BlackRock Announces Investment Policy Changes for Certain Insured Municipal Closed-End Funds
Business Wire, Sept 03, 2010
NEW YORK — BlackRock Advisors, LLC today announced that the Board of
Directors/Trustees of each of 20 of its insured closed-end funds (the
Funds) have approved changes to certain investment policies of the
Funds.
Historically, under normal market conditions, each Fund has been
required to invest at least 80% of its assets in municipal bonds either
(i) insured under an insurance policy purchased by the Fund or (ii)
insured under an insurance policy obtained by the issuer of the
municipal bond or any other party. In September 2008, the Funds adopted
an amended investment policy of seeking to limit their purchase of
municipal bonds to those bonds insured by insurance providers with
claims-paying abilities rated investment grade or in the three highest
ratings categories at time of investment (the Insurance Policy).
Following the onset of the credit and liquidity crises, the
claims-paying ability rating of most of the municipal bond insurance
providers has been lowered by the rating agencies. These downgrades have
called into question the long-term viability of the municipal bond
insurance market, which has the potential to severely limit the ability
of BlackRock Advisors, LLC, the Fund’s investment advisor (“BlackRock”),
to manage the Funds under the Insurance Policy.
As a result, on September 2, 2010, BlackRock recommended, and the Boards
approved, the removal of the Insurance Policy. As a result of this
investment policy change, the Funds would not be required to dispose of
assets currently held within the Funds. The Funds will maintain, and
have no current intention to amend, their investment policy of, under
normal market conditions, generally investing in municipal obligations
rated investment grade or in the three highest ratings categories, as
applicable.
[Table Omitted]
As disclosed in its prospectus, each Fund is required to provide
shareholders 60 days notice of a change to the Insured Policy.
Accordingly, a notice describing the changes discussed above will be
mailed to shareholders of record as of September 2, 2010. Following the
prescribed 60-day notice period, BlackRock anticipates that it will
gradually reposition the Funds portfolios over time, and that during
such period, each Fund may continue to hold a substantial portion of its
assets in insured municipal bonds. At this time, it is uncertain how
long the repositioning may take, and the Funds may continue to be
subject to risks associated with investing a substantial portion of
their assets in preferred securities until the repositioning is
complete. No action is required by shareholders of the Funds in
connection with this change.
In connection with this change in non-fundamental policy, each of the
Funds will undergo a name change to reflect its new portfolio
characteristics. The new names of the Funds will be announced at or
prior to the expiration of the 60-day notice period. Each Fund will
continue to trade on New York Stock Exchange under its current ticker
symbol.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and
advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At
June 30, 2010, BlackRocks AUM was $3.151 trillion. BlackRock offers
products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients needs, including
active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes.
Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate
accounts, mutual funds, iShares (exchange traded funds), and
other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management,
advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of
institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions.
Headquartered in New York City, as of June 30, 2010, the firm has
approximately 8,500 employees in 24 countries and a major presence in
key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia,
Australia and the Middle East and Africa
insurance marketing