BlackRock National Municipal Fund
Keeping More of What You Earn
Using a disciplined, research-oriented approach, the has helped investors preserve capital while generating an attractive yield.
The BlackRock National Municipal Fund seeks to provide an above-average yield with below-average volatility by leveraging BlackRock's industry leading municipal credit research. The strategy is a broadly diversified portfolio of primarily investment-grade municipal securities with maturities of five years or longer.
A History of Principal Protection While Generating Retirement Income†
Hypothetical growth of a $100,000 investment since fund inception under two scenarios.
Source: BlackRock. The "Taking Income" portfolio assumes an initial withdrawal of 4% of the portfolio at the end of 1979 and each year that amount is increased by 3% to account for inflation. As of 12/31/12. Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal values may fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than that shown. Total/net annual operating expenses as stated in this fund's most recent prospectus for Investor A are 0.93/0.72%. Expenses stated as of the fund's most recent prospectus. Net operating expenses exclude investment interest expenses, acquired fund fees and certain other fund expenses net of all waivers. Investor A shares have contractual waivers with an end date of 11/1/13 terminable upon 90 days' notice.
For standardized returns as of the most recent quarter and month end please click here.
High Quality Municipal Holding
Municipal bonds are exempt from federal income tax, playing an important role in protecting investment income. Today's market however, requires more than finding attractive tax-exempt yields; it demands extensive credit research to uncover value while keeping a careful eye on risk. For over 30 years, credit research has been the hallmark of the BlackRock National Municipal Fund, a high-quality municipal holding designed to help preserve wealth and generate income. This steadfast commitment has prepared BlackRock for today's market.
Commitment to Credit Research
Senior Portfolio Manager Walter O'Connor has led the fund since 1995 and has over 22 years of municipal investment experience. He is backed by a 16-member credit research team of industry specialists who produce proprietary analysis and create internal ratings independent of the major credit agencies. In addition to employing BlackRock's leading-edge risk management capabilities, as one of the largest municipal managers, BlackRock provides investors access to institutional quality pricing and inventories.
Balancing Yield and Risk
The BlackRock National Municipal Fund aims to provide a competitive after-tax yield and above-average returns while minimizing risk. To accomplish this objective, the fund's well-seasoned credit research team focuses on finding the right sectors and the right securities. Over the last decade, the fund has delivered an attractive yield and first-quartile* performance with less volatility than its peer group. In fact, no other fund in the Morningstar category has been able to match the fund's return with less risk.
Portfolio Management Team
BlackRock's Municipal Bond Management Committee sets investment strategy across all of BlackRock's municipal bond portfolios. The committee is led by Peter Hayes and includes senior members William Henderson, Ted Jaeckel, Walter O'Connor, James Pruskowski and Jim Schwartz.
Investor A: MDNLX
Investor C: MFNLX
Institutional: MANLX
Overall Morningstar Rating™
Investor A shares rated against 221 Muni National Long Funds, as of 3/31/13, based on risk-adjusted total return. Ratings are determined monthly and subject to change. ‡
*Source: Morningstar as of 3/31/13. For the 10-year period, ranked 23 out of 171 funds based on total return excluding sales charges in the Muni National Long Morningstar Category. The BlackRock National Municipal Fund (A share) ranked 90 out of 240 funds for the 1-year period, 46 out of 21 funds for the 3-year period and 22 out of 206 funds for the 5-year period.
†Based on a hypothetical investment of $100,000 in Investor A shares on 11/2/79 with an initial sales charge of 3.25%, resulting in a net investment of $96,750, and assuming reinvestment of all distributions. Performance for other share classes will vary. The actual inception date for Investor A shares is 10/21/94. Total returns for periods prior to Investor A inception are based on the fund's Institutional share returns, adjusted to reflect the higher A share fees. The inception date for the Institutional shares is 11/2/79. This information may be considered when assessing the fund's performance, but does not represent actual performance of the share class.
IMPORTANT RISKS OF THE FUND
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The fund is actively managed and its characteristics will vary. Any holdings shown are for information only and should not be deemed as a recommendation to buy or sell securities mentioned. Bond values fluctuate in price so the value of your investment can go down depending on market conditions. Two main risks related to fixed income investing are interest-rate and credit risk. Typically, when interest rates rise, there is a corresponding decline in market value of bonds. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the bond issuer will not be able to make principal and interest payments. Investments in noninvestment-grade debt securities ("high-yield" or "junk" bonds) may be subject to greater market fluctuations and risk of default or loss of income and principal than securities in higher rating categories. The fund may use derivatives, such as futures, options, swaps or tender-option bonds, to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. Investing in derivatives entails specific risks relating to liquidity, leverage and credit that may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. There may be less information available on the financial condition of issuers of municipal securities than for public corporations. The market for municipal bonds may be less liquid than for taxable bonds. A portion of the income may be taxable. Some investors may be subject to Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Capital gains distributions, if any, are taxable.
‡ The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5- and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. For each fund with at least a 3-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) BlackRock National Municipal Fund was rated against the following numbers of US-domiciled Muni National Long funds over the following time periods: 221 in the last 3 years, 206 in the last 5 years and 171 in the last 10 years. With respect to these Muni National Long funds, BlackRock National Municipal Fund received a Morningstar Rating of 3, 3 and 4 stars for the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively. Morningstar Rating is for the Investor A share class only; other classes may have different performance characteristics. © 2013 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.
You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the fund carefully before investing. The Fund's prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.
Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA.
USR-2053