Summary

• The BlackRock Balanced Fund posted returns of -0.22% for Institutional shares and -0.29% for Investor A shares for the first quarter of 2026.
• The fund's outperformance of its benchmark was led by tactical asset allocation and equity security selection strategies, while fixed income selection was slightly negative.
• The fund maintained a moderate overweight allocation to equities, with tilts toward Japanese and select global exposures and a structural overweight allocation to credit.
• Performance was led by equity selection, driven by sentiment and linkage-based signals and a timely rotation into valuation and quality factors following a regime shift.
• The fund managers expect greater cross-asset and intra-sector dispersion, maintaining a cautious stance on duration, a structural preference for credit, and selective equity exposures.

• The fund posted returns of -0.22% (Institutional shares) and -0.29% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the first quarter of 2026.

• The fund's outperformance of its benchmark was led by tactical asset allocation