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December 30, 2024 |
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Summary Prospectus |
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iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF | EMGF | 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 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® EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY FACTOR ETF
Ticker: EMGFStock Exchange: Cboe BZX
Investment Objective
The iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment
results of an index composed of stocks of large- and mid-capitalization companies in emerging markets that have favorable exposure to target style factors subject to
constraints.
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.
The Fund may incur “Acquired Fund Fees and
Expenses.” Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses reflect the Fund's pro rata share of the fees and
expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a result of investing in other investment companies. The impact of Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses is included in the Fund's total
return but is not included in the Fund's ratio of expenses to average net assets. Both figures are shown in the Financial Highlights section of the Fund's prospectus (the “Prospectus”). BFA, the investment adviser to the Fund, has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees in an
amount equal to the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any, attributable to investments by the Fund in other series of iShares Trust and the Company through December 31, 2026.
The contractual waiver may be terminated prior to December 31, 2026 only upon written agreement of the Company and BFA.
You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to
financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
| Annual Fund
Operating Expenses (ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)1 | ||||||
| Management
Fees |
Distribution and Service (12b-1)
Fees |
Other
Expenses |
Acquired
Fund Fees and Expenses2 |
Total
Annual Fund Operating
Expenses |
Fee
Waiver and/or
Expense
Reimbursement |
Total
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
After Fee Waiver
and/or
Expense
Reimbursement |
| 0.25% |
None |
0.01% |
0.00% |
0.26% |
(0.00)% |
0.26% |
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 |
| $27 |
$84 |
$146 |
$331 |
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 29% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the STOXX Emerging Markets Equity
Factor Index (the “Underlying Index”),
which is a rules-based equity index
provided by STOXX Ltd. (the “Index Provider” or “STOXX”). The Underlying Index is composed
of large- and mid-capitalization equity securities from the STOXX Emerging Markets Index (the “Parent Index”) that are selected and weighted using an optimization process designed to maximize exposure to five target factors: momentum, quality, value, low volatility and size. The Underlying Index seeks to
control exposure to, among other things, industries and countries, limit turnover and maintain a level of
risk similar to that of the Parent Index. The Parent Index is a free float market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of large- and mid-capitalization companies from emerging markets. Large- and
mid-capitalization companies, as calculated by the Index Provider, represent approximately the top 85% of
the investable market
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capitalization of each emerging market
country included in the Parent Index, as determined by STOXX.
The momentum score is calculated from the following signals: price momentum, earnings momentum and earnings announcement drift (i.e., the
difference between a stock’s performance on and immediately following an earnings announcement
date).
The quality score is calculated from the following signals:
gross profitability, share dilution, accruals, changes in net operating assets, carbon emissions intensity
and greenhouse gas
(“GHG”) reduction targets. Carbon emissions intensity is based on the issuer’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions (i.e., direct emissions from sources that an issuer owns or controls and indirect emissions from the issuer’s purchase of energy) relative to peers in its Industry Classification
Benchmark (“ICB”) Supersector, as reported by Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”). The GHG targets signal is based on the robustness of an issuer’s GHG reduction targets, including whether they are part of the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”) framework; this is assessed by ISS based on its own ESG ratings data and SBTi data.
The value score is calculated from the following signals: current book value-to-price ratio, dividend yield (i.e., 12-month trailing dividend divided by total market capitalization), earnings yield (i.e., 12-month net income
divided by total market capitalization), cash flow yield (i.e., 12-month cash flow divided by total market capitalization) and time series normalized cash flow yield over the previous 36 months.
The low volatility score is based on prior 12-month volatility, as calculated by the Index Provider.
The size score seeks to measure an issuer’s market capitalization relative to other companies in the Parent Index.
The maximum weight of a single security is 10%, and the sum of security weights that are individually greater than 4.5%
must be less than 22.5% of the Underlying Index. The Index Provider also applies other constraints, such as
country and sector exposures relative to the Parent Index, among others. The Underlying Index is reviewed
and rebalanced quarterly.
As of August 31, 2024, the Underlying Index
consisted of approximately 601 constituents from companies in the following countries or regions: Brazil,
Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico,
Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
As
of August 31, 2024, a significant portion of the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the financials and technology 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 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 STOXX, 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
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risk is difficult to predict and may change
over time. You should review each risk factor carefully.
Risk of Investing in Emerging Markets. Investments in emerging market issuers may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in issuers located or operating in more developed markets. Emerging markets may be more likely to experience
inflation, social instability, political turmoil or rapid changes in economic conditions than more
developed markets. Companies in many emerging markets are not subject to the same degree of regulatory
requirements, accounting standards or auditor oversight as companies in more developed countries, and as a
result, information about the securities in which the Fund invests may be less reliable or complete.
Emerging markets often have less reliable securities valuations and greater risk associated with custody of
securities than developed markets. There may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for
investigations into or litigation against companies and shareholders may have limited legal remedies. The
Fund does not select investments based on investor protection considerations.
Style Factors Risk. Each of the five equity style factors (i.e., momentum, quality, value, low volatility and low size) that determine the weight of each component security in the Underlying Index has characteristics that may cause the Fund to
underperform the Parent Index or the market as a whole.
Momentum Factor Risk. Securities that previously exhibited greater momentum characteristics may not continue to experience positive momentum, and such a change could occur quickly. Momentum securities may experience more volatility than the market as a whole.
Quality Factor Risk. Securities that previously exhibited greater quality characteristics than other securities may not continue to be quality securities. Many factors can impact a security’s quality and performance, and such factors and their
impact may be difficult to predict.
Value Factor Risk. Value securities are those issued by companies that may be perceived as undervalued. Such securities may decline in price or fail to appreciate for long periods of
time, and they may never realize their full potential value.
Low Volatility Factor Risk. Low volatility securities may underperform the broader market during periods of strong, rising or speculative stock prices. The prices of such
securities may not be any less volatile (and could be more volatile) than the market as a
whole.
Low Size Factor Risk. Companies with relatively smaller market capitalization within the Fund’s capitalization range may be less
stable and more susceptible to adverse developments. Low size securities may be more volatile and less
liquid than securities on the larger end of the Fund’s capitalization range.
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.
Commodity Risk. The Fund invests in companies that are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets and to price changes due to trade relations. Any negative changes in commodity markets that may be due to changes in supply and
demand for commodities, market events, war, regulatory developments, other catastrophic events, or other
factors that the Fund cannot control could have an adverse impact on those companies.
S-3
Concentration Risk. The Fund
may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the
Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities or other assets of one or more issuers, countries or other geographic units, markets, industries, project
types, or asset classes.
Currency Risk. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the NAV could decline if the currency of a non-U.S. market
in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on the
repatriation of foreign currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and
unpredictably. As a result, the Fund’s NAV may change quickly and without warning. In addition, the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and foreign currencies.
Custody Risk. Less developed securities markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settlement of trades, as well as the custody of securities and other assets
by local banks, agents and depositories. These issues may have an adverse impact on the Fund, including
losses or delays in payments, delivery or recovery of money or other assets.
Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, its adviser, distributor, Index Provider, other
service providers, counterparties, or issuers of assets in which the Fund invests may cause disruptions
that negatively impact the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity
plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent
limitations in such plans and systems. The Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of its
service providers, counterparties, and other third parties whose activities affect the Fund. In addition,
cyber incidents may adversely impact the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which may cause
such investments to lose value.
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.
Financial Companies
Risk. Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect their profitability, the scope
of their
activities, the prices they can charge, the amount of capital and
liquid assets they must maintain and their size, among other things. Financial services companies also may
be significantly affected by, among other things, interest rates, economic conditions, volatility in
financial markets, credit rating downgrades, adverse public perception, exposure concentration and
counterparty risk.
Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities or other assets to which the Fund has exposure. The value of securities or other
assets may decline, or perform differently from the market as a whole, due to changes in the financial
condition or credit rating of the issuer or counterparty.
Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller-capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions and competitive challenges. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential
compared with smaller-capitalization companies. The performance of large-capitalization companies could
trail the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk.
Certain shareholders of the Fund, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the
Fund’s adviser, an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares, or may hold their investment in the Fund for a limited period of
time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem
their investment. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares could require the Fund to dispose of assets
to meet the redemption requests, which can accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or capital gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition,
under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately
large taxable distribution during or with respect to such year. In some circumstances, the Fund may hold a
relatively large proportion of its assets in cash in anticipation of large redemptions, diluting its investment returns. These large redemptions may also force the Fund to sell portfolio securities or other assets when it might not otherwise
do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or
have a material effect on the market price of Fund shares.
Management Risk. The Fund generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. As the Fund will not fully replicate the Underlying Index and may hold securities or other assets not
included in the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that the investment strategy of BFA may not
produce the intended results. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a
high degree of correlation to those of the Underlying Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares (including through a trading halt), losses from
trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility, and disruptions in the process of creating and
redeeming Fund shares. Any of these
S-4
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.
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-U.S. Securities Risk. Securities issued by non-U.S. issuers (including depositary receipts) are subject to different legal, regulatory, political, economic, and market risks than securities issued by U.S. issuers. These risks include greater
market volatility, less market liquidity, higher transaction costs, expropriation, confiscatory taxation,
adverse changes in foreign investment or currency control regulations, restrictions on the repatriation of
capital, and political instability. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, audit and financial reporting standards than U.S. issuers, and there may be less publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers.
Foreign market trading hours, different clearing and settlement procedures, and holiday schedules may limit
the Fund's ability to engage in portfolio transactions. To the extent that investments are made in a
limited number of countries, events in those countries will have a more significant impact on the Fund. The
Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third
parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and BFA seek to reduce
these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every
possible risk and may be inadequate to address significant operational risks.
Reliance on Trading Partners
Risk. The Fund invests in countries or regions whose economies are heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading may have
an adverse impact on the Fund's investments. Through its holdings of securities of certain issuers, the
Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk.
Risk of
Investing in China. Investments in Chinese securities, including certain Hong Kong-listed and U.S.-listed securities, subject the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be
subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is an emerging market
and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over
the last few decades, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and has
expanded the sphere of private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue
to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack
of publicly available information and/or political and social instability.
Chinese companies are also subject to the risk that Chinese authorities can intervene
in their operations and structure. Internal social unrest or confrontations with neighboring countries,
including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency non-convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of
inflation.
China has experienced security concerns, such as
terrorism and strained international relations. Additionally, China is alleged to have participated in
state-sponsored cyberattacks against foreign companies and foreign governments. Actual and threatened
responses to such activity and strained international relations, including purchasing restrictions,
sanctions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Chinese government or Chinese companies, may impact China’s
economy and Chinese issuers of securities in which the Fund invests. Incidents involving China's or the region's security may cause uncertainty in Chinese markets and may adversely affect the Chinese economy and the Fund's investments. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China's rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on
Chinese products and services, supply chain diversification, institution of additional tariffs or other
trade barriers (including as a result of heightened trade tensions or a trade war between China and the
U.S. or in response to actual or alleged Chinese cyber activity) or a downturn in any of the economies of
China's key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy. The Underlying Index may
include companies that are subject to economic or trade restrictions (but not investment restrictions)
imposed by the U.S. or other governments due to national security, human rights or other concerns of such
government. So long as these restrictions do not include restrictions on investments, the Fund is generally
expected to invest in such companies, consistent with its objective to track the performance of the
Underlying Index.
Chinese companies, including Chinese companies that
are listed on U.S. exchanges, are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements, accounting
standards or auditor oversight as companies in more developed countries. As a result, information about the
Chinese securities in which the Fund invests may be less reliable or complete. Chinese companies with
securities listed on U.S. exchanges may be delisted if they do not meet U.S. accounting standards and
auditor oversight requirements, which would significantly decrease the liquidity and value of the
securities. There may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or
litigation against Chinese companies, and shareholders may have
S-5
limited legal remedies. The Fund does not
select investments based on investor protection considerations.
Risk of Investing in India. Investments in Indian issuers involve risks that are specific to India, including legal, regulatory, political, currency and economic risks. Political and legal uncertainty, greater government control over the economy, currency
fluctuations or blockage, and the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets may result in higher
potential for losses. The securities markets in India are relatively underdeveloped and may subject the
Fund to higher transaction costs or greater uncertainty than investments in more developed securities
markets.
Risk of Investing in Russia. Investing in Russian securities involves significant risks, including legal, regulatory, currency and economic risks that are specific to Russia. In
addition, investing in Russian securities involves risks associated with the settlement of portfolio
transactions and loss of the Fund’s ownership rights in its portfolio securities as a result of the system of share registration and custody in Russia. Governments, including the U.S., the U.K., the E.U., and many other countries have
imposed economic sanctions on certain Russian individuals and Russian corporate and banking entities, and
jurisdictions may also institute broader sanctions on Russia. Russia has issued a number of
countersanctions, some of which restrict the distribution of profits by limited liability companies (e.g., dividends), and prohibit Russian persons from entering into transactions with designated persons from “unfriendly states” as well as the export of raw materials or other products from Russia to certain sanctioned persons.
Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The extent
and duration of the military action, resulting sanctions and resulting future market disruptions, including
declines in its stock markets and the value of the ruble against the U.S. dollar, are impossible to
predict, but could be significant. Disruptions caused by Russian military action or other actions
(including cyberattacks and espionage) or resulting actual and threatened responses to such activity,
including purchasing and financing restrictions, boycotts or changes in consumer or purchaser preferences,
sanctions, import and export restrictions, tariffs or cyberattacks on the Russian government, Russian
companies, or Russian individuals, including politicians, may impact Russia’s economy and Russian
companies in which the Fund invests. Actual and threatened responses to Russian military action may also
impact the markets for certain Russian commodities, such as oil and natural gas, as well as other sectors
of the Russian economy, and are likely to have collateral impacts on such sectors globally. Russian
companies may be unable to pay dividends and, if they pay dividends, the Fund may be unable to receive
them. As a result of sanctions, the Fund is currently restricted from trading in Russian securities, including those in its portfolio, and the Underlying Index has removed Russian securities. It is unknown when, or if, sanctions may be lifted
or the Fund’s ability to trade in Russian securities will resume.
Risk of Investing in Saudi
Arabia. Investing in Saudi Arabian issuers subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks that are specific to
Saudi Arabia. The economy of Saudi Arabia is dominated by petroleum exports. A sustained decrease in
petroleum prices could have a negative
impact on all aspects of the economy. Investments in the securities of Saudi Arabian issuers involve risks not typically
associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries, which may negatively
affect the value of the Fund’s investments. Such heightened risks may include, among others, the
expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, restrictions on and government intervention in international trade, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental
decision-making, armed conflict, crime and instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or
socioeconomic unrest. Instability in the Middle East region could adversely impact the economy of Saudi Arabia, and there is no assurance of political stability in Saudi Arabia.
The ability of foreign investors to invest in the securities of Saudi Arabian companies could be restricted by the Saudi
Arabian government at any time, and unforeseen risks could materialize with respect to foreign ownership of
such securities. There are a number of ways to conduct transactions in equity securities in the Saudi
Arabian market. The Fund generally expects to transact in a manner so that it is not limited by Saudi Arabian regulations to a single broker. However, there may be a limited number of brokers who can provide services to the Fund, which may have an
adverse impact on the prices, quantity or timing of Fund transactions.
Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may engage in
securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower
of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also
lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the
Fund.
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
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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 |
17.45% |
September 30, 2024 |
| During the periods shown in the chart:
| ||
| Best Quarter |
16.16% |
June 30, 2020 |
| Worst Quarter |
-24.27% |
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 |
Since Fund
Inception |
| (Inception Date: 12/8/2015) |
|
|
|
| Return Before Taxes |
10.72% |
5.44% |
6.06% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
9.05% |
4.62% |
5.36% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
7.25% |
4.25% |
4.81% |
| S&P Emerging Broad Market Index1 (Returns do not reflect deductions for
fees, expenses or taxes) |
10.46% |
4.68% |
6.20% |
| STOXX Emerging Markets Equity Factor Index2 (Returns do not reflect deductions for
fees, expenses or taxes) |
11.68% |
6.33% |
6.65% |
1The Fund has added this broad-based index in response to new regulatory requirements.
2Effective March 1, 2023, the Fund's Underlying Index
changed from the MSCI Emerging Markets Diversified Multiple-Factor Index to the STOXX Emerging Markets Equity Factor Index.
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 and Mr. Savage have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2015. Mr. Whitehead has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since
2022.
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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