497 1 e32186_497.htm 497

EQUITY FUNDS

SUPPLEMENT DATED JULY 3, 2008 TO THE
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Effective July 3, 2008, Part II of the Statement of Additional Information is amended as set forth below:

The chart beginning on page II-2 is revised as follows:

The line item title “Limitations on Currency Hedging” on page II-2 is hereby deleted and replaced with “Limitations on Currency Transactions”.

The line item “Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”)” on page II-3 is hereby amended to insert “X” under the column “Mid Cap Value Opportunities”.

The subsections under “Investment Risks and Considerations — Options on Securities and Securities Indices” entitled “Forward Foreign Exchange Transactions”, “Currency Futures”, “Currency Options” and “Limitations on Currency Hedging,” beginning on page II-13, are deleted in their entirety and replaced with the following:

  Forward Foreign Exchange Transactions. Forward foreign exchange transactions are OTC contracts to purchase or sell a specified amount of a specified currency or multinational currency unit at a price and future date set at the time of the contract. Spot foreign exchange transactions are similar but require current, rather than future, settlement. A Fund will enter into foreign exchange transactions for purposes of hedging either a specific transaction or a portfolio position, or, with respect to certain Funds, to seek to enhance returns. A Fund may enter into a foreign exchange transaction for purposes of hedging a specific transaction by, for example, purchasing a currency needed to settle a security transaction or selling a currency in which the Fund has received or anticipates receiving a dividend or distribution. A Fund may enter into a foreign exchange transaction for purposes of hedging a portfolio position by selling forward a currency in which a portfolio position of the Fund is denominated or by purchasing a currency in which the Fund anticipates acquiring a portfolio position in the near future. A Fund 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. Forward foreign exchange transactions involve substantial currency risk, and also involve credit and liquidity risk. A Fund may also hedge a currency by entering into a transaction in a Currency Instrument denominated in a currency other than the currency being hedged (a “cross-hedge”). A Fund will only enter into a cross-hedge if the Manager believes that (i) there is a demonstrably high correlation between the currency in which the cross-hedge is denominated and the currency being hedged, and (ii) executing a cross-hedge through the currency in which the cross-hedge is denominated will be significantly more cost-effective or provide substantially greater liquidity than executing a similar hedging transaction by means of the currency being hedged.

  Currency Futures. A Fund may also seek to enhance returns or hedge against the decline in the value of a currency 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. A Fund may also seek to enhance returns or hedge against the decline in the value of a currency 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. A Fund may engage in transactions in options on currencies either on exchanges or OTC markets. See “Types of Options” above and “Additional Risk Factors of OTC Transactions; Limitations on the Use of OTC Derivatives” below. Currency options involve substantial currency risk, and may also involve credit, leverage or liquidity risk.

  Limitations on Currency Transactions. A Fund will not hedge a currency in excess of the aggregate market value of the securities that it owns (including receivables for unsettled securities sales), or has committed to purchase or anticipates purchasing, which are denominated in such currency. Open positions in forward


 
   

  foreign exchange transactions used for non-hedging purposes will be covered by the segregation of liquid assets and are marked to market daily. A Fund’s exposure to futures or options on currencies will be covered as described below under “Risk Factors in Derivatives.”

The section entitled “Selective Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings,” beginning on page II-34, is revised as follows:

The fifth paragraph of the section is revised by adding as the final entry in the list:

  Portfolio Compliance Consultants — i-Flex Solutions, Inc.

The section entitled “Potential Conflicts of Interest,” beginning on page II-35, is revised as follows:

The following is added as a new paragraph after paragraph 17 of the section, which is found on page II-38:

  The Manager may utilize certain electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) 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 the Manager even though incurred in connection with executing transactions on behalf of clients, including the Funds. In certain circumstances, ECNs may offer volume discounts that will reduce the access fees typically paid by the Manager. This would have the effect of reducing the access fees paid by the Manager. The Manager will only utilize ECNs consistent with its obligation to seek to obtain best execution in client transactions.

The following is added as the penultimate paragraph of the section:

  A Fund’s custody arrangements could give rise to a potential conflict of interest with the Manager where the Manager has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse ordinary operating expenses in order to cap a Fund’s expenses. This is because a Fund’s custody arrangements may provide for a reduction in custody fees as a result, for example, of a Fund’s leaving cash balances uninvested. When a Fund’s actual operating expense ratio exceeds a stated cap, a reduction in custody fees reduces the amount of waivers and/or reimbursements the Manager would be required to make to the Fund. This could be viewed as having the potential to provide the Manager with an incentive to keep high positive cash balances for Funds with expense caps in order to offset custody fees that the Manager might otherwise reimburse. However, the Manager’s portfolio managers do not intentionally keep uninvested balances high, but rather make investment decisions that they anticipate will be beneficial to Fund performance.

The section entitled “Purchase of Shares,” beginning on page II-41, is revised as follows:

The third paragraph of the section is revised by deleting the last sentence and replacing it with the following:

  Each Fund may enter into agreements with certain firms whereby such firms will be able to convert shares of a Fund from one class of shares to another class of shares of the same Fund. Shareholders should consult with their own tax advisors regarding any tax consequences relating to such conversions. Each Fund may reject any purchase order, modify or waive the minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements and suspend and resume the sale of any share class of any Fund at any time.

The first sentence of the section entitled “Purchase of Shares — Reduced Initial Sales Charges — Purchase Privileges of Certain Persons — Other,” beginning on page II-44, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

  The following persons associated with the Funds, the Fund’s investment adviser, sub-advisers, distributors, fund accounting agent or transfer agent and their affiliates may buy Investor A shares of each of the Funds without paying a sales charge to the extent permitted by these firms: (a) officers, directors and partners; (b) employees and retirees; (c) representatives of firms who have entered into selling agreements to distribute shares of BlackRock-advised funds; (d) immediate family members of such persons; and (e) any trust, pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for any of the persons set forth in (a) through (d).

 
  2 

The section entitled “Purchase of Shares — Other Compensation to Selling Dealers” beginning on page II-49 is revised as follows:

The seventh paragraph of the section, located on page II-50, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

  The payments described above may be made, at the discretion of FAMD, BDI, BlackRock or their affiliates, to Service Organizations in connection with the sale and distribution of Fund shares. Pursuant to applicable Financial Industry Regulatory Authority regulations, the details of certain of these payments, including the Service Organizations receiving such payments in connection with the sale and distribution of Fund shares, are required to be disclosed. As of the date of this Statement of Additional Information, as amended or supplemented from time to time, the following Service Organizations are receiving such payments: AXA Advisors, LLC, Banc of America Investment Services, Inc., Citigroup, LPL Financial Corporation, Merrill Lynch, MetLife Securities, Inc., Morgan Stanley, New England Securities Corporation, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., Tower Square Securities Inc., UBS, Wachovia Securities, Walnut Street Securities Inc. and/or broker-dealers under common control with the above organizations. The level of payments made to these Service Organizations in any year will vary and normally will not exceed the sum of (a) 0.25% of such year’s Fund sales by that Service Organization and (b) 0.21% of the assets attributable to that Service Organization invested in a Fund.

A section entitled “Purchase of Shares — Other Distribution Arrangements” is hereby added as the last section under “Purchase of Shares” as follows:

  Other Distribution Arrangements

  Certain Funds and BlackRock have entered into distribution agreements with UBS AG and BMO Harris Investment Management Inc. whereby those firms may, in certain circumstances, sell certain shares of the Funds in certain jurisdictions. The level of payments made to UBS AG in any year for the sale and distribution of a Fund’s shares will vary and normally will not exceed the sum of the service fee payable on the assets attributable to UBS AG plus an additional fee equal to a percentage of such assets which shall range up to 0.25%. BMO Harris Investment Management Inc. does not receive payments in connection with the sale and distribution of Fund shares.

The section entitled “Redemption of Shares,” beginning on page II-51 is revised as follows:

The first paragraph of the section is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

  Shares normally will be redeemed for cash upon receipt of a request in proper form, although each Fund retains the right to redeem some or all of its shares in-kind under unusual circumstances, in order to protect the interests of remaining shareholders, or to accommodate a request by a particular shareholder that does not adversely affect the interest of the remaining shareholders, by delivery of securities selected from the Fund’s assets at its discretion. In-kind payment means payment will be made in portfolio securities rather than cash. If this occurs, the redeeming shareholder might incur brokerage or other transaction costs to convert the securities to cash. The redemption price is the net asset value per share next determined after the initial receipt of proper notice of redemption. The value of shares of each Fund at the time of redemption may be more or less than your cost at the time of purchase, depending in part on the market value of the securities held by the Fund at such time. Except for any CDSC or redemption fee that may be applicable, there will be no redemption charge if your redemption request is sent directly to the Transfer Agent. If you are liquidating your holdings you will receive all dividends reinvested through the date of redemption.

The section entitled “Pricing of Shares,” beginning on page II-57, is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

PRICING OF SHARES

  Valuation of Shares. The net asset value for each class of shares of each Fund is calculated as of the close of regular trading hours on the NYSE (currently 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on each business day the NYSE is open.

  The principal asset of each Feeder Fund will normally be its interest in an underlying Master Portfolio. The value of that interest is based on the net assets of the Master Portfolio, which are comprised of the value of

 
  3 

  the securities held by the Master Portfolio plus any cash or other assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus all liabilities (including accrued expenses of the Master Portfolio). Expenses of a Master Portfolio, including the investment advisory fees, are accrued daily. The net asset value of a Feeder Fund is equal to the value of the Feeder Fund’s proportionate interest in the net assets of the Master Portfolio plus any cash or other assets, minus all liabilities (including accrued expenses) of the Feeder Fund. To determine a Feeder Fund’s net asset value per share, the Feeder Fund’s net asset value is divided by the total number of shares outstanding of the Feeder Fund at such time (on a class by class basis), rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses, including fees payable to the Administrator and Distributors, are accrued daily.

  The per share net asset value of Investor A, Investor B, Investor C, Class R and Service shares generally will be lower than the per share net asset value of Institutional shares, reflecting the daily expense accruals of the account maintenance and distribution fees applicable with respect to Investor B, Investor C and Class R shares and the daily expense accruals of the account maintenance fees applicable with respect to Investor A and Service shares. Moreover, the per share net asset value of the Investor B, Investor C and Class R shares generally will be lower than the per share net asset value of Investor A and Service shares reflecting the daily expense accruals of the distribution fees applicable with respect to Investor B, Investor C and Class R shares of a Fund. In addition, the per share net asset value of Investor B and Investor C shares generally will be lower than the per share net asset value of Class R shares due to the daily expense accruals of the higher distribution fees applicable to Investor B and Investor C shares. It is expected, however, that the per share net asset value of all classes of a Fund will tend to converge (although not necessarily meet) immediately after the payment of dividends, which will differ by approximately the amount of the expense accrual differentials between the classes.

  Valuation of securities held by each Fund is as follows:

  Equity Investments. Securities traded on a recognized securities exchange or on the NASDAQ Global Market System are valued at the last reported sale price that day or the NASDAQ official closing price, if applicable; if a security is traded on more than one exchange, the last reported sale price on the exchange where the stock is primarily traded is used; securities traded on a recognized securities exchange for which there were no sales on that day are valued at the last bid (long position) or ask (short position) price; if no bid or ask price is available, the prior day’s price will be used, unless it is determined that such prior day’s price no longer reflects the fair value of the security.

  Fixed Income Investments. Fixed income securities for which market quotations are readily available are generally valued using such securities’ most recent bid prices provided directly from one or more broker-dealers, market makers, or independent third-party pricing services which may use matrix pricing and valuation models to derive values, each in accordance with valuation procedures approved by a Fund’s Board; the amortized cost method of valuation may be used with respect to debt obligations with sixty days or less remaining to maturity unless the investment adviser and/or sub-adviser determines such method does not represent fair value; floating rate loan interests are generally valued at the mean between the last available bid prices from one or more brokers or dealers as obtained from an independent third-party pricing service.

  Options, Futures and Swaps. Exchange-traded options are valued at the mean between the last bid and ask prices at the close of the options market on which the option is traded; an exchange-traded option for which there is no mean price is valued at the last bid (long position) or ask (short position) price; if no bid or ask price is available, the prior day’s price will be used, unless it is determined that such prior day’s price no longer reflects the fair value of the option. OTC options are valued by an independent pricing service using a mathematical model which incorporates a number of market data factors; financial futures contracts and options thereon, which are traded on exchanges, are valued at their last sale price as of the close of such exchanges; swap agreements are valued daily based upon quotations from market makers or by a pricing service in accordance with the valuation procedures approved by the Board.

  Underlying Funds. Shares of underlying open-end funds are valued at net asset value.

*  *  *
 

  4 

  In determining the market value of portfolio investments, each Fund 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 specific adjustments. This may result in the securities being valued at a price different from the price that would have been determined had the matrix or formula method not been used. All cash, receivables and current payables are carried on each Fund’s books at their face value.

 

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 specified by the Fund’s Board as reflecting fair value. All other assets and securities (including securities for which market quotations are not readily available) held by a Fund (including restricted securities) are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Fund’s Board or by BlackRock (its delegate).

Any assets which are denominated in a non-U.S. currency are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing rates of exchange.


 

Certain of the securities acquired by the Funds may be traded on non-U.S. exchanges or over-the-counter markets on days on which a Fund’s net asset value is not calculated. In such cases, the net asset value of a Fund’s shares may be significantly affected on days when investors can neither purchase nor redeem shares of the Fund.

For Funds organized in a master-feeder structure, each investor in a Master Portfolio may add to or reduce its investment in the Master Portfolio on each day the NYSE is open for trading. The value of each investor’s (including a Feeder Fund’s) interest in a Master Portfolio will be determined after the close of business on the NYSE by multiplying the net asset value of the Master Portfolio by the percentage, effective for that day, that represents that investor’s share of the aggregate interests in the Master Portfolio. Any additions or withdrawals to be effected on that day will then be effected. The investor’s percentage of the aggregate beneficial interests in a Master Portfolio will then be recomputed as the percentage equal to the fraction (i) the numerator of which is the value of such investor’s investment in the Master Portfolio as of the time of determination on such day plus or minus, as the case may be, the amount of any additions to or withdrawals from the investor’s investment in the Master Portfolio effected on such day, and (ii) the denominator of which is the aggregate net asset value of the Master Portfolio as of such time on such day plus or minus, as the case may be, the amount of the net additions to or withdrawals from the aggregate investments in the Master Portfolio by all investors in the Master Portfolio. The percentage so determined will then be applied to determine the value of the investor’s interest in a Master Portfolio after the close of business of the NYSE or the next determination of net asset value of the Master Portfolio.


  Fair Value. When market quotations are not readily available or are believed by BlackRock to be unreliable, a Fund’s investments are valued at fair value (“Fair Value Assets”).

  Fair Value Assets are valued by BlackRock in accordance with procedures approved by the Fund’s Board. BlackRock may conclude that a market quotation is not readily available or is unreliable if a security or other asset does not have a price source due to its lack of liquidity, if BlackRock believes a market quotation from a broker-dealer or other source is unreliable (e.g., where it varies significantly from a recent trade), where the security or other asset is thinly traded (e.g., municipal securities and certain non-U.S. securities can be expected to be thinly traded) or where there is a significant event subsequent to the most recent market quotation. For this purpose, a “significant event” is deemed to occur if the BlackRock Portfolio Management Group and/or the Pricing Group determines, in its business judgment prior to or at the time of pricing a Fund’s assets, that it is likely that the event will cause a material change to the last closing market price of one or more assets held by the Fund. On any date the NYSE is open and the primary exchange on which a foreign asset is traded is closed, such asset will be valued using the prior day’s price, provided that BlackRock 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, in which case such asset would be treated as a Fair Value Asset. For certain non-U.S. securities, a third-party vendor supplies evaluated, systematic fair value pricing based upon the movement of certain U.S.-based futures contracts that trade after the relevant non-U.S. markets have closed. This systematic fair value pricing methodology is designed to correlate the prices of foreign

 
  5 

  securities following the close of the local markets to the price that might have prevailed as of a Fund’s pricing time.

 

BlackRock’s Pricing Group, with input from the BlackRock Portfolio Management Group, will submit its recommendations regarding the valuation and/or valuation methodologies for Fair Value Assets to BlackRock’s Valuation Committee. The Valuation Committee may accept, modify or reject any recommendations. The pricing of all Fair Value Assets shall be subsequently reported to and ratified by the Board or a Committee thereof.

When determining the price for a Fair Value Asset, the Valuation Committee (or the Pricing Group) shall seek to determine the price that a Fund might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of that asset in an arms-length transaction. The price generally may not be determined based on what a Fund might reasonably expect to receive for selling an asset at a later time or if it holds the asset to maturity. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Valuation Committee (or Pricing Group) deems relevant.


  Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of a security. The fair value of one or more securities may not, in retrospect, be the price at which those assets could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used in determining a Fund’s net asset value. As a result, a Fund’s sale or redemption of its shares at net asset value, 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.

Code# EQ-SAI-0708