BlackRock Global Dividend Fund Q2 2024 Commentary

BlackRock

7–9 minutes

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Average annual total returns (%) as of 6/30/24

2Q24 (not annualized)	YTD (not annualized)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Institutional	1.71	7.16	13.45	4.19	7.97	6.42
Investor A (Without Sales Charge)	1.65	7.13	13.24	3.94	7.71	6.15
Investor A (With Sales Charge)	-3.69	1.51	7.29	2.09	6.55	5.58
MSCI All Country World 1	2.87	11.30	19.38	5.43	10.76	8.43

The fund's annual total returns prior to 11/01/10 reflect a different investment strategy.

Expenses for Institutional shares: Total 0.79 %. For Investor A shares: Total 1.04 %. Data represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment returns and principal values may fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than that shown. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Refer to www.blackrock.com for current month-end performance. Investment returns reflect total fund operating expenses, net of all fees, waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only. It is not possible to invest directly in an unmanaged index. Share classes have different sales charges, fees and other features. Returns with sales charge reflect deduction of current maximum initial sales charge of 5.25% for Investor A shares. Institutional shares have no front- or back-end load. Institutional shares have limited availability and may be purchased at various minimums. See prospectus for details.

The BlackRock Global Dividend Fund gives you access to the world's equity growth potential and has historically done this with lower volatility than global stock indexes. The Fund invests in carefully selected quality companies around the globe with strong dividend growth. The Fund is not specifically managed to a benchmark index for short-term performance purposes. The portfolio managers of the BlackRock Global Dividend Fund aim to provide dividend growth and consistent returns with lower volatility over the long term.

Commentary as of 06/30/24

The fund posted returns of 1.71% (Institutional shares) and 1.65% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the second quarter of 2024.
Stock selection in the health care and energy sectors was the largest contributor to relative performance. In contrast, an overweight exposure to, and security selection in, the consumer staples sector, and an overweight allocation to, and stock selection in, the industrials sector were the largest detractors from relative returns.
The fund had overweight positions in the industrials, consumer staples, and health care sectors, while it had underweight holdings in the consumer discretionary, information technology, and utilities sectors. By region, the fund had an overweight allocation to Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, and underweight exposures to the United States and Asia.

Top 10 holdings (%)

Microsoft ( MSFT )	4.94
TSMC ( TSM )	3.33
Novo Nordisk ( NVO )	3.17
Texas Instruments ( TXN )	3.02
Apple ( AAPL )	3.02
AstraZeneca ( AZN )	2.98
Nestlé ( OTCPK:NSRGY )( OTCPK:NSRGF )	2.93
UnitedHealth Group ( UNH )	2.81
Relx Plc ( RELX )	2.54
Union Pacific ( UNP )	2.53

Investment approach

Seeks high-quality, dividend-paying companies that the team believes can generate strong, consistent returns with lower volatility over the long term.

Contributors

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), AstraZeneca, and Novo Nordisk were the top individual contributors. TSMC continued to draw strength from its strategic position in artificial intelligence chip manufacturing, which drove both demand growth and pricing power for leading-edge chips. AstraZeneca reported first-quarter revenue and earnings that surpassed market expectations, particularly in its oncology division. Novo Nordisk continued its strong performance as it executed well on its established diabetes franchise and benefited from weight-loss drug opportunities.

Detractors

Underweight holdings in Nvidia and Alphabet weighed on performance in an AI-driven market environment. Most IT stocks do not align with the fund's dividend criteria, which meant that an underweight exposure to the sector was a headwind. In addition, LVMH, the French luxury goods company, performed weakly due to decelerating growth in its fashion and leather goods division, driven by weaker demand from aspirational consumers in developed markets such as Europe and the United States.

Further insight

During the quarter, the fund added to its IT exposure through the addition of Alphabet and Salesforce. In contrast, the allocation to the financials sector was reduced following the sales of American Express and Prudential.

Important Risks: The fund is actively managed and its characteristics will vary. Holdings shown should not be deemed as a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Stock values fluctuate in price so the value of your investment can go down depending on market conditions. International investing involves special risks including, but not limited to political risks, currency fluctuations, illiquidity and volatility. These risks may be heightened for investments in emerging markets. Short-selling entails special risks. If the fund makes short sales in securities that increase in value, the fund will lose value. Any loss on short positions may or may not be offset by investing short-sale proceeds in other investments. The fund may use derivatives to hedge its investments or to seek to enhance returns. Derivatives entail risks relating to liquidity, leverage and credit that may reduce returns and increase volatility.

The opinions expressed are those of the fund's portfolio management team as of June 30, 2024, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. Information and opinions are derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources deemed by BlackRock to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy.

BlackRock provides compensation in connection with obtaining or using third-party ratings and rankings.

1 The MSCI ACWI is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted-index that measures equity market performance of developed and emerging markets. It consists of 45 country indices comprising 24 developed and 21 emerging market country indices.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the fund carefully before investing. The prospectus and, if available, the summary prospectus contain this and other information about the fund and are available, along with information on other BlackRock funds, by calling 800-882-0052 or from your financial professional. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA.

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee

07/24 - Global Dividend Fund

Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.

This post originally appeared on BlackRock.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

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