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February 28, 2025 |
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(as revised June 27, 2025) |
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Summary Prospectus |
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iShares J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF | LEMB | 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 February 28, 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® J.P. MORGAN EM LOCAL CURRENCY BOND ETF
Ticker: LEMBStock Exchange: NYSE Arca
Investment Objective
The iShares J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment
results of an index composed of local currency denominated, emerging market sovereign bonds.
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 |
| 0.30% |
None |
0.00% |
0.30% |
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 |
| $31 |
$97 |
$169 |
$381 |
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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 31% of the average value of its
portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified 15% Cap 4% Floor Index (the “Underlying Index”), which tracks the
performance of local currency-denominated sovereign bond markets of emerging market countries. All bonds
included in the Underlying Index are selected according to a set of rule-based inclusion criteria regarding
issue size, bond type, maturity, and liquidity. The securities included in the Underlying Index are rebalanced on the last weekday of the month. Eligible countries included in the Underlying Index are determined by JPMorgan Chase &
Co. or its affiliates (the
“Index Provider” or “J.P. Morgan”) based on the Index Provider’s
definition of emerging market countries.
Eligible issuer countries
must have (1) gross national income (“GNI”) below the Index Income Ceiling
(“IIC”) for three consecutive years or (2) an Index Purchasing Power Parity Ratio (the “IPR”) below the Index Provider’s emerging market threshold for three consecutive years. An existing country may be considered for removal from the Underlying Index if its GNI per
capita is above the IIC for three consecutive years and its long-term sovereign credit rating from Standard
& Poor’s Global Ratings (“S&P Global”), Moody’s Investors
Service, Inc.
(“Moody’s”), and Fitch Ratings, Inc. (“Fitch”) is A-/A3/A- or above for three consecutive years. For purposes of compiling the Underlying Index, individual country weights are capped at
maximum 15% and floored at minimum 4.0%. Eligible individual securities must have a minimum face amount
outstanding of U.S. $1 billion equivalent for onshore local currency bonds and U.S. $500 million for global
bonds (offshore currency linked bonds). All component securities must have at least 2.5 years to maturity
from the inclusion date and a remaining maturity of 6 months or greater at the time of rebalancing to
remain eligible for the Underlying Index. Please see the SAI for the Index Provider’s definitions of
GNI and IIC.
Floating-rate issues, capitalization/amortizing bonds,
and bonds with callable, puttable or convertible features are not eligible for inclusion in the Underlying
Index.
As of March 31, 2025, the Underlying Index included
securities issued by China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Mexico, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Poland, Thailand, Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Colombia, Romania, Chile, Uruguay Global, Dominican Republic, and
Serbia.
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 value and industry weightings), fundamental
characteristics (such as return variability, duration (i.e., a security's price sensitivity to a change in interest rates), maturity or credit ratings 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 will invest at least 80%
of its assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index, and the Fund will invest at least 90% of
its assets in fixed income securities of the types included in the Underlying Index that BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. The Fund will invest no more than 10% of its assets in futures, options and swaps contracts that
BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index as well as in fixed income securities other than
the types 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 Underlying Index is sponsored by J.P. Morgan, 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), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, and securities of
state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions 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.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk of fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security due to changes in the general level of interest rates. Interest rate changes can be sudden and unpredictable and are influenced by a
number of factors, including government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, perceptions of
risk, and supply and demand for fixed-income securities. An increase in interest rates generally will cause
the value of fixed-income securities to decline. Securities with longer maturities generally are more sensitive to interest rate changes and subject to greater fluctuations in value. Changes in interest rates may have unpredictable effects on
fixed-income markets and result in heightened volatility and lower liquidity for certain instruments, which
may adversely affect a Fund’s performance. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a
Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to shareholders.
Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments
when due or otherwise honor their obligations. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the
market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer's or counterparty's financial condition and on
the terms of an obligation.
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.
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.
Custody Risk. Less developed securities markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settlement of
S-3
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.
High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (commonly referred to as
“junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below
“BBB-” by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch, or below
“Baa3” by Moody's), or are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default.
Illiquid Investments Risk. An illiquid investment is any
investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in
seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. To the
extent the Fund holds illiquid investments, the illiquid investments may reduce its returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices. In addition, if the Fund is limited in its ability to sell
illiquid investments during periods when shareholders are redeeming their shares, it will need to sell
liquid securities to meet redemption requests and illiquid securities will become a larger portion of the Fund’s holdings. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for Fund shares may be impacted by the liquidity
in the market for the underlying securities or other assets held by the Fund, which could lead to Fund
shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV.
Income Risk. The Fund's income may decline if
interest rates fall. This decline in income can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in
lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, bonds in the
Underlying Index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.
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.
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 and the
Sub-Advisers 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.
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.
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, Central and South American Economic Risk and Eastern European Economic Risk.
S-4
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, European Economic Risk, and North
American 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 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 investors may have limited legal remedies. The Fund does not
select investments based on investor protection considerations.
Risk of Investing in the China Bond Market. The
Fund invests directly in the domestic bond market in the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”) (the “China Interbank Bond Market”) through the Bond Connect trading channel. All bonds traded through Bond Connect are registered in the name of the
PRC’s Central Moneymarkets Unit (“CMU”), which holds such bonds as a nominee owner. The precise nature and rights of the Fund as the beneficial owner of bonds traded in the China Interbank
Bond Market through CMU as nominee are relatively new and untested areas of PRC law, and the exact nature
of the Fund’s remedies and methods of enforcement of its rights and interests under PRC law are
uncertain.
Market volatility and potential lack of liquidity due to
low trading volume of certain bonds in the China Interbank Bond Market may result in the prices of certain
bonds fluctuating significantly. Also, the systems used to trade through Bond Connect may not function as
expected. Trading through Bond Connect is also subject to regulatory risks, including laws and regulations that are subject to change. There can be no assurance that Bond Connect or its features or systems will not be materially
altered, suspended, discontinued or abolished. The Fund may be subject to additional taxation if certain
tax exemptions under PRC tax regulations are withdrawn or amended. Any taxes arising from or to the Fund
may be directly borne by, or indirectly passed on to, the Fund, which may substantially impact its NAV. Investing through Bond Connect subjects the Fund to currency risk, to the extent that currency rates used for Bond Connect are
different than the rates used in the China Interbank Bond Market.
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
S-5
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.
Sovereign and Quasi-Sovereign Obligations Risk.
The Fund invests in securities issued by or guaranteed by non-U.S. sovereign governments and by entities affiliated with or backed by non-U.S. sovereign governments, which may be
unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due. In times of economic uncertainty, the prices
of these securities may be more volatile than those of corporate debt obligations or of other
government debt obligations. Sovereign obligations may differ from other securities in their interest
rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide relatively lower returns
than those of other securities. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of a government may cause the value of the Fund’s sovereign obligations to decline.
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.
Treasury Obligations Risk. Treasury obligations may differ from other securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide
relatively lower returns than those of other securities. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial
condition or credit rating of a government may cause the value of the Fund's treasury obligations to
decline.
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 |
| During the periods shown in the chart:
| ||
| Best Quarter |
9.10% |
June 30, 2020 |
| Worst Quarter |
-14.63% |
March 31, 2020 |
Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2024)
(for the periods ended December 31, 2024)
| |
One Year |
Five Years |
Ten Years |
| (Inception Date: 10/18/2011)
|
|
|
|
| Return Before Taxes |
-1.49% |
-2.59% |
-0.87% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions |
-1.49% |
-3.02% |
-1.39% |
| Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
-0.88% |
-2.09% |
-0.83% |
| J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Diversified Index1(Returns do not reflect deductions for
fees, expenses or taxes) |
6.54% |
0.12% |
3.13% |
| J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified 15% Cap 4% Floor Index2(Returns do not reflect
deductions for fees or expenses) |
-2.60% |
-2.49% |
-0.51% |
1The Fund has added this broad-based index in response to new regulatory requirements.
2Index returns through May 31, 2017 reflect the performance of the Bloomberg
Barclays Emerging Markets Broad Local Currency Bond Index. Index returns from June 1, 2017 through September 30, 2023 reflect the performance of the J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global
Diversified 15% Cap 4.5% Floor Index (gross-of-tax version), which, effective as of June 1, 2017, replaced the Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Broad Local Currency Bond
Index as the Underlying Index of the Fund. Index returns starting on October 1, 2023 reflect the performance of the J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified 15% Cap 4% Floor Index (net-of-tax version), which, effective as of October 1, 2023, replaced the J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified 15% Cap 4% Floor Index (gross-of-tax version), as the Underlying Index of the Fund. On March 5, 2025, the name of the Fund's Underlying Index changed from the J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified 15% Cap 4% Floor Index to the J.P. Morgan GBI-EM Global Diversified 15% Cap 4% Floor 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 and Sub-Advisers. The Fund's investment adviser is BlackRock Fund Advisors. The Fund’s sub-advisers are BlackRock International Limited
(“BIL”) and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited
(“BRS” and, together with BIL, the
“Sub-Advisers”).
Portfolio Managers. James Mauro and Karen Uyehara (the “Portfolio Managers”) are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager supervises a portfolio management team. Mr. Mauro and Ms. Uyehara have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2011 and 2021,
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.
S-8
