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December 30, 2024 |
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(as revised July 11, 2025) |
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Summary Prospectus |
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iShares ESG MSCI EM Leaders
ETF | LDEM |
Nasdaq
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) and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s statement of additional information and shareholder reports, online at https://www.blackrock.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or by sending an e-mail request to
iSharesETFs@blackrock.com, or from your financial professional. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated December 30, 2024, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus. Information on the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads can be found at https://www.iShares.com.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed
upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
iSHARES® ESG MSCI EM LEADERS ETF
Ticker: LDEMStock Exchange: Nasdaq
Investment Objective
The iShares ESG MSCI EM Leaders ETF (the
“Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large and mid-capitalization stocks of emerging market
companies with high environmental, social, and governance performance relative to their sector peers as determined by the index provider.
Fees and Expenses
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold
and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between iShares Trust (the “Trust”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors
(“BFA”) (the “Investment Advisory
Agreement”) provides that BFA
will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except: (i) the management fees, (ii) interest expenses, (iii) taxes, (iv) expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and
disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, (v) distribution fees or expenses, and (vi) litigation expenses
and any extraordinary expenses.
You may pay other
fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
| Annual Fund
Operating Expenses (ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)1 | |||
| Management
Fees |
Distribution and Service (12b-1)
Fees |
Other
Expenses |
Total
Annual Fund
Operating
Expenses |
| 0.16% |
None |
0.01% |
0.17% |
1Operating expenses paid by BFA under the Investment Advisory Agreement exclude acquired fund fees and expenses, if any.
Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of owning shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell 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 |
| $17 |
$55 |
$96 |
$217 |
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may pay 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
Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Fund
Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal
year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 17% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI EM Extended ESG Leaders 5%
Issuer Capped Index (the “Underlying Index”), which has been developed by MSCI
Inc. (the “Index
Provider” or “MSCI”). The Underlying Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to
reflect the equity performance of emerging market companies with favorable environmental, social and
governance (“ESG”) characteristics (as determined by MSCI ESG Research LLC (“MSCI ESG Research”)). The Index Provider begins with the MSCI
Emerging Markets Index (the
“Parent Index”) and excludes securities of companies involved in the business of
alcohol, tobacco, gambling, nuclear power
and weapons, palm oil, artic oil and gas, thermal coal and unconventional oil and gas businesses
(e.g. thermal coal extraction and generation or oil sands extraction), companies involved with conventional and controversial weapons, and producers and major
retailers of civilian firearms based on revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds for certain
categories (e.g. $1 billion or 50%) and categorical exclusions for others (e.g. nuclear weapons). Companies involved in very serious business controversies based on scores assigned by MSCI ESG Research are also excluded. MSCI ESG Research defines a controversy as an instance or
ongoing situation in which company operations and/or products allegedly have a negative environmental,
social and/or governance impact. Each controversy case is assessed for the severity of its
impact on society.
MSCI ESG Research rates the ESG characteristics of
companies on a scale of
“CCC” (lowest) to “AAA” (highest). MSCI ESG Research determines
the ESG ratings by evaluating the company's risks and opportunities and using a sector-specific ESG Key
Issues (“Key
Issues”)
(e.g. carbon emissions) selection and weighting model. Each company is scored on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most desirable, for each applicable
Key
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Issue before being provided an ESG rating
based on average Key Issue score. ESG ratings are calculated in comparison to a company’s sector
peers, and securities in one sector may have a lower average ESG rating than securities in another sector. Only securities of companies with an ESG rating of “BB” or higher are eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index.
Additionally, MSCI excludes companies involved in very severe business controversies by assessing the possible negative
environmental, social, and/or governance impact of a company’s operations or products on a scale from
zero to ten, with zero being the most severe controversy rating (the “MSCI Controversies Score”). For new constituents, only securities of companies with a MSCI Controversies Score of three or higher are eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index. Current constituents must have a MSCI Controversies Score of at
least one.
Following these eligibility screens, companies are then ordered within each Global Industry
Classification Standard® (“GICS”) sector, first based on ESG ratings, current index membership, industry-adjusted ESG scores and then based on free float-adjusted market capitalization. MSCI selects companies
from the ranked universe until the constituents of the Underlying Index represent approximately 50% of the
free float-adjusted cumulative market capitalization of the respective sector of the Parent Index. Once all
constituents are selected, MSCI next weights the constituents according to free float-adjusted market
capitalization, limiting individual issuers to 5% of index weight, but does not revisit the 50% target
sector coverage based on any resultant reweighting. The Underlying Index is reviewed annually in May to
coincide with the semi-annual review of the Parent Index. The Underlying Index includes large- and mid-capitalization companies and may change over time. As of August 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 492 securities and a
significant portion of the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the financials
industry or sector. The components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time.
BFA uses an indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment
objective. The Fund does not try to “beat” the index it tracks and does not seek
temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.
Indexing may eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the
Underlying Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection.
Indexing seeks to achieve lower costs and better after-tax performance by aiming to keep portfolio turnover
low in comparison to actively managed investment companies.
BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Fund. “Representative sampling” is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The securities selected are
expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market
capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability and yield)
and liquidity measures similar to those of an applicable underlying index. The Fund may or may not hold all
of the securities in the Underlying Index.
The Fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the
component securities of the Underlying Index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are
substantially identical to the component securities of the Underlying Index (i.e., depositary receipts representing securities of the Underlying Index) and may invest up to 10% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents,
including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates, as well as in securities not
included in the Underlying Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index.
Cash and cash equivalent investments associated with a derivative position will be treated as part of that
position for the purposes of calculating the percentage of investments included in the Underlying Index.
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index before fees and expenses of the
Fund.
The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund's
total assets (including the value of any collateral received).
The Underlying Index is sponsored by MSCI, which is independent of the Fund and BFA. The Index Provider determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index and publishes information regarding the
market value of the Underlying Index.
Industry Concentration Policy. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or
more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent
that the Underlying Index is concentrated. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government
(including its agencies and instrumentalities) and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government
securities are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund,
and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. The Fund is subject to certain risks,
including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value per
share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Certain key risks are prioritized below (with others following in alphabetical order), but the relative
significance of any risk is difficult to predict and may change over time. You should review each risk
factor carefully.
Risk of Investing
in Emerging Markets. Investments in emerging market issuers may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in issuers located or operating in more
developed markets. Emerging markets may be more likely to experience inflation, social instability,
political turmoil or rapid changes in economic conditions than more developed markets. Companies in many
emerging markets are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements, accounting standards or auditor oversight as companies in more developed countries, and as a result, information about the securities in which the
Fund invests may be less reliable or complete. Emerging markets often have less reliable securities
valuations and greater risk associated with custody of securities than developed markets. There may be
significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for
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investigations into or litigation against
companies and shareholders may have limited legal remedies. The Fund does not select investments based on
investor protection considerations.
ESG
Risk. To the extent that the Underlying Index uses criteria related to the ESG characteristics of issuers,
this may limit the types and number of investment opportunities available to the Fund and, as a result, the
Fund may underperform other funds whose underlying index does not use ESG criteria. The Underlying
Index’s use of ESG criteria may result in the Fund investing in, or allocating greater weight to,
securities or market sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds that use
ESG criteria. In addition, the use of representative sampling may result in divergence of the Fund’s overall ESG characteristics or ESG risk from those of the Underlying Index. The Index Provider may evaluate security-level ESG data
and, if applicable, ESG objectives or constraints that are relevant to the Underlying Index only at index
reviews or rebalances. Securities included in the Underlying Index may cease to meet the relevant ESG
criteria but may nevertheless remain in the Underlying Index and the Fund until the next review or rebalance by the Index Provider. As a result, certain securities in the Underlying Index, or the Underlying Index as a whole, may not meet the
relevant ESG objectives or constraints at all times.
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer as
well as due to general industry or market conditions. Common stock is subordinated to preferred securities
and debt in a company’s capital structure. Common stock has the lowest priority, and the greatest
risk, with respect to dividends and any liquidation payments in the event of an issuer’s bankruptcy.
Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Local, regional or global
events such as war, acts of terrorism, pandemics or other public health issues, recessions, the prospect or
occurrence of a sovereign default or other financial crisis, or other events could have a significant
impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
Index-Related Risk. The Index Provider may rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of components of the Underlying Index, including information that may be
based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor BFA can offer assurances that the Index
Provider’s methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included
components or will result in the Fund meeting its investment objective. Errors in index data, index
computations or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur, and
the Index Provider may not identify or correct them promptly or at all, which may have an adverse impact on
the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural
disasters, political unrest or war) may impact the Index Provider or a third-party data provider and could
cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. This could cause the Underlying Index to vary
from its normal or expected composition.
Asset Class Risk. The securities and other assets in the Underlying Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to financial markets generally, a
particular financial market, another index, or other asset classes.
Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant (as defined below in Authorized Participant Concentration Risk), a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser, an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, or another fund may
invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time to allow the Fund to achieve size
or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size
of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, which could negatively impact the Fund.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. An “Authorized Participant” is a member or participant of
a clearing agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the Fund or one of its
service providers that allows the Authorized Participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of
creation units (“Creation
Units”). Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. There are a limited number of institutions
that may act as Authorized Participants for the Fund, including on an agency basis on behalf of other
market participants. No Authorized Participant is obligated to engage in creation or redemption
transactions. To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or do not place creation or
redemption orders for the Fund and no other Authorized Participant places orders, Fund shares are more
likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.
Commodity Risk. The Fund invests in companies that are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets and to price changes due to trade relations. Any negative changes in commodity markets that may be due to changes in supply and
demand for commodities, market events, war, regulatory developments, other catastrophic events, or other
factors that the Fund cannot control could have an adverse impact on those companies.
Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are
concentrated in the securities or other assets of one or more issuers, countries or other geographic units,
markets, industries, project types, or asset classes.
Currency Risk. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the NAV could decline if the currency of a non-U.S. market
in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on the
repatriation of foreign currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and
unpredictably. As a result, the Fund’s NAV may change quickly and without warning. In addition, the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and foreign currencies.
Custody Risk. Less developed securities markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settlement of trades, as well as the custody of securities and other assets
by local banks, agents and depositories. These issues may have an
S-3
adverse impact on the Fund, including losses
or delays in payments, delivery or recovery of money or other assets.
Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, its adviser, distributor, Index Provider, other
service providers, counterparties, or issuers of assets in which the Fund invests may cause disruptions
that negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity
plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent
limitations in such plans and systems. The Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of its
service providers, counterparties, and other third parties whose activities affect the Fund. In addition,
cyber incidents may adversely impact the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which may cause
such investments to lose value.
Financial Companies Risk. Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect their profitability, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge, the amount of
capital and liquid assets they must maintain and their size, among other things. Financial services
companies also may be significantly affected by, among other things, interest rates, economic conditions,
volatility in financial markets, credit rating downgrades, adverse public perception, exposure concentration
and counterparty risk.
Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities or other assets to which the Fund has exposure. The value of securities or other assets may decline, or perform differently from the market as a
whole, due to changes in the financial condition or credit rating of the issuer or
counterparty.
Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller-capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions and competitive challenges. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential
compared with smaller-capitalization companies. The performance of large-capitalization companies could
trail the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk.
Certain shareholders of the Fund, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the
Fund’s adviser, an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares, or may hold their investment in the Fund for a limited period of
time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem
their investment. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares could require the Fund to dispose of assets
to meet the redemption requests, which can accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or capital gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition,
under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately
large taxable distribution during or with respect to such year. In some circumstances, the Fund may hold a
relatively large proportion of its assets in cash in anticipation of large redemptions, diluting its investment returns. These large redemptions may also force the Fund to sell portfolio
securities or other assets when it might not otherwise do so,
which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or have a
material effect on the market price of Fund shares.
Management Risk. The Fund generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. As the Fund will not fully replicate the Underlying Index and may hold securities or other assets not
included in the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that the investment strategy of BFA may not
produce the intended results. 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 Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares (including through a trading halt), losses from
trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility, and disruptions in the process of creating and
redeeming Fund shares. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading in
the secondary market at a premium or discount to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s portfolio
holdings. If you buy Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to NAV or sell Fund shares
at a time when the market price is at a discount to NAV, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares.
National Closed Market Trading Risk. To the extent that securities or other assets held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges or in foreign markets that may be closed when the
securities exchange on which the Fund’s shares trade is open, there are likely to be deviations
between such asset’s current price and its last quoted price (i.e., the quote from the closed foreign market to the Fund). The impact of a closed foreign market on the Fund is likely to be greater where a large portion of the Fund’s holdings trade on a closed foreign
market or when a foreign market is closed for unscheduled reasons. These deviations could result in
premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other funds.
Non-U.S. Securities Risk. Securities issued by non-U.S. issuers (including depositary receipts) are subject to different legal, regulatory, political, economic, and market risks than
securities issued by U.S. issuers. These risks include greater market volatility, less market liquidity,
higher transaction costs, expropriation, confiscatory taxation, adverse changes in foreign investment or
currency control regulations, restrictions on the repatriation of capital, and political instability. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, audit and financial reporting standards than U.S. issuers, and there may be less
publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers. Foreign market trading hours, different clearing and
settlement procedures, and holiday schedules may limit the Fund's ability to engage in portfolio
transactions. To the extent that investments are made in a limited number of countries, events in those
countries will have a more significant impact on the Fund. The Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the
Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or
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inadequate processes and technology or
systems failures. The Fund and BFA seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures.
However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address significant
operational risks.
Reliance on Trading
Partners Risk. The Fund invests in countries or regions whose economies are heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading may have
an adverse impact on the Fund's investments. Through its holdings of securities of certain issuers, the
Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk and U.S. Economic Risk.
Risk of Investing in China. Investments in Chinese securities, including certain Hong Kong-listed and U.S.-listed securities, subject the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and
social instability. China is an emerging market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time
to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the last few decades, the Chinese government has
undertaken reform of economic and market practices and has expanded the sphere of private ownership of
property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and
pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or
political and social instability.
Chinese companies are also subject
to the risk that Chinese authorities can intervene in their operations and structure. Internal social
unrest or confrontations with neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events,
may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations,
currency non-convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation.
China has experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained
international relations. Additionally, China is alleged to have participated in state-sponsored cyberattacks against foreign companies and foreign governments. Actual and threatened responses to such activity and strained international
relations, including purchasing restrictions, sanctions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Chinese government
or Chinese companies, may impact China’s economy and Chinese issuers of securities in which the Fund
invests. Incidents involving China's or the region's security may cause uncertainty in Chinese markets and may adversely affect the Chinese economy and the Fund's investments. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China's rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, supply chain diversification,
institution of additional tariffs or other trade barriers (including as a result of heightened trade
tensions or a trade war between China and the U.S. or in response to actual or alleged Chinese cyber activity) or a downturn in any of the economies of China's key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.
The Underlying Index may include companies that are subject to economic or trade restrictions (but not
investment restrictions) imposed by the U.S. or other governments due to national security, human rights or
other concerns of such government. So long as these restrictions do not include restrictions on
investments, the Fund is generally expected to invest in such companies, consistent with its objective to
track the performance of the Underlying Index.
Chinese companies, including Chinese companies that are listed
on U.S. exchanges, are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements, accounting standards or
auditor oversight as companies in more developed countries. As a result, information about the Chinese
securities in which the Fund invests may be less reliable or complete. Chinese companies with securities
listed on U.S. exchanges may be delisted if they do not meet U.S. accounting standards and auditor oversight
requirements, which would significantly decrease the liquidity and value of the securities. There may be
significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against
Chinese companies, and shareholders may have limited legal remedies. The Fund does not select investments
based on investor protection considerations.
Risk of Investing in India. Investments in Indian issuers involve risks that are specific to India, including legal, regulatory, political, currency and economic risks. Political and legal uncertainty, greater government control over the economy, currency
fluctuations or blockage, and the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets may result in higher
potential for losses. The securities markets in India are relatively underdeveloped and may subject the
Fund to higher transaction costs or greater uncertainty than investments in more developed securities
markets.
Risk of Investing in Russia. Investing in Russian securities involves significant risks, including legal, regulatory, currency and economic risks that are specific to Russia. In
addition, investing in Russian securities involves risks associated with the settlement of portfolio
transactions and loss of the Fund’s ownership rights in its portfolio securities as a result of the system of share registration and custody in Russia. Governments, including the U.S., the U.K., the E.U., and many other countries have
imposed economic sanctions on certain Russian individuals and Russian corporate and banking entities, and
jurisdictions may also institute broader sanctions on Russia. Russia has issued a number of
countersanctions, some of which restrict the distribution of profits by limited liability companies (e.g., dividends), and prohibit Russian persons from entering into transactions with designated persons from “unfriendly states” as well as the export of raw materials or other products from Russia to certain sanctioned persons.
Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The extent
and duration of the military action, resulting sanctions and resulting future market disruptions, including
declines in its stock markets and the value of the ruble against the U.S. dollar, are impossible to
predict, but could be significant. Disruptions caused by Russian military action or other actions
(including cyberattacks and espionage) or resulting actual and threatened responses to such activity,
including purchasing and financing restrictions, boycotts or changes in consumer or purchaser preferences,
sanctions, import and export restrictions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Russian government, Russian
companies, or Russian individuals, including politicians, may impact Russia’s economy and Russian
companies in which the Fund invests. Actual and threatened responses to Russian military action may also
impact the markets for certain Russian commodities, such as oil and natural gas, as well as other sectors
of the Russian economy, and are likely to have collateral impacts on such sectors globally. Russian
companies may be unable to
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pay dividends and, if they pay dividends, the
Fund may be unable to receive them. As a result of sanctions, the Fund is currently restricted from trading
in Russian securities, including those in its portfolio, and the Underlying Index has removed Russian
securities. It is unknown when, or if, sanctions may be lifted or the Fund’s ability to trade in
Russian securities will resume.
Risk of
Investing in Saudi Arabia. Investing in Saudi Arabian issuers subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks that are specific to
Saudi Arabia. The economy of Saudi Arabia is dominated by petroleum exports. A sustained decrease in
petroleum prices could have a negative impact on all aspects of the economy. Investments in the securities
of Saudi Arabian issuers involve risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries, which may negatively affect the value of the Fund’s investments. Such heightened risks may
include, among others, the expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, restrictions on and government
intervention in international trade, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian
and/or military involvement in governmental decision-making, armed conflict, crime and instability as a
result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest. Instability in the Middle East region could
adversely impact the economy of Saudi Arabia, and there is no assurance of political stability in Saudi Arabia.
The ability of foreign investors to invest in the securities of Saudi Arabian companies could be restricted by the Saudi Arabian government at any time, and unforeseen risks could
materialize with respect to foreign ownership of such securities. There are a number of ways to conduct
transactions in equity securities in the Saudi Arabian market. The Fund generally expects to transact in a
manner so that it is not limited by Saudi Arabian regulations to a single broker. However, there may be a
limited number of brokers who can provide services to the Fund, which may have an adverse impact on the
prices, quantity or timing of Fund transactions.
Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities
fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of
a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any
investments made with cash collateral. These
events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund.
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 due to a number of factors, including differences between the securities and other assets held in
the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index; differences in the timing and methodologies used to value securities and other assets; transaction costs and other expenses incurred by the Fund that the Underlying
Index does not incur; the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash; differences in the timing of the accrual
or the valuation of dividends or interest received by the Fund or distributions paid to Fund shareholders;
tax gains or losses; the requirements for the Fund to maintain pass-through tax treatment; portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders; the acceptance of custom baskets; changes to
the Underlying Index; and impacts to the Fund of complying with certain regulatory requirements or limits.
Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market
conditions. Until the Fund reaches greater scale, it may experience higher tracking error than is typical for similar index ETFs. A Fund that tracks an index with exposure to non-U.S. issuers may experience higher tracking error than ETFs
that do not track such index.
Valuation Risk. The price that the Fund could receive upon the sale (or other disposition) of a security or other asset may differ
from the Fund’s valuation of the security or other asset, particularly for securities or other assets
that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. The price
received by the Fund also may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index. In addition, the value of
the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when
investors are not able to purchase or sell Fund shares. Authorized Participants that create or redeem Fund
shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities or other assets may receive fewer or more
shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the securities or other
assets not been fair valued or been valued using a different methodology. The ability to value investments
may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
S-6
Performance
Information
The performance information below illustrates how the
Fund’s performance has varied over different periods and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund
has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table compares the Fund’s performance to that of an appropriate broad-based securities market
index and
the Underlying Index. Fund returns assume the reinvestment of any dividends and distributions. The Fund’s returns reflect the impact of any agreements to waive or reimburse expenses, which would reduce performance if not in effect. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information, including the Fund’s current NAV, may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) (toll free).
Calendar Year-by-Year Returns
| |
Return (%) |
Period Ended |
| Calendar Year-to-Date Return |
15.25% |
September 30, 2024 |
| During the periods shown in the chart:
| ||
| Best Quarter |
10.62% |
December 31, 2022 |
| Worst Quarter |
-13.75% |
September 30, 2022 |
Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
| |
One Year |
Since Fund
Inception |
| (Inception Date: 2/5/2020) |
|
|
| Return Before Taxes |
4.22% |
-0.90% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
3.45% |
-0.63% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
3.06% |
0.28% |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Index1 (Returns do not reflect deductions for
fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.83% |
0.89% |
| MSCI EM Extended ESG Leaders 5% Issuer Capped Index (Returns do not
reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
4.85% |
-0.33% |
1The Fund has added this broad-based index in response to new regulatory requirements.
After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual U.S. federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt investors or investors who hold shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”). Fund returns after taxes on
distributions and sales of Fund shares are calculated assuming that an investor has sufficient capital gains of the same character from other investments to offset any capital
losses from the sales of Fund shares. As a result, Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sales of Fund shares may exceed Fund returns before taxes and/or returns after taxes on distributions.
S-7
Management
Investment Adviser. BlackRock Fund Advisors.
Portfolio Managers. Jennifer Hsui, Matt Waldron, Peter Sietsema and Steven White (the “Portfolio
Managers”) are primarily
responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager supervises a portfolio
management team. Ms. Hsui has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since 2020. Mr. Waldron, Mr. Sietsema
and Mr. White have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2025.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Individual shares of the Fund may only be bought and sold in the
secondary market through a broker-dealer. Because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV,
shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). An investor may
incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase
shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the
“bid-ask spread”).
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxable to you as ordinary income
or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an
IRA, in which case, your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), BFA or
other related companies may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational
training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other
services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
S-8
