BlackRock Event Driven Equity Profits from Corporate Change
BALPX capitalizes on mergers, executive turnover and other events.


Coloring outside the lines isn’t just for kids in school—adding some color to the edges of your core portfolio can brighten returns. Investors adopted that strategy in 2021, pouring a record of nearly $4 billion in new money into so-called event-driven funds, or funds that invest in companies undergoing fundamental changes, such as a merger or acquisition. BlackRock Event Driven Equity (BALPX) received $2.3 billion of the inflow.
Event-driven funds typically have little relation to stock and bond market ups and downs, so that even in down markets they tend to remain flat or lose less than standard stock or bond fund peers, says Morningstar analyst Bobby Blue. If you’re looking for diversification, a small allocation to an event-driven fund can hedge against volatility elsewhere.
The BlackRock fund is a standout. So far in 2022, the S&P 500 index is down 5.5%. Over the same period, the fund has gained a flat-ish 0.1%.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Mark McKenna, the fund’s lead manager, works with a team of 12 other analysts. The team leverages BlackRock’s extensive network and resources to gain direct access to company executives in order to better understand the changes afoot at their firm.
Those changes can include a range of company events. So-called “hard” events may refer to announced takeovers, for example, or company spin-offs. The fund holds shares in Danaher, for instance, which acquired General Electric’s biopharma business in March 2020. “Soft” events might include management changes or a stock being added or taken out of a particular index. Coty earned a spot in the fund in part because of new initiatives, including a product line revitalization.
McKenna also devotes a small portion of the fund to distressed credit opportunities—specialty finance events, according to Blue, in which a company negotiates directly with BlackRock for financing, whether through a bond underwriting or holding IOUs directly for a short period.
The fund’s hefty expense ratio of 1.57% is still less than the category average of 1.96%. Though the fund charges a load, it trades fee-free at several brokerage firms, including Fidelity and Schwab.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

Rivan joined Kiplinger on Leap Day 2016 as a reporter for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. A Michigan native, she graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 and from there freelanced as a local copy editor and proofreader, and served as a research assistant to a local Detroit journalist. Her work has been featured in the Ann Arbor Observer and Sage Business Researcher. She is currently assistant editor, personal finance at The Washington Post.
-
Stock Market Today: Have We Seen the Bottom for Stocks?
Solid first-quarter earnings suggest fundamentals remain solid, and recent price action is encouraging too.
By David Dittman
-
Is the GOP Secretly Planning to Raise Taxes on the Rich?
Tax Reform As high-stakes tax reform talks resume on Capitol Hill, questions are swirling about what Republicans and President Trump will do.
By Kelley R. Taylor
-
Stock Market Today: Have We Seen the Bottom for Stocks?
Solid first-quarter earnings suggest fundamentals remain solid, and recent price action is encouraging too.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Great Power Affairs Mesmerize Markets
The U.S. and China are at least talking about talking about tariffs, and investors, traders and speculators are showing a little less fear.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Rise on Good Volatility
Investors, traders and speculators continue to process the "known unknown" of global tariff-and-trade war negotiations.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Trump Retreats, Markets Rejoice
Stocks rally, yields soften, the dollar rises, and even beaten-down names enjoy the wages of potential trade peace.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Soar on China Trade Talk Hopes
Treasury Secretary Bessent said current U.S.-China trade relations are unsustainable and signaled hopes for negotiations.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Drops 971 Points as Powell Pressure Ramps Up
President Trump is increasing his attacks against Jerome Powell, insisting the Fed chair cut interest rates.
By Karee Venema
-
Stock Market Today: No 'Powell Put'? No Problem
Investors, traders and speculators look beyond both another Trump post and more signs of slowing economic activity.
By David Dittman
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Drops 699 Points After Powell Speech
Fed Chair Powell warned of a slowing economy and higher inflation but said the central bank isn't ready to cut rates just yet.
By Karee Venema