technology risks.
Cybersecurity incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events against an issuer in which the Trust invests, the Trust or any of its service providers. They include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to systems, misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting or destroying data, and causing operational disruption. Geopolitical tension may increase the scale and sophistication of deliberate attacks, particularly those from nation states or from entities with nation state backing. Cybersecurity incidents may result in any of the following: financial losses; interference with the Trust’s ability to calculate its NAV; disclosure of confidential information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades by the Trust or erroneous subscription or redemption orders; the inability of the Trust or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines; penalties; reputational damage; reimbursement or other compensation costs; and other legal and compliance expenses. Furthermore, cybersecurity incidents may render records of the Trust, including records relating to its assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Trust shares, and other data integral to the Trust’s functioning, inaccessible, inaccurate or incomplete. Power outages, natural disasters, equipment malfunctions and processing errors that threaten information and technology systems relied upon by the Trust or its service providers, as well as market events that occur at a pace that overloads these systems, may also disrupt business operations or impact critical data. In addition, the risks of increased use of AI technologies, such as machine learning, include data risk, transparency risk, and operational risk. The AI technologies, which are generally highly reliant on the collection and analysis of large amounts of data, may incorporate biased or inaccurate data, and it is not possible or practicable to incorporate all relevant data into such technologies. The output or results of any such AI technologies may therefore be incomplete, erroneous, distorted or misleading. Further, AI tools may lack transparency as to how data is utilized and how outputs are generated. AI technologies may also allow the unintended introduction of vulnerabilities into
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infrastructures and applications. The Trust and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of these risks associated with AI technologies. AI technologies and their current and potential future applications, and the regulatory frameworks within which they operate, continue to quickly evolve, and it is impossible to anticipate the full scope of future AI capabilities or rules and the associated risks to the Trust.
While the Trust’s service providers are required to have appropriate operational, information security and cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Trust in the setting of priorities, the personnel and resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. The Trust and its adviser seek to reduce these risks through controls, procedures and oversight, including establishing business continuity plans and risk management systems. However, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks that may affect the Trust have not been identified or may emerge in the future; that such plans and systems may not completely eliminate the occurrence or mitigate the effects of operational or information security disruptions or failures or of cybersecurity incidents; or that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful or that incidents will go undetected. The Trust cannot control the systems, information security or other cybersecurity of the issuers in which it invests or its service providers, counterparties, and other third parties whose activities affect the Trust.
Lastly, the regulatory climate governing cybersecurity and data protection is developing quickly and may vary considerably across jurisdictions. Regulators continue to develop new rules and standards related to cybersecurity and data protection. Compliance with evolving regulations can be demanding and costly, requiring substantial resources to monitor and implement required changes.
Misconduct of Employees and of Service Providers Risk
Misconduct or misrepresentations by employees of the Advisors or the Trust’s service providers could cause significant losses to the Trust. Employee misconduct may include binding the Trust to transactions that exceed authorized limits or present unacceptable risks and unauthorized trading activities, concealing unsuccessful trading activities (which, in any case, may result in unknown and unmanaged risks or losses) or making misrepresentations regarding any of the foregoing. Losses could also result from actions by the Trust’s service providers, including, without limitation, failing to recognize trades and misappropriating assets. In addition, employees and service providers may improperly use or disclose confidential information, which could result in litigation or serious financial harm, including limiting the Trust’s business prospects or future marketing activities. Despite the Advisors’ due diligence efforts, misconduct and intentional misrepresentations may be undetected or not fully comprehended, thereby potentially undermining the Advisors’ due diligence efforts. As a result, no assurances can be given that the due diligence performed by the Advisors will identify or prevent any such misconduct.
Portfolio Turnover Risk
The Trust’s annual portfolio turnover rate may vary greatly from year to year, as well as within a given year. Portfolio turnover rate is not considered a limiting factor in the execution of investment decisions for the Trust. A higher portfolio turnover rate results in correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and other transactional expenses that are borne by the Trust. High portfolio turnover may result in an increased realization of net short-term capital gains by the Trust which, when distributed to common shareholders, will be taxable as ordinary income. Additionally, in a declining market, portfolio turnover may create realized capital losses.
Anti-Takeover Provisions Risk
The Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust and Bylaws include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Trust or convert the Trust to open‑end status or to change the composition of the Board. Such provisions could limit the ability of shareholders to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging a third party from seeking to obtain control of the Trust. See “Certain Provisions in the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and Bylaws.”
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HOW THE TRUST MANAGES RISK
Investment Limitations
The Trust has adopted certain investment limitations designed to limit investment risk. Some of these limitations are fundamental and thus may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding common shares. See “Investment Objective and Policies—Investment Restrictions” in the SAI.
The restrictions and other limitations set forth throughout this Prospectus and in the SAI apply only at the time of purchase of securities and will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of the acquisition of securities.
Management of Investment Portfolio and Capital Structure to Limit Leverage Risk
The Trust may take certain actions if short-term interest rates increase or market conditions otherwise change (or the Trust anticipates such an increase or change) and any leverage the Trust may have outstanding begins (or is expected) to adversely affect common shareholders. In order to attempt to offset such a negative impact of any outstanding leverage on common shareholders, the Trust may shorten the average maturity of its investment portfolio (by investing in short-term securities) or may reduce any indebtedness that it may have incurred. The success of any such attempt to limit leverage risk depends on the Advisors’ ability to accurately predict interest rate or other market changes. Because of the difficulty of making such predictions, the Trust may never attempt to manage its capital structure in the manner described in this paragraph.
If market conditions suggest that employing additional leverage would be beneficial, the Trust may enter into one or more credit facilities, issue preferred shares or engage in additional leverage transactions, subject to the restrictions of the Investment Company Act.
Strategic Transactions
The Trust may use certain Strategic Transactions designed to limit the risk of price fluctuations of securities and to preserve capital. These Strategic Transactions include using swaps, financial futures contracts, options on financial futures or options based on either an index of long-term securities, or on securities whose prices, in the opinion of the Advisors, correlate with the prices of the Trust’s investments. There can be no assurance that Strategic Transactions will be used or used effectively to limit risk, and Strategic Transactions may be subject to their own risks.
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
Trustees and Officers
The Board is responsible for the overall management of the Trust, including supervision of the duties performed by the Advisors. There are ten Trustees. A majority of the Trustees are Independent Trustees of the Trust. The name and business address of the Trustees and officers of the Trust and their principal occupations and other affiliations during the past five years are set forth under “Management of the Trust” in the SAI.
Investment Advisor and Sub‑Advisors
The Advisor is responsible for the management of the Trust’s portfolio and provides the necessary personnel, facilities, equipment and certain other services necessary to the operation of the Trust. BlackRock International Limited and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited serve as the Trust’s sub‑advisers and perform certain of the day‑to‑day investment management of the Trust. The Advisor, located at 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington,
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Delaware 19809, BlackRock International Limited, located at Exchange Place One, 1 Semple Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8BL, United Kingdom, and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, located at 20 Anson Road #18‑01, 079912 Singapore, are majority-owned subsidiaries of BlackRock.
BlackRock is one of the world’s largest publicly-traded investment management firms. As of June 30, 2025, BlackRock’s assets under management were approximately $12.5 trillion. BlackRock has over 35 years of experience managing closed‑end products and, as of June 30, 2025, advised a registered closed‑end family of 49 exchange-listed active funds with approximately $43 billion in managed assets.
BlackRock is independent in ownership and governance, with no single majority shareholder and a majority of independent directors.
Investment Philosophy
BlackRock’s investment decision-making process for the municipal security sector is subject to the same discipline, oversight and investment philosophy that the firm applies to other sectors of the fixed-income market.
BlackRock uses a relative value strategy that evaluates the trade‑off between risk and return to seek to achieve the Trust’s investment objective. This strategy is combined with disciplined risk control techniques and applied in sector, sub‑sector and individual security selection decisions. BlackRock’s extensive personnel and technology resources are the key drivers of the investment philosophy.
Portfolio Managers
The members of the portfolio management team who are primarily responsible for the day‑to‑day management of the Trust’s portfolio are as follows:
Mitchell S. Garfin, CFA, Managing Director, is Co‑Head of US Leveraged Finance within BlackRock’s Fundamental Fixed Income Platform. He is responsible for managing the US High Yield and Global High Yield strategies and also has oversight responsibility for the platform’s US Leveraged loan strategies.
Mr. Garfin’s tenure with the firm dates back to 1997 when he joined as an Analyst. He spent three years in the Account Management Group where he maintained responsibility for developing and maintaining relationships with the firm’s taxable financial institution clients. In 2000, Mr. Garfin moved to the investment side of the business where he initially spent four years as an investment grade credit research analyst. Here, he was responsible for providing investment recommendations on companies in the metals & mining, paper & packaging, utilities and energy sectors. In 2005, Mr. Garfin transitioned to a portfolio management role with the investment grade credit team where he was responsible for sector positioning and trading within the commodities and basic materials sectors. Since 2007, Mr. Garfin has been a portfolio manager with the high yield credit team, and he assumed his current, senior responsibilities in 2014.
Mr. Garfin earned a bachelor’s degree, with distinction, in Finance from the University of Michigan in 1997 and an MBA degree in Finance and Economics from NYU Stern in 2005.
Scott MacLellan, CFA, CMT, Managing Director of BlackRock, is a portfolio manager in BlackRock’s Global Fixed Income Group. MacLellan serves in number of capacities with regard to sustainable investing in the Fundamental Fixed Income Team, including as a member of the Global Fixed Income ESG Leadership Committee and a member of the ESG Advisory Group to the Fundamental Fixed Income Executive Committee.
Prior to assuming his current responsibilities in 2012, Mr. MacLellan was an account manager in the Global Client Group, covering clients in Asia and the Middle East. Previously, Mr. MacLellan spent four years with Nomura BlackRock Asset Management (NBAM) in Tokyo. Prior to joining NBAM in 2001, Mr. MacLellan spent a year at the Industrial Bank of Japan Leasing in Tokyo, investing in emerging markets.
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Mr. MacLellan earned a BA degree, with combined honors, in economics and international development studies from King’s College, Dalhousie University in Canada. Mr. MacLellan attended the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego and Tohoku University in Japan. He has received both the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Market Technician designations. He is proficient in Japanese.
David Delbos, Managing Director, is Co‑Head of US Leveraged Finance within BlackRock’s Fundamental Fixed Income Platform. He is responsible for managing US High Yield and Global High Yield strategies and also has oversight responsibility for the platform’s US Leveraged Loan strategies.
Mr. Delbos’ tenure with the firm dates back to 2002. He spent ten years as a credit research analyst in the US Leveraged Finance group where he was responsible for providing investment recommendations on companies in the consumer cyclicals, retail, industrials, services and packaging sectors. In 2012, Mr. Delbos transitioned to a relative value portfolio management role, also within the US Leveraged Finance group, where he looked across all industries. Additionally, Mr. Delbos worked alongside BlackRock Global Credit’s Chief Investment Officer in managing the liquid credit sleeves of several BlackRock-managed hedge funds. He assumed his current, senior responsibilities in 2014. Mr. Delbos began his career in 2000 as an analyst in the mergers & acquisitions investment banking division of Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
Mr. Delbos earned a bachelor’s degree Magna Cum Laude in History from Tufts University in 2000.
Akiva Dickstein, Managing Director, is a member of the Multi-Sector team within BlackRock’s Global Fixed Income group. Mr. Dickstein is the Head of Customized Multi-Sector Portfolios, Head of Short Duration Fixed Income, and a member of the Global Fixed Income executive team. He is a lead portfolio manager of BlackRock’s Core Bond, Low Duration Bond Fund, and iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF (NEAR). Prior to taking on his current responsibilities, Mr. Dickstein was the lead portfolio manager on BlackRock’s mortgage portfolios.
Before joining BlackRock in 2009, Mr. Dickstein spent eight years at Merrill Lynch, where he served as Managing Director and head of the U.S. Rates & Structured Credit Research Group. He was responsible for the team that produced MBS, ABS, CMBS, Treasuries, swaps, and interest rate derivatives research. Mr. Dickstein’s publications on MBS strategy included the weekly Mortgage Investor as well as numerous lengthier articles on topics such as optimal loan modifications, the valuation of credit-sensitive MBS and ABS, and the pricing of mortgage derivatives, options, and pass-throughs. In addition, he developed Merrill’s prepayment models for fixed rate and hybrid MBS. From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Dickstein was with Lehman Brothers, most recently as a Senior Vice President in Mortgage Derivatives Trading. In this role, he traded mortgage derivatives and developed Lehman’s credit default model. He joined Lehman as a mortgage and asset-backed securities analyst and was named to Institutional Investor’s All American Fixed Income Research Team in pass-throughs, non‑agency mortgages and asset-backed securities.
Mr. Dickstein earned a BA degree in economics, summa cum laude, from Yale University in 1990, and an MA degree in physics from Princeton University in 1993.
The SAI provides additional information about other accounts managed by the portfolio management team, the compensation of each portfolio manager and the ownership of the Trust’s securities by each portfolio manager.
Investment Management Agreements
Pursuant to an investment management agreement between the Advisor and the Trust (the “Investment Management Agreement”), the Trust has agreed to pay the Advisor a monthly management fee at an annual rate equal to 0.55% of the average weekly value of the Trust’s Managed Assets. “Managed Assets” means the total
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assets of the Trust (including any assets attributable to money borrowed for investment purposes) minus the sum of the Trust’s accrued liabilities (other than money borrowed for investment purposes).
The Advisor, and not the Trust, pays BIL and BSL, for services they provide for that portion of the Trust for which BIL and BSL, as applicable, acts as Sub‑Advisor, a monthly fee that is equal to a percentage of the investment advisory fees paid by the Trust to the Advisor.
A discussion regarding the basis for the approval of the Investment Management Agreement and the sub‑advisory agreements between the Advisor and each Sub‑Advisor is available in the Trust’s semi-annual report to shareholders for the period ended June 30, 2024.
Except as otherwise described in this Prospectus, the Trust pays, in addition to the fees paid to the Advisor, all other costs and expenses of its operations, including compensation of its Trustees (other than those affiliated with the Advisor), custodian, leveraging expenses, transfer and dividend disbursing agent expenses, legal fees, rating agency fees, listing fees and expenses, expenses of independent auditors, expenses of repurchasing shares, expenses of preparing, printing and distributing shareholder reports, notices, proxy statements and reports to governmental agencies and taxes, if any.
The Trust and the Advisor have entered into the Fee Waiver Agreement, pursuant to which the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Trust’s assets attributable to investments in any equity and fixed-income mutual funds and ETFs managed by the Advisor or its affiliates and other exchange-traded products sponsored by the Advisor or its affiliates, in each case that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2027. In addition, pursuant to the Fee Waiver Agreement, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Trust pays to the Advisor indirectly through its investment in money market funds advised by the Advisor or its affiliates, through June 30, 2027. The Fee Waiver Agreement may be continued from year to year thereafter, provided that such continuance is specifically approved by the Advisor and the Trust (including by a majority of the Trust’s Independent Trustees). Neither the Advisor nor the Trust is obligated to extend the Fee Waiver Agreement. The Fee Waiver Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, only by the Trust (upon the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust), upon 90 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Advisor.
Administration and Accounting Services
State Street Bank and Trust Company provides certain administration and accounting services to the Trust pursuant to an Administration and Fund Accounting Services Agreement (the “Administration Agreement”). Pursuant to the Administration Agreement, State Street Bank and Trust Company provides the Trust with, among other things, customary fund accounting services, including computing the Trust’s NAV and maintaining books, records and other documents relating to the Trust’s financial and portfolio transactions, and customary fund administration services, including assisting the Trust with regulatory filings, tax compliance and other oversight activities. For these and other services it provides to the Trust, State Street Bank and Trust Company is paid a monthly fee from the Trust at an annual rate ranging from 0.0075% to 0.015% of the Trust’s Managed Assets, along with an annual fixed fee ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 for the services it provides to the Trust.
Custodian and Transfer Agent
The custodian of the assets of the Trust is State Street Bank and Trust Company, whose principal business address is One Congress Street, Suite 1, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2016. The custodian is responsible for, among other things, receipt of and disbursement of funds from the Trust’s accounts, establishment of segregated accounts as necessary, and transfer, exchange and delivery of Trust portfolio securities.
Computershare Trust Company, N.A., whose principal business address is 150 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021, serves as the Trust’s transfer agent with respect to the common shares.
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Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose principal business address is 115 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110-1894, is the independent registered public accounting firm of the Trust and is expected to render an opinion annually on the financial statements of the Trust.
NET ASSET VALUE
The NAV of the Trust’s common shares will be computed based upon the value of the Trust’s portfolio securities and other assets. NAV per common share will be determined as of the close of the regular trading session on the NYSE on each business day on which the NYSE is open for trading. The Trust calculates NAV per common share by subtracting the Trust’s liabilities (including accrued expenses, dividends payable and any borrowings of the Trust), and the liquidation value of any outstanding preferred shares of the Trust from the Trust’s total assets (the value of the securities the Trust holds plus cash or other assets, including interest accrued but not yet received) and dividing the result by the total number of common shares of the Trust outstanding.
Valuation of securities held by the Trust is as follows:
Equity Investments. Equity securities traded on a recognized securities exchange (e.g., NYSE), on separate trading boards of a securities exchange or through a market system that provides contemporaneous transaction pricing information (each, an “Exchange”) are valued using information obtained via independent pricing services generally at the Exchange closing price or if an Exchange closing price is not available, the last traded price on that Exchange prior to the time as of which the assets or liabilities are valued. However, under certain circumstances, other means of determining current market value may be used. If an equity security is traded on more than one Exchange, the current market value of the security where it is primarily traded generally will be used. In the event that there are no sales involving an equity security held by the Trust on a day on which the Trust values such security, the last bid (long positions) or ask (short positions) price, if available, will be used as the value of such security. If the Trust holds both long and short positions in the same security, the last bid price will be applied to securities held long and the last ask price will be applied to securities sold short. If no bid or ask price is available on a day on which the Trust values such security, the prior day’s price will be used, unless the Advisor determines that such prior day’s price no longer reflects the fair value of the security, in which case such asset would be treated as a Fair Value Asset (as defined below).
Fixed-Income Investments. Fixed-income securities for which market quotations are readily available are generally valued using such securities’ current market value. The Trust values fixed-income portfolio securities using the last available bid prices provided by dealers or prices (including evaluated prices) supplied by the Trust’s approved independent third-party pricing services, each in accordance with the Advisor’s policies and procedures (the “Valuation Procedures”). The pricing services may use matrix pricing or valuation models that utilize certain inputs and assumptions to derive values, including transaction data (e.g., recent representative bids and offers), credit quality information, perceived market movements, news, and other relevant information and by other methods, which may include consideration of: yields or prices of securities of comparable quality, coupon, maturity and type; indications as to values from dealers; general market conditions; and/or other factors and assumptions. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but the Trust may hold or transact in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. The amortized cost method of valuation may be used with respect to debt obligations with 60 days or less remaining to maturity unless such method does not represent fair value. Certain fixed-income investments, including asset-backed and mortgage related securities, may be valued based on valuation models that consider the estimated cash flows of each tranche of the issuer, establish a benchmark yield and develop an estimated tranche specific spread to the benchmark yield based on the unique attributes of the tranche.
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Options, Futures, Swaps and Other Derivatives. Exchange-traded equity options for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices as quoted on the exchange or the board of trade on which such options are traded. In the event that there is no mean price available for an exchange traded equity option held by the Trust on a day on which the Trust values such option, the last bid (long positions) or ask (short positions) price, if available, will be used as the value of such option. If no bid or ask price is available on a day on which the Trust values such option, the prior day’s price will be used, unless the Advisor determines that such prior day’s price no longer reflects the fair value of the option, in which case such option will be treated as a fair value asset. OTC derivatives may be valued using a mathematical model which may incorporate a number of market data factors. Financial futures contracts and options thereon, which are traded on exchanges, are valued at their last sale price or settle price as of the close of such exchanges. Swap agreements and other derivatives are generally valued daily based upon quotations from market makers or by a pricing service in accordance with the Valuation Procedures.
Underlying Funds. Shares of underlying open‑end funds (including money market funds) are valued at NAV. Shares of underlying exchange-traded closed‑end funds and ETFs will be valued at their most recent closing price.
General Valuation Information. In determining the market value of portfolio investments, the Trust may employ independent third party pricing services, which may use, without limitation, a matrix or formula method that takes into consideration market indexes, matrices, yield curves and other specified inputs and assumptions. This may result in the assets being valued at a price different from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. The price the Trust could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Trust’s valuation of the investment, particularly for assets that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair valuation methodology or a price provided by an independent pricing service. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by the Trust, and the Trust could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. The Trust’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third party service providers.
Prices obtained from independent third party pricing services, broker-dealers or market makers to value the Trust’s securities and other assets and liabilities are based on information available at the time the Trust values its assets and liabilities. In the event that a pricing service quotation is revised or updated subsequent to the day on which the Trust valued such security, the revised pricing service quotation generally will be applied prospectively. Such determination will be made considering pertinent facts and circumstances surrounding the revision.
In the event that application of the methods of valuation discussed above result in a price for a security which is deemed not to be representative of the fair market value of such security, the security will be valued by, under the direction of or in accordance with a method approved by the Advisor, the Trust’s valuation designee, as reflecting fair value. All other assets and liabilities (including securities for which market quotations are not readily available) held by the Trust (including restricted securities) are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Advisor pursuant to the Valuation Procedures. Any assets and liabilities which are denominated in a foreign currency are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing market rates.
Certain of the securities acquired by the Trust may be traded on foreign exchanges or OTC markets on days on which the Trust’s NAV is not calculated. In such cases, the NAV of the Trust’s common shares may be significantly affected on days when investors can neither purchase nor sell shares of the Trust.
Fair Value. When market quotations are not readily available or are believed by the Advisor to be unreliable, the Trust’s investments are valued at fair value (“Fair Value Assets”). Fair Value Assets are valued by the Advisor in accordance with the Valuation Procedures. Pursuant to Rule 2a‑5 under the Investment Company Act, the Board of Trustees has designated the Advisor as the valuation designee for the Trust. The Advisor may reasonably
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conclude that a market quotation is not readily available or is unreliable if, among other things, a security or other asset or liability does not have a price source due to its complete lack of trading, if the Advisor believes a market quotation from a broker-dealer or other source is unreliable (e.g., where it varies significantly from a recent trade, or no longer reflects the fair value of the security or other asset or liability subsequent to the most recent market quotation), or where the security or other asset or liability is only thinly traded or due to the occurrence of a significant event subsequent to the most recent market quotation. For this purpose, a “significant event” is deemed to occur if the Advisor determines, in its reasonable business judgment, that an event that has occurred after the close of trading for an asset or liability but prior to or at the time of pricing the Trust’s assets or liabilities, is likely to cause a material change to the last exchange closing price or closing market price of one or more assets or liabilities held by the Trust. On any day the NYSE is open and a foreign market or the primary exchange on which a foreign asset or liability is traded is closed, such asset or liability will be valued using the prior day’s price, provided that the Advisor is not aware of any significant event or other information that would cause such price to no longer reflect the fair value of the asset or liability, in which case such asset or liability would be treated as a Fair Value Asset. For certain foreign assets, a third-party vendor supplies evaluated, systematic fair value pricing based upon the movement of a proprietary multi-factor model after the relevant foreign markets have closed. This systematic fair value pricing methodology is designed to correlate the prices of foreign assets following the close of the local markets to the price that might have prevailed as of the Trust’s pricing time.
The Advisor’s Rule 2a‑5 Committee is responsible for reviewing and approving methodologies by investment type and significant inputs used in the fair valuation of Trust assets or liabilities. In addition, the Trust’s accounting agent assists the Advisor by periodically endeavoring to confirm the prices it receives from all third party pricing services, index providers and broker-dealers. The Advisor regularly evaluates the values assigned to the securities and other assets and liabilities of the Trust.
When determining the price for a Fair Value Asset, the Advisor will seek to determine the price that the Trust might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that asset or liability in an arm’s‑length transaction on the date on which the asset or liability is being valued, and does not seek to determine the price the Trust might reasonably expect to receive for selling an asset or liability at a later time or if it holds the asset or liability to maturity. Fair value determinations will be based upon all available factors that the Advisor deems relevant at the time of the determination, and may be based on analytical values determined by the Advisor using proprietary or third party valuation models.
Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of an asset or liability. When determining the fair value of an investment, one or more fair value methodologies may be used (depending on certain factors, including the asset type). For example, the investment may be initially priced based on the original cost of the investment or, alternatively, using proprietary or third-party models that may rely upon one or more unobservable inputs. Prices of actual, executed or historical transactions in the relevant investment (or comparable instruments) or, where appropriate, an appraisal by a third-party experienced in the valuation of similar instruments, may also be used as a basis for establishing the fair value of an investment.
The fair value of one or more assets or liabilities may not, in retrospect, be the price at which those assets or liabilities could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used in determining the Trust’s NAV. As a result, the Trust’s sale or repurchase of its shares at NAV, at a time when a holding or holdings are valued at fair value, may have the effect of diluting or increasing the economic interest of existing shareholders.
The Trust’s annual audited financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”), follow the requirements for valuation set forth in Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC 820”), which defines and establishes a framework for measuring fair value under US GAAP and expands financial statement disclosure requirements relating to fair value measurements.
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Generally, ASC 820 and other accounting rules applicable to funds and various assets in which they invest are evolving. Such changes may adversely affect the Trust. For example, the evolution of rules governing the determination of the fair market value of assets or liabilities, to the extent such rules become more stringent, would tend to increase the cost and/or reduce the availability of third-party determinations of fair market value. This may in turn increase the costs associated with selling assets or affect their liquidity due to the Trust’s inability to obtain a third-party determination of fair market value.
DISTRIBUTIONS
The Trust intends to make regular monthly cash distributions of all or a portion of its net investment income, including current gains, to common shareholders. The Trust will pay common shareholders at least annually all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income. The Investment Company Act generally limits the Trust to one capital gain distribution per year, subject to certain exceptions, including as discussed below in connection with the Distribution Plan.
The Trust has, with the approval of the Board, adopted a managed distribution plan, consistent with its investment objectives and policies, to support a level distribution of income, capital gains and/or return of capital (the “Distribution Plan”). Under the Distribution Plan, the Trust will distribute all available investment income, including current gains, to its shareholders as required by the Code. If sufficient income (inclusive of net investment income and short-term capital gains) is not earned on a monthly basis, the Trust will distribute long-term capital gains and/or return of capital to shareholders in order to maintain a level distribution. A return of capital distribution may involve a return of the shareholder’s original investment. Though not currently taxable, such a distribution may lower a shareholder’s basis in the Trust, thus potentially subjecting the shareholder to future tax consequences in connection with the sale of Trust shares, even if sold at a loss to the shareholder’s original investment. Each monthly distribution to shareholders is expected to be at the fixed amount established by the Board; however, the Trust may make additional distributions from time to time, including additional capital gain distributions at the end of the taxable year, if required to meet requirements imposed by the Code and/or the Investment Company Act. Shareholders should not draw any conclusions about the Trust’s investment performance from the amount of these distributions or from the terms of the Distribution Plan. The Trust’s total return performance on NAV will be presented in its financial highlights table, which will be available in the Trust’s shareholder reports, every six months.
The Board may amend, suspend or terminate the Distribution Plan without prior notice if it deems such actions to be in the best interests of the Trust or its shareholders. The suspension or termination of the Distribution Plan could have the effect of creating a trading discount (if the Trust’s stock is trading at or above NAV) or widening an existing trading discount. The Trust is subject to risks that could have an adverse impact on its ability to maintain level distributions. Examples of potential risks include, but are not limited to, economic downturns impacting the markets, decreased market volatility, companies suspending or decreasing corporate dividend distributions and changes in the Code. Please see “Risks” for a more complete description of the Trust’s risks.
The tax treatment and characterization of the Trust’s distributions may vary significantly from time to time because of the varied nature of the Trust’s investments. The ultimate tax characterization of the Trust’s distributions made in a fiscal year cannot finally be determined until after the end of that fiscal year. As a result, there is a possibility that the Trust may make total distributions during a fiscal year in an amount that exceeds the Trust’s earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In such situations, the amount by which the Trust’s total distributions exceed earnings and profits would generally be treated as a return of capital reducing the amount of a shareholder’s tax basis in such shareholder’s shares, with any amounts exceeding such basis treated as gain from the sale of shares.
Various factors will affect the level of the Trust’s income, including the asset mix and the Trust’s use of hedging. To permit the Trust to maintain a more stable monthly distribution, the Trust may from time to time distribute less than the entire amount of income earned in a particular period. The undistributed income would be available
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to supplement future distributions. As a result, the distributions paid by the Trust for any particular monthly period may be more or less than the amount of income actually earned by the Trust during that period. Undistributed income will add to the Trust’s NAV and, correspondingly, distributions from undistributed income will deduct from the Trust’s NAV. The Trust intends to distribute any long-term capital gains not distributed under the Distribution Plan annually.
Under normal market conditions, the Advisor seeks to manage the Trust in a manner such that the Trust’s distributions are reflective of the Trust’s current and projected earnings levels. The distribution level of the Trust is subject to change based upon a number of factors, including the current and projected level of the Trust’s earnings, and may fluctuate over time.
The Trust reserves the right to change its distribution policy and the basis for establishing the rate of its monthly distributions at any time and may do so without prior notice to common shareholders.
Shareholders will automatically have all dividends and distributions reinvested in common shares of the Trust in accordance with the Trust’s dividend reinvestment plan, unless an election is made to receive cash by contacting the Reinvestment Plan Agent, at (800) 699‑1236. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.”
DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN
Please refer to the section of the Trust’s most recent annual report on Form N‑CSR entitled “Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for a discussion of the Trust’s dividend reinvestment plan.
RIGHTS OFFERINGS
The Trust may in the future, and at its discretion, choose to make offerings of rights to its shareholders to purchase common shares. Rights may be issued independently or together with any other offered security and may or may not be transferable by the person purchasing or receiving the rights. In connection with a rights offering to shareholders, we would distribute certificates or other documentation (i.e., rights cards distributed in lieu of certificates) evidencing the rights and a Prospectus Supplement to our shareholders as of the record date that we set for determining the shareholders eligible to receive rights in such rights offering. Any such future rights offering will be made in accordance with the Investment Company Act. Under the laws of Delaware, the Board is authorized to approve rights offerings without obtaining shareholder approval.
The staff of the SEC has interpreted the Investment Company Act as not requiring shareholder approval of a transferable rights offering to purchase common shares at a price below the then current NAV so long as certain conditions are met, including: (i) a good faith determination by a fund’s board that such offering would result in a net benefit to existing shareholders; (ii) the offering fully protects shareholders’ preemptive rights and does not discriminate among shareholders (except for the possible effect of not offering fractional rights); (iii) management uses its best efforts to ensure an adequate trading market in the rights for use by shareholders who do not exercise such rights; and (iv) the ratio of a transferable rights offering does not exceed one new share for each three rights held.
The applicable Prospectus Supplement would describe the following terms of the rights in respect of which this Prospectus is being delivered:

| ● |  | the period of time the offering would remain open;

| ● |  | the underwriter or distributor, if any, of the rights and any associated underwriting fees or discounts applicable to purchases of the rights;

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| ● |  | the title of such rights;

| ● |  | the exercise price for such rights (or method of calculation thereof);

| ● |  | the number of such rights issued in respect of each share;

| ● |  | the number of rights required to purchase a single share;

| ● |  | the extent to which such rights are transferable and the market on which they may be traded if they are transferable;

| ● |  | if applicable, a discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the issuance or exercise of such rights;

| ● |  | the date on which the right to exercise such rights will commence, and the date on which such right will expire (subject to any extension);

| ● |  | the extent to which such rights include an over-subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed securities and the terms of such over-subscription privilege; and

| ● |  | termination rights we may have in connection with such rights offering.

A certain number of rights would entitle the holder of the right(s) to purchase for cash such number of common shares at such exercise price as in each case is set forth in, or be determinable as set forth in, the Prospectus Supplement relating to the rights offered thereby. Rights would be exercisable at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for such rights set forth in the Prospectus Supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised rights would become void. Upon expiration of the rights offering and the receipt of payment and the rights certificate or other appropriate documentation properly executed and completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the rights agent, or any other office indicated in the Prospectus Supplement, the common shares purchased as a result of such exercise will be issued as soon as practicable. To the extent permissible under applicable law, we may determine to offer any unsubscribed offered securities directly to persons other than shareholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, as set forth in the applicable Prospectus Supplement.
TAX MATTERS
The following discussion is a brief summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Trust and the purchase, ownership and disposition of the Trust’s common shares. A more detailed discussion of the tax rules applicable to the Trust and its common shareholders can be found in the SAI that is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. Except as otherwise noted, this discussion assumes you are a taxable U.S. holder (as defined below) and that you hold your common shares as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes (generally, assets held for investment). This discussion is based upon current provisions of the Code, the regulations promulgated thereunder and judicial and administrative authorities, all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service, possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. federal tax concerns affecting the Trust and its common shareholders. The Trust has not sought and will not seek any ruling from the Internal Revenue Service regarding any matters discussed herein. No assurance can be given that the Internal Revenue Service would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to those set forth below. This summary does not discuss any aspects of non‑U.S., state or local tax. The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice and potential investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers to determine the specific U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences to them of investing in the Trust.
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In addition, no attempt is made to address tax considerations applicable to an investor with a special tax status, such as without limitation, a financial institution, REIT, insurance company, regulated investment company, individual retirement account, other tax‑exempt organization, dealer in securities or currencies, person holding shares of the Trust as part of a hedging, integrated, conversion or straddle transaction, trader in securities that has elected the mark‑to‑market method of accounting for its securities, U.S. holder (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, investor with “applicable financial statements” within the meaning of Section 451(b) of the Code, or non‑U.S. investor. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax.
A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

| ● |  | a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents);

| ● |  | a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

| ● |  | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

| ● |  | a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust has made a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person for U.S. federal income tax purposes, whose status as a U.S. person is not overridden by an applicable tax treaty.

Taxation of the Trust
The Trust has elected to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Trust must, among other things, satisfy certain requirements relating to the sources of its income, diversification of its assets, and distribution of its income to its shareholders. First, the Trust must derive at least 90% of its annual gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined in the Code) (the “90% gross income test”). Second, the Trust must diversify its holdings so that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the value of its total assets consists of cash, cash items, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Trust’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the market value of the total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government securities and securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers controlled by the Trust and engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or any one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships.”
As long as the Trust qualifies as a RIC, the Trust will generally not be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on income and gains that it distributes each taxable year to its shareholders, provided that in such taxable year it distributes at least 90% of the sum of (i) its net tax‑exempt interest income, if any, and (ii) its “investment company taxable income” (which includes, among other items, dividends, taxable interest, taxable original issue discount and market discount income, income from securities lending, net short-term capital gain in excess of net long-term capital loss, and any other taxable income other than “net capital gain” (as defined below) and is reduced by deductible expenses) determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid. The Trust may retain for investment its net capital gain (which consists of the excess of its net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss). However, if the Trust retains any net capital gain or any investment company taxable income, it will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained.
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The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the Trust to the extent the Trust does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gain or loss) for the calendar year and (ii) 98.2% of its capital gain in excess of its capital loss (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for a one‑year period generally ending on October 31 of the calendar year (unless an election is made to use the Trust’s fiscal year). In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any under-distribution or over-distribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. For purposes of the excise tax, the Trust will be deemed to have distributed any income on which it paid U.S. federal income tax. While the Trust intends to distribute any income and capital gain in the manner necessary to minimize imposition of the 4% nondeductible excise tax, there can be no assurance that sufficient amounts of the Trust’s taxable income and capital gain will be distributed to entirely avoid the imposition of the excise tax. In that event, the Trust will be liable for the excise tax only on the amount by which it does not meet the foregoing distribution requirement.
If in any taxable year the Trust should fail to qualify under Subchapter M of the Code for tax treatment as a RIC, the Trust would incur a regular corporate U.S. federal income tax upon all of its taxable income for that year, and all distributions to its shareholders (including distributions of net capital gain) would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of the Trust’s earnings and profits. Provided that certain holding period and other requirements were met, such dividends would be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. In addition, to qualify again to be taxed as a RIC in a subsequent year, the Trust would be required to distribute to shareholders its earnings and profits attributable to non‑RIC years. In addition, if the Trust failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, then, in order to qualify as a RIC in a subsequent year, the Trust would be required to elect to recognize and pay tax on any net built‑in gain (the excess of aggregate gain, including items of income, over aggregate loss that would have been realized if the Trust had been liquidated) or, alternatively, be subject to taxation on such built‑in gain recognized for a period of five years.
The remainder of this discussion assumes that the Trust qualifies for taxation as a RIC.
The Trust’s Investments. Certain of the Trust’s investment practices are subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions (including mark‑to‑market, constructive sale, straddle, wash sale, short sale and other rules) that may, among other things, (i) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (ii) convert lower taxed long-term capital gains or qualified dividend income into higher taxed short-term capital gains or ordinary income, (iii) convert ordinary loss or a deduction into capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (iv) cause the Trust to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash, (v) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (vi) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions and (vii) produce income that will not be “qualified” income for purposes of the 90% annual gross income requirement described above. These U.S. federal income tax provisions could therefore affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to common shareholders. The Trust intends to monitor its transactions and may make certain tax elections and may be required to dispose of securities to mitigate the effect of these provisions and prevent disqualification of the Trust as a RIC. Additionally, the Trust may be required to limit its activities in derivative instruments in order to enable it to maintain its RIC status.
The Trust may invest a portion of its net assets in below investment grade securities. Investments in these types of securities may present special tax issues for the Trust. U.S. federal income tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when the Trust may cease to accrue interest, original issue discount or market discount, when and to what extent deductions may be taken for bad debts or worthless securities, how payments received on obligations in default should be allocated between principal and income and whether modifications or exchanges of debt obligations in a bankruptcy or workout context are taxable. These and other issues could affect the Trust’s ability to distribute sufficient income to preserve its status as a RIC or to avoid the imposition of U.S. federal income or excise tax.
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Certain debt securities acquired by the Trust may be treated as debt securities that were originally issued at a discount. Generally, the amount of the original issue discount is treated as interest income and is included in taxable income (and required to be distributed by the Trust in order to qualify as a RIC and avoid U.S. federal income tax or the 4% excise tax on undistributed income) over the term of the security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, usually when the debt security matures.
If the Trust purchases a debt security on a secondary market at a price lower than its adjusted issue price, the excess of the adjusted issue price over the purchase price is “market discount.” Unless the Trust makes an election to accrue market discount on a current basis, generally, any gain realized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt security having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the “accrued market discount” on the debt security. Market discount generally accrues in equal daily installments. If the Trust ultimately collects less on the debt instrument than its purchase price plus the market discount previously included in income, the Trust may not be able to benefit from any offsetting loss deductions.
The Trust may invest in preferred securities or other securities the U.S. federal income tax treatment of which may not be clear or may be subject to recharacterization by the Internal Revenue Service. To the extent the tax treatment of such securities or the income from such securities differs from the tax treatment expected by the Trust, it could affect the timing or character of income recognized by the Trust, potentially requiring the Trust to purchase or sell securities, or otherwise change its portfolio, in order to comply with the tax rules applicable to RICs under the Code.
Gain or loss on the sale of securities by the Trust will generally be long-term capital gain or loss if the securities have been held by the Trust for more than one year. Gain or loss on the sale of securities held for one year or less will be short-term capital gain or loss.
Because the Trust may invest in foreign securities, its income from such securities may be subject to non‑U.S. taxes.
Foreign currency gain or loss on foreign currency exchange contracts, non‑U.S. dollar-denominated securities contracts, and non‑U.S. dollar-denominated futures contracts, options and forward contracts that are not section 1256 contracts (as defined below) generally will be treated as ordinary income and loss.
Income from options on individual securities written by the Trust will generally not be recognized by the Trust for tax purposes until an option is exercised, lapses or is subject to a “closing transaction” (as defined by applicable regulations) pursuant to which the Trust’s obligations with respect to the option are otherwise terminated. If the option lapses without exercise, the premiums received by the Trust from the writing of such options will generally be characterized as short-term capital gain. If the Trust enters into a closing transaction, the difference between the premiums received and the amount paid by the Trust to close out its position will generally be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. If an option written by the Trust is exercised, thereby requiring the Trust to sell the underlying security, the premium will increase the amount realized upon the sale of the security, and the character of any gain on such sale of the underlying security as short-term or long-term capital gain will depend on the holding period of the Trust in the underlying security. Because the Trust will not have control over the exercise of the options it writes, such exercises or other required sales of the underlying securities may cause the Trust to realize gains or losses at inopportune times.
Index options that qualify as “section 1256 contracts” will generally be “marked‑to‑market” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Trust will generally recognize gain or loss on the last day of each taxable year equal to the difference between the value of the option on that date and the adjusted basis of the option. The adjusted basis of the option will consequently be increased by such gain or decreased by such loss. Any gain or loss with respect to options on indices and sectors that qualify as “section 1256 contracts” will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss to the extent of 40% of such gain or loss and long-term capital gain or loss to the extent of 60% of such gain or loss. Because the mark‑to‑market rules may cause the Trust to recognize gain in
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advance of the receipt of cash, the Trust may be required to dispose of investments in order to meet its distribution requirements. “Mark‑to‑market” losses may be suspended or otherwise limited if such losses are part of a straddle or similar transaction.
Taxation of Common Shareholders
Trust distributions of its tax‑exempt interest on municipal securities, if properly reported by the Trust to its shareholders (“exempt-interest dividends”), will generally be exempt from regular federal income tax. In order for the Trust to pay exempt-interest dividends, at least 50% of the value of the Trust’s total assets must consist of tax‑exempt obligations on a quarterly basis. If the Trust does not meet this requirement, it would not be able to pay tax‑exempt dividends, and your distributions attributable to interest received by the Trust from any source (including distributions of tax‑exempt interest income) would be taxable as ordinary income to the extent of the Trust’s earnings and profits.
The Trust will either distribute or retain for reinvestment all or part of its net capital gain. If any such gain is retained, the Trust will be subject to a corporate income tax on such retained amount. In that event, the Trust expects to report the retained amount as undistributed capital gain in a notice to its common shareholders, each of whom, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes as long-term capital gain its share of such undistributed amounts, (ii) will be entitled to credit its proportionate share of the tax paid by the Trust against its U.S. federal income tax liability and to claim refunds to the extent that the credit exceeds such liability and (iii) will increase its basis in its common shares by the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income less the tax deemed paid by the shareholder under clause (ii).
Distributions paid to you by the Trust from its net capital gain, if any, that the Trust properly reports as capital gain dividends (“capital gain dividends”) are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held your common shares. All other dividends paid to you by the Trust (including dividends from net short-term capital gains) from its current or accumulated earnings and profits, other than exempt-interest dividends (“ordinary income dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income. Provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met, ordinary income dividends (if properly reported by the Trust) may qualify (i) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders to the extent that the Trust’s income consists of dividend income from U.S. corporations, and (ii) in the case of individual shareholders, as “qualified dividend income” eligible to be taxed at long-term capital gains rates to the extent that the Trust receives qualified dividend income. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain qualified foreign corporations (e.g., generally, foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a qualifying comprehensive tax treaty with the United States, or whose stock with respect to which such dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). There can be no assurance as to what portion, if any, of the Trust’s distributions will constitute qualified dividend income or be eligible for the dividends received deduction.
Any distributions you receive that are in excess of the Trust’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of your adjusted tax basis in your common shares, and thereafter as capital gain from the sale of common shares. The amount of any Trust distribution that is treated as a return of capital will reduce your adjusted tax basis in your common shares, thereby increasing your potential gain or reducing your potential loss on any subsequent sale or other disposition of your common shares.
Common shareholders may be entitled to offset their capital gain dividends with capital losses. The Code contains a number of statutory provisions affecting when capital losses may be offset against capital gain, and limiting the use of losses from certain investments and activities. Accordingly, common shareholders that have capital losses are urged to consult their tax advisers.
Dividends and other taxable distributions are taxable to you even though they are reinvested in additional common shares of the Trust. Dividends and other distributions paid by the Trust are generally treated under the
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Code as received by you at the time the dividend or distribution is made. If, however, the Trust pays you a dividend in January that was declared in the previous October, November or December to common shareholders of record on a specified date in one of such months, then such dividend will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as being paid by the Trust and received by you on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared. In addition, certain other distributions made after the close of the Trust’s taxable year may be “spilled back” and treated as paid by the Trust (except for purposes of the 4% nondeductible excise tax) during such taxable year. In such case, you will be treated as having received such dividends in the taxable year in which the distributions were actually made.
Interest on certain “private activity bonds” is an item of tax preference subject to the alternative minimum tax on individuals. The Trust may invest a portion of its assets in municipal bonds subject to this provision so that a portion of its exempt-interest dividends is an item of tax preference to the extent such dividends represent interest received from these private activity bonds. Accordingly, investment in the Trust could cause a holder of common shares to be subject to, or result in an increased liability under, the alternative minimum tax.
Exempt-interest dividends are included in determining what portion, if any, of a person’s Social Security and railroad retirement benefits will be includable in gross income subject to federal income tax.
The price of common shares purchased at any time may reflect the amount of a forthcoming distribution. Those purchasing common shares just prior to the record date of a distribution will receive a distribution which will be taxable to them even though it represents, economically, a return of invested capital.
The Trust will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount and tax status of any distributions paid to you by the Trust.
The sale or other disposition of common shares will generally result in capital gain or loss to you and will be long-term capital gain or loss if you have held such common shares for more than one year at the time of sale. Any loss upon the sale or other disposition of common shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) by you with respect to such common shares. Any loss you recognize on a sale or other disposition of common shares will be disallowed if you acquire other common shares (whether through the automatic reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61‑day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after your sale or exchange of the common shares. In such case, your tax basis in the common shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
If the Trust liquidates, shareholders generally will realize capital gain or loss upon such liquidation in an amount equal to the difference between the amount of cash or other property received by the shareholder (including any property deemed received by reason of its being placed in a liquidating trust) and the shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in its common shares. Any such gain or loss will be long-term if the shareholder is treated as having a holding period in the Trust shares of greater than one year, and otherwise will be short-term.
Current U.S. federal income tax law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gain of corporations at the rates applicable to ordinary income. For non‑corporate taxpayers, short-term capital gain is currently taxed at rates applicable to ordinary income while long-term capital gain generally is taxed at a reduced maximum rate. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations under the Code.
Certain U.S. holders who are individuals, estates or trusts and whose income exceeds certain thresholds will be required to pay a 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes dividends received from the Trust and capital gains from the sale or other disposition of the Trust’s common shares.
A common shareholder that is a nonresident alien individual or a foreign corporation (a “foreign investor”) generally will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or possibly a lower rate provided by
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an applicable tax treaty) on ordinary income dividends (except as discussed below). In general, U.S. federal withholding tax and U.S. federal income tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a foreign investor in respect of any distribution of exempt-interest dividends or net capital gain (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) or upon the sale or other disposition of common shares of the Trust. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign investor is engaged in a trade or business in the United States or, in the case of an individual, is present in the United States for 183 days or more during a taxable year and certain other conditions are met. Foreign investors should consult their tax advisers regarding the tax consequences of investing in the Trust’s common shares.
Ordinary income dividends properly reported by a RIC are generally exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the RIC’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, its U.S.-source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the RIC is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) are paid in respect of the RIC’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the RIC’s net short-term capital gain over its long-term capital loss for such taxable year). Depending on its circumstances, the Trust may report all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a foreign investor needs to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non‑U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W‑8BEN, W‑8BEN‑E or substitute Form). In the case of common shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may have withheld tax even if the Trust reported the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Foreign investors should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts. There can be no assurance as to what portion of the Trust’s distributions would qualify for favorable treatment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gains.
In addition, withholding at a rate of 30% will apply to dividends paid in respect of common shares of the Trust held by or through certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the Treasury to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to shares in, and accounts maintained by, the institution to the extent such shares or accounts are held by certain U.S. persons and by certain non‑U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons and to withhold on certain payments. Accordingly, the entity through which common shares of the Trust are held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Similarly, dividends paid in respect of common shares of the Trust held by an investor that is a non‑financial foreign entity that does not qualify under certain exemptions will be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (i) certifies that such entity does not have any “substantial United States owners” or (ii) provides certain information regarding the entity’s “substantial United States owners,” which the Trust or applicable withholding agent will in turn provide to the Secretary of the Treasury. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country, or future Treasury regulations or other guidance, may modify these requirements. The Trust will not pay any additional amounts to common shareholders in respect of any amounts withheld. Foreign investors are encouraged to consult with their tax advisers regarding the possible implications of these rules on their investment in the Trust’s common shares.
U.S. federal backup withholding tax may be required on dividends, distributions and sale proceeds payable to certain non‑exempt common shareholders who fail to supply their correct taxpayer identification number (in the case of individuals, generally, their social security number) or to make required certifications, or who are otherwise subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be refunded or credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, provided that you timely furnish the required information to the Internal Revenue Service.
Ordinary income dividends, capital gain dividends, and gain from the sale or other disposition of common shares of the Trust also may be subject to state, local, and/or foreign taxes. Common shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding specific questions about U.S. federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences to them of investing in the Trust.
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The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of certain provisions of the Code and the Treasury regulations currently in effect as they directly govern the taxation of the Trust and its common shareholders. These provisions are subject to change by legislative or administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. A more detailed discussion of the tax rules applicable to the Trust and its common shareholders can be found in the SAI that is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. Common shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income or other taxes.
Please refer to the SAI for more detailed information. You are urged to consult your tax adviser.
TAXATION OF HOLDERS OF RIGHTS
The value of a right will not be includible in the income of a common shareholder at the time the right is issued.
The basis of a right issued to a common shareholder will be zero, and the basis of the share with respect to which the subscription right was issued (the old share) will remain unchanged, unless either (a) the fair market value of the right on the date of distribution is at least 15% of the fair market value of the old share, or (b) such shareholder affirmatively elects (in the manner set out in Treasury regulations under the Code) to allocate to the subscription right a portion of the basis of the old share. If either (a) or (b) applies, then except as described below such shareholder must allocate basis between the old share and the right in proportion to their fair market values on the date of distribution.
The basis of a right purchased in the market will generally be its purchase price.
The holding period of a right issued to a common shareholder will include the holding period of the old share. No gain or loss will be recognized by a common shareholder upon the exercise of a right.
No loss will be recognized by a common shareholder if a right distributed to such common shareholder expires unexercised because the basis of the old share may be allocated to a right only if the right is exercised. If a right that has been purchased in the market expires unexercised, there will be a recognized loss equal to the basis of the right.
Any gain or loss on the sale of a right will be a capital gain or loss if the right is held as a capital asset (which in the case of rights issued to common shareholders will depend on whether the old share of beneficial interest is held as a capital asset), and will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the holding period is deemed to exceed one year.
CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THE AGREEMENT AND DECLARATION OF TRUST AND BYLAWS
The Agreement and Declaration of Trust includes provisions that could have the effect of limiting the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Trust or to change the composition of the Board. This could have the effect of depriving shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging a third party from seeking to obtain control over the Trust. Such attempts could have the effect of increasing the expenses of the Trust and disrupting the normal operation of the Trust. The Board is divided into three classes. At each annual meeting of shareholders or special meeting in lieu thereof the term of only one class of Trustees expires and only the Trustees in that one class stand for re‑election. Trustees standing for election at an annual meeting of shareholders or special meeting in lieu thereof are elected to a three-year term. This provision could delay for up to two years the replacement of a majority of the Board. A Trustee may be removed from office for cause only, and not without cause, and only by the action of a majority of the remaining Trustees followed by a vote of the holders of at least 75% of the shares then entitled to vote for the election of the respective Trustee.
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In addition, the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust requires the affirmative vote or consent of a majority of the Board followed by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the outstanding shares of each affected class or series outstanding of the Trust, voting separately as a class or series, to approve, adopt or authorize certain transactions with 5% or greater holders of a class or series of shares and their associates, unless 80% of the Trustees by resolution have approved a memorandum of understanding with such holders with respect to and substantially consistent with such transaction, in which case approval by “a majority of the outstanding voting securities” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of the Trust will be the only vote of the shareholders required. These voting requirements are in addition to any regulatory relief required from the SEC with respect to such transaction. For purposes of these provisions, a 5% or greater holder of a class or series of shares (a “Principal Shareholder”) refers to any corporation, person or other entity who, whether directly or indirectly and whether alone or together with its affiliates and associates, beneficially owns 5% or more of the outstanding shares of any class or series of shares.
The 5% holder transactions subject to these special approval requirements are:

| ● |  | the merger or consolidation of the Trust or any subsidiary of the Trust with or into any Principal Shareholder;

| ● |  | the issuance of any securities of the Trust to any Principal Shareholder for cash (other than pursuant to any automatic dividend reinvestment plan);

| ● |  | the sale, lease or exchange of all or any substantial part of the assets of the Trust to any Principal Shareholder, except assets having an aggregate fair market value of less than $1,000,000, aggregating for the purpose of such computation all assets sold, leased or exchanged in any series of similar transactions within a twelve-month period; or

| ● |  | the sale, lease or exchange to the Trust or any subsidiary of the Trust, in exchange for securities of the Trust, of any assets of any Principal Shareholder, except assets having an aggregate fair market value of less than $1,000,000, aggregating for purposes of such computation all assets sold, leased or exchanged in any series of similar transactions within a twelve-month period.

To convert the Trust to an open‑end investment company, the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust requires the favorable vote of a majority of the Board followed by the favorable vote of the holders of at least 75% of the outstanding shares of each affected class or series of shares of the Trust, voting separately as a class or series to approve, adopt or authorize an amendment to the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust that makes the shares of the Trust a “redeemable security” as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, unless such conversion has been approved by at least 80% of the Trustees, in which case “a majority of the outstanding voting securities” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of the Trust shall be required. The foregoing vote would satisfy a separate requirement in the Investment Company Act that any conversion of the Trust to an open‑end investment company be approved by the shareholders. If approved in the foregoing manner, we anticipate conversion of the Trust to an open‑end investment company might not occur until 90 days after the shareholders’ meeting at which such conversion was approved and would also require at least 10 days’ prior notice to all shareholders. Conversion of the Trust to an open‑end investment company would require the redemption of any outstanding preferred shares, which could eliminate or alter the leveraged capital structure of the Trust with respect to the common shares. Following any such conversion, it is also possible that certain of the Trust’s investment policies and strategies would have to be modified to assure sufficient portfolio liquidity, including in order to comply with Rule 22e‑4 under the Investment Company Act. In the event of conversion, the common shares would cease to be listed on the NYSE or other national securities exchanges or market systems. Shareholders of an open‑end investment company may require the company to redeem their shares at any time, except in certain circumstances as authorized by or under the Investment Company Act, at their NAV, less such redemption charge, if any, as might be in effect at the time of a redemption. The Trust expects to pay all such redemption requests in cash, but reserves the right to pay redemption requests in a combination of cash or securities. If such partial payment in securities were made, investors may incur brokerage costs in converting
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such securities to cash. If the Trust were converted to an open‑end fund, it is likely that new shares would be sold at NAV plus a sales load. The Board believes, however, that the closed‑end structure is desirable in light of the Trust’s investment objective and policies. Therefore, you should assume that it is not likely that the Board would vote to convert the Trust to an open‑end fund.
To dissolve the Trust, the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust requires the approval of a resolution by a majority of the Board followed by the favorable vote of the holders of at least 75% of the outstanding shares of each class or series of the Trust entitled to vote, voting separately as a class or series, unless such resolution has been approved by at least 80% of the Trustees, in which case “a majority of the outstanding voting securities” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of the Trust shall be required.
For the purposes of calculating “a majority of the outstanding voting securities” under the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust, each class and series of the Trust shall vote together as a single class, except to the extent required by the Investment Company Act or the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust with respect to any class or series of shares. If a separate vote is required, the applicable proportion of shares of the class or series, voting as a separate class or series, also will be required.
The Board has determined that provisions with respect to the Board and the shareholder voting requirements described above, which voting requirements are greater than the minimum requirements under Delaware law or the Investment Company Act, are in the best interests of shareholders generally. Reference should be made to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust on file with the SEC for the full text of these provisions.
The Trust’s Bylaws generally require that advance notice be given to the Trust in the event a shareholder desires to nominate a person for election to the Board or to transact any other business at an annual meeting of shareholders. Notice of any such nomination or business must be delivered to or be mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Trust not less than 120 days nor more than 150 days prior to the anniversary date of the prior year’s annual meeting (subject to certain exceptions). Any notice by a shareholder must be accompanied by certain information as provided in the Bylaws. Reference should be made to the Bylaws on file with the SEC for the full text of these provisions.
CLOSED‑END FUND STRUCTURE
The Trust is a diversified, closed‑end management investment company (commonly referred to as a closed‑end fund). Closed‑end funds differ from open‑end funds (which are generally referred to as mutual funds) in that closed‑end funds generally list their shares for trading on a stock exchange and do not redeem their shares at the request of the shareholder. This means that if you wish to sell your shares of a closed‑end fund you must trade them on the stock exchange like any other stock at the prevailing market price at that time. In a mutual fund, if the shareholder wishes to sell shares of the fund, the mutual fund will redeem or buy back the shares at NAV. Also, mutual funds generally offer new shares on a continuous basis to new investors and closed‑end funds generally do not. The continuous inflows and outflows of assets in a mutual fund can make it difficult to manage the fund’s investments. By comparison, closed‑end funds are generally able to stay more fully invested in securities that are consistent with their investment objective and also have greater flexibility to make certain types of investments and to use certain investment strategies, such as financial leverage and investments in illiquid securities.
Shares of closed‑end funds frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. Because of this possibility and the recognition that any such discount may not be in the interest of shareholders, the Board might consider from time to time engaging in open-market repurchases, tender offers for shares or other programs intended to reduce the discount. We cannot guarantee or assure, however, that the Board will decide to engage in any of these actions. Nor is there any guarantee or assurance that such actions, if undertaken, would result in the shares trading at a price equal or close to the NAV per share. See “Repurchase of Common Shares” below and “Repurchase of Common Shares” in the SAI. The Board might also consider converting the Trust to an open‑end mutual fund, which would also require a vote of the shareholders of the Trust.
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REPURCHASE OF COMMON SHARES
Shares of closed‑end investment companies often trade at a discount to their NAVs and the Trust’s common shares may also trade at a discount to their NAV, although it is possible that they may trade at a premium above NAV. The market price of the Trust’s common shares will be determined by such factors as relative demand for and supply of such common shares in the market, the Trust’s NAV, general market and economic conditions, market sentiment and other factors beyond the control of the Trust. See “Net Asset Value” and “Description of Shares—Common Shares.” Although the Trust’s common shareholders will not have the right to redeem their common shares, the Trust may take action to repurchase common shares in the open market or make tender offers for its common shares. This may have the effect of reducing any market discount from NAV.
There is no assurance that, if action is undertaken to repurchase or tender for common shares, such action will result in the common shares’ trading at a price which approximates their NAV. Although share repurchases and tender offers could have a favorable effect on the market price of the Trust’s common shares, you should be aware that the acquisition of common shares by the Trust will decrease the capital of the Trust and, therefore, may have the effect of increasing the Trust’s expense ratio and decreasing the asset coverage with respect to any borrowings or preferred shares outstanding. Any share repurchases or tender offers will be made in accordance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act and the principal stock exchange on which the common shares are traded. For additional information, see “Repurchase of Common Shares” in the SAI.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may sell common shares, including to existing shareholders in a rights offering, through underwriters or dealers, directly to one or more purchasers (including existing shareholders in a rights offering), through agents, to or through underwriters or dealers, or through a combination of any such methods of sale. The applicable Prospectus Supplement will identify any underwriter or agent involved in the offer and sale of our common shares, any sales loads, discounts, commissions, fees or other compensation paid to any underwriter, dealer or agent, the offering price, net proceeds and use of proceeds and the terms of any sale. In the case of a rights offering, the applicable Prospectus Supplement will set forth the number of our common shares issuable upon the exercise of each right and the other terms of such rights offering.
The distribution of our common shares may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices. Sales of our common shares may be made in transactions that are deemed to be “at the market” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act, including sales made directly on the NYSE or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange.
We may sell our common shares directly to, and solicit offers from, institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters as defined in the Securities Act for any resales of the securities. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. We may use electronic media, including the Internet, to sell offered securities directly.
In connection with the sale of our common shares, underwriters or agents may receive compensation from us in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters may sell our common shares to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents. Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of our common shares may be deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act, and any discounts and commissions they receive from us and any profit realized by them on the resale of our common shares may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. Any such underwriter or agent will be identified and any such compensation received from us
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will be described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. The maximum amount of compensation to be received by any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member or independent broker-dealer will not exceed eight percent for the sale of any securities being offered pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will not pay any compensation to any underwriter or agent in the form of warrants, options, consulting or structuring fees or similar arrangements.
If a Prospectus Supplement so indicates, we may grant the underwriters an option to purchase additional common shares at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, within 45 days from the date of the Prospectus Supplement, to cover any over-allotments.
Under agreements into which we may enter, underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in the distribution of our common shares may be entitled to indemnification by us against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with us, or perform services for us, in the ordinary course of business.
If so indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, we will ourselves, or will authorize underwriters or other persons acting as our agents to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase our common shares from us pursuant to contracts providing for payment and delivery on a future date. Institutions with which such contacts may be made include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and others, but in all cases such institutions must be approved by us. The obligation of any purchaser under any such contract will be subject to the condition that the purchase of the common shares shall not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of the jurisdiction to which such purchaser is subject. The underwriters and such other agents will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity or performance of such contracts. Such contracts will be subject only to those conditions set forth in the Prospectus Supplement, and the Prospectus Supplement will set forth the commission payable for solicitation of such contracts.
To the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the underwriters may from time to time act as brokers or dealers and receive fees in connection with the execution of our portfolio transactions after the underwriters have ceased to be underwriters and, subject to certain restrictions, each may act as a broker while it is an underwriter.
A Prospectus and accompanying Prospectus Supplement in electronic form may be made available on the websites maintained by underwriters. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of securities for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Such allocations of securities for Internet distributions will be made on the same basis as other allocations. In addition, securities may be sold by the underwriters to securities dealers who resell securities to online brokerage account holders.
In order to comply with the securities laws of certain states, if applicable, our common shares offered hereby will be sold in such jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
This Prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC. We are allowed to “incorporate by reference” the information that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. We incorporate by reference into this Prospectus the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, including any filings on or after the date of this Prospectus from the date of filing (excluding any information furnished, rather than filed), until we have sold all of the offered securities to which this Prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement relates or the offering is otherwise terminated. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this Prospectus. Any statement in a
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document incorporated by reference into this Prospectus will be deemed to be automatically modified or superseded to the extent a statement contained in (1) this Prospectus or (2) any other subsequently filed document that is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus modifies or supersedes such statement. The documents incorporated by reference herein include:

| ● |  | The Trust’s SAI, dated August 8, 2025, filed with this Prospectus;

| ● |  | our annual report on Form N‑CSR for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on March 7, 2025;

| ● |  | the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8‑K (other than information furnished rather than filed) filed with the SEC on January 21, 2025; and

| ● |  | the description of the Trust’s common shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8‑A (File No. 001‑31741) filed with the SEC on July 22, 2003, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description prior to the termination of the offering registered hereby.

The Trust will provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this Prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request, a copy of any and all of the documents that have been or may be incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement. You should direct requests for documents by calling:
Client Services Desk
(800) 882‑0052
The Trust makes available this Prospectus, SAI and the Trust’s annual and semi-annual reports, free of charge, at http://www.blackrock.com. You may also obtain this Prospectus, the SAI, other documents incorporated by reference and other information the Trust files electronically, including reports and proxy statements, on the SEC website (http://www.sec.gov) or with the payment of a duplication fee, by electronic request at publicinfo@sec.gov. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Trust’s website is not incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and should not be considered to be part of this Prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement.
PRIVACY PRINCIPLES OF THE TRUST
The Trust is committed to maintaining the privacy of shareholders and to safeguarding their non‑public personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information the Trust collects, how we protect that information, and why in certain cases we may share such information with select other parties.
The Trust does not receive any non‑public personal information relating to its shareholders who purchase shares through their broker-dealers. In the case of shareholders who are record holders of the Trust, the Trust receives personal non‑public information on account applications or other forms. With respect to these shareholders, the Trust also has access to specific information regarding their transactions in the Trust.
The Trust does not disclose any non‑public personal information about its shareholders or former shareholders to anyone, except as permitted by law or as is necessary in order to service our shareholders’ accounts (for example, to a transfer agent).
The Trust restricts access to non‑public personal information about its shareholders to BlackRock employees with a legitimate business need for the information. The Trust maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards designed to protect the non‑public personal information of our shareholders.
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12,000,000 Shares
BLACKROCK LIMITED DURATION INCOME TRUST
Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
Rights to Purchase Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
PROSPECTUS
August 8, 2025

BLACKROCK LIMITED DURATION
INCOME TRUST
12,000,000 Common Shares of Beneficial Interest
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
August 12, 2025
Until September 6, 2025 (25 days after the date of this Prospectus Supplement), all dealers that buy, sell or trade the common shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters.

BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

BlackRock Limited Duration Income Trust (the “Trust”) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) relating to the Trust’s common shares of beneficial interest (“common shares”) does not constitute a prospectus, but should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus relating thereto dated August 8, 2025 (the “Prospectus”) and any related prospectus supplement. This SAI, which is not a prospectus, does not include all information that a prospective investor should consider before purchasing common shares, and investors should obtain and read the Prospectus and any related prospectus supplement prior to purchasing such shares. A copy of the Prospectus and any related prospectus supplement may be obtained without charge by calling (800) 882-0052. You may also obtain a copy of the Prospectus on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) website (http://www.sec.gov). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this SAI have the meanings ascribed to them in the Prospectus.

References to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), or other applicable law, will include any rules promulgated thereunder and any guidance, interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, including court interpretations, and exemptive, no-action or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

This Statement of Additional Information is dated August 8, 2025.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

|  | Page |
THE TRUST |  |  | S-1 |
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES |  |  | S-1 |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND TECHNIQUES |  |  | S-3 |
ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS |  |  | S-4 |
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST |  |  | S-11 |
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE |  |  | S-17 |
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST |  |  | S-23 |
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES |  |  | S-33 |
REPURCHASE OF COMMON SHARES |  |  | S-34 |
TAX MATTERS |  |  | S-36 |
CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT |  |  | S-43 |
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM |  |  | S-44 |
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES |  |  | S-44 |
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE |  |  | S-44 |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |  |  | S-45 |
APPENDIX A – RATINGS OF INVESTMENTS |  |  | A-1 |
APPENDIX B – CLOSED-END FUND PROXY VOTING POLICY |  |  | B-1 |

THE TRUST

The Trust is a diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act. The Trust was formed as a Delaware statutory trust on May 16, 2003, pursuant to an Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as subsequently amended and restated, governed by the laws of the State of Delaware and the Certificate of Trust filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The Trust’s investment adviser is BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”). BlackRock International Limited (“BIL”) and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (“BSL” and together with BIL, the “Sub-Advisors” and collectively with the Advisor, the “Advisors”) serve as the Trust’s sub-advisers.

The common shares of the Trust are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “BLW.” As of July 24, 2025, the Trust has 38,733,559 common shares outstanding.

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES

Investment Restrictions

The Trust has adopted restrictions and policies relating to the investment of the Trust’s assets and its activities. Certain of the restrictions are fundamental policies of the Trust and may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Trust’s outstanding voting securities (which for this purpose and under the Investment Company Act means the lesser of (i) 67% of the shares represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding shares are represented or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares), including class approval by a majority of the Trust’s outstanding shares of preferred shares (“preferred shares”), if any (which for this purpose and under the Investment Company Act means the lesser of (i) 67% of the preferred shares, as a single class, represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the Trust’s outstanding preferred shares are represented or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding preferred shares).

Fundamental Investment Restrictions. Under these fundamental investment restrictions, the Trust may not:

| 1. | Purchase any security if as a result 25% or more of the total assets of the Trust would be invested in the securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry (with respect to loan participations in which the Trust may invest, the Trust intends to treat as “issuers” the corporate borrower, the bank selling such participation interests and any other person interpositioned between the bank and the Trust).

| 2. | With respect to 75% of its total assets, invest more than 5% of the value of its total assets in the securities of any single issuer or purchase more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer.

| 3. | Purchase commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Trust may purchase and sell options, futures contracts and options thereon and may engage in interest rate and foreign currency transactions.

| 4. | Purchase, hold or deal in real estate or real estate mortgage loans, or oil, gas or other mineral leases or exploration or development programs, except that the Trust may (a) purchase and sell securities that are secured by, or issued by companies that invest or deal in, real estate, oil, gas or other minerals, or interests therein and (b) hold or sell any such assets acquired in connection with its investment in portfolio securities.

| 5. | Issue senior securities or borrow money, except as permitted by the Investment Company Act.

| 6. | Make loans to others, except through the purchase of debt obligations (including senior loans), the entry into repurchase agreements and the lending of its portfolio securities.

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| 7. | Act as an underwriter of securities of other issuers, except to the extent the Trust may be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act, by virtue of its purchase or sale of portfolio securities.

For purposes of applying the limitation set forth in subparagraphs (1) and (2) above, securities of the U.S. government, its agencies, or instrumentalities, and securities backed by the credit of a governmental entity are not considered to represent industries. However, obligations backed principally by the assets and revenues of non-governmental issuers may for this purpose be deemed to be issued by such non-governmental issuers.

For the purpose of applying the limitation set forth in subparagraph (1) above, a governmental issuer shall be deemed the sole issuer of a security when its assets and revenues are separate from other governmental entities and its securities are backed only by its assets and revenues. Similarly, in the case of a non-governmental issuer, such as an industrial corporation or a privately owned or operated hospital, if the security is backed only by the assets and revenues of the non-governmental issuer, then such non-governmental issuer would be deemed to be the sole issuer. Where a security is backed by the enforceable obligation of a superior or unrelated governmental entity, it will be included in the computation of securities owned that are issued by such governmental entity. When a security is backed by the enforceable obligation of a superior or unrelated non-governmental entity (other than a bond insurer), it will also be included in the computation of securities owned that are issued by such non-governmental entity. Where a security is guaranteed by a governmental entity or some other facility, such as a bank guarantee or letter of credit, such a guarantee or letter of credit would be considered a separate security and would be treated as an issue of such government, other entity or bank. When a municipal security is insured by bond insurance, it shall not be considered a security that is issued or guaranteed by the insurer; instead, the issuer of such municipal security will be determined in accordance with the principles set forth above. The foregoing restrictions do not limit the percentage of the Trust’s assets that may be invested in municipal securities insured by any given insurer.

Under the Investment Company Act, the Trust may invest up to 10% of its total assets in the aggregate in shares of other investment companies and up to 5% of its total assets in any one investment company, provided the investment does not represent more than 3% of the voting stock of the acquired investment company at the time such shares are purchased. The Trust may invest a greater percentage of its assets in money market funds to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act or the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions. Any policies of the Trust not described as fundamental in this Prospectus may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) without shareholder approval, provided that the Trust may not:

| A. | Make any short sale of securities except in conformity with applicable laws, rules and regulations and unless after giving effect to such sale, the market value of all securities sold short does not exceed 25% of the value of the Trust’s managed assets and the Trust’s aggregate short sales of a particular class of securities of an issuer does not exceed 25% of the then outstanding securities of that class. The Trust may also make short sales “against the box” without respect to such limitations. In this type of short sale, at the time of the sale, the Trust owns or has the immediate and unconditional right to acquire at no additional cost the identical security.

| B. | Purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies except in compliance with the Investment Company Act or any exemptive relief obtained thereunder.

| C. | Purchase securities of companies for the purpose of exercising control.

The restrictions and other limitations set forth in the Trust’s Prospectus and in this SAI will apply only at the time of purchase of securities and will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of the acquisition of securities. Any investment policy or restriction described in the Prospectus or in this SAI is deemed to be a non-fundamental policy or restriction of the Trust, unless otherwise stated.

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If the Trust offers preferred shares, it may apply for ratings for such preferred shares from Moody’s, S&P and/or Fitch. In order to obtain and maintain the required ratings, the Trust may be required to comply with investment quality, diversification and other guidelines established by Moody’s, S&P and/or Fitch. Such guidelines may be more restrictive than the restrictions set forth above. The Trust does not anticipate that such guidelines would have a material adverse effect on the Trust’s holders of common shares or its ability to achieve its investment objective. The Trust presently anticipates that any preferred shares issued would be initially given the highest ratings by Moody’s (Aaa) or by S&P or Fitch (AAA), but no assurance can be given that such ratings will be obtained. No minimum rating is required for the issuance of preferred shares by the Trust. Moody’s, S&P and Fitch receive fees in connection with their ratings issuances.

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND TECHNIQUES

The following information supplements the discussion of the Trust’s investment objective, policies and techniques that are described in the Prospectus.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies

The Trust may invest in stock, warrants, rights and other interests issued by special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) or similar special purpose entities that pool funds to seek potential acquisition opportunities, including the “founder’s” shares and warrants described below. A SPAC is a publicly traded company that raises investment capital via an initial public offering (“IPO”) for the purpose of identifying and acquiring one or more operating businesses or assets. In connection with forming a SPAC, the SPAC’s sponsors acquire “founder’s” shares, generally for nominal consideration, and warrants that will result in the sponsors owning a specified percentage (typically 20%) of the SPAC’s outstanding common stock upon completion of the IPO. At the time a SPAC conducts an IPO, it has selected a management team but has not yet identified a specific acquisition opportunity. Unless and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets in U.S. government securities, money market securities and cash. If an acquisition that meets the requirements for the SPAC is not completed within a pre-established period of time, the invested funds are returned to the SPAC’s public shareholders, the warrants expire, and the “founder’s” shares and such warrants become worthless. Because SPACs and similar entities are in essence “blank check” companies without operating histories or ongoing business operations (other than identifying and pursuing acquisitions), the potential for the long term capital appreciation of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the SPAC’s management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. There is no guarantee that the SPACs in which the Trust invests will complete an acquisition or that any acquisitions completed by the SPACs in which the Trust invests will be profitable. Some SPACs may pursue acquisitions only within certain industries or regions, which may ultimately lead to an increase in the volatility of their prices following the acquisition. In addition, some of these securities may be considered illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on resale.

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Integration

Although the Trust does not seek to implement a specific sustainability objective, strategy or process unless disclosed in the Prospectus, Trust management will consider ESG factors as part of the investment process for the Trust. Trust management views ESG integration as the practice of incorporating financially material ESG data or information into investment processes with the objective of enhancing risk-adjusted returns. These ESG considerations will vary depending on a fund’s particular investment strategies and may include consideration of third-party research as well as consideration of proprietary research of the Advisor across the ESG risks and opportunities regarding an issuer. The ESG characteristics utilized in the Trust’s investment process are anticipated to evolve over time and one or more characteristics may not be relevant with respect to all issuers that are eligible for investment.

Certain of these considerations may affect the Trust’s exposure to certain companies or industries. While Trust management views ESG considerations as having the potential to contribute to the Trust’s long-term performance, there is no guarantee that such results will be achieved.

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ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS

Risk Factors in Strategic Transactions and Derivatives

The Trust’s use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. There are significant risks that apply generally to derivatives transactions, including:

| ● |  | Correlation Risk—the risk that changes in the value of a derivative will not match the changes in the value of the portfolio holdings that are being hedged or of the particular market or security to which the Trust seeks exposure. There are a number of factors which may prevent a derivative instrument from achieving the desired correlation (or inverse correlation) with an underlying asset, rate or index, such as the impact of fees, expenses and transaction costs, the timing of pricing, and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for such derivative instrument.

| ● |  | Counterparty Risk—the risk that the counterparty in a derivative transaction will be unable to honor its financial obligation to the Trust. In particular, derivatives traded in OTC markets often are not guaranteed by an exchange or clearing corporation and often do not require payment of margin, and to the extent that the Trust has unrealized gains in such instruments or has deposited collateral with its counterparties the Trust is at risk that its counterparties will become bankrupt or otherwise fail to honor their obligations. The Trust will typically attempt to minimize counterparty risk by engaging in OTC derivatives transactions only with creditworthy entities that have substantial capital or that have provided the Trust with a third-party guaranty or other credit support.

| ● |  | Credit Risk—the risk that the reference entity in a credit default swap or similar derivative will not be able to honor its financial obligations.

| ● |  | Currency Risk—the risk that changes in the exchange rate between two currencies will adversely affect the value (in U.S. dollar terms) of an investment.

| ● |  | Illiquidity Risk—the risk that certain securities or instruments may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time or at the price desired by the counterparty in connection with payments of margin, collateral, or settlement payments. There can be no assurance that the Trust will be able to unwind or offset a derivative at its desired price, in a secondary market or otherwise. It may, therefore, not be possible for the Trust to unwind its position in a derivative without incurring substantial losses (if at all). The absence of liquidity may also make it more difficult for the Trust to ascertain a market value for such instruments. Although both OTC and exchange-traded derivatives markets may experience a lack of liquidity, certain derivatives traded in OTC markets, including swaps and OTC options, involve substantial illiquidity risk. The Trust will, therefore, acquire illiquid OTC derivatives (i) if the agreement pursuant to which the instrument is purchased contains a formula price at which the instrument may be terminated or sold, or (ii) for which the Advisor anticipates the Trust can receive on each business day at least two independent bids or offers, unless a quotation from only one dealer is available, in which case that dealer’s quotation may be used. The illiquidity of the derivatives markets may be due to various factors, including congestion, disorderly markets, limitations on deliverable supplies, the participation of speculators, government regulation and intervention, and technical and operational or system failures. In addition, the liquidity of a secondary market in an exchange-traded derivative contract may be adversely affected by “daily price fluctuation limits” established by the exchanges which limit the amount of fluctuation in an exchange-traded contract price during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in the contract, no trades may be entered into at a price beyond the limit, thus preventing the liquidation of open positions. Prices have in the past moved beyond the daily limit on a number of consecutive trading days. If it is not possible to close an open derivative position entered into by the

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| Trust, the Trust would continue to be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin in the event of adverse price movements. In such a situation, if the Trust has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities to meet daily variation margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

| ● |  | Index Risk—if the derivative is linked to the performance of an index, it will be subject to the risks associated with changes in that index. If the index changes, the Trust could receive lower interest payments or experience a reduction in the value of the derivative to below the price that the Trust paid for such derivative.

| ● |  | Legal Risk—the risk of insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.

| ● |  | Leverage Risk—the risk that the Trust’s derivatives transactions can magnify the Trust’s gains and losses. Relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of a derivatives position and can result in losses that greatly exceed the amount originally invested.

| ● |  | Market Risk—the risk that changes in the value of one or more markets or changes with respect to the value of the underlying asset will adversely affect the value of a derivative. In the event of an adverse movement, the Trust may be required to pay substantial additional margin to maintain its position or the Trust’s returns may be adversely affected.

| ● |  | Operational Risk—the risk related to potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, systems failures, inadequate controls and human error.

| ● |  | Valuation Risk—the risk that valuation sources for a derivative will not be readily available in the market. This is possible especially in times of market distress, since many market participants may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them.

| ● |  | Volatility Risk—the risk that the value of derivatives will fluctuate significantly within a short time period.

When a derivative is used as a hedge against a position that the Trust holds, any loss generated by the derivative generally should be substantially offset by gains on the hedged investment, and vice versa. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains. Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that the Trust’s hedging transactions will be effective. The Trust could also suffer losses related to its derivative positions as a result of unanticipated market movements, which losses are potentially unlimited. The Advisors may not be able to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates and other economic factors, which could cause the Trust’s derivatives positions to lose value. In addition, some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than other securities. The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Trust to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Trust to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Trust to value accurately.

When engaging in a hedging transaction, the Trust may determine not to seek to establish a perfect correlation between the hedging instruments utilized and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Such an imperfect correlation may prevent the Trust from achieving the intended hedge or expose the Trust to a risk of loss. The Trust may also determine not to hedge against a particular risk because it does not regard the probability of the risk occurring to be sufficiently high as to justify the cost of the hedge or because it does do not foresee the occurrence of the risk. It may not be possible for the Trust to hedge against a change or event at attractive prices or at a price sufficient to protect the assets of the Trust from the decline in value of the portfolio positions anticipated as a result of such change. In addition, it may not be possible to hedge at all against certain risks.

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If the Trust invests in a derivative instrument it could lose more than the principal amount invested. Moreover, derivatives raise certain tax, legal, regulatory and accounting issues that may not be presented by investments in securities, and there is some risk that certain issues could be resolved in a manner that could adversely impact the performance of the Trust.

The Trust is not required to use derivatives or other portfolio strategies to seek to increase return or to seek to hedge its portfolio and may choose not to do so. Also, suitable derivative transactions may not be available in all circumstances and there can be no assurance that the Trust will engage in these transactions to reduce exposure to other risks when that would be beneficial. Although the Advisors seek to use derivatives to further the Trust’s investment objective, there is no assurance that the use of derivatives will achieve this result.

Options Risk. There are several risks associated with transactions in options on securities and indexes. For example, there are significant differences between the securities and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objective. In addition, a liquid secondary market for particular options, whether traded OTC or on a recognized securities exchange (e.g., NYSE), separate trading boards of a securities exchange or through a market system that provides contemporaneous transaction pricing information (an “Exchange”) may be absent for reasons which include the following: there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; restrictions may be imposed by an Exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities; unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an Exchange; the facilities of an Exchange or the OCC may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or one or more Exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that Exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options that had been issued by the OCC as a result of trades on that Exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.

Futures Transactions and Options Risk. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts and options are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Trust and the price of the futures contract or option; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Advisor’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; and (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations.

Investment in futures contracts involves the risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contract and the price of the security being hedged. The hedge will not be fully effective when there is imperfect correlation between the movements in the prices of two financial instruments. For example, if the price of the futures contract moves more or less than the price of the hedged security, the Trust will experience either a loss or gain on the futures contract which is not completely offset by movements in the price of the hedged securities. To compensate for imperfect correlations, the Trust may purchase or sell futures contracts in a greater dollar amount than the hedged securities if the volatility of the hedged securities is historically greater than the volatility of the futures contracts. Conversely, the Trust may purchase or sell fewer futures contracts if the volatility of the price of the hedged securities is historically lower than that of the futures contracts.

The particular securities comprising the index underlying a securities index financial futures contract may vary from the securities held by the Trust. As a result, the Trust’s ability to hedge effectively all or a portion of the value of its securities through the use of such financial futures contracts will depend in part on the degree to which price movements in the index underlying the financial futures contract correlate with the price movements of the securities held by the Trust. The correlation may be affected by disparities in the average maturity, ratings, geographical mix or structure of the Trust’s investments as compared to those comprising the securities index and general economic or political factors. In addition, the correlation between movements in the value of the

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securities index may be subject to change over time as additions to and deletions from the securities index alter its structure. The correlation between futures contracts on U.S. Government securities and the securities held by the Trust may be adversely affected by similar factors and the risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of such futures contracts and the prices of securities held by the Trust may be greater. The trading of futures contracts also is subject to certain market risks, such as inadequate trading activity, which could at times make it difficult or impossible to liquidate existing positions.

The Trust may liquidate futures contracts it enters into through offsetting transactions on the applicable contract market. There can be no assurance, however, that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures contract at any specific time. Thus, it may not be possible to close out a futures position. In the event of adverse price movements, the Trust would continue to be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin. In such situations, if the Trust has insufficient cash, it may be required to sell portfolio securities to meet daily variation margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. The inability to close out futures positions also could have an adverse impact on the Trust’s ability to hedge effectively its investments in securities. The liquidity of a secondary market in a futures contract may be adversely affected by “daily price fluctuation limits” established by commodity exchanges which limit the amount of fluctuation in a futures contract price during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in the contract, no trades may be entered into at a price beyond the limit, thus preventing the liquidation of open futures positions. Prices have in the past moved beyond the daily limit on a number of consecutive trading days.

The successful use of transactions in futures and related options also depends on the ability of the Advisors to forecast correctly the direction and extent of interest rate movements within a given time frame. To the extent interest rates remain stable during the period in which a futures contract or option is held by the Trust or such rates move in a direction opposite to that anticipated, the Trust may realize a loss on the Strategic Transaction which is not fully or partially offset by an increase in the value of portfolio securities. As a result, the Trust’s total return for such period may be less than if it had not engaged in the Strategic Transaction.

Because of low initial margin deposits made upon the opening of a futures position, futures transactions involve substantial leverage. As a result, relatively small movements in the price of the futures contracts can result in substantial unrealized gains or losses. There is also the risk of loss by the Trust of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with which the Trust has an open position in a financial futures contract. Because the Trust will engage in the purchase and sale of futures contracts for hedging purposes or to seek to enhance the Trust’s return, any losses incurred in connection therewith may, if the strategy is successful, be offset in whole or in part by increases in the value of securities held by the Trust or decreases in the price of securities the Trust intends to acquire.

The amount of risk the Trust assumes when it purchases an option on a futures contract is the premium paid for the option plus related transaction costs. In addition to the correlation risks discussed above, the purchase of an option on a futures contract also entails the risk that changes in the value of the underlying futures contract will not be fully reflected in the value of the option purchased.

General Risk Factors in Hedging Foreign Currency. Hedging transactions involving Currency Instruments involve substantial risks, including correlation risk. While the Trust’s use of Currency Instruments to effect hedging strategies is intended to reduce the volatility of the NAV of the Trust’s common shares, the NAV of the Trust’s common shares will fluctuate. Moreover, although Currency Instruments may be used with the intention of hedging against adverse currency movements, transactions in Currency Instruments involve the risk that anticipated currency movements will not be accurately predicted and that the Trust’s hedging strategies will be ineffective. To the extent that the Trust hedges against anticipated currency movements that do not occur, the Trust may realize losses and decrease its total return as the result of its hedging transactions. Furthermore, the Trust will only engage in hedging activities from time to time and may not be engaging in hedging activities when movements in currency exchange rates occur.

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It may not be possible for the Trust to hedge against currency exchange rate movements, even if correctly anticipated, in the event that (i) the currency exchange rate movement is so generally anticipated that the Trust is not able to enter into a hedging transaction at an effective price, or (ii) the currency exchange rate movement relates to a market with respect to which Currency Instruments are not available and it is not possible to engage in effective foreign currency hedging. The cost to the Trust of engaging in foreign currency transactions varies with such factors as the currencies involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Since transactions in foreign currency exchange usually are conducted on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are involved.

Foreign Currency Forwards Risk. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts do not eliminate fluctuations in the value of Non-U.S. Securities (as defined in the Prospectus) but rather allow the Trust to establish a fixed rate of exchange for a future point in time. This strategy can have the effect of reducing returns and minimizing opportunities for gain.

In connection with its trading in forward foreign currency contracts, the Trust will contract with a foreign or domestic bank, or foreign or domestic securities dealer, to make or take future delivery of a specified amount of a particular currency. There are no limitations on daily price moves in such forward contracts, and banks and dealers are not required to continue to make markets in such contracts. There have been periods during which certain banks or dealers have refused to quote prices for such forward contracts or have quoted prices with an unusually wide spread between the price at which the bank or dealer is prepared to buy and that at which it is prepared to sell. Governmental imposition of credit controls might limit any such forward contract trading. With respect to its trading of forward contracts, if any, the Trust will be subject to the risk of bank or dealer failure and the inability of, or refusal by, a bank or dealer to perform with respect to such contracts. Any such default would deprive the Trust of any profit potential or force the Trust to cover its commitments for resale, if any, at the then market price and could result in a loss to the Trust.

The Trust may also engage in proxy hedging transactions to reduce the effect of currency fluctuations on the value of existing or anticipated holdings of portfolio securities. Proxy hedging is often used when the currency to which the Trust is exposed is difficult to hedge or to hedge against the dollar. Proxy hedging entails entering into a forward contract to sell a currency whose changes in value are generally considered to be linked to a currency or currencies in which some or all of the Trust’s securities are, or are expected to be, denominated, and to buy U.S. dollars. Proxy hedging involves some of the same risks and considerations as other transactions with similar instruments. Currency transactions can result in losses to the Trust if the currency being hedged fluctuates in value to a degree or in a direction that is not anticipated. In addition, there is the risk that the perceived linkage between various currencies may not be present or may not be present during the particular time that the Trust is engaging in proxy hedging. The Trust may also cross-hedge currencies by entering into forward contracts to sell one or more currencies that are expected to decline in value relative to other currencies to which the Trust has or in which the Trust expects to have portfolio exposure. For example, the Trust may hold both Canadian government bonds and Japanese government bonds, and the Advisors may believe that Canadian dollars will deteriorate against Japanese yen. The Trust would sell Canadian dollars to reduce its exposure to that currency and buy Japanese yen. This strategy would be a hedge against a decline in the value of Canadian dollars, although it would expose the Trust to declines in the value of the Japanese yen relative to the U.S. dollar.

Some of the forward non-U.S. currency contracts entered into by the Trust may be classified as non-deliverable forwards (“NDFs”). NDFs are cash-settled, short-term forward contracts that may be thinly traded or are denominated in non-convertible foreign currency, where the profit or loss at the time at the settlement date is calculated by taking the difference between the agreed upon exchange rate and the spot rate at the time of settlement, for an agreed upon notional amount of funds. All NDFs have a fixing date and a settlement date. The fixing date is the date at which the difference between the prevailing market exchange rate and the agreed upon exchange rate is calculated. The settlement date is the date by which the payment of the difference is due to the party receiving payment. NDFs are commonly quoted for time periods of one month up to two years, and are normally quoted and settled in U.S. dollars. They are often used to gain exposure to and/or hedge exposure to foreign currencies that are not internationally traded.

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Currency Futures Risk. The Trust may also seek to hedge against the decline in the value of a currency or to enhance returns through use of currency futures or options thereon. Currency futures are similar to forward foreign exchange transactions except that futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts while forward foreign exchange transactions are traded in the OTC market. Currency futures involve substantial currency risk, and also involve leverage risk.

Currency Options Risk. The Trust may also seek to hedge against the decline in the value of a currency or to enhance returns through the use of currency options. Currency options are similar to options on securities. For example, in consideration for an option premium the writer of a currency option is obligated to sell (in the case of a call option) or purchase (in the case of a put option) a specified amount of a specified currency on or before the expiration date for a specified amount of another currency. The Trust may engage in transactions in options on currencies either on exchanges or OTC markets. Currency options involve substantial currency risk, and may also involve credit, leverage or illiquidity risk.

Currency Swaps Risk. The Trust may enter into currency swaps, which are transactions in which one currency is simultaneously bought for a second currency on a spot basis and sold for the second currency on a forward basis. Currency swaps involve the exchange of the rights of the Trust and another party to make or receive payments in specified currencies. Currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Because currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations.

Over-the-Counter Trading Risk. The derivative instruments that may be purchased or sold by the Trust may include instruments not traded on an exchange. The risk of nonperformance by the counterparty to an instrument may be greater than, and the ease with which the Trust can dispose of or enter into closing transactions with respect to an instrument may be less than, the risk associated with an exchange traded instrument. In addition, significant disparities may exist between “bid” and “asked” prices for derivative instruments that are not traded on an exchange. The absence of liquidity may make it difficult or impossible for the Trust to sell such instruments promptly at an acceptable price. Derivative instruments not traded on exchanges also are not subject to the same type of government regulation as exchange traded instruments, and many of the protections afforded to participants in a regulated environment may not be available in connection with the transactions. Because derivatives traded in OTC markets generally are not guaranteed by an exchange or clearing corporation and generally do not require payment of margin, to the extent that the Trust has unrealized gains in such instruments or has deposited collateral with its counterparties the Trust is at risk that its counterparties will become bankrupt or otherwise fail to honor its obligations.

Rule 18f-4 Under the Investment Company Act. Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act permits the Trust to enter into Derivatives Transactions (as defined below) and certain other transactions notwithstanding the restrictions on the issuance of “senior securities” under Section 18 of the Investment Company Act. Section 18 of the Investment Company Act, among other things, prohibits closed-end funds, including the Trust, from issuing or selling any “senior security” representing indebtedness (unless the fund maintains 300% “asset coverage”) or any senior security representing stock (unless the fund maintains 200% “asset coverage”).

Under Rule 18f-4, “Derivatives Transactions” include the following: (1) any swap, security-based swap (including a contract for differences), futures contract, forward contract, option (excluding purchased options), any combination of the foregoing, or any similar instrument, under which the Trust is or may be required to make any payment or delivery of cash or other assets during the life of the instrument or at maturity or early termination, whether as margin or settlement payment or otherwise; (2) any short sale borrowing; (3) reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions (e.g., recourse and non-recourse tender option bonds, and borrowed bonds), if the Trust elects to treat these transactions as Derivatives Transactions under Rule 18f-4; and (4) when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including to-be-announced (“TBA”) commitments, and dollar rolls) and non-standard settlement cycle securities,

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unless such transactions meet the Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision (as defined above under “Investment Policies and Techniques—When-Issued and Forward Commitment Securities”).

Unless the Trust is relying on the Limited Derivatives User Exception (as defined below), the Trust must comply with Rule 18f-4 with respect to its Derivatives Transactions. Rule 18f-4, among other things, requires the Trust to adopt and implement a comprehensive written derivatives risk management program (“DRMP”) and comply with a relative or absolute limit on fund leverage risk calculated based on value-at-risk (“VaR”). The DRMP is administered by a “derivatives risk manager,” who is appointed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), including a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) (the “Independent Trustees”), and periodically reviews the DRMP and reports to the Board.

Rule 18f-4 provides an exception from the DRMP, VaR limit and certain other requirements if the Trust’s “derivatives exposure” is limited to 10% of its net assets (as calculated in accordance with Rule 18f-4) and the Trust adopts and implements written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage its derivatives risks (the “Limited Derivatives User Exception”).

Dodd-Frank Act Risk. Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) (the “Derivatives Title”) imposed a substantially new regulatory structure on derivatives markets, with particular emphasis on swaps (which are subject to oversight by the CFTC) and security-based swaps (which are subject to oversight by the SEC). The regulatory framework covers a broad range of swap market participants, including banks, non-banks, credit unions, insurance companies, broker-dealers and investment advisers. Prudential regulators were granted authority to regulate margining of swaps and security-based swaps of banks and bank-related entities. Current regulations for swaps require the mandatory central clearing and mandatory exchange trading of particular types of interest rate swaps and index credit default swaps (together, “Covered Swaps”). The Trust is required to clear its Covered Swaps through a clearing broker, which requires, among other things, posting initial margin and variation margin to the Trust’s clearing broker in order to enter into and maintain positions in Covered Swaps. Covered Swaps generally are required to be executed through a swap execution facility (“SEF”), which can involve additional transaction fees.

Additionally, under the Dodd-Frank Act, with respect to uncleared swaps (both uncleared swaps and uncleared security-based swaps entered into with banks), swap dealers are required to collect from the Trust both initial and variation margin (comprised of specified liquid instruments and subject to a required haircut). Shares of investment companies (other than certain money market funds) may not be posted as collateral under applicable regulations. As capital and margin requirements for swap dealers and capital and margin requirements for security-based swaps are implemented, such requirements may make certain types of trades and/or trading strategies more costly. There may be market dislocations due to uncertainty during the implementation period of any new regulation and the Advisor cannot know how the derivatives market will adjust to such new regulations.

In addition, regulations adopted by global prudential regulators that are now in effect require certain bank-regulated counterparties and certain of their affiliates to include in “qualified financial contracts,” including many derivatives contracts as well as repurchase agreements and securities lending agreements, terms that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties to terminate such contracts, foreclose upon collateral, exercise other default rights or restrict transfers of affiliate credit enhancements (such as guarantees) in the event that the bank-regulated counterparty and/or its affiliates are subject to certain types of resolution or insolvency proceedings.

Legal and Regulatory Risk. At any time after the date hereof, legislation or additional regulations may be enacted that could negatively affect the assets of the Trust. Changing approaches to regulation may have a negative impact on the securities in which the Trust invests. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which the Trust itself is regulated. There can be no assurance that future legislation, regulation or deregulation will not have a material adverse effect on the Trust or will not impair the ability of the Trust to achieve its investment objective. In addition, as new rules and regulations resulting from the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act are implemented and new international capital and liquidity requirements are introduced under the Basel III Accords, the market may not react the way the Advisor expects. Whether the Trust achieves its investment objective may

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depend on, among other things, whether the Advisor correctly forecasts market reactions to this and other legislation. In the event the Advisor incorrectly forecasts market reaction, the Trust may not achieve its investment objective.

MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST

Investment Management Agreement

Although the Advisor intends to devote such time and effort to the business of the Trust as is reasonably necessary to perform its duties to the Trust, the services of the Advisor are not exclusive and the Advisor provides similar services to other investment companies and other clients and may engage in other activities.

The investment management agreement between the Advisor and the Trust (the “Investment Management Agreement”) also provides that except for a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty with respect to the receipt of compensation or a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard by the Advisor of its duties under the Investment Management Agreement, the Advisor is not liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Advisor or the Trust in connection with the performance of the Investment Management Agreement. The Investment Management Agreement also provides for indemnification by the Trust of the Advisor and each of the Advisor’s directors, officers, employees, agents, associates and controlling persons, and the directors, partners, members, officers, employees and agents thereof (including any individual who serves at the Advisor’s request as director, officer, partner, member, trustee or the like of another entity) for liabilities and expenses incurred by them in connection with their services to the Trust, subject to certain limitations and conditions.

The Investment Management Agreement provides for the Trust to pay a monthly management fee at an annual rate equal to 0.55% of the average weekly value of the Trust’s Managed Assets. “Managed Assets” means the total assets of the Trust (including any assets attributable to money borrowed for investment purposes) minus the sum of the Trust’s accrued liabilities (other than money borrowed for investment purposes).

The Trust and the Advisor have entered into a fee waiver agreement (the “Fee Waiver Agreement”), pursuant to which the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Trust’s assets attributable to investments in any equity and fixed-income mutual funds and ETFs managed by the Advisor or its affiliates and other exchange-traded products sponsored by the Advisor or its affiliates, in each case that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2027. In addition, pursuant to the Fee Waiver Agreement, the Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Trust pays to the Advisor indirectly through its investment in money market funds advised by the Advisor or its affiliates, through June 30, 2027. The Fee Waiver Agreement may be continued from year to year thereafter, provided that such continuance is specifically approved by the Advisor and the Trust (including by a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) (the “Independent Trustees”)). Neither the Advisor nor the Trust is obligated to extend the Fee Waiver Agreement. The Fee Waiver Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, only by the Trust (upon the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust), upon 90 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Advisor.

The Investment Management Agreement will continue in effect from year to year provided that each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by both (1) the vote of a majority of the Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust (as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act) and (2) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Investment Management Agreement or “interested persons” (as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Investment Management Agreement may be terminated as a whole at any time by the Trust, without the payment of any penalty, upon the vote of a majority of the Trustees or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust or by the Advisor, on 60 days’

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written notice by either party to the other which can be waived by the non-terminating party. The Investment Management Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its “assignment” (as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act and the rules thereunder).

The table below sets forth information about the total management fees paid by the Trust to the Advisor, and the amounts waived by the Advisor, for the periods indicated:

Fiscal Year Ended |  | Paid to the Advisor |  |  | Waived by the Advisor |
December 31, 2024 |  | $ | 4,544,341 |  |  | $ | 2,065 |
December 31, 2023 |  | $ | 4,049,194 |  |  | $ | 2,132 |
December 31, 2022 |  | $ | 4,467,146 |  |  | $ | 2,971 |

Sub-Investment Advisory Agreements

BlackRock International Limited and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (previously defined as the “Sub-Advisors”), each a majority-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, will perform certain of the day-to-day investment management of the Trust pursuant to separate sub-investment advisory agreements. The Advisor, and not the Trust, pays BIL and BSL, for services they provide for that portion of the Trust for which BIL and BSL, as applicable, acts as Sub-Advisor, a monthly fee that is equal to a percentage of the investment advisory fees paid by the Trust to the Advisor.

The sub-investment advisory agreements provide that, in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its obligations thereunder, the Trust will indemnify the Sub-Advisors and with respect to BIL, its directors, officers, employees, agents, associates and control persons for liabilities incurred by them in connection with their services to the Trust, subject to certain limitations.

Although the Sub-Advisors intend to devote such time and effort to the business of the Trust as is reasonably necessary to perform its duties to the Trust, the services of the Sub-Advisors are not exclusive and the Sub-Advisors provide similar services to other investment companies and other clients and may engage in other activities.

The sub-investment advisory agreements will continue in effect for a period of two years from its effective date, and if not sooner terminated, will continue in effect for successive periods of 12 months thereafter, provided that each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by both (1) the vote of a majority of the Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust (as defined in the Investment Company Act) and (2) by the vote of a majority of the trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons (as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The sub-investment advisory agreements may be terminated as a whole at any time by the Trust without the payment of any penalty, upon the vote of a majority of the Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust or by the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor, on 60 days’ written notice by either party to the other. The sub-investment advisory agreements will also terminate automatically in the event of their assignment (as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act and the rules thereunder).

Administration and Accounting Services Agreement

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) provides certain administration and accounting services to the Trust pursuant to an Administration and Fund Accounting Services Agreement. The table below shows the amounts paid to State Street for such services for the periods indicated:

Fiscal Year Ended December 31, |  | Paid to State Street |  |  | Paid to the Advisor |
2024 |  | $ | 113,039 |  |  | $ | 0 |
2023 |  | $ | 105,624 |  |  | $ | 0 |
2022 |  | $ | 105,934 |  |  | $ | 0 |

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Biographical Information Pertaining to the Trustees

The Board consists of ten individuals (each, a “Trustee”), eight of whom are Independent Trustees. The registered investment companies advised by the Advisor or its affiliates (the “BlackRock-advised Funds”) are organized into one complex of closed-end funds and open-end non-index fixed-income funds (the “BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex”), one complex of open-end equity, multi-asset, index and money market funds (the “BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex”) and one complex of exchange-traded funds (each, a “BlackRock Fund Complex”). The Trust is included in the BlackRock Fund Complex referred to as the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex. The Trustees also oversee as board members the operations of the other open-end and closed-end registered investment companies included in the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex.

Please refer to the section of the Trust’s May 22, 2025 definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the annual meeting of the Trust’s shareholders entitled: “Proposal 1—Election of Board Nominees—Board Members’/Nominees’ Biographical Information”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for a discussion of the Trust’s directors, their principal occupations and other affiliates during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fixed-Income Complex that they oversee, and other information about them.

Board Leadership Structure and Oversight

Please refer to the sections of the Trust’s May 22, 2025 definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the annual meeting of the Trust’s shareholders entitled: “Proposal 1—Election of Board Nominees—Board Leadership Structure and Oversight” and “Appendix E - Committees of the Boards” which is incorporated by reference herein, for a discussion of the Board’s leadership structure and oversight.

Trustee Share Ownership

Please refer to the section of the Trust’s May 22, 2025 definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the annual meeting of the Trust’s shareholders entitled: “Appendix C – Equity Securities Owned by Board Members and Board Nominees”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for information relating to share ownership in the Trust by each Trustee.

Compensation of Trustees

Please refer to the section of the Trust’s May 22, 2025 definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the annual meeting of the Trust’s shareholders entitled: “Appendix B – Compensation of the Board Members”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for information pertaining to the compensation received by each Trustee for their services as a Board Member of the BlackRock-advised funds.

Independent Trustee Ownership of Securities

As of December 31, 2024, none of the Independent Trustees of the Trust or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of BlackRock or any affiliate of any BlackRock person controlling, controlled by or under common control with BlackRock nor did any Independent Trustee of the Trust or their immediate family members have any material interest in any transaction, or series of similar transactions, during the most recently completed two calendar years involving the Trust, BlackRock or any affiliate of any BlackRock person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Trust or BlackRock.

As of the date of this SAI, the officers and Trustees of the Trust, as a group, beneficially owned less than 1% of the outstanding common shares of the Trust.

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Information Pertaining to the Officers

Please refer to the section of the Trust’s May 22, 2025 definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the annual meeting of the Trust’s shareholders entitled: “Appendix F – Information Pertaining to the Executive Officers of the Funds”, which is incorporated by reference herein, for certain biographical and other information relating to the officers of the Trust who are not Trustees.

Indemnification of Trustees and Officers

The governing documents of the Trust generally provide that, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust unless, as to liability to the Trust or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices. In addition, the Trust will not indemnify Trustees with respect to any matter as to which Trustees did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that his or her action was in the best interest of the Trust or, in the case of any criminal proceeding, as to which Trustees had reasonable cause to believe that the conduct was unlawful. Indemnification provisions contained in the Trust’s governing documents are subject to any limitations imposed by applicable law.

Closed-end funds in the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex, including the Trust, have also entered into a separate indemnification agreement with the board members of each board of such funds (the “Indemnification Agreement”). The Indemnification Agreement (i) extends the indemnification provisions contained in a fund’s governing documents to board members who leave that fund’s board and serve on an advisory board of a different fund in the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex; (ii) sets in place the terms of the indemnification provisions of a fund’s governing documents once a board member retires from a board; and (iii) in the case of board members who left the board of a fund in connection with or prior to the board consolidation that occurred in 2007 as a result of the merger of BlackRock and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.’s investment management business, clarifies that such fund continues to indemnify the trustee for claims arising out of his or her past service to that fund.

Portfolio Management

Portfolio Manager Assets Under Management

The following table sets forth information about funds and accounts other than the Trust for which the portfolio managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management as of December 31, 2024:

|  | Number of Other Accounts Managed and Assets by Account Type |  | Number of Other Accounts and Assets for Which Advisory Fee is Performance-Based
Name of Portfolio Manager |  | Other Registered Investment Companies |  | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |  | Other Accounts |  | Other Registered Investment Companies |  | Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |  | Other Accounts
Mitchell Garfin |  | 29 |  | 25 |  | 131 |  | 0 |  | 0 |  | 5
|  | $43.55 Billion |  | $9.90 Billion |  | $18.01 Billion |  | $0 |  | $0 |  | $652.1 Million
Scott MacLellan, CFA, CMT |  | 10 |  | 15 |  | 122 |  | 0 |  | 2 |  | 3
|  | $8.93 Billion |  | $3.02 Billion |  | $44.78 Billion |  | $0 |  | $118.3 Million |  | $1.02 Billion
David Delbos |  | 28 |  | 25 |  | 118 |  | 0 |  | 0 |  | 5
|  | $42.38 Billion |  | $9.75 Billion |  | $17.54 Billion |  | $0 |  | $0 |  | $652.1 Million
Akiva Dickstein |  | 17 |  | 21 |  | 196 |  | 0 |  | 0 |  | 3
|  | $20.68 Billion |  | $6.41 Billion |  | $85.24 Billion |  | $0 |  | $0 |  | $1.02 Billion

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Portfolio Manager Compensation Overview

The discussion below describes the portfolio managers’ compensation as of December 31, 2024.

The Advisor’s financial arrangements with its portfolio managers, its competitive compensation and its career path emphasis at all levels reflect the value senior management places on key resources. Compensation may include a variety of components and may vary from year to year based on a number of factors. The principal components of compensation include a base salary, a performance-based discretionary bonus, participation in various benefits programs and one or more of the incentive compensation programs established by the Advisor.

Base Compensation. Generally, portfolio managers receive base compensation based on their position with the firm.

Discretionary Incentive Compensation. Discretionary incentive compensation is a function of several components: the performance of BlackRock, Inc., the performance of the portfolio manager’s group within the Advisor, the investment performance, including risk-adjusted returns, of the firm’s assets under management or supervision by that portfolio manager relative to predetermined benchmarks, and the individual’s performance and contribution to the overall performance of these portfolios and the Advisor. In most cases, these benchmarks are the same as the benchmark or benchmarks against which the performance of the Trust or other accounts managed by the portfolio managers are measured. Among other things, the Advisor’s Chief Investment Officers make a subjective determination with respect to each portfolio manager’s compensation based on the performance of the Trust and other accounts managed by each portfolio manager relative to the various benchmarks. Performance of fixed income funds is measured on a pre-tax and/or after-tax basis over various time periods including 1-, 3- and 5- year periods, as applicable. With respect to these portfolio managers, such benchmarks for the Trust and other accounts are:

Portfolio Managers |  | Applicable Benchmarks
Mitchell Garfin, CFA David Delbos |  | A combination of market-based indices (e.g., The Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Cap Index), certain customized indices and certain fund industry peer groups.
Scott MacLellan, CFA, CMT |  | A combination of market-based indices (e.g., Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate & Government Index, 1-3 Years), certain customized indices and certain fund industry peer groups.
Akiva Dickstein |  | A combination of market-based indices (e.g. Bloomberg US Aggregate Index, Bloomberg US Universal Index and Bloomberg Intermediate Aggregate Index), certain customized indices and certain fund industry peer groups.

Distribution of Discretionary Incentive Compensation. Discretionary incentive compensation is distributed to portfolio managers in a combination of cash, deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards, and/or deferred cash awards that notionally track the return of certain Advisor investment products.

Portfolio managers receive their annual discretionary incentive compensation in the form of cash. Portfolio managers whose total compensation is above a specified threshold also receive deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards annually as part of their discretionary incentive compensation. Paying a portion of discretionary incentive compensation in the form of deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock puts compensation earned by a portfolio manager for a given year “at risk” based on the Advisor’s ability to sustain and improve its performance over future periods. In some cases, additional deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock may be granted to certain key employees as part of a long-term incentive award to aid in retention, align interests with long-term shareholders and motivate performance. Deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards are generally granted in the form of BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units that vest pursuant to the terms of the applicable plan and, once vested, settle in BlackRock, Inc. common stock. The portfolio managers of this Trust have deferred BlackRock, Inc. stock awards.

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For certain portfolio managers, a portion of the discretionary incentive compensation is also distributed in the form of deferred cash awards that notionally track the returns of select Advisor investment products they manage, which provides direct alignment of portfolio manager discretionary incentive compensation with investment product results. Deferred cash awards vest ratably over a number of years and, once vested, settle in the form of cash. Only portfolio managers who manage specified products and whose total compensation is above a specified threshold are eligible to participate in the deferred cash award program.

Other Compensation Benefits. In addition to base salary and discretionary incentive compensation, portfolio managers may be eligible to receive or participate in one or more of the following:

Incentive Savings Plans—BlackRock, Inc. has created a variety of incentive savings plans in which BlackRock, Inc. employees are eligible to participate, including a 401(k) plan, the BlackRock Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), and the BlackRock Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). The employer contribution components of the RSP include a company match equal to 50% of the first 8% of eligible pay contributed to the plan capped at $5,000 per year, and a company retirement contribution equal to 3-5% of eligible compensation up to the Internal Revenue Service limit ($345,000 for 2024). The RSP offers a range of investment options, including registered investment companies and collective investment funds managed by the firm. BlackRock, Inc. contributions follow the investment direction set by participants for their own contributions or, absent participant investment direction, are invested into a target date fund that corresponds to, or is closest to, the year in which the participant attains age 65. The ESPP allows for investment in BlackRock, Inc. common stock at a 5% discount on the fair market value of the stock on the purchase date. Annual participation in the ESPP is limited to the purchase of 1,000 shares of common stock or a dollar value of $25,000 based on its fair market value on the purchase date. All of the eligible portfolio managers are eligible to participate in these plans.

Securities Ownership of Portfolio Managers

As of December 31, 2024, the end of the Trust’s most recently completed fiscal year end, the dollar range of securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager in the Trust is shown below:

Portfolio Manager |  | Dollar Range of Equity Securities of the Trust Beneficially Owned |
Mitchell Garfin, CFA |  | $ |  |  | 10,001 - $50,000 |
David Delbos |  | $ |  |  | 50,001 - $100,000 |
Scott MacLellan, CFA, CMT |  | $ |  |  | 10,001 - $50,000 |
Akiva Dickstein |  | $ |  |  | 50,001 - $100,000 |

Potential Material Conflicts of Interest

The Advisors have built a professional working environment, firm-wide compliance culture and compliance procedures and systems designed to protect against potential incentives that may favor one account over another. The Advisors have adopted policies and procedures that address the allocation of investment opportunities, execution of portfolio transactions, personal trading by employees and other potential conflicts of interest that are designed to ensure that all client accounts are treated equitably over time. Nevertheless, the Advisors furnish investment management and advisory services to numerous clients in addition to the Trust, and the Advisors may, consistent with applicable law, make investment recommendations to other clients or accounts (including accounts which are hedge funds or have performance or higher fees paid to the Advisors, or in which portfolio managers have a personal interest in the receipt of such fees), which may be the same as or different from those made to the Trust. In addition, BlackRock, Inc., its affiliates and significant shareholders and any officer, director, shareholder or employee may or may not have an interest in the securities whose purchase and sale the Advisors recommend to the Trust. BlackRock, Inc. or any of its affiliates or significant shareholders, or any officer, director, shareholder, employee or any member of their families may take different actions than those recommended to the Trust by the Advisors with respect to the same securities. Moreover, the Advisors may

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refrain from rendering any advice or services concerning securities of companies of which any of BlackRock, Inc.’s (or its affiliates’ or significant shareholders’) officers, directors or employees are directors or officers, or companies as to which BlackRock, Inc. or any of its affiliates or significant shareholders or the officers, directors and employees of any of them has any substantial economic interest or possesses material non-public information. Certain portfolio managers also may manage accounts whose investment strategies may at times be opposed to the strategy utilized for a fund. It should also be noted that Messrs. Garfin, MacLellan, Delbos and Dickstein may be managing hedge fund and/or long only accounts, or may be part of a team managing hedge fund and/or long only accounts, subject to incentive fees. Messrs. Garfin, MacLellan, Delbos and Dickstein may therefore be entitled to receive a portion of any incentive fees earned on such accounts.

As fiduciaries, the Advisors owe a duty of loyalty to their clients and must treat each client fairly. When the Advisors purchase or sell securities for more than one account, the trades must be allocated in a manner consistent with its fiduciary duties. The Advisors attempt to allocate investments in a fair and equitable manner among client accounts, with no account receiving preferential treatment. To this end, BlackRock, Inc. has adopted policies that are intended to ensure reasonable efficiency in client transactions and provide the Advisors with sufficient flexibility to allocate investments in a manner that is consistent with the particular investment discipline and client base, as appropriate.

Proxy Voting Policies

The Board has delegated the voting of proxies for the Trust’s securities to the Advisor pursuant to the Closed-End Fund Proxy Voting Policy. The Advisor has adopted the BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship – Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines (the “BAIS Guidelines”) with respect to certain funds, including the Trust.

Copies of the Closed-End Fund Proxy Voting Policy and the BAIS Guidelines are attached as Appendix B to this SAI.

Information on how the Trust voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available (i) without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 882-0052, (ii) at www.blackrock.com and (iii) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Codes of Ethics

The Trust and the Advisors have adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act. These codes permit personnel subject to the codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Trust. These codes may be obtained by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090. These codes of ethics are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies of these codes may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Other Information

BlackRock, Inc. is independent in ownership and governance, with no single majority stockholder and a majority of independent directors.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE

Subject to policies established by the Board, the Advisors are primarily responsible for the execution of the Trust’s portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage. The Advisors do not execute transactions through any particular broker or dealer, but seeks to obtain the best net results for the Trust, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of

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execution, operational facilities of the firm and the firm’s risk and skill in positioning blocks of securities. While the Advisors generally seek reasonable trade execution costs, the Trust does not necessarily pay the lowest spread or commission available, and payment of the lowest commission or spread is not necessarily consistent with obtaining the best price and execution in particular transactions. Subject to applicable legal requirements, the Advisors may select a broker based partly upon brokerage or research services provided to the Advisors and their clients, including the Trust. In return for such services, the Advisors may cause the Trust to pay a higher commission than other brokers would charge if the Advisors determine in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.

In selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions, the Advisors seek to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Trust, taking into account a variety of factors including: (i) the size, nature and character of the security or instrument being traded and the markets in which it is purchased or sold; (ii) the desired timing of the transaction; (iii) the Advisor’s knowledge of the expected commission rates and spreads currently available; (iv) the activity existing and expected in the market for the particular security or instrument, including any anticipated execution difficulties; (v) the full range of brokerage services provided; (vi) the broker’s or dealer’s capital; (vii) the quality of research and research services provided; (viii) the reasonableness of the commission, dealer spread or its equivalent for the specific transaction; and (ix) the Advisor’s knowledge of any actual or apparent operational problems of a broker or dealer.

Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act (“Section 28(e)”) permits an investment adviser, under certain circumstances and, if applicable, subject to the restrictions of MiFID II as described further below, to cause an account to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction that exceeds the amount another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the same transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by that broker or dealer. This includes commissions paid on riskless principal transactions under certain conditions. Brokerage and research services include: (1) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, including pricing and appraisal advice, credit analysis, risk measurement analysis, performance and other analysis, as well as the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (2) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and (3) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental to securities transactions (such as clearance, settlement, and custody). The Advisors believe that access to independent investment research is beneficial to its investment decision-making processes and, therefore, to the Trust.

The Advisors, unless prohibited by applicable law, may participate in client commission arrangements under which the Advisors may execute transactions through a broker-dealer and request that the broker-dealer allocate a portion of the commissions or commission credits to another firm that provides research to the Advisors. The Advisors believe that research services obtained through soft dollar or commission sharing arrangements enhance its investment decision-making capabilities, thereby increasing the prospects for higher investment returns. The Advisors will engage only in soft dollar or commission sharing transactions that comply with the requirements of Section 28(e) and MiFID II. Under MiFID II, European Union (“EU”) investment managers, including BIL, pay for any research out of their own resources and not through soft dollars or commission sharing arrangements. The Advisors regularly evaluate the soft dollar products and services utilized, as well as the overall soft dollar and commission sharing arrangements to ensure that trades are executed by firms that are regarded as best able to execute trades for client accounts, while at the same time providing access to the research and other services the Advisors view as impactful to its trading results.

The Advisors, unless prohibited by applicable law, may utilize soft dollars and related services, including research (whether prepared by the broker-dealer or prepared by a third-party and provided to the Advisors by the broker-dealer) and execution or brokerage services within applicable rules and the Advisors’ policies to the extent that such permitted services do not compromise the Advisors’ ability to seek to obtain best execution. In this regard, the portfolio management investment and/or trading teams may consider a variety of factors, including the degree to which the broker-dealer: (a) provides access to company management; (b) provides

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access to their analysts; (c) provides meaningful/insightful research notes on companies or other potential investments; (d) facilitates calls on which meaningful or insightful ideas about companies or potential investments are discussed; (e) facilitates conferences at which meaningful or insightful ideas about companies or potential investments are discussed; or (f) provides research tools such as market data, financial analysis, and other third party related research and brokerage tools that aid in the investment process.

Research-oriented services for which the Advisors, unless prohibited by applicable law, might pay with Trust commissions may be in written form or through direct contact with individuals and may include information as to particular companies or industries and securities or groups of securities, as well as market, economic, or institutional advice and statistical information, political developments and technical market information that assists in the valuation of investments. Except as noted immediately below, research services furnished by brokers may be used in servicing some or all client accounts and not all services may be used in connection with the Trust or account that paid commissions to the broker providing such services. In some cases, research information received from brokers by investment company management personnel, or personnel principally responsible for the Advisor’s individually managed portfolios, is not necessarily shared by and between such personnel. Any investment advisory or other fees paid by the Trust to the Advisors are not reduced as a result of the Advisors’ receipt of research services. In some cases, the Advisors may receive a service from a broker that has both a “research” and a “non-research” use. When this occurs the Advisors make a good faith allocation, under all the circumstances, between the research and non-research uses of the service. The percentage of the service that is used for research purposes may be paid for with client commissions, while each Advisor will use its own funds to pay for the percentage of the service that is used for non-research purposes. In making this good faith allocation, the Advisors face a potential conflict of interest, but the Advisors believes that its allocation procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that it appropriately allocates the anticipated use of such services to their research and non-research uses.

Effective January 3, 2018 under MiFID II, investment managers in the EU, including BIL, are no longer able to use soft dollars to pay for research from brokers. Investment managers in the EU are required to either pay for research out of their own profit and loss or agree with clients to have research costs paid by clients through research payment accounts that are funded out of execution commissions or by a specific client research charge, provided that the payments for research are unbundled from the payments for execution. MiFID II restricts the use of soft dollars by sub-advisers to the Trust located in the EU, such as BIL, if applicable. BIL will pay for any research out of its own resources and not through soft dollars or commission sharing arrangements.

Payments of commissions to brokers who are affiliated persons of the Trust will be made in accordance with Rule 17e-1 under the Investment Company Act.

From time to time, the Trust may purchase new issues of securities in a fixed price offering. In these situations, the broker may be a member of the selling group that will, in addition to selling securities, provide the Advisor with research services. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. has adopted rules expressly permitting these types of arrangements under certain circumstances. Generally, the broker will provide research “credits” in these situations at a rate that is higher than that available for typical secondary market transactions. These arrangements may not fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e).

The Advisors do not consider sales of shares of the investment companies they advise as a factor in the selection of brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions for the Trust; however, whether or not a particular broker or dealer sells shares of the investment companies advised by the Advisors neither qualifies nor disqualifies such broker or dealer to execute transactions for those investment companies.

The Trust anticipates that its brokerage transactions involving foreign securities generally will be conducted primarily on the principal stock exchanges of the applicable country. Foreign equity securities may be held by the Trust in the form of depositary receipts, or other securities convertible into foreign equity securities. Depositary receipts may be listed on stock exchanges, or traded in OTC markets in the United States or Europe, as the case

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may be. American Depositary Receipts, like other securities traded in the United States, will be subject to negotiated commission rates.

The Trust may invest in certain securities traded in the OTC market and intends to deal directly with the dealers who make a market in the particular securities, except in those circumstances in which better prices and execution are available elsewhere. Under the Investment Company Act, persons affiliated with the Trust and persons who are affiliated with such affiliated persons are prohibited from dealing with the Trust as principal in the purchase and sale of securities unless a permissive order allowing such transactions is obtained from the SEC. Since transactions in the OTC market usually involve transactions with the dealers acting as principal for their own accounts, the Trust will not deal with affiliated persons in connection with such transactions. However, an affiliated person of the Trust may serve as its broker in OTC transactions conducted on an agency basis provided that, among other things, the fee or commission received by such affiliated broker is reasonable and fair compared to the fee or commission received by non-affiliated brokers in connection with comparable transactions.

OTC issues, including most fixed-income securities such as corporate debt and U.S. Government securities, are normally traded on a “net” basis without a stated commission, through dealers acting for their own account and not as brokers. The Trust will primarily engage in transactions with these dealers or deal directly with the issuer unless a better price or execution could be obtained by using a broker. Prices paid to a dealer with respect to both foreign and domestic securities will generally include a “spread,” which is the difference between the prices at which the dealer is willing to purchase and sell the specific security at the time, and includes the dealer’s normal profit.

Purchases of money market instruments by the Trust are made from dealers, underwriters and issuers. The Trust does not currently expect to incur any brokerage commission expense on such transactions because money market instruments are generally traded on a “net” basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission. The price of the security, however, usually includes a profit to the dealer.

Securities purchased in underwritten offerings include a fixed amount of compensation to the underwriter, generally referred to as the underwriter’s concession or discount. When securities are purchased or sold directly from or to an issuer, no commissions or discounts are paid.

The Advisors may seek to obtain an undertaking from issuers of commercial paper or dealers selling commercial paper to consider the repurchase of such securities from the Trust prior to maturity at their original cost plus interest (sometimes adjusted to reflect the actual maturity of the securities), if it believes that the Trust’s anticipated need for liquidity makes such action desirable. Any such repurchase prior to maturity reduces the possibility that the Trust would incur a capital loss in liquidating commercial paper, especially if interest rates have risen since acquisition of such commercial paper.

Investment decisions for the Trust and for other investment accounts managed by the Advisors are made independently of each other in light of differing conditions. The Advisors allocate investments among client accounts in a fair and equitable manner. A variety of factors will be considered in making such allocations. These factors include: (i) investment objectives or strategies for particular accounts, including sector, industry, country or region and capitalization weightings, (ii) tax considerations of an account, (iii) risk or investment concentration parameters for an account, (iv) supply or demand for a security at a given price level, (v) size of available investment, (vi) cash availability and liquidity requirements for accounts, (vii) regulatory restrictions, (viii) minimum investment size of an account, (ix) relative size of account, and (x) such other factors as may be approved by the Advisors’ general counsel. Moreover, investments may not be allocated to one client account over another based on any of the following considerations: (i) to favor one client account at the expense of another, (ii) to generate higher fees paid by one client account over another or to produce greater performance compensation to the Advisors, (iii) to develop or enhance a relationship with a client or prospective client, (iv) to compensate a client for past services or benefits rendered to the Advisors or to induce future services or benefits to be rendered to the Advisors, or (v) to manage or equalize investment performance among different client accounts.

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Equity securities will generally be allocated among client accounts within the same investment mandate on a pro rata basis. This pro-rata allocation may result in the Trust receiving less of a particular security than if pro-ration had not occurred. All allocations of equity securities will be subject, where relevant, to share minimums established for accounts and compliance constraints.

Initial public offerings of securities may be over-subscribed and subsequently trade at a premium in the secondary market. When the Advisors are given an opportunity to invest in such an initial offering or “new” or “hot” issue, the supply of securities available for client accounts is often less than the amount of securities the accounts would otherwise take. In order to allocate these investments fairly and equitably among client accounts over time, each portfolio manager or a member of his or her respective investment team will indicate to the Advisors’ trading desk their level of interest in a particular offering with respect to eligible clients’ accounts for which that team is responsible. Initial public offerings of U.S. equity securities will be identified as eligible for particular client accounts that are managed by portfolio teams who have indicated interest in the offering based on market capitalization of the issuer of the security and the investment mandate of the client account and in the case of international equity securities, the country where the offering is taking place and the investment mandate of the client account. Generally, shares received during the initial public offering will be allocated among participating client accounts within each investment mandate on a pro rata basis. In situations where supply is too limited to be allocated among all accounts for which the investment is eligible, portfolio managers may rotate such investment opportunities among one or more accounts so long as the rotation system provides for fair access for all client accounts over time. Other allocation methodologies that are considered by the Advisors to be fair and equitable to clients may be used as well.

Because different accounts may have differing investment objectives and policies, the Advisors may buy and sell the same securities at the same time for different clients based on the particular investment objective, guidelines and strategies of those accounts. For example, the Advisors may decide that it may be entirely appropriate for a growth fund to sell a security at the same time a value fund is buying that security. To the extent that transactions on behalf of more than one client of the Advisors or their affiliates during the same period may increase the demand for securities being purchased or the supply of securities being sold, there may be an adverse effect on price. For example, sales of a security by the Advisors on behalf of one or more of its clients may decrease the market price of such security, adversely impacting other of the Advisor’s clients that still hold the security. If purchases or sales of securities arise for consideration at or about the same time that would involve the Trust or other clients or funds for which the Advisors or an affiliate act as investment manager, transactions in such securities will be made, insofar as feasible, for the respective funds and clients in a manner deemed equitable to all.

In certain instances, the Advisors may find it efficient for purposes of seeking to obtain best execution, to aggregate or “bunch” certain contemporaneous purchases or sale orders of its advisory accounts. In general, all contemporaneous trades for client accounts under management by the same portfolio manager or investment team will be bunched in a single order if the trader believes the bunched trade would provide each client with an opportunity to achieve a more favorable execution at a potentially lower execution cost. The costs associated with a bunched order will be shared pro rata among the clients in the bunched order. Generally, if an order for a particular portfolio manager or management team is filled at several different prices through multiple trades, all accounts participating in the order will receive the average price except in the case of certain international markets where average pricing is not permitted. While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the security as far as the Trust is concerned, in other cases it could be beneficial to the Trust. Transactions effected by the Advisors on behalf of more than one of its clients during the same period may increase the demand for securities being purchased or the supply of securities being sold, causing an adverse effect on price. The trader will give the bunched order to the broker dealer that the trader has identified as being able to provide the best execution of the order. Orders for purchase or sale of securities will be placed within a reasonable amount of time of the order receipt and bunched orders will be kept bunched only long enough to execute the order.

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The Trust will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such securities of which the Advisors or any affiliated person (as defined in the Investment Company Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board in accordance with Rule 10f-3 under the Investment Company Act. In no instance will portfolio securities be purchased from or sold to the Advisors or any affiliated person of the foregoing entities except as permitted by SEC exemptive order or by applicable law.

While the Trust generally does not expect to engage in trading for short-term gains, it will effect portfolio transactions without regard to any holding period if, in the Advisor’s judgment, such transactions are advisable in light of a change in circumstances of a particular company or within a particular industry or in general market, economic or financial conditions. The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the Trust’s annual sales or purchases of portfolio securities (exclusive of purchases or sales of U.S. Government Securities and all other securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less) by the monthly average value of the securities in the portfolio during the year. A high rate of portfolio turnover results in certain tax consequences, such as increased capital gain dividends and/or ordinary income dividends, and in correspondingly greater transaction costs in the form of dealer spreads and brokerage commissions, which are borne directly by the Trust.

Information about the brokerage commissions paid by the Trust, including commissions paid to affiliates, for the last three fiscal years, is set forth in the following table:

Fiscal Year Ended |  | Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid |  |  | Commissions Paid to Affiliates |
December 31, 2024 |  | $ | 42,227 |  |  | $ | 0 |
December 31, 2023 |  | $ | 51,395 |  |  | $ | 0 |
December 31, 2022 |  | $ | 39,258 |  |  | $ | 0 |

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, the brokerage commissions paid to affiliates by the Trust represented 0% of the aggregate brokerage commissions paid and involved 0% of the dollar amount of transactions involving payment of commissions during the year.

The following table shows the dollar amount of brokerage commissions paid to brokers for providing third-party research services and the approximate dollar amount of the transactions involved for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The provision of third-party research services was not necessarily a factor in the placement of all brokerage business with such brokers.

Amount of Commissions Paid to Brokers for Providing Research Services |  | Amount of Brokerage Transactions Involved
|  | $0 |  |  |  |  | $0 |

As of December 31, 2024, the Trust held securities of its “regular brokers or dealers” (as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the Investment Company Act) whose shares were purchased during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as follows:

Regular Broker or Dealer |  | Debt (D) / Equity (E) |  | Aggregate Holdings (000’s)
Barclays Plc |  |  |  | D |  |  |  | $ | 5,740 |
J P Morgan Chase & Co |  |  |  | D |  |  |  | $ | 4,895 |

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POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Certain activities of BlackRock, Inc., BlackRock Advisors, LLC, BlackRock Fund Advisors and the other subsidiaries of BlackRock, Inc. (collectively referred to in this section as “BlackRock”) and their respective directors, officers or employees, with respect to the Trust and/or other accounts managed by BlackRock, may give rise to actual or perceived conflicts of interest such as those described below.

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest asset management firms. BlackRock, its subsidiaries and their respective directors, officers and employees, including the business units or entities and personnel who may be involved in the investment activities and business operations of the Trust, are engaged worldwide in businesses, including managing equities, fixed income securities, cash and alternative investments, and other financial services, and have interests other than that of managing the Trust. These are considerations of which investors in the Trust should be aware, and which may cause conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Trust and its shareholders. These businesses and interests include potential multiple advisory, transactional, financial and other relationships with, or interests in companies and interests in securities or other instruments that may be purchased or sold by the Trust.

BlackRock may have proprietary interests in, and may manage or advise with respect to, accounts or funds (including separate accounts and other funds and collective investment vehicles) that have investment objectives identical or similar to those of the Trust and/or that engage in transactions in the same types of securities, currencies and instruments as the Trust. Such other funds or accounts may offer exposure to strategies that are identical or substantially similar to those of the Trust but with different fees and expenses, governance and structures, and/or services provided by BlackRock. BlackRock is also a major participant in the global currency, equities, swap and fixed income markets, in each case, for the accounts of clients and, in some cases, on a proprietary basis. As such, BlackRock is or may be actively engaged in transactions in the same securities, currencies, and instruments in which the Trust invests.

Such activities could affect the prices and availability of the securities, currencies, and instruments in which the Trust invests, which could have an adverse impact on the Trust’s performance. Such transactions, particularly in respect of most proprietary accounts or client accounts, will be executed independently of the Trust’s transactions and thus at prices or rates that may be more or less favorable than those obtained by the Trust.

In addition, the portfolio holdings of certain BlackRock-advised investment vehicles managed in an identical or substantially similar manner as certain funds are made publicly available on a more timely basis than the applicable Trust. In some cases, such portfolio holdings are made publicly available on a daily basis. While not expected, it is possible that a recipient of portfolio holdings information for such an investment vehicle could cause harm to the fund that is managed in an identical or substantially similar manner, including by trading ahead of or against such fund based on the information received.

When BlackRock seeks to purchase or sell the same assets for client accounts, including the Trust, the assets actually purchased or sold may be allocated among the accounts on a basis determined in its good faith discretion to be equitable. In some cases, this system may adversely affect the size or price of the assets purchased or sold for the Trust. In addition, transactions in investments by one or more other accounts managed by BlackRock may have the effect of diluting or otherwise disadvantaging the values, prices or investment strategies of the Trust, particularly, but not limited to, with respect to small capitalization, emerging market or less liquid strategies. This may occur with respect to BlackRock-advised accounts when investment decisions regarding the Trust are based on research or other information that is also used to support decisions for other accounts. When BlackRock implements a portfolio decision or strategy on behalf of another account ahead of, or contemporaneously with, similar decisions or strategies for the Trust, market impact, liquidity constraints, or other factors could result in the Trust receiving less favorable trading results and the costs of implementing such decisions or strategies could be increased or the Trust could otherwise be disadvantaged. BlackRock may, in certain cases, elect to implement internal policies and procedures designed to limit such consequences, which may cause the Trust to be unable to

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engage in certain activities, including purchasing or disposing of securities, when it might otherwise be desirable for it to do so. Conflicts may also arise because portfolio decisions regarding the Trust may benefit other accounts managed by BlackRock. For example, the sale of a long position or establishment of a short position by the Trust may impair the price of the same security sold short by (and therefore benefit) BlackRock or its other accounts or funds, and the purchase of a security or covering of a short position in a security by the Trust may increase the price of the same security held by (and therefore benefit) BlackRock or its other accounts or funds.

BlackRock, on behalf of other client accounts, on the one hand, and the Trust, on the other hand, may invest in or extend credit to different parts of the capital structure of a single issuer. BlackRock may pursue rights, provide advice or engage in other activities, or refrain from pursuing rights, providing advice or engaging in other activities, on behalf of other clients with respect to an issuer in which the Trust has invested, and such actions (or refraining from action) may have a material adverse effect on the Trust. In situations in which clients of BlackRock (including the Trust) hold positions in multiple parts of the capital structure of an issuer, BlackRock may not pursue certain actions or remedies that may be available to the Trust, as a result of legal and regulatory requirements or otherwise. BlackRock addresses these and other potential conflicts of interest based on the facts and circumstances of particular situations. For example, BlackRock may determine to rely on information barriers between different business units or portfolio management teams. BlackRock may also determine to rely on the actions of similarly situated holders of loans or securities rather than, or in connection with, taking such actions itself on behalf of the Trust.

In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the Trust may invest its assets in other funds advised by BlackRock, including funds that are managed by one or more of the same portfolio managers, which could result in conflicts of interest relating to asset allocation, timing of Trust purchases and redemptions, and increased remuneration and profitability for BlackRock and/or its personnel, including portfolio managers.

Third parties, including service providers to BlackRock or the Trust, may sponsor events (including, but not limited to, marketing and promotional activities and presentations, educational training programs and conferences) for registered representatives, other professionals and individual investors. There is a potential conflict of interest as such sponsorships may defray the costs of such activities to BlackRock, and may provide an incentive to BlackRock to retain such third parties to provide services to the Trust.

In certain circumstances, BlackRock, on behalf of the Trust, may seek to buy from or sell securities to another fund or account advised by BlackRock. BlackRock may (but is not required to) effect purchases and sales between BlackRock clients (“cross trades”), including the Trust, if BlackRock believes such transactions are appropriate based on each party’s investment objectives and guidelines, subject to applicable law and regulation. There may be potential conflicts of interest or regulatory issues relating to these transactions which could limit BlackRock’s decision to engage in these transactions for the Trust. BlackRock may have a potentially conflicting division of loyalties and responsibilities to the parties in such transactions.

BlackRock and its clients may pursue or enforce rights with respect to an issuer in which the Trust has invested, and those activities may have an adverse effect on the Trust. As a result, prices, availability, liquidity and terms of the Trust’s investments may be negatively impacted by the activities of BlackRock or its clients, and transactions for the Trust may be impaired or effected at prices or terms that may be less favorable than would otherwise have been the case.

The results of the Trust’s investment activities may differ significantly from the results achieved by BlackRock for its proprietary accounts or other accounts (including investment companies or collective investment vehicles) that it manages or advises. It is possible that one or more accounts managed or advised by BlackRock and such other accounts will achieve investment results that are substantially more or less favorable than the results achieved by the Trust. Moreover, it is possible that the Trust will sustain losses during periods in which one or more proprietary or other accounts managed or advised by BlackRock achieve significant profits. The opposite result is also possible.

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From time to time, the Trust may be restricted from purchasing or selling securities, or from engaging in other investment activities because of regulatory, legal or contractual requirements applicable to BlackRock or other accounts managed or advised by BlackRock, and/or the internal policies of BlackRock designed to comply with such requirements. As a result, there may be periods, for example, when BlackRock will not initiate or recommend certain types of transactions in certain securities or instruments with respect to which BlackRock is performing services or when position limits have been reached. For example, the investment activities of BlackRock for its proprietary accounts and accounts under its management may limit the investment opportunities for the Trust in certain emerging and other markets in which limitations are imposed upon the amount of investment, in the aggregate or in individual issuers, by affiliated foreign investors.

In connection with its management of the Trust, BlackRock may have access to certain fundamental analysis and proprietary technical models developed by BlackRock. BlackRock will not be under any obligation, however, to effect transactions on behalf of the Trust in accordance with such analysis and models. In addition, BlackRock will not have any obligation to make available any information regarding its proprietary activities or strategies, or the activities or strategies used for other accounts managed by them, for the benefit of the management of the Trust and it is not anticipated that BlackRock will have access to such information for the purpose of managing the Trust. The proprietary activities or portfolio strategies of BlackRock, or the activities or strategies used for accounts managed by BlackRock or other client accounts could conflict with the transactions and strategies employed by BlackRock in managing the Trust.

The Trust may be included in investment models developed by BlackRock for use by clients and financial advisors. To the extent clients invest in these investment models and increase the assets under management of the Trust, the investment management fee amounts paid by the Trust to BlackRock may also increase. The net asset value and liquidity of the Trust may be impacted by purchases and sales of the Trust by model-driven investment portfolios, as well as by BlackRock itself and by its advisory clients.

In addition, certain principals and certain employees of the Trust’s investment adviser are also principals or employees of other business units or entities within BlackRock. As a result, these principals and employees may have obligations to such other business units or entities or their clients and such obligations to other business units or entities or their clients may be a consideration of which investors in the Trust should be aware.

BlackRock may enter into transactions and invest in securities, instruments and currencies on behalf of the Trust in which clients of BlackRock, or, to the extent permitted by the Commission and applicable law, BlackRock, serves as the counterparty, principal or issuer. In such cases, such party’s interests in the transaction will be adverse to the interests of the Trust, and such party may have no incentive to assure that the Trust obtains the best possible prices or terms in connection with the transactions. In addition, the purchase, holding and sale of such investments by the Trust may enhance the profitability of BlackRock.

BlackRock may also create, write or issue derivatives for clients, the underlying securities, currencies or instruments of which may be those in which the Trust invests or which may be based on the performance of the Trust. Additionally, an affiliate of BlackRock will create, write or issue options, which may be based on the performance of certain BlackRock-advised funds. BlackRock has entered into an arrangement with Markit Indices Limited, the index provider for underlying fixed-income indexes used by certain iShares ETFs, related to derivative fixed-income products that are based on such iShares ETFs. Trading activity in these derivative products could also potentially lead to greater liquidity for such products, increased purchase activity with respect to these iShares ETFs and increased assets under management for BlackRock.

The Trust may, subject to applicable law, purchase investments that are the subject of an underwriting or other distribution by BlackRock and may also enter into transactions with other clients of BlackRock where such other clients have interests adverse to those of the Trust. At times, these activities may cause business units or entities within BlackRock to give advice to clients that may cause these clients to take actions adverse to the interests of the Trust. To the extent such transactions are permitted, the Trust will deal with BlackRock on an arms-length basis.

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To the extent authorized by applicable law, BlackRock may act as broker, dealer, agent, lender or adviser or in other commercial capacities for the Trust. It is anticipated that the commissions, mark-ups, mark-downs, financial advisory fees, underwriting and placement fees, sales fees, financing and commitment fees, brokerage fees, other fees, compensation or profits, rates, terms and conditions charged by BlackRock will be in its view commercially reasonable, although BlackRock, including its sales personnel, will have an interest in obtaining fees and other amounts that are favorable to BlackRock and such sales personnel, which may have an adverse effect on the Trust. Index based funds may use an index provider that is affiliated with another service provider of the Trust or BlackRock that acts as a broker, dealer, agent, lender or in other commercial capacities for the Trust or BlackRock.

Subject to applicable law, BlackRock (and its personnel and other distributors) will be entitled to retain fees and other amounts that they receive in connection with their service to the Trust as broker, dealer, agent, lender, adviser or in other commercial capacities. No accounting to the Trust or its shareholders will be required, and no fees or other compensation payable by the Trust or its shareholders will be reduced by reason of receipt by BlackRock of any such fees or other amounts.

When BlackRock acts as broker, dealer, agent, adviser or in other commercial capacities in relation to the Trust, BlackRock may take commercial steps in its own interests, which may have an adverse effect on the Trust.

The Trust will be required to establish business relationships with its counterparties based on the Trust’s own credit standing. BlackRock will not have any obligation to allow its credit to be used in connection with the Trust’s establishment of its business relationships, nor is it expected that the Trust’s counterparties will rely on the credit of BlackRock in evaluating the Trust’s creditworthiness.

BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (previously defined as “BIM”) or BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (“BTC”), as applicable, each, an affiliate of BlackRock, pursuant to SEC exemptive relief, acts as securities lending agent to, and receives a share of securities lending revenues from, the Trust. BlackRock will also receive compensation for managing the reinvestment of the cash collateral from securities lending. There are potential conflicts of interests in managing a securities lending program, including but not limited to: (i) BlackRock as securities lending agent may have an incentive to, among other things, increase or decrease the amount of securities on loan or to lend particular securities in order to generate additional risk-adjusted revenue for BlackRock and its affiliates; and (ii) BlackRock as securities lending agent may have an incentive to allocate loans to clients that would provide more revenue to BlackRock. As described further below, BlackRock seeks to mitigate this conflict by providing its securities lending clients with equal lending opportunities over time in order to approximate pro rata allocation.

As part of its securities lending program, BlackRock indemnifies the Trust and certain other clients and/or funds against a shortfall in collateral in the event of borrower default. On a regular basis, BlackRock calculates the potential dollar exposure of collateral shortfall resulting from a borrower default (“shortfall risk”) in the securities lending program. BlackRock establishes program wide borrower limits (“credit limits”) to actively manage borrower-specific credit exposure. BlackRock oversees the risk model that calculates projected collateral shortfall values using loan-level factors such as loan and collateral type and market value as well as specific borrower credit characteristics. When necessary, BlackRock may adjust securities lending program attributes by restricting eligible collateral or reducing borrower credit limits. As a result, the management of program-wide exposure as well as BlackRock-specific indemnification exposure may affect the amount of securities lending activity BlackRock may conduct at any given point in time by reducing the volume of lending opportunities for certain loans (including by asset type, collateral type and/or revenue profile).

BlackRock may decline to make a securities loan on behalf of the Trust, discontinue lending on behalf of the Trust or terminate a securities loan on behalf of the Trust for any reason, including but not limited to regulatory requirements and/or market rules, liquidity considerations, or credit considerations, which may impact the Trust by reducing or eliminating the volume of lending opportunities for certain types of loans, loans in particular

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markets, loans of particular securities or types of securities, or for loans overall. In addition, some borrowers may prefer certain BlackRock lenders that provide additional protections against lender default that are favored by their prudential regulation.

BlackRock uses a predetermined systematic process in order to approximate pro rata allocation over time. In order to allocate a loan to a portfolio: (i) BlackRock as a whole must have sufficient lending capacity pursuant to the various program limits (i.e. indemnification exposure limit and borrower credit limits); (ii) the lending portfolio must hold the asset at the time a loan opportunity arrives; and (iii) the lending portfolio must also have enough inventory, either on its own or when aggregated with other portfolios into one single market delivery, to satisfy the loan request. In doing so, BlackRock seeks to provide equal lending opportunities for all portfolios, independent of whether BlackRock indemnifies the portfolio. Equal opportunities for lending portfolios does not guarantee equal outcomes. Specifically, short and long-term outcomes for individual clients may vary due to asset mix, asset/liability spreads on different securities, and the overall limits imposed by the firm.

Purchases and sales of securities and other assets for the Trust may be bunched or aggregated with orders for other BlackRock client accounts, including with accounts that pay different transaction costs solely due to the fact that they have different research payment arrangements. BlackRock, however, is not required to bunch or aggregate orders if portfolio management decisions for different accounts are made separately, or if they determine that bunching or aggregating is not practicable or required, or in cases involving client direction.

Prevailing trading activity frequently may make impossible the receipt of the same price or execution on the entire volume of securities purchased or sold. When this occurs, the various prices may be averaged, and the Trust will be charged or credited with the average price. Thus, the effect of the aggregation may operate on some occasions to the disadvantage of the Trust. In addition, under certain circumstances, the Trust will not be charged the same commission or commission equivalent rates in connection with a bunched or aggregated order.

As discussed in the section below entitled “Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage,” BlackRock, unless prohibited by applicable law, may cause the Trust or account to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction that exceeds the amount another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the same transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by that broker or dealer. Under MiFID II, EU investment managers, including BlackRock International Limited, pay for research from brokers and dealers directly out of their own resources, rather than through client commissions.

Subject to applicable law, BlackRock may select brokers that furnish BlackRock, the Trust, other BlackRock client accounts or personnel, directly or through correspondent relationships, with research or other appropriate services which provide, in BlackRock’s view, appropriate assistance to BlackRock in the investment decision-making process (including with respect to futures, fixed-price offerings and OTC transactions). Such research or other services may include, to the extent permitted by law, research reports on companies, industries and securities; economic and financial data; financial publications; proxy analysis; trade industry seminars; computer data bases; research-oriented software and other services and products.

Research or other services obtained in this manner may be used in servicing any or all of the Trust and other BlackRock client accounts, including in connection with BlackRock client accounts other than those that pay commissions to the broker relating to the research or other service arrangements. Such products and services may disproportionately benefit other BlackRock client accounts relative to the Trust based on the amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Trust and such other BlackRock client accounts. For example, research or other services that are paid for through one client’s commissions may not be used in managing that client’s account. In addition, other BlackRock client accounts may receive the benefit, including disproportionate benefits, of economies of scale or price discounts in connection with products and services that may be provided to the Trust and to such other BlackRock client accounts. To the extent that BlackRock uses soft dollars, it will not have to pay for those products and services itself.

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BlackRock, unless prohibited by applicable law, may endeavor to execute trades through brokers who, pursuant to such arrangements, provide research or other services in order to ensure the continued receipt of research or other services BlackRock believes are useful in its investment decision-making process. BlackRock may from time to time choose not to engage in the above described arrangements to varying degrees. BlackRock, unless prohibited by applicable law, may also enter into commission sharing arrangements under which BlackRock may execute transactions through a broker-dealer and request that the broker-dealer allocate a portion of the commissions or commission credits to another firm that provides research to BlackRock. To the extent that BlackRock engages in commission sharing arrangements, many of the same conflicts related to traditional soft dollars may exist.

BlackRock may utilize certain electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) (including, without limitation, ECNs in which BlackRock has an investment or other interest, to the extent permitted by applicable law) in executing client securities transactions for certain types of securities. These ECNs may charge fees for their services, including access fees and transaction fees. The transaction fees, which are similar to commissions or markups/markdowns, will generally be charged to clients and, like commissions and markups/markdowns, would generally be included in the cost of the securities purchased. Access fees may be paid by BlackRock even though incurred in connection with executing transactions on behalf of clients, including the Trust. In certain circumstances, ECNs may offer volume discounts that will reduce the access fees typically paid by BlackRock. BlackRock will only utilize ECNs consistent with its obligation to seek to obtain best execution in client transactions.

BlackRock owns a minority interest in, and is a member of, Members Exchange (“MEMX”), a newly created U.S. stock exchange. Transactions for the Trust may be executed on MEMX if third party brokers select MEMX as the appropriate venue for execution of orders placed by BlackRock traders on behalf of client portfolios.

BlackRock has adopted policies and procedures designed to prevent conflicts of interest from influencing proxy voting decisions that it makes on behalf of advisory clients, including the Trust, and to help ensure that such decisions are made in accordance with BlackRock’s fiduciary obligations to its clients. Nevertheless, notwithstanding such proxy voting policies and procedures, actual proxy voting decisions of BlackRock may have the effect of favoring the interests of other clients or businesses of other divisions or units of BlackRock, provided that BlackRock believes such voting decisions to be in accordance with its fiduciary obligations. For a more detailed discussion of these policies and procedures, see “Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures” .

It is also possible that, from time to time, BlackRock and/or its advisory clients (including other funds and separately managed accounts) may, subject to compliance with applicable law, purchase and hold shares of the Trust. Increasing the Trust’s assets may enhance investment flexibility and diversification and may contribute to economies of scale that tend to reduce the Trust’s expense ratio. BlackRock reserves the right, subject to compliance with applicable law, to redeem at any time some or all of the shares of the Trust acquired for its own accounts. A large redemption of shares of the Trust by BlackRock could significantly reduce the asset size of the Trust, which might have an adverse effect on the Trust’s investment flexibility, portfolio diversification and expense ratio. BlackRock seeks to consider the effect of redemptions on the Trust and other shareholders in deciding whether to redeem its shares but is not obligated to do so and may elect not to do so.

It is possible that the Trust may invest in securities of, or engage in transactions with, companies in which BlackRock has significant debt or equity investments or other interests. The Trust may also invest in issuances (such as structured notes) by entities for which BlackRock provides and is compensated for cash management services relating to the proceeds from the sale of such issuances. In making investment decisions for the Trust, BlackRock is not permitted to obtain or use material non-public information acquired by any unit of BlackRock, in the course of these activities. In addition, from time to time, the activities of BlackRock may limit the Trust’s flexibility in purchases and sales of securities. As indicated below, BlackRock may engage in transactions with companies in which BlackRock-advised funds or other clients of BlackRock have an investment.

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BlackRock and its personnel and other financial service providers may have interests in promoting sales of the Trust. With respect to BlackRock and its personnel, the remuneration and profitability relating to services to and sales of the Trust or other products may be greater than remuneration and profitability relating to services to and sales of certain funds or other products that might be provided or offered. BlackRock and its sales personnel may directly or indirectly receive a portion of the fees and commissions charged to the Trust or its shareholders. BlackRock and its advisory or other personnel may also benefit from increased amounts of assets under management. Fees and commissions may also be higher than for other products or services, and the remuneration and profitability to BlackRock and such personnel resulting from transactions on behalf of or management of the Trust may be greater than the remuneration and profitability resulting from other funds or products.

BlackRock may provide valuation assistance to certain clients with respect to certain securities or other investments and the valuation recommendations made for such clients’ accounts may differ from the valuations for the same securities or investments assigned by the Trust’s pricing vendors, especially if such valuations are based on broker-dealer quotes or other data sources unavailable to the Trust’s pricing vendors. While BlackRock will generally communicate its valuation information or determinations to the Trust’s pricing vendors and/or fund accountants, there may be instances where the Trust’s pricing vendors or fund accountants assign a different valuation to a security or other investment than the valuation for such security or investment determined or recommended by BlackRock.

As disclosed in more detail in “Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus, when market quotations are not readily available or are believed by BlackRock to be unreliable, the Trust’s investments are valued at fair value by BlackRock. BlackRock has been designated as the Trust’s valuation designee pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the Investment Company Act and acts through BlackRock’s Rule 2a-5 Committee (the “2a-5 Committee”), with assistance from other BlackRock pricing committees and in accordance with BlackRock’s policies and procedures (the “Valuation Procedures”). When determining a “fair value price,” the 2a-5 Committee seeks to determine the price that the Trust might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction. The price generally may not be determined based on what the Trust might reasonably expect to receive for selling an asset or liability at a later time or if it holds the asset or liability to maturity. While fair value determinations will be based upon all available factors that BlackRock deems relevant at the time of the determination, and may be based on analytical values determined by BlackRock using proprietary or third party valuation models, fair value represents only a good faith approximation of the value of an asset or liability. The fair value of one or more assets or liabilities may not, in retrospect, be the price at which those assets or liabilities could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used in determining the Trust’s NAV. As a result, the Trust’s sale or redemption of its shares at NAV, at a time when a holding or holdings are valued by the 2a-5 Committee at fair value, may have the effect of diluting or increasing the economic interest of existing shareholders and may affect the amount of revenue received by BlackRock with respect to services for which it receives an asset-based fee.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Trust may invest all or some of its short term cash investments in any money market fund or similarly-managed private fund advised or managed by BlackRock. In connection with any such investments, the Trust, to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act, may pay its share of expenses of a money market fund or other similarly-managed private fund in which it invests, which may result in the Trust bearing some additional expenses.

BlackRock and its directors, officers and employees, may buy and sell securities or other investments for their own accounts and may have conflicts of interest with respect to investments made on behalf of the Trust. As a result of differing trading and investment strategies or constraints, positions may be taken by directors, officers and employees of BlackRock that are the same, different from or made at different times than positions taken for the Trust. To lessen the possibility that the Trust will be adversely affected by this personal trading, the Trust, BRIL and BlackRock each have adopted a Code of Ethics in compliance with Section 17(j) of the Investment Company Act that restricts securities trading in the personal accounts of investment professionals and others who normally come into possession of information regarding the Trust’s portfolio transactions. Each Code of Ethics is

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also available on the EDGAR Database on the Commission’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by e-mail at publicinfo@sec.gov.

BlackRock will not purchase securities or other property from, or sell securities or other property to, the Trust, except that the Trust may in accordance with rules or guidance adopted under the Investment Company Act engage in transactions with another Fund or accounts that are affiliated with the Trust as a result of common officers, directors, or investment advisers or pursuant to exemptive orders granted to the Trust and/or BlackRock by the Commission. These transactions would be effected in circumstances in which BlackRock determined that it would be appropriate for the Trust to purchase and another client of BlackRock to sell, or the Trust to sell and another client of BlackRock to purchase, the same security or instrument on the same day. From time to time, the activities of the Trust may be restricted because of regulatory requirements applicable to BlackRock and/or BlackRock’s internal policies designed to comply with, limit the applicability of, or otherwise relate to such requirements. A client not advised by BlackRock would not be subject to some of those considerations. There may be periods when BlackRock may not initiate or recommend certain types of transactions, or may otherwise restrict or limit its advice in certain securities or instruments issued by or related to companies for which BlackRock is performing advisory or other services or has proprietary positions. For example, when BlackRock is engaged to provide advisory or risk management services for a company, BlackRock may be prohibited from or limited in purchasing or selling securities of that company on behalf of the Trust, particularly where such services result in BlackRock obtaining material non-public information about the company (e.g., in connection with participation in a creditors’ committee). Similar situations could arise if personnel of BlackRock serve as directors of companies the securities of which the Trust wishes to purchase or sell. However, if permitted by applicable law, and where consistent with BlackRock’s policies and procedures (including the necessary implementation of appropriate information barriers), the Trust may purchase securities or instruments that are issued by such companies, are the subject of an advisory or risk management assignment by BlackRock, or where personnel of BlackRock are directors or officers of the issuer.

BlackRock has adopted and implemented policies and procedures that are designed to address potential conflicts that arise in connection with the advisory services BlackRock provides to the Trust and other clients. Certain BlackRock advisory personnel may take views, and make decisions or recommendations, that are different than or opposite those of other BlackRock advisory personnel. Certain portfolio management teams within BlackRock may make decisions or take (or refrain from taking) actions with respect to clients they advise in a manner different than or adverse to the decisions made or the actions taken (or not taken) by the Trust’s portfolio management teams. The various portfolio management teams may not share information with each other, including as a result of certain information barriers and other policies, and will not have any obligation or other duty to do so.

BlackRock has established certain information barriers and other policies to address the sharing of information between different businesses within BlackRock, including with respect to personnel responsible with managing portfolios and voting proxies with respect to certain index equity portfolios versus those responsible for managing portfolios and voting proxies with respect to all other portfolios. As a result of information barriers, certain units of BlackRock generally will not have access, or will have limited access, to certain information and personnel, including senior personnel, in other units of BlackRock, and generally will not manage the Trust with the benefit of information possessed by such other units. Therefore, BlackRock may not be able to review potential investments for the Trust with the benefit of information held by certain areas of BlackRock.

BlackRock may determine to move certain personnel, businesses, or business units from one side of an information barrier to the other side of the information barrier. In connection therewith, BlackRock personnel, businesses, and business units that were moved will no longer have access to the information and personnel from the side of the information barrier from which they were moved. Information obtained in connection with such changes to information barriers may limit or restrict the ability of BlackRock to engage in or otherwise effect transactions on behalf of the Trust (including purchasing or selling securities that BlackRock may otherwise have purchased or sold for a client in the absence of a change to an information barrier). Information barriers may not

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have their intended impact due to, for example, changes in applicable law or inadvertent crossings of the barriers, and actions by personnel on one side of a barrier may impact the potential actions of personnel on the other side of a barrier.

Although the information barriers are intended to allow for independent portfolio management decision-making and proxy voting among certain BlackRock businesses, the investment activities of BlackRock for BlackRock clients, as well as BlackRock’s proprietary accounts, may nonetheless limit the investment strategies and rights of other clients (including the Trust). As BlackRock’s assets under management increases, BlackRock clients may face greater negative impacts due to ownership restrictions and limitations imposed by laws, regulations, rules, regulators, or issuers. For example, in certain circumstances where a BlackRock client invests in securities issued by companies that operate in certain industries (e.g., banking, insurance, and utilities) or in certain emerging or international markets, or are subject to regulatory or corporate ownership restrictions (e.g., with mechanisms such as poison pills in place to prevent takeovers), or where a BlackRock client invests in certain futures and derivatives, there may be limits on the aggregate amount invested by BlackRock for its clients and BlackRock’s proprietary accounts that may not be exceeded without the grant of a license or other regulatory or corporate approval, order, consent, relief, waiver or non-disapproval or, if exceeded, may cause BlackRock or its clients to be subject to enforcement actions, disgorgement of share ownership or profits, regulatory restrictions, complex compliance reporting, increased compliance costs or suffer disadvantages or business restrictions. In light of certain restrictions, BlackRock may also seek to make indirect investments (e.g., using derivatives) on behalf of its clients to receive exposure to certain securities in excess of the applicable ownership restrictions and limitations when legally permitted that will expose such clients to additional costs and additional risks, including any risks associated with investing in derivatives. There may be limited availability of derivatives that provide indirect exposure to an impacted security. BlackRock clients can be subject to more than one ownership limitation depending on each client’s holdings, and each ownership limitation can impact multiple securities held by the client. Certain clients or shareholders may have their own overlapping obligations to monitor their compliance with ownership limitations across their investments.

If certain aggregate ownership thresholds are reached either through the actions of BlackRock or a BlackRock client or as a result of corporate actions by the issuer, the ability of BlackRock on behalf of clients to purchase or dispose of investments, or exercise rights (including voting) or undertake business transactions, may be restricted by law, regulation, rule, or organizational documents or otherwise impaired. For example, to meet the requirements of an ownership limitation or restriction, a client may be unable to purchase or directly hold a security the client would otherwise purchase or hold. The limitation or restriction may be based on the holdings of other BlackRock clients instead of the specific client being restricted. For index funds, this means a fund may not be able to track its index as closely as it would if it was not subject to an ownership limitation or restriction because the fund cannot acquire the amount of the impacted security included in its index. BlackRock on behalf of its clients may limit purchases, sell existing investments, utilize information barriers, or otherwise restrict, forgo or limit the exercise of rights (including transferring, outsourcing or limiting voting rights or forgoing the right to receive dividends) when BlackRock, in its sole discretion, deems it appropriate in light of potential regulatory or other restrictions on ownership or other consequences resulting from reaching investment thresholds. These types of restrictions could negatively impact a client’s performance or ability to meet its investment objective.

When BlackRock or a BlackRock client is subject to an ownership limitation, BlackRock may in its discretion seek permission from the applicable issuers or regulators to exceed the limitation. However, there is no guarantee that permission will be granted, or that, once granted, it will not be modified or revoked at a later date with minimal or no notice. The issuer and/or regulator may also require that BlackRock on behalf of itself and its clients take or refrain from taking certain actions in connection with the approval, order, consent, relief or non-disapproval, which BlackRock may accept if it believes the benefits outweigh the costs and may limit BlackRock from taking actions that it otherwise would take. In those circumstances where ownership thresholds or limitations must be observed, BlackRock seeks to allocate limited investment opportunities equitably among clients, taking into consideration benchmark weight and investment strategy. BlackRock may adopt certain

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controls designed to prevent the occurrence of a breach of any applicable ownership thresholds or limits, including, for example, when ownership in certain securities nears an applicable threshold, BlackRock may limit additional purchases in such securities or, with respect to ETFs, remove such securities from the list of Deposit Securities to be delivered to the Trust in connection with purchases of Creation Units of such Fund. If client holdings of an issuer exceed an applicable threshold and BlackRock is unable to obtain relief to enable the continued holding of such investments, it may be necessary to reduce these positions to meet the applicable limitations and BlackRock or such client may be subject to regulatory actions. In these cases, the investments will be sold in a manner that BlackRock deems fair and equitable over time.

Ownership limitations are highly complex. It is possible that, despite BlackRock’s intent to either comply with or be granted permission to exceed ownership limitations, it may inadvertently breach a limit or violate the corporate or regulatory approval, order, consent, relief or non-disapproval that was obtained.

In addition to the foregoing, other ownership thresholds may trigger reporting requirements to governmental and regulatory authorities, and such reports may entail the disclosure of the identity of a client or BlackRock’s intended strategy with respect to such security or asset.

BlackRock may maintain securities indices. To the extent permitted by applicable laws, the Trust may seek to license and use such indices as part of their investment strategy. Index based funds that seek to track the performance of securities indices also may use the name of the index or index provider in the fund name. Index providers, including BlackRock (to the extent permitted by applicable law), may be paid licensing fees for use of their index or index name. In instances where BlackRock charges a unitary management fee, BlackRock may have a financial incentive to use a BlackRock index that is less costly to BlackRock than a third party index. BlackRock may benefit from the Trust using BlackRock indices by creating increasing acceptance in the marketplace for such indices. BlackRock is not obligated to license its indices to the Trust and the Trust is under no obligation to use BlackRock indices. Any fund that enters into a license for a BlackRock index cannot be assured that the terms of any index licensing agreement with BlackRock will be as favorable as those terms offered to other licensees.

BlackRock may enter into contractual arrangements with third-party service providers to the Trust (e.g., custodians, administrators and index providers) pursuant to which BlackRock receives fee discounts or concessions in recognition of BlackRock’s overall relationship with such service providers. BlackRock may also enter into contractual arrangements with such service providers pursuant to which BlackRock incurs additional costs if the service provider’s services are terminated with respect to the Trust. To the extent that BlackRock is responsible for paying service providers out of its fees that it receives from the Trust, the benefits of lower fees, including any fee discounts or concessions, or any additional savings, may accrue, in whole or in part, to BlackRock, which could result in conflicts of interest relating to the use or termination of service providers to the Trust. In addition, conflicts of interest may arise with respect to contractual arrangements with third-party service providers to the Trust, or the selection of such providers, particularly in circumstances where BlackRock is negotiating on behalf of both funds that have a unitary management fee and those that do not or different service providers have different fee structures.

Conflicts of interest may arise as a result of simultaneous investment management of multiple client accounts by the BlackRock’s investment professionals. For example, differences in the advisory fee structure may create the appearance of actual or potential conflicts of interest because such differences could create pecuniary incentives for BlackRock to favor one client account over another.

BlackRock owns or has an ownership interest in certain trading, portfolio management, operations and/or information systems used by Trust service providers. These systems are, or will be, used by a Trust service provider in connection with the provision of services to accounts managed by BlackRock and funds managed and sponsored by BlackRock, including the Trust, that engage the service provider (typically the custodian). The

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Trust’s service provider remunerates BlackRock for the use of the systems. A Trust service provider’s payments to BlackRock for the use of these systems may enhance the profitability of BlackRock.

BlackRock’s receipt of fees from a service provider in connection with the use of systems provided by BlackRock may create an incentive for BlackRock to recommend that the Trust enter into or renew an arrangement with the service provider.

In recognition of a BlackRock client’s overall relationship with BlackRock, BlackRock may offer special pricing arrangements for certain services provided by BlackRock. Any such special pricing arrangements will not affect Trust fees and expenses applicable to such client’s investment in the Trust.

Present and future activities of BlackRock and its directors, officers and employees, in addition to those described in this section, may give rise to additional conflicts of interest.

DESCRIPTION OF SHARES

Common Shares

The Trust intends to hold annual meetings of shareholders so long as the common shares are listed on a national securities exchange and such meetings are required as a condition to such listing.

Preferred Shares

The Trust currently does not intend to issue preferred shares. Although the terms of any preferred shares that the Trust might issue in the future, including dividend rate, liquidation preference and redemption provisions, will be determined by the Board, subject to applicable law and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust, it is likely that any such preferred shares issued would be structured to carry a relatively short-term dividend rate reflecting interest rates on short-term debt securities, by providing for the periodic redetermination of the dividend rate at relatively short intervals through a fixed spread or remarketing procedure, subject to a maximum rate which would increase over time in the event of an extended period of unsuccessful remarketing. The Trust also believes that it is likely that the liquidation preference, voting rights and redemption provisions of any such preferred shares would be similar to those stated below.

Liquidation Preference. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Trust, the holders of shares of any outstanding preferred shares will be entitled to receive a preferential liquidating distribution (expected to equal the original purchase price per share plus an amount equal to accumulated but unpaid dividends, whether or not earned or declared) before any distribution of assets is made to holders of beneficial interests. After payment of the full amount of the liquidating distribution to which they are entitled, it is expected that preferred shareholders will not be entitled to any further participation in any distribution of assets by the Trust. A consolidation or merger of the Trust with or into any other corporation or corporations or a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Trust will not be deemed to be a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Trust.

Voting Rights. Except as otherwise indicated in the Prospectus and except as otherwise required by applicable law, holders of shares of any outstanding preferred shares will have equal voting rights with holders of shares of beneficial interests (one vote per share) and will vote together with holders of beneficial interests as a single class. In connection with the election of the Trust’s Trustees, holders of shares of any outstanding preferred shares, voting as a separate class, will be entitled to elect two of the Trust’s Trustees, and the remaining Trustees will be elected by all holders of capital stock, voting as a single class. So long as any preferred share is outstanding, it is expected that the Trust will have not less than five Trustees. If at any time dividends on shares of any outstanding preferred share shall be unpaid in an amount equal to two full years’ dividends thereon, the holders of all outstanding shares of preferred shares, voting as a separate class, will be entitled to elect a majority

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of the Trust’s Trustees until all dividends in default have been paid or declared and set apart for payment. It is expected that the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of any outstanding preferred shares, voting as a separate class, will be required to (i) authorize, create or issue any class or series of stock ranking prior to any series of preferred shares with respect to payment of dividends or the distribution of assets on liquidation or (ii) amend, alter or repeal the provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, so as to adversely affect any of the contract rights expressly set forth in the Agreement and Declaration of Trust of holders of preferred shares.

Redemption Provisions. It is anticipated that any outstanding shares of preferred shares will generally be redeemable at the option of the Trust at a price equal to their liquidation preference plus accumulated but unpaid dividends to the date of redemption plus, under certain circumstances, a redemption premium. Shares of preferred shares will also be subject to mandatory redemption at a price equal to their liquidation preference plus accumulated but unpaid dividends to the date of redemption upon the occurrence of certain specified events, such as the failure of the Trust to maintain asset coverage requirements for the preferred shares specified by the Investment Company Act and rating services that issue ratings on the preferred shares.

Liquidity Feature. Preferred shares may include a liquidity feature that allows holders of preferred shares to have their shares purchased by a liquidity provider in the event that sell orders have not been matched with purchase orders and successfully settled in a remarketing. The Trust would pay a fee to the provider of this liquidity feature, which would be borne by common shareholders of the Trust. The terms of such liquidity feature may require the Trust to redeem preferred shares still owned by the liquidity provider following a certain period of continuous, unsuccessful remarketing, which may adversely impact the Trust.

The discussion above describes the possible offering of preferred shares by the Trust. If the Board determines to proceed with such an offering, the terms of the preferred shares may be the same as, or different from, the terms described above, subject to applicable law and the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust. The Board, without the approval of the holders of common shares, may authorize an offering of preferred shares or may determine not to authorize such an offering, and may fix the terms of the preferred shares to be offered.

Other Shares

The Board (subject to applicable law and the Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust) may authorize an offering, without the approval of the holders of common shares and, depending on their terms, any preferred shares outstanding at that time, of other classes of shares, or other classes or series of shares, as they determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, having such terms, rights, preferences, privileges, limitations and restrictions as the Board sees fit. The Trust currently does not expect to issue any other classes of shares, or series of shares, except for the common shares.

REPURCHASE OF COMMON SHARES

The Trust is a closed-end management investment company and as such its shareholders will not have the right to cause the Trust to redeem their shares. Instead, the Trust’s common shares will trade in the open market at a price that will be a function of several factors, including dividend levels (which are in turn affected by expenses), NAV, call protection for portfolio securities, dividend stability, liquidity, relative demand for and supply of the common shares in the market, general market and economic conditions, market sentiment and other factors. Because shares of a closed-end investment company may frequently trade at prices lower than NAV, the Board may consider action that might be taken to reduce or eliminate any material discount from NAV in respect of common shares, which may include the repurchase of such shares in the open market or in private transactions, the making of a tender offer for such shares, or the conversion of the Trust to an open-end investment company. The Board may decide not to take any of these actions. In addition, there can be no assurance that share repurchases or tender offers, if undertaken, will reduce market discount.

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Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time when the Trust has preferred shares outstanding, the Trust may not purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any of its common shares unless (1) all accrued preferred share dividends have been paid and (2) at the time of such purchase, redemption or acquisition, the NAV of the Trust’s portfolio (determined after deducting the acquisition price of the common shares) is at least 200% of the liquidation value of any outstanding preferred shares (expected to equal the original purchase price per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends thereon). Any service fees incurred in connection with any tender offer made by the Trust will be borne by the Trust and will not reduce the stated consideration to be paid to tendering shareholders.

Subject to its investment restrictions, the Trust may borrow to finance the repurchase of shares or to make a tender offer. Interest on any borrowings to finance share repurchase transactions or the accumulation of cash by the Trust in anticipation of share repurchases or tender offers will reduce the Trust’s net income. Any share repurchase, tender offer or borrowing that might be approved by the Board would have to comply with the Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Although the decision to take action in response to a discount from NAV will be made by the Board at the time it considers such issue, it is the Board’s present policy, which may be changed by the Board, not to authorize repurchases of common shares or a tender offer for such shares if: (i) such transactions, if consummated, would (a) result in the delisting of the common shares from the NYSE, or (b) impair the Trust’s status as a RIC under the Code, (which would make the Trust a taxable entity, causing the Trust’s income to be taxed at the corporate level in addition to the taxation of shareholders who receive dividends from the Trust) or as a registered closed-end investment company under the Investment Company Act; (ii) the Trust would not be able to liquidate portfolio securities in an orderly manner and consistent with the Trust’s investment objective and policies in order to repurchase shares; or (iii) there is, in the Board’s judgment, any (a) material legal action or proceeding instituted or threatened challenging such transactions or otherwise materially adversely affecting the Trust, (b) general suspension of or limitation on prices for trading securities on the NYSE, (c) declaration of a banking moratorium by federal or state authorities or any suspension of payment by United States or New York banks, (d) material limitation affecting the Trust or the issuers of its portfolio securities by federal or state authorities on the extension of credit by lending institutions or on the exchange of foreign currency, (e) commencement of war, armed hostilities or other international or national calamity directly or indirectly involving the United States, or (f) other event or condition which would have a material adverse effect (including any adverse tax effect) on the Trust or its shareholders if shares were repurchased. The Board may in the future modify these conditions in light of experience.

The repurchase by the Trust of its shares at prices below NAV will result in an increase in the NAV of those shares that remain outstanding. However, there can be no assurance that share repurchases or tender offers at or below NAV will result in the Trust’s common shares trading at a price equal to their NAV. Nevertheless, the fact that the Trust’s common shares may be the subject of repurchases or tender offers from time to time, or that the Trust may be converted to an open-end investment company, may reduce any spread between market price and NAV that might otherwise exist.

In addition, a purchase by the Trust of its common shares will decrease the Trust’s net assets which would likely have the effect of increasing the Trust’s expense ratio. Any purchase by the Trust of its common shares at a time when preferred shares are outstanding will increase the leverage applicable to the outstanding common shares then remaining.

Before deciding whether to take any action if the common shares trade below NAV, the Board would likely consider all relevant factors, including the extent and duration of the discount, the liquidity of the Trust’s portfolio, the impact of any action that might be taken on the Trust or its shareholders and market considerations. Based on these considerations, even if the Trust’s common shares should trade at a discount, the Board may determine that, in the interest of the Trust and its shareholders, no action should be taken.

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TAX MATTERS

The following is a description of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences to a shareholder of acquiring, holding and disposing of common shares of the Trust. Except as otherwise noted, this discussion assumes you are a taxable U.S. holder (as defined below). This discussion is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the regulations promulgated thereunder and judicial and administrative authorities, all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service, possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. federal income tax concerns affecting the Trust and its shareholders, and the discussions set forth herein do not constitute tax advice. This discussion assumes that investors hold common shares of the Trust as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes (generally, assets held for investment). The Trust has not sought and will not seek any ruling from the Internal Revenue Service regarding any matters discussed herein. No assurance can be given that the Internal Revenue Service would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to those set forth below. This summary does not discuss any aspects of non-U.S., state or local tax. Prospective investors must consult their own tax advisers as to the U.S. federal income tax consequences (including the alternative minimum tax consequences) of acquiring, holding and disposing of the Trust’s common shares, as well as the effects of state, local and non-U.S. tax laws.

In addition, no attempt is made to address tax considerations applicable to an investor with a special tax status, such as a financial institution, REIT, insurance company, regulated investment company, individual retirement account, other tax-exempt organization, dealer in securities or currencies, person holding shares of the Trust as part of a hedging, integrated, conversion or straddle transaction, trader in securities that has elected the mark-to-market method of accounting for its securities, U.S. holder (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, investor with “applicable financial statements” within the meaning of Section 451(b) of the Code, or non-U.S. investor. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax.

A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

| ● |  | a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents);

| ● |  | a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

| ● |  | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

| ● |  | a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust has made a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person for U.S. federal income tax purposes, whose status as a U.S. person is not overridden by an applicable tax treaty.

Taxation of the Trust

The Trust intends to elect to be treated and to qualify to be taxed as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Trust must, among other things, satisfy certain requirements relating to the sources of its income, diversification of its assets, and distribution of its income to its shareholders. First, the Trust must derive at least 90% of its annual gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded

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partnerships” (as defined in the Code) (the “90% gross income test”). Second, the Trust must diversify its holdings so that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the value of its total assets consists of cash, cash items, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Trust’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the market value of the Trust’s total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government securities and securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers controlled by the Trust and engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or any one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships.”

As long as the Trust qualifies as a RIC, the Trust will generally not be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on income and gains that it distributes each taxable year to its shareholders, provided that in such taxable year it distributes at least 90% of the sum of (i) its net tax-exempt interest income, if any, and (ii) its “investment company taxable income” (which includes, among other items, dividends, taxable interest, taxable original issue discount and market discount income, income from securities lending, net short-term capital gain in excess of net long-term capital loss, and any other taxable income other than “net capital gain” (as defined below) and is reduced by deductible expenses) determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid. The Trust may retain for investment its net capital gain (which consists of the excess of its net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss). However, if the Trust retains any net capital gain or any investment company taxable income, it will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained.

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the Trust to the extent the Trust does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gain or loss) for the calendar year and (ii) 98.2% of its capital gain in excess of its capital loss (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for a one-year period generally ending on October 31 of the calendar year (unless an election is made to use the Trust’s fiscal year). In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any under-distribution or over-distribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. For purposes of the excise tax, the Trust will be deemed to have distributed any income on which it paid U.S. federal income tax. While the Trust intends to distribute any income and capital gain in the manner necessary to minimize imposition of the 4% nondeductible excise tax, there can be no assurance that sufficient amounts of the Trust’s taxable income and capital gain will be distributed to entirely avoid the imposition of the excise tax. In that event, the Trust will be liable for the excise tax only on the amount by which it does not meet the foregoing distribution requirement.

If in any taxable year the Trust should fail to qualify under Subchapter M of the Code for tax treatment as a RIC, the Trust would incur a regular corporate U.S. federal income tax upon all of its taxable income for that year, and all distributions to its shareholders (including distributions of net capital gain) would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of the Trust’s earnings and profits. Provided that certain holding period and other requirements were met, such dividends would be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. In addition, to qualify again to be taxed as a RIC in a subsequent year, the Trust would be required to distribute to shareholders its earnings and profits attributable to non-RIC years. In addition, if the Trust failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, then, in order to qualify as a RIC in a subsequent year, the Trust would be required to elect to recognize and pay tax on any net built-in gain (the excess of aggregate gain, including items of income, over aggregate loss that would have been realized if the Trust had been liquidated) or, alternatively, be subject to taxation on such built-in gain recognized for a period of five years.

The remainder of this discussion assumes that the Trust qualifies for taxation as a RIC.

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The Trust’s Investments

Certain of the Trust’s investment practices are subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions (including mark-to-market, constructive sale, straddle, wash sale, short sale and other rules) that may, among other things, (i) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (ii) convert lower taxed long-term capital gains or qualified dividend income into higher taxed short-term capital gains or ordinary income, (iii) convert ordinary loss or a deduction into capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (iv) cause the Trust to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash, (v) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (vi) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions and (vii) produce income that will not be “qualified” income for purposes of the 90% annual gross income requirement described above. These U.S. federal income tax provisions could therefore affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to common shareholders. The Trust intends to monitor its transactions and may make certain tax elections and may be required to dispose of securities to mitigate the effect of these provisions and prevent disqualification of the Trust as a RIC. Additionally, the Trust may be required to limit its activities in derivative instruments in order to enable it to maintain its RIC status.

The Trust may invest a portion of its net assets in below investment grade securities, commonly known as “junk” securities. Investments in these types of securities may present special tax issues for the Trust. U.S. federal income tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when the Trust may cease to accrue interest, original issue discount or market discount, when and to what extent deductions may be taken for bad debts or worthless securities, how payments received on obligations in default should be allocated between principal and income and whether modifications or exchanges of debt obligations in a bankruptcy or workout context are taxable. These and other issues could affect the Trust’s ability to distribute sufficient income to preserve its status as a RIC or to avoid the imposition of U.S. federal income or excise tax.

Certain debt securities acquired by the Trust may be treated as debt securities that were originally issued at a discount. Generally, the amount of the original issue discount is treated as interest income and is included in taxable income (and required to be distributed by the Trust in order to qualify as a RIC and avoid U.S. federal income tax or the 4% excise tax on undistributed income) over the term of the security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, usually when the debt security matures.

If the Trust purchases a debt security on a secondary market at a price lower than its adjusted issue price, the excess of the adjusted issue price over the purchase price is “market discount.” Unless the Trust makes an election to accrue market discount on a current basis, generally, any gain realized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt security having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the “accrued market discount” on the debt security. Market discount generally accrues in equal daily installments. If the Trust ultimately collects less on the debt instrument than its purchase price plus the market discount previously included in income, the Trust may not be able to benefit from any offsetting loss deductions.

The Trust may invest in preferred securities or other securities the U.S. federal income tax treatment of which may not be clear or may be subject to recharacterization by the Internal Revenue Service. To the extent the tax treatment of such securities or the income from such securities differs from the tax treatment expected by the Trust, it could affect the timing or character of income recognized by the Trust, potentially requiring the Trust to purchase or sell securities, or otherwise change its portfolio, in order to comply with the tax rules applicable to RICs under the Code.

Gain or loss on the sale of securities by the Trust will generally be long-term capital gain or loss if the securities have been held by the Trust for more than one year. Gain or loss on the sale of securities held for one year or less will be short-term capital gain or loss.

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Because the Trust may invest in foreign securities, its income from such securities may be subject to non-U.S. taxes.

Foreign currency gain or loss on foreign currency exchange contracts, non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities contracts, and non-U.S. dollar-denominated futures contracts, options and forward contracts that are not section 1256 contracts (as defined below) generally will be treated as ordinary income and loss.

Income from options on individual securities written by the Trust will generally not be recognized by the Trust for tax purposes until an option is exercised, lapses or is subject to a “closing transaction” (as defined by applicable regulations) pursuant to which the Trust’s obligations with respect to the option are otherwise terminated. If the option lapses without exercise, the premiums received by the Trust from the writing of such options will generally be characterized as short-term capital gain. If the Trust enters into a closing transaction, the difference between the premiums received and the amount paid by the Trust to close out its position will generally be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. If an option written by the Trust is exercised, thereby requiring the Trust to sell the underlying security, the premium will increase the amount realized upon the sale of the security, and the character of any gain on such sale of the underlying security as short-term or long-term capital gain will depend on the holding period of the Trust in the underlying security. Because the Trust will not have control over the exercise of the options it writes, such exercises or other required sales of the underlying securities may cause the Trust to realize gains or losses at inopportune times.

Options on indices of securities and sectors of securities that qualify as “section 1256 contracts” will generally be “marked-to-market” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Trust will generally recognize gain or loss on the last day of each taxable year equal to the difference between the value of the option on that date and the adjusted basis of the option. The adjusted basis of the option will consequently be increased by such gain or decreased by such loss. Any gain or loss with respect to options on indices and sectors that qualify as “section 1256 contracts” will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss to the extent of 40% of such gain or loss and long-term capital gain or loss to the extent of 60% of such gain or loss. Because the mark-to-market rules may cause the Trust to recognize gain in advance of the receipt of cash, the Trust may be required to dispose of investments in order to meet its distribution requirements. “Mark-to-market” losses may be suspended or otherwise limited if such losses are part of a straddle or similar transaction.

Taxation of Common Shareholders

Trust distributions of its tax-exempt interest on municipal securities, if properly reported by the Trust to its shareholders (“exempt-interest dividends”), will generally be exempt from regular federal income tax. In order for the Trust to pay exempt-interest dividends, at least 50% of the value of the Trust’s total assets must consist of tax-exempt obligations on a quarterly basis. Although the Trust intends to meet this requirement, no assurance can be given in this regard. If the Trust failed to do so, it would not be able to pay tax-exempt dividends, and your distributions attributable to interest received by the Trust from any source (including distributions of tax-exempt interest income) would be taxable as ordinary income to the extent of the Trust’s earnings and profits.

The Trust will either distribute or retain for reinvestment all or part of its net capital gain. If any such gain is retained, the Trust will be subject to a corporate income tax on such retained amount. In that event, the Trust expects to report the retained amount as undistributed capital gain in a notice to its common shareholders, each of whom, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes as long-term capital gain its share of such undistributed amounts, (ii) will be entitled to credit its proportionate share of the tax paid by the Trust against its U.S. federal income tax liability and to claim refunds to the extent that the credit exceeds such liability and (iii) will increase its basis in its common shares by the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income less the tax deemed paid by the shareholder under clause (ii).

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Distributions paid to you by the Trust from its net capital gain, if any, that the Trust properly reports as capital gain dividends (“capital gain dividends”) are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held your common shares. All other dividends paid to you by the Trust (including dividends from net short-term capital gains) from its current or accumulated earnings and profits, other than exempt-interest dividends (“ordinary income dividends”), are generally subject to tax as ordinary income. Provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met, ordinary income dividends (if properly reported by the Trust) may qualify (i) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders to the extent that the Trust’s income consists of dividend income from U.S. corporations, and (ii) in the case of individual shareholders, as “qualified dividend income” eligible to be taxed at long-term capital gains rates to the extent that the Trust receives qualified dividend income. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain qualified foreign corporations (e.g., generally, foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a qualifying comprehensive tax treaty with the United States, or whose stock with respect to which such dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). There can be no assurance as to what portion, if any, of the Trust’s distributions will constitute qualified dividend income or be eligible for the dividends received deduction.

Any distributions you receive that are in excess of the Trust’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of your adjusted tax basis in your common shares, and thereafter as capital gain from the sale of common shares. The amount of any Trust distribution that is treated as a return of capital will reduce your adjusted tax basis in your common shares, thereby increasing your potential gain or reducing your potential loss on any subsequent sale or other disposition of your common shares.

Common shareholders may be entitled to offset their capital gain dividends with capital losses. The Code contains a number of statutory provisions affecting when capital losses may be offset against capital gain, and limiting the use of losses from certain investments and activities. Accordingly, common shareholders that have capital losses are urged to consult their tax advisers.

Dividends and other taxable distributions are taxable to you even though they are reinvested in additional common shares of the Trust. Dividends and other distributions paid by the Trust are generally treated under the Code as received by you at the time the dividend or distribution is made. If, however, the Trust pays you a dividend in January that was declared in the previous October, November or December to common shareholders of record on a specified date in one of such months, then such dividend will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as being paid by the Trust and received by you on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared. In addition, certain other distributions made after the close of the Trust’s taxable year may be “spilled back” and treated as paid by the Trust (except for purposes of the 4% nondeductible excise tax) during such taxable year. In such case, you will be treated as having received such dividends in the taxable year in which the distributions were actually made.

Interest on certain “private activity bonds” is an item of tax preference subject to the alternative minimum tax on individuals. The Trust may invest a portion of its assets in municipal bonds subject to this provision so that a portion of its exempt-interest dividends is an item of tax preference to the extent such dividends represent interest received from these private activity bonds. Accordingly, investment in the Trust could cause a holder of common shares to be subject to, or result in an increased liability under, the alternative minimum tax.

Exempt-interest dividends are included in determining what portion, if any, of a person’s Social Security and railroad retirement benefits will be includable in gross income subject to federal income tax.

The price of common shares purchased at any time may reflect the amount of a forthcoming distribution. Those purchasing common shares just prior to the record date for a distribution will receive a distribution which will be taxable to them even though it represents, economically, a return of invested capital.

The Trust will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount and tax status of any distributions paid to you by the Trust.

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The sale or other disposition of common shares will generally result in capital gain or loss to you and will be long-term capital gain or loss if you have held such common shares for more than one year at the time of sale. Any loss upon the sale or other disposition of common shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) by you with respect to such common shares. Any loss you recognize on a sale or other disposition of common shares will be disallowed if you acquire other common shares (whether through the automatic reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after your sale or exchange of the common shares. In such case, your tax basis in the common shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.

If the Trust conducts a tender offer for its shares, a repurchase by the Trust of a shareholder’s shares pursuant to such tender offer generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the shares by a shareholder provided that either (i) the shareholder tenders, and the Trust repurchases, all of such shareholder’s shares, thereby reducing the shareholder’s percentage ownership of the Trust, whether directly or by attribution under Section 318 of the Code, to 0%, (ii) the shareholder meets numerical safe harbors under the Code with respect to percentage voting interest and reduction in ownership of the Trust following completion of the tender offer, or (iii) the tender offer otherwise results in a “meaningful reduction” of the shareholder’s ownership percentage interest in the Trust, which determination depends on a particular shareholder’s facts and circumstances.

If a tendering shareholder’s proportionate ownership of the Trust (determined after applying the ownership attribution rules under Section 318 of the Code) is not reduced to the extent required under the tests described above, such shareholder will be deemed to receive a distribution from the Trust under Section 301 of the Code with respect to the shares held (or deemed held under Section 318 of the Code) by the shareholder after the tender offer (a “Section 301 distribution”). The amount of this distribution will equal the price paid by the Trust to such shareholder for the shares sold, and will be taxable as a dividend, i.e., as ordinary income, to the extent of the Trust’s current or accumulated earnings and profits allocable to such distribution, with the excess treated as a return of capital reducing the shareholder’s tax basis in the shares held after the tender offer, and thereafter as capital gain. Any Trust shares held by a shareholder after a tender offer will be subject to basis adjustments in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

Provided that no tendering shareholder is treated as receiving a Section 301 distribution as a result of selling shares pursuant to a particular tender offer, shareholders who do not sell shares pursuant to that tender offer will not realize constructive distributions on their shares as a result of other shareholders selling shares in the tender offer. In the event that any tendering shareholder is deemed to receive a Section 301 distribution, it is possible that shareholders whose proportionate ownership of the Trust increases as a result of that tender offer, including shareholders who do not tender any shares, will be deemed to receive a constructive distribution under Section 305(c) of the Code in an amount equal to the increase in their percentage ownership of the Trust as a result of the tender offer. Such constructive distribution will be treated as a dividend to the extent of current or accumulated earnings and profits allocable to it.

Use of the Trust’s cash to repurchase shares may adversely affect the Trust’s ability to satisfy the distribution requirements for treatment as a regulated investment company described above. The Trust may also recognize income in connection with the sale of portfolio securities to fund share purchases, in which case the Trust would take any such income into account in determining whether such distribution requirements have been satisfied.

If the Trust liquidates, shareholders generally will realize capital gain or loss upon such liquidation in an amount equal to the difference between the amount of cash or other property received by the shareholder (including any property deemed received by reason of its being placed in a liquidating trust) and the shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares. Any such gain or loss will be long-term if the shareholder is treated as having a holding period in Trust shares of greater than one year, and otherwise will be short-term.

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The foregoing discussion does not address the tax treatment of shareholders who do not hold their shares as a capital asset. Such shareholders should consult their own tax advisors on the specific tax consequences to them of participating or not participating in the tender offer or upon liquidation of the Trust.

Current U.S. federal income tax law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gain of corporations at the rates applicable to ordinary income. For non-corporate taxpayers, short-term capital gain is currently taxed at rates applicable to ordinary income while long-term capital gain generally is taxed at a reduced maximum rate. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations under the Code.

Certain U.S. holders who are individuals, estates or trusts and whose income exceeds certain thresholds will be required to pay a 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes dividends received from the Trust and capital gains from the sale or other disposition of the Trust’s common shares.

A common shareholder that is a nonresident alien individual or a foreign corporation (a “foreign investor”) generally will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or possibly a lower rate provided by an applicable tax treaty) on ordinary income dividends (except as discussed below). In general, U.S. federal withholding tax and U.S. federal income tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a foreign investor in respect of any distribution of exempt-interest dividends or net capital gain (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) or upon the sale or other disposition of common shares of the Trust. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign investor is engaged in a trade or business in the United States or, in the case of an individual, is present in the United States for 183 days or more during a taxable year and certain other conditions are met. Foreign investors should consult their tax advisers regarding the tax consequences of investing in the Trust’s common shares.

Ordinary income dividends properly reported by the RIC are generally exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the RIC’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, its U.S.-source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the RIC is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) are paid in respect of the RIC’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the RIC’s net short-term capital gain over its long-term capital loss for such taxable year). Depending on its circumstances, the Trust may report all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a foreign investor needs to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, or substitute Form). In the case of common shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may have withheld tax even if the Trust reported the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Foreign investors should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts. There can be no assurance as to what portion of the Trust’s distributions would qualify for favorable treatment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gains if the provision is extended.

In addition withholding at a rate of 30% will apply to dividends paid in respect of common shares of the Trust held by or through certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the Treasury to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to shares in, and accounts maintained by, the institution to the extent such shares or accounts are held by certain U.S. persons and by certain non-U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons and to withhold on certain payments. Accordingly, the entity through which common shares of the Trust are held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Similarly, dividends paid in respect of common shares of the Trust held by an investor that is a non-financial foreign entity that does not qualify under certain exemptions will be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (i) certifies that such entity does not have any “substantial United States owners” or (ii) provides certain information regarding the entity’s “substantial

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United States owners,” which the applicable withholding agent will in turn provide to the Secretary of the Treasury. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country, or future Treasury regulations or other guidance, may modify these requirements. The Trust will not pay any additional amounts to common shareholders in respect of any amounts withheld. Foreign investors are encouraged to consult with their tax advisers regarding the possible implications of these rules on their investment in the Trust’s common shares.

U.S. federal backup withholding tax may be required on dividends, distributions and sale proceeds payable to certain non-exempt common shareholders who fail to supply their correct taxpayer identification number (in the case of individuals, generally, their social security number) or to make required certifications, or who are otherwise subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be refunded or credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, provided that you timely furnish the required information to the Internal Revenue Service.

Ordinary income dividends, capital gain dividends, and gain from the sale or other disposition of common shares of the Trust also may be subject to state, local, and/or foreign taxes. Common shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding specific questions about U.S. federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences to them of investing in the Trust.

Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a common shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to common shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder in a single taxable year (or $4 million or more in any combination of taxable years in which the transaction is entered into and the five succeeding taxable years) or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder in any single taxable year (or $20 million or more in any combination of taxable years in which the transaction is entered into and the five succeeding taxable years), the shareholder must file with the Internal Revenue Service a disclosure statement on Internal Revenue Service Form 8886. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Common shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

***

The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of certain provisions of the Code and the Treasury Regulations presently in effect as they directly govern the taxation of the Trust and its shareholders. For complete provisions, reference should be made to the pertinent Code sections and Treasury Regulations. The Code and the Treasury Regulations are subject to change by legislative or administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive with respect to Trust transactions. Holders of common shares are advised to consult their own tax advisers for more detailed information concerning the U.S. federal income taxation of the Trust and the income tax consequences to its holders of common shares.

CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT

The custodian of the assets of the Trust is State Street Bank and Trust Company, whose principal business address is One Congress Street, Suite 1, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2016. The custodian is responsible for, among other things, receipt of and disbursement of funds from the Trust’s accounts, establishment of segregated accounts as necessary, and transfer, exchange and delivery of Trust portfolio securities.

Computershare Trust Company, N.A., whose principal business address is 150 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021, serves as the Trust’s transfer agent with respect to the common shares.

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INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Deloitte & Touche LLP, whose principal business address is 115 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110-1894, is the independent registered public accounting firm of the Trust and is expected to render an opinion annually on the financial statements of the Trust.

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

A control person is a person who beneficially owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of a company. As of July 23, 2025, the Trust did not know of any person or entity who “controlled” the Trust. As of July 23, 2025, to the knowledge of the Trust, no person owned of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding common shares of any class of the Trust.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This SAI is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC. We are allowed to “incorporate by reference” the information that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. We incorporate by reference into this SAI the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, including any filings on or after the date of this SAI from the date of filing (excluding any information furnished, rather than filed), until we have sold all of the offered securities to which this SAI, the Prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement relates or the offering is otherwise terminated. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this SAI. Any statement in a document incorporated by reference into this SAI will be deemed to be automatically modified or superseded to the extent a statement contained in (1) this SAI or (2) any other subsequently filed document that is incorporated by reference into this SAI modifies or supersedes such statement. The documents incorporated by reference herein include:

| ● |  | The Trust’s Prospectus, dated August 8, 2025, filed with this SAI;

| ● |  | the Trust’s annual report on Form N-CSR for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on March 7, 2025;

| ● |  | the Trust’s definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on May 22, 2025;

| ● |  | the Trust’s Current Report on Form 8-K (other than information furnished rather than filed) filed with the SEC on January 21, 2025; and

| ● |  | the description of the Trust’s common shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-31741) filed with the SEC on July 22, 2003, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description prior to the termination of the offering registered hereby.

The Trust will provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this SAI is delivered, upon written or oral request, a copy of any and all of the documents that have been or may be incorporated by reference in this SAI, the Prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement. You should direct requests for documents by calling:

Client Services Desk

(800) 882-0052

The Trust makes available the Prospectus, SAI and the Trust’s annual and semi-annual reports, free of charge, at http://www.blackrock.com. You may also obtain this SAI, the Prospectus, other documents incorporated by reference and other information the Trust files electronically, including reports and proxy statements, on the SEC

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website (http://www.sec.gov) or with the payment of a duplication fee, by electronic request at publicinfo@sec.gov. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Trust’s website is not part of this SAI, the Prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements and financial highlights included in the annual report to the Trust’s shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (the “2024 Annual Report”), together with the report of Deloitte & Touche LLP on the financial statements and financial highlights included in the Trust’s 2024 Annual Report, are incorporated herein by reference to the 2024 Annual Report.

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APPENDIX A

Description of Bond Ratings

A rating is generally assigned to a fixed-income security at the time of issuance by a credit rating agency designated as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) by the SEC. While NRSROs may from time to time revise such ratings, they undertake no obligation to do so, and the ratings given to securities at issuance do not necessarily represent ratings which would be given to these securities on a particular subsequent date.

NRSROs may rate specific investments (e.g., bonds), issuers (e.g., corporations, governments and financial institutions) and/or programs (e.g., commercial paper programs). However, certain types of investments may not be rated by NRSROs, such as certain government/sovereign obligations, US agency securities, commercial paper, time deposits at financial institutions, and derivative instruments such as credit default swaps. For these types of investments, as well as US Treasury securities (some of which are not rated), where a NRSRO has not rated the specific investment but has rated the investment’s issuer, program, financial institution or underlying reference asset, BlackRock Advisors, LLC, BlackRock Fund Advisors or their respective affiliates (“BlackRock”) may consider the investment to have the same NRSRO rating as its issuer, program, financial institution or underlying reference asset, as applicable. In the case of municipal securities, where one NRSRO provides multiple ratings for the same security (e.g., “underlying,” “insured” and/or “enhanced” ratings), BlackRock may consider the security to have the highest of the multiple ratings.

New issue securities (regardless of type) may not be rated by a NRSRO at the time of their initial offering. Preliminary prospectuses or term sheets for new issue securities may include an expected rating for the security (as determined by the underwriter and/or issuer) or a NRSRO rating for the issuer of the security. If applicable, when deciding whether to purchase a new issue security that has not yet been rated by a NRSRO, BlackRock may attribute an expected rating to the security based on: (i) the expected rating of the security set forth in the preliminary prospectus or term sheet for the security; (ii) the NRSRO’s rating for the issuer of the security set forth in the preliminary prospectus or term sheet for the security; or (iii) with respect to asset-backed securities, the rating of a prior issuance having a similar structure or the same sponsor.

Where the investment objective of a fund is to track the performance of an index that includes credit ratings eligibility criteria as part of its index methodology, the fund may purchase any security within the index, such security having been determined by the index provider as meeting its credit ratings eligibility criteria. The credit ratings practices of an index provider may differ from BlackRock’s practices, as described above. Further, the fund may invest, directly or indirectly, in securities that are not rated by a rating agency or securities with a credit rating that differs from the credit rating specified in its index methodology in various circumstances, including where a security is downgraded but not yet removed from an index, following the removal of a security from an index prior to its sale by the fund or as a result of a corporate action or restructuring affecting an issuer of a security held by the fund.

Fixed-income securities which are unrated may expose the investor to risks with respect to capacity to pay interest or repay principal which are similar to the risks of lower-rated speculative bonds. Evaluation of these securities is dependent on BlackRock’s judgment, analysis and experience in the evaluation of such securities.

Investors should note that the assignment of a rating to a security by an NRSRO may not reflect the effect of recent developments on the issuer’s ability to make interest and principal payments or on the likelihood of default.

Securities deemed to be high yield are rated below Baa3 by Moody’s and below BBB- by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch.

The descriptions below relate to general long-term and short-term obligations of an issuer.

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A Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s (“Moody’s”) Global Rating Scales

Ratings assigned on Moody’s global long-term and short-term rating scales are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations issued by non-financial corporates, financial institutions, structured finance vehicles, project finance vehicles, and public sector entities. Moody’s defines credit risk as the risk that an entity may not meet its contractual financial obligations as they come due and any estimated financial loss in the event of default or impairment. The contractual financial obligations addressed by Moody’s ratings are those that call for, without regard to enforceability, the payment of an ascertainable amount, which may vary based upon standard sources of variation (e.g., floating interest rates), by an ascertainable date. Moody’s rating addresses the issuer’s ability to obtain cash sufficient to service the obligation, and its willingness to pay. Moody’s ratings do not address non-standard sources of variation in the amount of the principal obligation (e.g., equity indexed), absent an express statement to the contrary in a press release accompanying an initial rating. Long-term ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of one year or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment. Short-term ratings are assigned for obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment. Moody’s issues ratings at the issuer level and instrument level on both the long-term scale and the short-term scale. Typically, ratings are made publicly available although private and unpublished ratings may also be assigned.

Moody’s differentiates structured finance ratings from fundamental ratings (i.e., ratings on nonfinancial corporate, financial institution, and public sector entities) on the global long-term scale by adding (sf) to all structured finance ratings. The addition of (sf) to structured finance ratings should eliminate any presumption that such ratings and fundamental ratings at the same letter grade level will behave the same. The (sf) indicator for structured finance security ratings indicates that otherwise similarly rated structured finance and fundamental securities may have different risk characteristics. Through its current methodologies, however, Moody’s aspires to achieve broad expected equivalence in structured finance and fundamental rating performance when measured over a long period of time.

Description of Moody’s Global Long-Term Rating Scale

Aaa | Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.

Aa | Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

A | Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

Baa | Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Ba | Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.

B | Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Caa | Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

Ca | Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

C | Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

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Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category. Additionally, a “(hyb)” indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms.

By their terms, hybrid securities allow for the omission of scheduled dividends, interest, or principal payments, which can potentially result in impairment if such an omission occurs. Hybrid securities may also be subject to contractually allowable write-downs of principal that could result in impairment. Together with the hybrid indicator, the long-term obligation rating assigned to a hybrid security is an expression of the relative credit risk associated with that security.

Description of Moody’s Global Short-Term Rating Scale

P-1 | Ratings of Prime-1 reflect a superior ability to repay short-term obligations.

P-2 | Ratings of Prime-2 reflect a strong ability to repay short-term obligations.

P-3 | Ratings of Prime-3 reflect an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.

NP | Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

Description of Moody’s U.S. Municipal Short-Term Debt and Demand Obligation Ratings

Description of Moody’s Short-Term Obligation Ratings

Moody’s uses the global short-term Prime rating scale for commercial paper issued by U.S. municipalities and nonprofits. These commercial paper programs may be backed by external letters of credit or liquidity facilities, or by an issuer’s self-liquidity.

For other short-term municipal obligations, Moody’s uses one of two other short-term rating scales, the Municipal Investment Grade (“MIG”) and Variable Municipal Investment Grade (“VMIG”) scales discussed below.

Moody’s uses the MIG scale for U.S. municipal cash flow notes, bond anticipation notes and certain other short-term obligations, which typically mature in three years or less. Under certain circumstances, Moody’s uses the MIG scale for bond anticipation notes with maturities of up to five years.

MIG Scale

MIG 1 | This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

MIG 2 | This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.

MIG 3 | This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

SG | This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

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Description of Moody’s Demand Obligation Ratings

In the case of variable rate demand obligations (“VRDOs”), a two-component rating is assigned. The components are a long-term rating and a short-term demand obligation rating. The long-term rating addresses the issuer’s ability to meet scheduled principal and interest payments. The short-term demand obligation rating addresses the ability of the issuer or the liquidity provider to make payments associated with the purchase-price-upon-demand feature (“demand feature”) of the VRDO. The short-term demand obligation rating uses the VMIG scale. VMIG ratings with liquidity support use as an input the short-term Counterparty Risk Assessment of the support provider, or the long-term rating of the underlying obligor in the absence of third party liquidity support. Transitions of VMIG ratings of demand obligations with conditional liquidity support differ from transitions on the Prime scale to reflect the risk that external liquidity support will terminate if the issuer’s long-term rating drops below investment grade.

Moody’s typically assigns the VMIG short-term demand obligation rating if the frequency of the demand feature is less than every three years. If the frequency of the demand feature is less than three years but the purchase price is payable only with remarketing proceeds, the short-term demand obligation rating is “NR”.

VMIG Scale

VMIG 1 | This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

VMIG 2 | This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

VMIG 3 | This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

SG | This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have a sufficiently strong short-term rating or may lack the structural or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

Description of S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”), a Division of S&P Global Inc., Issue Credit Ratings

An S&P issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects S&P’s view of the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and this opinion may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.

Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term issue credit ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market, typically with an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Short-term issue credit ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. S&P would typically assign a long-term issue credit rating to an obligation with an original maturity of greater than 365 days. However, the ratings S&P assigns to certain instruments may diverge from these guidelines based on market practices. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.

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Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on S&P’s analysis of the following considerations:

| ● |  | The likelihood of payment—the capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitments on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation;

| ● |  | The nature and provisions of the financial obligation, and the promise S&P imputes; and

| ● |  | The protection afforded by, and relative position of, the financial obligation in the event of a bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights.

An issue rating is an assessment of default risk but may incorporate an assessment of relative seniority or ultimate recovery in the event of default. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation may apply when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.)

Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings*

AAA |  | An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by S&P. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA |  | An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very strong.
A |  | An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is still strong.
BBB |  | An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
BB, B, CCC, CC, and C |  | Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposure to adverse conditions.
BB |  | An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
B |  | An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
CCC |  | An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.

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CC |  | An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘CC’ rating is used when a default has not yet occurred but S&P expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C |  | An obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher.
D |  | An obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring.

* Ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the rating categories.

Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings

A-1 | A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by S&P. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on these obligations is extremely strong.

A-2 | A short-term obligation rated ‘A-2’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is satisfactory.

A-3 | A short-term obligation rated ‘A-3’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken an obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.

B | A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.

C | A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.

D | A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed debt restructuring.

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Description of S&P’s Municipal Short-Term Note Ratings

An S&P U.S. municipal note rating reflects S&P’s opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, S&P’s analysis will review the following considerations:

| ● |  | Amortization schedule—the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and

| ● |  | Source of payment—the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.

S&P’s municipal short-term note rating symbols are as follows:

SP-1 | Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.

SP-2 | Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.

SP-3 | Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

D | ‘D’ is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed debt restructuring, or the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions.

Description of Fitch Ratings’ (“Fitch’s”) Credit Ratings Scales

Fitch Ratings publishes opinions on a variety of scales. The most common of these are credit ratings, but the agency also publishes ratings, scores and other relative opinions relating to financial or operational strength. For example, Fitch also provides specialized ratings of servicers of residential and commercial mortgages, asset managers and funds. In each case, users should refer to the definitions of each individual scale for guidance on the dimensions of risk covered in each assessment.

Fitch’s credit ratings relating to issuers are an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Credit ratings relating to securities and obligations of an issuer can include a recovery expectation. Credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. The agency’s credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign financial, bank, insurance, and public finance entities (including supranational and sub-national entities) and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.

The terms “investment grade” and “speculative grade” have established themselves over time as shorthand to describe the categories ‘AAA’ to ‘BBB’ (investment grade) and ‘BB’ to ‘D’ (speculative grade). The terms investment grade and speculative grade are market conventions and do not imply any recommendation or endorsement of a specific security for investment purposes. Investment grade categories indicate relatively low to moderate credit risk, while ratings in the speculative categories either signal a higher level of credit risk or that a default has already occurred.

For the convenience of investors, Fitch may also include issues relating to a rated issuer that are not and have not been rated on its web page. Such issues are also denoted as ‘NR’.

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Credit ratings express risk in relative rank order, which is to say they are ordinal measures of credit risk and are not predictive of a specific frequency of default or loss. For information about the historical performance of ratings please refer to Fitch’s Ratings Transition and Default studies which detail the historical default rates and their meaning. The European Securities and Markets Authority also maintains a central repository of historical default rates.

Fitch’s credit ratings do not directly address any risk other than credit risk. In particular, ratings do not deal with the risk of a market value loss on a rated security due to changes in interest rates, liquidity and other market considerations. However, in terms of payment obligation on the rated liability, market risk may be considered to the extent that it influences the ability of an issuer to pay upon a commitment.

Ratings nonetheless do not reflect market risk to the extent that they influence the size or other conditionality of the obligation to pay upon a commitment (for example, in the case of index-linked bonds).

In the default components of ratings assigned to individual obligations or instruments, the agency typically rates to the likelihood of non-payment or default in accordance with the terms of that instrument’s documentation. In limited cases, Fitch may include additional considerations (i.e. rate to a higher or lower standard than that implied in the obligation’s documentation).

The primary credit rating scales can be used to provide a rating of privately issued obligations or certain note issuance programs or for private ratings. In this case the rating is not published, but only provided to the issuer or its agents in the form of a rating letter.

The primary credit rating scales may also be used to provide ratings for a more narrow scope, including interest strips and return of principal or in other forms of opinions such as credit opinions or rating assessment services. Credit opinions are either a notch- or category-specific view using the primary rating scale and omit one or more characteristics of a full rating or meet them to a different standard. Credit opinions will be indicated using a lower case letter symbol combined with either an ‘*’ (e.g. ‘bbb+*’) or (cat) suffix to denote the opinion status. Credit opinions will be point-in-time typically but may be monitored if the analytical group believes information will be sufficiently available. Rating assessment services are a notch-specific view using the primary rating scale of how an existing or potential rating may be changed by a given set of hypothetical circumstances. While credit opinions and rating assessment services are point-in-time and are not monitored, they may have a directional watch or outlook assigned, which can signify the trajectory of the credit profile.

Description of Fitch’s Long-Term Corporate Finance Obligations Rating Scales

Ratings of individual securities or financial obligations of a corporate issuer address relative vulnerability to default on an ordinal scale. In addition, for financial obligations in corporate finance, a measure of recovery given default on that liability is also included in the rating assessment. This notably applies to covered bonds ratings, which incorporate both an indication of the probability of default and of the recovery given a default of this debt instrument. On the contrary, Ratings of debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) obligations incorporate the expectation of full repayment.

The relationship between the issuer scale and obligation scale assumes a generic historical average recovery. Individual obligations can be assigned ratings higher, lower, or the same as that entity’s issuer rating or issuer default rating (“IDR”), based on their relative ranking, relative vulnerability to default or based on explicit Recovery Ratings.

As a result, individual obligations of entities, such as corporations, are assigned ratings higher, lower, or the same as that entity’s issuer rating or IDR, except DIP obligation ratings that are not based off an IDR. At the lower end of the ratings scale, Fitch publishes explicit Recovery Ratings in many cases to complement issuer and obligation ratings.

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Fitch long-term obligations rating scales are as follows:

AAA | Highest Credit Quality. ‘AAA’ ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

AA | Very High Credit Quality. ‘AA’ ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

A | High Credit Quality. ‘A’ ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

BBB | Good Credit Quality. ‘BBB’ ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.

BB | Speculative. ‘BB’ ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.

B | Highly Speculative. ‘B’ ratings indicate that material credit risk is present.

CCC | Substantial Credit Risk. ‘CCC’ ratings indicate that substantial credit risk is present.

CC | Very High Levels of Credit Risk. ‘CC’ ratings indicate very high levels of credit risk.

C | Exceptionally High Levels of Credit Risk. ‘C’ indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.

Within rating categories, Fitch may use modifiers. The modifiers “+” or “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories.

For example, the rating category ‘AA’ has three notch-specific rating levels (‘AA+’; ‘AA’; ‘AA–’; each a rating level). Such suffixes are not added to ‘AAA’ ratings and ratings below the ‘CCC’ category. For the short-term rating category of ‘F1’, a ‘+’ may be appended.

Description of Fitch’s Short-Term Ratings Assigned to Issuers and Obligations

A short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term deposit ratings may be adjusted for loss severity. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as “short term” based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign, and structured obligations and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets.

Fitch short-term ratings are as follows:

F1 | Highest Short-Term Credit Quality. Indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.

F2 | Good Short-Term Credit Quality. Good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

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F3 | Fair Short-Term Credit Quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.

B | Speculative Short-Term Credit Quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.

C | High Short-Term Default Risk. Default is a real possibility.

RD | Restricted Default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.

D | Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.

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APPENDIX B

Closed-End Fund Proxy Voting Policy Procedures Governing Delegation of Proxy Voting to Fund Adviser
Effective Date: January 1, 2025

Applies to the following types of Funds registered under the 1940 Act:

☐ Index Equity Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds

☐ Open-End Active and Fixed Income Index Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds

☐ Money Market Funds

☒ Closed-End Funds

☐ Other

Objective and Scope

Set forth below is the Closed-End Fund Proxy Voting Policy.

Policy / Document Requirements and Statements

The Boards of Trustees/Directors (the “Directors”) of the closed-end funds advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“BlackRock”), (the “Funds”) have the responsibility for the oversight of voting proxies relating to portfolio securities of the Funds, and have determined that it is in the best interests of the Funds and their shareholders to delegate the responsibility to vote proxies to BlackRock as part of BlackRock’s authority to manage, acquire and dispose of account assets, all as contemplated by the Funds’ respective investment management agreements.

BlackRock has adopted the BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines (as from time to time amended, the “Guidelines”) governing proxy voting by accounts managed by BlackRock.

BlackRock will cast votes on behalf of each of the Funds covered by this policy on specific proxy issues in respect of securities held by each such Fund (or may refrain from voting) in accordance with the Guidelines; provided, however, that in the case of underlying closed-end funds (including business development companies and other similarly-situated asset pools) held by the Funds that have, or are proposing to adopt, a classified board structure, BlackRock will typically (a) vote in favor of proposals to adopt classification and against proposals to eliminate classification, and (b) not vote against directors as a result of their adoption of a classified board structure.

Conflicts Management

BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship (“BAIS”) maintains policies and procedures that seek to prevent undue influence on BlackRock’s proxy voting activity and to mitigate material conflicts of interest in the

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exercise of proxy voting responsibilities. Potential material conflicts, and the resultant potential for undue influence, might be due to a relationship between the investee company (or any shareholder proponent or dissident shareholder) and BlackRock, BlackRock’s affiliates or employees, or a Fund or a Fund’s affiliates. BlackRock has taken certain steps to mitigate potential conflicts, which are outlined in detail in the Guidelines. In mitigating conflicts, BAIS will adhere to the Guidelines.

In certain instances, BAIS will engage an independent third-party voting service provider to make proxy voting recommendations as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest, to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements, or as may be otherwise required by applicable law.

With respect to the relationship between securities lending and proxy voting, shares on loan cannot be voted and BlackRock may determine to recall them for voting, as guided by BlackRock’s fiduciary responsibility to act in clients’ financial interests. The Guidelines set forth BlackRock’s approach to recalling securities on loan in connection with proxy voting.

Reports to the Board

BlackRock will report on an annual basis to the Directors on (1) a summary of the proxy voting process as applicable to the Funds covered by this Policy in the preceding year together with a representation that all votes were in accordance with the Guidelines (as modified pursuant to the immediately preceding paragraph), and (2) any material changes to the Guidelines, including material changes to conflicts management practices, that have not previously been reported.

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BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship

Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines

Effective as of January 2025

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Contents

Overview |  |  | B-5 |
Introduction to BlackRock |  |  | B-6 |
About BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship |  |  | B-6 |
Our approach to stewardship within active equities |  |  | B-7 |
Our approach to stewardship within fixed income |  |  | B-7 |
Boards of Directors |  |  | B-7 |
Executive compensation |  |  | B-11 |
Non-executive director compensation |  |  | B-12 |
Capital structure |  |  | B-12 |
Transactions and special situations |  |  | B-13 |
Corporate reporting, risk management and audit |  |  | B-14 |
Shareholder rights and protections |  |  | B-15 |
Shareholder proposals |  |  | B-16 |
Corporate political activities |  |  | B-17 |
Sustainability, or environmental and social, considerations |  |  | B-17 |
Key stakeholders |  |  | B-18 |
Climate and decarbonization investment objectives |  |  | B-18 |
Appendix 1: How we fulfil and oversee our active investment stewardship responsibilities |  |  | B-19 |

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Overview

This document provides high level guidance on how BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship (BAIS) views corporate governance matters that are commonly put to a shareholder vote, or on which investors engage with issuers. BAIS works in partnership with BlackRock’s investment teams, excluding index equity, providing expertise on investment stewardship, engaging with companies on behalf of those teams when appropriate, and assisting in recommending, operationalizing and reporting on voting decisions. The guidance informs BAIS’ voting recommendations to BlackRock’s active portfolio managers. It applies to active equity holdings in BlackRock’s fundamental equity, systematic equity and multi-asset solutions strategies. It also may apply to holdings in BlackRock’s index and active fixed income strategies, to the extent those strategies hold voting securities or conduct issuer engagements. The guidelines are not prescriptive as active portfolio managers have discretion as to how they integrate these guidelines within their investment processes in light of their clients’ or funds’ investment objectives. There are separate, independently developed principles and voting policies that are applied to BlackRock’s index equity investments by a distinct and independent function, BlackRock Investment Stewardship.

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Introduction to BlackRock

BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. We manage assets on behalf of institutional and individual clients, across a full spectrum of investment strategies, asset classes, and regions. Our client base includes pension plans, endowments, foundations, charities, official institutions, insurers, and other financial institutions, as well as individuals around the world.

About BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship

BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship (BAIS) is a specialist team within the Portfolio Management Group and manages BlackRock’s stewardship engagement and voting on behalf of clients invested in active strategies globally. BAIS is also responsible for engagement with issuers in index fixed income strategies, where appropriate. Our activities are informed by these Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines (“the Guidelines”) and insights from active investment analysts and portfolio managers, with whom we work closely in engaging companies and voting at shareholder meetings.

Engagement with public companies is the foundation of our approach to stewardship within fundamental active investing. Through direct dialogue with company leadership, we seek to understand their businesses and how they manage risks and opportunities to deliver durable, risk adjusted financial returns. Generally, portfolio managers and stewardship specialists engage jointly on substantive matters. Our discussions focus on topics relevant to a company’s success over time including governance and leadership, corporate strategy, capital structure and financial performance, operations and sustainability-related risks, as well as macro-economic, geopolitical and sector dynamics. We aim to be constructive investors and are generally supportive of management teams that have a track record of financial value creation. We aim to build and maintain strong relationships with company leadership based on open dialogue and mutual respect.

Different active equity strategies may implement these voting guidelines differently, as a result of the latitude the portfolio manager has to make independent voting decisions aligned with their portfolio objectives and investment strategy. For example, BAIS will generally vote the holdings in Systematic Active Equity portfolios in accordance with these guidelines. We provide voting recommendations to fundamental equity portfolio managers, who may determine to vote differently based on their portfolio investment objectives and strategy.

These guidelines discuss corporate governance topics on which we may engage with management teams and board directors1 and matters that routinely come to a shareholder vote. We recognize that accepted corporate governance norms can differ across markets, and believe these guidelines represent globally applicable elements of governance that support a company’s ability to manage material risks and opportunities and deliver financial returns to investors. Generally, we believe companies should observe accepted corporate governance norms within their local markets or, particularly in markets without well-established norms, aspire to widely recognized international best practices. As one of many minority shareholders, BlackRock cannot – and does not try to – direct a company’s strategy or its implementation. We look to companies to provide disclosures that explain how their approach to corporate governance best aligns with the financial interests of their investors.

1 | References to the board, board directors or non-executive directors should be understood to include supervisory boards and their members, where relevant.

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Our approach to stewardship within active equities

As shareholders of public companies, BlackRock’s clients have certain fundamental rights, including the right to vote on proposals put forth by a company’s management or its shareholders. The voting rights attached to these clients’ holdings are an important mechanism for investors to express support for, or concern about, a company’s performance. As a fiduciary, BlackRock is legally required to make proxy voting determinations, on behalf of clients who have delegated voting authority to us, in a manner that is consistent with their investment objectives.

In general, we tend to support the recommendations of the board of directors and management. As indicated below, we may vote against management recommendations when we have concerns about how companies are serving the financial interests of our clients as their shareholders. We take a globally consistent approach to voting but consider the different corporate governance regulations and norms in various markets. Votes are determined on a case-by-case basis, in the context of a company’s situation and the investment mandate we have from clients. Please see page 16 for more information about how we fulfil and oversee BlackRock’s non-index equity investment stewardship responsibilities.

Our approach to stewardship within fixed income

Although fixed income investors do not have the right to vote at shareholder meetings, issuer engagement is a component of fixed income investment strategies at BlackRock, particularly those with sustainability objectives in addition to financial objectives. Most corporate governance-related fixed income engagements are undertaken in conjunction with the active investment stewardship team, and often active equity investors. In addition to the topics listed below, engagement with fixed income investment teams can help inform an issuer’s approach to structuring specialist issuances, such as green bonds, and the standard terms and information in bond documentation.

Boards of Directors

Roles and responsibilities

There is widespread consensus that the foundation of good corporate governance is an effective board of directors that is able to advise and supervise management in an independent and objective manner.2

We look to the board of directors (hereafter ‘the board’) to have an oversight role in the establishment and realization of a company’s strategy, purpose and culture. These constructs are interdependent and, when aligned, can better position a company to be resilient in the face of a changing business environment, help reduce the risks of corporate or employee misconduct, and attract and retain the caliber of workers necessary to deliver financial performance over time.

In promoting the success of the company, the board ensures the necessary resources, policies and procedures are in place to help management meet its strategic objectives within an agreed risk tolerance.

One of the most important responsibilities of the board is to appoint, and remove as necessary, the chief executive officer (CEO). In addition, the board plays a meaningful role in monitoring the performance of

2 | See the Corporate Governance Codes of Germany, Japan, and the UK, as well as the corporate governance principles of the US Business Roundtable as examples.

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the CEO and other key executives, determining executive compensation, ensuring a rigorous audit, overseeing strategy execution and risk management and engaging with shareholders, and other stakeholders, as necessary.

Composition and effectiveness

Appointment process

A formal and transparent process for identifying and appointing director candidates is critical to ensuring the board is composed of directors with the appropriate mix of skills and experience. The board or a sub-committee should determine the general criteria given the company’s circumstances (e.g., sector, maturity, geographic footprint) and any additional criteria for a specific role being filled (e.g., financial expertise, industry track record). To inform the process, we encourage companies to review the skills and experience of incumbent directors to identify any gaps and whether a director candidate’s characteristics would be additive. We welcome disclosures that explain how the board considered different skills, backgrounds and experience to ensure the directors collectively can be effective in fulfilling their responsibilities. We assess a company’s board composition against that of its peer group and local market requirements.

Shareholders periodically vote to elect, remove and nominate directors to serve on the board. We may vote against the election of the most senior independent director, or the chair of the relevant committee, where a company has not demonstrated it has an appointment process that results in a high functioning board with the appropriate complement of skills, backgrounds and experience amongst the directors to support strong financial performance over time. We may vote against newly nominated directors who do not seem to have the appropriate skills or experience to contribute to the board’s effectiveness.

Independence

Director independence from management, significant shareholders or other stakeholders (e.g., government or employees) is of paramount importance to the protection of the interests of minority shareholders such as

BlackRock’s clients. At least half of the directors should be independent and free from conflicts of interest or undue influence.3 This ensures sufficient independent directors to have appropriately independent board committees. Companies domiciled in markets with a higher threshold for board independence should meet those requirements.

We may vote against the election of non-independent directors if the board does not have a sufficient balance of independence. We may also vote against the election of the chair of the committee responsible for board composition if this is a perennial issue.

Independent board leadership

Practices across markets differ, as do board structures, but we observe two main approaches to independent board leadership. One is a non-executive, independent chair of the board who is responsible for leading the board in the effective exercise of its duties. The other is a lead or senior independent director, who is

3 | Common impediments to independence may include but are not limited to: current or recent employment at the company or a subsidiary; being, or representing, a shareholder with a substantial shareholding in the company; interlocking directorships; lengthy tenure, and having any other interest, business, or other relationship which could, or could reasonably be perceived to, materially interfere with a director’s ability to act in the best interests of the company and shareholders.

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responsible for coordinating with the other non-executive directors and working closely with the executive chair on the board agenda and other board procedures. In this case, the executive chair and the lead independent director work together to ensure the board is effectively fulfilling its responsibilities. In our view, the independent leader of the board, and/or the chair of a relevant committee, should be available to investors to discuss board governance matters such as CEO succession, executive pay, and board performance. We look to boards to explain their independent board leadership model and how it serves the interests of shareholders.

We may vote against the election of the chair of the committee responsible for board composition if there is not an identified independent leader of the board with clear responsibilities for board performance. We may vote against the most senior independent director if the board has a policy of not engaging with shareholders.

Tenure and succession

Boards should establish the length of time a director would normally be expected to serve, in line with market norms where those exist. In such markets, we find it helpful when companies disclose their approach to director tenure particularly around the contributions of directors who have served for longer periods than provided for in local practices. In our experience, long-serving directors could become less independent given their relationship with management and involvement in past board decisions.

Succession planning for board roles helps achieve the appropriate cadence of turnover that balances renewal through the regular introduction of directors with fresh perspectives and expertise with continuity through the retention of directors with long-term knowledge of the board and company.

In markets where there is not specific director tenure guidance, we may vote against the election of the chair of the committee responsible for board composition if there is not a clearly disclosed approach to director tenure and board renewal. We may vote against the election of directors who have served for longer duration than typical in markets with specific guidance, where the case for their continued service is not evident.

Capacity

To be effective and engaged, directors must commit appropriate time and energy to the role. A board should assess the ability of its members to maintain an appropriate focus on board matters and the company taking into consideration competing responsibilities. We recognize that board leadership roles vary across markets in responsibilities and required time commitment but note that they are generally more intensive than a standard directorship. We will take local norms and practices into consideration when making our voting determinations across markets.

We may vote against the election of directors who do not seem to have sufficient capacity to effectively fulfil their duties to the board and company.

Director elections

In support of director accountability to shareholders, directors should stand for election on a regular basis, ideally annually. A classified board structure may be justified by a company when it needs consistency and stability during a time of transition, or on the basis of its business model, e.g., a non-operating company such as closed-end funds.

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Shareholders should have the opportunity to evaluate nominated directors individually rather than in bundled slates. We look to companies to provide sufficient information on each director standing for election so that shareholders can assess their capabilities and suitability. We will not support the election of directors whose names and biographical details have not been disclosed sufficiently in advance of the shareholder meeting.

Each director’s appointment should be dependent on receiving a simple majority of the votes cast at the shareholder meeting. Where a company’s practices differ, we look to the board to provide a detailed explanation as to how its approach best serves investors’ interests.

We may vote for shareholder or management proposals seeking to establish annual election of directors and/or a simple majority vote standard for director elections. We may vote against all the directors standing for election as part of a single slate if we have concerns about the profile or performance of an individual director.

Committees

Many boards establish committees to focus on specific responsibilities of the board such as audit and risk, governance and human capital, and executive compensation, amongst other matters. We do not prescribe to companies what committees they should establish but we seek to understand the board’s rationale for the committee structure it determines is appropriate. We note that, in some markets, regulation requires such committees. The responsibilities of each committee should be clear, and the board should ensure that all critical matters are assigned either to the full board or to one of the committees. The board should disclose to shareholders the structure, membership, proportion of independent directors, and responsibilities of each committee. The responsibilities we typically see assigned to the three most common committees include:

| ● |  | Audit and risk – oversight responsibilities for the integrity of financial reporting, risk management and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; may also play an oversight role in relation to the internal audit function and whistleblowing mechanisms.

| ● |  | Nominating, governance and human capital – ensures appropriate corporate governance principles and practices including the periodic review of board performance; responsible for succession planning for CEO and key board roles, as well as the director appointment process; may also have oversight responsibilities for human capital management strategies including corporate culture and purpose.

| ● |  | Executive compensation – determines the compensation policies and programs for the CEO and other executive officers, approves annual awards and payments under the policies; may also have oversight responsibilities for firm-wide compensation policies.

We may vote against the election of the chair of the committee or other directors serving as committee members to convey our concerns and provide feedback on how a committee has undertaken its responsibilities. We may vote against the election of the most senior non-executive director if there is not a clearly disclosed approach to board committees.

Board and director evaluation

We consider it best practice for companies to conduct an annual review of the performance of the board, the committees, the chair and individual directors. Periodically, this review could be undertaken by an independent third party able to bring objective perspectives to the board on governance and performance. We encourage companies to disclose their approach to and objectives of evaluations, including any changes made to the board’s approach as a result.

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Access to independent advice

To support the directors in effectively fulfilling their duties to the company and shareholders, they should have access to independent advice. When circumstances warrant, boards should be able to retain independent third parties to advise on critical matters. These might include new industry developments such as emergent and disruptive technology, operating events with material consequences for the company’s reputation and/or performance, or significant transactions. Board committees may similarly retain third parties to advise them on specialist matters such as audit, compensation and succession planning.

Executive compensation

Boards should establish compensation arrangements that enable the company to recruit, retain and reward the caliber of executive management necessary to lead and operate the company to deliver superior financial returns over time. We focus on alignment between variable pay and a company’s financial performance.

Generally, executive compensation arrangements have four components: base salary, annual bonus that rewards performance against short-term metrics, share-based incentives that reward performance against long-term metrics, and pensions and benefits. In our observation, base salary, pensions and benefits are largely set relative to market norms and benchmarks. The annual bonus and share-based incentive, or variable pay plans, tend to be tailored to the company, its sector and long-term strategy, as well as the individuals the board is seeking to recruit and motivate.

Recognizing the unique circumstances of each company, we determine whether to support a company’s approach to executive compensation on a case-by-case basis. We rely on companies providing sufficient quantitative and qualitative information in their disclosures to enable shareholders to understand the compensation arrangements and assess the alignment with investors’ interests. Features we look for in compensation arrangements include:

| ● |  | Fixed pay components, including base salary, benefits and prerequisites that are appropriate in the context of the company’s size, sector and market.

| ● |  | Variable pay subject to performance metrics that are closely linked to the company’s short- and long-term strategic objectives.

| ● |  | Long-term incentives that motivate sustained performance across a multi-year period.

| ● |  | A balance between fixed and variable pay, short- and long-term incentives, and specific instruments (cash and equity awards) that promotes pay program durability and seldom necessitates one-off, discretionary payments.

| ● |  | Outcomes that are consistent with the returns to investors over the relevant time period.

| ● |  | Board discretion, if allowed within the variable pay arrangements, to be used sparingly, responsibly and transparently.

| ● |  | A requirement, that participants in long-term share-based incentive plans build a meaningful shareholding in the company within a defined time period, as determined by the board.

| ● |  | Change of control provisions that appropriately balance the interests of executives and shareholders.

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| ● |  | Clawback or malus provisions that allow the company to recoup or hold back variable compensation from individuals whose awards were based on fraudulent activities, misstated financial reports, or executive misconduct.

| ● |  | Severance arrangements that protect the company’s interests but do not cost more than is contractual.

We may vote against proposals to introduce new share-based incentives, approve existing policies or plans, or approve the compensation report where we do not see alignment between executive compensation arrangements and our clients’ financial interests. When there is not an alternative, or where there have been multi-year issues with compensation misaligned with performance, we may vote against the election of the chair of the responsible committee, or the most senior independent director.

Non-executive director compensation

Companies generally pay non-executive directors an annual retainer or fee in cash, shares or a combination of the two. Some companies also pay additional fees for service on board committees or in board leadership roles. We do not support non-executive directors participating in performance-based incentive plans as doing so may create a conflict of interest and undermine their independence from management, whom they oversee.

Capital structure

Boards are responsible for ensuring senior executive leadership has established a capital strategy that achieves appropriate capital allocation and management in support of long-term financial resilience.

Where company practices diverge from those set out below, we look for companies to disclose why they view these practices to be aligned with shareholders’ interests. We may vote against management proposals seeking capital-related authorities or the election of the most senior independent director if we have concerns about a company’s approach. We may also support a shareholder proposal seeking conversion of shares with differentiated voting rights to a one-share, one-vote standard.

Share issuance

We assess requests for share issuance for particular transactions on a case-by-case basis. We will generally support authorities to issue shares when subject to pre-emptive rights, and up to 20% absent pre-emptive rights. Companies should seek regular approval of these authorities to allow shareholders to take into consideration how prior authorities were used, as well as the current circumstances of the company and the market environment.

Share buybacks

We assess share buyback proposals in the context of the company’s disclosed capital management strategy and management’s determination of the appropriate balance between investment that supports the long-term growth of the company and returning cash to investors. We also take into consideration the effect of a buyback program on the company’s balance sheet and executive compensation arrangements and the price at which shares are repurchased relative to market price. Companies should seek regular approval of these authorities to allow shareholders to take into consideration how prior authorities were used, as well as the current circumstances of the company and the market environment.

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We would normally expect companies to cancel repurchased shares. If a company plans to retain them as treasury shares, management should provide a detailed rationale in the context of the disclosed capital management strategy.

Dividends

We generally defer to management and the board on dividend policy but may engage to seek further clarification where a proposed dividend appears out of line with the company’s financial position.

Differentiated voting rights

We prefer companies to adopt a one-share, one-vote structure for share classes with the same economic exposure. Certain companies, particularly those new to public markets, could make the case to adopt a differentiated voting rights structure, or dual class stock. In those situations, we encourage companies to evaluate and seek approval for their capital structure on a periodic basis.

Transactions and special situations

We monitor developments in transactions and special situations closely and undertake our own detailed analyses of proposals.

Mergers and acquisitions

We evaluate proposed mergers or acquisitions by assessing the financial outcome for our clients as minority shareholders. Management should provide an assessment of the proposed transaction’s strategic and financial rationale, along with its execution and operational risks. We review each transaction independently based on these factors and the degree to which the transaction enhances shareholder value. The board should consider establishing an ad hoc transaction committee to undertake an independent assessment of a significant merger or acquisition, in advance of making its recommendation to shareholders.

We will vote against transactions that, in our assessment, do not advance our clients’ financial interests.

Anti-takeover defenses

In principle, we do not support companies using anti-takeover defenses, also known as poison pills or shareholder rights plans, as they can entrench management and boards which have not delivered long-term shareholder value. By exception, a poison pill may be supported if its purpose is to delay a takeover that is considered sub-optimal and enable management to seek an improved offer. Similarly, management could make the case to use a poison pill to block a shareholder activism campaign that may be counter to the interests of other investors. Defense mechanisms introduced in these circumstances should be limited in term and threshold, and also be closely monitored by the independent members of the board. We look for a shareholder vote for any mechanisms expected to be in place for more than 12 months.

Shareholder activism

When companies are the focus of an activism campaign, we may engage with the activist to understand their analysis and objectives, once they have gone public. We will also engage with company management and possibly board members, especially those the activist may be seeking to replace. In our assessment, we evaluate various factors, including the concerns raised by the activist and the case for change; the quality of

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both the activist’s and management’s plans; and the qualifications of each party’s candidates. We evaluate each contested situation by assessing the potential financial outcome for our clients as minority shareholders.

We may support board candidates nominated by a shareholder activist if the activist has demonstrated that their case for change enhances shareholder value, or if the incumbent board members do not demonstrate the relevant skills and expertise or have a poor track record of protecting shareholders’ interests.

Significant shareholders and related party transactions

Boards of companies with affiliated shareholders or directors should be able to demonstrate that the interests of all shareholders are given equitable consideration.

Transactions with related parties, such as significant shareholders or companies connected with the public company, should be disclosed in detail and conducted on terms similar to what would objectively have been agreed with a non-related party. Such transactions should be reviewed and approved by the independent members of the board, and if voted on, only disinterested shareholders should vote.

Corporate reporting, risk management and audit

Investors depend on corporate reporting, both regulatory and voluntary, to understand a company’s strategy, its implementation and financial performance, as well as to assess the quality of management and operations and potential for the company to create shareholder value over time. The board should oversee corporate reporting and the policies and procedures underpinning the internal audit function and external audit.

A company’s financial reporting should provide decision-useful information for investors and other stakeholders on its financial performance and position. It should provide an accurate and balanced assessment of the risks and opportunities the company faces in realizing its long-term strategy. Accordingly, the assumptions made by management and reviewed by the auditor in preparing the financial statements should be reasonable and justified. Financial statements should be prepared in accordance with globally developed reporting standards and any divergence from generally accepted accounting principles should be explained in detail and justified. Accounting restatements should be explained in detail and any remedial actions, and the implications of these, disclosed.

In this context, audit committees play a vital role in a company’s financial reporting system by providing independent oversight of the accounts, material financial and, where appropriate to the jurisdiction, nonfinancial information, internal control frameworks and Enterprise Risk Management systems. In our view, effective audit committee oversight strengthens the quality and reliability of a company’s financial statements and provides an important level of reassurance to shareholders. Audit committees should have a procedure in place for assessing the independence of the auditor and the quality of the external audit process annually.

Similarly, material sustainability-related factors that are integral to how a company manages risks or generates revenue should be disclosed. In our view, the standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board, can be helpful to companies in preparing such reports. 4

4 | The objective of IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information is to require an entity to disclose information about its sustainability-related risks and opportunities that is useful to primary users of general-purpose financial reports in making decisions relating to providing resources to the entity. The objective of IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures is to require an entity to disclose information about its climate-related risks and opportunities that is useful to primary users of general-purpose financial reports in making decisions relating to providing resources to the entity.

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Companies should establish robust risk management and internal control processes appropriate to the company’s business, risk tolerance, and regulatory environment. A credible whistleblowing system for employees, and potentially other stakeholders, can be a useful mechanism for ensuring that senior management and the board are aware of potential misconduct or breaches in risk management and internal control processes.

A comprehensive audit conducted by an independent audit firm contributes to investor confidence in the quality of corporate reporting. It is helpful when the audit report gives some insight into the scope and focus of the audit, as well as any critical audit matters identified and how these were resolved. A comprehensive and effective audit is time and resource intensive, and the audit fee should be commensurate. Fees paid to the audit firm for non-audit consulting should not exceed the audit fee to a degree that may prompt concerns about the independence of the audit. The audit committee should explain its position on auditor tenure and how it confirmed that the auditor remained independent.

We may vote against the election of the responsible directors if corporate reporting is insufficient or there are material misstatements in financial reports. In markets where relevant, we may vote against a proposal to approve the financial statements or the discharge of the board when we are concerned about the quality of the reporting or the audit. We may vote against proposals to appoint the auditor, ratify the audit report, or approve the audit fee if we are concerned about the auditor’s independence, the quality of the audit, or there are material misstatements in financial reports and the board has not established reasonable remediation plans.

Shareholder rights and protections

General shareholder meetings

Companies normally have an annual general meeting of shareholders at which routine and non-routine items of business are discussed and voted on by shareholders in attendance or submitting proxy votes. Companies should disclose materials relevant to the shareholder meeting sufficiently in advance so that shareholders can take them into consideration in their voting decisions. Many companies offer shareholders the option of participating in the meeting virtually which, whilst welcome, should not limit the rights of shareholders to participate as they would during an in-person meeting.

We may vote against directors when materials related to the business of the shareholder meeting are not provided in a timely manner or do not provide sufficient information for us to take an informed voting decision. We may vote against directors if the format of the shareholder meeting does not accommodate reasonable shareholder participation.

Bylaw amendments

We review bylaw amendments proposed by management on a case-by-case basis and will generally support those that are aligned with the interests of minority shareholders. Any material changes to the bylaws should be explained in detail and put to a shareholder vote.

We may vote against bylaw amendments that reduce shareholder rights and protections. We may vote against directors if material changes are made to the bylaws without shareholder approval.

If not provided for in the relevant corporate law, company bylaws should allow shareholders, individually or as a group, with a meaningful shareholding the right to call a special meeting of shareholders. The shareholding required to exercise this right should balance its utility with the cost to the company of holding special meetings.

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If not provided for in the relevant corporate law, company bylaws should allow shareholders, individually or as a group, with a meaningful shareholding the right to nominate directors to the company’s board. The threshold for this right should be set so that shareholders can exercise it without being unduly disruptive to the board’s own nomination process.

Whilst we would not use either of these rights ourselves, we see them as important accountability mechanisms. We may vote for a shareholder proposal seeking the addition of either of these provisions to a company’s bylaws.

Change of domicile

We generally defer to management on proposals to change a company’s domicile as long as the rationale for doing so is consistent with the company’s long-term strategy and business model and the related costs are immaterial.

We may vote against directors or a proposal to change a company’s domicile where it does not seem aligned with our clients’ financial interests.

Changes to a company’s purpose or the nature of its business

Plans to materially change the nature of a company’s business or its purpose should be disclosed and explained in the context of long-term strategy and business dynamics. Such changes may significantly alter an investor’s views on the suitability of a company for their investment strategy or portfolio.

Where relevant, we may vote against proposals to change a company’s purpose or the nature of its business if the board has not provided a credible argument for change.

Shareholder proposals

Shareholders in many markets, who meet certain eligibility criteria, have the right to submit proposals to the general shareholder meeting asking a company to take a particular course of action subject to the proposal being supported by a majority of votes cast at the meeting. The topics raised address a range of governance, social and environmental matters that may be relevant to a company’s business. Shareholder proposals are considered by many investors to be an escalation tool when a company is unresponsive to their engagement.

We vote on these proposals on a case-by-case basis. We assess the relevance of the topic raised to a company’s business and its current approach, whether the actions sought are consistent with shareholders’ interests, and what impact the proposal being acted upon might have on financial performance.

Our general approach where we have concerns about a company’s governance, disclosures or performance is to engage to understand the apparent difference in perspective. If we continue to believe the company is not acting in shareholders’ financial interests, we may vote against the election of directors. We may support a relevant shareholder proposal if doing so reinforces the points made in our engagement or is aligned with our clients’ financial interests. We generally do not support shareholder proposals that are legally binding on the company, seek to alter a company’s strategy or direct its operations, or are unrelated to how a company manages risk or generates financial returns.

BlackRock is subject to legal and regulatory requirements in the U.S. that place restrictions and limitations on how we can interact with the companies in which we invest on behalf of our clients, including our ability to submit shareholder proposals. We can vote on behalf of clients who authorize us to do so, on proposals put forth by others.

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Corporate political activities

We seek to understand how companies ensure that their direct and indirect engagement in the policy making process is consistent with their public statements on policy matters important to the company’s long-term strategy. The board should be aware of the approach taken to corporate political activities as there can be reputational risks arising from inconsistencies. Companies should, as a minimum, meet all regulatory disclosure requirements on political activities, and ideally, provide accessible and clear disclosures to shareholders on policy positions, public policy engagement activities and political donations. To mitigate the risk of inconsistencies, companies can usefully assess the alignment between their policy priorities and the policy positions of the trade associations of which they are active members and any engagements undertaken by trade associations on behalf of members.

Generally, this is an engagement matter, although we may support a relevant shareholder proposal, or vote against directors, where a company’s disclosures are insufficient, or it becomes public that there is a material contradiction in a company’s public policy positions and its policy engagement.

Sustainability, or environmental and social, considerations

We seek to understand how companies manage the risks and opportunities inherent in their business operations. In our experience, sustainability-related factors5 that are relevant to a company’s business or material to its financial performance, are generally operational considerations embedded into day-to-day management systems. Certain sustainability issues may also inform long-term strategic planning, for example, investing in product innovation in anticipation of changing consumer demand or adapting supply chains in response to changing regulatory requirements.

We recognize that the specific sustainability-related factors that may be financially material or business relevant will vary by company business model, sector, key markets, and time horizon, amongst other considerations. From company disclosures and our engagement, we aim to understand how management is identifying, assessing and integrating material sustainability-related risks and opportunities into their business decision-making and practices. Doing so helps us undertake a more holistic assessment of a company’s potential financial performance and the likely risk-adjusted returns of an investment.

We may vote against directors or support a relevant shareholder proposal if we have concerns about how a company is managing or disclosing its approach to material sustainability-related risks that may impact financial returns.

5 | By material sustainability-related risks and opportunities, we mean the drivers of risk and financial value creation in a company’s business model that have an environmental or social dependency or impact. Examples of environmental issues include, but are not limited to, water use, land use, waste management, and climate risk. Examples of social issues include, but are not limited to, human capital management, impacts on the communities in which a company operates, customer loyalty, and relationships with regulators. It is our view that well-managed companies will effectively evaluate and manage material sustainability-related risks and opportunities relevant to their businesses. Governance is the core means by which boards can oversee the creation of durable financial value over time. Appropriate risk oversight of business-relevant and material sustainability-related considerations is a component of a sound governance framework.

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Key stakeholders

In our view, companies should understand and take into consideration the interests of the various parties on whom they depend for their success over time. It is for each company to determine their key stakeholders based on what is material to their business and long-term financial performance. For many companies, key stakeholders include employees, business partners (such as suppliers and distributors), clients and consumers, regulators, and the communities in which they operate. Companies that appropriately balance the interests of investors and other stakeholders are, in our experience, more likely to be financially resilient over time.

Climate and decarbonization investment objectives

Certain active BlackRock funds have climate and decarbonization objectives in addition to financial objectives. Consistent with the objectives of those investment strategies, our stewardship activity in relation to the holdings in those funds differs in some respects from BAIS’ benchmark guidelines, which are described above. Specifically, for those funds’ holdings, we look to investee companies to demonstrate that they are aligned with a decarbonization pathway that means their business model would be viable in a low-carbon economy, i.e., one in which global temperature rise is limited to 1.5pC above pre-industrial levels. This approach is only taken following BlackRock receiving the explicit approval from the applicable fund board.

The decarbonization stewardship guidelines focus on companies which produce goods and services that contribute to real world decarbonization or have a carbon intensive business model and face outsized impacts from the low carbon transition, based on reported and estimated scopes 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. These companies should provide disclosures that set out their governance, strategy, risk management processes and metrics and targets relevant to decarbonization. These disclosures should include an explanation of the decarbonization scenarios a company is using in its near- and long-term planning, as well as its scope 1, scope 2 and material scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduction targets for scope 1 and 2 emissions. As with the BAIS benchmark policies, we consider the climate-risk reporting standard issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board, IFRS S2, a useful reference for such reporting.

Under these climate- and decarbonization-specific guidelines, BAIS may recommend a vote against directors or support for a relevant shareholder proposal if a company does not appear to be adequately addressing or disclosing material climate-related risks. We may recommend supporting shareholder proposals seeking information relevant to a company’s stated low-carbon transition strategy and targets that the company does not currently provide and that would be helpful to investment decision-making. As under the BAIS benchmark approach, the active portfolio managers are ultimately responsible for voting consistent with their investment mandate and fund objectives.

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Appendix 1: How we fulfil and oversee our active investment stewardship responsibilities

Oversight

The Global Head of BAIS has primary oversight of and responsibility for the team’s activities, including voting in accordance with the BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines (“the Guidelines”), which require the application of professional judgment and consideration of each company’s unique circumstances, as well as input from active investors. BAIS is independent from BlackRock Investment Stewardship in our engagement and voting activities, reporting lines, and oversight.

The Active Investment Stewardship Oversight Committee, comprised of senior representatives of the active investment, legal and risk teams, reviews and advises on amendments to BAIS’ Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines. The Committee also considers developments in corporate governance, related public policy, and market norms and how these might influence BAIS’ policies and practices. The Committee does not determine voting decisions, which are the responsibility of BAIS and the relevant active equity investors.

In addition, there is a standing advisory group of senior active investors who counsel BAIS on complex or high-profile votes before a recommendation is finalized and escalated to the portfolio managers with holdings in the company under consideration. This group also formally reviews any revisions to the Engagement and Voting Guidelines proposed by BAIS as part of its annual review.

BAIS carries out engagement with companies in collaboration with active investment colleagues, executes proxy votes, and conducts vote operations (including maintaining records of votes cast) in a manner consistent with the Guidelines. BAIS also conducts research on corporate governance issues and participates in industry discussions to contribute to and keep abreast of important developments in the corporate governance field. BAIS may use third parties for certain of the foregoing activities and performs oversight of those third parties (see “Use and oversight of third-party vote services providers” below).

Voting guidelines and vote execution

BlackRock votes on proxy issues when our clients authorize us to do so. We carefully consider the voting items submitted to funds and other fiduciary account(s) (Fund or Funds) for which we have voting authority. BlackRock votes (or refrains from voting) for each Fund for which we have voting authority based on our evaluation of the alignment of the voting items with the long-term economic interests of our clients, in the exercise of our independent business judgment, and without regard to the relationship of the issuer (or any shareholder proponent or dissident shareholder) to the Fund, the Fund’s affiliates (if any), BlackRock or BlackRock’s affiliates, or BlackRock employees (see “Conflicts management policies and procedures,” below).

When exercising voting rights, BAIS will normally vote on specific proxy issues in accordance with the Guidelines, although portfolio managers have the right to vote differently on their holdings if they determine doing so is more aligned with the investment objective and financial interests of clients invested in the funds they manage.

The Guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. BAIS applies the Guidelines on a case-by-case basis, in the context of the individual circumstances of each company and the specific issue under review. As such,

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the Guidelines do not indicate how BAIS will vote in every instance. Rather, they reflect our view about corporate governance issues generally, and provide insight into how we typically approach issues that commonly arise on corporate ballots. The Guidelines are reviewed annually and updated as necessary to reflect changes in market practices, developments in corporate governance and feedback from companies and clients. In this way, BAIS aims to maintain policies that explain our approach to governance practices most aligned with clients’ long-term financial interests.

In certain markets, proxy voting involves logistical issues which can affect BAIS’ ability to vote such proxies, as well as the desirability of voting such proxies. These issues include, but are not limited to: i) untimely notice of shareholder meetings; ii) restrictions on a foreigner’s ability to exercise votes; iii) requirements to vote proxies in person; iv) “share-blocking” (requirements that investors who exercise their voting rights surrender the right to dispose of their holdings for some specified period in proximity to the shareholder meeting); v) potential difficulties in translating the proxy; vi) regulatory constraints; and vii) requirements to provide local agents with unrestricted powers of attorney to facilitate voting instructions. We are not supportive of impediments to the exercise of voting rights such as share-blocking or overly burdensome administrative requirements.

BlackRock votes proxies in these situations on a “best-efforts” basis. In addition, BAIS may determine that it is generally in the interests of BlackRock’s clients not to vote proxies (or not to vote our full allocation) if the costs (including but not limited to opportunity costs associated with share-blocking constraints) associated with exercising a vote are expected to outweigh the benefit the client would derive by voting on the proposal.

Voting Choice

BlackRock offers Voting Choice, a program that provides eligible clients with more opportunities to participate in the proxy voting process where legally and operationally viable.

Voting Choice is currently available for eligible clients invested in certain institutional pooled funds in the U.S., UK, and Canada that use systematic active equity (SAE) and multi-asset strategies. In addition, institutional clients in separately managed accounts (SMAs) are eligible for BlackRock Voting Choice regardless of their investment strategies.6

As a result, the shares attributed to BlackRock in company share registers may be voted differently depending on whether our clients have authorized BAIS to vote on their behalf, have authorized BlackRock to vote in accordance with a third-party policy, or have elected to vote shares in accordance with their own policy. Our clients have greater control over proxy voting because of Voting Choice. BlackRock does not disclose client information, including a client’s selection of proxy policy, without client consent.

Use and oversight of third-party vote services providers

Third-party vote services providers – or proxy research firms - provide research and recommendations on proxy votes, as well as voting infrastructure. As mentioned previously, BlackRock contracts primarily with the vote services provider ISS and leverages its online platform to supply research and support voting, record keeping, and reporting processes. We also use Glass Lewis’ research and analysis as an input into

6 | With Voting Choice, SMAs have the ability to select from a set of voting policies from third-party proxy advisers the policy that best aligns with their views and preferences. BlackRock can then use its proxy voting infrastructure to cast votes based on the client’s selected voting policy.

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our voting process. It is important to note that, although proxy research firms provide important data and analysis, BAIS does not rely solely on their information or follow their voting recommendations. A company’s disclosures, our past engagements and voting, investment colleagues’ insights and our voting guidelines are important inputs into our voting decisions on behalf of clients.

Given the large universe of actively held companies, BAIS employs the proxy services provider to streamline the voting process by making voting recommendations based on BAIS’ voting guidelines when the items on a shareholder meeting agenda are routine. Agenda items that are not routine are referred back to BAIS to assess, escalate as necessary to the relevant portfolio managers and vote. BAIS reviews and can override the recommendations of the vote services provider at any time prior to the vote deadline. Both BAIS and the vote services provider actively monitor securities filings, research reports, company announcements, and direct communications from companies to ensure awareness of supplemental disclosures and proxy materials that may require a modification of votes.

BAIS closely monitors the third-party vote services providers we contract with to ensure that they are meeting our service level expectations and have effective policies and procedures in place to manage potential conflicts of interest. Our oversight of service providers includes regular meetings with client service teams, systematic monitoring of vendor operations, as well as annual due diligence meetings in accordance with BlackRock’s firmwide policies.

Conflicts management policies and procedures

BAIS maintains policies and procedures that seek to prevent undue influence on BlackRock’s proxy voting activity. Such influence might stem from any relationship between the investee company (or any shareholder proponent or dissident shareholder) and BlackRock, BlackRock’s affiliates, a Fund or a Fund’s affiliates, or BlackRock employees. The following are examples of sources of perceived or potential conflicts of interest:

| ● |  | BlackRock clients who may be issuers of securities or proponents of shareholder resolutions

| ● |  | BlackRock business partners or third parties who may be issuers of securities or proponents of shareholder resolutions

| ● |  | BlackRock employees who may sit on the boards of public companies held in Funds managed by BlackRock

| ● |  | Significant BlackRock, Inc. investors who may be issuers of securities held in Funds managed by BlackRock

| ● |  | Securities of BlackRock, Inc. or BlackRock investment funds held in Funds managed by BlackRock

| ● |  | BlackRock, Inc. board members who serve as senior executives or directors of public companies held in Funds managed by BlackRock

BlackRock has taken certain steps to mitigate perceived or potential conflicts including, but not limited to, the following:

| ● |  | Adopted the Guidelines which are designed to advance our clients’ long-term economic interests in the companies in which BlackRock invests on their behalf

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| ● |  | Established a reporting structure that separates BAIS from employees with sales, vendor management, or business partnership roles. In addition, BlackRock seeks to ensure that all engagements with corporate issuers, dissident shareholders or shareholder proponents are managed consistently and without regard to BlackRock’s relationship with such parties. Clients or business partners are not given special treatment or differentiated access. BAIS prioritizes engagements based on factors including, but not limited to, our need for additional information to make a voting decision or our view on the likelihood that an engagement could lead to positive outcome(s) over time for the economic value of the company. Within the normal course of business, BAIS may engage directly with BlackRock clients, business partners and/or third parties, and/or with employees with sales, vendor management, or business partnership roles, in discussions regarding our approach to stewardship, general corporate governance matters, client reporting needs, and/or to otherwise ensure that proxy-related client service levels are met

| ● |  | Determined to engage, in certain instances, an independent third-party voting service provider to make proxy voting recommendations as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest, to satisfy regulatory compliance requirements, or as may be otherwise required by applicable law. In such circumstances, the independent third-party voting service provider provides BlackRock with recommendations, in accordance with the Guidelines, as to how to vote such proxies. BlackRock uses an independent third-party voting service provider to make proxy voting recommendations for shares of BlackRock, Inc. and companies affiliated with BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock may also use an independent third-party voting service provider to make proxy voting recommendations for:

| o | public companies that include BlackRock employees on their boards of directors

| o | public companies of which a BlackRock, Inc. board member serves as a senior executive or a member of the board of directors

| o | public companies that are the subject of certain transactions involving BlackRock Funds

| o | public companies that are joint venture partners with BlackRock, and

| o | public companies when legal or regulatory requirements compel BlackRock to use an independent third-party voting service provider

In selecting an independent third-party voting service provider, we assess several characteristics, including but not limited to: independence, an ability to analyze proxy issues and make recommendations in the economic interest of our clients in accordance with the Guidelines, reputation for reliability and integrity, and operational capacity to accurately deliver the assigned recommendations in a timely manner. We may engage more than one independent third-party voting service provider, in part to mitigate potential or perceived conflicts of interest at a single voting service provider. The Active Investment Stewardship Oversight Committee appoints and reviews the performance of the independent third-party voting service providers, generally on an annual basis.

Securities lending

When so authorized, BlackRock acts as a securities lending agent on behalf of Funds. Securities lending is a well-regulated practice that contributes to capital market efficiency. It also enables funds to generate additional returns while allowing fund providers to keep fund expenses lower.

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With regard to the relationship between securities lending and proxy voting, BlackRock cannot vote shares on loan and may determine to recall them for voting, as guided by our fiduciary duty as an asset manager to our clients in helping them achieve their investment goals. While this has occurred in a limited number of cases, the decision to recall securities on loan as part of BlackRock’s securities lending program in order to vote is based on an evaluation of various factors that include, but are not limited to, assessing potential securities lending revenue alongside the potential long-term financial value to clients of voting those securities (based on the information available at the time of recall consideration). BAIS works with active portfolio managers, as well as colleagues in the Securities Lending and Risk and Quantitative Analysis teams, to evaluate the costs and benefits to clients of recalling shares on loan.

In almost all instances, BlackRock anticipates that the potential long-term financial value to clients of voting shares would not warrant recalling securities on loan. However, in certain instances, BlackRock may determine, in our independent business judgment as a fiduciary, that the value of voting outweighs the securities lending revenue loss to clients and would therefore recall shares to be voted in those instances.

Periodically, BlackRock reviews our process for determining whether to recall securities on loan in order to vote and may modify it as necessary.

Reporting and vote transparency

BAIS is committed to transparency in the stewardship work we do on behalf of clients. We inform clients about our engagement and voting policies and activities through direct communication and disclosure on our website.

Want to know more?

blackrock.com/stewardship | ContactActiveStewardship@blackrock.com

The document is provided for information purposes only and is subject to change. Reliance upon this information is at the sole discretion of the reader.

Prepared by BlackRock, Inc.

©2024 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. BLACKROCK is a trademark of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.

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