The past 12 months reveal two distinct economic and market backdrops — one of extreme investor pessimism and decided weakness, and another of increased optimism amid growing signs of recovery. The start of the period was characterized by the former. September through December 2008 saw the surge of the economic storm that sparked the worst recession in decades. The months featured, among others, the infamous collapse of Lehman Brothers, uniformly poor economic data and plummeting investor confidence that resulted in massive government intervention (on a global scale) in the financial system and the economy. The tide turned dramatically in March 2009, however, on the back of new US government initiatives, as well as better-than-expected economic data and upside surprises in corporate earnings.

In this environment, US equities contended with extraordinary volatility, posting steep declines through mid-March before embarking on a rally that resulted in strong year-to-date returns for all major indexes. June saw a brief correction, though it appeared to be induced more by profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing than by a change in the economic outlook. The experience in international markets was similar to that in the United States. Notably, emerging markets staged a strong comeback in 2009 as these areas of the globe have generally seen a stronger acceleration in economic activity.

In fixed income markets, the flight-to-safety premium in Treasury securities prevailed during the equity market downturn, but more recently, ongoing concerns about deficit spending, debt issuance, inflation and dollar weakness have kept Treasury yields higher. At the same time, relatively attractive yields and distressed valuations among non-Treasury assets, coupled with a more favorable macro environment, drew in sidelined investors and triggered a sharp recovery in these sectors. This was particularly evident in the high yield sector, which has firmly outpaced all other taxable asset classes since the start of 2009. The municipal bond market enjoyed strong returns in 2009 as well, buoyed by a combination of attractive valuations, robust retail investor demand and a slowdown in forced selling. Moreover, the Build America Bond program has alleviated supply pressures, creating a more favorable technical environment. In particular, August marked the municipal market’s best monthly performance in more than 20 years, as the asset class has regained year-to-date all that was lost during 2008.

Overall, results for the major benchmark indexes were mixed. Higher-risk assets (i.e., equities and high yield bonds) and Treasuries reflected a bifurcated market, while less-risky fixed income investments posted stable, modest returns.

The market environment has visibly improved since the beginning of the year, but a great deal of uncertainty and risk remain. Through periods of market turbulence, as ever, BlackRock’s full resources are dedicated to the management of our clients’ assets. We invite you to visit www.blackrock.com/funds for our most current views on the economy and financial markets. As always, we thank you for entrusting BlackRock with your investments, and we look forward to continuing to serve you in the months and years ahead.

Sincerely,

Rob Kapito
President, BlackRock Advisors, LLC

On June 16, 2009, BlackRock, Inc. announced that it received written notice from Barclays PLC (“Barclays”) in which Barclays’ Board of Directors had accepted BlackRock’s offer to acquire Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”). At a special meeting held on August 6, 2009, BlackRock’s proposed purchase of BGI was approved by an overwhelming majority of Barclays’ voting shareholders, an important step toward closing the transaction. The combination of BlackRock and BGI will bring together market leaders in active and index strategies to create the preeminent asset management firm. The transaction is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009, subject to important fund shareholder and regulatory approvals.