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