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Important Notice Regarding Change in

Investment Policy

iShares Trust

Supplement dated October 1, 2026 to the currently effective Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for the iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF (PABD) (the “Fund”)

The Board of Trustees has approved the following changes for the Fund that are expected to take effect on or around December 1, 2026:

1) The Fund’s investment objective will be modified as shown below: Current Investment Objective New Investment Objective The iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization developed market equities, excluding the U.S., that is designed to be compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by, in aggregate, following a decarbonization trajectory, reducing exposure to climate-related transition and physical risks and increasing exposure to companies favorably positioned for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization developed market equities, excluding the U.S., that is designed to be compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by, in aggregate, following a decarbonization trajectory.

2) In the Principal Investment Strategies section of the Summary Prospectus and Prospectus, the first 14 paragraphs will be deleted in their entirety and replaced with the following:

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI World ex USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index (the “Underlying Index”), which has been developed by MSCI Inc. (the “Index Provider” or “MSCI”). The Underlying Index is a subset of the MSCI World ex USA Index (the “Parent Index”). The Underlying Index is composed of large- and mid-capitalization developed market equities, excluding the U.S., that are selected and weighted so that, in the aggregate, the portfolio is optimized versus the Parent Index to align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by following a decarbonization trajectory.

The Underlying Index aims to meet the minimum standards for a “Paris-Aligned Benchmark” (“PAB”) under the European Union’s Low Carbon Benchmark Regulation. PABs are designed to align with the principal objective of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming in this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels.

The Index Provider begins with the Parent Index and excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below, based primarily on ownership or revenue thresholds:

Š Producing tobacco.

Š Involvement with controversial weapons (e.g., cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium, chemical or biological weapons) or their components.

Š Companies that have any tie to nuclear weapons and are located in a country that has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (i.e., India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan).

Š Producers and retailers of civilian firearms or ammunitions.

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Š Involvement in certain thermal coal mining or sales activities, a wide range of oil- and gas-related activities (e.g., equipment, production, transportation), and power generation based on thermal coal, liquid fuel or natural gas.

The Index Provider also excludes companies that it determines are involved in ongoing and “very severe” controversies related to the environmental, social or governance (“ESG”) impact of the company’s actions, products or operations. To evaluate ESG controversies, the Index Provider monitors across five categories of ESG impact – environment, human rights and communities, labor rights and supply chain, customers and governance – and 28 sub-categories.

The Index Provider also excludes companies that are directly involved in ongoing severe or very severe environmental controversies; companies that have settled most but not all stakeholder concerns related to their direct involvement in very severe environmental controversies; and companies that are indirectly involved in very severe environmental controversies, each as determined by the Index Provider. Environmental controversies can relate to, among other things, toxic emissions and waste, water stress, biodiversity and supply chain management The Index Provider excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies or environmental harm.

The Index Provider then uses an optimization process that applies sustainability-related and other constraints to determine constituent weights. In order to meet the minimum standards for PABs, the Index Provider targets the following index-level constraints at each semi-annual rebalancing:

Š At least a 50.5% reduction in greenhouse gas (“GHG”) intensity compared with the Parent Index, taking into account issuers’ Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions (i.e., direct emissions from sources that an issuer owns or controls and indirect emissions from the purchase of energy and a company’s value chain);

Š At least a 7% year-over-year reduction in the GHG intensity (or decarbonization rate) of the Underlying Index itself since December 1, 2022, with a 2% buffer; and

Š A level of exposure to sectors with a high impact on climate change (i.e., those sectors that are key to the low carbon transition) that is not less than the exposure in the Parent Index.

In addition, the Underlying Index constrains the weight of individual constituents, including capping a constituent’s weight at the lesser of five times its weight in the Parent Index and the constituent’s weight in the Parent Index plus 2%. The sector weights of the Underlying Index may not deviate more than +/- 5% from those of the Parent Index (except for the energy sector).

As of August 31, 2026, the Underlying Index consisted of securities of companies in the following 22 countries or regions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”). As of August 31, 2026, the Underlying Index had approximately 413 constituents, and a significant portion of the Underlying Index was represented by securities of companies in the financials and industrials industries or sectors. The components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time.

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index before fees and expenses of the Fund. 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 or other instruments intended to collectively have an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The instruments 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 components of the Underlying Index. The Fund may use derivatives to gain or reduce exposure to the components of the Underlying Index or exposure to one or more market risk factors associated with such components. Subject to the limits described herein, the Fund may purchase and hold cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates, and may also purchase and hold instruments not included in the Underlying Index when BFA believes that such instruments will help the Fund track the performance of the Underlying Index over time, including in light of expected liquidity or trading costs, anticipated additions to or deletions from the Underlying Index, or other reasons as determined by BFA.

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In accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), under normal circumstances, the Fund will not invest less than 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in components of the Underlying Index. Investments in derivatives and other investments will be counted toward the Fund’s 80% investment policy to the extent that they provide exposure to the components of the Underlying Index or exposure to one or more market risk factors associated with such components. The Fund’s 80% investment policy may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) upon 60 days’ notice to shareholders.

In addition, the Fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the components of the Underlying Index.

3) In the More Information about the Funds section of the Prospectus, the section titled “Additional Index Information – iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF” will be deleted in its entirety.

4) In the Fund’s SAI, the section titled “MSCI World ex USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index” will be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

MSCI World ex USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index

Index Description. The MSCI World ex USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index is an optimized equity index designed to reflect the performance characteristics of a subset of large- and mid-capitalization developed market equities, excluding the U.S., within the MSCI World ex USA Index. The components of the Underlying Index are selected and weighted so that, in the aggregate, the portfolio is optimized versus the MSCI World ex USA Index to align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by following a decarbonization trajectory. The Underlying Index aims to meet the minimum standards for a “Paris-Aligned Benchmark” (“PAB”) under the European Union’s Low Carbon Benchmark Regulation.

Index Methodology. The Index Provider begins with the MSCI World ex USA Index and excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below, based primarily on ownership or revenue thresholds:

Š Producing tobacco.

Š Producing cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium, chemical or biological weapons, blinding laser weapons, non-detectable fragments or incendiary weapons; producing key components of cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium weapons, or chemical or biological weapons; owning 20% or more (50% for financial companies) of a weapons or components producer; or being 50% or more owned by a company involved in weapons or components production.

Š For only those companies located in a country that has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (i.e., India, Israel, Pakistan, South Sudan), manufacturing of the following, regardless of whether intended for exclusive use in nuclear weapons: nuclear warheads, whole nuclear missiles, nuclear weapon delivery systems or components, or providing auxiliary services related to nuclear weapons.

Š Producing firearms or small arms ammunitions for civilian markets or deriving 5% or more revenue, or $20 million or more revenue, from the production or distribution (wholesale or retail) of such firearms or ammunition.

Š Deriving 1% or more revenue from thermal coal mining or sales to external parties, but excluding all revenue from metallurgical coal, coal mined for internal power generation, intra-company sales of mined thermal coal and coal trading.

Š Deriving 10% or more revenue from oil-related activities, including distribution, equipment, production, transportation or refining.

Š Deriving 50% or more revenue from gas-related activities, including distribution, processing, pipelines, production, transportation and exploration.

Š Deriving 50% or more revenue from power generation based on thermal coal, liquid fuel or natural gas.

Page 4

The Index Provider excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies or environmental harm.

Š At least a 50.5% reduction in greenhouse gas (“GHG”) intensity compared with the MSCI World ex USA Index, taking into account issuers’ Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions (i.e., direct emissions from sources that an issuer owns or controls and indirect emissions from the purchase of energy and a company’s value chain);

Š At least a 7% year-over-year reduction in the GHG intensity (or decarbonization rate) of the Underlying Index itself since December 1, 2022, with a 2% buffer; and

Š A level of exposure to sectors with a high impact on climate change (i.e., those sectors that are key to the low carbon transition) that is not less than the exposure in the MSCI World ex USA Index.

At each semi-annual index rebalancing, the Index Provider applies constituent-level constraints that aim to ensure diversification, replicability and investability, including the following:

Š The minimum weight for a constituent is the greater of (a) 0.25 times the constituent’s weight in the MSCI World ex USA Index and (b) the constituent’s weight in the MSCI World ex USA Index minus 2%;

Š The maximum weight for a constituent is the lesser of (a) five times its weight in the MSCI World ex USA Index and (b) its weight in the MSCI World ex USA Index plus 2%;

Š The sector weights of the Underlying Index do not deviate more than +/- 5% from those of the MSCI World ex USA Index (except for the energy sector); and

Š The one-way turnover of the Underlying Index is capped at 5%.

The Underlying Index is rebalanced as of the close of the last business day of May and November, coinciding with the May and November Semi-Annual Index Review of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes.

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

iShares ® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. IS-A-PABD-1026

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Page 5

Important Notice Regarding Change in

Investment Policy

iShares Trust

The Board of Trustees has approved the following changes for the Fund that are expected to take effect on or around December 1, 2026:

1) The Fund’s investment objective will be modified as shown below:

Current Investment Objective New Investment Objective The iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks that is designed to be compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by, in aggregate, following a decarbonization trajectory, reducing exposure to climate-related transition and physical risks and increasing exposure to companies favorably positioned for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks that is designed to be compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by, in aggregate, following a decarbonization trajectory.

2) In the Principal Investment Strategies section of the Summary Prospectus and Prospectus, the first 14 paragraphs will be deleted in their entirety and replaced with the following:

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index (the “Underlying Index”), which has been developed by MSCI Inc. (the “Index Provider” or “MSCI”). The Underlying Index is a subset of the MSCI USA Index (the “Parent Index”). The Underlying Index is composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks that are selected and weighted so that, in the aggregate, the portfolio is optimized versus the Parent Index to align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by following a decarbonization trajectory.

Š Producing tobacco.

Š Involvement with controversial weapons (e.g., cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium, chemical or biological weapons) or their components.

Š Producers and retailers of civilian firearms or ammunitions.

Page 6

The Index Provider also excludes companies that are directly involved in ongoing severe or very severe environmental controversies; companies that have settled most but not all stakeholder concerns related to their direct involvement in very severe environmental controversies; and companies that are indirectly involved in very severe environmental controversies, each as determined by the Index Provider. Environmental controversies can relate to, among other things, toxic emissions and waste, water stress, biodiversity and supply chain management, The Index Provider excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies or environmental harm.

Š At least a 7% year-over-year reduction in the GHG intensity (or decarbonization rate) of the Underlying Index itself since December 1, 2022, with a 2% buffer; and

Š A level of exposure to sectors with a high impact on climate change (i.e., those sectors that are key to the low carbon transition) that is not less than the exposure in the Parent Index.

As of August 31, 2026, the Underlying Index had approximately 90 constituents, and a significant portion of the Underlying Index was represented by securities of companies in the technology industry or sector. The components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time.

Page 7

In addition, the Fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the components of the Underlying Index.

3) In the More Information about the Funds section of the Prospectus, the section titled “Additional Index Information – iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF” will be deleted in its entirety.

4) In the Fund’s SAI, the section titled “MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index” will be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index

Index Description. The MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index is an optimized equity index designed to reflect the performance characteristics of a subset of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization equity securities within the MSCI USA Index. The components of the Underlying Index are selected and weighted so that, in the aggregate, the portfolio is optimized versus the MSCI USA Index to align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by following a decarbonization trajectory. The Underlying Index aims to meet the minimum standards for a “Paris-Aligned Benchmark” (“PAB”) under the European Union’s Low Carbon Benchmark Regulation.

Index Methodology. The Index Provider begins with the MSCI USA Index and excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below, based primarily on ownership or revenue thresholds:

Š Producing tobacco.

Š Deriving 10% or more revenue from oil-related activities, including distribution, equipment, production, transportation or refining.

Š Deriving 50% or more revenue from gas-related activities, including distribution, processing, pipelines, production, transportation and exploration.

Š Deriving 50% or more revenue from power generation based on thermal coal, liquid fuel or natural gas. The Index Provider also excludes companies that it determines are involved in ongoing and “very severe” controversies related to the environmental, social or governance (“ESG”) impact of the company’s actions, products or operations. To evaluate ESG controversies, the Index Provider monitors across five categories of ESG impact – environment, human rights and communities, labor rights and supply chain, customers and governance – and 28 sub-categories.

Page 8

involved in very severe environmental controversies, each as determined by the Index Provider. Environmental controversies can relate to, among other things, toxic emissions and waste, water stress, biodiversity and supply chain management

The Index Provider excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies or environmental harm.

Š At least a 50.5% reduction in greenhouse gas (“GHG”) intensity compared with the MSCI USA Index, taking into account issuers’ Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions (i.e., direct emissions from sources that an issuer owns or controls and indirect emissions from the purchase of energy and a company’s value chain);

Š At least a 7% year-over-year reduction in the GHG intensity (or decarbonization rate) of the Underlying Index itself since December 1, 2022, with a 2% buffer; and

Š A level of exposure to sectors with a high impact on climate change (i.e., those sectors that are key to the low carbon transition) that is not less than the exposure in the MSCI USA Index.

At each semi-annual index rebalancing, the Index Provider applies constituent-level constraints that aim to ensure diversification, replicability and investability, including the following:

Š The minimum weight for a constituent is the greater of (a) 0.25 times the constituent’s weight in the MSCI USA Index and (b) the constituent’s weight in the MSCI USA Index minus 2%;

Š The maximum weight for a constituent is the lesser of (a) five times its weight in the MSCI USA Index and (b) its weight in the MSCI USA Index plus 2%;

Š The sector weights of the Underlying Index do not deviate more than +/- 5% from those of the MSCI USA Index (except for the energy sector); and

Š The one-way turnover of the Underlying Index is capped at 5%.

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

iShares ® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. IS-A-PABU-1026

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Page 9

iShares, Inc., iShares Trust, and iShares U.S. ETF Trust Supplement dated September 11, 2026 to the currently effective Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for each series of iShares, Inc., iShares Trust, and iShares U.S. ETF Trust (each, a “Fund”)

Effectively immediately, the fifth paragraph of the “Payments by BFA and its Affiliates” subsection of the section entitled “Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services” of the SAI for each series is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

In addition, BFA Entities have entered into other contractual arrangements with Intermediaries and certain other third parties that the BFA Entities believe may benefit the business of the BFA Entities or facilitate investment in the Fund or certain Products. Such agreements can include payments by BFA Entities to such Intermediaries and third parties for data collection and provision, technology support, platform enhancement, or educational content, co-marketing and cross-promotional efforts. In certain cases, such payments to Intermediaries are subject to certain minimum payment levels or tiered payments. With respect to certain funds and Products, payments by the BFA Entities may take the form of, among other things, “due diligence” payments for an Intermediary’s review of such funds and Products; payment for providing employee training and information relating to such funds and Products; fees for access (in some cases on a preferential basis) to an Intermediary’s registered representatives, salespersons or other personnel, fees for maintaining an Intermediary’s investor platform, “shelf space” payments for making such funds and Products available on the Intermediary’s platform or fees for providing assistance in promoting the sale of such funds and Products. In such cases, the payments to Intermediaries may be tiered or based on a percentage of the value of the funds and Products held by customers of the applicable Intermediary and may also be subject to minimum payment levels. Payments made pursuant to such arrangements may vary in any year and may be different for different Intermediaries and third parties and may reflect different services provided. As of the date of this SAI, the Intermediaries and other third parties (or their respective affiliates) receiving one or more types of the contractual payments described above include (in addition to FBS and NFS): &Partners, Advisor Credit Exchange, AE Wealth Management, LLC, American Enterprise Investment Services, Inc., Avantax Investment Services, Inc., BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC, BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, LLC, Cetera Financial Group, Inc., Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Clearstream Fund Centre AG, Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC, Dorsey Wright and Associates, LLC, Dynasty Financial Partners LLC, E*Trade Securities LLC, Envestnet Asset Management, Inc., Equitable Advisors, LLC, iCapital Markets LLC, Interactive Brokers LLC, LPL Financial LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, MML Investors Services, LLC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, Orion Portfolio Solutions, LLC, Pershing LLC, Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., Riskalyze, Inc., Rockefeller Financial LLC, Sanctuary Wealth Group, LLC, UBS Financial Services Inc., Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC. Any additions, modifications, or deletions to Intermediaries and other third parties listed above that have occurred since the date of this SAI are not included in the list.

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

iShares ® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. IS-A-IntermSAI-0926

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Page 10

iShares ®

iShares Trust Supplement dated June 1, 2026 to the currently effective Summary Prospectus, Prospectus, and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) for the iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF (USCL) (the “Fund”)

Effective immediately, MSCI Inc. (the “Index Provider”) has implemented methodology updates to the MSCI Climate Action range of standard indexes, which includes the MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index (the Fund’s “Underlying Index”).

Accordingly, the following changes to the Fund are effective immediately:

Changes to the Fund’s Summary Prospectus and Prospectus

The first fifteen paragraphs of the section entitled “Principal Investment Strategies” of the Fund’s Summary Prospectus and Prospectus are deleted in their entirety and replaced with the following:

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index (the “Underlying Index”), which was developed by MSCI Inc. (the “Index Provider” or “MSCI”). The Underlying Index is composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization companies based on their positioning, relative to their sector peers, with respect to the transition to a low-carbon economy, as determined by MSCI. The Index Provider uses data provided by MSCI Solutions LLC and other sources to assess companies for eligibility for inclusion in the Underlying Index and to rank and select securities based primarily on current emissions intensity, emissions reduction targets, green business revenue, and/or carbon risk management.

The Underlying Index seeks to reflect the overall sector composition of the MSCI USA Index (the “Parent Index”) by targeting similar sector representation from each Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) sector in the Parent Index. The Parent Index is a float-adjusted, market capitalization weighted index designed to measure the performance of the large- and mid-capitalization companies in the U.S. market, irrespective of their climate impact. As a result, the Underlying Index will include constituents from a broad range of sectors in the U.S. market, including sectors that have more climate impact than other sectors.

In constructing the Underlying Index, the Index Provider begins with the constituent universe of the Parent Index and applies several types of exclusionary screens.

The business involvement screens exclude securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco, controversial weapons or nuclear weapons (certain companies in countries that are not signatories of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), producers of civilian firearms and ammunition, thermal coal mining and sales associated with thermal coal mining, or oil sands extraction. Certain exclusions (e.g., controversial and nuclear weapons) are categorical, and others are based on revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds.

The Index Provider also excludes companies that it determines are directly involved in ongoing, “very severe” environmental, social or governance (“ESG”) controversies, defined as an instance or ongoing situation in which company operations and/or products allegedly are directly implicated in having a negative ESG impact, including alleged violations of laws, regulations, or accepted international norms (e.g., human rights violations or toxic emissions and waste). To evaluate ESG controversies, the Index Provider monitors across five categories of ESG impact – environment, human rights and communities, labor rights and supply chain, customers and governance – and 28 sub-categories. The Index Provider also excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies.

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SBTi does not monitor whether companies modify their targets or make progress toward the targets. “Emissions intensity” is defined by the Index Provider as Scope 1+2+3 global greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions as a percentage of the issuer’s enterprise value and cash. “Total potential carbon emissions” are the sum of the potential carbon emissions of the fossil fuel reserves, excluding metallurgical coal reserves, owned by an issuer, and are calculated only for companies that the Index Provider considers most likely to use their fossil fuel reserves for energy applications (i.e., burned or combusted to produce power or heat). Issuers without data on their emissions intensity are excluded from the Underlying Index.

For non-index constituents, the Index Provider excludes issuers that do not have approved science-based targets (“SBTs”) and are in the worst quartile of their GICS sector within the Parent Index based on their management of climate change risks (e.g., product carbon footprint and carbon emissions) (“carbon risk management”). For existing index constituents, the Index Provider excludes issuers that do not have approved SBTs and are in the worst decile of their GICS sector within the Parent Index based on their carbon risk management, as determined by the Index Provider.

An issuer is credited with a two-quartile improvement in its GHG Intensity Score if the issuer either (i) has approved SBTs for emissions reduction or (ii) is assessed by the Index Provider as having a “credible track record” of reduced emissions. Approved SBTs are targets that have been determined by SBTi to align with certain criteria set by SBTi based on climate science.

The criteria for a credible track record of emissions reduction include, among other things, having an average yearly emissions reduction of at least 2% over the past four years (three year-over-year changes).

For the remaining eligible securities, the GHG Intensity Score is improved by one quartile for any issuer that is within the best quartile, on a sector-relative basis within the Parent Index, for either (i) carbon risk management or (ii) “green business revenue,” each as determined by the Index Provider. An issuer must have at least 5% green business revenue to receive the improvement to its GHG Intensity Score. “Green business revenue” is defined as the cumulative revenue percentage that a company derives from alternative energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water, green building, pollution prevention and sustainable agriculture.

After the above quartile score improvements are applied, each security is assigned the resulting “Tilt Score”. This tilting approach, as determined by the Index Provider, increases exposure to companies assessed as best positioned for the climate transition within their respective GICS sector.

All eligible securities of each GICS sector are included in the index. The weights of the index constituents are determined by multiplying the Tilt Score with the Parent Index weight of the eligible security. The weights are then renormalized to 100%. Sector weights are limited to +/- 5% the weight of that sector in the Parent Index, and individual issuer weights are capped at +2% of its Parent Index weight.

The Underlying Index is reconstituted and rebalanced in May and November. The business involvement and firearms exclusionary screens are reviewed quarterly. The ESG controversy screen is reviewed monthly. Existing constituents that meet the exclusion criteria are deleted from the Underlying Index, and the weights of the remaining constituents are renormalized to 100%.

As of June 1, 2026, a significant portion of the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the Information Technology, Communication Services, and Consumer Discretionary sectors. As of June 1, 2026, the Underlying Index had approximately 400 components. The components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time.

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Changes to the Fund’s Prospectus

The section entitled “Additional Index Information – iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF” of the Fund’s Prospectus is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

The Index Provider excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below (“business involvement screens”):

Š Companies that are classified as a “producer” of tobacco and companies that derive 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production, distribution, retail, supply, and licensing of tobacco-related products.

Š Companies with any tie to controversial weapons, which are defined by the Index Provider as cluster munitions, landmines, biological and chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, blinding laser weapons, incendiary weapons and non-detectable fragments.

Š Companies deriving 1% or more revenue (reported or estimated) from the mining of thermal coal (including lignite, bituminous, anthracite and steam coal) and its sale to external parties. It excludes revenue from metallurgical coal, coal mined for internal power generation, intra-company sales of mined thermal coal, and revenue from coal trading (reported or estimated).

Š Companies that own oil sands reserves, disclose evidence of deriving revenue from oil sands extraction and derive 5% or more revenue from such extraction. Companies that derive revenue from non-extraction activities (e.g., exploration, surveying, processing, refining) or intra-company sales are not excluded. Additionally, companies that own oil sands reserves with no associated revenue are not excluded.

Š Companies that are located in countries who are not signatories of The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and fall within the following categories: companies that manufacture nuclear warheads and/or whole nuclear missiles, including assembly and integration of warhead and missile body; companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that manufacture nuclear warheads and missiles or their components; companies that manufacture components that were developed or are significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons; companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were developed or significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons; companies that provide auxiliary services related to nuclear weapons, such as repairing and maintaining nuclear weapons, providing overhaul and upgrade services, stockpiling and stewardship, R&D work, testing and simulations; companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that conduct R&D, testing, simulations, and other essential sciences on nuclear weapons; companies that manufacture components that were not developed or not significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons but that can be used in nuclear weapons; companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were not developed or not significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons but that have the capability to deliver nuclear weapons; and companies that manufacture components for nuclear-exclusive delivery platforms.

Š All companies classified as “Producer” of firearms and small arms ammunitions for civilian markets. It does not cover companies that cater to the military, government, and law enforcement markets.

Changes to the Fund’s SAI

The section entitled “The MSCI Indexes – MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index” of the Construction and Maintenance of the Underlying Index section in the SAI for the Fund is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index

Number of Components: approximately 400

Index Description. The MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index is composed of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization companies based on their positioning, relative to their sector peers, with respect to the transition to a low-carbon economy, as determined by MSCI. The Index Provider uses data provided by MSCI Solutions LLC and other sources to assess companies for eligibility for inclusion in the Underlying

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Index and to rank and select securities based primarily on current emissions intensity, emissions reduction targets, green business revenue, and/or carbon risk management.

The Underlying Index seeks to reflect the overall sector composition of the MSCI USA Index (the “parent index”) by targeting similar sector representation from each Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) sector in the parent index. The parent index is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index designed to measure the performance of the large- and mid-capitalization companies in the U.S. market, irrespective of their climate impact. As a result, the Underlying Index will include constituents from a broad range of sectors in the U.S. market, including sectors that have more climate impact than other sectors.

Index Methodology. The Index Provider begins with the constituent universe of the parent index and applies several types of exclusionary screens, as described below.

The Index Provider excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below (“business involvement screens”):

Page 14

emissions and waste). To evaluate ESG controversies, the Index Provider monitors across five categories of ESG impact – environment, human rights and communities, labor rights and supply chain, customers and governance – and 28 sub-categories. The Index Provider also excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies.

Another screen excludes issuers that have higher “emissions intensity” than the High Emission Threshold or higher “total potential carbon emissions” than the High Potential Emission Threshold, meaning issuers in the highest 5% of emitters on the MSCI ACWI Index for the two emissions metrics, as determined by the Index Provider. However, these highest 5% of emitters are not excluded by this screen if they have emissions reduction targets that have been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”). SBTi does not monitor whether companies modify their targets or make progress toward the targets. “Emissions intensity” is defined by the Index Provider as Scope 1+2+3 global greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions (i.e., direct emissions from sources that an issuer owns or controls and indirect emissions from the purchase of energy and a company’s value chain) as a percentage of the issuer’s enterprise value and cash. “Total potential carbon emissions” are the sum of the potential carbon emissions of the fossil fuel reserves, excluding metallurgical coal reserves, owned by an issuer, and are calculated only for companies that the Index Provider considers most likely to use their fossil fuel reserves for energy applications (i.e., burned or combusted to produce power or heat). Issuers without data on their emissions intensity are excluded from the Underlying Index.

For non-index constituents, the Index Provider excludes issuers that do not have approved science-based targets (“SBTs”) and are in the worst quartile of their GICS sector within the parent index based on their management of climate change risks (e.g., product carbon footprint and carbon emissions) (“carbon risk management”). For existing index constituents, the Index Provider excludes issuers that do not have approved SBTs and are in the worst decile of their GICS sector, as determined by the Index Provider.

Eligible securities are then evaluated according to a framework that assigns an initial “GHG Intensity Score,” which corresponds to the issuer’s sector-relative quartile position within the parent index based on its Scope 1+2+3 GHG intensity. The score may be improved with a one-quartile or two-quartile adjustment based on an issuer’s emissions reduction targets, emissions track record, green revenue or carbon risk management, each as described further below. The final GHG Intensity Score, after any adjustment, is used for ranking and selecting securities for inclusion in the Underlying Index.

All eligible securities of each GICS sector are included in the index. The weights of the index constituents is determined by multiplying the Tilt Score with the Parent Index weight of the eligible security. The weights are then renormalized to 100%. Sector weights are limited to +/- 5% the weight of that sector in the Parent Index, and individual issuer weights are capped at +2% of its Parent Index weight.

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If you have any questions, please call 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

iShares ® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. IS-SUPP-USCL-0626

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Page 16

iShares ®

iShares Trust Supplement dated April 20, 2026 to the currently effective Summary Prospectus, Prospectus, and Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) (the “Fund”)

The Fund is updating its investment policy to indicate that it intends to be “diversified,” as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), in approximately the same proportion as its Underlying Index is diversified. Shareholder approval will not be sought if the Fund crosses from diversified to non-diversified status due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of the constituents of its Underlying Index.

Accordingly, the following changes are effective immediately:

1. The following is added after the Industry Concentration Policy at the end of the section entitled “Principal Investment Strategies” of the Summary Prospectus and Prospectus of the Fund:

Diversification Policy. The Fund intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as the Underlying Index is diversified. The Fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined under the 1940 Act, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Underlying Index. Shareholder approval will not be sought if the Fund becomes “non-diversified” due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the Underlying Index. The Fund discloses its portfolio holdings and weightings at www.iShares.com.

2. The following is added to the section entitled “Summary of Principal Risks” in the Summary Prospectus and Prospectus of the Fund:

Non-Diversification Risk. To the extent the Fund is non-diversified, the Fund may invest a large 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.

3. In the table under the section entitled “Additional Information About the Funds’ Risks” in the Prospectus of the Fund, Non-Diversification Risk is checked as a Principal Risk of the Fund.

4. In the diversification status table of the section entitled “Diversification Status” of the SAI of the Fund, an asterisk (*) is added after the Fund’s name.

5. The last sentence of the first paragraph following the diversification status table of the section entitled “Diversification Status” of the SAI of the Fund is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following as described below:

Š However, while the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF and iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF are classified as “diversified,” under applicable no-action relief from the SEC staff, the funds may become non-diversified, as defined under the 1940 Act, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its Underlying Index, and such a change does not require shareholder approval.

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

iShares ® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. IS-A-ESGU-0426

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Page 17

iShares ®

iShares Trust Supplement dated February 18, 2026 to the currently effective Summary Prospectus, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF (EVUS) (the “Fund”)

Change in the Fund’s “Summary of Principal Risks”

The section of the Fund’s Summary Prospectus and Prospectus entitled “Summary of Principal Risks” is amended to delete the paragraph entitled “Non-Diversification Risk”.

Change in the Fund’s “Additional Information About the Funds’ Risks”

In the table starting on page 6 of the Prospectus, the column for the Fund is amended to remove the checkmark ( ✓ ) in the row for “Non-Diversification Risk”.

Change in the Fund’s “Investment Strategies and Risks”

In the section of the Fund’s SAI entitled, “Investment Strategies and Risks,” the “Diversification Status” sub-section starting on page 3 is amended to move the Fund from the “Non-Diversified Funds” column to the “Diversified Funds” column.

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

iShares ® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. IS-A-EVUS-0226

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Page 18

iShares ®

iShares, Inc. iShares Trust Supplement dated February 13, 2026 to the currently effective Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) for each of the funds listed in Appendix A (each, a “Fund”)

On or around March 16, 2026, Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) will become the administrator, custodian and transfer agent for each Fund. Effective upon this change, the following changes will be made:

1) In the “Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent” table in each Fund’s Prospectus, Citibank is checked for the applicable Fund.

2) In the “Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent” section of each Fund’s SAI, the following language is included to apply to the applicable Fund:

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent. Citibank serves as administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Funds under the Master Services Agreement (the “Master Services Agreement”). Citibank’s principal address is 388 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013. Pursuant to the Master Services Agreement with the Trust, Citibank provides necessary administrative, tax and accounting and financial reporting services for the maintenance and operations of the Trust and each Fund. In addition, Citibank makes available the office space, equipment, personnel and facilities required to provide such services. Pursuant to the Master Services Agreement with the Trust, Citibank maintains, in separate accounts, cash, securities and other assets of the Trust and each Fund, keeps all necessary accounts and records and provides other services. Citibank is required, upon the order of the Trust, to deliver securities held by Citibank and to make payments for securities purchased by the Trust for each Fund. Citibank is authorized to appoint certain foreign custodians or foreign custody managers for Fund investments outside the U.S. Pursuant to the Master Services Agreement with the Trust, Citibank acts as a transfer agent for each Fund’s authorized and issued shares of beneficial interest, and as dividend disbursing agent of the Trust. As compensation for these services, Citibank receives certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees which are accrued daily and paid monthly by BFA. BFA pays the compensation because it has agreed to pay these operating expenses under the Investment Advisory Agreement as described therein.

Prior to March 16, 2026, State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) served as administrator, custodian and transfer agent for each Fund.

3) For each Fund, references to “State Street” are replaced with references to “Citibank” in the sections of the SAI entitled “Placement of Creation Orders,” “Acceptance of Orders for Creation Units” and “Placement of Redemption Orders.”

4) For each Fund, the section of the SAI entitled “Costs Associated with Creation Transactions” is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following, although each SAI will include a “Standard Creation Transaction Fee” table only for applicable Funds : Costs Associated with Creation Transactions.

A standard creation transaction fee is imposed to offset the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance of Creation Units. Under an ETF Services Agreement, the Funds have retained BRIL, an affiliate of BFA, to perform the ETF Services. BRIL will receive from an Authorized Participant a standard transaction fee on each creation order, which consists of (1) a fee for providing the ETF Services (the “ETF Servicing Fee”) and (2) transfer, processing and other transaction costs charged by a Fund custodian in connection with the issuance of Creation Units for such creation order (“Custody Transaction Costs”). BRIL is entitled to retain the ETF Servicing Fee pursuant to the ETF Services Agreement, but BRIL will reimburse any Custody Transaction Costs to the applicable Fund custodian according to the amounts invoiced by such custodian.

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The ETF Servicing Fee is a flat fee per order regardless of the number of Creation Units being purchased, which amount will vary among different Funds based on a number of factors, including the complexity of the order and the types of securities or instruments included in a Fund’s Creation Basket, among other variables. The ETF Servicing Fee may be equal to zero in certain instances, such as for creation transactions that consist solely of cash. The actual Custody Transaction Costs vary per order based on the number of trades, underlying markets and settlement locations associated with the issuance of a Creation Unit. The following table sets forth, for each Fund, an estimate of the creation transaction fee for a Creation Unit based on data as of February 2, 2026. The actual fee charged to an Authorized Participant in connection with a creation order will vary over time depending on the factors discussed above, and may be higher than the fee set forth below.

In order to defray transaction expenses for a Fund and protect against possible shareholder dilution, if a creation transaction consists solely or partially of cash, the Authorized Participant may also be required to cover (up to the maximum amount shown below) certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs based on historical data or other inputs, at BlackRock’s discretion, and may include part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market and anticipated market impact). However, a Fund is not obligated to trade identical securities to the securities identified by BlackRock in estimating these transaction and other costs and expenses. In certain cases, BlackRock or an affiliate may determine in its discretion to deviate from the regular charge, subject to the maximum amounts shown below.

Authorized Participants will also bear the costs of transferring the Deposit Securities to the Funds. Certain fees/costs associated with creation transactions may be waived in certain circumstances. Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to acquire Fund shares may be charged a fee for such services.

The following table sets forth each Fund’s estimated creation transaction fee based on data as of February 2, 2026 and maximum additional charge (as described above):

Fund Standard Creation Transaction Fee

Maximum Additional Charge*

iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF $4,700 7.0% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF $1,950 3.0% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EM ETF $6,720 7.0% iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF $1,970 3.0% iShares ESG Aware MSCI EM ETF $3,600 3.0% iShares ESG MSCI EM Leaders ETF $5,540 7.0% iShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF $1,270 3.0% iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF $6,160 7.0% iShares MSCI ACWI ETF $14,710 7.0% iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF $14,320 7.0% iShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF $1,640 7.0% iShares MSCI Belgium ETF $450 3.0% iShares MSCI BIC ETF $8,630 7.0% iShares MSCI Brazil ETF $860 7.0% iShares MSCI Brazil Small-Cap ETF $1,020 3.0% iShares MSCI Canada ETF $630 3.0% iShares MSCI Chile ETF $960 3.0% iShares MSCI China A ETF $7,080 7.0% iShares MSCI China ETF $9,190 7.0%

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Fund Standard Creation Transaction Fee

Maximum Additional Charge*

iShares MSCI China Multisector Tech ETF $3,080 5.0% iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF $3,640 7.0% iShares MSCI Denmark ETF $470 3.0% iShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETF $8,440 7.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Asia ETF $10,090 7.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Min Vol Factor ETF $5,150 7.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Quality Factor ETF $3,970 7.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Small-Cap ETF $14,990 7.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Value Factor ETF $3,500 7.0% iShares MSCI France ETF $500 3.0% iShares MSCI Germany ETF $460 3.0% iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF $820 7.0% iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor ETF $3,220 7.0% iShares MSCI Global Quality Factor ETF $2,500 7.0% iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF $430 7.0% iShares MSCI Global Sustainable Development Goals ETF $1,420 7.0% iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF $430 7.0% iShares MSCI India ETF $1,230 3.0% iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF $2,700 3.0% iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF $1,070 3.0% iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF $1,500 7.0% iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF $1,350 7.0% iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF $1,570 7.0% iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF $2,590 3.0% iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF $580 3.0% iShares MSCI Kokusai ETF $4,020 7.0% iShares MSCI Kuwait ETF $2,040 7.0% iShares MSCI Malaysia ETF $900 3.0% iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF $500 3.0% iShares MSCI Norway ETF $770 3.0% iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF $820 7.0% iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF $1,020 3.0% iShares MSCI Philippines ETF $800 3.0% iShares MSCI Poland ETF $530 3.0% iShares MSCI Qatar ETF $2,250 3.0% iShares MSCI Singapore ETF $480 3.0% iShares MSCI South Africa ETF $550 3.0% iShares MSCI South Korea ETF $850 3.0% iShares MSCI Spain ETF $360 3.0% iShares MSCI Sweden ETF $480 3.0% iShares MSCI Thailand ETF $1,200 3.0% iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF $420 3.0%

Page 21

Fund Standard Creation Transaction Fee

Maximum Additional Charge*

iShares MSCI World ETF $4,480 7.0% iShares MSCI World Small-Cap ETF $10,090 7.0% iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF $2,140 3.0% iShares U.S. Power Infrastructure ETF $240 3.0%

* As a percentage of the net asset value per Creation Unit.

5) For each Fund, the section of the SAI entitled “Costs Associated with Redemption Transactions” is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following, although each SAI will include a “Standard Redemption Transaction Fee” table only for applicable Funds : Costs Associated with Redemption Transactions.

A standard redemption transaction fee is imposed to offset transfer and other transaction costs that may be incurred by the relevant Fund. As described above, under an ETF Services Agreement, the Funds have retained BRIL, an affiliate of BFA, to perform certain ETF Services. BRIL will receive from an Authorized Participant a standard transaction fee on each redemption order, which consists of (1) the ETF Servicing Fee and (2) Custody Transaction Costs. BRIL is entitled to retain the ETF Servicing Fee pursuant to the ETF Services Agreement, but BRIL will reimburse any Custody Transaction Costs to the applicable Fund custodian according to the amounts invoiced by such custodian.

The ETF Servicing Fee is a flat fee per order regardless of the number of Creation Units being redeemed, which amount will vary among different Funds based on a number of factors, including the complexity of the order and the types of securities or instruments included in a Fund’s Redemption Basket, among other variables. The ETF Servicing Fee may be equal to zero in certain instances, such as for redemption transactions that consist solely of cash. The actual Custody Transaction Costs vary per order based on the number of trades, underlying markets, and settlement locations associated with the redemption of a Creation Unit. The following table sets forth, for each Fund, an estimate of the redemption transaction fee for a Creation Unit based on data as of February 2, 2026. The actual fee charged to an Authorized Participant in connection with a redemption order will vary over time depending on the factors discussed above, and may be higher than the fee set forth below.

In order to defray transaction expenses for a Fund and protect against possible shareholder dilution, if a redemption transaction consists solely or partially of cash, the Authorized Participant may also be required to cover (up to the maximum amount shown below) certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs based on historical data or other inputs, at BlackRock’s discretion, and may include part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market and anticipated market impact). However, a Fund is not obligated to trade identical securities to the securities identified by BlackRock in estimating these transaction and other costs and expenses. In certain cases, BlackRock or an affiliate may determine in its discretion to deviate from the regular charge, subject to the maximum amounts shown below.

Authorized Participants will also bear the costs of transferring the Fund Securities from a Fund to their account on their order. Certain fees/costs associated with redemption transactions may be waived in certain circumstances. Investors who use the services of a broker or other financial intermediary to dispose of Fund shares may be charged a fee for such services.

Page 22

The following table sets forth each Fund’s estimated redemption transaction fee based on data as of February 2, 2026 and maximum additional charge (as described above):

Fund Standard Redemption Transaction Fee Maximum Additional Charge*

iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF $4,700 2.0% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF $1,950 2.0% iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EM ETF $6,720 2.0% iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF $1,970 2.0% iShares ESG Aware MSCI EM ETF $3,600 2.0% iShares ESG MSCI EM Leaders ETF $5,540 2.0% iShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF $1,270 2.0% iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF $6,160 2.0% iShares MSCI ACWI ETF $14,710 2.0% iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF $14,320 2.0% iShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF $1,640 2.0% iShares MSCI Belgium ETF $450 2.0% iShares MSCI BIC ETF $8,630 2.0% iShares MSCI Brazil ETF $860 2.0% iShares MSCI Brazil Small-Cap ETF $1,020 2.0% iShares MSCI Canada ETF $630 2.0% iShares MSCI Chile ETF $960 2.0% iShares MSCI China A ETF $7,080 2.0% iShares MSCI China ETF $9,190 2.0% iShares MSCI China Multisector Tech ETF $3,080 2.0% iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF $3,640 2.0% iShares MSCI Denmark ETF $470 2.0% iShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETF $8,440 2.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Asia ETF $10,090 2.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Min Vol Factor ETF $5,150 2.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Quality Factor ETF $3,970 2.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Small-Cap ETF $14,990 2.0% iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Value Factor ETF $3,500 2.0% iShares MSCI France ETF $500 2.0% iShares MSCI Germany ETF $460 2.0% iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF $820 2.0% iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor ETF $3,220 2.0% iShares MSCI Global Quality Factor ETF $2,500 2.0% iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF $430 2.0% iShares MSCI Global Sustainable Development Goals ETF $1,420 2.0% iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF $430 2.0% iShares MSCI India ETF $1,230 2.0% iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF $2,700 2.0% iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF $1,070 2.0% iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF $1,500 2.0% iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF $1,350 2.0%

Page 23

Fund Standard Redemption Transaction Fee

Maximum Additional Charge*

iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF $1,570 2.0% iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF $2,590 2.0% iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF $580 2.0% iShares MSCI Kokusai ETF $4,020 2.0% iShares MSCI Kuwait ETF $2,040 2.0% iShares MSCI Malaysia ETF $900 2.0% iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF $500 2.0% iShares MSCI Norway ETF $770 2.0% iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF $820 2.0% iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF $1,020 2.0% iShares MSCI Philippines ETF $800 2.0% iShares MSCI Poland ETF $530 2.0% iShares MSCI Qatar ETF $2,250 2.0% iShares MSCI Singapore ETF $480 2.0% iShares MSCI South Africa ETF $550 2.0% iShares MSCI South Korea ETF $850 2.0% iShares MSCI Spain ETF $360 2.0% iShares MSCI Sweden ETF $480 2.0% iShares MSCI Thailand ETF $1,200 2.0% iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF $420 2.0% iShares MSCI World ETF $4,480 2.0% iShares MSCI World Small-Cap ETF $10,090 7.0% iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF $2,140 2.0% iShares U.S. Power Infrastructure ETF $240 2.0%

* As a percentage of the net asset value per Creation Unit.

Page 24

Appendix A

iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EM ETF iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF iShares ESG Aware MSCI EM ETF iShares ESG MSCI EM Leaders ETF iShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF iShares Low Carbon Optimized MSCI ACWI ETF iShares MSCI ACWI ETF iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF iShares MSCI Agriculture Producers ETF iShares MSCI Belgium ETF iShares MSCI BIC ETF iShares MSCI Brazil ETF iShares MSCI Brazil Small-Cap ETF iShares MSCI Canada ETF iShares MSCI Chile ETF iShares MSCI China A ETF iShares MSCI China ETF iShares MSCI China Multisector Tech ETF iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF iShares MSCI Denmark ETF iShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETF iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Asia ETF iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Min Vol Factor ETF iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Quality Factor ETF iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Small-Cap ETF iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Value Factor ETF iShares MSCI France ETF iShares MSCI Germany ETF iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF iShares MSCI Global Min Vol Factor ETF iShares MSCI Global Quality Factor ETF

iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF iShares MSCI Global Sustainable Development Goals ETF iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF iShares MSCI India ETF iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF iShares MSCI Intl Momentum Factor ETF iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF iShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF iShares MSCI Kokusai ETF iShares MSCI Kuwait ETF iShares MSCI Malaysia ETF iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF iShares MSCI Norway ETF iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF iShares MSCI Philippines ETF iShares MSCI Poland ETF iShares MSCI Qatar ETF iShares MSCI Singapore ETF iShares MSCI South Africa ETF iShares MSCI South Korea ETF iShares MSCI Spain ETF iShares MSCI Sweden ETF iShares MSCI Thailand ETF iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF iShares MSCI World ETF iShares MSCI World Small-Cap ETF iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF iShares U.S. Power Infrastructure ETF

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

iShares ® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates. IS-A-CITI-0226

PLEASE RETAIN THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Page 25

iShares ® Trust

Statement of Additional Information

Dated December 30, 2025

This combined Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the current prospectuses (each, a “Prospectus” and collectively, the “Prospectuses”) for the following series of iShares Trust (the “Trust”):

Fund Ticker Listing Exchange

iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF USCL Nasdaq iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF DMXF Nasdaq iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF USXF Nasdaq iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF ESGD Nasdaq iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF ESGU Nasdaq iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF EGUS Cboe BZX iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF ESML Cboe BZX iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF EVUS Cboe BZX iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF SUSL Nasdaq iShares MSCI Denmark ETF EDEN Cboe BZX iShares MSCI Finland ETF EFNL Cboe BZX iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF EIDO NYSE Arca iShares MSCI Ireland ETF EIRL NYSE Arca iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF EWJV Nasdaq iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF ENZL Nasdaq iShares MSCI Norway ETF ENOR Cboe BZX iShares MSCI Philippines ETF EPHE NYSE Arca iShares MSCI Poland ETF EPOL NYSE Arca iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF EWU NYSE Arca iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap ETF EWUS Cboe BZX iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF PABU Nasdaq iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF PABD Nasdaq

The Prospectuses for the above-listed funds (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) are dated December 30, 2025, as amended and supplemented from time to time. Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the applicable Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. Each Fund’s financial statements, financial highlights and notes thereto and the report therein appearing in the Fund’s Form N-CSR are incorporated in this SAI by reference as described in the section entitled Financial Statements. A copy of each Fund’s Prospectus, Annual and Semi-Annual Report, and Annual and Semi-Annual Financial Statements, when available, may be obtained without charge by writing to the Fund’s distributor, BlackRock Investments, LLC (the “Distributor” or “BRIL”), 1 University Square Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540, by calling 1-800iShares (1-800-474- 2737), or by visiting www.ishares.com.

References to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act” or the “1940 Act”), or other applicable law, will include any rules promulgated thereunder and any guidance, interpretations or modifications by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, including court interpretations, and exemptive, no action or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

iShares ® and BlackRock ® are registered trademarks of BlackRock Fund Advisors and its affiliates.

Page 26

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

General Description of the Trust and its Funds 1 Exchange Listing and Trading 2

Investment Strategies and Risks 2

Borrowing 3

Currency Transactions 3

Diversification Status 3

Futures, Options on Futures and Securities Options 4

Lending Portfolio Securities 5 Liquidity Risk Management 7

Non-U.S. Securities 7 Regulation Regarding Derivatives 7

Repurchase Agreements 9

Reverse Repurchase Agreements 9 Securities of Investment Companies 9

Short-Term Instruments and Temporary Investments 10

Swap Agreements 10

Tracking Stocks 10

Future Developments 10

General Considerations and Risks 10

Borrowing Risk 10 Commodities Investment Risk 10

Currency Risk 11

Custody Risk 12

Illiquid Investments Risk 12

Infectious Illness Risk 12 Money Market Instruments Risk 12

National Closed Market Trading Risk 12

Operational and Technology Risks 13

Reference Rate Replacement Risk 14

Risk of Derivatives 14

Risk of Equity Securities 14

Risk of Futures and Options on Futures Transactions 15

Risk of Investing in Non-U.S. Equity Securities 15

Risk of Swap Agreements 16

Tracking Error Risk 16

Securities Lending Risk 16

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Risk of Investing in Asia 16

Risk of Investing in Australasia 17

Risk of Investing in Developed Countries 17

Risk of Investing in Eastern Europe 18

Risk of Investing in Emerging Markets 18

Risk of Investing in Europe 20

Risk of Investing in Finland 21

Risk of Investing in Germany 21

Risk of Investing in Indonesia 21 Risk of Investing in Ireland 22

Risk of Investing in Japan 22

Risk of Investing in New Zealand 23

Risk of Investing in North America 23

Risk of Investing in the Philippines 23

Risk of Investing in Poland 24

U.S. Economic Trading Partners Risk 24

Risk of Investing in the Communication Services Sector 25

Risk of Investing in the Consumer Discretionary Sector 25

Risk of Investing in the Consumer Staples Sector 26

Risk of Investing in the Energy Sector 26

Risk of Investing in the Financials Sector 27 Risk of Investing in the Healthcare Sector 27

Risk of Investing in the Industrials Sector 28

Risk of Investing in the Materials Sector 28

Risk of Investing in the Real Estate Industry 28

Risk of Investing in Technology Companies 30

Risk of Investing in the Utilities Sector 30

Proxy Voting Policies 31

Portfolio Holdings Information 32

Construction and Maintenance of the Underlying Indexes 33

The MSCI Indexes 33

MSCI All Ireland Capped Index 36

MSCI Denmark IMI 25/50 Index 37 MSCI EAFE Choice ESG Screened Index 37

MSCI EAFE Extended ESG Focus Index 39

MSCI Finland IMI 25/50 Index 39

MSCI Indonesia IMI 25/50 Index 40

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MSCI Japan Value Index (USD) 40

MSCI New Zealand All Cap Top 25 Capped Index 40

MSCI Norway IMI 25/50 Index 41

MSCI Philippines IMI 25/50 Index 41

MSCI Poland IMI 25/50 Index 42

MSCI United Kingdom Index 42

MSCI United Kingdom Small Cap Index 42

MSCI USA Choice ESG Screened Index 43

MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index 44

MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index 46

MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index 48

MSCI USA Extended ESG Leaders Index 49

MSCI USA Growth Extended ESG Focus Index 49

MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index 50

MSCI USA Value Extended ESG Focus Index 51

MSCI World ex USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index 52

Investment Policies 55

Fundamental Investment Policies 55

Non-Fundamental Investment Policies of the Funds 58

Continuous Offering 59

Management 59 Trustees and Officers 59

Committees of the Board of Trustees 68

Remuneration of Trustees and Advisory Board Members 72

Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities 73

Conflicts of Interest 80

Investment Advisory, Administrative and Distribution Services 90

Investment Adviser 90

Portfolio Managers 92

Codes of Ethics 94

Anti-Money Laundering Requirements 95

Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent 95

Distributor 96 Securities Lending 96

Payments by BFA and its Affiliates 102

Determination of Net Asset Value 104

Brokerage Transactions 106

iii

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Additional Information Concerning the Trust 111

Shares 111

DTC as Securities Depository for Shares of the Funds 112

Distribution of Shares 113

Creation and Redemption of Creation Units 113

General 113

Fund Deposit 114

Cash Purchase Method 115

Procedures for Creation of Creation Units 115 Role of the Authorized Participant 115

Purchase Orders 115

Timing of Submission of Purchase Orders 116

Acceptance of Orders for Creation Units 116

Issuance of a Creation Unit 117

Costs Associated with Creation Transactions 117

Redemption of Creation Units 119

Cash Redemption Method 120

Costs Associated with Redemption Transactions 120

Placement of Redemption Orders 122

Custom Baskets 124

Taxation on Creations and Redemptions of Creation Units 124

Taxes 124

Regulated Investment Company Qualifications 124

Taxation of RICs 125

Excise Tax 125

Net Capital Loss Carryforwards 125

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders 126

Sales of Shares 127

Backup Withholding 128

Sections 351 and 362 128

Taxation of Certain Derivatives 128

Qualified Dividend Income 129

Corporate Dividends Received Deduction 129 Excess Inclusion Income 129

Non-U.S. Investments 130

Passive Foreign Investment Companies 130

Reporting 131

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Other Taxes 131

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders 131

Financial Statements 132

Miscellaneous Information 132

Counsel 132

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 132

Shareholder Communications to the Board 132

Regulation Under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive 133

Investors’ Rights 133 Appendix A - Proxy Voting Policies A-1

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General Description of the Trust and its Funds

The Trust currently consists of more than 350 investment series or portfolios. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on December 16, 1999 and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios. The Trust is an open-end management investment company registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. The offering of the Trust’s shares is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). This SAI relates to the following Funds: • iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF • iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF • iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF • iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF

• iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF • iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF • iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF • iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF • iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF • iShares MSCI Denmark ETF

• iShares MSCI Finland ETF • iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF • iShares MSCI Ireland ETF • iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF • iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF • iShares MSCI Norway ETF • iShares MSCI Philippines ETF

• iShares MSCI Poland ETF • iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF • iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap ETF • iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF 1

• iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF 2

1 On June 2, 2025, the name of the Fund changed from the iShares Paris-Aligned Climate MSCI USA ETF to the iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF. 2 On June 2, 2025, the name of the Fund changed from the iShares Paris-Aligned Climate MSCI World ex USA ETF to the iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF.

Each Fund is managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”), an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc., and generally seeks to track the investment results of the specific benchmark index identified in the applicable Prospectus for that Fund (each, an “Underlying Index”).

Each Fund offers and issues shares at their net asset value per share (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (each, a “Creation Unit”), generally in exchange for a designated portfolio of securities, assets or other positions (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) included in its Underlying Index (the “Deposit Securities” or “Creation Basket”), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the “Cash Component”). Shares of the Funds are listed for trading on national securities exchanges such as Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (“Cboe BZX”), NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) or The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) (each a “Listing Exchange”). Shares of each Fund are traded in the secondary market and elsewhere at market prices that may be at, above or below the Fund’s NAV. Shares are

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redeemable only in Creation Units by Authorized Participants (as defined in the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units Role of the Authorized Participant section of this SAI) and, generally, in exchange for portfolio securities and a Cash Amount (as defined in the Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI). Creation Units typically are a specified number of shares, generally ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 shares or multiples thereof.

The Trust reserves the right to permit or require that creations and redemptions of shares are effected fully or partially in cash and reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of cash. Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities, subject to various conditions, including a requirement that the Authorized Participant maintain collateral with the Trust as set forth in the handbook for Authorized Participants. The Trust may use such collateral at any time to purchase Deposit Securities. See the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI. Transaction fees and other costs associated with creations or redemptions that include a cash portion may be higher than the transaction fees and other costs associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, conditions with respect to creations and redemptions of shares and fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of SEC rules and regulations applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities.

Exchange Listing and Trading

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in each Fund is contained in the Shareholder Information section of each Fund’s Prospectus. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, that section of the applicable Prospectus.

Shares of each Fund are listed for trading, and trade throughout the day, on the applicable Listing Exchange and in other secondary markets. Shares of the Funds may also be listed on certain non-U.S. exchanges. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Listing Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of any Fund will continue to be met. The Listing Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of a Fund from listing if, among other things: (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of Fund shares, there are fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial owners of shares of a Fund; (ii) a Fund is no longer eligible to operate in reliance on Rule 6c-11 under the Investment Company Act; (iii) any of the other listing requirements are not continuously maintained; or (iv) any event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Listing Exchange, makes further dealings on the Listing Exchange inadvisable. The Listing Exchange will also remove shares of a Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.

As in the case of other publicly-traded securities, when you buy or sell shares of a Fund through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission determined by that broker, as well as other charges.

The Trust reserves the right to adjust the share price of a Fund in the future to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of a Fund or an investor’s equity interest in a Fund.

Investment Strategies and Risks

Each Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in securities issued by issuers that compose its relevant Underlying Index and in investments that provide substantially similar exposure to securities in the Underlying Index. Each Fund operates as an index fund and is not actively managed. Adverse performance of a security in a Fund’s portfolio will ordinarily not result in the elimination of the security from the Fund’s portfolio.

Each Fund engages in representative sampling, which is investing in a sample of securities selected by BFA to have a collective investment profile similar to that of the Fund’s Underlying Index. Securities selected have aggregate investment characteristics (based on market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability, earnings valuation and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of the Fund’s Underlying Index. A fund that uses representative sampling generally does not hold all of the securities that are in its underlying index.

Although the Funds do not seek leveraged returns, certain instruments used by the Funds may have a leveraging effect as described below.

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Borrowing. A Fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes, including to meet payments due from redemptions or to facilitate the settlement of securities or other transactions. The iShares MSCI Denmark ETF, iShares MSCI Finland ETF, iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF, iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF, iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF, iShares MSCI Norway ETF, iShares MSCI Philippines ETF, iShares MSCI Poland ETF, iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF and iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap ETF, along with certain other iShares funds, have entered into a syndicated line of credit with the Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY”), which serves as administrative agent for itself and the other banks. The syndicated line of credit may be used for temporary or emergency purposes, including redemption, settlement of trades and rebalancing of portfolio holdings.

Interest rates related to the syndicated line of credit are based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York plus a spread. Pursuant to the terms of the credit agreement, if SOFR were to cease being published or representative, it would be replaced by a rate based on an alternate benchmark selected by BNY.

The purchase of securities while borrowings are outstanding may have the effect of leveraging a Fund. The incurrence of leverage increases a Fund’s exposure to risk, and borrowed funds are subject to interest costs that will reduce net income. Purchasing securities while borrowings are outstanding creates special risks, such as the potential for greater volatility in the NAV of Fund shares and in the yield on a Fund’s portfolio. In addition, the interest expenses from borrowings may exceed the income generated by a Fund’s portfolio and, therefore, the amount available (if any) for distribution to shareholders as dividends may be reduced. BFA may determine to maintain outstanding borrowings if it expects that the benefits to a Fund’s shareholders will outweigh the current reduced return.

Certain types of borrowings by a Fund must be made from a bank or may result in a Fund being subject to covenants in credit agreements relating to asset coverage, portfolio composition requirements and other matters. It is not anticipated that observance of such covenants would impede BFA’s management of a Fund’s portfolio in accordance with a Fund’s investment objectives and policies. However, a breach of any such covenants not cured within the specified cure period may result in acceleration of outstanding indebtedness and require a Fund to dispose of portfolio investments at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

Currency Transactions. A currency forward contract is an over-the-counter (“OTC”) obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days greater than two days from the date on which the contract is agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. A non-deliverable currency forward is an OTC currency forward settled in a specified currency, on a specified date, based on the difference between the agreed-upon exchange rate and the market exchange rate. A currency futures contract is a contract that trades on an organized futures exchange involving an obligation to deliver or acquire a specified amount of a specific currency, at a specified price and at a specified future time. Currency futures contracts may be settled on a net cash payment basis rather than by the sale and delivery of the underlying currency. The Funds do not expect to engage in currency transactions for the purpose of hedging against declines in the value of each Fund’s assets that are denominated in a non-U.S. currency. A Fund may enter into non U.S. currency forward and non-U.S. currency futures transactions to facilitate local securities settlements or to protect against currency exposure in connection with its distributions to shareholders, but may not enter into such contracts for speculative purposes.

Foreign exchange transactions involve a significant degree of risk and the markets in which foreign exchange transactions are effected may be highly volatile, highly specialized and highly technical. Significant changes, including changes in liquidity and prices, can occur in such markets within very short periods of time, often within minutes. Foreign exchange trading risks include, but are not limited to, exchange rate risk, counterparty risk, maturity gap, interest rate risk, and potential interference by foreign governments through regulation of local exchange markets, foreign investment or particular transactions in non U.S. currency. If BFA utilizes foreign exchange transactions at an inappropriate time or judges market conditions, trends or correlations incorrectly, foreign exchange transactions may not serve their intended purpose of improving the correlation of a Fund’s return with the performance of its Underlying Index and may lower the Fund’s return. A Fund could experience losses if the value of its currency forwards, options or futures positions were poorly correlated with its other investments or if it could not close out its positions because of an illiquid market or otherwise. In addition, a Fund could incur transaction costs, including trading commissions, in connection with certain non-U.S. currency transactions.

Diversification Status. The following table sets forth the diversification status of each Fund:

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Diversified Funds Non-Diversified Funds

iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF* iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap ETF iShares MSCI Denmark ETF

iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF iShares MSCI Finland ETF iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF iShares MSCI Ireland ETF iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF iShares MSCI Norway ETF iShares MSCI Philippines ETF

iShares MSCI Poland ETF iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF

* The iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as its Underlying Index is diversified. The iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF may become non-diversified, as defined in the 1940 Act, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its Underlying Index. Shareholder approval will not be sought if the iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF crosses from diversified to non-diversified status due solely to a change in its relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituent s of its Underlying Index. The Fund discloses its portfolio holdings and weightings at www.iShares.com.

A fund classified as “diversified” under the 1940 Act may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than (i) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities and (ii) securities of other investment companies) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund may invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, a fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval. However, while the iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF is classified as “diversified,” under applicable no-action relief from the SEC staff, the fund may become non-diversified, as defined in the 1940 Act, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its Underlying Index and such a change does not require shareholder approval.

A “non-diversified” fund is a fund that is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. The securities of a particular issuer (or securities of issuers in particular industries) may constitute a significant percentage of the underlying index of such a fund and, consequently, the fund’s investment portfolio. This may adversely affect a fund’s performance or subject the fund’s shares to greater price volatility than that experienced by more diversified investment companies.

Each Fund (whether diversified or non-diversified) intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for purposes of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”), and to relieve the Fund of any liability for U.S. federal income tax to the extent that its earnings are distributed to shareholders, provided that the Fund satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Funds and may make it less likely that the Funds will meet their respective investment objectives.

Futures, Options on Futures and Securities Options. Futures contracts, options on futures and securities options may be used by a Fund to simulate investment in its Underlying Index, to facilitate trading or to reduce transaction costs. Each Fund may enter into futures contracts and options on futures that are traded on a U.S. or non-U.S. futures exchange. Each Fund

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will not use futures, options on futures or securities options for speculative purposes. Each Fund intends to use futures and options on futures in accordance with Rule 4.5 of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) promulgated under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”). BFA, with respect to certain Funds, has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” in accordance with Rule 4.5 so that BFA, with respect to such Funds, is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator under the CEA. See the Regulation Regarding Derivatives section of this SAI for more information.

Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific instrument or index at a specified future time and at a specified price. Stock index contracts are based on investments that reflect the market value of common stock of the firms included in the investments. Each Fund may enter into futures contracts to purchase securities indexes when BFA anticipates purchasing the underlying securities and believes prices will rise before the purchase will be made. Upon entering into a futures contract, a Fund will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents known as “initial margin,” which is similar to a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract and is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract if all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” will be made to and from the broker daily as the price of the instrument or index underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” At any time prior to the expiration of a futures contract, each Fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s existing position in the contract. An option on a futures contract, as contrasted with a direct investment in such a contract, gives the purchaser the right, but no obligation, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in the underlying futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option. Upon exercise of an option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account that represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract.

The potential for loss related to the purchase of an option on a futures contract is limited to the premium paid for the option plus transaction costs. Because the value of the option is fixed at the point of sale, there are no daily cash payments by the purchaser to reflect changes in the value of the underlying contract; however, the value of the option changes daily and that change would be reflected in the NAV of each Fund. The potential for loss related to writing call options is unlimited. The potential for loss related to writing put options is limited to the agreed-upon price per share, also known as the “strike price,” less the premium received from writing the put. Certain of the Funds may purchase and write put and call options on futures contracts that are traded on an exchange as a hedge against changes in value of their portfolio securities or in anticipation of the purchase of securities, and may enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate existing positions. There is no guarantee that such closing transactions can be effected.

Securities options may be used by a Fund to obtain access to securities in its Underlying Index or to dispose of securities in its Underlying Index at favorable prices, to invest cash in a securities index that offers similar exposure to that provided by its Underlying Index or otherwise to achieve the Fund’s objective of tracking its Underlying Index. A call option gives a holder the right to purchase a specific security at a specified price (“exercise price”) within a specified period of time. A put option gives a holder the right to sell a specific security at an exercise price within a specified period of time. The initial purchaser of a call option pays the “writer” a premium, which is paid at the time of purchase and is retained by the writer whether or not such option is exercised. Each Fund may purchase put options to hedge its portfolio against the risk of a decline in the market value of securities held and may purchase call options to hedge against an increase in the price of securities it is committed to purchase. Each Fund may write put and call options along with a long position in options to increase its ability to hedge against a change in the market value of the securities it holds or is committed to purchase. Each Fund may purchase or sell securities options on a U.S. or non-U.S. securities exchange or in the OTC market through a transaction with a dealer. Options on a securities index are typically settled on a net basis based on the appreciation or depreciation of the index level over the strike price. Options on single name securities may be cash- or physically-settled, depending upon the market in which they are traded. Options may be structured so as to be exercisable only on certain dates or on a daily basis. Options may also be structured to have conditions to exercise ( i.e. , “Knock-in Events”) or conditions that trigger termination ( i.e. , “Knock-out Events”).

Lending Portfolio Securities. Each Fund may lend portfolio securities to certain borrowers that BFA determines to be creditworthy, including borrowers affiliated with BFA. The borrowers provide collateral that is maintained in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned. No securities loan shall be made on behalf of a Fund if, as a

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result, the aggregate value of all securities loans of the particular Fund exceeds one-third of the value of such Fund’s total assets (including the value of the collateral received). A Fund may terminate a loan at any time and obtain the return of the securities loaned. Each Fund receives, by way of substitute payment, the value of any interest or cash or non-cash distributions paid on the loaned securities that it would have otherwise received if the securities were not on loan.

With respect to loans that are collateralized by cash, the borrower may be entitled to receive a fee based on the amount of cash collateral. The Funds are compensated by any positive difference between the amount earned on the reinvestment of cash collateral and the fee paid to the borrower. In the case of collateral other than cash, a Fund is compensated by a fee paid by the borrower equal to a percentage of the market value of the loaned securities. Any cash collateral received by the Fund for such loans, and uninvested cash, may be reinvested in certain short-term instruments either directly on behalf of each Fund or through one or more joint accounts or money market funds, including those affiliated with BFA; such investments are subject to investment risk.

Each Fund conducts its securities lending pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC permitting it to lend portfolio securities to borrowers affiliated with the Fund and to retain an affiliate of the Fund to act as securities lending agent. To the extent that a Fund engages in securities lending, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (“BTC”) acts as securities lending agent for the Fund, subject to the overall supervision of BFA. BTC administers the lending program in accordance with guidelines approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board,” the trustees of which are the “Trustees”). JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPMorgan”) serves as custodian for the Funds in connection with certain securities lending activities.

Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including operational risk (i.e., the risk of losses resulting from problems in the settlement and accounting process), “gap” risk (i.e., the risk of a mismatch between the return on cash collateral reinvestments and the fees a Fund has agreed to pay a borrower), foreign exchange risk (i.e., the risk of a shortfall at default when a cash collateral investment is denominated in a currency other than the currency of the assets being loaned due to movements in foreign exchange rates), and credit, legal, counterparty and market risks (including the risk that market events, including but not limited to corporate actions, could lead the Fund to lend securities that are trading at a premium due to increased demand, or to recall loaned securities or to lend less or not at all, which could lead to reduced securities lending revenue). If a Fund were to lend out securities that are subject to a corporate action and commit to the borrower a particular election as determined by the Funds’ investment adviser, the benefit the Fund would receive in respect of committing to such election may or may not be less than the benefit the Fund would have received from making a different election in such corporate action. If a securities lending counterparty were to default, a Fund would be subject to the risk of a possible delay in receiving collateral or in recovering the loaned securities, or to a possible loss of rights in the collateral. In the event a borrower does not return a Fund’s securities as agreed, the Fund’s ability to participate in a corporate action event may be impacted, or the Fund may experience losses if the proceeds received from liquidating the collateral do not at least equal the value of the loaned security at the time the collateral is liquidated, plus the transaction costs incurred in purchasing replacement securities. This latter event could trigger adverse tax consequences for a Fund. A Fund could lose money if its short-term investment of the collateral declines in value over the period of the loan. Substitute payments received by a Fund representing dividends paid on securities loaned out by the Fund will not be considered qualified dividend income. BTC will take into account the tax effects on shareholders caused by this difference in connection with a Fund’s securities lending program. Substitute payments received on tax-exempt securities loaned out will not be tax-exempt income. There could also be changes in the status of issuers under applicable laws and regulations, including tax regulations, that may impact the regulatory or tax treatment of loaned securities and could, for example, result in a delay in the payment of dividend equivalent payments owed to a Fund (as permitted by applicable law).

Regulations adopted by global prudential regulators require certain bank-regulated counterparties and certain of their affiliates to include in certain financial contracts, including many securities lending agreements, terms that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties, such as the Fund, to terminate such agreements, foreclose upon collateral, exercise other default rights or restrict transfers of credit support in the event that the counterparty and/or its affiliates are subject to certain types of resolution or insolvency proceedings. It is possible that these requirements, as well as potential additional government regulation and other developments in the market, could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to terminate existing securities lending agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements. Prudential regulation may also favor lenders that can provide additional protections, such as liens that are exercisable in connection with a lender default, to borrowers. Certain Funds expect to provide additional protections to borrowers, where permitted, pursuant to a Fund’s investment policies and if BFA believes doing so is in the best interest of the Fund.

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Liquidity Risk Management. Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act (the “Liquidity Rule”) requires open-end funds, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) such as the Funds, to establish a liquidity risk management program (the “Liquidity Program”) and enhance disclosures regarding fund liquidity. As required by the Liquidity Rule, the Funds have implemented a Liquidity Program, and the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees of the Trust, has appointed BFA as the administrator of the Liquidity Program. Under the Liquidity Program, BFA assesses, manages, and periodically reviews each Fund’s liquidity risk and classifies each investment held by a Fund as a “highly liquid investment,” “moderately liquid investment,” “less liquid investment” or “illiquid investment.” The Liquidity Rule defines “liquidity risk” as the risk that a Fund could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by a Fund without significant dilution of the remaining investors’ interest in a Fund. The liquidity of a Fund’s portfolio investments is determined based on relevant market, trading and investment-specific considerations under the Liquidity Program. There are exclusions from certain portions of the liquidity risk management program requirements for “in-kind” ETFs, as defined in the Liquidity Rule. To the extent that an investment is deemed to be an illiquid investment or a less liquid investment, a Fund can expect to be exposed to greater liquidity risk.

Non-U.S. Securities. Certain Funds intend to purchase publicly traded common stocks of non-U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests in stocks of non-U.S. issuers, certain of the Fund’s investments in such stocks may be in the form of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) (collectively, “depositary receipts”). Depositary receipts are receipts, typically issued by a bank or trust issuer, which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a non-U.S. issuer. Depositary receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as their underlying securities. ADRs typically are issued by a U.S. bank or trust company and evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a non-U.S. issuer. EDRs, which are sometimes referred to as continental depositary receipts, are receipts issued in Europe, typically by foreign banks and trust companies, that evidence ownership of either foreign or domestic underlying securities. GDRs are depositary receipts structured like global debt issues to facilitate trading on an international basis. Generally, ADRs, issued in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, and EDRs, issued in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradable both in the U.S. and in Europe and are designed for use throughout the world.

Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition to investment risks associated with the underlying issuer, depositary receipts expose a Fund to additional risks associated with the non-uniform terms that apply to depositary receipt programs, credit exposure to the depository bank and to the sponsors and other parties with whom the depository bank establishes the programs, currency risk and liquidity risk. Unsponsored programs, which are not sanctioned by the issuer of the underlying common stock, generally expose investors to greater risks than sponsored programs and do not provide holders with many of the shareholder benefits that come from investing in a sponsored depositary receipts.

Investing in the securities of non-U.S. issuers involves special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. issuers. These include differences in accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards; the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation; adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations; political instability, which could affect U.S. investments in non-U.S. countries; and potential restrictions on the flow of international capital. Non U.S. issuers may be subject to less governmental regulation than U.S. issuers. Moreover, individual non-U.S. economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product (“GDP”), rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payment positions.

Regulation Regarding Derivatives. The CFTC subjects advisers to registered investment companies to regulation by the CFTC if a fund that is advised by the adviser either (i) invests, directly or indirectly, more than a prescribed level of its liquidation value in CFTC-regulated futures, options and swaps (“CFTC Derivatives”) or (ii) markets itself as providing investment exposure to such instruments. The CFTC also subjects advisers to registered investment companies to regulation by the CFTC if the registered investment company invests in one or more commodity pools. To the extent a Fund uses CFTC Derivatives, it intends to do so below such prescribed levels and intends not to market itself as a “commodity pool” or a vehicle for trading such instruments.

BFA has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the CEA pursuant to Rule 4.5 under the CEA with respect to each of the Funds. BFA is not, therefore, subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator” under the CEA with respect to the Funds.

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The iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF, iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small Cap ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF, iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF, iShares MSCI Finland ETF, iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF, iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF, iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF, iShares MSCI Philippines ETF, iShares MSCI Poland ETF, iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF, iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap ETF, iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF and iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF (the “No-Action Letter Funds”) may also have investments in “underlying funds” (and such underlying funds themselves may invest in underlying funds) not advised by BFA (the term “underlying fund” for purposes of the no-action letter referenced below may include, but is not limited to, certain securitized vehicles, mortgage or international real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), business development companies and investment companies that may invest in CFTC Derivatives or in any of the foregoing), and therefore may be viewed by the CFTC as commodity pools. BFA may not have transparency into the holdings of these underlying funds because they are not advised by BFA. To address this issue of lack of transparency, the CFTC staff issued a no-action letter on November 29, 2012 permitting the adviser of a fund that invests in such underlying funds and that would otherwise have filed a claim of exclusion pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.5 to delay registration as a “commodity pool operator” until six months from the date on which the CFTC issues additional guidance on the treatment of CFTC Derivatives held by underlying funds. BFA, the adviser of the No-Action Letter Funds, has filed a claim with the CFTC for such funds to rely on this no-action relief. Accordingly, BFA is not currently subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator” under the CEA in respect of such funds.

Derivative contracts, including, without limitation, swaps, currency forwards, and non-deliverable forwards, are subject to regulation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) in the U.S. and under comparable regimes in Europe, Asia and other non-U.S. jurisdictions. Swaps, non-deliverable forwards and certain other derivatives traded in the OTC market are subject to variation margin and initial margin requirements. Implementation of the margining and other provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act regarding clearing, mandatory trading, reporting and documentation of swaps and other derivatives have impacted and may continue to impact the costs to a Fund of trading these instruments and, as a result, may affect returns to investors in such Fund.

Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act permits a Fund to enter into Derivatives Transactions (as defined below) and certain other transactions notwithstanding the restrictions on the issuance of “senior securities” under Section 18 of the Investment Company Act. Section 18 of the Investment Company Act, among other things, prohibits open-end funds, including the Funds, from issuing or selling any “senior security,” other than borrowing from a bank (subject to a requirement to maintain 300% “asset coverage”).

Under Rule 18f-4, “Derivatives Transactions” include the following: (1) any swap, security-based swap (including a contract for differences), futures contract, forward contract, option (excluding purchased options), any combination of the foregoing, or any similar instrument, under which a Fund is or may be required to make any payment or delivery of cash or other assets during the life of the instrument or at maturity or early termination, whether as margin or settlement payment or otherwise; (2) any short sale borrowing; (3) reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions (e.g., recourse and non recourse tender option bonds, and borrowed bonds), if a Fund elects to treat these transactions as Derivatives Transactions under Rule 18f-4; and (4) when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including to-be announced (“TBA”) commitments, and dollar rolls) and non-standard settlement cycle securities, unless the Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision”).

Unless a Fund is relying on the Limited Derivatives User Exception (as defined below), the Fund must comply with Rule 18f-4 with respect to its Derivatives Transactions. Rule 18f-4, among other things, requires a Fund to adopt and implement a comprehensive written derivatives risk management program (“DRMP”) and comply with a relative or absolute limit on Fund leverage risk calculated based on value-at-risk (“VaR”). The DRMP is administered by a “derivatives risk manager,” who is appointed by the Board, including a majority of Independent Directors/Trustees, and periodically reviews the DRMP and reports to the Board.

Rule 18f-4 provides an exception from the DRMP, VaR limit and certain other requirements if a Fund’s “derivatives exposure” (as defined in Rule 18f-4) is limited to 10% of its net assets (as calculated in accordance with Rule 18f-4) and the Fund adopts and implements written policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage its derivatives risks (the “Limited Derivatives User Exception”).

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Repurchase Agreements. A repurchase agreement is an instrument under which the purchaser ( i.e. , a Fund) acquires a security and the seller agrees, at the time of the sale, to repurchase the security at a mutually agreed-upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the purchaser’s holding period. Repurchase agreements may be construed to be collateralized loans by the purchaser to the seller secured by the securities transferred to the purchaser. If a repurchase agreement is construed to be a collateralized loan, the underlying securities will not be considered to be owned by a Fund but only to constitute collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay the repurchase price, and, in the event of a default by the seller, the Fund may suffer time delays and incur costs or losses in connection with the disposition of the collateral.

In any repurchase transaction, the collateral for a repurchase agreement may include: (i) cash items; (ii) obligations issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities; or (iii) obligations that, at the time the repurchase agreement is entered into, are determined to (A) have exceptionally strong capacity to meet their financial obligations and (B) are sufficiently liquid such that they can be sold at approximately their carrying value in the ordinary course of business within seven days.

Repurchase agreements pose certain risks for a Fund that utilizes them. Such risks are not unique to the Funds, but are inherent in repurchase agreements. The Funds seek to minimize such risks, but because of the inherent legal uncertainties involved in repurchase agreements, such risks cannot be eliminated. Lower quality collateral and collateral with a longer maturity may be subject to greater price fluctuations than higher quality collateral and collateral with a shorter maturity. If the repurchase agreement counterparty were to default, lower quality collateral may be more difficult to liquidate than higher quality collateral. Should the counterparty default and the amount of collateral not be sufficient to cover the counterparty’s repurchase obligation, a Fund would likely retain the status of an unsecured creditor of the counterparty ( i.e. , the position a Fund would normally be in if it were to hold, pursuant to its investment policies, other unsecured debt securities of the defaulting counterparty) with respect to the amount of the shortfall. As an unsecured creditor, a Fund would be at risk of losing some or all of the principal and income involved in the transaction.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment and have the characteristics of borrowing. Generally, the effect of such transactions is that a Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while in many cases the Fund is able to keep some of the interest income associated with those securities. Such transactions are advantageous only if a Fund has an opportunity to earn a rate of interest on the cash derived from these transactions that is greater than the interest cost of obtaining the same amount of cash. Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available, and a Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when BFA believes it will be advantageous to the Fund. The use of reverse repurchase agreements may exaggerate any increase or decrease in the value of a Fund’s assets. The use of reverse repurchase agreements is a form of leverage, and the proceeds obtained by a Fund through reverse repurchase agreements may be invested in additional securities.

Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act permits a Fund to enter into reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions ( e.g., recourse and non-recourse tender option bonds, borrowed bonds) notwithstanding the limitation on the issuance of senior securities in Section 18 of the Investment Company Act, provided that a Fund either (i) complies with the 300% asset coverage ratio with respect to such transactions and any other borrowings in the aggregate, or (ii) treats such transactions as Derivatives Transactions under Rule 18f-4. (See “ Regulation Regarding Derivatives ” above.)

Securities of Investment Companies. Each Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies (including money market funds) to the extent permitted by law. Pursuant to the 1940 Act, a Fund’s investment in registered investment companies is generally limited to, subject to certain exceptions: (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any one investment company; (ii) 5% of a Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company; and (iii) 10% of a Fund’s total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. Other investment companies in which a Fund may invest can be expected to incur fees and expenses for operations, such as investment advisory and administration fees, which would be in addition to those incurred by the Fund. Pursuant to guidance issued by the SEC staff, fees and expenses of money market funds used for cash collateral received in connection with loans of securities are not treated as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which reflect a Fund’s pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred by investing in other investment companies (as disclosed in the Prospectus, as applicable).

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Short-Term Instruments and Temporary Investments. Each Fund may invest in short-term instruments, including money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. Money market instruments are generally short-term investments that may include, but are not limited to: (i) shares of money market funds (including those advised by BFA or otherwise affiliated with BFA); (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, fixed-time deposits and other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks (including non-U.S. branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper rated, at the date of purchase, “Prime-1” by Moody’s ® Investors Service, Inc., “F-1” by Fitch Ratings, Inc., or “A-1” by Standard & Poor’s ® Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of S&P Global, Inc., or if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by BFA; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities ( e.g. , bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that have been determined to present minimal credit risks, in accordance with the requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; (vi) repurchase agreements; and (vii) short term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of non-U.S. banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of BFA, are of comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks that may be purchased by a Fund. Any of these instruments may be purchased on a current or forward-settled basis. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Swap Agreements. Swap agreements are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make periodic payments to the other party based on a pre-determined underlying investment or notional amount. In return, the other party agrees to make periodic payments to the first party based on the return (or a differential in rate of return) earned or realized on the underlying investment or notional amount. Swap agreements will usually be performed on a net basis, with a Fund receiving or paying only the net amount of the two payments. The net amount of the excess, if any, of a Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each swap is accrued on a daily basis.

The Funds may enter into swap agreements, including currency swaps, interest rate swaps and index swaps, or total return swaps (some of which may be referred to as contracts for difference or (“CFDs”)). The use of swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions. These transactions generally do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets.

Tracking Stocks. A tracking stock is a separate class of common stock whose value is linked to a specific business unit or operating division within a larger company and is designed to “track” the performance of such business unit or division. The tracking stock may pay dividends to shareholders independent of the parent company. The parent company, rather than the business unit or division, generally is the issuer of tracking stock. However, holders of the tracking stock may not have the same rights as holders of the company’s common stock.

Future Developments. The Board may, in the future, authorize each Fund to invest in securities contracts and investments, other than those listed in this SAI and in the applicable Prospectuses, provided they are consistent with each Fund’s investment objective and do not violate any of its investment restrictions or policies.

General Considerations and Risks

A discussion of some of the principal risks associated with an investment in a Fund is contained in the applicable Prospectus.

An investment in a Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, the value of stocks in general, and other factors that affect the market. The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.

Borrowing Risk. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the NAV of Fund shares and in the return on a Fund’s portfolio. Borrowing will cause a Fund to incur interest expense and other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce a Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause a Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations.

Commodities Investment Risk. Exposure to commodities markets may subject a Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The commodities markets have experienced periods of extreme volatility. Similar future market conditions may result in rapid and substantial valuation increases or decreases in a Fund’s holdings.

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The commodities markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors. Movements in commodity investment prices are outside of a Fund’s control and may not be anticipated by BFA. Price movements may be influenced by, among other things: governmental, agricultural, trade, fiscal, monetary and exchange control programs and policies; changing market and economic conditions; market liquidity; weather and climate conditions, including droughts and floods; livestock disease; changing supply and demand relationships and levels of domestic production and imported commodities; changes in storage costs; the availability of local, intrastate and interstate transportation systems; energy conservation; the success of exploration projects; changes in international balances of payments and trade; domestic and foreign rates of inflation; currency devaluations and revaluations; domestic and foreign political and economic events; domestic and foreign interest rates and/or investor expectations concerning interest rates; foreign currency/exchange rates; domestic and foreign governmental regulation and taxation; war, acts of terrorism and other political upheaval and conflicts; governmental expropriation; investment and trading activities of mutual funds, hedge funds and commodities funds; and changes in philosophies and emotions of market participants. The frequency and magnitude of such changes cannot be predicted.

The prices of commodities can also fluctuate widely due to supply and demand disruptions in major producing or consuming regions. Certain commodities or natural resources may be produced in a limited number of countries and may be controlled by a small number of producers or groups of producers. As a result, political, economic, regulatory and supply related events in such countries could have a disproportionate impact on the prices of such commodities.

A decrease in the production of a physical commodity or a decrease in the volume of such commodity available for transportation, mining, processing, storage or distribution may adversely impact the financial performance of a commodity or commodity-related company that devotes a portion of its business to that commodity. Production declines and volume decreases could be caused by various factors, including catastrophic events affecting production, depletion of resources, labor difficulties, environmental proceedings, increased regulations, equipment failures and unexpected maintenance problems, import supply disruption, governmental expropriation, political upheaval or conflicts or increased competition from alternative energy sources or commodity prices. Agricultural commodities may be adversely affected by weather or other natural phenomena, such as drought, floods and pests.

A sustained decline in demand for such commodities could also adversely affect the financial performance of commodity related companies. Factors that could lead to a decline in demand include economic recession or other adverse economic conditions, higher taxes on commodities or increased governmental regulations, increases in fuel economy, consumer shifts to the use of alternative commodities or fuel sources, changes in commodity prices, or weather.

The commodity markets are subject to temporary distortions and other disruptions due to, among other factors, lack of liquidity, the participation of speculators, and government regulation and other actions. U.S. futures exchanges and some foreign exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation in futures contract prices which may occur in a single business day (generally referred to as “daily price fluctuation limits”). The maximum or minimum price of a contract as a result of these limits is referred to as a “limit price.” If the limit price has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made beyond the limit price. Limit prices have the effect of precluding trading in a particular contract or forcing the liquidation of contracts at disadvantageous times or prices.

Currency Risk. Because each Fund’s NAV is determined on the basis of the U.S. dollar, investors may lose money if the currency of a non-U.S. market in which a Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the local currency value of a Fund’s holdings in that market increases. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency loses value because the currency is worth fewer U.S. dollars. Conversely, when the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, a security denominated in that currency gains value because the currency is worth more U.S. dollars. This risk, generally known as “currency risk,” means that a strong U.S. dollar will reduce returns for U.S. investors, while a weak U.S. dollar will increase those returns.

Foreign exchange transactions involve a significant degree of risk and the markets in which foreign exchange transactions are effected are highly volatile, highly specialized and highly technical. Significant changes, including changes in liquidity and prices, can occur in such markets within very short periods of time, often within minutes. If BFA utilizes foreign exchange transactions at an inappropriate time or judges market conditions, trends or correlations incorrectly, foreign exchange transactions may not serve their intended purpose of improving the Fund’s performance and may lower a Fund’s return. A Fund could experience losses if the value of its currency forward positions are poorly correlated with its other investments or if it cannot close out its positions because of an illiquid market. In addition, a Fund could incur transaction costs, including trading commissions, in connection with certain non-U.S. currency transactions.

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Custody Risk. Custody risk refers to the risks inherent in the process of clearing and settling trades and to the holding of securities, cash and other assets by local banks, agents and depositories. Low trading volumes and volatile prices in less developed markets make trades harder to complete and settle, and governments or trade groups may compel local agents to hold securities in designated depositories that may not be subject to independent evaluation. Local agents are held only to the standards of care of their local markets, and thus may be subject to limited or no government oversight. Communications between the U.S. and emerging market countries may be unreliable, increasing the risk of delayed settlements or losses of security certificates. In general, the less developed a country’s securities market is, the greater the likelihood of custody problems. Practices in relation to the settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because of the use of brokers and counterparties that are often less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be unreliable. The possibility of fraud, negligence or undue influence being exerted by the issuer or refusal to recognize ownership exists in some emerging markets, and, along with other factors, could result in ownership registration being lost. In addition, the laws of certain countries may put limits on a Fund’s ability to recover its assets if a foreign bank or depository or issuer of a security or an agent of any of the foregoing goes bankrupt. A Fund would absorb any loss resulting from such custody problems and may have no successful claim for compensation.

Illiquid Investments Risk. Each Fund may not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that a 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. The liquidity of an investment will be determined based on relevant market, trading and investment specific considerations as set out in the Liquidity Program as required by the Liquidity Rule. Illiquid investments may trade at a discount to comparable, more liquid investments and a Fund may not be able to dispose of illiquid investments in a timely fashion or at their expected prices. If illiquid investments exceed 15% of a Fund’s net assets, the Liquidity Rule and the Liquidity Program will require that certain remedial actions be taken.

Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may adversely affect the economies of many nations and the global economy and may impact individual issuers and capital markets in ways that cannot be foreseen. An infectious illness outbreak may result in travel restrictions, closed international borders, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, temporary and permanent business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, credit defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts, as well as general concern and uncertainty. An outbreak may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries or globally. These impacts, which could adversely affect a Fund and its investments, could be present for an extended period of time.

In addition, markets may experience temporary closures, extreme volatility, severe losses, reduced liquidity and increased trading costs. Such events may adversely affect a Fund and its investments and may impact a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or other assets. Market or economic disruptions could cause elevated tracking error and increased premiums or discounts to a Fund’s NAV. Additionally, a Fund could be adversely impacted if an outbreak impairs the operations of its service providers, including BFA. Governmental and quasi-governmental may respond to an outbreak and any resulting disruptions with a variety of fiscal and monetary policy changes, such as changes in interest rates. A reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of such policies, is likely to increase market volatility, which could adversely affect a Fund’s investments.

Money Market Instruments Risk. The value of money market instruments may be affected by changes in interest rates or in the credit ratings of the investments, among other things. If a significant amount of a Fund’s assets is invested in money market instruments, it may be more difficult for the Fund to achieve its investment objective. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. It is possible to lose money by investing in a money market fund. Money market funds other than U.S. government money market funds and retail money market funds “float” their NAV instead of using a stable $1.00 per share price.

National Closed Market Trading Risk. To the extent that the underlying securities held by a Fund trade on foreign exchanges or in foreign markets that are closed when the securities exchange on which a Fund’s shares trade is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of such an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security ( i.e. , a Fund’s quote from the closed foreign market). The impact of a closed foreign market on a Fund is likely to be greater

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where a large portion of a Fund’s underlying securities and/or other assets trade on that closed foreign market or when the foreign market is closed for unscheduled reasons. These deviations may result in premiums or discounts to a Fund’s NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.

Operational and Technology Risks. A Fund and the entities with which it interacts directly or indirectly are susceptible to operational and technology risks, including those related to human errors, processing errors, communication errors, systems failures, cybersecurity incidents, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (“AI”), which may result in losses for the Fund and its shareholders or impair the Fund’s operations. These entities include, but are not limited to, a Fund’s adviser, administrator, distributor, other service providers (e.g., index and benchmark providers, accountants, custodians, and transfer agents), financial intermediaries, counterparties, market makers, Authorized Participants, listing exchanges, other financial market operators, and governmental authorities. Operational and technology risks for the issuers in which a Fund invests could also result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value. A Fund may incur substantial costs in order to mitigate operational and technology risks.

Cybersecurity incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events against an issuer in which a Fund invests, the Fund or any of its service providers. They include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to systems, misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting or destroying data, and causing operational disruption. Geopolitical tension may increase the scale and sophistication of deliberate attacks, particularly those from nation states or from entities with nation state backing. Cybersecurity incidents may result in any of the following: financial losses; interference with a Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV; disclosure of confidential information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades by a Fund or erroneous subscription or redemption orders; the inability of a Fund or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines; penalties; reputational damage; reimbursement or other compensation costs; and other legal and compliance expenses. Furthermore, cybersecurity incidents may render records of a Fund, including records relating to its assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Fund shares, and other data integral to a Fund’s functioning, inaccessible, inaccurate or incomplete. Power outages, natural disasters, equipment malfunctions and processing errors that threaten information and technology systems relied upon by a Fund or its service providers, as well as market events that occur at a pace that overloads these systems, may also disrupt business operations or impact critical data. In addition, the risks of increased use of AI technologies, such as machine learning, include data risk, transparency risk, and operational risk. The AI technologies, which are generally highly reliant on the collection and analysis of large amounts of data, may incorporate biased or inaccurate data, and it is not possible or practicable to incorporate all relevant data into such technologies. The output or results of any such AI technologies may therefore be incomplete, erroneous, distorted or misleading. Further, AI tools may lack transparency as to how data is utilized and how outputs are generated. AI technologies may also allow the unintended introduction of vulnerabilities into infrastructures and applications. A Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of these risks associated with AI technologies. AI technologies and their current and potential future applications, and the regulatory frameworks within which they operate, continue to quickly evolve, and it is impossible to anticipate the full scope of future AI capabilities or rules and the associated risks to a Fund.

While a Fund’s service providers are required to have appropriate operational, information security and cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Fund in the setting of priorities, the personnel and resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. Each Fund and its adviser seek to reduce these risks through controls, procedures and oversight, including establishing business continuity plans and risk management systems. However, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks that may affect a Fund have not been identified or may emerge in the future; that such plans and systems may not completely eliminate the occurrence or mitigate the effects of operational or information security disruptions or failures or of cybersecurity incidents; or that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful or that incidents will go undetected. A Fund cannot control the systems, information security or other cybersecurity of the issuers in which it invests or its service providers, counterparties, and other third parties whose activities affect the Fund.

Lastly, the regulatory climate governing cybersecurity and data protection is developing quickly and may vary considerably across jurisdictions. Regulators continue to develop new rules and standards related to cybersecurity and data protection. Compliance with evolving regulations can be demanding and costly, requiring substantial resources to monitor and implement required changes.

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Reference Rate Replacement Risk. A Fund may be exposed to financial instruments that recently transitioned from, or continue to be tied to, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) to determine payment obligations, financing terms, hedging strategies or investment value. The FCA , which regulates LIBOR, has ceased publishing all LIBOR settings. In April 2023, however, the FCA announced that some USD LIBOR settings will continue to be published under a synthetic methodology until September 30, 2024 for certain legacy contracts. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), which is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities in the repurchase agreement market, has been used increasingly on a voluntary basis in new instruments and transactions. Under U.S. regulations that implement a statutory fallback mechanism to replace LIBOR, benchmark rates based on SOFR have replaced LIBOR in different categories of financial contracts.

Neither the effect of the LIBOR transition process nor its ultimate success can yet be known. While some existing LIBOR based instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate-setting methodology, there may be significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies to replicate LIBOR. Not all existing LIBOR-based instruments may have alternative rate-setting provisions and there remains uncertainty regarding the willingness and ability of issuers to add alternative rate-setting provisions in certain existing instruments. Parties to contracts, securities, or other instruments using LIBOR may disagree on transition rates or the application of transition regulation, potentially resulting in uncertainty of performance and the possibility of litigation. A Fund may have instruments linked to other interbank offered rates that may also cease to be published in the future.

Risk of Derivatives. A derivative is a financial contract, the value of which depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, such as a security, a commodity (such as gold or silver), a currency or an index (a measure of value or rates, such as the S&P 500 ® or the prime lending rate). A Fund may invest in futures contracts, securities options, CFDs and other derivatives. Compared to securities, derivatives can be more sensitive to changes in interest rates or to sudden fluctuations in market prices and thus a Fund’s losses may be greater if it invests in derivatives than if it invests only in conventional securities. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligations. Derivatives generally involve the incurrence of leverage.

When a derivative is used as a hedge against a position that a Fund holds or is committed to purchase, any loss generated by the derivative generally should be substantially offset by gains on the hedged investment, and vice versa. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains and, in some cases, hedging can cause losses that are not offset by gains, and a Fund will recognize losses on both the investment and the hedge. Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that a Fund’s hedging transactions, which entail additional transaction costs, will be effective.

Risk of Equity Securities. An investment in a Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in equity securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of stock markets may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the portfolio securities and thus in the value of shares of the Fund). Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions of their issuers change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises. Common stocks may experience extreme price volatility due to actions taken by particular investors or groups of investors (for example, retail investors influenced by social media activity or other media coverage or significant “short” positions taken by institutional investors).

Holders of common stocks incur more risks than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders generally have rights to receive payments from stock issuers that are inferior to the rights of creditors, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (the value of which, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior to maturity), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity date. In addition, issuers may, in times of distress or at their own discretion, decide to reduce or eliminate dividends, which may also cause their stock price to decline.

Although most of the securities in each Underlying Index are listed on a securities exchange, the principal trading market for some of the securities may be in the OTC market. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or

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maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of a Fund’s shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

Risk of Futures and Options on Futures Transactions. There are several risks accompanying the utilization of futures contracts and options on futures contracts. A position in futures contracts and options on futures contracts may be closed only on the exchange on which the contract was made (or a linked exchange). While each Fund plans to utilize futures contracts only if an active market exists for such contracts, there is no guarantee that a liquid market will exist for the contract at a specified time. Futures contracts, by definition, project price levels in the future and not current levels of valuation; therefore, market circumstances may result in a discrepancy between the price of the future and the movement in a Fund’s Underlying Index. In the event of adverse price movements, a Fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin. In such situations, if a Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities to meet daily margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. In addition, a Fund may be required to deliver the instruments underlying the futures contracts it has sold.

The risk of loss in trading futures contracts or uncovered call options in some strategies ( e.g. , selling uncovered stock index futures contracts) is potentially unlimited. The Funds do not plan to use futures and options contracts in this way. The risk of a futures position may still be large as traditionally measured due to the low margin deposits required. In many cases, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor relative to the size of a required margin deposit. The Funds, however, intend to utilize futures and options contracts in a manner designed to limit their risk exposure to levels comparable to a direct investment in the types of stocks in which they invest.

Utilization of futures and options on futures by a Fund involves the risk of imperfect or even negative correlation to its Underlying Index if the index underlying the futures contract differs from the Underlying Index. There is also the risk of loss of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom a Fund has an open position in the futures contract or option. The purchase of put or call options will be based upon predictions by BFA as to anticipated trends, which predictions could prove to be incorrect.

Because the futures market generally imposes less burdensome margin requirements than the securities market, an increased amount of participation by speculators in the futures market could result in price fluctuations. Certain financial futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount by which the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting each Fund to substantial losses. In the event of adverse price movements, each Fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin.

Risk of Investing in Non-U.S. Equity Securities. An investment in a Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in portfolios of equity securities traded on non-U.S. exchanges. These risks include market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments in those foreign countries, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in stock prices. Investing in securities issued by issuers domiciled in countries other than the domicile of the investor and denominated in currencies other than an investor’s local currency entails certain considerations and risks not typically encountered by the investor in making investments in its home country and in that country’s currency. These considerations include favorable or unfavorable changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates, exchange control regulations and the costs that may be incurred in connection with conversions between various currencies. Investing in any of the Funds also involves certain risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in a fund whose portfolio contains exclusively securities of U.S. issuers. These risks include generally less liquid and less efficient securities markets; generally greater price volatility; less publicly available information about issuers; the imposition of withholding or other taxes; the imposition of restrictions on the expatriation of funds or other assets of the Funds; higher transaction and custody costs; delays and risks attendant in settlement procedures; difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations; lower liquidity and significantly smaller market capitalization; different accounting and disclosure standards; lower levels of regulation of the securities markets; more substantial government interference with the economy and businesses; higher rates of inflation; greater social, economic, and political uncertainty; the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets; and the risk of war.

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Risk of Swap Agreements. The risk of loss with respect to swaps is generally limited to the net amount of payments that a Fund is contractually obligated to make. Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the swap counterparty will default on its obligations to pay a Fund and the risk that a Fund will not be able to meet its obligations to pay the other party to the agreement. If such a default occurs, a Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. However, such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws, which could affect a Fund’s rights as a creditor ( e.g. , a Fund may not receive the net amount of payments that it is contractually entitled to receive). Swap agreements may also involve the risk that there is an imperfect correlation between the return on the Fund’s obligation to its counterparty and the return on the referenced asset. In addition, swap agreements are subject to market and liquidity risk, leverage risk and hedging risk.

A Fund is required to post and collect variation margin and initial margin (composed of specified liquid securities subject to haircuts) in connection with trading of OTC swaps. These requirements may raise the costs for a Fund’s investment in swaps.

Tracking Error Risk. A Fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of a Fund’s performance from that of the applicable underlying index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in a Fund’s portfolio and those included in its applicable underlying index, pricing differences, transaction costs incurred by a Fund, a Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of dividends or interest received by a Fund or distributions paid to a Fund’s shareholders, the requirements to maintain pass through tax treatment, portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders, acceptance of custom baskets, changes to the applicable underlying index or the costs to a Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because a Fund incurs fees and expenses, while its applicable underlying index does not. Tracking error may occur due to differences between the methodologies used in calculating the value of the applicable Underlying Index and determining a Fund’s NAV.

When an issuer is introduced by an index provider into an index tracked by a Fund, BFA may conduct an analysis on such issuer’s securities to identify and screen for outlier high risk behavior (such as rapid or unusual price growth that does not appear to be supported by publicly available information on the business and assets of the issuer, unusual or significant short interest or lending activity, negative sentiment, suspended trading or incorrect free-float calculations, which could be indicators of possible irregularities, miscalculations or even fraud). If it identifies such behavior, BFA may, where appropriate, alert the index provider as to the alleged issue. The index provider has sole discretion for the determination as to whether to continue to include the issuer’s securities in the rebalancing of its index. If the securities continue to be included in the index, BFA may underweight or exclude such securities from a Fund’s portfolio and, if it does so, such a fund will be subject to increased tracking error due to the divergence in the securities included in its portfolio from its underlying index. The application of the abovementioned analysis and screening to a Fund and its Underlying Index is in the sole discretion of BFA and its affiliates (without any guarantees). The analysis and screening may not exclude any or all high risk securities from an Underlying Index or a Fund’s portfolio, and the inclusion of such securities will result in an adverse impact to a Fund’s net asset value if one or more such securities declines in value.

Securities Lending Risk. A Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that a Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. A 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 a Fund.

Risk of Investing in Asia. Investments in securities of issuers in certain Asian countries involve risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in other regions. Such heightened risks include, among others, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, piracy of intellectual property, data and other security breaches (especially of data stored electronically), political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental decision making, armed conflict and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socio-economic unrest. Certain Asian economies have experienced rapid rates of economic growth and industrialization in recent years, and there is no assurance that these rates of economic growth and industrialization will be maintained.

Certain Asian countries have democracies with relatively short histories, which may increase the risk of political instability. These countries have faced political and military unrest, and further unrest could present a risk to their local economies and securities markets. Indonesia and the Philippines have each experienced violence and terrorism, which has negatively impacted their economies. North Korea and South Korea each have substantial military capabilities, and historical tensions

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between the two countries present the risk of war. Escalated tensions involving the two countries and any outbreak of hostilities between the two countries, or even the threat of an outbreak of hostilities, could have a severe adverse effect on the entire Asian region. Certain Asian countries have also developed increasingly strained relationships with the U.S., and if these relations were to worsen, they could adversely affect Asian issuers that rely on the U.S. for trade. Political, religious, and border disputes persist in India. India has recently experienced and may continue to experience civil unrest and hostilities with certain of its neighboring countries. Increased political and social unrest in these geographic areas could adversely affect the performance of investments in this region.

Certain governments in this region administer prices on several basic goods, including fuel and electricity, within their respective countries. Certain governments may exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector in their respective countries and may own or control many companies. Future government actions could have a significant effect on the economic conditions in this region, which in turn could have a negative impact on private sector companies. There is also the possibility of diplomatic developments adversely affecting investments in the region.

Corruption and the perceived lack of a rule of law in dealings with international companies in certain Asian countries may discourage foreign investment and could negatively impact the long-term growth of certain economies in this region. In addition, certain countries in the region are experiencing high unemployment and corruption, and have fragile banking sectors.

Some economies in this region are dependent on a range of commodities, including oil, natural gas and coal. Accordingly, they are strongly affected by international commodity prices and particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. The market for securities in this region may also be directly influenced by the flow of international capital, and by the economic and market conditions of neighboring countries. China is a key trading partner of many Asian countries and any changes in trading relationships between China and other Asian countries may affect the region as a whole. Adverse economic conditions or developments in neighboring countries may increase investors’ perception of the risk of investing in the region as a whole, which may adversely impact the market value of the securities issued by companies in the region.

Risk of Investing in Australasia. The economies of Australasia, which include Australia and New Zealand, are dependent on exports from the agricultural and mining sectors. This makes Australasian economies susceptible to fluctuations in the commodity markets. Australasian economies are also increasingly dependent on their growing service and tourism industries. Australia and New Zealand are located in a part of the world that has historically been prone to natural disasters, such as drought and flooding. Any such event in the future could have a significant adverse impact on the economies of Australia and New Zealand and affect the value of securities held by a relevant Fund. The economies of Australia and New Zealand are dependent on trading with certain key trading partners, including Asia and the U.S. Economic events in the U.S., Asia, or in other key trading countries can have a significant economic effect on the Australasian economies. The economies of Australia and New Zealand are heavily dependent on the mining sector. Passage of new regulations limiting foreign ownership of companies in the mining sector or imposition of new taxes on profits of mining companies may dissuade foreign investment, and as a result, have a negative impact on companies to which a Fund has exposure.

Risk of Investing in Developed Countries. Many countries with developed markets have recently experienced significant economic pressures. These countries generally tend to rely on the services sectors ( e.g. , the financial services sector) as the primary source of economic growth and may be susceptible to the risks of individual service sectors. For example, companies in the financial services sector are subject to governmental regulation and, recently, government intervention, which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and amount of capital they must maintain. Dislocations in the financial sector and perceived or actual governmental influence over certain financial companies may lead to credit rating downgrades and, as a result, impact, among other things, revenue growth for such companies. If financial companies experience a prolonged decline in revenue growth, certain developed countries that rely heavily on financial companies as an economic driver may experience a correlative slowdown. Concerns have emerged with respect to the economic health of certain developed countries. These concerns primarily stem from heavy indebtedness of many developed countries and their perceived inability to continue to service high debt loads without simultaneously implementing stringent austerity measures. Such concerns have led to tremendous downward pressure on the economies of these countries. As a result, it is possible that interest rates on debt of certain developed countries may rise to levels that make it difficult for such countries to service such debt. Spending on health care and retirement pensions in most developed countries has risen dramatically. Medical innovation, extended life expectancy and higher public expectations are likely to continue the increase in health care and pension costs. Any increase in health care and pension costs will likely have a negative impact on the economic growth of many developed countries. Certain developed countries rely on imports of certain key items, such as

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crude oil, natural gas, and other commodities. As a result, an increase in demand for, or price fluctuations of, certain commodities may negatively affect developed country economies. Developed market countries generally are dependent on the economies of certain key trading partners. Changes in any one economy may cause an adverse impact on several developed countries. In addition, heavy regulation of, among others, labor and product markets may have an adverse effect on certain issuers. Such regulations may negatively affect economic growth or cause prolonged periods of recession. Such risks, among others, may adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investments.

Risk of Investing in Eastern Europe. Investing in the securities of issuers located or operating in Eastern Europe is highly speculative and involves risks not usually associated with investing in the more developed markets of Western Europe. Certain Eastern European countries have high public debt levels, significant underground economies, high unemployment and emigration of skilled workers. Such countries generally have a history of political instability, limited infrastructure and an inefficient public sector prone to endemic corruption. Political and economic reforms are too recent to establish a definite trend away from centrally planned economies and state-owned industries. In the past, some Eastern European governments have expropriated substantial amounts of private property, and many claims of the property owners have never been fully settled.

Many Eastern European countries continue to move toward market economies at different paces with different characteristics. Many Eastern European securities markets are generally underdeveloped with low, irregular trading volumes, dubious investor protections, and often a dearth of reliable corporate information. Eastern European securities markets are generally subject to less government supervision and regulation and may be less liquid and more volatile than securities markets in the U.S. or Western European countries. Legal institutions governing private and foreign investments and private property may be relatively nascent, inefficient, and unevenly enforced or inequitably enforced. Certain Eastern European governments may exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector and may own or control many companies. Future government actions could have a significant effect on the economic conditions in such countries, which could have a negative impact on a Fund’s investments. Information and transaction costs, differential taxes, and sometimes political or transfer risk give a comparative advantage to the domestic investor rather than the foreign investor.

Eastern European economies may also be particularly susceptible to changes in the international credit markets due to their reliance on bank related inflows of capital. Changes to the economies of countries with substantial foreign direct investment in certain Eastern European countries may negatively affect the region’s economy. The economy of certain Eastern European countries may be adversely affected by global prices for manufactured goods or commodity price declines to the extent that a country relies on the export of such products.

Geopolitical events, including war, and other instability in certain Eastern European countries may cause uncertainty in the region’s financial markets and adversely affect the performance of the issuers to which a Fund has exposure. These markets may be particularly sensitive to social, political, economic, and currency events in Russia and may suffer heavy losses as a result of their trading and investment links to the Russian economy and currency. Russia has historically asserted its influence in the region using diplomatic, informational, military, and economic instruments of national power, as it did with Georgia in the summer of 2008 and Ukraine beginning in 2014, and most recently on February 24, 2022.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine . 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, Russian issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, or the economies of Europe as a whole. 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 across Europe and globally.

Risk of Investing in Emerging Markets. Investments in emerging market countries may be subject to greater risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include: (i) less social, political, and economic stability; (ii) greater illiquidity and price volatility due to smaller or limited local capital markets for such securities, or low or non-existent trading volumes; (iii) companies, custodians, clearinghouses, foreign exchanges and broker-dealers may be subject to less scrutiny and regulation by local authorities; (iv) local governments may decide to seize or confiscate securities held by foreign investors

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and/or local governments may decide to suspend or limit an issuer’s ability to make dividend or interest payments; (v) local governments may limit or entirely restrict repatriation of invested capital, profits, and dividends; (vi) capital gains may be subject to local taxation, including on a retroactive basis; (vii) issuers facing restrictions on standard payments imposed by local governments may attempt to make dividend or interest payments to foreign investors in the local currency; (viii) there may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against companies and investors may experience difficulty in enforcing legal claims related to the securities and/or local judges may favor the interests of the issuer over those of foreign parties; (ix) bankruptcy judgments may only be permitted to be paid in the local currency; (x) limited public information regarding the issuer may result in greater difficulty in determining market valuations of the securities; and (xi) lack of financial reporting on a regular basis, substandard disclosure and differences in accounting standards may make it difficult to ascertain the financial health of an issuer. The Funds are not actively managed and do not select investments based on investor protection considerations.

Emerging market securities markets are typically marked by a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of ownership of such securities by a limited number of investors. In addition, brokerage and other costs associated with transactions in emerging market securities can be higher, sometimes significantly, than similar costs incurred in securities markets in developed countries. Although some emerging markets have become more established and tend to issue securities of higher credit quality, the markets for securities in other emerging market countries are in the earliest stages of their development, and these countries issue securities across the credit spectrum. Even the markets for relatively widely traded securities in emerging market countries may not be able to absorb, without price disruptions, a significant increase in trading volume or trades of a size customarily undertaken by institutional investors in the securities markets of developed countries. The limited size of many of these securities markets can cause prices to be erratic for reasons apart from factors that affect the soundness and competitiveness of the securities issuers. For example, prices may be unduly influenced by traders who control large positions in these markets. Additionally, market making and arbitrage activities are generally less extensive in such markets, which may contribute to increased volatility and reduced liquidity of such markets. The limited liquidity of emerging market country securities may also affect a Fund’s ability to accurately value its portfolio securities or to acquire or dispose of securities at the price and time it wishes to do so or in order to meet redemption requests.

Many emerging market countries suffer from uncertainty and corruption in their legal frameworks. Legislation may be difficult to interpret and laws may be too new to provide any precedential value. Laws regarding foreign investment and private property may be weak or non-existent. Sudden changes in governments may result in policies which are less favorable to investors such as policies designed to expropriate or nationalize “sovereign” assets. Certain emerging market countries in the past have expropriated large amounts of private property, in many cases with little or no compensation, and there can be no assurance that such expropriation will not occur in the future.

Investment in the securities markets of certain emerging market countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit a Fund’s investment in certain emerging market countries and may increase the expenses of the Fund. Certain emerging market countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit investment by foreign persons to only a specified percentage of an issuer’s outstanding securities or a specific class of securities which may have less advantageous terms (including price) than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals.

Many emerging market countries lack the social, political, and economic stability characteristic of the U.S. Political instability among emerging market countries can be common and may be caused by an uneven distribution of wealth, social unrest, labor strikes, civil wars, and religious oppression. Economic instability in emerging market countries may take the form of: (i) high interest rates; (ii) high levels of inflation, including hyperinflation; (iii) high levels of unemployment or underemployment; (iv) changes in government economic and tax policies, including confiscatory taxation; and (v) imposition of trade barriers.

A Fund’s income and, in some cases, capital gains from foreign securities will be subject to applicable taxation in certain of the emerging market countries in which it invests, and treaties between the U.S. and such countries may not be available in some cases to reduce the otherwise applicable tax rates.

Emerging markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in certain of these emerging markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions.

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In the past, certain governments in emerging market countries have become overly reliant on the international capital markets and other forms of foreign credit to finance large public spending programs, which in the past have caused huge budget deficits. Often, interest payments have become too overwhelming for a government to meet, representing a large percentage of total GDP. These foreign obligations have become the subject of political debate and served as fuel for political parties of the opposition, which pressure the government not to make payments to foreign creditors, but instead to use these funds for, among other things, social programs. Either due to an inability to pay or submission to political pressure, foreign governments have been forced to seek a restructuring of their loan and/or bond obligations, have declared a temporary suspension of interest payments or have defaulted. These events have adversely affected the values of securities issued by foreign governments and corporations domiciled in those countries and have negatively affected not only their cost of borrowing, but their ability to borrow in the future as well.

Risk of Investing in Europe. Investing in European countries exposes a Fund to the economic and political risks associated with Europe in general and the specific European countries in which it invests. The economies and markets of European countries are often closely connected and interdependent, and events in one European country can have an adverse impact on other European countries. A Fund makes investments in securities of issuers that are domiciled in, have significant operations in, or that are listed on at least one securities exchange within member states of the European Union (the “EU”). A number of countries within the EU are also members of the Economic and Monetary Union (the “eurozone”) and have adopted the euro as their currency. Eurozone membership requires member states to comply with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, interest rates, debt levels and fiscal and monetary controls, each of which may significantly affect every country in Europe. Changes in import or export tariffs, changes in governmental or EU regulations on trade, changes in the exchange rate of the euro and other currencies of certain EU countries which are not in the eurozone, the default or threat of default by an EU member state on its sovereign debt, and/or an economic recession in an EU member state may have a significant adverse effect on the economies of other EU member states and their trading partners. Although certain European countries are not in the eurozone, many of these countries are obliged to meet the criteria for joining the eurozone.

Consequently, these countries must comply with many of the restrictions noted above. The European financial markets have experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about economic downturns, government debt levels and the possible default of government debt in several European countries, including, but not limited to, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ukraine. In order to prevent further economic deterioration, certain countries, without prior warning, can institute “capital controls.” Countries may use these controls to restrict volatile movements of capital entering and exiting their country. Such controls may negatively affect a Fund’s investments. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness, which may be located in countries other than those listed above. In addition, the credit ratings of certain European countries were downgraded in the past. These events have adversely affected the value and exchange rate of the euro and may continue to significantly affect the economies of every country in Europe, including countries that do not use the euro and non-EU member states. Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not produce the desired results, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructurings by governments and other entities of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. In addition, one or more countries may abandon the euro and/or withdraw from the EU. The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, is not clear but could be significant and far-reaching and could adversely impact the value of a Fund’s investments in the region.

The United Kingdom (the “U.K.”) left the EU (“Brexit”) on January 31, 2020. Brexit could adversely affect European or worldwide political, regulatory, economic or market conditions and could contribute to instability in global political institutions, regulatory agencies and financial markets.

Certain European countries have also developed increasingly strained relationships with the U.S., and if these relations were to worsen, they could adversely affect European issuers that rely on the U.S. for trade. The national politics of countries in Europe have been unpredictable and subject to influence by disruptive political groups and ideologies, including for example, secessionist movements. The governments of European countries may be subject to change and such countries may experience social and political unrest. Unanticipated or sudden political or social developments may result in sudden and significant investment losses. The occurrence of terrorist incidents throughout Europe or war in the region also could impact financial markets. The impact of these events is not clear but could be significant and far-reaching and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of a Fund’s investments.

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Risk of Investing in Finland. Investment in Finnish issuers involves risks that are specific to Finland, including, legal, regulatory, political, currency, security and economic risks. Finland’s economy, among other things, depends on imported raw materials, energy and components for its manufactured products. As a result, Finland is dependent on trading relationships with certain key trading partners, including other EU countries, Russia, China and the U.S. Metals, engineering and timber are Finland’s main industries, and major exports include electronics and machinery. Finland’s reliance on these sectors makes it vulnerable to economic downturns in, among other sectors, the technology and industrials sectors. Secessionist movements in certain European countries, such as the Catalan movement in Spain and the independence movement in Scotland, may have an adverse effect on the Finnish economy.

Risk of Investing in Germany. Investment in German issuers will subject a Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks specific to Germany. Ongoing concerns in relation to the economic health of the EU continue to constrain the economic resilience of certain EU member states, including Germany. Germany has a large export-reliant manufacturing and industrials sector and the German economy is dependent to a significant extent on the economies of certain key trading partners, including the U.S., France, Italy and other European countries. Reduction in spending on German products and services, or changes in any of the economies may have an adverse impact on the German economy. In addition, heavy regulation of labor and product markets in Germany may have an adverse effect on German issuers. Such regulations may negatively impact economic growth or cause prolonged periods of recession.

Risk of Investing in Indonesia. Investment in securities of Indonesian issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in developed countries. Such heightened risks include, among others, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian and/or military involvement in governmental decision-making, armed conflict and social instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest.

The securities market of Indonesia is considered an emerging market characterized by a small number of listed companies, high price volatility and a relatively illiquid secondary trading market. These factors, coupled with restrictions on foreign investment and other factors, limit the supply of securities available for investment by a Fund. This will affect the rate at which a Fund is able to invest in Indonesia, the purchase and sale prices for such securities and the timing of purchases and sales.

Indonesia’s political institutions and democracy have a relatively short history, increasing the risk of political instability. In the recent past, Indonesia has faced political and militant unrest, and further unrest could present a risk to the local economy and securities markets. Indonesia has also experienced acts of terrorism, predominantly targeted at foreigners, which has had a negative impact on tourism and consequently has negatively impacted the economy of Indonesia. Corruption and the perceived lack of a rule of law in dealings with international companies may discourage foreign direct investment and could negatively impact the long-term growth of the economy of Indonesia. In addition, many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, a fragile banking sector, endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and unequal resource distribution among regions.

The Indonesian economy is dependent on a range of commodities including oil, natural gas and coal. Accordingly, it is strongly affected by international commodity prices and is particularly vulnerable to any weakening in global demand for these products. Any acts of terrorism or armed conflicts in Indonesia or internationally could have an adverse effect on the financial and commodities markets and the global economy.

The Indonesian government plays a significant role in Indonesia’s economy, including administering prices on several basic goods, including fuel, rice and electricity. The Indonesian government may exercise substantial influence over many aspects

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of the private sector and may own or control many companies. Future government actions could have a significant effect on the economic conditions in Indonesia, which could have a negative impact on private sector companies. There is also the possibility of diplomatic developments that could adversely affect investments in Indonesia.

The market for Indonesian securities is directly influenced by the flow of international capital, and economic and market conditions of certain countries, especially emerging market countries in Southeastern Asia. Adverse economic conditions or developments in other emerging market countries have at times significantly affected the availability of credit in the Indonesian economy and resulted in considerable outflows of funds and declines in the amount of foreign currency invested in Indonesia. A crisis in neighboring emerging market countries also may increase investors’ perception of risk in Indonesia, which may adversely impact the market value of the securities issued by Indonesian companies, including securities in which a Fund may invest.

Risk of Investing in Ireland. Investing in securities of companies domiciled in Ireland involves special considerations not typically associated with investing in the U.S. market. Such heightened risks include, among others, ongoing sectarian conflict, social instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest, potential armed conflict and/or threats of terrorism within the country, continued lack of unification as a country, and internal hostile relations, all which can adversely impact the Irish economy. Consumer indebtedness in Ireland has been high and increasing in recent years, leading to concern with respect to overall economic growth in Ireland.

Ireland relies heavily on exports to its key trading partners that include the other members of the EU and the U.S. Reduction in spending by these economies on Irish products and services or negative changes in any of these economies may cause an adverse impact on the Irish economy. Any changes in the price or demand for Irish exports could adversely impact Ireland’s economy. Ireland’s economy may also be negatively affected if trade barriers, exchange controls, or other protectionist measures are imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade.

As a member of the EU, Ireland is heavily dependent on the other member states both economically and politically. The referendum by the U.K. in June 2016 resolving to leave the EU may have an adverse impact on a Fund and its shareholders. The European Central Bank has control over each member country’s monetary policies, including inflation rates, deficit levels, interest rates, debt levels and fiscal and monetary controls. However, the Irish government has retained the authority to set tax and spending policies and public debt levels. Any event within the EU, including economic and political developments, can cause market disruptions, and can adversely affect the values of securities held by a Fund.

Risk of Investing in Japan. Japan may be subject to political, economic, labor and other risks. Any of these risks, individually or in the aggregate, can impact an investment made in Japan.

Currency Risk . The Japanese yen has fluctuated widely at times and any increase in its value may cause a decline in exports that could weaken the Japanese economy. Japan has, in the past, intervened in the currency markets to attempt to maintain or reduce the value of the yen. Japanese intervention in the currency markets could cause the value of the yen to fluctuate sharply and unpredictably and could cause losses to investors.

Economic Risk . The growth of Japan’s economy has recently lagged that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies. Since 2000, Japan’s economic growth rate has generally remained low relative to other advanced economies, and it may remain low in the future. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and has been adversely affected by trade tariffs, other protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies and the economic conditions of its trading partners. Japan is also heavily dependent on oil imports, and higher commodity prices could therefore have a negative impact on the Japanese economy.

Geographic Risk . Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and tsunamis, could occur in Japan or surrounding areas and could negatively affect the Japanese economy, and, in turn, could negatively affect a Fund.

Labor Risk . Japan has an aging workforce and has experienced a significant population decline in recent years. Japan’s labor market appears to be undergoing fundamental structural changes, as a labor market traditionally accustomed to lifetime employment adjusts to meet the need for increased labor mobility, which may adversely affect Japan’s economic competitiveness.

Large Government and Corporate Debt Risk . The Japanese economy faces several concerns, including a financial system with large levels of nonperforming loans, over-leveraged corporate balance sheets, extensive cross-ownership by major

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corporations, a changing corporate governance structure, and large government deficits. These issues may cause a slowdown of the Japanese economy.

Political Risk . Historically, Japan has had unpredictable national politics and may experience frequent political turnover. Future political developments may lead to changes in policy that might adversely affect a Fund’s investments. In addition, China has become an important trading partner with Japan. Japan’s political relationship with China, however, has been strained. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the Japanese economy and destabilize the region as a whole.

Security Risk. Japan’s relations with its neighbors, particularly China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, have at times been strained due to territorial disputes, historical animosities and defense concerns. Most recently, the Japanese government has shown concern over the increased nuclear and military activity by North Korea and China. Strained relations may cause uncertainty in the Japanese markets and adversely affect the overall Japanese economy, particularly in times of crisis.

Risk of Investing in New Zealand. Investment in the New Zealand market involves special considerations not typically associated with investing in the U.S. market. Although New Zealand encourages foreign investment, its Overseas Investment Office must give consent to certain foreign investments based on a national interest determination. A delay in obtaining such approval can delay investments in New Zealand and, as a result, a Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities while approval is pending. Furthermore, approval could be rejected or a Fund’s investments may be affected by a limitation in the number of investors interested in a particular industry and/or issuer, and any one of these factors could cause a decline in the value of the Fund.

New Zealand’s economy historically has been based on a foundation of agricultural exports. Accordingly, natural disasters, particularly earthquakes which occur regularly in New Zealand, can have a significant adverse impact on the economy. New Zealand is heavily dependent upon international trade and, consequently, has been and may continue to be adversely affected by economic conditions in the countries with which it trades. Reduction in spending, particularly by key trading partners, on New Zealand products and services may cause an adverse impact on the New Zealand economy. New Zealand’s economy may be negatively affected if trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values or other protectionist measures are imposed or negotiated by the countries with which it trades.

Risk of Investing in North America. A decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations or an economic recession in any North American country can have a significant economic effect on the entire North American region and on some or all of the North American countries in which a Fund invests.

The U.S. is Canada’s and Mexico’s largest trading and investment partner. The Canadian and Mexican economies are significantly affected by developments in the U.S. economy. Since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) in 1994 among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, total merchandise trade among the three countries has increased. However, political developments including the implementation of tariffs by the U.S., and the renegotiation of NAFTA in the form of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), which replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020, could negatively affect North America’s economic outlook and, as a result, the value of securities held by a Fund. Policy and legislative changes in one country may have a significant effect on North American markets generally, as well as on the value of certain securities held by a Fund.

Risk of Investing in the Philippines. Investment in securities of Philippine issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in developed countries. The Philippines has experienced a high level of debt and public spending, which may stifle economic growth, contribute to prolonged periods of recession or lower the country’s sovereign debt rating and adversely impact investments in a Fund. Large, unprofitable public enterprises, especially in the energy sector, contribute to the government’s debt because of slow progress on privatization.

The Philippines’ democracy has a relatively short history, increasing the risk of political instability. The Philippines has in the past faced political and militant unrest, and further unrest could present a risk to the local economy and securities markets. The Philippines’ political history is marred with widespread fraud and violence. The Philippines has periodically experienced and is currently experiencing violence and terrorism, including international terrorist organizations. Any acts of terrorism or armed conflicts in the Philippines or internationally could have an adverse effect on the financial and commodities markets and the global economy. Furthermore, the geopolitical conflict created by China’s claims in the South China Sea has created diplomatic tension. Such increased political and social unrest in any neighboring country could cause further economic and market uncertainty in the region.

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The Philippines’ economy is heavily dependent on exports, particularly electronics and semiconductors. The Philippines’ reliance on these sectors makes it vulnerable to economic downturns during periods of slumps in the information technology sectors. In addition, many economic development problems remain, including high unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, endemic corruption, poverty, and intensifying global competition from neighboring countries.

The Philippine government may exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector and may own or control many companies. Future government actions could have a significant effect on the economic conditions in the Philippines, which could have a negative impact on private sector companies. There is also the possibility of diplomatic developments that could adversely affect investments in the Philippines.

The market for Philippine securities is directly influenced by the flow of international capital, and economic and market conditions of certain countries, especially emerging market countries in Southeastern Asia. Adverse economic conditions or developments in other emerging market countries have at times significantly affected the availability of credit in the Philippine economy and resulted in considerable outflows of funds and declines in the amount of foreign currency invested in the Philippines. A crisis in neighboring emerging market countries also may increase investors’ perception of risk in the Philippines, which may adversely impact the market value of the securities issued by Philippine companies, including securities in which a Fund may invest.

Risk of Investing in Poland. Investment in securities of Polish issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in developed countries. Such heightened risks include, among others, a relatively short history of democracy, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, less publicly available financial and other information, and potential difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations. In addition, Poland faces many economic development problems, including high unemployment, inadequate infrastructure, endemic corruption, poverty, and intensifying global competition from neighboring countries.

Securities laws in Poland are relatively new and unsettled and, consequently, there is a risk of rapid and unpredictable change in laws regarding foreign investment, securities regulation, custody and title to securities and shareholder rights. Accordingly, foreign investors may be adversely affected by new or amended laws and regulations. In circumstances where adequate laws and shareholder rights exist, it may not be possible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of the law.

The securities market of Poland is considered an emerging market characterized by a small number of listed companies and a relatively illiquid secondary trading market, particularly for corporate bonds. These factors, coupled with restrictions on foreign investment and other factors, limit the supply of securities available for investment by a Fund. This will affect the rate at which a Fund is able to invest in Poland, the purchase and sale prices for such securities and the timing of purchases and sales.

The government in Poland may restrict or control to varying degrees the ability of foreign investors to invest in securities of issuers located or operating in Poland. Moreover, governmental approval or special licenses prior to investments by foreign investors may be required and may limit the amount of investments by foreign investors in a particular industry and/or issuer. A delay in obtaining a required government approval or license would delay investments in Poland, and, as a result, a Fund may not be able to invest in certain securities while approval is pending. The government of Poland may also withdraw or decline to renew a license that enables a Fund to invest in Poland. Any one of these factors could cause a decline in the value of a Fund.

The Polish government may exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector and may own or control many companies. Future government actions could have a significant effect on the economic conditions in Poland, which could have a negative impact on private sector companies. There is also the possibility of diplomatic developments that could adversely affect investments in Poland.

The market for Polish securities is directly influenced by the flow of international capital, and economic and market conditions of certain countries, especially emerging market countries in Eastern Europe. Adverse economic conditions or developments in other emerging market countries have at times significantly affected the availability of credit in the Polish economy and resulted in considerable outflows of funds and declines in the amount of foreign currency invested in Poland.

U.S. Economic Trading Partners Risk. The U.S. is a significant, and in some cases the most significant, trading partner of, or foreign investor in, certain countries in which a Fund invests. As a result, economic conditions of such countries may be particularly affected by changes in the U.S. economy. A decrease in U.S. imports or exports, new trade and financial

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regulations or tariffs, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rate or an economic slowdown in the U.S. may have a material adverse effect on a country’s economic conditions and, as a result, securities to which a Fund has exposure. Circumstances could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal on U.S. government debt, such as reaching the legislative “debt ceiling.” Such non-payment would result in substantial negative consequences for the U.S. economy and the global financial system.

There are strained relations between the U.S. and a number of foreign countries. If these relations were to worsen, it could adversely affect U.S. issuers as well as non-U.S. issuers that rely on the U.S. for trade. The U.S. has also experienced increased internal unrest and discord. If this trend were to continue, it may have an adverse impact on the U.S. economy and many of the issuers in which a Fund invests.

Risk of Investing in the Communication Services Sector. The communication services sector consists of both companies in the telecommunication services industry as well as those in the media and entertainment industry. Examples of companies in the telecommunication services industry group include providers of fiber-optic, fixed-line, cellular and wireless telecommunications networks. Companies in the media and entertainment industry group encompass a variety of services and products including television broadcasting, gaming products, social media, networking platforms, online classifieds, online review websites, and Internet search engines. Companies in the communication services sector may be affected by industry competition, substantial capital requirements, government regulation, and obsolescence of communications products and services due to technological advancement. Fluctuating domestic and international demand, shifting demographics and often unpredictable changes in consumer tastes can drastically affect a communication services company’s profitability. In addition, while all companies may be susceptible to network security breaches, certain companies in the communication services sector may be particular targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or consumer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses.

The communication services sector of a country’s economy is often subject to extensive government regulation. The costs of complying with governmental regulations, delays or failure to receive required regulatory approvals, or the enactment of new regulatory requirements may negatively affect the business of communications companies. Government actions around the world, specifically in the area of pre-marketing clearance of products and prices, can be arbitrary and unpredictable. The communications services industry can also be significantly affected by intense competition for market share, including competition with alternative technologies such as wireless communications, product compatibility and standardization, consumer preferences, rapid product obsolescence, research and development of new products, lack of standardization or compatibility with existing technologies, and a dependency on patent and copyright protections. Companies in the communication services sector may encounter distressed cash flows due to the need to commit substantial capital to meet increasing competition, particularly in developing new products and services using new technology. Technological innovations may make the products and services of certain communications companies obsolete.

Telecommunications providers with exposure to the U.S. are generally required to obtain franchises or licenses in order to provide services in a given location. Licensing and franchise rights in the telecommunications sector are limited, which may provide an advantage to certain participants. Limited availability of such rights, high barriers to market entry and regulatory oversight, among other factors, have led to consolidation of companies within the sector, which could lead to further regulation or other negative effects in the future. Telecommunication providers investing in non-U.S. countries may be subject to similar risks. Additional risks include those related to competitive challenges in the U.S. from non-U.S. competitors engaged in strategic joint ventures with U.S. companies and in non-U.S. markets from both U.S. and non-U.S. competitors.

Companies in the media and entertainment industries can be significantly affected by several factors, including competition, particularly in formulation of products and services using new technologies, cyclicality of revenues and earnings, a potential decrease in the discretionary income of targeted individuals, changing consumer tastes and interests, and the potential increase in government regulation. Companies in the media and entertainment industries may become obsolete quickly. Advertising spending can be an important revenue source for media and entertainment companies. During economic downturns advertising spending typically decreases and, as a result, media and entertainment companies tend to generate less revenue.

Risk of Investing in the Consumer Discretionary Sector. Companies engaged in the design, production or distribution of products or services for the consumer discretionary sector (including, without limitation, television and radio broadcasting, manufacturing, publishing, recording and musical instruments, motion pictures, photography, amusement and theme parks,

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gaming casinos, sporting goods and sports arenas, camping and recreational equipment, toys and games, apparel, travel related services, automobiles, hotels and motels, and fast food and other restaurants) are subject to the risk that their products or services may become obsolete quickly. The success of these companies can depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending. During periods of an expanding economy, the consumer discretionary sector may outperform the consumer staples sector, but may underperform when economic conditions worsen. Moreover, the consumer discretionary sector can be significantly affected by several factors, including, without limitation, the performance of domestic and international economies, exchange rates, changing consumer preferences, demographics, marketing campaigns, cyclical revenue generation, consumer confidence, commodity price volatility, labor relations, interest rates, import and export controls, intense competition, technological developments and government regulation.

Risk of Investing in the Consumer Staples Sector. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be adversely affected by changes in the global economy, consumer spending, competition, demographics and consumer preferences, and production spending. Companies in the consumer staples sector may also be affected by changes in global economic, environmental and political events, economic conditions, the depletion of resources, and government regulation. For instance, government regulations may affect the permissibility of using various food additives and production methods of companies that make food products, which could affect company profitability. In addition, tobacco companies may be adversely affected by the adoption of proposed legislation and/or by litigation. Companies in the consumer staples sector also may be subject to risks pertaining to the supply of, demand for and prices of raw materials. The prices of raw materials fluctuate in response to a number of factors, including, without limitation, changes in government agricultural support programs, exchange rates, import and export controls, changes in international agricultural and trading policies, and seasonal and weather conditions. Companies in the consumer staples sector may be subject to severe competition, which may also have an adverse impact on their profitability.

Risk of Investing in the Energy Sector. Companies in the energy sector are strongly affected by the changes in and volatility of global energy prices, energy supply and demand, government regulations and policies, energy production and conservation efforts, technological change, development of alternative energy sources, and other factors that they cannot control. Energy companies may have relatively high levels of debt and may be more likely to restructure their businesses if there are downturns in energy markets or in the global economy. If an energy company in a Fund’s portfolio becomes distressed, a Fund could lose all or a substantial portion of its investment. The energy sector is cyclical and is highly dependent on commodity prices. Prices and supplies of energy may fluctuate significantly over short and long periods of time due to, among other things, national and international political changes, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) policies, changes in relationships among OPEC members and between OPEC and oil-importing nations, the regulatory environment, taxation policies, the enactment or cessation of trade sanctions, war or other geopolitical conflicts, and the economies of key energy-consuming countries. Companies in the energy sector may be adversely affected by terrorism, cyber incidents, natural disasters or other catastrophes. While certain Funds seek to invest in companies with positive or favorable environmental and social characteristics, companies in the energy sector are at risk of liability from accidents resulting in injury, loss of life or property, pollution or other environmental damage claims. Significant oil and gas deposits are located in emerging markets countries where corruption and security may raise significant risks, in addition to the other risks of investing in emerging markets. Additionally, the Middle East, where many companies in the energy sector may operate, has experienced conflict and unrest. Companies in the energy sector may also be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, economic conditions, tax treatment, government regulation and intervention, negative perception, efforts at energy conservation and world events in the regions in which the companies operate ( e.g ., expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and repatriation of capital, military coups, social unrest, violence or labor unrest). Because a significant portion of revenues of companies in this sector is derived from a relatively small number of customers that are largely composed of governmental entities and utilities, governmental budget constraints may have a significant impact on companies in this sector. The energy sector is highly regulated. Entities operating in the energy sector are subject to significant regulation of nearly every aspect of their operations by governmental agencies. Such regulation can change rapidly or over time in both scope and intensity. Stricter laws, regulations or enforcement policies could be enacted, which would likely increase compliance costs and may materially adversely affect the financial performance of companies in the energy sector.

The energy sector may experience significant market volatility. For example, Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 led to further disruptions and increased volatility in the energy and commodity futures markets due to actual and potential disruptions in the supply and demand for certain commodities, including oil and natural gas. The U.S. and other actors have enacted various sanctions and restrictions on business dealings with Russia, which include restrictions on imports of oil, natural gas and coal. The effect of the current sanctions and restrictions, as well as the extent and duration

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of the Russian military action, additional sanctions and associated market disruptions on the energy sector, are impossible to predict and depend on a number of factors. The effect of these events or any related developments could be significant and may have a severe adverse effect on the performance of a Fund.

Risk of Investing in the Financials Sector. Companies in the financials sector include small, regional and money center banks, securities brokerage firms, asset management companies, savings banks and thrift institutions, specialty finance companies ( e.g. , credit card, mortgage providers), insurance and insurance brokerage firms, consumer finance firms, financial conglomerates and foreign banking and financial companies.

Most financial companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which limits their activities and may affect their ability to earn a profit from a given line of business. Government regulation may change frequently and may have significant adverse consequences for companies in the financials sector, including effects not intended by the regulation. Direct governmental intervention in the operations of financial companies and financial markets may materially and adversely affect the companies in which a Fund invests, including legislation in many countries that may increase government regulation, repatriation and other intervention. The impact of governmental intervention and legislative changes on any individual financial company or on the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted. The valuation of financial companies has been and continues to be subject to unprecedented volatility and may be influenced by unpredictable factors, including interest rate risk and sovereign debt default. Certain financial businesses are subject to intense competitive pressures, including market share and price competition. Financial companies in foreign countries are subject to market-specific and general regulatory and interest rate concerns. In particular, government regulation in certain foreign countries may include taxes and controls on interest rates, credit availability, minimum capital requirements, bans on short sales, limits on prices and restrictions on currency transfers. In addition, companies in the financials sector may be the targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or customer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses.

The profitability of banks, savings and loan associations and other financial companies is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change; for instance, when interest rates go up, the value of securities issued by many types of companies in the financials sector generally goes down. In other words, financial companies may be adversely affected in certain market cycles, including, without limitation, during periods of rising interest rates, which may restrict the availability and increase the cost of capital, and during periods of declining economic conditions, which may cause, among other things, credit losses due to financial difficulties of borrowers.

In addition, general economic conditions are important to the operations of these companies, and financial difficulties of borrowers may have an adverse effect on the profitability of financial companies. Companies in the financials sector are exposed directly to the credit risk of their borrowers and counterparties, who may be leveraged to an unknown degree, including through swaps and other derivatives products, and who at times may be unable to meet their obligations to the financial services companies. Financial services companies may have significant exposure to the same borrowers and counterparties, with the result that a borrower’s or counterparty’s inability to meet its obligations to one company may affect other companies with exposure to the same borrower or counterparty. This interconnectedness of risk, including cross default risk, may result in significant negative impacts to the financial condition and reputation of companies with direct exposure to the defaulting counterparty as well as adverse cascading effects in the markets and the financials sector generally. Financial companies can be highly dependent upon access to capital markets, and any impediments to such access, such as adverse overall economic conditions or a negative perception in the capital markets of a financial company’s financial condition or prospects, could adversely affect its business. Deterioration of credit markets can have an adverse impact on a broad range of financial markets, causing certain financial companies to incur large losses. In these conditions, companies in the financials sector may experience significant declines in the valuation of their assets, take actions to raise capital and even cease operations. Some financial companies may also be required to accept or borrow significant amounts of capital from government sources and may face future government-imposed restrictions on their businesses or increased government intervention. In addition, there is no guarantee that governments will provide any such relief in the future. These actions may cause the securities of many companies in the financials sector to decline in value.

Risk of Investing in the Healthcare Sector. Companies in the healthcare sector are often issuers whose profitability may be affected by extensive government regulation, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising or falling costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, a limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. Many healthcare companies are heavily dependent on patent protection and the actual or perceived safety and efficiency of their products.

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Patents have a limited duration, and, upon expiration, other companies may market substantially similar “generic” products that are typically sold at a lower price than the patented product, which can cause the original developer of the product to lose market share and/or reduce the price charged for the product, resulting in lower profits for the original developer. As a result, the expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

In addition, because the products and services of many companies in the healthcare sector affect the health and well-being of many individuals, these companies are especially susceptible to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. Healthcare companies are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many new products in the healthcare sector may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, which can result in increased development costs, delayed cost recovery and loss of competitive advantage to the extent that rival companies have developed competing products or procedures, adversely affecting the company’s revenues and profitability. In other words, delays in the regulatory approval process may diminish the opportunity for a company to profit from a new product or to bring a new product to market, which could have a material adverse effect on a company’s business. Healthcare companies may also be strongly affected by scientific biotechnology or technological developments, and their products may quickly become obsolete. Also, many healthcare companies offer products and services that are subject to governmental regulation and may be adversely affected by changes in governmental policies or laws. Changes in governmental policies or laws may span a wide range of topics, including cost control, national health insurance, incentives for compensation in the provision of healthcare services, tax incentives and penalties related to healthcare insurance premiums, and promotion of prepaid healthcare plans. In addition, a number of legislative proposals concerning healthcare have been considered by the U.S. Congress in recent years. It is unclear what proposals will ultimately be enacted, if any, and what effect they may have on companies in the healthcare sector.

Additionally, the expansion of facilities by healthcare-related providers may be subject to “determinations of need” by certain government authorities. This process not only generally increases the time and costs involved in these expansions, but also makes expansion plans uncertain, limiting the revenue and profitability growth potential of healthcare-related facilities operators and negatively affecting the prices of their securities. Moreover, in recent years, both local and national governmental budgets have come under pressure to reduce spending and control healthcare costs, which could both adversely affect regulatory processes and public funding available for healthcare products, services and facilities.

Risk of Investing in the Industrials Sector. The value of securities issued by companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by supply of and demand for both their specific products or services and for industrials sector products in general. The products of manufacturing companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction. Government regulations, trade disputes, world events and economic conditions may affect the performance of companies in the industrials sector. The industrials sector may also be adversely affected by changes or trends in commodity prices, which may be influenced by unpredictable factors. For example, commodity price declines and unit volume reductions resulting from an over-supply of materials used in the industrials sector can adversely affect the sector. Furthermore, while certain Funds seek to invest in companies with positive or favorable environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) characteristics, companies in the industrials sector may be subject to liability for environmental damage, product liability claims, depletion of resources, and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control.

Risk of Investing in the Materials Sector. Companies in the materials sector may be adversely affected by commodity price volatility, exchange rate fluctuations, social and political unrest, war, import or export controls, increased competition, depletion of resources, technical progress, labor relations and government regulations, and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control, among other factors. Such risks may adversely affect the issuers to which a Fund has exposure. While certain Funds seek to invest in companies with positive or favorable ESG characteristics, companies in the materials sector are also at risk of liability for environmental damage and product liability claims. Production of materials may exceed demand as a result of market imbalances or economic downturns, leading to poor investment returns. These risks are heightened for companies in the materials sector located in foreign markets.

Risk of Investing in the Real Estate Industry. Companies in the real estate industry include companies that invest in real estate, such as REITs, real estate holding and operating companies or real estate development companies (collectively, “Real Estate Companies”). Investing in Real Estate Companies exposes investors to the risks of owning real estate directly, as well as to risks that relate specifically to the way in which Real Estate Companies are organized and operated. The real estate

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industry is highly sensitive to general and local economic conditions and developments, and characterized by intense competition and periodic overbuilding. Investing in Real Estate Companies involves various risks. Some risks that are specific to Real Estate Companies are discussed in greater detail below.

Concentration Risk. Real Estate Companies may own a limited number of properties and concentrate their investments in a particular geographic region or property type. Economic downturns affecting a particular region, industry or property type may lead to a high volume of defaults within a short period.

Distressed Investment Risk. Real Estate Companies may invest in distressed, defaulted or out-of-favor bank loans. Identification and implementation by a Real Estate Company of loan modification and restructure programs involves a high degree of uncertainty. Even successful implementation may still require adverse compromises and may not prevent bankruptcy. Real Estate Companies may also invest in other debt instruments that may become non-performing, including the securities of companies with higher credit and market risk due to financial or operational difficulties. Higher risk securities may be less liquid and more volatile than the securities of companies not in distress.

Illiquidity Risk. Investing in Real Estate Companies may involve risks similar to those associated with investing in small capitalization companies. Real Estate Company securities, like the securities of small-capitalization companies, may be more volatile than, and perform differently from, shares of large-capitalization companies. There may be less trading in Real Estate Company shares, which means that buy and sell transactions in those shares could have a magnified impact on share price, resulting in abrupt or erratic price fluctuations. In addition, real estate is relatively illiquid, and, therefore, a Real Estate Company may have a limited ability to vary or liquidate properties in response to changes in economic or other conditions.

Interest Rate Risk. Rising interest rates could result in higher costs of capital for Real Estate Companies, which could negatively impact a Real Estate Company’s ability to meet its payment obligations. Declining interest rates could result in increased prepayment on loans and require redeployment of capital in less desirable investments.

Leverage Risk. Real Estate Companies may use leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases investment risk and could adversely affect a Real Estate Company’s operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates. Real Estate Companies are also exposed to the risks normally associated with debt financing. Financial covenants related to a Real Estate Company’s leverage may affect the ability of the Real Estate Company to operate effectively. In addition, real property may be subject to the quality of credit extended and defaults by borrowers and tenants. If the properties do not generate sufficient income to meet operating expenses, including, where applicable, debt service, ground lease payments, tenant improvements, third-party leasing commissions and other capital expenditures, the income and ability of a Real Estate Company to make payments of any interest and principal on its debt securities will be adversely affected.

Loan Foreclosure Risk. Real Estate Companies may foreclose on loans that the Real Estate Company originated and/or acquired. Foreclosure may generate negative publicity for the underlying property that affects its market value. In addition to the length and expense of such proceedings, the validity of the terms of the applicable loan may not be recognized in foreclosure proceedings. Claims and defenses asserted by borrowers or other lenders may interfere with the enforcement of rights by a Real Estate Company. Parallel proceedings, such as bankruptcy, may also delay resolution and limit the amount of recovery on a foreclosed loan by a Real Estate Company even where the property underlying the loan is liquidated.

Management Risk. Real Estate Companies are dependent upon management skills and may have limited financial resources. Real Estate Companies are generally not diversified and may be subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers and voluntary liquidation. In addition, transactions between Real Estate Companies and their affiliates may be subject to conflicts of interest, which may adversely affect a Real Estate Company’s shareholders. A Real Estate Company may also have joint venture investments in certain of its properties, and, consequently, its ability to control decisions relating to such properties may be limited.

Property Risk. Real Estate Companies may be subject to risks relating to functional obsolescence or reduced desirability of properties; extended vacancies due to economic conditions and tenant bankruptcies; catastrophic events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and terrorist acts; and casualty or condemnation losses. Real estate income and values also may be greatly affected by demographic trends, such as population shifts or changes in consumer preferences and values, or increasing vacancies or declining rents resulting from legal, cultural, technological, global or local economic developments.

Regulatory Risk. Real estate income and values may be adversely affected by such factors as applicable domestic and foreign laws (including tax laws). Government actions, such as tax increases, zoning law changes, mandated closures or other

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commercial restrictions or environmental regulations, also may have a major impact on real estate income and values. In addition, quarterly compliance with regulations limiting the proportion of asset types held by a U.S. REIT may force certain Real Estate Companies to liquidate or restructure otherwise attractive investments. Some countries may not recognize REITs or comparable structures as a viable form of real estate funds.

Underlying Investment Risk. Real Estate Companies make investments in a variety of debt and equity instruments with varying risk profiles. For instance, Real Estate Companies may invest in debt instruments secured by commercial property that have higher risks of delinquency and foreclosure than loans on single family homes due to a variety of factors associated with commercial property, including the tie between income available to service debt and productive use of the property. Real Estate Companies may also invest in debt instruments and preferred equity that are junior in an issuer’s capital structure and that involve privately negotiated structures. Subordinated debt investments, such as B-Notes and mezzanine loans, involve a greater credit risk of default due to the need to service more senior debt of the issuer. Similarly, preferred equity investments involve a greater risk of loss than conventional debt financing due to their non-collateralized nature and subordinated ranking. Investments in commercial mortgage-backed securities may also be junior in priority in the event of bankruptcy or similar proceedings. Investments in senior loans may be effectively subordinated if the senior loan is pledged as collateral. The ability of a holder of junior claims to proceed against a defaulting issuer is circumscribed by the terms of the particular contractual arrangement, which vary considerably from transaction to transaction.

U.S. Tax Risk. Certain U.S. Real Estate Companies are subject to special U.S. federal tax requirements. A REIT that fails to comply with such tax requirements may be subject to U.S. federal income taxation, which may affect the value of the REIT and the characterization of the REIT’s distributions. The U.S. federal tax requirement that a REIT distribute substantially all of its net income to its shareholders may result in a REIT having insufficient capital for future expenditures. A REIT that successfully maintains its qualification may still become subject to U.S. federal, state and local taxes, including excise, penalty, franchise, payroll, mortgage recording, and transfer taxes, both directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries. Because REITs often do not provide complete tax information until after the calendar year-end, a Fund may at times need to request permission to extend the deadline for issuing your tax reporting statement or supplement the information otherwise provided to you.

Risk of Investing in Technology Companies. Technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources and personnel. These companies may face rapid product obsolescence as well as unexpected risks and costs related to new product introduction and technological developments, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Technology companies may be adversely affected by disruptions to supply chains and distribution networks as well as issues at third-party partners. They are heavily dependent on patent and other intellectual property rights, and the loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect their profitability. Technology companies may face increased government scrutiny and may be subject to adverse government or legal action. These companies also may be adversely affected by, among other things, actual or perceived security vulnerabilities or other defects in their products and services, which may result in lawsuits, government enforcement actions and other remediation costs.

Risk of Investing in the Utilities Sector. The utilities sector may be adversely affected by changing commodity prices, government regulation stipulating rates charged by utilities, increased tariffs, changes in tax laws, interest rate fluctuations and changes in the cost of providing specific utility services. The utilities industry is also subject to potential terrorist attacks, natural disasters and severe weather conditions, as well as regulatory and operational burdens associated with the operation and maintenance of nuclear facilities. Government regulators monitor and control utility revenues and costs, and therefore may limit utility profits. Federal legislation may facilitate the construction of electric transmission lines not only by public utilities but also by independent transmission developers, which could increase competition in the wholesale electricity markets. In certain countries, regulatory authorities may also restrict a company’s access to new markets, thereby diminishing the company’s long-term prospects.

There are substantial differences among the regulatory practices and policies of various jurisdictions, and any regulatory agency may make major shifts in policy from time to time. There is no assurance that regulatory authorities will, in the future, grant rate increases. Additionally, existing and possible future regulatory legislation may make it even more difficult for utilities to obtain adequate relief. Certain of the issuers of securities held in a Fund’s portfolio may own or operate nuclear generating facilities. Governmental authorities may from time to time review existing policies and impose additional requirements governing the licensing, construction and operation of nuclear power plants. Prolonged changes in climate

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conditions can also have a significant impact on both the revenues of an electric and gas utility as well as the expenses of a utility, particularly a hydro-based electric utility.

The rates that traditional regulated utility companies may charge their customers generally are subject to review and limitation by governmental regulatory commissions. Rate changes may occur only after a prolonged approval period or may not occur at all, which could adversely affect utility companies when costs are rising. The value of regulated utility debt securities (and, to a lesser extent, equity securities) tends to have an inverse relationship to the movement of interest rates. Certain utility companies have experienced full or partial deregulation in recent years. These utility companies are frequently more similar to industrial companies in that they are subject to greater competition and have been permitted by regulators to diversify outside of their original geographic regions and their traditional lines of business. As a result, some companies may be forced to defend their core business and may be less profitable. Deregulation may also permit a utility company to expand outside of its traditional lines of business and engage in riskier ventures.

Proxy Voting Policies

The Board has delegated the voting of proxies for each Fund’s securities to BFA pursuant to (i) the Open-End Active and Fixed Income Index Fund Proxy Voting Policy (the “Active Fund Proxy Voting Policy”), with respect to certain Funds, and (ii) the Index Equity Fund Proxy Voting Policy, with respect to certain other Funds, as applicable. Please refer to the table below, which discloses the policy applicable to each Fund in this SAI. Information that does not apply to a Fund does not form a part of that Fund’s SAI and should not be relied on by investors in that Fund. Only information that is clearly identified as applicable to a Fund is considered to form a part of that Fund’s SAI.

With respect to Funds covered by the Active Fund Proxy Voting Policy, BFA has adopted the BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship - Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines (the “BAIS Guidelines”). Certain of such Funds, as listed within the Active Fund Proxy Voting Policy and as disclosed in the table below, follow supplemental guidelines within the BAIS Guidelines that are applicable to certain climate and decarbonization issues (the “BAIS Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines”).

With respect to Funds covered by the Index Equity Fund Proxy Voting Policy, BFA has adopted the BlackRock Investment Stewardship (“BIS”) Global Benchmark Policy, comprised of the Global Principles for Benchmark Policies, regional voting guidelines, and engagement priorities, which are each available upon request. In addition, certain of such Funds, as listed within the Index Equity Fund Proxy Voting Policy and as disclosed in the table below, follow supplemental guidelines that are applicable to certain climate and decarbonization issues (the “BIS Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines”).

Fund

Open-End Active and Fixed Income Index Fund Proxy Voting Policy

BAIS Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines Apply Index Equity Fund Proxy Voting Policy

BIS Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines Apply iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF

iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF X X

iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF X X iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF X iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF X iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF X iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF X iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF X

iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF X X iShares MSCI Denmark ETF X iShares MSCI Finland ETF X iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF X

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Fund

Open-End Active and Fixed Income Index Fund Proxy Voting Policy

BAIS Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines Apply Index Equity Fund Proxy Voting Policy

BIS Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines Apply iShares MSCI Ireland ETF X iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF X iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF X iShares MSCI Norway ETF X iShares MSCI Philippines ETF X iShares MSCI Poland ETF X iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF X

iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap ETF X iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF

iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF

If a Fund invests in an underlying fund managed by BlackRock, the Fund will use its proxy voting policy when voting on proxies for the underlying fund while the underlying fund will use its proxy voting policy when voting proxies on investments the underlying fund holds. Therefore, the Fund may use the Active Fund Proxy Voting Policy while an underlying fund may use the Index Equity Fund Proxy Voting Policy, and the opposite is also true.

Copies of the Active Fund Proxy Voting Policy, Index Equity Fund Proxy Voting Policy, the BAIS Guidelines, the Global Principles for Benchmark Policies and the BIS Climate and Decarbonization Stewardship Guidelines are included in Appendix A of this SAI.

Information with respect to how proxies relating to each Fund’s portfolio securities, when available, were voted during the 12-month period ended June 30 is available: (i) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or through the Fund’s website at www.blackrock.com/proxyrecords; and (ii) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Portfolio Holdings Information

On each Business Day (as defined in the Creation and Redemption of Creation Units section of this SAI), prior to the opening of regular trading on the Fund’s primary listing exchange, a Fund discloses on its website (www.iShares.com) certain information relating to the portfolio holdings that will form the basis of a Fund’s next net asset value per share calculation.

In addition, certain information may also be made available to certain parties:

• Communications of Data Files: A Fund may make available through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) or through posting on the www.iShares.com, prior to the opening of trading on each business day, a list of a Fund’s holdings (generally pro-rata) that Authorized Participants could deliver to a Fund to settle purchases of a Fund (i.e., Deposit Securities) or that Authorized Participants would receive from a Fund to settle redemptions of a Fund (i.e., Fund Securities). These files are known as the Portfolio Composition File and the Fund Data File (collectively, “Files”). The Files are applicable for the next trading day and are provided to the NSCC and/or posted on www.iShares.com after the close of markets in the U.S.

• Communications with Authorized Participants, Liquidity Providers and Certain Other Third Parties: Certain employees of BlackRock are responsible for interacting with Authorized Participants and liquidity providers with respect to discussing custom basket proposals as described in the Custom Baskets section of this SAI. As part of these discussions, these employees may discuss with an Authorized Participant or liquidity provider the securities a Fund is willing to accept for a creation, and securities that a Fund will provide on a redemption.

BlackRock employees may also discuss portfolio holdings-related information with broker/dealers, in connection with settling a Fund’s transactions, and securities lending borrowers in connection with loan transactions, each as may be

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necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course in a manner consistent with the disclosure in the Fund’s current registration statement.

• Communications with Listing Exchanges: From time to time, employees of BlackRock may discuss portfolio holdings information with the applicable primary listing exchange for a Fund as needed to meet the exchange listing standards.

• Communications with Other Portfolio Managers: Certain information may be provided to employees of BlackRock who manage funds that invest a significant percentage of their assets in shares of an underlying fund as necessary to manage the fund’s investment objective and strategy.

• Communication of Other Information: Certain explanatory information regarding the Files is released to Authorized Participants and liquidity providers on a daily basis, but is only done so after the Files are posted to www.iShares.com.

• Third-Party Service Providers: Certain portfolio holdings information may be disclosed to Fund Trustees and their counsel, outside counsel for the Funds, auditors and to certain third-party service providers ( i.e. , fund administrator, custodian, proxy voting service) for which a non-disclosure, confidentiality agreement or other obligation is in place with such service providers, as may be necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course in a manner consistent with applicable policies, agreements with the Funds, the terms of the current registration statements and federal securities laws and regulations thereunder.

• Liquidity Metrics: “Liquidity Metrics,” which seek to ascertain a Fund’s liquidity profile under BlackRock’s global liquidity risk methodology, include but are not limited to: (a) disclosure regarding the number of days needed to liquidate a portfolio or the portfolio’s underlying investments; and (b) the percentage of a Fund’s NAV invested in a particular liquidity tier under BlackRock’s global liquidity risk methodology. The dissemination of position-level liquidity metrics data and any non-public regulatory data pursuant to the Liquidity Rule (including SEC liquidity tiering) is not permitted unless pre-approved. Disclosure of portfolio-level liquidity metrics prior to 60 calendar days after calendar quarter-end requires a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement and approval of the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer. Portfolio level liquidity metrics disclosure subsequent to 60 calendar days after calendar quarter-end requires the approval of portfolio management and must be disclosed to all parties requesting the information if disclosed to any party.

The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer or his delegate may authorize disclosure of portfolio holdings information pursuant to the above policy and procedures, subject to restrictions on selective disclosure imposed by applicable law. The Board reviews the policy and procedures for disclosure of portfolio holdings information at least annually.

Construction and Maintenance of the Underlying

Indexes

Descriptions of the Underlying Indexes are provided below.

With respect to certain underlying indexes of the iShares funds, BFA or its affiliates have held discussions with the applicable index provider regarding their business interest in licensing an index to track a particular market segment and conveyed investment concepts and strategies that could be considered for the index. The index provider designed and constituted such indices using concepts conveyed by BFA or its affiliates. For certain of these indices, the relevant fund may be the first or sole user of the underlying index. In its sole discretion, the index provider determines the composition of the securities and other instruments in such underlying index, the rebalance protocols of the underlying index, the weightings of the securities and other instruments in the underlying index, and any updates to the methodology. From time to time, BFA or its affiliates may also provide input relating to possible methodology changes of such underlying index pursuant to the index provider’s consultation process or pursuant to other communications with the index provider.

The MSCI Indexes

The MSCI indexes were founded in 1969 by Capital International S.A. as international performance benchmarks constructed to facilitate comparison of world markets. The MSCI single country standard equity indexes have covered the world’s developed markets since 1969 and in 1987 MSCI commenced coverage of emerging markets.

Local stock exchanges traditionally calculated their own indexes, which were generally not comparable with one another due to differences in the representation of the local market, mathematical formulas, base dates and methods of adjusting for

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capital changes. MSCI, however, applies the same calculation methodology to all markets for all single country standard equity indexes, both developed and emerging.

MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes

MSCI’s Global Investable Market Indexes (the “MSCI GIMI”) provide coverage and non-overlapping market segmentation by market capitalization size and by style. The MSCI GIMI intend to target approximately 99% coverage of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each market of large-, mid- and small-cap securities. In each market, MSCI creates an Investable Market Index, Standard Index, Large Cap Index, Mid Cap Index and Small Cap Index. The Standard Index, Large Cap Index, Mid Cap Index and Small Cap Index are each subsets of the Investable Market Index for a market. The MSCI Global Standard Index is the aggregation of the Large Cap Index and Mid Cap Index and the MSCI GIMI is the aggregation of the MSCI Global Standard Index and MSCI Global Small Cap Index.

Selection Criteria. MSCI’s index construction process involves: (i) defining the equity universe; (ii) determining the market investable equity universe for each market; (iii) determining market capitalization size segments for each market; (iv) applying final size segment investability requirements; and (v) applying index continuity rules for the MSCI Global Standard Index.

Defining the Equity Universe . MSCI begins with securities listed in countries in the MSCI GIMI. As of August 2025, 23 are classified as developed markets, 24 as emerging markets, and 28 as frontier markets. All listed equity securities and listed securities that exhibit characteristics of equity securities, except mutual funds, ETFs, equity derivatives, limited partnerships and most investment trusts, are eligible for inclusion in the equity universe. REITs in some countries and certain income trusts in Canada are also eligible for inclusion. Each company and its securities ( i.e ., share classes) are classified in only one country.

Determining the Market Investable Equity Universe for Each Market. The equity universe in any market is derived by applying investability screens to individual companies and securities in that market. Some investability requirements are applied at the individual security level and some at the overall company level, represented by the aggregation of individual securities of the company. As a result, the inclusion or exclusion of one security does not imply the automatic inclusion or exclusion of other securities of the same company.

Determining Market Capitalization Size Segments for Each Market. In order to create size components that can be meaningfully aggregated into composites, individual market size segments balance the following two objectives: • Achieving global size integrity by ensuring that companies of comparable and relevant sizes are included in a given size segment across all markets in a composite index; and • Achieving consistent market coverage by ensuring that each market’s size segment is represented in its proportional weight in the composite universe.

The Standard Indexes, Large Cap Indexes, Mid Cap Indexes, and Small Cap Indexes capture the following market capitalization size segments: • MSCI Global Standard Indexes cover all investable large- and mid-cap securities by including the largest issuers comprising approximately 85% of each market’s free float-adjusted market capitalization.

• MSCI Global Large Cap Indexes provide coverage of all investable large-cap securities by including the largest issuers comprising approximately 70% of each market’s free float-adjusted market capitalization. • MSCI Global Mid Cap Indexes provide coverage in each market by deriving the difference between the market coverage of the MSCI Global Standard Index and the MSCI Global Large Cap Index in that market. • MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes provide coverage in each market by deriving the difference between the market coverage of the Investable Market Index and the MSCI Global Standard Index in that market.

Applying Final Size Segment Investability Requirements. In order to enhance replicability of the indexes, additional size segment investability requirements are set for the MSCI GIMI and MSCI Global Standard Index. These investability requirements include minimum free float-adjusted market capitalization, minimum liquidity, minimum foreign limits and minimum length of trading.

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Applying Index Continuity Rules for the Standard Index. In order to achieve index continuity as well as provide some basic level of diversification within a market index, notwithstanding the effect of other index construction rules contained herein, a minimum number of five constituents will be maintained for a developed market Standard Index and a minimum number of three constituents will be maintained for an emerging market Standard Index.

Weighting. All indexes of the MSCI GIMI are free float weighted, i.e., companies are included in the indexes at the value of their free public float (free float multiplied by security price).

Regional Weights. Market capitalization-weighting, combined with a consistent target of approximately 99% of free float adjusted market capitalization, helps ensure that each country’s weight in regional and international indexes approximates its weight in the total universe of developing and emerging markets. A market is equivalent to a single country except for developed Europe, where all markets are aggregated into a single market for index construction purposes. Individual country indexes of the European developed markets are derived from the constituents of the MSCI GIMI Europe Index.

Free Float. MSCI defines the free float of a security as the proportion of shares outstanding that are deemed to be available for purchase in the public equity markets by international investors. In practice, limitations on free float available to international investors include: (i) strategic and other shareholdings not considered part of available free float; and (ii) limits on share ownership for foreigners.

MSCI calculates the free float-adjusted market capitalization of each security in the equity index universe by (i) defining and estimating the free float available to foreign investors; (ii) assigning a free float-adjustment factor to each security; and (iii) calculating the free float-adjusted market capitalization of each security.

Under MSCI’s free float-adjustment methodology, a constituent’s inclusion factor is equal to its estimated free float, rounded up to the closest 5% for constituents with free float equal to or exceeding 15%. For example, a constituent security with a free float of 23.2% will be included in the index at 25% of its market capitalization. For securities with a free float of less than 15%, the estimated free float is adjusted to the nearest 1%.

Price and Exchange Rates

Prices. The prices used to calculate all MSCI indexes are the official exchange closing prices or those figures accepted as such. MSCI reserves the right to use an alternative pricing source on any given day.

Exchange Rates. MSCI uses the World Markets/Reuters Closing Spot Rates taken at 4:00 p.m. London time. In case World Markets/Reuters does not provide rates for specific markets on given days (for example, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day), the previous business day’s rates are normally used. MSCI independently monitors the exchange rates on all its indexes. MSCI may under exceptional circumstances elect to use alternative sources of exchange rates if the World Markets/Reuters rates are not available, or if MSCI determines that the World Markets/Reuters rates are not reflective of market circumstances for a given currency on a particular day. In such circumstances, an announcement would be sent to clients with the related information. If appropriate, MSCI may conduct a consultation with the investment community to gather feedback on the most relevant exchange rate.

Changes to the Indexes. The MSCI GIMI are maintained with the objective of reflecting, on a timely basis, the evolution of the underlying equity markets. In maintaining the MSCI indexes, emphasis is also placed on continuity, replicability and minimizing turnover in the indexes. Maintaining the MSCI indexes involves many aspects, including: (i) additions to, and deletions from, the indexes; (ii) changes in number of shares; and (iii) changes in inclusion factors as a result of updated free float estimates.

Index maintenance can be described by three broad categories of changes: • Semi-Annual Index Reviews (“SAIRs”), conducted on a fixed semi-annual timetable that systematically reassess the various dimensions of the equity universe for all markets; • Quarterly Index Reviews (“QIRs”), aimed at promptly reflecting other significant market events; and • Ongoing event-related changes, such as mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, bankruptcies, reorganizations and other similar corporate events, which generally are implemented in the indexes as they occur.

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Potential changes in the status of countries (stand-alone, frontier, emerging and developed) follow their own implementation time tables. In addition, reviews of company involvement in ESG controversies, when applicable, may differ by index and severity of the ESG controversy as determined by MSCI.

MSCI conducts SAIRs generally as of the close of the last business day of May and November. During the SAIRs, MSCI updates the investable equity universe and reassesses size segmentation investability requirements. MSCI also conducts QIRs generally as of the close of the last business day of February and August. During the QIRs, MSCI reflects changes in the index that were not captured at the time of their actual occurrence, but are significant enough to be included before the next SAIR. The results of the SAIR and QIR are generally announced at least ten business days in advance of implementation.

Creation of Sector and Industry Indexes using the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS ® )

All securities in the Global Investable Equity Universe are assigned to the industry that best describes their business activities using the GICS. The GICS consists of sectors, industry groups, industries and sub-industries. Under the GICS, each company is assigned to one unique sub-industry according to its principal business activity (generally defined as the business activity that generates 60% or more of the company’s revenues). Narrower indexes may be derived based on industry classification, and may contain securities belonging to specific sectors, industry groups, industries, sub-industries or a combination thereof.

MSCI 25/50 Indexes

Each of the MSCI 25/50 Indexes (the “25/50 Indexes”) is a sub-index of either an MSCI Global Standard Index or an MSCI GIMI. Their construction reflects the diversification requirements applicable to RICs pursuant to Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. MSCI uses the concept of “group entities” for the concentration limits of the capping methodologies in the 25/50 Indexes. 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. The 25/50 Indexes are free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted indexes with a capping methodology applied to group entity weights so that no single group entity exceeds 25% of index weight, and all group entities with a weight above 5% do not cumulatively exceed 50% of the index weight. A buffer of 10% of the value of each of these caps is used in order to reduce the risk of noncompliance due to short term market movements between rebalances. As a result, at the point of constructing or rebalancing the 25/50 Indexes, the weight of any single group entity cannot exceed 22.5% of the index weight and all group entities with weight above 4.5% cannot exceed 45% of the index weight. A software application called the Barra Optimizer is utilized to calculate the capped index weights through an optimization function which is aimed at minimizing index turnover, tracking error and extreme deviation from the uncapped index.

MSCI All Ireland Capped Index

Number of Components: approximately 25

Index Description. The MSCI All Ireland Capped Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that aims to reflect the performance of securities of companies that: (i) are classified in Ireland according to the MSCI Global Investable Market Index Methodology; (ii) are not classified in Ireland according to the MSCI Global Investable Market Index Methodology but are either headquartered or listed in Ireland and carry out the majority of their operations in Ireland, as defined by MSCI; or (iii) have economic exposure greater than 10% to Ireland, as defined by MSCI, where the criteria outlined in (i) and (ii) do not result in the target number of securities and issuers. The Index Provider generally applies a capping methodology to the Underlying Index so that no single issuer exceeds 25% of the Underlying Index weight, and all issuers with a weight above 5% do not cumulatively exceed 50% of the Underlying Index weight. However, this capping methodology does not apply to constituents that (1) are not classified as a Large, Mid or Small-Capitalization securities as per the MSCI Global Investment Market Index Methodology and either (2) have a 3-month annual traded value ratio (“ATVR”) less than or equal to 20% or (3) have a market capitalization lower than the size-segment cutoff of the MSCI Ireland IMI. ATVR is a measure of traded value in a security as a proportion of its free float-adjusted market capitalization. Constituents that meet the first criteria, along with either the second or the third criteria, are represented at their weight in the MSCI All Ireland Index.

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Calculation Methodology. The Fund utilizes the Underlying Index calculated with net dividends reinvested. MSCI uses the index constituent companies’ country of incorporation to determine the relevant dividend withholding tax rates in calculating the net dividends. The regular cash dividend is reinvested after deduction of withholding tax by applying the maximum rate of the company’s country of incorporation applicable to institutional investors. Net dividends means dividends after taxes withheld at the rate applicable to non-resident institutional investors who do not benefit from double taxation treaties. Such withholding rates may differ from those applicable to U.S. residents.

MSCI Denmark IMI 25/50 Index

Number of Components: approximately 41

Index Description. The MSCI Denmark IMI 25/50 Index is designed to measure the performance of the large-, mid- and small-capitalization segments of the equity market in Denmark. 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 Denmark 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.

MSCI EAFE Choice ESG Screened Index

Number of Components: approximately 409

Index Description. The MSCI EAFE Choice ESG Screened Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to reflect the equity performance of large- and mid-capitalization developed market companies, excluding the U.S. and Canada, with favorable environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) ratings (as determined by MSCI Solutions LLC) while applying extensive screens, including a focus on removing fossil fuel exposure. MSCI begins with the MSCI EAFE Index and selects companies with favorable ESG ratings while excluding: • All companies that derive 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production, distribution and retail, and all companies that produce, direct, or publish adult entertainment materials that fall into the following categories: producer of X-rated films, pay-per-view programming or channels, sexually explicit video games, books or magazines with adult content, live entertainment of an adult nature, and adults-only material on the internet;

• All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the manufacture of alcoholic products, all companies classified as a “producer” that derive $500 million or more in revenue from manufacturing, distributing, retailing, licensing, and supplying alcoholic products, and all companies deriving 15% or more aggregate revenue from the manufacture, distribution, retailing, licensing, and supply of alcoholic products; • All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from ownership or operation of gambling facilities such as casinos, racetracks, bingo parlors, or other betting establishments, all companies classified as involved in “operations” that derive $500 million or more in revenue from ownership or operation of gambling facilities, provision of key products or services fundamental to gambling operations, and licensing of gambling products, and all companies deriving 15% or more aggregate revenue from ownership or operation of gambling facilities, provision of key products or services fundamental to gambling operations, and licensing of gambling products; • All companies that manufacture tobacco products, such as cigars, blunts, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, inhalers, beedis, kreteks, smokeless tobacco, snuff, snus, dissolvable and chewing tobacco (including companies that grow or process

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raw tobacco leaves), and all companies deriving 5% or more aggregate revenue from the manufacture, distribution, retailing, licensing, and supply of tobacco products; • All companies deriving revenue from genetically modifying plants, such as seeds and crops, and other organisms intended for agricultural use or human consumption; • All companies with any tie to “controversial weapons” (cluster munitions, landmines, depleted uranium weapons, biological/chemical weapons, blinding lasers, non-detectable fragments and incendiary weapons), as defined by MSCI; • All companies that manufacture nuclear warheads and/or whole nuclear missiles (including assembly and integration of warhead and missile body, as well as companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that manufacture nuclear warheads and missiles), all companies that manufacture components that were developed or are significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons (warheads and missiles) (including companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that manufacture components for nuclear warheads and missiles), all companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were developed or significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons, all companies that provide auxiliary services related to nuclear weapons (such as repairing and maintaining nuclear weapons, providing overhaul and upgrade services, stockpiling and stewardship, R&D work, testing and simulations, etc.) (including companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that conduct R&D, testing, simulations, and other essential sciences on nuclear weapons), all companies that manufacture components that were not developed or not significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons (warheads and missiles) but can be used in nuclear weapons, all companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were not developed or not significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons but have the capability to deliver nuclear weapons, and all companies that manufacture components for nuclear-exclusive delivery platforms;

• All companies that manufacture firearms and small arms ammunitions for civilian markets (but not including companies that cater to the military, government, and law enforcement markets), all companies deriving 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production and distribution (wholesale or retail) of firearms or small arms ammunition intended for civilian use, and all companies deriving $20 million or more revenue from the production and distribution (wholesale or retail) of firearms or small arms ammunition intended for civilian use; • All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the production of conventional weapons and components, all companies deriving 10% or more aggregate revenue from weapons systems, components, and support systems and services for conventional weapons;

• All companies deriving 50% or more revenue from involvement in the operation of “for profit prisons” (also known as “private prisons”) or the provision of integral services to these types of facilities; • All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from products and services associated with certain controversial lending practices; • All companies deriving revenue from cultivating oil palm trees and harvesting fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) used to produce palm oil products, or 5% or more revenue from distributing palm oil products, such as crude palm oil, crude palm kernel oil, refined, bleached, and/or deodorized palm oil and palm kernel oil (however, companies that have 75% or more of their palm oil holdings or estates certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil are added back in);

• All companies that own or operate nuclear power plants, own or operate active uranium mines, are involved in uranium enrichment and processing, are involved in the design and engineering of nuclear power reactors, or derive 15% or more aggregate revenue from ownership or operation of nuclear power plants and supply of key nuclear-specific products or services (however, companies that derive 50% or more revenue from products, services, or infrastructure projects supporting the development or delivery of renewable energy and alternative fuels are added back in); and • All companies with an industry tie to fossil fuels (thermal coal, oil and gas) - in particular, reserve ownership, related revenues and power generation, but not including companies providing evidence of owning metallurgical coal reserves (however, all companies that derive 50% or more revenue from products, services, or infrastructure projects supporting the development or delivery of renewable energy and alternative fuels, but that do not have an industry tie to thermal coal (i.e., reserve ownership, production, and power generation), an industry tie to oil sands (i.e., reserve ownership and production activities), or evidence of owning fossil fuel reserves used most likely for energy applications are added back in).

Additionally, MSCI excludes companies involved in very serious business controversies.

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MSCI EAFE Extended ESG Focus Index

Number of Components: approximately 381

Index Description. The MSCI EAFE Extended ESG Focus Index is an optimized index that is designed to reflect the equity performance of developed market companies (excluding the U.S. and Canada)that have favorable ESG characteristics, which exhibit risk and return characteristics similar to the MSCI EAFE Index. The index is constructed by selecting constituents from the MSCI EAFE Index, the parent index, through an optimization process that aims to maximize exposure to ESG factors, subject to a target tracking error constraint of 50 basis points relative to the parent index. The Fund’s Index Provider begins with the parent index and excludes securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco, companies involved with controversial weapons, producers and retailers of civilian firearms, and companies involved in certain fossil fuels-related activity such as the production of thermal coal, thermal coal-based power generation and extraction of oil sands based on revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds for certain categories ( e.g., $20 million or 5%) and categorical exclusions for others ( e.g., controversial weapons). The Index Provider also excludes companies involved in very severe business controversies (in each case as determined by the Index Provider), and then follows a quantitative process that is designed to determine optimal weights for securities to maximize exposure to securities of companies with higher ESG ratings, subject to maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the parent index. At each quarterly review, the Underlying Index must have an ESG score of at least 10% better than that of the parent index, as determined by the Index Provider. For each industry, the Index Provider identifies key ESG issues that can lead to unexpected costs for companies in the medium to long term. The Index Provider then calculates the size of each company’s exposure to each key issue based on the company’s business segment and geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which companies have developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Using a sector-specific key issue weighting model, companies are rated and ranked in comparison to their industry peers.

MSCI Finland IMI 25/50 Index

Number of Components: approximately 35

Index Description. The MSCI Finland IMI 25/50 Index is designed to measure the performance of the large-, mid- and small capitalization segments of the equity market in Finland. 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 Finland 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.

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of the company’s country of incorporation applicable to institutional investors. Net dividends means dividends after taxes withheld at the rate applicable to non-resident institutional investors who do not benefit from double taxation treaties. Such withholding rates may differ from those applicable to U.S. residents.

MSCI Indonesia IMI 25/50 Index

Number of Components: approximately 71

Index Description. The MSCI Indonesia IMI 25/50 Index is designed to measure the performance of the large-, mid- and small-capitalization segments of the equity market in Indonesia. The Underlying Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index with a capping methodology applied to issuer weights so that no single “group entity” (constituents that MSCI determines have a control relationship) exceeds 25% of the Underlying Index weight and all group entities with a weight above 5% do not, in the aggregate, exceed 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. The Underlying Index covers approximately 99% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in Indonesia.

MSCI Japan Value Index (USD)

Number of Components: approximately 115

Index Description. The MSCI Japan Value Index is a subset of the MSCI Japan Index. The Underlying Index targets approximately 50% coverage of the free float-adjusted market capitalization of the MSCI Japan Index and consists of securities that generally tend to have higher value characteristics i.e. higher book value to price ratio, 12-month forward earnings to price ratio and dividend yield. Each security is evaluated based on certain value factors and growth factors, which are then used to calculate a growth score and value score. Based upon these two scores, MSCI determines the extent to which each security is assigned to the value or growth style. It is possible for a single security to have representation in both the value and growth style indexes; however, no more than 100% of a security’s float-adjusted market capitalization will be included within the combined style framework.

MSCI New Zealand All Cap Top 25 Capped Index

Number of Components: approximately 25

Index Description. The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI New Zealand All Cap Top 25 Capped Index. The Underlying Index is a subset of the MSCI New Zealand All Cap Index, the parent index, which comprises all large-, mid-, small-, and micro-capitalization stocks listed in New Zealand. The Underlying Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that includes the 25 largest constituents in the parent index and is constrained such that no single “group entity” exceeds 25% of the Underlying Index weight and the sum of all group entities with a weight above 5% does not exceed an aggregate of 50% of the Underlying Index weight, as determined by MSCI. The Underlying Index also

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implements a buffer of 10% of the value of each constraint, such that the weight of any single group entity cannot exceed 22.5% of the Underlying Index weight and all group entities with a weight above 4.5% cannot exceed 45% of the Underlying Index weight.

MSCI defines a group entity as a group of companies that operate as an affiliated corporate group but may separately issue listed securities. To determine whether constituents are “group entities,” MSCI analyzes the financial accounts of listed companies holding stakes of 20% or more in other listed companies to identify whether these stakes are controlling in nature and, consequently, whether both companies should be considered as belonging to the same group entity. 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, though any change in a group entity resulting from a corporate event ( e.g. , spin offs) or public disclosure will be implemented at the time of the event or as of the close of the last business day of the month, respectively. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on a quarterly basis.

MSCI Norway IMI 25/50 Index

Number of Components: approximately 57

Index Description. The MSCI Norway IMI 25/50 Index is designed to measure the performance of the large-, mid- and small capitalization segments of the equity market in Norway. 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 Norway 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.

MSCI Philippines IMI 25/50 Index

Number of Components: approximately 33

Index Description. The MSCI Philippines IMI 25/50 Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of the large-, mid- and small-capitalization segments of the equity market in the Philippines. 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 Philippines 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

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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.

MSCI Poland IMI 25/50 Index

Number of Components: approximately 33

Index Description. The MSCI Poland IMI 25/50 Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of the large-, mid- and small-capitalization segments of the equity market in Poland. 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 Poland 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.

MSCI United Kingdom Index

Number of Components: approximately 73

Index Description. The MSCI United Kingdom Index is designed to measure the performance of the large- and mid capitalization segments of the U.K. market.

MSCI United Kingdom Small Cap Index

Number of Components: approximately 203

Index Description. The MSCI United Kingdom Small Cap Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of equity securities of small capitalization companies in the U.K. securities market. Free-float market capitalization is calculated by taking the security’s price and multiplying it by the number of shares readily available in the market rather than the total number of shares outstanding.

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MSCI USA Choice ESG Screened Index

Number of Components: approximately 297

Index Description. The MSCI USA Choice ESG Screened Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to reflect the equity performance of large- and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with favorable ESG ratings (as determined by MSCI Solutions LLC) while applying extensive screens, including a focus on removing fossil fuel exposure. MSCI begins with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and selects companies with favorable ESG ratings while excluding: • All companies that derive 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production, distribution and retail, and all companies that produce, direct, or publish adult entertainment materials that fall into the following categories: producer of X-rated films, pay-per-view programming or channels, sexually explicit video games, books or magazines with adult content, live entertainment of an adult nature, and adults-only material on the internet; • All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the manufacture of alcoholic products, all companies classified as a “producer” that derive $500 million or more in revenue from manufacturing, distributing, retailing, licensing, and supplying alcoholic products, and all companies deriving 15% or more aggregate revenue from the manufacture, distribution, retailing, licensing, and supply of alcoholic products; • All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from ownership or operation of gambling facilities such as casinos, racetracks, bingo parlors, or other betting establishments, all companies classified as involved in “operations” that derive $500 million or more in revenue from ownership or operation of gambling facilities, provision of key products or services fundamental to gambling operations, and licensing of gambling products, and all companies deriving 15% or more aggregate revenue from ownership or operation of gambling facilities, provision of key products or services fundamental to gambling operations, and licensing of gambling products; • All companies that manufacture tobacco products, such as cigars, blunts, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, inhalers, beedis, kreteks, smokeless tobacco, snuff, snus, dissolvable and chewing tobacco (including companies that grow or process raw tobacco leaves), and all companies deriving 5% or more aggregate revenue from the manufacture, distribution, retailing, licensing, and supply of tobacco products;

• All companies deriving revenue from genetically modifying plants, such as seeds and crops, and other organisms intended for agricultural use or human consumption; • All companies with any tie to “controversial weapons” (cluster munitions, landmines, depleted uranium weapons, biological/chemical weapons, blinding lasers, non-detectable fragments and incendiary weapons), as defined by MSCI; • All companies that manufacture nuclear warheads and/or whole nuclear missiles (including assembly and integration of warhead and missile body, as well as companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that manufacture nuclear warheads and missiles), all companies that manufacture components that were developed or are significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons (warheads and missiles) (including companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that manufacture components for nuclear warheads and missiles), all companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were developed or significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons, all companies that provide auxiliary services related to nuclear weapons (such as repairing and maintaining nuclear weapons, providing overhaul and upgrade services, stockpiling and stewardship, R&D work, testing and simulations, etc.) (including companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that conduct R&D, testing, simulations, and other essential sciences on nuclear weapons), all companies that manufacture components that were not developed or not significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons (warheads and missiles) but can be used in nuclear weapons, all companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were not developed or not significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons but have the capability to deliver nuclear weapons, and all companies that manufacture components for nuclear-exclusive delivery platforms; • All companies that manufacture firearms and small arms ammunitions for civilian markets (but not including companies

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that cater to the military, government, and law enforcement markets), all companies deriving 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production and distribution (wholesale or retail) of firearms or small arms ammunition intended for civilian use, and all companies deriving $20 million or more revenue from the production and distribution (wholesale or retail) of firearms or small arms ammunition intended for civilian use; • All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from the production of conventional weapons and components, all companies deriving 10% or more aggregate revenue from weapons systems, components, and support systems and services for conventional weapons; • All companies deriving 50% or more revenue from involvement in the operation of “for profit prisons” (also known as “private prisons”) or the provision of integral services to these types of facilities; • All companies deriving 5% or more revenue from products and services associated with certain controversial lending practices; • All companies deriving revenue from cultivating oil palm trees and harvesting fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) used to produce palm oil products, or 5% or more revenue from distributing palm oil products, such as crude palm oil, crude palm kernel oil, refined, bleached, and/or deodorized palm oil and palm kernel oil (however, companies that have 75% or more of their palm oil holdings or estates certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil are added back in); • All companies that own or operate nuclear power plants, own or operate active uranium mines, are involved in uranium enrichment and processing, are involved in the design and engineering of nuclear power reactors, or derive 15% or more aggregate revenue from ownership or operation of nuclear power plants and supply of key nuclear-specific products or services (however, companies that derive 50% or more revenue from products, services, or infrastructure projects supporting the development or delivery of renewable energy and alternative fuels are added back in); and • All companies with an industry tie to fossil fuels (thermal coal, oil and gas) - in particular, reserve ownership, related revenues and power generation, but not including companies providing evidence of owning metallurgical coal reserves (however, all companies that derive 50% or more revenue from products, services, or infrastructure projects supporting the development or delivery of renewable energy and alternative fuels, but that do not have an industry tie to thermal coal (i.e., reserve ownership, production, and power generation), an industry tie to oil sands (i.e., reserve ownership and production activities), or evidence of owning fossil fuel reserves used most likely for energy applications are added back in).

Additionally, MSCI excludes companies involved in very serious business controversies.

Calculation Methodology . The Fund utilizes the Underlying Index calculated with gross dividends reinvested. The use of gross dividends reflects the assumed reinvestment of the entire dividend distributed to holders of the underlying stock, without any adjustment for taxes or withholding. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on a quarterly basis coinciding with the regular Index Reviews of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes.

MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index

Number of Components: approximately 173

Index Description. The MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index is an optimized equity index designed to reflect the performance characteristics of a subset of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization equity securities within the MSCI USA Index. The components of the Underlying Index are selected and weighted so that, in the aggregate, the portfolio is compatible with the objectives of the Paris Agreement by following a decarbonization trajectory, reducing exposure to climate-related transition and physical risks and increasing exposure to companies favorably positioned for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Underlying Index aims to exceed the minimum standards for a “Paris-Aligned Benchmark” (“PAB”) under the European Union’s Low Carbon Benchmark Regulation. PABs are designed to align with the principal objective of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming in this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre industrial levels. Providers of PABs must use the 1.5 degrees Celsius scenario (with no or limited overshoot, i.e ., a temporary rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius) as the reference temperature scenario to design the index methodology.

The Index Provider begins with the MSCI USA Index and excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below:

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• Producing tobacco; deriving 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production, distribution, retail and supply of tobacco-related products; or owning at least 20% of, or being at least 50% owned by, a tobacco company. • Producing cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium, chemical or biological weapons, blinding laser weapons, non-detectable fragments or incendiary weapons; producing key components of cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium weapons, or chemical or biological weapons; owning 20% or more (50% for financial companies) of a weapons or components producer; or being 50% or more owned by a company involved in weapons or components production. • Manufacturing of the following, regardless of whether intended for exclusive use in nuclear weapons: nuclear warheads, whole nuclear missiles, nuclear weapon delivery systems or components, or providing auxiliary services related to nuclear weapons. • Producing firearms or small arms ammunitions for civilian markets or deriving 5% or more revenue, or $20 million or more revenue, from the production or distribution (wholesale or retail) of such firearms or ammunition. • Deriving 1% or more revenue from thermal coal mining or sales to external parties, but excluding all revenue from metallurgical coal, coal mined for internal power generation, intra-company sales of mined thermal coal and coal trading. • Deriving 10% or more revenue from oil- or gas-related activities, including distribution, equipment, production, transportation or refining, but excluding biofuel production, sales and trading. • Deriving 50% or more revenue from power generation based on thermal coal, liquid fuel or natural gas. • Deriving 5% or more revenue from oil sands extraction.

The Index Provider also excludes companies that it determines are involved in ongoing and “very severe” controversies related to the ESG impact of the company’s actions, products or operations. The Index Provider defines a controversy as an instance or ongoing situation in which company operations and/or products allegedly have a negative ESG impact, including alleged violations of laws, regulations or accepted international norms. To evaluate ESG controversies, the Index Provider monitors across five categories of ESG impact – environment, human rights and communities, labor rights and supply chain, customers and governance – and 28 sub-categories.

The Index Provider excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies or environmental harm.

The Index Provider then refines the set of remaining securities by applying a number of sustainability-related constraints. In order to exceed the minimum standards for PABs, the Index Provider targets the following index-level constraints at each semi-annual rebalancing: • at least a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas (“GHG”) intensity compared with the MSCI USA Index, taking into account issuers’ Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions (i.e., direct emissions from sources that an issuer owns or controls and indirect emissions from the purchase of energy and a company’s value chain); • at least a 10% year-over-year reduction in the GHG intensity (or decarbonization rate) of the Underlying Index itself; and • a level of exposure to sectors with a high impact on climate change (i.e., those sectors that are key to the low carbon transition) that is not less than the exposure in the MSCI USA Index, to ensure that such sectors are not underweighted in the Underlying Index.

In addition, each of the following index-level constraints related to sustainability is applied in constructing the Underlying Index and at each semi-annual rebalancing: • At least a 20% increase, relative to the MSCI USA Index, in the aggregate weight of companies that publish emissions reduction targets, that publish their annual emissions levels and that have reduced their GHG intensity by at least 7% over each of the last three years.

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• At least a 50% reduction, relative to the MSCI USA Index, in overall weighted average potential carbon intensity, generally assessed based on emissions that could be generated if the proven and probable fossil fuel reserves owned by the companies in the portfolio were burned. For newly added index constituents where data is not yet available, the Index Provider uses zero fossil fuel reserves. • At least a 50% reduction, relative to the MSCI USA Index, in overall exposure to physical risk arising from extreme weather events. • At least a 10% increase, relative to the MSCI USA Index, in the aggregate “low carbon transition” (“LCT”) score, which at the constituent level measures a company’s exposure to and management of risks and opportunities related to the low carbon transition. The target increase would result in a lower overall exposure to companies facing transition-related risks and/or a higher overall exposure to companies that may have transition-related opportunities. • At least a 100% increase, relative to the MSCI USA Index, in overall exposure to “green revenue,” defined as the cumulative revenue from alternative energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water, green building, pollution prevention and sustainable agriculture. • A ratio of weighted average green revenue to weighted average “brown revenue” that is at least four times that of the MSCI USA Index, with “brown revenue” defined as revenue from the mining of thermal coal or its sale to external parties; the extraction, production or refining of conventional and unconventional oil and gas; and power on thermal coal, liquid fuel or natural gas.

At each semi-annual index rebalancing, the Index Provider applies constituent-level constraints that aim to ensure replicability and investability, including the following: • an index constituent’s weight is restricted to the lower of +/- 2% or 20 times the constituent’s weight in the MSCI USA Index; • an index constituent’s minimum weight is 0.01%; • the sector weights of the Underlying Index do not deviate more than +/- 5% from those of the MSCI USA Index (except for the energy sector); and • the one-way turnover of the Underlying Index is capped at 5%.

Calculation Methodology. The Fund utilizes the Underlying Index calculated with gross dividends reinvested. The use of gross dividends reflects the assumed reinvestment of the entire dividend distributed to holders of the underlying stock, without any adjustment for taxes or withholding. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on a semi-annual basis, as of the close of the last business day of May and November, coinciding with the May and November Semi-Annual Index Review of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes.

MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index

Number of Components: approximately 273

The Underlying Index seeks to reflect the overall sector composition of the MSCI USA Index (the “parent index”) by including approximately 50% of the companies from each Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) sector in the parent index. The parent index is a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index designed to measure the performance of the large and mid-capitalization companies in the U.S. market, irrespective of their climate impact. As a result, the Underlying Index will include constituents from a broad range of sectors in the U.S. market, including sectors that have more climate impact than other sectors.

Index Methodology. The Index Provider begins with the constituent universe of the parent index and applies several types of exclusionary screens, as described below.

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The Index Provider excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below (“business involvement screens”): • Companies that are classified as a “producer” of tobacco and companies that derive 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production, distribution, retail, supply, and licensing of tobacco-related products. • Companies with any tie to controversial weapons, which are defined by the Index Provider as cluster munitions, landmines, biological and chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, blinding laser weapons, incendiary weapons and non-detectable fragments. • Companies deriving 1% or more revenue (reported or estimated) from the mining of thermal coal (including lignite, bituminous, anthracite and steam coal) and its sale to external parties. It excludes revenue from metallurgical coal, coal mined for internal power generation, intra-company sales of mined thermal coal, and revenue from coal trading (reported or estimated). • Companies that own oil sands reserves, disclose evidence of deriving revenue from oil sands extraction and derive 5% or more revenue from such extraction. Companies that derive revenue from non-extraction activities ( e.g., exploration, surveying, processing, refining) or intra-company sales are not excluded. Additionally, companies that own oil sands reserves with no associated revenue are not excluded. • Companies that manufacture nuclear warheads and/or whole nuclear missiles, including assembly and integration of warhead and missile body; companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that manufacture nuclear warheads and missiles or their components; companies that manufacture components that were developed or are significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons; companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were developed or significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons; companies that provide auxiliary services related to nuclear weapons, such as repairing and maintaining nuclear weapons, providing overhaul and upgrade services, stockpiling and stewardship, R&D work, testing and simulations; companies with contracts to operate/manage government-owned facilities that conduct R&D, testing, simulations, and other essential sciences on nuclear weapons; companies that manufacture components that were not developed or not significantly modified for exclusive use in nuclear weapons but that can be used in nuclear weapons; companies that manufacture or assemble delivery platforms that were not developed or not significantly modified for the exclusive delivery of nuclear weapons but that have the capability to deliver nuclear weapons; and companies that manufacture components for nuclear-exclusive delivery platforms.

The Index Provider also excludes companies that it determines are directly involved in ongoing, “very severe” ESG controversies, defined as an instance or ongoing situation in which company operations and/or products allegedly are directly implicated in having a negative ESG impact, including alleged violations of laws, regulations, or accepted international norms ( e.g., human rights violations or toxic emissions and waste). To evaluate ESG controversies, the Index Provider monitors across five categories of ESG impact – environment, human rights and communities, labor rights and supply chain, customers and governance – and 28 sub-categories. The Index Provider also excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies.

Another screen excludes issuers that have high “emissions intensity” or high “total potential carbon emissions,” meaning that the issuer is in the worst 5% of the MSCI ACWI Index for the emissions metric, as determined by the Index Provider. However, high emitters are not excluded by this screen if they have emissions reduction targets that have been approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”). SBTi does not monitor whether companies modify their targets or make progress toward the targets. “Emissions intensity” is defined by the Index Provider as Scope 1+2+3 global greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions ( i.e., direct emissions from sources that an issuer owns or controls and indirect emissions from the purchase of energy and a company’s value chain) as a percentage of the issuer’s enterprise value and cash. “Total potential carbon emissions” are the sum of the potential carbon emissions of the fossil fuel reserves, excluding metallurgical coal reserves, owned by an issuer, and are calculated only for companies that the Index Provider considers most likely to use their fossil fuel reserves for energy applications ( i.e., burned or combusted to produce power or heat). Issuers without data on their emissions intensity are excluded from the Underlying Index.

The Index Provider also excludes issuers that are in the worst quartile of their GICS sector within the parent index based on their management of climate change risks and opportunities (“climate risk management”). The Index Provider assesses issuers according to their management of one or more of the following factors, to which it assigns security-specific weights: carbon emissions, product carbon footprint, climate change vulnerability, biodiversity and land use, and opportunities in clean tech, green building and renewable energy.

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Eligible securities are then evaluated according to a framework that assigns an initial “GHG Intensity Score,” which corresponds to the issuer’s sector-relative quartile position within the parent index based on its Scope 1+2+3 GHG intensity. The score may be improved with a one-quartile or two-quartile adjustment based on an issuer’s emissions reduction targets, emissions track record, green revenue or climate risk management, each as described further below. The final GHG Intensity Score, after any adjustment, is used for ranking and selecting securities for inclusion in the Underlying Index.

An issuer is credited with a two-quartile improvement in its GHG Intensity Score if the issuer either (i) has approved science based targets (“SBTs”) for emissions reduction or (ii) is assessed by the Index Provider as having a “credible track record” of reduced emissions. Approved SBTs are targets that have been determined by SBTi to align with certain criteria set by SBTi based on climate science. As noted above, SBTi does not monitor whether companies modify their targets or make progress toward the targets.

To be considered to have a credible track record of emissions reduction, an issuer must meet the following criteria: (i) have published emissions data; (ii) have a published (not approved or validated) emissions reduction target; (iii) over the past four years, have an average yearly emissions reduction of at least 2%; and (iv) be ranked in the best quartile of all sector peers in the parent index with an average 2% or greater yearly emissions reduction over the past four years. An issuer’s average yearly emissions change is calculated as a geometric average of the last three year-over-year changes. Issuers with less than four years of emissions data are not evaluated on the credible track record metric.

For the remaining eligible securities, the GHG Intensity Score is improved by one quartile for any issuer that is within the best quartile, on a sector-relative basis within the parent index, for either (i) climate risk management or (ii) “green revenue,” each as determined by the Index Provider. An issuer must have at least 5% green revenue to receive the improvement to its GHG Intensity Score. “Green revenue” is defined as the cumulative revenue percentage that a company derives from alternative energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water, green building, pollution prevention and sustainable agriculture.

Eligible securities of each GICS sector are sorted in ascending order of their final GHG Intensity Score (after any improvement) and descending order of float-adjusted market capitalization. For each sector, securities are selected from the top until the total number of selected securities (by count) is approximately 50% of the number of securities in that sector in the parent index. Any securities selected in this step that are producers of civilian firearms or ammunition, as determined by the Index Provider, are removed from the Underlying Index.

The parent index weights of the remaining selected securities are renormalized to 100%. Sector weights are limited to +/- 5% the weight of that sector in the parent index, and individual issuer weights are capped at 5% of the Underlying Index.

MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index

Number of Components: approximately 282

Index Description. The MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index is designed to maximize exposure to favorable ESG characteristics while exhibiting risk and return characteristics similar to those of the MSCI USA Index, the parent index. The Underlying Index is constructed by selecting constituents from the parent index through an optimization process that aims to maximize exposure to ESG factors for a target tracking error constraint of 50 basis points relative to the parent index. The Fund’s Index Provider begins with the parent index and excludes securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco, companies involved with controversial weapons, producers and retailers of civilian firearms, and companies involved in certain fossil fuels-related activity such as the production of thermal coal, thermal coal-based power generation and extraction of oil sands based on revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds for certain categories ( e.g., $20 million or 5%) and categorical exclusions for others ( e.g., controversial weapons). The Index Provider also excludes companies involved in very severe business controversies (in each case as determined by the Index Provider), and then follows a quantitative process that is designed to determine optimal weights for securities to maximize exposure to securities of companies with higher ESG ratings, subject to maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the parent index. At each quarterly review, the Underlying Index must have an ESG score of at least 10% better than that of the parent index, as determined by the Index Provider. For each industry, the Index Provider identifies key ESG issues that can lead to unexpected costs for companies in

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the medium- to long-term. The Index Provider then calculates the size of each company’s exposure to each key issue based on the company’s business segment and geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which companies have developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Using a sector-specific key issue weighting model, companies are rated and ranked in comparison to their industry peers.

Calculation Methodology. The Fund utilizes the Underlying Index calculated with gross dividends reinvested. The use of gross dividends reflects the assumed reinvestment of the entire dividend distributed to holders of the underlying stock, without any adjustment for taxes or withholding. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on a quarterly basis coinciding with the regular Index Reviews of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes.

MSCI USA Extended ESG Leaders Index

Number of Components: approximately 273

Index Description. The MSCI USA Extended ESG Leaders Index is designed to reflect the equity performance of U.S. companies that have favorable ESG characteristics (as determined by the Index Provider). The Underlying Index is constructed by selecting constituents from the parent index that aims to include securities of companies with the highest ESG ratings, as determined by the Index Provider, representing 50% of the market capitalization in each sector of the parent index. The Fund’s Index Provider begins with the parent index and excludes securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco, alcohol, gambling, nuclear power, palm oil, arctic oil and gas, thermal coal and unconventional oil and gas businesses ( e.g. , thermal coal extraction and generation or oil sands extraction), companies involved with conventional and controversial weapons, producers and major retailers of civilian firearms, as well as companies involved in very severe business controversies. The Index Provider defines a controversy as an instance or ongoing situation in which company operations and/or products allegedly have a negative environmental, social and/or governance impact. Each controversy case is assessed for the severity of its impact on society. The Index Provider generally classifies companies as “involved” in a particular business based on revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds ( e.g., $1 billion or 50%) for certain products and activities in an excluded industry. The securities of certain companies may be excluded regardless of revenue measures ( e.g. , all companies involved in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons are excluded). The Index Provider then follows a quantitative process that is designed to determine optimal weights for securities to maximize exposure to securities of companies with higher ESG ratings, subject to maintaining 50% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization within each sector of the parent index. In order to evaluate a security’s ESG rating for a given sector, the Index Provider identifies key ESG issues that can lead to unexpected costs for companies in the medium- to long-term. The Index Provider then calculates the size of each company’s exposure to each key issue based on the company’s business segment and geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which companies have developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Using a sector-specific key issue weighting model, companies are rated and ranked in comparison to their industry peers. Because ESG ratings are calculated in comparison to a company’s sector peers, securities in one sector may have a lower average ESG rating than securities in another sector.

Calculation Methodology. The Fund utilizes the Underlying Index calculated with gross dividends reinvested. The use of gross dividends reflects the assumed reinvestment of the entire dividend distributed to holders of the underlying stock, without any adjustment for taxes or withholding. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on a quarterly basis coinciding with the regular Index Reviews of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes.

MSCI USA Growth Extended ESG Focus Index

Number of Components: approximately 105

Index Description. The Underlying Index is an optimized equity index designed to reflect the equity performance of U.S. companies that exhibit growth characteristics as well as positive ESG characteristics, as determined by the Index Provider and risk and return characteristics similar to those of the MSCI USA Growth Index (the “parent index”). The parent index includes U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks that generally represent approximately 50% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization of the MSCI USA Index and that are identified by MSCI as exhibiting overall growth style characteristics.

MSCI uses five variables to identify growth style securities: long-term forward earnings per share (“EPS”) growth rate, short term forward EPS growth rate, current internal growth rate, long-term historical EPS growth trend and long-term historical sales per share growth trend. MSCI uses a specialized framework to determine the extent to which a security is assigned to

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the value or growth style. It is possible for a single security to have representation in both value and growth style indexes; however, no more than 100% of a security’s float-adjusted market capitalization is included within the combined style framework.

Index Methodology. To construct the Underlying Index, the Index Provider begins with the parent index and excludes securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below: • Companies that meet the Index Provider’s determination of “tobacco involvement,” including companies classified as a producer or licensor, companies that own or are owned by a tobacco company, and companies that earn 15% or more of their revenue from tobacco products. • Companies with any tie to controversial weapons (defined by the Index Provider as cluster munitions, landmines, biological and chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, blinding laser weapons, incendiary weapons and non detectable fragments).

• Companies classified as a producer of civilian firearms (as defined by the Index Provider) as well as companies classified as retailers of civilian firearms if such retailers earn 5% or more, or more than $20 million, in revenue from civilian firearms-related products. • Companies that derive 5% or more in revenue from the mining or sales to external parties of thermal coal (excluding metallurgical coal) or from thermal coal-based power generation (as defined by the Index Provider). • Companies that own oil sands reserves and derive more than 5% in revenue from oil sands extraction.

The Index Provider also excludes companies that are directly involved in very severe, ongoing business controversies, defined as an instance or ongoing situation in which company operations and/or products allegedly have a negative ESG impact, including alleged violations of laws, regulations, or accepted international norms ( e.g. , human rights violations or toxic emissions and waste). In each case, severe business controversies are determined by the Index Provider based on an MSCI ESG Controversy Score. The Index Provider also excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider to determine their involvement in severe business controversies or their management of ESG risks and opportunities (“ESG Score,” in each case determined by the Index Provider).

For ESG scoring, the Index Provider identifies, for each industry, key ESG issues that may generate unanticipated costs for a given company or industry (as determined by the Index Provider). The Index Provider has identified 35 key ESG issues across the following 10 themes: climate change, natural capital, pollution and waste, environmental opportunities, human capital, product liability, stakeholder opposition, social opportunities, corporate governance and corporate behavior. The Index Provider then calculates the size of each company’s exposure to each key issue based on the company’s business segment and geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which the company has developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Using a sector-specific weighting model, companies are rated and ranked in comparison to their industry peers. A higher rating indicates that a company exhibits more favorable ESG characteristics and greater resilience to long-term, material ESG risks specific to that industry.

The Index Provider then follows a quantitative process that is designed to determine optimal weights for securities in order to maximize exposure to securities of companies with higher ESG ratings, subject to maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the parent index. At each quarterly review, the Underlying Index must have an ESG score of at least 10% better than that of the parent index, as determined by the Index Provider. At each quarterly index review and rebalance, the Index Provider applies optimization constraints that include the following: (a) the weight of an index constituent is restricted to the lesser of a +/-2% deviation from the weight in the parent index and 20 times the weight in the parent index; (b) the minimum weight of an index constituent is 0.10%; (c) the sector weights of the Underlying Index do not deviate more than +/- 5% from the sector weights of the parent index; (d) the predicted tracking error vs. the parent index is capped at 0.75%; and (e) the one-way turnover of the Underlying Index is capped at 10% for the May and November rebalances and 5% for the February and August rebalances.

During an index review, if there is no solution that satisfies all of the optimization constraints, the turnover constraint will be relaxed, in steps of 1%, up to a maximum of 30%. If a feasible solution is not found at turnover of 30%, the predicted tracking error will be relaxed, in steps of 0.10%, up to a maximum of 5 times the original predicted tracking error. If a feasible solution is still not found, the Underlying Index will not be rebalanced for that index review.

MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index

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Number of Components: approximately 911

Index Description . The Underlying Index, the MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index, is designed to produce investment results comparable to the MSCI USA Small Cap Index, the parent index, while reflecting a higher allocation than that of the parent index to U.S. small-capitalization companies with favorable ESG profiles. The Underlying Index is constructed by selecting constituents from the parent index through an optimization process that aims to maximize exposure to ESG factors subject to a target tracking error constraint of 50 basis points relative to the parent index. In constructing the Underlying Index, the Fund’s index provider begins with the parent index and excludes securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco, companies involved with controversial weapons, producers and retailers of civilian firearms, and companies involved in certain fossil fuels-related activity such as the production of thermal coal, thermal coal-based power generation and extraction of oil sands based on revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds for certain categories ( e.g., $20 million or 5%) and categorical exclusions for others ( e.g., controversial weapons). The Index Provider also excludes companies involved in very severe business controversies (in each case as determined by the index provider). The index provider identifies key ESG controversies, including, among other things, issues involving: (i) the environment ( e.g., biodiversity and land use, toxic emissions and waste, energy and climate change, water stress, nonhazardous operational waste, and supply chain management); (ii) human rights and communities ( e.g., impact on local communities, human rights concerns, and civil liberties); (iii) labor rights and supply chains ( e.g., child labor, collective bargaining and union, health and safety, discrimination and workforce diversity, and labor management relations); (iv) customers ( e.g., anti-competitive practices, customer relations, privacy and data security, product safety and quality, and marketing and advertising); and (v) governance ( e.g., bribery and fraud, governance structures, and controversial investments). The index provider then rates each company’s exposure to these ESG issues and evaluates the extent to which the company has created strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Companies are scored by the index provider based on both their risk exposure and risk management, and then ranked in comparison to their industry peers. The index provider then follows a quantitative process that is designed to determine optimal weights for securities in the Underlying Index to maximize exposure to companies with higher ESG ratings, subject to maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the parent index. At each quarterly review, the Underlying Index must have an ESG score of at least 10% better than that of the parent index, as determined by the Index Provider. Optimization is a quantitative process that considers the market capitalization weights from the parent index, ESG scores and additional constraints, including constraints around predicted tracking error, constituent weights, sector weights, and risk aversion, to select and weight the constituents of the Underlying Index.

MSCI USA Value Extended ESG Focus Index

Number of Components: approximately 233

Index Description. The Underlying Index is an optimized equity index designed to reflect the equity performance of U.S. companies that exhibit value characteristics as well as positive ESG characteristics, as determined by the Index Provider and risk and return characteristics similar to those of the MSCI USA Value Index (the “parent index”). The parent index includes U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks that generally represent approximately 50% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization of the MSCI USA Index and that are identified by MSCI as exhibiting overall value style characteristics.

MSCI uses three variables to identify value style securities: book value-to-price ratio, 12-month forward earnings-to-price ratio and dividend yield. MSCI uses a specialized framework to determine the extent to which a security is assigned to the value or growth style. It is possible for a single security to have representation in both value and growth style indexes; however, no more than 100% of a security’s float-adjusted market capitalization is included within the combined style framework.

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as a producer or licensor, companies that own or are owned by a tobacco company, and companies that earn 15% or more of their revenue from tobacco products. • Companies with any tie to controversial weapons (defined by the Index Provider as cluster munitions, landmines, biological and chemical weapons, depleted uranium weapons, blinding laser weapons, incendiary weapons and non-detectable fragments).

MSCI World ex USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index

Number of Components: approximately 447

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following a decarbonization trajectory, reducing exposure to climate-related transition and physical risks and increasing exposure to companies favorably positioned for the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Index Provider begins with the MSCI World ex USA Index and excludes the securities of issuers that it identifies as being involved in any of the business activities summarized below: • Producing tobacco; deriving 5% or more aggregate revenue from the production, distribution, retail and supply of tobacco-related products; or owning at least 20% of, or being at least 50% owned by, a tobacco company. • Producing cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium, chemical or biological weapons, blinding laser weapons, non-detectable fragments or incendiary weapons; producing key components of cluster bombs, landmines, depleted uranium weapons, or chemical or biological weapons; owning 20% or more (50% for financial companies) of a weapons or components producer; or being 50% or more owned by a company involved in weapons or components production.

• Manufacturing of the following, regardless of whether intended for exclusive use in nuclear weapons: nuclear warheads, whole nuclear missiles, nuclear weapon delivery systems or components, or providing auxiliary services related to nuclear weapons. • Producing firearms or small arms ammunitions for civilian markets or deriving 5% or more revenue, or $20 million or more revenue, from the production or distribution (wholesale or retail) of such firearms or ammunition. • Deriving 1% or more revenue from thermal coal mining or sales to external parties, but excluding all revenue from metallurgical coal, coal mined for internal power generation, intra-company sales of mined thermal coal and coal trading.

• Deriving 10% or more revenue from oil- or gas-related activities, including distribution, equipment, production, transportation or refining, but excluding biofuel production, sales and trading. • Deriving 50% or more revenue from power generation based on thermal coal, liquid fuel or natural gas. • Deriving 5% or more revenue from oil sands extraction.

The Index Provider excludes companies that are not assessed by the Index Provider regarding ESG controversies or environmental harm.

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• at least a 10% year-over-year reduction in the GHG intensity (or decarbonization rate) of the Underlying Index itself; and • a level of exposure to sectors with a high impact on climate change ( i.e ., those sectors that are key to the low carbon transition) that is not less than the exposure in the MSCI World ex USA Index, to ensure that such sectors are not underweighted in the Underlying Index.

In addition, each of the following index-level constraints related to sustainability is applied in constructing the Underlying Index and at each semi-annual rebalancing: • At least a 20% increase, relative to the MSCI World ex USA Index, in the aggregate weight of companies that publish emissions reduction targets, that publish their annual emissions levels and that have reduced their GHG intensity by at least 7% over each of the last three years.

• At least a 50% reduction, relative to the MSCI World ex USA Index, in overall weighted average potential carbon intensity, generally assessed based on emissions that could be generated if the proven and probable fossil fuel reserves owned by the companies in the portfolio were burned. For newly added index constituents where data is not yet available, the Index Provider uses zero fossil fuel reserves. • At least a 50% reduction, relative to the MSCI World ex USA Index, in overall exposure to physical risk arising from extreme weather events. • At least a 10% increase, relative to the MSCI World ex USA Index, in the aggregate “low carbon transition” (“LCT”) score, which at the constituent level measures a company’s exposure to and management of risks and opportunities related to the low carbon transition. The target increase would result in a lower overall exposure to companies facing transition-related risks and/or a higher overall exposure to companies that may have transition related opportunities. • At least a 100% increase, relative to the MSCI World ex USA Index, in overall exposure to “green revenue,” defined as the cumulative revenue from alternative energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water, green building, pollution prevention and sustainable agriculture. • A ratio of weighted average green revenue to weighted average “brown revenue” that is at least four times that of the MSCI World ex USA Index, with “brown revenue” defined as revenue from the mining of thermal coal or its sale to external parties; the extraction, production or refining of conventional and unconventional oil and gas; and power on thermal coal, liquid fuel or natural gas.

At each semi-annual index rebalancing, the Index Provider applies constituent-level constraints that aim to ensure replicability and investability, including the following: • an index constituent’s weight is restricted to the lower of +/- 2% or 20 times the constituent’s weight in the MSCI World ex USA Index; • an index constituent’s minimum weight is 0.01%; • the sector weights of the Underlying Index do not deviate more than +/- 5% from those of the MSCI World ex USA Index (except for the energy sector); • the country weights of the Underlying Index may not deviate more than +/- 5% from those of the MSCI World ex USA Index (except when the country weight is less than 2.5% in the MSCI World ex USA Index); and • the one-way turnover of the Underlying Index is capped at 5%.

Additional Information. “MSCI,” MSCI All Ireland Capped Index, MSCI Denmark IMI 25/50 Index, MSCI EAFE Choice ESG Screened Index, MSCI EAFE Extended ESG Focus Index, MSCI EAFE Index, MSCI Finland IMI 25/50 Index, MSCI Indonesia IMI

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25/50 Index, MSCI Japan Value Index (USD), MSCI New Zealand All Cap Top 25 Capped Index, MSCI Norway IMI 25/50 Index, MSCI Philippines IMI 25/50 Index, MSCI Poland IMI 25/50 Index, MSCI United Kingdom Index, MSCI United Kingdom Small Cap Index, MSCI USA Choice ESG Screened Index, MSCI USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index, MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index, MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index, MSCI USA Extended ESG Leaders Index, MSCI USA Growth Extended ESG Focus Index, MSCI USA Index, MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index, MSCI USA Value Extended ESG Focus Index and MSCI World ex USA Climate Paris Aligned Benchmark Extended Select Index are servicemarks of MSCI Inc. and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by BFA or its affiliates. The Funds are neither sponsored, endorsed, sold nor promoted by MSCI Inc., and MSCI Inc. makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in any of the Funds.

Investment Policies

The Board has adopted as fundamental policies the following numbered investment policies, which cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the applicable Fund’s outstanding voting securities. A vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund is defined in the 1940 Act as the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities present at a shareholder meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of outstanding voting securities of the Fund. Each Fund has also adopted certain non-fundamental investment policies, including its investment objective. Non-fundamental investment policies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval. Therefore, each Fund may change its investment objective and its Underlying Index without shareholder approval.

Fundamental Investment Policies

Each of the iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF, iShares MSCI Ireland ETF and iShares MSCI Poland ETF will not:

1. Concentrate its investments ( i.e. , hold 25% or more of its total assets in the stocks of a particular industry or group of industries), except that each Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that its Underlying Index concentrates in the stocks of such particular industry or group of industries. 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. 2. Borrow money, except that (i) each Fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (ii) each Fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (i) and (ii), each Fund will be limited so that no more than 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) is derived from such transactions. Any borrowings which come to exceed this amount will be reduced in accordance with applicable law. 3. Issue any senior security, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time. 4. Make loans, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time. 5. Purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent each Fund from trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with each Fund’s investment objective and policies). 6. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that each Fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act, in disposing of portfolio securities.

Each of the iShares MSCI Denmark ETF, iShares MSCI Finland ETF, iShares MSCI New Zealand ETF, iShares MSCI Norway ETF, iShares MSCI Philippines ETF and iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap ETF will not: 1. Concentrate its investments ( i.e. , invest 25% or more of its total assets in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries), except that each Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that its Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of such particular industry or group of industries. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized

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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. 2. Borrow money, except that (i) each Fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities; and (ii) each Fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (i) and (ii), each Fund will be limited so that no more than 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) is derived from such transactions. Any borrowings which come to exceed this amount will be reduced in accordance with applicable law. 3. Issue any senior security, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time. 4. Make loans, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time.

5. Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this restriction shall not prevent each Fund from investing in securities of companies engaged in the real estate business or securities or other instruments backed by real estate or mortgages), or commodities or commodity contracts (but this restriction shall not prevent each Fund from trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts, including options on currencies to the extent consistent with each Fund’s investment objective and policies). 6. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that each Fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act, in disposing of portfolio securities.

Each of the iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF, iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF, iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF, iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF, iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF and iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETFwill not:

1. Concentrate its investments in a particular industry, as that term is used in the Investment Company Act, except that the Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that its Underlying Index concentrates in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries.

2. Borrow money, except as permitted under the Investment Company Act.

3. Issue senior securities to the extent such issuance would violate the Investment Company Act.

4. Purchase or hold real estate, except the Fund may purchase and hold securities or other instruments that are secured by, or linked to, real estate or interests therein, securities of REITs, mortgage-related securities and securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business, and the Fund may purchase and hold real estate as a result of the ownership of securities or other instruments.

5. Underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the sale of portfolio securities by the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriting or as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

6. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except as permitted by the Investment Company Act.

7. Make loans to the extent prohibited by the Investment Company Act.

Notations Regarding the iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF’s, iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF’s, iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF’s, iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF’s, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF’s, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF’s, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF’s, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF’s, iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF’s, iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF’s, iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI USA ETF’s and iShares Paris-Aligned Climate Optimized MSCI World ex USA ETF’s Fundamental Investment Policies

The following notations are not considered to be part of each Fund’s fundamental investment policies and are subject to change without shareholder approval.

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With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (1) above, the Investment Company Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. Finance companies will be considered to be in the industries of their parents if their activities are primarily related to financing the activities of the parents. Each foreign government will be considered to be a member of a separate industry. With respect to each Fund’s industry classifications, each Fund currently utilizes any one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or rating group indexes, and/or as defined by Fund management. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to each Fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (2) above, the Investment Company Act permits each Fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the Fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the Fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. (The Fund’s total assets include the amounts being borrowed.) To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the Investment Company Act requires each Fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of each Fund’s total assets (including amounts borrowed), minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings or involve leverage and thus are subject to the Investment Company Act restrictions. In accordance with Rule 18f 4 under the Investment Company Act, when each Fund engages in reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, the Fund may either (i) maintain asset coverage of at least 300% with respect to such transactions and any other borrowings in the aggregate, or (ii) treat such transactions as “derivatives transactions” and comply with Rule 18f-4 with respect to such transactions. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (5) above, the Investment Company Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, in the case of diversified funds, the Investment Company Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of a fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of a fund’s investments in issuers where a fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether a fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act or is otherwise engaged in the underwriting business to the extent permitted by applicable law.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (7) above, the Investment Company Act does not prohibit each Fund from making loans (including lending its securities); however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets (including lending its securities), except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments (as applicable), as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

For the iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF

The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF will not:

Page 88

1. Make loans, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time;

2. Issue any senior security, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time;

3. Pledge, hypothecate, mortgage or otherwise encumber its assets, except to secure permitted borrowings. (The deposit of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral arrangements with respect to initial or variation margin for currency transactions and futures contracts will not be deemed to be pledges of the Fund’s assets);

4. Purchase, hold or deal in real estate, or oil, gas or mineral interests or leases, but a Fund may purchase and sell securities that are issued by companies that invest or deal in such assets;

5. Act as an underwriter of securities of other issuers, except to the extent the Fund may be deemed an underwriter in connection with the sale of securities in its portfolio;

6. Purchase securities on margin, except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions, except that a Fund may make margin deposits in connection with transactions in currencies, options, futures and options on futures;

7. Sell securities short; or

8. Invest in commodities or commodity contracts, except that the Fund may buy and sell currencies and forward contracts with respect thereto, and may transact in futures contracts on securities, stock indices and currencies and options on such futures contracts and make margin deposits in connection with such contracts.

Industry concentration. The iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF will not concentrate its investments ( i.e. , hold 25% or more of its total assets in the stocks of a particular industry or group of industries), except that, to the extent practicable, the Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that its benchmark MSCI Index concentrates in the stocks of such particular industry or group of industries, provided that the Fund will comply with the diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to RICs, any underlying Treasury regulations or any successor provision.

Non-Fundamental Investment Policies of the Funds

Under its non-fundamental investment restrictions, which may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval, each Fund may not: 1. Purchase shares of any registered open-end investment company or registered unit investment trust, in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F) or (G) of the Investment Company Act, at any time the Fund has knowledge that its shares are purchased by another investment company investor in reliance on the provisions of subparagraph (G) of Section 12(d)(1). The foregoing restriction does not restrict the Fund from acquiring the shares of registered open-end investment companies to the extent otherwise permissible under other provisions of the 1940 Act, as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time. 2. In accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act, under normal circumstances, invest less than 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in component securities, and in ADRs based on securities, in its Underlying Index (applicable to iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF).

3. In accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act, under normal circumstances, invest less than 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the component securities of its Underlying Index (applicable to iShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF and iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Value ETF). 4. In accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act, under normal circumstances, invest less than 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the component securities of its Underlying Index or in depositary receipts representing component securities in its Underlying Index (applicable to iShares ESG Advanced MSCI EAFE ETF, iShares ESG Advanced MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF, iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF, iShares ESG MSCI USA Leaders ETF, iShares MSCI Denmark ETF, iShares MSCI Finland ETF, iShares MSCI

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        "text": "one or more market risk factors associated with such components. The Fund\u2019s 80% investment policy"
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        "text": "may be changed by the Trust\u2019s Board of Trustees (the \u201cBoard\u201d) upon 60 days\u2019 notice to shareholders."
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