Form 485APOS

Dollar Range of Equity
Securities in the Fund

Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities in all
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen by
Trustee
in Family of
Investment Companies

Robert S. Kapito

Mark K. Wiedman

Cecilia H. Herbert

As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on January 9, 2018

iSHARES^® LONG-TERM NATIONAL MUNI BOND ETF

Ticker: ____

Stock Exchange: ______

Investment Objective

The iShares Long-Term National Muni Bond ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds with remaining maturities greater than or equal to fifteen years.

Fees and Expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you own shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between iShares Trust (the “Trust”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses.

You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the Example that follows:

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investments)
Management Fees	Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	Other Expenses	Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
__%	None	None	__%

Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of owning shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

	1 Year		3 Years
	$__		$__

S-1

Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the S&P 15+ Year National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index^TM (the “Underlying Index”), which measures the performance of the investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market with remaining maturities greater than or equal to fifteen years. As of October 2, 2017, there were 3,565 issues in the Underlying Index. As of October 2, 2017, a significant portion of the Underlying Index was represented by municipal bond issuers in the transportation and utilities sectors. The components of the Underlying Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, are likely to change over time.

The Underlying Index primarily includes municipal bonds from issuers that are state or local governments or agencies such that the interest on each such bond is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes and the federal alternative minimum tax (“AMT”). Each bond in the Underlying Index must have a rating of at least BBB- by S&P Global Ratings, Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., or BBB- by Fitch Ratings, Inc. A bond must be rated by at least one of these

three rating agencies in order to qualify for the Underlying Index, and the lowest rating will be used in determining if the bond is investment-grade. Each bond in the Underlying Index must be denominated in U.S. dollars, must be a constituent of an offering where the original offering amount was at least $100 million, and must have a minimum par amount of $25 million. To remain in the Underlying Index, bonds must maintain a minimum par amount greater than or equal to $25 million as of the next rebalancing date. In addition, each bond must have a remaining term to maturity and/or pre-refunded date that is greater than or equal to fifteen years and a minimum term to next call date greater than or equal to three years to be included in the Underlying Index. The Underlying Index is a market-value weighted index, and the securities in the Underlying Index are updated after the close on the last business day of each month.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will seek to maintain a weighted average maturity that is greater than ten years. Weighted average maturity is a U.S. dollar-weighted average of the remaining term to maturity of the underlying securities in the Fund’s portfolio.

BFA uses a “passive” or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to “beat” the index it tracks and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.

Indexing may eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the Underlying Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security

S-2

selection. Indexing seeks to achieve lower costs and better after-tax performance by keeping portfolio turnover low in comparison to actively managed investment companies.

BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Fund. “Representative sampling” is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The securities selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability, duration, maturity, credit ratings and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of an applicable underlying index. The Fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the Underlying Index.

The Fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index and may invest up to 10% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates (“BlackRock Cash Funds”), as well as in securities not included in the Underlying Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. From time to time when conditions warrant, however, the Fund may invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index and may invest up to 20% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including shares of BlackRock Cash Funds, as well as in securities not included in the Underlying

Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. The Fund will generally hold municipal bond securities issued by state and local municipalities whose interest payments are exempt from U.S. federal income tax, the federal AMT and the federal Medicare contribution tax of 3.8% on “net investment income.” In addition, the Fund intends to invest any cash assets in one or more affiliated municipal money market funds, which may be advised by BFA or its affiliates. The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index before fees and expenses of the Fund.

The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund’s total assets (including the value of any collateral received).

The Underlying Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the “Index Provider” or “SPDJI”), which is independent of the Fund and BFA. The Index Provider determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Underlying Index.

Industry Concentration Policy. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Underlying Index is concentrated. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not

S-3

considered to be issued by members of any industry.

Summary of Principal Risks

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. The Fund is subject to certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective.

Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Underlying Index or in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.

Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of this prospectus (the “Prospectus”)), a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, or a fund may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time in order to facilitate commencement of the Fund’s operations or to allow the Fund to achieve size or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, which could negatively impact the Fund.

the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined in the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares section of the Prospectus), Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

California and New York Municipal Securities Risk. Because the Fund invests substantially in California and New York municipal instruments, it is more exposed to the impact of negative political, economic and statutory factors within California and New York than a fund that invests more widely.

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security before its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower yields, which would result in a decline in the Fund's income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or

S-4

principal payments when due or otherwise honor their obligations. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation.

Cyber Security Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund's adviser, distributor, and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the Fund’s service providers, the Index Provider, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Extension Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, certain debt obligations may be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income and potentially in the value of the Fund’s investments.

Income Risk. The Fund's income may decline when interest rates fall. This decline can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio

mature, are near maturity, bonds in the Underlying Index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Underlying Index and that the Fund will therefore achieve its investment objective. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Underlying Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

Interest Rate Risk. An increase in interest rates may cause the value of securities held by the Fund to decline, may lead to heightened volatility in the fixed-income markets and may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income investments. The historically low interest rate environment increases the risks associated with rising interest rates.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. This can reduce the Fund's returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous

S-5

times or prices. The Fund invests a significant portion of its portfolio in municipal securities, which may be less liquid than comparable taxable bonds.

Management Risk. As the Fund may not fully replicate the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that BFA's investment strategy may not produce the intended results.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns.

Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruptions in the creation/redemption process. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUND'S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV.

Municipal Securities Risk. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political or economic changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer insolvency. Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively affected by the inability to collect revenues from the project or the assets.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may invest a large percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the Fund's performance may depend on the performance of a small number of issuers.

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and BFA seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address significant operational risks.

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed, and BFA generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets.

Risk of Investing in the United States. The Fund has significant exposure to U.S. issuers. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.

Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. Substitute payments received by the Fund with respect to municipal securities lent, if any, will not constitute tax-exempt interest income to the Fund.

S-6

Tax Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund's income will be exempt from U.S. federal income taxes, the federal AMT or the federal Medicare contribution tax of 3.8% on “net investment income.”

Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of a fund’s performance from that of the applicable underlying index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in a fund’s portfolio and those included in the applicable underlying index, pricing differences, differences in transaction costs, the fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of distributions, tax gains or losses, changes to the applicable underlying index or the costs to the fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because a fund incurs fees and expenses, while the applicable underlying index does not.

Transportation Infrastructure Industry Risk. The transportation infrastructure industry may be adversely

affected by economic changes, increases in fuel and operating costs, labor relations, insurance costs and government regulation and oversight. Municipal securities that are issued to finance a particular transportation infrastructure project (e.g., toll roads) often depend on revenues from that project to make principal and interest payments.

Utilities Sector Risk. Municipal securities that are issued to finance a particular utility project often depend on revenues from that project to make principal and interest payments. The utilities sector is subject to significant government regulation and oversight, and may be adversely affected by increases in fuel and operating costs, rising costs of financing capital construction and the cost of complying with U.S. federal and state regulations, among other factors.

Performance Information

As of the date of the Prospectus, the Fund has been in operation for less than one full calendar year and therefore does not report its performance information.

S-7

Management

Investment Adviser. BlackRock Fund Advisors.

Portfolio Managers. James Mauro and Scott Radell (the “Portfolio Managers”) are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager supervises a portfolio management team. Mr. Mauro and Mr. Radell have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since inception.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of ______ shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund's distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions primarily from net tax-exempt income, although distributions of taxable capital gains may also occur. The Fund is generally not an appropriate investment for a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Please consult your personal tax advisor.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), BFA or other related companies may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

S-8

More Information About the Fund

This Prospectus contains important information about investing in the Fund. Please read this Prospectus carefully before you make any investment decisions. Additional information regarding the Fund is available at www.iShares.com.

BFA is the investment adviser to the Fund. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on ____________ (the “Listing Exchange”). The market price for a share of the Fund may be different from the Fund’s most recent NAV.

ETFs are funds that trade like other publicly-traded securities. The Fund is designed to track an index. Similar to shares of an index mutual fund, each share of the Fund represents an ownership interest in an underlying portfolio of securities and other instruments intended to track a market index. Unlike shares of a mutual fund, which can be bought and redeemed from the issuing fund by all shareholders at a price based on NAV, shares of the Fund may be purchased or redeemed directly from the Fund at NAV solely by Authorized Participants and only in Creation Unit increments. Also unlike shares of a mutual fund, shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and trade in the secondary market at market prices that change throughout the day.

The Fund invests in a particular segment of the securities markets and seeks to track the performance of a securities index that may not be representative of the market as a whole. The Fund is designed to be used as part of broader asset allocation strategies. Accordingly, an investment in the Fund should not constitute a complete investment program.

An index is a financial calculation, based on a grouping of financial instruments, and is not an investment product, while the Fund is an actual investment portfolio. The performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary for a number of reasons, including transaction costs, non-U.S. currency valuations, asset valuations, corporate actions (such as mergers and spin-offs), timing variances and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from the Fund's use of representative sampling or from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not to the Underlying Index. From time to time, the Index Provider may make changes to the methodology or other adjustments to the Underlying Index. Unless otherwise determined by BFA, any such change or adjustment will be reflected in the calculation of the Underlying Index performance on a going-forward basis after the effective date of such change or adjustment. Therefore, the Underlying Index performance shown for periods prior to the effective date of any such change or adjustment will generally not be recalculated or restated to reflect such change or adjustment.

“Tracking error” is the divergence of the performance (return) of the Fund's portfolio from that of the Underlying Index. BFA expects that, over time, the Fund’s tracking error will not exceed 5%. Because the Fund uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, it can be expected to have a larger tracking error than if it used a replication indexing strategy. “Replication” is an indexing strategy in which a fund invests in

substantially all of the securities in its underlying index in approximately the same proportions as in the underlying index.

Under new continuous listing standards adopted by the Fund's listing exchange, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, the Fund is required to confirm on an ongoing basis that the components of the Underlying Index satisfy the applicable listing requirements. In the event that the Underlying Index does not comply with the applicable listing requirements, the Fund would be required to rectify such non-compliance by requesting that the Index Provider modify the Underlying Index, adopting a new underlying index, or obtaining relief from the SEC. Failure to rectify such non-compliance may result in the Fund being delisted by the listing exchange.

An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency, BFA or any of its affiliates.

The Fund's investment objective and the Underlying Index may be changed without shareholder approval.

A Further Discussion of Principal Risks

The Fund is subject to various risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV, trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. You could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund could underperform other investments.

Asset Class Risk. The securities and other assets in the Underlying Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to other securities or indexes that track other countries, groups of countries, regions, industries, groups of industries, markets, asset classes or sectors. Various types of securities and indexes may experience cycles of outperformance and underperformance in comparison to the general financial markets. This may cause the Fund to underperform other investment vehicles that invest in different asset classes.

Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, or a fund may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time in order to facilitate commencement of the Fund’s operations or to allow the Fund to achieve size or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, which could negatively impact the Fund.

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

California Municipal Securities Risk. The Fund will invest primarily in municipal securities issued by or on behalf of California. As a result, the Fund is more exposed to risks affecting issuers of California municipal securities than is a municipal securities fund that invests more widely. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the strength and duration of the economic recovery; the strength of the housing market recovery and the growth in construction spending; constitutional limitations affecting the ability of the State of California and municipalities to address financial downturns, including limitations on the ability of the State of California or municipalities to raise taxes, fees or charges without voter approval; the impact of federal deficit reduction measures; the performance of the national and State of California economies; the impact of international events on consumer confidence, oil supplies and oil prices; the impact of behavioral changes in reaction to income and sales tax increases; shifts in monetary policy affecting interest rates and the financial markets; the magnitude of pension and post-retirement health care commitments, and the impact on the funding of such benefits of lower than expected returns; the impact of consumer spending on tax collections; increased demand in entitlement-based and claims-based programs such as Medicaid, public assistance and general public health; access to the capital markets in light of disruptions in the market; litigation against the State of California; the risk of earthquakes or other natural catastrophes upon the State of California or localities; actions taken by the federal government, including audits, disallowances, changes in aid levels, and changes to Medicaid rules; and any reduction in the creditworthiness of issuers of California municipal securities. For more information on the risks associated with California municipal instruments, see the Special Considerations Regarding Investments in California Municipal Securities section of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security before its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower yields, which would result in a decline in the Fund’s income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund's investments are concentrated in the securities of a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, project types, group of project types, sector or asset class. The Fund may be more adversely affected by the underperformance of those securities, may experience increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting those securities than a fund that does not concentrate its investments.

Credit Risk. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt instrument or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement or loan of portfolio securities will be unable or unwilling to make its timely interest and/or principal payments when due or otherwise honor its obligations. There are varying degrees of credit risk, depending on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation, which may be reflected in the issuer’s or counterparty’s credit

rating. There is the chance that the Fund’s portfolio holdings will have their credit ratings downgraded or will default (i.e., fail to make scheduled interest or principal payments), or that the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may worsen, potentially reducing the Fund’s income level or share price.

Cyber Security Risk. With the increased use of technologies such as the internet to conduct business, the Fund, Authorized Participants, service providers and the relevant listing exchange are susceptible to operational, information security and related “cyber” risks both directly and through their service providers. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investment in such portfolio companies to lose value. Unlike many other types of risks faced by the Fund, these risks typically are not covered by insurance. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber security failures by or breaches of the systems of the Fund’s adviser, distributor and other service providers (including, but not limited to, index providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial losses, interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, disclosure of confidential trading information, impediments to trading, submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders, the inability of the Fund or its service providers to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. In addition, cyber attacks may render records of Fund assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Fund shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Fund inaccessible or inaccurate or incomplete. Substantial costs may be incurred by the Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While the Fund has established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Fund, issuers in which the Fund invests, the Index Provider, market makers or Authorized Participants. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline when interest rates fall. This decline can occur because the Fund must invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity, bonds in the Underlying Index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds. The Index Provider’s substitution of bonds in the Underlying Index may occur, for example, when the time to maturity for the bond no longer matches the Underlying Index’s stated maturity guidelines.

Index-Related Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve a return that corresponds generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Underlying Index as published by the Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider or any agents that may act on its behalf will compile the Underlying Index accurately, or that the Underlying Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider provides descriptions of what the Underlying Index is designed to achieve, neither the Index Provider nor its agents provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and they do not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with the Index Provider’s methodology. BFA’s mandate as described in this Prospectus is to manage the Fund consistently with the Underlying Index provided by the Index Provider to BFA. BFA does not provide any warranty or guarantee against the Index Provider’s or any agent’s errors. Errors in respect of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data used to compile the Underlying Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, particularly where the indices are less commonly used as benchmarks by funds or managers. Therefore, gains, losses or costs associated with errors of the Index Provider or its agents will generally be borne by the Fund and its shareholders. For example, during a period where the Underlying Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund would have market exposure to such constituents and would be underexposed to the Underlying Index’s other constituents. Such errors may negatively or positively impact the Fund and its shareholders.

Apart from scheduled rebalances, the Index Provider or its agents may carry out additional ad hoc rebalances to the Underlying Index in order, for example, to correct an error in the selection of index constituents. When the Underlying Index is rebalanced and the Fund in turn rebalances its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio rebalancing will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. Unscheduled rebalances to the Underlying Index may expose the Fund to additional tracking error risk, which is the risk that the Fund's returns may not track those of the Underlying Index. Therefore, errors and additional ad hoc rebalances carried out by the Index Provider or its agents to the Underlying Index may increase the costs to and the tracking error risk of the Fund.

Interest Rate Risk. As interest rates rise, the value of a fixed-income security held by the Fund is likely to decrease. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes, usually making their prices more volatile than those of securities with shorter durations. To the extent the Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in fixed-income securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates may cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly.

An increase in interest rates may lead to heightened volatility in the fixed-income markets and adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income investments. In addition, decreases in fixed-income dealer market-making capacity may also potentially lead to heightened volatility and reduced liquidity in the fixed-income markets.

The historically low interest rate environment was created in part by the U.S. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Fed”) and certain foreign central banks keeping the federal funds and equivalent foreign rates at or near zero percent. Economic recovery, the ending of the Fed’s quantitative easing program and the Fed’s increase in the target federal funds rate increase the likelihood of interest rates rising in the future.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Changes to the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline. An issuer may also be subject to risks associated with the countries in which the issuer invests, sells products, or otherwise conducts operations.

Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent the Fund invests in illiquid securities or securities that become less liquid, such investments may have a negative effect on the returns of the Fund because the Fund may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund invests in securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have increased exposure to liquidity risk. Liquidity risk may be the result of, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active market for such securities. Liquid investments may become illiquid or less liquid, particularly during periods of market turmoil or economic uncertainty. Illiquid and relatively less liquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. Although the Fund primarily seeks to redeem its shares in-kind, if the Fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This risk may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where redemptions from the Fund may be greater than normal. Other market participants may be attempting to liquidate fixed-income holdings at the same time as the Fund, causing increased supply of the Fund's underlying investments in the market and contributing to liquidity risk and downward pricing pressure. There can be no assurance that a security that is deemed to be liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid for as long as it is held by the Fund.

The market for municipal bonds may be less liquid than for taxable bonds. There may also be less information available on the financial condition of issuers of municipal securities than on public corporations. This means that it may be harder to buy and sell municipal securities, especially on short notice, and municipal securities may be more difficult for the Fund to value accurately than securities of public corporations. Since the Fund invests a significant portion of its portfolio in municipal securities, the Fund’s

portfolio may have greater exposure to liquidity risk than a fund that invests in comparable non-municipal securities.

Management Risk. The Fund may not fully replicate the Underlying Index and may hold securities not included in the Underlying Index. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that BFA’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Market risk arises mainly from uncertainty about future values of financial instruments influenced by price, currency and interest rate movements. It represents the potential loss the Fund may suffer through holding financial instruments in the face of market movements or uncertainty. Market risks may be influenced by price, currency and interest rate movements. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. During a general market downturn, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Fixed-income securities with short-term maturities are generally less sensitive to such changes than are fixed-income securities with longer-term maturities. Changes in market conditions and interest rates generally do not have the same impact on all types of securities and instruments. In addition, since many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects, such as those relating to education, health care, housing, transportation, utilities, and water and sewer, conditions in these industries can affect the overall municipal market.

Market Trading Risk

Absence of Active Market. Although shares of the Fund are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants.

Risk of Secondary Listings. The Fund's shares may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the U.S. stock exchange where the Fund's primary listing is maintained, and may otherwise be made available to non-U.S. investors through funds or structured investment vehicles similar to depositary receipts. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s shares will continue to trade on any such stock exchange or in any market or that the Fund’s shares will continue to meet the requirements for listing or trading on any exchange or in any market. The Fund's shares may be less actively traded in certain markets than in others, and investors are subject to the execution and settlement risks and market standards of the market where they or their broker direct their trades for execution. Certain information available to investors who trade Fund shares on a U.S. stock exchange during regular U.S. market hours may not be available to investors who trade in other markets, which may result in secondary market prices in such markets being less efficient.

Secondary Market Trading Risk. Shares of the Fund may trade in the secondary market at times when the Fund does not accept orders to purchase or redeem shares. At such

times, shares may trade in the secondary market with more significant premiums or discounts than might be experienced at times when the Fund accepts purchase and redemption orders.

Secondary market trading in Fund shares may be halted by a stock exchange because of market conditions or for other reasons. In addition, trading in Fund shares on a stock exchange or in any market may be subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules on the stock exchange or market.

Shares of the Fund, similar to shares of other issuers listed on a stock exchange, may be sold short and are therefore subject to the risk of increased volatility and price decreases associated with being sold short.

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Shares of the Fund trade on stock exchanges at prices at, above or below the Fund’s most recent NAV. The NAV of the Fund is calculated at the end of each business day and fluctuates with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The trading price of the Fund's shares fluctuates continuously throughout trading hours based on both market supply of and demand for Fund shares and the underlying value of the Fund's portfolio holdings or NAV. As a result, the trading prices of the Fund’s shares may deviate significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility, including during periods of significant redemption requests or other unusual market conditions. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUND'S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV. However, because shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units at NAV, BFA believes that large discounts or premiums to the NAV of the Fund are not likely to be sustained over the long term (unlike shares of many closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their NAVs). While the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it more likely that the Fund’s shares normally will trade on stock exchanges at prices close to the Fund’s next calculated NAV, exchange prices are not expected to correlate exactly with the Fund's NAV due to timing reasons, supply and demand imbalances and other factors. In addition, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, Authorized Participants, or other market participants, and during periods of significant market volatility, may result in trading prices for shares of the Fund that differ significantly from its NAV. Authorized Participants may be less willing to create or redeem Fund shares if there is a lack of an active market for such shares or its underlying investments, which may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Costs of Buying or Selling Fund Shares. Buying or selling Fund shares on an exchange involves two types of costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of the Fund through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission and other charges. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread”; that is, the difference between what investors are willing to pay for Fund shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which they are willing to sell Fund shares (the “ask” price). The spread, which varies over time for shares of the Fund based on trading volume and market liquidity, is generally narrower if the Fund has more trading volume and market liquidity and wider if the Fund has less trading volume and market liquidity.

In addition, increased market volatility may cause wider spreads. There may also be regulatory and other charges that are incurred as a result of trading activity. Because of the costs inherent in buying or selling Fund shares, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment results and an investment in Fund shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments through a brokerage account.

Municipal Securities Risk. Municipal securities are subject to the risk that litigation, legislation or other political events, local business or economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuer’s ability to make payments of principal and/or interest or otherwise affect the value of such securities.

Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political or economic changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer insolvency. Because many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects, such as those related to education, health care, housing, transportation, utilities, and water and sewer, conditions in these sectors can affect the overall municipal market. In addition, changes in the financial condition of an individual municipal insurer can affect the overall municipal market.

Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively affected by the discontinuance of the tax benefits supporting the project or assets or the inability to collect revenues from the project or the assets. Municipal securities may be less liquid than taxable bonds, and there may be less publicly available information on the financial condition of municipal security issuers than for issuers of other securities. The Fund and BFA will rely on the opinion of issuers’ bond counsel on the tax-exempt status of interest on municipal bonds. Neither the Fund nor BFA will independently review the bases for those tax opinions, which may ultimately be determined to be incorrect, potentially resulting in the Fund and its shareholders being subject to substantial tax liabilities.

New York Municipal Securities Risk. The Fund will invest primarily in municipal securities issued by or on behalf of New York. As a result, the Fund is more exposed to risks affecting issuers of New York municipal securities than is a municipal securities fund that invests more widely. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the strength and duration of the economic recovery; the impact of federal deficit reduction measures; the performance of the national and State of New York economies; the impact of international events on consumer confidence, oil supplies and oil prices; the impact of behavioral changes concerning financial sector profitability and the structure of financial sector bonus payouts, as well as any future legislation governing the structure of compensation; shifts in monetary policy affecting interest rates and the financial markets; the impact of financial and real estate market developments on bonus income and capital gains realizations; the impact of consumer spending on tax collections; increased demand in entitlement-based and claims-based programs such as Medicaid, public assistance and general public health; access to the capital markets in light of disruptions in the market; litigation against New York; actions taken by the federal government, including audits, disallowances, changes in aid levels, and

changes to Medicaid rules; risks concerning the implementation of gap-closing actions, including reductions in agency spending; and any reduction in the creditworthiness of issuers of New York municipal securities. For more information on the risks associated with New York municipal instruments, see the Special Considerations Regarding Investments in New York Municipal Securities section of the Fund’s SAI.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified.” This means that the Fund may invest a large percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the Fund may be more susceptible to the risks associated with these particular issuers or to a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence affecting these issuers.

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed and may be affected by a general decline in market segments related to the Underlying Index. The Fund invests in securities included in, or representative of, the Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. BFA generally does not attempt to invest the Fund's assets in defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets.

Risk of Investing in the United States. The Fund has significant exposure to U.S. issuers. A decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations and/or an economic recession in the U.S. may have a material adverse effect on the U.S. economy and the securities listed on U.S. exchanges. Proposed and adopted policy and legislative changes in the U.S. are changing many aspects of financial and other regulation and may have a significant effect on the U.S. markets generally, as well as on the value of certain securities. In addition, a continued rise in the U.S. public debt level or U.S. austerity measures may adversely affect U.S. economic growth and the securities to which the Fund has exposure.

The U.S. has developed increasingly strained relations with a number of foreign countries, including traditional allies, such as certain European countries, and historical adversaries, such as North Korea, Iran, China and Russia. If these relations were to worsen, it could adversely affect U.S. issuers as well as non-U.S. issuers that rely on the U.S. for trade. The U.S. has also experienced increased internal unrest and discord. If this trend were to continue, it may have an adverse impact on the U.S. economy and the issuers in which the Fund invests.

BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A., the Fund's securities lending agent, will take into account the tax impact to shareholders of substitute payments for dividends when managing the Fund's securities lending program. Substitute payments received by the Fund with respect to municipal securities lent, if any, will not constitute tax-exempt interest income to the Fund.

Tax Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s income will be exempt from U.S. federal income taxes, the federal AMT or the federal Medicare contribution tax of 3.8% on “net investment income.” The Index Provider relies on the bond issuer’s prospectus disclosure of the opinion from its counsel as to the tax-exempt status of the investment. Similarly, for municipal bonds not represented in the Underlying Index, BFA relies on prospectus disclosure of the tax opinion from the bond issuer’s counsel. Neither BFA nor the Fund guarantees that these opinions are correct, and there is no assurance that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) will agree with the bond issuer’s counsel’s tax opinion. Issuers or other parties generally enter into covenants requiring continuing compliance with U.S. federal tax requirements to preserve the tax-free status of interest payments over the life of the security. If at any time the covenants are not complied with, or if the IRS otherwise determines that the issuer did not comply with relevant tax requirements, interest payments from a security could become federally taxable, possibly retroactively to the date the security was issued, and the security could decline significantly in value. For municipal bonds not included in the Underlying Index, BFA will generally seek to obtain bonds that pay interest that is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes, the federal AMT and the federal Medicare contribution tax. The interest on any money market instruments or other cash equivalents held by the Fund may be subject to the federal AMT or the federal Medicare contribution tax.

Events occurring after the date of issuance of a municipal bond or after the Fund’s acquisition of a municipal bond may result in a determination that interest on that bond is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax, federal AMT or federal Medicare contribution tax purposes retroactively to its date of issuance. Such a determination may cause a portion of prior distributions by the Fund to its shareholders to be taxable to those shareholders in the year of receipt. U.S. federal or state changes in income, federal AMT or federal Medicare contribution tax rates or in the tax treatment of municipal bonds may make municipal bonds less attractive as investments and cause them to lose value.

Transportation Infrastructure Industry Risk. The transportation infrastructure industry may be adversely affected by economic changes, increases in fuel and operating costs, labor relations, insurance costs, and, in certain countries, significant government regulation and oversight. Municipal securities that are issued to finance a particular transportation project (e.g., toll roads) often depend on revenues from that project to make principal and interest payments. Adverse conditions and developments affecting a particular project can result in lower revenues to the issuer of the municipal securities. Other risk factors that may affect the transportation infrastructure industry include the risk of increases in fuel and other operating costs and the effects of regulatory changes or other government decisions.

Utilities Sector Risk. The utilities sector may be adversely affected by deregulation, which can lead to increased competition; difficulty raising capital and financing large construction programs during periods of inflation or unsettled capital markets; restrictions on operations and increased cost and delays attributable to environmental considerations and regulations; costs associated with technical innovations; the scarcity of certain fuels or the effects of man-made disasters. In addition, existing and possible future regulations or legislation may reduce the profitability of the utilities sector or subject the sector to greater risks of loss. Energy conservation and prolonged changes in climatic conditions may also adversely impact the utilities sector. Municipal securities that are issued to finance a particular utility project often depend on revenues from that project to make principal and interest payments. Adverse conditions and developments affecting a particular utility project can result in lower revenues to the issuer of the municipal securities.

Portfolio Holdings Information

A description of the Trust's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI. The top holdings of the Fund can be found at www.iShares.com. Fund fact sheets provide information regarding the Fund's top holdings and may be requested by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

Management

Investment Adviser. As investment adviser, BFA has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Fund. BFA provides an investment program for the Fund and manages the investment of the Fund’s assets. In managing the Fund, BFA may draw upon the research and expertise of its asset management affiliates with respect to certain portfolio securities. In seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective, BFA uses teams of portfolio managers, investment strategists and other investment specialists. This team approach brings together many disciplines and leverages BFA’s extensive resources.

Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement between BFA and the Trust (entered into on behalf of the Fund), BFA is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses,

litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses (as determined by a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust).

For its investment advisory services to the Fund, BFA is paid a management fee from the Fund based on a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets, at the annual rate of ___%. BFA may from time to time voluntarily waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit total annual fund operating expenses (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, if any). Any such voluntary waiver or reimbursement may be eliminated by BFA at any time.

BFA is located at 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. It is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”). As of _________, 2017, BFA and its affiliates provided investment advisory services for assets in excess of $____ trillion. BFA and its affiliates trade and invest for their own accounts in the actual securities and types of securities in which the Fund may also invest, which may affect the price of such securities.

A discussion regarding the basis for the approval by the Trust's Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Investment Advisory Agreement with BFA will be available in the Fund's _________ report for the period ending __________.

Portfolio Managers. James Mauro and Scott Radell are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager is responsible for various functions related to portfolio management, including, but not limited to, investing cash inflows, coordinating with members of his portfolio management team to focus on certain asset classes, implementing investment strategy, researching and reviewing investment strategy and overseeing members of his portfolio management team that have more limited responsibilities.

James Mauro has been employed by BFA as a portfolio manager since 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Mauro was a Vice President at State Street Global Advisors. Mr. Mauro has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception.

Scott Radell has been employed by BFA as a portfolio manager since 2004. Mr. Radell was a credit strategist from 2003 to 2004 and became a portfolio manager at Barclays Global Fund Advisors in 2004. Mr. Radell has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since inception.

The Fund's SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers and the Portfolio Managers' ownership (if any) of shares in the Fund.

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent. State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) is the administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Fund.

Conflicts of Interest. The investment activities of BFA and its affiliates (including BlackRock and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., and their affiliates, directors, partners, trustees, managing members, officers and employees (collectively, the “Affiliates”)) in the management of, or their interest in, their own accounts and other accounts they manage, may present conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Fund and its shareholders. BFA and the other Affiliates provide investment

management services to other funds and discretionary managed accounts that may follow investment programs similar to that of the Fund. BFA and the other Affiliates are involved worldwide with a broad spectrum of financial services and asset management activities and may engage in the ordinary course of business in activities in which their interests or the interests of their clients may conflict with those of the Fund. BFA or one or more of the other Affiliates acts, or may act, as an investor, investment banker, research provider, investment manager, commodity pool operator, commodity trading advisor, financier, underwriter, adviser, market maker, trader, prime broker, lender, agent or principal, and have other direct and indirect interests in securities, currencies, commodities, derivatives and other instruments in which the Fund may directly or indirectly invest. Thus, it is likely that the Fund will have multiple business relationships with and will invest in, engage in transactions with, make voting decisions with respect to, or obtain services from, entities for which BFA or an Affiliate performs or seeks to perform investment banking or other services. Specifically, the Fund may invest in securities of, or engage in other transactions with, companies with which an Affiliate has developed or is trying to develop investment banking relationships or in which an Affiliate has significant debt or equity investments or other interests. The Fund also may invest in securities of, or engage in other transactions with, companies for which an Affiliate provides or may in the future provide research coverage. An Affiliate may have business relationships with, and purchase, distribute or sell services or products from or to, distributors, consultants or others who recommend the Fund or who engage in transactions with or for the Fund, and may receive compensation for such services. The Fund may also make brokerage and other payments to Affiliates in connection with the Fund's portfolio investment transactions.

BFA or an Affiliate may engage in proprietary trading and advise accounts and funds that have investment objectives similar to those of the Fund and/or that engage in and compete for transactions in the same types of securities, currencies and other instruments as the Fund, including securities issued by other open-end and closed-end investment companies (which may include investment companies that are affiliated with the Fund and BFA, to the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)). The trading activities of BFA and these Affiliates are carried out without reference to positions held directly or indirectly by the Fund and may result in BFA or an Affiliate having positions in certain securities that are senior or junior to, or having interests different from or adverse to, the securities that are owned by the Fund.

No Affiliate is under any obligation to share any investment opportunity, idea or strategy with the Fund. As a result, an Affiliate may compete with the Fund for appropriate investment opportunities. The results of the Fund's investment activities, therefore, may differ from those of an Affiliate and of other accounts managed by an Affiliate, and it is possible that the Fund 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.

In addition, the Fund may, from time to time, enter into transactions in which BFA’s or an Affiliate’s other clients have an adverse interest. Furthermore, transactions undertaken by Affiliate-advised clients may adversely impact the Fund. Transactions by

one or more Affiliate-advised clients or by BFA may have the effect of diluting or otherwise disadvantaging the values, prices or investment strategies of the Fund.

The Fund's activities may be limited because of regulatory restrictions applicable to one or more Affiliates and/or their internal policies designed to comply with such restrictions.

Under a securities lending program approved by the Board, the Fund has retained an Affiliate of BFA to serve as the securities lending agent for the Fund to the extent that the Fund participates in the securities lending program. For these services, the securities lending agent will retain a share of the securities lending revenues. BFA or an Affiliate will also receive compensation for managing the reinvestment of cash collateral. In addition, one or more Affiliates may be among the entities to which the Fund may lend its portfolio securities under the securities lending program.

The activities of BFA or the Affiliates may give rise to other conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Fund and its shareholders. BFA has adopted policies and procedures designed to address these potential conflicts of interest. See the Fund's SAI for further information.

Shareholder Information

Additional shareholder information, including how to buy and sell shares of the Fund, is available free of charge by calling toll-free: 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or visiting our website at www.iShares.com.

Buying and Selling Shares. Shares of the Fund may be acquired or redeemed directly from the Fund only in Creation Units or multiples thereof, as discussed in the Creations and Redemptions section of this Prospectus. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section below) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. Once created, shares of the Fund generally trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a Creation Unit.

Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange for trading during the trading day. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like shares of other publicly-traded companies. The Trust does not impose any minimum investment for shares of the Fund purchased on an exchange or otherwise in the secondary market. The Fund's shares trade under the ticker symbol “___.”

Buying or selling Fund shares on an exchange or other secondary market involves two types of costs that may apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of the Fund through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission and other charges. The commission is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread,” that is, any difference between the bid price and the ask price. The spread varies over time for shares of the Fund based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the Fund has high trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the Fund has little trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The Fund's spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the

underlying securities held by the Fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities.

The Board has adopted a policy of not monitoring for frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“frequent trading”) that appear to attempt to take advantage of a potential arbitrage opportunity presented by a lag between a change in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities after the close of the primary markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities and the reflection of that change in the Fund’s NAV (“market timing”), because the Fund sells and redeems its shares directly through transactions that are in-kind and/or for cash, subject to the conditions described below under Creations and Redemptions. The Board has not adopted a policy of monitoring for other frequent trading activity because shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange.

The national securities exchange on which the Fund's shares are listed is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays (or the days on which they are observed): New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The Fund’s primary Listing Exchange is ______.

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in SEC rules or in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust. In order for a registered investment company to invest in shares of the Fund beyond the limitations of Section 12(d)(1) pursuant to the exemptive relief obtained by the Trust, the registered investment company must enter into an agreement with the Trust.

Book Entry. Shares of the Fund are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of, and holds legal title to, all outstanding shares of the Fund.

Investors owning shares of the Fund are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for shares of the Fund. DTC participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other registered investment company securities that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form.

Share Prices. The trading prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV and are affected by market forces such as the supply of and demand for ETF shares and underlying securities held by the Fund, economic conditions and other factors. Information regarding the intraday value of shares of the Fund, also known as the “indicative optimized portfolio value” (“IOPV”), is

disseminated every 15 seconds throughout each trading day by the national securities exchange on which the Fund's shares are listed or by market data vendors or other information providers. The IOPV is based on the current market value of the securities or other assets and/or cash required to be deposited in exchange for a Creation Unit. The IOPV does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities or other assets held by the Fund at a particular point in time or the best possible valuation of the current portfolio. Therefore, the IOPV should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the Fund's NAV, which is computed only once a day. The IOPV is generally determined by using both current market quotations and price quotations obtained from broker-dealers and other market intermediaries that may trade in the portfolio securities or other assets held by the Fund. The quotations of certain Fund holdings may not be updated during U.S. trading hours if such holdings do not trade in the U.S. The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the IOPV and makes no representation or warranty as to its accuracy.

Determination of Net Asset Value. The NAV of the Fund normally is determined once daily Monday through Friday, generally as of the regularly scheduled close of business of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day that the NYSE is open for trading, based on prices at the time of closing, provided that (i) any Fund assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers and (ii) U.S. fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments in a particular market or exchange. The NAV of the Fund is calculated by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund, generally rounded to the nearest cent.

The value of the securities and other assets and liabilities held by the Fund are determined pursuant to valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board.

The Fund values fixed-income portfolio securities using last available bid prices or current market quotations provided by dealers or prices (including evaluated prices) supplied by the Fund's approved independent third-party pricing services, each in accordance with valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board. Pricing services may use matrix pricing or valuation models that utilize certain inputs and assumptions to derive values. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but the Fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller odd lot sizes. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. An amortized cost method of valuation may be used with respect to debt obligations with sixty days or less remaining to maturity unless BFA determines in good faith that such method does not represent fair value.

Generally, trading in non-U.S. securities, U.S. government securities, money market instruments and certain fixed-income securities is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of business on the NYSE. The values of such securities used in computing the NAV of the Fund are determined as of such times.

When market quotations are not readily available or are believed by BFA to be unreliable, the Fund’s investments are valued at fair value. Fair value determinations

are made by BFA in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the Board. BFA may conclude that a market quotation is not readily available or is unreliable if a security or other asset or liability does not have a price source due to its lack of liquidity or other reasons, if a market quotation differs significantly from recent price quotations or otherwise no longer appears to reflect fair value, where the security or other asset or liability is thinly traded, when there is a significant event subsequent to the most recent market quotation, or if the trading market on which a security is listed is suspended or closed and no appropriate alternative trading market is available. A “significant event” is deemed to occur if BFA determines, in its reasonable business judgment prior to or at the time of pricing the Fund’s assets or liabilities, that the event is likely to cause a material change to the closing market price of one or more assets or liabilities held by the Fund.

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 Fund is the amount the Fund 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. Valuing the Fund’s investments using fair value pricing will result in prices that may differ from current market valuations and that may not be the prices at which those investments could have been sold during the period in which the particular fair values were used. Use of fair value prices and certain current market valuations could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV and the prices used by the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Underlying Index.

Dividends and Distributions

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, generally are declared and paid at least once a year by the Fund. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis for the Fund. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a regulated investment company or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains.

Dividends and other distributions on shares of the Fund are distributed on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners then of record with proceeds received from the Fund.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by beneficial owners of the Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

Taxes. As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in shares of the Fund will be taxed. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information, based on current law. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Fund.

Unless your investment in Fund shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, in which case your distributions generally will be taxable when withdrawn, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Fund shares.

Taxes on Distributions.

Dividends paid by the Fund that are properly reported as tax-exempt interest dividends will not be subject to regular U.S. federal income tax. The Fund intends to invest its assets in a manner such that dividend distributions to its shareholders will generally be exempt from U.S. federal income taxation, including the federal AMT. Dividends paid by the Fund will be exempt from U.S. federal income tax (though not necessarily exempt from state and local taxation) to the extent of the Fund’s tax-exempt interest income as long as 50% or more of the value of the Fund’s assets at the end of each quarter is invested in state, municipal and other bonds that are excluded from gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes and as long as the Fund properly reports such dividends as tax-exempt interest dividends. Exempt interest dividends from interest earned on municipal securities of a state, or its political subdivisions, may be exempt from income tax in that state. However, income from municipal securities of other states generally will not qualify for tax-free treatment.

Distributions from the Fund’s net investment income other than from net tax-exempt income, including distributions of income from securities lending and distributions out of the Fund’s net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income. The Fund's distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, in excess of net short-term capital losses (capital gain dividends) are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held the Fund’s shares. Long-term capital gains are eligible for taxation at a maximum rate of 20% for non-corporate shareholders, depending on whether their income exceeds certain threshold amounts. Taxable distributions from the Fund are subject to a 3.8% U.S. federal Medicare contribution tax on “net investment income,” for individuals with incomes exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 if married and filing jointly) and of estates and trusts. Distributions from the Fund are not expected to qualify as qualified dividend income. In general, any taxable distributions are subject to U.S. federal income tax for the year when they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year.

Any market discount recognized on a bond is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value or adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount. To the extent the Fund does not include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on the Fund's disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount.

If you lend your Fund shares pursuant to securities lending arrangements, you may

lose the ability to treat Fund dividends (paid while the shares are held by the borrower) as tax-exempt income. Consult your financial intermediary or tax advisor.

A 30% withholding tax is currently imposed on U.S.-source dividends, interest and other income items and will be imposed on proceeds from the sale, redemption or other disposition of property producing U.S.-source dividends and interest paid after December 31, 2018, to (i) foreign financial institutions, including non-U.S. investment funds, unless they agree to collect and disclose to the IRS information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. account holders and (ii) certain other foreign entities, unless they certify certain information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. owners. To avoid withholding, foreign financial institutions will need to (i) enter into agreements with the IRS that state that they will provide the IRS information, including the names, addresses and taxpayer identification numbers of direct and indirect U.S. account holders; comply with due diligence procedures with respect to the identification of U.S. accounts; report to the IRS certain information with respect to U.S. accounts maintained; agree to withhold tax on certain payments made to non-compliant foreign financial institutions or to account holders who fail to provide the required information; and determine certain other information as to their account holders, or (ii) in the event that an applicable intergovernmental agreement and implementing legislation are adopted, provide local revenue authorities with similar account holder information. Other foreign entities may need to report the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner or provide certifications of no substantial U.S. ownership, unless certain exceptions apply.

If you are a resident or a citizen of the U.S., by law, backup withholding at a 24% rate will apply to your distributions and proceeds if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number and made other required certifications.

Shareholders will receive information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends and long-term capital gains distributed to them by the Fund during the prior year. Likewise, the amount of tax-exempt income, including any tax-exempt income subject to AMT, that the Fund distributes will be reported and such income must be reported on the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return. The AMT is a separate tax system that operates in parallel to the regular federal income tax system but eliminates many deductions and exclusions. The AMT has different tax rates and treats as taxable certain types of income that are nontaxable for regular income tax purposes. The interest on certain “private activity” municipal bonds is taxable income for AMT purposes. If a taxpayer’s overall AMT liability is higher than regular income tax liability, then the taxpayer owes the regular income tax liability plus the difference between the AMT liability and the regular income tax liability.

Taxes When Shares are Sold. Currently, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares held for one year or less is generally treated as short-term gain or loss, except that any capital loss on the sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that capital gain dividends were paid with respect to such shares. Any such capital gains, including from sales of Fund shares or from

capital gain dividends, are included in “net investment income” for purposes of the 3.8% U.S. federal Medicare contribution tax mentioned above.

If your shares are lent out pursuant to a securities lending arrangement, you may lose any ability to use the non-U.S. tax credits passed through by the Fund.

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current U.S. federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You may also be subject to state and local taxation on Fund distributions and sales of shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Fund under all applicable tax laws.

Creations and Redemptions. Prior to trading in the secondary market, shares of the Fund are “created” at NAV by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size Creation Units of ______ shares or multiples thereof. Each “creator” or authorized participant (an “Authorized Participant”) has entered into an agreement with the Fund's distributor, BlackRock Investments, LLC (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of BFA.

A creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by the Distributor and the Fund, generally takes place when an Authorized Participant deposits into the Fund a designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) (“Deposit Securities”) and a specified amount of cash approximating the holdings of the Fund in exchange for a specified number of Creation Units. To the extent practicable, the composition of such portfolio generally corresponds pro rata to the holdings of the Fund. However, creation baskets will generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the Fund. The Fund may, in certain circumstances, offer Creation Units partially or solely for cash.

Similarly, shares can be redeemed only in Creation Units, generally for a designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) held by the Fund (“Fund Securities”) and a specified amount of cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable by the Fund.

The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after a creation or redemption order is received in an acceptable form under the authorized participant agreement.

The Deposit Securities required for purchase of a Creation Unit may be different than the Fund Securities the Fund will deliver upon redemption of Fund shares. The Deposit Securities and Fund Securities, as applicable, in connection with a purchase or redemption of a Creation Unit, generally will correspond pro rata, to the extent practicable, to the securities held by the Fund.

Only an Authorized Participant may create or redeem Creation Units with the Fund. Authorized Participants may create or redeem Creation Units for their own accounts or for customers, including, without limitation, affiliates of the Fund.

In the event of a system failure or other interruption, including disruptions at market makers or Authorized Participants, orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units either may not be executed according to the Fund's instructions or may not be executed at all, or the Fund may not be able to place or change orders.

To the extent the Fund engages in in-kind transactions, the Fund intends to comply with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposit and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities by, among other means, assuring that any securities accepted for deposit and any securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, will not be able to receive restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

Creations and redemptions must be made through a firm that is either a member of the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation or a DTC participant that has executed an agreement with the Distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Unit aggregations. Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of Creation Units (including the cut-off times for receipt of creation and redemption orders) is included in the Fund's SAI.

Because new shares may be created and issued on an ongoing basis, at any point during the life of the Fund a “distribution,” as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may be occurring. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. Any determination of whether one is an underwriter must take into account all the relevant facts and circumstances of each particular case.

Broker-dealers should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the 1933 Act is available only with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange.

Costs Associated with Creations and Redemptions. Authorized Participants are charged standard creation and redemption transaction fees to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units. The standard creation and redemption transaction fees are set forth in the table below. The standard creation transaction fee is charged to the Authorized Participant on the day such Authorized Participant creates a Creation Unit, and is the same regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased by the Authorized Participant on the applicable business day. Similarly, the standard redemption transaction fee is charged to the Authorized Participant on the day such Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit, and is the same regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed by the Authorized Participant on the applicable business day. Creations and redemptions for cash (when cash creations and redemptions (in whole or in part) are available or specified) are also subject to an additional charge (up to the maximum amounts shown in the table below). This charge is intended to compensate for

brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to cash transactions (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs). Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to acquire or dispose of Fund shares may pay fees for such services.

The following table shows, as of ________, 2018, the approximate value of one Creation Unit, standard fees and maximum additional charges for creations and redemptions (as described above and in the Fund's SAI):

Approximate Value of a Creation Unit		Creation Unit Size		Standard Creation/ Redemption Transaction Fee		Maximum Additional Charge for Creations*		Maximum Additional Charge for Redemptions*
$________		______		$____		____%		____%

*	As a percentage of the net asset value per Creation Unit, inclusive, in the case of redemptions, of the standard redemption transaction fee.

Householding. Householding is an option available to certain Fund investors. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Please contact your broker-dealer if you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, or if you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status.

Distribution

The Distributor or its agent distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the Fund. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor’s principal address is 1 University Square Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540.

BFA or its affiliates make payments to broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks or other intermediaries (together, “intermediaries”) related to marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, data provision services, or their making shares of the Fund and certain other iShares funds available to their customers generally and in certain investment programs. Such payments, which may be significant to the intermediary, are not made by the Fund. Rather, such payments are made by BFA or its affiliates from their own resources, which come directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the iShares funds complex. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. A financial intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it recommends or makes available, or the level of services provided, to its customers based on the payments or other financial incentives it is eligible to receive. Therefore, such payments or other financial incentives offered or made to an intermediary create conflicts of interest between the

Index Provider

SPDJI is the Index Provider for the Underlying Index and is not affiliated with the Trust, BFA, State Street, the Distributor or any of their respective affiliates.

SPDJI is a resource for index-based concepts, data and research. The Index Provider provides financial, economic and investment information and analytical services to the financial community. The Index Provider calculates and maintains the S&P Global 1200^TM, which includes the S&P 500^® for the U.S., the S&P Europe 350^TM for Continental Europe, Ireland and the United Kingdom, the S&P/TOPIX 150^TM for Japan, the S&P Asia 50^TM, the S&P/TSX 60^TM for Canada, the S&P/ASX 50^TM and the S&P Latin America 40^TM. The Index Provider also publishes the S&P MidCap 400^®, S&P SmallCap 600^®, S&P Total Market Index^TM and S&P U.S. REIT^TM for the U.S. The Index Provider calculates and maintains the S&P Global Broad Market Index (BMI) Series, a set of rules-based equity benchmarks covering developed and emerging countries around the world. Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.

BFA or its affiliates have entered into a license agreement with the Index Provider to use the Underlying Index. BFA or its affiliates sublicense rights in the Underlying Index to the Trust at no charge.

Disclaimers

The Underlying Index is a product of SPDJI, and has been licensed for use by BFA or its affiliates. Standard & Poor’s^® and S&P^® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, a division of S&P Global (“S&P”); Dow Jones^® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); iShares^® and BlackRock^® are registered trademarks of BFA and its affiliates, and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by the Trust. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund in particular or the ability of the Underlying Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to the Trust and BFA and their affiliates with respect to the Underlying Index is the licensing of the Underlying Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The Underlying Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to the Trust, BFA or its affiliates or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of BFA or its affiliates or the owners of shares of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Underlying Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of shares of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of such shares or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which shares of the Fund are to be converted into cash, surrendered or

redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of shares of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Underlying Index will accurately track the Underlying Index’s performance or provide positive investment returns. SPDJI is not an investment adviser. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE UNDERLYING INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY BFA OR ITS AFFILIATES, OWNERS OF SHARES OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE UNDERLYING INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBLITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND BFA OR ITS AFFILIATES, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

Shares of the Fund are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by ______. ______ makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the ability of the Fund to track the total return performance of the Underlying Index or the ability of the Underlying Index to track stock market performance. ______ is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of the Underlying Index, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of shares of the Fund to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. ______ has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the shares of the Fund.

______ does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Underlying Index or any data included therein. ______ makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Trust on behalf of the

Fund as licensee, licensee’s customers and counterparties, owners of the shares of the Fund, or any other person or entity from the use of the Underlying Index or any data included therein in connection with the rights licensed as described herein or for any other use. ______ makes no express or implied warranties and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Underlying Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall ______ have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

The past performance of the Underlying Index is not a guide to future performance. BFA and its affiliates do not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of the Underlying Index or any data included therein and BFA and its affiliates shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. BFA and its affiliates make no warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the Fund or to any other person or entity, as to results to be obtained by the Fund from the use of the Underlying Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall BFA or its affiliates have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

For more information visit www.iShares.com or call 1-800-474-2737

Copies of the Prospectus, SAI and other information can be found on our website at www.iShares.com. For more information about the Fund, you may request a copy of the SAI. The SAI provides detailed information about the Fund and is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. This means that the SAI, for legal purposes, is a part of this Prospectus.

If you have any questions about the Trust or shares of the Fund or you wish to obtain the SAI free of charge, please:

Call:	1-800-iShares or 1-800-474-2737 (toll free) Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Eastern time)
Email:	iSharesETFs@blackrock.com
Write:	c/o BlackRock Investments, LLC 1 University Square Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540

Information about the Fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR database on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the SEC's Public Reference Room, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520.

No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about the Fund and its shares not contained in this Prospectus and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep this Prospectus for future reference.

Investment Company Act File No.: 811-09729

IS-P-____-____

The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The securities described herein may not be sold until the registration statement becomes effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities and is not offering or soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

iShares^® Trust

Statement of Additional Information

Dated _______, 2018

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the current prospectus (the “Prospectus”) for the following series of iShares Trust (the “Trust”):

Fund		Ticker		Listing Exchange
iShares Long-Term National Muni Bond ETF (the “Fund”)		___		________

The Prospectus for the Fund is dated _______, 2018, as amended and supplemented from time to time. Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, BlackRock Investments, LLC (the “Distributor” or “BRIL”), 1 University Square Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540, calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or visiting www.iShares.com. The Fund's Prospectus is incorporated by reference into this SAI.

References to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act” or the “1940 Act”), or other applicable law, will include any rules promulgated thereunder and any guidance, interpretations or modifications by the Securities and Exchange Commission (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.

iShares^® and BlackRock^® are registered trademarks of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates.

General Description of the Trust and the Fund

The Trust currently consists of more than ___ investment series or portfolios. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on December 16, 1999 and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios. The Trust is an open-end management investment company registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. The offering of the Trust’s shares is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). This SAI relates solely to the Fund.

The Fund is managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., and generally seeks to track the investment results of the specific benchmark index identified in the Fund's Prospectus (the “Underlying Index”).

The Fund offers and issues shares at their net asset value per share (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (each, a “Creation Unit”), generally in exchange for a designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) included in its Underlying Index (the “Deposit Securities”), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the “Cash Component”). Shares of the Fund are listed and trade on ______ (“______” or the “Listing Exchange”), a national securities exchange. Shares of the Fund are traded in the secondary market and elsewhere at market prices that may be at, above or below the Fund's NAV. Shares are redeemable only in Creation Units by Authorized Participants (as defined in the Portfolio Holdings Information section of this SAI), and, generally, in exchange for portfolio securities and a Cash Amount (as defined in the Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI). Creation Units typically are a specified number of shares, generally ______ or multiples thereof.

The Trust reserves the right to permit or require that creations and redemptions of shares are effected fully or partially in cash and reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of cash. Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities, subject to various conditions, including a requirement that the Authorized Participant maintain with the Trust a cash deposit equal to at least 105% and up to 115%, which percentage BFA may change from time to time, of the market value of the omitted Deposit Securities. The Trust may use such cash deposit at any time to purchase Deposit Securities. See the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI. Transaction fees and other costs associated with creations or redemptions that include a cash portion may be higher than the transaction fees and other costs associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, conditions with respect to creations and redemptions of shares and fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of SEC rules and regulations applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities.

Exchange Listing and Trading

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Shareholder Information section of the Fund's Prospectus. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, that section of the Prospectus.

Shares of the Fund are listed for trading, and trade throughout the day, on the Listing Exchange and in other secondary markets. Shares of the Fund may also be listed on certain non-U.S. exchanges. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Listing Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Fund will continue to be met. The Listing Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of the Fund from listing if, among other things: (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of Fund shares, there are fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial owners of shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days, (ii) the value of the Underlying Index on which the Fund is based is no longer calculated or available, or (iii) any other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Listing Exchange, makes further dealings on the Listing Exchange inadvisable. The Listing Exchange will also remove shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund or in the event the Fund does not comply with the continuous listing standards of the Listing Exchange, as described in the Fund’s prospectus.

As in the case of other publicly-traded securities, when you buy or sell shares of the Fund through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission determined by that broker, as well as other charges.

In order to provide additional information regarding the indicative value of shares of the Fund, the Listing Exchange or a market data vendor disseminates information every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association, or through other widely disseminated means, an updated indicative optimized portfolio value (“IOPV”) for the Fund as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor. The Trust is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IOPV and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the IOPV.

An IOPV has a fixed-income securities component and a cash component. The fixed-income securities values included in an IOPV are the values of the Deposit Securities for the Fund. While the IOPV reflects the current value of the Deposit Securities required to be deposited in connection with the purchase of a Creation Unit, it does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities held by the Fund at a particular point in time because the current portfolio of the Fund may include securities that are not a part of the current Deposit Securities. Therefore, the Fund’s IOPV disseminated during the Listing Exchange trading hours should not be viewed as a real-time update of the Fund’s NAV, which is calculated only once a day.

The cash component included in an IOPV consists of estimated accrued interest, dividends and other income, less expenses. If applicable, each IOPV also reflects changes in currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the applicable currency.

The Trust reserves the right to adjust the share prices of the Fund in the future to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund or an investor's equity interest in the Fund.

Investment Strategies and Risks

The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in both fixed-income securities that comprise the Underlying Index and through transactions that provide substantially similar exposure to securities in the Underlying Index. The Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed. Adverse performance of a security in the Fund’s portfolio will ordinarily not result in the elimination of the security from the Fund’s portfolio.

The Fund engages in representative sampling, which is investing in a sample of securities selected by BFA to have a collective investment profile similar to that of the Fund's Underlying Index. Securities selected have aggregate investment characteristics (based on market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as yield, credit rating, maturity and duration) and liquidity measures similar to those of the Underlying Index. A fund that uses representative sampling generally does not hold all of the securities that are in its underlying index.

Although the Fund does not seek leveraged returns, certain instruments used by the Fund may have a leveraging effect as described below.

Bonds. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security issued by a U.S. or non-U.S. company, or U.S. or non-U.S. governmental unit. The issuer of a bond has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors.

An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case a fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, a fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise.

Accordingly, a fixed-rate bond’s yield (income as a percent of the bond’s current value) may differ from its coupon rate as its value rises or falls. When an investor purchases a fixed-rate bond at a price that is greater than its face value, the investor is purchasing the bond at a premium. Conversely, when an investor purchases a fixed-rate bond at a price that is less than its face value, the investor is purchasing the bond at a discount. Fixed-rate bonds that are purchased at a discount pay less current income than securities with comparable yields that are purchased at face value, with the result that prices for such fixed-rate securities can be more volatile than prices for such securities that are purchased at face value. Other types of bonds bear interest at an interest rate that is adjusted periodically. Interest rates on “floating rate” or “variable rate” bonds may be higher or lower than current market rates for fixed-rate bonds of comparable quality with similar final maturities. Because of their adjustable interest rates, the value of “floating rate” or “variable rate” bonds fluctuates much less in response to market interest rate movements than the value of fixed-rate bonds, but their value may decline if their interest rates do not rise as much, or as quickly, as interest rates in general. The Fund may treat some of these bonds as having a shorter maturity for purposes of calculating the weighted average maturity of its investment portfolio. Generally, prices of higher quality issues tend to fluctuate less with changes in market interest rates than prices of lower quality issues and prices of longer maturity issues tend to fluctuate more than prices of shorter maturity issues. Bonds may be senior or subordinated obligations. Senior obligations generally have the first claim on a corporation’s earnings and assets and, in the event of liquidation, are paid before subordinated obligations. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Borrowing. The Fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes, including to meet payments due from redemptions or to facilitate the settlement of securities or other transactions. Under normal market conditions, any borrowing by the Fund will not exceed 10% of the Fund’s net assets; however, the Fund generally does not intend to borrow money.

The purchase of securities while borrowings are outstanding may have the effect of leveraging the Fund. The incurrence of leverage increases the Fund’s exposure to risk, and borrowed funds are subject to interest costs that will reduce net income. Purchasing securities while borrowings are outstanding creates special risks, such as the potential for greater volatility in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the yield on the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, the interest expenses from borrowings may exceed the income generated by the Fund’s portfolio and, therefore, the amount available (if any) for distribution to shareholders as dividends may be reduced. BFA may determine to maintain outstanding borrowings if it expects that the benefits to the Fund’s shareholders will outweigh the current reduced return.

Certain types of borrowings by the Fund must be made from a bank or may result in the Fund being subject to covenants in credit agreements relating to asset coverage, portfolio composition requirements and other matters. It is not anticipated that observance of such covenants would impede BFA’s management of the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives and policies. However, a breach of any such covenants not cured within the specified cure period may result in acceleration of outstanding indebtedness and require the Fund to dispose of portfolio investments at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

Diversification Status. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified.” A non-diversified fund is a fund that is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. The securities of a particular issuer (or securities of issuers in particular industries) may constitute a significant percentage of the underlying index of such a fund and, consequently, the fund’s investment portfolio. This may adversely affect the fund’s performance or subject the fund’s shares to greater price volatility than that experienced by more diversified investment companies.

The Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for purposes of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”), and to relieve the Fund of any liability for U.S. federal income tax to the extent that its earnings are distributed to shareholders, provided that the Fund satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Fund and may make it less likely that the Fund will meet its investment objective.

Futures, Options on Futures and Securities Options. Futures contracts, options on futures and securities options may be used by the Fund to simulate investment in its Underlying Index, to facilitate trading or to reduce transaction costs. The Fund may enter into futures contracts and options on futures that are traded on a U.S. or non-U.S. futures exchange. The Fund will

not use futures, options on futures or securities options for speculative purposes. The Fund intends to use futures and options on futures in accordance with Rule 4.5 of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) promulgated under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”).

Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific instrument or index at a specified future time and at a specified price. Stock index contracts are based on investments that reflect the market value of common stock of the firms included in the investments. The Fund may enter into futures contracts to purchase securities indexes when BFA anticipates purchasing the underlying securities and believes prices will rise before the purchase will be made. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents known as “initial margin,” which is similar to a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract and is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract if all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” will be made to and from the broker daily as the price of the instrument or index underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” At any time prior to the expiration of a futures contract, the Fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s existing position in the contract. To the extent required by law, the Fund will segregate liquid assets in an amount equal to its delivery obligations under the futures contracts. An option on a futures contract, as contrasted with a direct investment in such a contract, gives the purchaser the right, but no obligation, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in the underlying futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option. Upon exercise of an option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account that represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. The potential for loss related to the purchase of an option on a futures contract is limited to the premium paid for the option plus transaction costs. Because the value of the option is fixed at the point of sale, there are no daily cash payments by the purchaser to reflect changes in the value of the underlying contract; however, the value of the option changes daily and that change would be reflected in the NAV of the Fund. The potential for loss related to writing call options is unlimited. The potential for loss related to writing put options is limited to the agreed-upon price per share, also known as the “strike price,” less the premium received from writing the put. The Fund may purchase and write put and call options on futures contracts that are traded on an exchange as a hedge against changes in value of its portfolio securities or in anticipation of the purchase of securities, and may enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate existing positions. There is no guarantee that such closing transactions can be effected.

Securities options may be used by the Fund to obtain access to securities in the Underlying Index or to dispose of securities in the Underlying Index at favorable prices, to invest cash in a securities index that offers similar exposure to that provided by the Underlying Index or otherwise to achieve the Fund’s objective of tracking the Underlying Index. A call option gives a holder the right to purchase a specific security at a specified price (“exercise price”) within a specified period of time. A put option gives a holder the right to sell a specific security at an exercise price within a specified period of time. The initial purchaser of a call option pays the “writer” a premium, which is paid at the time of purchase and is retained by the writer whether or not such option is exercised. The Fund may purchase put options to hedge its portfolio against the risk of a decline in the market value of securities held and may purchase call options to hedge against an increase in the price of securities it is committed to purchase. The Fund may write put and call options along with a long position in options to increase its ability to hedge against a change in the market value of the securities it holds or is committed to purchase. The Fund may purchase or sell securities options on a U.S. or non-U.S. securities exchange or in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market through a transaction with a dealer. Options on a securities index are typically settled on a net basis based on the appreciation or depreciation of the index level over the strike price. Options on single name securities may be cash- or physically-settled, depending upon the market in which they are traded. Options may be structured so as to be exercisable only on certain dates or on a daily basis. Options may also be structured to have conditions to exercise (i.e., “Knock-in Events”) or conditions that trigger termination (i.e., “Knock-out Events”). Investments in futures contracts and other investments that contain leverage may require the Fund to maintain liquid assets in an amount equal to its delivery obligations under these contracts and other investments. Generally, the Fund maintains an amount of liquid assets equal to its obligations relative to the position involved, adjusted daily on a marked-to-market basis. With respect to futures contracts that are contractually required to “cash-settle,” the Fund maintains liquid assets in an amount at least equal to the Fund’s daily marked-to-market obligation (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability, if any), rather than the contracts’ notional value (i.e., the value of the underlying asset). By maintaining assets equal to its net obligation under cash-settled futures contracts, the Fund may employ leverage to a greater extent than if the Fund were required to set aside assets equal to the futures

contracts’ full notional value. The Fund bases its asset maintenance policies on methods permitted by the SEC and its staff and may modify these policies in the future to comply with any changes in the guidance articulated from time to time by the SEC or its staff. Changes in SEC guidance regarding the use of derivatives by registered investment companies may adversely impact the Fund’s ability to invest in futures, options or other derivatives or make investments in such instruments more expensive.

High Yield Securities. Non-investment grade or “high yield” fixed-income or convertible securities, commonly known to investors as “junk bonds” or “high yield bonds,” are generally debt securities that are rated below investment grade by one or more of the major rating agencies or are unrated securities that BFA believes are of comparable quality. While generally providing greater income and opportunity for gain, non-investment grade debt securities may be subject to greater risks than securities that have higher credit ratings, including a high risk of default, and their yields will fluctuate over time. High yield securities will generally be in the lower rating categories of recognized rating agencies (rated below Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody's”) and below BBB- by Standard & Poor's^® Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of S&P Global (“S&P Global Ratings”) or Fitch Ratings, Inc. (“Fitch”)) or be unrated. The credit rating of a high yield security does not necessarily address its market value risk, and ratings may from time to time change, positively or negatively, to reflect developments regarding the issuer’s financial condition. High yield securities are considered to be speculative with respect to the capacity of the issuer to timely repay principal and pay interest in accordance with the terms of the obligation and may have more credit risk than higher rated securities.

The major risks of high yield bond investments include the following:

•	High yield bonds may be issued by less creditworthy companies. These securities are vulnerable to adverse changes in the issuer’s industry and to general economic conditions. Issuers of high yield bonds may be unable to meet their interest or principal payment obligations because of an economic downturn, specific issuer developments or the unavailability of additional financing.
•	The issuers of high yield bonds may have a larger amount of outstanding debt relative to their assets than issuers of investment grade bonds. If the issuer experiences financial stress, it may be unable to meet its debt obligations. The issuer’s ability to pay its debt obligations also may be lessened by specific issuer developments, or the unavailability of additional financing. Issuers of high yield securities are often in the growth stage of their development and/or involved in a reorganization or takeover.
•	High yield bonds are frequently ranked junior to claims by other creditors. If the issuer cannot meet its obligations, the senior obligations are generally paid off before the junior obligations, which will potentially limit the Fund’s ability to fully recover principal, to receive interest payments when senior securities are in default or to receive restructuring benefits paid to holders of more senior classes of debt. Thus, investors in high yield securities frequently have a lower degree of protection with respect to principal and interest payments than do investors in higher rated securities.
•	High yield bonds frequently have redemption features that permit an issuer to repurchase the security from the Fund before it matures. If an issuer redeems the high yield bonds, the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in bonds with lower yields and may lose income.
•	Prices of high yield bonds are subject to extreme fluctuations. Negative economic developments may have a greater impact on the prices of high yield bonds than on those of other higher rated fixed-income securities.
•	High yield bonds may be less liquid than higher rated fixed-income securities even under normal economic conditions. Under certain economic and/or market conditions, the Fund may have difficulty disposing of certain high yield securities due to the limited number of investors in that sector of the market. There are fewer dealers in the high yield bond market, and there may be significant differences in the prices quoted for high yield bonds by dealers, and such quotations may not be the actual prices available for a purchase or sale. Because high yield bonds are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in the prices and values generated for such securities than in the case of securities trading in a more liquid market.
•	The secondary markets for high yield securities generally are not as liquid as the secondary markets for higher rated securities. The secondary markets for high yield securities generally are concentrated in relatively few market makers and participants in the markets are mostly institutional investors, including insurance companies, banks, other financial institutions and mutual funds. In addition, the trading volume for high yield securities is generally lower than that for higher rated securities and the secondary markets could contract under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. Under

	certain economic and/or market conditions, the Fund may have difficulty disposing of certain high yield securities due to the limited number of investors in that sector of the market. A less liquid secondary market may adversely affect the market price of the high yield security, which may result in increased difficulty selling the particular issue and obtaining accurate market quotations on the issue when valuing the Fund’s assets. Market quotations on high yield securities are available only from a limited number of dealers, and such quotations may not be the actual prices available for a purchase or sale. When the secondary market for high yield securities becomes more illiquid, or in the absence of readily available market quotations for such securities, the relative lack of reliable objective data makes it more difficult to value such securities, and judgment plays a more important role in determining such valuations.
•	The Fund may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting issuer.
•	The high yield bond markets may react strongly to adverse news about an issuer or the economy, or to the perception or expectation of adverse news, whether or not it is based on fundamental analysis. Additionally, prices for high yield securities may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. These developments could adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value and investment practices, the secondary market for high yield securities, the financial condition of issuers of these securities and the value and liquidity of outstanding high yield securities, especially in a thinly traded market. For example, federal legislation requiring the divestiture by federally insured savings and loan associations of their investments in high yield bonds and limiting the deductibility of interest by certain corporate issuers of high yield bonds adversely affected the market in the past.

Illiquid Securities. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities (calculated at the time of investment). Illiquid securities may include securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets, as determined in accordance with SEC staff guidance. The liquidity of a security relates to the ability to readily dispose of the security and the price to be obtained upon disposition of the security, which may be lower than the price that would be obtained for a comparable, more liquid security. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount to comparable, more liquid securities and the Fund may not be able to dispose of illiquid securities in a timely fashion or at their expected prices.

Lending Portfolio Securities. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to certain borrowers that BFA determines to be creditworthy, including borrowers affiliated with BFA. 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 shall be made on behalf of the Fund if, as a result, the aggregate value of all securities loaned by the Fund exceeds one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the value of the collateral received). The Fund may terminate a loan at any time and obtain the return of the securities loaned. The Fund receives, by way of substitute payment, the value of any interest or cash or non-cash distributions paid on the loaned securities that it would have received if the securities were not on loan. Substitute payments received on tax-exempt securities loaned out will not be tax-exempt income.

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 Fund is typically 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 Fund is typically compensated by a fee paid by the borrower equal to a percentage of the market value of the loaned securities. Any cash collateral may be reinvested in certain short-term instruments either directly on behalf of the lending Fund or through one or more joint accounts or money market funds, including those affiliated with BFA; such investments are subject to investment risk.

The Fund conducts its securities lending pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC permitting it to lend portfolio securities to borrowers affiliated with the Fund and to retain an affiliate of the Fund to act as securities lending agent. To the extent that the Fund engages in securities lending, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (“BTC”) acts as securities lending agent for the Fund, subject to the overall supervision of BFA. BTC administers the lending program in accordance with guidelines approved by the Trust's Board of Trustees (the “Board” or the “Trustees”).

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 Fund has agreed to pay a borrower), and credit, legal, counterparty and market risk. If a securities lending counterparty were to default, the Fund 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 Fund’s securities as agreed, the Fund 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 transaction costs incurred in purchasing replacement securities. This event could trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. The Fund 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 Fund for securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. BTC will take into account the tax effects on shareholders caused by this difference in connection with the Fund’s securities lending program. Substitute payments received on tax-exempt securities loaned out will not be tax-exempt income.

Municipal Insurance. A municipal security may be covered by insurance that guarantees the bond’s scheduled payment of interest and repayment of principal. This type of insurance may be obtained by either (i) the issuer at the time the bond is issued (primary market insurance), or (ii) another party after the bond has been issued (secondary market insurance).

Both primary and secondary market insurance guarantee timely and scheduled repayment of all principal and payment of all interest on a municipal security in the event of default by the issuer, and cover a municipal security to its maturity, enhancing its credit quality and value.

Municipal security insurance does not insure against market fluctuations or fluctuations in the Fund's share price. In addition, a municipal security insurance policy will not cover: (i) repayment of a municipal security before maturity (redemption), (ii) nonpayment of principal or interest caused by negligence or bankruptcy of the paying agent, or (iii) prepayment or payment of an acceleration premium (except for a mandatory sinking fund redemption) or any other provision of a bond indenture that advances the maturity of the bond. A mandatory sinking fund redemption may be a provision of a municipal security issue whereby part of the municipal security issue may be retired before maturity.

Because a significant portion of the municipal securities issued and outstanding are insured by a small number of insurance companies, an event involving one or more of these insurance companies could have a significant adverse effect on the value of the securities insured by that insurance company and on the municipal markets as a whole.

Certain significant providers of insurance for municipal securities have recently incurred significant losses as a result of exposure to sub-prime mortgages and other lower credit quality investments that have experienced recent defaults or otherwise suffered extreme credit deterioration. As a result, such losses have reduced the insurers’ capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such insurance if they are called upon to do so in the future. While an insured municipal security will typically be deemed to have the rating of its insurer, if the insurer of a municipal security suffers a downgrade in its credit rating or if the market discounts the value of the insurance provided by the insurer, the value of the municipal security would be more, if not entirely, dependent on the rating of the municipal security independent of insurance.

Municipal Securities. The Fund invests in municipal securities, the interest payments of which are subject to U.S. federal income tax. The Fund invests in securities issued in the U.S. market by U.S. states and territories, municipalities and other political subdivisions, agencies, authorities and instrumentalities of states and multi-state agencies or authorities. The municipal securities which the Fund may purchase include general obligation bonds and limited obligation bonds (or revenue bonds), including industrial development bonds issued pursuant to former U.S. federal tax law. General obligation bonds are obligations involving the credit of an issuer possessing taxing power and are payable from such issuer’s general revenues and not from any particular source. Limited obligation bonds are 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 or other specific revenue source. Industrial development bonds generally are also revenue bonds and thus are not payable from the issuer’s general revenues. The credit and quality of industrial development bonds are usually related to the credit of the corporate user of the facilities. Payment of interest on and repayment of principal of such bonds is the responsibility of the corporate user (and/or any guarantor). The Funds may invest in private activity bonds, which are bonds issued by or on behalf of 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 private activity bonds, 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 current U.S. federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues.

Municipal notes are shorter-term municipal debt obligations. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of tax collection, receipt of grants, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, repayment on a municipal note may be delayed or the note may not be fully repaid, and the Fund may lose money.

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 Fund since, in the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy, unsecured creditors are repaid only out of the assets, if any, that remain after secured creditors are repaid.

Tender option bonds are synthetic floating-rate or variable-rate securities issued when long-term bonds are purchased in the primary or secondary market and then deposited into a trust. Custodial receipts are then issued to investors, such as the Fund, evidencing ownership interests in the trust. The remarketing agent for the trust sets a floating or variable rate on typically a weekly basis. The sponsor of a highly leveraged tender option bond trust generally will retain a liquidity provider to purchase the short-term floating-rate interests at their original purchase price upon the occurrence of certain specified events. However, the liquidity provider may not be required to purchase the floating-rate interests upon the occurrence of certain other events, for example, the downgrading of the municipal bonds owned by the tender option bond trust below investment grade or certain events that indicate the issuer of the bonds may be entering bankruptcy. The general effect of these provisions is to pass to the holders of the floating rate interests the most severe credit risks associated with the municipal bonds owned by the tender option bond trust and to leave with the liquidity provider the interest rate risk (subject to a cap) and certain other risks associated with the municipal bonds. Tender option bonds may be considered derivatives, and may expose the Fund to the same risks as investments in derivatives, as well as risks associated with leverage, especially the risk of increased volatility. To the extent the Fund invests in tender option bonds, it is also exposed to credit risk associated with the liquidity provider retained by the sponsor of a tender bond option trust.

Variable rate demand obligations (“VRDOs”) are tax-exempt obligations that contain a floating or variable interest rate adjustment formula and a right of demand on the part of the holder thereof to receive payment of the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest upon a short notice period not to exceed seven days. There is the possibility that because of default or insolvency the demand feature of VRDOs may not be honored. The interest rates are adjustable at intervals (ranging from daily to up to one year) to some prevailing market rate for similar investments, such adjustment formula being calculated to maintain the market rate of the VRDOs at approximately the par value of the VRDOs on the adjustment date. The adjustments typically are based upon the Public Securities Association Index or some other appropriate interest rate adjustment index.

Because of the interest rate adjustment formula, VRDOs are not comparable to fixed-rate securities. During periods of declining interest rates, the Fund’s yield on a VRDO will decrease and its shareholders will forego the opportunity for capital appreciation. During periods of rising interest rates, however, the Fund’s yield on a VRDO will increase and its shareholders will have a reduced risk of capital depreciation.

The market for municipal bonds may be less liquid than for taxable bonds. This means that it may be harder to buy and sell municipal securities, especially on short notice, than non-municipal securities. In addition, the municipal securities market is generally characterized as a buy and hold investment strategy. As a result, the accessibility of municipal securities in the market is generally greater closer to the original date of issue of the securities and lessens as the securities move further away from such issuance date.

Some longer-term municipal securities give the investor the right to “put” or sell the security at par (face value) within a specified number of days following the investor's request - usually one to seven days. This demand feature enhances a security's liquidity by shortening its effective maturity and enables it to trade at a price equal to or very close to par. If a demand feature terminates prior to being exercised, the Fund would hold the longer-term security, which could experience substantially more volatility.

Municipal securities are subject to credit and market risk. Generally, prices of higher quality issues tend to fluctuate more with changes in market interest rates than prices of lower quality issues and prices of longer maturity issues tend to fluctuate more than prices of shorter maturity issues.

Prices and yields on municipal securities are dependent on a variety of factors, including general money-market conditions, the financial condition of the issuer, general conditions of the municipal security market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. A number of these factors, including the ratings of particular issues, are subject to change from time to time. Information about the financial condition of an issuer of municipal securities may not be as extensive as that which is made available by corporations whose securities are publicly-traded. As a result, municipal securities may be more difficult to value than securities of public corporations.

Obligations of issuers of municipal securities are subject to insolvency concerns and, unlike obligations of corporate issuers, may not be subject to resolution in the event of insolvency or default through a bankruptcy proceeding. The U.S. Congress or state legislatures may seek to extend the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or to impose other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations. In addition, municipal securities are subject to the risk that their tax treatment could be changed, thereby affecting the value of outstanding municipal securities. There is also the possibility that as a result of litigation or other conditions, such as passing of a referendum, the power or ability of issuers to meet their obligations for the payment of interest and principal on their municipal securities may be materially affected or their obligations may be found to be invalid or unenforceable. Such litigation or conditions may from time to time have the effect of introducing uncertainties in the market for municipal securities or certain segments thereof, or of materially affecting the credit risk with respect to particular bonds. Adverse economic, business, legal or political developments might affect all or a substantial portion of the Fund’s municipal securities in the same manner.

Ratings. An investment-grade rating generally means the security or issuer is rated investment-grade by one or more of Moody’s, S&P Global Ratings, Fitch, or another credit rating agency designated as a nationally-recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) by the SEC, or is unrated but considered to be of equivalent quality by BFA. Generally, bonds rated Baa3 or above by Moody’s or BBB- or above by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch are considered “investment-grade” securities, bonds rated Baa are considered medium grade obligations subject to moderate credit risk and may possess certain speculative characteristics, while bonds rated BBB are regarded as having adequate capacity to meet financial commitments.

Subsequent to purchase by the Fund, a rated security may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below an investment-grade rating. Bonds rated lower than Baa3 by Moody’s or BBB- by S&P Global Ratings or Fitch are generally considered below investment-grade quality and are obligations of issuers that are generally considered predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal according to the terms of the obligation and, therefore, carry greater investment risk, including the possibility of issuer default and bankruptcy and increased market price volatility. Such lower-rated securities are commonly referred to as “junk bonds” and are subject to a substantial degree of credit risk. Please see Appendix B of this SAI for a description of each rating category of Moody's, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch.

Regulation Regarding Derivatives. The CFTC subjects advisers to registered investment companies to regulation by the CFTC if a fund that is advised by the 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. The CFTC also subjects advisers to registered investment companies to regulation by the CFTC if the registered investment company invests in one or more commodity pools. To the extent the Fund uses CFTC Derivatives, it intends to do so below such prescribed levels and intends not to market itself as a “commodity pool” or a vehicle for trading such instruments.

BFA has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the CEA pursuant to Rule 4.5 under the CEA with respect to the Fund. BFA is not, therefore, subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator” under the CEA with respect to the Fund.

Derivative contracts, including, without limitation, swaps, currency forwards, and non-deliverable forwards, are subject to regulation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) in the U.S. and under comparable regimes in Europe, Asia and other non-U.S. jurisdictions. Swaps, non-deliverable forwards and certain other derivatives traded in the OTC market are subject to variation margin requirements, and initial margining requirements will be phased in through 2020. Implementation of the margining and other provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act regarding clearing, mandatory trading, reporting and documentation of swaps and other derivatives have impacted and may continue to impact the costs to the Fund of trading these instruments and, as a result, may affect returns to investors in the Fund.

As a result of regulatory requirements under the 1940 Act, the Fund is required to maintain an amount of liquid assets, accrued on a daily basis, having an aggregate value at least equal to the value of the Fund’s obligations under the applicable

derivatives contract. To the extent that derivatives contracts are settled on a physical basis, the Fund will generally be required to maintain an amount of liquid assets equal to the notional value of the contract. On the other hand, in connection with derivatives contracts that are performed on a net basis, the Fund will generally be required to maintain liquid assets, accrued daily, equal only to the accrued excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over those of its counterparty under the contract. Accordingly, reliance by the Fund on physically-settled derivatives contracts may adversely impact investors by requiring the Fund to set aside a greater amount of liquid assets than would generally be required if the Fund were relying on cash-settled derivatives contracts.

Repurchase Agreements. A repurchase agreement is an instrument under which the purchaser (i.e., the Fund) acquires the security and the seller agrees, at the time of the sale, to repurchase the security at a mutually agreed-upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the purchaser’s holding period. Repurchase agreements may be construed to be collateralized loans by the purchaser to the seller secured by the securities transferred to the purchaser. If a repurchase agreement is construed to be a collateralized loan, the underlying securities will not be considered to be owned by the Fund but only to constitute collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay the repurchase price, and, in the event of a default by the seller, the Fund may suffer time delays and incur costs or losses in connection with the disposition of the collateral.

In any repurchase transaction, the collateral for a repurchase agreement may include: (i) cash items; (ii) obligations issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities; or (iii) obligations that, at the time the repurchase agreement is entered into, are determined to (A) have exceptionally strong capacity to meet their financial obligations and (B) are sufficiently liquid such that they can be sold at approximately their carrying value in the ordinary course of business within seven days.

Repurchase agreements pose certain risks for the Fund, should it decide to utilize them. Such risks are not unique to the Fund, but are inherent in repurchase agreements. The Fund seeks to minimize such risks, but because of the inherent legal uncertainties involved in repurchase agreements, such risks cannot be eliminated. Lower quality collateral and collateral with a longer maturity may be subject to greater price fluctuations than higher quality collateral and collateral with a shorter maturity. If the repurchase agreement counterparty were to default, lower quality collateral may be more difficult to liquidate than higher quality collateral. Should the counterparty default and the amount of collateral not be sufficient to cover the counterparty’s repurchase obligation, the Fund would likely retain the status of an unsecured creditor of the counterparty (i.e., the position the Fund would normally be in if it were to hold, pursuant to its investment policies, other unsecured debt securities of the defaulting counterparty) with respect to the amount of the shortfall. As an unsecured creditor, the Fund would be at risk of losing some or all of the principal and income involved in the transaction.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment and have the characteristics of borrowing. Generally, the effect of such transactions is that the Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while in many cases the Fund is able to keep some of the interest income associated with those securities. Such transactions are advantageous only if the Fund has an opportunity to earn a rate of interest on the cash derived from these transactions that is greater than the interest cost of obtaining the same amount of cash. Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available, and the Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when BFA believes it will be advantageous to the Fund. The use of reverse repurchase agreements may exaggerate any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s assets. The Fund’s exposure to reverse repurchase agreements will be covered by liquid assets having a value equal to or greater than the Fund’s obligations under such commitments. The use of reverse repurchase agreements is a form of leverage, and the proceeds obtained by the Fund through reverse repurchase agreements may be invested in additional securities.

Securities of Investment Companies. The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies (including money market funds) to the extent permitted by law, regulation, exemptive order or SEC staff guidance. Under the 1940 Act, a fund’s investment in investment companies is limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company, and (iii) 10% of the fund’s total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. To the extent allowed by law or regulation, the Fund intends from time to time to invest its assets in securities of investment companies, including but not limited to money market funds, including those advised by BFA or otherwise affiliated with BFA, in excess of the limits discussed above. Other investment companies in which the Fund invests can be expected to incur fees and expenses for operations, such as investment advisory and administration fees, which would be in addition to those incurred by the Fund.

Pursuant to guidance issued by the SEC staff, fees and expenses of money market funds used for cash collateral received in connection with loans of securities are not treated as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which reflect the Fund’s pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred by investing in other investment companies (as disclosed in the Prospectus, as applicable).

Short-Term Instruments and Temporary Investments. The Fund may invest in short-term instruments, including variable rate demand notes, short-term municipal securities, short-term municipal money market funds and money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. Money market instruments are generally short-term investments that may include, but are not limited to: (i) shares of money market funds (including those advised by BFA or otherwise affiliated with BFA); (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, fixed-time deposits and other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks (including non-U.S. branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper rated, at the date of purchase, “Prime-1” by Moody's, “F-1” by Fitch or “A-1” by S&P Global Ratings, or if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by BFA; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that satisfy the rating requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; (vi) repurchase agreements; and (vii) short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of non-U.S. banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of BFA, are of comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks that may be purchased by the Fund. Any of these instruments may be purchased on a current or forward-settled basis. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Swap Agreements. Swap agreements are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make periodic payments to the other party based on the change in market value or level of a specified rate, index or asset. In return, the other party agrees to make periodic payments to the first party based on the return of a different specified rate, index or asset. Swap agreements will usually be performed on a net basis, with the Fund receiving or paying only the net amount of the two payments. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each swap is accrued on a daily basis, and an amount of liquid assets having an aggregate value at least equal to the accrued excess will be maintained by the Fund.

The Fund may enter into currency, interest rate or index swaps. The use of currency, interest rate and index swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions. These transactions generally do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets.

U.S.-Registered Securities of Non-U.S. Issuers. The Fund may invest in U.S.-registered, U.S. dollar-denominated bonds of non-U.S. governments, agencies, supranational entities and corporate issuers. The Fund may invest in Restricted Securities issued by non-U.S. issuers. Investing in U.S.-registered, U.S. dollar-denominated bonds or Restricted Securities issued by non-U.S. issuers involves some risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. issuers. These include differences in accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards; the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation; adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations; political instability, which could affect U.S. investments in foreign countries; and potential restrictions of the flow of international capital. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to less governmental regulation than U.S. issuers. In addition, the risk that the issuer may fail to meet its obligations on these securities may be affected by fluctuations in non-U.S. currency exchange rates between the issuer's local currency and the U.S. dollar. Moreover, individual non-U.S. economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product (“GDP”), rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payment positions.

Future Developments. The Board may, in the future, authorize the Fund to invest in securities contracts and investments other than those listed in this SAI and in the Prospectus, provided they are consistent with the Fund's investment objective and do not violate any investment restrictions or policies.

General Considerations and Risks

A discussion of some of the principal risks associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Prospectus.

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, the value of bonds in general, and other factors that affect the market.

Borrowing Risk. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations.

Issuer Insolvency Risk. The Fund's potential exposure to financially or operationally troubled issuers involves a high degree of credit and market risk, which may be heightened during an economic downturn or recession. Should an issuer of securities held by the Fund become involved in a bankruptcy proceeding, reorganization or financial restructuring, a wide variety of considerations make an evaluation of the outcome of the Fund’s exposure to the issuer uncertain.

During the period of a bankruptcy proceeding, reorganization or financial restructuring, it is unlikely that the Fund will receive any interest payments on the securities of the issuer. The Fund will be subject to significant uncertainty as to whether the reorganization or restructuring will be completed, and the Fund may bear certain extraordinary expenses to protect and recover its investment. The Fund will also be subject to significant uncertainty as to when and in what manner and for what value the obligations evidenced by the securities of the issuer held by the Fund will eventually be satisfied. Even if a plan of reorganization or restructuring is adopted with respect to the securities of the issuer held by the Fund, there can be no assurance that the securities or other assets received by the Fund in connection with such plan of reorganization or restructuring will not have a lower value or income potential than may have been anticipated or no value. The Fund may be unable to enforce its claims or rights in any collateral or may have its claims or security interest in any collateral challenged, disallowed or subordinated to the claims or security interests of other creditors. In addition, amendments to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or other relevant laws could alter the expected outcome or introduce greater uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Fund’s securities holdings in the issuer. In a bankruptcy proceeding, a reorganization or restructuring, the securities of the issuer held by the Fund could be re-characterized or the Fund may receive different securities or other assets, including equity securities. These types of equity securities include, but are not limited to: common stock; preferred stock (including convertible preferred stock); bonds, notes and debentures convertible into common or preferred stock; stock purchase warrants and rights; equity interests in trusts; and depositary receipts. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their value may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. Holders of equity securities are subject to more risk than holders of debt securities because the status of equity holders is subordinate to debtholders in an issuer's capital structure. The value of equity securities received by the Fund could decline if the financial condition of the issuer deteriorates or if overall market and economic conditions, or conditions within the issuer’s region or industry, deteriorate. Equity securities received by the Fund through a bankruptcy proceeding, reorganization or restructuring of an issuer would not be component securities of the Fund’s Underlying Index, which could subject the Fund to additional tracking error risk.

To the extent that the Fund receives other assets in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding, reorganization or financial restructuring, the Fund may also be subject to additional risks associated with the assets received. One example of assets that the Fund could receive is an interest in one or more loans made to the issuer as part of a workout agreed to by a consortium of lienholders and creditors of the issuer. The Fund may receive such interests in loans to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act.

Securities or other assets received in a reorganization or restructuring typically entail a higher degree of risk than investments in securities of issuers that have not undergone a reorganization or restructuring and may be subject to heavy selling or downward pricing pressure after completion of the reorganization or restructuring. The post-reorganization/restructuring assets and securities may also be illiquid and difficult to sell or value. If the Fund participates in negotiations with respect to a plan of reorganization or restructuring with respect to securities of the issuer held by the Fund, the Fund also may be restricted from disposing such securities for a period of time. If the Fund becomes involved in such proceedings, the Fund may have more active participation in the affairs of the issuer than that assumed generally by an investor.

Liquidity Risk Management Rule Risk. In October 2016, the SEC adopted a liquidity risk management rule requiring open-end funds, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) such as the Fund, to establish a liquidity risk management program and enhance disclosures regarding fund liquidity. There are exclusions from certain portions of the liquidity risk management program requirements for “in-kind” ETFs . The Fund will be required to comply with the rule by December 1, 2018. The effect the rule will have on the Fund, including the Fund’s ability to rely on the exclusions, is not yet known, but the rule may impact the Fund’s performance and ability to achieve its investment objective.

Municipal Market Disruption Risk. The value of municipal securities may be affected by uncertainties in the municipal market related to legislation or litigation involving the taxation of municipal securities or the rights of municipal securities holders in the event of a bankruptcy. Proposals to restrict or eliminate the U.S. federal income tax exemption for interest on municipal securities are introduced before the U.S. Congress from time to time. Proposals also may be introduced before state legislatures that would affect the state tax treatment of a municipal fund’s distributions. If such proposals were enacted, the availability of municipal securities and the value of the Fund’s holdings would be affected, and the Trustees would reevaluate the Fund’s investment objective and policies. Municipal bankruptcies are relatively rare, and certain provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code governing such bankruptcies are unclear and remain untested. Further, the application of state law to municipal issuers could produce varying results among the states or among municipal securities issuers within a state. These legal uncertainties could affect the municipal securities market generally, certain specific segments of the market, or the relative credit quality of particular securities. Any of these effects could have a significant impact on the prices of some or all of the municipal securities held by the Fund.

Operational Risk. BFA and the Fund's other service providers may experience disruptions or operating errors such as processing errors or human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, or systems or technology failures, that could negatively impact the Fund. While service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, their methods of operational risk management may differ from the Fund’s in the setting of priorities, the personnel and resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. BFA, through its monitoring and oversight of service providers, seeks to ensure that service providers take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors. However, it is not possible for BFA or the other Fund service providers to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.

Risk of Derivatives. A derivative is a financial contract, the value of which depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, such as a security, a commodity (such as gold or silver), a currency or an index (a measure of value or rates, such as the S&P 500 or the prime lending rate). The Fund may invest in variable rate demand notes and obligations, and tender option bonds, which may be considered derivatives. Compared to conventional securities, derivatives can be more sensitive to changes in interest rates or to sudden fluctuations in market prices and thus the Fund's losses may be greater if it invests in derivatives than if it invests only in conventional securities. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligations. Derivatives generally involve the incurrence of leverage. To address such leverage and to prevent the Fund from being deemed to have issued senior securities as a result of an investment in derivatives, the Fund will segregate liquid assets equal to its obligations under the derivatives throughout the life of the investment.

Risk of Swap Agreements. The risk of loss with respect to swaps is generally limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make. Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the swap counterparty will default on its obligations. If such a default occurs, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. However, such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect the Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Fund may not receive the net amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive).

The Fund is required to post and collect variation margin (comprised of specified liquid securities subject to haircuts) in connection with trading of OTC swaps. Implementation of regulations requiring posting of initial margin is being phased in through 2020. These requirements may raise the costs for the Fund’s investment in swaps.

Special Considerations Regarding Investments in California Municipal Securities

Following is a brief summary of some of the factors that may affect the financial condition of the State of California (referred to herein as the “State” or “California”) and its political subdivisions. The summary is neither a complete nor a comprehensive description of these factors or an analysis of financial conditions and may not be indicative of the financial condition of issuers of obligations or any particular projects financed with the proceeds of such obligations. Many factors not included in the summary, such as the national economy, social and environmental policies and conditions, developments in municipal bankruptcies and the national and international markets for products produced in California, could have an adverse impact on the financial condition of California and its political subdivisions. It is not possible to predict whether and to what extent those factors may affect the financial condition of California and its political subdivisions.

The following summary is based upon the most recent publicly available budget documents and offering statements relating to public debt offerings of the State. This summary has not been updated nor will it be updated during the year. Neither the Fund nor its legal counsel has independently verified this information.

Overview

The State labor market conditions have improved significantly since the depths of the recession. California’s unemployment rate increased from 6.1 percent at the start of 2008 to a high of 12.5 percent in the last four months of 2010. As of April 2017 the State’s unemployment rate was 4.8 percent, approximately 0.4 percent higher than the national average of 4.4 percent, and less than the State’s 6.1 percent unemployment rate before the recession at the beginning of 2008.

The California economy also continues to recover from the 2008 recession. Although the State has faced serious budgetary problems in the past resulting from structural imbalances, the State significantly improved its general fiscal condition with the approval by the voters in November 2012 of a seven-year personal income tax increase and a four-year sales tax increase (collectively known as “Proposition 30”). In November 2016, voters approved an extension of the Proposition 30 personal income tax increases but the sales tax increase expired on December 31, 2016. See “The State Budget — Proposition 30 and Proposition 55” below.

The adopted State budget for fiscal year 2016-17, which began with a surplus of approximately $3.9 billion at June 30, 2016, was projected to leave a fiscal year-end reserve in the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties (the “SFEU”) of approximately $1.8 billion at June 30, 2017. In his May revision to the proposed 2017-18 State budget (the “May Revision”), the Governor estimated that the SFEU would have a negative balance of $0.257 billion at June 30, 2017, resulting from a reduction of revenue projections from income, sales and corporation taxes. The Governor’s proposed budget estimated that without corrective action, the State would face a deficit of $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2017-18 but proposes budget solutions to address that deficit. If the results are realized, the State will have a fiscal year-end reserve in the SFEU of approximately $1.6 billion at June 30, 2018.

The May Revision assumed the continuation of existing federal fiscal policy. The Governor noted that suggested major changes by the new presidential administration to health care, trade and immigration policy and the federal tax structure could have serious and detrimental effects on the State’s economy and budget. See “The State Budget – Health Care Reform” below.

Many local government agencies, however, continue to face budget constraints due to limited taxing powers and a weakened, albeit improving, economy, among other factors. Unfunded pension and other post-retirement liabilities also weigh heavily upon the State as well as many local jurisdictions, and have been the principal cause of several well-publicized municipal bankruptcy filings.

Economic Factors

California is by far the most populous state in the nation, almost 50 percent larger than Texas, the second-ranked state, according to the 2010 United States Census. The July 2016 estimate of the State’s population is 39.3 million, which represents approximately 12 percent of the total United States population.

California’s economy, the largest among the 50 states and one of the largest and most diverse in the world, has major components in high technology, trade, entertainment, agriculture, manufacturing, government, tourism, construction and services. The relative proportion of the various components of the California economy closely resembles the make-up of the national economy.

State total personal income declined by 3.5 percent in 2009 from the previous year due to the large toll of lost jobs during the recession. This was the State’s first decline in total personal income on a year-over-year basis since 1938. However, the State has made substantial gains since 2009. The Department of Finance reported that total personal income increased 6.4 percent in 2015 and, as of March 2017, estimated that total personal income increased by 4.5 percent in 2016. As of May 2017, the State had projected personal income to grow by 4.5 percent in 2017 and 4.5 percent in 2018.

In 2009, taxable sales were down nearly 15 percent from the prior year and down nearly 20 percent from the peak reached in 2007. However, substantial gains in taxable sales have occurred since 2009, averaging 6.2 per annum from 2010-2014. As of April 2017, the State had projected taxable sales to grow by 3.7 percent in fiscal year 2016-17 and 4.4 percent in fiscal year 2017-18.

The statewide median home price for existing single-family homes decreased more than 6 percent from 2010 to 2011, bringing the average median price to approximately $300,000. In February 2017, the statewide median home price was $478,490, which was an increase of 7.6 percent from a year earlier but was lower than the statewide median home price for calendar year 2016 of $501,560. This statewide median home price is lower than the pre-recession peak median price of $594,530.

Residential building permitting, which suffered a long, steady decline from calendar years 2006 through 2009, increased steadily over the past several years, from 44,762 in 2010 (approximately $13.7 billion valuation) to 99,975 in 2016 (approximately $30.7 billion valuation) but still down from a pre-recession high of 164,187 (approximately $38.2 billion valuation) in 2006.

After slowing sharply in 2009, nonresidential construction increased steadily over the past several years, from a total valuation of approximately $11.2 billion in 2010 to $26.7 billion in 2016, surpassing the pre-recession high of $22.5 billion in 2007.

Constitutional Limitations on Taxes, Other Charges, Appropriations and General Fund Revenues

Over the years, a number of constitutional amendments have been enacted, often through voter initiatives, which have increased the difficulty of raising State taxes or restricted the use of State Treasury General Fund (the “General Fund”) revenues. Some of the more significant of these approved constitutional amendments are described below. Because of the complex nature of these initiatives and the ambiguities and possible inconsistencies in their terms, it is not possible to predict with certainty the impact on California debt obligations or on the ability of the State or local governments to pay debt service on such California debt obligations. Further initiatives or legislative changes in laws or the California Constitution may also affect the ability of the State or local issuers to repay their obligations.

Limitation on Property Taxes. Certain California debt obligations may be obligations of issuers that rely in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, on ad valorem property taxes as a source of revenue. The taxing powers of California local governments and districts are limited by Article XIIIA of the California Constitution (“Article XIIIA”), enacted by the voters in 1978 and commonly known as “Proposition 13.” Briefly, Article XIIIA limits the rate of ad valorem property taxes to 1 percent of full cash value of real property and generally restricts the reassessment of property to 2 percent per year, except upon new construction or change of ownership (subject to a number of exemptions).

Taxing entities, however, may raise ad valorem taxes above the 1 percent limit to pay debt service on voter-approved bonded indebtedness.

Under Article XIIIA, the basic 1 percent ad valorem tax levy is applied against the assessed value of property as of the owner’s date of acquisition (or as of March 1, 1975, if acquired earlier), subject to certain adjustments. This system has resulted in widely varying amounts of tax on similarly situated properties. Several lawsuits were filed challenging the acquisition-based assessment system of Proposition 13, but it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1992.

Article XIIIA prohibits local governments from raising revenues through ad valorem taxes above the 1 percent limit; it also requires voters of any governmental units to give two-thirds approval to levy certain taxes. For further discussion on Proposition 13, see “Local Governments — Constitutional and Statutory Limitations on Local Government” below. For further discussion on voter approval requirements under Article XIIIA, see “— Voter Requirements for Taxes and Fees” below.

Limitations on Other Taxes, Fees and Charges. On November 5, 1996, the voters of the State approved Proposition 218, called the “Right to Vote on Taxes Act.” Proposition 218 added Article XIIIC (“Article XIIIC”) and Article XIIID (“Article XIIID”) to the State Constitution, which contain a number of provisions affecting the ability of local agencies to levy and collect both existing and future taxes, assessments, fees and charges.

Article XIIIC requires that all new or increased local taxes be submitted to the voters before they become effective. Proposition 26, discussed below under the caption entitled “— Voter Requirements for Taxes and Fees,” amended Article XIIIC by adding an expansive definition of “taxes” to include many regulatory fees currently imposed by the State and its municipalities. Taxes for general governmental purposes require a majority vote and taxes for specific purposes require a two-thirds vote.

Article XIIID contains several provisions making it generally more difficult for local agencies to levy and maintain “assessments” for municipal services and programs. Article XIIID also contains several provisions affecting “fees” and

“charges,” defined for purposes of Article XIIID to mean “any levy other than an ad valorem tax, a special tax, or an assessment, imposed by a local government upon a parcel or upon a person as an incident of property ownership, including a user fee or charge for a property related service.” All new and existing property related fees and charges must conform to requirements prohibiting, among other things, fees and charges that generate revenues exceeding the funds required to provide the property related service or are used for unrelated purposes. Article XIIID imposes notice, hearing and protest procedures for levying or increasing property related fees and charges, and, except for fees or charges for sewer, water and refuse collection services (or fees for electrical and gas service, which are not treated as “property related” for purposes of Article XIIID), no property related fee or charge may be imposed or increased without majority approval by the property owners subject to the fee or charge or, at the option of the local agency, two-thirds voter approval by the electorate residing in the affected area.

In addition to the provisions described above, Article XIIIC removes limitations on the initiative power in matters of local taxes, assessments, fees and charges. Consequently, local voters, by future initiative, could repeal, reduce or prohibit the future imposition or increase of any local tax, assessment, fee or charge. It is unclear how this right of local initiative may be used in cases where taxes or charges have been or will be specifically pledged to secure debt issues.

Limitations on the State’s Ability to Transfer Funds from Local Agencies. On November 2, 2010, voters in the State approved “Proposition 22,” a Constitutional initiative. Proposition 22, known as the “Local Taxpayer, Public Safety, and Transportation Protection Act of 2010,” eliminated or reduced the State’s authority to (i) temporarily shift property taxes from cities, counties and special districts to schools, (ii) use vehicle license fee revenues to reimburse local governments for state-mandated costs (the State will have to use other revenues to reimburse local governments), (iii) redirect property tax increment from redevelopment agencies (which have since been dissolved, see “Tax Increment and the Dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies” below) to any other local government, (iv) use State fuel tax revenues to pay debt service on State transportation bonds, or (v) borrow or change the distribution of State fuel tax revenues.

Voter Requirements for Taxes and Fees. Proposition 26, known as the “Supermajority Vote to Pass New Taxes and Fees Act” was approved by State voters on November 2, 2010. Proposition 26 amended provisions of Article XIIIA and Article XIIIC governing the imposition of taxes. Proposition 26 requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in the State Legislature prior to the imposition of any change in State statute which results in any taxpayer paying a higher tax. This requirement eliminated the prior practice that allowed, via majority vote, one tax to be increased if another tax is lowered by an equivalent amount. Furthermore, any increase in a fee beyond the amount needed to provide the specific service or benefit is deemed a “tax,” and thus would require two-thirds vote of any governmental units for passage. Finally, Proposition 26 applies retroactively to any measures passed on or after January 1, 2010. Thus, any tax or fee that was adopted after January 1, 2010 with a majority vote that would have required a two-thirds vote were Proposition 26 in place, was repealed on November 2, 2011, unless readopted by the necessary two-thirds vote.

Appropriations Limits. The State and its local governments are subject to an annual “appropriations limit” imposed by Article XIIIB of the California Constitution (“Article XIIIB”), enacted by the voters in 1979 and significantly amended by Propositions 98 and 111 in 1988 and 1990, respectively. Article XIIIB prohibits the State or any covered local government from spending “appropriations subject to limitation” in excess of the appropriations limit imposed. “Appropriations subject to limitation” are authorizations to spend “proceeds of taxes,” which consist of tax revenues and certain other funds, including proceeds from regulatory licenses, user charges or other fees, to the extent that such proceeds exceed the cost of providing the product or service, but “proceeds of taxes” exclude most State subventions to local governments. No limit is imposed on appropriations of funds which are not “proceeds of taxes,” such as reasonable user charges or fees, and certain other non-tax funds, including bond proceeds.

Among the expenditures not included in the Article XIIIB appropriations limit are (i) the debt service cost of bonds issued or authorized prior to January 1, 1979, or subsequently authorized by the voters, (ii) appropriations to comply with mandates of courts or the federal government, (iii) appropriations for certain capital outlay projects, (iv) appropriations by the State of post-1989 increases in gasoline taxes and vehicle weight fees, and (v) appropriations made in certain cases of emergency.

The appropriations limit for each year is adjusted annually to reflect changes in cost of living and population, and any transfers of service responsibilities between government units.

“Excess” revenues are measured over a two year cycle. Local governments must return any excess to taxpayers by rate reductions. The State must refund 50 percent of any excess, with the other 50 percent paid to schools and community colleges.

With more liberal annual adjustment factors since 1988, and depressed revenues in the early 1990s because of a recession, few governments have been operating near their spending limits, but this condition may change over time. Local governments may by voter approval exceed their spending limits for up to four years. The Department of Finance estimated in April 2017 that the State was $24.9 billion under the limit in fiscal year 2015-16 and projected the State would be approximately $27.0 billion and $24.8 billion under its limit in fiscal years 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.

Dedication of General Fund Revenues to Schools. The single largest portion of the State budget is support for K-12 public schools and community college districts. “Proposition 98,” an initiative measure adopted originally in 1988, mandates that a set percentage of General Fund revenues be spent for K-14 schools, with the balance of school funding provided by a share of local property taxes. Proposition 98 is extremely complex, and results in significant fiscal problems, when General Fund revenues fall short of the projections on which the original appropriations to schools were made. For further discussion regarding Proposition 98, see “Proposition 98 and K-14 Funding” below.

Obligations of the State

The State has always paid when due the principal of and interest on its general obligation bonds, general obligation commercial paper notes, lease-revenue obligations and short-term obligations, including revenue anticipation notes and revenue anticipation warrants. The State Constitution prohibits the creation of general obligation indebtedness of the State unless a bond measure is approved by a majority of the electorate voting at a general election or a direct primary.

Capital Facilities Financing. The State builds and acquires capital facilities primarily through the use of general obligation bonds and lease-purchase borrowing. Under the State Constitution, debt service on outstanding general obligation bonds is the second charge to the General Fund after support of the public school system and public institutions of higher education. Since 2006, the voters and/or the State Legislature have authorized a significant amount of new general obligation bonds, lease revenue bonds and other General Fund-supported debt. From July 1, 2006 to February 1, 2017, the State aggregate principal amount of outstanding obligations primarily supported by the General Fund rose from $44.8 billion to approximately $83.1 billion. This outstanding debt consists of approximately $73.5 billion of general obligation bonds and approximately $9.6 billion of lease-revenue bonds. Moreover, as of February 1, 2017, the State had approximately $39 billion of authorized and unissued General Fund-supported general obligation bonds ($35.6 billion) and lease revenue bonds ($3.4 billion).

Based upon estimates included in the State’s most recent general obligation bond disclosure, as of April 2017, debt service on General Fund-supported general obligation bonds and lease-revenue debt is estimated to equal approximately 6.6 percent of General Fund revenues in fiscal year 2016-17 and 6.5 percent of General Fund revenues in fiscal year 2017-18. This amount fluctuates as assumptions for future debt issuance and revenue projections are updated from time to time. This debt service cost is net of reimbursement from various special funds and subsidy payments from the federal government for taxable “Build America Bonds.”

Future Bond Issuance Plans. The amount of outstanding General Fund-supported debt, primarily general obligation bonds, may increase in coming years given the amount of authorized and unissued General Fund-supported bonds the State can issue. See “— Capital Facilities Financing” above. Based upon estimates from the Governor’s proposed 2017-2018 budget and the Department of Finance, approximately $6.3 billion of such obligations will be issued in fiscal year 2017-18 (consisting of approximately $5.4 billion of general obligation bonds and approximately $876 million of lease revenue bonds). However, the exact amount that may be issued will depend on market conditions, overall budget constraints and other factors.

Cash Management. As part of its cash management program, the State has regularly issued short-term obligations to meet cash flow needs. External borrowing is typically done with revenue anticipation notes that are payable later in the fiscal year in which they are issued. The State issued $2.8 billion of revenue anticipation notes for fiscal year 2014-15, all of which have been repaid. The State did not issue revenue anticipation notes in fiscal year 2015-16 and is not expected to issue revenue anticipation notes in fiscal year 2016-17 or fiscal year 2017-18.

The State is also authorized under certain circumstances to issue revenue anticipation warrants that are payable in the succeeding fiscal year, as well as registered refunding warrants issued to refund revenue anticipation warrants. The State has issued revenue anticipation warrants to bridge short-term cash flow shortages in five years since 1992. From time to time, the State Legislature has deferred various payments due under State statute, in order to more closely align the State’s revenues with its expenditures. This technique has been used in past budgets, in order to reduce the State’s need for external borrowing to bridge any cash flow deficit. Further, State law gives the State Controller some flexibility to delay payments to

various payees, including State vendors, when the State Controller foresees a relatively short-term cash flow shortage. In addition, the State issued IOUs in lieu of cash payments in July and August 2009, the second such issuance since the 1930s. For information regarding the State’s recent cash management programs, see “Recent Financial Results” below.

Obligations of State Agencies

A number of State agencies and authorities issue obligations secured or payable from specified revenue streams. These obligations are not payable from the General Fund and carry different ratings than the State’s general obligation bonds. As of December 31, 2016, the State Department of Water Resources had approximately $7.3 billion of outstanding revenue bonds secured by power and water users, and the California Housing Finance Agency had approximately $2.8 billion of outstanding revenue bonds secured by mortgage loans made for single family and multi-family housing units. The Regents of the University of California has been one of the largest issuers of revenue bonds in recent years, with approximately $17.1 billion of outstanding revenue bonds secured by certain revenues of the University of California, as of December 31, 2016. None of these revenue bonds are backed by the State’s faith and credit or taxing power.

Recent Financial Results

Historically, the principal sources of General Fund revenues are personal income tax, sales and use tax and corporation tax. Based on the most recent figures provided in the May Revision to the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 State budget, these sources are expected to contribute approximately 69.7 percent, 19.2 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, of total General Fund revenues in fiscal year 2017-18. The State’s personal income tax structure is highly progressive. In the State’s general obligation bond disclosure in April 2017, the State noted that the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid approximately 48 percent of the total personal income tax in tax year 2014. The personal income tax was made even more progressive with the passage of Proposition 30, which imposed additional taxes on earnings over $250,000, resulting in an income tax of 12.3 percent on earnings over $1 million. In November 2016 the voters in the State approved an extension of this portion of Proposition 30 through the end of calendar year 2030. A large portion of personal income tax receipts is derived from capital gains realizations and stock option income. These revenue sources can be particularly volatile.

Along with personal income taxes, sales and use taxes and corporation taxes are subject to economic fluctuations as well, and have also been adversely affected during the State’s recovery from the recent recession. Total personal income taxes, sales and use taxes and corporation taxes went from approximately $92.6 billion in fiscal year 2007-08 to approximately $76.7 billion in fiscal year 2008-09, recovering to an estimated $117.9 billion in fiscal year 2016-17 according to the May Revision to the Governor’s proposed State budget for fiscal year 2017-18. Moreover, compared to the rest of the nation, California relies less on the property tax as a source of revenues, because of Proposition 13. See “Constitutional Limitations on Taxes, Other Charges, Appropriations and General Fund Revenues – Limitation on Property Taxes” above.

The State is required to maintain the SFEU, derived from General Fund revenues, as a reserve to meet cash needs of the General Fund, but which is required to be replenished as soon as sufficient revenues are available. Year-end balances in the SFEU are included for financial reporting purposes in the General Fund balance. As of June 30, 2011 and 2012, recurring cash flow shortfalls resulted in SFEU deficits of approximately $3.9 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively. SFEU balances have improved with higher than expected capital gains revenue in recent years. The May Revision to the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 State budget projected an SFEU deficit of approximately $257 million as of June 30, 2017 and an SFEU balance of approximately $1.6 billion as of June 30, 2018 if proposed budget solutions are adopted. Without those proposed budget solutions the SFEU would have a deficit of approximately $1.6 billion at the end of fiscal year 2017-18 according to the Governor’s proposed budget. See “Governor’s Proposed 2017-18 State Budget — General Fund Budget Summary” below. In the May Revision to the Governor’s proposed budget, the Governor noted that because State revenues began to lag expectations in the last year, the budget is considerably more constrained than in any year since 2012.

The last six budget acts were each enacted timely, a process whereby the Governor’s proposed budget is revised and finalized according to the schedule outlined below (the “Budget Act”). See “The State Budget — Overview” below.

Proposition 98 and K-14 Funding

Throughout the 1980s, State spending increased rapidly as the State population and economy also grew rapidly. Such spending included increased spending for many assistance programs to local governments, which were constrained by Proposition 13 and other laws. The largest State assistance program is to local public school districts. In 1988, the voters of the State approved Proposition 98, a combined initiative constitutional amendment and statute, which (subject to

suspension by a two-thirds vote of the State Legislature and the Governor) guarantees local school districts and community college districts a minimum share of General Fund revenues (the “Proposition 98 Guarantee”). The Proposition 98 Guarantee is calculated each fiscal year using one of three “tests” that apply under varying fiscal and economic conditions. The 2016-17 Budget Act provides that approximately 42.4 percent of General Fund revenues in fiscal year 2016-17 were directed to K-14 programs covered by the Proposition 98 Guarantee. For fiscal year 2016-17, the Proposition 98 Guarantee is $71.9 billion, of which $51.0 billion is payable from the General Fund, although the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 State budget revises such estimates to be approximately $71.4 billion and $50.3 billion, respectively. The revised 2016-17 Budget Act Proposition 98 Guarantee level is an increase of $2.3 billion over the 2015-16 Budget Act level. The May Revision estimates that the Proposition 98 Guarantee level for fiscal year 2017-18 will be $74.6 billion which is an increase of $3.2 billion over the revised 2016-17 Budget Act Proposition 98 Guarantee. For further information on the limitations on General Fund revenues imposed by Proposition 98, see “Constitutional Limitations on Taxes, Other Charges, Appropriations and General Fund Revenues — Dedication of General Fund Revenues to Schools” above.

State and Local Pension and Post-Retirement Liabilities

State. The financial condition of the State and its localities is also subject to pension and other post-retirement benefit risks. The pension funds managed by the State’s retirement systems, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (“CalSTRS”), sustained significant investment losses during the economic downturn and currently have substantial unfunded liabilities which will require increased contributions from the General Fund in future years. Fiscal year 2017-18 General Fund contributions to CalPERS and CalSTRS (as of April 2017) are estimated to be approximately $3.5 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively. The combined contributions represent approximately 5.1 percent of all General Fund expenditures for fiscal year 2017-18. The State also provides other post-employment health care and dental benefits to state to its employees and certain of their spouses and dependents (hereinafter referred to as “OPEB”), which utilize a “pay-as-you-go” funding policy. Fiscal year 2017-18 General Fund contributions to OPEB (as of April 2017) were estimated to be approximately $2.1 billion or approximately 1.7 percent of all General Fund expenditures for fiscal year 2017-18.

The CalPERS Board reported an unfunded accrued liability allocable to state employees (excluding judges and elected officials), as of June 30, 2016, of $59.5 billion on a market value of assets (“MVA”) basis. CalPERS no longer measures on an actuarial value of assets (“AVA”) basis. CalSTRS reported the unfunded accrued actuarial liability of its Defined Benefit Plan as of June 30, 2016 at $96.7 billion on an AVA basis, and $101.6 billion on an MVA basis, reflecting new investment return assumptions adopted by CalSTRS in February 2017.

In April 2013, CalPERS approved new actuarial policies that are aimed at returning the CalPERS system to fully-funded status within 30 years. These new policies include a rate-smoothing method with a 30-year fixed amortization period for gains and losses (rather than the current 30-year rolling amortization method). CalPERS delayed the implementation of the new policy until fiscal year 2015-16 for the State, schools and all public agencies. These new policies are projected to increase required State and local contributions. It is possible that, in the future, the State will be forced to significantly increase its pension fund and post-retirement benefit contributions, reducing discretionary funds available for other State programs. In February 2014, the CalPERS Board approved new demographic assumptions that take into account increased life expectancies (2.1 years for men; 1.6 years for women) and to fully phase in the resulting increased costs to the State (of approximately $1.2 billion per year) within 3 years. See “—Local” below for a discussion of steps taken to eliminate the current CalSTRS unfunded liability.

The recent economic recession has called into question the reliability of assumed rates of return used to determine actuarial unfunded pension liabilities. Prior to 2012, CalPERS and CalSTRS had used an assumed 7.75 percent rate of return to calculate their respective unfunded liabilities. However, at meetings in February 2012 and March 2012, the CalSTRS Board and the CalPERS Board, respectively, voted to lower the investment earnings assumption to 7.50 percent (a reduction of 0.25 percent) commencing for actuarial valuations dated June 30, 2011. These assumption changes resulted in significant increases in unfunded liability. The assumption changes for CalPERS also increased retirement contributions for many local agencies which contract with CalPERS to manage their pension programs. In December of 2016 the CalPERS Board voted to lower the investment earnings assumptions for 2017-18 to 7.375%, for 2018-19 to 7.25% and for 2019-20 to 7.0%. In February 2017, the CalSTRS Board lowered its investment return assumption to 7.25% for the June 30, 2016 actuarial valuation and 7.0% for the June 30, 2017 actuarial valuation.

The most recent CalPERS and CalSTRS investment returns have been below the assumed rate of return. On July 18, 2016, CalPERS reported a 0.6 percent return on investments for the twelve months ended June 30, 2016, and CalSTRS reported a

1.4 percent return on investments for the same period in its comprehensive annual financial report for fiscal year 2015-16 compared with 2.4 and 4.8 percent in fiscal year 2014-15, respectively. Based on those expected returns for the twelve months ended June 30, 2016, CalPERS estimated 3-year, 5-year and 10-year time weighted average returns of 6.9, 6.8 and 5.1 percent, respectively, and CalSTRS reported 3-year, 5-year and 10-year time weighted average returns of 8.8, 7.7 and 5.6 percent, respectively.

The State’s most recent OPEB actuarial accrued liability report estimated an approximately $76.7 billion unfunded actuarial accrued liability as of June 30, 2016 (compared to $74.2 billion estimated as of June 30, 2015). The State’s credit ratings may be affected if the State does not reduce or manage these unfunded liabilities. See “Bond Ratings” below. Government Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”) Statements 74 and 75, each of which affects OPEB financial reporting, were issued in June 2015. As a result, there is an increased focus on OPEB liability as GASB Statement No. 74 became effective for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2016 and GASB Statement No. 75 becomes effective for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2017. In January 2016, the State Controller noted that, if OPEB funding is left unchanged, the OPEB actuarial accrued liability could rise to more than $100 billion by fiscal year 2020-21 and to more than $300 billion by fiscal year 2047-48. The Governor has proposed prefunding the entire unfunded liability by fiscal year 2044-45. Statutory language passed as part of the 2015-16 Budget Act contains the framework designed to support the elimination of the unfunded OPEB actuarial accrued liability through the use of a prefunding trust fund to pay for future retiree health benefits. Currently the State has approximately $400 million set aside in the prefunding trust fund.

Local. Many local governments in the State, many of which are current members of CalPERS, face similar and, in many cases, more severe issues relating to unfunded pension and post-retirement benefit (OPEB) liabilities. The credit ratings, and even solvency of these local governments may be at risk in the future if these liabilities are not appropriately addressed through wage concessions and restructuring of benefits. Cities are particularly at risk because one of their primary missions is safety, and safety personnel labor and retirement benefit costs are significantly greater than labor and retirement costs of general municipal employees. Three cities, Vallejo, Stockton and San Bernardino, entered bankruptcy under Chapter 9 of the Federal bankruptcy code, largely as a result of escalating labor cost and unfunded pension and post-retirement liabilities. All three of these cities have agreements with CalPERS to administer their pension obligation, and their respective obligations to CalPERS have proven to be a pivotal reason for their insolvency. Other cities (including other cities that contract with CalPERS) and counties have expressed public concerns about their ability to meet their unfunded pension and other post-retirement liabilities, and a willingness to entertain bankruptcy as an option to resolve their fiscal problems. Recently, a federal bankruptcy judge stated that obligations to CalPERS could be adjusted in federal bankruptcy proceedings; however, the plan of adjustment in those proceedings was confirmed without reducing such obligations to CalPERS. Any definitive ruling might encourage other financially-stressed municipalities to explore a Chapter 9 bankruptcy. There can be no assurance that the fiscal stress and cash pressures currently facing certain of the State’s localities will not continue or become more difficult, particularly if the economic recovery falters.

School districts in the State are required to make contributions to CalSTRS for their teachers and staff. In June 2014, the Governor signed Chapter 47, Statutes of 2014 (“AB 1469”), which increased statutorily required contributions to CalSTRS from the State, school districts, and teachers beginning July 1, 2014. The AB 1469 funding plan includes additional increases in contribution rates for the State, school districts, and teachers over the next several years in order to eliminate the current CalSTRS unfunded liability by 2045-46. The increased funding requirements imposed upon local school districts will continue to increase through fiscal year 2020-21 and may have an adverse effect on their financial condition.

Pension Reform. Both constitutional initiatives and State legislation have been circulated or proposed attempting to reform the State’s pension systems on the State and local basis. In September 2012, the Governor signed into law a comprehensive pension reform package affecting State and local government known as California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (“PEPRA”), which became effective January 1, 2013. PEPRA implements lower defined-benefit formulas with higher retirement ages for new State employees hired on or after January 1, 2013, and includes provisions to increase employee contributions. The legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 1469 in June 2014 to increase required State contributions to CalSTRS. See “— Local” above. OPEB costs were not addressed in PEPRA; however, the State has disclosed that the higher retirement ages included in PEPRA will reduce OPEB liabilities in the long term.

The LAO’s analysis of PEPRA concluded that the legislation would have little or no immediate effect on State finances. However, in a preliminary actuarial analysis of PEPRA, CalPERS projected total savings to the State of between $10.3 billion and $12.6 billion over the next 30 years due primarily to increased employee contributions and, as the workforce turns over, lower benefit formulas that will gradually reduce normal costs. Total savings to the State and local governments combined

have been reported at between $40 billion and $60 billion over the next 30 years. See also “Status of General Fund; Governor’s Proposed 2017-18 State Budget – 2017-18 May Revision and LAO Overview” for discussion of a proposed supplemental $6 billion payment to be made to CalPERs in fiscal year 2017-18.

California courts have been largely supportive of the vested or earned pension rights of State and local employees. Thus, pension reform efforts have been focused largely on limitations on future benefits for new employees, bringing limited, if any, immediate financial relief.

The State Budget

Overview. The State’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. The annual budget is proposed by the Governor by January 10 of each year for the next fiscal year (the “Governor’s Budget”). Under State law, the Governor’s Budget cannot provide for projected expenditures in excess of projected revenues for the ensuing fiscal year. State law also requires the Governor to update the Governor’s Budget projections and budgetary proposals by May 14 of each year (the “May Revision”). The May Revision is generally the basis for final negotiations between the Governor and the State Legislature to reach agreement on appropriations and other legislation to fund State government and thus finalizing the Budget Act for upcoming fiscal year. The budget must be balanced, as required by Proposition 58 (discussed below) and pursuant to Proposition 25, enacted on November 2, 2010, must be approved by a majority (instead of two-thirds, under prior law) of each house of the State Legislature. State law requires the Governor to sign the budget by the start of the fiscal year on July 1, a requirement that, prior to Proposition 25’s enactment, had only been met 12 times in the preceding three decades. Following enactment of Proposition 25, the Legislature has approved and Governor Brown has signed Budget Acts before the start of each such fiscal year.

Constraints on the Budget Process. Recent State Constitutional amendments approved by State voters have affected the budget process. Several such amendments are described below.

Balanced Budget Amendment. On March 2, 2004, voters approved Proposition 58; a constitutional amendment called the “Balanced Budget Amendment,” which requires the State to enact a balanced budget and establish a special reserve and restricts future borrowing to cover fiscal year-end deficits. As a result of the provisions requiring the enactment of a balanced budget and restricting borrowing, the State would in some cases have to take more immediate actions to correct budgetary shortfalls. Proposition 58 requires the State Legislature to pass a balanced budget and provides for mid-year adjustments in the event that the budget falls out of balance and the Governor calls a special legislative session to address the shortfall. The balanced budget determination is made by subtracting expenditures from all available resources, including prior-year balances.

Under Proposition 58, if the Governor determines that the State is facing substantial revenue shortfalls or spending increases, the Governor is authorized to declare a fiscal emergency. The Governor would then be required to propose legislation to address the emergency and call the State Legislature into special session for that purpose. If the State Legislature fails to pass and send to the Governor legislation to address the fiscal emergency within 45 days, the State Legislature would be prohibited from acting on any other bills or adjourning in joint recess until such legislation is passed.

Proposition 58 also established the Budget Stabilization Account (the “BSA”), a special reserve account funded by annual transfers of specified amounts from the General Fund, unless suspended or reduced by the Governor or until a specified maximum amount has been deposited. Until the 2014-15 Budget Act, the Governor had suspended the annual transfer of money from the General Fund to the BSA every year since 2007. Each of the last three budget acts allocated transfers to the BSA. Funding for the BSA is estimated by the 2016-17 Budget Act to be approximately $3.4 billion as of June 30, 2016 and approximately $6.7 billion as of June 30, 2017. Funding for the BSA is expected to rise to approximately $8.5 billion as of June 30, 2018 according to the May Revision to the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 State budget. In November 2014, voters approved a constitutional amendment (“Proposition 2”) intended to strengthen the BSA by, among other things, basing deposits on when capital gains revenues rise above 8 percent, creating a Proposition 98 reserve and doubling the maximum size of the BSA from 5 percent to 10 percent of revenues. Certain provisions of Proposition 58 relating to the BSA were replaced by the provisions of Proposition 2. See “— Revisions to Balanced Budget Amendment” below.

Proposition 58 also prohibits certain future borrowing to cover fiscal year-end deficits. This restriction applies to general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, and certain other forms of long-term borrowing. The restriction does not apply to certain other types of borrowing, such as short-term borrowing to cover cash shortfalls in the General Fund (including revenue anticipation notes or revenue anticipation warrants currently used by the State), or inter-fund borrowings.

Revisions to Balanced Budget Amendment. Another Constitutional initiative, Proposition 2 was approved by voters in November 2014. Certain provisions of Proposition 58 relating to the BSA were replaced by the provisions of Proposition 2. Beginning with the 2015-16 fiscal year, Proposition 2 requires that, among other things: deposits be made into the BSA whenever capital gains revenues rise to more than 8 percent of General Fund tax revenues; 1.5 percent of annual General Fund revenues be set aside each year; half of each year’s deposit through fiscal year 2030-31 be used for supplemental payments to pay down long-term liabilities, after which at least half of each year’s deposit must be saved, with the remainder used for supplemental debt payments or savings; that the maximum size of the BSA be increased to 10 percent of General Fund revenues; withdrawal of funds be only for a disaster or if spending remains at or below the highest level of spending from the prior three years; the maximum amount that could be withdrawn in the first year of a recession be limited to half of the BSA’s balance; the state provide a multiyear budget forecast to help better manage the state’s longer term finances; and a Proposition 98 reserve be created, whereby spikes in funding are to be saved for future years to smooth school spending and minimize future cuts.

State-Local Fiscal Relations. The enactment of Proposition 1A in November 2004 (“Proposition 1A of 2004”) and Proposition 22, in November 2010, significantly changed the fiscal relationship between the State and local governments by severely limiting the State’s access to local funding sources.

Specifically, Proposition 1A of 2004 amended the State Constitution to, among other things, reduce the State’s access to property tax, sales tax and vehicle license fee revenues raised by local governments. Proposition 1A of 2004 also prohibits the State from mandating activities on cities, counties or special districts without providing funding to comply with the mandates. If the State does not provide funding for the activity that has been mandated, the requirement to abide by the mandate is suspended.

In addition, Proposition 22 prohibits the State Legislature, among other things, from taking or reallocating money raised by local governments for local purposes, from making changes in the allocation of property taxes among local governments designed to aid State finances, from using State fuel tax revenues to pay debt service on State transportation bonds, from borrowing or changing the distribution of State fuel tax revenues, and from using vehicle licensing fee revenues to reimburse local governments for State-mandated costs. The inability of the State to borrow or redirect funds from these sources, as it has in recent fiscal years, will reduce the State’s flexibility in reaching budget solutions in the future. On the other hand, both Proposition 1A and Proposition 22 made the allocation of revenues to local jurisdictions more predictable.

Proposition 30 and Proposition 55. On November 6, 2012, voters approved “The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012,” which provided temporary increases in personal income tax rates for high-income taxpayers and a temporary increase in the State’s sales tax rate. A portion of the tax increases will be used to pay for the State’s Proposition 98 school funding obligations. See “Proposition 98 and K-14 Funding” above. The sales tax portion of Proposition 30 expired on December 31, 2016. In November 2016 voters approved Proposition 55 which extends the personal income tax portion of Proposition 30 until December 31, 2030.

The LAO projected that Proposition 30 would result in an average annual State revenue gain of $6.0 billion per year from fiscal years 2012-13 through 2016-17, and approximately $5.4 billion in fiscal 2017-18 and $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2018-19. The Governor’s proposed budget for 2017-18 noted the extension of the personal income tax portion of Proposition 30 by Proposition 55 will begin to affect revenues in fiscal year 2018-19. There can be no assurance that a deterioration in State revenues and/or increases in State expenditures in current or future fiscal years will allow the State to retire these borrowings as projected by the Governor.

The California Clean Energy Jobs Act. On November 6, 2012, voters approved The California Clean Energy Jobs Act (“Proposition 39”), which, among other things, dedicates up to $550 million annually for five years to clean energy projects out of an expected $1 billion annual increase in corporate tax revenue due to the reversal of a provision adopted in 2009 that gave corporations an option as to how to calculate their State income tax liability. However, there can be no assurance that the State will realize the expected increase in corporate tax revenue.

Health Care Reform. The federal Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) may continue to result in a significant net increase of General Fund program costs. The potential economic and social impacts of any repeal or replacement of the ACA as proposed by the Trump Administration are unpredictable and may have an adverse overall fiscal impact of the State and its instrumentalities. The U.S. Congress is currently considering replacement legislation for the provisions of the ACA. The State’s preliminary assessment of the fiscal impact of the March 21, 2017 version of the proposed American Health Care Act which was not adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives estimated that it could result in several billion dollars in

additional costs to the State in 2020, growing to tens of billions of dollars in increased yearly costs by 2027, of which the State estimates that approximately 70 percent would be payable from the General Fund. The actual fiscal impact will depend on the final enacted legislation, if any, and could vary significantly from the current estimate. The current estimate may also be materially affected by policy choices made by the State to address any proposed or enacted federal legislation.

The May Revision assumed the continuation of existing federal fiscal policy. Beginning January 1, 2017, if the ACA is not repealed, California will begin to assume 5 percent of these costs with California’s contribution generally increasing each fiscal year until fiscal year 2020-21, when the State will pay 10 percent of the total costs. By fiscal year 2020-21, the General Fund share for the optional expansion is projected to be $2.5 billion. The 2016-17 Budget Act projects the optional expansion caseload to be 3.8 million in fiscal year 2016-17.

The net impact of the ACA on the General Fund will depend on a variety of factors, including the nature and extent of any repeal or replacement, levels of individual and employer participation, changes in insurance premiums, and expected savings from the reform as beneficiaries in current State-only programs receive coverage through Medi-Cal or the California Health Benefit Exchange also known as Covered California. The State’s estimated share of the costs of expansion are approximately $16.2 billion ($894 million from the General Fund) for fiscal year 2016-17. The federal government committed to pay nearly 100 percent of the costs of this expansion for the first three years.

Status of State General Fund; Governor’s Proposed 2017-18 State Budget

Governor’s Proposed Budget. On January 10, 2017, the Governor proposed a state budget for fiscal year 2017-18. Contrary to recent years in which the State enjoyed balanced budgets while paying down budgetary borrowing and addressing some long-standing budget issues, the Governor’s proposed budget reflects an expected budget deficit of $1.6 billion absent corrective action.

The Governor’s proposed budget nevertheless includes annual funding increases for public higher education, the creation of the state’s first earned income tax credit, an increase in the minimum wage and the expansion of Medi-Cal, the State’s Medicaid health care program for low-income families.

2017-18 May Revision and LAO Overview.

On May 11, 2017, Governor Brown released the May Revision to the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 budget, which updated policy proposals, revenue projections and estimated expenditures for fiscal years 2016-17 and 2017-18. The Governor reported that due to the surging stock market the May Revision reflected higher revenues of $2.5 billion which allowed for additional expenditures to advance key priorities of the Governor including addition Proposition 98 money for schools and expenditures to aid counties and restore certain child care programs.

The May Revision also included a proposal for the State to make a $6 billion supplemental payment to CalPERS with a loan from funds otherwise held in the State’s Surplus Money Investment Fund to help reduce unfunded liabilities. The General Fund share of the loan repayment will come from Proposition 2 revenues allocated for supplemental payments to pay down long-term liabilities. See “The State Budget – Constraints on the Budget Process – Revisions to Balanced Budget Amendment.” The Governor estimated that the $6 billion supplemental payment would save $11 billion over the next two decades.

The May Revision assumes the continuation of existing federal policy. The Governor noted that the State must nevertheless continue to plan and save for tougher budget times ahead due to contemplated actions by the federal government such as defunding health care and eliminating deductions for state taxes that could send the State budget “into turmoil.”

A summary of the condition of the State’s General Fund, as projected in the May Revision, including actual results from fiscal year 2015-16, revised results from fiscal year 2016-17 and the May Revision updates to the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 budget is set forth below.

2016-17 May Revision

General Fund Condition
(Dollars in Millions)

				Governor’s BudgetProposed for 2017-18
	Actual 2015-16	Revised 2016-17¹	Percent Change	Proposed 2017-18	Percent Change
Prior-year General Fund balance	$ 3,308	$ 4,515		$ 723
Revenues and transfers	115,660	118,540	2.5%	125,912	6.2%
Expenditures	(114,453)	(122,332)	6.9%	(124,018)	1.3%
Ending General Fund Balance	$ 4,515	$ 723		$ 2,617
Encumbrances	(980)	(980)		(980)
SFEU balance	$ 3,535	$ (257)		$ 1,637
BSA balance	$ 3,700	$ 6,713		$ 8,488
Total Reserves	$ 7,235	$ 6,456		$ 10,125

¹	From Governor’s proposed 2017-18 budget report.

LAO Overview of Proposed 2017-18 Budget and May Revision. In its January 13, 2017 report on the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 budget, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (the “LAO”) acknowledged that “the State’s fiscal condition has worsened” and that the primary reason for this “deterioration” was lower revenue estimates particularly form the personal income tax. However, the LAO observed that they thought the Governor’s estimate of personal income tax revenues was too low and that by the time of the May Revision, the State could have “considerably more” General Fund revenue than projected in the proposed 2017-18 budget. The May Revision did indeed reflect an additional $2.5 billion of revenue over what was originally forecast in the Governor’s proposed 2017-18 budget. Nonetheless, the LAO further commented that the State faced new uncertainties as federal actions could significantly affect the State’s bottom line in future years and encouraged the State Legislature to set a target for State reserves either at or above the Governor’s proposed amounts. The LAO noted in comments to the May Revision that possible federal policy changes could affect the State economy, reduce federal funding, or substantially increase State costs in future years and observed that changes to federal health care programs, in particular, could have significant implications for the State budget. See “The State Budget—Health Care Reform” above.

Future Budgets

The State’s ability to balance its budget going forward may be affected by budget pressures, including particularly potential significant increases in required State contributions to pension funds or other post-employment benefits, increased debt service payments, potential adverse decisions in litigation, and deferred obligations to schools and local governments.

Pending Litigation

There are currently numerous legal proceedings pending against the State, that if determined adversely against the State, could affect the State’s expenditures, and in some cases, its revenues and cash flow. Information regarding some of the more significant litigation pending against the State would ordinarily be included in various public documents issued by the State, such as the official statements prepared in connection with the issuance of general obligation bonds of California. See “Additional Information” below for information on how to obtain such official statements.

Bond Ratings

As of May 1, 2017, the following ratings for the State’s general obligation bonds have been received from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), S&P Global Ratings, a Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC business (“S&P”) and Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”):

Moody’s		S&P		Fitch
Aa3		AA-		AA-

These ratings apply only to the State’s general obligation bonds and are not indicative of the ratings assigned to bonds issued by local governments, such as counties, cities, school districts and other local agencies of the State.

Any explanation of the significance of such ratings may be obtained only from the rating agency furnishing such ratings. There is no assurance that such ratings will continue for any given period of time or that they will not be revised downward or withdrawn entirely if, in the judgment of the particular rating agency, circumstances so warrant.

Additional Information

Information regarding the State’s financial condition is included in various public documents issued by the State, such as the official statements prepared in connection with the issuance of general obligation bonds of California. Such official statements may be obtained by contacting the State Treasurer’s Office at (800) 900-3873 or at www.treasurer.ca.gov.

Periodic reports on revenues and/or expenditures during the fiscal year are issued by the Administration, the State Controller’s Office and the LAO. The Department of Finance issues a monthly bulletin, which reports the most recent revenue receipts as reported by State departments, comparing those receipts to budget projections. The State Controller issues a monthly report on General Fund cash receipts and disbursements. These reports are normally released on the 10th day of every calendar month for the period ended on the last day of the prior month. The Administration also formally updates its budget projections three times during each fiscal year– in January, May and at the time of budget enactment. These bulletins and reports are available on the internet at websites maintained by the agencies and by contacting the agencies at their offices in Sacramento, California. Investors are cautioned that interim financial information is not necessarily indicative of results for a fiscal year.

Publications from the LAO can be read in full by accessing the LAO’s website (www.lao.ca.gov) or by contacting the LAO at (916) 445-4656.

Complete text of the Budget Acts may be found at the Electronic Budget website of the Department of Finance (www.ebudget.ca.gov).

Complete text of the State Controller’s monthly Summary Analysis may be accessed at the State Controller’s website (www.sco.ca.gov).

None of the information on the above websites is incorporated herein by reference.

Local Governments

General. The primary units of local government in California are the 58 counties, which range in population from approximately 1,200 in Alpine County to approximately 10 million in Los Angeles County.

Counties are responsible for the provision of many basic services, including indigent health care, welfare, jails, and public safety in unincorporated areas. As of July 1, 2011, the California League of Cities reported that there are 482 incorporated cities in California and thousands of special districts formed for education, utilities, and other services.

To the extent the State is constrained by its obligation to schools under Proposition 98, or other fiscal considerations, the absolute level (or the rate of growth) of State assistance to local governments may be affected. Any such reductions in State aid could compound the serious fiscal constraints already experienced by many local governments, particularly counties and schools.

Many local governments are also facing substantial increases in pension liabilities and health care costs for retirees, as a result of generous retirements benefits granted during prior economic boom times. For more information regarding pension liabilities, see “State and Local Pension and Post-Retirement Liabilities” above. At the same time that local governments are facing rising labor and benefit costs, local governments are limited in their ability to levy and raise property taxes and other forms of taxes, fees or assessments, due to State Constitutional as well as (in some cases) local initiatives. In the case of school districts, contributions to CalSTRS are determined by the State legislature, and the State has enacted legislation to increase required contributions to pay rising pension costs. See “State and Local Pension and Post-Retirement Liabilities – Pension Reform” above. To the extent such increases exceed increases in State funding, school district finances have been and will continue to be adversely affected. As a consequence of these factors, local governments may increasingly be forced to cut local services to address budget shortfalls or to take even more drastic actions, such as a bankruptcy filing.

A Trump administration order that threatened to cut off federal funding to “sanctuary cities”, many of which are located in California, was temporarily enjoined in April 2017. Although that order may be permanently enjoined, any similar proposal could have a material adverse impact on the financial condition of the affected cities, and potentially the State as a whole.

Constitutional and Statutory Limitations on Local Government. The fiscal condition of local governments was changed when Proposition 13, which added Article XIII A to the State Constitution, was approved by California voters in 1978. Proposition 13 reduced and limited the future growth of property taxes and limited the ability of local governments to impose “special taxes” (those devoted to a specific purpose) without two-thirds voter approval. Although Proposition 13 limited property tax growth rates, it also has had a smoothing effect on property tax revenues, ensuring greater stability in annual revenues than existed before Proposition 13 passed. For further information on Proposition 13, see “Constitutional Limitations on Taxes, Other Charges, Appropriations and General Fund Revenues—Limitation on Property Taxes” above.

Proposition 218, another constitutional amendment enacted by initiative in 1996, further limited the ability of local governments to raise taxes, fees, and other exactions. See “Constitutional Limitations on Taxes, Other Charges, Appropriations and General Fund Revenues—Limitations on Other Taxes, Fees and Charges” above.

In the aftermath of Proposition 13, the State provided aid to local governments from the General Fund to make up some of the loss of property tax moneys, including assuming principal responsibility for funding K-12 schools and community colleges. During the recession of the early 1990s, the State Legislature reduced the post-Proposition 13 aid to local government entities other than K-12 schools and community colleges by requiring cities and counties to transfer some of their property tax revenues to school districts. However, the State Legislature also provided additional funding sources, such as sales taxes, and reduced certain mandates for local services funded by cities and counties.

Beginning in 2000, and in part caused by the “internet bubble,” the State was faced with increasing financial stress and began to divert local revenue resources, including sales tax, vehicle license fees and redevelopment moneys, to the State coffers. The 2004-05 Budget Act, related legislation and the enactment of Proposition 1A in 2004 and Proposition 22 in 2010 dramatically changed the State-local fiscal relationship.

Proposition 1A of 2004 amended the State Constitution to, among other things, reduce the State Legislature’s authority over local government revenue sources by placing restrictions on the State’s access to local governments’ property, sales, and vehicle license fee revenues as of November 3, 2004. Proposition 22 supersedes Proposition 1A of 2004 and completely prohibits any future borrowing by the State from local government funds, and generally prohibits the State Legislature from making changes in local government funding sources. For further discussion regarding Proposition 22 and Proposition 1A of 2004, see “The State Budget—Constraints on the Budget Process—State-Local Fiscal Relations” above.

Realigning Services to Local Governments. Commencing with the 2011-12 Budget Act, the State implemented a realignment plan to shift certain State program costs to counties and provided a comparable amount of funds to support these new county commitments. Under the realignment plan, a total of $6.3 billion in fiscal year 2011-12 was, and ongoing funds for such programs thereafter are required to be, provided to counties for court security, corrections and public safety, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, child welfare programs, adult protective services, and CalWORKS. Consequently, local governments, particularly counties, have borne an increased part of the financial burden of providing program services, including the risks of cost overruns, revenue declines and insufficient revenue growth. The State reported in August 2016 that, during fiscal year 2016-17, it expected to transfer approximately $6.9 billion in sales tax revenues and $624 million in vehicle license fee revenue to local governments under the realignment plan.

Obligations of Other Issuers

Other Issuers of California Debt Obligations. There are a number of State agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions of the State that issue municipal obligations, some of which may be conduit revenue obligations payable from payments from private borrowers. These entities are subject to various economic risks and uncertainties, and the credit quality of the securities issued by them may vary considerably from the credit quality of obligations backed by the full faith and credit of the State. For example, assessment bonds may be adversely affected by a general decline in real estate values or a slowdown in real estate sales activity.

California Long-Term Lease Obligations. Based on a series of court decisions, certain long-term lease obligations, though typically payable from the General Fund or a municipality, are not considered “indebtedness” requiring voter approval. Such leases, however, are subject to “abatement” in the event the facility being leased is unavailable for beneficial use and

occupancy by the municipality during the term of the lease. Abatement is not a default, and there may be no remedies available to the holders of the certificates evidencing the lease obligation in the event abatement occurs. The most common cases of abatement are failure to complete construction of the facility before the end of the period during which lease payments have been capitalized and uninsured casualty losses to the facility (e.g., due to earthquake). In the event abatement occurs with respect to a lease obligation, lease payments may be interrupted (if all available insurance proceeds and reserves are exhausted) and the certificates may not be paid when due. Further, lease obligations may represent executory contracts which could be rejected in a bankruptcy proceeding under Chapter 9 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In recent bankruptcy proceedings involving the City of Stockton, the confirmed plan of adjustment included the discharge of lease obligations at significant discounts from their face value.

Tax Increment and the Dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies. Until 2011, local redevelopment agencies throughout the State issued “tax allocation” bonds or similar obligations secured by the increase in assessed valuation of a redevelopment project area after the start of redevelopment activity. Throughout the years, redevelopment agencies issued billions of dollars of tax allocation bonds. In addition, the State has regularly borrowed or appropriated redevelopment tax increments to address its budget shortfalls.

In December 2011, the State Supreme Court upheld the validity of legislation, enacted earlier in 2011, that eliminated redevelopment agencies (as well as the issuance of tax allocation bonds) in the State. On February 1, 2012, all redevelopment agencies in California were dissolved and the process of unwinding their financial affairs began.

The legislation dissolving redevelopment agencies preserved the pledge of tax increment revenues to the payment of tax allocation bonds or tax allocation supported obligations. In addition, the passage of “clean-up” legislation has clarified many outstanding issues relating to the implementation of the legislation, and in particular the mechanics of assuring the payment of outstanding tax allocation obligations. In addition, the clean-up legislation has enabled many jurisdictions to refinance outstanding tax increment bonds.

Many jurisdictions (largely cities) with redevelopment agencies subsidized their general fund operations through the use of tax increment revenues. Consequently, the dissolution of redevelopment agencies and the reallocation of tax increment revenue to other taxing entities has resulted in additional fiscal stress for many of these local jurisdictions. Over time, the elimination of redevelopment agencies and the redirection of tax increment revenues to local taxing entities may provide some relief to the State as well as the local taxing entities.

Statutory Lien Securing General Obligation Bonds. Certain local government agencies, particularly school districts, issue general obligation bonds secured by ad valorem property taxes. California Senate Bill 222 (2015) (“SB 222”) added provisions to the California Education Code and the California Government Code to provide that general obligation bonds issued and sold by local government agencies in California will be secured by a statutory lien on the ad valorem property taxes levied and collected to pay the principal and interest on such general obligation bonds. A statutory lien provides bondholders with a security interest in ad valorem property taxes intended to survive a bankruptcy of the local agency. SB 222 took effect on January 1, 2016 and it is unclear whether SB222 applies to bonds issued prior to the effective date.

Other Considerations. The repayment of industrial development securities or single family mortgage revenue bonds secured by real property may be affected by California laws limiting foreclosure rights of creditors. Under California law, mortgage loans secured by single family homes can be prepaid at any time without penalty, except in the first five years of the loan, and subject to limits on the size of the penalty. Such prepayments may affect the ability of the issuer of single family mortgage bonds to repay the bonds. Securities backed by health care and hospital revenues may be affected by changes in State regulations governing cost reimbursements to health care providers under Medi-Cal (the State’s Medicaid program), including risks related to the policy of awarding exclusive contracts to certain hospitals. See “Obligations of State Agencies” and “Obligations of Other Issuers—Other Issuers of California Debt Obligations” above.

Other Factors

Earthquake Risk. Substantially all of California is within an active geologic region subject to major seismic activity. Northern California in 1989 and Southern California in 1994 experienced major earthquakes causing billions of dollars in damages. The federal government provided more than $13 billion in aid for both earthquakes, and neither event has had any long-term negative economic impact. Any obligation in the California Fund could be affected by an interruption of revenues because of damaged facilities, or, consequently, income tax deductions for casualty losses or property tax assessment reductions. Compensatory financial assistance could be constrained by the inability of (i) an issuer to have obtained earthquake

insurance coverage; (ii) an insurer to perform on its contracts of insurance in the event of widespread losses; or (iii) the federal or State government to appropriate sufficient funds within their respective budget limitations.

Risk of Sea Level Changes and Flooding. In May 2009, the California Climate Change Center released a study, for informational purposes only, which was funded by various state agencies and the California Ocean Protection Council. The study posited that increases in sea level will be a significant consequence of climate change over the next century. The study evaluated the population, infrastructure, and property at risk from projected sea-level rise if no actions are taken to protect the coast. The study concluded that significant property in the State is at risk of flooding from 100-year flood events as a result of a 1.4 meter sea level rise. The study further estimated that the replacement value of this property totals nearly $100 billion (in 2000 dollars). A wide range of critical infrastructure, such as roads, airports, hospitals, schools, emergency facilities, wastewater treatment plants, power plants, and wetlands is vulnerable. Continued development in vulnerable areas will put additional assets at risk and raise protection costs.

Special Considerations Regarding Investments in New York Municipal Securities

The following information is a brief summary of factors affecting the economy of New York City (the “City” or “New York City”) or New York State (the “State”, “New York” or “NYS”) and does not purport to be a complete description of such factors. Other factors will affect issuers. The summary is based primarily upon the most recent publicly available offering statements relating to debt offerings of state and local issuers and other financial and demographic information, as of May 24, 2017 with respect to the City and March 7, 2017 with respect to the State, and it does not reflect recent developments since the dates of such offering statements and other information. The Fund has not independently verified this information.

The State, some of its agencies, instrumentalities and public authorities and certain of its municipalities have sometimes faced serious financial difficulties that could have an adverse effect on the sources of payment for or the market value of the New York municipal bonds in which the Fund invests.

New York City

General. The City, with an estimated population of approximately 8,550,000, is an international center of business and culture. Its non-manufacturing economy is broadly based, with the banking, securities, insurance, information, publishing, fashion, design, retailing, education and health care industries accounting for a significant portion of the City’s total employment earnings. Additionally, the City is a leading tourist destination. Manufacturing activity in the City is conducted primarily in apparel and printing.

For each of the 1981 through 2016 fiscal years, the City’s General Fund had an operating surplus, before discretionary and other transfers, and achieved balanced operating results as reported in accordance with then applicable generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), after discretionary and other transfers and except for the application of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”) Statement No. 49 (“GASB 49”), as described below. City fiscal years end on June 30 and are referred to by the calendar year in which they end. The City has been required to close substantial gaps between forecast revenues and forecast expenditures in order to maintain balanced operating results. There can be no assurance that the City will continue to maintain balanced operating results as required by State law without proposed tax or other revenue increases or reductions in City services or entitlement programs, which could adversely affect the City’s economic base.

As required by the New York State Financial Emergency Act For The City of New York (the “Financial Emergency Act”) and the New York City Charter, the City prepares a four-year annual financial plan, which is reviewed and revised on a quarterly basis and which includes the City’s capital, revenue and expense projections and outlines proposed gap-closing programs for years with projected budget gaps. The City’s current financial plan projects budget balance in the 2017 fiscal year in accordance with GAAP except for the application of GASB 49. In 2010, the Financial Emergency Act was amended to waive the budgetary impact of GASB 49 by enabling the City to continue to finance with bond proceeds certain pollution remediation costs. The City’s current financial plan projects budget gaps for the 2019 through 2021 fiscal years. A pattern of current year balance and projected future year budget gaps has been consistent through the entire period since 1982, during which the City has achieved an excess of revenues over expenditures, before discretionary transfers, for each fiscal year.

For its normal operations, the City depends on aid from the State both to enable the City to balance its budget and to meet its cash requirements. There can be no assurance that there will not be delays or reductions in State aid to the City from amounts currently projected; that State budgets for future State fiscal years will be adopted by the April 1 statutory deadline, or interim appropriations will be enacted; or that any such reductions or delays will not have adverse effects on the City’s

cash flow or expenditures. In addition, the City has made various assumptions with respect to federal aid. Future federal actions or inactions could have adverse effects on the City’s cash flow or revenues.

The Mayor is responsible for preparing the City’s financial plan which relates to the City and certain entities that receive funds from the City. The financial plan is modified quarterly. The City’s projections set forth in the financial plan are based on various assumptions and contingencies which are uncertain and which may not materialize. Such assumptions and contingencies include the condition of the international, national, regional and local economies, the provision of State and federal aid, the impact on City revenues and expenditures of any future federal or State legislation and policies affecting the City and the cost of pension structures and healthcare.

Implementation of the financial plan is dependent on the City’s ability to market successfully its bonds and notes. Implementation of the financial plan is also dependent upon the ability to market the securities of other financing entities including the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (the “Water Authority”) and the New York City Transitional Finance Authority (“TFA”). The success of projected public sales of City, Water Authority, TFA and other bonds and notes will be subject to prevailing market conditions. Future developments in the financial markets generally, as well as future developments concerning the City, and public discussion of such developments, may affect the market for outstanding City general obligation bonds and notes.

The City Comptroller and other agencies and public officials, from time to time, issue reports and make public statements which, among other things, state that projected revenues and expenditures may be different from those forecast in the City’s financial plans.

City Financial Plan. For the 2016 fiscal year, the City’s General Fund had a total surplus of $4.043 billion, before discretionary and other transfers, and achieved balanced operating results in accordance with GAAP, except for the application of GASB 49 as described above, after discretionary and other transfers. The 2016 fiscal year is the thirty-sixth consecutive year that the City has achieved balanced operating results when reported in accordance with GAAP, except for the application of GASB 49.

On June 14, 2016, the City submitted to the Control Board the financial plan for the 2017 through 2020 fiscal years (the “June Financial Plan”), which was consistent with the City’s capital and expense budgets as adopted for the 2017 fiscal year. On November 17, 2016, the City submitted to the Control Board a modification to the June Financial Plan (as so modified, the “November Financial Plan”). On January 24, 2017, the Mayor released his Preliminary Budget for the 2018 fiscal year and the City submitted to the Control Board a modification to the financial plan for the 2017 through 2021 fiscal years (as so modified, the “January Financial Plan”). On April 26, 2017, the Mayor released his Executive Budget for the 2018 fiscal year, and the City submitted to the Control Board a modification to the financial plan for years 2017 through 2021 (as so modified, the “Financial Plan”). The Executive Budget is subject to adoption by the City Council which is expected by June 30, 2017. The Adopted Budget may reflect additional expenditures.

The Financial Plan projects revenues and expenses for the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years balanced in accordance with GAAP, except for the application of GASB 49, and projects gaps of approximately $3.59 billion, $2.98 billion and $2.32 billion in fiscal years 2019 through 2021, respectively. The June Financial Plan had projected revenues and expenses for the 2017 fiscal year balanced in accordance with GAAP, except for the application of GASB 49, and had projected gaps of approximately $2.82 billion, $2.95 billion and $2.33 billion in fiscal years 2018 through 2020, respectively.

The Financial Plan reflects, since the June Financial Plan, an increase in projected net revenues of $1.19 billion in fiscal year 2017 and decreases in projected net revenues of $753 million, $481 million and $192 million in fiscal years 2018 through 2020, respectively. Changes in projected revenues include: (i) increases in real property tax revenues of $377 million, $219 million, $372 million and $427 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively; (ii) a decrease in personal income tax revenues of $267 million in fiscal year 2017 and increases in personal income tax revenues of $102 million, $102 million and $188 million in fiscal years 2018 through 2020, respectively; (iii) decreases in business tax revenues of $189 million, $317 million, $218 million and $221 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively; (iv) decreases in sales tax revenues of $122 million and $188 million in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, respectively, and increases in sales tax revenues of $1 million and $29 million in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, respectively; (v) decreases in real property transfer and mortgage recording tax revenues of $224 million, $380 million, $401 million and $374 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively; (vi) decreases in State School Tax Relief Program (the “STAR Program”) revenues of $333 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2020; (vii) increases in hotel tax revenues of $30 million, $7 million and $5 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2019, respectively, and a decrease in hotel tax revenues of $14 million in fiscal year 2020; and (viii) increases in other tax revenues of $61 million and $6 million in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, respectively, and a decrease of other tax revenues of $4 million in

fiscal year 2020, in each case reflecting receipts to date in fiscal year 2017. Changes in projected revenues also include: (i) increases in tax audit revenues of $537 million, $136 million, $7 million and $7 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively (exclusive of additional increases of $2 million in each of fiscal years 2017 through 2020, which are included in the Citywide Savings Program described below), and (ii) net increases in other revenues of $988 million and $103 million in fiscal years 2017 and 2020, respectively, and net decreases in other revenues of $5 million and $16 million in fiscal years 2018 and 2019, respectively (exclusive of increases in revenues of $38 million in fiscal year 2017, $34 million in fiscal year 2018 and $26 million in each of fiscal years 2019 and 2020, which are included in the Citywide Savings Program described below).

The Financial Plan also reflects, since the June Financial Plan, a decrease in projected net expenditures of $2.54 billion in fiscal year 2017 and increases in projected net expenditures of $158 million, $164 million and $465 million in fiscal years 2018 through 2020, respectively. Changes in projected expenditures include: (i) increases in agency expenses of $593 million, $1.24 billion, $939 million and $1.13 billion in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively; (ii) decreases in pension contributions of $27 million and $139 million in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, respectively, and increases in pension contributions of $14 million and $153 million in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, respectively, primarily as a result of lower than assumed investment returns in fiscal year 2016, offset by savings reflecting the annual data update performed by the City Actuary to include data as of June 30, 2016; (iii) a decrease in the general reserve of $700 million in fiscal year 2017; (iv) increases in expenses of $34 million in fiscal year 2017 and $68 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2020, primarily reflecting the impact of the State Enacted Budget (as defined below) which decreased funding for childcare block grants, special education students and shifted foster care costs to the City; (v) a decrease in the capital stabilization reserve of $500 million in fiscal year 2017 and increases in the capital stabilization reserve of $250 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2020; and (vi) a decrease of $400 million in fiscal year 2017 reflecting a re-estimate of prior years’ expenses and receivables. Changes in projected net expenditures also include decreases in net expenditures (which reflect certain increases in revenues described above) of $1.54 billion, $1.26 billion, $1.11 billion and $1.14 billion in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively, as a result of the Citywide Savings Program.

The Financial Plan reflects, since the June Financial Plan, provision for $3.73 billion for the prepayment in fiscal year 2017 of fiscal year 2018 expenses, resulting in an expenditure reduction of $3.73 billion in fiscal year 2018.

The City has now reached settlements with all of its uniformed unions and over 99% of its workforce through the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining. The Financial Plan reflects funding to cover the cost of settling the remaining unsettled unions through the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining based on the pattern set in the settled contracts. Certain contracts with unions for the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining, including with the District Council 37 of AFSME (“DC37”) and the Police Benevolent Association (the “PBA”), begin to expire in fiscal year 2018. The Financial Plan includes a reserve for collective bargaining containing funding for the settlements from the period beyond the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining, assuming annual increases of 1% per year.

The Financial Plan assumes that the City’s direct costs (including costs of New York City Health and Hospitals (“NYCHH”) and the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”)) as a result of Superstorm Sandy (“Sandy”) will largely be paid from non-City sources, primarily the federal government. Such costs, which total approximately $10.1 billion (comprised of approximately $2.0 billion of expense funding and approximately $8.1 billion of capital funding) include emergency response, debris removal, emergency protective measures, repair of damaged infrastructure and long-term hazard mitigation investments. In addition, the City is delivering Sandy-related disaster recovery assistance services, benefiting impacted communities, businesses, homeowners and renters, which the City anticipates will be reimbursed by federal funds.

The City expects the reimbursements for Sandy-related costs to come from two separate federal sources of funding, Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). As of mid-April 2017, the City, NYCHH and NYCHA have received $2.0 billion in reimbursements from FEMA for the direct costs described above. In addition, HUD has made available over $4.2 billion, of which over $1.5 billion has been received through mid-April 2017 for the direct costs and disaster recovery assistance services described above. No assurance can be given that the City will be reimbursed for its costs as described above or that such reimbursements will be received within the time periods assumed in the Financial Plan.

The Financial Plan does not reflect the payment to the State of $50 million in fiscal year 2018 and $150 million in fiscal year 2019 of sales tax revenues that would otherwise be payable to the City, pursuant to State legislation providing the State with the benefit of savings from the refinancing of debt in October 2014 by the Sales Tax Asset Receivable Corp. (“STAR Corp.”). Reduction or elimination of such payments to the State would require State legislative action.

The Financial Plan reflects the impact of the State Enacted Budget (as defined below), adopted on April 7, 2017, with the exception of changes that increase the charter school per-pupil tuition rate beginning in fiscal year 2019. If not offset by changes to State education aid to the City, which occur each year during the State budget process, the costs to the City of such change in rate would be $101 million in fiscal year 2019, $240 million in fiscal year 2020 and $417 million in fiscal year 2021, which are not currently reflected in the Financial Plan.

On February 4, 2016, the Mayor announced a plan to build the Brooklyn-Queens Connector, a street car line which would run along the East River waterfront between Astoria, Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Construction is not expected to begin prior to 2019. The direct costs of the project, which are estimated to be $2.5 billion, are not reflected in the Financial Plan or the Ten-Year Capital Strategy. The City is currently performing an in-depth study of this project and will be revising cost estimates as well as funding alternatives for the project.

The City receives significant funding from the federal government for community development, social services, education and other purposes pursuant to various federal programs. The federal government has discussed a number of reductions in existing federal spending programs, changes in tax regulations and taxing rates, as well as changes to regulations affecting numerous industries in the City, including the financial services industry. It is not possible at this time to predict the form that these changes will ultimately take and, when taken as a whole, the effect they will have on the City’s economy and the Financial Plan.

On January 25, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order directing the United States Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that state and local jurisdictions that willfully refuse to comply with federal law concerning the provision of information on individuals’ immigration status will not be eligible to receive federal grants except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes. In an April 21, 2017 letter to the City, the Attorney General requested documentation of the City’s compliance with such federal law by June 30, 2017, and stated that failure to do so could result in the withholding of federal grants or other actions. On April 25, 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement nationwide of one section of the President Trump’s executive order which sought to limit grants beyond those relating to federal immigration law enforcement. The court’s decision is consistent with the City’s position that controlling legal authority limits funding reductions to grants directly related to federal immigration law enforcement. Federal grants to the City arguably related to federal immigration law enforcement comprise a small percentage of the City’s total budget. Moreover, most if not all of such grants support local law enforcement functions which the executive order expressly authorizes the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security to exempt from reduction. If implementation of the executive order results in the reduction of federal aid to the City, the City expects that it would mount a vigorous legal challenge. However, there can be no guarantee that implementation of the executive order will not result in a significant reduction or delay in receiving such aid.

From time to time, the City Comptroller, the Control Board staff, the Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York (“OSDC”), the Independent Budget Office (“IBO”) and others issue reports and make public statements regarding the City’s financial condition, commenting on, among other matters, the City’s financial plans, projected revenues and expenditures and actions by the City to eliminate projected operating deficits. It is reasonable to expect that reports and statements will continue to be issued and may contain different perspectives on the City’s budget and economy and may engender public comment. For information on reports issued on the January Financial Plan and to be issued on the Financial Plan by the City Comptroller and others reviewing, commenting on and identifying various risks therein, see “Certain Reports” herein.

Job Growth. The City is a leading center for the banking and securities industry, life insurance, communications, fashion design, health care, education, hospitality and retail fields. Over the past two decades the City has experienced a number of business cycles. From 1992 to 2000, the City added 456,700 private sector jobs (growth of 17%). From 2000 to 2003, the City lost 173,100 private sector jobs (decline of 5%). From 2003 to 2008, the City added 257,400 private sector jobs (growth of 9%). From 2008 to 2009, the City lost 103,000 private sector jobs (decline of 3%). From 2009 to 2016, the City added 644,100 private sector jobs (growth of 20%). All such changes are based on average annual employment levels through and including the years referenced.

As of March 2017, total employment in the City was 4,366,600 compared to 4,308,700 in March 2016, an increase of 1.3% based on data provided by the New York State Department of Labor, which is not seasonally adjusted.

Assumptions. The Financial Plan is based on numerous assumptions, including the condition of the City’s and the region’s economies and the concomitant receipt of economically sensitive tax revenues in the amounts projected. The Financial Plan

is subject to various other uncertainties and contingencies relating to, among other factors, the extent, if any, to which wage increases for City employees exceed the annual wage costs assumed; realization of projected earnings for pension fund assets and current assumptions with respect to wages for City employees affecting the City’s required pension fund contributions; the willingness and ability of the State to provide the aid contemplated by the Financial Plan and to take various other actions to assist the City; the ability of NYCHH and other such entities to maintain balanced budgets; the willingness of the federal government to provide the amount of federal aid contemplated in the Financial Plan; the impact on City revenues and expenditures of federal and State legislation affecting Medicare or other entitlement programs; adoption of the City’s budgets by the City Council in substantially the forms submitted by the Mayor; the ability of the City to implement cost reduction initiatives, and the success with which the City controls expenditures; the impact of conditions in the real estate market on real estate tax revenues; and the ability of the City and other financing entities to market their securities successfully in the public credit markets. Certain of these assumptions are reviewed in reports issued by the City Comptroller and other public officials. See “Certain Reports” herein.

The projections and assumptions contained in the Financial Plan are subject to revision, which may be substantial. No assurance can be given that these estimates and projections, which include actions the City expects will be taken but are not within the City’s control, will be realized.

Real Estate Tax. Projections of real estate tax revenues are based on a number of assumptions, including, among others, assumptions relating to the tax rate, the assessed valuation of the City’s taxable real estate, the delinquency rate, debt service needs, a reserve for uncollectible taxes and the operating limit.

Projections of real estate tax revenues include net revenues from the sale of real property tax liens of $80 million in each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021. Projections of real estate tax revenues include the effects of the STAR Program which will reduce the real estate tax revenues by an estimated $204 million in fiscal year 2017. Projections of real estate tax revenues reflect the estimated cost of extending the current tax reduction for owners of cooperative and condominium apartments amounting to $490 million, $518 million, $545 million $569 million and $594 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively.

The delinquency rate was 1.7% in fiscal year 2012, 1.5% in fiscal year 2013, 1.4% in fiscal year 2014, 1.6% in fiscal year 2015 and 1.4% in fiscal year 2016. The Financial Plan projects delinquency rates of 1.9% in fiscal year 2017, 2.0% in fiscal year 2018 and 1.9% in fiscal years 2019 through 2021, respectively.

On April 24, 2017, a lawsuit was filed challenging the City’s real property tax system and valuation methodology. The action alleges that the City’s real property tax system violates the State and federal constitutions as well as the Fair Housing Act. The action further alleges the valuation methodology as mandated by certain provisions of the State Real Property Tax Law results in a disparity and inequality in the amount of taxes paid by black and hispanic Class 1 property owners and renters. The City plans to mount a vigorous defense against all claims made in the action.

Other Taxes. The Financial Plan reflects the following assumptions regarding projected baseline revenues from Other Taxes: (i) with respect to the personal income tax, a flat fiscal year 2017 reflecting continued employment and wage gains but declines in non-wage income and growth in fiscal years 2018 through 2021 reflecting steady economic growth; (ii) with respect to business corporation tax, growth in fiscal years 2017 through 2021 reflecting the levels of Wall Street profitability, corporate profits and steady economic growth (major changes in State law merged the general corporation tax with the banking corporation tax effective beginning in tax year 2015, resulting in nearly all banking corporation tax payments beginning with fiscal year 2016 being reported as business corporation tax payments); (iii) with respect to the unincorporated business tax, a slight growth decline in fiscal year 2017 reflecting the impact of continuing global volatility in the financial markets as well as concerns resulting from the United States presidential election and a return to trend growth for fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2021 reflecting steady economic growth; (iv) with respect to the sales tax, mild growth in fiscal year 2017 reflecting employment and wage growth dampened by the payment to the State of $200 million in sales tax otherwise payable to the City, in order to provide the State with the benefit of savings from the refinancing of debt by STAR Corp., moderate growth in fiscal year 2018 reduced by the payment to the State of $150 million in sales tax relating to STAR Corp. and moderate growth in fiscal years 2019 through 2021 reflecting employment gains and wage growth as well as healthy levels of tourist consumption; (v) with respect to real property transfer tax, decline in 2017, as the volume of large commercial transactions declines from the high levels seen in the prior years and returning growth in fiscal year 2018 through 2021 reflecting steady economic growth; (vi) with respect to mortgage recording tax, decline in 2017 and 2018, as the volume of large commercial transactions drops from the high levels seen in the prior years and returning growth in fiscal

years 2019 through 2021 reflecting steady economic growth; and (vii) with respect to the commercial rent tax, continuing growth through 2021, as the local office market improves with employment gains.

Intergovernmental Aid. For its normal operations, the City depends on aid from the State both to enable the City to balance its budget and to meet its cash requirements. There can be no assurance that there will not be delays or reductions in State aid to the City from amounts currently projected; that State budgets for future State fiscal years will be adopted by the April 1 statutory deadline, or interim appropriations will be enacted; or that any such reductions or delays will not have adverse effects on the City’s cash flow or expenditures. In addition, the City has made various assumptions with respect to federal aid. Future federal actions or inactions could have adverse effects on the City’s cash flow or revenues.

Personal Service Costs and Other Post-Employment Benefits. The Financial Plan projects that the authorized number of City-funded full-time and full-time equivalent employees will increase from an estimated level of 276,574 as of June 30, 2017 to an estimated level of 278,359 by June 30, 2021.

Other Fringe Benefits includes $2.679 billion, $2.014 billion, $2.545 billion, $2.716 billion and $2.899 billion in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively, for OPEB expenditures for current retirees, which costs are currently paid by the City on a Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYGO”) basis.

The City has now reached settlements with all of its uniformed unions and over 99% of its workforce through the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining. The Financial Plan reflects funding to cover the cost of settling the remaining unsettled unions through the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining based on the pattern set by the settled contracts. Certain contracts with unions for the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining, including with DC37 and the PBA, begin to expire in fiscal year 2018. The Financial Plan includes a reserve for collective bargaining containing funding for the period beyond the 2010-2017 round of collective bargaining, assumed to be 1% per year.

The amounts in the Financial Plan reflect the offsets from health insurance savings of $1.0 billion in fiscal year 2017, which have been achieved, and $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2018 and thereafter. These savings are pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the City and the Municipal Labor Committee. The City has the right to enforce the agreement through a binding arbitration process. If total health insurance savings through fiscal year 2018 are greater than $3.4 billion, the first $365 million of such additional savings is payable to union members as a one-time bonus or may be used for other purposes subject to negotiation. Any additional savings beyond such $365 million is to be divided equally between the City and the unions.

Administrative Other Than Personal Services Costs (“OTPS”) and Energy. The Financial Plan contains estimates of the City’s administrative OTPS expenditures for general supplies and materials, equipment and selected contractual services, and the impact of agency gap-closing actions relating to such expenditures in the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years. Thereafter, to account for inflation, administrative OTPS expenditures are projected to rise by 2.5% annually in fiscal years 2019 through 2021. Energy costs for each of the 2017 through 2021 fiscal years are assumed to vary annually, with total energy expenditures projected at $829 million in fiscal year 2017 and increasing to $975 million by fiscal year 2021.

Public Assistance. The number of persons receiving benefits under cash assistance programs is projected to average 370,984 in fiscal year 2017 and remain at this level for fiscal years 2018 through 2021. Of total cash assistance expenditures in the City, the City-funded portion is projected to be $630 million, $708 million, $713 million, $719 million and $719 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively.

Medical Assistance. Medical assistance payments projected in the Financial Plan consist of payments to voluntary hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, home care providers, pharmacies, managed care organizations, physicians and other medical practitioners. The City-funded portion of medical assistance payments is estimated at $5.8 billion for the 2017 fiscal year.

The City-funded portion of medical assistance payments is expected to be $5.813 billion in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021. Such payments include the City’s capped share of local Medicaid expenditures as well as Supplemental Medicaid payments to NYCHH.

NYCHH. NYCHH operates under its own section of the Financial Plan as a Covered Organization. NYCHH’s most recent accrual based financial plan was released in October 2016 and projected City-funded expenditures of $344 million, $814 million, $835 million and $838 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively. The accrual based financial plan

projected, before implementation of a gap closing program, total receipts of $5.7 billion, $6.2 billion, $6.2 billion and $6.0 billion and total disbursements of $7.3 billion, $7.4 billion, $7.6 billion and $7.7 billion, in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively, resulting in projected operating gaps of $1.6 billion, $1.2 billion, $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion in those respective fiscal years. The financial plan also projects gap-closing initiatives that both generate revenue and reduce expenses. Revenue-generating initiatives total $541 million, $903 million, $1.1 billion, and $1.1 billion, and expense-reducing initiatives total $118 million, $403 million, $569 million, and $698 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively.

NYCHH, which provides essential services to over 1.2 million New Yorkers annually, faces substantial near- and long-term financial challenges resulting from, among other things, changes in hospital reimbursement under the Affordable Care Act and the statewide transition to managed care. On April 26, 2016, the City released “One New York: Health Care for Our Neighborhoods,” a report outlining the City’s plan to address NYCHH’s financial shortfall.

In May 2017, NYCHH released a cash-based financial plan, which projected City-funded expenditures of $423 million, $828 million, $849 million, $852 million and $853 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively, in addition to the forgiveness of debt service and the City’s contribution to supplemental Medicaid payments. The financial plan projected, before implementation of a gap closing program, total receipts of $7.0 billion, $6.5 billion, $6.3 billion, $6.4 billion and $6.4 billion and total disbursements of $8.2 billion, $7.6 billion, $8.0 billion, $8.3 billion, and $8.3 billion in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively, resulting in projected operating gaps of $1.2 billion, $1.1 billion, $1.8 billion, $1.9 billion and $1.9 billion in those respective fiscal years. The financial plan also projects gap-closing initiatives that both generate revenue and reduce expenses. Revenue-generating initiatives total $752 million, $820 million, $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion, and $1.1 billion and expense-reducing initiatives total $118 million, $387 million, $619 million, $748 million and $748 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively. NYCHH relies on significant projected revenue from Medicaid, Medicare and other third-party payor programs. Future changes to such programs could have adverse impacts on NYCHH’s financial condition.

Other. The projections set forth in the Financial Plan for OTPS-Other include the City’s contributions to New York City Transit (“NYCT”), NYCHA, City University of New York (“CUNY”) and subsidies to libraries and various cultural institutions. They also include projections for the cost of future judgments and claims which are discussed below under “Judgments and Claims.” In the past, the City has provided additional assistance to certain Covered Organizations which had exhausted their financial resources prior to the end of the fiscal year. No assurance can be given that similar additional assistance will not be required in the future.

New York City Transit. NYCT operates under its own section of the Financial Plan as a Covered Organization. The financial plan for NYCT covering its 2017 through 2020 fiscal years was prepared in February 2017. The NYCT fiscal year coincides with the calendar year. The NYCT financial plan projects City assistance to the NYCT operating budget of $362.3 million in 2017, increasing to $403.8 million in 2020, in addition to real estate transfer tax revenue dedicated for NYCT use of $836.3 million in 2017, increasing to $844.6 million in 2020.

The NYCT financial plan includes additional revenues from a fare increase in 2017, the impact of labor settlements, updated inflation assumptions and organizational changes that involve service and customer experience investments. After reflecting such revenues and changes, the NYCT financial plan projects $10.0 billion in revenues and $13.6 billion in expenses for 2017, leaving a budget gap of $3.6 billion. After accounting for accrual adjustments and cash carried over from 2016, NYCT projects operating budget gaps of $172.2 million in 2017, $325.8 million in 2018, $778.0 million in 2019 and $1.5 billion in 2020.

In 2009, a Payroll Mobility Tax (“PMT”) was enacted into State law to provide $0.34 for every $100 of payroll in the MTA’s twelve-county service area. The PMT is currently expected to raise revenues for the MTA in the amount of $781.7 million in 2017, growing to $871.9 million in 2020.

The MTA Board approved the 2010-2014 Capital Program in April 2010 and the State Capital Program Review Board (“CPRB”) approved the first two years of it on June 2, 2010 because the MTA had identified funding for only the first two years of the program. The CPRB vetoed the last three years of the program without prejudice to permit the MTA additional time to resolve the funding issues. The MTA Board approved the amended 2010-2014 Capital Program in December 2011 and the CPRB approved it on March 27, 2012. The plan includes $22.2 billion for all MTA agencies, including $11.6 billion to be invested in the NYCT core system, $1.9 billion for NYCT network expansion, and $200 million for security. Due to damages caused by Sandy on October 29, 2012, the MTA Board approved a revised 2010-2014 Capital Program in December 2012 that includes $4.0 billion in additional capital funds, of which $3.4 billion is for the NYCT. On August 27, 2013 the CPRB approved an amendment to the 2010-2014 Capital Program which added $5.7 billion for mitigation projects, of which $5.0 billion is for the

NYCT. This amendment increased the total amount of the 2010-2014 Capital Program to $31.9 billion. On September 3, 2014, the CPRB approved another amendment to the 2010-2014 Capital Program which reallocated funding among MTA agencies. This amendment decreased Sandy mitigation funding for NYCT by $223.6 million, while the overall program amount remains unchanged. The 2010-2014 Capital Program follows the 2005-2009 Capital Program, which provided approximately $17.1 billion for NYCT.

In September 2014, the MTA proposed the 2015-2019 Capital Program. The proposed plan included $29.0 billion for all MTA agencies, including $17.1 billion to be invested in the NYCT core system, and $1.6 billion for NYCT network expansion. On October 2, 2014, the CPRB vetoed the proposed program without prejudice to permit additional time to resolve issues related to fully funding the program. On October 28, 2015, the MTA Board voted on and approved a revised 2015-2019 Capital Program. The revised plan included $26.1 billion for all MTA agencies, including $15.8 billion to be invested in the NYCT core system and $583 million for NYCT network expansion. On April 20, 2016, the MTA Board voted on and approved a further revised 2015-2019 Capital Program, which now includes $26.6 billion for all MTA agencies, including $15.8 billion to be invested in the NYCT core system and $1.1 billion for NYCT network expansion. The State has agreed to increase its contribution from $1 billion to $8.3 billion, which has not yet been reflected in the State’s capital plan. The City has agreed to increase its capital commitment from $657 million to $2.5 billion, which has not yet been reflected in the City’s capital plan. The additional City capital funding will be provided concurrently with the additional State capital funding. The revised 2015-2019 Capital Program was approved by CPRB on May 24, 2016.

Department of Education. State law requires the City to provide City funds for the Department of Education (“DOE”) each year in an amount not less than the amount appropriated for the preceding fiscal year, excluding amounts for debt service and pensions for the DOE. Such City funding must be maintained, unless total City funds for the fiscal year are estimated to be lower than in the preceding fiscal year, in which case the mandated City funding for the DOE may be reduced by an amount up to the percentage reduction in total City funds.

Judgments and Claims. In the fiscal year ended on June 30, 2016, the City expended $720.0 million for judgments and claims. The Financial Plan includes provisions for judgments and claims of $716.4 million, $691.6 million, $706.8 million, $725 million and $740.2 million for the 2017 through 2021 fiscal years, respectively. These projections incorporate a substantial amount of claims costs attributed to NYCHH, estimated to be $140 million in each year of the Financial Plan, for which NYCHH reimburses the City unless otherwise forgiven by the City, which was the case in fiscal years 2013 and 2016. The City is a party to numerous lawsuits and is the subject of numerous claims and investigations. The City has estimated that its potential future liability on account of outstanding claims against it as of June 30, 2016 amounted to approximately $7.1 billion. This estimate was made by categorizing the various claims and applying a statistical model, based primarily on actual settlements by type of claim during the preceding ten fiscal years, and by supplementing the estimated liability with information supplied by the City’s Corporation Counsel.

In addition to the above claims, numerous real estate tax certiorari proceedings involving allegations of inequality of assessment, illegality and overvaluation are currently pending against the City. The City’s Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016 include an estimate that the City’s liability in the certiorari proceedings, as of June 30, 2016, could amount to approximately $982 million. Provision has been made in the Financial Plan for estimated refunds of $250 million in fiscal years 2017 and $400 million in fiscal years 2018 through 2021.

Certain Reports. Set forth below are the summaries of the most recent reports of the City Comptroller, OSDC and the staff of the Control Board. These summaries do not purport to be comprehensive or definitive.

On March 2, 2017, the City Comptroller released a report entitled “Comments on New York City’s Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2018 and Financial Plan for Fiscal Years 2017-2021,” commenting on the January Financial Plan. In the report, the City Comptroller projects net offsets of $45 million in fiscal year 2017 and net risks of $141 million, $373 million, $518 million and $669 million in fiscal years 2018 through 2021, respectively, which when added to the results projected in the January Financial Plan would result in a surplus of $45 million in fiscal year 2017 and gaps of $141 million, $3.69 billion, $3.03 billion and $2.46 billion in fiscal years 2018 through 2021, respectively.

The differences from the January Financial Plan projections result primarily from the City Comptroller’s net expenditure projections, which are higher than the January Financial Plan projections by $76 million in fiscal year 2017 and $542 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021, as a result of: (i) additional overtime expenditures of $276 million in fiscal year 2017 and $215 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (ii) uncertainty of federal Medicaid reimbursement for special education services of $20 million in fiscal year 2017 and $70 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (iii) increased

homeless shelter operation expenditures of $132 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (iv) increased expenditures to support NYCHH of $165 million in each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021; (v) lower public assistance grant expenses of $15 million in fiscal year 2017 and $10 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (vi) decreased debt service from refinancings of $70 million in fiscal year 2017 and $30 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; and (vii) the assumption that the $300 million fiscal year 2017 general reserve in the January Financial Plan will not be needed for budget balance.

The differences from the January Financial Plan projections also result from the City Comptroller’s revenue projections, which are higher than the January Financial Plan projections by $121 million, $401 million, $169 million and $24 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2020, respectively, and lower than the January Financial Plan projections by $127 million in fiscal year 2021. The report estimates that: (i) property tax revenues will be higher by $34 million, $285 million, $572 million and $673 million in fiscal years 2018 through 2021, respectively; (ii) personal income tax revenues will be higher by $48 million, $258 million and $90 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2019, respectively; (iii) business tax revenues will be higher by $76 million, $95 million, $123 million and $68 million in fiscal years 2018 through 2021, respectively; (iv) sales tax revenues will be higher by $50 million, $68 million and $31 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2019, respectively; (v) real- estate-related tax revenues will be higher by $112 million and $131 million in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, respectively; (vi) Environmental Control Board fine revenues will be higher by $12 million in fiscal year 2017 and $24 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (vii) Department of Buildings penalty revenues will be higher by $5 million in each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021; and (viii) motor vehicle fine revenues will be higher by $5 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021.

The report also identifies certain risks to projected revenues: (i) personal income tax revenues will be lower by $105 million and $157 million in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, respectively; (ii) business tax revenues will be lower by $56 million in fiscal year 2017; (iii) sales tax revenues will be lower by $65 million and $106 million in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, respectively; (iv) the State budget provision for interception of sales tax revenues of $50 million, $200 million and $150 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2019, respectively, to recoup savings from refinancing the STAR Corp. bonds, which is not reflected in the January Financial Plan; (v) real-estate-related tax revenues will be lower by $109 million, $278 million and $272 million in fiscal years 2019 through 2021, respectively; and (vi) projected taxi medallion sales revenues of $107 million, $257 million and $367 million in fiscal years 2019 through 2021, respectively, given the uncertainty surrounding future taxi medallion auctions.

The City Comptroller expects to issue a report on the Financial Plan on or about May 25, 2017.

On March 2, 2017, the OSDC released a report on the January Financial Plan. The report states that the January Financial Plan projects a surplus of $3.1 billion for fiscal year 2017, which will be used to balance the fiscal year 2018 budget, and gaps of $3.3 billion, $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion for fiscal years 2019 through 2021, respectively. The report states that these gaps are relatively small as a share of City fund revenues, and the out- year budgets include reserves of $1.25 billion which, if not needed, could be used to narrow the gaps. The City economy remains strong, but job growth is slowing and tax collections have slowed. The report also identifies a number of budget risks, many of which are outside the City’s direct control. The Governor’s Executive Budget would adversely impact the January Financial Plan by $561 million beginning in fiscal year 2018. Also, the new federal administration supports various initiatives that could adversely impact the City. The effects of those initiatives and any budgetary impact cannot be quantified at this time, which creates added uncertainty.

The OSDC report quantifies certain risks and offsets to the January Financial Plan. The report identifies net additional expenditures of $359 million, $1.6 billion, $1.8 billion, $1.9 billion and $1.91 billion in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively. When combined with the results projected in the January Financial Plan, the report estimates budget gaps of $359 million, $1.6 billion, $5.11 billion, $4.41 billion and $3.7 billion in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively. The risks to the January Financial Plan identified in the report include: (i) decreased tax revenues of $215 million in fiscal year 2017 and $200 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (ii) increased uniformed services overtime costs of $100 million in fiscal year 2017 and $200 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (iii) decreased federal Medicaid reimbursement for special education services of $23 million in fiscal year 2017 and $79 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (iv) increased costs of providing shelter for the homeless of $127 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (v) decreased revenue from sale of tax medallions of $107 million, $257 million and $367 million in fiscal years 2019 through 2021, respectively; (vi) decreased revenue from development opportunities of $100 million in fiscal year 2020; (vii) decreased sales taxes of $50 million, $200 million and $150 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2019, respectively, resulting from the State budget provision for recapture of savings from the refinancing of STAR Corp. bonds, which is not reflected in the January Financial Plan; and (viii) decreased revenue due to impact of the Governor’s Executive Budget of $41 million in fiscal year 2017 and $561 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (ix) decreased revenue from loss of federal Medicaid

reimbursement of $305 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; and (x) increased expenditures to support NYCHH of $164 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021. The report also identifies: (i) decreased expenses in connection with hiring delays of $50 million in fiscal year 2017; (ii) decreased public assistance costs of $20 million in each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021; (iii) additional debt service savings of $150 million in fiscal year 2018; and (iv) additional miscellaneous revenues (including recurring resources such as fines and fees and nonrecurring resources such as proceeds from the sale of taxi medallions or City property) of $75 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021.

The OSDC expects to issue a report on the Financial Plan in late May, 2017.

On March 13, 2017, the staff of the Control Board issued a report reviewing the January Financial Plan. The report states that the City currently projects a surplus of $3.1 billion for fiscal year 2017 that will be used to balance the budget for fiscal year 2018 and projects gaps of $3.3 billion, $2.5 billion and $1.8 billion for fiscal years 2019 through 2021, respectively. The report states that with these projected gaps, there are concerns about the impacts of federal and State actions. The new federal administration has called for policies which could impact the City. Such policies could also impact the State budget, and it cannot be known whether any shortfall in federal aid to the State would be passed on to the City. In addition, the Governor’s Executive Budget includes proposals that could be a risk to the January Financial Plan. There is also uncertainty in the economy and there has been weakness in some tax collections. The report states that the City will need to maintain a high level of reserves, find further expenditure savings and limit the addition of unfunded new needs in order to balance out- year budget gaps and be prepared for federal impacts.

The report identifies net risks to the January Financial Plan of $435 million, $1.16 billion, $980 million, $853 million and $853 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively, resulting in estimated gaps of $435 million, $1.115 billion, $4.3 billion, $3.36 billion and $2.65 billion in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively. Such net risks result from: (i) decreased business tax revenues of $50 million in each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021; (ii) decreased personal income tax revenues of $250 million and $200 million in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, respectively; (iii) increased miscellaneous revenues of $50 million, $150 million, $125 million, $100 million and $100 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively; (iv) increased uniformed services overtime expenses of $135 million, $145 million, $195 million, $193 million and $193 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2021, respectively; (v) increased expenditures to support NYCHH of $165 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021; (vi) increased expenses of $545 million in each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021 due to provisions in the Governor’s Executive Budget for reduced aid and cost shifts; and (vii) increased STAR Corp. bond repayment expenses of $50 million, $200 million and $150 million in fiscal years 2017 through 2019, respectively.

The Control Board expects to issue a report on the Financial Plan in July, 2017.

Outstanding General Obligation Indebtedness. As of March 31, 2017, approximately $38 billion of City general obligation bonds were outstanding.

As of March 31, 2017, $3 billion aggregate principal amount of HYIC bonds were outstanding. Such bonds were issued to finance the extension of the Number 7 subway line and other public improvements. They are secured by and payable from payments in lieu of taxes and other revenues generated by development in the Hudson Yards area. To the extent such payments in lieu of taxes and other revenues are insufficient to pay interest on the HYIC bonds, the City has agreed to pay the amount of any shortfall in interest on such bonds, subject to appropriation. The Financial Plan provides $0 in fiscal years 2017 through 2019, $47 million in fiscal year 2020 and $65 million in fiscal year 2021 for such interest support payments. The City has no obligation to pay the principal of such bonds.

Water and Sewer. The City’s financing program includes the issuance of water and sewer revenue bonds by the Water Authority which is authorized to issue bonds to finance capital investment in the City’s water and sewer system. Pursuant to State law, debt service on Water Authority indebtedness is secured by water and sewer fees paid by users of the water and sewer system. Such fees are revenues of the Water Board, which holds a lease interest in the City’s water and sewer system. After providing for debt service on obligations of the Water Authority and certain incidental costs, the revenues of the Water Board are paid to the City to cover the City’s costs of operating the water and sewer system and as rental for the system. Beginning in fiscal year 2017, the City will no longer request the rental payment due to the City from the Water Board. The City’s Ten-Year Capital Strategy applicable to the City’s water and sewer system covering fiscal years 2018 through 2027, projects City-funded water and sewer investment (which is expected to be financed with proceeds of Water Authority debt) at approximately $17.1 billion. The City’s Capital Commitment Plan for fiscal years 2017 through 2021 reflects total anticipated City-funded water and sewer commitments of $13.3 billion which are expected to be financed with the proceeds of Water Authority debt.

New York City Transitional Finance Authority. The TFA is authorized to have outstanding $13.5 billion of Future Tax Secured Bonds (excluding Recovery Bonds) and may issue additional Future Tax Secured Bonds provided that the amount of such additional bonds, together with the amount of indebtedness contracted by the City, do not exceed the debt limit of the City. Future Tax Secured Bonds are issued for general City capital purposes and are secured by the City’s personal income tax revenues and, to the extent such revenues do not satisfy specified debt ratios, sales tax revenues. In addition, the TFA is authorized to have outstanding $9.4 billion of Building Aid Revenue Bonds to pay for a portion of the City’s five-year educational facilities capital plan. Building Aid Revenue Bonds are secured by State building aid, which the Mayor has assigned to the TFA. The TFA expects to issue $750 million, $163 million, $77 million and $295 million of Building Aid Revenue Bonds in fiscal years 2018 through 2021, respectively.

Implementation of the financing program is dependent upon the ability of the City and other financing entities to market their securities successfully in the public credit markets which will be subject to prevailing market conditions at the times of sale. No assurance can be given that the credit markets will absorb the projected amounts of public bond sales. A significant portion of bond financing is used to reimburse the City’s General Fund for capital expenditures already incurred. If the City and such other entities are unable to sell such amounts of bonds, it would have an adverse effect on the City’s cash position. In addition, the need of the City to fund future debt service costs from current operations may also limit the City’s capital program. The Ten-Year Capital Strategy for fiscal years 2018 through 2027 totals $89.6 billion, of which approximately 93% is to be financed with funds borrowed by the City and such other entities. Congressional developments affecting federal taxation generally could reduce the market value of tax-favored investments and increase the debt-service costs of carrying out the major portion of the City’s capital plan which is currently eligible for tax-exempt financing.

Litigation. The City has estimated that its potential future liability on account of outstanding claims against it as of June 30, 2016 amounted to approximately $7.1 billion.

New York State

New York Economy. New York is the fourth most populous state in the nation¹ and has a relatively high level of personal wealth. The State’s economy is diverse, with a comparatively large share of the nation’s financial activities, information, education, and health services employment, and a very small share of the nation’s farming and mining activity. The State’s location and its air transport facilities and natural harbors have made it an important link in international commerce. Travel and tourism constitute an important part of the economy. Like the rest of the nation, New York has a declining proportion of its workforce engaged in manufacturing, and an increasing proportion engaged in service industries.

¹	Based on 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data, New York is the fourth most populous state in the nation, after California, Texas and Florida.

Manufacturing employment continues to decline as a share of total State employment, as in most other states, and as a result New York’s economy is less reliant on this sector than in the past. However, it remains an important sector of the State economy, particularly for the upstate region, which hosts high concentrations of manufacturers of transportation and other types of equipment. As defined under the North American Industry Classification System, the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector accounts for the second largest component of State nonagricultural employment, but only the fifth largest when measured by wage share. This sector accounts for less proportional employment and wages for the State than for the nation as a whole. New York City is the nation’s leading center of banking and finance and, as a result, this is a far more important sector in the State than in the nation as a whole. Although this sector accounts for under one-tenth of all nonagricultural jobs in the State, it contributes about one-fifth of total wages. The remaining service-producing sectors include information, professional and business services, private education and healthcare, leisure and hospitality services, and other services. These industries combined account for half of all nonagricultural jobs in New York. Information, education and health, and other services account for a higher proportion of total State employment than for the nation as a whole. Farming is an important part of the economy in rural areas, although it constitutes only about 0.2 percent of total State output. Principal agricultural products of the State include milk and dairy products, greenhouse and nursery products, fruits, and vegetables. New York ranks among the nation’s leaders in the production of these commodities.

Federal, State, and local governments together comprise the third largest sector in terms of nonagricultural jobs, with the bulk of the employment accounted for by local governments. Public education is the source of about 40 percent of total State and local government employment.

Economic and Demographic Trends. In calendar years 1990 through 1998, the State’s rate of economic growth was somewhat slower than that of the nation. In particular, during the 1990-91 recession and post-recession period, the

economies of the State and much of the rest of the Northeast were more heavily damaged than the nation as a whole and were slower to recover. However, the situation subsequently improved. In 1999, for the first time in 13 years, State employment growth surpassed that of the nation, and in 2000 the rates were essentially the same. In 2001, the September 11th attack resulted in a downturn in New York that was more severe than for the nation as a whole. In contrast, the State labor market fared better than that of the nation as a whole during the most recent downturn that began in 2008, though New York experienced a historically large wage decline in 2009. The State unemployment rate was higher than the national rate from 1991 to 2004, but the gap between them closed by the middle of 2006, with the State rate falling below that of the nation for much of the Great Recession, and remaining below through the end of 2011. The State unemployment rate rose above the national rate in early 2012, but fell below yet again in May 2015, where it has remained for much of the period since. Total State agricultural employment has declined as a share of national nonagricultural employment.

State per capita personal income has historically been significantly higher than the national average, although the ratio has varied substantially over time. Because New York City is an employment center for a multi-state region, State personal income measured on a residence basis understates the relative importance of the State to the national economy and the size of the base to which State taxation applies.

New York’s private sector labor market has slowed against a backdrop of a strong dollar and weak national and global growth. After 10 consecutive quarters of growth above 2 percent, the rate of private job gains fell to 1.9 percent in the second quarter of calendar year 2016, slowing further to an estimated 1.6 percent in the third quarter. As a result, The New York State Division of the Budget (“DOB”) estimates private job growth of 1.8 percent for 2016 as a whole, slowing further to 1.5 percent for 2017.

Market volatility and uncertainty surrounding future policy changes under the new presidential administration appear to have resulted in the withdrawal of many of the initial public offerings that had been scheduled for the end of 2016. The ensuing loss of revenue generating activity led to a downward revision by DOB to finance and insurance sector bonuses for FY 2017, which are now estimated to have fallen 1.7 percent. However, growth in underlying non-bonus wages remains healthy at an estimated 4.6 percent. On balance, total State wage growth for FY 2017 is expected to be 3.8 percent.

Analysis of withholding data for the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 to-date indicates that in anticipation of potentially lower PIT rates at the Federal level, bonus income in excess of $3 billion was likely shifted from the end of 2016 into early 2017. Preliminary data indicate that real estate and financial market transactions may have also been delayed by taxpayers in order to maximize their tax advantage. Consequently, DOB has revised down its estimate for capital gains realizations for 2016 from a decline of 3.0 percent to a decline of 8.3 percent.

Although the State’s private-sector labor market is projected to remain strong from a historical perspective, there are many risks to the forecast. All of the risks to the U.S. forecast apply to the State forecast as well, although as the nation’s financial capital, both the volume of financial market activity and the volatility in equity markets pose a particularly large degree of uncertainty for New York. Under a still evolving regulatory environment, the pattern of Wall Street bonus payouts continues to shift, with payments now more widely dispersed throughout the year. Taxable payouts can represent both current-year awards and deferred payments from prior years, with the deferral ratio itself proving to be unstable. Moreover, with federal tax policy in flux, and taxpayers strategically responding to anticipated changes in tax policy, the uncertainty surrounding the forecast for bonuses and various forms of taxable non-wage income is further heightened.

The National Economy. The U.S. economy recently posted quarterly growth below 2 percent, the fifth such quarter since the third quarter of calendar year 2015. The national economy has averaged 2.1 percent growth since the start of the expansion in the middle of 2009. Below average growth of 1.6 percent in calendar year 2016 is expected to be followed by slightly above average growth of 2.2 percent for calendar year 2017. The components of real U.S. GDP contributing to stronger growth in 2017 include private nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and inventories, all of which exhibited weak growth for much of 2016. However, a strong dollar, a slowing job market, and the uncertainty related to the future of fiscal policy suggest that the economy’s historically slow growth path is likely to persist over the near-term.

In January 2017 the national labor market posted its strongest showing since July 2016, with the addition of 237,000 private sector jobs, in seeming contradiction to the recent slower trend. However, an unusually warm January 2017 likely accounted for a significant portion of the monthly increase, with weather-sensitive areas such as construction and retail trade accounting for 82,000 jobs alone; those two sectors accounted for only 36,000 jobs in December 2016. As a result, DOB

continues to expect employment to slow further as the expansion matures. Total nonagricultural employment growth of an upwardly revised 1.5 percent is projected for 2017, but this forecast represents a significant deceleration from 1.8 percent growth in 2016.

Consistent with a tightening labor market, average wage growth is expected to post its strongest year since the end of the Great Recession. Moreover, improvement is expected at the low end of the income spectrum, with the minimum wage rising in 20 states at the start of 2017, including New York. Wage growth of 4.5 percent is projected for 2017. Continued solid employment and income growth, along with equity and home price growth, are expected to support real consumer spending growth of 2.6 percent for 2017.

Notwithstanding signs that both the European and Chinese economies are improving, the outlook for the global economy remains shaky. Weakness in the rest of the world relative to the U.S. has resulted in a substantial appreciation of the U.S. dollar, which is likely to constrain export and corporate earnings growth going forward. Consequently, DOB forecasts real U.S. export growth to remain subdued. Real U.S. export growth of 2.0 percent is projected for 2017, representing an improvement from the 0.4 percent growth observed in 2016.

Oil prices above $50 per barrel have been sustained since December 2016. Outside of the energy sector, consumer prices related to shelter, medical care, and education have also been on the rise. Consequently, DOB projects consumer price inflation of 2.6 percent for 2017. As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise its target range for the federal funds rate to 50 to 75 basis points at the end of 2016 from the existing 25 to 50 basis-point range. But despite inflation advancing at its strongest pace since 2011, DOB expects only two short-term interest rate hikes in 2017. With longer term interest rates holding steady, and the dollar remaining strong relative to its year-ago level, the central bank is expected to be cognizant of the potential for further downward pressure on global demand for U.S. goods and services.

Despite rebounding oil prices helping to buttress investment in both equipment and structures related to domestic oil production, real private nonresidential investment growth has been low, with investment falling 0.4 percent in 2016. Although investment growth is expected to accelerate to 3.6 percent in 2017, growth in private business investment in plant and equipment is expected to remain below 5 percent over the entire span of the forecast horizon, constraining the national economy’s capacity for future growth.

Consistent with the Executive Budget Financial Plan forecast, DOB’s current baseline U.S. forecast abstracts from any major discontinuity in Federal fiscal policy. However, DOB acknowledges that the anticipation of future Federal fiscal policy changes does influence the forecast to the extent that it has become embedded in current market fundamentals, such as equity prices and interest rates. Nevertheless, the potential for major changes to the fiscal landscape represent both upside and downside risks to this forecast. Policies that substantially widen the federal budget deficit without enhancing productivity growth could result in higher interest rates and, in turn, weaker household and business investment spending than anticipated.

In addition, policies resulting in world trade conflicts could result in even less global growth and diminished demand for U.S. exports relative to current projections. Weaker growth in both U.S. corporate profits and equity market prices could also ensue. In contrast, policies that stimulate more public or private business investment than anticipated could result in stronger growth in both the near-term and the long-term, particularly if those investments raise productivity growth and, hence, the economy’s long-term capacity to produce. Finally, the response of both domestic and global financial markets to the unwinding of the Federal Reserve System’s (the “Fed”) unprecedentedly accommodative policies continues to pose risks, particularly in light of the uncertainty surrounding developments on the fiscal policy side.

Annual Information Statement. The Annual Information Statement, dated June 29, 2016 (the “AIS”), reflects the State’s Enacted Budget Financial Plan (the “Financial Plan” or “Enacted Budget”) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017² and sets forth the State’s official Financial Plan projections for Fiscal Year 2017 through Fiscal Year 2020. The State updates the Annual Information Statement quarterly and released its first quarterly update on August 29, 2016, its second quarterly update on December 19, 2016 and its third quarterly update on March 7, 2017 (the “AIS Update”) which reflects the estimated impact of the Governor’s Executive Budget Financial Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, as amended and includes actual General Fund receipts and disbursements for FY 2016 and financial projections for FY 2017 through FY 2020 (the “Updated Financial Plan” or “Executive Budget Financial Plan”).

²	The State fiscal year is identified by the calendar year in which it ends. For example, FY 2017 is the FY that began on April 1, 2016 and ends on March 31, 2017.

Executive Budget and 2017 Notable Developments. The Governor submitted his FY 2018 Executive Budget proposal on January 17, 2017, and amendments through February 16, 2017 (the “Executive Budget”), as permitted by law. On February 23, 2017, DOB issued the Updated Financial Plan. The Updated Financial Plan includes updated estimates for the current fiscal year (FY 2017), and projections for FY 2018 through FY 2020, and initial projections for FY 2021, which reflect the estimated impact of the Governor’s Executive Budget proposals, as amended.

The projections for FY 2018 through FY 2021 assume the Legislature enacts the Governor’s Executive Budget proposal in its entirety and without modification by the start of FY 2018, which begins on April 1, 2017. The Governor’s proposal is awaiting action by the Legislature. There can be no assurance the Legislature will adopt all, or any specific portion, of the Executive Budget as proposed. Accordingly, there can be no assurance the fiscal impact of the FY 2018 budget, when adopted, will not differ materially and adversely from the estimates and projections contained in the Updated Financial Plan that are included in the AIS Update.

FY 2017

•	DOB projects that the State’s General Fund will remain in balance in FY 2017, with lower estimated tax receipts being offset by lower disbursements in every Financial Plan category.
•	State Operating Funds spending is expected to total $96.2 billion, an increase of 2 percent from FY 2016 results. If estimates hold, it would mark the fifth consecutive year in which spending has grown by 2 percent or less.
•	Outstanding State-related debt is expected to total $50.8 billion on March 31, 2017. State- related debt has declined for five consecutive years, and the State related debt as a percentage of personal income has fallen from 5.9 percent in FY 2011 to an estimated 4.2 percent at the end of FY 2017.
•	The State is expected to close the year with a General Fund cash balance of $7.2 billion, consisting of $4.8 billion in monetary settlements and $2.4 billion in other reserves.

FY 2018

•	The FY 2018 Executive Budget is proposed in an uncertain fiscal environment. Tax receipts during FY 2017 have been weaker than expected, with DOB revising its estimates downward in each quarterly update to the financial plan. At the Federal level, the new presidential administration and Congress may choose to reduce Federal funding to the states in health care, social services, and infrastructure, with potentially adverse consequences for State finances.
•	The Executive Budget holds annual spending growth in State Operating Funds to less than 2 percent, consistent with the fiscal benchmark adopted by the current administration, and is balanced on a cash basis in the General Fund, as required by law.3
•	Medicaid and School Aid are recommended to grow in line with their statutory indexes, ⁴ spending for agency operations is expected to be held flat, and a plan is proposed that would use the $1.8 billion in new monetary settlements to fund capital projects and other time-limited costs, as well as a $150 million deposit to the rainy day reserves, if fiscal conditions permit.
•	The tax reforms enacted in recent years are continued, reducing the burden on middle- class taxpayers.
•	To plan for a wide range of budgetary uncertainties, the Executive Budget includes contingency language authorizing the State Budget Director to reduce certain local assistance payments in the event that State receipts, including Federal aid, fall short of planned levels.
•	The Executive Budget proposes a $150 million increase to general reserves (consisting of the State’s rainy day reserves, the contingency reserve and the fund balance reserved for debt management), bringing total general reserves to $2.5 billion at the end of FY 2018.

³	As described in the AIS Update, the State Operating Funds calculation of spending and growth is affected by proposals that change the accounting of financial activity in the State Operating Funds basis of reporting. The calculation is also affected in any year by the management of payments.
⁴	The index for Medicaid spending subject to the Global Cap is the ten-year moving average of the medical component of the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). The index for School Aid is the estimated annual growth in State personal income.

Other Notable Developments

Labor Relations. Since enactment of the FY 2017 Budget, the State finalized labor agreements with the New York State Public Employees Federation (“PEF”) for FY 2016 and the New York State Police Investigators Association (“NYSPIA”) in the Division

of State Police for the period of FY 2012 through FY 2018 that provide salary increases for PEF-represented employees in FY 2016 and for NYSPIA-represented employees in FYs 2015 - 2018.

The State and PEF also reached a separate agreement on a three-year labor contract that provides for a 2 percent annual increase in general salary for FY 2017, FY 2018, and FY 2019. The legislation to implement the agreement has been enacted, along with a comparable increase for Management/Confidential (M/C) employees also included with this legislation. DOB estimates annual salary increases will add costs of roughly $90 million in the first year (FY 2017), $180 million in the second year, and $275 million in each year thereafter. The Updated Financial Plan identifies $90 million in the General Fund balance available for potential salary increases in FY 2017, and sets aside another $155 million for potential retroactive salary increases.

The State has also reached tentative agreements with the union representing the State University of New York (“SUNY”) Graduate Assistants that includes the same three-year deal as PEF, and with the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (“NYSCOPBA”) on a five-year agreement that provides for a 2 percent annual increase in general salary for FY 2017 through FY 2021 coupled with compensation increases unique to uniformed officers, that are funded by recurring health insurance and overtime savings. The Graduate Student Employees Union (“GSEU”) membership voted to ratify on March 3, 2017. The NYSCOPBA membership voted not to ratify its tentative agreement on February 27, 2017, and the State will continue negotiations with this union. The State is in active negotiations with its other employee unions whose contracts concluded in FY 2016, including the Civil Service Employees Association (“CSEA”) and the United University Professions (“UUP”). The State is negotiating successor agreements with all State employee unions. The current spending estimates for personal service reflect the potential costs of labor agreements with State unions patterned on the labor contract ratified by the PEF membership in December 2016.

In the regular legislative session that ended in June 2016, the Governor and Legislature approved an enhanced pension benefit for public sector veterans that enables eligible members to receive up to three years of extra pension service credit for their active military service, the cost of which DOB estimates will total roughly $400 million over the next five years.

Monetary Settlements. Pursuant to a partial settlement agreement entered into in June 2016 by the New York State Attorney General and other state attorneys general with Volkswagen AG, Audi and Porsche Affiliates (collectively, “Volkswagen”), Volkswagen made a monetary payment to New York State of $32 million to resolve certain claims related to violations of emissions standards and State consumer protection laws as described with more particularity in the partial settlement agreement. In addition, subject to court approval, satisfaction of requirements contained within the United States Department of Justice Partial Consent Decree, and approval of a court-appointed trustee, the State will be eligible to receive up to approximately $117 million for eligible mitigation action expenditures as set forth in the United States Department of Justice Partial Consent Decree, and DOB expects that any such funds received by the State for eligible mitigation action expenditures will be administered outside of the State’s All Governmental Funds budget.

The Updated Financial Plan reflects State receipts from monetary settlements that have occurred since the enactment of the FY 2017 budget. In August 2016, pursuant to a consent order entered into by the State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) and Mega International Commercial Bank Co., LTD. and Mega International Commercial Bank Co. LTD. – New York Branch (collectively “Mega Bank”), Mega Bank paid the State $180 million in monetary penalties. This consent order pertains to Mega Bank’s failure to maintain effective complaint and compliance programs, its failure to report the discovery of certain misconduct, and for other violations of New York Banking Law. In November 2016, pursuant to a consent order entered into by DFS and the Agricultural Bank of China Limited and Agricultural Bank of China, New York Branch (collectively “Agricultural Bank of China”), the Agricultural Bank of China paid the State $215 million in civil monetary penalties. This consent order pertains to the Agricultural Bank of China’s serious and persistent compliance failures. Pursuant to a November 2016 consent order between DFS and PHH Mortgage Corporation, PHH Mortgage Corporation has paid the State a $28 million fine for violations of Federal and State laws designed to protect homeowners from fraudulent mortgage origination and servicing practices. The Updated Financial Plan also reflects the December 2016 settlements between DFS and Intesa Sanpaola and between the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and the January 2017 settlement between DFS and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as a result of which, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. paid the State a $425 million fine in February 2017.

Resources from new financial settlements that have not been appropriated to date total $1.8 billion. Following the approach used in FY 2016 and FY 2017, the FY 2018 Executive Budget proposes using the new settlements for capital purposes and other time-limited investments. Specific investments include the Buffalo Billion Phase II ($400 million), Transportation ($270

million), Health Care Capital Grants ($200 million), Life Sciences ($300 million), Counter-Terrorism and Emergency Response Preparedness ($203 million), Downtown Revitalization ($100 million), and the Division of Military and Naval Affairs armories ($20 million). In addition, the Executive Budget proposes setting aside $155 million to fund retroactive salary increases that are anticipated to occur in FY 2018 or later, and depositing $150 million of the settlement money into the State’s rainy day reserves, if fiscal conditions permit. The proposed set-aside of $155 million to fund retroactive salary increases is in addition to the $90 million in available General Fund balances identified for potential salary increases in FY 2017, as described in the previous section on “Labor Relations”.

Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”). In 2018, bonds issued in 2003 that were secured by annual payments under the MSA with tobacco manufacturers will be fully retired. Once that occurs, DOB expects that MSA payments of approximately $125 million in FY 2018 and $400 million annually thereafter will be available for State purposes. The Executive Budget proposes using the MSA payments, outside of the State Operating Funds basis of reporting, to help defray the costs of the State’s takeover of Medicaid costs borne by counties and New York City. The State takeover, in which local Medicaid costs are capped permanently at 2015 calendar year levels, is expected to cost the State $735 million in FY 2018, growing to $917 million in FY 2019.

Other Actions. The Executive Budget includes legislation that creates a Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund for the purpose of funding health benefits of retired State employees and their dependents. It also includes legislation that would direct a portion of any future cash-basis surplus to the Debt Reduction Reserve Fund.

FY 2017 Financial Plan Update. DOB projects the General Fund will remain in balance in FY 2017, with reduced tax receipts being offset by lower disbursements in every Financial Plan category.

Receipts (Excluding Monetary Settlements). General Fund receipts, including transfers from other funds, are projected to total $66.8 billion in FY 2017, a decrease of $989 million from the Mid-Year Update. Tax collections, including transfers of tax receipts to the General Fund after payment of debt service, are estimated to total $63 billion in FY 2017, a decrease of $896 million from the Mid-Year Update.

General Fund PIT receipts, including transfers after payment of debt service on State PIT Revenue Bonds, are expected to total $42.7 billion, a decrease of $778 million from the Mid-Year Update. The downward revision is driven by weaker than expected estimated payments and withholding growth.

General Fund consumption/use tax receipts, including transfers after payment of debt service on Local Government Assistance Corporation (“LGAC”) and Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, are estimated to total $12.6 billion, an increase of $5 million, reflecting projected growth in taxable consumption.

General Fund business tax receipts are estimated at $5.6 billion, a decrease of $204 million from the Mid-Year Update. This estimate reflects decreased corporate franchise tax receipts stemming from weaker receipts from calendar year filers.

Other tax receipts in the General Fund are expected to total $2.1 billion, an increase of $81 million from the Mid-Year Update estimate. This primarily reflects higher estate tax collections.

General Fund non-tax receipts and transfers are estimated at $3.9 billion, a decrease of $93 million from the Mid-Year Update. The decrease is primarily due to a downward revision to abandoned property receipts. New SEC regulations, which accelerate customer contact requirements for dormant accounts, have caused fewer dormant securities to be remitted to the State.

General Fund receipts are affected by the deposit of dedicated taxes in other funds for debt service and other purposes, the transfer of balances between funds of the State, and other factors. For a more comprehensive discussion of the State’s projections for tax receipts, miscellaneous receipts, and transfers, presented on a State Funds and All Funds basis.

General Fund Disbursements (Excluding Monetary Settlements). General Fund disbursements, including transfers to other funds, are expected to total $67.1 billion in FY 2017, a decrease of $899 million from the Mid-Year Update. Based on a review of operating results through the first half of FY 2017 and updated data on State programs and activities, DOB has lowered its spending estimates in several areas, including mental hygiene, social services, preschool special education, higher education, and public safety. General Fund disbursements in the current year are also being reduced across Financial Plan categories, reflecting the refinement of estimates included in the Financial Plan.

Local assistance grants are expected to total $44.8 billion in FY 2017, a decrease of $553 million from the Mid-Year Update. Local assistance spending has been revised downward across a range of programs based on operating results for the first nine months of the fiscal year and other information.

Disbursements for agency operations, including fringe benefits and fixed costs, are expected to total $13.7 billion, a decrease of $82 million from the Mid-Year Update. Most Executive agencies are expected to hold spending at FY 2016 levels.

General Fund transfers to other funds are estimated to total $8.5 billion, a decrease of $264 million from the Mid-Year Update estimate. Transfers to capital projects funds have been lowered to reflect the timing of reimbursements from bond proceeds. Transfers for debt service have been increased to reflect the payment in FY 2017 of debt service due in FY 2018.

General Fund disbursements are affected by the level of financing sources available in other funds, transfers of balances between funds of the State, and other factors that may change from year to year.

FY 2017 Closing Balance. Excluding monetary settlements, the State expects to end FY 2017 with a General Fund closing balance of $2.4 billion. The estimated closing balance is $90 million lower than the Mid-Year Update, and reflects the use of the remaining cash balance informally set aside for new labor contracts to fund the first year of the new PEF contract.

The General Fund closing balance attributable to monetary settlements is expected to total $4.9 billion, an increase of $438 million from the Mid-Year Update. The increase is due to new settlements received since the Mid-Year Update, offset by higher than expected transfers to other funds. DOB intends to make transfers of monetary settlements on an as-needed basis over the next five years as spending occurs. Legislation included with the FY 2017 Enacted Budget provides transfer authority from the General Fund to the Dedicated Infrastructure Investment Fund (“DIIF”) for five years.

Risks to the current estimates remain. For example, while tax receipt estimates have been lowered, collections are subject to significant volatility in the final quarter of the fiscal year. In addition, there can be no assurance that Federal aid for health care, mental hygiene and other purposes will be received at the levels or on the timetable assumed in the Updated Financial Plan.

FY 2018 Financial Plan. DOB estimates that the Executive Budget Financial Plan, if enacted as proposed, would provide for balanced operations in the General Fund in FY 2018, consistent with balanced budget requirements.

The State expects to end FY 2018 with a General Fund cash balance of $5.9 billion, a decrease of $1.3 billion from expected FY 2017 results. The decline is due almost entirely to the change in monetary settlements on hand. DOB intends to make transfers of monetary settlements on an as-needed basis over the next five years as spending occurs from appropriations funded with the settlements. Legislation approved in the FY 2017 Enacted Budget provides transfer authority from the General Fund to the DIIF for five years.

Receipts (Excluding Monetary Settlements). General Fund receipts, including transfers from other funds, are projected to total $71.1 billion in FY 2018, an increase of $4.2 billion (6.4 percent) from FY 2017 estimates. Tax collections, including transfers of tax receipts to the General Fund after payment of debt service, are estimated to total $67.9 billion in FY 2018, an increase of $4.9 billion (7.8 percent) from FY 2017 estimates.

General Fund PIT receipts, including transfers after payment of debt service on State PIT Revenue Bonds, are expected to total $46.4 billion, an increase of $3.7 billion (8.8 percent) from FY 2017. This primarily reflects growth in withholding and estimated payments attributable to the net effect of the first year of middle income tax cuts enacted with the FY 2017 Budget and the proposed extension of the top rate for high-income earners; and a decline in STAR Fund deposits associated with legislation included in the Executive Budget.

General Fund consumption/use tax receipts, including transfers after payment of debt service on LGAC and Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, are estimated to total $13.5 billion in FY 2018, an increase of $856 million (6.8 percent) from FY 2017, which reflects projected growth in employment and taxable consumption.

General Fund business tax receipts are estimated at $6 billion in FY 2018, an increase of $384 million (6.9 percent) from FY 2017. The estimate reflects increases in corporation franchise tax receipts stemming from improved corporate profits and the insurance tax from growth in taxable premiums. These increases are partially offset by decreases in the corporation and utilities tax and the bank tax.

Other tax receipts in the General Fund, including transfers after payment of debt service on Clean Water/Clean Air Bonds, are expected to total $2 billion in FY 2018, a decrease of $89 million (-4.3 percent) from FY 2017. This decrease is driven by the continued phase-in of estate tax cuts, which is partly offset by increases in household net worth, and home price appreciation which is driving real estate transfer tax increases.

General Fund non-tax receipts and transfers are estimated at $3.2 billion in FY 2018, a decrease of $647 million (-16.7 percent) from FY 2017. The decrease is primarily due to the loss of $250 million in supervised injection facility (“SIF”) reserves released in FY 2017, coupled with a decline in available resources in other funds.

General Fund receipts are affected by the deposit of dedicated taxes in other funds for debt service and other purposes, the transfer of balances between funds of the State, and other factors.

Disbursements (Excluding Monetary Settlements). General Fund disbursements, including transfers to other funds, are expected to total $70.8 billion in FY 2018, an increase of $3.7 billion (5.5 percent) from FY 2017. Local assistance grants are expected to total $47.2 billion in FY 2018, an annual increase of $2.4 billion (5.4 percent) from FY 2017. The increase includes $1.1 billion for School Aid (on a State fiscal year basis) and $920 million for Medicaid and the EP. Other annual changes reflect anticipated growth in payments for social services, higher education, and other programs, as well as accounting reclassifications that have the effect of moving spending between financial plan categories and across fund types.

Disbursements for agency operations, including fringe benefits and fixed costs, in the General Fund are expected to total $14.0 billion in FY 2018, an increase from FY 2017 of $302 million (2.2 percent). Personal and non-personal service costs are expected to total $8.3 billion, an increase of $52 million (0.6 percent) from the current year. Most executive agencies are expected to hold operations spending at FY 2017 levels. The current spending estimates for personal service reflect the potential costs of labor agreements with State unions patterned on the labor contract ratified by the PEF membership in December 2016. The Updated Financial Plan assumes that State agencies will reduce spending by $500 million through cost-control measures. 5 Agency spending in the General Fund is affected by the reclassification to capital projects funds of certain personnel expenses related to the maintenance and preservation of State assets. In addition, operating costs for many agencies are charged to several funds, and are affected by offsets and accounting reclassifications.

Disbursements for General State Charges, which account for fringe benefits and certain fixed costs, are expected to total $5.7 billion in FY 2018, an increase of $250 million (4.6 percent) over the current year. Health insurance costs for State employees and retirees are expected to increase by 8 percent, mainly due to increases in premiums. The State’s annual pension payment is expected to increase by 3.4 percent. The State’s gross costs for Workers’ Compensation increased by 17.4 percent, which is impacted in part by the use of available balances from the State Insurance Fund (“SIF”) in FY 2017 and FY 2018.

General Fund transfers to other funds are estimated to total $9.5 billion in FY 2018, an increase of $971 million from FY 2017. Transfers for capital projects (excluding transfers funded with monetary settlements) increase by $1.4 billion, reflecting the timing of reimbursement from bond proceeds and planned disbursements from the Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund (“DHBTF”). Debt service transfers increase by $19 million, mainly due to year-to-year differences in the amount of debt service paid in one fiscal year but due in the following fiscal year.

Closing Balance for FY 2018. DOB projects that the State will end FY 2018 with a General Fund cash balance of $5.9 billion, a decrease of $1.3 billion from FY 2017. The General Fund cash balance excluding settlements is estimated at $2.7 billion, or $289 million higher than FY 2017. The change reflects the planned deposit, if fiscal conditions permit, to the Rainy Day Reserve Fund ($150 million) and setting aside funds for potential retroactive salary increases ($155 million), partly offset by the planned use of resources in the Community Projects Fund ($16 million).

Balances in the State’s principal “rainy day” reserves, the Tax Stabilization Reserve Fund and the Rainy Day Reserve Fund, are expected to increase in FY 2018 after a planned deposit, if fiscal conditions permit, of $150 million from monetary settlements. The Executive Budget Financial Plan maintains a reserve of $500 million for debt management purposes in FY 2018, unchanged from the level held at the end of FY 2017. DOB will decide on the use of these funds based on market conditions, financial needs, and other factors.

The balance from monetary settlements at the close of FY 2018 is expected to total $3.2 billion, a decrease of $1.6 billion from FY 2017. The decrease reflects the expected disbursements and uses for initiatives funded with settlements

FY 2018 Detailed Gap-Closing Plan. To the extent the State enacts budgets that adhere to the 2 percent spending growth benchmark, the level of savings required in each subsequent year to hold spending growth to 2 percent would be lower. The Executive Budget Financial Plan, as proposed to the Legislature, is projected to require additional gap-closing measures in FYs 2019, 2020 and 2021 in order to adhere to the 2 percent spending growth benchmark for each of those fiscal years and eliminate General Fund gaps in each of those fiscal years. Such gap-closing measures may include, but are not limited to, reduced appropriations, as well as changes in law regarding the requirements of various State programs, the conversion of disbursements into tax expenditures or changes regarding the timing of certain payments.

Spending Changes

Agency Operations

Operating costs for State agencies include salaries, wages, fringe benefits, and non-personal service costs (e.g., supplies, utilities). Reductions from current-services projections for agency operations contribute $624 million to the General Fund gap-closing plan for FY 2018. Specifically:

Executive Agencies: The Executive Budget proposes to hold agency spending flat with limited exceptions, such as Department of Health (“DOH”) costs attributable to the New York State of Health (“NYSOH”) marketplace and the Essential Plan (“EP”) program. Agencies are expected to continue to use less costly forms of service deliveries, improve administrative practices, and pursue statewide solutions, including the utilization of Lean initiatives to streamline operations and management. The Executive Budget also includes savings from the continued transition of individuals from mental hygiene institutions to appropriate community settings. In addition, approximately 3,000 Full-Time Equivalent (“FTE”) positions whose titles are associated with the maintenance, preservation, protection and/or operation of facilities (e.g., Plant Utilities Engineers, General Mechanics, Electricians, etc.) are expected to now be funded entirely with cash transfers to the Capital Projects Fund (such cash transfers do not count as spending on a State Operating Funds basis of reporting. This realignment has no net impact on General Fund operations as it continues to be the funding source for these expenses, but reduces disbursements on a State Operating Funds basis of reporting as the expenses would be reported in Capital Projects Funds.

Spending increases in the later years of the Updated Financial Plan are driven mainly by revised spending assumptions across multiple agencies to account for inflationary cost increases, an additional administrative payroll in FY 2021, and higher Medicaid administration expenses expected to support the NYSOH insurance exchange as available Federal funding expires.

•	Agency Financial Management Plans: All Executive agencies will be required to implement cost-control measures on a recurring basis, starting in FY 2018. The Executive Budget Financial Plan includes $500 million in annual savings that is expected to be allocated to agencies at a future date as agency management plans are completed. Agency plans must preserve funding for mission critical efforts and strategic initiatives with agencies identifying cost efficiencies and reducing State Operating Funds spending in FY 2018.
•	New York Power Authority (“NYPA”) Repayment Agreement: The State and NYPA expect to modify the annual payment schedule to NYPA by extending the terms through 2023, resulting in $193 million in expected savings in FY 2018.
•	Fringe Benefits/Fixed Costs: Pension estimates reflect the planned payment of the full FY 2018 Employees’ Retirement System (“ERS”)/Police and Fire Retirement System (“PFRS”) pension bill in April 2017, rather than on a monthly basis. Health insurance savings are expected from the proposed elimination of the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount reimbursement for high income New York State Health Insurance Program (“NYSHIP”) enrollees, maintaining reimbursement of the standard Medicare Part B premium at December 2016 levels, and implementing differential healthcare premiums based on years of service for new civilian retirees with less than thirty years of service, similar to the calculation for pension benefits. Costs would be proportionately greater for new retirees with ten years of service, and gradually decrease until they are no different from current levels once an individual reaches 30 years of service.

The Updated Financial Plan also reflects the continued use of resources available in the SIF to offset the cost of Workers’ Compensation claims. These resources are expected to reduce spending, on a State Operating Funds basis of reporting, by $210 million in FY 2017 and $205 million in FY 2018. In addition, the Executive Budget also proposes reforming the interest charged on judgments against the State from 9 percent to a fair-market interest rate. The existing rate is out of line with any reasonable interest rate benchmark, and the recommended rate is based on what is used in Federal courts.

•	Judiciary: The Executive Budget reflects the Judiciary’s request to increase operating support, including the addition of 200 non-judicial positions in support of trial court operations and temporary service funding for acting city, town and village justices.
•	Legislature: The Executive Budget reflects the Legislature’s request to increase operating costs by 3 percent, including increased personal service costs and equipment.
•	Potential Labor Agreements (Executive Agencies): The New York State PEF ratified a three-year labor contract, and the Legislature approved legislation to implement the agreement, which provides for a 2 percent annual increase in general salary for FY 2017, FY 2018, and FY 2019. The Governor has signed legislation to implement the agreement, including a comparable increase for M/C employees also included with this legislation. DOB estimates annual salary increases will add costs of roughly $90 million in the first year, $180 million in the second year, and $275 million in each year thereafter. The Updated Financial Plan identifies $90 million in the General Fund balance available for potential salary increases in FY 2017, and sets aside another $155 million for potential retroactive salary increases.

The State has also reached tentative agreements with the union representing the SUNY Graduate Assistants that includes the same three-year deal as PEF, and with NYSCOPBA on a five-year agreement that provides for a 2 percent annual increase in general salary for FY 2017 through FY 2021 coupled with compensation increases unique to uniformed officers, that are to be funded by recurring health insurance and overtime savings. The GSEU membership voted to ratify on March 3, 2017. The NYSCOPBA membership voted not to ratify its tentative agreement on February 27, 2017, and the State will continue negotiations with this union. The State is in active negotiations with its other employee unions whose contracts concluded in FY 2016, including the CSEA and UUP.

For planning purposes, the Updated Financial Plan includes an estimate of Executive agency costs assuming the PEF contract terms were applied to all unions. DOB estimates it would result in General Fund costs of roughly $200 million in the first year of the contract, $385 million in the second year, and $600 million in the third year and each year thereafter. These estimated costs include the cost of the tentative PEF and M/C agreements discussed above. At this time, DOB expects that any payments associated with future settlement agreements would likely commence in FY 2018, and has adjusted the Updated Financial Plan accordingly, with first-year contract costs for other unions occurring in FY 2018.

In February 2017, Deutsche Bank paid the State a $425 million fine. The Financial Plan proposes reserving $155 million of the fine to fund the potential first-year costs of potential labor agreements with employees patterned on the PEF contract. This is in addition to the $90 million in cash on hand in the General Fund that is expected to be used to fund the PEF and M/C agreements in FY 2017. The combined total is expected to be sufficient to cover the first year costs of all agencies.

Local Assistance

Local assistance spending includes financial aid to local governments and nonprofit organizations, as well as entitlement payments to individuals. Reductions from the prior projections for local assistance spending are expected to generate $1.6 billion in General Fund savings.⁵ Savings are expected from both targeted actions and continuation of prior-year cost containment. Specifically:

•

Health Care: The Medicaid Budget will include an additional $382 million for non-DOH Medicaid expenses within the applicable statutory index (“Global Cap”).⁵ To achieve savings within the Global Cap, DOH will continue to implement various Medicaid Redesign Team (“MRT”) actions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in delivery of the statewide Medicaid program, including proposals to collaborate with New York City to increase Medicaid claiming levels for school supportive health services; the establishment of a benchmark price for high cost pharmaceuticals; and an increase to the costs shared by certain beneficiaries within the EP program, whereby such individuals would be required to contribute a monthly premium indexed to grow annually to the rate of the medical component of the CPI.

In FY 2018, bonds issued in 2003 that were secured by annual payments under the MSA with tobacco manufacturers will be fully retired. DOB expects that MSA payments of approximately $125 million in FY 2018, and $400 million annually thereafter, will be available for State purposes. The Executive Budget Financial Plan reflects the proposed use of the payments, outside the State Operating Funds basis of reporting, to defray a portion of the costs of the State’s takeover of Medicaid costs borne by counties and New York City. The State takeover, in which local Medicaid costs are capped permanently at 2015 calendar year levels is expected to cost the State $735 million in FY 2018, growing to $917 million in FY 2019. The use of the MSA payments to fund a portion of these costs will have no impact on total funding for the Medicaid program, but will reduce reported Medicaid spending on a State Operating Funds basis of reporting.

Other health care savings include initiatives to consolidate similar public health programs into four discrete pools, providing increased flexibility to support ongoing public health programs or new investments to meet new or emerging public health priorities ($25 million annually); require third-party insurers to pay for Early Intervention to help expedite the timeliness and amount of provider payments, while decreasing State costs ($4 million in FY 2018, and $14 million annually beginning in FY 2019); and reduce the General Public Health Work Reimbursement to NYC (from 36 percent to 29 percent) ($11 million in FY 2018, and $22 million beginning in FY 2019). The availability of additional Federal funds for the NYSOH Qualified Health Plan will offset State costs by $17 million in FY 2018.

The Financial Plan also includes an upward revision of $90 million to estimated HCRA resources including additional surcharge revenue based on receipts collections to date, and additional covered lives revenue. It also includes a three-year extension of funding for the Statewide Health Information Network for New York/All-Payer Claims Databases infrastructure development initiative.

⁵	Local assistance includes payments for School Aid, STAR, Medicaid, public assistance, child welfare, local government assistance and a range of other purposes.
⁶	The Medicaid Global Cap is a statutory limit on annual State-funded Medicaid expenditures, indexed to the Medical component of the CPI. Total State-funded Medicaid expenditures also include certain program costs which are not subject to the indexed provisions of the Global Cap.

•	Education: A lower-than-projected Personal Income Growth Index (“PIGI”) results in reduced School Aid spending growth based upon the School Aid formula. The actual SY 2018 PIGI will be 3.9 percent, compared to the previously estimated 4.5 percent, generating multi-year savings. In addition, updates to the School Aid database indicate a decline in SY 2017 aid compared with FY 2017 Enacted Budget estimates. Similarly, spending related to special education programs and grant-based awards for School Aid is occurring more slowly than anticipated.
•	Higher Education: The expected sale of certain CUNY capital assets will result in available resources to partially support CUNY operations.
•	Human Services: Savings reflect the use of Federal Title XX funding sources to reduce General Fund spending for the Office of Children and Family Services (“OCFS”) Child Care subsidies. They also reflect savings generated by restructuring the financing approach for foster care tuition and residential school placements of children with special needs in New York City, and reducing the State’s Foster Care Block Grant reimbursement to an estimated 50 percent share of net Federal Funding. Funding has also been added for increased public assistance costs, which include providing safety net benefits for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, pursuant to litigation filed against the State. Such status is granted to noncitizens residing in the United States whose home countries have experienced natural disasters or are involved in armed conflict.
•	Mental Hygiene: Spending revisions reflect updated assumptions and revised timelines for ongoing transformation efforts in the mental hygiene service delivery system, and the Federal government’s extension of the Balancing Incentive Program (“BIP”). The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (“OPWDD”) will maximize Federal reimbursement by aligning services such as Family Support Services to meet Medicaid eligibility and only provide supplemental support for other Medicaid-eligible programs.
•	STAR: The Executive Budget proposes a conversion of the rate reduction benefit to a nonrefundable New York State PIT credit for New York City taxpayers, which due to the timing of its implementation, results in short-term savings to the Updated Financial Plan ($277 million in FY 2018; $12 million in each of FYs 2019 and 2020). This change has no effect on the value of the STAR benefit, but eliminates the need for New York City to make payments in the first instance and to be reimbursed by the State. In addition, the Budget proposes freezing the exemption benefit, rather than allowing it to increase by up to 2 percent. Other savings include mandating enrollment in the Income Verification Program beginning in FY 2018.
•	All Other: Savings are expected as a result of updated program and grant spending across a number of areas, including the elimination of the planned FY 2018 0.8 percent human services cost-of-living increase; utilization of available Mortgage Insurance Fund (MIF) resources to fund housing and homelessness programs; and spending revisions based on utilization trends in other local assistance programs

Capital Projects/Debt Management

•

The Executive Budget provides a consistent approach for funding the costs of employees who maintain and preserve State assets in the capital budget. Agencies have been accounting for these costs differently for years, with some capturing the expenses in their capital budget, while others reflect them in their operating budgets. Beginning in FY 2018, approximately 3,000 FTEs whose job duties are related to the maintenance, protection, preservation, and

	operation of facilities (e.g., Plant Utilities Engineers, General Mechanics, Electricians, etc.) are expected to be paid from capital projects funds. Accordingly, the Executive Budget Financial Plan reflects an increase of $227 million in personal service and related costs in the FY 2018 capital budget, and a corresponding decrease in State Operating Funds spending.
•	FY 2018 debt service savings reflect the payment of $280 million of FY 2018 expenses in FY 2017, as well as expected refundings, continued use of competitive bond sales, and other debt management actions.

Initiatives/Investments/New Costs

•	Excelsior Scholarship: The proposed scholarship program will allow students of families making up to $125,000 per year to attend college tuition-free at all public universities in New York State.
•	Juvenile Justice Reform (“Raise the Age”): The Executive Budget includes legislation to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction from age 16 to 18 by January 1, 2020. Pursuant to Executive Order 150, issued in December 2015, all 16 and 17 year old non-violent criminal offenders held by the State were moved from general prison populations to the Hudson Correctional Facility. This facility, under a plan implemented by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, OCFS, and the Office of Mental Health, provides specialized programs of treatment geared for younger offenders.
•	Indigent Legal Services: The Governor is expected to introduce a plan to reform the State’s indigent criminal defense system in early 2017.
•	DREAM Act: The proposed DREAM Act extends student financial assistance to certain eligible undocumented immigrant students pursuing higher education in New York.
•	All Other: The Executive Budget includes additional gaming aid for Madison County, ⁷ as well as additional funding to support Taste NY; the Hudson River Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Memorial; water quality aid for the City of Newburgh; and debt service costs for new bond-financed capital initiatives. In addition, funding has been added to provide for faster processing of sexual offense evidence kits⁸ submitted by New York State law enforcement agencies to the State Police’s forensic lab. The Executive Budget Financial Plan also includes funding to support a new Cyber Incident Response Team to provide cybersecurity support to State entities, local governments, infrastructure, and schools.

⁷	When the State, the Oneida Nation, and affected counties signed the 2013 agreement establishing local government gaming host aid, the Oneida Nation casino that opened in Madison County in 2015 was not envisioned and thus Madison County will now receive a redistribution of gaming aid.
⁸	Sexual Offense Evidence Kit Bill (Chapter 500 of the Laws of 2016) was signed by the Governor on November 28, 2016.

Resource Changes

•	Tax Revisions: The multi-year tax receipts forecast reflects downward revisions based on recent collection experience and an updated economic forecast.
•	NYC STAR PIT Rate Reduction Benefit Conversion: The proposal to convert the rate reduction benefit to a nonrefundable New York State PIT credit for New York City taxpayers with incomes below $500,000 will not affect STAR benefits, but will result in lower General Fund tax collections. This action is consistent with the conversion of the NYC STAR PIT credit to a State credit in the FY 2017 Enacted Budget.
•	Public Safety Communications Surcharge: The Public Safety Communications Surcharge is expanded to prepaid purchases of mobile communication services, with purchases at or below $30 subject to a 60 cent surcharge and those above $30 subject to a $1.20 surcharge. The surcharge would be imposed at the point of purchase for a prepaid device or data. Currently, mobile plan subscribers pay $1.20 per month, while purchasers of prepaid mobile services pay no surcharge. Local governments that currently impose the surcharge on mobile plan contracts can also opt in for a 30 cent surcharge on prepaid retail mobile devices and data. This surcharge supports the State’s public safety activities and funds the Statewide Interoperable Communications Operations Grant Awards program.

Other Resource Changes: Other changes include (i) updated estimates of various miscellaneous receipts and transfers from other funds, (ii) reimbursement for Mental Hygiene services in excess of debt service spending, and (iii) other reductions reflecting the refinement of cautious estimates included in the Updated Financial Plan to create an informal reserve against risks. In addition, the Executive Budget proposes increasing fees for a new automobile title from $50 to $75, and for a duplicate title from $20 to $40 (to adjust for inflation); and the establishment of a special license to sell craft beverages along with food and souvenir items at certain Taste-NY stores.

Tax Actions

•	Extend the PIT Top Bracket: The Executive Budget proposes a three-year extension, through calendar year 2020, to the current income tax rate for high-income earners. The current top-bracket rate has been in place since January 1, 2012, when the top-bracket rate was reduced from 8.97 percent to 8.82 percent.
•	High Income Charitable Contribution Deduction: The Executive Budget makes permanent the existing charitable contribution deduction limitation of 25 percent, which is currently scheduled to expire at the end of tax year 2017.
•	Child and Dependent Care Credit: The Executive Budget increases benefits under the New York State Child and Dependent Care Credit. This credit provides households who qualify for the Federal Child and Dependent Care Credit the ability to claim a percentage of the Federal credit on their State income taxes. The Executive Budget proposes to increase the percentage of the Federal credit for tax filers with New York Adjusted Growth Income between $50,000 and $150,000, resulting in an increase in the benefit by an average of 123 percent.
•	Online Sales Tax Collection: Online providers such as Amazon and eBay supply a marketplace for sellers other than the online provider to sell their products to consumers. Currently, such outside sellers are required to collect sales tax from New York residents if the sellers are located in New York. Many marketplace providers agree to collect the tax for the outside seller in this instance. The Executive Budget proposes that a marketplace provider be required to collect the tax when it facilitates the sale to State residents, whether the seller is located within, or outside, New York.
•	Warrantless Wage Garnishment: The Executive Budget proposes to make permanent the authorization for Department of Taxation and Finance (“DTF”) to garnish wages of delinquent taxpayers without filing a warrant with the Department of State (“DOS”) or County Clerks. The current program, set to expire on April 1, 2017, has been successful in eliminating the unfunded mandate on counties to receive warrants from DTF.
•	Taxation of Cigars: The Executive Budget proposes to replace the current distributor level percentage tax on large cigars with a 45 cent per cigar flat tax. The current tax structure, which is the result of litigation, has resulted in revenue losses and relies on an industry pricing survey to determine the tax on a product produced by the same industry.
•	Other Actions: The Executive Budget includes proposals for other tax credits/extensions, enforcement initiatives and tax code reforms. These include the extension of the Empire State Film and Post-Production Tax Credits for three years; renaming the Urban Youth Jobs Program to the New York Youth Jobs Program and extending the tax credit for five years to 2022; precluding State agencies and authorities from hiring new employees who are delinquent in their State tax obligations; preventing the evasion of the State’s real estate transfer tax for real property in excess of $1 million; and closing tax loopholes associated with nonresident activities related to co-ops, asset sales, and business purchases.

Annual Spending Growth. DOB estimates spending in State Operating Funds will grow at 1.9 percent from FY 2017 to FY 2018, below the 2 percent spending benchmark adopted by the current Administration in FY 2012.

Local Assistance

•	Medicaid and School Aid are the State’s largest local aid programs, comprising approximately 45 percent of the State Operating Funds budget. In SY 2018, School Aid will total $25.6 billion, an increase of $961 million (3.9 percent). Medicaid will grow at the indexed rate of 3.2 percent, consistent with the Global Cap, to $18.3 billion. In total, Medicaid funded from State resources will increase to $19.5 billion, including the EP, ⁹ the takeover of local Medicaid costs and other spending outside the Global Cap.
•	The cost of the takeover of local government Medicaid growth is proposed to be partially funded with tobacco MSA payments that will be directly deposited to the Medicaid Management Information System Escrow Fund. The change has no impact on overall Medicaid spending funded with State resources, but does decrease reported State-supported Medicaid spending accounted for in State Operating Funds.
•	The current service costs of the STAR program are projected to remain essentially flat over the Financial Plan period. However, STAR spending declines reflect the current and proposed conversion of STAR benefits to State PIT credits, in addition to other proposed changes to the program. The conversion of STAR benefits to PIT credits has no impact on the value of the STAR benefits received by taxpayers, but does decrease reported disbursements for STAR on a State Operating Funds basis of reporting and decreases the level of reported PIT receipts by an identical amount.
•	Mental Hygiene declines are mainly due to funding changes within the DOH Global Cap, which more than offset the roughly 2 percent growth in funding for community-based services.

⁹

The EP is an insurance plan for individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid and that meet certain income threshold standards. Approximately 90 percent of program expenses are subsidized with Federal funds made available through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The EP is not a Medicaid program; however, the State Funds support is managed within total DOH Medicaid Global Cap resources.

State Operations/Fringe Benefits

•	Agency operations are expected to decline, due in large part to the reclassification of certain personnel expenses related to the maintenance and preservation of State assets, to capital projects funds. This change has no impact on State personnel costs, but does decrease reported operating spending in State Operating Funds.
•	Fringe benefits are projected to grow due to rising employee health care and prescription drug costs, as well as pension contributions.

Debt Service

•	While overall spending from debt service funds is projected to increase by 4.7 percent from FY 2017 including planned prepayments, subtracting the impact of prepayments, debt service costs are projected to increase by roughly 1.8 percent from FY 2017.

All Funds spending, which includes spending from capital funds and Federal funds, is budgeted to increase by 3.5 percent from FY 2017 to FY 2018, excluding extraordinary Federal aid related to disaster-related costs and health care transformation.

Cash Flow

State Finance Law authorizes the General Fund to borrow money temporarily from available funds held in the Short-Term Investment Pool (“STIP”). Money may be borrowed for up to four months, or to the end of the fiscal year, whichever period is shorter. The State last used this authorization in April 2011 when the General Fund needed to borrow funds from STIP for a period of five days. The amount of resources that can be borrowed by the General Fund is limited to the available balances in STIP, as determined by the State Comptroller. Available balances include money in the State’s governmental funds and a relatively small amount of other money belonging to the State. Several accounts in Debt Service Funds and Capital Projects Funds that are part of All Governmental Funds are excluded from the balances deemed available in STIP. These excluded funds consist of bond proceeds and money obligated for debt service payments.

DOB expects that the State will have sufficient liquidity in FY 2018 to make all planned payments as they become due without having to temporarily borrow money from STIP. The State continues to reserve money on a quarterly basis for debt service payments that are financed with General Fund resources. Money to pay debt service on bonds secured by dedicated receipts, including PIT bonds and Sales Tax bonds, continues to be set aside as required by law and bond covenants.

Monetary Settlements

From FY 2015 through FY 2017, DOB estimates that the State will have received a total of $9.9 billion in monetary settlements for violations of State laws. Since the Mid-Year Update, DOB has increased the estimate of payments expected from monetary settlements by $709 million pursuant to two separate settlements with Deutsche Bank ($444 million), Intesa Sanpaolo ($235 million), PHH Mortgage ($28 million), and higher than assumed resources from Volkswagen ($2 million).¹⁰

¹⁰	The settlement amount from Volkswagen was initially expected to total $30 million, as reflected in the August 2016 AIS Update. The actual payment received by the State from the Volkswagen settlement in November 2016 totaled $31.8 million, or roughly $2 million more than expected.

Uses of Monetary Settlements

The Executive Budget Financial Plan reflects the Executive’s intention to continue applying the majority of the settlements to fund capital investments and nonrecurring expenditures. The FY 2017 Enacted Budget Financial Plan reflected the authorized transfer of $6.5 billion in monetary settlements over a five-year period to DIIF to finance various appropriated purposes ($6.4 billion), and to the Environmental Protection Fund (“EPF”) ($120 million). These purposes, which are financed with the $6.5 billion of monetary settlement collections and funded from capital appropriations, include the following capital purposes and other activities, and in some cases, operating activities associated with the maintenance, protection, preservation and operation of capital assets:

•	Thruway Stabilization ($2.0 billion): The $2.0 billion investment will support both the New NY Bridge project and other transportation infrastructure needs for the rest of the Thruway system.
•	Upstate Revitalization Program ($1.7 billion): Awarded $1.5 billion in 2015 to the three Upstate regions selected as URI best plan awardees. An additional $200 million ($170 million from monetary settlements) was provided in 2016 to support projects in the remaining four eligible Upstate regions.

•	Affordable and Homeless Housing ($640 million): Settlement funds will augment the multi-year investment in affordable housing services, and provide housing opportunities for individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Funds will be invested over five years to create new housing opportunities for individuals and families in need of supportive services, as well as to assist vulnerable populations in securing stable housing.
•	Broadband Initiative ($500 million): Funds the New NY Broadband Fund Program to expand the availability and capacity of broadband across the State, or development of other telecommunication infrastructure. This program is intended to expand the creation of high-speed networks and promote broadband adoption.
•	Health Care/Hospitals ($400 million): Provides $355 million in grants to essential health care providers that facilitate mergers, consolidation, acquisition, or other significant corporate restructuring activities to create a financially sustainable system of care. The Plan also funds capital expenses of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute ($15.5 million); and a community health care revolving loan ($19.5 million).
•	Penn Station Access ($250 million): The MTA Penn Station Access project, which will open a new Metro-North link directly into Penn Station, is expected to provide enhanced system resiliency, improvement in regional mobility, and construction of four new Metro- North stations in the Bronx.
•	Transportation Capital Plan ($200 million): Provides funding for transportation infrastructure projects across the State.
•	Municipal Restructuring and Consolidation Competition ($170 million): Includes $20 million in funding for a Municipal Consolidation Competition to encourage the reduction of costs through a competitive process to be administered by the DOS. This funding is in addition to $150 million for the first Downtown Revitalization Initiative and for municipal restructuring to assist and encourage local governments and school districts to implement shared services, cooperation agreements, mergers, and other actions that permanently reduce operational costs and property tax burdens.
•	Resiliency, Mitigation, Security, and Emergency Response ($150 million): Provides funding for operating purposes such as preparedness and response efforts related to severe weather events, as well as efforts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to acts of terrorism, other public safety and health emergencies, and natural and man-made disasters.
•	Transformative Economic Development Projects ($150 million): Includes funds to promote economic development in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
•	Infrastructure Improvements ($115 million): Funding for infrastructure improvements to support transportation, upstate transit, rail, airport, port, and other projects.
•	Economic Development ($85 million): Funding for the economic development strategy of creating jobs, strengthening and diversifying economies, and generating economic opportunities across the State, including investments in infrastructure.
•	Southern Tier/Hudson Valley Farm Initiative ($50 million): Funding to help landowners in the Southern Tier and Hudson Valley maintain and develop farming, agricultural, and related businesses.
•	Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (“ESPRI”) ($25 million): To combat poverty throughout the State, $25 million was provided for the ESPRI. This program will bring together State and local government, nonprofits, and community groups to design and implement coordinated solutions for addressing poverty in 16 municipalities: Albany, Binghamton, the Bronx, Buffalo, Elmira, Hempstead, Jamestown, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Oneonta, Oswego, Rochester, Syracuse, Troy, Utica, and Watertown.
•	EPF ($120 million): This $120 million and other EPF resources would provide dedicated funding to communities throughout New York State to improve the environment, combat climate change, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Monetary settlement resources will be used as a temporary advance to: (i) meet initial funding requirements for the Javits expansion project and (ii) enable $1.3 billion of bond-financed capital disbursements.

•

Javits Expansion: Spending for the Javits expansion will be supported by settlement funds in the first instance, beginning in FY 2018. Subsequently, these expenses will be reimbursed by proceeds from bonds that are planned to be issued in FYs 2020 and 2021.

•

Management of Debt Issuances: A total of $1.3 billion of capital spending for higher education, transportation and economic development will be funded initially from the settlement fund balances set aside in the General Fund. These funds will be made available for the projects appropriated from DIIF when the State reimburses the $1.3 billion of spending with bond proceeds anticipated in FY 2018 ($800 million) and FY 2019 ($500 million). As a result of these reimbursements, it is anticipated that transfers from the General Fund to support the Capital Projects Fund will be lower in FYs 2018 and 2019 by $800 million and $500 million, respectively.

In addition, $850 million was used to resolve Federal OPWDD disallowances in FY 2016. In addition, a portion of the monetary settlements has been used for General Fund operations, as well as costs of the Department of Law’s Litigation Services Bureau.¹¹

¹¹	The windfall of monetary settlements began after the enactment of the FY 2015 budget. Accordingly, the multi-year Financial Plans prior to the windfall had assumed the annual receipt of monetary settlements based on historical patterns.

DOB expects to use monetary settlements received to date to fund projects and activities over several years, allowing the State to carry a large cash balance by historical standards in the General Fund. The State plans to use the idle balances to make cash advances for certain capital programs in FY 2017 ($1.3 billion) to be repaid in FY 2018 and another advance in FY 2018 ($500 million) to be repaid in FY 2019. The cash advances are expected to be reimbursed fully with bond proceeds by the end of FY 2019. These bond-financed programs include higher education, economic development, and transportation programs.

Special Considerations. The State’s Updated Financial Plan is subject to complex economic, social, financial, political, and environmental risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the ability of the State to control. DOB believes that the projections of receipts and disbursements in the Updated Financial Plan are based on reasonable assumptions, but there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially and adversely from these projections. In certain fiscal years, actual receipts collections have fallen substantially below the levels forecasted. In addition, projections in future years are based on the assumption that annual growth in State Operating Funds spending is limited to 2 percent, and that all savings that result from the 2 percent limit will be made available to the General Fund.

DOB routinely executes cash management actions to manage the State’s large and complex budget. These actions are intended for a variety of purposes that include improving the State’s cash flow, managing resources within and across fiscal years, assisting in adherence to spending targets and better positioning the State to address future risks and unanticipated costs, such as economic downturns, unexpected revenue deterioration and unplanned expenditures. As such, the State regularly makes certain payments above those initially planned to maintain budget flexibility. All payments made above the planned amount are reflected in the year they occur and adhere to the limit of the State’s 2 percent spending benchmark.

The Updated Financial Plan is based on numerous assumptions, including the condition of the State and national economies and the concomitant receipt of economically sensitive tax receipts in the amounts projected. Other uncertainties and risks concerning the economic and receipts forecasts include the impacts of: national and international events; ongoing financial instability in the Euro-zone; changes in consumer confidence, oil supplies and oil prices; cybersecurity attacks, major terrorist events, hostilities or war; climate change and extreme weather events; Federal statutory and regulatory changes concerning financial sector activities; changes concerning financial sector bonus payouts, as well as any future legislation governing the structure of compensation; shifts in monetary policy affecting interest rates and the financial markets; financial and real estate market developments which may adversely affect bonus income and capital gains realizations; the effect of household debt on consumer spending and State tax collections; and the outcome of litigation and other claims affecting the State.

The Updated Financial Plan is subject to various uncertainties and contingencies relating to: wage and benefit increases for State employees that exceed projected annual costs; changes in the size of the State’s workforce; the realization of the projected rate of return for pension fund assets, and current assumptions with respect to wages for State employees affecting the State’s required pension fund contributions; the willingness and ability of the Federal government to provide the aid expected in the Updated Financial Plan; the ability of the State to implement cost reduction initiatives, including reductions in State agency operations, and the success with which the State controls expenditures; and the ability of the State and its public authorities to market securities successfully in the public credit markets.

The projections and assumptions contained in the Updated Financial Plan are subject to revisions which may result in substantial change. No assurance can be given that these estimates and projections, which depend in part upon actions the State expects to be taken but which are not within the State’s control, will be realized.

Budget Risks and Uncertainties. There can be no assurance that the State’s financial position will not change materially and adversely from current projections. If this were to occur, the State would be required to take additional gap-closing actions. Such actions may include, but are not limited to: reductions in State agency operations; delays or reductions in payments to local governments or other recipients of State aid; delays in or suspension of capital maintenance and construction; extraordinary financing of operating expenses; or other measures. In some cases, the ability of the State to implement such actions requires the approval of the Legislature and cannot be implemented solely by action of the Governor.

The Updated Financial Plan projections for the outyears assume School Aid and Medicaid disbursements will be limited to the annual growth in NYS personal income, and the ten-year average growth of the medical component of the CPI, respectively. However, the budgets enacted for FYs 2014 through FY 2017 authorized spending for School Aid to increase above personal income growth. The FY 2018 Executive Budget Financial Plan reflects a 3.9 percent School Aid increase, equal to the personal income indexed rate.

State law grants the Commissioner of Health (the “Commissioner”) certain powers and authority to maintain Medicaid spending levels assumed in the Executive Budget Financial Plan. Over the past five years, DOH State Funds Medicaid spending levels have remained at or below indexed levels without requiring the Commissioner to exercise this authority. However, Medicaid program spending is sensitive to a number of factors including fluctuations in economic conditions, which may increase caseload. The Commissioner’s powers are intended to limit the rate of annual growth in DOH State Funds Medicaid spending to the levels estimated for the current fiscal year, through actions which may include reducing rates to providers. However, these actions may be dependent upon timely Federal approvals and other elements of the program that govern implementation. It should further be noted that the Medicaid Cap, which is indexed to historical CPI Medical trends, applies to State Operating Funds and therefore, General Fund spending remains sensitive to revenue performance in the State’s HCRA fund (which finances approximately one-quarter of the DOH State-share costs of Medicaid).

The Updated Financial plan forecast contains specific transaction risks and other uncertainties including, but not limited to: receipt of certain payments from public authorities; receipt of miscellaneous revenues at the levels expected in the Executive Budget Financial Plan, and achievement of cost-saving measures including, but not limited to, transfer of available fund balances to the General Fund at levels currently projected. Such risks and uncertainties, if they were to materialize, could adversely impact the Executive Budget Financial Plan in current or future years.

The Executive Budget includes some proposals and recommendations that would affect annual spending growth on a State Operating Funds basis of reporting, including (i) the realignment of certain operating costs to the capital budget to provide consistency in reporting across all agencies and a more accurate accounting of the overall capital budget, (ii) the payment of certain operating costs using available resources in accounts outside of the State Operating Funds basis of reporting and (iii) the restructuring of the STAR program such that the spending for certain benefits is instead provided in the form of a tax credit for consistency with how other State tax credits are reported. If these and other transactions are not implemented as planned, this could add upward pressure to the reported level of annual spending growth in State Operating Funds, which the Executive Budget proposes be held to less than 2 percent in FY 2018.

In developing the Executive Budget Financial Plan, DOB attempts to mitigate the financial risks from volatility, litigation, and other unexpected costs, with a particular emphasis on the General Fund. It does this by, among other things, exercising caution when calculating total General Fund disbursements, and managing the accumulation of financial resources that can be used to offset new costs (including, but not limited to, fund balances not needed in a given year, acceleration of tax refunds above the level budgeted in a given year, and prepayment of expenses). There can be no assurance that the tools available to mitigate risks are sufficient to address risks that may materialize in a given fiscal year.

Federal Funding. The State receives a substantial amount of Federal aid for health care, education, transportation, and other governmental purposes, as well as Federal funding to respond to, and recover from, severe weather events and other disasters. Many of the policies that drive this Federal aid are subject to change under the current presidential administration and Congress. However, current financial projections concerning Federal aid, and the assumptions on which they are based, are subject to revision in future Financial Plan updates as more information becomes available about the proposals for Federal tax policy and legislation, health care, including amendments to the Affordable Care Act, infrastructure, taxation, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (as amended), Federal regulatory reform, and other issues that may arise.

Reductions in Federal funding levels could have a materially adverse impact on the Executive Budget Financial Plan. In addition to the potential fiscal impact of policies that may be proposed and adopted by the new administration and Congress, the Executive Budget Financial Plan may be adversely affected by other actions taken by the Federal government, including audits, disallowances, and changes to Federal participation rates or other Medicaid rules.

Current issues of particular concern in potentially affecting the Updated Financial Plan are described below.

Predictable Revenue Streams. The transition at the Federal level to a new administration and Congress has put in flux the flow of revenue for federally supported programs especially mandatory programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families and the Children’s Health Insurance Program that are funded outside the Federal appropriations process and set to expire in Federal FY 2017. The Federal revenue streams supporting these programs, and others up for reauthorization, totaled more than $42 billion nationally in FY 2016.

MRT Medicaid Waiver. The Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the State have reached an agreement authorizing up to $8 billion in new Federal funding, over several years, to transform New York’s health care system and ensure access to quality care for all Medicaid beneficiaries. This funding, provided through an amendment to the State’s Partnership Plan 1115 Medicaid waiver, is divided among the Interim Access Assurance Fund, the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program, Health Homes, and various other Medicaid redesign initiatives.

Since January 1, 2014, in accordance with provisions of the ACA, New York State has been eligible for enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (“FMAP”) funding associated with childless adults. The DOH continues to work with the CMS, and to refine the eligibility data systems to draw the appropriate amount of enhanced FMAP. This reconciliation may result in a modification of payments to the State and local governments.

Federal Debt Ceiling. In October 2013, an impasse in Congress caused a temporary Federal government shutdown and raised concern for a time that the Federal debt ceiling would not be raised in a timely manner. Including the temporary suspension of the debt limit that ended that standoff in 2013, Congress has passed three suspensions of the debt limit since then, the most recent extending through mid- March of 2017.

A Federal government default on payments, particularly for a prolonged period, could have a materially adverse effect on the national and State economies, financial markets, and intergovernmental aid payments. The specific effects on the Updated Financial Plan of a future Federal government default are unknown and impossible to predict. However, data from past economic downturns suggest that the State’s revenue loss could be substantial if the economy goes into a recession due to a Federal default.

A payment default by the United States may adversely affect the municipal bond market. Municipal issuers, as well as the State, could face higher borrowing costs and impaired market access. This would jeopardize planned capital investments in transportation infrastructure, higher education facilities, hazardous waste remediation, environmental projects, and economic development projects. Additionally, the market for and market value of outstanding municipal obligations, including municipal obligations of the State, could be adversely affected.

Affordable Care Act – Excise Tax on High-Cost Employer Sponsored Health Coverage (“Cadillac Tax”). The Cadillac Tax is a 40 percent excise tax to be assessed on the portion of the premium for an employer-sponsored health insurance plan that exceeds a certain annual limit. The tax was passed into law in 2010 as a component of the Federal ACA. That law was amended in December 2015 to delay the effective date of the tax from calendar year 2018 to calendar year 2020. Final guidance from the Internal Revenue Service is pending. DOB has no current estimate as to the potential financial impact on the State from this Federal excise tax, however, at this point it is unclear if or how the tax will be changed as a result of ongoing health care reform discussions.

State Government Employment. As of March 31, 2016, the State had approximately 180,200 FTE annual salaried employees funded from all funds including some part-time and temporary employees, independently-elected agencies and university systems, but excluding seasonal, legislative and judicial employees. The workforce is now substantially smaller than it was in 1990, when it peaked at approximately 230,000 positions. The State workforce is projected to total 180,557 positions at the end of FY 2017. The State workforce subject to direct Executive control is expected to total 118,590 full time equivalent positions at the end of FY 2017.

Status of Current Labor Negotiations. Legislation has been enacted to implement a three year collective bargaining agreement providing 2 percent annual increases (FY 2017, FY 2018, and FY 2019) for employees represented by PEF and comparable increases for M/C employees. The agreement with PEF follows the one-year retroactive labor agreement authorizing payment of a 2 percent general salary increase to members for the period April 1, 2015 through March 31, 2016. The GSEU have agreed to a similar three-year deal. The GSEU membership voted to ratify on March 3, 2017.

NYSPIA achieved a multi-year collective bargaining agreement patterned after the State’s 2015 legislative session deals with the State Police Troopers and Commissioned- and Non-Commissioned Officers. The enacted NYSPIA pay bill provides the same schedule of general salary increases provided to the Police Benevolent Association of the New York State Troopers

members; specifically, a 2 percent general salary increase for each of FY 2015 and FY 2016, in their entirety, and a 1.5 percent general salary increase for each of FY 2017 and FY 2018, respectively.

Most recently, the NYSCOPBA membership voted not to ratify a tentative agreement on a five-year labor contract through FY 2021, which would have provided for annual 2 percent general salary increases through FY 2021, and differentials typically received within the law enforcement community (e.g., Hazardous Duty Pay), the costs of which were offset by benefit design changes within NYSHIP and reductions in overtime costs. The State will continue negotiations with NYSCOPBA.

The State is in active negotiations with all other employee unions whose contracts concluded in FY 2016, including CSEA, UUP, Council 82, and District Council 37. Negotiations also continue with the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, whose contract expired at the end of FY 2015.

On June 27, 2016, the CUNY Board of Trustees approved collective bargaining agreements between CUNY and unions representing almost all of the University’s faculty and staff. For CUNY senior colleges, these agreements are estimated to cost approximately $250 million for retroactive payments and $150 million in ongoing annual costs. At the request of CUNY, the State expects to advance its planned payment of approximately $250 million State support for CUNY senior colleges from October 2017 to June 2017, to make resources available for retroactive payments in the academic year ending June 2017.

State Retirement System. The System provides pension benefits to public employees of the State and its localities (except employees of New York City, and public school teachers and administrators, who are covered by separate plans). State employees made up about 32 percent of the membership during FY 2016. There were 3,040 other public employers participating in the System, including all cities and counties (except New York City), most towns, villages and school districts (with respect to non- teaching employees), and many public authorities.

As of March 31, 2016, 647,399 persons were members of the System and 440,943 pensioners or beneficiaries were receiving pension benefits. Article 5, section 7 of the State Constitution considers membership in any State pension or retirement system to be “a contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”

The current actuarial smoothing method recognizes annual gains and losses (investment returns above or below the 7.0 percent assumed return) over a 5-year period.

The amount of future annual employer contribution rates will depend, in part, on the value of the assets held by the CRF as of each April 1, as well as on the present value of the anticipated benefits to be paid by the System as of each April 1. Final contribution rates for FY 2018 were released in September 2016. The average ERS rate decreased by 1.3 percent from 15.5 percent of salary in FY 2017 to 15.3 percent of salary in FY 2018, while the average PFRS rate increased by 0.4 percent from 24.3 percent of salary in FY 2017 to 24.4 percent of salary in FY 2018. Information regarding average rates for FY 2018 may be found in the 2016 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions which is accessible at: www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/publications.

The System’s assets are held by the CRF for the exclusive benefit of members, pensioners and beneficiaries. Investments for the System are made by the State Comptroller as trustee of the CRF. The System reports that the net position restricted for pension benefits as of March 31, 2016 was $183.6 billion (including $6.2 billion in receivables, which consist of employer contributions, amortized amounts, member contributions, member loans, accrued interest and dividends, investment sales and other miscellaneous receivables), a decrease of $5.8 billion or 3.0 percent from the FY 2015 level of $189.4 billion. The decrease in net position restricted for pension benefits from FY 2015 to FY 2016 reflects, in large part, equity market performance.¹² The System’s audited Financial Statement reports a time-weighted investment rate of return of 0.19 percent (gross rate of return before the deduction of certain fees) for FY 2016.

Consistent with statutory limitations affecting categories of investment, the State Comptroller, as trustee of the CRF, establishes a target asset allocation and approves policies and procedures to guide and direct the investment activities of the Division of Pension Investment and Cash Management. The purpose of this asset allocation strategy is to identify the optimal diversified mix of assets to meet the requirements of pension payment obligations to members. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, an asset liability analysis was completed and a long-term policy allocation was adopted. The current long-term policy allocation seeks a mix that includes 51 percent equities (38 percent domestic and 13 percent international); 20 percent bonds, cash and mortgages; 2 percent inflation indexed bonds and 27 percent alternative investments (10 percent private equity, 8 percent real estate, 3 percent absolute return or hedge funds, 3 percent opportunistic and 3 percent real

assets). Since the implementation of the long-term policy allocation will take several years, transition targets have been established to aid in the asset rebalancing process.¹³

The System reports that the present value of anticipated benefits for current members, retirees, and beneficiaries increased from $225.7 billion on April 1, 2015 to $232.9 billion (including $112.7 billion for current retirees and beneficiaries) on April 1, 2016. The funding method used by the System anticipates that the plan net position, plus future actuarially determined contributions, will be sufficient to pay for the anticipated benefits of current members, retirees and beneficiaries. The valuation used by the Retirement Systems Actuary was based on audited net position restricted for pension benefits as of March 31, 2016. Actuarially determined contributions are calculated using actuarial assets and the present value of anticipated benefits. Actuarial assets differed from plan net position on April 1, 2016 in that the determination of actuarial assets utilized a smoothing method that recognized 20 percent of the unexpected loss for FY 2016, 40 percent of the unexpected loss for FY 2015, 60 percent of the unexpected gain for FY 2014, and 80 percent of the unexpected gain for FY 2013. The asset valuation method smoothest gains and losses based on the market value of all investments. Actuarial assets increased from $184.2 billion on April 1, 2015 to $190.7 billion on April 1, 2016. The ratio of the fiduciary net position to the total pension liability for ERS, as of March 31, 2016, calculated by the System’s Actuary, was 90.7 percent. The ratio of the fiduciary net position to the total pension liability for PFRS, as of March 31, 2016, calculated by the System’s Actuary, was 90.2 percent.¹⁴

¹²	On February 6, 2017, the State Comptroller released a statement indicating that the value of the System’s invested assets posted a 1.11 percent time-weighted rate of return (gross rate of return before the deduction of certain fees) for the three-month period ended December 31, 2016. This is in addition to a 1.96 percent return in the first quarter and a 3.51 percent return in the second quarter, bringing fiscal year-to-date returns to approximately 6.71 percent, with one quarter remaining. This reflects unaudited data for assets invested for the System. The value of invested assets changes daily.
¹³	More detail on the CRF’s asset allocation as of March 31, 2016, long-term policy allocation and transition target allocation can be found on page 91 of the NYSLRS’ CAFR for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016.
¹⁴	The System previously disclosed a funded ratio in accordance with GASB Statements 25 and 27, which, as discussed herein, have been amended by GASB Statements 67 and 68. The GASB Statements 67 and 68 amendments had the effect, among other things, of no longer requiring the disclosure of a funded ratio. GASB now requires the disclosure of the ratio of the fiduciary net position to the total pension liability. This ratio is not called a funded ratio and is not directly comparable to the funded ratio disclosed in prior years.

Other Post-Employment Benefits. State employees become eligible for post-employment benefits (e.g., health insurance) if they reach retirement while working for the State and are enrolled in NYSHIP, or are enrolled in the NYSHIP opt-out program at the time they reach retirement and have at least ten years of eligible service for NYSHIP benefits. The cost of providing post-retirement health insurance is shared between the State and the retired employee. Contributions are established by law and may be amended by the Legislature. The State pays its share of costs on a PAYGO basis as required by law.

In accordance with the GASB Statement 45, the State must perform an actuarial valuation every two years for purposes of calculating OPEB liabilities. As disclosed in Note 13 of the State’s Basic Financial Statements for FY 2016, the State’s Annual Required Contribution (“ARC”) represents the annual level of funding that, if set aside on an ongoing basis, is projected to cover normal costs each year and to amortize any unfunded liabilities of the plan over a period not to exceed 30 years. Amounts required but not actually set aside to pay for these benefits are accumulated, with interest, as part of the net OPEB obligation, after adjusting for amounts previously required.

As reported in the State’s Basic Financial Statements for FY 2016, the unfunded actuarial accrued liability for FY 2016 is $77.9 billion ($63.426 billion for the State and $14.427 billion for SUNY), an increase of $494 million from FY 2015 (attributable entirely to SUNY). The unfunded actuarial accrued liability for FY 2016 used an actuarial valuation of OPEB liabilities as of April 1, 2014 for the State, and for SUNY. These valuations were determined using the Frozen Entry Age actuarial cost method, and are amortized over an open period of 30 years using the level percentage of projected payroll amortization method. A significant portion of the annual growth in the State’s unfunded actuarial accrued liability has been driven by the adoption of new generational mortality projection tables developed by the Society of Actuaries. The new tables reflect an improvement in life expectancy in future years, resulting in increases to accrued liabilities and the present value of projected benefits. A portion of the annual growth has also been driven by expected increases in NYSHIP costs due to health care cost trends and utilization increases.

The actuarially determined annual OPEB cost for FY 2016 totaled $4.2 billion ($3.246 billion for the State and $926 million for SUNY), an increase of $1.166 billion from FY 2015 ($959 million for the State and $207 million for SUNY). The actuarially-determined cost is calculated using the Frozen Entry Age actuarial cost method, allocating costs on a level basis over earnings. The actuarially determined cost was $2.567 billion ($1.905 billion for the State and $662 million for SUNY) greater

than the cash payments for retiree costs made by the State in FY 2016. This difference between the State’s PAYGO costs, and the actuarially-determined ARC under GASB Statement 45, reduced the State’s net asset condition at the end of FY 2016 by $2.6 billion.

GASB does not require the additional costs to be funded on the State’s budgetary (cash) basis, and no additional funding is assumed for this purpose in the Updated Financial Plan. The State continues to fund these costs, along with all other employee health care expenses, on a PAYGO basis.

There is no provision in the Updated Financial Plan to fund the ARC for OPEB. If the State began making a contribution, the additional cost above the PAYGO amounts would be lowered. However, it is not expected that the State will alter its current PAYGO funding practice.

The State is also currently examining GASB Statement 75 (Accounting and Financial Reporting for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions), which amends GASB Statement 45 and GASB Statement 57, and is expected to be incorporated into the State’s FY 2019 financial statements. The GASB Statement 75 will alter the actuarial methods used to calculate OPEB liabilities, standardize asset smoothing and discount rates, and require the unfunded net OPEB obligation to be reported by the State. The inclusions of the remaining balance of the unfunded OPEB liability is expected to significantly increase the State’s total long-term liabilities and act to lower the State’s overall net position.

GASB Statement 75 is not expected to alter Updated Financial Plan PAYGO projections for health insurance, as the DOB methodology for forecasting these costs over a multi-year period already incorporates factors and considerations consistent with the new actuarial methods and calculations required by the GASB Statement. The Executive Budget includes legislation to establish a Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund for the purpose of funding health benefits of retired State employees and their dependents.

Litigation. Litigation against the State may include potential challenges to the constitutionality of various actions. The State may also be affected by adverse decisions that are the result of various lawsuits. Such adverse decisions may not meet the materiality threshold to warrant individual description but, in the aggregate, could still adversely affect the Updated Financial Plan.

Storm Recovery. In recent years, New York State has sustained damage from three powerful storms that crippled entire regions. In August 2011, Hurricane Irene disrupted power and caused extensive flooding to various New York State counties. In September 2011, Tropical Storm Lee caused flooding in additional New York State counties and, in some cases, exacerbated the damage caused by Hurricane Irene two weeks earlier. On October 29, 2012, Sandy struck the East Coast, causing widespread infrastructure damage and economic losses to the greater New York region. The frequency and intensity of these storms present economic and financial risks to the State. Reimbursement claims for costs of the immediate response are being processed, and both recovery and future mitigation efforts have begun, largely supported by Federal funds. In January 2013, the Federal government approved approximately $60 billion in Federal disaster aid for general recovery, rebuilding and mitigation activity nationwide. It is anticipated that New York State, MTA, and New York State localities may receive approximately one-half of this amount for response, recovery, and mitigation costs. To date, a total of $17 billion has been committed to repairing impacted homes and businesses, restoring community services, and mitigating future storm risks across New York State. There can be no assurance that all anticipated Federal disaster aid described above will be provided to the State and its affected entities over the coming years.

Climate Change Adaptation. Climate change poses long-term threats to physical and biological systems. Potential hazards and risks related to climate change for the State include, among other things, rising sea levels, more severe coastal flooding and erosion hazards, and more intense storms. Storms in recent years, including Sandy, Hurricane Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee, have demonstrated vulnerabilities in the State’s infrastructure (including mass transit systems, power transmission and distribution systems, and other critical lifelines) to extreme weather events, including coastal flooding caused by storm surges. Significant long-term planning and investment by the Federal government, State, municipalities, and public utilities are expected to be needed for adapting existing infrastructure to climate change risks.

Cybersecurity. New York State government, like many other large public and private entities, relies on a large and complex technology environment to conduct its operations. As a recipient and provider of personal, private, or sensitive information, the State and its public corporations and municipalities face multiple cyber threats, including, but not limited to, hacking attacks, viruses and similar malware attacks on computer and other sensitive systems. Entities or individuals may attempt to gain unauthorized access to the State’s digital systems for the purposes of misappropriating assets or information or causing

operational disruption and damage. To mitigate the risk of damage from cyber incidents or cyber-attacks, the State invests in multiple forms of cybersecurity and operational controls. However, no assurances can be given that such security and operational control measures will be completely successful to guard against cyber threats and attacks. The results of any such attack could damage State digital networks and systems and the costs of remedying any such damage could be substantial.

Secured Hospital Program. Under the Secured Hospital Program, the State entered into service contracts to enable certain financially distressed not-for-profit hospitals to have tax-exempt debt issued on their behalf, to pay for upgrading their primary health care facilities. In the event of revenue shortfalls to pay debt service on the Secured Hospital bonds (which include hospital payments made under loan agreements between the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (“DASNY”) and the hospitals and certain reserve funds held by the applicable trustees for the bonds), the service contracts obligate the State to pay debt service, subject to annual appropriations by the Legislature, on bonds issued by DASNY through the Secured Hospital Program. As of December 31, 2016, there were approximately $257 million of bonds outstanding for this program.

The financial condition of hospitals in the State’s Secured Hospital Program continues to deteriorate. Of the remaining financially distressed hospitals, one is experiencing significant operating losses that have impaired its ability to remain current on its loan agreement with DASNY. The debt associated with this hospital was fully paid off on February 15, 2017. In relation to the Secured Hospital Program, the State’s contingent contractual obligation was invoked to pay debt service for the first time in FY 2014. Since then the State has paid $55 million for debt service costs. DASNY also estimates the State will pay debt service costs of approximately $30 million in FY 2017, $19 million in FY 2018, and approximately $18 million annually in FY 2019 through FY 2022. These amounts are based on the actual experience to date of the participants in the program, and would cover the debt service costs for the hospital that currently is not meeting the terms of its loan agreement with DASNY as mentioned above, a second financially distressed hospital whose debt service obligation was discharged in bankruptcy but is paying rent which offsets a portion of the debt service, and a third hospital that is now closed. The State has estimated additional exposure of up to $20 million annually, if all financially distressed hospitals failed to meet the terms of their agreements with DASNY and if available reserve funds were depleted.

Bond Market. Implementation of the Updated Financial Plan is dependent on the State’s ability to market its bonds successfully. The State finances much of its capital spending in the first instance from the General Fund or STIP, which it then reimburses with proceeds from the sale of bonds. If the State cannot sell bonds at the levels (or on the timetable) expected in the capital plan, the State’s overall cash position and capital funding plan may be adversely affected. The success of projected public sales will be subject to prevailing market conditions, among other things. Future developments in the financial markets, including possible changes in Federal tax law relating to the taxation of interest on municipal bonds, as well as future developments concerning the State and public discussion of such developments generally, may affect the market for outstanding State-supported and State-related debt.

Local Government Assistance Corporation. In 1990, as part of a State fiscal reform program, legislation was enacted creating LGAC, a public benefit corporation empowered to issue long-term obligations to fund certain payments to local governments that had been traditionally funded through the State’s annual issuance of general obligation tax and revenue anticipation notes (“TRANs”) that mature in the same State fiscal year that they are issued (“seasonal borrowing”). The legislation also dedicated revenues equal to one cent of the State’s four cent sales and use tax to pay debt service on these bonds. As of July 1995, LGAC had issued State- supported bonds and notes to provide net proceeds of $4.7 billion, completing the program. The issuance of these long-term obligations is amortized over a period of no more than 30 years from the dates of their original issuance, with the final debt service payment on April 1, 2025. As of March 31, 2016, approximately $2.1 billion of LGAC bonds were outstanding.

The LGAC legislation eliminated seasonal borrowing except in cases where the Governor and the legislative leaders have certified the need for additional seasonal borrowing, based on emergency or extraordinary factors, or factors unanticipated at the time of adoption of the budget, and provide a schedule for eliminating it over time. Any seasonal borrowing is required by law to be eliminated by the fourth fiscal year after the limit was first exceeded (i.e., no seasonal borrowing in the fifth year). The provision limiting the State’s seasonal borrowing practices was included as a covenant with LGAC’s bondholders in the General Bond Resolution and General Subordinate Lien Bond Resolution authorizing such bonds. No restrictions were placed upon the State’s ability to issue deficit TRANs (issued in one year and maturing in the following year).

The LGAC changes, as well as other changes in revenue and spending patterns, have allowed the State to meet its cash flow needs throughout the fiscal year without relying on seasonal borrowings. However, the State has taken extraordinary measures in the past to manage its cash flow, including payment deferrals and permitting the State to borrow from other funds of the State (i.e., non-General Fund) for a limited period.

Legislation enacted in 2003 requires LGAC to certify, in addition to its own cash needs, $170 million annually to provide an incentive for the State to seek an annual appropriation to provide local assistance payments to New York City or its assignee. In May 2004, LGAC amended its General Bond Resolution and General Subordinate Lien Bond Resolution to make clear that any failure to certify or make payments to the City or its assignee has no impact on LGAC’s own bondholders; and that if any such act or omission were to occur with respect to any bonds issued by the City of New York or its assignee, that act or omission would not constitute an event of default with respect to LGAC bonds. The Enacted Budget includes a local assistance appropriation of $170 million from the Local Government Assistance Tax Fund to the City.

State Personal Income Tax Revenue Bond Program. Since 2002, the PIT Revenue Bond Program has been the primary financing vehicle used to fund the State’s capital program. Legislation enacted in 2001 provided for the issuance of State PIT Revenue Bonds by the State’s Authorized Issuers (defined below). The legislation requires 25 percent of State PIT receipts (excluding refunds owed to taxpayers) to be deposited into the Revenue Bond Tax Fund (“RBTF”) for purposes of making debt service payments on these bonds, with the excess amounts returned to the General Fund. The first State PIT Revenue Bonds were issued on May 9, 2002, and since that time, all of the Authorized Issuers have issued State PIT Revenue Bonds.

Legislation enacted in 2007 increased the amount of PIT receipts to be deposited into the RBTF by removing an exclusion for PIT amounts deposited to the STAR Fund. In the event that (a) the State Legislature fails to appropriate amounts required to make all debt service payments on the State PIT Revenue Bonds or (b) having been appropriated and set aside pursuant to a certificate of the Director of the Budget, financing agreement payments have not been made when due on the State PIT Revenue Bonds, the legislation requires that PIT receipts continue to be deposited to the RBTF until amounts on deposit in the Fund equal the greater of (i) 25 percent of annual PIT receipts or (ii) $6 billion. Debt service on State PIT Revenue Bonds is subject to legislative appropriation, as part of the annual debt service bill.

As of March 31, 2016, approximately $31.3 billion of State PIT Revenue Bonds were outstanding. The projected PIT Revenue Bond coverage ratios, noted below, are based upon estimates of PIT receipts deposited into the RBTF and include projected debt issuances. Assuming average issuances of approximately $4.4 billion annually over the next four years, PIT coverage is expected to decline from 3.8 times in FY 2017 to 2.9 times in FY 2020. The projected PIT Revenue Bond coverage ratios assume that projects previously financed through the Mental Health Revenue Bond program and the DHBTF Revenue Bond program will be issued under the PIT Revenue Bond program or the Sales Tax Revenue Bond Program. Revenues that would have been dedicated to bonds issued under the old programs are transferred to the RBTF to offset debt service costs for projects financed with PIT Revenue bonds or Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, but are not counted towards debt service coverage.

Sales Tax Revenue Bond Program. Legislation enacted in 2013 created a new Sales Tax Revenue Bond program. This new bonding program replicates certain credit features of PIT and LGAC revenue bonds and is expected to continue to provide the State with increased efficiencies and a lower cost of borrowing.

The legislation created the Sales Tax Revenue Bond Tax Fund, a sub-fund within the General Debt Service Fund that will provide for the payment of these bonds. The Sales Tax Revenue Bonds are secured by dedicated revenues consisting of one cent of the State’s four cent sales and use tax. With a limited exception, upon the satisfaction of all of the obligations and liabilities of LGAC, this will increase to 2 cents of sales and use tax receipts. Such sales tax receipts in excess of debt service requirements are transferred to the State’s General Fund.

The Sales Tax Revenue Bond Fund has appropriation-incentive and General Fund “reach back” features comparable to PIT and LGAC bonds. A “lock box” feature restricts transfers back to the General Fund in the event of non-appropriation or non-payment. In addition, in the event that sales tax revenues are insufficient to pay debt service, a “reach back” mechanism requires the State Comptroller to transfer moneys from the General Fund to meet debt service requirements.

The legislation also authorized the use of State Sales Tax Revenue Bonds and PIT Revenue Bonds to finance any capital purpose, including projects that were previously financed through the State’s Mental Health Facilities Improvement Revenue Bond program and the DHBTF program. This allowed the State to transition to the use of three primary credits – PIT Revenue Bonds, Sales Tax Revenue Bonds and General Obligation bonds to finance the State’s capital needs.

The first Sales Tax Revenue Bonds were issued on October 24, 2013 and it is anticipated that the Sales Tax Revenue Bonds are used interchangeably with PIT Revenue Bonds to finance State capital needs. As of March 31, 2016, $4.3 billion of Sales Tax Revenue Bonds were outstanding. Assuming average issuances of approximately $1.3 billion annually over the next four years, Sales Tax coverage based only upon the 1 cent pledge is expected to decline from 5.0 times in FY 2017 to 3.9 times in FY 2020

Financing Activities. New York State is one of the largest issuers of municipal debt, ranking second among the states, behind California, in the amount of debt outstanding. The State ranks sixth in the U.S. in state debt per capita, behind Connecticut, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Washington¹⁵. As of March 31, 2016, total State-related debt outstanding totaled $52.1 billion excluding capital leases and mortgage loan commitments, equal to approximately 4.6 percent of New York personal income. The State’s debt levels are typically measured by DOB using two categories: State-supported debt and State-related debt.

¹⁵	Based on data made available by Moody’s Investor Service, Inc. for other states.

State-supported debt represents obligations of the State that are paid from traditional State resources (i.e., tax revenue) and have a budgetary impact. It includes General Obligation debt, to which the full faith and credit of the State has been pledged, and lease purchase and contractual obligations of public authorities and municipalities, where the State’s legal obligation to make payments to those public authorities and municipalities is subject to and paid from annual appropriations made by the Legislature. These include the State PIT Revenue Bond program and the State Sales Tax Revenue Bond program. Since 2002, the State has financed most of its capital program with PIT Revenue Bonds, a revenue bond program that has reduced its cost of borrowing and created efficiencies by permitting the consolidation of bond sales. Prior to 2002, the State had primarily financed its capital spending with lower-rated lease purchase and contractual service obligations of public authorities. The State has transitioned to using only three credits – General Obligation bonds, PIT Revenue Bonds, and Sales Tax Revenue Bonds.

SUNY Dormitory Facilities Bonds. Legislation enacted in 2013 changed the method of paying debt service on outstanding SUNY Dormitory Facilities Lease Revenue Bonds (the “Lease Revenue Bonds”) and established a new revenue-based financing credit, the SUNY Dormitory Facilities Revenue Bonds (the “Facilities Revenue Bonds”) to finance the SUNY residence hall program in the future. The Facilities Revenue Bonds, unlike the Lease Revenue Bonds, will not include a SUNY general obligation pledge, thereby eliminating any recourse to the State with respect to the payment of the Facilities Revenue Bonds. The legislation also provided for the assignment of the revenues derived from the use and occupancy of SUNY’s dormitory facilities (the “Dormitory Facilities Revenues”) for the payment of debt service on both the Lease Revenue Bonds and the Facilities Revenue Bonds from SUNY to DASNY. As a result, annual debt service on the outstanding Lease Revenue Bonds is no longer supported by a State appropriation, except under extraordinary circumstances (i.e., the generation of insufficient Dormitory Facilities Revenues implicating the need for SUNY payments from sources other than Dormitory Facilities Revenues for debt service on the Lease Revenue Bonds). DOB is not aware of such an extraordinary circumstance having ever occurred in the past and does not anticipate that it would occur in the future. However, since the outstanding Lease Revenue Bonds were incurred as State-supported debt, until these are defeased or are paid off to maturity, DOB will continue to count these bonds as outstanding State-supported debt for purposes of the Debt Reform Act caps and has included these bonds as State-supported debt in all figures, tables and charts in the AIS. In recognition of the fact that debt service payments on the Lease Revenue Bonds are no longer supported by an appropriation, the debt service payments on such Lease Revenue Bonds in the approximate annual amount of $60 million is not included in State debt service payments reported in the AIS. Annual debt service related to the Lease Revenue Bonds was $94 million in FY 2016. As of March 31, 2016, approximately $682 million of Lease Revenue Bonds were outstanding, which relate to projected annual debt service payments of $65 million in FY 2017, $61 million in FY 2018, $56 million in FY 2019, and $51 million in FY 2020.

State-related debt is a broader measure of State debt which includes all debt that is reported in the State’s GAAP-basis financial statements, except for unamortized premiums and accumulated accretion on capital appreciation bonds. These financial statements are audited by external independent auditors and published by the Office of the State Comptroller (“OSC”) on an annual basis. The debt reported in the GAAP- basis financial statements includes General Obligation debt, other State-supported debt as defined in the State Finance Law, debt issued by the Tobacco Securitization Finance Corporation, certain debt of the Municipal Bond Bank Agency issued to finance prior year School Aid claims and capital leases and mortgage loan commitments. In addition, State-related debt reported by DOB includes State-guaranteed debt,

moral obligation financings and certain contingent-contractual obligation financings, where debt service is paid from non-State sources in the first instance, but State appropriations are available to make payments if necessary. These numbers are not reported as debt in the State’s GAAP-basis financial statements.

The State’s debt does not encompass, and does not include, debt that is issued by, or on behalf of, local governments and secured (in whole or in part) by State local assistance aid payments. For example, certain State aid to public schools paid to school districts or New York City has been pledged by those local entities to help finance debt service for locally-sponsored and locally-determined financings. Additionally, certain of the State’s public authorities issue debt supported by non-State resources (i.e., NYSTA toll revenue bonds, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority or MTA revenue bonds or DASNY dormitory facilities revenue bonds) or issue debt on behalf of private clients (i.e., DASNY’s bonds issued for not-for-profit colleges, debt or State-related debt because it (i) is not issued by the State (nor on behalf of the State), and (ii) does not result in a State obligation to pay debt service. Instead, this debt is accounted for in the respective financial statements of the local governments or other entity responsible for the issuance of such debt and is similarly treated.

The issuance of General Obligation debt and debt of LGAC is undertaken by OSC. All other State-supported and State-related debt is issued by the State’s financing authorities (known as “Authorized Issuers” in connection with the issuance of PIT and Sales Tax Revenue Bonds) acting under the direction of DOB, which coordinates the structuring of bonds, the timing of bond sales, and decides which programs are to be funded in each transaction. The Authorized Issuers for PIT Revenue Bonds are NYSTA, DASNY, ESD, the Environmental Facilities Corporation, and the New York State Housing Finance Agency and the Authorized Issuers for Sales Tax Revenue Bonds are NYSTA, DASNY, and ESD. Prior to any issuance of new State-supported debt and State-related debt, approval is required by the State Legislature, DOB, the issuer’s board, and in certain instances, the Public Authorities Control Board and the State Comptroller.

The State has never defaulted on any of its General Obligation indebtedness, PIT Revenue Bonds, Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, or its obligations under lease purchase or contractual obligation financing arrangements.

Debt Reform Act. The Debt Reform Act of 2000 (“Debt Reform Act”) restricts the issuance of State-supported debt to capital purposes only, and for maximum terms of 30 years. The Debt Reform Act limits the amount of new State-supported debt to 4 percent of State personal income, and new State- supported debt service costs to 5 percent of All Funds receipts. The restrictions apply to all new State-supported debt issued since April 1, 2000. The cap on new State-supported debt outstanding began at 0.75 percent of personal income in FY 2001, and was fully phased in at 4 percent of personal income during FY 2011. The cap on new State-supported debt service costs began at 0.75 percent of All Funds receipts in FY 2001, and was fully phased in at 5 percent during FY 2014. DOB determined in November 2016 that the State was in compliance with the statutory caps in the most recent calculation period (FY 2016).

Current projections anticipate that debt outstanding and debt service will continue to remain below the limits imposed by the Debt Reform Act. Based on the most recent personal income and debt outstanding forecasts, the available room under the debt outstanding cap is expected to decline from $6.3 billion in FY 2017 to about $443 million in FY 2021. This includes the estimated impact of the bond-financed portion of increased capital commitment levels. In addition, the projected room under the debt cap is dependent on expected growth of State personal income. Debt outstanding and debt service caps continue to include the existing SUNY Dormitory Facilities lease revenue bonds, which are backed by a general obligation pledge of SUNY. Bonds issued under the new SUNY Dormitory Facilities Revenue credit (which are not backed by a general obligation pledge of SUNY) are not included in the State’s calculation of debt caps. Capital spending priorities and debt financing practices may be adjusted from time to time to preserve available debt capacity and stay within the statutory limits, as events warrant.

Public Authorities. For the purposes of this section, “authorities” refer to public benefit corporations or public authorities, created pursuant to State law, which are reported in the State’s CAFR. Authorities are not subject to the constitutional restrictions on the incurrence of debt that apply to the State itself and they may issue bonds and notes within the amounts and restrictions set forth in legislative authorization. Certain of these authorities issue bonds under two of the three primary State credits - PIT Revenue Bonds and Sales Tax Revenue Bonds. The State’s access to the public credit markets through bond issuances constituting State-supported or State-related debt issuances by certain of its authorities could be impaired and the market price of the outstanding debt issued on its behalf may be materially and adversely affected if these authorities were to default on their respective State-supported or State-related debt issuances.

The State has numerous public authorities with various responsibilities, including those which finance, construct and/or operate revenue-producing public facilities. These entities generally pay their own operating expenses and debt service costs

on their notes, bonds or other legislatively authorized financing structures from revenues generated by the projects they finance or operate, such as tolls charged for the use of highways, bridges or tunnels; charges for public power, electric and gas utility services; tuition and fees; rentals charged for housing units; and charges for occupancy at medical care facilities. Since the State has no actual or contingent liability for the payment of this type of public authority indebtedness, it is not classified as either State-supported debt or State-related debt. Some public authorities, however, receive monies from State appropriations to pay for the operating costs of certain programs.

There are statutory arrangements that, under certain circumstances, authorize State local assistance payments that have been appropriated in a given year and are otherwise payable to localities to be made instead to the issuing public authorities in order to secure the payment of debt service on their revenue bonds and notes. However, in honoring such statutory arrangement for the redirection of local assistance payments, the State has no constitutional or statutory obligation to provide assistance to localities beyond amounts that have been appropriated therefor in any given year.

New York City. The fiscal demands on the State may be affected by the fiscal condition of New York City, which relies in part on State aid to balance its budget and meet its cash requirements. It is also possible that the State’s finances may be affected by the ability of New York City, and its related issuers, to market securities successfully in the public credit markets. The official financial disclosure of the City of New York and its related issuers is available by contacting Jay Olson, Investor Relations, (212) 788-5874, or contacting the City Office of Management and Budget, 255 Greenwich Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10007. The State assumes no liability or responsibility for any financial information reported by the City of New York.

The staffs of the Financial Control Board for the City of New York (“FCB”), OSDC, the City Comptroller and the Independent Budget Office issue periodic reports on the City’s financial plans. Copies of the most recent reports are available by contacting: FCB, 123 William Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10038, Attention: Executive Director; OSDC, 59 Maiden Lane, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10038, Attention: Deputy Comptroller; City Comptroller, Municipal Building, 6th Floor, One Centre Street, New York, NY 10007-2341, Attention: Deputy Comptroller for Budget; and IBO, 110 William Street, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10038, Attention: Director.

Other Localities. Certain localities other than New York City have experienced financial problems and have requested and received additional State assistance during the last several State fiscal years. While a relatively infrequent practice, deficit financing by local governments has become more common in recent years. State legislation enacted post-2004 includes 26 special acts authorizing bond issuances to finance local government operating deficits, most recently for the Village of Suffern. Included in this figure are special acts that extended the period of time related to prior authorizations and modifications to issuance amounts previously authorized. When a local government is authorized to issue bonds to finance operating deficits, the local government is subject to certain additional fiscal oversight during the time the bonds are outstanding as required by the State’s Local Finance Law, including an annual budget review by OSC. In addition to deficit financing authorizations, the State has periodically enacted legislation to create oversight boards in order to address deteriorating fiscal conditions within localities.

The Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority exercised Control Period powers with respect to the City of Buffalo from 2004 through Buffalo’s 2012 fiscal year, but transitioned to Advisory Period powers commencing on July 1, 2012.

In January 2011, the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (“NIFA”) declared that it was entering a Control Period, citing the “substantial likelihood and imminence” that Nassau County would incur a major operating funds deficit of 1 percent or more during the County’s 2011 fiscal year. Nassau County challenged NIFA’s determination and authority to impose a Control Period in State Supreme Court but did not prevail. Since that court’s determination, NIFA has exercised Control Period powers over Nassau County.

As a result of past fiscal difficulties, Erie County has a Fiscal Stability Authority, the City of New York has a Financial Control Board, and the City of Troy has a Supervisory Board, all of which presently perform certain review and advisory functions. The City of Newburgh operates under fiscal monitoring by the State Comptroller pursuant to special State legislation. The impact on the State of any possible requests made by localities in the future for additional oversight or financial assistance cannot be determined at this time and therefore is not included in the Updated Financial Plan projections.

The City of Yonkers (“Yonkers”) no longer operates under an oversight board but must adhere to a Special Local Finance and Budget Act. The Yonkers City School District (the “Yonkers School District”) is fiscally dependent upon Yonkers as it lacks taxing authority. In January 2014, the Yonkers Board of Education identified an improper accrual of State aid that resulted in an unanticipated shortfall in available funds for operation of the Yonkers School District. In response, the Yonkers City School

District Deficit Financing Act was enacted, which authorized Yonkers, subject to certain requirements, to issue serial bonds, not to exceed $45 million by March 31, 2015, to liquidate current deficits in the Yonkers School District’s general fund as of June 30, 2014. Subject to certain conditions that were satisfied, the FY 2015 Enacted Budget provided an additional $28 million to Yonkers over other education aid provided by the State for the support of the Yonkers School District for Yonkers fiscal year 2015. Legislation enacted in 2015 provided a total of $25 million in additional aid to Yonkers for the support of the Yonkers School District for Yonkers fiscal year ending 2016 and 2017, subject to Yonkers submitting a comprehensive financial plan that provides for continuity of current educational services and receiving approval of that plan from the Director of the Budget. That plan has been submitted and approved by the State Director of the Budget.

Legislation enacted in 2013 created the Financial Restructuring Board for Local Governments (the “Restructuring Board”). The Restructuring Board consists of ten members, including the State Director of the Budget, who is the Chair, the Attorney General, the State Comptroller, the Secretary of State and six members appointed by the Governor. The Restructuring Board, upon the request of a “fiscally eligible municipality”, is authorized to perform a number of functions including reviewing the municipality’s operations and finances, making recommendations on reforming and restructuring the municipality’s operations, proposing that the municipality agree to fiscal accountability measures, and making available certain grants and loans. To date, the Restructuring Board is currently reviewing or has completed reviews for seventeen municipalities. The Restructuring Board is also authorized, upon the joint request of the fiscally eligible municipality and a public employee organization, to resolve labor impasses between municipal employers and employee organizations for police, fire and certain other employees in lieu of binding arbitration before a public arbitration panel.

OSC implemented its Fiscal Stress Monitoring System (the “Monitoring System”) in 2013. The Monitoring System utilizes a number of fiscal and environmental indicators with the goal of providing an early warning to local communities about stress conditions in New York’s local governments and school districts. Fiscal indicators consider measures of budgetary solvency while environmental indicators consider measures such as population, poverty, and tax base trends. Individual entities are then scored according to their performance on these indicators. An entity’s score on the fiscal components will determine whether or not it is classified in one of three levels of stress: significant, moderate or susceptible. Entities that do not meet established scoring thresholds are classified as “No Designation.”

A total of 59 local governments (10 counties, 11 cities, 20 towns, 18 villages) and 82 school districts have been placed in a stress category by OSC based on financial data for their fiscal years ending in 2015. The vast majority of entities scored by OSC (93 percent) are classified in the “No Designation” category.

Like the State, local governments must respond to changing political, economic and financial influences over which they have little or no control, but which can adversely affect their financial condition. For example, the State or Federal government may reduce (or, in some cases, eliminate) funding of local programs, thus requiring local governments to pay these expenditures using their own resources. Similarly, past cash flow problems for the State have resulted in delays in State aid payments to localities. In some cases, these delays have necessitated short-term borrowing at the local level.

Other factors that have had, or could have, an impact on the fiscal condition of local governments and school districts include: the loss of temporary Federal stimulus funding; recent State aid trends; constitutional and statutory limitations on the imposition by local governments and school districts of property, sales and other taxes; and for some communities, the significant upfront costs for rebuilding and clean-up in the wake of a natural disaster. Localities may also face unanticipated problems resulting from certain pending litigation, judicial decisions and long range economic trends. Other large scale potential problems, such as declining urban populations, declines in the real property tax base, increasing pension, health care and other fixed costs, or the loss of skilled manufacturing jobs, may also adversely affect localities and necessitate requests for State assistance.

Ultimately, localities as well as local public authorities may suffer serious financial difficulties that could jeopardize local access to the public credit markets, which may adversely affect the marketability of notes and bonds issued by localities within the State.

Grants to Local Governments. Local Assistance spending includes payments to local governments, school districts, health care providers, and other entities, as well as financial assistance to, or on behalf of, individuals, families and not-for-profit organizations. Local assistance spending in State Operating Funds is estimated at $66 billion in FY 2018, approximately two-thirds of total State Operating Funds spending. Education and health care spending account for nearly three-quarters of State Operating Funds local assistance spending.

Medicaid. Medicaid is a means-tested program that finances health care services for low-income individuals and long-term care services for the elderly and disabled, primarily through payments to health care providers. The Medicaid program is financed jointly by the State, the Federal government, and local governments. Eligible services include inpatient hospital care, outpatient hospital services, clinics, nursing homes, managed care, prescription drugs, home care and services provided in a variety of community-based settings (including mental health, substance abuse treatment, developmental disabilities services, school-based services and foster care services).

In FY 2012, legislation was enacted to limit the year-to-year growth in DOH State funds Medicaid spending to the ten-year rolling average of the medical component of the CPI. The Global Cap also allows for flexibility in adjusting Medicaid projections to meet unanticipated costs resulting from a disaster. Certain authorizations exist which allow the Governor to take actions to reduce Medicaid spending in order to maintain spending within the Global Cap limit.

The Updated Financial Plan reflects the continuation of the Medicaid spending cap through FY 2019, and the projections assume that statutory authority will be extended in subsequent years. Allowable growth under the cap for medical services is 3.2 percent for FY 2018. Reflecting projected medical CPI growth, DOB currently forecasts allowable cap growth at 3.1 percent in FY 2019, and has updated forecast projections to assume growth of 2.9 percent in FY 2020 and 2.8 percent in FY 2021.

The indexed provisions of the Global Cap apply to a majority of the State share of Medicaid spending that is budgeted and expended principally through DOH. However, the Global Cap is adjusted for State costs associated with the takeover of local Medicaid growth and the multi-year assumption of local Medicaid administration, increased Federal financial participation pursuant to the ACA that became effective in January 2014, as well as the statewide minimum wage increases authorized in the FY 2017 Enacted Budget. State share Medicaid spending also appears in the Updated Financial Plan estimates for other State agencies, including the mental hygiene agencies, child welfare programs, and education aid.

The State share of DOH Medicaid spending is financed by a combination of the General Fund, HCRA resources, indigent care support, provider assessment revenue, and tobacco settlement proceeds.

The FY 2018 Executive Budget Financial Plan includes $382 million in annual savings through the shift of additional OPWDD-related Medicaid expenses to the Global Cap. To achieve savings within the Global Cap necessary to support these additional costs, DOH will continue to implement various MRT actions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in delivery of the statewide Medicaid program. These actions include savings associated with proposals to collaborate with New York City to increase Medicaid claiming levels for school supportive health services; the establishment of a benchmark price for high-cost pharmaceuticals; utilization of BIP funds to support Federal wage requirements; a requirement for Medicare enrollment among Medicaid beneficiaries who are dually eligible for both programs, with Medicare providing the first level of insurance coverage; and an increase to the costs shared by certain beneficiaries within the EP program, whereby such individuals would be required to contribute a monthly premium indexed to grow annually to the rate of the medical component of the CPI.

The FY 2018 Executive Budget Financial Plan includes authorization to use MSA payments to fund a portion of the non-Federal share of annual Medicaid growth, which the State pays on behalf of local governments. The use of MSA payments will not affect total funding for the Medicaid program, but is expected to provide Financial Plan relief through lower annual General Fund Medicaid disbursements.

The FY 2018 Executive Budget Financial Plan includes the cost of Medicaid support associated with the regionally-based multi-year phase-in of statewide minimum wage increases, including the impact of legislation (Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2016) which ensures that rates for the total compensation for home health care workers in Westchester, New York, Nassau, and Suffolk counties will be increased commensurate to the schedule of statutory minimum wage increases.14 The impact of these Minimum wage initiatives is projected to increase annual Medicaid spending above statutory Global Cap limits by $44 million in FY 2017; $255 million in FY 2018; $579 million in FY 2019; $838 million in FY 2020; and $881 million in FY 2021.

Fluctuation in enrollment, costs of provider health care services, and health care utilization levels are among the factors that drive higher Medicaid spending within the Global Cap. The number of Medicaid recipients is expected to exceed 6.2 million by the end of FY 2017, a slight increase from FY 2016 caseload of nearly 6.1 million. This moderate increase is in part driven by the continued transition of individuals from Medicaid to EP program enrollment.

The ability to offset rising costs within the Medicaid Global Cap exists through the Medicaid integrity and efficiency initiative, which was authorized in the FY 2017 Enacted Budget. Upon election by a local service district to participate in this initiative,

DOH and such local service district may formulate a plan to achieve new audit recoveries, efficiencies and other cost avoidance measures to provide savings. Financial Plan savings associated with the Medicaid program are realized through the Mental Hygiene Global Cap Adjustment, which finances certain OPWDD- related Medicaid costs available under the Global Cap, as noted above. Many of the policies that drive Federal aid are subject to change with the new presidential administration and Congress. It is not possible at this time to predict the potential fiscal impact of policies that may be proposed and adopted by the new administration and Congress.

EP. The EP is a health insurance program which receives Federal subsidies authorized through the ACA. The FY 2015 Enacted Budget authorized the State to participate in the EP, which includes health insurance coverage for certain legally residing immigrants previously receiving State-only Medicaid coverage. Individuals who meet the EP eligibility standards are enrolled through the NYSOH health benefit exchange, with the cost of insurance premiums subsidized by the State and Federal governments. When fully implemented, approximately 90 percent of program expenditures are expected to be paid by the Federal government.

The Updated Financial Plan includes a sharp increase in FY 2017 program spending due to increased enrollment levels, with gradual declines in State funded costs through FY 2019. Increased program costs associated with rising enrollment levels are anticipated to be partially or fully offset in future years from Federal resources, as growth in the NYSOH index premium that is linked to Federal Basic Health Plan Trust Fund contribution is expected to exceed the growth rate of State-funded EP premium reimbursement. The Federal match percentage is forecast to increase from 81 percent in FY 2017 to 93 percent in FY 2021, in recognition of the anticipated growth in the NYSOH index premium.

The State’s costs associated with the EP program and related savings are managed within the total available resources of the Medicaid Global Cap. This includes a portion of spending associated with increasing EP enrollment in part, reflecting the transition of certain individuals from the Medicaid program to the EP program based on changes in income levels. In the FY 2018 Executive Budget, additional program savings with the Global Cap are anticipated from a proposal which would require certain beneficiaries of the EP program to contribute a monthly premium toward the cost of coverage, as well as an increase to co-payments at the point of service. Beginning in 2018, premium contributions will be indexed to grow at an annual rate equal to the medical component of the CPI.

Many of the policies that drive Federal aid are subject to change with the new presidential administration and Congress. It is not possible at this time to assess the potential fiscal impact of policies that may be proposed and adopted by the new administration and Congress.

School Aid. School Aid helps support elementary and secondary education for New York pupils enrolled in the 674 major school districts throughout the State. State funding is provided to districts based on statutory aid formulas and through reimbursement of categorical expenses, such as prekindergarten programs, education of homeless children, and bilingual education. State funding for schools assists districts in meeting locally defined needs, supports the construction of school facilities, and finances school transportation for nearly three million students statewide.

School Year (July 1 - June 30). School Aid is expected to increase by $961 million (3.9 percent) in SY 2018, including a $428 million Foundation Aid increase. A Community Schools set-aside of $150 million within Foundation Aid, a $50 million increase from the prior year, provides funds to facilitate the transformation of schools into community hubs offering expanded services to children and their families. In addition, another $333 million supports increased reimbursement in expense-based aid programs such as transportation, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, school construction, and other miscellaneous aid categories.

The Executive Budget Financial Plan also proposes $50 million for new competitive grants, led by $35 million to expand after-school programs targeted towards low-income students within school districts in ESPRI. In addition, the Executive Budget Financial Plan continues to reflect $340 million in recurring annual funding to support the statewide Universal Full-Day Prekindergarten program. School Aid is projected to increase by an additional $996 million (3.9 percent) in SY 2019, consistent with estimated personal income growth.

Tax Risks Associated with Municipal Securities. As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in shares of the Fund will be taxed. The tax information in the Prospectus and this SAI is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Fund.

Unless your investment in shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Fund shares.

In response to the national economic downturn in recent years, governmental cost burdens may be reallocated among federal, state and local governments. Also, as a result of the downturn, many state and local governments are experiencing significant reductions in revenues and are consequently experiencing difficulties meeting ongoing expenses. Certain of these state or local governments may have difficulty paying principal or interest on their outstanding debt and may experience ratings downgrades of their debt.

Valuation Risk. In certain circumstances, the Fund’s securities may be valued using techniques other than market quotations. The value established for a security may be different from what would be produced through the use of another methodology or if the value had been priced using market quotations. Securities that are valued using methods other than market quotations, including “fair valued” securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their value from one day to the next than would be the case if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell a security for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund could incur a loss if a security is sold for less than its established value.

Proxy Voting Policy

The Board has delegated the voting of proxies for the Fund’s securities to BFA pursuant to BFA’s proxy voting guidelines and procedures (the “BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines”). Under the BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines, BFA will vote proxies related to Fund securities in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders. From time to time, a vote may present a conflict between the interests of the Fund’s shareholders, on the one hand, and those of BFA, or any affiliated person of the Fund or BFA, on the other. BFA maintains policies and procedures that are designed to prevent undue influence on BFA’s proxy voting activity that might stem from any relationship between the issuer of a proxy (or any dissident shareholder) and BFA, BFA’s affiliates, the Fund or the Fund’s affiliates. Most conflicts are managed through a structural separation of BFA’s Corporate Governance Group from BFA’s employees with sales and client responsibilities. In addition, BFA maintains procedures to ensure that all engagements with corporate issuers or dissident shareholders are managed consistently and without regard to BFA’s relationship with the issuer of the proxy or the dissident shareholder. In certain instances, BFA may determine to engage an independent fiduciary to vote proxies as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest or as otherwise required by applicable law. Copies of the Fund's Proxy Voting Policy and the BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines are attached as Appendix A.

Information with respect to how BFA voted proxies relating to the Fund's portfolio securities during the 12-month period ending June 30 will be available: (i) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or through the Fund's website at www.iShares.com; and (ii) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Portfolio Holdings Information

The Board has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings information that requires that such information be disclosed in a manner that: (i) is consistent with applicable legal requirements and in the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders; (ii) does not put the interests of BFA, the Distributor or any affiliated person of BFA or the Distributor, above those of Fund shareholders; (iii) does not advantage any current or prospective Fund shareholders over any other current or prospective Fund shareholders, except to the extent that certain Entities (as described below) may receive portfolio holdings information not available to other current or prospective Fund shareholders in connection with the dissemination of information necessary for transactions in Creation Units, as discussed below, and certain information may be provided to personnel of BFA and its affiliates who manage funds that invest a significant percentage of their assets in shares of the Fund for the purpose of facilitating risk management and hedging activities; and (iv) does not provide selective access to portfolio holdings information except pursuant to the procedures outlined below and to the extent appropriate confidentiality arrangements limiting the use of such information are in effect. The “Entities” referred to in sub-section (iii) above are generally limited to National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) members, subscribers to various fee-based subscription services, large institutional investors (known as “Authorized Participants”) that have been authorized by the

Distributor to purchase and redeem large blocks of shares pursuant to legal requirements and market makers and other institutional market participants and entities that provide information or transactional services.

Each business day, the Fund's portfolio holdings information will be provided to the Distributor or other agent for dissemination through the facilities of the NSCC and/or other fee-based subscription services to NSCC members and/or subscribers to those other fee-based subscription services, including market makers and Authorized Participants, and to entities that publish and/or analyze such information in connection with the process of purchasing or redeeming Creation Units or trading shares of the Fund in the secondary market or evaluating such potential transactions. This information typically reflects the Fund’s anticipated holdings on the following business day.

Daily access to information concerning the Fund's portfolio holdings is permitted: (i) to certain personnel of those service providers that are involved in portfolio management and providing administrative, operational, risk management, or other support to portfolio management; and (ii) to other personnel of the Fund's investment adviser, the Distributor and their affiliates, and the administrator, custodian and fund accountant who deal directly with, or assist in, functions related to investment management, distribution, administration, custody, securities lending and fund accounting, as may be necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course in a manner consistent with federal securities laws and regulations thereunder. In addition, the Fund discloses its fixed-income and/or equity portfolio holdings daily at www.iShares.com. More information about this disclosure is available at www.iShares.com.

Portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process may be provided to other entities that provide services to the Fund in the ordinary course of business after it has been disseminated to the NSCC. From time to time, information concerning portfolio holdings other than portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, may be provided to other entities that provide services to the Fund, including rating or ranking organizations, in the ordinary course of business, no earlier than one business day following the date of the information.

The Fund will disclose its complete portfolio holdings schedule in public filings with the SEC within 70 days of the end of the second and fourth fiscal quarters and within 60 days of the end of the first and third fiscal quarters and will provide such information to shareholders as required by federal securities laws and regulations thereunder. The Fund may, however, voluntarily disclose all or part of its portfolio holdings other than in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, in advance of required filings with the SEC, provided that such information is made generally available to all shareholders and other interested parties in a manner that is consistent with the above policy for disclosure of portfolio holdings information. Such information may be made available through a publicly available website or other means that make the information available to all likely interested parties contemporaneously.

The Trust's Chief Compliance Officer or his delegate may authorize disclosure of portfolio holdings information pursuant to the above policy and procedures, subject to restrictions on selective disclosure imposed by applicable law.

The Board reviews the policy and procedures for disclosure of portfolio holdings information at least annually.

Construction and Maintenance of the Underlying Index

A description of the Fund's Underlying Index is provided below.

S&P 15+ Year National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

Number of Components: approximately 3,565

Index Description. The S&P 15+ Year National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index is a broad, comprehensive, market-value weighted index designed to measure the performance of the long-term investment-grade U.S. municipal bond market. As of October 2, 2017, the Underlying Index consisted of 3,565 issues, with a total market value of $256.9 billion. The Underlying Index is a subset of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index and represented approximately 35.30% of the weight of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index as of October 2, 2017.

Index Methodology. In order for a bond to be classified as eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index, a bond must meet all of the following criteria: (i) the bond issuer is a state or local government or agency such that interest on the bond is exempt from U.S. federal income taxes and the federal AMT, as determined by the index provider in accordance with its methodology; (ii) the bond must be denominated in U.S. dollars; (iii) the bond must have a rating of at least BBB- by S&P Global Ratings, Baa3 by Moody’s, or BBB- by Fitch. A bond must be rated by at least one of these three rating agencies in order to qualify for the Underlying Index, and the lowest rating will be used in determining if a bond is investment-grade; (iv) each bond in the index must be a constituent of an offering where the original offering amount was at least $100 million, and must have a minimum par amount of $25 million. To remain in the Underlying Index, a bond must maintain a minimum par amount greater than or equal to $25 million; and (v) as of the last Business Day of each month (“Rebalancing Date”), the bond must have a remaining term to maturity and/or pre-refunded date that is greater than or equal to fifteen years and a remaining term to next call date of greater than or equal to three years. “Business Day” is defined as any day that U.S. municipal bonds are traded, as determined by SIFMA and/or NYSE. Bonds that are completely called or tendered during the course of the month and bonds that are scheduled to be completely called or redeemed, during the course of the month following the Rebalancing Date, will be removed on the Rebalancing Date. At each monthly rebalancing, no one issuer can represent more than 25% of the weight of the Underlying Index; and individual issuers that represent at least 5% of the weight of the Underlying Index cannot account for more than 50% of the weight of the Underlying Index in aggregate. The following types of bonds are specifically excluded from the Underlying Index: commercial paper, derivative securities (inverse floaters, forwards, and swaps), housing bonds, non-rated bonds, notes, taxable municipals, tobacco bonds, and variable rate debt and certain conduit financed municipal securities.

Index Maintenance. The Underlying Index is a market-value weighted index. S&P’s pricing division, Securities Evaluations, reports the price of each bond in the index each day. The prices used in the index calculation will add the accrued interest for each bond to the price reported by S&P. The total return is calculated by aggregating the interest return, reflecting the return due to paid and accrued interest, and principal return, reflecting the capital gains or losses due to changes in S&P’s end-of day price and principal repayments and the reinvestment return, reflecting the reinvestment of related cash flows. The Underlying Index is generally reviewed and rebalanced on a monthly basis. The SPDJI Index Committee, nevertheless, reserves the right to make adjustments to the Underlying Index at any time that it believes appropriate. Additions, deletions and other changes to the Underlying Index arising from the monthly rebalancing are published three Business Days prior to the last business day of the month the “Announcement Date”). Underlying Index changes published in the announcement will not normally be subject to revision and will become effective after the close. However, credit rating changes that occur on a Business Day prior to the Rebalancing Date will be reflected in the rebalancing, where such changes would cause any one of the following: (i) deletion of an index bond because it no longer meets the eligibility criteria; (ii) removal of a bond from the additions list because it is no longer an eligible bond; (iii) removal of an index bond from the deletions list because it is once again eligible. Users will be notified of any ratings-driven changes to the rebalancing.

Investment Restrictions

The Fund has adopted its investment objective as a non-fundamental investment policy. Therefore, the Fund may change its investment objective and its Underlying Index without shareholder approval. The Board has adopted as fundamental policies the following numbered investment restrictions, which cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. A vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund is defined in the Investment Company Act as the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities present at a shareholder meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.

The Fund may not:

1.	Concentrate its investments in a particular industry, as that term is used in the Investment Company Act, except that the Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that its Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries.
2.	Borrow money, except as permitted under the Investment Company Act.
3.	Issue senior securities to the extent such issuance would violate the Investment Company Act.
4.	Purchase or hold real estate, except the Fund may purchase and hold securities or other instruments that are secured

	by, or linked to, real estate or interests therein, securities of real estate investment trusts, mortgage-related securities and securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business, and the Fund may purchase and hold real estate as a result of the ownership of securities or other instruments.
5.	Underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the sale of portfolio securities by the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriting or as otherwise permitted by applicable law.
6.	Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except as permitted by the Investment Company Act.
7.	Make loans to the extent prohibited by the Investment Company Act.

Notations Regarding the Fund's Fundamental Investment Restrictions

The following notations are not considered to be part of the Fund's fundamental investment restrictions and are subject to change without shareholder approval.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (1) above, the Investment Company Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. Finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents. Each foreign government will be considered to be a member of a separate industry. With respect to the Fund's industry classifications, the Fund currently utilizes any one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or rating group indexes, and/or as defined by Fund management. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to the Fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (2) above, the Investment Company Act permits the Fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the Fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the Fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. (The Fund’s total assets include the amounts being borrowed.) To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the Investment Company Act requires the Fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the Fund's total assets (including amounts borrowed), minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings or involve leverage and thus are subject to the Investment Company Act restrictions. In accordance with SEC staff guidance and interpretations, when the Fund engages in such transactions, the Fund instead of maintaining asset coverage of at least 300%, may segregate or earmark liquid assets, or enter into an offsetting position, in an amount at least equal to the Fund’s exposure, on a mark-to-market basis, to the transaction (as calculated pursuant to requirements of the SEC). The policy in (2) above will be interpreted to permit the Fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing or to involve leverage to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act and to permit the Fund to segregate or earmark liquid assets or enter into offsetting positions in accordance with the Investment Company Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (5) above, the Investment Company Act does not prohibit the Fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, in the case of diversified funds, the Investment Company Act permits the Fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the Fund's underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the Fund’s investments in issuers where the Fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause the Fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent the Fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the Fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act or is otherwise engaged in the underwriting business to the extent permitted by applicable law.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (7) above, the Investment Company Act does not prohibit the Fund from making loans (including lending its securities); however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets (including lending its securities), except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments (as applicable), as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

Under its non-fundamental investment restrictions, which may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval, the Fund may not:

Purchase securities of other investment companies, except to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act. As a matter of policy, however, the Fund will not purchase shares of any registered open-end investment company or registered unit investment trust, in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F) or (G) (the “fund of funds” provisions) of the Investment Company Act, at any time the Fund has knowledge that its shares are purchased by another investment company investor in reliance on the provisions of subparagraph (G) of Section 12(d)(1).

Make short sales of securities or maintain a short position, except to the extent permitted by the Fund's Prospectus and SAI, as amended from time to time, and applicable law.

Unless otherwise indicated, all limitations under the Fund's fundamental or non-fundamental investment restrictions apply only at the time that a transaction is undertaken. Any change in the percentage of the Fund's assets invested in certain securities or other instruments resulting from market fluctuations or other changes in the Fund’s total assets will not require the Fund to dispose of an investment until BFA determines that it is practicable to sell or close out the investment without undue market or tax consequences.

The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy in accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the Investment Company Act to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the component securities in the Fund's Underlying Index. The Fund also has adopted a policy to provide its shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior written notice of any change in such policy. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Fund’s future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy.

The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental limitation such that, under normal market conditions, any borrowings by the Fund will not exceed 10% of the Fund’s net assets.

Continuous Offering

The method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the 1933 Act.

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares and sells such shares directly to customers or if it chooses to couple the creation of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the 1933 Act must take into account all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Fund are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 153 under the 1933 Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the 1933 Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Listing Exchange generally is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Listing Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available only with respect to transactions on an exchange.

Management

Trustees and Officers. The Board has responsibility for the overall management and operations of the Fund, including general supervision of the duties performed by BFA and other service providers. Each Trustee serves until he or she resigns, is removed, dies, retires or becomes incapacitated. Each officer shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualifies or until his or her death, resignation or removal. Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust are referred to as independent trustees (“Independent Trustees”).

The registered investment companies advised by BFA or its affiliates (the “BlackRock-advised Funds”) are organized into one complex of closed-end funds, two complexes of open-end funds and one complex of exchange-traded funds (“Exchange-Traded Fund Complex”) (each, a “BlackRock Fund Complex”). The Fund is included in the BlackRock Fund Complex referred to as the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex. Each Trustee also serves as a Director of iShares, Inc. and a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust and, as a result, oversees a total of ___ funds within the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex. Drew E. Lawton, from October 2016 to June 2017, and Richard L. Fagnani, from April 2017 to June 2017, served as members of the advisory board (“Advisory Board,” members of which are “Advisory Board Members”) for the Trust, iShares, Inc. and iShares U.S. ETF Trust with respect to all funds within the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex. With the exception of Robert S. Kapito, Mark K. Wiedman, Charles Park, Martin Small and Benjamin Archibald, the address of each Trustee and officer is c/o BlackRock, Inc., 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. The address of Mr. Kapito, Mr. Wiedman, Mr. Park, Mr. Small and Mr. Archibald is c/o BlackRock, Inc., Park Avenue Plaza, 55 East 52^nd Street, New York, NY 10055. The Board has designated Cecilia H. Herbert as its Independent Board Chair. Additional information about the Fund's Trustees and officers may be found in this SAI, which is available without charge, upon request, by calling toll-free 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

Interested Trustees

Name (Age)		Position		Principal Occupation(s) During the Past 5 Years		Other Directorships Held by Trustee
Robert S. Kapito¹ (60)		Trustee (since 2009).		President, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2006); Vice Chairman of BlackRock, Inc. and Head of BlackRock’s Portfolio Management Group (since its formation in 1998) and BlackRock, Inc.’s predecessor entities (since 1988); Trustee, University of Pennsylvania (since 2009); President of Board of Directors, Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund (since 2002).		Director of BlackRock, Inc. (since 2006); Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2009); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011).

Name (Age)		Position		Principal Occupation(s) During the Past 5 Years		Other Directorships Held by Trustee
Mark K. Wiedman² (47)		Trustee (since 2013).		Senior Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2014); Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (2007-2014); Global Head of BlackRock’s ETF and Index Investments Business (since 2016); Global Head of iShares (2011-2016); Head of Corporate Strategy, BlackRock, Inc. (2009-2011).		Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2013); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2013); Director of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (since 2008).

¹	Robert S. Kapito is deemed to be an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust due to his affiliations with BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates.
²	Mark K. Wiedman is deemed to be an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust due to his affiliations with BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates.

Independent Trustees

Name (Age)	Position	Principal Occupation(s) During the Past 5 Years	Other Directorships Held by Trustee
Cecilia H. Herbert (68)	Trustee (since 2005); Independent Board Chair (since 2016).	Trustee and Member of the Finance, Technology and Quality Committee of Stanford Health Care (since 2016); Trustee and Member of the Investment Committee, WNET, a New York public media company (since 2011); Chair (1994-2005) and Member (since 1992) of the Investment Committee, Archdiocese of San Francisco; Director (1998-2013) and President (2007-2011) of the Board of Directors, Catholic Charities CYO; Trustee (2002-2011) and Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee (2006-2010) of the Thacher School.	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2005); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011); Independent Board Chair of iShares, Inc. and iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2016); Trustee of Forward Funds (14 portfolios) (since 2009); Trustee of Salient MF Trust (4 portfolios) (since 2015).
Jane D. Carlin (61)	Trustee (since 2015); Risk Committee Chair (since 2016).	Consultant (since 2012); Managing Director and Global Head of Financial Holding Company Governance & Assurance and the Global Head of Operational Risk Management of Morgan Stanley (2006-2012).	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2015); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2015); Director of PHH Corporation (mortgage solutions) (since 2012); Director of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (since 2016).
Richard L. Fagnani (63)	Trustee (since 2017); Equity Plus Committee Chair (since 2017).	Partner, KPMG LLP (2002-2016).	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2017); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2017).

Name (Age)	Position	Principal Occupation(s) During the Past 5 Years	Other Directorships Held by Trustee
Charles A. Hurty (74)	Trustee (since 2005); Audit Committee Chair (since 2006).	Retired; Partner, KPMG LLP (1968-2001).	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2005); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011); Director of SkyBridge Alternative Investments Multi-Adviser Hedge Fund Portfolios LLC (2 portfolios) (since 2002).
John E. Kerrigan (62)	Trustee (since 2005); Securities Lending Committee Chair (since 2016).	Chief Investment Officer, Santa Clara University (since 2002).	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2005); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011).
Drew E. Lawton (58)	Trustee (since 2017); 15(c) Committee Chair (since 2017).	Senior Managing Director of New York Life Insurance Company (2010-2015).	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2017); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2017).
John E. Martinez (56)	Trustee (since 2003); Fixed Income Plus Committee Chair (since 2016).	Director of Real Estate Equity Exchange, Inc. (since 2005).	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2003); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011).
Madhav V. Rajan (53)	Trustee (since 2011); Nominating and Governance Committee Chair (since 2017).	Dean, and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting, University of Chicago Booth School of Business (since 2017); Robert K. Jaedicke Professor of Accounting, Stanford University Graduate School of Business (2001-2017); Professor of Law (by courtesy), Stanford Law School (2005-2017); Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Head of MBA Program, Stanford University Graduate School of Business (2010-2016).	Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2011); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011); Director, Cavium, Inc. (since 2013).

Officers

Name (Age)	Position	Principal Occupation(s) During the Past 5 Years
Martin Small (42)	President (since 2016).	Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2010); Head of U.S. iShares (since 2015); Co-Head of the U.S. Financial Markets Advisory Group, BlackRock, Inc. (2008-2014).
Jack Gee (58)	Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (since 2008).	Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2009); Senior Director of Fund Administration of Intermediary Investor Business, BGI (2009).

Name (Age)	Position	Principal Occupation(s) During the Past 5 Years
Charles Park (50)	Chief Compliance Officer (since 2006).	Chief Compliance Officer of BlackRock Advisors, LLC and the BlackRock-advised Funds in the Equity-Bond Complex, the Equity-Liquidity Complex and the Closed-End Complex (since 2014); Chief Compliance Officer of BFA (since 2006).
Benjamin Archibald (42)	Secretary (since 2015).	Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2014); Director, BlackRock, Inc. (2010-2013); Secretary of the BlackRock-advised mutual funds (since 2012).
Steve Messinger (55)	Executive Vice President (since 2016).	Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (2007-2014 and since 2016); Managing Director, Beacon Consulting Group (2014-2016).
Scott Radell (48)	Executive Vice President (since 2012).	Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2009); Head of Portfolio Solutions, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2009).
Alan Mason (57)	Executive Vice President (since 2016).	Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2009).

The Board has concluded that, based on each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees, each Trustee should serve as a Trustee of the Board. Among the attributes common to all Trustees are their ability to review critically, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with the Fund's investment adviser, other service providers, counsel and the independent registered public accounting firm, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties as Trustees. A Trustee’s ability to perform his or her duties effectively may have been attained through the Trustee’s educational background or professional training; business, consulting, public service or academic positions; experience from service as a Board member of the Fund and the other funds in the Trust (and any predecessor funds), other investment funds, public companies, or non-profit entities or other organizations; and/or other life experiences. Also, set forth below is a brief discussion of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each Trustee that led the Board to conclude that he or she should serve (or continue to serve) as a Trustee.

Robert S. Kapito has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2009. Mr. Kapito has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2009, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2011 and a Director of BlackRock, Inc. since 2006. Mr. Kapito served as a Director of iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc. from 2010 to 2015. In addition, he has over 20 years of experience as part of BlackRock, Inc. and BlackRock’s predecessor entities. Mr. Kapito serves as President of BlackRock, Inc., and is a member of the Global Executive Committee and Chairman of the Global Operating Committee. He is responsible for day-to-day oversight of BlackRock's key operating units, including Investment Strategies, Client Businesses, Technology & Operations, and Risk & Quantitative Analysis. Prior to assuming his current responsibilities in 2007, Mr. Kapito served as Vice Chairman of BlackRock, Inc. and Head of BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing all portfolio management within BlackRock including the Fixed Income, Equity, Liquidity, and Alternative Investment Groups. Mr. Kapito serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors. He has also been President of the Board of Directors for the Hope & Heroes Children's Cancer Fund since 2002. Mr. Kapito earned a BS degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1979, and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1983.

Mark K. Wiedman has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2013. Mr. Wiedman has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2013 and a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2013. Mr. Wiedman served as a Director of iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc. from 2013 to 2015. Mr. Wiedman is the Global Head of BlackRock’s ETF and Index Investments Business and Senior Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. In addition, he is a member of BlackRock's Global Executive Committee. Prior to assuming his current responsibilities in 2016, Mr. Wiedman was the Global Head of iShares. Mr. Wiedman was previously the head of Corporate Strategy for BlackRock. Mr. Wiedman joined BlackRock in 2004 to help start the advisory business, which evolved into the Financial Markets Advisory Group in BlackRock Solutions. This group advises financial institutions and governments on managing their capital markets exposures and businesses. Prior to BlackRock, he served as senior advisor and chief of staff for the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and also was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., advising financial institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. He has taught as an adjunct associate professor of law at Fordham University in New York and Renmin University in Beijing. Mr. Wiedman serves on the board of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc., a publicly-traded U.S. mortgage banking and investment management firm started in 2008, with BlackRock, Inc. as a sponsor. Mr. Wiedman earned an AB degree, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, in social studies from Harvard College in 1992 and a JD degree from Yale Law School in 1996.

Cecilia H. Herbert has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2005 and Chair of the Trust's Board since 2016. Ms. Herbert served as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Trust from 2012 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2017 and Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of the Trust from 2012 to 2015. Ms. Herbert has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2005, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares, Inc. from 2012 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2017, Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of iShares, Inc. from 2012 to 2015, Chair of the iShares, Inc.'s Board since 2016, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2011, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2012 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2017, Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2012 to 2015 and Chair of the iShares U.S. ETF Trust's Board since 2016. Ms. Herbert served as a Director of iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc. from 2010 to 2015. In addition, Ms. Herbert has served as Trustee of the Forward Funds since 2009, which was purchased by Salient Partners in 2015, and has also served as Trustee of the Salient MF Trust since 2015. She has served since 1992 on the Investment Council of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and was Chair from 1994 to 2005. She has served as a Trustee of Stanford Health Care since 2016 and as a Trustee of WNET, New York’s public media station, since 2011. She was President of the Board of Catholic Charities CYO, the largest social services agency in the San Francisco Bay Area, from 2007 to 2011 and a member of that board from 1992 to 2013. She previously served as Trustee of the Pacific Select Funds from 2004 to 2005 and Trustee of the Montgomery Funds from 1992 to 2003. She worked from 1973 to 1990 at J.P. Morgan/Morgan Guaranty Trust doing international corporate finance and corporate lending, retiring as Managing Director and Head of the West Coast Office. Ms. Herbert has been on numerous non-profit boards, chairing investment and finance committees. She holds a double major in economics and communications from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jane D. Carlin has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2015 and Chair of the Risk Committee since 2016. Ms. Carlin has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2015, Chair of the Risk Committee of iShares, Inc. since 2016, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2015 and Chair of the Risk Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2016. Ms. Carlin has served as a consultant since 2012 and formerly served as Managing Director and Global Head of Financial Holding Company Governance & Assurance and the Global Head of Operational Risk Management of Morgan Stanley from 2006 to 2012. In addition, Ms. Carlin served as Managing Director and Global Head of the Bank Operational Risk Oversight Department of Credit Suisse Group from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, Ms. Carlin served as Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Morgan Stanley. Ms. Carlin has over 30 years of experience in the financial sector and has served in a number of legal, regulatory, and risk management positions. Ms. Carlin has served as an Independent Director on the Board of PHH Corporation since 2012 and as a Director of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. since 2016. She previously served as a Director on the Boards of Astoria Financial Corporation and Astoria Bank. Ms. Carlin was appointed by the United States Treasury to the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security, where she served as Chairperson from 2010 to 2012 and Vice Chair and Chair of the Cyber Security Committee from 2009 to 2010. Ms. Carlin has a BA degree in political science from State University of New York at Stony Brook and a JD degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Richard L. Fagnani has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2017 and Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of the Trust since 2017. Mr. Fagnani served as an Advisory Board Member of the Trust from April 2017 to June 2017. Mr. Fagnani has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2017, Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of iShares, Inc. since 2017, an Advisory Board Member of iShares, Inc. from April 2017 to June 2017, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2017, Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2017 and an Advisory Board Member of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from April 2017 to June 2017. Mr. Fagnani served as a Senior Audit Partner at KPMG LLP from 2002 to 2016, most recently as the U.S. asset

management audit practice leader responsible for setting strategic direction and execution of the operating plan for the asset management audit practice. In addition, from 1977 to 2002, Mr. Fagnani served as an Audit Partner at Andersen LLP, where he developed and managed the asset management audit practice. Mr. Fagnani served as a Trustee on the Board of the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia from 2009 to 2014 and as a member of the School of Business Advisory Board at LaSalle University from 2006 to 2014. Mr. Fagnani has a BS degree in Accounting from LaSalle University.

Charles A. Hurty has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2005 and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Trust since 2006. Mr. Hurty has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2005, Chair of the Audit Committee of iShares, Inc. since 2006 and a Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2011. Mr. Hurty served as a Director of iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc. from 2010 to 2015. In addition, Mr. Hurty has served as Director of the SkyBridge Alternative Investments Multi-Adviser Hedge Fund Portfolios LLC (formerly, Citigroup Alternative Investments Multi-Adviser Hedge Fund Portfolios LLC) since 2002. He was a Director of the GMAM Absolute Return Strategy Fund from 2002 to 2015 and was a Director of the CSFB Alternative Investment Funds from 2005 to December 2009, when the funds were liquidated. Mr. Hurty was formerly a Partner at KPMG, LLP from 1968 to 2001, where he held several leadership roles in KPMG’s Investment Management Practice. Prior to joining KPMG, Mr. Hurty was an officer in the United States Army. Mr. Hurty has a BS degree in accounting from the University of Kansas.

John E. Kerrigan has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2005 and Chair of the Securities Lending Committee of the Trust since 2016. Mr. Kerrigan served as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Trust from 2010 to 2012 and Chair of the Fixed Income Plus Committee of the Trust from 2012 to 2015. Mr. Kerrigan has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2005, Chair of the Fixed Income Plus Committee of iShares, Inc. from 2012 to 2015, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares, Inc. from 2010 to 2012, Chair of the Securities Lending Committee of iShares, Inc. since 2016, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2011, Chair of the Fixed Income Plus Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2012 to 2015, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2011 to 2012 and Chair of the Securities Lending Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2016. Mr. Kerrigan served as a Director of iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc. from 2010 to 2015. Mr. Kerrigan has served as Chief Investment Officer of Santa Clara University since 2002. Mr. Kerrigan was formerly a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch & Co., including the following responsibilities: Managing Director, Institutional Client Division, Western United States. Mr. Kerrigan has been a Director, since 1999, of The BASIC Fund (Bay Area Scholarships for Inner City Children). Mr. Kerrigan has a BA degree from Boston College and is a Chartered Financial Analyst Charterholder.

Drew E. Lawton has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2017 and Chair of the 15(c) Committee of the Trust since 2017. Mr. Lawton served as an Advisory Board Member of the Trust from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Lawton has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2017, Chair of the 15(c) Committee of iShares, Inc. since 2017, an Advisory Board Member of iShares, Inc. from 2016 to 2017, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2017, Chair of the 15(c) Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2017 and an Advisory Board Member of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Lawton served as Director of Principal Funds, Inc., Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. and Principal Exchange-Traded Funds from March 2016 through October 2016. Mr. Lawton served in various capacities at New York Life Insurance Company from February 2010 to December 2015, most recently as a Senior Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of New York Life Investment Management. From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Lawton was the President of Fridson Investment Advisors, LLC. Mr. Lawton previously held multiple roles at Fidelity Investments from 1997 to 2008. Mr. Lawton has a BA degree in Administrative Science from Yale University and an MBA from University of North Texas.

John E. Martinez has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2003 and Chair of the Fixed Income Plus Committee of the Trust since 2016. Mr. Martinez served as Chair of the Securities Lending Committee of the Trust from 2012 to 2015. Mr. Martinez has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2003, Chair of the Securities Lending Committee of iShares, Inc. from 2012 to 2015, Chair of the Fixed Income Plus Committee of iShares, Inc. since 2016, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2011, Chair of the Securities Lending Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2012 to 2015 and Chair of the Fixed Income Plus Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2016. Mr. Martinez served as a Director of iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc. from 2010 to 2015. Mr. Martinez is a Director of Real Estate Equity Exchange, Inc., providing governance oversight and consulting services to this privately held firm that develops products and strategies for homeowners in managing the equity in their homes. Mr. Martinez currently serves as a Board member for the Cloudera Foundation, whose mission is to apply Cloudera’s data science expertise and discipline to solve global social problems. Mr. Martinez previously served as Director of Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”) UK Holdings, where he provided governance oversight representing BGI’s shareholders (Barclays PLC, BGI management shareholders) through oversight of BGI’s worldwide activities. Mr. Martinez also previously served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Global Index and Markets Group of BGI, Chairman of Barclays Global Investor Services and Chief

Executive Officer of the Capital Markets Group of BGI. From 2003 to 2012, he was a Director and Executive Committee Member for Larkin Street Youth Services, providing governance oversight and strategy development to an agency that provides emergency and transitional housing, healthcare, education, job and life skills training to homeless youth. He now serves on the Larkin Street Honorary Board. From 2010 to 2016, Mr. Martinez served as a Director for Reading Partners, an organization committed to making all children literate through one-on-one tutoring of students in grades K-4 who are not yet reading at grade level. Mr. Martinez has an AB degree in economics from The University of California, Berkeley and holds an MBA degree in finance and statistics from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Madhav V. Rajan has been a Trustee of the Trust since 2011 and Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Trust since 2017. Mr. Rajan served as Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of the Trust from 2016 to 2017, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Trust in 2016 and Chair of the 15(c) Committee of the Trust from 2012 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Rajan has served as a Director of iShares, Inc. since 2011, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares, Inc. since 2017, Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of iShares, Inc. from 2016 to 2017, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares, Inc. in 2016, Chair of the 15(c) Committee of iShares, Inc. from 2012 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2017, a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2011, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust since 2017, Chair of the Equity Plus Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2016 to 2017, Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust in 2016 and Chair of the 15(c) Committee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust from 2012 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2017. Mr. Rajan served as a Director of iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc. from 2011 to 2015. Mr. Rajan is the Dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. From 2001 to 2017, Mr. Rajan was the Robert K. Jaedicke Professor of Accounting at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. In April 2017, he received the school’s Robert T. Davis Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service. He has taught accounting for over 25 years to undergraduate, MBA and law students, as well as to senior executives. From 2010 to 2016, Mr. Rajan served as the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and head of the MBA Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Rajan served as editor of “The Accounting Review” from 2002 to 2008 and is co-author of “Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis,” a leading cost accounting textbook. Mr. Rajan holds MS and PhD degrees in Accounting from Carnegie Mellon University.

Board – Leadership Structure and Oversight Responsibilities

Overall responsibility for oversight of the Fund rests with the Board. The Board has engaged BFA to manage the Fund on a day-to-day basis. The Board is responsible for overseeing BFA and other service providers in the operations of the Fund in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act, applicable provisions of state and other laws and the Trust’s charter. The Board is currently composed of ten members, eight of whom are Independent Trustees. The Board currently conducts regular in person meetings four times a year. In addition, the Board frequently holds special in person or telephonic meetings or informal conference calls to discuss specific matters that may arise or require action between regular meetings. The Independent Trustees meet regularly outside the presence of management, in executive session or with other service providers to the Trust.

The Board has appointed an Independent Trustee to serve in the role of Board Chair. The Board Chair’s role is to preside at all meetings of the Board and to act as a liaison with service providers, officers, attorneys, and other Trustees generally between meetings. The Board Chair may also perform such other functions as may be delegated by the Board from time to time. The Board has established seven standing Committees: a Nominating and Governance Committee, an Audit Committee, a 15(c) Committee, a Securities Lending Committee, a Risk Committee, an Equity Plus Committee and a Fixed Income Plus Committee to assist the Board in the oversight and direction of the business and affairs of the Fund, and from time to time the Board may establish ad hoc committees or informal working groups to review and address the policies and practices of the Fund with respect to certain specified matters. The Chair of each standing Committee is an Independent Trustee. The role of the Chair of each Committee is to preside at all meetings of the Committee and to act as a liaison with service providers, officers, attorneys and other Trustees between meetings. Each standing Committee meets regularly to conduct the oversight functions delegated to the Committee by the Board and reports its finding to the Board. The Board and each standing Committee conduct annual assessments of their oversight function and structure. The Board has determined that the Board’s leadership structure is appropriate because it allows the Board to exercise independent judgment over management and it allocates areas of responsibility among committees of Independent Trustees and the full Board to enhance effective oversight.

Day-to-day risk management with respect to the Fund is the responsibility of BFA or other service providers (depending on the nature of the risk), subject to the supervision of BFA. The Fund is subject to a number of risks, including investment,

compliance, operational, reputational, counterparty and valuation risks, among others. While there are a number of risk management functions performed by BFA and other service providers, as applicable, it is not possible to identify and eliminate all of the risks applicable to the Fund. The Trustees have an oversight role in this area, satisfying themselves that risk management processes and controls are in place and operating effectively. Risk oversight forms part of the Board’s general oversight of the Fund and is addressed as part of various Board and committee activities. In some cases, risk management issues are specifically addressed in presentations and discussions. For example, BFA has an independent dedicated Risk and Quantitative Analysis Group (“RQA”) that assists BFA in managing fiduciary and corporate risks, including investment, operational, counterparty credit and enterprise risk. Representatives of RQA meet with the Board to discuss their analysis and methodologies, as well as specific risk topics such as operational and counterparty risks relating to the Fund. The Board, directly or through a committee, also reviews reports from, among others, management and the independent registered public accounting firm for the Trust, as appropriate, regarding risks faced by the Fund and management’s risk functions. The Board has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer who oversees the implementation and testing of the Trust's compliance program, including assessments by independent third parties, and reports to the Board regarding compliance matters for the Trust and its principal service providers. In testing and maintaining the compliance program, the Chief Compliance Officer (and his or her delegates) assesses key compliance risks affecting the Fund, and addresses them in periodic reports to the Board. In addition, the Audit Committee meets with both the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm and BFA’s internal audit group to review risk controls in place that support the Fund as well as test results. Board oversight of risk is also performed as needed between meetings through communications between BFA and the Board. The Independent Trustees have engaged independent legal counsel to assist them in performing their oversight responsibilities. From time to time, the Board may modify the manner in which it conducts risk oversight. The Board’s oversight role does not make it a guarantor of the Fund's investment performance or other activities.

Committees of the Board of Trustees. The members of the Audit Committee are Charles A. Hurty (Chair), Richard L. Fagnani, John E. Kerrigan and Madhav V. Rajan, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The purposes of the Audit Committee are to assist the Board (i) in its oversight of the Trust's accounting and financial reporting principles and policies and related controls and procedures maintained by or on behalf of the Trust; (ii) in its oversight of the Trust's financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (iii) in selecting, evaluating and, where deemed appropriate, replacing the independent accountants (or nominating the independent accountants to be proposed for shareholder approval in any proxy statement); (iv) in evaluating the independence of the independent accountants; (v) in complying with legal and regulatory requirements that relate to the Trust's accounting and financial reporting, internal controls, compliance controls and independent audits; and (vi) to assume such other responsibilities as may be delegated by the Board. The Audit Committee met ___ times during the fiscal year ended ___________.

The members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Madhav V. Rajan (Chair), Jane D. Carlin, Drew E. Lawton and John E. Martinez, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The Nominating and Governance Committee nominates individuals for Independent Trustee membership on the Board and recommends appointments to the Advisory Board. The Nominating and Governance Committee functions include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) reviewing the qualifications of any person properly identified or nominated to serve as an Independent Trustee; (ii) recommending to the Board and current Independent Trustees the nominee(s) for appointment as an Independent Trustee by the Board and current Independent Trustees and/or for election as Independent Trustees by shareholders to fill any vacancy for a position of Independent Trustee(s) on the Board; (iii) recommending to the Board and current Independent Trustees the size and composition of the Board and Board committees and whether they comply with applicable laws and regulations; (iv) recommending a current Independent Trustee to the Board and current Independent Trustees to serve as Board Chair; (v) periodic review of the Board's retirement policy; and (vi) recommending an appropriate level of compensation for the Independent Trustees for their services as Trustees, members or chairpersons of committees of the Board, Board Chair and any other positions as the Nominating and Governance Committee considers appropriate. The Nominating and Governance Committee does not consider Board nominations recommended by shareholders (acting solely in their capacity as a shareholder and not in any other capacity). The Nominating and Governance Committee met ___ times during the fiscal year ended _______________.

Each Independent Trustee serves on the 15(c) Committee. The Chair of the 15(c) Committee is Drew E. Lawton. The principal responsibilities of the 15(c) Committee are to support, oversee and organize on behalf of the Board the process for the annual review and renewal of the Trust's advisory and sub-advisory agreements. These responsibilities include: (i) meeting with BlackRock, Inc. in advance of the Board meeting at which the Trust's advisory and sub-advisory agreements are to be considered to discuss generally the process for providing requested information to the Board and the format in which information will be provided; and (ii) considering and discussing with BlackRock, Inc. such other matters and information as

may be necessary and appropriate for the Board to evaluate the investment advisory and sub-advisory agreements of the Trust. The 15(c) Committee met ___ times during the fiscal year ended __________.

The members of the Securities Lending Committee are John E. Kerrigan (Chair), Jane D. Carlin, Richard L. Fagnani and Madhav V. Rajan, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The principal responsibilities of the Securities Lending Committee are to support, oversee and organize on behalf of the Board the process for oversight of the Trust's securities lending activities. These responsibilities include: (i) requesting that certain information be provided to the Committee for its review and consideration prior to such information being provided to the Board; (ii) considering and discussing with BlackRock, Inc. such other matters and information as may be necessary and appropriate for the Board to oversee the Trust's securities lending activities and make required findings and approvals; and (iii) providing a recommendation to the Board regarding the annual approval of the Trust's Securities Lending Guidelines and the required findings with respect to, and annual approval of, the Trust's agreement with the securities lending agent. The Securities Lending Committee met ___ times during the fiscal year ended _________.

The members of the Equity Plus Committee are Richard L. Fagnani (Chair), Charles A. Hurty, John E. Kerrigan and Madhav V. Rajan, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The principal responsibilities of the Equity Plus Committee are to support, oversee and organize on behalf of the Board the process for oversight of Trust performance and related matters for equity funds. These responsibilities include: (i) reviewing quarterly reports regarding Trust performance, secondary market trading and changes in net assets to identify any matters that should be brought to the attention of the Board; and (ii) considering any performance or investment related matters as may be delegated to the Committee by the Board from time to time and providing a report or recommendation to the Board as appropriate. The Equity Plus Committee met ___ times during the fiscal year ended ________.

The members of the Fixed Income Plus Committee are John E. Martinez (Chair), Jane D. Carlin and Drew E. Lawton, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The principal responsibilities of the Fixed Income Plus Committee are to support, oversee and organize on behalf of the Board the process for oversight of Trust performance and related matters for fixed-income or multi-asset funds. These responsibilities include: (i) reviewing quarterly reports regarding Trust performance, secondary market trading and changes in net assets to identify any matters that should be brought to the attention of the Board; and (ii) considering any performance or investment related matters as may be delegated to the Committee by the Board from time to time and providing a report or recommendation to the Board as appropriate. The Fixed Income Plus Committee met ___ times during the fiscal year ended ________.

The members of the Risk Committee are Jane D. Carlin (Chair), Charles A. Hurty, Drew E. Lawton and John E. Martinez, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The principal responsibility of the Risk Committee is to consider and organize on behalf of the Board risk related matters of the Fund so the Board may most effectively structure itself to oversee them. The Risk Committee commenced on January 1, 2016. The Risk Committee met ___ times during the fiscal year ended ____________.

As the Chair of the Board, Cecilia H. Herbert may serve as an ex-officio member of each Committee.

The following table sets forth, as of December 31, 2017, the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee in the Fund and in other registered investment companies overseen by the Trustee within the same family of investment companies as the Trust. If a fund is not listed below, the Trustee did not own any securities in that fund as of the date indicated above:

Name	Fund	Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund	Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in Family of Investment Companies


Jane D. Carlin

Richard L. Fagnani

Charles A. Hurty

John E. Kerrigan

Drew E. Lawton

John E. Martinez

Madhav V. Rajan

As of December 31, 2017, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of BFA (the Fund's investment adviser), the Distributor or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with BFA or the Distributor.

Remuneration of Trustees and Advisory Board Members. Effective January 1, 2017, each current Independent Trustee is paid an annual retainer of $325,000 for his or her services as a Board member to the BlackRock-advised Funds in the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex, together with out-of-pocket expenses in accordance with the Board’s policy on travel and other business expenses relating to attendance at meetings. The annual retainer for services as an Advisory Board Member is the same as the annual retainer for services as a Board member. The Independent Chair of the Board is paid an additional annual retainer of $80,000 (prior to January 1, 2018, the additional annual retainer was $50,000). The Chair of each of the Equity Plus Committee, Fixed Income Plus Committee, Securities Lending Committee, Risk Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and 15(c) Committee is paid an additional annual retainer of $25,000. The Chair of the Audit Committee is paid an additional annual retainer of $40,000. Each Independent Trustee that served as a director of subsidiaries of the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex is paid an additional annual retainer of $10,000 (plus an additional $1,772 paid annually to compensate for taxes due in the Republic of Mauritius in connection with such Trustee’s service on the boards of certain Mauritius-based subsidiaries).

The table below sets forth the compensation earned by each Independent Trustee and Interested Trustee for services to the Fund for the fiscal year ended ________, 2017 and the aggregate compensation paid to them for services to the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex for the calendar year ended December 31, 2017.

Name	iShares Long-Term National Muni Bond ETF	Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued As Part of Trust Expenses¹	Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement¹	Total Compensation From the Fund and Fund Complex²
Independent Trustees:

Jane D. Carlin	$__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	$______
Richard L. Fagnani	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	______ ³
Cecilia H. Herbert	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	______
Charles A. Hurty	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	______
John E. Kerrigan	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	______
Drew E. Lawton	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	______ ⁴
John E. Martinez	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	______
Madhav V. Rajan	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	______

Interested Trustees:

Robert S. Kapito	$__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	$__
Mark K. Wiedman	__	Not Applicable	Not Applicable	__

¹	No Trustee or officer is entitled to any pension or retirement benefits from the Trust.
²	Includes compensation for service on the Board of Trustees or the Advisory Board of iShares U.S. ETF Trust and the Board of Directors or the Advisory Board of iShares, Inc.
³	Total compensation is shown for Richard L. Fagnani for his services as an Advisory Board Member for the period from April 1, 2017 (date of his appointment to the Advisory Board of the Trust, iShares, Inc. and iShares U.S. ETF Trust) to June 18, 2017, and for his services as an Independent Trustee for the period from June 19, 2017 (date of his election to the Board of the Trust, iShares, Inc. and iShares U.S. ETF Trust) to December 31, 2017.
⁴	Total compensation is shown for Drew E. Lawton for his services as an Advisory Board Member for the period from January 1, 2017 to June 18, 2017, and for his services as an Independent Trustee for the period from June 19, 2017 (date of his election to the Board of the Trust, iShares, Inc. and iShares U.S. ETF Trust) to December 31, 2017.

Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities. Ownership information is not provided for the Fund, as it has not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI.

Potential Conflicts of Interest. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”) has a significant economic interest in BlackRock, Inc., the parent of BFA, the Fund's investment adviser. BlackRock, Inc. and PNC are considered to be affiliated persons of one another under the 1940 Act. Certain activities of BFA, BlackRock, Inc. and their affiliates (collectively, “BlackRock”) and PNC and its affiliates (collectively, “PNC” and together with BlackRock, “Affiliates”), with respect to the Fund and/or other accounts managed by BlackRock or PNC, 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. PNC is a diversified financial services organization spanning the retail, business and corporate markets. BlackRock, PNC and their respective affiliates (including, for these purposes, their directors, partners, trustees, managing members, officers and employees), including the entities and personnel who may be involved in the investment activities and business operations of the Fund, are engaged worldwide in businesses, including managing equities, fixed-income securities, cash and alternative investments, and banking and other financial services, and have interests other than that of managing the Fund. These are considerations of which investors in the Fund should be aware, and which may cause conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the Fund 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 Fund.

BlackRock and the other Affiliates 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 similar to those of the Fund and/or that engage in transactions in the same types of securities, currencies and instruments as the Fund. One or more Affiliates are also major participants in the global currency, equities, swap and fixed-income markets, in each case, for the accounts of customers and, in some cases, on a proprietary basis. As such, one or more Affiliates are or may be actively engaged in transactions in the same securities, currencies, and instruments in which the Fund invests. Such

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

When BlackRock and the other Affiliates seek to purchase or sell the same assets for their managed accounts, including the Fund, the assets actually purchased or sold may be allocated among the accounts on a basis determined in their 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 Fund. In addition, transactions in investments by one or more other accounts managed by BlackRock or the other Affiliates may have the effect of diluting or otherwise disadvantaging the values, prices or investment strategies of the Fund, particularly, but not limited to, with respect to small-capitalization, emerging market or less liquid strategies. This may occur when investment decisions regarding the Fund are based on research or other information that is also used to support decisions for other accounts. When BlackRock or the other Affiliates implement a portfolio decision or strategy on behalf of another account ahead of, or contemporaneously with, similar decisions or strategies for the Fund, market impact, liquidity constraints, or other factors could result in the Fund receiving less favorable trading results and the costs of implementing such decisions or strategies could be increased or the Fund could otherwise be disadvantaged. BlackRock or the other Affiliates may, in certain cases, elect to implement internal policies and procedures designed to limit such consequences, which may cause the Fund to be unable to 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 Fund may benefit other accounts managed by BlackRock or the other Affiliates. For example, the sale of a long position or establishment of a short position by the Fund may impair the price of the same security sold short by (and therefore benefit) one or more Affiliates or their other accounts or funds, and the purchase of a security or covering of a short position in a security by the Fund may increase the price of the same security held by (and therefore benefit) one or more Affiliates or their other accounts or funds.

In certain circumstances, BlackRock, on behalf of the Fund, may seek to buy from or sell securities to another fund or account advised by BlackRock or an Affiliate. BlackRock may (but is not required to) effect purchases and sales between BlackRock clients or clients of Affiliates (“cross trades”), including the Fund, 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 Fund. BlackRock may have a potentially conflicting division of loyalties and responsibilities to the parties in such transactions. On any occasion when the Fund participates in a cross trade, BlackRock will comply with procedures adopted under applicable rules and SEC guidance.

BlackRock and the other Affiliates and their clients may pursue or enforce rights with respect to an issuer in which the Fund has invested, and those activities may have an adverse effect on the Fund. As a result, prices, availability, liquidity and terms of the Fund's investments may be negatively impacted by the activities of BlackRock or the other Affiliates or their clients, and transactions for the Fund 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 Fund’s investment activities may differ significantly from the results achieved by BlackRock and the other Affiliates for their proprietary accounts or other accounts (including investment companies or collective investment vehicles) managed or advised by them. It is possible that one or more Affiliate-managed accounts and such other accounts will achieve investment results that are substantially more or less favorable than the results achieved by the Fund. Moreover, it is possible that the Fund will sustain losses during periods in which one or more Affiliates or Affiliate-managed accounts achieve significant profits on their trading for proprietary or other accounts. The opposite result is also possible.

From time to time, the Fund 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 one or more Affiliates or other accounts managed or advised by BlackRock or the other Affiliates for clients worldwide, and/or the internal policies of BlackRock and the other Affiliates designed to comply with such requirements. As a result, there may be periods, for example, when BlackRock and/or one or more Affiliates will not initiate or recommend certain types of transactions in certain securities or instruments with respect to which BlackRock and/or one or more Affiliates are performing services or when position limits have been reached. For example, the investment activities of one or more Affiliates for their proprietary accounts and accounts under their management may limit the investment opportunities for the Fund 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 Fund, BlackRock may have access to certain fundamental analysis and proprietary technical models developed by one or more Affiliates. BlackRock will not be under any obligation, however, to effect transactions on behalf of the Fund in accordance with such analysis and models. In addition, neither BlackRock nor any of the other Affiliates will have any obligation to make available any information regarding their proprietary activities or strategies, or the activities or strategies used for other accounts managed by them, for the benefit of the management of the Fund and it is not anticipated that BlackRock will have access to such information for the purpose of managing the Fund. The proprietary activities or portfolio strategies of BlackRock and the other Affiliates, or the activities or strategies used for accounts managed by them or other customer accounts could conflict with the transactions and strategies employed by BlackRock in managing the Fund.

The Fund may be included in investment models developed by BlackRock and the other Affiliates for use by clients and financial advisors. The price, availability and liquidity of the Fund may be impacted by purchases and redemptions of the Fund by model-driven investment portfolios.

In addition, certain principals and certain employees of BlackRock are also principals or employees of Affiliates. As a result, these principals and employees may have obligations to such other entities or their clients and such obligations to other entities or clients may be a consideration of which investors in the Fund should be aware.

BlackRock may enter into transactions and invest in securities, instruments and currencies on behalf of the Fund in which clients of BlackRock or the other Affiliates, or, to the extent permitted by the SEC and applicable law, BlackRock or another Affiliate, 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 Fund, and such party may have no incentive to assure that the Fund obtains the best possible prices or terms in connection with the transactions. In addition, the purchase, holding and sale of such investments by the Fund may enhance the profitability of BlackRock or the other Affiliates. One or more Affiliates may also create, write or issue derivatives for their clients, the underlying securities, currencies or instruments of which may be those in which the Fund invests or which may be based on the performance of the Fund. The Fund may, subject to applicable law, purchase investments that are the subject of an underwriting or other distribution by one or more Affiliates and may also enter into transactions with other clients of an Affiliate where such other clients have interests adverse to those of the Fund.

At times, these activities may cause departments of BlackRock or the other Affiliates to give advice to clients that may cause these clients to take actions adverse to the interests of the Fund. To the extent affiliated transactions are permitted, the Fund will deal with BlackRock and the other Affiliates (except with respect to BFA or affiliated sub-advisers of the Fund, as applicable) on an arms-length basis.

To the extent authorized by applicable law, one or more Affiliates may act as broker, dealer, agent, lender or adviser or in other commercial capacities for the Fund. It is anticipated that the commissions, markups, markdowns, 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 an Affiliate will be in its view commercially reasonable, although each Affiliate, including its sales personnel, will have an interest in obtaining fees and other amounts that are favorable to the Affiliate and such sales personnel, which may have an adverse effect on the Fund.

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

When an Affiliate acts as broker, dealer, agent, adviser or in other commercial capacities in relation to the Fund, the Affiliate may take commercial steps in its own interests, which may have an adverse effect on the Fund. The Fund will be required to establish business relationships with its counterparties based on the Fund's own credit standing. Neither BlackRock nor any of the Affiliates will have any obligation to allow their credit to be used in connection with the Fund's establishment of its business relationships, nor is it expected that the Fund's counterparties will rely on the credit of BlackRock or any of the other Affiliates in evaluating the Fund's creditworthiness.

Lending on behalf of the Fund is done by BTC pursuant to SEC exemptive relief, enabling BTC to act as securities lending agent to, and receive a share of securities lending revenues from, the Fund. An Affiliate will also receive compensation for managing the reinvestment of the cash collateral from securities lending. There are potential conflicts of interest in managing a securities lending program, including but not limited to: (i) BTC as securities lending agent may have an incentive to increase or decrease the amount of securities on loan or to lend particular securities in order to generate additional risk-adjusted revenue for BTC and its affiliates; and (ii) BTC 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 certain clients or funds against a shortfall in collateral in the event of borrower default. BlackRock’s RQA calculates, on a regular basis, BlackRock’s potential dollar exposure to the risk of collateral shortfall upon counterparty default (“shortfall risk”) under the securities lending program for both indemnified and non-indemnified clients. On a periodic basis, RQA also determines the maximum amount of potential indemnified shortfall risk arising from securities lending activities (“indemnification exposure limit”) and the maximum amount of counterparty-specific credit exposure (“credit limits”) BlackRock is willing to assume as well as the program’s operational complexity. RQA oversees the risk model that calculates projected shortfall values using loan-level factors such as loan and collateral type and market value as well as specific borrower counterparty credit characteristics. When necessary, RQA may further adjust other securities lending program attributes by restricting eligible collateral or reducing counterparty credit limits. As a result, the management of the indemnification exposure limit may affect the amount of securities lending activity BlackRock may conduct at any given point in time and impact indemnified and non-indemnified clients by reducing the volume of lending opportunities for certain loans (including by asset type, collateral type and/or revenue profile).

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 counterparty 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 Fund may be bunched or aggregated with orders for other BlackRock client and fund accounts, including with accounts that pay different transaction costs 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 or funds are made separately, or if it determines that bunching or aggregating is not practicable or required, is not in the best interest of the Fund, 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 Fund 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 Fund. In addition, under certain circumstances, the Fund will not be charged the same commission or commission equivalent rates in connection with a bunched or aggregated order.

BlackRock may select brokers (including, without limitation, Affiliates, to the extent permitted by applicable law) that furnish BlackRock, the Fund, other BlackRock client accounts or other Affiliates 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 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 Fund based on the amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund 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 Fund 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.

BlackRock does not currently enter into arrangements to use the Fund's assets for, or participate in, soft dollars, although BlackRock may receive research that is bundled with the trade execution, clearing, and/or settlement services provided by a particular broker-dealer. To the extent that BlackRock receives research on this basis, many of the same conflicts related to traditional soft dollars may exist. For example, the research effectively will be paid by client commissions that also will be used to pay for the execution, clearing, and settlement services provided by the broker-dealer and will not be paid by BlackRock.

BlackRock 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 may also enter into commission sharing arrangements under which BlackRock may execute transactions through a broker-dealer, including, where permitted, an Affiliate, 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 or the other Affiliates have 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 Fund. 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 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 Fund, 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 and/or the other Affiliates, 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 the Proxy Voting Policy section of this SAI.

It is also possible that, from time to time, BlackRock or the other Affiliates may, subject to compliance with applicable law, purchase and hold shares of the Fund. Increasing the Fund’s assets may enhance liquidity, investment flexibility and diversification and may contribute to economies of scale that tend to reduce the Fund's expense ratio. BlackRock and the other Affiliates reserve the right, subject to compliance with applicable law, to sell into the market or redeem in Creation Units through an Authorized Participant at any time some or all of the shares of the Fund acquired for their own accounts. A large sale or redemption of shares of the Fund by BlackRock or the other Affiliates could significantly reduce the asset size of the Fund, which might have an adverse effect on the Fund's liquidity, investment flexibility, portfolio diversification, expense ratio or ability to comply with the listing requirements for the Fund. BlackRock seeks to consider the effect of redemptions on the Fund 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 Fund may invest in securities of, or engage in transactions with, companies with which an Affiliate has developed or is trying to develop investment banking relationships as well as securities of entities in which BlackRock or the other Affiliates has significant debt or equity investments or other interests or in which an Affiliate makes a market. The Fund also may invest in securities of, or engage in transactions with, companies to which an Affiliate provides or may in the future provide research coverage. Such investments or transactions could cause conflicts between the interests of the Fund and the interests of BlackRock, other clients of BlackRock or the other Affiliates. In making investment decisions for the Fund,

BlackRock is not permitted to obtain or use material non-public information acquired by any division, department or Affiliate of BlackRock in the course of these activities. In addition, from time to time, the activities of an Affiliate may limit the Fund's flexibility in purchases and sales of securities. When an Affiliate is engaged in an underwriting or other distribution of securities of an entity, BlackRock may be prohibited from purchasing or recommending the purchase of certain securities of that entity for the Fund. As indicated below, BlackRock or the other Affiliates may engage in transactions with companies in which BlackRock-advised funds or other clients of BlackRock or of an Affiliate have an investment.

BlackRock and Chubb Limited (“Chubb”), a public company whose securities are held by BlackRock-advised funds and other accounts, partially funded the creation of a re-insurance company (“Re Co”) pursuant to which each has approximately a 9.9% ownership interest and each has representation on the board of directors. Certain employees and executives of BlackRock have a less than ½ of 1% ownership interest in Re Co. BlackRock manages the investment portfolio of Re Co, which is held in a wholly-owned subsidiary. Re Co participates as a reinsurer with reinsurance contracts underwritten by subsidiaries of Chubb. An independent director of certain BlackRock-advised funds also serves as an independent director of Chubb and has no interest or involvement in the Re Co transaction.

BlackRock and the other Affiliates, their personnel and other financial service providers may have interests in promoting sales of the Fund. With respect to BlackRock and the other Affiliates and their personnel, the remuneration and profitability relating to services to and sales of the Fund 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 the other Affiliates and their sales personnel may directly or indirectly receive a portion of the fees and commissions charged to the Fund 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 or the other Affiliates and such personnel resulting from transactions on behalf of or management of the Fund may be greater than the remuneration and profitability resulting from other funds or products.

BlackRock and the other Affiliates and their personnel may receive greater compensation or greater profit in connection with an account for which BlackRock serves as an adviser than with an account advised by an unaffiliated investment adviser. Differentials in compensation may be related to the fact that BlackRock may pay a portion of its advisory fee to its Affiliate, or relate to compensation arrangements, including for portfolio management, brokerage transactions or account servicing. Any differential in compensation may create a financial incentive on the part of BlackRock or the other Affiliates and their personnel to recommend BlackRock over unaffiliated investment advisers or to effect transactions differently in one account over another.

Third parties, including service providers to BlackRock or the Fund, 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 Fund.

BlackRock and the other Affiliates may provide valuation assistance to certain clients with respect to certain securities or other investments and the valuation recommendations made for their clients' accounts may differ from the valuations for the same securities or investments assigned by the Fund's pricing vendors, especially if such valuations are based on broker-dealer quotes or other data sources unavailable to the Fund's pricing vendors. While BlackRock will generally communicate its valuation information or determinations to the Fund's pricing vendors and/or fund accountants, there may be instances where the Fund'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 the Determination of Net Asset Value section of the Fund’s Prospectus and this SAI, when market quotations are not readily available or are believed by BlackRock to be unreliable, the Fund’s investments are valued at fair value by BlackRock in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board. When determining “fair value price,” BlackRock seeks to determine the price that the Fund 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 Fund might 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 Fund’s net asset value. As a result, the Fund’s sale or redemption of its shares at net asset value, at a time when a holding or holdings are valued by BlackRock (pursuant to Board-adopted procedures) 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 Fund 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 Fund, to the extent permitted by the 1940 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 Fund bearing some additional expenses.

BlackRock and the other Affiliates and their 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 Fund. As a result of differing trading and investment strategies or constraints, positions may be taken by directors, officers, employees and Affiliates that are the same, different from or made at different times than positions taken for the Fund. To lessen the possibility that the Fund will be adversely affected by this personal trading, the Fund, BFA and BlackRock, Inc. have each adopted a code of ethics in compliance with Section 17(j) of the 1940 Act that restricts securities trading in the personal accounts of investment professionals and others who normally come into possession of information regarding the Fund's portfolio transactions. Each code of ethics is available by contacting BlackRock or by accessing the EDGAR Database on the SEC'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 or by writing the SEC's Public Reference Room, Washington, DC 20549-1520. Information about accessing documents on the SEC’s website may be obtained by calling the SEC at (800) SEC-0330.

BlackRock and the other Affiliates will not purchase securities or other property from, or sell securities or other property to, the Fund, except that the Fund may in accordance with rules or guidance adopted under the 1940 Act engage in transactions with accounts that are affiliated with the Fund as a result of common officers, directors, or investment advisers or pursuant to exemptive orders granted to the Fund and/or BlackRock by the SEC. These transactions would be effected in circumstances in which BlackRock determined that it would be appropriate for the Fund to purchase and another client of BlackRock to sell, or the Fund 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 Fund may be restricted because of regulatory requirements applicable to BlackRock or the other Affiliates 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 their advice in certain securities or instruments issued by or related to companies for which an Affiliate is performing investment banking, market making, advisory or other services or has proprietary positions. For example, when an Affiliate is engaged in an underwriting or other distribution of securities of, or advisory services for, a company, the Fund may be prohibited from or limited in purchasing or selling securities of that company. In addition, when BlackRock provides 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 Fund, 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 or the other Affiliates serve as directors of companies the securities of which the Fund 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 Fund may purchase securities or instruments that are issued by such companies, are the subject of an underwriting, distribution or advisory assignment by an Affiliate, or are the subject of an advisory or risk management assignment by BlackRock, or where personnel of BlackRock or the other Affiliates are directors or officers of the issuer.

The investment activities of one or more Affiliates for their proprietary accounts and for client accounts may also limit the investment strategies and rights of the Fund. For example, in certain circumstances where the Fund invests in securities issued by companies that operate in certain regulated industries or in certain emerging or international markets, are subject to corporate or regulatory ownership definitions, or invest in certain futures and derivative transactions, there may be limits on the aggregate amount invested by Affiliates (including BlackRock) for their proprietary accounts and for client accounts (including the Fund) that may not be exceeded without the grant of a license or other regulatory or corporate consent or, if exceeded, may cause BlackRock, the Fund or other client accounts to suffer disadvantages or business restrictions.

If certain aggregate ownership thresholds are reached or certain transactions are undertaken, the ability of BlackRock on behalf of clients (including the Fund) to purchase or dispose of investments, or exercise rights or undertake business transactions, may be restricted by regulation or otherwise impaired. As a result, BlackRock, on behalf of clients (including the Fund), may limit purchases, sell existing investments, or otherwise restrict or limit the exercise of rights (including voting rights) 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.

In those circumstances where ownership thresholds or limitations must be observed, BlackRock seeks to allocate limited investment opportunities equitably among clients (including the Fund), taking into consideration benchmark weight and investment strategy. When ownership in certain securities nears an applicable threshold, BlackRock may limit purchases in such securities to the issuer's weighting in the applicable benchmark used by BlackRock to manage the Fund. If client (including Fund) 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 sell down these positions to meet the applicable limitations. In these cases, benchmark overweight positions will be sold prior to benchmark positions being reduced to meet applicable limitations.

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 and the other Affiliates may not serve as Authorized Participants in the creation and redemption of iShares ETFs, but may serve as authorized participants of third-party ETFs.

BlackRock may enter into contractual arrangements with third-party service providers to the Fund (e.g., custodians and administrators) pursuant to which BlackRock receives fee discounts or concessions in recognition of BlackRock’s overall relationship with such service providers. To the extent that BlackRock is responsible for paying these service providers out of its management fee, the benefits of any such fee discounts or concessions may accrue, in whole or in part, to BlackRock.

BlackRock or the other Affiliates own or have an ownership interest in certain trading, portfolio management, operations and/or information systems used by Fund service providers. These systems are, or will be, used by a Fund service provider in connection with the provision of services to accounts managed by BlackRock and funds managed and sponsored by BlackRock, including the Fund, that engage the service provider (typically the custodian). The Fund’s service provider remunerates BlackRock or the other Affiliates for the use of the systems. The Fund service provider’s payments to BlackRock or the other Affiliates for the use of these systems may enhance the profitability of BlackRock and the other Affiliates. BlackRock’s or the other Affiliates’ receipt of fees from a service provider in connection with the use of systems provided by BlackRock or the other Affiliates may create an incentive for BlackRock to recommend that the Fund enter into or renew an arrangement with the service provider.

Present and future activities of BlackRock and the other Affiliates, including BFA, in addition to those described in this section, may give rise to additional conflicts of interest.

Legal Proceedings. On June 16, 2016, investors (the “Plaintiffs”) in certain iShares funds (iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF, iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF, iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF, iShares Select Dividend ETF, iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF, iShares Morningstar Large-Cap ETF, iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF and iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF) filed a putative class action lawsuit against the Trust, BlackRock, Inc. and certain of its advisory affiliates, and certain directors/trustees and officers of the Trust (collectively, “Defendants”) in California State Court. The lawsuit alleges the Defendants violated federal securities laws by failing to adequately disclose in the prospectuses issued by the funds noted above the risks of using stop-loss orders in the event of a “flash crash,” such as the one that occurred on May 6, 2010. On September 18, 2017, the court issued a Statement of Decision holding that the Plaintiffs lack standing to assert their claims. On October 11, 2017, the court entered final judgment dismissing all of Plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice. Plaintiffs have appealed the court’s decision.

Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services

Investment Adviser. BFA serves as investment adviser to the Fund pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and BFA. BFA is a California corporation indirectly owned by BlackRock, Inc. and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Under the investment advisory agreement, BFA, subject to the supervision of the Board and in conformity with the stated investment policies of the Fund, manages and administers the Trust and the investment of the Fund’s assets. BFA is responsible for placing purchase and sale orders and providing continuous supervision of the investment portfolio of the Fund.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, BFA may, from time to time, in its sole discretion and to the extent permitted by applicable law, appoint one or more sub-advisers, including, without limitation, affiliates of BFA, to perform investment advisory or other services with respect to the Fund. In addition, BFA may delegate certain of its investment advisory functions under the investment advisory agreement to one or more of its affiliates to the extent permitted by applicable law. BFA may terminate any or all sub-advisers or such delegation arrangements in its sole discretion upon appropriate notice at any time to the extent permitted by applicable law.

BFA is responsible, under the investment advisory agreement, for substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services. BFA is not responsible for, and the Fund will bear, the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses (as determined by a majority of the Independent Trustees).

For its investment advisory services to the Fund, BFA will be paid a management fee by the Fund, based on a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets, at an annual rate of 0.50%. BFA has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fee in order to limit the Fund’s total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver to 0.35% through February 29, 2020. The contractual waiver may be terminated prior to February 29, 2020 only upon written agreement of the Trust and BFA. In addition, BFA may from time to time voluntarily waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit total annual fund operating expenses (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, if any). Any such voluntary waiver or reimbursement may be eliminated by BFA at any time.

The investment advisory agreement with respect to the Fund continues in effect for two years from its effective date, and thereafter is subject to annual approval by (i) the Board, or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, provided that in either event such continuance also is approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

The investment advisory agreement with respect to the Fund is terminable without penalty, on 60 days’ notice, by the Board or by a vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act). The investment advisory agreement is also terminable upon 60 days’ notice by BFA and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

Portfolio Managers. As of _____, 2018, the individuals named as Portfolio Managers in the Fund's Prospectus were also primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of other iShares funds and certain other types of portfolios and/or accounts as follows:

James Mauro
Types of Accounts	Number	Total Assets
Registered Investment Companies	____	$____
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	____	____
Other Accounts	____	____

Scott Radell
Types of Accounts	Number	Total Assets
Registered Investment Companies	____	$____
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	____	____
Other Accounts	____	____

Each of the portfolios or accounts for which the Portfolio Managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management seeks to track the rate of return, risk profile and other characteristics of independent third-party indexes by either replicating the same combination of securities and other financial instruments that compose those indexes or through a representative sampling of the securities and other financial instruments that compose those indexes based on objective criteria and data. Pursuant to BFA policy, investment opportunities are allocated equitably among the Fund and other portfolios and accounts. For example, under certain circumstances, an investment opportunity may be restricted due to limited supply in the market, legal constraints or other factors, in which event the investment opportunity will be allocated equitably among those portfolios and accounts, including the Fund, seeking such investment opportunity. As a consequence, from time to time the Fund may receive a smaller allocation of an investment opportunity than it would have if the Portfolio Managers and BFA and its affiliates did not manage other portfolios or accounts.

Like the Fund, the other portfolios or accounts for which the Portfolio Managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management generally pay an asset-based fee to BFA or its affiliates, as applicable, for its advisory services. One or more of those other portfolios or accounts, however, may pay BFA or its affiliates a performance-based fee in lieu of, or in addition to, an asset-based fee for its advisory services. A portfolio or account with a performance-based fee would pay BFA or its affiliates a portion of that portfolio's or account's gains, or would pay BFA or its affiliates more for its services than would otherwise be the case if BFA or its affiliates meets or exceeds specified performance targets. Performance-based fee arrangements could present an incentive for BFA or its affiliates to devote greater resources, and allocate more investment opportunities, to the portfolios or accounts that have those fee arrangements, relative to other portfolios or accounts, in order to earn larger fees. Although BFA and its affiliates have an obligation to allocate resources and opportunities equitably among portfolios and accounts and intends to do so, shareholders of the Fund should be aware that, as with any group of portfolios and accounts managed by an investment adviser and/or its affiliates pursuant to varying fee arrangements, including performance-based fee arrangements, there is the potential for a conflict-of-interest, which may result in the Portfolio Managers' favoring those portfolios or accounts with performance-based fee arrangements.

The tables below show, for each Portfolio Manager, the number of portfolios or accounts of the types set forth in the above tables and the aggregate of total assets in those portfolios or accounts with respect to which the investment management fees are based on the performance of those portfolios or accounts as of _________, 2018:

James Mauro
Types of Accounts	Number of Other Accounts with Performance Fees Managed by Portfolio Manager	Aggregate of Total Assets
Registered Investment Companies	____	$____
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	____	____
Other Accounts	____	____

Scott Radell
Types of Accounts	Number of Other Accounts with Performance Fees Managed by Portfolio Manager	Aggregate of Total Assets
Registered Investment Companies	____	$____
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	____	____
Other Accounts	____	____

The discussion below describes the Portfolio Managers' compensation as of ________, 2018.

Portfolio Manager Compensation Overview

BlackRock, Inc.'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 BlackRock, Inc.

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 BlackRock, Inc. and the individual's performance and contribution to the overall performance of these portfolios and BlackRock, Inc.

Distribution of Discretionary Incentive Compensation. Discretionary incentive compensation is distributed to portfolio managers in a combination of cash and BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units which vest ratably over a number of years. The BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units, if properly vested, will be settled in BlackRock, Inc. common stock. Typically, the cash bonus, when combined with base salary, represents more than 60% of total compensation for the portfolio managers. Paying a portion of annual bonuses in stock puts compensation earned by a portfolio manager for a given year “at risk” based on BlackRock, Inc.'s ability to sustain and improve its performance over future periods.

Long-Term Incentive Plan Awards — From time to time, long-term incentive equity awards are granted to certain key employees to aid in retention, align their interests with long-term shareholder interests and motivate performance. Equity awards are generally granted in the form of BlackRock, Inc. restricted stock units that, once vested, settle in BlackRock, Inc. common stock.

Other Compensation Benefits. In addition to base compensation 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 U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) limit ($265,000 for 2015). 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 an index 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. James Mauro and Scott Radell are each eligible to participate in these plans.

As of __________, 2018, the Portfolio Managers did not beneficially own shares of the Fund.

Codes of Ethics. The Trust, BFA and the Distributor have adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. The codes of ethics permit personnel subject to the codes of ethics to invest in securities, subject to certain limitations, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. The codes of ethics are on public file with, and are available from, the SEC.

Anti-Money Laundering Requirements. The Fund is subject to the USA PATRIOT Act (the “Patriot Act”). The Patriot Act is intended to prevent the use of the U.S. financial system in furtherance of money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities. Pursuant to requirements under the Patriot Act, the Fund may request information from Authorized Participants to enable it to form a reasonable belief that it knows the true identity of its Authorized Participants. This information will be used to verify the identity of Authorized Participants or, in some cases, the status of financial professionals; it will be used only for compliance with the requirements of the Patriot Act.

The Fund reserves the right to reject purchase orders from persons who have not submitted information sufficient to allow the Fund to verify their identity. The Fund also reserves the right to redeem any amounts in the Fund from persons whose

identity it is unable to verify on a timely basis. It is the Fund's policy to cooperate fully with appropriate regulators in any investigations conducted with respect to potential money laundering, terrorism or other illicit activities.

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent. State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) serves as administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Fund under the Master Services Agreement and related Service Schedule (the “Service Module”). State Street’s principal address is 1 Iron Street, Boston, MA 02210. Pursuant to the Service Module for Fund Administration and Accounting Services with the Trust, State Street provides necessary administrative, legal, tax and accounting and financial reporting services for the maintenance and operations of the Trust and the Fund. In addition, State Street makes available the office space, equipment, personnel and facilities required to provide such services. Pursuant to the Service Module for Custodial Services with the Trust, State Street maintains, in separate accounts, cash, securities and other assets of the Trust and the Fund, keeps all necessary accounts and records and provides other services. State Street is required, upon the order of the Trust, to deliver securities held by State Street and to make payments for securities purchased by the Trust for the Fund. State Street is authorized to appoint certain foreign custodians or foreign custody managers for Fund investments outside the U.S. Pursuant to the Service Module for Transfer Agency Services with the Trust, State Street acts as a transfer agent for the Fund’s authorized and issued shares of beneficial interest, and as dividend disbursing agent of the Trust. As compensation for these services, State Street receives certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees which are accrued daily and paid monthly by BFA from its management fee.

Distributor. The Distributor's principal address is 1 University Square Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Fund through the Distributor or its agent only in Creation Units, as described in the Prospectus and below in the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI. Fund shares in amounts less than Creation Units are generally not distributed by the Distributor or its agent. The Distributor or its agent will arrange for the delivery of the Prospectus and, upon request, this SAI to persons purchasing Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it or its agents and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it or its agents. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Distributor is also licensed as a broker-dealer in all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.

The Distribution Agreement for the Fund provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days' prior written notice to the other party following (i) the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees, or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Units of Fund shares. Such Soliciting Dealers may also be Authorized Participants (as described below), Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participants and/or investor services organizations.

BFA or its affiliates may, from time to time and from its own resources, pay, defray or absorb costs relating to distribution, including payments out of its own resources to the Distributor, or to otherwise promote the sale of shares.

Securities Lending. To the extent that the Fund engages in securities lending, the Fund conducts its securities lending pursuant to SEC exemptive relief, and BTC acts as securities lending agent for the Fund, subject to the overall supervision of BFA, pursuant to a written agreement (the “Securities Lending Agency Agreement”).

The Fund retains a portion of the securities lending income and remits the remaining portion to BTC as compensation for its services as securities lending agent. Securities lending income is generally equal to the total of income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral (and excludes collateral investment fees as defined below), and any fees or other payments to and from borrowers of securities. As securities lending agent, BTC bears all operational costs directly related to securities lending. The Fund is responsible for fees in connection with the investment of cash collateral received for securities on loan in a money market fund managed by BFA; however, BTC has agreed to reduce the amount of securities lending income it receives in order to effectively limit the collateral investment fees the Fund bears to an annual rate of 0.04% (the “collateral investment fees”). Such money market fund shares will not be subject to a sales load, redemption fee, distribution fee or service fee.

Pursuant to the Securities Lending Agency Agreement:

(i) Fixed-income funds, such as the Fund, retain 80% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment fees) and (ii) this amount can never be less than 70% of the sum of securities lending income plus collateral investment fees.

Under the securities lending program, the Fund is categorized into one of several specific asset classes. The determination of the Fund’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 by the Trust and BTC.

In addition, commencing the business day following the date that the aggregate securities lending income (which includes, for this purpose, collateral investment fees) earned across the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex (as defined under “Management—Trustees and Officers”) in a calendar year exceeds the aggregate securities lending income earned across the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex in calendar year 2013 (the Hurdle Date), the applicable fixed-income fund, pursuant to the securities lending agreement, will receive for the remainder of that calendar year securities lending income as follows:

(i) 85% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment fees) and (ii) this amount can never be less than 70% of the sum of securities lending income plus collateral investment fees.

Because the Fund is newly launched, no services have been provided by BTC as the Fund’s securities lending agent, and the Fund had no income and fees/compensation related to its securities lending activities for the fiscal year ended _______.

Payments by BFA and its Affiliates. BFA and/or its affiliates (“BFA Entities”) may pay certain broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) for certain activities related to the Fund, other iShares funds or exchange-traded products in general. BFA Entities make these payments from their own assets and not from the assets of the Fund. Although a portion of BFA Entities’ revenue comes directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the Fund, other iShares funds or exchange-traded products, these payments do not increase the price paid by investors for the purchase of shares of, or the cost of owning, the Fund, other iShares funds or exchange-traded products. BFA Entities make payments for Intermediaries’ participation in activities that are designed to make registered representatives, other professionals and individual investors more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund and other iShares funds, or for other activities, such as participation in marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems (“Education Costs”). BFA Entities also make payments to Intermediaries for certain printing, publishing and mailing costs or materials relating to the Fund, other iShares funds or exchange-traded products (“Publishing Costs”). In addition, BFA Entities make payments to Intermediaries that make shares of the Fund, other iShares funds or exchange-traded products available to their clients, develop new products that feature iShares or otherwise promote the Fund, other iShares funds and exchange-traded products. BFA Entities may also reimburse expenses or make payments from their own assets to Intermediaries or other persons in consideration of services or other activities that the BFA Entities believe may benefit the iShares business or facilitate investment in the Fund, other iShares funds or exchange-traded products. Payments of the type described above are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments.

Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to the Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your salesperson or other investment professional may also be significant for your salesperson or other investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it will recommend or make available to its clients or what services to provide for various products based on payments it receives or is eligible to receive, such payments may create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients and these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend the Fund, other iShares funds or exchange-traded products over other investments. The same conflicts of interest and financial incentives exist with respect to your salesperson or other investment professional if he or she receives similar payments from his or her Intermediary firm.

In addition to the payments described above, BFA Entities have developed proprietary tools, calculators and related interactive or digital content that is made available through the www.BlackRock.com website at no additional cost to Intermediaries. BlackRock may configure these tools and calculators and localizes the content for Intermediaries as part of its customary digital marketing support and promotion of the Fund, other iShares funds, exchange-traded products and BlackRock mutual funds.

As of March 1, 2013, BFA Entities have contractual arrangements to make payments (in addition to payments for Education Costs or Publishing Costs) to one Intermediary, Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC (“FBS”). Effective June 4, 2016, this relationship was expanded to include National Financial Services, LLC (“NFS”), an affiliate of FBS. Pursuant to this special, long-term and significant arrangement (the “Marketing Program”), FBS, NFS and certain of their affiliates (collectively

“Fidelity”) have agreed, among other things, to actively promote iShares funds to customers, investment professionals and other intermediaries and in advertising campaigns as the preferred exchange-traded product, to offer certain iShares funds in certain Fidelity platforms and investment programs, in some cases at a waived or reduced commission rate or ticket charge, and to provide marketing data to BFA Entities. BFA Entities have agreed to facilitate the Marketing Program by, among other things, making certain payments to FBS and NFS for marketing and implementing certain brokerage and investment programs. Upon termination of the arrangement, the BFA Entities will make additional payments to FBS and/or NFS based upon a number of criteria, including the overall success of the Marketing Program and the level of services provided by FBS and NFS during the wind-down period.

In addition, BFA Entities may enter into other contractual arrangements with Intermediaries and certain other third parties that the BFA Entities believe may benefit the iShares business or facilitate investment in iShares funds. Such agreements may include payments by BFA Entities to such Intermediaries and third parties for data collection and provision, technology support, platform enhancement, or co-marketing and cross-promotional efforts. Payments made pursuant to such arrangements may vary in any year and may be different for different Intermediaries and third parties. In certain cases, the payments described in the preceding sentence may be subject to certain minimum payment levels. Such payments will not be asset- or revenue-based. As of the date of this SAI, the Intermediaries and other third parties receiving such contractual payments include: Commonwealth Equity Services, Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann Advisor Network LLC, LPL Financial LLC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Orion Advisors Services, LLC, Pershing LLC, Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., TD Ameritrade, Inc. and UBS Financial Services Inc. Any additions, modifications, or deletions to Intermediaries and other third parties listed above that have occurred since the date noted above are not included in the list.

Further, BFA Entities make Education Costs and Publishing Costs payments to other Intermediaries that are not listed above. BFA Entities may determine to make such payments based on any number of metrics. For example, BFA Entities may make payments at year-end or other intervals in a fixed amount, an amount based upon an Intermediary’s services at defined levels or an amount based on the Intermediary’s net sales of one or more iShares funds in a year or other period, any of which arrangements may include an agreed-upon minimum or maximum payment, or any combination of the foregoing. As of the date of this SAI, BFA anticipates that the payments paid by BFA Entities in connection with the Fund, iShares funds and exchange-traded products in general will be immaterial to BFA Entities in the aggregate for the next year. Please contact your salesperson or other investment professional for more information regarding any such payments or financial incentives his or her Intermediary firm may receive. Any payments made, or financial incentives offered, by the BFA Entities to an Intermediary may create the incentive for the Intermediary to encourage customers to buy shares of the Fund, other iShares funds or other exchange-traded products.

The Fund may participate in certain market maker incentive programs of a national securities exchange in which an affiliate of the Fund would pay a fee to the exchange used for the purpose of incentivizing one or more market makers in the securities of the Fund to enhance the liquidity and quality of the secondary market of securities of the Fund. The fee would then be credited by the exchange to one or more market makers that meet or exceed liquidity and market quality standards with respect to the securities of the Fund. Each market maker incentive program is subject to approval from the SEC. Any such fee payments made to an exchange will be made by an affiliate of the Fund solely for the benefit of the Fund and will not be paid from any Fund assets. Other funds managed by BFA may also participate in such programs.

Determination of Net Asset Value

Valuation of Shares. The NAV for the Fund is generally calculated as of the close of business on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each business day the NYSE is open. Valuation of securities held by the Fund 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 closing price on the Exchange on which the security is primarily traded, or if an Exchange closing price is not available, the last traded price on that Exchange prior to the time as of which the Fund’s 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 Fund on a day on which the Fund values such security, the prior day’s price will be

used, unless, in accordance with valuation procedures approved by the Board (the “Valuation Procedures”), BlackRock determines in good faith 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 Fund values fixed-income portfolio securities using the last available bid prices or current market quotations provided by dealers or prices (including evaluated prices) supplied by the Fund’s approved independent third-party pricing services, each in accordance with 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 Fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. The amortized cost method of valuation may be used with respect to debt obligations with sixty days or less remaining to maturity unless BlackRock determines in good faith that such method does not represent fair value. Loan participation notes are generally valued at the mean of the last available bid prices from one or more brokers or dealers as obtained from independent third-party pricing services. 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 entity, establish a benchmark yield and develop an estimated tranche-specific spread to the benchmark yield based on the unique attributes of the tranche.

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 Fund on a day on which the Fund 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 such bid or ask price is available on a day on which the Fund values such option, the prior day’s price will be used, unless BlackRock determines in good faith 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 (as defined below). OTC derivatives are valued using the last available bid prices or current market quotations provided by dealers or prices (including evaluated prices) supplied by the Fund’s approved independent third-party pricing services, each in accordance with the Valuation Procedures. 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 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 ETFs will be valued at their most recent closing price on an Exchange. Shares of underlying money market funds will be valued at their NAV.

General Valuation Information. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities 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 Fund, and the Fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. The Fund’s ability to value its investment may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

All cash, receivables and current payables are carried on the Fund’s books at their face value.

Prices obtained from independent third-party pricing services, broker-dealers or market makers to value the Fund’s securities and other assets and liabilities are based on information available at the time the Fund values its assets and liabilities. In the event that a pricing service quotation is revised or updated subsequent to the day on which the Fund valued such security or other asset or liability, 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 Board as reflecting fair value. All other assets and liabilities (including securities

for which market quotations are not readily available) held by the Fund (including restricted securities) are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board or by BlackRock (its delegate) pursuant to the Valuation Procedures. Any assets and liabilities that are denominated in a foreign currency are converted into U.S. dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers.

Certain of the securities acquired by the Fund may be traded on foreign exchanges or OTC markets on days on which the Fund’s NAV is not calculated. In such cases, the NAV of the Fund’s shares may be significantly affected on days when Authorized Participants can neither purchase nor redeem shares of the Fund.

Use of fair value prices and certain current market valuations could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV and the prices used in the Underlying Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Underlying Index.

Fair Value. When market quotations are not readily available or are believed in good faith by BlackRock to be unreliable, the Fund’s investments are valued at fair value (“Fair Value Assets”). Fair Value Assets are valued by BlackRock in accordance with the Valuation Procedures. BlackRock may reasonably 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 BlackRock believes in good faith that 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 BlackRock determines, in its reasonable business judgment, that an event has occurred after the close of trading for an asset or liability but prior to or at the time of pricing the Fund’s assets or liabilities, and that the event is likely to cause a material change to the closing market price of the assets or liabilities held by the Fund. Non-U.S. securities whose values are affected by volatility that occurs in the markets or in related or highly correlated assets (e.g., American Depositary Receipts, Global Depositary Receipts or ETFs that invest in components of the Underlying Index) on a trading day after the close of non-U.S. securities markets may be fair valued. 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 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 or liability, in which case such asset or liability would be treated as a Fair Value Asset.

BlackRock, with input from the BlackRock Investment Strategy Group, will submit its recommendations regarding the valuation and/or valuation methodologies for Fair Value Assets to BlackRock’s Valuation Committee. The BlackRock Valuation Committee may accept, modify or reject any recommendations. In addition, the Fund’s accounting agent periodically endeavors to confirm the prices it receives from all third-party pricing services, index providers and broker-dealers, and, with the assistance of BlackRock, to regularly evaluate the values assigned to the securities and other assets and liabilities of the Fund. The pricing of all Fair Value Assets is subsequently reported to and, where appropriate, ratified by the Board.

When determining the price for a Fair Value Asset, the BlackRock Valuation Committee (or BlackRock’s Pricing Group) will seek to determine the price that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive upon the current sale of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction on the date on which the assets or liabilities are being valued, and does not seek to determine the price that the Fund might expect to receive for selling the asset, or the cost of extinguishing a 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 BlackRock Valuation Committee (or BlackRock’s Pricing Group) 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 a good faith approximation of the value of an asset or liability. When determining the fair value of an asset, one or more of a variety of fair valuation methodologies may be used (depending on certain factors, including the asset type). For example, the asset may be priced on the basis of the original cost of the investment or, alternatively, using proprietary or third-party models (including models that rely upon direct portfolio management pricing inputs and which reflect the significance attributed to the various factors and assumptions being considered). Prices of actual, executed or

historical transactions in the relevant asset and/or liability (or related or comparable assets and/or liabilities) or, where appropriate, an appraisal by a third-party experienced in the valuation of similar assets and/or liabilities, may also be used as a basis for establishing the fair 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 Fund’s NAV. As a result, the Fund’s sale or redemption 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 Fund’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. 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 Fund. 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 Fund’s inability to obtain a third-party determination of fair market value.

Brokerage Transactions

Subject to policies established by the Board, BFA is primarily responsible for the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage. BFA does not execute transactions through any particular broker or dealer, but seeks to obtain the best net results for the Fund, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of execution, operational facilities of the firm and the firm’s risk and skill in positioning blocks of securities. While BFA generally seeks reasonable trade execution costs, the Fund 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, BFA may select a broker based partly upon brokerage or research services provided to BFA and its clients, including the Fund. In return for such services, BFA may cause the Fund to pay a higher commission than other brokers would charge if BFA determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.

In selecting brokers or dealers to execute portfolio transactions, BFA seeks to obtain the best price and most favorable execution for the Fund and may take 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) BFA’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) BFA’s knowledge of any actual or apparent operational problems of a broker or dealer. Brokers may also be selected because of their ability to handle special or difficult executions, such as may be involved in large block trades, less liquid securities, or other circumstances.

Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act (“Section 28(e)”) permits a U.S. investment adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause an account to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in securities 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 in securities under certain conditions.

From time to time, the Fund 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 BFA with research services. FINRA 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).

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 Fund 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.

Under the 1940 Act, persons affiliated with the Fund and persons who are affiliated with such affiliated persons are prohibited from dealing with the Fund 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 Fund will not deal with affiliated persons and affiliated persons of such affiliated persons, including PNC and its affiliates, in connection with such transactions. The Fund will not purchase securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling group relating to such securities of which BFA, PNC, BRIL or any affiliated person (as defined in the 1940 Act) thereof is a member except pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board in accordance with Rule 10f-3 under the 1940 Act.

Purchases of money market instruments by the Fund are made from dealers, underwriters and issuers. The Fund 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.

BFA may, from time to time, effect trades on behalf of and for the account of the Fund with brokers or dealers that are affiliated with BFA, in conformity with Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act and SEC rules and regulations. Under these provisions, any commissions paid to affiliated brokers or dealers must be reasonable and fair compared to the commissions charged by other brokers or dealers in comparable transactions.

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.

Investment decisions for the Fund and for other investment accounts managed by BFA and the other Affiliates are made independently of each other in light of differing conditions. A variety of factors will be considered in making investment 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 BlackRock’s 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 BlackRock; (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 BlackRock or to induce future services or benefits to be rendered to BlackRock; or (v) to manage or equalize investment performance among different client accounts. BFA and the other Affiliates may deal, trade and invest for their own respective accounts in the types of securities in which the Fund may invest.

Initial public offerings (“IPOs”) of securities may be over-subscribed and subsequently trade at a premium in the secondary market. When BFA is 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 BFA’s trading desk their level of interest in a particular offering with respect to eligible clients’ accounts for which that team is responsible. IPOs 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 IPO will be allocated among participating client accounts within each investment mandate on a pro rata basis. This pro rata allocation may result in the Fund receiving less of a particular security than if pro-rating had not

occurred. All allocations of securities will be subject, where relevant, to share minimums established for accounts and compliance constraints. 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 BFA to be fair and equitable to clients may be used as well.

Because different accounts may have differing investment objectives and policies, BFA 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, BFA 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 BFA or the other 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 BlackRock on behalf of one or more of its clients may decrease the market price of such security, adversely impacting other BlackRock 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 Fund or other clients or funds for which BFA or another 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, BFA 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 and advisory accounts of affiliates. 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 Fund is concerned, in other cases it could be beneficial to the Fund. Transactions effected by BFA or the other Affiliates 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.

The Fund's purchase and sale orders for securities may be combined with those of other investment companies, clients or accounts that BlackRock manages or advises. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Fund and one or more other accounts managed or advised by BlackRock are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the Fund and the other accounts in a manner deemed equitable to all by BlackRock. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security as far as the Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower transaction costs will be beneficial to the Fund. BlackRock may deal, trade and invest for its own account in the types of securities in which the Fund may invest. BlackRock may, from time to time, effect trades on behalf of and for the account of the Fund with brokers or dealers that are affiliated with BFA, in conformity with the 1940 Act and SEC rules and regulations. Under these provisions, any commissions paid to affiliated brokers or dealers must be reasonable and fair compared to the commissions charged by other brokers or dealers in comparable transactions. The Fund will not deal with affiliates in principal transactions unless permitted by applicable SEC rules or regulations, or by SEC exemptive order.

Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates may result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses.

Additional Information Concerning the Trust

Shares. The Trust currently consists of more than ___ separate investment series or portfolios called funds. The Trust issues shares of beneficial interests in the funds with no par value. The Board may designate additional iShares funds.

100

Each share issued by a fund has a pro rata interest in the assets of that fund. Shares have no preemptive, exchange, subscription or conversion rights and are freely transferable. Each share is entitled to participate equally in dividends and distributions declared by the Board with respect to the relevant fund, and in the net distributable assets of such fund on liquidation.

Each share has one vote with respect to matters upon which the shareholder is entitled to vote. In any matter submitted to shareholders for a vote, the fund shall hold a separate vote, provided that shareholders of all affected funds will vote together when: (i) required by the 1940 Act, or (ii) the Trustees determine that the matter affects the interests of more than one fund.

Under Delaware law, the Trust is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. The policy of the Trust is not to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. All shares (regardless of the fund) have noncumulative voting rights in the election of members of the Board. Under Delaware law, Trustees of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders.

Following the creation of the initial Creation Unit(s) of shares of a fund and immediately prior to the commencement of trading in the fund’s shares, a holder of shares may be a “control person” of the fund, as defined in Rule 0-1 under the 1940 Act. The fund cannot predict the length of time for which one or more shareholders may remain a control person of the fund.

Shareholders may make inquiries by writing to iShares Trust, c/o BlackRock Investments, LLC, 1 University Square Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540.

Absent an applicable exemption or other relief from the SEC or its staff, beneficial owners of more than 5% of the shares of a fund may be subject to the reporting provisions of Section 13 of the 1934 Act and the SEC’s rules promulgated thereunder. In addition, absent an applicable exemption or other relief from the SEC or its staff, officers and trustees of a fund and beneficial owners of 10% of the shares of the fund (“Insiders”) may be subject to the insider reporting, short-swing profit and short sale provisions of Section 16 of the 1934 Act and the SEC’s rules promulgated thereunder. Beneficial owners and Insiders should consult with their own legal counsel concerning their obligations under Sections 13 and 16 of the 1934 Act and existing guidance provided by the SEC staff.

In accordance with the Trust's current Agreement and Declaration of Trust (the “Declaration of Trust”), the Board may, without shareholder approval (unless such shareholder approval is required by the Declaration of Trust or applicable law, including the 1940 Act), authorize certain funds to merge, reorganize, consolidate, sell all or substantially all of their assets, or take other similar actions with, to or into another fund. The Trust or the Fund may be terminated by a majority vote of the Board, subject to the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders of the Trust or the Fund entitled to vote on termination; however, in certain circumstances described in the Declaration of Trust, only a majority vote of the Board is required. Although the shares are not automatically redeemable upon the occurrence of any specific event, the Declaration of Trust provides that the Board will have the unrestricted power to alter the number of shares in a Creation Unit. Therefore, in the event of a termination of the Trust or the Fund, the Board, in its sole discretion, could determine to permit the shares to be redeemable in aggregations smaller than Creation Units or to be individually redeemable. In such circumstance, the Trust or the Fund may make redemptions in-kind, for cash or for a combination of cash or securities. Further, in the event of a termination of the Trust or the Fund, the Trust or the Fund might elect to pay cash redemptions to all shareholders, with an in-kind election for shareholders owning in excess of a certain stated minimum amount.

DTC as Securities Depository for Shares of the Fund. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.

DTC was created in 1973 to enable electronic movement of securities between its participants (“DTC Participants”), and NSCC was established in 1976 to provide a single settlement system for securities clearing and to serve as central counterparty for securities trades among DTC Participants. In 1999, DTC and NSCC were consolidated within The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”) and became wholly-owned subsidiaries of DTCC. The common stock of DTCC is owned by the DTC Participants, but NYSE and FINRA, through subsidiaries, hold preferred shares in DTCC that provide them with the right to elect one member each to the DTCC board of directors. Access to the DTC system is available to entities, such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies, that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (“Indirect Participants”).

Beneficial ownership of shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in shares (owners of such beneficial interests are

101

referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of shares. The laws of some jurisdictions may require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive form. Such laws may impair the ability of certain investors to acquire beneficial interests in shares of the Fund.

Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all shares of the Trust. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such shares, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants. DTC may decide to discontinue providing its service with respect to shares of the Trust at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost.

Distribution of Shares. In connection with the Fund's launch, the Fund will be seeded through the sale of one or more Creation Units by the Fund to one or more initial investors. Initial investors participating in the seeding may be Authorized Participants, a lead market maker or other third party investor or an affiliate of the Fund or the Fund’s adviser. Each such initial investor may sell some or all of the shares underlying the Creation Unit(s) held by them pursuant to the registration statement for the Fund (each, a “Selling Shareholder”), which shares have been registered to permit the resale from time to time after purchase. The Fund will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale by the Selling Shareholders of these shares.

Selling Shareholders may sell shares owned by them directly or through broker-dealers, in accordance with applicable law, on any national securities exchange on which the shares may be listed or quoted at the time of sale, through trading systems, in the OTC market or in transactions other than on these exchanges or systems at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These sales may be effected through brokerage transactions, privately negotiated trades, block sales, entry into options or other derivatives transactions or through any other means authorized by applicable law. Selling Shareholders may redeem the shares held in Creation Unit size by them through an Authorized Participant.

Any Selling Shareholder and any broker-dealer or agents participating in the distribution of shares may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the 1933 Act, in connection with such sales.

Any Selling Shareholder and any other person participating in such distribution will be subject to applicable provisions of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder.

102

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units

General. The Trust issues and sells shares of the Fund only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor or its agent, without a sales load, at a price based on the Fund's NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day (as defined below), of an order received by the Distributor or its agent in proper form. On days when the Listing Exchange or the bond markets close earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to be placed earlier in the day. The following table sets forth the number of shares of the Fund that constitute a Creation Unit for the Fund and the value of such Creation Unit as of __________, 2018:

Shares Per Creation Unit		Value Per Creation Unit (U.S.$)
______		$_________

In its discretion, the Trust reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of the Fund’s shares that constitute a Creation Unit. The Board reserves the right to declare a split or a consolidation in the number of shares outstanding of the Fund, and to make a corresponding change in the number of shares constituting a Creation Unit, in the event that the per share price in the secondary market rises (or declines) to an amount that falls outside the range deemed desirable by the Board.

A “Business Day” with respect to the Fund is any day on which the Listing Exchange on which the Fund is listed for trading is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the Listing Exchange observes the following holidays, as observed: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of Creation Units of the Fund generally consists of Deposit Securities and the Cash Component computed as described below. Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which, when combined with the Fund's portfolio securities is designed to generate performance that has a collective investment profile similar to that of the Underlying Index. The Fund Deposit represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund.

The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares (per Creation Unit) and the “Deposit Amount,” which is an amount equal to the market value of the Deposit Securities, and serves to compensate for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the Deposit Amount. Payment of any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities are the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant purchasing the Creation Unit.

To facilitate efficient management of the Fund and to enable the Fund to track its Underlying Index, the Deposit Securities required for purchase of a Creation Unit may not be identical to the Fund Securities (as defined below under “Redemption of Creation Units”) the Fund will deliver upon redemption of Fund shares. The Deposit Securities and Fund Securities, as applicable, in connection with a purchase or redemption of a Creation Unit, generally will correspond pro rata, to the extent practicable, to the securities held by the Fund. Consistent with the exemptive orders granted to the Fund by the SEC, creation baskets will correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Underlying Index.

BFA makes available through the NSCC on each Business Day prior to the opening of business on the Listing Exchange, the list of names and the required number or par value of each Deposit Security and the amount of the Cash Component to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information as of the end of the previous Business Day for the Fund). Such Fund Deposit is applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, to purchases of Creation Units of shares of the Fund until such time as the next-announced Fund Deposit is made available.

The identity and number or par value of the Deposit Securities change pursuant to changes in the composition of the Fund's portfolio and as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by BFA with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities constituting the Underlying Index.

103

The Fund reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security that may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or that may not be eligible for transfer through DTC or the clearing process (as discussed below) or that the Authorized Participant is not able to trade due to a trading restriction. The Fund also reserves the right to permit or require a “cash in lieu” amount in certain circumstances, including circumstances in which the delivery of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant would be restricted under applicable securities or other local laws or in certain other situations.

Cash Purchase Method. Although the Trust does not generally permit partial or full cash purchases of Creation Units of its funds, when partial or full cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a partial or full cash purchase, the Authorized Participant must pay the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would otherwise be required to provide through an in-kind purchase, plus the same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser.

Procedures for Creation of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor and to create a Creation Unit of the Fund, an entity must be: (i) a “Participating Party,” i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC, or (ii) a DTC Participant, and must have executed an agreement with the Distributor, with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Units (“Authorized Participant Agreement”) (discussed below). A Participating Party or DTC Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement is referred to as an “Authorized Participant.” All shares of the Fund, however created, will be entered on the records of DTC in the name of Cede & Co. for the account of a DTC Participant.

Role of the Authorized Participant. Creation Units may be purchased only by or through a DTC Participant that has entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Distributor. Such Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of such Authorized Participant Agreement and on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that such Authorized Participant will make available in advance of each purchase of shares an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component, once the net asset value of a Creation Unit is next determined after receipt of the purchase order in proper form, together with the transaction fees described below. An Authorized Participant, acting on behalf of an investor, may require the investor to enter into an agreement with such Authorized Participant with respect to certain matters, including payment of the Cash Component. Investors who are not Authorized Participants must make appropriate arrangements with an Authorized Participant. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not be a DTC Participant or may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement and that orders to purchase Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor's broker through an Authorized Participant. As a result, purchase orders placed through an Authorized Participant may result in additional charges to such investor. The Trust does not expect to enter into an Authorized Participant Agreement with more than a small number of DTC Participants. A list of current Authorized Participants may be obtained from the Distributor. The Distributor has adopted guidelines regarding Authorized Participants’ transactions in Creation Units that are made available to all Authorized Participants. These guidelines set forth the processes and standards for Authorized Participants to transact with the Distributor and its agents in connection with creation and redemption transactions. In addition, the Distributor may be appointed as the proxy of the Authorized Participant and may be granted a power of attorney under its Authorized Participant Agreement.

Placement of Creation Orders. Fund Deposits must be delivered through the Federal Reserve System (for cash and U.S. government securities), through DTC (for corporate and municipal securities) or through a central depository account, such as with Euroclear or DTC, maintained by State Street or a sub-custodian (a “Central Depository Account”). Any portion of a Fund Deposit that may not be delivered through the Federal Reserve System or DTC must be delivered through a Central Depository Account. The Fund Deposit transfers made through DTC must be ordered by the DTC Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities through DTC to the account of the Fund generally before 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. Fund Deposit transfers made through the Federal Reserve System must be deposited by the participant institution in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number or amount of Deposit Securities or cash through the Federal Reserve System to the account of the Fund generally before 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. Fund Deposit transfers made through a Central Depository Account must be completed pursuant to the requirements established by the custodian or sub-custodian for such Central Depository Account generally before 2:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. The “Settlement Date” for all funds is generally the third business day after the Transmittal Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities to be delivered, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash equal to the Cash Component must be transferred

104

directly to State Street through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by State Street generally before 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities are not received by 3:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date, the creation order may be canceled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Fund. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the third Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor, provided that the relevant Fund Deposit has been received by the Fund prior to such time.

Purchase Orders. To initiate an order for a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit to the Distributor or its agent an irrevocable order to purchase shares of the Fund, in proper form, generally before 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on any Business Day to receive that day’s NAV. The Distributor or its agent will notify BFA and the custodian of such order. The custodian will then provide such information to any appropriate sub-custodian. Procedures and requirements governing the delivery of the Fund Deposit are set forth in the procedures handbook for Authorized Participants and may change from time to time. Investors, other than Authorized Participants, are responsible for making arrangements for a creation request to be made through an Authorized Participant. The Distributor or its agent will provide a list of current Authorized Participants upon request. Those placing orders to purchase Creation Units through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Distributor or its agent by the Cutoff Time (as defined below) on such Business Day.

The Authorized Participant must also make available on or before the contractual settlement date, by means satisfactory to the Fund, immediately available or same day funds estimated by the Fund to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component next determined after acceptance of the purchase order, together with the applicable purchase transaction fees. Those placing orders should ascertain the deadline for cash transfers by contacting the operations department of the broker or depositary institution effectuating the transfer of the Cash Component. This deadline is likely to be significantly earlier than the Cutoff Time of the Fund. Investors should be aware that an Authorized Participant may require orders for purchases of shares placed with it to be in the particular form required by the individual Authorized Participant.

The Authorized Participant is responsible for any and all expenses and costs incurred by the Fund, including any applicable cash amounts, in connection with any purchase order.

Timing of Submission of Purchase Orders. An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable order to purchase shares of the Fund before 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on any Business Day in order to receive that day's NAV. Creation Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant in the form required by the Fund to the Distributor or its agent pursuant to procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure, may impede the ability to reach the Distributor or its agent or an Authorized Participant. The Fund's deadline specified above for the submission of purchase orders is referred to as the Fund's “Cutoff Time.” The Distributor or its agent, in their discretion, may permit the submission of such orders and requests by or through an Authorized Participant at any time (including on days on which the Listing Exchange is not open for business) via communication through the facilities of the Distributor's or its agent's proprietary website maintained for this purpose. Purchase orders and redemption requests, if accepted by the Trust, will be processed based on the NAV next determined after such acceptance in accordance with the Fund's Cutoff Times as provided in the Authorized Participant Agreement and disclosed in this SAI.

Acceptance of Orders for Creation Units. Subject to the conditions that (i) an irrevocable purchase order has been submitted by the Authorized Participant (either on its own or another investor's behalf) and (ii) arrangements satisfactory to the Fund are in place for payment of the Cash Component and any other cash amounts which may be due, the Fund will accept the order, subject to the Fund's right (and the right of the Distributor and BFA) to reject any order until acceptance, as set forth below.

Once the Fund has accepted an order, upon the next determination of the net asset value of the shares, the Fund will confirm the issuance of a Creation Unit, against receipt of payment, at such net asset value. The Distributor or its agent will then transmit a confirmation of acceptance to the Authorized Participant that placed the order.

The Fund reserves the absolute right to reject or revoke a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor or its agent if (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (iii) the Deposit Securities delivered do not conform to the identity and number of shares specified, as described above; (iv) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences

105

to the Fund; (v) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (vi) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the discretion of the Fund or BFA, have an adverse effect on the Fund or the rights of beneficial owners; or (vii) circumstances outside the control of the Fund, the Distributor or its agent and BFA make it impracticable to process purchase orders. The Distributor or its agent shall notify a prospective purchaser of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such purchaser of its rejection of such order. The Fund, State Street, the sub-custodian and the Distributor or its agent are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall any of them incur any liability for failure to give such notification.

Issuance of a Creation Unit. Except as provided herein, a Creation Unit will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Fund of the Deposit Securities and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the sub-custodian has confirmed to the custodian that the securities included in the Fund Deposit (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Distributor or its agent and BFA shall be notified of such delivery and the Fund will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Unit. Typically, Creation Units are issued on a “T+2 basis” (i.e., two Business Days after trade date). The Fund reserves the right to settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than T+2, including a shorter settlement period, if necessary or appropriate under the circumstances and compliant with applicable law.

To the extent contemplated by an Authorized Participant Agreement with the Distributor, the Fund will issue Creation Units to such Authorized Participant, notwithstanding the fact that the corresponding Fund Deposits have not been received in part or in whole, in reliance on the undertaking of the Authorized Participant to deliver the missing Deposit Securities as soon as possible, which undertaking shall be secured by such Authorized Participant's delivery and maintenance of collateral having a value at least equal to 105% and up to 115%, which percentage BFA may change at any time, in its sole discretion, of the value of the missing Deposit Securities in accordance with the Fund's then-effective procedures. The Trust may use such cash deposit at any time to buy Deposit Securities for the Fund. The only collateral that is acceptable to the Fund is cash in U.S. dollars. Such cash collateral must be delivered no later than the time specified by the Fund or its custodian on the contractual settlement date. The cash collateral posted by the Authorized Participant may be invested at the risk of the Authorized Participant, and income, if any, on invested cash collateral will be paid to that Authorized Participant. Information concerning the Fund's current procedures for collateralization of missing Deposit Securities is available from the Distributor or its agent. The Authorized Participant Agreement will permit the Fund to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time and will subject the Authorized Participant to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Fund of purchasing such securities and the cash collateral including, without limitation, liability for related brokerage, borrowings and other charges.

In certain cases, Authorized Participants may create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date and in these instances, the Fund reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis or require a representation from the Authorized Participants that the creation and redemption transactions are for separate beneficial owners. All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Fund and the Fund's determination shall be final and binding.

Costs Associated with Creation Transactions. A standard creation transaction fee is imposed to offset the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance of Creation Units. The standard creation transaction fee is charged to the Authorized Participant on the day such Authorized Participant creates a Creation Unit, and is the same, regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased by the Authorized Participant on the applicable Business Day. If a purchase consists solely or partially of cash, the Authorized Participant may also be required to cover (up to the maximum amount shown below) certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs). Authorized Participants will also bear the costs of transferring the Deposit Securities to the Fund. Certain fees/costs associated with creation transactions may be waived in certain circumstances. Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to acquire Fund shares may be charged a fee for such services.

The following table sets forth the Fund's standard creation transaction fees and maximum additional charge (as described above):

106

Standard Creation Transaction Fee		Maximum Additional Charge*
$____		___

*	As a percentage of the net asset value per Creation Unit.

Redemption of Creation Units. Shares of the Fund may be redeemed by Authorized Participants only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Distributor or its agent and only on a Business Day. The Fund will not redeem shares in amounts less than Creation Units. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the secondary market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of shares to constitute a Creation Unit that could be redeemed by an Authorized Participant. Beneficial owners also may sell shares in the secondary market.

The Fund generally redeems Creation Units for Fund Securities. Please see the Cash Redemption Method section below and the following discussion summarizing the in-kind method for further information on redeeming Creation Units of the Fund.

BFA makes available through the NSCC, prior to the opening of business on the Listing Exchange on each Business Day, the designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”), and an amount of cash (the “Cash Amount,” as described below). Such Fund Securities and the corresponding Cash Amount (each subject to possible amendment or correction) are applicable, in order to effect redemptions of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next announced composition of the Fund Securities and Cash Amount is made available. Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities that are applicable to creations of Creation Units. Procedures and requirements governing redemption transactions are set forth in the handbook for Authorized Participants and may change from time to time.

Unless cash redemptions are available or specified for the Fund, the redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally consist of Fund Securities, plus the Cash Amount, which is an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of the shares being redeemed, as next determined after the receipt of a redemption request in proper form, and the value of Fund Securities, less a redemption transaction fee (as described below).

The Trust may, in its sole discretion, substitute a “cash in lieu” amount to replace any Fund Security. The Trust also reserves the right to permit or require a “cash in lieu” amount in certain circumstances, including circumstances in which: (i) the delivery of a Fund Security to the Authorized Participant would be restricted under applicable securities or other local laws; or (ii) the delivery of a Fund Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Fund Security by the Authorized Participant due to restrictions under applicable securities or other local laws, or in certain other situations. The amount of cash paid out in such cases will be equivalent to the value of the substituted security listed as a Fund Security. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the difference is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. The Fund generally redeems Creation Units for Fund Securities, but the Fund reserves the right to utilize a cash option for redemption of Creation Units. The Fund may, in its sole discretion, provide such redeeming Authorized Participant a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities, but does not differ in NAV.

Cash Redemption Method. Although the Trust does not generally permit partial or full cash redemptions of Creation Units of its funds, when partial or full cash redemptions of Creation Units are available or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions thereof. In the case of partial or full cash redemption, the Authorized Participant receives the cash equivalent of the Fund Securities it would otherwise receive through an in-kind redemption, plus the same Cash Amount to be paid to an in-kind redeemer.

Costs Associated with Redemption Transactions. A standard redemption transaction fee is imposed to offset transfer and other transaction costs that may be incurred by the Fund. The standard redemption transaction fee is charged to the Authorized Participant on the day such Authorized Participant redeems a Creation Unit, and is the same regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed by an Authorized Participant on the applicable Business Day. If a redemption consists solely or partially of cash, the Authorized Participant may also be required to cover (up to the maximum amount shown below) certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to the

107

execution of trades resulting from such transaction (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs). Authorized Participants will also bear the costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Fund to their account on their order. Certain fees/costs associated with redemption transactions may be waived in certain circumstances. Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to dispose of Fund shares may be charged a fee for such services.

The following table sets forth the Fund's standard redemption transaction fees and maximum additional charge (as described above):

Standard Redemption Transaction Fee		Maximum Additional Charge*
$____		___%

*	As a percentage of the net asset value per Creation Unit, inclusive of the standard redemption transaction fee.

Placement of Redemption Orders. Redemption requests for Creation Units of the Fund must be submitted to the Distributor or its agent by or through an Authorized Participant. An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable request to redeem shares of the Fund generally before 4:00 p.m., Eastern time on any Business Day in order to receive that day's NAV. On days when the Listing Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to redeem Creation Units to be placed earlier that day. Investors, other than Authorized Participants, are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an Authorized Participant. The Distributor or its agent will provide a list of current Authorized Participants upon request.

The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption in the form required by the Fund to the Distributor or its agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor's broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. At any time, only a limited number of broker-dealers will have an Authorized Participant Agreement in effect. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the shares to the Fund's transfer agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.

A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if: (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Fund's transfer agent the Creation Unit redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the Listing Exchange closing time on any Business Day on which the redemption request is submitted; (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Fund is received by the Distributor or its agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified above; and (iii) all other procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement are properly followed.

Upon receiving a redemption request, the Distributor or its agent shall notify the Fund and the Fund's transfer agent of such redemption request. The tender of an investor's shares for redemption and the distribution of the securities and/or cash included in the redemption payment made in respect of Creation Units redeemed will be made through DTC and the relevant Authorized Participant to the Beneficial Owner thereof as recorded on the book-entry system of DTC or the DTC Participant through which such investor holds, as the case may be, or by such other means specified by the Authorized Participant submitting the redemption request.

A redeeming Authorized Participant, whether on its own account or acting on behalf of a Beneficial Owner, must maintain appropriate security arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the portfolio securities are customarily traded, to which account such portfolio securities will be delivered.

Deliveries of redemption proceeds by the Fund generally will be made within two Business Days (i.e., “T+2”). The Fund reserves the right to settle redemption transactions later than or earlier than T+2 but by T+7 if necessary or appropriate under the circumstances and compliant with applicable law. Delayed settlement may occur due to a number of different reasons, including, without limitation, settlement cycles for the underlying securities, unscheduled market closings, an effort to link

108

distribution to dividend record dates and ex-dates and newly announced holidays. For example, the redemption settlement process may be extended beyond T+2 because of the occurrence of a holiday in a non-U.S. market or in the U.S. bond market that is not a holiday observed in the U.S. equity market.

To the extent contemplated by an Authorized Participant's agreement with the Distributor or its agent, in the event an Authorized Participant has submitted a redemption request in proper form but is unable to transfer all or part of the Creation Unit to be redeemed to the Fund, at or prior to 10:00 a.m., Eastern time on the Listing Exchange business day after the date of submission of such redemption request, the Distributor or its agent will accept the redemption request in reliance on the undertaking by the Authorized Participant to deliver the missing shares as soon as possible. Such undertaking shall be secured by the Authorized Participant's delivery and maintenance of collateral consisting of cash, in U.S. dollars in immediately available funds, having a value at least equal to 105% and up to 115%, which percentage BFA may change at any time, in its sole discretion, of the value of the missing shares. Such cash collateral must be delivered no later than the time specified by the Fund or its custodian on the day after the date of submission of such redemption request and shall be held by State Street and marked-to-market daily. The fees of State Street and any sub-custodians in respect of the delivery, maintenance and redelivery of the cash collateral shall be payable by the Authorized Participant. The cash collateral posted by the Authorized Participant may be invested at the risk of the Authorized Participant, and income, if any, on invested cash collateral will be paid to that Authorized Participant. The Authorized Participant Agreement permits the Fund to acquire shares of the Fund at any time and subjects the Authorized Participant to liability for any shortfall between the aggregate of the cost to the Fund of purchasing such shares, plus the value of the Cash Amount, and the value of the cash collateral together with liability for related brokerage and other charges.

Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on exchange(s) on days that the Listing Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their shares of the Fund, or purchase or sell shares of the Fund on the Listing Exchange on days when the NAV of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant non-U.S. markets.

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the Fund: (i) for any period during which the Listing Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) for any period during which trading on the Listing Exchange is suspended or restricted; (iii) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the shares of the Fund's portfolio securities or determination of its net asset value is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

Taxation on Creations and Redemptions of Creation Units. An Authorized Participant generally will recognize either gain or loss upon the exchange of Deposit Securities for Creation Units. This gain or loss is calculated by taking the market value of the Creation Units purchased over the Authorized Participant’s aggregate basis in the Deposit Securities exchanged therefor. However, the IRS may apply the wash sales rules to determine that any loss realized upon the exchange of Deposit Securities for Creation Units is not currently deductible. Authorized Participants should consult their own tax advisors.

Current U.S. federal income tax laws dictate that capital gain or loss realized from the redemption of Creation Units will generally create long-term capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the Creation Units for more than one year, or short-term capital gain or loss if the Creation Units were held for one year or less, if the Creation Units are held as capital assets.

Taxes

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the Fund. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the Fund or to all categories of investors, some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Current and prospective shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the specific federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of investing in the Fund. The summary is based on the laws and judicial and administrative interpretations thereof in effect on the date of this SAI, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

Regulated Investment Company Qualifications. The Fund intends to qualify for and to elect treatment as a separate RIC under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must annually distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains)

109

and meet several other requirements. Among such other requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of the Fund’s annual gross income must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or non-U.S. currencies, other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly-traded partnerships (i.e., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than a partnership that derives at least 90% of its income from interest, dividends, capital gains and other traditionally permitted RIC income); and (ii) at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited for purposes of this calculation in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in the securities of any one issuer, of two or more issuers of which 20% or more of the voting stock is held by the Fund and that are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses (other than the securities of other RICs) or the securities of one or more qualified publicly-traded partnerships.

The Fund may be able to cure a failure to derive at least 90% of its income from the sources specified above or a failure to diversify its holdings in the manner described above by paying a tax and/or by disposing of certain assets. If, in any taxable year, the Fund fails one of these tests and does not timely cure the failure, the Fund will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

Although in general the passive loss rules of the Internal Revenue Code do not apply to RICs, such rules do apply to a RIC with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly-traded partnership. The Fund’s investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly-traded partnerships, may result in the Fund being subject to state, local, or non-U.S. income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

Taxation of RICs. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the Fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” (i.e., income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The Fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporate rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders. If the Fund fails to qualify for any taxable year as a RIC or fails to meet the distribution requirement, all of its taxable income will be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and such distributions generally will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. In such event, distributions to individuals should be eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income and distributions to corporate shareholders generally should be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Although the Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and its capital gains for each taxable year, the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Moreover, if the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a RIC. If the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the Fund had been liquidated) if it qualifies as a RIC in a subsequent year.

Net Capital Loss Carryforwards. Net capital loss carryforwards may be applied against any net realized capital gains in each succeeding year, until they have been reduced to zero.

In the event that the Fund were to experience an ownership change as defined under the Internal Revenue Code, the loss carryforwards and other favorable tax attributes of the Fund, if any, may be subject to limitation.

Excise Tax. The Fund will be subject to a 4% excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year at least 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus at least 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the 12 months ended October 31 of such year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by

110

year-end. 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 underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The Fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of this 4% excise tax.

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders. Dividends and other distributions by the Fund are generally treated under the Internal Revenue Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or capital gain distribution declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the Fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year.

The Fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its net tax-exempt income, investment company taxable income and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the Fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (at a rate of 21%) on the amount retained. In that event, the Fund will report such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount in clause (a) over the amount in clause (b). Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the Fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the Fund reports as capital gain dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the Fund. All other dividends of the Fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains are eligible for taxation at a maximum rate of 20% for non-corporate shareholders, depending on whether their income exceeds certain threshold amounts.

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gain rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period, or (ii) in an amount greater than 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in shares of the Fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds shares of the Fund as capital assets). Distributions in excess of the Fund’s minimum distribution requirements, but not in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits, will be taxable to shareholders and will not constitute nontaxable returns of capital. Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount. No deduction would be allowed to an investor for interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to purchase or carry shares of the Fund to the extent the interest deduction would relate to exempt-interest dividends received.

A 3.8% U.S. federal Medicare contribution tax is imposed on net investment income, including, but not limited to, interest, dividends, and net gain from investments, of U.S. individuals with income exceeding $200,000 (or $250,000 if married and filing jointly), and of estates and trusts.

Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution

111

may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the Fund is the holder of record of any security on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such security, such dividends will be included in the Fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (i) the date such security became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends (i.e., the date on which a buyer of the security would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends); or (ii) the date the Fund acquired such security. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the Fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

In certain situations, the Fund may, for a taxable year, defer all or a portion of its net capital loss (or if there is no net capital loss, then any net long-term or short-term capital loss) realized after October and its late-year ordinary loss (defined as the sum of the excess of post-October foreign currency and passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) losses over post-October foreign currency and PFIC gains, plus the excess of post-December ordinary losses over post-December ordinary income) until the next taxable year in computing its investment company taxable income and net capital gain, which will defer the recognition of such realized losses. Such deferrals and other rules regarding gains and losses realized after October (or December) may affect the tax character of shareholder distributions.

Sales of Shares. Upon the sale or exchange of shares of the Fund, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and the shareholder’s basis in shares of the Fund. A redemption of shares by the Fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends or capital gains distributions, or by an option, or contract to acquire substantially identical shares, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of Fund shares held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share. The Medicare contribution tax described above will apply to the sale of Fund shares.

If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the Fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then, on or before January 31 of the following calendar year, acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right (e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain/loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis of the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment within a family of mutual funds.

Backup Withholding. In certain cases, the Fund will be required to withhold at a 24% rate and remit to the U.S. Treasury such amounts withheld from any distributions paid to a shareholder who: (i) has failed to provide a correct taxpayer identification number; (ii) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS; (iii) has failed to certify to the Fund that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding; or (iv) has not certified that such shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder's U.S. federal income tax liability.

Sections 351 and 362. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for a purchase of shares of the Fund if the purchaser (or group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Sections 351 and 362 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. If the Fund’s basis in such securities on the date of deposit was less than market value on such date, the Fund, upon disposition of the securities, would recognize more taxable gain or less taxable loss than if its basis in the securities had been equal to market value. It is not anticipated that the Trust will exercise the right of rejection except in a case where the Trust determines that accepting the order could result in material adverse tax consequences to the Fund or its shareholders. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination.

112

Taxation of Certain Derivatives. The Fund’s transactions will be subject to special provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other consequences, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer Fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the Fund as a RIC. As a result of entering into swap contracts, the Fund may make or receive periodic net payments. The Fund may also make or receive a payment when a swap is terminated prior to maturity through an assignment of the swap or other closing transaction. Periodic net payments will generally constitute ordinary income or deductions, while termination of a swap will generally result in capital gain or loss (which will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund has been a party to the swap for more than one year). With respect to certain types of swaps, the Fund may be required to currently recognize income or loss with respect to future payments on such swaps or may elect under certain circumstances to mark such swaps to market annually for tax purposes as ordinary income or loss. Periodic net payments that would otherwise constitute ordinary deductions but are allocable under the Internal Revenue Code to exempt-interest dividends will not be allowed as deductions but instead will reduce net tax-exempt income.

Market Discount. Any market discount recognized on a bond is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value or adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount (“OID”). To the extent the Fund does not include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on the Fund’s disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount.

Original Issue Discount. OID on tax-exempt bonds is recognized over the term of the bond and is tax-exempt to the holder of the bond. Special U.S. federal income tax rules apply to inflation-indexed bonds. Generally, all stated interest on such bonds is taken into income by the Fund under its regular method of accounting for interest income. The amount of a positive inflation adjustment, which results in an increase in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, is treated as original issue discount. The OID is included in the Fund’s gross income ratably during the period ending with the maturity of the bond, under the general OID inclusion rules. The amount of the Fund’s OID in a taxable year with respect to a bond will increase the Fund’s taxable income for such year without a corresponding receipt of cash, until the bond matures. As a result, the Fund may need to use other sources of cash to satisfy its distributions for such year. The amount of negative inflation adjustment, which results in a decrease in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, reduces the amount of interest (including stated, interest, OID, and market discount, if any) otherwise includible in the Fund’s income with respect to the bond for the taxable year.

Reporting. If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not exempted. 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. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders. Dividends paid by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. Dividends paid by the Fund from net tax-exempt income or long-term capital gains are generally not subject to such withholding tax. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides an IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the U.S. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

113

Properly-reported dividends are generally exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the Fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, the Fund’s U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the Fund is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income); or (ii) are paid in respect of the Fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the Fund’s net short-term capital gain over the Fund’s long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, the Fund 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 non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or substitute Form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the Fund reports the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.

Distributions to certain foreign shareholders by a Fund at least 50% of the assets of which are “U.S. real property interests” (as defined in the Code and Treasury regulations) at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of the distributions, to the extent the distributions are attributable to gains from sales or exchanges of U.S. real property interests (including shares in certain “U.S. real property holding corporations” such as certain REITs, although exceptions may apply if any class of stock of such a corporation is regularly traded on an established securities market and the Fund has held no more than 5% of such class of stock at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of the distributions), generally must be treated by such foreign shareholders as income effectively connected to a trade or business within the U.S., which is generally subject to tax at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. shareholders, except for distributions to foreign shareholders that held no more than 5% of any class of stock of the Fund at any time during the previous one-year period ending on the date of the distributions. Such distributions may be subject to U.S. withholding tax and may require a foreign shareholder to file a U.S. federal income tax return. In addition, sales or redemptions of shares held by certain foreign shareholders in such a Fund generally will be subject to U.S. withholding tax and generally will require the foreign shareholder to file a U.S. federal income tax return, although exceptions may apply if more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s shares are held by U.S. shareholders or the foreign shareholder selling or redeeming the shares has held no more than 5% of any class of stock of the Fund at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of the sale or redemption.

Provided that more than 50% of the value of a Fund’s stock is held by U.S. shareholders, redemptions and other distributions made in the form of U.S. real property interests (including shares in certain “U.S. real property holding corporations”, although exceptions may apply if any class of stock of such a corporation is regularly traded on an established securities market and the Fund has held no more than 5% of such class of stock at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of the distribution) generally will cause the Fund to recognize a portion of any unrecognized gain in the U.S. real property interests equal to the product of (i) the excess of fair market value of such U.S. real property interests over the Fund’s adjusted bases in such interests and (ii) the greatest foreign ownership percentage of the Fund during the five-year period ending on the date of distribution.

A 30% withholding tax is currently imposed on U.S.-source dividends, interest and other income items, and will be imposed on proceeds from the sale, redemption or other disposition of property producing U.S.-source dividends and interest paid after December 31, 2018, to: (i) foreign financial institutions, including non-U.S. investment funds, unless they agree to collect and disclose to the IRS information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. account holders and (ii) certain other foreign entities, unless they certify certain information regarding their direct and indirect U.S. owners. To avoid withholding, foreign financial institutions will need to: (i) enter into agreements with the IRS that state that they will provide the IRS information including the names, addresses and taxpayer identification numbers of direct and indirect U.S. account holders; comply with due diligence procedures with respect to the identification of U.S. accounts; report to the IRS certain information with respect to U.S. accounts maintained; agree to withhold tax on certain payments made to non-compliant foreign financial institutions or to account holders who fail to provide the required information; and determine certain other information as to their account holders, or (ii) in the event that an applicable intergovernmental agreement and implementing legislation are adopted, provide local revenue authorities with similar account holder information. Other foreign entities will need to provide the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner or provide certifications of no substantial U.S. ownership, unless certain exceptions apply.

Shares of the Fund held by a non-U.S. shareholder at death will be considered situated within the U.S. and subject to the U.S. estate tax.

114

The foregoing discussion is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in such shares, including consequences under state, local and non-U.S. tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date of this SAI. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur.

Financial Statements

Financial statements for the Fund are not available because, as of the date of this SAI, the Fund has no financial information to report.

Miscellaneous Information

Counsel. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, located at 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, is counsel to the Trust.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. __________________________, serves as the Trust's independent registered public accounting firm, audits the Fund's financial statements, and may perform other services.

Shareholder Communications to the Board. The Board has established a process for shareholders to communicate with the Board. Shareholders may contact the Board by mail. Correspondence should be addressed to iShares Board of Trustees, c/o BlackRock Fund Advisors, iShares Fund Administration, 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Shareholder communications to the Board should include the following information: (i) the name and address of the shareholder; (ii) the number of shares owned by the shareholder; (iii) the Fund(s) of which the shareholder owns shares; and (iv) if these shares are owned indirectly through a broker, financial intermediary or other record owner, the name of the broker, financial intermediary or other record owner. All correspondence received as set forth above shall be reviewed by the Secretary of the Trust and reported to the Board.

Investors’ Rights. The Fund relies on the services of BFA and its other service providers, including the Distributor, administrator, custodian and transfer agent. Further information about the duties and roles of these service providers is set out in this SAI. Investors who acquire shares of the Fund are not parties to the relevant agreement with these service providers and do not have express contractual rights against the Fund or its service providers, except certain institutional investors that are Authorized Participants may have certain express contractual rights with respect to the Distributor under the terms of the relevant Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors may have certain legal rights under federal or state law against the Fund or its service providers. In the event that an investor considers that it may have a claim against the Fund, or against any service provider in connection with its investment in the Fund, such investor should consult its own legal advisor.

By contract, Authorized Participants irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of any New York State or U.S. federal court sitting in New York City over any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to the Authorized Participant Agreement. Jurisdiction over other claims, whether by investors or Authorized Participants, will turn on the facts of the particular case and the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceeding is brought.

115

Appendix A - Proxy Voting Policy and BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines

BlackRock U.S. Registered Funds

Open-End Fund and iShares ETF¹ Proxy Voting Policy

Procedures Governing Delegation of Proxy Voting to Fund Adviser

July 1, 2017

The Boards of Trustees/Directors (“Directors”) of open-end funds advised by BlackRock Fund Advisors or 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 that responsibility 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 guidelines and procedures (together and as from time to time amended, the “BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines”) governing proxy voting by accounts managed by BlackRock.

BlackRock will cast votes on behalf of each of the Funds on specific proxy issues in respect of securities held by each such Fund in accordance with the BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines.¹

BlackRock will report on an annual basis to the Directors on (1) all proxy votes that BlackRock has made on behalf of the Funds in the preceding year together with a certification from the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer that all votes were in accordance with the BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines, and (2) any changes to the BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines that have not previously been reported.

iShares ESG 1-5 Year USD Corporate Bond ETF, iShares ESG USD Corporate Bond ETF, iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF, iShares MSCI EAFE ESG Optimized ETF, iShares MSCI EM ESG Optimized ETF, iShares MSCI Global Impact ETF, iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF, iShares MSCI Peru ETF, iShares MSCI USA ESG Optimized ETF and iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF have separate Fund Proxy Voting Policies.

A-1

INTRODUCTION TO BLACKROCK

BlackRock is the world’s preeminent asset management firm and a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional and individual clients around the world. BlackRock offers a wide range of investment strategies and product structures to meet clients’ needs, including individual and institutional separate accounts, mutual funds, closed-end funds, and other pooled investment vehicles and the industry-leading iShares exchange traded funds. Through BlackRock Solutions^®, we offer risk management, strategic advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of clients.

PHILOSOPHY ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

BlackRock’s corporate governance program is focused on protecting and enhancing the economic value of the companies in which it invests on behalf of clients. We do this through engagement with boards and management of investee companies and, for those clients who have given us authority, through voting at shareholder meetings.

We believe that there are certain fundamental rights attached to share ownership. Companies and their boards should be accountable to shareholders and structured with appropriate checks and balances to ensure that they operate in shareholders’ interests. Effective voting rights are central to the rights of ownership and there should be one vote for one share. Shareholders should have the right to elect, remove and nominate directors, approve the appointment of the auditor and to amend the corporate charter or by-laws. Shareholders should be able to vote on matters that are material to the protection of their investment including but not limited to changes to the purpose of the business, dilution levels and pre-emptive rights, the distribution of income and the capital structure. In order to exercise these rights effectively, we believe shareholders have the right to sufficient and timely information to be able to take an informed view of the proposals, and of the performance of the company and management.

Our focus is on the board of directors, as the agent of shareholders, which should set the company’s strategic aims within a framework of prudent and effective controls which enables risk to be assessed and managed. The board should provide direction and leadership to the management and oversee management’s performance. Our starting position is to be supportive of boards in their oversight efforts on our behalf and we would generally expect to support the items of business they put to a vote at shareholder meetings. Votes cast against or withheld from resolutions proposed by the board are a signal that we are concerned that the directors or management have either not acted in the interests of shareholders or have not responded adequately to shareholder concerns regarding strategy or performance.

These principles set out our approach to engaging with companies, provide guidance on our position on corporate governance and outline how our views might be reflected in our voting decisions. Corporate governance practices vary internationally and our expectations in relation to individual companies are based on the legal and regulatory framework of each market. However, as noted above, we do believe that there are some overarching principles of corporate governance that apply globally. We assess voting matters on a case-by-case basis and in light of each company’s unique circumstances. We are interested to understand from the company’s reporting its approach to corporate governance, particularly where it is different from the usual market practice, and how it benefits shareholders.

BlackRock also believes that shareholders have responsibilities in relation to monitoring and providing feedback to companies, sometimes known as stewardship. These ownership responsibilities include, in our view, engaging with management or board members on corporate governance matters, voting proxies in the best long-term economic interests of shareholders and engaging with regulatory bodies to ensure a sound policy framework consistent with promoting long-term shareholder value creation. Institutional shareholders also have responsibilities to their clients to have appropriate resources and oversight structures. Our own approach to oversight in relation to our corporate governance activities is set out in the section below titled “BlackRock’s oversight of its corporate governance activities”.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, ENGAGEMENT AND VOTING

We recognize that accepted standards of corporate governance differ between markets but we believe that there are sufficient common threads globally to identify an overarching set of principles. The primary objective of our corporate governance activities is the protection and enhancement of the value of our clients’ investments in public corporations. Thus, these principles focus on practices and structures that we consider to be supportive of long-term value creation. We discuss below the principles under six key themes. In our regional and market-specific voting guidelines we explain how these

A-3

principles inform our voting decisions in relation to specific resolutions that may appear on the agenda of a shareholder meeting in the relevant market.

The six key themes are:

•	Boards and directors
•	Auditors and audit-related issues
•	Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions
•	Remuneration and benefits
•	Social, ethical and environmental issues
•	General corporate governance matters

At a minimum we would expect companies to observe the accepted corporate governance standard in their domestic market or to explain why doing so is not in the interests of shareholders. Where company reporting and disclosure is inadequate or the approach taken is inconsistent with our view of what is in the best interests of shareholders, we typically will engage with the company and/or use our vote to encourage a change in practice. In making voting decisions, we take into account research from proxy advisors, other internal and external research, information published by the company or provided through engagement and the views of our equity portfolio managers.

BlackRock views engagement as an important activity; engagement provides BlackRock with the opportunity to improve our understanding of investee companies and their governance structures, so that our voting decisions may be better informed. Engagement also allows us to share our philosophy and approach to investment and corporate governance with companies to enhance their understanding of our objectives. There are a range of approaches we may take in engaging companies depending on the nature of the issue under consideration, the company and the market.

Boards and directors

The performance of the board is critical to the economic success of the company and to the protection of shareholders’ interests. Board members serve as agents of shareholders in overseeing the strategic direction and operation of the company. For this reason, BlackRock focuses on directors in many of its engagements and sees the election of directors as one of its most important responsibilities in the proxy voting context.

We expect the board of directors to promote and protect shareholder interests by:

•	establishing an appropriate corporate governance structure;
•	supporting and overseeing management in setting strategy;
•	ensuring the integrity of financial statements;
•	making decisions regarding mergers, acquisitions and disposals;
•	establishing appropriate executive compensation structures; and
•	addressing business issues including social, ethical and environmental issues when they have the potential to materially impact company reputation and performance.

There should be clear definitions of the role of the board, the sub-committees of the board and the senior management such that the responsibilities of each are well understood and accepted. Companies should report publicly the approach taken to governance (including in relation to board structure) and why this approach is in the interest of shareholders. We will engage with the appropriate directors where we have concerns about the performance of the board or the company, the broad strategy of the company or the performance of individual board members. Concerns about directors may include their role on the board of a different company where that board has performed poorly and failed to protect shareholder interests.

BlackRock believes that directors should stand for re-election on a regular basis. We assess directors nominated for election or re-election in the context of the composition of the board as a whole. There should be detailed disclosure of the relevant credentials of the individual directors in order that shareholders can assess the caliber of an individual nominee. We expect there to be a sufficient number of independent directors on the board to ensure the protection of the interests of all shareholders. Common impediments to independence may include but are not limited to:

•	current employment at the company or a subsidiary;

A-4

•	former employment within the past several years as an executive of the company;
•	providing substantial professional services to the company and/or members of the company’s management;
•	having had a substantial business relationship in the past three years;
•	having, or representing a shareholder with, a substantial shareholding in the company;
•	being an immediate family member of any of the aforementioned; and
•	interlocking directorships.

BlackRock believes that the operation of the board is enhanced when there is a clearly independent, senior non-executive director to lead it. Where the chairman is also the CEO or is otherwise not independent the company should have an independent lead director. The role of this director is to enhance the effectiveness of the independent members of the board through shaping the agenda, ensuring adequate information is provided to the board and encouraging independent participation in board deliberations. The lead independent board director should be available to shareholders if they have concerns that they wish to discuss.

To ensure that the board remains effective, regular reviews of board performance should be carried out and assessments made of gaps in skills or experience amongst the members. BlackRock believes it is beneficial for new directors to be brought onto the board periodically to refresh the group’s thinking and to ensure both continuity and adequate succession planning. In identifying potential candidates, boards should take into consideration the diversity of experience and expertise of the current directors and how that might be augmented by incoming directors. We believe that directors are in the best position to assess the optimal size for the board, but we would be concerned if a board seemed too small to have an appropriate balance of directors or too large to be effective.

There are matters for which the board has responsibility that may involve a conflict of interest for executives or for affiliated directors. BlackRock believes that shareholders’ interests are best served when the independent members of the board form a sub-committee to deal with such matters. In many markets, these sub-committees of the board specialize in audit, director nominations and compensation matters. An ad hoc committee might also be formed to decide on a special transaction, particularly one with a related party.

Auditors and audit-related issues

BlackRock recognizes the critical importance of financial statements which should provide a complete and accurate picture of a company’s financial condition. We will hold the members of the audit committee or equivalent responsible for overseeing the management of the audit function. We take particular note of cases involving significant financial restatements or ad hoc notifications of material financial weakness.

The integrity of financial statements depends on the auditor being free of any impediments to being an effective check on management. To that end, we believe it is important that auditors are, and are seen to be, independent. Where the audit firm provides services to the company in addition to the audit, the fees earned should be disclosed and explained. Audit committees should also have in place a procedure for assuring annually the independence of the auditor.

Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions

The capital structure of a company is critical to its owners, the shareholders, as it impacts the value of their investment and the priority of their interest in the company relative to that of other equity or debt investors. Pre-emption rights are a key protection for shareholders against the dilution of their interests.

In assessing mergers, asset sales or other special transactions, BlackRock’s primary consideration is the long-term economic interests of shareholders. Boards proposing a transaction need to clearly explain the economic and strategic rationale behind it. We will review a proposed transaction to determine the degree to which it enhances long-term shareholder value. We would prefer that proposed transactions have the unanimous support of the board and have been negotiated at arm’s length. We may seek reassurance from the board that executive and/or board members’ financial interests in a given transaction have not affected their ability to place shareholders’ interests before their own. Where the transaction involves related parties, we would expect the recommendation to support it to come from the independent directors and would prefer only non-conflicted shareholders to vote on the proposal.

A-5

BlackRock believes that shareholders have a right to dispose of company shares in the open market without unnecessary restriction. In our view, corporate mechanisms designed to limit shareholders’ ability to sell their shares are contrary to basic property rights. Such mechanisms can serve to protect and entrench interests other than those of the shareholders. We believe that shareholders are broadly capable of making decisions in their own best interests. We would expect any so-called ‘shareholder rights plans’ being proposed by a board to be subject to shareholder approval on introduction and periodically thereafter for continuation.

Remuneration and benefits

BlackRock expects a company’s board of directors to put in place a compensation structure that incentivizes and rewards executives appropriately and is aligned with shareholder interests, particularly long-term shareholder returns. We would expect the compensation committee to take into account the specific circumstances of the company and the key individuals the board is trying to incentivize. We encourage companies to ensure that their compensation packages incorporate appropriate and challenging performance conditions consistent with corporate strategy and market practice. We use third party research, in addition to our own analysis, to evaluate existing and proposed compensation structures. We hold members of the compensation committee or equivalent accountable for poor compensation practices or structures.

BlackRock believes that there should be a clear link between variable pay and company performance as reflected in returns to shareholders. We are not supportive of one-off or special bonuses unrelated to company or individual performance. We support incentive plans that pay out rewards earned over multiple and extended time periods. We believe consideration should be given to building claw back provisions into incentive plans such that executives would be required to repay rewards where they were not justified by actual performance. Compensation committees should guard against contractual arrangements that would entitle executives to material compensation for early termination of their contract. Finally, pension contributions should be reasonable in light of market practice.

Outside directors should be compensated in a manner that does not risk compromising their independence or aligning their interests too closely with those of the management, whom they are charged with overseeing.

Social, ethical, and environmental issues

Our fiduciary duty to clients is to protect and enhance their economic interest in the companies in which we invest on their behalf. It is within this context that we undertake our corporate governance activities. We believe that well-managed companies will deal effectively with the social, ethical and environmental (“SEE”) aspects of their businesses.

BlackRock expects companies to identify and report on the material, business-specific SEE risks and opportunities and to explain how these are managed. This explanation should make clear how the approach taken by the company best serves the interests of shareholders and protects and enhances the long-term economic value of the company. The key performance indicators in relation to SEE matters should also be disclosed and performance against them discussed, along with any peer group benchmarking and verification processes in place. This helps shareholders assess how well management is dealing with the SEE aspects of the business. Any global standards adopted should also be disclosed and discussed in this context.

We may vote against the election of directors where we have concerns that a company might not be dealing with SEE issues appropriately. Sometimes we may reflect such concerns by supporting a shareholder proposal on the issue, where there seems to be either a significant potential threat or realized harm to shareholders’ interests caused by poor management of SEE matters. In deciding our course of action, we will assess whether the company has already taken sufficient steps to address the concern and whether there is a clear and material economic disadvantage to the company if the issue is not addressed.

More commonly, given that these are often not voting issues, we will engage directly with the board or management. The trigger for engagement on a particular SEE concern is our assessment that there is potential for material economic ramifications for shareholders.

We do not see it as our role to make social, ethical or political judgments on behalf of clients. We expect investee companies to comply, at a minimum, with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which they operate. They should explain how they manage situations where such laws or regulations are contradictory or ambiguous.

A-6

General corporate governance matters

BlackRock believes that shareholders have a right to timely and detailed information on the financial performance and viability of the companies in which they invest. In addition, companies should also publish information on the governance structures in place and the rights of shareholders to influence these. The reporting and disclosure provided by companies helps shareholders assess whether the economic interests of shareholders have been protected and the quality of the board’s oversight of management. BlackRock believes shareholders should have the right to vote on key corporate governance matters, including on changes to governance mechanisms, to submit proposals to the shareholders’ meeting and to call special meetings of shareholders.

BLACKROCK’S OVERSIGHT OF ITS CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ACTIVITIES

Oversight

BlackRock holds itself to a very high standard in its corporate governance activities, including in relation to executing proxy votes. This function is executed by a team of dedicated BlackRock employees without sales responsibilities (the “Corporate Governance Group”), and which is considered an investment function. BlackRock maintains three regional oversight committees (“Corporate Governance Committees”) for the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific, consisting of senior BlackRock investment professionals. All of the regional Corporate Governance Committees report to a Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee, which is a risk-focused committee composed of senior representatives of the active and index equity investment businesses, the Deputy General Counsel, the Global Executive Committee member to whom the Corporate Governance Group reports and the head of the Corporate Governance Group. The Corporate Governance Committees review and approve amendments to their respective proxy voting guidelines (“Guidelines”) and grant authority to the Global Head of Corporate Governance (“Global Head”), a dedicated BlackRock employee without sales responsibilities, to vote in accordance with the Guidelines. The Global Head leads the Corporate Governance Group to carry out engagement, voting and vote operations in a manner consistent with the relevant Corporate Governance Committee’s mandate. The Corporate Governance Group engages companies in conjunction with the portfolio managers in discussions of significant governance issues, conducts research on corporate governance issues and participates in industry discussions to keep abreast of the field of corporate governance. The Corporate Governance Group, or vendors overseen by the Corporate Governance Group, also monitor upcoming proxy votes, execute proxy votes and maintain records of votes cast. The Corporate Governance Group may refer complicated or particularly controversial matters or discussions to the appropriate investors and/or regional Corporate Governance Committees for their review, discussion and guidance prior to making a voting decision.

BlackRock’s Equity Policy Oversight Committee (EPOC) is informed of certain aspects of the work of the Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee and the Corporate Governance Group.

Vote execution

BlackRock carefully considers proxies submitted to funds and other fiduciary accounts (“Funds”) for which it has voting authority. BlackRock votes (or refrains from voting) proxies for each Fund for which it has voting authority based on BlackRock’s evaluation of the best long-term economic interests of shareholders, in the exercise of its independent business judgment, and without regard to the relationship of the issuer of the proxy (or any dissident shareholder) to the Fund, the Fund’s affiliates (if any), BlackRock or BlackRock’s affiliates.

When exercising voting rights, BlackRock will normally vote on specific proxy issues in accordance with its Guidelines for the relevant market. The Guidelines are reviewed regularly and are amended consistent with changes in the local market practice, as developments in corporate governance occur, or as otherwise deemed advisable by BlackRock’s Corporate Governance Committees. The Corporate Governance Committees may, in the exercise of their business judgment, conclude that the Guidelines do not cover the specific matter upon which a proxy vote is requested or that an exception to the Guidelines would be in the best long-term economic interests of BlackRock’s clients.

In the uncommon circumstance of there being a vote with respect to fixed-income securities or the securities of privately held issuers the decision generally will be made by a Fund’s portfolio managers and/or the Corporate Governance Group based on their assessment of the particular transactions or other matters at issue.

In certain markets, proxy voting involves logistical issues which can affect BlackRock’s 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

A-7

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; and (vi) 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 shareblocking or overly burdensome administrative requirements.

As a consequence, BlackRock votes proxies in these markets only on a “best-efforts” basis. In addition, the Corporate Governance Committees may determine that it is generally in the best interests of BlackRock clients not to vote proxies of companies in certain countries if the committee determines that the costs (including but not limited to opportunity costs associated with shareblocking constraints) associated with exercising a vote are expected to outweigh the benefit the client would derive by voting on the issuer’s proposal.

While it is expected that BlackRock, as a fiduciary, will generally seek to vote proxies over which BlackRock exercises voting authority in a uniform manner for all BlackRock clients, the relevant Corporate Governance Committee, in conjunction with the portfolio manager of an account, may determine that the specific circumstances of such an account require that such account’s proxies be voted differently due to such account’s investment objective or other factors that differentiate it from other accounts. In addition, BlackRock believes portfolio managers may from time to time legitimately reach differing but equally valid views, as fiduciaries for their funds and the client assets in those Funds, on how best to maximize economic value in respect of a particular investment. Accordingly, portfolio managers retain full discretion to vote the shares in the Funds they manage based on their analysis of the economic impact of a particular ballot item.

Conflicts management

BlackRock maintains policies and procedures that are designed to prevent undue influence on BlackRock’s proxy voting activity that might stem from any relationship between the issuer of a proxy (or any dissident shareholder) and BlackRock, BlackRock’s affiliates, a Fund or a Fund’s affiliates. Some of the steps BlackRock has taken to prevent conflicts include, but are not limited to:

•	BlackRock has adopted a proxy voting oversight structure whereby the Corporate Governance Committees oversee the voting decisions and other activities of the Corporate Governance Group, and particularly its activities with respect to voting in the relevant region of each Corporate Governance Committee’s jurisdiction.
•	The Corporate Governance Committees have adopted Guidelines for each region, which set forth the firm’s views with respect to certain corporate governance and other issues that typically arise in the proxy voting context. The Corporate Governance Committees receive periodic reports regarding the specific votes cast by the Corporate Governance Group and regular updates on material process issues, procedural changes and other matters of concern to the Corporate Governance Committees.
•	BlackRock’s Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee oversees the Global Head, the Corporate Governance Group and the Corporate Governance Committees. The Global Corporate Governance Oversight Committee conducts a review, at least annually, of the proxy voting process to ensure compliance with BlackRock’s risk policies and procedures.
•	BlackRock maintains a reporting structure that separates the Global Head and Corporate Governance Group from employees with sales responsibilities. In addition, BlackRock maintains procedures intended to ensure that all engagements with corporate issuers or dissident shareholders are managed consistently and without regard to BlackRock’s relationship with the issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder. Within the normal course of business, the Global Head or Corporate Governance Group may engage directly with BlackRock clients, and with employees with sales responsibilities, in discussions regarding general corporate governance policy matters, and to otherwise ensure that proxy-related client service levels are met. The Global Head or Corporate Governance Group does not discuss any specific voting matter with a client prior to the disclosure of the vote decision to all applicable clients after the shareholder meeting has taken place, except if the client is acting in the capacity as issuer of the proxy or dissident shareholder and is engaging through the established procedures independent of the client relationship.
•	In certain instances, BlackRock may determine to engage an independent fiduciary to vote proxies as a further safeguard to avoid potential conflicts of interest or as otherwise required by applicable law. The independent fiduciary may either vote such proxies or provide BlackRock with instructions as to how to vote such proxies. In the latter case, BlackRock votes the proxy in accordance with the independent fiduciary’s determination. Use of an independent fiduciary has been

A-8

adopted for voting the proxies related to any company that is affiliated with BlackRock or any company that includes BlackRock employees on its board of directors.

With regard to the relationship between securities lending and proxy voting, BlackRock’s approach is driven by our clients’ economic interests. The evaluation of the economic desirability of recalling loans involves balancing the revenue producing value of loans against the likely economic value of casting votes. Based on our evaluation of this relationship, we believe that generally the likely economic value of casting most votes is less than the securities lending income, either because the votes will not have significant economic consequences or because the outcome of the vote would not be affected by BlackRock recalling loaned securities in order to ensure they are voted. Periodically, BlackRock analyzes the process and benefits of voting proxies for securities on loan, and will consider whether any modification of its proxy voting policies or procedures is necessary in light of future conditions. In addition, BlackRock may in its discretion determine that the value of voting outweighs the cost of recalling shares, and thus recall shares to vote in that instance.

Voting guidelines

The issue-specific voting Guidelines published for each region/country in which we vote are intended to summarize BlackRock’s general philosophy and approach to issues that may commonly arise in the proxy voting context in each market where we invest. These Guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. BlackRock 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, these Guidelines do not provide a guide to how BlackRock will vote in every instance. Rather, they share our view about corporate governance issues generally, and provide insight into how we typically approach issues that commonly arise on corporate ballots.

Reporting

We report our proxy voting activity directly to clients and publicly as required. In addition, we publish for clients a more detailed discussion of our corporate governance activities, including engagement with companies and with other relevant parties.

A-9

Appendix B – Description of Fixed-Income 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.

Fixed-income securities which are unrated 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 the investment adviser’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.

Moody’s Ratings

Long-Term Obligations

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.

Note: Moody's appends numerical modifiers 1, 2 and 3 in 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.

Absence of Rating: Where no rating has been assigned or where a rating has been withdrawn, it may be for reasons unrelated to the creditworthiness of the issue.

Should no rating be assigned, the reason may be one of the following:

1. An application was not received or accepted.

2. The issue or issuer belongs to a group of securities or entities that are not rated as a matter of policy.

3. There is a lack of essential data pertaining to the issue or issuer.

4. The issue was privately placed, in which case the rating is not published in Moody’s publications.

Withdrawal may occur if new and material circumstances arise, the effects of which preclude satisfactory analysis; if there is no longer available reasonable up-to-date data to permit a judgment to be formed; if a bond is called for redemption; or for other reasons.

B-1

Short-Term Obligations

Moody’s short-term debt ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations, generally with an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months.

Moody's employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:

P-1: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-2: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-3: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have 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.

US Municipal Short-Term Debt Obligations

There are three rating categories for short-term municipal obligations that are considered investment grade and are designated as Municipal Investment Grade (MIG). In addition, those short-term obligations that are of speculative quality are designated SG, or speculative grade. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation.

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.

S&P Global Ratings

Long-Term Obligations

AAA: An obligation rated AAA has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment 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 commitment 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 commitment 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 lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment 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 exposures 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 which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B-2

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 commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment 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 commitment 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 commitment on the obligation.

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 Global Ratings 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 to 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 Global Ratings 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. An obligation's rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

NR: NR indicates no rating has been requested, or that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that S&P Global Ratings does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

Note: The ratings from AA to CCC may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

Short-Term Obligations

A-1: A short-term obligation rated A-1 is rated in the highest category by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment 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 commitment 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 commitment 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 lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment 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 which 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 commitment 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 Global Ratings 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. An obligation's rating is lowered to D if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

Municipal Short-Term Obligations

B-3

An S&P U.S. municipal note rating reflects S&P Global Ratings 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.

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.

Fitch Ratings

Long-Term Obligations

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.

Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned RD or D ratings, but are instead rated in the B to C rating categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. This approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.

Note: The modifiers “+” or “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the AAA obligation rating category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below CCC.

The subscript 'emr' is appended to a rating to denote embedded market risk which is beyond the scope of the rating. The designation is intended to make clear that the rating solely addresses the counterparty risk of the issuing bank. It is not meant to indicate any limitation in the analysis of the counterparty risk, which in all other respects follows published Fitch criteria for analyzing the issuing financial institution. Fitch does not rate these instruments where the principal is to any degree subject to market risk.

Short-Term Obligations (Corporate and Public Finance)

B-4

A short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. 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.

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.

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.

IS-SAI-____-____

B-5

The Trust (also referred to in this section as the “Fund”) is organized as a Delaware statutory trust and is operated pursuant to an Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust (the “Declaration of Trust”) that permits the Trust to indemnify its trustees and officers under certain circumstances. Such indemnification, however, is subject to the limitations imposed by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Declaration of Trust provides that officers and trustees of the Trust shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid in connection with any claim, action, suit, proceeding in which he or she becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of being or having been a trustee or officer and against amounts paid as incurred in the settlement thereof. This indemnification is subject to the following conditions:

(a) no trustee or officer of the Trust is indemnified against any liability to the Trust or its security holders, as adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought, that was the result of any willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office; and

(b) as adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought, officers and trustees of the Trust are indemnified only for actions taken in good faith that the officers and trustees reasonably believed were in or not opposed to the best interests of the Trust.

The Declaration of Trust provides that if indemnification is not ordered by a court, indemnification may be authorized by a majority vote of a quorum of the trustees who were not parties to the proceedings or, if this quorum is not obtainable, if directed by a quorum of disinterested trustees, or by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, that the persons to be indemnified have met the applicable standard; provided, however, that any shareholder, by appropriate legal proceedings, may challenge any such determination by the trustees or by independent legal counsel.

Article IX of the Registrant’s Amended and Restated By-Laws provides as follows:

The Amended and Restated By-Laws provides that the Trust may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any Covered Person or employee of the Trust, including any Covered Person or employee of the Trust who is or was serving at the request of the Trust as a trustee, officer, or employee of a corporation, partnership, association, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against and incurred by such Covered Person or employee in any such capacity or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the trustees would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability. The Trust may not acquire or obtain a contract for insurance that protects or purports to protect any trustee or officer of the Trust against any liability to the Trust or its Shareholders to which such trustee or officer otherwise would be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the 1933 Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Fund pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Fund has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Fund of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Fund in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Fund will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Section 17.1 of the Master Services Agreement between Registrant and State Street provides as follows:

The Master Services Agreement provides that State Street will indemnify, defend and hold harmless the applicable Fund, its Affiliates, and its respective officers, directors, employees, agents and permitted successors and assigns from any and all damages, fines, penalties, deficiencies, losses, liabilities (including judgments and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) and expenses (including interest, court costs, reasonable fees and expenses of attorneys, accountants and other experts or other reasonable fees and expenses of litigation or other proceedings or of any claim, default or assessment) (“Losses”) arising from or in connection with any third party claim or threatened third party claim to the extent that such Losses are based on or arising out of any of the following: (a) breach by State Street or any State Street Personnel of any of its data protection, information security or confidentiality obligations hereunder or under a Service Module to which such Fund is a signatory; (b) any claim of infringement or misappropriation of any Intellectual

Property Right alleged to have occurred because of systems or other Intellectual Property provided by or on behalf of State Street or based upon the performance of the Services (collectively, the “State Street Infringement Items”), except to the extent that such infringement or misappropriation relates to or results from; (i) changes made by any Fund or by a third party at the direction of a Fund to the State Street Infringement Items; (ii) changes to the State Street Infringement Items recommended by State Street and not made due to a request from any Fund, provided that State Street has notified such Fund that failure to implement such recommendation would result in infringement within a reasonable amount of time for such Fund to so implement following such notification; (iii) any Fund’s combination of the State Street Infringement Items with products or services not provided or approved in writing by State Street, except to the extent such combination arises out of any Fund’s use of the State Street Infringement Items in a manner consistent with the applicable business requirements documentation; (iv) designs or specifications that in themselves infringe and that are provided by or at the direction of any Fund (except in the event of a knowing infringement by State Street); or (v) use by a Fund of any of the State Street Infringement Items in a manner that is not consistent with the applicable business requirements documentation or otherwise not permitted under the Master Services Agreement or any Service Module; (c) any claim or action by, on behalf of, or related to, any prospective, then-current or former employees of State Street, arising from or in connection with a Service Module to which a Fund is a signatory, including: (i) any claim arising under occupational health and safety, worker’s compensation, ERISA or other applicable Law; (ii) any claim arising from the interview or hiring practices, actions or omissions of employees of State Street; (iii) any claim relating to any violation by employees of State Street, or its respective officers, directors, employees, representatives or agents, of any Law or any common law protecting persons or members of protected classes or categories, such laws or regulations prohibiting discrimination or harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic; and (iv) any claim based on a theory that such Fund is an employer or joint employer of any such prospective, then-current or former employees of State Street; (d) the failure by State Street to obtain, maintain, or comply with any governmental approvals as required under the Master Services Agreement and/or a Service Module to which such Fund is a signatory or such other failures as otherwise agreed by the Parties from time to time; (e) claims by third parties arising from claims by governmental authorities against such Customer for fines, penalties, sanctions, late fees or other remedies to the extent arising from or in connection with State Street’s failure to perform its responsibilities under the Master Services Agreement or any Service Module (except to the extent a Fund is not permitted as a matter of public policy to have such an indemnity for financial penalties arising from criminal actions); (f) claims by clients of State Street relating to services, products or systems provided by State Street or a Subcontractor to such client(s) in a shared or leveraged environment; (g) any claim initiated by an Affiliate or potential or actual Subcontractor of State Street asserting rights in connection with a Service Module to which such Fund is a signatory; or (h) other claims as otherwise agreed by the Parties from time to time.

Section 8.02 of the Distribution Agreement between Registrant and BRIL provides as follows:

The Distribution Agreement provides that BRIL agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, each of its trustees, officers, employees and each person, if any, who controls the Trust within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (collectively, the “Trust Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all losses to which the Trust Indemnified Parties become subject, arising out of or based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Trust by BRIL about BRIL expressly for use therein; (ii) any breach of any representation, warranty or covenant made by BRIL in the Distribution Agreement; and (iii) the actions or omissions of any person acting under the supervision of BRIL in providing services under the Distribution Agreement; provided, however, that BRIL shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any loss arises out of or is based upon (A) the Trust’s own willful misfeasance, willful misconduct or gross negligence or the Trust’s reckless disregard of its obligations under the Distribution Agreement or (B) the Trust’s material breach of the Distribution Agreement.

The Authorized Participant Agreement provides that the Authorized Participant (the “Participant”) agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Fund and its respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who controls such persons within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (each an “Indemnified Party”) from and against any loss, liability, cost and expense (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by such Indemnified Party as a result of (i) any breach by the Participant of any provision of the Authorized Participant Agreement that relates to the Participant; (ii) any failure on the part of the Participant to perform any of its obligations set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement; (iii) any failure by the Participant to comply with applicable laws, including rules and regulations of self-regulatory organizations; or (iv) actions of such Indemnified Party in reliance upon any instructions issued in accordance with Annex II, III or IV (as each may be amended from time to time) of the Authorized Participant Agreement reasonably believed by the distributor and/or the transfer agent to be genuine and to have been given by the Participant.

Section 5.1(c) of the Amended and Restated Securities Lending Agency Agreement provides as follows:

The Amended and Restated Securities Lending Agency Agreement provides that BTC shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and each Fund, its Board of Trustees and its agents and BFA and any investment adviser for the Funds from any and all loss, liability, costs, damages, actions, and claims (“Loss”) to the extent that any such Loss arises out of the material breach of this Agreement by or negligent acts or omissions or willful misconduct of BTC, its officers, directors or employees or any of its agents or subcustodians in

connection with the securities lending activities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement, provided that BTC’s indemnification obligation with respect to the acts or omissions of its subcustodians shall not exceed the indemnification provided by the applicable subcustodian to BTC.

The Trust is advised by BFA, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. BFA’s business is that of a registered investment adviser to certain open-end, management investment companies and various other institutional investors.

The directors and officers of BFA consist primarily of persons who during the past two years have been active in the investment management business. To the knowledge of the Registrant, except as set forth below, none of the directors or executive officers of BFA is or has been at any time during the past two fiscal years engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature. Information as to the executive officers and directors of BFA is included in its Form ADV filed with the SEC (File No. 801-22609) and is incorporated herein by reference.

BIL acts as sub-adviser for a number of affiliated registered investment companies advised by BFA. The address of each of these registered investment companies is 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. The address of BIL is Exchange Place One, 1 Semple Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8BL, United Kingdom. To the knowledge of the Registrant, except as set forth below, none of the directors or executive officers of BIL is or has been at any time during the past two fiscal years engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature. Information as to the executive officers and directors of BIL is included in its Form ADV filed with the SEC (File No. 801-51087) and is incorporated herein by reference.

BRIL, the distributor of certain funds, acts as the principal underwriter or placement agent, as applicable, for each of the following open-end registered investment companies including certain funds of the Registrant:

BRIL also acts as the distributor or placement agent for the following closed-end registered investment companies:

BRIL provides numerous financial services to BlackRock-advised funds and is the distributor of BlackRock’s open-end funds. These services include coordinating and executing Authorized Participation Agreements, preparing, reviewing and providing advice with respect to all sales literature and responding to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority comments on marketing materials.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,863 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of San Francisco and the State of California on the 9^th day of January, 2018.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,863 to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.


		*THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933*		☒
		Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,863		☒


		*THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940*		☒
		Amendment No. 1,863		☒

Fund Overview	S-1
More Information About the Fund	1
A Further Discussion of Principal Risks	2
Portfolio Holdings Information	12
Management	12
Shareholder Information	15
Distribution	23
Financial Highlights	24
Index Provider	25
Disclaimers	25

	Page
General Description of the Trust and the Fund	1
Exchange Listing and Trading	1
Investment Strategies and Risks	2
Bonds	2
Borrowing	3
Diversification Status	3
Futures, Options on Futures and Securities Options	3
High Yield Securities	5
Illiquid Securities	6
Lending Portfolio Securities	6
Municipal Insurance	7
Municipal Securities	7
Ratings	9
Regulation Regarding Derivatives	9
Repurchase Agreements	10
Reverse Repurchase Agreements	10
Securities of Investment Companies	10
Short-Term Instruments and Temporary Investments	11
Swap Agreements	11
U.S.-Registered Securities of Non-U.S. Issuers	11
Future Developments	11
General Considerations and Risks	11
Borrowing Risk	12
Issuer Insolvency Risk	12
Liquidity Risk Management Rule Risk	12
Municipal Market Disruption Risk	13
Operational Risk	13
Risk of Derivatives	13
Risk of Swap Agreements	13
Special Considerations Regarding Investments in California Municipal Securities	13
Special Considerations Regarding Investments in New York Municipal Securities	28
Tax Risks Associated with Municipal Securities	66
Valuation Risk	67
Proxy Voting Policy	67
Portfolio Holdings Information	67
Construction and Maintenance of the Underlying Index	68

	Page
Redemption of Creation Units	107
Cash Redemption Method	107
Costs Associated with Redemption Transactions	107
Placement of Redemption Orders	108
Taxation on Creations and Redemptions of Creation Units	109
Taxes	109
Regulated Investment Company Qualifications	109
Taxation of RICs	110
Net Capital Loss Carryforwards	110
Excise Tax	110
Taxation of U.S. Shareholders	111
Sales of Shares	112
Backup Withholding	112
Sections 351 and 362	112
Taxation of Certain Derivatives	113
Market Discount	113
Original Issue Discount	113
Reporting	113
Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders	113
Financial Statements	115
Miscellaneous Information	115
Counsel	115
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	115
Shareholder Communications to the Board	115
Investors’ Rights	115
Appendix A - Proxy Voting Policy and BlackRock Proxy Voting Guidelines	A-1
Appendix B – Description of Fixed-Income Ratings	B-1

Contents
Introduction to BlackRock	A-3
Philosophy on corporate governance	A-3
Corporate governance, engagement and voting	A-3
- Boards and directors	A-4
- Auditors and audit-related issues	A-5
- Capital structure, mergers, asset sales and other special transactions	A-5
- Remuneration and benefits	A-6
- Social, ethical, and environmental issues	A-6
- General corporate governance matters	A-7
BlackRock’s oversight of its corporate governance activities	A-7
- Oversight	A-7
- Vote execution	A-7
- Conflicts management	A-8
- Voting guidelines	A-9
- Reporting	A-9


Exhibit Number		Description
(a.1)		Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated September 17, 2009, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 303, filed October 16, 2009 (“PEA No. 303”).

(a.2)		Restated Certificate of Trust, dated September 13, 2006, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 53, filed September 19, 2006.

(b)		Amended and Restated By-Laws, dated April 20, 2010, are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 418, filed May 4, 2010.

(c)		Article II of the Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 303.

(d.1)		Investment Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2009, between the iShares Trust (the “Trust”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 354, filed December 28, 2009.

(d.2)		Schedule A to the Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and BFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,858, filed December 21, 2017 (“PEA No. 1,858”).

(d.3)		Schedule A to the Investment Advisory Agreement between iShares, Inc. and BFA is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,858.

(d.4)		Master Advisory Fee Waiver Agreement, dated December 1, 2009, between the Trust and BFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 512, filed March 24, 2011.

(d.5)		Schedule A to the Master Advisory Fee Waiver Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,858.

(d.6)		Form of Participation Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 773, filed October 15, 2012.

(d.7)		Sub-Advisory Agreement, dated December 1, 2010, between BFA and BlackRock International Limited (“BIL”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 529, filed April 21, 2011.

(d.8)		Exhibit A to the Sub-Advisory Agreement between BFA and BIL is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,723, filed February 24, 2017.

(e.1)		Distribution Agreement, dated February 3, 2012, between the Trust and BlackRock Investments, LLC (“BRIL”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 921, filed July 10, 2013.

(e.2)		Exhibit A to the Distribution Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,858.

(f)		Not applicable.

(g)		Service Module for Custodial Services, dated April 21, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 573, filed August 19, 2011 (“PEA No. 573”).

(h.1)		Master Services Agreement, dated April 21, 2011, between the Trust and State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 551, filed June 27, 2011.

(h.2)		Exhibit A to the Master Services Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,858.

(h.3)		Service Module for Fund Administration and Accounting Services, dated April 21, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 573.



(h.4)		Service Module for Transfer Agency Services, dated April 21, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 573.

(h.5)		Amended and Restated Securities Lending Agency Agreement, dated January 1, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc., iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF, Inc., iShares U.S. ETF Company, Inc., iShares U.S. ETF Trust and BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (“BTC”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,318, filed February 4, 2015.

(h.6)		Schedule A to the Amended and Restated Securities Lending Agency Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,858.

(h.7)		Form of Master Securities Loan Agreement (including forms of Annexes and Schedules thereto) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 369, filed January 22, 2010.

(h.8)		Sublicense Agreement, dated June 30, 2017, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the BlackRock Index Services LLC Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“BlackRock Index Services LLC Sublicense Agreement”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,792, filed August 1, 2017.

(h.9)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the C&S Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“C&S Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,512, filed October 21, 2015 (“PEA No. 1,512”).

(h.10)		Exhibit A to the C&S Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,512.

(h.11)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the Dow Jones Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“Dow Jones Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,512.

(h.12)		Exhibit A to the Dow Jones Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,796, filed August 7, 2017 (“PEA No. 1,796”).

(h.13)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the Markit iBoxx indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“Markit iBoxx Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,796.

(h.14)		Exhibit A to the Markit iBoxx Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,816, filed September 11, 2017.

(h.15)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated August 14, 2017, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the Merrill Lynch Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“Merrill Lynch Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,840, filed October 23, 2017 (“PEA No. 1,840”).

(h.16)		Exhibit A to the Merrill Lynch Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,840.

(h.17)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the Morningstar Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“Morningstar Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,796.

(h.18)		Exhibit A to the Morningstar Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,841, filed November 1, 2017.

(h.19)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the MSCI Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“MSCI Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,796.

(h.20)		Exhibit A to the MSCI Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,858.

(h.21)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the NASDAQ indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“NASDAQ Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,796.



(h.22)		Exhibit A to the NASDAQ Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,796.

(h.23)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the Russell Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“Russell Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,795, filed August 2, 2017 (“PEA No. 1,795”).

(h.24)		Exhibit A to the Russell Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,795.

(h.25)		Amended and Restated Sublicense Agreement, dated September 23, 2015, among the Trust, iShares, Inc. and BFA for the S&P Indexes, as that term is defined in the Agreement (“S&P Sublicense Agreement”), is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,512.

(h.26)		Exhibit A to the S&P Sublicense Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,732, filed March 27, 2017.

(i)		Legal Opinion and Consent of Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A. to be filed by amendment.

(j)		Not applicable.

(k)		Not applicable.

(l.1)		Subscription Agreement, dated April 20, 2000, between the Trust and SEI Investments Distribution Co. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2, filed May 12, 2000 (“PEA No. 2”).

(l.2)		Letter of Representations, dated April 14, 2000, between the Trust and the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 2.

(l.3)		Amendment of Letter of Representations, dated January 9, 2001, between the Trust and DTC for iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund and iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 11, filed July 2, 2001.

(m)		Not applicable.

(n)		Not applicable.

(o)		Not applicable.

(p.1)		Code of Ethics for Fund Access Persons is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,690, filed October 31, 2016 (“PEA No. 1,690”).

(p.2)		BlackRock, Inc. Personal Trading Policy is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,151, filed June 19, 2014.

(p.3)		Code of Ethics for BRIL is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,621, filed May 10, 2016.

(q.1)		Powers of Attorney, each dated October 15, 2016, for Martin Small, Jane D. Carlin, Mark K. Wiedman, Charles A. Hurty, Cecilia H. Herbert, John E. Kerrigan, John E. Martinez, Madhav V. Rajan, Robert S. Kapito and Jack Gee are incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,690.

(q.2)		Powers of Attorney, each dated June 21, 2017, for Drew E. Lawton and Richard L. Fagnani are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1,771, filed June 27, 2017 (“PEA No. 1,771”).

(q.3)		Officer’s Certificate is incorporated herein by reference to PEA No. 1,690.


Director or Officer	Capacity with BFA	Principal Business(es) During Last Two Fiscal Years

FINK, LAURENCE DOUGLAS	CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, Inc.

GOLDSTEIN, ROBERT LAWRENCE	CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND DIRECTOR	Senior Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock, Inc.

KAPITO, ROBERT STEVEN	PRESIDENT	President and Director of BlackRock, Inc.

MEADE, CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH	GENERAL COUNSEL AND CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER	Senior Managing Director and Chief Legal Officer of BlackRock, Inc.

PARK, CHARLES CHOON SIK	CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc. and Chief Compliance Officer of BlackRock’s registered investment companies

SHEDLIN, GARY STEPHEN	CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND DIRECTOR	Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of BlackRock Inc.

WALTCHER, DANIEL RUSSELL	DIRECTOR	Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of BlackRock, Inc.


Director or Officer	Capacity with BIL	Principal Business(es) During Last Two Fiscal Years

CHARRINGTON, NICHOLAS JAMES	DIRECTOR	Senior Adviser and Non-Executive Chairman of EMEA of BlackRock, Inc., Non-Executive Director of BlackRock Group Limited BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited and BIL (collectively, the “Joint Boards”)



CLAUSEN, CHRISTIAN	DIRECTOR	Senior Advisor of BlackRock, Inc.

DAMM, RUDOLPH ANDREW	DIRECTOR	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

DE FREITAS, ELEANOR JUDITH	DIRECTOR	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

FISHWICK, JAMES EDWARD	DIRECTOR	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

HANDLING, ERICA LOUISE	GENERAL COUNSEL	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

LORD, RACHEL	CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND DIRECTOR	Senior Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

MCMAHON, ENDA THOMAS	CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

MULLIN, STACEY JANE	CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

OLSON, PATRICK MICHAEL	DIRECTOR	Senior Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

THOMSON, COLIN ROY	CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND DIRECTOR	Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.

YOUNG, MARGARET ANNE	DIRECTOR	Non-Executive Director of the Joint Boards

WEBB, RICHARD MICHAEL	DIRECTOR	Non-Executive Director of the Joint Boards. Non-Executive Director of BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A.


BBIF Money Fund		BlackRock Mid Cap Dividend Series, Inc.
BBIF Treasury Fund		BlackRock Multi-State Municipal Series Trust
BIF Money Fund		BlackRock Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
BIF Treasury Fund		BlackRock Municipal Series Trust
BlackRock Advantage Global Fund, Inc.		BlackRock Natural Resources Trust
BlackRock Advantage U.S. Total Market Fund, Inc.		BlackRock Series Fund, Inc.
BlackRock Allocation Target Shares		BlackRock Series, Inc.
BlackRock Asian Dragon Fund, Inc.		BlackRock Strategic Global Bond Fund, Inc.
BlackRock Balanced Capital Fund, Inc.		BlackRock Variable Series Funds, Inc.
BlackRock Basic Value Fund, Inc.		FDP Series, Inc.
BlackRock Bond Fund, Inc.		Funds For Institutions Series
BlackRock California Municipal Series Trust		iShares, Inc.
BlackRock Capital Appreciation Fund, Inc.		iShares U.S. ETF Trust
BlackRock Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.		Managed Account Series


BlackRock Equity Dividend Fund		Master Advantage U.S. Total Market LLC
BlackRock EuroFund		Master Bond LLC
BlackRock Financial Institutions Series Trust		Master Focus Growth LLC
BlackRock Focus Growth Fund, Inc.		Master Institutional Money Market LLC
BlackRock Funds		Master Investment Portfolio
BlackRock Funds II		Master Large Cap Series LLC
BlackRock Funds III		Master Money LLC
BlackRock Global Allocation Fund, Inc.		Master Treasury LLC
BlackRock Index Funds, Inc.		Quantitative Master Series LLC
BlackRock Large Cap Series Funds, Inc.		Ready Assets Government Liquidity Fund
BlackRock Latin America Fund, Inc.		Ready Assets U.S.A. Government Money Fund
BlackRock Liquidity Funds		Ready Assets U.S. Treasury Money Fund
BlackRock Long-Horizon Equity Fund		Retirement Series Trust
BlackRock Master LLC


Name	Position(s) and Office(s) with BRIL	Position(s) and Office(s) with Registrant
Laurence Fink	Chairman and Director	None
Abigail Reynolds	Chief Executive Officer	None
Christopher Meade	Chief Legal Officer	None
Saurabh Pathak	Chief Financial Officer and FinOp	None
Gregory Rosta	Chief Compliance Officer	None
Anne Ackerley	Managing Director	None
Blair Alleman	Managing Director	None
Michael Bishopp	Managing Director	None
Thomas Callahan	Managing Director	None
Samara Cohen	Managing Director	None
Jon Diorio	Managing Director	None
Lisa Hill	Managing Director	None
Brendan Kyne	Managing Director	None
Paul Lohrey	Managing Director	None
Diane Lumley	Managing Director	None
Martin Small	Managing Director	None
Andrew Dickson	Secretary and Director	None
Terri Slane	Assistant Secretary and Director	None
Katrina Gil	Director	None
Jonathan Maro	Chief Operating Officer	None
Chris Nugent	Director	None
Lourdes Sanchez	Vice President	None
Robert Fairbairn	Member, Board of Managers	None
Salim Ramji	Member, Board of Managers	None
Richard Prager	Member, Board of Managers	None
Christopher Vogel	Member, Board of Managers	None


		/s/ Jack Gee
		Jack Gee*
		Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
Date:		January 9, 2018


		/s/ Jack Gee
*		By: Jack Gee
		Attorney-in-fact
Date:		January 9, 2018