497K 1 d292754d497k.htm BLACKROCK ISHARES MSCI EAFE INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND - K SHARES Blackrock iShares MSCI EAFE International Index Fund - K shares
APRIL 29, 2022
 Summary Prospectus
BlackRock Index Funds, Inc.  |  Class K Shares
iShares MSCI EAFE International Index Fund
  Class K: BTMKX
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus (including amendments and supplements), reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s statement of additional information, online at http://www.blackrock.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 537-4942 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus.request@blackrock.com, or from your financial professional. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated April 29, 2022, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
This Summary Prospectus contains information you should know before investing, including information about risks. Please read it before you invest and keep it for future reference.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Summary Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee

 


Summary Prospectus

Key Facts About iShares MSCI EAFE International Index Fund
Investment Objective

The investment objective of iShares MSCI EAFE International Index Fund (“MSCI EAFE International Index Fund”or the “Fund”), a series of BlackRock Index Funds, Inc. (the “Corporation”), is to match the performance of the MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East) (the “MSCI EAFE Index” or the “Underlying Index”) in U.S. dollars with net dividends as closely as possible before the deduction of Fund expenses.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell Class K Shares of MSCI EAFE International Index Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to your financial professional or your selected securities dealer, broker, investment adviser, service provider or industry professional (including BlackRock Advisors, LLC (“BlackRock”) and its affiliates) (each, a “Financial Intermediary”), which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment)
  Class K
Shares
Management Fee1   0.01%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees   None
Other Expenses2   0.03%
Administration Fees 0.03%  
Independent Expenses2  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.04%
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements1,2  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements1,2   0.04%
  
1 As described in the “Management of the Funds” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 34, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive the management fee with respect to any portion of the Fund’s assets estimated to be attributable to investments in other equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates that have a contractual management fee, through June 30, 2023. In addition, BlackRock has contractually agreed to waive its management fees by the amount of investment advisory fees the Fund pays to BlackRock indirectly through its investment in money market funds managed by BlackRock or its affiliates, through June 30, 2023.The contractual agreements may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested directors of the Corporation or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
2 Independent Expenses consist of the Fund’s allocable portion of the fees and expenses of the independent directors of the Corporation, counsel to such independent directors and the independent registered public accounting firm that provides audit services to the Fund. BlackRock has contractually agreed to reimburse, or provide offsetting credits to, the Fund for Independent Expenses through June 30, 2032. After giving effect to such contractual arrangements, Independent Expenses will be 0.00%. Such contractual arrangements may not be terminated prior to July 1, 2032 without the consent of the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Class K Shares $4 $13 $23 $51
  
Portfolio Turnover:
MSCI EAFE International Index Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, MSCI EAFE International Index Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 3% of the average value of its portfolio.
2

 


Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

MSCI EAFE International Index Fund employs a “passive” management approach, attempting to invest in a portfolio of assets whose performance is expected to match approximately the performance of the MSCI EAFE Index. The Fund will be substantially invested in securities in the MSCI EAFE Index, and will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in securities or other financial instruments that are components of or have economic characteristics similar to the securities included in the MSCI EAFE Index. The Fund may change its target index if Fund management believes a different index would better enable the Fund to match the performance of the market segment represented by the current index.
MSCI EAFE International Index Fund invests in a statistically selected sample of equity securities included in the MSCI EAFE Index and in derivative instruments linked to the MSCI EAFE Index. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock and securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock. The Fund will, under normal circumstances, invest in all of the countries represented in the MSCI EAFE Index. The Fund may not, however, invest in all of the companies within a country represented in the MSCI EAFE Index, or in the same weightings as in the MSCI EAFE Index.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

Risk is inherent in all investing. The value of your investment in MSCI EAFE International Index Fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly from day to day and over time. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The following is a summary description of the principal risks of investing in the Fund. The relative significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.
Equity Securities Risk — Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.
Foreign Securities Risk — Foreign investments often involve special risks not present in U.S. investments that can increase the chances that the Fund will lose money. These risks include:
The Fund generally holds its foreign securities and cash in foreign banks and securities depositories, which may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business and may be subject to only limited or no regulatory oversight.
Changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.
The economies of certain foreign markets may not compare favorably with the economy of the United States with respect to such issues as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and balance of payments position.
The governments of certain countries, or the U.S. Government with respect to certain countries, may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions through capital controls and/or sanctions on foreign investments in the capital markets or certain industries in those countries, which may prohibit or restrict the ability to own or transfer currency, securities, derivatives or other assets.
Many foreign governments do not supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to the same extent as does the United States and may not have laws to protect investors that are comparable to U.S. securities laws.
Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets may result in delays in payment for or delivery of securities not typically associated with settlement and clearance of U.S. investments.
The Fund’s claims to recover foreign withholding taxes may not be successful, and if the likelihood of recovery of foreign withholding taxes materially decreases, due to, for example, a change in tax regulation or approach in the foreign country, accruals in the Fund’s net asset value for such refunds may be written down partially or in full, which will adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value.
The European financial markets have recently experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about economic downturns in, or rising government debt levels of, several European countries as well as acts of war in the region. These events may spread to other countries in Europe and may affect the value and liquidity of certain of the Fund’s investments.
Index-Related Risk — There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Underlying Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Market disruptions or high volatility, other unusual market circumstances and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Underlying Index. Errors in index
3

 


  data, index computations or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the index provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions may cause the index provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Underlying Index to vary from its normal or expected composition.
  An index fund has operating and other expenses while an index does not. As a result, while the Fund will attempt to track the Underlying Index closely as possible, it will tend to underperform the Underlying Index to some degree over time. If an index fund is properly correlated to its stated index, the fund will perform poorly when the index performs poorly.
Passive Investment Risk Because BlackRock does not select individual companies in the index that the Fund tracks, the Fund may hold securities of companies that present risks that an investment adviser researching individual securities might seek to avoid.
Tracking Error Risk The Fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index, pricing differences (including, as applicable, differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s net asset value), differences in transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of dividends or other distributions, interest, the requirements to maintain pass-through tax treatment, portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders, changes to the Underlying Index and the cost to the Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements. These risks may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. In addition, tracking error may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the Underlying Index does not.
Market Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.
  An outbreak of an infectious coronavirus (COVID-19) that was first detected in December 2019 developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. Although vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the duration of the pandemic and its effects cannot be predicted with certainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
Performance Information

The information shows how the Fund’s performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The table compares the Fund’s performance to that of the MSCI EAFE Index. To the extent that dividends and distributions have been paid by the Fund, the performance information for the Fund in the chart and table assumes reinvestment of the dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. The table includes all applicable fees. If BlackRock and its affiliates had not waived or reimbursed certain Fund expenses during these periods, the Fund’s returns would have been lower. Updated information on the Fund’s performance, including its current net asset value, can be obtained by visiting www.blackrock.com or can be obtained by phone at (800) 882-0052.
4

 


Class K Shares
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
MSCI EAFE International Index Fund
As of 12/31
During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 16.26% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a quarter was -23.29% (quarter ended March 31, 2020).
For the periods ended 12/31/21
Average Annual Total Returns
1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
iShares MSCI EAFE International Index Fund — Class K Shares      
Return Before Taxes 11.33% 9.74% 8.00%
Return After Taxes on Distributions 10.56% 9.09% 7.41%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 7.30% 7.74% 6.47%
MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East)
(Reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
11.26% 9.55% 8.03%
  
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager

MSCI EAFE International Index Fund’s investment manager is BlackRock Advisors, LLC (previously defined as “BlackRock”). MSCI EAFE International Index Fund’s sub-adviser is BlackRock Fund Advisors (the “Sub-Adviser”). Where applicable, “BlackRock” refers also to the Sub-Adviser.
Portfolio Managers

Name Portfolio Manager
of the Fund Since
Title
Paul Whitehead 2022 Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Suzanne Henige, CFA 2020 Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Jennifer Hsui, CFA 2016 Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Amy Whitelaw 2019 Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
  
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Class K Shares of the Fund are available only to (i) certain employee benefit plans, such as health savings accounts, and certain employer-sponsored retirement plans (not including SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and SARSEPs) (collectively, “Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans”), (ii) collective trust funds, investment companies and other pooled investment vehicles, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to purchase such shares, (iii) “Institutional Investors,” which include, but are not limited to, endowments, foundations, family offices, banks and bank trusts, local, city, and state governmental
5

 


institutions, corporations and insurance company separate accounts, each of which may purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to purchase such shares, (iv) clients of private banks that purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s distributor to sell such shares; (v) fee-based advisory platforms of a Financial Intermediary that (a) has specifically acknowledged in a written agreement with the Distributor and/or its affiliate(s) that the Financial Intermediary shall offer such shares to fee-based advisory clients through an omnibus account held at the Fund or (b) transacts in the Fund’s shares through another intermediary that has executed such an agreement and (vi) any other investors who met the eligibility criteria for BlackRock Shares or Class K Shares prior to August 15, 2016 and have continually held Class K Shares of the Fund in the same account since August 15, 2016.
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund each day the New York Stock Exchange is open. Purchase orders may also be placed by calling (800) 537-4942, by mail (c/o BlackRock Funds, P.O. Box 9819, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-8019), or online at www.blackrock.com. Institutional Investors are subject to a $5 million minimum initial investment requirement. Other investors, including Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans, have no minimum initial investment requirement. There is no minimum investment amount for additional purchases.
Tax Information

Different income tax rules apply depending on whether you are invested through a qualified tax-exempt plan described in section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. If you are invested through such a plan (and Fund shares are not “debt-financed property” to the plan), then the dividends paid by the Fund and the gain realized from a redemption or exchange of Fund shares will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes until you withdraw or receive distributions from the plan. If you are not invested through such a plan, then the Fund’s dividends and gain from a redemption or exchange may be subject to U.S. federal income taxes and may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are a tax-exempt investor.
Payments to Broker/Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a Financial Intermediary, the Fund and BlackRock Investments, LLC, the Fund’s distributor or its affiliates may pay the Financial Intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Financial Intermediary and your individual financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment.
Class K Shares are only available through a Financial Intermediary if the Financial Intermediary will not receive from Fund assets, or the Fund’s distributor’s or an affiliate’s resources, any commission payments, shareholder servicing fees (including sub-transfer agent and networking fees), or distribution fees (including Rule 12b-1 fees) with respect to assets invested in Class K Shares.
Ask your individual financial professional or visit your Financial Intermediary’s website for more information.
6

 


[This page intentionally left blank]

 


INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT FILE # 811-7899
SPRO-INDEX2-K-0422