BlackRock Money Market Portfolio

497 1 d896441d497.htm BLACKROCK MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO BlackRock Money Market Portfolio

BlackRock Funds^SM

(the “Fund”)

Supplement dated March 10, 2020 to the

Summary Prospectuses, Prospectuses and Statement of Additional Information

of the Fund, each dated July 29, 2019, as supplemented to date

The Board of Trustees of BlackRock Funds^SM on behalf of the Fund has approved changes to the name, investment objective, principal investment strategies and risks of the Fund to give consideration to select environmental criteria.

Consequently, effective May 11, 2020, the following changes will be made:

The name of the Fund is changed to “BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund.”

All references in the Fund’s summary prospectuses and prospectuses to “BlackRock Money Market Portfolio” are deleted and replaced with references to “BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund.”

The section of the Fund’s summary prospectuses entitled “Summary Prospectus—Investment Objective” and the section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Fund Overview—Investment Objective” are amended by deleting the existing sentence in its entirety and replacing it with the following:

The investment objective of BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund (“WeLEAF” or the “Fund”), a series of BlackRock Funds^SM (the “Trust”), is to seek as high a level of current income as is consistent with liquidity and preservation of capital while giving consideration to select environmental criteria.

The section of the Fund’s summary prospectuses entitled “Summary Prospectus—Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund” and the section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Fund Overview—Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund” are amended by deleting the existing section in its entirety and replacing it with the following:

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a broad range of U.S. dollar-denominated money market instruments, including government, U.S. and foreign bank, and commercial obligations and repurchase agreements. Under normal conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities whose issuer or guarantor, in the opinion of BlackRock, the Fund’s investment manager, at the time of purchase, meets the Fund’s environmental criteria. This policy is a non-fundamental policy of the Fund. However, the Fund will provide shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior written notice of any changes to the policy.

BlackRock will consider the following as part of the Fund’s environmental criteria:

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The Fund will invest in securities whose issuer (or guarantor, if applicable) at the time of the Fund’s investment has better than average performance in environmental practices. In evaluating performance in environmental practices, BlackRock will use data or other environmental, social, or governance risk metrics including ratings provided by independent research vendor(s) in determining whether to invest (or continue to invest) in securities issued or guaranteed by a particular entity. These independent research vendor(s) may consider one or more of the following factors: issuer or industry exposure to environmentally intensive activities, disclosures by an issuer around climate related issues and environmental matters or specific targets or plans by an issuer to manage environmental exposures. BlackRock may change an independent research vendor at any time in its discretion. BlackRock will consider factors such as emissions, energy and water intensity, waste generation, green revenues and environmental disclosure levels in evaluating the environmental performance of an issuer or guarantor.

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U.S. Government securities will be considered to have met the Fund’s environmental criteria

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The Fund will not invest in securities issued or guaranteed by entities:

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that derive more than 5% of their revenue from fossil fuels mining, exploration or refinement; or

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that derive more than 5% of their revenue from thermal coal or nuclear energy based power generation.

In determining the efficacy of an issuer’s or guarantor’s environmental practices, BlackRock may also employ a proprietary model it has developed to consider the impact of various actions of an issuer or guarantor. The model uses third party data as well as information obtained by BlackRock to assess whether particular environmental factors may be material to an issuer or guarantor and capture any momentum around these factors. The model also seeks to consider more current headline news around an issuer or guarantor. The model may employ different inputs and weigh the significance of those inputs differently than the third party data sources that are used. BlackRock will conduct, as appropriate, its environmental evaluation of issuers and guarantors relative to a specific sector or across multiple sectors.

Under normal market conditions, at least 25% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in obligations of issuers in the financial services industry or in obligations, such as repurchase agreements, secured by such obligations.

The Fund may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities whose issuer (and, if applicable, guarantor) have below average performance in environmental practices or whose issuer (and, if applicable, guarantor) are not evaluated by any independent research vendor(s) currently used by the Fund, and whose issuer (and, if applicable, guarantor) do not otherwise meet the Fund’s environmental criteria.

The Fund seeks to maintain a net asset value (“NAV”) of $1.00 per share.

The securities purchased by the Fund are subject to the quality, diversification and other requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), and other rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Fund will only purchase securities that present minimal credit risk as determined by BlackRock pursuant to guidelines approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”).”

The section of the Fund’s summary prospectuses entitled “Summary Prospectus—Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” and the section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Fund Overview—Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” are amended by adding the following risk factor:

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Environmental Criteria Risk — The risk that because the Fund’s environmental criteria exclude securities of certain issuers for nonfinancial reasons, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these criteria. Consequently, the Fund may underperform funds that do not utilize an environmental strategy. BlackRock’s assessment of an issuer’s environmental criteria may change over time, which could cause the Fund to hold securities that may no longer meet BlackRock’s current environmental criteria.

In evaluating the environmental criteria for an issuer or guarantor, BlackRock is dependent upon information and data that may be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable. Currently, environmental data often lacks standardization, consistency and in some cases transparency. There may be different methodologies used by different data sources who compile environmental ratings of issuers or guarantors. This could adversely affect the analysis of the environmental criteria relevant to a particular issuer or guarantor. If BlackRock were to solely rely on this data, the Fund may invest in issuers or guarantors who may not meet the environmental criteria for investment. Investing on the basis of environmental criteria is qualitative and subjective by nature and there can be no assurance that the process utilized by any vendors of BlackRock or any judgment exercised by BlackRock will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular investor.

The section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Details About the Fund—How the Fund Invests—Investment Objective” is amended by deleting the existing section in its entirety and replacing it with the following:

The investment objective of the Fund is to seek as high a level of current income as is consistent with liquidity and preservation of capital while giving consideration to select environmental criteria.

Should the Board determine that the investment objective of the Fund should be changed, shareholders will be given at least 30 days’ notice before any such change is made. However, such change can be effected without shareholder approval.

The section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Details About the Fund—How the Fund Invests—Principal Investment Strategies” is amended by deleting the existing section in its entirety and replacing it with the following:

BlackRock will consider the following as part of the Fund’s environmental criteria:

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U.S. Government securities will be considered to have met the Fund’s environmental criteria

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The Fund will not invest in securities issued or guaranteed by entities:

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that derive more than 5% of their revenue from fossil fuels mining, exploration or refinement; or

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that derive more than 5% of their revenue from thermal coal or nuclear energy based power generation.

When known at the time of purchase, Fund management may also consider an issuer’s or guarantor’s commitment to support sustainable palm oil.

In addition, the Fund may invest in mortgage- and asset-backed securities, short-term 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. The Fund may invest in “green” bonds where, in the opinion of BlackRock, the use of proceeds from the sale of these securities will be used to finance projects intended to generate an environmental benefit. For purposes of compliance with the Fund’s 80% investment policy, (1) the Fund’s investment in “green” bonds will not be deemed to qualify unless the issuer or guarantor of such bonds, in the opinion of BlackRock, at the time of purchase, meets the Fund’s environmental criteria and (2) the Fund’s investment in repurchase agreements will not be deemed to qualify except to the extent that both the repurchase agreement counterparty and the issuer (or guarantor, if applicable) of the security subject to the repurchase agreement, in the opinion of BlackRock, at the time of purchase, meet the Fund’s environmental criteria. The Fund may also invest in variable and floating rate instruments, and transact in securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

The securities purchased by the Fund are subject to the quality, diversification and other requirements of Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, and other rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Fund will only purchase securities that present minimal credit risk as determined by BlackRock pursuant to guidelines approved by the Board.

Pursuant to Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, the Fund will generally limit its purchases of any one issuer’s securities (other than U.S. Government obligations and repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities) to 5% of the Fund’s total assets, except that up to 25% of its total assets may be invested in securities of one issuer for a period of up to three business days; provided that the Fund may not invest in the securities of more than one issuer in accordance with the foregoing exception at any one time.

Additionally, a security purchased by the Fund (or the issuers of such security) will be:

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a security that has short-term ratings at the time of purchase (or which are guaranteed or in some cases otherwise supported by credit supports with such ratings) in the highest rating category by at least two unaffiliated nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”), or one NRSRO, if the security or guarantee was only rated by one NRSRO;

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a security that is issued or guaranteed by a person with such ratings;

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a security without such short-term ratings that has been determined to be of comparable quality by BlackRock;

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a security issued by other open-end investment companies that invest in the type of obligations in which the Fund may invest; or

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a security issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities.

Appendix A to the Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) contains a description of the relevant rating symbols used by several NRSROs for various types of debt obligations.

During periods of unusual market conditions or during temporary defensive periods, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies. The Fund may hold uninvested cash reserves pending investment, during temporary defensive periods, or the Fund may invest without limit in U.S. Treasury securities. Uninvested cash reserves may not earn income. Temporary defensive investments may limit the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

The section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Details About the Fund—How the Fund Invests—Other Strategies” is amended by adding the following strategies:

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Borrowing. During periods of unusual market conditions, the Fund is authorized to borrow money from banks for temporary purposes in amounts up to one-third of the value of its total assets at the time of such borrowing. Such borrowings may be secured or unsecured.

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Illiquid Investments. The Fund will not invest more than 5% of the value of its total assets in illiquid securities that it cannot sell in the ordinary course within seven days at approximately current value.

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Municipal Obligations. The Fund may, when deemed appropriate by BlackRock in light of its investment objective, invest in high quality, short-term 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 (“Municipal Obligations”) issued by state and local governmental issuers which carry yields that are competitive with those of other types of money market instruments of comparable quality.

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Restricted Securities. Restricted securities are securities that cannot be offered for public resale unless registered under the applicable securities laws or that have a contractual restriction that prohibits or limits their resale. They may include Rule 144A securities, which are privately placed securities that can be resold to qualified institutional buyers but not to the general public, and securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers that are offered pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

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Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. The Fund is permitted to invest up to one-third of its total assets in reverse repurchase agreements. Investments in reverse repurchase agreements and securities lending transactions (described below) will be aggregated for purposes of this investment limitation.

The section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Details About the Fund—Investment Risks—Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” is amended by adding the following risk factor:

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The section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Details About the Fund—Investment Risks—Other Risks of Investing in the Fund” is amended by adding the following risk factors:

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Borrowing Risk — Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the NAV of Fund shares and in the return on the Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cost the Fund interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations.

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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 — The full faith, credit and taxing power of the municipality that issues a general obligation bond secures payment of interest and repayment of principal. 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 — Payments of interest and principal on revenue bonds are made only from the revenues generated by a particular facility, class of facilities or the proceeds of a special tax or other revenue source. 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. If the private enterprise defaults on its payments, the Fund may not receive any income or get its money back from the investment.

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. They may provide interim financing in anticipation of, and are secured by, tax collection, bond sales or revenue receipts. If there is a shortfall in the anticipated proceeds, the notes may not be fully repaid and the 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. The issuer will generally appropriate municipal funds for that purpose, but is not obligated to do so. 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. However, if the issuer does not fulfill its payment obligation it may be difficult to sell the property and the proceeds of a sale may not cover the Fund’s loss.

Tax-Exempt Status Risk — In making investments, 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 obligations and payments under tax-exempt derivative securities. Neither the Fund nor its investment manager will independently review the bases for those tax opinions. If any of those tax opinions are ultimately determined to be incorrect or 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. The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has generally not ruled on the taxability of the securities. An assertion by the IRS that a portfolio security is not exempt from U.S. federal income tax (contrary to indications from the issuer) could affect the Fund’s and its shareholders’ income tax liability for the current or past years and could create liability for information reporting penalties. In addition, an IRS assertion of taxability may impair the liquidity and the fair market value of the securities.

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Reverse Repurchase Agreements Risk — Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the other party may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could lose money if it is unable to recover the securities and the value of the collateral held by the Fund, including the value of the investments made with cash collateral, is less than the value of the securities. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences to the Fund.

The section of the Fund’s prospectuses entitled “Management of the Fund—BlackRock” is amended by adding the following immediately prior to the paragraph entitled “Legal Proceedings”:

BlackRock or its affiliates will use at least 5% of BlackRock’s net revenue from its management fee from the Fund to purchase and then retire carbon credits either directly or through a third-party organization. These purchases will be made at least annually, with BlackRock maintaining the option to increase, decrease or terminate these purchases in its sole discretion at any time.

Additionally, BlackRock may at its discretion enter into a license agreement (a “License Agreement”) with one or more charitable organizations that are tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 from time to time. Pursuant to the relevant License Agreement, the charitable organization would grant BlackRock a license permitting BlackRock to use the charitable organization’s name and logo. BlackRock will pay a license fee to each such charitable organization for such use. No charitable organization will provide any investment advisory services to BlackRock or the Fund or participate in, or have any influence on, the day-to-day operations of, the Fund.

The section of Part I of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information entitled “I. Investment Objective and Policies—Additional Information on Investment Strategies” is amended by deleting the first two paragraphs thereof.

All references in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information to “BlackRock Money Market Portfolio” are deleted and replaced with references to “BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund.”

Shareholders should retain this Supplement for future reference.

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