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August 1, 2025 |
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Summary Prospectus |
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iShares ESG Screened S&P Small-Cap ETF | XJR | Cboe BZX
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 August 1, 2025, 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 SELECT SCREENED S&P SMALL-CAP ETF
Ticker: XJRStock Exchange: Cboe BZX
Investment Objective
The iShares ESG Select Screened S&P Small-Cap ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment
results of an index composed of small-capitalization U.S. equities while applying screens for company involvement in controversies and controversial business
activities.
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 |
| 0.12% |
None |
0.00% |
0.12% |
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 |
| $12 |
$39 |
$68 |
$154 |
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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 27% of the average value of its
portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the S&P SmallCap 600 Sustainability Screened Index (the “Underlying Index”), which measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market while excluding companies involved in controversial business activities and controversies, as determined by S&P Dow Jones Indices
LLC (the “Index
Provider” or “SPDJI”). The Underlying Index is a
float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted equity index. The Index Provider constructs the Underlying
Index starting with the S&P SmallCap 600® and, based on its eligibility criteria, excludes companies with specific levels of involvement in the business of
tobacco (both production and retail), controversial weapons, manufacturers and major retailers of small
arms and companies involved in certain fossil-fuel related activity.
The Index Provider uses data and research analysis from Trucost, S&P Global
Business Involvement Screens, Sustainalytics, RepRisk and SAM ESG Research (“SAM”) to identify a company’s involvement in certain controversial business activities and controversies. Companies with fossil fuel reserves from
thermal coal, other coal, conventional and unconventional oil, natural gas, shale gas and other unspecified
oil & gas sources, as defined and measured by Trucost, are excluded from the eligible universe of
companies. Additionally, the following types of companies with specific levels of involvement based on
revenue or ownership, as specified and measured by S&P Global Business Involvement Screens, are
excluded from the eligible universe of companies: controversial weapons, small arms, tobacco
products, oil sands, shale energy and thermal coal. Companies identified and deemed by
Sustainalytics to be non-compliant with the United Nations Global Compact (the “UNGC”) are excluded from the eligible universe of companies.
In addition to the aforementioned exclusions, the Index Provider uses RepRisk, a provider of business intelligence on
environmental, social and governance risks, for screening and analysis of controversies related to
companies within the Underlying Index. In cases where risks are presented, SAM releases a Media and
Stakeholder Analysis
(“MSA”), which includes a range of issues such as economic crime and corruption, fraud, illegal commercial practices, human rights issues, labor disputes, workplace safety, catastrophic
accidents, and environmental disasters. SPDJI’s Index Committee reviews constituents that have been
identified by SAM’s MSA to evaluate the potential impact of controversial company activities and may
decide to remove a company from the Underlying Index. In the event of a removal, the company would not be
eligible for reentry into the Underlying Index for one full calendar year beginning with the subsequent
rebalancing.
The Underlying Index rebalances quarterly, effective after
the close of the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Exclusions applied to the Underlying
Index are reviewed at each rebalancing reference date which is the third Friday of February, May, August
and November respectively. As of
March 31, 2025, a significant portion of the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the
financials and industrials industries or sectors. 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 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 a product of SPDJI, 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
S-2
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 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.
Small-Capitalization
Companies Risk. Compared to mid- and large-capitalization companies, small-capitalization companies may be less stable and more susceptible to adverse
developments. The securities of small-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than
those of mid- and large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s share price may be more
volatile than that of a fund with a greater investment in large- or mid-capitalization stocks.
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.
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.
Industrial Companies Risk. Industrial companies face a number of risks, including supply chain and distribution disruptions, business interruptions, product obsolescence, third-party
vendor risks, cyber attacks, trade disputes, product recalls, liability claims, scarcity of materials or
parts, excess capacity, changes in consumer preferences, and volatility in commodity prices and currencies.
The performance of such companies may also be affected by technological developments, labor relations,
legislative and regulatory changes, government spending policies, and changes in domestic and international
economies.
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.
S-3
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.
Operational and Technology Risks. The Fund is directly and
indirectly susceptible to operational and technology risks, including those related to human errors,
processing errors, communication errors, systems failures, cybersecurity incidents, and the use of
artificial intelligence and machine learning (“AI”), which may result in losses for the Fund
and its shareholders or may impair the Fund’s operations. While the Fund’s service providers
are required to have appropriate operational, information security and cybersecurity risk management policies
and procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Fund. Operational and
technology risks for the
issuers in which the Fund invests could also result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the
Fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value.
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.
S-4
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 |
-3.57% |
June 30, 2025 |
| During the periods shown in the chart:
| ||
| Best Quarter |
17.20% |
March 31, 2021 |
| Worst Quarter |
-14.16% |
June 30, 2022 |
Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2024)
(for the periods ended December 31, 2024)
| |
One Year |
Since Fund
Inception |
| (Inception Date: 9/22/2020) |
|
|
| Return Before Taxes |
9.61% |
13.96% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
8.96% |
13.41% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
5.91% |
10.96% |
| S&P Total Market
Index1 (Returns do not
reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
23.87% |
15.31% |
| S&P SmallCap 600 Sustainability Screened Index (Returns do not
reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
9.82% |
14.30% |
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-5
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-6
