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December 30, 2024 |
| |
(as revised July 11, 2025) |
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Summary Prospectus |
●
iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders
ETF | SUSL |
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 USA LEADERS ETF
Ticker: SUSLStock Exchange: Nasdaq
Investment Objective
The iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF (the
“Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks of 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
Expenses2 |
Total
Annual Fund
Operating
Expenses |
| 0.10% |
None |
0.00% |
0.10% |
1Operating expenses paid by BFA under the Investment Advisory Agreement exclude acquired fund fees and expenses, if any.
2The amount rounded to 0.00%.
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 |
| $10 |
$32 |
$56 |
$128 |
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 8% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI USA Extended
ESG Leaders 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 U.S. companies that have favorable environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) characteristics (as determined by the Index Provider). The Index Provider begins with the MSCI USA Index (the “Parent Index”) and excludes securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco, alcohol, gambling, nuclear power and
weapons, palm
oil, arctic 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, producers and major retailers of civilian firearms, as well as companies
involved in very severe business controversies. The Index Provider 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. The Index Provider generally classifies companies as “involved” in a particular business based on
revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds (e.g., $1 billion or 50%) for certain products and activities in an excluded industry. The securities of certain companies may be excluded regardless of revenue measures (e.g., all companies involved in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons are excluded).
The Index Provider will select securities of mid- and large-capitalization companies with the highest ESG ratings from
each sector of the Parent Index. MSCI rates the ESG characteristics of companies on a scale of “CCC” (lowest) to “AAA” (highest). The Index Provider determines
ESG ratings by evaluating a company's
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risks and opportunities in relation to ESG
Key Issues (e.g., carbon emissions). Each company is scored on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest, for each Key Issue before being
assigned an ESG rating based on average Key Issue score. Only the securities of companies with an MSCI 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 ranked based on ESG rating, which is adjusted based on a company's sector membership (as described below) and free
float-adjusted market capitalization. The top constituents in each sector based on this ranking mechanism
are selected until the Underlying Index achieves approximately 50% sector coverage by cumulative free
float-adjusted market capitalization. Sectors of the Parent Index are determined according to the Global
Industry Classification Standard. In order to evaluate a security’s ESG rating for a given sector,
the Index Provider identifies key ESG issues that can lead to unexpected costs for companies in the medium- to long-term. The Index Provider then calculates the size of each company’s exposure to each key issue based on the
company’s business segment and geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which companies have
developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Using a sector-specific key
issue weighting model, companies are rated and ranked in comparison to their industry peers. Because ESG
ratings are calculated in comparison to a company’s sector peers, securities in one sector may have a
lower average ESG rating than securities in another sector. As of August 31, 2024, a significant portion of
the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the technology industry or sector. The
components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time.
Changes to the components of the Underlying Index are implemented annually at the end
of May. Such changes update the eligible universe of securities included in the Underlying Index and
reflect further rebalances necessary to target 50% free float-adjusted market capitalization of each sector of the Parent Index. As of August 31, 2024, the Underlying Index includes approximately 299 component securities.
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 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 the
U.S. Investing in U.S. issuers subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks that are specific to the U.S. Certain
changes in the U.S., such as a weakening of the U.S. economy or a decline in its financial markets, may
have an adverse effect on U.S. issuers.
ESG Risk. To the extent that the Underlying Index uses criteria related to the ESG characteristics of issuers, this may limit the
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as
“non-diversified.”
This means that, compared with funds that are classified as “diversified,” the Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities or other instruments representing a small number of issuers or counterparties and thus may be more susceptible to the risks associated with
these particular issuers or counterparties. As a result, the Fund's performance may depend to a greater
extent on the performance of a small number of issuers or counterparties, which may lead to more volatility
in the Fund’s NAV.
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 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.
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.
Technology Companies Risk. Technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources, supply chains and personnel. These companies typically face intense
competition, potentially rapid product obsolescence and changes in product cycles and customer preferences.
They may face unexpected risks and costs associated with technological developments, such as artificial
intelligence and machine learning. Technology companies also depend heavily on intellectual property rights
and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. Technology companies may face
increased government scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or legal action.
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.
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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 |
21.52% |
September 30, 2024 |
| During the periods shown in the chart:
| ||
| Best Quarter |
20.34% |
June 30, 2020 |
| Worst Quarter |
-18.43% |
March 31, 2020 |
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: 5/7/2019) |
|
|
| Return Before Taxes |
29.07% |
13.95% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
28.63% |
13.54% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
17.45% |
11.08% |
| MSCI USA Index1 (Returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
27.10% |
13.34% |
| MSCI USA Extended ESG Leaders Index (Returns do not reflect
deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
29.13% |
14.07% |
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.
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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 2019. 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 exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as 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.
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