Fund Evaluator:
BlackRock Balanced Investor A (MDCPX)
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Best Performing in Moderate Allocation Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
BlackRock Balanced Investor A Overview
BlackRock Balanced Investor A (MDCPX) is an actively managed Allocation Moderate Allocation fund. BlackRock launched the fund in 1994.
The investment seeks the highest total investment return. The fund invests in a combination of equity securities, fixed-income securities and derivatives. The proportion the fund invests in each category at any given time depends on fund management’s view of how attractive that category appears relative to the others. The advisor intends to invest at least 25% of its assets in equity securities and at least 25% of its assets in senior fixed-income securities, such as U.S. government debt securities, corporate debt securities, and mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities.
About BlackRock Balanced Investor A (MDCPX)
There are 8 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.24 years: Philip Green (2006), Scott Radell (2022), Michael Pensky (2022), Richard Mathieson (2017), Anna Hawley (2022), Jasmita Mohan (2023), Daniel Felder (2022), Raffaele Savi (2017). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. BlackRock Balanced Investor A has 2177 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 43.9% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
BlackRock Balanced Investor A is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. BlackRock Balanced Investor A has 23.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 31.3%. There is 19.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 48.3% (44.5% domestic bond, 3.8% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). BlackRock Balanced Investor A has -10.0% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $977 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Moderate Allocation category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
MDCPX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The BlackRock Balanced Investor A expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Moderate Allocation category. BlackRock Balanced Investor A has an expense ratio of 0.78%, which is 21% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. BlackRock Balanced Investor A has a portfolio turnover rate of 101%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 52% for the Moderate Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, BlackRock Balanced Investor A returned 0.3%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Moderate Allocation category had an average return of -0.3%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
BlackRock Balanced Investor A has a trailing yield of 2.23%, which is above the 1.97% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-annually and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
BlackRock Balanced Investor A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 8.0%, 1.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 15.9% over the past year (grade of A), 13.3% over the past three years (grade of B) and 7.6% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 9.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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MDCPX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| MDCPX Return (NAV) | 0.3% | 2.4% | 15.9% | 13.3% | 7.6% | 9.9% |
| MDCPX Grade | B | C | A | B | B | A |
| +/- Category | 0.6% | 0.2% | 2.9% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.5% |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | -0.3% | 2.1% | 13.1% | 12.0% | 6.6% | 8.5% |
| MDCPX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 3.8% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.4% |
MDCPX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| MDCPX Return (NAV) | 8.0% | 15.3% | 12.5% | 16.6% | -15.7% | 16.3% | 15.1% | 21.6% | -3.4% | 14.2% | 8.2% |
| MDCPX Grade | A | B | C | B | C | B | B | B | B | C | B |
| +/- Category | 1.6% | 1.9% | 0.2% | 2.3% | -1.7% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Moderate Allocation Avg | 6.4% | 13.4% | 12.2% | 14.3% | -14.0% | 14.4% | 12.9% | 19.8% | -5.1% | 13.8% | 7.7% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 9.1% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.74 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.98 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (39% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.94 |
| R-Squared: | 94% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 2.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Semi-Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1784 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 977 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 101% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 8 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 19.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Green Philip (2006), Mathieson Richard (2017), Savi Raffaele (2017), Felder Daniel (2022), Hawley Anna (2022), Radell Scott (2022), Pensky Michael (2022), Mohan Jasmita (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 2177 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 43.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 23.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 31.3% |
| Foreign Stock: | 19.3% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 44.5% |
| Foreign Bond: | 3.8% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 11.1% |
| Cash: | -10.0% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | BlackRock |
| Phone Number: | 800-441-7762 |
| Website: | www.blackrock.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | October 21, 1994 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 5.25% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.78% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.99% |
| Share Class: | BlackRock Balanced Institutional |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
