Strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in small cap growth equity securities of U.S. issuers and derivatives that provide investment exposure to such securities or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. Equity securities consist primarily of common stock, preferred stock and securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock, such as derivatives. The Fund seeks to buy primarily common stock but also can invest in preferred stock and other equity securities. The Fund may also purchase convertible securities. The Fund management team focuses on small capitalization companies that Fund management believes have … Show more… Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in small cap growth equity securities of U.S. issuers and derivatives that provide investment exposure to such securities or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. Equity securities consist primarily of common stock, preferred stock and securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock, such as derivatives. The Fund seeks to buy primarily common stock but also can invest in preferred stock and other equity securities. The Fund may also purchase convertible securities. The Fund management team focuses on small capitalization companies that Fund management believes have above average prospects for earnings growth. For purposes of the Funds 80% policy, small cap growth equity securities are equity securities that (i) at the time of purchase have a market capitalization within the range of companies included in the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the Russell 2000 Growth Index ) and (ii) are included within at least one growth index, as determined by BlackRock (the Growth Indices ). Currently, such Growth Indices are the Russell 3000 Growth Index, the S&P Composite 1500 Growth Index and the MSCI World Growth Index. The Russell 2000 Growth Index is an index that measures the performance of the small-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe, with companies that have market capitalizations between approximately $11.32 million and $24.69 billion as of December 31, 2025. From time to time the Fund may invest in shares of companies through new issues or initial public offerings (IPOs). The Fund may use derivatives, including options, warrants, futures, swaps and forward contracts both to seek to increase the return of the Fund and to hedge (or protect) the value of its assets against adverse movements in currency exchange rates, interest rates and movements in the securities markets. In order to manage cash flows into or out of the Fund effectively, the Fund may buy and sell financial futures contracts or options on such contracts. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is derived from another security, a commodity (such as oil or gas), a currency or an index, including but not limited to the Growth Indices. The use of options, futures, swaps and forward contracts can be effective in protecting or enhancing the value of the Funds assets. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by investing in small cap growth equity securities in a disciplined manner using proprietary return forecast models that incorporate quantitative analysis. These forecast models are designed to identify aspects of mispricing across stocks, which the Fund can seek to capture by over- and under-weighting particular equities while seeking to control incremental risk. BlackRock then constructs and rebalances the portfolio by integrating its investment insights with the model-based optimization process. The Fund also may use indexed or inverse securities. Show less