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Investor A, C and Institutional | BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund
Fund Overview

Key Facts About BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund
Investment Objective
The investment objective of BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund (the “New Jersey Fund” or the “Fund”) is to provide shareholders with income exempt from Federal income tax and New Jersey personal income taxes.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in the fund complex advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“BlackRock”) or its affiliates. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional or your selected securities dealer, broker, investment adviser, service provider or industry professional (including BlackRock, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”) and their respective affiliates) (each a “Financial Intermediary”) and in the “Details About the Share Classes” and the “Intermediary-Defined Sales Charge Waiver Policies” sections on pages 44 and A-1, respectively, of the Fund’s prospectus and in the “Purchase of Shares” section on page II-73 of Part II of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - Investor A, C and Institutional - BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund
Investor A Shares
Investor C Shares
Institutional Shares
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) 4.25% none none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower) none [1] 1.00% [2] none
[1] A contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor A Shares made within 18 months after purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at time of purchase as part of an investment of $250,000 or more.
[2] There is no CDSC on Investor C Shares after one year.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Investor A, C and Institutional - BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund
Investor A Shares
Investor C Shares
Institutional Shares
Management Fee [1],[2] 0.52% 0.52% 0.52%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25% 1.00% none
Other Expenses 0.19% 0.18% 0.25%
Interest Expense 0.05% 0.05% 0.05%
Miscellaneous Other Expenses 0.14% 0.13% 0.20%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.01% 0.01% 0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses [2],[3] 0.97% 1.71% 0.78%
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements [1],[4] (0.11%) (0.10%) (0.17%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements [1],[4] 0.86% 1.61% 0.61%
[1] As described in the “Management of the Funds” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 59, BlackRock 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 BlackRock or its affiliates through September 30, 2018. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of BlackRock Multi-State Municipal Series Trust or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
[2] Management Fee has been restated to reflect current fees.
[3] The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratios of expenses to average net assets given in the Fund’s most recent annual report, which do not include the restatement of Management Fees to reflect current fees.
[4] As described in the “Management of the Funds” section of the Fund’s prospectus, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees and/or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements (excluding Interest Expense, Dividend Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) as a percentage of average daily net assets to 0.80% for Investor A Shares, 1.55% for Investor C Shares, and 0.55% for Institutional Shares through September 30, 2018. This contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of BlackRock Multi-State Municipal Series 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 the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example - Investor A, C and Institutional - BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Investor A Shares 509 710 928 1,555
Investor C Shares 264 529 919 2,011
Institutional Shares 62 232 417 950
You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:
Expense Example, No Redemption
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Investor A, C and Institutional | BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund | Investor C Shares | USD ($) 164 529 919 2,011
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 21% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund invests primarily in a portfolio of long-term investment grade New Jersey municipal bonds. New Jersey municipal bonds are debt obligations issued by or on behalf of a governmental entity in New Jersey or other qualifying issuer that pay interest that, in the opinion of bond counsel, is excludable from gross income for Federal income tax purposes (except that interest may be includable in taxable income for purposes of the Federal alternative minimum tax) and exempt from New Jersey personal income taxes. These bonds may be obligations of a variety of issuers including governmental entities in New Jersey and issuers located in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in New Jersey municipal bonds. At least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in investment grade securities. Investment grade securities are securities which are rated in the four highest categories by at least one of the major rating agencies or determined by the management team to be of similar quality. When choosing investments, Fund management considers various factors, including the credit quality of issuers, yield analysis, maturity analysis and the call features of the obligations. Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s weighted average maturity will be more than ten years.

The Fund may leverage its assets through the use of proceeds received through tender option bond transactions. In a tender option bond transaction, the Fund transfers municipal bonds or other municipal securities into a special purpose entity (a “TOB Trust”). A TOB Trust typically issues two classes of beneficial interests: short-term floating rate interests (“TOB Floaters”), which are sold to third party investors, and residual inverse floating rate interests (“TOB Residuals”), which are generally issued to the Fund. The Fund may invest in TOB Residuals and may also invest in TOB Floaters. The Fund will look through to the underlying municipal bond held by a TOB Trust for purposes of the Fund’s 80% policy.
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 principal risks of investing in the Fund.
  • Debt Securities Risk — Debt securities, such as bonds, involve interest rate risk, credit risk, extension risk, and prepayment risk, among other things.

    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 current period of historically low 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%. 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.

    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 principal and interest payments 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 the issuer’s financial condition and on the terms of the securities.

    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.
  • 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. 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.
  • 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. 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 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 a Fund may lose money.

    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.
  • Non-Diversification Risk — The Fund is a non-diversified fund. Because the Fund may invest in securities of a smaller number of issuers, it may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer than a fund that invests more widely.
  • State Specific Risk — The Fund will invest primarily in municipal securities issued by or on behalf of the State of New Jersey. As a result, the Fund is more exposed to risks affecting issuers of New Jersey municipal securities than is a municipal securities fund that invests more widely.
  • Tender Option Bonds Risk — The Fund’s participation in tender option bond transactions may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Investments in tender option bond transactions expose the Fund to counterparty risk and leverage risk. An investment in a tender option bond transaction typically will involve greater risk than an investment in a municipal fixed rate security, including the risk of loss of principal. Distributions on TOB Residuals will bear an inverse relationship to short-term municipal security interest rates. Distributions on TOB Residuals paid to the Fund will be reduced or, in the extreme, eliminated as short-term municipal interest rates rise and will increase when short-term municipal interest rates fall. TOB Residuals generally will underperform the market for fixed rate municipal securities in a rising interest rate environment. The Fund may invest in TOB Trusts on either a non-recourse or recourse basis. If the Fund invests in a TOB Trust on a recourse basis, it could suffer losses in excess of the value of its TOB Residuals.
Performance Information
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 S&P® Municipal Bond Index and the Custom New Jersey 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 sales charges. If the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates had not waived or reimbursed certain 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 http://www.blackrock.com or can be obtained by phone at (800) 882-0052.
Institutional Shares
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund
As of 12/31
Bar Chart
During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 9.14% (quarter ended September 30, 2009) and the lowest return for a quarter was -5.44% (quarter ended December 31, 2010). The year-to-date return as of June 30, 2017 was 3.41%.
As of 12/31/16
Average Annual Total Returns
Average Annual Total Returns - Investor A, C and Institutional - BlackRock New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Institutional Shares 0.46% 4.07% 4.25%
Institutional Shares | Return After Taxes on Distributions 0.46% 4.05% 4.24%
Institutional Shares | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 1.79% 4.02% 4.22%
Investor A Shares (3.96%) 3.05% 3.64%
Investor C Shares (1.53%) 3.15% 3.30%
S&P ® Municipal Bond Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 0.77% 3.55% 4.20%
Custom New Jersey Index (Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) [1] 1.51% 4.07% 4.48%
[1] The Custom New Jersey Index reflects the returns of the S&P® New Jersey Municipal Bond Index for periods prior to January 1, 2013, and the returns of only those New Jersey bonds in the S&P® New Jersey Municipal Bond Index that have maturities greater than 5 years for periods subsequent to January 1, 2013.
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 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. After-tax returns are shown for Institutional Shares only, and the after-tax returns for Investor A Shares and Investor C Shares will vary.