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BlackRock Short Obligations Fund
Fund Overview
Investment Objective
The investment objective of BlackRock Short Obligations Fund (“Short Obligations Fund” or the “Fund”), a series of BlackRock FundsSM (the “Trust”), is to seek current income consistent with preservation of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of Short Obligations Fund.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
BlackRock Short Obligations Fund
BlackRock Shares
Management Fee 0.25%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees none
Other Expenses [1] 0.20%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.45%
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements [2] (0.15%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements [2] 0.30%
[1] Other Expenses are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
[2] As described in the "Management of the Funds" section of the Fund's prospectus on pages 25-29, BlackRock Advisors, LLC ("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 Dividend Expense, Interest Expense, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and certain other Fund expenses) to 0.30% of average daily net assets until December 1, 2013. The Fund may have to repay some of these waivers and reimbursements to BlackRock in the following two years. 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 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 (USD $)
1 Year
3 Years
BlackRock Short Obligations Fund BlackRock Shares
31 129
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 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.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
Under normal market conditions, Short Obligations Fund will invest in U.S. dollar denominated investment grade and short-term fixed and floating rate debt securities maturing in three years or less (with certain exceptions) and will maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 180 days or less and a dollar-weighted average life of 365 days or less.

To achieve its investment objective, the Fund may invest in corporate securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, and money market instruments, including government, U.S. and foreign bank and commercial obligations, obligations issued by or on behalf of states, territories and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia and their respective authorities, agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions and derivative securities such as beneficial interests in municipal trust certificates and partnership trusts, and repurchase agreements.

The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate instruments and when-issued and delayed delivery securities.

The Fund will concentrate its investments in the financial services industry. Therefore, under normal conditions, the Fund will invest more than 25% of its assets in securities issued by companies in the financial services industry and repurchase agreements secured by such obligations. The Fund may, however, invest less than 25% of its assets in this industry as a temporary defensive measure.

Investment grade securities purchased by the Fund (or the issuers of such securities) will carry a rating of BBB-, or equivalent, or higher by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) and short-term investments will carry a rating in the highest two rating categories of at least one NRSRO (e.g., A-2, P-2 or F2 or better by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., or Fitch Ratings, respectively), or if such investments are unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by BlackRock, at the time of investment.
Investment Risks
Risk is inherent in all investing. The value of your investment in Short Obligations 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 certain risks of investing in the Fund.
  • Concentration Risk — A substantial part of the Fund’s portfolio, 25% or more, will, under normal circumstances, be comprised of securities issued by companies in the financial services industry and repurchase agreements secured by such obligations. As a result, the Fund will be more susceptible to any economic, business, political or other developments which generally affect this industry sector. Because of its concentration in the financial services industry, the Fund will be exposed to a large extent to the risks associated with that industry, such as government regulation, the availability and cost of capital funds, consolidation and general economic conditions. Financial services companies are also exposed to losses if borrowers and other counterparties experience financial problems and/or cannot repay their obligations.
  • Credit Risk — Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security 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.
  • Extension Risk — When interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these securities to fall.
  • Foreign Exposure Risk — Securities issued or supported by foreign entities, including foreign banks and corporations, may involve additional risks and considerations. Extensive public information about the foreign issuer may not be available, and unfavorable political, economic or governmental developments in the foreign country involved could affect the payment of principal and interest.
  • Interest Rate Risk — Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of a debt security may fall when interest rates rise. In general, the market price of debt securities with longer maturities will go up or down more in response to changes in interest rates than the market price of shorter term securities.

    Additionally, securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities and sponsored enterprises have historically involved little risk of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, due to fluctuations in interest rates, the market value of such securities may vary during the period shareholders own shares of the Fund.
  • 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.
  • Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risks — Mortgage- and asset-backed securities represent interests in “pools” of mortgages or other assets, including consumer loans or receivables held in trust. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to credit, interest rate, prepayment and extension risks. These securities also are subject to risk of default on the underlying mortgage or asset, particularly during periods of economic downturn. Small movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain mortgage-backed securities.
  • 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. Certain municipal securities, including private activity bonds, are not backed by the full faith, credit and taxing power of the issuer. Additionally, if events occur after the security is acquired that impact the security’s tax-exempt status, the Fund and its shareholders could be subject to substantial tax liabilities.
  • 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.
  • Repurchase Agreements Risk — If the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligation under the agreement, the Fund may suffer delays and incur costs or lose money in exercising its rights under the agreement. If the seller fails to repurchase the security and the market value of the security declines, the Fund may lose money.
  • U.S. Government Obligations Risk — Certain securities in which the Fund may invest, including securities issued by certain U.S. Government agencies and U.S. Government sponsored enterprises, are not guaranteed by the U.S. Government or supported by the full faith and credit of the United States.
  • Variable and Floating Rate Instrument Risk — The absence of an active market for these securities could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of them if the issuer defaults.
  • When-Issued and Delayed Settlement Transactions Risk — When-issued and delayed delivery securities involve the risk that the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. There also is the risk that the security will not be issued or that the other party to the transaction will not meet its obligation. If this occurs, the Fund loses both the investment opportunity for the assets it set aside to pay for the security and any gain in the security’s price.
Performance Information
Because Short Obligations Fund has not commenced operations, it does not have performance information an investor would find useful in evaluating the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s benchmark is the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 6-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index.