Strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Fund seeks to invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in non-U.S. equity securities of companies that are components of, or have characteristics similar to, the companies included in the MSCI EAFE Index (the Benchmark), and derivatives with similar economic characteristics. The Benchmark is a capitalization-weighted index from a broad range of industries chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock and convertible securities. The Fund primarily seeks to buy common stock and may also invest in preferred stock and convertible securities. The Fund may invest in equity securities of any market capitalization. From time to time, the … Show more… Under normal circumstances, the Fund seeks to invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in non-U.S. equity securities of companies that are components of, or have characteristics similar to, the companies included in the MSCI EAFE Index (the Benchmark), and derivatives with similar economic characteristics. The Benchmark is a capitalization-weighted index from a broad range of industries chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock and convertible securities. The Fund primarily seeks to buy common stock and may also invest in preferred stock and convertible securities. The Fund may invest in equity securities of any market capitalization. From time to time, the Fund may invest in shares of companies through new issues or initial public offerings (IPOs). To determine the Funds investable universe, Fund management will first seek to screen out certain issuers based on ESG criteria determined by BlackRock, subject to the considerations noted below. Such screening criteria principally includes: (i) issuers that derive more than zero percent of revenue from the production of controversial weapons; (ii) issuers that derive more than zero percent of revenue from the production of civilian firearms; (iii) issuers that derive more than zero percent of revenue from the production of tobacco-related products; (iv) issuers that derive more than five percent of revenue from thermal coal generation, unless such issuers either (a) have made certain commitments to reduce climate impact or (b) derive at least fifty percent of revenue from alternative energy sources; (v) issuers that derive more than five percent of revenue from thermal coal mining; (vi) issuers that derive more than five percent of revenue from oil sands extraction; and (vii) issuers identified as violators of the United Nations Global Compact, which are globally accepted principles covering corporate behavior in the areas of human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Fund may invest in green bonds of issuers that exceed the thresholds stated in (iv), (v) or (vi) above. The Fund relies on one or more third-party ratings agencies to identify issuers for purposes of the above screening criteria. Third-party rating agencies may base the above screening criteria on an estimate when revenue for a covered business activity is not disclosed by the issuer or publicly available. The Funds screening criteria is measured at the time of investment and is dependent upon information and data that may be incomplete, inaccurate, unavailable or estimated. Where the Funds criteria looks solely to third-party ratings or data, issuers are only screened to the extent such ratings or data have been assigned or made available by the third parties. This screening criteria is subject to change over time at BlackRocks discretion. In addition, the Fund may gain indirect exposure (through, including but not limited to, derivatives and investments in other investment companies) to issuers with exposures that are inconsistent with the ESG related criteria used by BlackRock. The Fund will seek to invest in companies with sustainable business models which have a strong consideration for ESG risks and opportunities. Investment decisions are based on BlackRocks fundamental research focusing on bottom up (i.e., company-specific) analysis that seeks to identify and select equity and equity-related securities that can, as a portfolio, deliver the Funds investment objective. BlackRocks company-specific research uses techniques to assess equity characteristics such as strength of earnings, quality of balance sheet, cashflow trends, and relative valuation, as well as assessing companies ESG practices. BlackRock also uses macro-economic and country level research to inform its equity selection. BlackRock has a flexible allocation strategy with a focus on ESG principles which means that it does not have a persistent bias towards particular categories of investment, such as specific countries, industries or style factors (i.e., specific characteristics of companies that it is considered may drive returns), but it may make allocation decisions based on such categories at particular times and will have a bias towards investments with strong or improving ESG practices. The Fund seeks to maintain certain ESG characteristics, climate risk exposure and climate opportunities relative to the Benchmark. Specifically, the Fund generally seeks to invest in a portfolio of equity securities that, in BlackRocks view, (i) has an aggregate ESG assessment that is better than that of the Benchmark, (ii) has an aggregate carbon emissions assessment that is lower than that of the Benchmark, and (iii) in the aggregate, includes issuers that BlackRock believes are better positioned to capture climate opportunities relative to the issuers in the Benchmark. The Fund may invest in other sectors that are not included in such assessments. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in emerging markets issuers. BlackRock considers an emerging market country to include any country that is: (1) generally recognized to be an emerging market country by the international financial community, including the World Bank; (2) classified by the United Nations as a developing country; or (3) included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The Fund will invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers that can be U.S. dollar based or non-U.S. dollar based on a hedged or unhedged basis. The Fund may enter into currency transactions on a hedged or unhedged basis in order to seek total return. The Fund may use derivatives, including options, futures, swaps (including, but not limited to, total return swaps, some of which may be referred to as contracts for difference) 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 currency or an index, including, but not limited to, the Benchmark. The use of options, futures, swaps and forward contracts can be effective in protecting or enhancing the value of the Funds assets. The Fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act). Show less