BTZ BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust

BlackRock, Inc. today announced that its Closed-End Fund Board of Directors/Trustees (the “Board”) has recently approved changes to certain non-fundamental investment policies for each of BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund (NYSE: PSY), BlackRock Preferred & Corporate Income Strategies Fund (NYSE: PSW), BlackRock Preferred Opportunity Trust (NYSE: BPP) and BlackRock Preferred & Equity Advantage Trust (NYSE: BTZ) (collectively, the “Funds”). As a result of these policy changes, the Funds will no longer focus their investments primarily on preferred securities. Instead, each Fund will transition into portfolios investing in a broader spectrum of securities across the capital structure. With regard to BTZ, the Fund will no longer invest a substantial portion of its assets in equity securities, nor will it utilize an option-writing strategy.

The Funds’ current and amended non-fundamental policies are as follows:

    Non-Fundamental Investment Policy with Respect to Preferred Securities Ticker   Current   Amended (same for all Funds) PSY   Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in preferred securities.   Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in credit-related securities, including, but not limited to, investment grade corporate bonds, high yield bonds, bank loans, preferred securities or convertible bonds or derivatives with economic characteristics similar to these credit-related securities. PSW   Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in a portfolio of preferred securities and corporate debt securities. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 65% of its total assets in preferred securities and may invest up to 35% of its total assets in debt securities. BPP   Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in preferred securities. BTZ   Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in preferred and equity securities and derivatives with economic characteristics similar to individual or groups of equity securities.  

The Board has taken these actions in response to BlackRock’s perception of the current and prospective market environment for preferred securities, including recent changes to the criteria that govern the ratings of the Funds’ preferred shares. BlackRock and the Board believe the amended policies will better position the Funds to achieve their investment objectives and are in the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders. The approved changes will not alter any Fund’s investment objective and each Fund will continue to be managed in accordance with its investment objectives.

In addition to the foregoing, the Board also approved changes to each Fund’s restriction on credit quality of eligible investments. Previously, each Fund was restricted to investing, under normal market conditions, no more than 20% of its total assets in securities rated below investment grade at the time of purchase. The amended policy allows each Fund to invest, under normal market conditions, without limitation in securities rated below investment grade at the time of purchase. While this policy affords the Funds additional flexibility to invest in securities rated below investment grade at time of purchase, it is anticipated, under current market conditions, that each of the Funds will have an average credit quality of at least investment grade.

As disclosed in its prospectus, each Fund is required to provide shareholders 60 days notice of a change to its current non-fundamental policy with respect to investing in preferred securities. Accordingly, a notice describing the changes discussed above will be mailed to shareholders of record as of September 4, 2009. 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 preferred securities. The notice will also generally describe certain risks relating to each Fund’s new investment policy. 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 one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. At June 30, 2009, BlackRock’s assets under management were $1.373 trillion. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions and individuals worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, cash management and alternative investment products. In addition, a growing number of institutional investors use BlackRock Solutions® investment system, risk management and financial advisory services. The firm is headquartered in New York City and has employees in 21 countries throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.blackrock.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release, and other statements that BlackRock may make, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to BlackRock’s future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “trend,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “pipeline,” “believe,” “comfortable,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “current,” “intention,” “estimate,” “position,” “assume,” “outlook,” “continue,” “remain,” “maintain,” “sustain,” “seek,” “achieve,” and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or similar expressions.

BlackRock cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and BlackRock assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.

With respect to each Fund, the following factors, among others, could cause actual events to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: (1) changes in political, economic or industry conditions, the interest rate environment or financial and capital markets, which could result in changes in the Fund’s net asset value; (2) the performance of the Fund’s investments; (3) the impact of increased competition; (4) the extent and timing of any distributions or share repurchases; (5) the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to the Fund or BlackRock, as applicable; (6) BlackRock’s ability to attract and retain highly talented professionals; and (7) the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to BlackRock, Barclays PLC, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch or PNC.

The Annual and Semi-Annual Reports and other regulatory filings of the Funds with the SEC are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on BlackRock’s website at www.blackrock.com, and may discuss these or other factors that affect the Funds. The information contained on our website is not a part of this press release.