Total Return Fund | MSHQX

Overview

Diversify your core bonds

The BlackRock Total Return Fund is a core bond strategy that employs a multi-sector approach to navigating all market cycles while seeking to generate returns from diverse sources.

Diversified, core bond portfolio

Sources ideas across BlackRock's bond platform

Seeks to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns for all bond market scenarios

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Total Return Fund Monthly Commentary

Find out how the BlackRock Total Return Fund is positioned for today's markets.
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Monthly Commentary

See how total return fund outperformed with less risk

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Investor guide

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Performance

Returns

Average Annual
Cumulative
Calendar Year

	1y	3y	5y	10y
Total Return (%) Total return represents changes to the NAV and accounts for distributions from the fund. as of Dec 31, 2019	9.49	3.96	3.04	4.60
Benchmark (%) Index: BBG Barc U.S. Aggregate Index.<br /><br /> Index returns are for illustrative purposes only. Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results. as of Dec 31, 2019	8.72	4.03	3.05	3.75
Morningstar Category Avg. (%) Intermediate Core-Plus Bond as of Dec 31, 2019	8.94	4.12	3.14	4.27
Morningstar Ranking Rankings are based on total return excluding sales charges, independently calculated and not combined to create an overall ranking. as of Dec 31, 2019	252/613	321/530	253/444	84/332
Morningstar Quartile Rankings based on total return excluding sales charges, independently calculated and not combined to create an overall ranking. as of Dec 31, 2019	2	3	3	2
Lipper Category Avg. (%) Core Bond Funds as of Dec 31, 2019	8.70	3.80	2.86	3.79
Lipper Ranking Rankings are based on total return excluding sales charges. as of Dec 31, 2019	138/514	196/454	141/391	29/296
Lipper Quartile Rankings are based on total return excluding sales charges. as of Dec 31, 2019	2	2	2	1

Missing average annual returns data

	YTD	1m	3m	1y	3y	5y	10y
Total Return (%) Total return represents changes to the NAV and accounts for distributions from the fund. as of Dec 31, 2019	9.49	0.23	0.49	9.49	12.36	16.13	56.78
Benchmark (%) Index: BBG Barc U.S. Aggregate Index.<br /><br /> Index returns are for illustrative purposes only. Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results. as of Dec 31, 2019	8.72	-0.07	0.18	8.72	12.58	16.20	44.45
Morningstar Category Avg. (%) Intermediate Core-Plus Bond as of Dec 31, 2019	8.94	0.11	0.38	8.94	12.89	16.74	51.94
Lipper Category Avg. (%) Core Bond Funds as of Dec 31, 2019	8.70	-0.02	0.21	8.70	11.84	15.18	45.29

Missing cumulative returns data

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Total Return (%) Total return represents changes to the NAV and accounts for distributions from the fund.	0.12	3.23	3.85	-1.18	9.49
Benchmark (%) Index: BBG Barc U.S. Aggregate Index<br /><br /> Index returns are for illustrative purposes only. Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance does not guarantee future results.	0.55	2.65	3.54	0.01	8.72
Morningstar Category Avg. (%) Intermediate Core-Plus Bond	-0.45	3.86	4.27	-0.61	8.94

Missing calendar year returns data

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.

Growth of Hypothetical $10,000 The growth of hypothetical $10,000 chart reflects a hypothetical $10,000 investment and assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Fund expenses, including management fees and other expenses were deducted.

Performance chart data not available for display.

Growth of Hypothetical $10,000
Historical NAVs

Total Return Fund ($)

Cum. Fund Perf. Since Inception: 111.49

Source: Lipper. Data reflects different methodology from the BlackRock calculated returns in the Returns tab. The $10,000 Hypothetical Over Time chart reflects a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the investor class of shares noted and does not assume the max sales charge. Had sales charge been included, returns would have been lower. The chart uses total return NAV performance and assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Fund expenses, including 12b-1 fees, management fees and other expenses were deducted. Performance for other share classes will vary.

Historical NAVs

Distributions

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Recent
Calendar Year

Chart
Table

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Ex-Date	Payable Date	Record Date	Total Distribution Current year distributions are not classified as “Income,” “Short-Term Capital Gains,” “Long-Term Capital Gains,” or “Return of Capital” until approximately 60 days following calendar year-end.	Income	ST Cap Gains	LT Cap Gains	Return of Capital

Chart
Table

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Year	Total Distribution Current year distributions are not classified as “Income,” “Short-Term Capital Gains,” “Long-Term Capital Gains,” or “Return of Capital” until calendar year-end.	Income	ST Cap Gains	LT Cap Gains

Past distributions are not indicative of future distributions.
Click here, for the most recent distributions.

Key Facts

Size of Class (Millions) as of Jan 28, 2020 $130.4 M

Size of Fund (Millions) as of Jan 28, 2020 $16,663.1 M

Share Class launch date Dec 07, 2001

Asset Class Fixed Income

Morningstar Category Intermediate Core-Plus Bond

Lipper Classification Core Bond Funds

Benchmark Index BBG Barc U.S. Aggregate Index

CUSIP 09252M768

Distribution Frequency How often a distribution is paid by the fund. The most common distribution frequencies are annually, biannually and quarterly. Monthly

Number of Holdings as of Dec 31, 2019 3,455

Max Offer Price as of Jan 28, 2020 $12.07

Open to New Investors Yes

Turnover Percent as of Dec 31, 2019 574%

Portfolio Characteristics

Alpha (3y) Compared to Fund has no benchmark. Alpha is calculated at the portfolio level. A measure of performance on a risk-adjusted basis. Alpha takes the volatility (price risk) of a mutual fund and compares its risk-adjusted performance to a benchmark index. The excess return of the fund relative to the return of the benchmark index is a fund's alpha. as of Dec 31, 2019 0.02

R-Squared (3y) as of Dec 31, 2019 93.84

Beta (3y) as of Dec 31, 2019 0.93

30 Day SEC Yield A standard calculation of yield introduced by the SEC in order to provide fairer comparison among funds. This yield reflects the interest earned after deducting the fund's expenses during the most recent 30-day period by the average investor in the fund. Negative 30-Day SEC Yield results when accrued expenses of the past 30 days exceed the income collected during the past 30 days. as of Dec 31, 2019 2.29%

Unsubsidized 30-Day SEC Yield Represents what a fund's 30-Day SEC Yield would have been had no fee waiver or expense reimbursement been in place over the period. as of Dec 31, 2019 2.29%

Yield to Maturity Yield to Maturity (YTM) is the discount rate that equates the present value of a bond's cash flows with its market price (including accrued interest). The Fund Average YTM is the weighted average of the fund's individual bond holding YTMs based upon Net Asset Value ('NAV'). The measure does not include fees and expenses. For callable bonds, YTM is the yield-to-worst. as of Dec 31, 2019 3.28%

Yield to Worst The average rate of return of the portfolio at current market prices, adjusting for optionality. as of Dec 31, 2019 3.03%

Effective Duration Effective Duration measures the sensitivity of the price of a bond with or without embedded options to changes in interest rates, taking into account the likelihood of the bond being called, put and/or sunk prior to its final maturity date while incorporating after-tax impacts on the bond. The options-based duration model used by BlackRock employs certain assumptions and may differ from other fund complexes. Effective Duration is measured at the individual bond level, aggregated to the portfolio level, and adjusted for leverage, hedging transactions and non-bond holdings, including derivatives. as of Dec 31, 2019 6.09 yrs

Weighted Average Life Nominal Weighted Average Life is shown. Weighted Average Life is the average number of years for which each dollar of unpaid principal on a loan or mortgage remains outstanding. as of Dec 31, 2019 6.98 yrs

Best 3-Month Return Over the Last 3 Years 3 months ending Aug 31, 2019 4.19%

Worst 3-Month Return Over the Last 3 Years 3 months ending Apr 30, 2018 -1.50%

For the latest month-end Distribution Yield, click here.

This information must be preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus. For standardized performance, please see the Performance section above.

Fees

as of current prospectus

Gross Expense Ratio	0.75%
Net Expense Ratio The difference between gross and net expense ratios are due to contractual and/or voluntary waivers, if applicable. Any applicable contractual waiver will be terminable upon 90 days’ notice. BlackRock may agree to voluntarily waive certain fees and expenses, which the adviser may discontinue at any time without notice. For this share class, the contractual waiver end date is Jan 31, 2021.	0.75%

Net Expense Ratio excluding Investment Related Expenses is 0.74%

Ratings

Morningstar Rating

Overall Total Return Fund received a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars for the 3-year period, 3 stars for the 5-year period and 4 stars for the 10-year period, rated against 530, 444 and 332 Intermediate Core-Plus Bond Funds, respectively. Performance results represent past performance and are no guarantee of future results. The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Morningstar Ratings are for the share classes cited only; other classes may have different ratings.

Overall Morningstar Rating for Total Return Fund, Service, as of Dec 31, 2019 rated against 530 Intermediate Core-Plus Bond Funds based on risk adjusted total return.

Lipper Leader

Lipper Leader Ratings

Consistent Return Total Return Fund received the following Consistent Return ratings for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, respectively: 3 (451 funds), 4 (388 funds), and 5 (293 funds). Lipper ratings for Consistent Return reflect funds' historical risk-adjusted returns, adjusted for volatility, relative to peers.

Total Return Total Return Fund received the following Total Return ratings for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, respectively: 3 (454 funds), 4 (391 funds), and 5 (296 funds). Lipper ratings for Total Return reflect funds' historical total return performance relative to peers.

Overall Lipper Leaders ratings based on an equal-weighted average of percentile ranks for each measure over 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods (if applicable) and do not take into account the effects of sales charges for these categories (Consistent Return, Preservation, Total Return, Expense, and Tax Efficiency) as of Dec 31, 2019 out of 451, 5,840, 454, 129 and 454 Funds, respectively in Lipper's Core Bond Funds classification.

Morningstar Analyst Rating

Morningstar has awarded the Fund a Gold medal, its highest level of conviction. (Effective Dec 09, 2019) ‡

Holdings

as of Dec 31, 2019

Name	Weight (%)
UNIFORM MBS	25.17
UNITED STATES TREASURY	11.41
FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION	9.61
GOVERNMENT NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION II	9.61
FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION	2.76

Name	Weight (%)
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO	1.41
BANK OF AMERICA CORP	1.34
FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION -GOLD	0.93
WELLS FARGO & COMPANY	0.77
MEXICO (UNITED MEXICAN STATES) (GOVERNMENT)	0.71

as of Dec 31, 2019

% Notional Exposures % of Notional Exposures is a breakdown designed to represent a fund’s ownership of both traditional fixed income securities and derivatives including, but not limited to, futures, options and swap contracts. For traditional fixed income securities, there is no difference between the market value and the notional exposure. For derivatives, the notional exposure represents the exposure to the underlying assets plus the value of the financing (or lending) associated with the implementation of these derivatives. The sum of all exposures (both market value and notional exposure) is equal to the fund’s net asset value (open-end) or net managed assets (closed-end). Net Derivatives represents the approximate net notional value of the longs less the short derivatives held in the fund.

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as of Dec 31, 2019

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as of Dec 31, 2019

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as of Dec 31, 2019

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Allocations subject to change.

as of Dec 31, 2019

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as of Dec 31, 2019

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as of Dec 31, 2019

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The fund itself has not been rated by an independent rating agency. Credit quality ratings on underlying securities of the fund are received from S&P, Moody’s and Fitch and converted to the equivalent S&P major rating category. This breakdown is provided by BlackRock and takes the median rating of the three agencies when all three agencies rate a security the lower of the two ratings if only two agencies rate a security and one rating if that is all that is provided. Unrated securities do not necessarily indicate low quality. Below investment-grade is represented by a rating of BB and below. Ratings and portfolio credit quality may change over time.

Negative weightings may result from specific circumstances (including timing differences between trade and settle dates of securities purchased by the funds) and/or the use of certain financial instruments, including derivatives, which may be used to gain or reduce market exposure and/or risk management. Certain transactions the funds may utilize may give rise to a form of leverage through either (a) additional market exposure or (b) borrowing capital in an attempt to increase investment return. The use of such transactions includes certain leverage-related risks, including potential for higher volatility, greater decline of the fund’s net asset value and fluctuations of dividends and distributions paid by the fund.

Allocations are subject to change.

21 of 24 U.S. bond funds, accounting for 98% of our active mutual fund assets, outperformed within their Morningstar peer groups. Based on institutional share class.^*

Portfolio Managers

Chief Investment Officer and Co-Head of Global Fixed Income

Rick Rieder, Managing Director, is BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income, and Co-head of BlackRock's Global Fixed Income platform, a member of BlackRock's Global Operating Committee and Chairman of the BlackRock firm-wide Investment Council.

Before joining BlackRock in 2009, Mr. Rieder was President and Chief Executive Officer of R3 Capital Partners. He served as Vice Chairman and member of the Borrowing Committee for the U.S. Treasury. Mr. Rieder is currently a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Investment Advisory Committee on Financial Markets, and was inducted into the Fixed Income Analysts Society Fixed Income Hall of Fame in 2013, and was nominated for Fixed Income Manager of the Year by Institutional Investor for 2014.

From 1987 to 2008, Mr. Rieder was with Lehman Brothers, most recently as head of the firm's Global Principal Strategies team, a global proprietary investment platform. He was also global head of the firm's credit businesses, Chairman of the Corporate Bond and Loan Capital Commitment Committee, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the corporate pension fund. Before joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Rieder was a credit analyst at SunTrust Banks in Atlanta.

Mr. Rieder earned a BBA degree in Finance from Emory University in 1983 and an MBA degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. He is a member of the board of Emory University, Emory's Business School, and the University's Investment Committee and is the Vice Chairman of the Finance Committee. Mr. Rieder is founder and chairman of the business school's BBA investment fund and community financial literacy program.

Mr. Rieder serves as Chairman of the Board of North Star Academy's eleven Charter Schools in Newark, New Jersey and is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Graduation Generation Public School Collaboration in Atlanta. He is a Trustee for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and on the board of advisors for the Hospital for Special Surgery. He serves on the National Leadership Council of the Communities in Schools Educational Foundation and on the board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Newark and Essex County Mr. Rieder was honored at the Choose Success Awards ceremony in Atlanta in 2015 for his dedication to public education in Atlanta through CIS and Graduation Generation.

Head of U.S. Multi-Sector Fixed Income

Managing Director

Portfolio Manager

Read the Team's Commentary

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Important Information

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by visiting the iShares Fund and BlackRock Fund prospectus pages. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

BlackRock offers investments across a comprehensive range of asset classes and exposures, addressing investor needs with respect to growth, income, and capital preservation.

Source: BlackRock and Morningstar as of 9/30/19.
^*Based on 5-year performance. 21 of 24 fixed income funds outperformed their respective Morningstar category median 5-year performance. 21 of 24 fixed income funds accounts for 88% of BlackRock active fixed income mutual funds. Over the 1, 3, 5 and 10-year periods, 14, 19, 21 and 19 of BlackRock fixed income funds outperformed the Morningstar category median. 22 funds have 5-year performance track records. Based on institutional share classes of BlackRock open-end taxable and tax-free fixed income funds (based on 24 funds). 98% statistic based on $71.1B out of $72.9B AUM of all institutional share classes of the funds. Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (institutional share class) AUM is $22.7B which accounts for 31% of the total $72.9B AUM of funds that outperformed their Morningstar category median 5-year performance.

The portfolio holdings information shown for BlackRock Total Return Fund (the “Fund”) on this site are the portfolio holdings of Master Total Return Portfolio (the “Master Portfolio”). The Fund is a “feeder” fund that invests all of its assets in the Master Portfolio, a mutual fund that has the same investment objectives and strategies as the Fund. All investments are made at the level of the Master Portfolio. The Fund’s investment results will correspond directly to the investment results of the Master Portfolio. Because the Master Portfolio may have other investors, the percentage of the Master Portfolio held by the Fund may change from time to time. As of August 31, 2019, the Fund held 94.80% of the Master Portfolio.

The fund is actively managed and its characteristics will vary.

Bond values fluctuate in price so the value of your investment can go down depending on market conditions.

International investing involves special risks including, but not limited to currency fluctuations, illiquidity and volatility. These risks may be heightened for investments in emerging markets.

Fixed income risks include interest-rate and credit risk. Typically, when interest rates rise, there is a corresponding decline in bond values. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the bond issuer will not be able to make principal and interest payments.

Principal of mortgage- or asset-backed securities normally may be prepaid at any time, reducing the yield and market value of those securities.

Obligations of US govt. agencies are supported by varying degrees of credit but generally are not backed by the full faith and credit of the US govt.

Non-investment-grade debt securities (high-yield/junk bonds) may be subject to greater market fluctuations, risk of default or loss of income and principal than higher rated securities.

The fund may use derivatives to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. Derivatives entail risks relating to liquidity, leverage and credit that may reduce returns and increase volatility.

Short-selling entails special risks. If the fund makes short sales in securities that increase in value, the fund will lose value. Any loss on short positions may or may not be offset by investing short-sale proceeds in other investments.

‡Morningstar Analyst Rating^™is not a credit or risk rating. It is a subjective evaluation performed by Morningstar’s manager research group, which consists of various Morningstar, Inc. subsidiaries (“Manager Research Group”). In the United States, that subsidiary is Morningstar Research Services LLC, which is registered with and governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Manager Research Group evaluates funds based on five key pillars, which are process, performance, people, parent, and price. The Manager Research Group uses this five pillar evaluation to determine how they believe funds are likely to perform relative to a benchmark, or in the case of exchange-traded funds and index mutual funds, a relevant peer group, over the long term on a risk-adjusted basis. They consider quantitative and qualitative factors in their research, and the weight of each pillar may vary. The Analyst Rating scale is Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative. A Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold, Silver, or Bronze reflects the Manager Research Group’s conviction in a fund’s prospects for outperformance. Analyst Ratings ultimately reflect the Manager Research Group’s overall assessment, are overseen by an Analyst Rating Committee, and are continuously monitored and reevaluated at least every 14 months. For more detailed information about Morningstar’s Analyst Rating, including its methodology, please go to global.morningstar.com/managerdisclosures/.

The Morningstar Analyst Rating (i) should not be used as the sole basis in evaluating a fund, (ii) involves unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause Analyst expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what they expected, and (iii) should not be considered an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the fund.

Performance results reflect past performance and are no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of shares will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. All returns assume reinvestment of all dividends. Performance information shown without sales charge would have been lower if the applicable sales charge had been included. Performance during periods of exceptional market conditions should not be expected to be repeated in a normal market environment. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Fund details, holdings and characteristics are as of the date noted and subject to change.

Yields are based on income earned for the period cited and on the Fund's NAV at the end of the period.

Some BlackRock funds make distributions of ordinary income and capital gains at calendar year end. Those distributions temporarily cause extraordinarily high yields. There is no assurance that a fund will repeat that yield in the future. Subsequent monthly distributions that do not include ordinary income or capital gains in the form of dividends will likely be lower.

The Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its affiliates, “BlackRock”).

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