Form N-CSRS BlackRock Advantage SMID For: Sep 30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-02809

 

Name of Fund:

BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

 

Fund Address:

100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19809

Name and address of agent for service: John M. Perlowski, Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc., 55 East 52^nd Street, New York, NY 10055

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (800) 441-7762

Date of fiscal year end: 03/31/2023

Date of reporting period: 09/30/2022

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Item 1 – Report to Stockholders

(a) The Report to Shareholders is attached herewith.

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		SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

 

		2022 Semi-Annual Report (Unaudited)

 

BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

 

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee

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Table of Contents

 

		Page
The Markets in Review			2
Semi-Annual Report:
Fund Summary			4
About Fund Performance			7
Disclosure of Expenses			7
Derivative Financial Instruments			8
Financial Statements:
Schedule of Investments			9
Statement of Assets and Liabilities			16
Statement of Operations			18
Statements of Changes in Net Assets			19
Financial Highlights			20
Notes to Financial Statements			25
Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement			34
Additional Information			37
Glossary of Terms Used in this Report			39

 

 

 

 

 

		3

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Fund Summary  as of September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

 

Investment Objective

BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.’s (the “Fund”) investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation.

Portfolio Management Commentary

How did the Fund perform?

For the six-month period ended September 30, 2022, the Fund outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 2500TM Index.

What factors influenced performance?

The Fund performed well during the period in navigating highly changeable market conditions. Equities continued their sharp decline as markets posted the worst first-half returns in any year since 1970. A brief respite in May 2022 proved short-lived as the focus of the financial markets returned to monetary policy normalization against persistent inflation. The Fed raised rates by 75 basis points in June 2022, the largest increase since 1994, while economic data simultaneously signaled softer growth. In particular, U.S. consumer sentiment sharply declined amid rising prices and borrowing costs. This highlighted the build-up in recessionary fears, as market participants questioned how policymakers could engineer a “soft landing.” Unsurprisingly, growth investment styles once again underperformed value given the economic uncertainty.

July 2022 began with hopes for a dovish policy pivot from the Fed as growth concerns mounted, prompting a bear market rally from June’s lows. However, central banks reiterated their focus on tamping down inflation. The subsequent selloff led equities to new lows for the year. This coincided with inflation and labor market data showing continued strength, a theme that data predicted, as the Fed delivered two more consecutive 75 basis point rate hikes in July and September 2022. The rise in short-term rates established an inverted yield curve, which is typically a recessionary sign. Towards period-end, manufacturing data began to decline, while analysts downgraded earnings forecasts. Yet the focus remained on inflation, labor markets, and the future direction of policy.

Fundamental insights were mixed during the period, with certain fundamental measures performing well, led by a debt maturity insight that successfully positioned the portfolio in the financial sector. More traditional insights, such as those evaluating research expenditures across price and those looking at financial statement metrics across price, also provided gains. These insights performed well as they correctly positioned the portfolio around healthcare stocks. Elsewhere, faster-moving trend-based sentiment measures provided gains, as they captured evolving market themes. Insights that look at text analysis of earnings calls and mobile app usage correctly captured relative outperformance among consumer discretionary stocks. Lastly, stability-related measures with a preference for lower-risk securities also performed well amid the risk-off tone seen in the market.

By contrast, non-traditional fundamental quality insights, which tend to have a more pro-growth flavor, struggled given the preference for value styles early in the period. Insights looking at founder-led firms were notably weak across consumer staples stocks. Later in the period, the portfolio’s defensive posture, driven by industry-related macro as well as sustainability insights, were leading detractors from performance. Environment social governance (“ESG”)-related insights, such as human capital insights that evaluate corporate culture as well as company benefits, detracted as they motivated an unsuccessful overweight allocation to information technology (“IT”) stocks.

Describe recent portfolio activity.

The Fund maintained a balanced allocation of risk across all major drivers of return during the period. However, there were several new stock selection insights added to the Fund. The Fund built upon its existing alternative data capabilities by adding an insight capturing brand sentiment from consumers, most notably across retail stocks. Additionally, given the dynamic nature of the current market environment, the Fund instituted enhanced signal constructs to identify emerging trends, such as sentiment surrounding supply chain disruptions and wage inflation.

Describe portfolio positioning at period end.

From a sector positioning perspective, relative to the Russell 2500^® Index, the Fund’s positioning remained largely sector-neutral. The Fund maintained slight overweight allocations to consumer discretionary and IT stocks, and maintained slight underweight positions in the materials and consumer staples sectors.

The views expressed reflect the opinions of BlackRock as of the date of this report and are subject to change based on changes in market, economic or other conditions. These views are not intended to be a forecast of future events and are no guarantee of future results.

 

 

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Fund Summary  as of September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

 

Performance

 

										Average Annual Total Returns(a)(b)
										1 Year												5 Years												10 Years
		6-Month Total Returns								Without Sales Charge				With Sales Charge								Without Sales Charge				With Sales Charge								Without Sales Charge				With Sales Charge
Institutional			(18.32	)%							(19.77	)%			N/A								5.31	%			N/A								9.07	%			N/A
Investor A			(18.42	)							(19.97	)			(24.17	)%							5.05				3.93	%							8.79				8.21	%
Investor C			(18.69	)							(20.54	)			(21.24	)							4.28				4.28								8.10				8.10
Class K			(18.29	)							(19.75	)			N/A								5.35				N/A								9.09				N/A
Class R			(18.53	)							(20.16	)			N/A								4.81				N/A								8.50				N/A
Russell 2500TM Index(c)			(19.32	)							(21.11	)			N/A								5.45				N/A								9.58				N/A

 

(a)

Assuming maximum sales charges, if any. Average annual total returns with and without sales charges reflect reductions for distribution and service fees. See “About Fund Performance” for a detailed description of share classes, including any related sales charges and fees, and how performance was calculated for certain share classes.

(b)

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 equity securities of U.S. small and medium capitalization companies, and derivatives that have similar economic characteristics to such securities. The Fund primarily intends to invest in equity securities or other financial instruments that are components of, or have characteristics similar to, the securities included in the Russell 2500™ Index. The Fund’s total returns for the period between December 15, 2017 and February 8, 2021 are the returns of the Fund when it followed different investment strategies under the name “BlackRock Advantage U.S. Total Market Fund, Inc.” The Fund’s total returns for the period prior to December 15, 2017 are the returns of the Fund when it followed a different investment objective and different investment strategies under the name “BlackRock Value Opportunities Fund, Inc.”

(c)

An index that measures the performance of the small to mid-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, commonly referred to as “smid” cap. The Russell 2500™ Index is a subset of the Russell 3000® Index. It includes approximately 2,500 of the smallest securities based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership.

N/A - Not applicable as share class and index do not have a sales charge.

Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Performance results may include adjustments made for financial reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Expense Example

 

		Actual																Hypothetical 5% Return
		Beginning Account Value (04/01/22)				Ending Account Value (09/30/22)				Expenses   Paid During   the Period(a)								Beginning Account Value (04/01/22)				Ending Account Value (09/30/22)				Expenses   Paid During   the Period(a)				Annualized Expense Ratio
Institutional		$	1,000.00			$	816.80			$	2.18							$	1,000.00			$	1,022.67			$	2.43				0.48	%
Investor A			1,000.00				815.80				3.32								1,000.00				1,021.42				3.70				0.73
Investor C			1,000.00				813.10				6.72								1,000.00				1,017.66				7.49				1.48
Class K			1,000.00				817.10				1.95								1,000.00				1,022.92				2.18				0.43
Class R			1,000.00				814.70				4.45								1,000.00				1,020.16				4.96				0.98

 

(a)

For each class of the Fund, expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio for the class, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/365 (to reflect the one-half year period shown).

See “Disclosure of Expenses” for further information on how expenses were calculated.

 

 

F U N D  S U M M A R Y		5

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Fund Summary  as of September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

 

Portfolio Information

 

(a)

Excludes short-term investments.

(b)

For Fund compliance purposes, the Fund’s sector classifications refer to one or more of the sector sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or ratings group indexes, and/or as defined by the investment adviser. These definitions may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine such sector sub-classifications for reporting ease.

 

 

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About Fund Performance

 

Institutional and Class K Shares are not subject to any sales charge. These shares bear no ongoing distribution or service fees and are available only to certain eligible investors. Class K Shares performance shown prior to the Class K Shares inception date of January 25, 2018 is that of Institutional Shares. The performance of the Fund’s Class K Shares would be substantially similar to Institutional Shares because Class K Shares and Institutional Shares invest in the same portfolio of securities and performance would only differ to the extent that Class K Shares and Institutional Shares have different expenses. The actual returns of Class K Shares would have been higher than those of the Institutional Shares because Class K Shares have lower expenses than the Institutional Shares.

Investor A Shares are subject to a maximum initial sales charge (front-end load) of 5.25% and a service fee of 0.25% per year (but no distribution fee). Certain redemptions of these shares may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase. These shares are generally available through financial intermediaries.

Investor C Shares are subject to a 1.00% CDSC if redeemed within one year of purchase. In addition, these shares are subject to a distribution fee of 0.75% per year and a service fee of 0.25% per year. These shares are generally available through financial intermediaries. These shares automatically convert to Investor A Shares after approximately eight years.

Class R Shares are not subject to any sales charge. These shares are subject to a distribution fee of 0.25% per year and a service fee of 0.25% per year. These shares are available only to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. These circumstances may continue for an extended period of time and may continue to affect adversely the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. As a result, current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Refer to blackrock.com to obtain performance data current to the most recent month-end. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares. Figures shown in the performance table(s) assume reinvestment of all distributions, if any, at net asset value (“NAV”) on the ex-dividend date or payable date, as applicable. Investment return and principal value of shares will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Distributions paid to each class of shares will vary because of the different levels of service, distribution and transfer agency fees applicable to each class, which are deducted from the income available to be paid to shareholders.

BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager”), the Fund’s investment adviser, has contractually and/or voluntarily agreed to waive and/or reimburse a portion of the Fund’s expenses. Without such waiver(s) and/or reimbursement(s), the Fund’s performance would have been lower. With respect to the Fund’s voluntary waiver(s), if any, the Manager is under no obligation to waive and/or reimburse or to continue waiving and/or reimbursing its fees and such voluntary waiver(s) may be reduced or discontinued at any time. With respect to the Fund’s contractual waiver(s), if any, the Manager is under no obligation to continue waiving and/or reimbursing its fees after the applicable termination date of such agreement. See the Notes to Financial Statements for additional information on waivers and/or reimbursements.

Disclosure of Expenses

Shareholders of the Fund may incur the following charges: (a) transactional expenses, such as sales charges; and (b) operating expenses, including investment advisory fees, administration fees, service and distribution fees, including 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, and other fund expenses. The expense example shown (which is based on a hypothetical investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held through the end of the period) is intended to assist shareholders both in calculating expenses based on an investment in the Fund and in comparing these expenses with similar costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The expense example provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. Annualized expense ratios reflect contractual and voluntary fee waivers, if any. In order to estimate the expenses a shareholder paid during the period covered by this report, shareholders can divide their account value by $1,000 and then multiply the result by the number corresponding to their share class under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During the Period.”

The expense example also provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses. In order to assist shareholders in comparing the ongoing expenses of investing in the Fund and other funds, compare the 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in shareholder reports of other funds.

The expenses shown in the expense example are intended to highlight shareholders’ ongoing costs only and do not reflect transactional expenses, such as sales charges, if any. Therefore, the hypothetical example is useful in comparing ongoing expenses only and will not help shareholders determine the relative total expenses of owning different funds. If these transactional expenses were included, shareholder expenses would have been higher.

 

 

A B O U T  F U N D  P E R F O R M A  N C E  /  D I S C L O S U R E  O F  E X P E N S E S		7

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Derivative Financial Instruments

 

The Fund may invest in various derivative financial instruments. These instruments are used to obtain exposure to a security, commodity, index, market, and/or other assets without owning or taking physical custody of securities, commodities and/or other referenced assets or to manage market, equity, credit, interest rate, foreign currency exchange rate, commodity and/or other risks. Derivative financial instruments may give rise to a form of economic leverage and involve risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of a derivative financial instrument and the underlying asset, possible default of the counterparty to the transaction or illiquidity of the instrument. Pursuant to Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, among other things, the Fund must either use derivative financial instruments with embedded leverage in a limited manner or comply with an outer limit on fund leverage risk based on value-at-risk. The Fund’s successful use of a derivative financial instrument depends on the investment adviser’s ability to predict pertinent market movements accurately, which cannot be assured. The use of these instruments may result in losses greater than if they had not been used, may limit the amount of appreciation the Fund can realize on an investment and/or may result in lower distributions paid to shareholders. The Fund’s investments in these instruments, if any, are discussed in detail in the Notes to Financial Statements.

 

 

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Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

 

 

S C H E D U L E  O F   I N V E S T M E  N T S		9

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Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued) September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

 

 

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Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued) September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S  T M E N T S		11

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Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued) September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

 

 

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Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued) September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

 

 

S C H E D U L E  O F   I N V E S T M E  N T S		13

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Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued) September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Affiliates

Investments in issuers considered to be affiliate(s) of the Fund during the six months ended September 30, 2022 for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

Affiliated Issuer		Value at 03/31/22				Purchases at Cost				Proceeds from Sale				Net Realized Gain (Loss)				Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)				Value at 09/30/22				Shares Held at 09/30/22				Income				Capital Gain Distributions from Underlying Funds
BlackRock Liquidity Funds, T-Fund, Institutional Class		$	6,423,445			$	—			$	(3,982,174	)(a)		$	—			$	—			$	2,441,271				2,441,271			$	20,184			$	—
SL Liquidity Series, LLC, Money Market Series			751,630				4,125,973	(a)			—				840				581				4,879,024				4,879,024				24,646	(b)			—
														$	840			$	581			$	7,320,295							$	44,830			$	—

 

(a)

Represents net amount purchased (sold).

(b)

All or a portion represents securities lending income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral from loaned securities, net of fees and collateral investment expenses, and other payments to and from borrowers of securities.

For Fund compliance purposes, the Fund’s sector classifications refer to one or more of the sector sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or rating group indexes, and/or as defined by the investment adviser. These definitions may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine such sector sub-classifications for reporting ease.

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Futures Contracts

 

Description		Number of Contracts				Expiration Date				Notional Amount (000)				Value/ Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)
Long Contracts
S&P 500 E-Mini Index			20				12/16/22			$	3,602			$	(264,750	)

 

 

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Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued) September 30, 2022		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure

As of period end, the fair values of derivative financial instruments located in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities were as follows:

 

		Commodity Contracts				Credit Contracts				Equity Contracts				Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts				Interest Rate Contracts				Other Contracts				Total
Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments
Futures contracts
Unrealized depreciation on futures contracts		$	—			$	—			$	264,750			$	—			$	—			$	—			$	264,750

For the period ended September 30, 2022, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statement of Operations was as follows:

 

		Commodity Contracts				Credit Contracts				Equity Contracts				Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts				Interest Rate Contracts				Other Contracts				Total
Net Realized Gain (Loss) from
Futures contracts		$	—			$	—			$	(293,516	)		$	—			$	—			$	—			$	(293,516	)
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on
Futures contracts		$	—			$	—			$	(566,826	)		$	—			$	—			$	—			$	(566,826	)

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

Futures contracts
Average notional value of contracts — long		$	3,600,763

For more information about the Fund’s investment risks regarding derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End

Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. For a description of the input levels and information about the Fund’s policy regarding valuation of financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

The following table summarizes the Fund’s financial instruments categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The breakdown of the Fund’s financial instruments into major categories is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments above.

 

		Level 1				Level 2				Level 3				Total
Assets
Investments
Long-Term Investments
Common Stocks		$	300,320,604			$	—			$	—			$	300,320,604
Rights			—				—				2,294				2,294
Short-Term Securities
Money Market Funds			2,441,271				—				—				2,441,271
		$	302,761,875			$	—			$	2,294				302,764,169
Investments valued at NAV(a)															4,879,024
														$	307,643,193
Derivative Financial Instruments(b)
Liabilities
Equity Contracts		$	(264,750	)		$	—			$	—			$	(264,750	)

 

(a)

Certain investments of the Fund were fair valued using NAV per share as no quoted market value is available and therefore have been excluded from the fair value hierarchy.

(b)

Derivative financial instruments are futures contracts. Futures contracts are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

S C H E D U L E    O F   I N V E  S T M E N T S		15

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Statement of Assets and Liabilities  (unaudited)

September 30, 2022

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.
ASSETS
Investments, at value — unaffiliated(a)(b)		$	300,322,898
Investments, at value — affiliated(c)			7,320,295
Cash			21,640
Cash pledged for futures contracts			162,000
Receivables:
Investments sold			3,418,119
Securities lending income — affiliated			4,452
Capital shares sold			3,335,922
Dividends — unaffiliated			329,493
Interest — unaffiliated			5,113
From the Manager			37,895
Prepaid expenses			57,202
Total assets			315,015,029
LIABILITIES
Collateral on securities loaned			4,877,818
Payables:
Investments purchased			2,499,252
Administration fees			24,196
Capital shares redeemed			451,745
Investment advisory fees			168,041
Directors’ and Officer’s fees			4,195
Other accrued expenses			165,322
Other affiliate fees			446
Service and distribution fees			43,326
Variation margin on futures contracts			44,998
Total liabilities			8,279,339
NET ASSETS		$	306,735,690
NET ASSETS CONSIST OF:
Paid-in capital		$	383,113,364
Accumulated loss			(76,377,674	)
NET ASSETS		$	306,735,690
(a) Investments, at cost — unaffiliated		$	349,966,558
(b) Securities loaned, at value		$	4,759,472
(c)  Investments, at cost — affiliated		$	7,319,586

 

 

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Statement of Assets and Liabilities  (unaudited) (continued)

September 30, 2022

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.
NET ASSET VALUE Institutional
Net assets		$	74,137,270
Shares outstanding			3,522,615
Net asset value		$	21.05
Shares authorized			100 million
Par value		$	0.10
Investor A
Net assets		$	173,791,742
Shares outstanding			8,859,593
Net asset value		$	19.62
Shares authorized			100 million
Par value		$	0.10
Investor C
Net assets		$	2,928,400
Shares outstanding			333,326
Net asset value		$	8.79
Shares authorized			100 million
Par value		$	0.10
Class K
Net assets		$	51,982,603
Shares outstanding			2,471,122
Net asset value		$	21.04
Shares authorized			2 billion
Par value		$	0.10
Class R
Net assets		$	3,895,675
Shares outstanding			344,889
Net asset value		$	11.30
Shares authorized			100 million
Par value		$	0.10

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S		17

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Statement of Operations  (unaudited)

Six Months Ended September 30, 2022

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.
INVESTMENT INCOME
Dividends — unaffiliated		$	2,784,060
Interest — unaffiliated			20,184
Securities lending income — affiliated — net			24,646
Foreign taxes withheld			(9,132	)
Total investment income			2,819,758
EXPENSES
Investment advisory			860,903
Service and distribution — class specific			277,028
Transfer agent — class specific			183,694
Administration			73,177
Registration			46,453
Administration — class specific			34,445
Accounting services			24,794
Custodian			19,747
Directors and Officer			4,349
Miscellaneous			81,746
Total expenses			1,606,336
Less:
Fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager			(373,504	)
Administration fees waived by the Manager — class specific			(34,445	)
Transfer agent fees waived and/or reimbursed — class specific			(111,025	)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			1,087,362
Net investment income			1,732,396
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)
Net realized gain (loss) from:
Investments — unaffiliated			(19,914,730	)
Investments — affiliated			840
Futures contracts			(293,516	)
			(20,207,406	)
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:
Investments — unaffiliated			(50,962,666	)
Investments — affiliated			581
Futures contracts			(566,826	)
Foreign currency translations			(48	)
			(51,528,959	)
Net realized and unrealized loss			(71,736,365	)
NET DECREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS		$	(70,003,969	)

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

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Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.
		Six Months Ended 09/30/22 (unaudited)				Year Ended 03/31/22
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS
OPERATIONS
Net investment income		$	1,732,396			$	2,399,550
Net realized gain (loss)			(20,207,406	)			9,819,540
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)			(51,528,959	)			(7,503,644	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations			(70,003,969	)			4,715,446
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS(a)
Institutional			—				(31,923,573	)
Investor A			—				(85,567,003	)
Investor C			—				(2,390,635	)
Class K			—				(1,481,135	)
Class R			—				(2,803,795	)
Decrease in net assets resulting from distributions to shareholders			—				(124,166,141	)
CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS
Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions			(8,095,223	)			128,810,173
NET ASSETS
Total increase (decrease) in net assets			(78,099,192	)			9,359,478
Beginning of period			384,834,882				375,475,404
End of period		$	306,735,690			$	384,834,882

 

(a)	Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S		19

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Financial Highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.
		Institutional
			Six Months Ended 09/30/22 (unaudited	)							Year Ended 03/31/22				Year Ended 03/31/21				Year Ended 03/31/20				Year Ended 03/31/19				Year Ended 03/31/18
Net asset value, beginning of period		$	25.77							$	36.31			$	24.09			$	27.40			$	32.34			$	34.88
Net investment income(a)			0.14								0.23				0.33				0.41				0.40				0.17	(b)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			(4.86	)							0.38				13.54				(2.89	)			1.34				2.66
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations			(4.72	)							0.61				13.87				(2.48	)			1.74				2.83
Distributions(c)
From net investment income			—								(0.41	)			(0.28	)			(0.38	)			(0.45	)			(0.09	)
From net realized gain			—								(10.74	)			(1.37	)			(0.45	)			(6.23	)			(5.28	)
Total distributions			—								(11.15	)			(1.65	)			(0.83	)			(6.68	)			(5.37	)
Net asset value, end of period		$	21.05							$	25.77			$	36.31			$	24.09			$	27.40			$	32.34
Total Return(d)
Based on net asset value			(18.32	)%(e)							1.46	%			58.11	%			(9.60	)%			6.76	%			8.48	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)
Total expenses			0.78	%(g)							0.79	%			0.86	%(h)			0.85	%(i)			0.98	%(i)			1.07	%(j)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			0.48	%(g)							0.48	%			0.48	%(h)			0.48	%(i)			0.48	%(i)			0.92	%(j)
Net investment income			1.16	%(g)							0.82	%			1.03	%(h)			1.44	%(i)			1.48	%(i)			0.52	%(b)(j)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)		$	74,137							$	91,738			$	103,266			$	72,044			$	87,248			$	113,466
Portfolio turnover rate			62	%							145	%			208	%(k)			123	%			142	%			147	%

 

(a)	Based on average shares outstanding.

(b)	Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend.

(c)	Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(d)	Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

(e)	Not annualized.

(f)	Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

(g)	Annualized.

(h)

From April 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021, the Fund invested in the Master Advantage SMID Cap LLC (the “Master LLC”) as part of a master-feeder structure and received its corresponding allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income from the Master LLC. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.11%.

(i)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%.

(j)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%.

(k)	Portfolio turnover rate includes transactions from the Master LLC prior to March 1, 2021.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

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Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (continued)
		Investor A
			Six Months Ended 09/30/22 (unaudited	)							Year Ended 03/31/22				Year Ended 03/31/21				Year Ended 03/31/20				Year Ended 03/31/19				Year Ended 03/31/18
Net asset value, beginning of period		$	24.05							$	34.61			$	23.02			$	26.22			$	31.22			$	33.76
Net investment income(a)			0.10								0.15				0.24				0.33				0.32				0.08	(b)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			(4.53	)							0.37				12.93				(2.76	)			1.30				2.58
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations			(4.43	)							0.52				13.17				(2.43	)			1.62				2.66
Distributions(c)
From net investment income			—								(0.34	)			(0.21	)			(0.32	)			(0.39	)			(0.02	)
From net realized gain			—								(10.74	)			(1.37	)			(0.45	)			(6.23	)			(5.18	)
Total distributions			—								(11.08	)			(1.58	)			(0.77	)			(6.62	)			(5.20	)
Net asset value, end of period		$	19.62							$	24.05			$	34.61			$	23.02			$	26.22			$	31.22
Total Return(d)
Based on net asset value			(18.42	)%(e)							1.20	%			57.69	%			(9.79	)%			6.52	%			8.20	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)
Total expenses			1.04	%(g)							1.04	%			1.10	%(h)			1.12	%(i)			1.25	%(i)			1.33	%(j)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			0.73	%(g)							0.73	%			0.73	%(h)			0.73	%(i)			0.73	%(i)			1.19	%(j)
Net investment income			0.91	%(g)							0.57	%			0.78	%(h)			1.19	%(i)			1.24	%(i)			0.23	%(b)(j)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)		$	173,792							$	224,871			$	259,637			$	188,164			$	279,014			$	309,125
Portfolio turnover rate			62	%							145	%			208	%(k)			123	%			142	%			147	%

 

(a)	Based on average shares outstanding.

(b)	Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend.

(c)	Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(d)	Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

(e)	Not annualized.

(f)	Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

(g)	Annualized.

(h)

From April 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021, the Fund invested in the Master LLC as part of a master-feeder structure and received its corresponding allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income from the Master LLC. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.11%.

(i)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%.

(j)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%.

(k)	Portfolio turnover rate includes transactions from the Master LLC prior to March 1, 2021.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   H I G H L I G H T S		21

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Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (continued)
		Investor C
			Six Months Ended (unaudited 09/30/22	)							Year Ended 03/31/22				Year Ended 03/31/21				Year Ended 03/31/20				Year Ended 03/31/19				Year Ended 03/31/18
Net asset value, beginning of period		$	10.81							$	21.55			$	14.52			$	16.83			$	22.38			$	25.28
Net investment income (loss)(a)			0.01								(0.02	)			0.02				0.08				0.08				(0.12	)(b)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			(2.03	)							0.29				8.11				(1.72	)			0.83				1.91
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations			(2.02	)							0.27				8.13				(1.64	)			0.91				1.79
Distributions(c)
From net investment income			—								(0.27	)			—				(0.22	)			(0.23	)			—
From net realized gain			—								(10.74	)			(1.10	)			(0.45	)			(6.23	)			(4.69	)
Total distributions			—								(11.01	)			(1.10	)			(0.67	)			(6.46	)			(4.69	)
Net asset value, end of period		$	8.79							$	10.81			$	21.55			$	14.52			$	16.83			$	22.38
Total Return(d)
Based on net asset value			(18.69	)%(e)							0.42	%			56.51	%			(10.45	)%			5.73	%			7.35	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)
Total expenses			1.93	%(g)							1.92	%			1.92	%(h)			1.98	%(i)			2.12	%(i)			2.16	%(j)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			1.48	%(g)							1.48	%			1.48	%(h)			1.48	%(i)			1.48	%(i)			2.00	%(j)
Net investment income (loss)			0.16	%(g)							(0.17	)%			0.13	%(h)			0.44	%(i)			0.46	%(i)			(0.52	)%(b)(j)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)		$	2,928							$	3,866			$	4,322			$	21,376			$	39,413			$	59,781
Portfolio turnover rate			62	%							145	%			208	%(k)			123	%			142	%			147	%

 

(a)	Based on average shares outstanding.

(b)	Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend.

(c)	Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(d)	Where applicable, excludes the effects of any sales charges and assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

(e)	Not annualized.

(f)	Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

(g)	Annualized.

(h)

From April 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021, the Fund invested in the Master LLC as part of a master-feeder structure and received its corresponding allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income from the Master LLC. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.11%.

(i)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%.

(j)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%.

(k)	Portfolio turnover rate includes transactions from the Master LLC prior to March 1, 2021.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

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Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (continued)
		Class K
			Six Months Ended 09/30/22 (unaudited	)							Year Ended 03/31/22				Year Ended 03/31/21				Year Ended 03/31/20				Year Ended 03/31/19				Period from 01/25/18 to 03/31/18	(a)
Net asset value, beginning of period		$	25.75							$	36.29			$	24.08			$	27.38			$	32.34			$	34.28
Net investment income (loss)(b)			0.14								0.25				0.34				0.43				0.42				(0.06	)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			(4.85	)							0.38				13.54				(2.89	)			1.32				(1.88	)
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations			(4.71	)							0.63				13.88				(2.46	)			1.74				(1.94	)
Distributions(c)
From net investment income			—								(0.43	)			(0.30	)			(0.39	)			(0.47	)			—
From net realized gain			—								(10.74	)			(1.37	)			(0.45	)			(6.23	)			—
Total distributions			—								(11.17	)			(1.67	)			(0.84	)			(6.70	)			—
Net asset value, end of period		$	21.04							$	25.75			$	36.29			$	24.08			$	27.38			$	32.34
Total Return(d)
Based on net asset value			(18.29	)%(e)							1.51	%			58.16	%			(9.53	)%			6.74	%			(5.66	)%(e)
Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)
Total expenses			0.67	%(g)							0.67	%			0.76	%(h)			0.77	%(i)			0.90	%(i)			0.87	%(g)(j)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			0.43	%(g)							0.43	%			0.43	%(h)			0.43	%(i)			0.43	%(i)			0.43	%(g)(j)
Net investment income (loss)			1.22	%(g)							0.94	%			1.08	%(h)			1.49	%(i)			1.53	%(i)			(1.06	)%(g)(j)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)		$	51,983							$	59,019			$	2,372			$	1,549			$	2,241			$	2,736
Portfolio turnover rate			62	%							145	%			208	%(k)			123	%			142	%			147	%

 

(a)	Commencement of operations.

(b)	Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)	Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(d)	Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

(e)	Not annualized.

(f)	Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

(g)	Annualized.

(h)

From April 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021, the Fund invested in the Master LLC as part of a master-feeder structure and received its corresponding allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income from the Master LLC. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.11%.

(i)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%.

(j)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated net expenses and/or net investment income.

(k)	Portfolio turnover rate includes transactions from the Master LLC prior to March 1, 2021.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   H I G H L I G H T S		23

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Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

		BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (continued)
		Class R
			Six Months Ended (unaudited 09/30/22	)							Year Ended 03/31/22				Year Ended 03/31/21				Year Ended 03/31/20				Year Ended 03/31/19				Year Ended 03/31/18
Net asset value, beginning of period		$	13.87							$	24.56			$	16.66			$	19.18			$	24.61			$	27.65
Net investment income(a)			0.04								0.05				0.12				0.19				0.19				(0.00	)(b)(c)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			(2.61	)							0.32				9.31				(1.98	)			0.95				2.07
Net increase (decrease) from investment operations			(2.57	)							0.37				9.43				(1.79	)			1.14				2.07
Distributions(d)
From net investment income			—								(0.32	)			(0.16	)			(0.28	)			(0.34	)			—
From net realized gain			—								(10.74	)			(1.37	)			(0.45	)			(6.23	)			(5.11	)
Total distributions			—								(11.06	)			(1.53	)			(0.73	)			(6.57	)			(5.11	)
Net asset value, end of period		$	11.30							$	13.87			$	24.56			$	16.66			$	19.18			$	24.61
Total Return(e)
Based on net asset value			(18.53	)%(f)							1.01	%			57.23	%			(10.00	)%			6.31	%			7.87	%
Ratios to Average Net Assets(g)
Total expenses			1.45	%(h)							1.43	%			1.40	%(i)			1.41	%(j)			1.54	%(j)			1.60	%(k)
Total expenses after fees waived and/or reimbursed			0.98	%(h)							0.98	%			0.98	%(i)			0.98	%(j)			0.98	%(j)			1.44	%(k)
Net investment income (loss)			0.65	%(h)							0.32	%			0.56	%(i)			0.94	%(j)			0.98	%(j)			(0.01	)%(c)(k)
Supplemental Data
Net assets, end of period (000)		$	3,896							$	5,340			$	5,879			$	8,359			$	17,433			$	22,726
Portfolio turnover rate			62	%							145	%			208	%(l)			123	%			142	%			147	%

 

(a)	Based on average shares outstanding.

(b)	Amount is greater than $(0.005) per share.

(c)	Net investment income per share and the ratio of net investment income to average net assets includes $0.06 per share and 0.20%, respectively, resulting from a special dividend.

(d)	Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(e)	Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

(f)	Not annualized.

(g)	Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

(h)	Annualized.

(i)

From April 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021, the Fund invested in the Master LLC as part of a master-feeder structure and received its corresponding allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income from the Master LLC. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.11%.

(j)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of 0.12%.

(k)	Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived and expenses and/or net investment income. Includes the Fund’s share of the Master LLC’s allocated fees waived of less than 0.01%.

(l)	Portfolio turnover rate includes transactions from the Master LLC prior to March 1, 2021.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited)

 

 

1.	ORGANIZATION

BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Fund is organized as a Maryland corporation. The Fund is classified as diversified.

The Fund offers multiple classes of shares. All classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights and are subject to the same terms and conditions, except that certain classes bear expenses related to the shareholder servicing and distribution of such shares. Institutional and Class K Shares are sold only to certain eligible investors. Investor A, Investor C and Class R Shares bear certain expenses related to shareholder servicing of such shares, and Investor C and Class R Shares also bear certain expenses related to the distribution of such shares. Investor A and Investor C Shares are generally available through financial intermediaries. Class R Shares are sold only to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans. Each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to matters relating to its shareholder servicing and distribution expenditures (except that Investor C shareholders may vote on material changes to the Investor A Shares distribution and service plan).

 

Share Class		Initial Sales Charge		CDSC				Conversion Privilege
Institutional, Class K and Class R Shares		No			No			None
Investor A Shares		Yes			No	(a)		None
Investor C Shares		No			Yes	(b)		To Investor A Shares after approximately 8 years

 

(a)

Investor A Shares may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) for certain redemptions where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase.

(b)

A CDSC of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Investor C Shares made within one year after purchase.

The Fund, together with certain other registered investment companies advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager”) or its affiliates, is included in a complex of open-end equity, multi-asset, index and money market funds referred to as the BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex.

 

2.	SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), which may require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies. Below is a summary of significant accounting policies:

Investment Transactions and Income Recognition: For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the dates the transactions are executed. Realized gains and losses on investment transactions are determined using the specific identification method. Dividend income and capital gain distributions, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend dates. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend dates at fair value. Dividends from foreign securities where the ex-dividend dates may have passed are subsequently recorded when the Fund is informed of the ex-dividend dates. Under the applicable foreign tax laws, a withholding tax at various rates may be imposed on capital gains, dividends and interest. Upon notification from issuers, a portion of the dividend income received from a real estate investment trust may be redesignated as a reduction of cost of the related investment and/or realized gain. Income, expenses and realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated daily to each class based on its relative net assets.

Foreign Currency Translation: The Fund’s books and records are maintained in U.S. dollars. Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using exchange rates determined as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Purchases and sales of investments are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, the investments denominated in that currency will lose value; the opposite effect occurs if the U.S. dollar falls in relative value.

The Fund does not isolate the effect of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates from the effect of fluctuations in the market prices of investments for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the effects of changes in exchange rates on investments are not segregated in the Statement of Operations from the effects of changes in market prices of those investments, but are included as a component of net realized and unrealized gain (loss) from investments. The Fund reports realized currency gains (losses) on foreign currency related transactions as components of net realized gain (loss) for financial reporting purposes, whereas such components are generally treated as ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Foreign Taxes: The Fund may be subject to foreign taxes (a portion of which may be reclaimable) on income, stock dividends, capital gains on investments, or certain foreign currency transactions. All foreign taxes are recorded in accordance with the applicable foreign tax regulations and rates that exist in the foreign jurisdictions in which the Fund invests. These foreign taxes, if any, are paid by the Fund and are reflected in its Statement of Operations as follows: foreign taxes withheld at source are presented as a reduction of income, foreign taxes on securities lending income are presented as a reduction of securities lending income, foreign taxes on stock dividends are presented as “Foreign taxes withheld”, and foreign taxes on capital gains from sales of investments and foreign taxes on foreign currency transactions are included in their respective net realized gain (loss) categories. Foreign taxes payable or deferred as of September 30, 2022, if any, are disclosed in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund files withholding tax reclaims in certain jurisdictions to recover a portion of amounts previously withheld. The Fund may record a reclaim receivable based on collectability, which includes factors such as the jurisdiction’s applicable laws, payment history and market convention. The Statement of Operations includes tax reclaims recorded as well as professional and other fees, if any, associated with recovery of foreign withholding taxes.

Collateralization: If required by an exchange or counterparty agreement, the Fund may be required to deliver/deposit cash and/or securities to/with an exchange, or broker-dealer or custodian as collateral for certain investments.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

Distributions: Distributions paid by the Fund are recorded on the ex-dividend dates. The character and timing of distributions are determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.

Indemnifications: In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations that provide general indemnification. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown because it involves future potential claims against the Fund, which cannot be predicted with any certainty.

Other: Expenses directly related to the Fund or its classes are charged to the Fund or the applicable class. Expenses directly related to the Fund and other shared expenses prorated to the Fund are allocated daily to each class based on its relative net assets or other appropriate methods. Other operating expenses shared by several funds, including other funds managed by the Manager, are prorated among those funds on the basis of relative net assets or other appropriate methods.

The Fund has an arrangement with its custodian whereby credits are earned on uninvested cash balances, which could be used to reduce custody fees and/or overdraft charges. The Fund may incur charges on overdrafts, subject to certain conditions.

 

3.	INVESTMENT VALUATION AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Investment Valuation Policies: The Fund’s investments are valued at fair value (also referred to as “market value” within the financial statements) each day that the Fund is open for business and, for financial reporting purposes, as of the report date. U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price a fund would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Board of Directors of the Fund (the “Board”) has approved the designation of the Manager as the valuation designee for the Fund. The Fund determines the fair values of its financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under the Manager’s policies. If a security’s market price is not readily available or does not otherwise accurately represent the fair value of the security, the security will be valued in accordance with the Manager’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value. The Manager has formed a committee (the “Valuation Committee”) to develop pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments, with assistance from other BlackRock pricing committees.

Fair Value Inputs and Methodologies: The following methods and inputs are used to establish the fair value of the Fund’s assets and liabilities:

 

•

Equity investments traded on a recognized securities exchange are valued at that day’s official closing price, as applicable, on the exchange where the stock is primarily traded. Equity investments traded on a recognized exchange for which there were no sales on that day may be valued at the last available bid (long positions) or ask (short positions) price.

 

•

Investments in open-end U.S. mutual funds (including money market funds) are valued at that day’s published NAV.

 

•

The Fund values its investment in SL Liquidity Series, LLC, Money Market Series (the “Money Market Series”) at fair value, which is ordinarily based upon its pro rata ownership in the underlying fund’s net assets.

 

•

Futures contracts are valued based on that day’s last reported settlement or trade price on the exchange where the contract is traded.

Generally, trading in foreign instruments is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of trading on the NYSE. Each business day, the Fund uses current market factors supplied by independent pricing services to value certain foreign instruments (“Systematic Fair Value Price”). The Systematic Fair Value Price is designed to value such foreign securities at fair value as of the close of trading on the NYSE, which follows the close of the local markets.

If events (e.g., market volatility, company announcement or a natural disaster) occur that are expected to materially affect the value of such investment, or in the event that application of these methods of valuation results in a price for an investment that is deemed not to be representative of the market value of such investment, or if a price is not available, the investment will be valued by the Valuation Committee in accordance with the Manager’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the Valuation Committee include market approach, income approach and cost approach. Valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, use of market comparables and matrix pricing are types of valuation approaches and are typically used in determining fair value. When determining the price for Fair Valued Investments, the Valuation Committee seeks to determine the price that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive or pay from the current sale or purchase of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Valuation Committee deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement.

Fair Value Hierarchy: Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. These inputs to valuation techniques are categorized into a fair value hierarchy consisting of three broad levels for financial reporting purposes as follows:

 

•

Level 1 — Unadjusted price quotations in active markets/exchanges for identical assets or liabilities that the Fund has the ability to access;

 

•

Level 2 — Other observable inputs (including, but not limited to, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in markets that are active, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the assets or liabilities (such as interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates) or other market–corroborated inputs); and

 

•

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs based on the best information available in the circumstances, to the extent observable inputs are not available (including the Valuation Committee’s assumptions used in determining the fair value of financial instruments).

The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the fair value hierarchy classification is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Investments classified within Level 3 have significant unobservable inputs used by the Valuation Committee in determining the price for Fair Valued Investments. Level 3 investments include equity or debt issued by privately held companies or funds that may not have a secondary market and/or may have a limited number of investors. The categorization of a value determined for financial instruments is based on the pricing transparency of the financial instruments and is not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities.

 

 

26		2 0 2 2   B L A C K R O C K   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

As of September 30, 2022, certain investments of the Fund were fair valued using NAV per share as no quoted market value is available and therefore have been excluded from the fair value hierarchy.

 

4.	SECURITIES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS

Securities Lending: The Fund may lend its securities to approved borrowers, such as brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. The borrower pledges and maintains with the Fund collateral consisting of cash, an irrevocable letter of credit issued by a bank, or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government. The initial collateral received by the Fund is required to have a value of at least 102% of the current value of the loaned securities for securities traded on U.S. exchanges and a value of at least 105% for all other securities. The collateral is maintained thereafter at a value equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the securities on loan. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day of the Fund and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund, or excess collateral returned by the Fund, on the next business day. During the term of the loan, the Fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities, but does not receive interest income on securities received as collateral. Loans of securities are terminable at any time and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within the standard time period for settlement of securities transactions.

As of period end, any securities on loan were collateralized by cash and/or U.S. Government obligations. Cash collateral invested by the securities lending agent, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC (“BIM”), if any, is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments. Any non-cash collateral received cannot be sold, re-invested or pledged by the Fund, except in the event of borrower default. The securities on loan, if any, are disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments. The market value of any securities on loan and the value of any related collateral are shown separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as a component of investments at value – unaffiliated and collateral on securities loaned, respectively.

Securities lending transactions are entered into by the Fund under Master Securities Lending Agreements (each, an “MSLA”), which provide the right, in the event of default (including bankruptcy or insolvency), for the non-defaulting party to liquidate the collateral and calculate a net exposure to the defaulting party or request additional collateral. In the event that a borrower defaults, the Fund, as lender, would offset the market value of the collateral received against the market value of the securities loaned. When the value of the collateral is greater than that of the market value of the securities loaned, the lender is left with a net amount payable to the defaulting party. However, bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against such a right of offset in the event of an MSLA counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. Under the MSLA, absent an event of default, the borrower can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities, and the Fund can reinvest cash collateral received in connection with loaned securities. Upon an event of default, the parties’ obligations to return the securities or collateral to the other party are extinguished, and the parties can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities or the collateral received in connection with the loaned securities in order to satisfy the defaulting party’s net payment obligation for all transactions under the MSLA. The defaulting party remains liable for any deficiency.

As of period end, the following table is a summary of the Fund’s securities on loan by counterparty which are subject to offset under an MSLA:

 

Counterparty		Securities Loaned at Value				Cash Collateral Received(a)				Non-Cash Collateral  Received(a)				Net Amount
BMO Capital Markets Corp.		$	414			$	(414	)		$	—			$	—
BNP Paribas SA			32,693				(32,693	)			—				—
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC			623,598				(623,598	)			—				—
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC			2,620,453				(2,620,453	)			—				—
Jefferies LLC			358,535				(358,535	)			—				—
National Financial Services LLC			974,987				(974,987	)			—				—
State Street Bank & Trust Co.			12,398				(12,398	)			—				—
Toronto-Dominion Bank			136,394				(136,394	)			—				—
		$	4,759,472			$	(4,759,472	)		$	—			$	—

 

(a)

Collateral received, if any, in excess of the market value of securities on loan is not presented in this table. The total cash collateral received by the Fund is disclosed in the Fund’s Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The risks of securities lending include the risk that the borrower may not provide additional collateral when required or may not return the securities when due. To mitigate these risks, the Fund benefits from a borrower default indemnity provided by BIM. BIM’s indemnity allows for full replacement of the securities loaned to the extent the collateral received does not cover the value on the securities loaned in the event of borrower default. The Fund could incur a loss if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the market value of loaned securities or if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the value of the original cash collateral received. Such losses are borne entirely by the Fund.

 

5.	DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The Fund engages in various portfolio investment strategies using derivative contracts both to increase the returns of the Fund and/or to manage its exposure to certain risks such as credit risk, equity risk, interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange rate risk, commodity price risk or other risks (e.g., inflation risk). Derivative financial instruments categorized by risk exposure are included in the Schedule of Investments. These contracts may be transacted on an exchange or over-the-counter (“OTC”).

Futures Contracts: Futures contracts are purchased or sold to gain exposure to, or manage exposure to, changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) and changes in the value of equity securities (equity risk) or foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

 

 

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S		27

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

Futures contracts are exchange-traded agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specified price and on a specified date. Depending on the terms of a contract, it is settled either through physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash amount on the settlement date. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or securities in an amount that varies depending on a contract’s size and risk profile. The initial margin deposit must then be maintained at an established level over the life of the contract. Amounts pledged, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities deposited as initial margin are designated in the Schedule of Investments and cash deposited, if any, are shown as cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in market value of the contract (“variation margin”). Variation margin is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and, if any, shown as variation margin receivable (or payable) on futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When the contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the notional amount of the contract at the time it was opened and the notional amount at the time it was closed. The use of futures contracts involves the risk of an imperfect correlation in the movements in the price of futures contracts and interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or underlying assets.

 

6.	INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Advisory: The Fund entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Manager, the Fund’s investment adviser and an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”), to provide investment advisory and administrative services. The Manager is responsible for the management of the Fund’s portfolio and provides the personnel, facilities, equipment and certain other services necessary to the operations of the Fund.

For such services, the Fund pays the Manager a monthly fee at an annual rate equal to the following percentages of the average daily value of the Fund’s net assets:

 

Average Daily Net Assets		Investment Advisory Fees
First $1 billion			0.500	%
$1 billion - $1.5 billion			0.475
Greater than $1.5 billion			0.450

Service and Distribution Fees: The Fund entered into a Distribution Agreement and Distribution and Service Plans with BlackRock Investments, LLC (“BRIL”), an affiliate of the Manager. Pursuant to the Distribution and Service Plans and in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, the Fund pays BRIL ongoing service and distribution fees. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly at annual rates based upon the average daily net assets of the relevant share class of the Fund as follows:

 

Share Class		Service Fees				Distribution Fees
Investor A			0.25	%			N/A
Investor C			0.25				0.75	%
Class R			0.25				0.25

BRIL and broker-dealers, pursuant to sub-agreements with BRIL, provide shareholder servicing and distribution services to the Fund. The ongoing service and/or distribution fee compensates BRIL and each broker-dealer for providing shareholder servicing and/or distribution related services to shareholders.

For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the following table shows the class specific service and distribution fees borne directly by each share class of the Fund:

 

		Investor A				Investor C				Class R				Total
Service and distribution — class specific		$	249,096			$	16,606			$	11,326			$	277,028

Administration: The Fund entered into an Administration Agreement with the Manager, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, to provide administrative services. For these services, the Manager receives an administration fee computed daily and payable monthly, based on a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The administration fee, which is shown as administration in the Statement of Operations, is paid at the annual rates below.

 

Average Daily Net Assets		Administration Fees
First $500 million			0.0425	%
$500 million - $1 billion			0.0400
$1 billion - $2 billion			0.0375
$2 billion - $4 billion			0.0350
$4 billion - $13 billion			0.0325
Greater than $13 billion			0.0300

In addition, the Manager charges each of the share classes an administration fee, which is shown as administration — class specific in the Statement of Operations, at an annual rate of 0.02% of the average daily net assets of each respective class.

For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the following table shows the class specific administration fees borne directly by each share class of the Fund:

 

		Institutional				Investor A				Investor C				Class K				Class R				Total
Administration — class specific		$	8,294			$	19,940			$	333			$	5,424			$	454			$	34,445

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

Transfer Agent: Pursuant to written agreements, certain financial intermediaries, some of which may be affiliates, provide the Fund with sub-accounting, recordkeeping, sub-transfer agency and other administrative services with respect to servicing of underlying investor accounts. For these services, these entities receive an asset-based fee or an annual fee per shareholder account, which will vary depending on share class and/or net assets. For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the Fund did not pay any amounts to affiliates in return for these services.

The Manager maintains a call center that is responsible for providing certain shareholder services to the Fund. Shareholder services include responding to inquiries and processing purchases and sales based upon instructions from shareholders. For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the Fund reimbursed the Manager the following amounts for costs incurred in running the call center, which are included in transfer agent — class specific in the Statement of Operations:

 

		Institutional				Investor A				Investor C				Class K				Class R				Total
Reimbursed amounts		$	2,376			$	2,178			$	227			$	1			$	51			$	4,833

For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the following table shows the class specific transfer agent fees borne directly by each share class of the Fund:

 

		Institutional				Investor A				Investor C				Class K				Class R				Total
Transfer agent — class specific		$	48,061			$	124,220			$	4,498			$	555			$	6,360			$	183,694

Other Fees: For the six months ended September 30, 2022, affiliates earned underwriting discounts, direct commissions and dealer concessions on sales of the Fund’s Investor A Shares of $1,050.

For the six months ended September 30, 2022, affiliates received CDSCs as follows:

 

Share Class		Amounts
Investor A		$	40
Investor C			748

Expense Limitations, Waivers and Reimbursements: The Manager contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to the Manager indirectly through its investment in affiliated money market funds (the “affiliated money market fund waiver”) through June 30, 2024. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the directors who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act (“Independent Directors”), or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The amount of waivers and/or reimbursements of fees and expenses made pursuant to the expense limitation described below will be reduced by the amount of the affiliated money market fund waiver. This amount is included in fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the amount waived was $1,067.

The Manager has contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fee with respect to any portion of the Fund’s assets invested in affiliated equity and fixed-income mutual funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds that have a contractual management fee through June 30, 2024. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the Independent Directors, or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. For the six months ended September 30, 2022, there were no fees waived by the Manager pursuant to this arrangement.

The Manager contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit expenses, excluding interest expense, dividend expense, tax expense, acquired fund fees and expenses, and certain other fund expenses, which constitute extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business (“expense limitation”). The expense limitations as a percentage of average daily net assets are as follows:

 

Share Class		Expense Limitations
Institutional			0.48	%
Investor A			0.73
Investor C			1.48
Class K			0.43
Class R			0.98

The Manager has agreed not to reduce or discontinue the contractual expense limitations through June 30, 2024, unless approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Directors, or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the Manager waived and/or reimbursed investment advisory fees of $372,437 which is included in fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager in the Statement of Operations.

In addition, these amounts waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager are included in administration fees waived by the Manager — class specific and transfer agent fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager — class specific, respectively, in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended September 30, 2022, class specific expense waivers and/or reimbursements were as follows:

 

		Institutional				Investor A				Investor C				Class K				Class R				Total
Administration fees waived by the Manager — class specific		$	8,294			$	19,940			$	333			$	5,424			$	454			$	34,445
Transfer agent fees waived and/or reimbursed — class specific			27,321				74,318				3,628				550				5,208				111,025

Securities Lending: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has issued an exemptive order which permits BIM, an affiliate of the Manager, to serve as securities lending agent for the Fund, subject to applicable conditions. As securities lending agent, BIM bears all operational costs directly related to securities lending. The

 

 

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S		29

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

Fund is responsible for expenses in connection with the investment of cash collateral received for securities on loan (the “collateral investment expenses”). The cash collateral is invested in a private investment company, Money Market Series, managed by the Manager or its affiliates. However, BIM has agreed to cap the collateral investment expenses of the Money Market Series to an annual rate of 0.04%. The investment adviser to the Money Market Series will not charge any advisory fees with respect to shares purchased by the Fund. The Money Market Series may, under certain circumstances, impose a liquidity fee of up to 2% of the value withdrawn or temporarily restrict withdrawals for up to 10 business days during a 90 day period, in the event that the private investment company’s weekly liquid assets fall below certain thresholds. The Money Market Series seeks current income consistent with maintaining liquidity and preserving capital. Although the Money Market Series is not registered under the 1940 Act, its investments may follow the parameters of investments by a money market fund that is subject to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act.

Securities lending income is equal to the total of income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral, net of fees and other payments to and from borrowers of securities, and less the collateral investment expenses. The Fund retains a portion of securities lending income and remits a remaining portion to BIM as compensation for its services as securities lending agent.

Pursuant to the current securities lending agreement, the Fund retains 81% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment expenses), and this amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment expenses.

In addition, commencing the business day following the date that the aggregate securities lending income earned across the BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex in a calendar year exceeds a specified threshold, the Fund, pursuant to the securities lending agreement, will retain for the remainder of that calendar year securities lending income in an amount equal to 81% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment expenses), and this amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment expenses.

Prior to January 1, 2022, the Fund retained 77% of securities lending income (which excluded collateral investment expenses) and the amount retained could never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment expenses. In addition, commencing the business day following the date that the aggregate securities lending income earned across the BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex in a calendar year exceeded a specified threshold, the Fund would retain for the remainder of that calendar year 81% of securities lending income (which excluded collateral investment expenses), and the amount retained could never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment expenses.

The share of securities lending income earned by the Fund is shown as securities lending income — affiliated — net in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended September 30, 2022, the Fund paid BIM $5,781 for securities lending agent services.

Interfund Lending: In accordance with an exemptive order (the “Order”) from the SEC, the Fund may participate in a joint lending and borrowing facility for temporary purposes (the “Interfund Lending Program”), subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the Order, and to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions. The Fund is currently permitted to borrow and lend under the Interfund Lending Program.

A lending BlackRock fund may lend in aggregate up to 15% of its net assets but may not lend more than 5% of its net assets to any one borrowing fund through the Interfund Lending Program. A borrowing BlackRock fund may not borrow through the Interfund Lending Program or from any other source more than 33 1/3% of its total assets (or any lower threshold provided for by the fund’s investment restrictions). If a borrowing BlackRock fund’s total outstanding borrowings exceed 10% of its total assets, each of its outstanding interfund loans will be subject to collateralization of at least 102% of the outstanding principal value of the loan. All interfund loans are for temporary or emergency purposes and the interest rate to be charged will be the average of the highest current overnight repurchase agreement rate available to a lending fund and the bank loan rate, as calculated according to a formula established by the Board.

During the six months ended September 30, 2022, the Fund did not participate in the Interfund Lending Program.

Directors and Officers: Certain directors and/or officers of the Fund are directors and/or officers of BlackRock or its affiliates. The Fund reimburses the Manager for a portion of the compensation paid to the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, which is included in Directors and Officer in the Statement of Operations.

Other Transactions: The Fund may purchase securities from, or sell securities to, an affiliated fund provided the affiliation is due solely to having a common investment adviser, common officers, or common trustees. For the six months ended september 30, 2022, the purchase and sale transactions and any net realized gains (losses) with an affiliated fund in compliance with Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act were as follows:

 

Purchases						Sales						Net Realized Loss
$	8,858,186					$	9,078,033					$	(310,722	)

 

7.	PURCHASES AND SALES

For the six months ended September 30, 2022, purchases and sales of investments, excluding short-term investments, were $209,193,589 and $219,169,579, respectively.

 

8.	INCOME TAX INFORMATION

It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no U.S. federal income tax provision is required.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

The Fund files U.S. federal and various state and local tax returns. No income tax returns are currently under examination. The statute of limitations on the Fund’s U.S. federal tax returns generally remains open for a period of three years after they are filed. The statutes of limitations on the Fund’s state and local tax returns may remain open for an additional year depending upon the jurisdiction.

Management has analyzed tax laws and regulations and their application to the Fund as of September 30, 2022, inclusive of the open tax return years, and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability in the Fund’s financial statements.

As of September 30, 2022, gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation based on cost of investments (including short positions and derivatives, if any) for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

 

		Amounts
Tax cost		$	362,349,646
Gross unrealized appreciation		$	10,874,345
Gross unrealized depreciation			(65,845,548	)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation)		$	(54,971,203	)

 

9.	BANK BORROWINGS

The Fund, along with certain other funds managed by the Manager and its affiliates (“Participating Funds”), is a party to a 364-day, $2.50 billion credit agreement with a group of lenders. Under this agreement, the Fund may borrow to fund shareholder redemptions. Excluding commitments designated for certain individual funds, the Participating Funds, including the Fund, can borrow up to an aggregate commitment amount of $1.75 billion at any time outstanding, subject to asset coverage and other limitations as specified in the agreement. The credit agreement has the following terms: a fee of 0.10% per annum on unused commitment amounts and interest at a rate equal to the higher of (a) Overnight Bank Funding Rate (“OBFR”) (but, in any event, not less than 0.00%) on the date the loan is made plus 0.80% per annum, (b) the Fed Funds rate (but, in any event, not less than 0.00%) in effect from time to time plus 0.80% per annum on amounts borrowed or (c) the sum of (x) Daily Simple Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) (but, in any event, not less than 0.00%) on the date the loan is made plus 0.10% and (y) 0.80% per annum. The agreement expires in April 2023 unless extended or renewed. These fees were allocated among such funds based upon portions of the aggregate commitment available to them and relative net assets of Participating Funds. During the six months ended September 30, 2022, the Fund did not borrow under the credit agreement.

 

10.	PRINCIPAL RISKS

In the normal course of business, the Fund invests in securities or other instruments and may enter into certain transactions, and such activities subject the Fund to various risks, including among others, fluctuations in the market (market risk) or failure of an issuer to meet all of its obligations. The value of securities or other instruments may also be affected by various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the general economy; (ii) the overall market as well as local, regional or global political and/or social instability; (iii) regulation, taxation or international tax treaties between various countries; or (iv) currency, interest rate and price fluctuations. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. The Fund’s prospectus provides details of the risks to which the Fund is subject.

The Fund may be exposed to additional risks when reinvesting cash collateral in money market funds that do not seek to maintain a stable NAV per share of $1.00, which may be subject to redemption gates or liquidity fees under certain circumstances.

Market Risk: An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic and has resulted in closing borders, quarantines, disruptions to supply chains and customer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this pandemic, and other global health crises that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. This pandemic may result in substantial market volatility and may adversely impact the prices and liquidity of a fund’s investments. Although vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the duration of this pandemic and its effects cannot be determined with certainty.

Valuation Risk: The market values of equities, such as common stocks and preferred securities or equity related investments, such as futures and options, may decline due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to a particular company. They may also decline due to factors which affect a particular industry or industries. The Fund may invest in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. The Fund may experience difficulty in selling illiquid investments in a timely manner at the price that it believes the investments are worth. Prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to company, market or economic news. Markets also tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. This volatility may cause the Fund’s NAV to experience significant increases or decreases over short periods of time. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, the NAV of the Fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests.

The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair valuation technique or a price provided by an independent pricing service. Changes to significant unobservable inputs and assumptions (i.e., publicly traded company multiples, growth rate, time to exit) due to the lack of observable inputs may significantly impact the resulting fair value and therefore the Fund’s results of operations. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by the Fund, and the Fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. The Fund’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

Counterparty Credit Risk: The Fund may be exposed to counterparty credit risk, or the risk that an entity may fail to or be unable to perform on its commitments related to unsettled or open transactions, including making timely interest and/or principal payments or otherwise honoring its obligations. The Fund manages counterparty credit risk by entering into transactions only with counterparties that the Manager believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by monitoring the financial stability of those counterparties. Financial assets, which potentially expose the Fund to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks, consist principally of financial instruments and receivables due from counterparties. The extent of the Fund’s exposure to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks with respect to these financial assets is approximately their value recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, less any collateral held by the Fund.

A derivative contract may suffer a mark-to-market loss if the value of the contract decreases due to an unfavorable change in the market rates or values of the underlying instrument. Losses can also occur if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.

With exchange-traded futures, there is less counterparty credit risk to the Fund since the exchange or clearinghouse, as counterparty to such instruments, guarantees against a possible default. The clearinghouse stands between the buyer and the seller of the contract; therefore, credit risk is limited to failure of the clearinghouse. While offset rights may exist under applicable law, the Fund does not have a contractual right of offset against a clearing broker or clearinghouse in the event of a default (including the bankruptcy or insolvency). Additionally, credit risk exists in exchange-traded futures and centrally cleared swaps with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a clearing broker’s customer accounts. While clearing brokers are required to segregate customer margin from their own assets, in the event that a clearing broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy and at that time there is a shortfall in the aggregate amount of margin held by the clearing broker for all its clients, typically the shortfall would be allocated on a pro rata basis across all the clearing broker’s customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund.

Concentration Risk: A diversified portfolio, where this is appropriate and consistent with a fund’s objectives, minimizes the risk that a price change of a particular investment will have a material impact on the NAV of a fund. The investment concentrations within the Fund’s portfolio are disclosed in its Schedule of Investments.

Significant Shareholder Redemption Risk: Certain shareholders may own or manage a substantial amount of fund shares and/or hold their fund investments for a limited period of time. Large redemptions of fund shares by these shareholders may force a fund to sell portfolio securities, which may negatively impact the fund’s NAV, increase the fund’s brokerage costs, and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income/gains and cause the fund to make additional taxable distributions to shareholders.

LIBOR Transition Risk: The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority announced a phase out of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). Although many LIBOR rates ceased to be published or no longer are representative of the underlying market they seek to measure after December 31, 2021, a selection of widely used USD LIBOR rates will continue to be published through June 2023 in order to assist with the transition. The Fund may be exposed to financial instruments tied to LIBOR to determine payment obligations, financing terms, hedging strategies or investment value. The transition process away from LIBOR might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets for, and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against instruments whose terms currently include LIBOR. The ultimate effect of the LIBOR transition process on the Fund is uncertain.

 

11.	CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

		Six Months Ended 09/30/22								Year Ended 03/31/22
Share Class		Shares				Amount				Shares				Amount
Institutional
Shares sold			302,383			$	7,065,947				400,705			$	10,864,560
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions			—				—				964,547				26,257,030
Shares redeemed			(339,111	)			(7,853,998	)			(650,107	)			(18,558,089	)
			(36,728	)		$	(788,051	)			715,145			$	18,563,501
Investor A
Shares sold and automatic conversion of shares			189,584			$	4,123,065				789,411			$	20,287,444
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions			—				—				2,762,049				70,447,342
Shares redeemed			(678,976	)			(14,671,019	)			(1,705,172	)			(44,004,354	)
			(489,392	)		$	(10,547,954	)			1,846,288			$	46,730,432
Investor C
Shares sold			41,171			$	400,863				113,989			$	1,395,159
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions			—				—				194,739				2,359,415
Shares redeemed and automatic conversion of shares			(65,384	)			(638,001	)			(151,772	)			(1,840,018	)
			(24,213	)		$	(237,138	)			156,956			$	1,914,556

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

		Six Months Ended 09/30/22								Year Ended 03/31/22
Share Class		Shares				Amount				Shares				Amount
Class K
Shares sold			421,381			$	9,543,210				2,350,932			$	62,660,667
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions			—				—				54,442				1,481,135
Shares redeemed			(241,843	)			(5,566,156	)			(179,160	)			(4,711,272	)
			179,538			$	3,977,054				2,226,214			$	59,430,530
Class R
Shares sold			25,655			$	315,246				68,057			$	1,034,730
Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions			—				—				177,110				2,697,572
Shares redeemed			(65,841	)			(814,380	)			(99,402	)			(1,561,148	)
			(40,186	)		$	(499,134	)			145,765			$	2,171,154
			(410,981	)		$	(8,095,223	)			5,090,368			$	128,810,173

 

12.	SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events on the Fund through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring adjustment or additional disclosure in the financial statements.

 

 

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Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement

The Board of Directors (the “Board,” the members of which are referred to as “Board Members”) of BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) met on April 20, 2022 (the “April Meeting”) and May 10-11, 2022 (the “May Meeting”) to consider the approval to continue the investment advisory agreement (the “Agreement”) between the Fund and BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the “Manager” or “BlackRock”), the Fund’s investment advisor.

The Approval Process

Consistent with the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Board considers the approval of the continuation of the Agreement for the Fund on an annual basis. The Board members who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act, are considered independent Board members (the “Independent Board Members”). The Board’s consideration entailed a year-long deliberative process during which the Board and its committees assessed BlackRock’s various services to the Fund, including through the review of written materials and oral presentations, and the review of additional information provided in response to requests from the Independent Board Members. The Board had four quarterly meetings per year, each typically extending for two days, as well as additional ad hoc meetings and executive sessions throughout the year, as needed. The committees of the Board similarly met throughout the year. The Board also had an additional one-day meeting to consider specific information surrounding the renewal of the Agreement. In particular, the Board assessed, among other things, the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Fund by BlackRock, BlackRock’s personnel and affiliates, including (as applicable): investment management services; accounting oversight; administrative and shareholder services; oversight of the Fund’s service providers; risk management and oversight; and legal, regulatory and compliance services. Throughout the year, including during the contract renewal process, the Independent Board Members were advised by independent legal counsel, and met with independent legal counsel in various executive sessions outside of the presence of BlackRock’s management.

During the year, the Board, acting directly and through its committees, considered information that was relevant to its annual consideration of the renewal of the Agreement, including the services and support provided by BlackRock to the Fund and its shareholders. BlackRock also furnished additional information to the Board in response to specific questions from the Board. Among the matters the Board considered were: (a) investment performance for one-year, three-year, five-year, and/or since inception periods, as applicable, against peer funds, relevant benchmarks, and other performance metrics, as applicable, as well as BlackRock senior management’s and portfolio managers’ analyses of the reasons for any outperformance or underperformance relative to its peers, benchmarks, and other performance metrics, as applicable; (b) fees, including advisory, administration, if applicable, and other amounts paid to BlackRock and its affiliates by the Fund for services; (c) Fund operating expenses and how BlackRock allocates expenses to the Fund; (d) the resources devoted to, risk oversight of, and compliance reports relating to, implementation of the Fund’s investment objective, policies and restrictions, and meeting regulatory requirements; (e) BlackRock’s and the Fund’s adherence to applicable compliance policies and procedures; (f) the nature, character and scope of non-investment management services provided by BlackRock and its affiliates and the estimated cost of such services, as available; (g) BlackRock’s and other service providers’ internal controls and risk and compliance oversight mechanisms; (h) BlackRock’s implementation of the proxy voting policies approved by the Board; (i) the use of brokerage commissions and execution quality of portfolio transactions; (j) BlackRock’s implementation of the Fund’s valuation and liquidity procedures; (k) an analysis of management fees paid to BlackRock for products with similar investment mandates across the open-end fund, exchange-traded fund (“ETF”), closed-end fund, sub-advised mutual fund, separately managed account, collective investment trust, and institutional separate account product channels, as applicable, and the similarities and differences between these products and the services provided as compared to the Fund; (l) BlackRock’s compensation methodology for its investment professionals and the incentives and accountability it creates, along with investment professionals’ investments in the fund(s) they manage; and (m) periodic updates on BlackRock’s business.

Prior to and in preparation for the April Meeting, the Board received and reviewed materials specifically relating to the renewal of the Agreement. The Independent Board Members continuously engaged in a process with their independent legal counsel and BlackRock to review the nature and scope of the information provided to the Board to better assist its deliberations. The materials provided in connection with the April Meeting included, among other things: (a) information independently compiled and prepared by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), based on either a Lipper classification or Morningstar category, regarding the Fund’s fees and expenses as compared with a peer group of funds as determined by Broadridge (“Expense Peers”) and the investment performance of the Fund as compared with a peer group of funds (“Performance Peers”); (b) information on the composition of the Expense Peers and Performance Peers and a description of Broadridge’s methodology; (c) information on the estimated profits realized by BlackRock and its affiliates pursuant to the Agreement and a discussion of fall-out benefits to BlackRock and its affiliates; (d) a general analysis provided by BlackRock concerning investment management fees received in connection with other types of investment products, such as institutional accounts, sub-advised mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, open-end funds, and separately managed accounts, under similar investment mandates, as well as the performance of such other products, as applicable; (e) a review of non-management fees; (f) the existence, impact and sharing of potential economies of scale, if any, with the Fund; (g) a summary of aggregate amounts paid by the Fund to BlackRock; (h) sales and redemption data regarding the Fund’s shares; and (i) various additional information requested by the Board as appropriate regarding BlackRock’s and the Fund’s operations.

At the April Meeting, the Board reviewed materials relating to its consideration of the Agreement and the Independent Board Members presented BlackRock with questions and requests for additional information. BlackRock responded to these questions and requests with additional written information in advance of the May Meeting.

At the May Meeting, the Board concluded its assessment of, among other things: (a) the nature, extent and quality of the services provided by BlackRock; (b) the investment performance of the Fund as compared to its Performance Peers and to other metrics, as applicable; (c) the advisory fee and the estimated cost of the services and estimated profits realized by BlackRock and its affiliates from their relationship with the Fund; (d) the Fund’s fees and expenses compared to its Expense Peers; (e) the existence and sharing of potential economies of scale; (f) any fall-out benefits to BlackRock and its affiliates as a result of BlackRock’s relationship with the Fund; and (g) other factors deemed relevant by the Board Members.

The Board also considered other matters it deemed important to the approval process, such as other payments made to BlackRock or its affiliates relating to securities lending and cash management, and BlackRock’s services related to the valuation and pricing of Fund portfolio holdings. The Board noted the willingness of BlackRock’s personnel to engage in open, candid discussions with the Board. The Board Members evaluated the information available to it on a fund-by-fund basis. The following paragraphs provide more information about some of the primary factors that were relevant to the Board’s decision. The Board Members did not identify any particular information, or any single factor as determinative, and each Board Member may have attributed different weights to the various items and factors considered.

 

 

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Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement  (continued)

 

A. Nature, Extent and Quality of the Services Provided by BlackRock

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, reviewed the nature, extent and quality of services provided by BlackRock, including the investment advisory services, and the resulting performance of the Fund. Throughout the year, the Board compared Fund performance to the performance of a comparable group of mutual funds, relevant benchmarks, and performance metrics, as applicable. The Board met with BlackRock’s senior management personnel responsible for investment activities, including the senior investment officers. The Board also reviewed the materials provided by the Fund’s portfolio management team discussing the Fund’s performance, investment strategies and outlook.

The Board considered, among other factors, with respect to BlackRock: the number, education and experience of investment personnel generally and the Fund’s portfolio management team; research capabilities; investments by portfolio managers in the funds they manage; portfolio trading capabilities; use of technology; commitment to compliance; credit analysis capabilities; risk analysis and oversight capabilities; and the approach to training and retaining portfolio managers and other research, advisory and management personnel. The Board also considered BlackRock’s overall risk management program, including the continued efforts of BlackRock and its affiliates to address cybersecurity risks and the role of BlackRock’s Risk & Quantitative Analysis Group. The Board engaged in a review of BlackRock’s compensation structure with respect to the Fund’s portfolio management team and BlackRock’s ability to attract and retain high-quality talent and create performance incentives.

In addition to investment advisory services, the Board considered the nature and quality of the administrative and other non-investment advisory services provided to the Fund. BlackRock and its affiliates provide the Fund with certain administrative, shareholder and other services (in addition to any such services provided to the Fund by third parties) and officers and other personnel as are necessary for the operations of the Fund. In particular, BlackRock and its affiliates provide the Fund with administrative services including, among others: (i) responsibility for disclosure documents, such as the prospectus, the summary prospectus (as applicable), the statement of additional information and periodic shareholder reports; (ii) oversight of daily accounting and pricing; (iii) responsibility for periodic filings with regulators; (iv) overseeing and coordinating the activities of third-party service providers including, among others, the Fund’s custodian, fund accountant, transfer agent, and auditor; (v) organizing Board meetings and preparing the materials for such Board meetings; (vi) providing legal and compliance support; (vii) furnishing analytical and other support to assist the Board in its consideration of strategic issues such as the merger, consolidation or repurposing of certain open-end funds; and (viii) performing or managing administrative functions necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as tax reporting, expense management, fulfilling regulatory filing requirements, overseeing the Fund’s distribution partners, and shareholder call center and other services. The Board reviewed the structure and duties of BlackRock’s fund administration, shareholder services, and legal and compliance departments and considered BlackRock’s policies and procedures for assuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The Board considered the operation of BlackRock’s business continuity plans, including in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

B. The Investment Performance of the Fund and BlackRock

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, reviewed and considered the performance history of the Fund throughout the year and at the April Meeting. In preparation for the April Meeting, the Board was provided with reports independently prepared by Broadridge, which included an analysis of the Fund’s performance as of December 31, 2021, as compared to its Performance Peers. Broadridge ranks funds in quartiles, ranging from first to fourth, where first is the most desirable quartile position and fourth is the least desirable. In connection with its review, the Board received and reviewed information regarding the investment performance of the Fund as compared to its Performance Peers. The Board and its Performance Oversight Committee regularly review and meet with Fund management to discuss the performance of the Fund throughout the year.

In evaluating performance, the Board focused particular attention on funds with less favorable performance records. The Board also noted that while it found the data provided by Broadridge generally useful, it recognized the limitations of such data, including in particular, that notable differences may exist between a fund and its Performance Peers (for example, the investment objectives and strategies). Further, the Board recognized that the performance data reflects a snapshot of a period as of a particular date and that selecting a different performance period could produce significantly different results. The Board also acknowledged that long-term performance could be impacted by even one period of significant outperformance or underperformance, and that a single investment theme could have the ability to disproportionately affect long-term performance.

The Board noted that for the one-, three- and five-year periods reported, the Fund ranked in the fourth, third and third quartiles, respectively, against its Performance Peers. The Board and BlackRock reviewed the Fund’s underperformance relative to its Performance Peers during the applicable periods. The Board noted that effective February 9, 2021, the Fund had undergone a change in its investment strategy and in that connection had changed its name from BlackRock Advantage U.S. Total Market Fund, Inc. to BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

C. Consideration of the Advisory/Management Fees and the Estimated Cost of the Services and Estimated Profits Realized by BlackRock and its Affiliates from their Relationship with the Fund

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, reviewed the Fund’s contractual management fee rate compared with those of its Expense Peers. The contractual management fee rate represents a combination of the advisory fee and any administrative fees, before taking into account any reimbursements or fee waivers. The Board also compared the Fund’s total expense ratio, as well as its actual management fee rate, to those of its Expense Peers. The total expense ratio represents a fund’s total net operating expenses, including any 12b-1 or non-12b-1 service fees. The total expense ratio gives effect to any expense reimbursements or fee waivers, and the actual management fee rate gives effect to any management fee reimbursements or waivers. The Board considered the services provided and the fees charged by BlackRock and its affiliates to other types of clients with similar investment mandates, as applicable, including institutional accounts and sub-advised mutual funds (including mutual funds sponsored by third parties).

The Board received and reviewed statements relating to BlackRock’s financial condition. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s profitability methodology and was also provided with an estimated profitability analysis that detailed the revenues earned and the expenses incurred by BlackRock for services provided to the Fund. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s estimated profitability with respect to the Fund and other funds the Board currently oversees for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to available aggregate estimated profitability data provided for the prior two years. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s estimated profitability with respect to certain other U.S. fund complexes managed by the Manager and/or its affiliates. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s assumptions and methodology of allocating expenses in the estimated profitability analysis,

 

 

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Disclosure of Investment Advisory Agreement  (continued)

 

noting the inherent limitations in allocating costs among various advisory products. The Board recognized that profitability may be affected by numerous factors including, among other things, fee waivers and expense reimbursements by the Manager, the types of funds managed, precision of expense allocations and business mix. The Board thus recognized that calculating and comparing profitability at the individual fund level is difficult.

The Board noted that, in general, individual fund or product line profitability of other advisors is not publicly available. The Board reviewed BlackRock’s overall operating margin, in general, compared to that of certain other publicly traded asset management firms. The Board considered the differences between BlackRock and these other firms, including the contribution of technology at BlackRock, BlackRock’s expense management, and the relative product mix.

The Board considered whether BlackRock has the financial resources necessary to attract and retain high quality investment management personnel to perform its obligations under the Agreement and to continue to provide the high quality of services that is expected by the Board. The Board further considered factors including but not limited to BlackRock’s commitment of time, assumption of risk, and liability profile in servicing the Fund, including in contrast to what is required of BlackRock with respect to other products with similar investment mandates across the open-end fund, ETF, closed-end fund, sub-advised mutual fund, separately managed account, collective investment trust, and institutional separate account product channels, as applicable.

The Board noted that the Fund’s contractual management fee rate ranked in the first quartile, and that the actual management fee rate and total expense ratio each ranked in the first quartile relative to the Fund’s Expense Peers. The Board also noted that the Fund has an advisory fee arrangement that includes breakpoints that adjust the fee rate downward as the size of the Fund increases above certain contractually specified levels. The Board noted that if the size of the Fund were to decrease, the Fund could lose the benefit of one or more breakpoints. The Board also noted that BlackRock proposed, and the Board agreed to, a lower administration fee rate. This reduction was implemented on March 1, 2021. In addition, the Board noted that BlackRock and the Board have contractually agreed to a cap on the Fund’s total expenses as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets on a class-by-class basis.

D. Economies of Scale

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, considered the extent to which economies of scale might be realized as the assets of the Fund increase, including the existence of fee waivers and/or expense caps, as applicable, noting that any contractual fee waivers and contractual expense caps had been approved by the Board. In its consideration, the Board further considered the continuation and/or implementation of fee waivers and/or expense caps, as applicable. The Board also considered the extent to which the Fund benefits from such economies of scale in a variety of ways, and whether there should be changes in the advisory fee rate or breakpoint structure in order to enable the Fund to more fully participate in these economies of scale. The Board considered the Fund’s asset levels and whether the current fee schedule was appropriate.

E. Other Factors Deemed Relevant by the Board Members

The Board, including the Independent Board Members, also took into account other ancillary or “fall-out” benefits that BlackRock or its affiliates may derive from BlackRock’s respective relationships with the Fund, both tangible and intangible, such as BlackRock’s ability to leverage its investment professionals who manage other portfolios and its risk management personnel, an increase in BlackRock’s profile in the investment advisory community, and the engagement of BlackRock’s affiliates as service providers to the Fund, including for administrative, distribution, securities lending and cash management services. The Board also considered BlackRock’s overall operations and its efforts to expand the scale of, and improve the quality of, its operations. The Board also noted that, subject to applicable law, BlackRock may use and benefit from third-party research obtained by soft dollars generated by certain registered fund transactions to assist in managing all or a number of its other client accounts.

In connection with its consideration of the Agreement, the Board also received information regarding BlackRock’s brokerage and soft dollar practices. The Board received reports from BlackRock which included information on brokerage commissions and trade execution practices throughout the year.

The Board noted the competitive nature of the open-end fund marketplace, and that shareholders are able to redeem their Fund shares if they believe that the Fund’s fees and expenses are too high or if they are dissatisfied with the performance of the Fund.

Conclusion

At the May Meeting, as a result of the discussions that occurred during the April Meeting, and as a culmination of the Board’s year-long deliberative process, the Board, including the Independent Board Members, unanimously approved the continuation of the Agreement between the Manager and the Fund for a one-year term ending June 30, 2023. Based upon its evaluation of all of the aforementioned factors in their totality, as well as other information, the Board, including the Independent Board Members, was satisfied that the terms of the Agreement were fair and reasonable and in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders. In arriving at its decision to approve the Agreement, the Board did not identify any single factor or group of factors as all-important or controlling, but considered all factors together, and different Board Members may have attributed different weights to the various factors considered. The Independent Board Members were also assisted by the advice of independent legal counsel in making this determination.

 

 

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Additional Information

 

 

General Information

Quarterly performance, semi-annual and annual reports, current net asset value and other information regarding the Fund may be found on BlackRock’s website, which can be accessed at blackrock.com. Any reference to BlackRock’s website in this report is intended to allow investors public access to information regarding the Fund and does not, and is not intended to, incorporate BlackRock’s website in this report.

Householding

The Fund will mail only one copy of shareholder documents, including prospectuses, annual and semi-annual reports, Rule 30e-3 notices and proxy statements, to shareholders with multiple accounts at the same address. This practice is commonly called “householding” and is intended to reduce expenses and eliminate duplicate mailings of shareholder documents. Mailings of your shareholder documents may be householded indefinitely unless you instruct us otherwise. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please call the Fund at (800) 441-7762.

Availability of Quarterly Schedule of Investments

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Form N-PORT is available on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Additionally, the Fund makes its portfolio holdings for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year available at blackrock.com/fundreports.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policies, Procedures and Voting Records

A description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities and information about how the Fund voted proxies relating to securities held in the Fund’s portfolio during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge, upon request (1) by calling (800) 441-7762; (2) on the BlackRock website at blackrock.com; and (3) on the SEC’s website at sec.gov.

BlackRock’s Mutual Fund Family

BlackRock offers a diverse lineup of open-end mutual funds crossing all investment styles and managed by experts in equity, fixed-income and tax-exempt investing. Visit blackrock.com for more information.

Shareholder Privileges

Account Information

Call us at (800) 441-7762 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM ET on any business day to get information about your account balances, recent transactions and share prices. You can also visit blackrock.com for more information.

Automatic Investment Plans

Investor class shareholders who want to invest regularly can arrange to have $50 or more automatically deducted from their checking or savings account and invested in any of the BlackRock funds.

Systematic Withdrawal Plans

Investor class shareholders can establish a systematic withdrawal plan and receive periodic payments of $50 or more from their BlackRock funds, as long as their account balance is at least $10,000.

Retirement Plans

Shareholders may make investments in conjunction with Traditional, Rollover, Roth, Coverdell, Simple IRAs, SEP IRAs and 403(b) Plans.

BlackRock Privacy Principles

BlackRock is committed to maintaining the privacy of its current and former fund investors and individual clients (collectively, “Clients”) and to safeguarding their non-public personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information BlackRock collects, how we protect that information and why in certain cases we share such information with select parties.

If you are located in a jurisdiction where specific laws, rules or regulations require BlackRock to provide you with additional or different privacy-related rights beyond what is set forth below, then BlackRock will comply with those specific laws, rules or regulations.

BlackRock obtains or verifies personal non-public information from and about you from different sources, including the following: (i) information we receive from you or, if applicable, your financial intermediary, on applications, forms or other documents; (ii) information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others; (iii) information we receive from a consumer reporting agency; and (iv) from visits to our websites.

 

 

A D D I T I O N A L   I N F O R M A T I O N		37

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Additional Information  (continued)

 

BlackRock does not sell or disclose to non-affiliated third parties any non-public personal information about its Clients, except as permitted by law or as is necessary to respond to regulatory requests or to service Client accounts. These non-affiliated third parties are required to protect the confidentiality and security of this information and to use it only for its intended purpose.

We may share information with our affiliates to service your account or to provide you with information about other BlackRock products or services that may be of interest to you. In addition, BlackRock restricts access to non-public personal information about its Clients to those BlackRock employees with a legitimate business need for the information. BlackRock maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that are designed to protect the non-public personal information of its Clients, including procedures relating to the proper storage and disposal of such information.

 

Fund and Service Providers
Investment Adviser and Administrator		Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
BlackRock Advisors, LLC		Deloitte & Touche LLP
Wilmington, DE 19809		Boston, MA 02116
Accounting Agent and Transfer Agent		Distributor
BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.		BlackRock Investments, LLC
Wilmington, DE 19809		New York, NY 10022
Custodian		Legal Counsel
The Bank of New York Mellon		Sidley Austin LLP
New York, NY 10286		New York, NY 10019
		Address of the Fund
		100 Bellevue Parkway
		Wilmington, DE 19809

 

 

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Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

 

 

Portfolio Abbreviation
CVR		Contingent Value Rights
S&P		Standard & Poor’s

 

G L O S S A R Y   O F   T E R M S   U S E D   I N   T H  I S   R E P O R T		39

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Want to know more?

blackrock.com    |    800-441-7762

This report is intended for current holders. It is not authorized for use as an offer of sale or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of the Fund unless preceded or accompanied by the Fund’s current prospectus. Past performance results shown in this report should not be considered a representation of future performance. Investment returns and principal value of shares will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Statements and other information herein are as dated and are subject to change.

VO-9/22-SAR

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(b) Not Applicable

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Item 2 –

Code of Ethics – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

 

Item 3 –

Audit Committee Financial Expert – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

 

Item 4 –

Principal Accountant Fees and Services – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

 

Item 5 –

Audit Committee of Listed Registrant – Not Applicable

 

Item 6 –

Investments

(a) The registrant’s Schedule of Investments is included as part of the Report to Stockholders filed under Item 1(a) of this Form.

(b) Not Applicable due to no such divestments during the semi-annual period covered since the previous Form N-CSR filing.

 

Item 7 –

Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies – Not Applicable

 

Item 8 –

Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies – Not Applicable

 

Item 9 –

Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers – Not Applicable

 

Item 10 –

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders –There have been no material changes to these procedures.

 

Item 11 –

Controls and Procedures

(a) The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing of this report based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 12 –

Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment

Companies – Not Applicable

 

Item 13 –

Exhibits attached hereto

(a)(1) Code of Ethics – Not Applicable to this semi-annual report

(a)(2) Section 302 Certifications are attached

(a)(3) Any written solicitation to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1 – Not Applicable

 

2

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(a)(4) Change in Registrant’s independent public accountant – Not Applicable

(b) Section 906 Certifications are attached

 

3

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

 

		By:		/s/ John M. Perlowski
				John M. Perlowski
				Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) of
				BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

Date: November 22, 2022

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

		By:		/s/ John M. Perlowski
				John M. Perlowski
				Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) of
				BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

Date: November 22, 2022

 

		By:		/s/ Trent Walker
				Trent Walker
				Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer) of
				BlackRock Advantage SMID Cap Fund, Inc.

Date: November 22, 2022

 

4

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 302

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 906