Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 25, 2026 · prospectusObjective. The investment objective of BlackRock Diversified Fixed Income Fund (the Fund), a series of BlackRock Funds III (the Trust), is to seek to provide a combination of income and capital growth.
Strategy. The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in fixed income instruments. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Funds 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. The fixed income instruments in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, the following: obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)) ; mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, including U.S. agency mortgage … The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in fixed income instruments. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the Funds 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities. The fixed income instruments in which the Fund may invest include, but are not limited to, the following: obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)) ; mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, including U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities; commercial mortgage-backed securities; mortgage to-be-announced (TBA) securities; debt obligations of U.S. issuers; municipal securities; asset-backed securities; money market securities; repurchase agreements; and U.S.-registered dollar denominated debt obligations of foreign issuers . The Fund seeks to invest a substantial portion (generally, at least 60% at notional value) of its assets in U.S. registered, dollar-denominated bonds or derivatives with similar economic characteristics. The Fund may invest in bonds issued by companies located in countries other than the United States, including companies in emerging markets. The fixed income instruments in which the Fund invests may have all types of interest rate payment and reset terms, including fixed rate, adjustable rate, floating rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment in kind and auction rate features. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities rated below investment grade or which are deemed to be of comparable quality by BFA (high yield or junk bonds) at the time of purchase. Investment grade bonds are bonds rated in the four highest categories by at least one of the major rating agencies or determined by Fund management to be of similar quality. The Fund may invest in bonds of any maturity or duration. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities, which are securities issued by entities such as the Government National Mortgage Association and the Federal National Mortgage Association that are backed by pools of mortgages. Most transactions in mortgage pass-through securities occur through standardized contracts for future delivery in which the exact mortgage-backed securities to be delivered are not specified until a few days prior to settlement. The Fund expects to enter into such contracts on a regular basis. The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), including collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). CDOs are types of asset-backed securities. CLOs are ordinarily issued by a trust or other special purpose entity and are typically collateralized by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and non-U.S. senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans, held by such issuer. The Fund may use derivatives, such as futures contracts, options (including, but not limited to, options on futures and swaps) and various other instruments (including, but not limited to, interest rate, total return, credit default and credit default index swaps (which can be used to transfer the credit risk of a security without actually transferring ownership of the security or to customize exposure to a particular credit risk) and indexed and inverse floating-rate securities). The Fund may also invest in credit-linked notes, credit-linked trust certificates, structured notes, or other instruments evidencing interests in special purpose vehicles, trusts, or other entities that hold or represent interests in fixed-income securities. The Fund may also invest in derivatives based on foreign currencies. In addition, the Fund may use derivatives and short sales to enhance returns as part of an overall investment strategy or to offset a potential decline in the value of other holdings (commonly referred to as a hedge), although the Fund is not required to hedge and may choose not to do so. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities to achieve its primary investment strategies. The Fund is classified as diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act).
Top holdings
As of Jan. 31, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLKR-LIQ T-INS | TSTXX | $124.79M | 9.79% |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA | FNMA | $59.10M | 4.63% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $46.09M | 3.61% |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA | FNMA | $36.48M | 2.86% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $32.65M | 2.56% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $31.85M | 2.50% |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA | FNMA | $28.38M | 2.23% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $27.32M | 2.14% |
| Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA | FNMA | $25.05M | 1.96% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $19.16M | 1.50% |
Portfolio moves
Oct 31, 2025 → Jan 31, 2026How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| iShares Total Return Active ETF | 30% | 0.38% |
| BlackRock Total Return Fund | 20% | 0.37% |
| BlackRock Total Return V.I. Fund | 19% | 0.47% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| BlackRock Fund Advisors | Adviser |
| BlackRock International Limited | Sub-adviser |
| BlackRock (Singapore) Limited | Sub-adviser |
Footnotes
- Net assets and holdings count as of January 31, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
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