Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)
BlackRock Taxable Municipal Bond Trust (the Trust) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940
Act). The Trust is registered as a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust. The Trust determines and makes available for publication
the net asset value (NAV) of its Common Shares on a daily basis.
The Trust, together with certain other registered investment companies
advised by BlackRock Advisors, LLC (the Manager) or its affiliates, is included in a complex of non-index fixed-income mutual funds and all BlackRock-advised
closed-end funds referred to as the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex.
2.
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SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
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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 Trust 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 date. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date at fair value. Interest income, including amortization and accretion of premiums and discounts on debt securities, is recognized daily on an accrual basis.
Segregation and Collateralization: In cases where the Trust enters into certain investments (e.g., futures contracts) or certain borrowings (e.g.,
reverse repurchase transactions) that would be treated as senior securities for 1940 Act purposes, the Trust may segregate or designate on its books and records cash or liquid assets having a market value at least equal to the amount of
its future obligations under such investments or borrowings. Doing so allows the investment or borrowings to be excluded from treatment as a senior security. Furthermore, if required by an exchange or counterparty agreement, the Trust
may be required to deliver/deposit cash and/or securities to/with an exchange, or broker-dealer or custodian as collateral for certain investments or obligations.
Distributions: Distributions from net investment income are declared and paid monthly. Distributions of capital gains are recorded on the ex-dividend date and made at least annually. The portion of distributions, if any, that exceeds a funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, as measured on a tax basis, constitute a non-taxable return of capital. The character and timing of distributions are determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.
Deferred Compensation Plan: Under the Deferred Compensation Plan (the Plan) approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the
Board), the trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act (Independent Trustees), may defer a portion of their annual complex-wide compensation. Deferred amounts earn an
approximate return as though equivalent dollar amounts had been invested in common shares of certain funds in the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex selected by the Independent Trustees. This has the same economic effect for the Independent Trustees as
if the Independent Trustees had invested the deferred amounts directly in certain funds in the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex.
The Plan is not funded
and obligations thereunder represent general unsecured claims against the general assets of the Trust, as applicable. Deferred compensation liabilities, if any, are included in the Trustees and Officers fees payable in the Statement of
Assets and Liabilities and will remain as a liability of the Trust until such amounts are distributed in accordance with the Plan.
Indemnifications: In the normal course of business, the Trust enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations that provide general
indemnification. The Trusts maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown because it involves future potential claims against the Trust, which cannot be predicted with any certainty.
Other: Expenses directly related to the Trust are charged to the Trust. 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.
3.
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INVESTMENT VALUATION AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
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Investment Valuation Policies: The Trusts investments are valued at fair value (also referred to as market value within the
financial statements) each day that the Trust 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 Trust determines the fair values of its financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under policies approved by the Board. If a
securitys 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 a policy approved by the Board as reflecting fair value. The BlackRock
Global Valuation Methodologies Committee (the Global Valuation Committee) is the committee formed by management to develop global pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments.
Fair Value Inputs and Methodologies: The following methods and inputs are used to establish the fair value of the Trusts assets and
liabilities:
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Fixed-income investments for which market quotations are readily available are generally valued using the last available
bid price or current market quotations provided by independent dealers or third party pricing services. Floating rate loan interests are valued at the mean of the bid prices from one or more independent brokers or dealers as obtained from a third
party pricing service. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot
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20
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2 0 2 1 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)
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size, but a fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than
institutional round lots. The pricing services may use matrix pricing or valuation models that utilize certain inputs and assumptions to derive values, including transaction data (e.g., recent representative bids and offers), market data, credit
quality information, perceived market movements, news, and other relevant information. Certain fixed-income securities, including asset-backed and mortgage related securities may be valued based on valuation models that consider the estimated cash
flows of each tranche of the entity, establish a benchmark yield and develop an estimated tranche specific spread to the benchmark yield based on the unique attributes of the tranche. The amortized cost method of valuation may be used with respect
to debt obligations with sixty days or less remaining to maturity unless the Manager determines such method does not represent fair value.
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Investments in open-end U.S. mutual funds (including money market funds) are
valued at that days published NAV.
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Futures contracts are valued based on that days last reported settlement or trade price on the exchange where the
contract is traded.
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If events (e.g., a market closure, 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 Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, in accordance with a policy approved by the Board as reflecting fair value (Fair Valued Investments). The fair valuation
approaches that may be used by the Global 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 Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, seeks to determine the price that the Trust might reasonably expect to receive or
pay from the current sale or purchase of that asset or liability in an arms-length transaction. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Global Valuation Committee, or
its delegate, deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement. The pricing of all Fair Valued Investments is subsequently reported to the Board or a committee thereof on a quarterly basis.
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:
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Level 1 Unadjusted price quotations in active markets/exchanges for identical assets or liabilities that the
Trust has the ability to access;
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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 marketcorroborated inputs); and
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Level 3 Unobservable inputs based on the best information available in the circumstances, to the extent
observable inputs are not available (including the Global Valuation Committees assumptions used in determining the fair value of financial instruments).
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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 Global 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.
4.
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SECURITIES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS
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Zero-Coupon Bonds: Zero-coupon bonds are normally issued at a significant discount from face value and do not provide for periodic interest
payments. These bonds may experience greater volatility in market value than other debt obligations of similar maturity which provide for regular interest payments.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements: Reverse repurchase agreements are agreements with qualified third party broker dealers in which a fund sells
securities to a bank or broker-dealer and agrees to repurchase the same securities at a mutually agreed upon date and price. A fund receives cash from the sale to use for other investment purposes. During the term of the reverse repurchase
agreement, a fund continues to receive the principal and interest payments on the securities sold. Certain agreements have no stated maturity and can be terminated by either party at any time. Interest on the value of the reverse repurchase
agreements issued and outstanding is based upon competitive market rates determined at the time of issuance. A fund may utilize reverse repurchase agreements when it is anticipated that the interest income to be earned from the investment of the
proceeds of the transaction is greater than the interest expense of the transaction. Reverse repurchase agreements involve leverage risk. If a fund suffers a loss on its investment of the transaction proceeds from a reverse repurchase agreement, a
fund would still be required to pay the full repurchase price. Further, a fund remains subject to the risk that the market value of the securities repurchased declines below the repurchase price. In such cases, a fund would be required to return a
portion of the cash received from the transaction or provide additional securities to the counterparty.
Cash received in exchange for securities
delivered plus accrued interest due to the counterparty is recorded as a liability in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities at face value including accrued interest. Due to the short-term nature of the reverse repurchase agreements, face value
approximates fair value. Interest payments made by a fund to the counterparties are recorded as a component of interest expense in the Statement of Operations. In periods of increased demand for the security, a fund may receive a fee for the use of
the security by the counterparty, which may result in interest income to a fund.
For the six months ended January 31, 2021, the average amount
of reverse repurchase agreements outstanding and the daily weighted average interest rate for the Trust was $686,542,905 and 0.85%, respectively.
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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
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21
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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)
Reverse repurchase
transactions are entered into by a fund under Master Repurchase Agreements (each, an MRA), which permit a fund, under certain circumstances, including an event of default (such as bankruptcy or insolvency), to offset payables and/or
receivables under the MRA with collateral held and/or posted to the counterparty and create one single net payment due to or from a fund. With reverse repurchase transactions, typically a fund and counterparty under an MRA are permitted to sell, re-pledge, or use the collateral associated with the transaction. Bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against such a right of offset in the event of
the MRA counterpartys bankruptcy or insolvency. Pursuant to the terms of the MRA, a fund receives or posts securities and cash as collateral with a market value in excess of the repurchase price to be paid or received by a fund upon the
maturity of the transaction. Upon a bankruptcy or insolvency of the MRA counterparty, a fund is considered an unsecured creditor with respect to excess collateral and, as such, the return of excess collateral may be delayed.
As of period end, the following table is a summary of the Trusts open reverse repurchase agreements by counterparty which are subject to offset
under an MRA on a net basis:
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Counterparty
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Reverse Repurchase
Agreements
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Fair Value of
Non-Cash Collateral
Pledged Including
Accrued Interest(a)
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Cash Collateral
Pledged/Received
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Net Amount
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Barclays Bank PLC
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$
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(26,132,019
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)
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$
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26,132,019
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$
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$
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Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA) Inc.
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(334,715,866
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)
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334,715,866
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RBC Capital Markets LLC
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(283,461,803
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)
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283,461,803
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$
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(644,309,688
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)
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$
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644,309,688
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$
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$
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(a)
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Collateral with a value of $694,954,873 has been pledged in connection with open reverse repurchase agreements. Excess
of net collateral pledged to the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.
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In the event the counterparty of securities under an MRA files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a funds
use of the proceeds from the agreement may be restricted while the counterparty, or its trustee or receiver, determines whether or not to enforce a funds obligation to repurchase the securities.
5.
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DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
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The Trust engages in various portfolio investment strategies using derivative contracts both to increase the returns of the Trust 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).
Futures contracts are
exchange-traded agreements between the Trust 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 Trust is required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or
securities in an amount that varies depending on a contracts 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 Trust 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.
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INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES
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Investment Advisory: The Trust entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Manager, the Trusts 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 Trusts portfolio and provides the personnel, facilities,
equipment and certain other services necessary to the operations of the Trust.
For such services, the Trust pays the Manager a monthly fee at an
annual rate equal to 0.55% of the average daily value of the Trusts managed assets.
For purposes of calculating this fee, managed
assets are determined as total assets of the Trust (including any assets attributable to money borrowed for investment purposes) less the sum of its accrued liabilities (other than money borrowed for investment purposes).
Expense Waivers: The Manager contractually agreed to waive its investment advisory fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Trust pays to
the Manager indirectly through its investment in affiliated money market funds (the affiliated money market fund waiver) through June 30, 2022. The contractual agreement may be terminated upon 90 days notice by a majority of
the Independent Trustees, or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust. This amount is included in fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager in the Statement of Operations. For the six months ended January 31,
2021, the amounts waived were $11,632.
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22
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2 0 2 1 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)
The Manager contractually
agreed to waive its investment advisory fee with respect to any portion of the Trusts assets invested in affiliated equity and fixed-income mutual funds and affiliated exchange-traded funds that have a contractual management fee through
June 30, 2022. The agreement can be renewed for annual periods thereafter, and may be terminated on 90 days notice, each subject to approval by a majority of the Trusts Independent Trustees. For the six months ended January 31,
2021, there were no fees waived and/or reimbursed by the Manager pursuant to this arrangement.
Trustees and Officers: Certain trustees and/or
officers of the Trust are directors and/or officers of BlackRock or its affiliates. The Trust reimburses the Manager for a portion of the compensation paid to the Trusts Chief Compliance Officer, which is included in Trustees and Officer in
the Statement of Operations.
For the six months ended January 31, 2021, purchases and sales of investments, excluding short-term investments, were $177,188,533 and $271,920,877,
respectively.
8.
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INCOME TAX INFORMATION
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It is the Trusts 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.
The Trust 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 Trusts U.S. federal tax returns generally remains open for a period of three fiscal years after they are filed. The statutes of limitations on the Trusts 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 Trust as of January 31, 2021, 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 Trusts financial statements.
As of July 31, 2020, the Trust had non-expiring capital loss carryforwards available to offset future
realized capital gains of 106,034,695.
As of January 31, 2021, 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:
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Trust Name
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Tax Cost
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Gross Unrealized
Appreciation
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Gross Unrealized
Depreciation
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Net Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
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BBN
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$
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1,627,644,031
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$
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457,102,229
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$
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(1,344,272
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$
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455,757,957
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In the normal course of business, the Trust invests in securities or other instruments and may enter into certain transactions, and such activities
subject the Trust 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 Trust and its investments.
The Trust may hold a significant amount of bonds subject to calls by the issuers at defined
dates and prices. When bonds are called by issuers and the Trust reinvest the proceeds received, such investments may be in securities with lower yields than the bonds originally held, and correspondingly, could adversely impact the yield and total
return performance of the Trust.
The Build America Bonds (BABs) market is smaller, less diverse and less liquid than other types of
municipal securities. Since the BABs program expired on December 31, 2010 and was not extended, BABs may be less actively traded, which may negatively affect the value of BABs held by the Trust.
The Trust may invest in BABs. Issuers of direct pay BABs held in the Trusts portfolio receive a subsidy from the U.S. Treasury with respect to
interest payment on bonds. There is no assurance that an issuer will comply with the requirements to receive such subsidy or that such subsidy will not be reduced or terminated altogether in the future. As of period end, the subsidy that issuers of
direct payment BABs receive from the U.S. Treasury has been reduced as the result of budgetary sequestration, which has resulted, and which may continue to result, in early redemptions of BABs at par value. The early redemption of BABs at par value
may result in a potential loss in value for investors of such BABs, including the Trust, who may have purchased the securities at prices above par, and may require the Trust to reinvest redemption proceeds in lower-yielding securities which could
reduce the Trusts income and distributions. Moreover, the elimination or reduction in subsidy from the federal government may adversely affect an issuers ability to repay or refinance BABs and the BABs credit ratings, which, in
turn, may adversely affect the value of the BABs held by the Trust and the Trusts NAV.
The Trust may invest without limitation in illiquid or
less liquid investments or investments in which no secondary market is readily available or which are otherwise illiquid, including private placement securities. The Trust may not be able to readily dispose of such investments at prices that
approximate those at which the Trust could sell such investments if they were more widely traded and, as a result of such illiquidity, the Trust may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions if necessary
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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
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23
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Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)
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to raise funds to meet its obligations. Limited
liquidity can also affect the market price of investments, thereby adversely affecting the Trusts net asset value and ability to make dividend distributions. Privately issued debt securities are often of below investment grade quality,
frequently are unrated and present many of the same risks as investing in below investment grade public debt securities.
Market Risk: The
Trust may be exposed to prepayment risk, which is the risk that borrowers may exercise their option to prepay principal earlier than scheduled during periods of declining interest rates, which would force the Trust to reinvest in lower yielding
securities. The Trust may also be exposed to reinvestment risk, which is the risk that income from the Trusts portfolio will decline if the Trust invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called fixed-income securities at market interest
rates that are below the Trust portfolios current earnings rate.
Municipal securities are subject to the risk that litigation, legislation or
other political events, local business or economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuers ability to make payments of principal and/or interest or otherwise affect
the value of such securities. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to,
taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer insolvency. Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively
affected by the discontinuance of the tax benefits supporting the project or assets or the inability to collect revenues for the project or from the assets. Municipal securities may be less liquid than taxable bonds, and there may be less publicly
available information on the financial condition of municipal security issuers than for issuers of other securities.
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 funds investments. The duration of this pandemic and its effects cannot be determined with certainty.
Counterparty Credit Risk: The Trust 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 Trust 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 Trust to market, issuer and
counterparty credit risks, consist principally of financial instruments and receivables due from counterparties. The extent of the Trusts 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 Trust.
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 Trust
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 Trust 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 with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a clearing brokers 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 brokers customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Trust.
Concentration Risk: A diversified
portfolio, where this is appropriate and consistent with a funds 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
Trusts portfolio are disclosed in its Schedule of Investments.
The Trust invests a significant portion of its assets in fixed-income securities
and/or uses derivatives tied to the fixed-income markets. Changes in market interest rates or economic conditions may affect the value and/or liquidity of such investments. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of bonds and other fixed-income
securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. The Trust may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates.
LIBOR Transition Risk: The United Kingdoms Financial Conduct Authority announced a phase out of the London Interbank Offered Rate
(LIBOR) by the end of 2021, and it is expected that LIBOR will cease to be published after that time. The Trust 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 Trust is uncertain.
10.
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CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS
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The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares, all of which were initially classified as Common Shares. The par value for the
Trusts Common Shares is $0.001. The Board is authorized, however, to reclassify any unissued Common Shares to Preferred Shares without the approval of Common Shareholders.
For the periods shown, shares issued and outstanding increased by the following amounts as a result of dividend reinvestment:
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Trust Name
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Six Months Ended
01/31/21
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Year Ended
07/31/20
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BBN
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52,195
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42,857
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24
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2 0 2 1 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)
The Trust participates in an
open-market share repurchase program (the Repurchase Program). From December 1, 2019 through November 30, 2020, the Trust may repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding common shares under the Repurchase Program, based on common
shares outstanding as of the close of business on November 30, 2019, subject to certain conditions. There is no assurance that the Trust will purchase shares in any particular amounts.
On September 28, 2020, the Trust announced a continuation of its open market share repurchase program. Commencing on December 1, 2020, the Trust
may repurchase through November 30, 2021, up to 5% of its common shares outstanding as of the close of business on November 30, 2020, subject to certain conditions. There is no assurance that the Trust will purchase shares in any
particular amounts. For the six months ended January 31, 2021, the Trust did not repurchase any shares.
Managements evaluation of the impact of all subsequent events on the Trusts financial statements was completed through the date the financial
statements were issued and the following items were noted:
The Trust declared and paid distributions to Common Shareholders as follows:
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Dividend Per Common Share
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Trust Name
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Paid(a)
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Declared(b)
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BBN
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$
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0.117000
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$
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0.117000
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(a)
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Net investment income dividend paid on February 26, 2021 to Common Shareholders of record on February 16,
2021.
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(b)
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Net investment income dividend declared on March 1, 2021, payable to Common Shareholders of record on
March 15, 2021.
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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
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25
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Additional Information