UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-05742

Name of Fund: BlackRock Funds^SM

BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Fund Address: 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19809

Name and address of agent for service: John M. Perlowski, Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock Funds^SM,
50 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (800) 441-7762

Date of fiscal year end: 03/31/2024

Date of reporting period: 09/30/2023

Item 1  – Report to Stockholders

(a) The Report to Shareholders is attached herewith.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2023

2023 Semi-Annual Report

(Unaudited)

BlackRock Funds^SM

· BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee

The Markets in Review

Dear Shareholder,

The combination of continued economic growth and moderating inflation provided a supportive backdrop for investors during the 12-month reporting period ended September 30, 2023. Significantly tighter monetary policy helped to rein in inflation while the economy proved more resilient than many investors anticipated. A moderating labor market also helped ease inflationary pressure, although wages continued to grow and unemployment rates touched the lowest levels in decades. This robust labor market powered further growth in consumer spending, backstopping the economy. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a horrific attack on Israel. The ensuing war will have a significant humanitarian impact and could lead to heightened economic and market volatility. We see geopolitics as a structural market risk going forward. See our geopolitical risk dashboard at blackrock.com for more details.

Equity returns were substantial, as the durability of consumer sentiment and spending mitigated investors’ concerns about the economy’s trajectory. The U.S. economy resumed growth in the third quarter of 2022 and continued to expand thereafter. All major classes of equities rose, although large-capitalization U.S. stocks posted significantly higher returns than small-capitalization U.S. stocks due primarily to the performance of large technology companies. International developed market equities also advanced strongly, and emerging market equities posted solid gains.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose during the reporting period, driving its price down, as investors reacted to elevated inflation and attempted to anticipate future interest rate changes. The corporate bond market benefited from improving economic sentiment, although high-yield corporate bond prices fared significantly better than investment-grade bonds as demand from yield-seeking investors remained strong.

The U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”), attempting to manage persistent inflation, raised interest rates six times during the 12-month period. Furthermore, the Fed wound down its bond-buying programs and incrementally reduced its balance sheet by not replacing securities that reach maturity. However, the Fed declined to raise interest rates at two of its meetings late in the period.

Supply constraints appear to have become an embedded feature of the new macroeconomic environment, making it difficult for developed economies to increase production without sparking higher inflation. Geopolitical fragmentation and an aging population risk further exacerbating these constraints, keeping the labor market tight and wage growth high. Although the Fed has decelerated the pace of interest rate hikes and recently opted for two pauses, we believe that the new economic regime means that the Fed will need to maintain high rates for an extended period to keep inflation under control. Furthermore, ongoing structural changes may mean that the Fed will be hesitant to cut interest rates in the event of faltering economic activity lest inflation accelerate again. We believe investors should expect a period of higher volatility as markets adjust to the new economic reality and policymakers attempt to adapt.

While we favor an overweight position in developed market equities in the long term, we prefer an underweight stance in the near term. Expectations for corporate earnings remain elevated, which seems inconsistent with macroeconomic constraints. Nevertheless, we are overweight on Japanese stocks in the near term as shareholder-friendly policies generate increased investor interest. We also believe that stocks with an AI tilt should benefit from an investment cycle that is set to support revenues and margins. In credit, there are selective opportunities in the near term despite tightening credit and financial conditions. For fixed income investing with a six- to twelve-month horizon, we see the most attractive investments in short-term U.S. Treasuries, U.S. inflation-linked bonds, euro area government bonds and gilts, U.S. mortgage-backed securities, and hard-currency emerging market bonds.

Overall, our view is that investors need to think globally, position themselves to be prepared for a decarbonizing economy, and be nimble as market conditions change. We encourage you to talk with your financial advisor and visit blackrock.com for further insight about investing in today’s markets.

Sincerely,

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock Advisors, LLC

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock Advisors, LLC

Total Returns as of September 30, 2023
	6-Month	12-Month
U.S. large cap equities (S&P 500® Index)	5.18%	21.62%
U.S. small cap equities (Russell 2000® Index)	(0.19)	8.93
International equities (MSCI Europe, Australasia, Far East Index)	(1.28)	25.65
Emerging market equities (MSCI Emerging Markets Index)	(2.05)	11.70
3-month Treasury bills (ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index)	2.50	4.47
U.S. Treasury securities (ICE BofA 10-Year U.S. Treasury Index)	(6.98)	(2.90)
U.S. investment grade bonds (Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index)	(4.05)	0.64
Tax-exempt municipal bonds (Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index)	(4.05)	2.66
U.S. high yield bonds (Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index)	2.22	10.28
Past performance is not an indication of future results. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in an index.

2 T H I S   P A G E   I S   N O T   P A R T   O F   Y O U R   F U N D   R E P O R T

Table of Contents

	Page
The Markets in Review	2
Semi-Annual Report:
Fund Summary	4
About Fund Performance	6
Disclosure of Expenses	6
Derivative Financial Instruments	6
Financial Statements:
Schedule of Investments	7
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	15
Statement of Operations	17
Statements of Changes in Net Assets	19
Financial Highlights	20
Notes to Financial Statements	23
Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement	32
Additional Information	35
Glossary of Terms Used in this Report	37

3

Fund Summary as of September 30, 2023    BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Investment Objective

BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund’s (the “Fund”) investment objective is to seek total return over the long-term.

Portfolio Management Commentary

How did the Fund perform?

For the six-month period ended September 30, 2023, all of the Fund’s share classes outperformed its benchmark, the ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index.

What factors influenced performance?

Stock selection in the financials and energy sectors made the largest contribution to performance. At the individual stock level, a short position in a Japanese biopharmaceutical company was the leading contributor. A long position in the Brazilian financial services company XP, Inc., which beat profit estimates due to successful cost cutting, was the second-largest contributor.

Stock selection in the information technology and healthcare sectors detracted from performance. A long position in the Swiss biopharmaceutical company Lonza AG was the largest detractor due in part to concerns about management changes. Heineken NV also detracted from results. The company reported growth that was below consensus expectations, and it reduced its forward guidance.

The Fund held derivatives such as futures contracts and swaps, which contributed to performance. The Fund’s cash position had no material impact on performance.

Describe recent portfolio activity.

The investment adviser reduced the number of positions in the portfolio to concentrate capital in its highest-conviction ideas. As a result of this shift, the Fund’s exposure to the profitability and quality factors increased.

Describe portfolio positioning at period end.

The Fund closed the reporting period with gross exposure at 175.4% and net exposure at 9.0%.

Healthcare, financials, and information technology were the Fund’s largest net sector allocations. In contrast, the Fund had negative net exposure to the real estate, industrials and materials sectors. From a regional perspective, the United States was the largest net allocation, while the portfolio had a slightly negative exposure to the Middle East.

The views expressed reflect the opinions of BlackRock as of the date of this report and are subject to change based on changes in market, economic or other conditions. These views are not intended to be a forecast of future events and are no guarantee of future results.

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Fund Summary as of September 30, 2023   (continued) BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Performance

				Average Annual Total Returns(a)(b)
				1 Year						Since Inception(c)
	6-Month Total Returns			Without Sales Charge			With Sales Charge			Without Sales Charge			With Sales Charge
Institutional		2.71	%		8.96	%		N/A			(4.08	)%		N/A
Investor A		2.59			8.62			2.92	%		(4.36	)		(7.22	)%
Class K		2.71			8.99			N/A			(4.06	)		N/A
ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index(d)		2.50			4.47			N/A			2.86			N/A

^(a)  Under normal circumstances, the Fund seeks to invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities and derivatives with similar economic characteristics.

^(b)  Assuming maximum sales charges, if any. Average annual total returns with and without sales charges reflect reductions for distribution and service fees. See “About Fund Performance” for a detailed description of share classes, including any related sales charges and fees, and how performance was calculated for certain share classes.

^(c)  The Fund commenced operations on December 21, 2021.

^(d)  An unmanaged index that measures returns of 3-month Treasury Bills.

N/A - Not applicable as share class and index do not have a sales charge.

Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Performance results may include adjustments made for financial reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Expense Example

	Actual					Hypothetical 5% Return
		Beginning Account Value (04/01/23)	Ending Account Value (09/30/23)	Expenses Paid During the Period	(a)		Beginning Account Value (04/01/23)	Ending Account Value (09/30/23)	Expenses Paid During the Period	(a)	Annualized Expense Ratio
Institutional		$       1,000.00	$       1,027.10	$        9.53			$       1,000.00	$       1,015.59	$        9.47		1.88	%
Investor A		1,000.00	1,025.90	10.66			1,000.00	1,014.47	10.63		2.11
Class K		1,000.00	1,027.10	9.31			1,000.00	1,015.82	9.27		1.84

^(a)  For each class of the Fund, expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio for the class, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/366 (to reflect the one-half year period shown).

See “Disclosure of Expenses” for further information on how expenses were calculated.

Portfolio Information

TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS
Security(a)	Percent of Net Assets
Sony Group Corp.	4.4	%
Novo Nordisk A/S,Class B	3.8
Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd.	3.8
Beiersdorf AG	3.7
Mastercard, Inc.,Class A	3.6
Comcast Corp.,Class A	3.2
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.	3.0
Microsoft Corp.	3.0
Amazon.com, Inc.	2.9
Walt Disney Co. (The)	2.8

GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION
Country	Percent of Net Assets
United States	56.4	%
Japan	11.6
Netherlands	5.0
Germany	5.0
Canada	4.7
Switzerland	4.5
Denmark	3.8
Italy	3.4
China	2.1
Brazil	1.8
Other Assets Less Liabilities	1.7

^(a)  Excludes short-term securities.

F U N D   S U M M A R Y 5

About Fund Performance

Institutional and Class K Shares are not subject to any sales charge. These shares bear no ongoing distribution or service fees and are available only to certain eligible investors.

Investor A Shares are subject to a maximum initial sales charge (front-end load) of 5.25% and a service fee of 0.25% per year (but no distribution fee). Certain redemptions of these shares may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase. These shares are generally available through financial intermediaries.

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. These circumstances may continue for an extended period of time and may continue to affect adversely the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. As a result, current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Refer to blackrock.com to obtain performance data current to the most recent month-end. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. Figures shown in the performance table assume reinvestment of all distributions, if any, at net asset value (“NAV”) on the ex-dividend date or payable date, as applicable. Investment return and principal value of shares will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Distributions paid to each class of shares will vary because of the different levels of service, distribution and transfer agency fees applicable to each class, which are deducted from the income available to be paid to shareholders.

BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager”), the Fund’s investment adviser, has contractually and/or voluntarily agreed to waive and/or reimburse a portion of the Fund’s expenses. Without such waiver(s) and/or reimbursement(s), the Fund’s performance would have been lower. With respect to the Fund’s voluntary waiver(s), if any, the Manager is under no obligation to waive and/or reimburse or to continue waiving and/or reimbursing its fees and such voluntary waiver(s) may be reduced or discontinued at any time. With respect to the Fund’s contractual waiver(s), if any, the Manager is under no obligation to continue waiving and/or reimbursing its fees after the applicable termination date of such agreement. See the Notes to Financial Statements for additional information on waivers and/or reimbursements.

Disclosure of Expenses

Shareholders of the Fund may incur the following charges: (a) transactional expenses, such as sales charges; and (b) operating expenses, including investment advisory fees, administration fees, service and distribution fees, including 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, and other fund expenses. The expense example shown (which is based on a hypothetical investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held through the end of the period) is intended to assist shareholders both in calculating expenses based on an investment in the Fund and in comparing these expenses with similar costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The expense example provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. Annualized expense ratios reflect contractual and voluntary fee waivers, if any. In order to estimate the expenses a shareholder paid during the period covered by this report, shareholders can divide their account value by $1,000 and then multiply the result by the number corresponding to their share class under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During the Period.”

The expense example also provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses. In order to assist shareholders in comparing the ongoing expenses of investing in the Fund and other funds, compare the 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

The expenses shown in the expense example are intended to highlight shareholders’ ongoing costs only and do not reflect transactional expenses, such as sales charges, if any. Therefore, the hypothetical example is useful in comparing ongoing expenses only and will not help shareholders determine the relative total expenses of owning different funds. If these transactional expenses were included, shareholder expenses would have been higher.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Fund may invest in various derivative financial instruments. These instruments are used to obtain exposure to a security, commodity, index, market, and/or other assets without owning or taking physical custody of securities, commodities and/or other referenced assets or to manage market, equity, credit, interest rate, foreign currency exchange rate, commodity and/or other risks. Derivative financial instruments may give rise to a form of economic leverage and involve risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of a derivative financial instrument and the underlying asset, possible default of the counterparty to the transaction or illiquidity of the instrument. Pursuant to Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, among other things, the Fund must either use derivative financial instruments with embedded leverage in a limited manner or comply with an outer limit on fund leverage risk based on value-at-risk. The Fund’s successful use of a derivative financial instrument depends on the investment adviser’s ability to predict pertinent market movements accurately, which cannot be assured. The use of these instruments may result in losses greater than if they had not been used, may limit the amount of appreciation the Fund can realize on an investment and/or may result in lower distributions paid to shareholders. The Fund’s investments in these instruments, if any, are discussed in detail in the Notes to Financial Statements.

6 2 0 2 3   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

Schedule of Investments (unaudited) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund (Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

Security	Shares		Value
Common Stocks
Brazil — 1.8%
Pagseguro Digital Ltd., Class A(a)		7,600	$	65,436
XP, Inc., Class A		4,480		103,264
				168,700
Canada — 4.7%
Canadian National Railway Co.		2,067		223,843
Suncor Energy, Inc.		6,299		216,622
				440,465
China — 2.1%
Yum China Holdings, Inc.		3,500		195,889
Denmark — 3.8%
Novo Nordisk A/S, Class B		3,934		358,195
Germany — 5.0%
Beiersdorf AG		2,727		351,753
Infineon Technologies AG		3,474		115,062
				466,815
Italy — 3.4%
Ferrari NV		609		179,524
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA		56,047		143,549
				323,073
Japan — 11.6%
Lasertec Corp.		1,000		155,513
NIDEC Corp.		3,500		161,607
Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd.		11,700		357,962
Sony Group Corp.		5,100		417,055
				1,092,137
Netherlands — 5.0%
ASML Holding NV		366		215,483
Heineken NV		2,942		259,371
				474,854
Switzerland — 4.5%
Lonza Group AG, Registered Shares		528		244,225
UBS Group AG, Registered Shares		7,318		180,258
				424,483
United States — 38.3%
Amazon.com, Inc.(a)		2,168		275,596

Security	Shares		Value
United States (continued)
American International Group, Inc.		2,356	$	142,774
Baker Hughes Co., Class A		3,429		121,112
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.(a)		849		198,921
Chart Industries, Inc.(a)		983		166,245
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.		3,548		95,086
Comcast Corp., Class A		6,781		300,670
Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.		3,483		129,881
Mastercard, Inc., Class A		853		337,711
Match Group, Inc.(a)		3,127		122,500
Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A(a)		556		166,917
Microsoft Corp.		890		281,018
Pinterest, Inc., Class A(a)		5,478		148,070
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.		566		286,492
T-Mobile U.S., Inc.(a)		1,405		196,770
Walt Disney Co. (The)(a)		3,270		265,034
WD-40 Co.		769		156,292
Western Alliance Bancorp		2,656		122,096
Willis Towers Watson PLC		445		92,987
				3,606,172
Total Long-Term Investments — 80.2% (Cost: $7,590,487)				7,550,783
Short-Term Securities
Money Market Funds — 18.1%
BlackRock Liquidity Funds, T-Fund, Institutional Class, 5.23%(b)(c)		1,700,608		1,700,608
Total Short-Term Securities — 18.1% (Cost: $1,700,608)				1,700,608
Total Investments — 98.3% (Cost: $9,291,095)				9,251,391
Other Assets Less Liabilities — 1.7%				162,897
Net Assets — 100.0%			$	9,414,288

^(a)  Non-income producing security.

^(b)  Affiliate of the Fund.

^(c)  Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S 7

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Affiliates

Investments in issuers considered to be affiliate(s) of the Fund during the six months ended September 30, 2023 for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

Affiliated Issuer	Value at 03/31/23		Purchases at Cost			Proceeds from Sale			Net Realized Gain (Loss)			Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)		Value at 09/30/23		Shares Held at 09/30/23		Income			Capital Gain Distributions from Underlying Funds
BlackRock Liquidity Funds, T-Fund, Institutional Class	$	1,394,967	$	305,641	(a)	$	—		$	—		$	—	$	1,700,608		1,700,608	$	34,602		$	—
SL Liquidity Series, LLC, Money Market Series(b)		158,152		—			(158,177	)(a)		(8	)		33		—		—		11,372	(c)		—
									$	(8	)	$	33	$	1,700,608			$	45,974		$	—

^(a)  Represents net amount purchased (sold).

^(b)  As of period end, the entity is no longer held.

^(c)  All or a portion represents securities lending income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral from loaned securities, net of fees and collateral investment expenses, and other payments to and from borrowers of securities.

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Futures Contracts

Description	Number of Contracts		Expiration Date		Notional Amount (000)		Value/ Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
Short Contracts
CAC 40 Index		3		10/20/23	$	227	$	5,133
TOPIX Index		3		12/07/23		466		7,218
S&P 500 E-Mini Index		4		12/15/23		865		37,132
STOXX Europe 600 Index		52		12/15/23		1,246		16,506
							$	65,989

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

Currency Purchased		Currency Sold		Counterparty	Settlement Date		Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
USD	423,107	CAD	574,272	HSBC Bank PLC		10/20/23	$	177
USD	464,181	CHF	412,302	State Street Bank and Trust Co.		10/20/23		12,712
USD	357,640	DKK	2,481,797	Societe Generale SA		10/20/23		5,440
USD	1,625,807	EUR	1,513,418	NatWest Markets PLC		10/20/23		24,319
USD	1,024,357	JPY	149,213,544	UBS AG		10/20/23		22,076
							$	64,724
EUR	252,408	USD	271,457	JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.		10/20/23		(4,360	)
							$	60,364

8 2 0 2 3   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

OTC Total Return Swaps

Reference     Entity	Payment Frequency	Counterparty(i)	Termination Date	Net Notional			Accrued Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)			Net Value of Reference Entity			Gross Notional  Amount  Net Asset  Percentage
Equity
Securities
Long/Short	Monthly	Citibank N.A.(a)	02/26/24–02/24/28	$	(1,007,382	)	$	891	(b)	$	(999,072	)		19.4	%
	Monthly	Goldman Sachs Bank USA(c)	08/19/26		(994,010	)		27,837	(d)		(969,081	)		16.1
	Monthly	HSBC Bank PLC(e)	02/10/28		(794,536	)		32,747	(f)		(765,548	)		14.7
	Monthly	Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC(g)	12/26/23–12/26/28		(1,173,978	)		(5,966	)(h)		(1,171,850	)		16.5
							$	55,509		$	(3,905,551	)

^(b)  Amount includes $(7,419) of net dividends and financing fees.

^(d)  Amount includes $2,908 of net dividends and financing fees.

^(f) Amount includes $3,759 of net dividends and financing fees.

^(h)  Amount includes $(8,094) of net dividends and financing fees.

⁽ⁱ⁾  The Fund receives the total return on a portfolio of long positions underlying the total return swap. The Fund pays the total return on a portfolio of short positions underlying the total return swap. In addition, the Fund pays or receives a variable rate of interest, based on a specified benchmark. The benchmark and spread are determined based upon the country and/or currency of the individual underlying positions.

The following are the specified benchmarks (plus or minus a range) used in determining the variable rate of interest:

	(a)	(c)	(e)
Range:	15-35 basis points	15-271 basis points	15-225 basis points
Benchmarks:	Euro Short-Term Rate:	Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average:	Euro Short-Term Rate:
	EUR 1-Day	CAD 1-Day	EUR 1-Day
	Sterling Overnight Index Average:	Euro Short-Term Rate:	Sterling Overnight Index Average:
	GBP 1-Day	EUR 1-Day	GBP 1-Day
	Tokyo Overnight Average Rate:	Sterling Overnight Index Average:	Tokyo Overnight Average Rate:
	JPY 1-Day	GBP 1-Day	JPY 1-Day
	Stockholm Interbank Offer Rate:	Tokyo Overnight Average Rate:	Overnight Bank Funding Rate:
	SEK 1-Week	JPY 1-Day	USD 1-Day
	Overnight Bank Funding Rate:	Overnight Federal Funds Effective Rate:
	USD 1-Day	USD 1-Day

	(g)
Range:	15-40 basis points
Benchmarks:	Copenhagen Interbank Offer Rate:
	DKK 1-Week
	Euro Short-Term Rate:
	EUR 1-Day
	Sterling Overnight Index Average:
	GBP 1-Day
	Hong Kong Overnight Index Average:
	HKD 1-Day
	Tokyo Overnight Average Rate:
	JPY 1-Day
	Stockholm Interbank Offer Rate:
	SEK 1-Week
	Overnight Federal Funds Effective Rate:
	USD 1-Day

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S 9

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund     

The following table represents the individual long and short positions and related values of equity securities underlying the total return swap with Citibank N.A. as of period end, termination dates February 26, 2024 to February 24, 2028:

	Shares		Value			% of Basket Value
Reference Entity — Long
Common Stocks
France
Air Liquide SA		1,089	$	183,422			(18.4)	%
South Korea
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.		4,377		221,275			(22.1	)
Total Reference Entity — Long				404,697
Reference Entity — Short
Common Stocks
Israel
Wix.com Ltd.		537		(49,296	)		4.9
Japan
Seven Bank Ltd.		35,200		(73,176	)		7.3
Netherlands
Randstad NV		2,097		(115,851	)		11.6
Sweden
Fastighets AB Balder, B Shares		18,575		(83,268	)		8.4
United Kingdom
Bunzl PLC		4,407		(156,950	)		15.7
United States
Belden, Inc.		1,212		(117,019	)		11.7
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., Class A		765		(51,821	)		5.2
GoDaddy, Inc., Class A		606		(45,135	)		4.5
International Business Machines Corp.		1,057		(148,297	)		14.8
Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. (The)		2,849		(81,652	)		8.2
Iron Mountain, Inc.		3,610		(214,615	)		21.5
Timken Co. (The)		2,054		(150,949	)		15.1
Trade Desk, Inc. (The), Class A		1,481		(115,740	)		11.6
				(925,228	)
Total Reference Entity — Short				(1,403,769	)
Net Value of Reference Entity — Citibank N.A.			$	(999,072	)
The following table represents the individual long and short positions and related values of equity securities underlying the total return swap with Goldman Sachs Bank USA as of period end, termination date August 19, 2026:
	Shares		Value			% of Basket Value
Reference Entity — Long
Common Stocks
United Kingdom
HSBC Holdings PLC		21,476	$	168,058			(17.3	)%

	Shares		Value			% of Basket Value
United States
Willis Towers Watson PLC		445	$	92,987			(9.6	)%
Total Reference Entity — Long				261,045
Reference Entity — Short
Common Stocks
Canada
BCE, Inc.		2,138		(81,616	)		8.4
China
New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H		38,400		(92,102	)		9.5
France
ICADE		1,956		(64,421	)		6.7
Japan
Dentsu Group, Inc.		2,400		(70,588	)		7.3
Netherlands
Basic-Fit NV		803		(22,731	)		2.3
Spain
Mapfre SA		50,696		(103,160	)		10.6
Telefonica SA		28,206		(115,231	)		11.9
				(218,391	)
United States
Block, Inc., Class A		985		(43,596	)		4.5
Expedia Group, Inc.		929		(95,752	)		9.9
Paramount Global, Class B, NVS		4,205		(54,245	)		5.6
Penske Automotive Group, Inc.		831		(138,827	)		14.3
Progressive Corp. (The)		1,275		(177,607	)		18.3
Trupanion, Inc.		3,326		(93,793	)		9.7
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.		492		(76,457	)		7.9
				(680,277	)
Total Reference Entity — Short				(1,230,126	)
Net Value of Reference Entity — Goldman Sachs Bank USA			$	(969,081	)

The following table represents the individual long and short positions and related values of equity securities underlying the total return swap with HSBC Bank PLC as of period end, termination date February 10, 2028:

	Shares		Value		% of Basket Value
Reference Entity — Long
Common Stocks
United Kingdom
Melrose Industries PLC		24,486	$	139,580		(18.2	)%
United States
American International Group, Inc.		2,248		136,229		(17.8	)
Total Reference Entity — Long				275,809

10 2 0 2 3   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

	Shares		Value			% of Basket Value
Reference Entity — Short
Common Stocks
France
Airbus SE		1,067	$	(142,816	)		18.6	%
Japan
Secom Co. Ltd.		1,000		(67,841	)		8.9
Netherlands
Basic-Fit NV		2,350		(66,522	)		8.7
United Kingdom
Sage Group PLC (The)		13,068		(157,259	)		20.5
United States
BRP Group, Inc., Class A		4,860		(112,898	)		14.7
Conagra Brands, Inc.		3,673		(100,714	)		13.2
Robert Half, Inc.		1,532		(112,265	)		14.7
Rockwell Automation, Inc.		320		(91,478	)		11.9
WW Grainger, Inc.		274		(189,564	)		24.8
				(606,919	)
Total Reference Entity — Short				(1,041,357	)
Net Value of Reference Entity — HSBC Bank PLC			$	(765,548	)
The following table represents the individual long and short positions and related values of equity securities underlying the total return swap with Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC as of period end, termination dates December 26, 2023 to December 26, 2028:
	Shares		Value			% of Basket Value
Reference Entity — Long
Common Stocks
United Kingdom
Smith & Nephew PLC		14,744	$	182,982			(15.6	)%
Total Reference Entity — Long			182,982
Reference Entity — Short
Common Stocks
Bermuda
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.		255		(50,470	)		4.3

	Shares		Value			% of Basket Value
Canada
Shopify, Inc., Class A		823	$	(44,911	)		3.8	%
Denmark
Pandora A/S		1,165		(120,218	)		10.3
Germany
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA		1,995		(85,769	)		7.3
Hong Kong
Futu Holdings Ltd., ADR		1,067		(61,683	)		5.3
Ireland
Glanbia PLC		1,660		(27,396	)		2.3
Japan
Daiwa Securities Group, Inc.		11,900		(68,622	)		5.9
SoftBank Corp.		8,600		(97,337	)		8.3
				(165,959	)
Spain
ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA		3,782		(135,962	)		11.6
Sweden
Evolution AB		957		(96,570	)		8.2
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, B Shares		4,919		(69,753	)		6.0
				(166,323	)
United Kingdom
Lancashire Holdings Ltd.		6,112		(43,998	)		3.7
United States
Everest Group Ltd.		136		(50,547	)		4.3
J M Smucker Co. (The)		940		(115,535	)		9.9
Omnicom Group, Inc.		2,213		(164,824	)		14.1
ResMed, Inc.		518		(76,597	)		6.5
Wayfair, Inc., Class A		737		(44,640	)		3.8
				(452,143	)
Total Reference Entity — Short				(1,354,832	)
Net Value of Reference Entity — Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC			$	(1,171,850	)

Balances Reported in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities for OTC Swaps

	Swap Premiums Paid		Swap Premiums Received		Unrealized Appreciation		Unrealized  Depreciation
OTC Swaps	$	—	$	—	$	61,475	$	(5,966)

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S 11

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure

As of period end, the fair values of derivative financial instruments located in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities were as follows:

	Commodity Contracts		Credit Contracts		Equity Contracts		Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts		Interest Rate Contracts		Other Contracts		Total
Assets — Derivative Financial Instruments
Futures contracts
Unrealized appreciation on futures contracts(a)	$	—	$	—	$	65,989	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	65,989
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts
Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts		—		—		—		64,724		—		—		64,724
Swaps — OTC
Unrealized appreciation on OTC swaps;
Swap premiums paid		—		—		61,475		—		—		—		61,475
	$	—	$	—	$	127,464	$	64,724	$	—	$	—	$	192,188
Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts
Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	4,360	$	—	$	—	$	4,360
Swaps — OTC
Unrealized depreciation on OTC swaps;
Swap premiums received		—		—		5,966		—		—		—		5,966
	$	—	$	—	$	5,966	$	4,360	$	—	$	—	$	10,326

^(a)  Net cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts, if any, are reported in the Schedule of Investments. In the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, only current day’s variation margin is reported in receivables or payables and the net cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation) is included in accumulated earnings (loss).

For the period ended September 30, 2023, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statement of Operations was as follows:

	Commodity Contracts		Credit Contracts		Equity Contracts			Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts		Interest Rate Contracts		Other Contracts		Total
Net Realized Gain (Loss) from:
Futures contracts	$	—	$	—	$	(229,487	)	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	(229,487	)
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts		—		—		—			182,553		—		—		182,553
Swaps		—		—		(106,547	)		—		—		—		(106,547	)
	$	—	$	—	$	(336,034	)	$	182,553	$	—	$	—	$	(153,481	)
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on:
Futures contracts	$	—	$	—	$	193,271		$	—	$	—	$	—	$	193,271
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts		—		—		—			90,582		—		—		90,582
Swaps		—		—		193,897			—		—		—		193,897
	$	—	$	—	$	387,168		$	90,582	$	—	$	—	$	477,750

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

Futures contracts
Average notional value of contracts — short	$	2,730,457
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts
Average amounts purchased — in USD	$	3,795,211
Average amounts sold — in USD		$135,729
Total return swaps
Average notional amount	$	3,955,484

For more information about the Fund’s investment risks regarding derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

12 2 0 2 3   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Derivative Financial Instruments – Offsetting as of Period End

The Fund’s derivative assets and liabilities (by type) were as follows:

	Assets			Liabilities
Derivative Financial Instruments
Futures contracts	$	5,712		$	7,168
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts		64,724			4,360
Swaps — OTC(a)		61,475			5,966
Total derivative assets and liabilities in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities	$	131,911		$	17,494
Derivatives not subject to a Master Netting Agreement or similar agreement (“MNA”)		(5,712	)		(7,168	)
Total derivative assets and liabilities subject to an MNA	$	126,199		$	10,326

^(a)  Includes unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on OTC swaps in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The following table presents the Fund’s derivative assets and liabilities by counterparty net of amounts available for offset under an MNA and net of the related collateral received and pledged by the Fund:

Counterparty	Derivative Assets Subject to an MNA by Counterparty		Derivatives Available for Offset(a)		Non- Cash Collateral Received(b)		Cash Collateral Received(b)		Net Amount of Derivative Assets(c)(d)
Citibank N.A.	$	891	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	891
Goldman Sachs Bank USA		27,837		—		—		—		27,837
HSBC Bank PLC		32,924		—		—		—		32,924
NatWest Markets PLC		24,319		—		—		—		24,319
Societe Generale SA		5,440		—		—		—		5,440
State Street Bank and Trust Co.		12,712		—		—		—		12,712
UBS AG		22,076		—		—		—		22,076
	$	126,199	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	126,199
Counterparty	Derivative Liabilities Subject to an MNA by Counterparty		Derivatives Available for Offset(a)		Non- Cash Collateral Pledged(b)		Cash Collateral Pledged(b)		Net Amount of Derivative Liabilities(d)(e)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.	$	4,360	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	4,360
Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC		5,966		—		—		—		5,966
	$	10,326	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	10,326

^(a)  The amount of derivatives available for offset is limited to the amount of derivative assets and/or liabilities that are subject to an MNA.

^(b)  Excess of collateral received/pledged, if any, from the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

^(c)  Net amount represents the net amount receivable from the counterparty in the event of default.

^(d)  Net amount may also include forward foreign currency exchange contracts that are not required to be collateralized.

^(e)  Net amount represents the net amount payable due to the counterparty in the event of default.

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End

Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. For a description of the input levels and information about the Fund’s policy regarding valuation of financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

The following table summarizes the Fund’s financial instruments categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The breakdown of the Fund’s financial instruments into major categories is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments above.

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets
Investments
Long-Term Investments
Common Stocks
Brazil	$	168,700	$	—	$	—	$	168,700
Canada		440,465		—		—		440,465
China		—		195,889		—		195,889

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S 13

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued) September 30, 2023 BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End (continued)

	Level 1		Level 2			Level 3		Total
Common Stocks (continued)
Denmark	$	—	$	358,195		$	—	$	358,195
Germany		—		466,815			—		466,815
Italy		—		323,073			—		323,073
Japan		—		1,092,137			—		1,092,137
Netherlands		—		474,854			—		474,854
Switzerland		—		424,483			—		424,483
United States		3,606,172		—			—		3,606,172
Short-Term Securities
Money Market Funds		1,700,608		—			—		1,700,608
	$	5,915,945	$	3,335,446		$	—	$	9,251,391
Derivative Financial Instruments(a)
Assets
Equity Contracts	$	65,989	$	61,475		$	—	$	127,464
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts		—		64,724			—		64,724
Liabilities
Equity Contracts		—		(5,966	)		—		(5,966	)
Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts		—		(4,360	)		—		(4,360	)
	$	65,989	$	115,873		$	—	$	181,862

^(a)  Derivative financial instruments are swaps, futures contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts. Swaps, futures contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument.

See notes to financial statements.

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Statement of Assets and Liabilities (unaudited)

September 30, 2023

	BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund
ASSETS
Investments, at value — unaffiliated(a)	$	7,550,783
Investments, at value — affiliated(b)		1,700,608
Cash pledged:
Futures contracts		155,000
Foreign currency, at value(c)		4,649
Receivables:
Swaps		77,565
Dividends — unaffiliated		9,988
Dividends — affiliated		8,348
From the Manager		27,024
Variation margin on futures contracts		5,712
Unrealized appreciation on:
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts		64,724
OTC swaps		61,475
Prepaid expenses		16,820
Total assets		9,682,696
LIABILITIES
Payables:
Investments purchased		94,318
Swaps		108,847
Administration fees		5
Trustees’ and Officer’s fees		4,206
Other accrued expenses		10,371
Printing and postage fees		24,780
Professional fees		8,367
Service fees		20
Variation margin on futures contracts		7,168
Unrealized depreciation on:
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts		4,360
OTC swaps		5,966
Total liabilities		268,408
Commitments and contingent liabilities
NET ASSETS	$	9,414,288
NET ASSETS CONSIST OF:
Paid-in capital	$	10,965,439
Accumulated loss		(1,551,151	)
NET ASSETS	$	9,414,288
(a) Investments, at cost — unaffiliated	$	7,590,487
(b) Investments, at cost — affiliated	$	1,700,608
(c)  Foreign currency, at cost	$	4,848

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S 15

Statement of Assets and Liabilities (unaudited)  (continued)

September 30, 2023

	BlackRock
	Global Equity
	Absolute Return
	Fund
NET ASSET VALUE
Institutional
Net assets	$	205,664
Shares outstanding		24,669
Net asset value	$	8.34
Shares authorized		Unlimited
Par value	$	0.001
Investor A
Net assets	$	104,047
Shares outstanding		12,501
Net asset value	$	8.32
Shares authorized		Unlimited
Par value	$	0.001
Class K
Net assets	$	9,104,577
Shares outstanding		1,091,655
Net asset value	$	8.34
Shares authorized		Unlimited
Par value	$	0.001

See notes to financial statements.

16 2 0 2 3   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

Statement of Operations (unaudited)

Six Months Ended September 30, 2023

	BlackRock
	Global Equity
	Absolute Return
	Fund
INVESTMENT INCOME
Dividends — unaffiliated	$	71,734
Dividends — affiliated		34,602
Securities lending income — affiliated — net		11,372
Foreign taxes withheld		(7,650	)
Total investment income		110,058
EXPENSES
Investment advisory		87,010
Professional		61,062
Printing and postage		33,248
Registration		27,353
Accounting services		18,557
Custodian		4,515
Trustees and Officer		3,585
Administration		1,999
Administration — class specific		940
Transfer agent — class specific		137
Service — class specific		116
Miscellaneous		5,413
Total expenses excluding interest expense		243,935
Interest expense		61
Total expenses		243,996
Less:
Administration fees waived		(1,999	)
Administration fees waived by the Manager — class specific		(921	)
Fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager		(154,430	)
Transfer agent fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager — class specific		(101	)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed		86,545
Net investment income		23,513
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)
Net realized gain (loss) from:
Investments — unaffiliated		(216,126	)
Investments — affiliated		(8	)
Futures contracts		(229,487	)
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts		182,553
Foreign currency transactions		(1,706	)
Swaps		(106,547	)
		(371,321	)

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S 17

Statement of Operations (unaudited)  (continued)

Six Months Ended September 30, 2023

	BlackRock
	Global Equity
	Absolute Return
	Fund
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Investments — unaffiliated	$	117,770
Investments — affiliated		33
Futures contracts		193,271
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts		90,582
Foreign currency translations		202
Swaps		193,897
		595,755
Net realized and unrealized gain		224,434
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	$	247,947

See notes to financial statements.

18 2 0 2 3   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

	BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund
	Six Months Ended
	09/30/23			Year Ended
	(unaudited)			03/31/23
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS
OPERATIONS
Net investment income (loss)	$	23,513		$	(13,500	)
Net realized loss		(371,321	)		(414,303	)
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		595,755			295,034
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		247,947			(132,769	)
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS(a)
Institutional		—			(20,225	)
Investor A		—			(8,892	)
Class K		—			(898,096	)
Decrease in net assets resulting from distributions to shareholders		—			(927,213	)
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS
Net increase in net assets derived from capital share transactions		11,637			1,032,110
NET ASSETS
Total increase (decrease) in net assets		259,584			(27,872	)
Beginning of period		9,154,704			9,182,576
End of period	$	9,414,288		$	9,154,704

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

See notes to financial statements.

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S 19

Financial Highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

	BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund
	Institutional
	Six Months
	Ended						Period from
		09/30/23			Year Ended			12/21/21	(a)
	(unaudited)			03/31/23			to 03/31/22
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	8.12		$	9.18		$	10.00
Net investment income (loss)(b)		0.02			(0.01	)		(0.03	)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		0.20			(0.15	)		(0.79	)
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations		0.22			(0.16	)		(0.82	)
Distributions from net investment income(c)		—			(0.90	)		—
Net asset value, end of period	$	8.34		$	8.12		$	9.18
Total Return(d)
Based on net asset value		2.71	%(e)		(1.51	)%		(8.20	)%(e)
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)
Total expenses		5.22	%(g)		7.44	%		4.00	%(g)(h)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed		1.88	%(g)		1.95	%		1.95	%(g)
Net investment income (loss)		0.46	%(g)		(0.15	)%		(1.01	)%(g)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)	$	206		$	200		$	92
Portfolio turnover rate(i)		52	%		101	%		29	%

^(a)  Commencement of operations.

^(b)  Based on average shares outstanding.

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

^(d)  Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

^(e)  Not annualized.

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

^(g)  Annualized.

^(h)  Audit, offering, organization and printing costs were not annualized in the calculation of the expense ratios. If these expenses were annualized, the total expenses would have been 6.91%

⁽ⁱ⁾  Excludes underlying investments in total return swaps.

See notes to financial statements.

20 2 0 2 3   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

	BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund (continued)
	Investor A
		Six Months
		Ended						Period from
			09/30/23			Year Ended			12/21/21	(a)
		(unaudited)			03/31/23			to 03/31/22
Net asset value, beginning of period		$	8.11		$	9.18		$	10.00
Net investment income (loss)(b)			0.01			(0.04	)		(0.03	)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			0.20			(0.15	)		(0.79	)
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations			0.21			(0.19	)		(0.82	)
Distributions from net investment income(c)			—			(0.88	)		—
Net asset value, end of period		$	8.32		$	8.11		$	9.18
Total Return(d)
Based on net asset value			2.59	%(e)		(1.89	)%		(8.20	)%(e)
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)
Total expenses			5.43	%(g)		7.69	%		4.25	%(g)(h)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			2.11	%(g)		2.19	%		2.20	%(g)
Net investment income (loss)			0.24	%(g)		(0.44	)%		(1.26	)%(g)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)		$	104		$	90		$	92
Portfolio turnover rate(i)			52	%		101	%		29	%

^(a)  Commencement of operations.

^(b)  Based on average shares outstanding.

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

^(d)  Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

^(e)  Not annualized.

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

^(g)  Annualized.

^(h)  Audit, offering, organization and printing costs were not annualized in the calculation of the expense ratios. If these expenses were annualized, the total expenses would have been 7.16%.

⁽ⁱ⁾  Excludes underlying investments in total return swaps.

See notes to financial statements.

F I N A N C I A L   H I G H L I G H T S 21

Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

	BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund (continued)
	Class K
		Six Months
		Ended						Period from
			09/30/23			Year Ended			12/21/21	(a)
		(unaudited)			03/31/23			to 03/31/22
Net asset value, beginning of period		$	8.12		$	9.18		$	10.00
Net investment income (loss)(b)			0.02			(0.01	)		(0.02	)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			0.20			(0.14	)		(0.80	)
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations			0.22			(0.15	)		(0.82	)
Distributions from net investment income(c)			—			(0.91	)		—
Net asset value, end of period		$	8.34		$	8.12		$	9.18
Total Return(d)
Based on net asset value			2.71	%(e)		(1.47	)%		(8.20	)%(e)
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)
Total expenses			5.18	%(g)		7.20	%		3.62	%(g)(h)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			1.84	%(g)		1.90	%		1.90	%(g)
Net investment income (loss)			0.50	%(g)		(0.15	)%		(0.96	)%(g)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)		$	9,105		$	8,864		$	8,999
Portfolio turnover rate(i)			52	%		101	%		29	%

^(a)  Commencement of operations.

^(b)  Based on average shares outstanding.

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

^(d)  Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

^(e)  Not annualized.

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

^(g)  Annualized.

^(h)  Audit, offering, organization and printing costs were not annualized in the calculation of the expense ratios. If these expenses were annualized, the total expenses would have been 6.53%.

⁽ⁱ⁾  Excludes underlying investments in total return swaps.

See notes to financial statements.

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)

1. ORGANIZATION

BlackRock Funds^SM (the “Trust”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund (the “Fund”) is a series of the Trust. The Fund is classified as non-diversified.

The Fund offers multiple classes of shares. All classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights and are subject to the same terms and conditions, except that certain classes bear expenses related to the shareholder servicing and distribution of such shares. Institutional and Class K Shares are sold only to certain eligible investors. Investor A Shares bear certain expenses related to shareholder servicing of such shares. Investor A Shares are generally available through financial intermediaries. Each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to matters relating to its shareholder servicing and distribution expenditures.

Share Class	Initial Sales Charge		CDSC			Conversion Privilege
Institutional and Class K Shares		No		No		None
Investor A Shares		Yes		No	(a)	None

^(a)  Investor A Shares may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) for certain redemptions where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase.

The Fund, together with certain other registered investment companies advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager”) or its affiliates, is included in a complex of funds referred to as the BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), which may require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies. Below is a summary of significant accounting policies:

Investment Transactions and Income Recognition: For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the dates the transactions are executed. Realized gains and losses on investment transactions are determined using the specific identification method. Dividend income and capital gain distributions, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend dates. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend dates at fair value. Dividends from foreign securities where the ex-dividend dates may have passed are subsequently recorded when the Fund is informed of the ex-dividend dates. Under the applicable foreign tax laws, a withholding tax at various rates may be imposed on capital gains, dividends and interest. Upon notification from issuers, a portion of the dividend income received from a real estate investment trust may be redesignated as a reduction of cost of the related investment and/or realized gain. Income, expenses and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated daily to each class based on its relative net assets.

Foreign Currency Translation: The Fund’s books and records are maintained in U.S. dollars. Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates determined as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Purchases and sales of investments are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, the investments denominated in that currency will lose value; the opposite effect occurs if the U.S. dollar falls in relative value.

The Fund does not isolate the effect of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates from the effect of fluctuations in the market prices of investments for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the effects of changes in exchange rates on investments are not segregated in the Statement of Operations from the effects of changes in market prices of those investments, but are included as a component of net realized and unrealized gain (loss) from investments. The Fund reports realized currency gains (losses) on foreign currency related transactions as components of net realized gain (loss) for financial reporting purposes, whereas such components are generally treated as ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Foreign Taxes: The Fund may be subject to foreign taxes (a portion of which may be reclaimable) on income, stock dividends, capital gains on investments, or certain foreign currency transactions. All foreign taxes are recorded in accordance with the applicable foreign tax regulations and rates that exist in the foreign jurisdictions in which the Fund invests. These foreign taxes, if any, are paid by the Fund and are reflected in its Statement of Operations as follows: foreign taxes withheld at source are presented as a reduction of income, foreign taxes on securities lending income are presented as a reduction of securities lending income, foreign taxes on stock dividends are presented as “Foreign taxes withheld”, and foreign taxes on capital gains from sales of investments and foreign taxes on foreign currency transactions are included in their respective net realized gain (loss) categories. Foreign taxes payable or deferred as of September 30, 2023, if any, are disclosed in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund files withholding tax reclaims in certain jurisdictions to recover a portion of amounts previously withheld. The Fund may record a reclaim receivable based on collectability, which includes factors such as the jurisdiction’s applicable laws, payment history and market convention. The Statement of Operations includes tax reclaims recorded as well as professional and other fees, if any, associated with recovery of foreign withholding taxes.

Collateralization: If required by an exchange or counterparty agreement, the Fund may be required to deliver/deposit cash and/or securities to/with an exchange, or broker-dealer or custodian as collateral for certain investments.

Distributions: Distributions paid by the Fund are recorded on the ex-dividend dates. The character and timing of distributions are determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S 23

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)  (continued)

Indemnifications: In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations that provide general indemnification. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown because it involves future potential claims against the Fund, which cannot be predicted with any certainty.

Other: Expenses directly related to the Fund or its classes are charged to the Fund or the applicable class. Expenses directly related to the Fund and other shared expenses prorated to the Fund are allocated daily to each class based on its relative net assets or other appropriate methods. Other operating expenses shared by several funds, including other funds managed by the Manager, are prorated among those funds on the basis of relative net assets or other appropriate methods.

The Fund has an arrangement with its custodian whereby credits are earned on uninvested cash balances, which could be used to reduce custody fees and/or overdraft charges. The Fund may incur charges on overdrafts, subject to certain conditions.

3. INVESTMENT VALUATION AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Investment Valuation Policies: The Fund’s investments are valued at fair value (also referred to as “market value” within the financial statements) each day that the Fund is open for business and, for financial reporting purposes, as of the report date. U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price a fund would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) has approved the designation of the Fund’s Manager as the valuation designee for the Fund. The Fund determines the fair values of its financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under the Manager’s policies. If a security’s market price is not readily available or does not otherwise accurately represent the fair value of the security, the security will be valued in accordance with the Manager’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value. The Manager has formed a committee (the “Valuation Committee”) to develop pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments, with assistance from other BlackRock pricing committees.

Fair Value Inputs and Methodologies: The following methods and inputs are used to establish the fair value of the Fund’s assets and liabilities:

• Equity investments traded on a recognized securities exchange are valued at that day’s official closing price, as applicable, on the exchange where the stock is primarily traded. Equity investments traded on a recognized exchange for which there were no sales on that day may be valued at the last available bid (long positions) or ask (short positions) price.

• Investments in open-end U.S. mutual funds (including money market funds) are valued at that day’s published net asset value (“NAV”).

• Futures contracts are valued based on that day’s last reported settlement or trade price on the exchange where the contract is traded.

• Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at the mean between the bid and ask prices and are determined as of the close of trading on the NYSE based on that day’s prevailing forward exchange rate for the underlying currencies.

• Swap agreements are valued utilizing quotes received daily by independent pricing services or through brokers, which are derived using daily swap curves and models that incorporate a number of market data factors, such as discounted cash flows, trades and values of the underlying reference instruments.

Generally, trading in foreign instruments is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of trading on the NYSE. Each business day, the Fund uses current market factors supplied by independent pricing services to value certain foreign instruments (“Systematic Fair Value Price”). The Systematic Fair Value Price is designed to value such foreign securities at fair value as of the close of trading on the NYSE, which follows the close of the local markets.

If events (e.g., market volatility, company announcement or a natural disaster) occur that are expected to materially affect the value of such investment, or in the event that application of these methods of valuation results in a price for an investment that is deemed not to be representative of the market value of such investment, or if a price is not available, the investment will be valued by the Valuation Committee in accordance with the Manager’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the Valuation Committee include market approach, income approach and cost approach. Valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, use of market comparables and matrix pricing are types of valuation approaches and are typically used in determining fair value. When determining the price for Fair Valued Investments, the Valuation Committee seeks to determine the price that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive or pay from the current sale or purchase of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Valuation Committee deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement.

Fair Value Hierarchy: Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. These inputs to valuation techniques are categorized into a fair value hierarchy consisting of three broad levels for financial reporting purposes as follows:

• Level 1 – Unadjusted price quotations in active markets/exchanges for identical assets or liabilities that the Fund has the ability to access;

• Level 2 – Other observable inputs (including, but not limited to, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in markets that are active, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the assets or liabilities (such as interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates) or other market–corroborated inputs); and

• Level 3 – Unobservable inputs based on the best information available in the circumstances, to the extent observable inputs are not available (including the Valuation Committee’s assumptions used in determining the fair value of financial instruments).

The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the fair value hierarchy classification is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Investments classified within Level 3 have significant unobservable inputs used by the Valuation Committee in determining the price for Fair Valued Investments. Level 3 investments include equity or debt issued by privately held companies or funds that may not have a secondary market and/or may have a limited number of investors. The categorization of a value determined for financial instruments is based on the pricing transparency of the financial instruments and is not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities.

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)  (continued)

4. SECURITIES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS

Securities Lending: The Fund may lend its securities to approved borrowers, such as brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. The borrower pledges and maintains with the Fund collateral consisting of cash, an irrevocable letter of credit issued by a bank, or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government. The initial collateral received by the Fund is required to have a value of at least 102% of the current value of the loaned securities for securities traded on U.S. exchanges and a value of at least 105% for all other securities. The collateral is maintained thereafter at a value equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the securities on loan. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day of the Fund and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund, or excess collateral returned by the Fund, on the next business day. During the term of the loan, the Fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities, but does not receive interest income on securities received as collateral. Loans of securities are terminable at any time and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within the standard time period for settlement of securities transactions.

As of period end, any securities on loan were collateralized by cash and/or U.S. Government obligations. Cash collateral invested by the securities lending agent, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BIM”), if any, is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments. Any non-cash collateral received cannot be sold, re-invested or pledged by the Fund, except in the event of borrower default. The securities on loan, if any, are disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments. The market value of any securities on loan and the value of related collateral, if any, are shown separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as a component of investments at value – unaffiliated and collateral on securities loaned, respectively.

Securities lending transactions are entered into by the Fund under Master Securities Lending Agreements (each, an “MSLA”), which provide the right, in the event of default (including bankruptcy or insolvency), for the non-defaulting party to liquidate the collateral and calculate a net exposure to the defaulting party or request additional collateral. In the event that a borrower defaults, the Fund, as lender, would offset the market value of the collateral received against the market value of the securities loaned. When the value of the collateral is greater than that of the market value of the securities loaned, the lender is left with a net amount payable to the defaulting party. However, bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against such a right of offset in the event of an MSLA counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. Under the MSLA, absent an event of default, the borrower can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities, and the Fund can reinvest cash collateral received in connection with loaned securities. Upon an event of default, the parties’ obligations to return the securities or collateral to the other party are extinguished, and the parties can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities or the collateral received in connection with the loaned securities in order to satisfy the defaulting party’s net payment obligation for all transactions under the MSLA. The defaulting party remains liable for any deficiency.

The risks of securities lending include the risk that the borrower may not provide additional collateral when required or may not return the securities when due. To mitigate these risks, the Fund benefits from a borrower default indemnity provided by BIM. BIM’s indemnity allows for full replacement of the securities loaned to the extent the collateral received does not cover the value on the securities loaned in the event of borrower default. The Fund could incur a loss if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the market value of loaned securities or if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the value of the original cash collateral received. Such losses are borne entirely by the Fund.

5. DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The Fund engages in various portfolio investment strategies using derivative contracts both to increase the returns of the Fund and/or to manage its exposure to certain risks such as credit risk, equity risk, interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange rate risk, commodity price risk or other risks (e.g., inflation risk). Derivative financial instruments categorized by risk exposure are included in the Schedule of Investments. These contracts may be transacted on an exchange or over-the-counter (“OTC”).

Futures Contracts: Futures contracts are purchased or sold to gain exposure to, or manage exposure to, changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) and changes in the value of equity securities (equity risk) or foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

Futures contracts are exchange-traded agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specified price and on a specified date. Depending on the terms of a contract, it is settled either through physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash amount on the settlement date. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or securities in an amount that varies depending on a contract’s size and risk profile. The initial margin deposit must then be maintained at an established level over the life of the contract. Amounts pledged, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities deposited as initial margin are designated in the Schedule of Investments and cash deposited, if any, are shown as cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in market value of the contract (“variation margin”). Variation margin is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and, if any, shown as variation margin receivable (or payable) on futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When the contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the notional amount of the contract at the time it was opened and the notional amount at the time it was closed. The use of futures contracts involves the risk of an imperfect correlation in the movements in the price of futures contracts and interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or underlying assets.

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts: Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are entered into to gain or reduce exposure to foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

A forward foreign currency exchange contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a currency at a set exchange rate on a specified date. These contracts help to manage the overall exposure to the currencies in which some of the investments held by the Fund are denominated and in some cases, may be used to obtain exposure to a particular market. The contracts are traded OTC and not on an organized exchange.

The contract is marked-to-market daily and the change in market value is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When a contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the value at the time it was opened and the value at the

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S 25

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)  (continued)

time it was closed. Non-deliverable forward foreign currency exchange contracts are settled with the counterparty in cash without the delivery of foreign currency. The use of forward foreign currency exchange contracts involves the risk that the value of a forward foreign currency exchange contract changes unfavorably due to movements in the value of the referenced foreign currencies, and such value may exceed the amount(s) reflected in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Cash amounts pledged for forward foreign currency exchange contracts are considered restricted and are included in cash pledged as collateral for OTC derivatives in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. A Fund’s risk of loss from counterparty credit risk on OTC derivatives is generally limited to the aggregate unrealized gain netted against any collateral held by the Fund.

Swaps: Swap contracts are entered into to manage exposure to issuers, markets and securities. Such contracts are agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to make periodic net payments on a specified notional amount or a net payment upon termination. Swap agreements are privately negotiated in the OTC market and may be entered into as a bilateral contract (“OTC swaps”) or centrally cleared (“centrally cleared swaps”).

For OTC swaps, any upfront premiums paid and any upfront fees received are shown as swap premiums paid and swap premiums received, respectively, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and amortized over the term of the contract. The daily fluctuation in market value is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on OTC Swaps in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Payments received or paid are recorded in the Statement of Operations as realized gains or losses, respectively. When an OTC swap is terminated, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the proceeds from (or cost of) the closing transaction and the Fund’s basis in the contract, if any. Generally, the basis of the contract is the premium received or paid.

• Total return swaps — Total return swaps are entered into to obtain exposure to a security or market without owning such security or investing directly in such market or to exchange the risk/return of one security or market (e.g., fixed-income) with another security or market (e.g., equity or commodity prices) (equity risk, commodity price risk and/or interest rate risk).

Total return swaps are agreements in which there is an exchange of cash flows whereby one party commits to make payments based on the total return (distributions plus capital gains/losses) of an underlying instrument, or basket of underlying instruments, in exchange for fixed or floating rate interest payments. If the total return of the instrument(s) or index underlying the transaction exceeds or falls short of the offsetting fixed or floating interest rate obligation, the Fund receives payment from or makes a payment to the counterparty.

Certain total return swaps are designed to function as a portfolio of direct investments in long and short equity positions. This means that the Fund has the ability to trade in and out of these long and short positions within the swap and will receive the economic benefits and risks equivalent to direct investment in these positions, subject to certain adjustments due to events related to the counterparty. Benefits and risks include capital appreciation (depreciation), corporate actions and dividends received and paid, all of which are reflected in the swap’s market value. The market value also includes interest charges and credits (“financing fees”) related to the notional values of the long and short positions and cash balances within the swap. These interest charges and credits are based on a specified benchmark rate plus or minus a specified spread determined based upon the country and/or currency of the positions in the portfolio.

Positions within the swap and financing fees are reset periodically. During a reset, any unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on positions and accrued financing fees become available for cash settlement between the Fund and the counterparty. The amounts that are available for cash settlement are recorded as realized gains or losses in the Statement of Operations. Cash settlement in and out of the swap may occur at a reset date or any other date, at the discretion of the Fund and the counterparty, over the life of the agreement. Certain swaps have no stated expiration and can be terminated by either party at any time.

Swap transactions involve, to varying degrees, elements of interest rate, credit and market risks in excess of the amounts recognized in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Such risks involve the possibility that there will be no liquid market for these agreements, that the counterparty to the agreements may default on its obligation to perform or disagree as to the meaning of the contractual terms in the agreements, and that there may be unfavorable changes in interest rates and/or market values associated with these transactions.

Master Netting Arrangements: In order to define its contractual rights and to secure rights that will help it mitigate its counterparty risk, the Fund may enter into an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. Master Agreement (“ISDA Master Agreement”) or similar agreement with its derivative contract counterparties. An ISDA Master Agreement is a bilateral agreement between a Fund and a counterparty that governs certain OTC derivatives and typically contains, among other things, collateral posting terms and netting provisions in the event of a default and/or termination event. Under an ISDA Master Agreement, a Fund may, under certain circumstances, offset with the counterparty certain derivative financial instruments’ payables and/or receivables with collateral held and/or posted and create one single net payment. The provisions of the ISDA Master Agreement typically permit a single net payment in the event of default including the bankruptcy or insolvency of the counterparty. However, bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against the right of offset in bankruptcy, insolvency or other events.

Collateral Requirements: For derivatives traded under an ISDA Master Agreement, the collateral requirements are typically calculated by netting the mark-to-market amount for each transaction under such agreement and comparing that amount to the value of any collateral currently pledged by the Fund and the counterparty.

Cash collateral that has been pledged to cover obligations of the Fund and cash collateral received from the counterparty, if any, is reported separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as cash pledged as collateral and cash received as collateral, respectively. Non-cash collateral pledged by the Fund, if any, is noted in the Schedule of Investments. Generally, the amount of collateral due from or to a counterparty is subject to a certain minimum transfer amount threshold before a transfer is required, which is determined at the close of business of the Fund. Any additional required collateral is delivered to/pledged by the Fund on the next business day. Typically, the counterparty is not permitted to sell, re-pledge or use cash and non-cash collateral it receives. The Fund generally agrees not to use non-cash collateral that it receives but may, absent default or certain other circumstances defined in the underlying ISDA Master Agreement, be permitted to use cash collateral received. In such cases, interest may be paid pursuant to the collateral arrangement with the counterparty. To the extent amounts due to the Fund from the counterparties are not fully collateralized, the Fund bears the risk of loss from counterparty non-performance. Likewise, to the extent the Fund has delivered collateral to a counterparty and stands ready to perform under the terms of its agreement with such counterparty, the Fund bears the risk of loss from a counterparty in the amount of the value of the collateral in the event the counterparty fails to return such collateral. Based on the terms of agreements, collateral may not be required for all derivative contracts.

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)  (continued)

For financial reporting purposes, the Fund does not offset derivative assets and derivative liabilities that are subject to netting arrangements, if any, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

6. INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Advisory: The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Manager, the Fund’s investment adviser and an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”), to provide investment advisory services. The Manager is responsible for the management of the Fund’s portfolio and provides the personnel, facilities, equipment and certain other services necessary to the operations of the Fund.

For such services, the Fund pays the Manager a monthly fee at an annual rate equal to the following percentages of the average daily value of the Fund’s net assets:

Average Daily Net Assets	Investment Advisory Fees
First $1 billion		1.85	%
$1 billion - $3 billion		1.74
$3 billion - $5 billion		1.67
$5 billion - $10 billion		1.61
Greater than $10 billion		1.57

The Manager entered into a sub-advisory agreement with BlackRock International Limited (“BIL”), an affiliate of the Manager. The Manager pays BIL for services it provides for that portion of the Fund for which BIL acts as sub-adviser, a monthly fee that is equal to a percentage of the investment advisory fees paid by the Fund to the Manager.

Service and Distribution Fees: The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, entered into a Distribution Agreement and a Distribution and Service Plan with BlackRock Investments, LLC (“BRIL”), an affiliate of the Manager. Pursuant to the Distribution and Service Plan and in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, the Fund pays BRIL ongoing service and distribution fees. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly at annual rates based upon the average daily net assets of the relevant share class of the Fund as follows:

Share Class	Service Fees			Distribution Fees
Investor A		0.25	%		N/A

BRIL and broker-dealers, pursuant to sub-agreements with BRIL, provide shareholder servicing and distribution services to the Fund. The ongoing service and/or distribution fee compensates BRIL and each broker-dealer for providing shareholder servicing and/or distribution related services to shareholders.

For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the following table shows the class specific service and distribution fees borne directly by each share class of the Fund:

	Investor A
Service — class specific	$	116

Administration: The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, entered into an Administration Agreement with the Manager, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, to provide administrative services. For these services, the Manager receives an administration fee computed daily and payable monthly, based on a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The administration fee, which is shown as administration in the Statement of Operations, is paid at the annual rates below.

Average Daily Net Assets	Administration Fees
First $500 million		0.0425	%
$500 million - $1 billion		0.0400
$1 billion - $2 billion		0.0375
$2 billion - $4 billion		0.0350
$4 billion - $13 billion		0.0325
Greater than $13 billion		0.0300

In addition, the Manager charges each of the share classes an administration fee, which is shown as administration — class specific in the Statement of Operations, at an annual rate of 0.02% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the Fund paid the following to the Manager in return for these services, which are included in administration and administration — class specific in the Statement of Operations:

	Institutional		Investor A		Class K		Total
Administration — class specific	$	20	$	9	$	911	$	940

Transfer Agent: Pursuant to written agreements, certain financial intermediaries, some of which may be affiliates, provide the Fund with sub-accounting, recordkeeping, sub-transfer agency and other administrative services with respect to servicing of underlying investor accounts. For these services, these entities receive an asset-based fee or an annual fee per shareholder account, which will vary depending on share class and/or net assets. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the Fund did not pay any amounts to affiliates in return for these services.

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)  (continued)

For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the following table shows the class specific transfer agent fees borne directly by each share class of the Fund:

	Institutional	Class K	Total
Transfer agent — class specific	$             37	$     100	$  137

Other Fees: For the six months ended September 30, 2023, affiliates earned underwriting discounts, direct commissions and dealer concessions on sales of the Fund’s Investor A Shares for a total of $66.

Expense Limitations, Waivers, Reimbursements and Recoupments: The Manager contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to the Manager indirectly through its investment in affiliated money market funds (the “affiliated money market fund waiver”) through June 30, 2025. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (“Independent Trustees”), or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The amount of waivers and/or reimbursements of fees and expenses made pursuant to the expense limitation described below will be reduced by the amount of the affiliated money market fund waiver. This amount is included in fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the amount waived was $512.

The Manager has contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fee with respect to any portion of the Fund’s assets invested in affiliated equity and fixed-income mutual funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds that have a contractual management fee through June 30, 2025. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, there were no fees waived by the Manager pursuant to this arrangement.

Effective June 1, 2023, the Manager voluntarily agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit expenses, excluding interest expense, dividend expense, tax expense, acquired fund fees and expenses, and certain other fund expenses, which constitute extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business (“expense limitation”). The expense limitations as a percentage of average daily net assets are as follows:

Institutional	Investor A			Class K
1.85%		2.10	%	1.80%

In addition, the Manager contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit expenses, excluding interest expense, dividend expense, tax expense, acquired fund fees and expenses, and certain other fund expenses, which constitute extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business (“expense limitation”). The expense limitations as a percentage of average daily net assets were as follows:

Institutional	Investor A			Class K
1.95%		2.20	%	1.90%

The Manager has agreed not to reduce or discontinue the contractual expense limitations through June 30, 2025 unless approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the Manager waived and/or reimbursed investment advisory fees of $153,918, which is included in fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager in the Statement of Operations.

In addition, these amounts waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager are included in administration fees waived by the Manager — class specific and transfer agent fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager — class specific, respectively, in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, class specific expense waivers and/or reimbursements were as follows:

	Institutional		Class K		Total
Administration fees waived by the Manager — class specific	$	10	$	911	$	921
Transfer agent fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager — class specific		2		99		101

The Fund also had a waiver of administration fees, which are included in Administration fees waived in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the amount was $1,999.

With respect to the contractual expense limitation, if during the Fund’s fiscal year the operating expenses of a share class, that at any time during the prior two fiscal years received a waiver and/or reimbursement from the Manager, are less than the current expense limitation for that share class, the Manager is entitled to be reimbursed by such share class up to the lesser of: (a) the amount of fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed during those prior two fiscal years under the agreement and (b) an amount not to exceed either the current expense limitation of that share class or the expense limitation of the share class in effect at the time that the share class received the applicable waiver and/or reimbursement, provided that:

(1) the Fund, of which the share class is a part, has more than $50 million in assets for the fiscal year, and

(2) the Manager or an affiliate continues to serve as the Fund’s investment adviser or administrator.

This repayment applies only to the contractual expense limitation on net expenses and does not apply to the contractual investment advisory fee waiver described above or any voluntary waivers that may be in effect from time to time. Effective December 22, 2028, the repayment arrangement between the Fund and the Manager pursuant to which the Fund may be required to repay amounts waived and/or reimbursed under the Fund’s contractual caps on net expenses will be terminated.

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)  (continued)

As of September 30, 2023, the fund level and class specific waivers and/or reimbursements subject to possible future recoupment under the expense limitation agreement were as follows:

	Expiring March 31,
Fund Level/Share Class	2024		2025		2026
Fund Level	$	103,101	$	467,452	$155,917
Institutional		92		169	12
Investor A		92		194	—
Class K		608		1,923	1,010

Securities Lending: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has issued an exemptive order which permits BIM, an affiliate of the Manager, to serve as securities lending agent for the Fund, subject to applicable conditions. As securities lending agent, BIM bears all operational costs directly related to securities lending. The Fund is responsible for expenses in connection with the investment of cash collateral received for securities on loan (the “collateral investment expenses”). The cash collateral is invested in a private investment company, SL Liquidity Series, LLC, Money Market Series (the “Money Market Series”), managed by the Manager or its affiliates. However, BIM has agreed to cap the collateral investment expenses of the Money Market Series to an annual rate of 0.04%. The investment adviser to the Money Market Series will not charge any advisory fees with respect to shares purchased by the Fund. The Money Market Series may, under certain circumstances, impose a liquidity fee of up to 2% of the value withdrawn or temporarily restrict withdrawals for up to 10 business days during a 90 day period, in the event that the private investment company’s weekly liquid assets fall below certain thresholds. The Money Market Series seeks current income consistent with maintaining liquidity and preserving capital. Although the Money Market Series is not registered under the 1940 Act, its investments may follow the parameters of investments by a money market fund that is subject to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act.

Securities lending income is equal to the total of income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral, net of fees and other payments to and from borrowers of securities, and less the collateral investment expenses. The Fund retains a portion of securities lending income and remits a remaining portion to BIM as compensation for its services as securities lending agent.

Pursuant to the current securities lending agreement, the Fund retains 82% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment expenses), and this amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment expenses.

In addition, commencing the business day following the date that the aggregate securities lending income earned across the BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex in a calendar year exceeds a specified threshold, the Fund, pursuant to the securities lending agreement, will retain for the remainder of that calendar year securities lending income in an amount equal to 85% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment expenses), and this amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment expenses.

The share of securities lending income earned by the Fund is shown as securities lending income — affiliated — net in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended September 30, 2023, the Fund paid BIM $2,496 for securities lending agent services.

Interfund Lending: In accordance with an exemptive order (the “Order”) from the SEC, the Fund may participate in a joint lending and borrowing facility for temporary purposes (the “Interfund Lending Program”), subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the Order, and to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions. The Fund is currently permitted to borrow and lend under the Interfund Lending Program.

A lending BlackRock fund may lend in aggregate up to 15% of its net assets but may not lend more than 5% of its net assets to any one borrowing fund through the Interfund Lending Program. A borrowing BlackRock fund may not borrow through the Interfund Lending Program or from any other source more than 33 1/3% of its total assets (or any lower threshold provided for by the fund’s investment restrictions). If a borrowing BlackRock fund’s total outstanding borrowings exceed 10% of its total assets, each of its outstanding interfund loans will be subject to collateralization of at least 102% of the outstanding principal value of the loan. All interfund loans are for temporary or emergency purposes and the interest rate to be charged will be the average of the highest current overnight repurchase agreement rate available to a lending fund and the bank loan rate, as calculated according to a formula established by the Board.

During the six months ended September 30, 2023, the Fund did not participate in the Interfund Lending Program.

Trustees and Officers: Certain trustees and/or officers of the Trust are directors and/or officers of BlackRock or its affiliates. The Fund reimburses the Manager for a portion of the compensation paid to the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, which is included in Trustees and Officer in the Statement of Operations.

7. PURCHASES AND SALES

For the six months ended September 30, 2023, purchases and sales of investments, excluding short-term securities, were $4,132,893 and $4,199,927, respectively.

8. INCOME TAX INFORMATION

It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no U.S. federal income tax provision is required.

The Fund files U.S. federal and various state and local tax returns. No income tax returns are currently under examination. The statute of limitations on the Fund’s U.S. federal tax returns generally remains open for a period of three years after they are filed. The statutes of limitations on the Fund’s state and local tax returns may remain open for an additional year depending upon the jurisdiction.

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S 29

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)  (continued)

Management has analyzed tax laws and regulations and their application to the Fund as of September 30, 2023, inclusive of the open tax return years, and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability in the Fund’s financial statements.

As of March 31, 2023, the Fund had non-expiring capital loss carryforwards available to offset future realized capital gains and qualified late-year ordinary losses of $1,132,657 and $429,884.

As of September 30, 2023, gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation based on cost of investments (including short positions and derivatives, if any) for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

Fund Name	Tax Cost		Gross Unrealized Appreciation		Gross Unrealized Depreciation			Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund	$	9,327,819	$	622,737	$	(517,303	)	$        105,434

9. BANK BORROWINGS

The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, along with certain other funds managed by the Manager and its affiliates (“Participating Funds”), is party to a 364-day, $2.50 billion credit agreement with a group of lenders. Under this agreement, the Fund may borrow to fund shareholder redemptions. Excluding commitments designated for certain individual funds, the Participating Funds, including the Fund, can borrow up to an aggregate commitment amount of $1.75 billion at any time outstanding, subject to asset coverage and other limitations as specified in the agreement. The credit agreement has the following terms: a fee of 0.10% per annum on unused commitment amounts and interest at a rate equal to the higher of (a) Overnight Bank Funding Rate (“OBFR”) (but, in any event, not less than 0.00%) on the date the loan is made plus 0.80% per annum, (b) the Fed Funds rate (but, in any event, not less than 0.00%) in effect from time to time plus 0.80% per annum on amounts borrowed or (c) the sum of (x) Daily Simple Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) (but, in any event, not less than 0.00%) on the date the loan is made plus 0.10% and (y) 0.80% per annum. The agreement expires in April 2024 unless extended or renewed. These fees were allocated among such funds based upon portions of the aggregate commitment available to them and relative net assets of Participating Funds. During the six months ended September 30, 2023, the Fund did not borrow under the credit agreement.

10. PRINCIPAL RISKS

In the normal course of business, the Fund invests in securities or other instruments and may enter into certain transactions, and such activities subject the Fund to various risks, including among others, fluctuations in the market (market risk) or failure of an issuer to meet all of its obligations. The value of securities or other instruments may also be affected by various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the general economy; (ii) the overall market as well as local, regional or global political and/or social instability; (iii) regulation, taxation or international tax treaties between various countries; or (iv) currency, interest rate and price fluctuations. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. The Fund’s prospectus provides details of the risks to which the Fund is subject.

The Fund may be exposed to additional risks when reinvesting cash collateral in money market funds that do not seek to maintain a stable NAV per share of $1.00, which may be subject to redemption gates or liquidity fees under certain circumstances.

Infectious Illness Risk: An outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may adversely impact the economies of many nations and the global economy, and may impact individual issuers and capital markets in ways that cannot be foreseen. An infectious illness outbreak may result in, among other things, closed international borders, prolonged quarantines, supply chain disruptions, market volatility or disruptions and other significant economic, social and political impacts.

Valuation Risk: The market values of equities, such as common stocks and preferred securities or equity related investments, such as futures and options, may decline due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to a particular company. They may also decline due to factors which affect a particular industry or industries. The Fund may invest in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. The Fund may experience difficulty in selling illiquid investments in a timely manner at the price that it believes the investments are worth. Prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to company, market or economic news. Markets also tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. This volatility may cause the Fund’s NAV to experience significant increases or decreases over short periods of time. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, the NAV of the Fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests.

Counterparty Credit Risk: The Fund may be exposed to counterparty credit risk, or the risk that an entity may fail to or be unable to perform on its commitments related to unsettled or open transactions, including making timely interest and/or principal payments or otherwise honoring its obligations. The Fund manages counterparty credit risk by entering into transactions only with counterparties that the Manager believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by monitoring the financial stability of those counterparties. Financial assets, which potentially expose the Fund to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks, consist principally of financial instruments and receivables due from counterparties. The extent of the Fund’s exposure to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks with respect to these financial assets is approximately their value recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, less any collateral held by the Fund.

A derivative contract may suffer a mark-to-market loss if the value of the contract decreases due to an unfavorable change in the market rates or values of the underlying instrument. Losses can also occur if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.

Geographic/Asset Class Risk: A diversified portfolio, where this is appropriate and consistent with a fund’s objectives, minimizes the risk that a price change of a particular investment will have a material impact on the NAV of a fund. The investment concentrations within the Fund’s portfolio are disclosed in its Schedule of Investments.

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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers located in the United States. A decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations, inflation and/or an economic recession in the United States 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 United States may also have a significant effect on U.S. markets generally, as well as on the value of certain securities. Governmental agencies project that the United States will continue to maintain elevated public debt levels for the foreseeable future which may constrain future economic growth. Circumstances could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal on U.S. government debt, such as reaching the legislative “debt ceiling.” Such non-payment would result in substantial negative consequences for the U.S. economy and the global financial system. If U.S. relations with certain countries deteriorate, it could adversely affect issuers that rely on the United States for trade. The United States has also experienced increased internal unrest and discord. If these trends were to continue, they may have an adverse impact on the U.S. economy and the issuers in which the Fund invests.

Significant Shareholder Redemption Risk: Certain shareholders may own or manage a substantial amount of fund shares and/or hold their fund investments for a limited period of time. Large redemptions of fund shares by these shareholders may force a fund to sell portfolio securities, which may negatively impact the fund’s NAV, increase the fund’s brokerage costs, and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income/gains and cause the fund to make additional taxable distributions to shareholders.

11. CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

	Six Months Ended 09/30/23				Year Ended 03/31/23
Share Class	Shares		Amount		Shares		Amount
Institutional
Shares sold		—	$	—		12,155	$	104,897
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		—		—		2,514		20,225
		—	$	—		14,669	$	125,122
Investor A
Shares sold		1,395	$	11,637		—	$	—
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		—		—		1,106		8,892
		1,395	$	11,637		1,106	$	8,892
Class K
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions		—	$	—		111,655	$	898,096
		1,395	$	11,637		127,430	$	1,032,110

As of September 30, 2023, shares owned by BlackRock Financial Management, Inc., an affiliate of the Fund, were as follows:

Share Class
Institutional	11,135
Investor A	11,106
Class K	1,091,655

12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events on the Fund through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring adjustment or additional disclosure in the financial statements.

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S 31

Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement

The Board of Trustees (the “Board,” the members of which are referred to as “Board Members”) of BlackRock Funds (the “Trust”) met on April 18, 2023 (the “April Meeting”) and May 23-24, 2023 (the “May Meeting”) to consider the approval to continue the investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) between the Trust, on behalf of BlackRock Global Equity Absolute Return Fund (the “Fund”), and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager”), the Fund’s investment advisor. The Board also considered the approval to continue the sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) between the Manager and BlackRock International Limited (the “Sub-Advisor”) with respect to the Fund. The Manager and the Sub-Advisor are referred to herein as “BlackRock.” The Advisory Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement are referred to herein as the “Agreements.”

The Approval Process

Consistent with the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board considers the approval of the continuation of the Agreements for the Fund on an annual basis. The Board members who are not “interested persons” of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act, are considered independent Board members (the “Independent Board Members”). The Board’s consideration entailed a year-long deliberative process during which the Board and its committees assessed BlackRock’s various services to the Fund, including through the review of written materials and oral presentations, and the review of additional information provided in response to requests from the Independent Board Members. The Board had four quarterly meetings per year, each of which extended over a two-day period, as well as additional ad hoc meetings and executive sessions throughout the year, as needed. The committees of the Board similarly met throughout the year. The Board also had an additional one-day meeting to consider specific information regarding the renewal of the Agreements. In considering the renewal of the Agreements, the Board assessed, among other things, the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Fund by BlackRock, BlackRock’s personnel and affiliates, including (as applicable): investment management services; accounting oversight; administrative and shareholder services; oversight of the Fund’s service providers; risk management and oversight; and legal, regulatory and compliance services. Throughout the year, including during the contract renewal process, the Independent Board Members were advised by independent legal counsel, and met with independent legal counsel in various executive sessions outside of the presence of BlackRock’s management.

During the year, the Board, acting directly and through its committees, considered information that was relevant to its annual consideration of the renewal of the Agreements, including the services and support provided by BlackRock to the Fund and its shareholders. BlackRock also furnished additional information to the Board in response to specific questions from the Board. Among the matters the Board considered were: (a) investment performance for one-year, three-year, five-year, and/or since inception periods, as applicable, against peer funds, relevant benchmarks, and other performance metrics, as applicable, as well as BlackRock senior management’s and portfolio managers’ analyses of the reasons for any outperformance or underperformance relative to its peers, benchmarks, and other performance metrics, as applicable; (b) fees, including advisory, administration, if applicable, and other amounts paid to BlackRock and its affiliates by the Fund for services; (c) Fund operating expenses and how BlackRock allocates expenses to the Fund; (d) the resources devoted to, risk oversight of, and compliance reports relating to, implementation of the Fund’s investment objective, policies and restrictions, and meeting regulatory requirements; (e) BlackRock’s and the Fund’s adherence to applicable compliance policies and procedures; (f) the nature, character and scope of non-investment management services provided by BlackRock and its affiliates and the estimated cost of such services, as available; (g) BlackRock’s and other service providers’ internal controls and risk and compliance oversight mechanisms; (h) BlackRock’s implementation of the proxy voting policies approved by the Board; (i) the use of brokerage commissions and execution quality of portfolio transactions; (j) BlackRock’s implementation of the Fund’s valuation and liquidity procedures; (k) an analysis of management fees paid to BlackRock for products with similar investment mandates across the open-end fund, exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), closed-end fund, sub-advised mutual fund, separately managed account, collective investment trust, and institutional separate account product channels, as applicable, and the similarities and differences between these products and the services provided as compared to the Fund; (l) BlackRock’s compensation methodology for its investment professionals and the incentives and accountability it creates, along with investment professionals’ investments in the fund(s) they manage; and (m) periodic updates on BlackRock’s business.

Prior to and in preparation for the April Meeting, the Board received and reviewed materials specifically relating to the renewal of the Agreements. The Independent Board Members are continuously engaged in a process with their independent legal counsel and BlackRock to review the nature and scope of the information provided to the Board to better assist its deliberations. The materials provided in connection with the April Meeting included, among other things: (a) information independently compiled and prepared by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), based on either a Lipper classification or Morningstar category, regarding the Fund’s fees and expenses as compared with a peer group of funds as determined by Broadridge (“Expense Peers”) and the investment performance of the Fund as compared with a peer group of funds (“Performance Peers”); (b) information on the composition of the Expense Peers and Performance Peers and a description of Broadridge’s methodology; (c) information on the estimated profits realized by BlackRock and its affiliates pursuant to the Agreements and a discussion of fall-out benefits to BlackRock and its affiliates; (d) a general analysis provided by BlackRock concerning investment management fees received in connection with other types of investment products, such as institutional accounts, sub-advised mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, open-end funds, and separately managed accounts, under similar investment mandates, as well as the performance of such other products, as applicable; (e) a review of non-management fees; (f) the existence, impact and sharing of potential economies of scale, if any, with the Fund; (g) a summary of aggregate amounts paid by the Fund to BlackRock; (h) sales and redemption data regarding the Fund’s shares; and (i) various additional information requested by the Board as appropriate regarding BlackRock’s and the Fund’s operations.

At the April Meeting, the Board reviewed materials relating to its consideration of the Agreements and the Independent Board Members presented BlackRock with questions and requests for additional information. BlackRock responded to these questions and requests with additional written information in advance of the May Meeting.

At the May Meeting, the Board concluded its assessment of, among other things: (a) the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by BlackRock; (b) the investment performance of the Fund as compared to its Performance Peers and to other metrics, as applicable; (c) the advisory fee and the estimated cost of the services and estimated profits realized by BlackRock and its affiliates from their relationship with the Fund; (d) the Fund’s fees and expenses compared to its Expense Peers; (e) the existence and sharing of potential economies of scale; (f) any fall-out benefits to BlackRock and its affiliates as a result of BlackRock’s relationship with the Fund; and (g) other factors deemed relevant by the Board Members.

The Board also considered other matters it deemed important to the approval process, such as other payments made to BlackRock or its affiliates relating to securities lending and cash management, and BlackRock’s services related to the valuation and pricing of Fund portfolio holdings. The Board noted the willingness of BlackRock’s personnel to engage in open, candid discussions with the Board. The Board Members evaluated the information available to it on a fund-by-fund basis. The following paragraphs provide

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Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement   (continued)

more information about some of the primary factors that were relevant to the Board’s decision. The Board Members did not identify any particular information, or any single factor as determinative, and each Board Member may have attributed different weights to the various items and factors considered.

A. Nature, Extent and Quality of the Services Provided by BlackRock

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, reviewed the nature, extent and quality of services provided by BlackRock, including the investment advisory services, and the resulting performance of the Fund. Throughout the year, the Board compared Fund performance to the performance of a comparable group of mutual funds, relevant benchmarks, and performance metrics, as applicable. The Board met with BlackRock’s senior management personnel responsible for investment activities, including the senior investment officers. The Board also reviewed the materials provided by the Fund’s portfolio management team discussing the Fund’s performance, investment strategies and outlook.

The Board considered, among other factors, with respect to BlackRock: the experience of investment personnel generally and the Fund’s portfolio management team; research capabilities; investments by portfolio managers in the funds they manage; portfolio trading capabilities; use of technology; commitment to compliance; credit analysis capabilities; risk analysis and oversight capabilities; and the approach to training and retaining portfolio managers and other research, advisory and management personnel. The Board also considered BlackRock’s overall risk management program, including the continued efforts of BlackRock and its affiliates to address cybersecurity risks and the role of BlackRock’s Risk & Quantitative Analysis Group. The Board engaged in a review of BlackRock’s compensation structure with respect to the Fund’s portfolio management team and BlackRock’s ability to attract and retain high-quality talent and create performance incentives.

In addition to investment advisory services, the Board considered the nature and quality of the administrative and other non-investment advisory services provided to the Fund. BlackRock and its affiliates provide the Fund with certain administrative, shareholder and other services (in addition to any such services provided to the Fund by third parties) and officers and other personnel as are necessary for the operations of the Fund. In particular, BlackRock and its affiliates provide the Fund with administrative services including, among others: (i) responsibility for disclosure documents, such as the prospectus, the summary prospectus (as applicable), the statement of additional information and periodic shareholder reports; (ii) oversight of daily accounting and pricing; (iii) responsibility for periodic filings with regulators; (iv) overseeing and coordinating the activities of third-party service providers including, among others, the Fund’s custodian, fund accountant, transfer agent, and auditor; (v) organizing Board meetings and preparing the materials for such Board meetings; (vi) providing legal and compliance support; (vii) furnishing analytical and other support to assist the Board in its consideration of strategic issues such as the merger, consolidation or repurposing of certain open-end funds; and (viii) performing or managing administrative functions necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as tax reporting, expense management, fulfilling regulatory filing requirements, overseeing the Fund’s distribution partners, and shareholder call center and other services. The Board reviewed the structure and duties of BlackRock’s fund administration, shareholder services, and legal and compliance departments and considered BlackRock’s policies and procedures for assuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The Board considered the operation of BlackRock’s business continuity plans.

The Board noted that the engagement of the Sub-Advisor with respect to the Fund facilitates the provision of investment advice and trading by investment personnel out of non-U.S. jurisdictions. The Board considered that this arrangement provides additional flexibility to the portfolio management team, which may benefit the Fund and its shareholders.

B. The Investment Performance of the Fund and BlackRock

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, reviewed and considered the performance history of the Fund throughout the year and at the April Meeting. In preparation for the April Meeting, the Board was provided with reports independently prepared by Broadridge, which included an analysis of the Fund’s performance as of December 31, 2022, as compared to its Performance Peers. Broadridge ranks funds in quartiles, ranging from first to fourth, where first is the most desirable quartile position and fourth is the least desirable. In connection with its review, the Board received and reviewed information regarding the investment performance of the Fund as compared to its Performance Peers and, in light of the Fund’s outcome-oriented investment objective, certain performance metrics (“Outcome-Oriented Performance Metrics”). The Board and its Performance Oversight Committee regularly review and meet with Fund management to discuss the performance of the Fund throughout the year.

In evaluating performance, the Board focused particular attention on funds with less favorable performance records. The Board also noted that while it found the data provided by Broadridge generally useful, it recognized the limitations of such data, including in particular, that notable differences may exist between a fund and its Performance Peers (for example, the investment objectives and strategies). Further, the Board recognized that the performance data reflects a snapshot of a period as of a particular date and that selecting a different performance period could produce significantly different results. The Board also acknowledged that long-term performance could be impacted by even one period of significant outperformance or underperformance, and that a single investment theme could have the ability to disproportionately affect long-term performance.

The Board reviewed and considered the Fund’s performance relative to the Fund’s Outcome-Oriented Performance Metrics including a total return target. The Board noted that for each of the one-year and since-inception periods reported, the Fund underperformed its total return target. The Board noted that BlackRock believes that the Outcome-Oriented Performance Metrics are an appropriate performance metric for the Fund, and that BlackRock has explained its rationale for this belief to the Board. The Board and BlackRock reviewed the Fund’s underperformance relative to its total return target during the applicable periods.

C. Consideration of the Advisory/Management Fees and the Estimated Cost of the Services and Estimated Profits Realized by BlackRock and its Affiliates from their Relationship with the Fund

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, reviewed the Fund’s contractual management fee rate compared with those of its Expense Peers. The contractual management fee rate represents a combination of the advisory fee and any administrative fees, before taking into account any reimbursements or fee waivers. The Board also compared the Fund’s total expense ratio, as well as its actual management fee rate, to those of its Expense Peers. The total expense ratio represents a fund’s total net operating expenses, including any 12b-1 or non-12b-1 service fees. The total expense ratio gives effect to any expense reimbursements or fee waivers, and the actual management fee rate gives effect to any management fee reimbursements or waivers. The Board considered that the fee and expense information in the Broadridge report for the Fund reflected information for a specific period and that historical asset levels and expenses may differ from current levels, particularly in a period of market volatility. The

D I S C L O S U R E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T   A D V I S O R Y   A G R E E M E N T   A N D   S U B - A D V I S O R Y   A G R E E M E N T 33

Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement   (continued)

Board considered the services provided and the fees charged by BlackRock and its affiliates to other types of clients with similar investment mandates, as applicable, including institutional accounts and sub-advised mutual funds (including mutual funds sponsored by third parties).

The Board received and reviewed statements relating to BlackRock’s financial condition. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s profitability methodology and was also provided with an estimated profitability analysis that detailed the revenues earned and the expenses incurred by BlackRock for services provided to the Fund. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s estimated profitability with respect to the Fund and other funds the Board currently oversees for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to available aggregate estimated profitability data provided for the prior two years. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s estimated profitability with respect to certain other U.S. fund complexes managed by the Manager and/or its affiliates. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s assumptions and methodology of allocating expenses in the estimated profitability analysis, noting the inherent limitations in allocating costs among various advisory products. The Board recognized that profitability may be affected by numerous factors including, among other things, fee waivers and expense reimbursements by the Manager, the types of funds managed, precision of expense allocations and business mix. The Board thus recognized that calculating and comparing profitability at the individual fund level is difficult.

The Board noted that, in general, individual fund or product line profitability of other advisors is not publicly available. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s overall operating margin, in general, compared to that of certain other publicly traded asset management firms. The Board considered the differences between BlackRock and these other firms, including the contribution of technology at BlackRock, BlackRock’s expense management, and the relative product mix.

The Board considered whether BlackRock has the financial resources necessary to attract and retain high quality investment management personnel to perform its obligations under the Agreements and to continue to provide the high quality of services that is expected by the Board. The Board further considered factors including but not limited to BlackRock’s commitment of time and resources, assumption of risk, and liability profile in servicing the Fund, including in contrast to what is required of BlackRock with respect to other products with similar investment mandates across the open-end fund, ETF, closed-end fund, sub-advised mutual fund, separately managed account, collective investment trust, and institutional separate account product channels, as applicable.

The Board noted that the Fund’s contractual management fee rate ranked in the fourth quartile, and that the actual management fee rate and total expense ratio ranked in the first and fourth quartiles, respectively, relative to the Fund’s Expense Peers. The Board further noted that the Fund has an advisory fee arrangement that includes breakpoints that adjust the fee rate downward as the size of the Fund increases above certain contractually specified levels. The Board additionally noted that the breakpoints can, conversely, adjust the advisory fee rate upward as the size of the Fund decreases below certain contractually specified levels. Additionally, the Board noted that BlackRock and the Board have contractually agreed to a cap on the Fund’s total expenses as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets on a class-by-class basis. After discussions between the Board, including the Independent Board members, and BlackRock, the Board and BlackRock agreed to a voluntary expense cap to further limit the Fund’s total expenses as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets on a class-by-class basis. This voluntary expense cap was implemented on June 1, 2023.

D. Economies of Scale

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, considered the extent to which economies of scale might be realized as the assets of the Fund increase, including the existence of fee waivers and/or expense caps, as applicable, noting that any contractual fee waivers and contractual expense caps had been approved by the Board. In its consideration, the Board further considered the continuation and/or implementation of fee waivers and/or expense caps, as applicable. The Board also considered the extent to which the Fund benefits from such economies of scale in a variety of ways, and whether there should be changes in the advisory fee rate or breakpoint structure in order to enable the Fund to more fully participate in these economies of scale. The Board considered the Fund’s asset levels and whether the current fee schedule was appropriate.

E. Other Factors Deemed Relevant by the Board Members

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, also took into account other ancillary or “fall-out” benefits that BlackRock or its affiliates may derive from BlackRock’s respective relationships with the Fund, both tangible and intangible, such as BlackRock’s ability to leverage its investment professionals who manage other portfolios and its risk management personnel, an increase in BlackRock’s profile in the investment advisory community, and the engagement of BlackRock’s affiliates as service providers to the Fund, including for administrative, distribution, securities lending and cash management services. With respect to securities lending, during the year the Board also considered information provided by independent third-party consultants related to the performance of each BlackRock affiliate as securities lending agent. The Board also considered BlackRock’s overall operations and its efforts to expand the scale of, and improve the quality of, its operations. The Board also noted that, subject to applicable law, BlackRock may use and benefit from third-party research obtained by soft dollars generated by certain registered fund transactions to assist in managing all or a number of its other client accounts.

In connection with its consideration of the Agreements, the Board also received information regarding BlackRock’s brokerage and soft dollar practices. The Board received reports from BlackRock which included information on brokerage commissions and trade execution practices throughout the year.

The Board noted the competitive nature of the open-end fund marketplace, and that shareholders are able to redeem their Fund shares if they believe that the Fund’s fees and expenses are too high or if they are dissatisfied with the performance of the Fund.

Conclusion

At the May Meeting, in a continuation of the discussions that occurred during the April Meeting, and as a culmination of the Board’s year-long deliberative process, the Board, including the Independent Board Members, unanimously approved the continuation of the Advisory Agreement between the Manager and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, for a one-year term ending June 30, 2024, and the Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Manager and the Sub-Advisor, with respect to the Fund, for a one-year term ending June 30, 2024. Based upon its evaluation of all of the aforementioned factors in their totality, as well as other information, the Board, including the Independent Board Members, was satisfied that the terms of the Agreements were fair and reasonable and in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders. In arriving at its decision to approve the Agreements, the Board did not identify any single factor or group of factors as all-important or controlling, but considered all factors together, and different Board Members may have attributed different weights to the various factors considered. The Independent Board Members were advised by independent legal counsel throughout the deliberative process.

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Additional Information  

Tailored Shareholder Reports for Open-End Mutual Funds and ETFs

Effective January 24, 2023, the SEC adopted rule and form amendments to require open-end mutual funds and ETFs to transmit concise and visually engaging streamlined annual and semiannual reports to shareholders that highlight key information. Other information, including financial statements, will no longer appear in a streamlined shareholder report but must be available online, delivered free of charge upon request, and filed on a semiannual basis on Form N-CSR. The rule and form amendments have a compliance date of July 24, 2024. At this time, management is evaluating the impact of these amendments on the shareholder reports for the Fund.

General Information

Quarterly performance, semi-annual and annual reports, current net asset value and other information regarding the Fund may be found on BlackRock’s website, which can be accessed at blackrock.com. Any reference to BlackRock’s website in this report is intended to allow investors public access to information regarding the Fund and does not, and is not intended to, incorporate BlackRock’s website in this report.

Householding

The Fund will mail only one copy of shareholder documents, including prospectuses, annual and semi-annual reports, Rule 30e-3 notices and proxy statements, to shareholders with multiple accounts at the same address. This practice is commonly called “householding” and is intended to reduce expenses and eliminate duplicate mailings of shareholder documents. Mailings of your shareholder documents may be householded indefinitely unless you instruct us otherwise. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please call the Fund at (800) 441-7762.

Availability of Quarterly Schedule of Investments

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Form N-PORT is available on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Additionally, the Fund makes its portfolio holdings for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year available at blackrock.com/fundreports.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policies, Procedures and Voting Records

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities and information about how the Fund voted proxies relating to securities held in the Fund’s portfolio during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge, upon request (1) by calling (800) 441-7762; (2) on the BlackRock website at blackrock.com; and (3) on the SEC’s website at sec.gov.

BlackRock’s Mutual Fund Family

BlackRock offers a diverse lineup of open-end mutual funds crossing all investment styles and managed by experts in equity, fixed-income and tax-exempt investing. Visit blackrock.com for more information.

Shareholder Privileges

Account Information

Call us at (800) 441-7762 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET on any business day to get information about your account balances, recent transactions and share prices. You can also visit blackrock.com for more information.

Automatic Investment Plans

Investor class shareholders who want to invest regularly can arrange to have $50 or more automatically deducted from their checking or savings account and invested in any of the BlackRock funds.

Systematic Withdrawal Plans

Investor class shareholders can establish a systematic withdrawal plan and receive periodic payments of $50 or more from their BlackRock funds, as long as their account balance is at least $10,000.

Retirement Plans

Shareholders may make investments in conjunction with Traditional, Rollover, Roth, Coverdell, Simple IRAs, SEP IRAs and 403(b) Plans.

BlackRock Privacy Principles

BlackRock is committed to maintaining the privacy of its current and former fund investors and individual clients (collectively, “Clients”) and to safeguarding their non-public personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information BlackRock collects, how we protect that information and why in certain cases we share such information with select parties.

A D D I T I O N A L   I N F O R M A T I O N 35

Additional Information   (continued)

If you are located in a jurisdiction where specific laws, rules or regulations require BlackRock to provide you with additional or different privacy-related rights beyond what is set forth below, then BlackRock will comply with those specific laws, rules or regulations.

BlackRock obtains or verifies personal non-public information from and about you from different sources, including the following: (i) information we receive from you or, if applicable, your financial intermediary, on applications, forms or other documents; (ii) information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others; (iii) information we receive from a consumer reporting agency; and (iv) from visits to our websites.

BlackRock does not sell or disclose to non-affiliated third parties any non-public personal information about its Clients, except as permitted by law or as is necessary to respond to regulatory requests or to service Client accounts. These non-affiliated third parties are required to protect the confidentiality and security of this information and to use it only for its intended purpose.

We may share information with our affiliates to service your account or to provide you with information about other BlackRock products or services that may be of interest to you. In addition, BlackRock restricts access to non-public personal information about its Clients to those BlackRock employees with a legitimate business need for the information. BlackRock maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that are designed to protect the non-public personal information of its Clients, including procedures relating to the proper storage and disposal of such information.

Fund and Service Providers

Investment Adviser and Administrator

BlackRock Advisors, LLC

Wilmington, DE 19809

Sub-Adviser

BlackRock International Limited

Edinburgh, EH3 8BL

United Kingdom

Accounting Agent and Transfer Agent

BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

Wilmington, DE 19809

Custodian

The Bank of New York Mellon

New York, NY 10286

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Boston, MA 02116

Distributor

BlackRock Investments, LLC

New York, NY 10001

Legal Counsel

Sidley Austin LLP

New York, NY 10019

Address of the Trust

100 Bellevue Parkway

Wilmington, DE 19809

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Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

Currency Abbreviation
CAD	Canadian Dollar
CHF	Swiss Franc
DKK	Danish Krone
EUR	Euro
JPY	Japanese Yen
USD	United States Dollar
Portfolio Abbreviation
ADR	American Depositary Receipt
NVS	Non-Voting Shares
S&P	Standard & Poor’s
TOPIX	Tokyo Stock Price Index

G L O S S A R Y   O F   T E R M S   U S E D   I N   T H I S   R E P O R T 37

Want to know more?

blackrock.com | 800-441-7762

This report is intended for current holders. It is not authorized for use as an offer of sale or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of the Fund unless preceded or accompanied by the Fund’s current prospectus. Past performance results shown in this report should not be considered a representation of future performance. Investment returns and principal value of shares will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Statements and other information herein are as dated and are subject to change.

GEAR-09/23-SAR

(b) Not Applicable

Item 2 – Code of Ethics – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

Item 3 – Audit Committee Financial Expert – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

Item 4 – Principal Accountant Fees and Services – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

Item 5 – Audit Committee of Listed Registrant – Not Applicable

Item 6 – Investments

(a) The registrant’s Schedule of Investments is included as part of the Report to Stockholders filed under Item 1(a) of this Form.

(b) Not Applicable due to no such divestments during the semi-annual period covered since the previous Form N-CSR filing.

Item 7 – Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies – Not Applicable

Item 8 – Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies – Not Applicable

Item 9 – Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers – Not Applicable

Item 10 – Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders – There have been no material changes to these procedures.

Item 11 – Controls and Procedures

(a) The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing of this report based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12 – Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies – Not Applicable

Item 13 – Exhibits attached hereto

(a)(1) Code of Ethics – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

(a)(2) Section 302 Certifications are attached

(a)(3) Any written solicitation to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1 – Not Applicable

(a)(4) Change in Registrant’s independent public accountant – Not Applicable

(b) Section 906 Certifications are attached

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

BlackRock Funds^SM

By:	/s/ John M. Perlowski
	John M. Perlowski
	Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) of
	BlackRock FundsSM

Date: November 20, 2023

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By:	/s/ John M. Perlowski
	John M. Perlowski
	Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) of
	BlackRock FundsSM

Date: November 20, 2023

By:	/s/ Trent Walker
	Trent Walker
	Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer) of
	BlackRock FundsSM

Date: November 20, 2023