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December 30, 2024 |
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Summary Prospectus |
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iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF | EWH | NYSE Arca
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® MSCI HONG KONG ETF
Ticker: EWHStock Exchange: NYSE Arca
Investment Objective
The iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF (the
“Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of Hong Kong equities.
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, Inc. (the “Company”) 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 |
| 0.50% |
None |
0.00% |
0.50% |
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 |
| $51 |
$160 |
$280 |
$628 |
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 14% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI Hong Kong 25/50 Index (the
“Underlying
Index”), which is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of the large- and mid-capitalization
segments of the equity market in Hong Kong. The Underlying Index is rebalanced quarterly using
an optimization process that aims to minimize the constituent weight differences between the Underlying
Index and the MSCI Hong Kong Index (the “Parent Index”). The Underlying Index uses a
capping methodology that limits the weight of any single “group entity” (constituents that MSCI determines have a control relationship) to a maximum of
25% of the Underlying Index weight, and the sum of all group
entities with a weight above 5% to an aggregate of 50% of the Underlying Index weight. A group entity is a
group of companies that operate as an affiliated corporate group but may separately issue listed
securities. To determine “group entities,” MSCI analyzes financial accounts of
listed companies holding stakes of 20% or more in other listed companies to determine whether these stakes
are controlling in nature. In certain cases, even in the absence of consolidated accounts, MSCI may also consider two companies as belonging to the same group entity where there is reasonable evidence of control based on other
information. All group entities are reviewed on an annual basis.
As of August 31, 2024, the Underlying Index consisted of 28 component securities. As of August 31, 2024, a significant
portion of the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the financials, industrials
and real estate 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.
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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 80% of its assets in
the component securities of its Underlying Index and in investments that have economic characteristics that
are substantially identical to the component securities of its Underlying Index
(i.e., depositary
receipts representing securities of the Underlying Index) and may invest up to 20% 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 Inc. (the “Index Provider” or “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 Hong Kong. Investing in Hong
Kong issuers subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks that
are specific to Hong Kong. China is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner for exports and imports. Hong
Kong’s economy and political environment are closely tied to those of China. Changes in the Chinese
economy, trade regulations or currency exchange rates, or a tightening of China’s control over Hong
Kong, may have an adverse impact on Hong Kong’s economy and Hong Kong issuers.
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.
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
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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.
Currency Risk. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the NAV could decline if the currency of the 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.
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.
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.
Lack of Natural Resources Risk. The Fund invests in Hong Kong, which has few natural resources. Any fluctuation or shortage in the commodity markets could have a negative impact on the Hong Kong economy.
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 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
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to NAV, you may pay significantly more or
receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares.
Mid-Capitalization Companies
Risk. Compared to large-capitalization companies, mid-capitalization companies may be less stable and more susceptible to adverse developments. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than those of 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-capitalization stocks.
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-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.
Real Estate Companies Risk. Real estate companies,
which include real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), 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.
Reliance
on Trading Partners Risk. The Fund invests in a country whose economy is 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, European 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
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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.
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. 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 indexes.
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.
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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 |
9.40% |
September 30, 2024 |
| During the periods shown in the chart:
| ||
| Best Quarter |
16.51% |
December 31, 2022 |
| Worst Quarter |
-17.39% |
March 31, 2020 |
Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
| |
One Year |
Five Years |
Ten Years |
| (Inception Date: 3/12/1996) |
|
|
|
| Return Before Taxes |
-14.04% |
-2.33% |
1.49% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
-15.47% |
-3.51% |
0.18% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
-8.30% |
-2.16% |
0.63% |
| MSCI ACWI ex USA
Index1 (Returns do not
reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
15.62% |
7.08% |
3.83% |
| MSCI Hong Kong 25/50
Index2 (Returns do not
reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
-13.96% |
-1.80% |
2.05% |
1The Fund has added this broad-based index in response to new regulatory requirements.
2Index returns through August 31, 2020 reflect the
performance of the MSCI Hong Kong Index. Index returns beginning on September 1, 2020 reflect the performance of the MSCI Hong Kong 25/50 Index, which, effective as of September
1, 2020, replaced the MSCI Hong Kong Index as the Underlying Index of the Fund.
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, Greg Savage and Paul Whitehead (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, Mr. Savage and Mr. Whitehead have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2012, 2008 and 2022, respectively.
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.
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