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.
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.
Real Estate Companies Risk. Real estate companies, which include , real estate holding and operating companies, and real estate management or development companies, expose investors to the risks of owning real estate directly as well as to
the risks from the way that such companies operate. Real estate is highly sensitive to general and local
economic conditions and can be subject to intense competition and periodic overbuilding. Other real estate
risks include decreases in property values, tax increases, zoning changes, casualty or condemnation losses,
environmental liabilities, regulatory limitations on rent or eviction, and defaults by borrowers or
tenants. Real estate companies may be heavily invested in one geographic region, industry or property type.
They also may be highly leveraged, which can magnify losses, and interest rate increases can make it difficult to obtain financing and service debt.
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.
Dividend-Paying Stock Risk. Investing in dividend-paying stocks involves the risk that such stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform other types of stocks or the broader market. Companies that issue dividend-paying stocks are
not required to pay or continue paying dividends on such stocks. It is possible that issuers of the stocks
held by the Fund will not declare dividends in the future or will reduce or eliminate the payment of
dividends (including reducing or eliminating anticipated accelerations or increases in the payment of
dividends), which may adversely affect the Fund.
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