Blackrock Funds

05/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/01/2024 12:40

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

Blackrock iShares Municipal Bond Index Fund - P shares
APRIL 29, 2024
Summary Prospectus
BlackRock FundsSM|Investor P Shares
•
iShares Municipal Bond Index Fund
Investor P: BIDPX
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's prospectus (including amendments and supplements), reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund, including the Fund's statement of additional information, online at https://www.blackrock.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 441-7762 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected], or from your financial professional. The Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated April 29, 2024, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
This Summary Prospectus contains information you should know before investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Summary Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee
Summary Prospectus
Key Facts About iShares Municipal Bond Index Fund
Investment Objective
The investment objective of iShares Municipal Bond Index Fund (the "Fund"), a series of BlackRock FundsSM (the "Trust"), is to seek to provide investment results that correspond to the total return performance of fixed-income securities in the aggregate, as represented by the ICE BofA US Municipal Securities Index (the "Underlying Index").
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to your Financial Intermediary (as defined below), which are not reflected in the table and example below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in the fund complex advised by BlackRock Fund Advisors ("BFA") or its affiliates. More information about these and other discounts is available from your Financial Intermediary and in the "Details About the Share Class" section on page 18 of the Fund's prospectus and in the "Purchase of Shares" section on page II-91 of Part II of the Fund's Statement of Additional Information (the "SAI").
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Investor P
Shares
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)
4.00%
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is
lower)
None1
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment)
Investor P
Shares
Management Fee2
0.10%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
0.25%
Other Expenses
0.15%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
0.50%
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements2,3
-
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements2,3
0.50%
1
A contingent deferred sales charge ("CDSC") of 0.15% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor P Shares made within 18 months after purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase as part of an investment of $1,000,000 or more.
2
As described in the "Management of the Fund" section of the Fund's prospectus beginning on page 30, BFA has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Fund's assets estimated to be attributable to investments in other equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by BFA or its affiliates that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2025. In addition, BFA has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to BFA indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by BFA or its affiliates, through June 30, 2025. The contractual agreements may be terminated upon 90 days' notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Trust or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
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As described in the "Management of the Fund" section of the Fund's prospectus beginning on page 30, BFA has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 0.50% of average daily net assets through June 30, 2025. The Fund may have to repay some of these waivers and/or reimbursements to BFA in the following two years. Any such repayment obligation will terminate on November 16, 2025. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days' notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Trust or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in shares of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
2
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Investor P Shares
$449
$554
$669
$1,003
Portfolio Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 10% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index, which tracks the performance of U.S. dollar denominated investment grade tax-exempt debt publicly issued by U.S. states and territories, and their political subdivisions, in the U.S. domestic market. Qualifying securities must have at least one year remaining term to final maturity, at least 18 months to final maturity at the time of issuance, a fixed coupon schedule and an investment grade rating (based on an average of Moody's, S&P and Fitch). Minimum size requirements vary based on the initial term to final maturity at time of issuance. The Underlying Index contains 1,742 issuers as of March 31, 2024 and was created on December 31, 1988.
BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Fund. "Representative sampling" is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of the Underlying Index. The securities selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of the Underlying Index. The Fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the Underlying Index.
The Fund generally invests at least 80% of its assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities or other financial instruments that are components of or have economic characteristics similar to the securities in the Underlying Index. The Fund may invest a portion of the remainder of its assets in securities not included in the Underlying Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
Risk is inherent in all investing. The value of your investment in the Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly from day to day and over time. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The following is a summary description of the principal risks of investing in the Fund. The relative significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.
◼
Municipal Securities Risks - Municipal securities risks include the ability of the issuer to repay the obligation, the relative lack of information about certain issuers of municipal securities, and the possibility of future legislative changes which could affect the market for and value of municipal securities. Budgetary constraints of local, state, and federal governments upon which the issuers may be relying for funding may also impact municipal securities. These risks include:
General Obligation Bonds Risks - Timely payments depend on the issuer's credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base.
Revenue Bonds Risks - These payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source.
Private Activity Bonds Risks - Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of industrial facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment.
Moral Obligation Bonds Risks - Moral obligation bonds are generally issued by special purpose public authorities of a state or municipality. If the issuer is unable to meet its obligations, repayment of these bonds becomes a moral commitment, but not a legal obligation, of the state or municipality.
Municipal Notes Risks - Municipal notes are shorter term municipal debt obligations. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the Fund may lose money.
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Municipal Lease Obligations Risks - In a municipal lease obligation, the issuer agrees to make payments when due on the lease obligation. Although the issuer does not pledge its unlimited taxing power for payment of the lease obligation, the lease obligation is secured by the leased property.
Tax-Exempt Status Risk - The Fund and its investment manager will rely on the opinion of issuers' bond counsel and, in the case of derivative securities, sponsors' counsel, on the tax-exempt status of interest on municipal bonds and payments under derivative securities. Neither the Fund nor its investment manager will independently review the bases for those tax opinions, which may ultimately be determined to be incorrect and subject the Fund and its shareholders to substantial tax liabilities.
◼
Debt Securities Risk - Debt securities, such as bonds, involve risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, each of which are described in further detail below:
Credit Risk - Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt security (i.e., the borrower) will not be able to make payments of interest and principal when due. Changes in an issuer's credit rating or the market's perception of an issuer's creditworthiness may also affect the value of the Fund's investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on both the financial condition of the issuer and the terms of the obligation.
Interest Rate Risk - The market value of bonds and other fixed-income securities changes in response to interest rate changes and other factors. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise.
The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the recent period of historically low interest rates. For example, if interest rates increase by 1%, assuming a current portfolio duration of ten years, and all other factors being equal, the value of the Fund's investments would be expected to decrease by 10%. (Duration is a measure of the price sensitivity of a debt security or portfolio of debt securities to relative changes in interest rates.) The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of bonds and other fixed-income securities is generally greater for those securities with longer maturities. Fluctuations in the market price of the Fund's investments will not affect interest income derived from instruments already owned by the Fund, but will be reflected in the Fund's net asset value. The Fund may lose money if short-term or long-term interest rates rise sharply in a manner not anticipated by Fund management.
To the extent the Fund invests in debt securities that may be prepaid at the option of the obligor (such as mortgage-backed securities), the sensitivity of such securities to changes in interest rates may increase (to the detriment of the Fund) when interest rates rise. Moreover, because rates on certain floating rate debt securities typically reset only periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates (and particularly sudden and significant changes) can be expected to cause some fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund to the extent that it invests in floating rate debt securities.
These basic principles of bond prices also apply to U.S. Government securities. A security backed by the "full faith and credit" of the U.S. Government is guaranteed only as to its stated interest rate and face value at maturity, not its current market price. Just like other fixed-income securities, government-guaranteed securities will fluctuate in value when interest rates change.
A general rise in interest rates has the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed-income securities on a large scale, which may increase redemptions from funds that hold large amounts of fixed-income securities. Heavy redemptions could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value and could hurt the Fund's performance.
Extension Risk - When interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these obligations to fall.
Prepayment Risk - When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than originally anticipated, and the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.
◼
Index-Related Risk - There is no guarantee that the Fund's investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Underlying Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Market disruptions or high volatility, other unusual market circumstances and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund's ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Underlying Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the index provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural disasters, political unrest or war) may impact the index provider or a third-party data provider and could cause the index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. This could cause the Underlying Index to vary from its normal or expected composition.
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An index fund has operating and other expenses while an index does not. As a result, while the Fund will attempt to track the Underlying Index as closely as possible, it will tend to underperform the Underlying Index to some degree over time. If an index fund is properly correlated to its stated index, the fund will perform poorly when the index performs poorly.
◼
Representative Sampling Risk- Representative sampling is a method of indexing that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively have a similar investment profile to the Underlying Index and resemble the Underlying Index in terms of risk factors and other key characteristics. The Fund may or may not hold every security in the Underlying Index. When the Fund deviates from a full replication indexing strategy to utilize a representative sampling strategy, the Fund is subject to an increased risk of tracking error, in that the securities selected in the aggregate for the Fund may not have an investment profile similar to those of the Underlying Index.
◼
Passive Investment Risk - Because BFA does not select individual companies in the index that the Fund tracks, the Fund may hold securities of companies that present risks that an investment adviser researching individual securities might seek to avoid.
◼
Tracking Error Risk - The Fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the Fund's performance from that of the Underlying Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in the Fund's portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index, pricing differences (including, as applicable, differences between a security's price at the local market close and the Fund's valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund's net asset value), differences in transaction costs, the Fund's holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of dividends or other distributions, interest, the requirements to maintain pass-through tax treatment, portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders, changes to the Underlying Index and the cost to the Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements. These risks may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. In addition, tracking error may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the Underlying Index does not.
◼
Asset Class Risk - Securities and other assets or financial instruments in the Underlying Index or in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.
◼
Income Risk- The Fund's income may decline due to a decline in inflation, deflation or changes in inflation expectations.
◼
Indexed Securities Risk - Indexed securities provide a potential return based on a particular index of value or interest rates. The Fund's return on these securities will be subject to risk with respect to the value of the particular index. These securities are subject to leverage risk and correlation risk. Certain indexed securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund's investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate.
◼
Management Risk - As the Fund may not fully replicate the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that BFA's investment strategy may not produce the intended results.
◼
Market Risk and Selection Risk - Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.
An outbreak of an infectious coronavirus (COVID-19) that was first detected in December 2019 developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. Although vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the duration of the pandemic and its effects cannot be predicted with certainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
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◼
Risk of Investing in the United States - Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
Performance Information
The Fund adopted the performance of State Farm Tax Advantaged Bond Fund (the "Predecessor Fund"), a series of State Farm Mutual Fund Trust, as a result of a reorganization (the "Reorganization") that was completed on November 19, 2018 in which the Fund acquired all of the assets and assumed certain stated liabilities of the Predecessor Fund. The returns presented for the Fund for the periods prior to November 19, 2018 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. Performance shown below for the periods prior to November 19, 2018 is based on the investment objective and investment strategies utilized by the Predecessor Fund, which differed from those of the Fund. The Predecessor Fund was managed by a different investment adviser and had a different portfolio management team from that of the Fund. The returns presented for Investor P Shares of the Fund for the periods prior to November 19, 2018 reflect the performance of Premier Shares of the Predecessor Fund.
The information shows you how the Fund's performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The table compares the Fund's performance to that of the Underlying Index. To the extent that dividends and distributions have been paid by the Fund, the performance information for the Fund in the chart and table assumes reinvestment of the dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. However, the table includes all applicable fees and reflects the Investor P Shares sales charge for the entire period. If the investment adviser to the Fund, the investment adviser to the Predecessor Fund and their affiliates had not waived or reimbursed certain Predecessor Fund or Fund expenses during these periods, the Fund's returns would have been lower. Updated information on the Fund's performance, including its current net asset value, can be obtained by visiting www.blackrock.com or can be obtained by phone at (800) 882-0052.
Investor P Shares
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
iShares Municipal Bond Index Fund
As of 12/31
During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 7.72% (quarter ended December 31, 2023) and the lowest return for a quarter was -5.96% (quarter ended March 31, 2022).
For the periods ended 12/31/23
Average Annual Total Returns
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
iShares Municipal Bond Index Fund - Investor P Shares
Return Before Taxes
2.07
%
1.14
%
2.25
%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
2.07
%
1.06
%
2.20
%
Return After Taxes on Distributions
and Sale of Fund Shares
2.29
%
1.41
%
2.31
%
ICE BofA US Municipal Securities Index
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
6.50
%
2.27
%
3.12
%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may
6
differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
The Fund's investment manager is BlackRock Fund Advisors (previously defined as "BFA").
Portfolio Managers
Portfolio Manager
Portfolio Manager of the Fund Since
Title
James Mauro
2018
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Karen Uyehara
2020
Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. Investor P Shares are only available to investors purchasing shares through registered representatives of an insurance company's broker-dealer that has entered into an agreement with the Fund's distributor to offer such shares (the "Financial Intermediary"). The Fund's initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:
Minimum Initial Investment
$1,000 for all accounts except:
•$50, if establishing an Automatic Investment Plan.
•There is no investment minimum for employer-sponsored retirement plans (not
including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs or SARSEPs).
•There is no investment minimum for certain fee-based programs.
Minimum Additional Investment
$50 for all accounts (with the exception of certain employer-sponsored retirement plans
which may have a lower minimum).
Tax Information
The Fund anticipates that most of its dividends will consist of "exempt-interest dividends," which are excludable from gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, some distributions by the Fund and any gain on the redemption or exchange of Fund shares for shares of another fund will be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless you are a tax-exempt investor or are investing through a qualified tax-exempt plan described in section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in which case you may be subject to U.S. federal income tax when distributions are received from such tax-deferred arrangements.
Payments to Broker/Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
The Fund and BlackRock Investments, LLC, the Fund's distributor, or its affiliates may pay your Financial Intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your Financial Intermediary to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Ask your individual financial professional or visit your Financial Intermediary's website for more information.
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INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE # 811-05742
SPRO-ISMBI-P-0424