LOGO

  FEBRUARY 28, 2022

 

 

   

  

2022 Semi-Annual Report

(Unaudited)

 

 

iShares, Inc.

·  iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | HEEM | Cboe BZX

·  iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | EEM | NYSE Arca


The Markets in Review

Dear Shareholder,

The 12-month reporting period as of February 28, 2022 saw a continuation of the resurgent growth that followed the initial coronavirus (or “COVID-19”) pandemic reopening, albeit at a slower pace. The global economy weathered the emergence of several variant strains and the resulting peaks and troughs in infections amid optimism that increasing vaccinations and economic adaptation could help contain the pandemic’s disruptions. However, rapid changes in consumer spending led to supply constraints and elevated inflation. Moreover, while the foremost effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a severe humanitarian crisis, the invasion has presented challenges for both investors and policymakers.

Equity prices were mixed, as persistently high inflation drove investors’ expectations for higher interest rates, which particularly weighed on relatively high valuation growth stocks and economically sensitive small-capitalization stocks. Overall, small-capitalization U.S. stocks declined, while large-capitalization U.S. stocks posted a solid advance. International equities from developed markets gained slightly, although emerging market stocks declined, pressured by rising interest rates and a strengthening U.S. dollar.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (which is inversely related to bond prices) rose during the reporting period as the economy expanded rapidly and inflation reached its highest annualized reading in decades. In the corporate bond market, the improving economy assuaged credit concerns and led to modest returns for high-yield corporate bonds, outpacing the negative return of investment-grade corporate bonds.

The U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) maintained accommodative monetary policy during the reporting period by keeping near-zero interest rates. However, the Fed’s tone shifted during the period, as it reduced its bond-buying program and raised the prospect of higher rates in 2022. Continued high inflation and the Fed’s new stance led many analysts to anticipate that the Fed will raise interest rates multiple times throughout the year.

Looking ahead, however, the horrific war in Ukraine has significantly clouded the outlook for the global economy. Sanctions on Russia and general wartime disruption are likely to drive already-high commodity prices even further upwards, and we have already seen spikes in energy and metal markets. While this will exacerbate inflationary pressure, it could also constrain economic growth, making the Fed’s way forward less clear. Its challenge will be combating inflation without stifling a recovery that is now facing additional supply shocks.

In this environment, we favor an overweight to equities, as we believe low interest rates and continued economic growth will support further gains, albeit likely more modest than what we saw in 2021. Sectors that are better poised to manage the transition to a lower-carbon world, such as technology and health care, are particularly attractive in the long term. U.S. and other developed market equities have room for further growth, while we believe Chinese equities stand to gain from a more accommodative monetary and fiscal environment. We are underweight long-term credit, but inflation-protected U.S. Treasuries, Asian fixed income, and emerging market local-currency bonds offer potential opportunities. We believe that international diversification and a focus on sustainability can help provide portfolio resilience, and the disruption created by the coronavirus appears to be accelerating the shift toward sustainable investments.

Overall, our view is that investors need to think globally, extend their scope across a broad array of asset classes, and be nimble as market conditions change. We encourage you to talk with your financial advisor and visit iShares.com for further insight about investing in today’s markets.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock, Inc.

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock, Inc.

 

Total Returns as of February 28, 2022
     6-Month     12-Month  
   

U.S. large cap equities
(S&P 500® Index)

  (2.62)%   16.39%
   

U.S. small cap equities
(Russell 2000® Index)

  (9.46)     (6.01)
   

International equities
(MSCI Europe, Australasia, Far East Index)

  (6.78)     2.83
   

Emerging market equities
(MSCI Emerging Markets Index)

  (9.81)     (10.69)
   

3-month Treasury bills
(ICE BofA 3-Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index)

  0.02     0.04
   

U.S. Treasury securities
(ICE BofA 10-Year U.S. Treasury Index)

  (3.94)     (1.67)
   

U.S. investment grade bonds
(Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index)

  (4.07)     (2.64)
   

Tax-exempt municipal bonds
(Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index)

  (3.09)     (0.66)
   

U.S. high yield bonds
(Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index)

  (3.07)     0.64

 

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

 

 

2  

T H I S   P A G E   I S   N O T   P A R T   O F   Y O U R   F U N D   R E P O R T


Table of Contents

 

 

      Page  

The Markets in Review

     2  

Fund Summary

     4  

About Fund Performance

     6  

Shareholder Expenses

     6  

Schedules of Investments

     7  

Financial Statements

  

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

     25  

Statements of Operations

     26  

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

     27  

Financial Highlights

     28  

Notes to Financial Statements

     30  

Statement Regarding Liquidity Risk Management Program

     40  

Supplemental Information

     41  

General Information

     42  

Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

     43  

 

 

      


Fund Summary  as of February 28, 2022    iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Investment Objective

The iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization emerging market equities while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the component currencies and the U.S. dollar, as represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets 100% Hedged to USD Index (the “Index”). The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Due to the use of representative sampling, the Fund may or may not hold all of the securities that are included in the Index. The Fund currently seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing a substantial portion of its assets in one underlying fund, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF.

Performance

 

          

  Average Annual Total Returns

 

           

  Cumulative Total Returns  

 

 
    

6 Months

 

    

1 Year

 

    

5 Years

 

   

Since
Inception

 

           

1 Year

 

    

5 Years

 

    

Since
Inception

 

 

Fund NAV

    (7.73 )%       (10.17 )%       7.47     4.96        (10.17 )%       43.34      43.34

Fund Market

    (7.53      (9.63      7.53       5.02          (9.63      43.76        43.98  

Index

    (8.12      (9.67      7.80       5.40                (9.67      45.55        47.81  

The inception date of the Fund was 9/23/14. The first day of secondary market trading was 9/25/14.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. See “About Fund Performance” on page 6 for more information.

Expense Example

 

Actual           Hypothetical 5% Return           

 

 

     

 

 

      
 

Beginning
Account Value
(09/01/21)
 
 
 
      

Ending
Account Value
(02/28/22)
 
 
 
      

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
 
 
 (a) 
           

Beginning
Account Value
(09/01/21)
 
 
 
      

Ending
Account Value
(02/28/22)
 
 
 
      

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
 
 
 (a) 
      

Annualized
Expense
Ratio
 
 
 
    $     1,000.00          $     922.70          $     0.00               $     1,000.00          $     1,024.80          $     0.00          0.00

 

  (a)   

Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period shown). Other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, may be paid which are not reflected in the tables and examples above. See “Shareholder Expenses” for more information. The fees and expenses of the underlying funds in which the Fund invests are not included in the Fund’s annualized expense ratio.

Portfolio Information

 

ALLOCATION BY INVESTMENT TYPE

 

   

Investment Type

   

Percent of   

Net Assets   

 

 

Investment Companies

    100.1%  

Short-term Investments

    0.0(a)  
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts, net cumulative appreciation     0.6     

Other assets less liabilities

    (0.7)    

 

  (a)  

Rounds to less than 0.1%.

ALLOCATION BY SECTOR (of the UNDERLYING FUND)

 

   

Sector

   
Percent of
Total Investment(a)
 
 

Information Technology

    22.1

Financials

    21.1  

Consumer Discretionary

    12.8  

Communication Services

    10.4  

Materials

    9.2  

Consumer Staples

    5.9  

Industrials

    5.3  

Energy

    4.7  

Health Care

    3.8  

Utilities

    2.5  

Real Estate

    2.2  

 

  (a)  

Excludes money market funds.

 

 

4  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Fund Summary  as of February 28, 2022    iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Investment Objective

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization emerging market equities, as represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (the “Index”). The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Due to the use of representative sampling, the Fund may or may not hold all of the securities that are included in the Index.

Performance

 

            Average Annual Total Returns               Cumulative Total Returns
    

6 Months

 

   

1 Year

 

    

5 Years

 

    

10 Years

 

            

1 Year

 

    

5 Years

 

    

10 Years

 

 

Fund NAV

    (10.50 )%      (12.00 )%       6.15      2.54         (12.00 )%       34.74      28.52

Fund Market

    (9.49     (11.33      6.44        2.66           (11.33      36.61        29.99  

Index

    (9.81     (10.69      6.99        3.24                 (10.69      40.21        37.60  

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. See “About Fund Performance” on page 6 for more information.

Expense Example

 

Actual           Hypothetical 5% Return           

 

 

     

 

 

      
 

Beginning
Account Value
(09/01/21)
 
 
 
      

Ending
Account Value
(02/28/22)
 
 
 
      

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
 
 
 (a) 
           

Beginning
Account Value
(09/01/21)
 
 
 
      

Ending
Account Value
(02/28/22)
 
 
 
      

Expenses
Paid During
the Period
 
 
 (a) 
      

Annualized
Expense
Ratio
 
 
 
    $     1,000.00          $     895.00          $     3.24               $     1,000.00          $     1,021.40          $     3.46          0.69

 

  (a)   

Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period shown). Other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, may be paid which are not reflected in the tables and examples above. See “Shareholder Expenses” for more information.

Portfolio Information

 

ALLOCATION BY SECTOR

 

   

Sector

   
Percent of
Total Investments
 
(a) 

Information Technology

    22.1

Financials

    21.1  

Consumer Discretionary

    12.8  

Communication Services

    10.4  

Materials

    9.2  

Consumer Staples

    5.9  

Industrials

    5.3  

Energy

    4.7  

Health Care

    3.8  

Utilities

    2.5  

Real Estate

    2.2  

 

  (a)  

Excludes money market funds.

TEN LARGEST GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION

 

   

Country/Geographic Region

   
Percent of
Total Investments
 
(a) 

China

    32.2

Taiwan

    16.2  

India

    12.5  

South Korea

    12.5  

Brazil

    5.0  

Saudi Arabia

    4.0  

South Africa

    3.7  

Mexico

    2.1  

Thailand

    1.9  

Indonesia

    1.7  

 

 

 

F U N D   S U M M A R Y

  5


About Fund Performance

 

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. These circumstances may continue for an extended period of time and may continue to affect adversely the value and liquidity of each Fund’s investments. As a result, current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month-end is available at iShares.com. Performance results assume reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions and do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. The investment return and principal value of shares will vary with changes in market conditions. Shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when they are redeemed or sold in the market. Performance for certain funds may reflect a waiver of a portion of investment advisory fees. Without such a waiver, performance would have been lower.

Net asset value or “NAV” is the value of one share of a fund as calculated in accordance with the standard formula for valuing mutual fund shares. Beginning August 10, 2020, the price used to calculate market return (“Market Price”) is the closing price. Prior to August 10, 2020, Market Price was determined using the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest ask on the primary stock exchange on which shares of a fund are listed for trading, as of the time that such fund’s NAV is calculated. Since shares of a fund may not trade in the secondary market until after the fund’s inception, for the period from inception to the first day of secondary market trading in shares of the fund, the NAV of the fund is used as a proxy for the Market Price to calculate market returns. Market and NAV returns assume that dividends and capital gain distributions have been reinvested at Market Price and NAV, respectively.

An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike a fund, an index does not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore does not incur the expenses incurred by a fund. These expenses negatively impact fund performance. Also, market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower.

Shareholder Expenses

Shareholders of each Fund may incur the following charges: (1) transactional expenses, including brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of fund shares and (2) ongoing expenses, including management fees and other fund expenses. The expense examples shown (which are based on a hypothetical investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held through the end of the period) are intended to assist shareholders both in calculating expenses based on an investment in each Fund and in comparing these expenses with similar costs of investing in other funds.

The expense examples provide information about actual account values and actual expenses. Annualized expense ratios reflect contractual and voluntary fee waivers, if any. In order to estimate the expenses a shareholder paid during the period covered by this report, shareholders can divide their account value by $1,000 and then multiply the result by the number under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period.”

The expense examples also provide information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on a Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses. In order to assist shareholders in comparing the ongoing expenses of investing in a Funds and other funds, compare the 5% hypothetical examples with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

The expenses shown in the expense examples are intended to highlight shareholders’ ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional expenses, such as brokerage commissions and other fees paid on purchases and sales of fund shares. Therefore, the hypothetical examples are useful in comparing ongoing expenses only and will not help shareholders determine the relative total expenses of owning different funds. If these transactional expenses were included, shareholder expenses would have been higher.

 

 

6  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  

Investment Companies

   

Exchange-Traded Funds — 100.0%

   

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF(a)

    3,946,550     $   184,422,282  
   

 

 

 

Total Investment Companies — 100.0%
(Cost: $181,619,255)

      184,422,282  
   

 

 

 

Short-Term Investments

   

Money Market Funds — 0.1%

   

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares,
0.03%(a)(b)

    90,000       90,000  
   

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Investments — 0.1%
(Cost: $90,000)

      90,000  
   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities — 100.1%
(Cost: $181,709,255)

      184,512,282  

Other Assets, Less Liabilities — (0.1)%

      (126,474
   

 

 

 

Net Assets — 100.0%

    $   184,385,808  
   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Affiliate of the Fund.

(b) 

Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

 

Affiliates

Investments in issuers considered to be affiliate(s) of the Fund during the six months ended February 28, 2022 for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

 

 
Affiliated Issuer   Value at
08/31/21
    Purchases
at Cost
    Proceeds
from Sales
    Net Realized
Gain (Loss)
    Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
    Value at
02/28/22
   

Shares

Held at
02/28/22

    Income     Capital
Gain
Distributions
from
Underlying
Funds
 

 

 

BlackRock Cash Funds:
Treasury, SL Agency Shares

  $ 370,000     $     $ (280,000 )(a)     $     $     $ 90,000       90,000     $ 14     $  

iShares MSCI Emerging
Markets ETF

    202,917,841       40,646,077       (37,870,653     4,771,579       (26,042,562     184,422,282       3,946,550       2,937,483        
       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        $ 4,771,579     $ (26,042,562   $ 184,512,282       $ 2,937,497     $  
       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Represents net amount purchased (sold).

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

 

           
Currency Purchased      Currency Sold         Counterparty           Settlement Date              Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

BRL        

     46,346,000      USD      8,981,783     GS   03/04/22         $ 12,226  

BRL

     205,000      USD      38,345     MS   03/04/22         1,438  

CNY

     6,057,000      USD      948,025     MS   03/04/22              10,637  

INR

     1,737,317,000      USD      23,003,204     MS   03/04/22         52,113  

KRW

     35,476,714,000      USD      29,466,731     MS   03/04/22         37,977  

MXN

     5,842,000      USD      281,554     MS   03/04/22         3,593  

THB

     109,247,000      USD      3,341,769     MS   03/04/22         1,642  

TRY

     6,297,000      USD      450,767     MS   03/04/22         633  

TWD

     839,820,000      USD      29,934,344     MS   03/04/22         25,599  

USD

     2,593,675      EUR      2,312,000     MS   03/04/22         1,153  

USD

     43,908,857      HKD      342,381,000     MS   03/04/22         95,910  

USD

     23,799,345      INR          1,782,130,000     MS   03/04/22         149,330  

 

 

S C H E D U L E    O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  7


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts (continued)

 

           
Currency Purchased      Currency Sold          Counterparty           Settlement Date              Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

USD        

     165,085      KRW      198,410,000      MS   03/04/22       $ 74  

USD

     2,652,754      MYR      11,113,000      MS   03/04/22         4,775  

USD

     5,962,180      RUB      465,774,000      MS   03/04/22         1,651,111  

USD

     468,583      TRY      6,385,000      MS   03/04/22         10,876  

USD

     31,141,263      TWD      865,917,000      MS   03/04/22         250,330  

USD

     41,230      ZAR      632,000      MS   03/04/22         138  

ZAR

     98,839,000      USD      6,394,415      MS   03/04/22         32,045  

INR

     61,968,000      USD      816,787      MS   04/06/22         1,553  

USD

     1,185,251      CLP      946,138,000      MS   04/06/22         6,278  

USD

     2,558,770      EUR      2,275,000      MS   04/06/22         4,256  

USD

     43,700,554      HKD      341,465,000      MS   04/06/22         3,411  

USD

     34,926      INR      2,643,000      MS   04/06/22         23  

USD

     3,812,084      MXN      78,398,000      MS   04/06/22         6,829  

USD

     4,462      RUB      473,000      CITI   04/06/22         130  

USD

     3,944,837      RUB      424,070,000      JPM   04/06/22         60,955  

USD

     10,432      ZAR      161,000      MS   04/06/22         7  

TWD

     416,000      USD      14,852      MS   04/07/22         6  

USD

     9,788,419      CNY      61,921,320      MS   04/07/22         10,055  

USD

     46,151      TWD      1,292,000      MS   04/07/22         4  
                   

 

 

 
                      2,435,107  
                   

 

 

 

CLP

     902,886,000      USD      1,136,134      MS   03/04/22         (6,662

CNY

     59,751,320      USD      9,468,356      MS   03/04/22         (11,318

EUR

     2,312,000      USD      2,597,090      MS   03/04/22         (4,568

HKD

     342,381,000      USD      43,818,376      MS   03/04/22         (5,430

INR

     44,813,000      USD      598,680      MS   03/04/22         (3,983

MXN

     75,968,000      USD      3,714,750      MS   03/04/22         (6,764

MYR

     11,113,000      USD      2,648,505      MS   03/04/22         (526

RUB

     424,070,000      USD      4,085,453      JPM   03/04/22         (160,384

RUB

     41,704,000      USD      534,809      MS   03/04/22         (148,809

TRY

     88,000      USD      6,479      MS   03/04/22         (171

TWD

     26,097,000      USD      939,779      MS   03/04/22         (8,788

USD

     8,703,079      BRL      46,551,000      MS   03/04/22         (330,713

USD

     1,125,404      CLP      902,886,000      MS   03/04/22         (4,068

USD

     10,298,260      CNY      65,808,320      MS   03/04/22         (117,439

USD

     29,220,622      KRW      35,278,304,000      MS   03/04/22         (119,076

USD

     3,942,350      MXN      81,810,000      MS   03/04/22         (50,783

USD

     3,276,873      THB      109,247,000      MS   03/04/22         (66,538

USD

     6,321,728      ZAR      98,207,000      MS   03/04/22         (63,639

EUR

     319,000      USD      358,790      MS   04/06/22         (597

HKD

     5,362,000      USD      686,227      MS   04/06/22         (54

RUB

     169,728,000      USD      1,578,865      JPM   04/06/22         (24,397

USD

     8,899,941      BRL      46,346,000      GS   04/06/22         (14,513

USD

     221,680      BRL      1,155,000      MS   04/06/22         (479

USD

     165,583      BRL      866,000      SSB   04/06/22         (988

USD

     1,807      CLP      1,452,000      MS   04/06/22         (2

USD

     198,661      EUR      177,000      MS   04/06/22         (86

USD

     66,031      HKD      516,000      MS   04/06/22         (1

USD

     23,508,531      INR      1,784,180,000      MS   04/06/22         (53,087

USD

     27,059,978      KRW      32,594,897,000      MS   04/06/22         (33,395

USD

     101,100      MXN      2,090,000      MS   04/06/22         (344

 

 

8  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts (continued)

 

           
Currency Purchased      Currency Sold          Counterparty            Settlement Date              Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

USD        

     2,729,558      MYR      11,472,000      MS    04/06/22       $ (4,977

USD

     469,765      RUB      54,023,000      JPM    04/06/22         (25,009

USD

     459,429      TRY      6,804,000      MS    04/06/22         (1,378

USD

     6,745,050      ZAR      104,693,000      MS    04/06/22         (33,828

USD

     3,444,951      THB      112,603,000      MS    04/07/22         (1,644

USD

     30,032,904      TWD          842,163,000      MS    04/07/22         (46,673
                    

 

 

 
                       (1,351,111
                    

 

 

 
     Net unrealized appreciation               $ 1,083,996  
                    

 

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure

As of period end, the fair values of derivative financial instruments located in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities were as follows:

 

 

 
     Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
 

 

 

Assets — Derivative Financial Instruments

  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts
Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

   $ 2,435,107  
  

 

 

 

Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments

  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts
Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

   $ 1,351,111  
  

 

 

 

For the period ended February 28, 2022, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statements of Operations was as follows:

 

 

 
     Foreign
Currency
Exchange
Contracts
 

 

 

Net Realized Gain (Loss) from:

  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

   $ 1,504,392  
  

 

 

 

Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on:

  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

   $ 1,844,966  
  

 

 

 

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

 

   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts:

  

Average amounts purchased — in USD

   $ 185,825,077  

Average amounts sold — in USD

   $ 356,914,259  

For more information about the Fund’s investment risks regarding derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

Derivative Financial Instruments - Offsetting as of Period End

The Fund’s derivative assets and liabilities (by type) were as follows:

 

     
      Assets        Liabilities  

Derivative Financial Instruments:

       

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

   $ 2,435,107        $ 1,351,111  
  

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities

     2,435,107          1,351,111  

Derivatives not subject to a Master Netting Agreement or similar agreement (“MNA”)

               
  

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities subject to an MNA

     2,435,107          1,351,111  
  

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  9


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

The following tables present the Fund’s derivative assets and liabilities by counterparty net of amounts available for offset under an MNA and net of the related collateral received and pledged by the Fund:

 

Counterparty     



Derivative
Assets
Subject to an
MNA by
Counterparty
 
 
 
 
 
      

Derivatives
Available for
Offset
 
 
(a)  
    

Non-Cash
Collateral
Received
 
 
 
      

Cash
Collateral
Received
 
 
 
      

Net Amount
of Derivative
Assets
 
 
(b)  

Citibank N.A.

   $ 130        $      $        $        $ 130  

Goldman Sachs & Co.

     12,226          (12,226                         

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

     60,955          (60,955                         

Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC

     2,361,796          (1,125,820                        1,235,976  
  

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 2,435,107        $ (1,199,001    $        $        $ 1,236,106  
  

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
                    
Counterparty     



Derivative
Liabilities
Subject to an
MNA by
Counterparty
 
 
 
 
 
      

Derivatives
Available for
Offset
 
 
(a)  
    

Non-Cash
Collateral
Pledged
 
 
 
      

Cash
Collateral
Pledged
 
 
 
      

Net Amount
of Derivative
Liabilities
 
 
(c)  

Goldman Sachs & Co.

   $ 14,513        $ (12,226    $        $        $ 2,287  

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

     209,790          (60,955                        148,835  

Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC

     1,125,820          (1,125,820                         

State Street Bank and Trust Co.

     988                                   988  
  

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 1,351,111        $ (1,199,001    $        $        $ 152,110  
  

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

The amount of derivatives available for offset is limited to the amount of derivative assets and/or liabilities that are subject to an MNA.

 
  (b) 

Net amount represents the net amount receivable from the counterparty in the event of default.

 
  (c) 

Net amount represents the net amount payable due to the counterparty in the event of default.

 

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End

Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. For a description of the input levels and information about the Fund’s policy regarding valuation of financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

The following table summarizes the Fund’s financial instruments categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The breakdown of the Fund’s financial instruments into major categories is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments above.

 

 

 
     Level 1        Level 2        Level 3        Total  

 

 

Investments

                 

Assets

                 

Investment Companies

   $ 184,422,282        $        $        $ 184,422,282  

Money Market Funds

     90,000                            90,000  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $ 184,512,282        $        $        $ 184,512,282  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments(a)

                 

Assets

                 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

   $        $ 2,435,107        $        $ 2,435,107  

Liabilities

                 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

                  (1,351,111                 (1,351,111
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $        $ 1,083,996        $                 —        $ 1,083,996  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Derivative financial instruments are forward foreign currency exchange contracts. Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument.

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

10  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  

Common Stocks

 

Brazil — 3.7%  

Ambev SA

    17,275,318     $ 50,698,949  

Americanas SA

    2,310,647       13,540,774  

Atacadao SA

    1,731,440       6,382,353  

B3 SA - Brasil, Bolsa, Balcao

    22,264,125       62,637,553  

Banco Bradesco SA

    5,231,312       17,157,919  

Banco BTG Pactual SA

    4,315,148       21,438,895  

Banco do Brasil SA

    3,093,693       20,916,693  

Banco Inter SA

    1,277,647       4,954,078  

Banco Santander Brasil SA

    1,445,219       8,566,161  

BB Seguridade Participacoes SA

    2,516,084       11,094,708  

BRF SA(a)

    2,592,994       8,177,138  

CCR SA

    4,281,207       9,739,906  

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA

    1,179,804       7,962,209  

Cia. de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo

    1,255,921       10,077,783  

Cia. Siderurgica Nacional SA

    2,599,560       12,794,340  

Cosan SA

    3,919,585       16,069,446  

Energisa SA

    648,821       5,536,189  

Engie Brasil Energia SA

    736,927       5,709,095  

Equatorial Energia SA

    3,677,178       18,184,725  

Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos SA(b)

    15,650,195       36,633,903  

Hypera SA

    1,425,029       9,244,159  

JBS SA

    2,662,019       18,646,899  

Klabin SA

    2,655,885       11,929,270  

Localiza Rent a Car SA

    2,228,173       24,804,785  

Lojas Renner SA

    3,651,190       18,047,223  

Magazine Luiza SA

    10,985,796       12,674,314  

Natura & Co. Holding SA(a)

    3,280,723       14,640,075  

Petro Rio SA(a)

    2,073,565       10,538,095  

Petroleo Brasileiro SA

    13,723,586       97,580,421  

Raia Drogasil SA

    3,980,259       18,019,184  

Rede D’Or Sao Luiz SA(b)

    1,447,064       14,254,981  

Rumo SA(a)

    4,649,724       13,929,975  

Suzano SA

    2,750,056       29,642,760  

Telefonica Brasil SA

    1,862,057       18,260,549  

TIM SA

    3,153,770       8,365,336  

TOTVS SA

    1,907,266       12,218,382  

Ultrapar Participacoes SA

    2,643,376       7,434,100  

Vale SA

    15,063,902       279,490,773  

Vibra Energia SA

    4,375,045       19,927,964  

WEG SA

    6,194,062       35,094,239  
   

 

 

 
          1,023,016,301  
Chile — 0.3%            

Banco de Chile

    165,801,244       17,578,596  

Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA

    205,225       7,336,691  

Banco Santander Chile

    245,620,889       12,060,916  

Cencosud SA

    5,499,692       10,115,800  

Cia. Cervecerias Unidas SA

    567,390       4,498,298  

Empresas CMPC SA

    4,163,537       6,878,797  

Empresas COPEC SA

    1,431,603       11,106,029  

Enel Americas SA

    79,573,627       9,317,390  

Enel Chile SA

    96,418,280       3,160,859  

Falabella SA

    2,792,395       9,189,188  
   

 

 

 
      91,242,564  
China — 32.1%            

360 DigiTech Inc., ADR

    323,963       6,074,306  

360 Security Technology Inc., Class A(a)

    2,176,306       3,622,546  

3SBio Inc.(a)(b)

    4,806,500       3,820,060  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

51job Inc., ADR(a)

    118,590     $ 6,142,962  

AAC Technologies Holdings Inc.(c)

    2,692,000       7,360,467  

Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc., Class A(a)

    149,826       3,056,726  

AECC Aviation Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    625,673       5,023,608  

Agile Group Holdings Ltd.(c)

    3,994,000       1,819,755  

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Class A

    17,883,200       8,448,688  

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Class H

    92,384,000       34,987,582  

Aier Eye Hospital Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,236,959       7,152,242  

Air China Ltd., Class A(a)

    2,150,493       3,367,976  

Air China Ltd., Class H(a)

    5,946,000       4,572,943  

Akeso Inc.(a)(b)(c)

    1,081,000       2,854,645  

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.(a)

    55,639,156       732,426,827  

Alibaba Health Information Technology
Ltd.(a)(c)

    14,898,000       10,432,051  

Alibaba Pictures Group Ltd.(a)(c)

    47,820,000       4,781,009  

A-Living Smart City Services Co. Ltd., Class A(b)

    2,083,500       3,734,716  

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., Class A(a)

    3,391,500       3,509,123  

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., Class H(a)

    14,266,000       10,083,548  

Anhui Conch Cement Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,085,386       6,948,345  

Anhui Conch Cement Co. Ltd., Class H

    4,350,500       23,347,069  

Anhui Gujing Distillery Co. Ltd., Class A

    104,285       3,664,112  

Anhui Gujing Distillery Co. Ltd., Class B

    349,500       5,124,672  

Anhui Kouzi Distillery Co. Ltd., Class A

    177,752       2,135,273  

Anjoy Foods Group Co Ltd., Class A

    74,900       1,469,289  

ANTA Sports Products Ltd.(c)

    3,986,802       60,891,230  

Asymchem Laboratories Tianjin Co. Ltd., Class A

    65,900       3,551,326  

Autobio Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Class A

    169,599       1,392,652  

Autohome Inc., ADR

    280,887       8,592,333  

Avary Holding Shenzhen Co. Ltd., Class A

    405,500       2,234,606  

AVIC Electromechanical Systems Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,129,600       2,235,222  

AVIC Industry-Finance Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,804,489       2,967,263  

AviChina Industry & Technology Co. Ltd., Class H

    9,371,000       5,817,867  

AVICOPTER PLC, Class A

    190,353       1,770,075  

Baidu Inc., ADR(a)

    1,016,785           154,998,705  

Bank of Beijing Co. Ltd., Class A

    5,825,606       4,166,061  

Bank of Chengdu Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,243,795       2,844,480  

Bank of China Ltd., Class A

    10,124,800       4,972,351  

Bank of China Ltd., Class H

    287,840,000       112,056,599  

Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., Class A

    10,194,473       7,728,097  

Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., Class H

    30,252,600       20,739,043  

Bank of Hangzhou Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,626,445       3,696,870  

Bank of Jiangsu Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,156,310       4,387,524  

Bank of Nanjing Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,810,746       4,352,095  

Bank of Ningbo Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,647,139       9,959,504  

Bank of Shanghai Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,173,042       4,625,196  

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Class A

    5,311,073       6,087,364  

BeiGene Ltd., ADR(a)(c)

    172,445       36,303,121  

Beijing Capital International Airport Co. Ltd., Class H(a)

    7,524,000       4,819,193  

Beijing Enlight Media Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,122,595       1,682,002  

Beijing Enterprises Holdings Ltd.

    1,962,500       6,708,810  

Beijing Enterprises Water Group Ltd.

    18,772,000       7,416,513  

Beijing Kingsoft Office Software Inc., Class A

    107,681       3,653,255  

Beijing New Building Materials PLC, Class A

    468,913       2,224,005  

Beijing Roborock Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    21,600       2,167,591  

Beijing Shiji Information Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    284,862       1,082,124  

Beijing Shunxin Agriculture Co. Ltd., Class A

    251,500       1,088,511  

Beijing Sinnet Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    664,186       1,582,014  

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  11


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Beijing Tiantan Biological Products Corp. Ltd., Class A

    393,545     $ 1,709,411  

Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co. Ltd., Class A

    99,740       3,975,831  

Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway Co. Ltd., Class A

    9,920,300       8,127,379  

Betta Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Class A

    131,196       1,257,328  

BGI Genomics Co. Ltd., Class A

    131,100       1,773,445  

Bilibili Inc., ADR(a)(c)

    612,263       19,353,633  

BOC Aviation Ltd.(b)(c)

    792,100       6,885,725  

BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    9,314,300       6,951,634  

Bosideng International Holdings Ltd.

    12,548,000       7,139,400  

BYD Co. Ltd., Class A

    416,112       16,732,615  

BYD Co. Ltd., Class H

    3,011,500       93,318,386  

BYD Electronic International Co. Ltd.

    2,504,500       7,067,227  

Caitong Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,506,865       2,243,862  

CanSino Biologics Inc., Class H(a)(b)(c)

    296,800       5,364,173  

CGN Power Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    40,184,000       11,392,606  

Changchun High & New Technology Industry Group Inc., Class A

    96,794       2,808,665  

Changjiang Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,147,835       3,452,357  

Changzhou Xingyu Automotive Lighting Systems Co. Ltd., Class A

    98,300       2,412,022  

Chaozhou Three-Circle Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    574,430       3,181,332  

China Bohai Bank Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    11,365,000       1,890,628  

China Cinda Asset Management Co. Ltd., Class H

    30,942,000       5,585,450  

China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd., Class H

    31,577,800       14,838,822  

China Coal Energy Co. Ltd., Class H

    8,074,000       5,032,798  

China Communications Services Corp. Ltd., Class H

    9,268,000       5,084,620  

China Conch Venture Holdings Ltd.

    6,200,000       29,835,876  

China Construction Bank Corp., Class A

    2,656,568       2,541,569  

China Construction Bank Corp., Class H

    351,418,760           263,551,613  

China CSSC Holdings Ltd., Class A

    1,179,100       4,099,185  

China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd., Class A(a)

    3,198,097       2,738,635  

China Education Group Holdings Ltd.

    3,589,000       3,074,787  

China Energy Engineering Corp. Ltd.(a)

    1,270,600       543,095  

China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    10,896,603       5,774,378  

China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd., Class H

    9,248,000       3,439,403  

China Everbright Environment Group Ltd.

    14,065,813       10,098,907  

China Evergrande Group(c)

    9,909,388       2,028,147  

China Feihe Ltd.(b)

    13,113,000       15,647,212  

China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,551,000       2,490,799  

China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    11,876,000       6,797,622  

China Gas Holdings Ltd.

    11,181,000       17,670,141  

China Greatwall Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    962,173       2,035,466  

China Hongqiao Group Ltd.

    8,691,000       12,167,472  

China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co.
Ltd.(a)(d)

    5,603,350       7  

China International Capital Corp. Ltd., Class H(b)

    5,908,000       14,373,703  

China Jinmao Holdings Group Ltd.

    20,934,000       6,961,464  

China Jushi Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,119,840       3,040,218  

China Lesso Group Holdings Ltd.

    4,261,000       6,560,170  

China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class A

    896,812       4,095,485  

China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H

    25,957,000       43,001,139  

China Literature Ltd.(a)(b)

    1,517,400       8,235,155  

China Longyuan Power Group Corp. Ltd., Class H

    12,473,000       25,739,154  

China Medical System Holdings Ltd.

    5,206,000       9,270,081  

China Meidong Auto Holdings Ltd.

    2,160,000       10,170,334  

China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd.

    11,701,000       76,084,787  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,730,089     $ 37,390,053  

China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd., Class H

    14,184,967           119,569,430  

China Merchants Port Holdings Co. Ltd.

    5,734,000       10,810,862  

China Merchants Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,866,679       4,696,834  

China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,828,190       3,921,602  

China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd., Class A

    9,610,155       5,955,798  

China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd., Class H

    17,945,548       6,989,764  

China Molybdenum Co. Ltd., Class A

    5,159,698       4,949,670  

China Molybdenum Co. Ltd., Class H

    11,016,000       6,630,560  

China National Building Material Co. Ltd., Class H

    15,176,000       19,468,200  

China National Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,759,567       2,919,698  

China National Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,983,100       4,685,515  

China Northern Rare Earth Group High-Tech Co. Ltd., Class A

    875,554       6,887,057  

China Oilfield Services Ltd., Class H

    7,050,000       8,036,975  

China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd.

    14,093,960       43,031,210  

China Overseas Property Holdings Ltd.

    5,085,000       5,520,957  

China Pacific Insurance Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,728,807       7,270,743  

China Pacific Insurance Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    9,378,600       26,115,431  

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Class A

    8,167,889       5,641,597  

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Class H

    88,454,800       44,005,091  

China Power International Development Ltd.

    20,474,000       11,605,425  

China Railway Group Ltd., Class A

    5,880,100       5,801,430  

China Railway Group Ltd., Class H

    13,663,000       8,022,310  

China Resources Beer Holdings Co. Ltd.

    5,394,000       42,771,192  

China Resources Cement Holdings Ltd.

    9,188,000       7,862,077  

China Resources Gas Group Ltd.

    3,478,000       15,974,417  

China Resources Land Ltd.

    11,833,333       57,560,853  

China Resources Mixc Lifestyle Services Ltd.(b)

    2,102,800       10,816,092  

China Resources Power Holdings Co. Ltd.

    7,226,999       16,142,007  

China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    346,099       1,962,039  

China Ruyi Holdings Ltd.(a)(c)

    10,748,000       3,198,861  

China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,672,139       6,694,792  

China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., Class H

    12,471,000       34,369,880  

China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    3,463,700       3,803,064  

China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd.,
Class H(a)(c)

    5,638,000       3,566,966  

China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd., Class A

    10,786,371       8,713,722  

China State Construction International Holdings Ltd.

    7,908,000       11,136,966  

China Suntien Green Energy Corp. Ltd., Class H

    7,128,000       4,748,177  

China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. Ltd.

    5,933,260       7,022,651  

China Three Gorges Renewables Group Co. Ltd.

    3,899,500       4,401,506  

China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp. Ltd., Class A

    434,932       14,047,821  

China Tower Corp. Ltd., Class H(b)

    153,298,000       17,867,419  

China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co. Ltd.

    10,598,000       6,041,492  

China TransInfo Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    752,600       1,662,728  

China United Network Communications Ltd., Class A

    9,507,500       5,760,203  

China Vanke Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,407,459       7,327,559  

China Vanke Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,929,431       14,083,476  

China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    5,255,815       19,336,737  

China Zhenhua Group Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    173,000       3,224,509  

China Zheshang Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    5,695,800       3,095,143  

 

 

12  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Chinasoft International Ltd.

    9,828,000     $ 8,967,075  

Chindata Group Holdings Ltd., ADR(a)(c)

    412,320       2,263,637  

Chongqing Brewery Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    122,900       2,609,650  

Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,531,021       3,165,632  

Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co. Ltd., Class A

    362,776       7,424,595  

CIFI Ever Sunshine Services Group Ltd.

    2,914,000       5,299,305  

CIFI Holdings Group Co. Ltd.

    12,865,300       8,963,400  

CITIC Ltd.

    21,578,000       25,179,891  

CITIC Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,183,718       11,799,274  

CITIC Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    9,112,600       22,077,108  

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    523,530           44,845,212  

COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    3,015,164       8,465,906  

COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co. Ltd., Class H(a)

    12,225,349       24,710,178  

COSCO SHIPPING Ports Ltd.

    7,546,000       6,218,459  

Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd.

    28,924,939       22,472,700  

Country Garden Services Holdings Co. Ltd.

    7,409,000       44,320,324  

CRRC Corp. Ltd., Class A

    6,831,100       6,279,141  

CRRC Corp. Ltd., Class H

    14,830,000       6,590,956  

CSC Financial Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,060,297       4,341,185  

CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.

    33,314,479       39,489,739  

Dada Nexus Ltd., ADR(a)(c)

    217,437       1,806,901  

Dali Foods Group Co. Ltd.(b)

    8,367,500       4,407,014  

Daqin Railway Co. Ltd., Class A

    929,100       1,001,642  

Daqo New Energy Corp., ADR(a)

    217,530       10,432,739  

DHC Software Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,629,498       2,136,377  

DiDi Global Inc., ADR(a)

    648,312       2,658,079  

Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    10,140,000       8,727,764  

Dongxing Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,607,197       2,629,558  

Dongyue Group Ltd.

    5,653,000       8,201,031  

East Money Information Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,422,633       10,325,920  

Ecovacs Robotics Co. Ltd., Class A

    126,853       2,720,488  

ENN Energy Holdings Ltd.

    2,930,800       42,444,997  

Eve Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    457,653       6,567,668  

Everbright Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,033,783       2,183,071  

Fangda Carbon New Material Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,230,334       2,017,256  

Far East Horizon Ltd.

    6,353,000       5,414,350  

Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies Co. Ltd., Class A

    602,081       1,645,320  

First Capital Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,624,400       1,642,938  

Flat Glass Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    443,200       3,469,806  

Flat Glass Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    1,382,000       5,714,810  

Focus Media Information Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,609,678       4,391,785  

Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food Co. Ltd., Class A

    787,552       12,412,035  

Fosun International Ltd.

    9,412,500       10,212,595  

Founder Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,410,687       3,893,227  

Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,197,797       3,895,261  

Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    517,872       3,634,662  

Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    2,196,800       10,777,707  

Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., Class A

    274,081       6,664,301  

Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., Class H(b)(c)

    950,000       16,123,583  

GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,826,400       1,064,842  

GDS Holdings Ltd., ADR(a)

    325,744       14,502,123  

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

    21,680,000       40,382,092  

GEM Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,694,400       2,588,523  

Gemdale Corp., Class A

    1,232,330       2,479,565  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Genscript Biotech Corp.(a)

    4,326,000     $ 17,152,668  

GF Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,702,294       5,041,839  

GF Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    3,663,800       5,500,397  

Gigadevice Semiconductor Beijing Inc., Class A

    166,994       4,089,053  

Ginlong Technologies Co. Ltd., Class A

    69,600       2,810,263  

GoerTek Inc., Class A

    859,500       6,017,748  

GOME Retail Holdings Ltd.(a)(c)

    45,737,200       3,403,572  

Gotion High-tech Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    446,423       3,063,346  

Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd., Class A

    574,400       3,354,738  

Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd., Class H

    11,314,500       23,820,419  

Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai, Class A

    231,000       1,344,648  

Greenland Holdings Corp. Ltd., Class A

    2,667,228       1,828,353  

Greentown China Holdings Ltd.

    3,351,500       5,034,231  

Greentown Service Group Co. Ltd.

    5,458,000       5,482,685  

Guangdong Haid Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    436,927       4,573,954  

Guangdong Investment Ltd.

    10,970,110       14,762,418  

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    11,021,838       10,912,191  

Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    632,196       2,981,433  

Guangzhou Kingmed Diagnostics Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    132,984       1,772,615  

Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd., Class H(c)

    5,790,400       2,464,974  

Guangzhou Shiyuan Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    176,391       2,402,311  

Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    256,800       4,358,222  

Guosen Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,357,642       3,878,485  

Guotai Junan Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,365,540       6,283,506  

Haidilao International Holding Ltd.(b)(c)

    4,053,000       9,332,756  

Haier Smart Home Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,802,741       7,308,375  

Haier Smart Home Co. Ltd., Class H

    7,995,000           28,015,116  

Haitian International Holdings Ltd.

    2,543,000       6,775,313  

Haitong Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,086,001       5,509,751  

Haitong Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    8,440,000       7,262,524  

Hangzhou First Applied Material Co. Ltd., Class A

    248,100       4,708,341  

Hangzhou Robam Appliances Co. Ltd., Class A

    347,764       1,839,367  

Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    365,300       3,339,122  

Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting Co. Ltd., Class A

    151,000       2,449,750  

Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    358,600       4,034,626  

Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd.(b)

    4,352,000       9,290,187  

Hello Group Inc., ADR

    573,572       5,466,141  

Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    775,800       3,550,374  

Hengan International Group Co. Ltd.

    2,388,500       12,666,866  

Hengli Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,392,191       5,537,629  

Hengyi Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,309,829       2,088,688  

Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network Co. Ltd., Class A

    143,100       2,457,650  

Hopson Development Holdings Ltd.

    2,725,100       5,609,764  

Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    120,500       2,866,310  

Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd.(a)(b)

    1,948,000       10,148,630  

Huabao International Holdings Ltd.(c)

    3,522,000       2,020,599  

Huadong Medicine Co. Ltd., Class A

    479,105       2,890,485  

Huafon Chemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,358,600       2,077,940  

Hualan Biological Engineering Inc., Class A

    467,783       1,910,043  

Huaneng Power International Inc., Class H

    16,590,000       9,738,589  

Huatai Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,548,409       6,423,004  

Huatai Securities Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    4,493,000       7,356,399  

Huaxia Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,157,080       3,710,751  

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  13


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Huaxin Cement Co. Ltd., Class A

    462,806     $ 1,505,798  

Huayu Automotive Systems Co. Ltd., Class A

    837,468       3,378,149  

Huazhu Group Ltd., ADR(a)

    661,842       27,373,785  

Huizhou Desay Sv Automotive Co. Ltd., Class A

    125,900       2,652,114  

Hundsun Technologies Inc., Class A

    409,644       3,404,485  

Hutchmed China Ltd, ADR(a)(c)

    325,704       8,875,434  

Hygeia Healthcare Holdings Co. Ltd.(b)(c)

    1,290,800       7,047,025  

Iflytek Co. Ltd., Class A

    575,475       4,496,919  

I-Mab, ADR(a)

    147,512       3,646,497  

Imeik Technology Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    51,600       3,988,005  

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Class A

    14,503,562       10,714,745  

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Class H

    205,425,085       122,629,544  

Industrial Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,694,122       16,445,252  

Industrial Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,098,451       2,729,518  

Ingenic Semiconductor Co. Ltd., Class A

    128,400       2,278,111  

Inner Mongolia BaoTou Steel Union Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    11,204,200       4,782,224  

Inner Mongolia Junzheng Energy & Chemical Industry Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,258,300       1,777,531  

Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,522,470       9,549,548  

Innovent Biologics Inc.(a)(b)

    4,298,000       19,396,789  

Inspur Electronic Information Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    503,090       2,630,688  

Intco Medical Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    153,550       1,245,309  

iQIYI Inc., ADR(a)(c)

    1,028,337       4,257,315  

JA Solar Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    384,800       5,829,814  

Jafron Biomedical Co. Ltd., Class A

    212,956       1,550,105  

JCET Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    509,700       2,277,017  

JD Health International Inc.(a)(b)

    1,287,850       9,612,140  

JDcom Inc, Class A(a)

    7,386,596           263,844,937  

Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,006,700       3,055,004  

Jiangsu Expressway Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,040,000       5,392,508  

Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic Co. Ltd., Class A

    331,988       3,538,660  

Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,445,441       9,205,253  

Jiangsu King’s Luck Brewery JSC Ltd., Class A

    338,786       2,810,700  

Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery Joint-Stock Co. Ltd., Class A

    343,650       9,013,609  

Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd., Class A

    761,200       2,698,323  

Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd., Class H

    3,917,000       7,050,601  

Jiangxi Zhengbang Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,058,624       1,159,107  

Jinke Properties Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,688,282       1,202,708  

Jinmao Property Services Co. Ltd.

    316,223       80,365  

Jinxin Fertility Group Ltd.(a)(b)(c)

    4,783,500       5,593,258  

JiuGui Liquor Co. Ltd., Class A

    87,300       2,372,238  

Jiumaojiu International Holdings Ltd.(b)(c)

    2,722,000       6,114,975  

Jonjee Hi-Tech Industrial And Commercial Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    261,625       1,435,098  

JOYY Inc., ADR

    203,450       9,417,701  

Juewei Food Co. Ltd., Class A

    195,014       1,638,085  

Kanzhun Ltd.(a)(c)

    311,765       10,070,009  

KE Holdings Inc., ADR(a)

    1,312,254       25,470,850  

Kingboard Holdings Ltd.

    2,598,500       12,156,167  

Kingboard Laminates Holdings Ltd.

    3,812,500       6,352,946  

Kingdee International Software Group Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    9,645,000       23,838,985  

Kingfa Sci & Tech Co. Ltd., Class A

    819,600       1,401,060  

Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Ltd., ADR(a)(c)

    383,117       2,582,209  

Kingsoft Corp. Ltd.

    3,554,800       13,294,267  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Kuaishou Technology(a)(b)

    1,751,300     $ 20,266,764  

Kunlun Energy Co. Ltd.

    14,734,000       14,493,591  

Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd., Class A

    277,687       78,971,200  

KWG Group Holdings Ltd.

    4,702,000       2,201,587  

LB Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    637,800       2,694,034  

Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd.

    5,282,000       3,395,560  

Legend Biotech Corp., ADR(a)

    170,260       6,740,593  

Lenovo Group Ltd.(c)

    26,818,000       29,863,692  

Lens Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,257,900       2,909,973  

Lepu Medical Technology Beijing Co. Ltd., Class A

    540,435       1,845,802  

Li Auto Inc., ADR(a)

    2,044,911       62,267,540  

Li Ning Co. Ltd.

    8,700,500       86,901,892  

Lingyi iTech Guangdong Co., Class A(a)

    2,326,580       2,220,493  

Logan Group Co. Ltd.(c)

    5,017,000       1,669,209  

Longfor Group Holdings Ltd.(b)

    6,719,500       35,932,682  

LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,227,037       15,273,543  

Lufax Holding Ltd., ADR(a)

    1,837,712       11,889,997  

Luxshare Precision Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,624,746       11,267,749  

Luzhou Laojiao Co. Ltd., Class A

    331,039       11,433,474  

Mango Excellent Media Co. Ltd., Class A

    461,700       2,515,786  

Maxscend Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    84,140       3,615,737  

Meinian Onehealth Healthcare Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,206,080       1,374,982  

Meituan, Class B(a)(b)

    15,006,100           333,362,873  

Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd., Class A

    4,828,090       3,131,400  

Microport Scientific Corp.

    2,385,100       6,634,349  

Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Ltd., Class A

    565,800       2,326,583  

Ming Yuan Cloud Group Holdings Ltd.

    2,148,000       4,239,470  

Minth Group Ltd.

    2,852,000       10,312,275  

MMG Ltd.(a)

    11,948,000       4,327,919  

Montage Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    218,200       2,670,159  

Muyuan Foods Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,185,999       10,791,582  

Nanjing King-Friend Biochemical Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    386,326       2,130,762  

Nanjing Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,495,700       2,104,825  

NARI Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,381,238       7,795,980  

National Silicon Industry Group Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    592,200       2,301,631  

NAURA Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    126,500       6,132,205  

NavInfo Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    689,000       1,875,940  

NetEase Inc.

    7,598,450       146,966,922  

New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class A

    749,892       4,537,243  

New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H

    2,510,400       7,184,446  

New Hope Liuhe Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,159,997       2,837,736  

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc., ADR(a)(c)

    5,609,951       8,471,026  

Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Ltd.

    6,200,000       5,939,394  

Ninestar Corp., Class A

    476,438       3,791,288  

Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., Class A

    404,100       1,165,607  

Ningbo Tuopu Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    307,500       2,972,237  

Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,582,100       4,406,773  

NIO Inc., ADR(a)

    4,822,371       110,142,954  

Noah Holdings Ltd., ADR(a)(c)

    127,115       3,604,981  

Nongfu Spring Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    6,499,400       40,761,080  

OFILM Group Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,180,465       1,501,317  

Oppein Home Group Inc., Class A

    163,000       3,268,854  

Orient Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,596,586       3,122,954  

Ovctek China Inc., Class A

    226,600       1,479,024  

People’s Insurance Co. Group of China Ltd. (The), Class A

    3,678,300       2,704,084  

 

 

14  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

People’s Insurance Co. Group of China Ltd. (The), Class H

    24,554,000     $ 7,896,210  

Perfect World Co. Ltd., Class A

    551,800       1,158,812  

PetroChina Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,961,900       4,574,648  

PetroChina Co. Ltd., Class H

    78,404,000       41,995,191  

Pharmaron Beijing Co. Ltd., Class A

    177,900       3,414,200  

Pharmaron Beijing Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    469,800       5,695,876  

PICC Property & Casualty Co. Ltd., Class H

    25,529,192       26,948,266  

Pinduoduo Inc., ADR(a)

    1,607,043       83,341,250  

Ping An Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,360,567       10,911,554  

Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co.
Ltd.(a)(b)(c)

    1,711,400       5,303,479  

Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd., Class A

    2,555,584       20,600,836  

Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd., Class H

    23,029,000           178,559,091  

Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,844,484       7,123,868  

Postal Savings Bank of China Co. Ltd., Class A

    6,616,500       5,861,330  

Postal Savings Bank of China Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    28,933,000       23,756,420  

Power Construction Corp. of China Ltd., Class A

    3,688,000       4,503,004  

Powerlong Real Estate Holdings Ltd.

    5,478,000       2,625,716  

RiseSun Real Estate Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,254,900       1,408,413  

RLX Technology Inc., ADR(a)(c)

    2,028,213       6,246,896  

Rongsheng Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,383,858       7,164,016  

SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd., Class A

    1,936,506       5,584,015  

Sangfor Technologies Inc., Class A

    108,800       2,523,531  

Sany Heavy Equipment International Holdings Co. Ltd.

    4,459,000       4,623,968  

Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,996,952       6,240,126  

Satellite Chemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    502,200       3,601,112  

SDIC Capital Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,521,408       2,966,711  

SDIC Power Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,109,090       3,345,536  

Seazen Group Ltd.

    7,544,000       3,980,639  

Seazen Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    573,373       2,742,470  

SF Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,102,835       10,581,135  

SG Micro Corp., Class A

    62,924       3,482,625  

Shaanxi Coal Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,493,076       5,632,502  

Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,122,056       3,662,625  

Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.,
Class H(b)(c)

    2,334,500       4,383,716  

Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    584,780       3,285,080  

Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd., Class A

    399,300       1,777,867  

Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Co. Ltd., Class H

    9,258,400       12,783,932  

Shanghai Bairun Investment Holding Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    210,980       1,520,394  

Shanghai Baosight Software Co. Ltd., Class A

    325,939       2,788,120  

Shanghai Baosight Software Co. Ltd., Class B

    1,590,047       6,866,704  

Shanghai Construction Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,004,052       1,557,745  

Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,062,600       2,843,287  

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    523,100       3,527,008  

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    1,757,000       7,044,707  

Shanghai International Airport Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    270,198       2,247,922  

Shanghai International Port Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,983,799       2,700,977  

Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Co. Ltd., Class B

    4,784,106       4,262,638  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Shanghai M&G Stationery Inc., Class A

    268,737     $ 2,316,508  

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    988,200       2,935,060  

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. Ltd., Class H

    2,815,900       5,082,879  

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    6,933,022       9,228,405  

Shanghai Putailai New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    185,700       4,319,842  

Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,380,300       2,520,947  

Shanxi Meijin Energy Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,171,800       2,678,520  

Shanxi Xinghuacun Fen Wine Factory Co. Ltd., Class A

    279,100       12,990,144  

Shengyi Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    739,900       2,288,030  

Shennan Circuits Co. Ltd., Class A

    134,340       2,504,287  

Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    6,058,670       4,411,741  

Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    122,700       1,776,876  

Shenzhen Inovance Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    642,297       6,537,183  

Shenzhen International Holdings Ltd.

    4,568,500       4,707,298  

Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. Ltd., Class A

    169,786       2,269,619  

Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    273,532       14,223,882  

Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,327,800       2,546,612  

Shenzhen Sunway Communication Co. Ltd., Class A

    393,340       1,330,698  

Shenzhen Transsion Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    187,189       4,012,971  

Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd.

    3,068,000       51,531,993  

Shimao Group Holdings Ltd.(c)

    4,449,500       2,670,136  

Shimao Services Holdings Ltd.(b)(c)

    3,537,000       2,584,912  

Sichuan Chuantou Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,305,060       2,489,902  

Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    795,978       2,193,715  

Sichuan Swellfun Co. Ltd., Class A

    134,693       2,131,219  

Silergy Corp.

    294,000       39,175,834  

Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd.

    38,458,750       24,550,709  

Sinoma Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    487,100       2,316,957  

Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    4,917,600       11,921,163  

Sinotruk Hong Kong Ltd.

    2,570,000       3,836,154  

Skshu Paint Co. Ltd., Class A

    113,340       1,595,814  

Smoore International Holdings Ltd.(b)

    6,628,000       24,603,500  

Songcheng Performance Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    868,913       2,132,116  

StarPower Semiconductor Ltd., Class A

    45,600       2,629,705  

Sun Art Retail Group Ltd.

    6,903,500       2,490,659  

Sunac China Holdings Ltd.

    11,705,000       9,567,658  

Sunac Services Holdings Ltd.(a)(b)

    3,900,000       3,333,199  

Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd., Class A

    340,200       6,587,632  

Suningcom Co Ltd, Class A(a)

    3,094,438       1,765,231  

Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. Ltd.

    2,637,100       63,195,334  

Sunwoda Electronic Co. Ltd., Class A

    467,700       2,743,440  

Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Class A

    580,200       2,050,463  

Suzhou Maxwell Technologies Co. Ltd., Class A

    31,000       2,706,549  

TAL Education Group, ADR(a)(c)

    1,543,156       4,382,563  

TBEA Co. Ltd., Class A

    965,100       3,109,853  

TCL Technology Group Corp., Class A

    3,780,855       3,341,504  

Tencent Holdings Ltd.

    21,119,800           1,139,652,104  

Tencent Music Entertainment Group, ADR(a)

    2,440,372       13,153,605  

Thunder Software Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    121,387       2,704,216  

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  15


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co. Ltd., Class A

    785,293     $ 6,012,486  

Tianma Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,006,123       3,727,876  

Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding Corp.

    7,494,000       16,579,741  

Tongcheng Travel Holdings Ltd.(a)

    3,840,800       7,153,291  

Tongkun Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    681,600       2,376,588  

Tongwei Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,028,684       7,054,956  

Topchoice Medical Corp., Class A(a)

    80,300       2,060,231  

Topsports International Holdings Ltd.(b)

    5,935,000       6,169,596  

Transfar Zhilian Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,462,698       1,790,741  

TravelSky Technology Ltd., Class H

    3,596,000       6,773,619  

Trina Solar Co. Ltd.

    103,372       1,264,821  

Trip.com Group Ltd., ADR(a)

    1,873,959       48,385,621  

Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd., Class A

    231,400       3,450,083  

Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd., Class H

    1,968,000       18,933,814  

Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    155,000       5,443,361  

Uni-President China Holdings Ltd.

    5,252,000       5,461,421  

Unisplendour Corp. Ltd., Class A

    748,454       2,609,048  

Venus MedTech Hangzhou Inc.,
Class H(a)(b)(c)

    833,500       2,317,317  

Vinda International Holdings Ltd.

    1,499,000       4,268,005  

Vipshop Holdings Ltd., ADR(a)

    1,642,641       14,241,697  

Walvax Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Class A

    389,747       2,904,782  

Wanhua Chemical Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    732,091       11,084,228  

Want Want China Holdings Ltd.(c)

    18,563,000       19,760,787  

Weibo Corp., ADR(a)(c)

    233,187       6,396,319  

Weichai Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,852,844       4,483,093  

Weichai Power Co. Ltd., Class H

    6,854,800       11,599,206  

Weimob Inc.(a)(b)(c)

    7,218,000       4,773,651  

Wens Foodstuffs Group Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,651,370       5,106,715  

Western Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,332,780       2,816,197  

Wharf Holdings Ltd. (The)

    5,214,000       18,864,203  

Will Semiconductor Co. Ltd. Shanghai, Class A

    204,100       8,009,460  

Wingtech Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    319,200       5,948,550  

Winning Health Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    795,224       1,445,544  

Wuhan Guide Infrared Co. Ltd., Class A

    838,386       2,981,743  

Wuhu Sanqi Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    611,088       2,029,386  

Wuliangye Yibin Co. Ltd., Class A

    865,028       26,185,439  

WUS Printed Circuit Kunshan Co. Ltd., Class A

    667,903       1,785,742  

WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd., Class A

    666,429       11,030,918  

WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    1,197,270       17,042,483  

Wuxi Biologics Cayman Inc., New(a)(b)

    13,159,000       108,843,572  

Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Co. Ltd., Class A

    235,080       2,534,153  

Wuxi Shangji Automation Co. Ltd., Class A

    79,100       1,997,045  

XCMG Construction Machinery Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,809,069       2,469,735  

Xiaomi Corp., Class B(a)(b)

    52,254,200       98,353,744  

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,380,793       3,295,883  

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Class H

    2,316,046       3,789,468  

Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd.(c)

    17,984,000       32,665,522  

XPeng Inc., ADR(a)

    1,437,328       52,275,619  

Yadea Group Holdings Ltd.(b)

    4,574,000       6,785,683  

Yankuang Energy Group Co Ltd, Class H(c)

    6,592,800       16,164,365  

Yankuang Energy Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    545,300       2,736,514  

Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    324,998       2,328,353  

Yealink Network Technology Corp. Ltd., Class A

    271,780       3,294,533  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Yifeng Pharmacy Chain Co. Ltd., Class A

    250,756     $ 1,970,985  

Yihai International Holding Ltd.(c)

    1,759,000       7,359,828  

Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    339,500       2,888,170  

Yonghui Superstores Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,051,400       1,767,253  

Yonyou Network Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    853,551       4,259,570  

Yuexiu Property Co. Ltd.

    5,267,000       5,268,426  

Yum China Holdings Inc.

    1,567,027       81,516,745  

Yunda Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    807,304       2,486,524  

Yunnan Baiyao Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    316,001       4,514,800  

Yunnan Energy New Material Co. Ltd., Class A

    217,200       9,001,235  

Zai Lab Ltd., ADR(a)

    283,080       15,484,476  

Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    141,050       8,120,087  

Zhejiang Century Huatong Group Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    2,131,878       2,210,427  

Zhejiang Chint Electrics Co. Ltd., Class A

    546,823       4,358,363  

Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    954,184       2,841,334  

Zhejiang Expressway Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,948,000       5,365,735  

Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    481,504       1,765,393  

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. Ltd., Class A

    295,058       5,835,459  

Zhejiang Jingsheng Mechanical & Electrical Co. Ltd., Class A

    342,600       3,550,821  

Zhejiang Longsheng Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,242,200       2,428,310  

Zhejiang NHU Co. Ltd., Class A

    781,573       4,212,471  

Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls Co. Ltd., Class A

    727,717       2,328,304  

Zhejiang Supor Co. Ltd., Class A

    194,782       1,564,183  

Zhejiang Wolwo Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    156,847       1,135,985  

Zheshang Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,095,500       2,010,274  

ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H(a)(b)(c)

    1,854,400       6,103,635  

Zhongji Innolight Co. Ltd., Class A

    279,300       1,702,717  

Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd.

    2,275,000       15,886,149  

Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co. Ltd.

    2,052,200       10,697,135  

Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    5,223,500       9,348,279  

Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    20,604,000       30,580,074  

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,099,554       2,351,958  

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Class H

    4,408,000       2,932,217  

ZTE Corp., Class A

    910,800       4,214,890  

ZTE Corp., Class H

    2,770,400       6,825,008  

ZTO Express Cayman Inc., ADR

    1,597,542       47,031,636  
   

 

 

 
          8,811,747,162  
Colombia — 0.1%            

Bancolombia SA

    912,364       9,047,154  

Ecopetrol SA

    18,473,544       15,310,921  

Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana SA

    518,322       4,206,342  

Interconexion Electrica SA ESP

    1,700,373       10,495,050  
   

 

 

 
      39,059,467  
Czech Republic — 0.2%            

CEZ AS

    603,383       22,976,723  

Komercni Banka AS(a)

    278,444       10,954,101  

Moneta Money Bank AS(b)

    1,440,513       5,703,712  
   

 

 

 
      39,634,536  
Egypt — 0.1%            

Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE(a)

    6,154,530       18,745,569  

Eastern Co. SAE

    3,915,652       2,707,100  

 

 

16  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Egypt (continued)            

Fawry for Banking & Payment Technology
Services SAE(a)

    1,975,027     $ 1,218,659  
   

 

 

 
      22,671,328  
Greece — 0.2%            

Alpha Services and Holdings SA(a)

    8,198,649       11,187,381  

Eurobank Ergasias Services and Holdings SA, Class A(a)

    9,691,458       10,616,321  

FF Group(a)(d)

    246,892       2,768  

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA

    835,654       16,714,728  

JUMBO SA

    411,364       5,910,160  

OPAP SA

    741,269       10,803,789  

Public Power Corp. SA(a)

    795,797       7,565,063  
   

 

 

 
          62,800,210  
Hungary — 0.2%            

MOL Hungarian Oil & Gas PLC

    1,481,515       11,556,261  

OTP Bank Nyrt(a)

    826,543       31,540,222  

Richter Gedeon Nyrt

    518,502       10,886,821  
   

 

 

 
      53,983,304  
India — 12.4%            

ACC Ltd.

    284,979       7,937,542  

Adani Enterprises Ltd.

    1,034,394       22,747,074  

Adani Green Energy Ltd.(a)

    1,441,223       35,464,265  

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd.

    1,866,385       17,647,936  

Adani Total Gas Ltd.

    1,023,423       21,576,130  

Adani Transmission Ltd.(a)

    1,015,547       28,939,682  

Ambuja Cements Ltd.

    2,580,450       10,814,934  

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd.

    373,970       23,935,924  

Asian Paints Ltd.

    1,406,698       59,448,623  

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.

    1,047,965       8,723,731  

Avenue Supermarts Ltd.(a)(b)

    600,541       34,743,892  

Axis Bank Ltd.(a)

    8,283,592       82,182,742  

Bajaj Auto Ltd.

    246,273       11,589,025  

Bajaj Finance Ltd.

    996,556       93,302,760  

Bajaj Finserv Ltd.

    142,585       30,568,582  

Balkrishna Industries Ltd.

    332,949       8,096,211  

Bandhan Bank Ltd.(b)

    2,338,164       9,563,858  

Berger Paints India Ltd.

    889,298       8,167,626  

Bharat Electronics Ltd.

    4,500,582       12,647,924  

Bharat Forge Ltd.

    880,561       7,976,759  

Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.

    3,095,945       14,440,862  

Bharti Airtel Ltd.(a)

    9,065,297       82,895,723  

Biocon Ltd.(a)

    1,467,566       6,820,646  

Britannia Industries Ltd.

    390,870       17,841,334  

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. Ltd.

    1,534,897       14,160,223  

Cipla Ltd.

    1,756,904       21,624,048  

Coal India Ltd.

    5,488,169       12,413,363  

Colgate-Palmolive India Ltd.

    409,712       7,903,935  

Container Corp. of India Ltd.

    899,808       7,201,687  

Dabur India Ltd.

    2,207,419       16,549,973  

Divi’s Laboratories Ltd.

    490,118       27,854,139  

DLF Ltd.

    2,321,252       10,891,950  

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.

    420,974       22,729,683  

Eicher Motors Ltd.

    489,867       16,920,227  

GAIL India Ltd.

    5,574,503       10,778,898  

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.(a)

    1,327,981       13,581,164  

Godrej Properties Ltd.(a)

    462,966       9,274,158  

Grasim Industries Ltd.

    1,009,517       21,543,729  

Havells India Ltd.

    929,636       14,686,783  

HCL Technologies Ltd.

    3,965,802       59,634,667  
Security   Shares     Value  
India (continued)            

HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd.(b)

    174,006     $ 4,838,588  

HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd.(b)

    3,253,943       22,682,982  

Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

    425,224       14,404,107  

Hindalco Industries Ltd.

    5,891,397       45,276,117  

Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd.

    2,310,995       8,407,017  

Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

    3,000,744       86,776,453  

Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd.

    6,295,479       198,973,649  

ICICI Bank Ltd.

    18,834,704       186,552,721  

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.(b)

    807,057       13,583,755  

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.(b)

    1,320,396       8,435,340  

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.

    6,572,406       10,087,938  

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp. Ltd.

    920,267       9,985,747  

Indraprastha Gas Ltd.

    1,000,665       4,626,630  

Indus Towers Ltd.(a)

    2,478,406       7,113,542  

Info Edge India Ltd.

    287,006       17,060,742  

Infosys Ltd.

    12,327,400           280,939,803  

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.(a)(b)

    351,360       8,795,926  

ITC Ltd.

    10,612,654       30,558,136  

JSW Steel Ltd.

    3,153,444       26,456,545  

Jubilant Foodworks Ltd.

    294,859       11,463,915  

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

    2,014,748       49,595,223  

Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd.(b)

    195,173       15,254,123  

Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

    2,515,812       60,990,043  

Lupin Ltd.

    808,277       8,029,826  

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

    3,198,098       33,761,234  

Marico Ltd.

    1,859,147       12,727,867  

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

    496,363       55,013,678  

Mindtree Ltd.

    247,860       12,861,670  

Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd.

    4,633,702       9,316,243  

Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd.(a)

    4,658,512       2,873,102  

Mphasis Ltd.

    312,901       12,999,562  

MRF Ltd.

    6,919       6,054,159  

Muthoot Finance Ltd.

    453,406       8,214,554  

Nestle India Ltd.

    122,351       28,734,714  

NTPC Ltd.

    17,724,217       31,551,451  

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd.

    9,252,385       19,927,457  

Page Industries Ltd.

    20,889       11,758,286  

Petronet LNG Ltd.

    2,676,871       7,681,304  

PI Industries Ltd.

    316,543       10,417,880  

Pidilite Industries Ltd.

    570,558       18,264,516  

Piramal Enterprises Ltd.

    439,328       12,145,442  

Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd.

    11,508,961       32,046,885  

Reliance Industries Ltd.

    10,456,819       329,198,442  

SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd.(a)

    839,297       8,800,008  

SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.(b)

    1,663,951       23,529,906  

Shree Cement Ltd.

    39,336       12,806,012  

Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd.

    743,300       11,172,554  

Siemens Ltd.

    272,206       8,515,895  

SRF Ltd.

    556,699       17,716,583  

State Bank of India

    6,519,787       42,119,154  

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

    3,069,207       34,477,711  

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

    3,376,386       159,945,222  

Tata Consumer Products Ltd.

    2,238,495       21,434,481  

Tata Motors Ltd.(a)

    6,103,291       36,999,257  

Tata Power Co. Ltd. (The)

    5,370,757       16,015,680  

Tata Steel Ltd.

    2,676,927       43,831,267  

Tech Mahindra Ltd.

    2,317,605       43,635,407  

Titan Co. Ltd.

    1,313,243       44,606,260  

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

    190,223       6,961,994  

Trent Ltd.

    694,746       10,274,742  

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  17



Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
India (continued)            

UltraTech Cement Ltd.

    370,398     $ 32,417,886  

United Spirits Ltd.(a)

    1,093,194       12,908,087  

UPL Ltd.

    1,842,832       16,378,122  

Vedanta Ltd.

    4,175,840       21,253,702  

Wipro Ltd.

    4,997,394       36,954,458  

Yes Bank Ltd.(a)

    40,654,758       7,182,159  

Zomato Ltd.(a)

    5,802,990       6,199,495  
   

 

 

 
          3,408,395,768  
Indonesia — 1.7%            

Adaro Energy Tbk PT

    55,647,100       9,534,102  

Aneka Tambang Tbk

    32,146,300       5,008,341  

Astra International Tbk PT

    74,224,300       30,100,547  

Bank Central Asia Tbk PT

    202,706,400       114,441,083  

Bank Jago Tbk PT(a)

    12,194,600       13,795,378  

Bank Mandiri Persero Tbk PT

    68,339,700       36,947,249  

Bank Negara Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    27,438,676       15,374,260  

Bank Rakyat Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    249,078,808       79,645,475  

Barito Pacific Tbk PT

    106,537,700       6,643,186  

Charoen Pokphand Indonesia Tbk PT

    27,450,345       11,115,218  

Gudang Garam Tbk PT

    1,656,100       3,629,199  

Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk PT

    10,335,800       5,840,934  

Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa Tbk PT

    5,544,000       4,247,169  

Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk PT

    8,306,000       4,923,672  

Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk PT

    15,849,700       6,855,446  

Kalbe Farma Tbk PT

    78,373,815       8,973,684  

Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk PT(a)

    46,142,800       12,494,330  

Sarana Menara Nusantara Tbk PT

    88,229,600       6,380,253  

Semen Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    10,984,800       5,548,764  

Telkom Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    182,560,500       55,117,370  

Tower Bersama Infrastructure Tbk PT

    30,990,600       6,373,198  

Unilever Indonesia Tbk PT

    26,844,800       6,907,863  

United Tractors Tbk PT

    6,179,853       10,783,747  
   

 

 

 
      460,680,468  
Kuwait — 0.7%            

Agility Public Warehousing Co. KSC

    4,501,923       15,321,540  

Boubyan Bank KSCP(a)

    4,589,198       12,493,773  

Kuwait Finance House KSCP

    17,136,336       53,606,058  

Mabanee Co. KPSC(a)

    2,280,145       6,385,611  

Mobile Telecommunications Co. KSCP

    7,321,465       15,010,672  

National Bank of Kuwait SAKP

    24,902,860       87,296,038  
   

 

 

 
      190,113,692  
Malaysia — 1.5%            

AMMB Holdings Bhd(a)

    6,707,975       5,379,753  

Axiata Group Bhd

    10,322,500       9,662,362  

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd

    24,180,100       32,937,978  

Dialog Group Bhd

    14,645,612       9,866,957  

DiGi.Com Bhd

    11,747,300       11,356,753  

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd(c)

    556,600       2,996,108  

Genting Bhd

    7,739,200       8,578,558  

Genting Malaysia Bhd

    11,326,500       8,106,569  

HAP Seng Consolidated Bhd(c)

    2,390,500       4,315,825  

Hartalega Holdings Bhd(c)

    6,164,100       6,782,932  

Hong Leong Bank Bhd

    2,315,300       11,084,411  

Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd

    939,700       4,324,164  

IHH Healthcare Bhd

    6,477,600       10,162,548  

Inari Amertron Bhd

    10,940,700       8,471,091  

IOI Corp. Bhd

    8,887,820       9,765,975  

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd

    1,610,300       9,972,085  

Malayan Banking Bhd

    16,674,100       34,839,826  
Security   Shares     Value  
Malaysia (continued)            

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd(a)

    4,085,000     $ 5,983,744  

Maxis Bhd(c)

    8,637,900       8,281,492  

MISC Bhd

    4,607,000       8,080,445  

Nestle Malaysia Bhd

    266,200       8,506,821  

Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd

    8,982,600       20,432,019  

Petronas Dagangan Bhd

    1,160,600       5,948,818  

Petronas Gas Bhd

    2,869,800       11,913,685  

PPB Group Bhd

    2,507,060       10,712,554  

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd

    12,517,800       20,363,600  

Public Bank Bhd

    52,912,750       56,195,735  

QL Resources Bhd

    4,296,800       5,065,895  

RHB Bank Bhd

    6,398,225       9,016,989  

Sime Darby Bhd

    9,564,973       5,179,803  

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd

    6,369,473       7,472,907  

Telekom Malaysia Bhd

    4,323,800       5,211,011  

Tenaga Nasional Bhd

    7,864,150       17,190,949  

Top Glove Corp. Bhd(c)

    19,344,300       9,445,234  

Westports Holdings Bhd

    3,639,400       3,389,319  
   

 

 

 
      406,994,915  
Mexico — 2.1%            

Alfa SAB de CV, Class A

    10,582,800       7,926,378  

America Movil SAB de CV, Series L, NVS

    112,935,100       102,066,730  

Arca Continental SAB de CV

    1,581,636       10,434,581  

Becle SAB de CV

    1,949,200       4,887,990  

Cemex SAB de CV, NVS(a)

    55,912,573       28,719,314  

Coca-Cola Femsa SAB de CV

    1,922,393       10,557,627  

Fibra Uno Administracion SA de CV

    11,586,800       13,057,143  

Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV

    7,121,900       57,386,219  

Gruma SAB de CV, Class B

    775,190       10,513,380  

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SAB de CV, Class B

    1,358,000       19,753,029  

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV, Class B

    761,480       16,467,316  

Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, Series A

    5,838,900       17,980,539  

Grupo Carso SAB de CV, Series A1

    1,814,441       5,525,447  

Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV, Class O

    9,516,056       64,369,630  

Grupo Financiero Inbursa SAB de CV, Class O(a)

    8,378,700       13,655,632  

Grupo Mexico SAB de CV, Series B

    11,481,488       58,901,418  

Grupo Televisa SAB de CV, CPO

    8,821,800       18,909,088  

Industrias Penoles SAB de CV

    520,043       6,490,571  

Kimberly-Clark de Mexico SAB de CV, Class A

    5,562,900       7,806,150  

Megacable Holdings SAB de CV, CPO

    1,019,860       3,003,660  

Orbia Advance Corp. SAB de CV

    3,945,734       10,079,625  

Promotora y Operadora de Infraestructura SAB de CV

    707,255       5,530,685  

Telesites SAB de CV(c)

    5,105,100       5,660,701  

Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB de CV

    19,065,600       72,516,491  
   

 

 

 
          572,199,344  
Peru — 0.2%            

Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA, ADR(a)

    805,946       7,978,865  

Credicorp Ltd.

    245,352       37,109,490  

Southern Copper Corp.

    312,036       21,652,178  
   

 

 

 
      66,740,533  
Philippines — 0.8%            

Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc.

    7,503,710       8,766,769  

AC Energy Corp.

    29,425,000       4,878,340  

Ayala Corp.

    1,010,206       16,748,100  

Ayala Land Inc.

    29,195,500       22,256,789  

Bank of the Philippine Islands

    6,049,484       11,823,172  

 

 

18  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Philippines (continued)            

BDO Unibank Inc.

    7,164,031     $ 18,154,834  

Globe Telecom Inc.

    102,715       5,161,105  

GT Capital Holdings Inc.

    365,392       4,137,962  

International Container Terminal Services Inc.

    3,830,690       15,735,192  

JG Summit Holdings Inc.

    11,095,223       13,105,144  

Jollibee Foods Corp.

    1,666,639       7,834,211  

Manila Electric Co.

    816,450       5,874,926  

Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

    46,177,500       3,494,251  

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.

    6,507,085       7,247,017  

Monde Nissin Corp.(a)(b)

    16,292,500       5,249,700  

PLDT Inc.

    285,583       10,020,749  

SM Investments Corp.

    876,892       15,256,245  

SM Prime Holdings Inc.

    36,400,725       28,410,453  

Universal Robina Corp.

    3,317,630       7,765,079  
   

 

 

 
          211,920,038  
Poland — 0.7%            

Allegro.eu SA(a)(b)(c)

    1,276,780       9,515,314  

Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA

    682,163       18,714,471  

CD Projekt SA(c)

    252,215       10,017,893  

Cyfrowy Polsat SA

    933,051       6,049,940  

Dino Polska SA(a)(b)

    183,412       12,896,959  

KGHM Polska Miedz SA

    507,345       19,921,908  

LPP SA

    4,163       8,561,796  

mBank SA(a)

    55,890       5,462,239  

Orange Polska SA(a)

    2,481,791       4,605,324  

PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA(a)

    3,086,276       5,986,867  

Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN SA

    1,085,130       18,329,834  

Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA

    6,254,129       8,242,371  

Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski SA(a)

    3,213,899       30,887,271  

Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA

    2,154,675       16,165,774  

Santander Bank Polska SA

    134,099       10,052,633  
   

 

 

 
      185,410,594  
Qatar — 0.9%            

Barwa Real Estate Co.

    6,832,377       6,796,404  

Commercial Bank PSQC (The)

    7,694,493       14,593,803  

Industries Qatar QSC

    5,546,858       27,810,835  

Masraf Al Rayan QSC(a)

    16,725,418       22,913,415  

Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Co.

    17,052,734       12,477,460  

Ooredoo QPSC

    2,718,823       5,717,447  

Qatar Electricity & Water Co. QSC

    1,706,273       8,424,491  

Qatar Fuel QSC

    1,854,806       9,452,665  

Qatar Gas Transport Co. Ltd.

    9,403,955       9,720,191  

Qatar International Islamic Bank QSC

    2,575,069       7,238,511  

Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ

    4,155,943       24,015,354  

Qatar National Bank QPSC

    16,362,250       97,952,565  
   

 

 

 
      247,113,141  
Russia — 0.6%            

Alrosa PJSC(d)

    9,805,890       2,856,377  

Gazprom PJSC(d)

    43,696,315       35,225,062  

Inter RAO UES PJSC(d)

    121,651,300       1,174,334  

LUKOIL PJSC(d)

    1,533,792       26,773,105  

Magnit PJSC, GDR

    1,230,782       1,953,420  

MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC(d)

    233,757       15,835,239  

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC, ADR

    1,581,331       8,697,320  

Moscow Exchange MICEX-RTS PJSC(d)

    5,279,850       1,777,080  

Novatek PJSC, GDR

    337,123       12,986,689  

Novolipetsk Steel PJSC(d)

    5,629,360       3,575,117  

Ozon Holdings PLC, ADR(a)(d)

    197,078       722,931  
Security   Shares     Value  
Russia (continued)            

PhosAgro PJSC, GDR

    526,116     $ 3,218,724  

Polymetal International PLC(d)

    1,312,267       3,979,874  

Polyus PJSC(d)

    126,490       4,765,925  

Rosneft Oil Co. PJSC(d)

    4,281,715       4,466,820  

Sberbank of Russia PJSC(d)

    39,606,181       17,506,667  

Severstal PAO(d)

    805,849       3,848,600  

Surgutneftegas PJSC(d)

    26,192,370       1,977,936  

Tatneft PJSC(d)

    5,175,395       6,571,870  

TCS Group Holding PLC, GDR(d)

    445,207       5,127,089  

United Co. RUSAL International PJSC(a)(d)

    11,428,270       2,411,563  

VK Co. Ltd.(a)(d)

    404,870       411,402  

VTB Bank PJSC(d)

    11,783,971,998       787,471  

X5 Retail Group NV, GDR(d)

    424,766       1,827,189  

Yandex NV(a)(d)

    1,127,576       7,371,114  
   

 

 

 
      175,848,918  
Saudi Arabia — 4.0%            

Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Co.

    150,559       4,477,942  

Advanced Petrochemical Co.

    405,908       8,143,726  

Al Rajhi Bank

    4,512,569       193,596,923  

Alinma Bank

    3,662,763       34,730,568  

Almarai Co. JSC

    864,080       11,585,056  

Arab National Bank

    2,207,111       16,499,968  

Bank AlBilad(a)

    1,411,812       22,218,540  

Bank Al-Jazira

    1,573,023       11,302,299  

Banque Saudi Fransi

    2,191,858       31,130,170  

Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance Co.

    225,521       9,779,392  

Co for Cooperative Insurance (The)

    220,855       4,641,676  

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co.(a)

    2,021,927       5,908,002  

Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group Co.

    203,437       9,303,133  

Emaar Economic City(a)

    1,549,045       5,132,680  

Etihad Etisalat Co.(a)

    1,354,255       12,621,976  

Jarir Marketing Co.

    215,793       12,048,762  

Mobile Telecommunications Co.(a)

    1,535,258       5,514,565  

Mouwasat Medical Services Co.

    185,150       10,270,640  

National Industrialization Co.(a)

    1,351,894       8,189,401  

National Petrochemical Co.

    471,399       5,688,653  

Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical
Co.(a)

    870,740       5,716,201  

Riyad Bank(a)

    4,976,948       47,173,630  

SABIC Agri-Nutrients Co.

    795,364       33,888,761  

Sahara International Petrochemical Co.

    1,377,859       17,234,459  

Saudi Arabian Mining Co.(a)

    1,612,631       46,035,046  

Saudi Arabian Oil Co.(b)

    7,829,695       86,866,585  

Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

    3,274,947       109,177,945  

Saudi British Bank (The)(a)

    3,027,798       31,327,227  

Saudi Electricity Co.

    3,016,547       22,264,048  

Saudi Industrial Investment Group

    853,097       8,054,866  

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co.(a)

    2,818,579       15,409,069  

Saudi National Bank (The)

    8,044,325       146,542,154  

Saudi Research & Media Group(a)

    91,466       6,094,970  

Saudi Telecom Co.

    2,159,475       65,888,312  

Savola Group (The)

    885,061       8,018,335  

Yanbu National Petrochemical Co.

    913,561       16,769,049  
   

 

 

 
          1,089,244,729  
South Africa — 3.7%            

Absa Group Ltd.

    2,633,920       30,258,069  

African Rainbow Minerals Ltd.

    432,523       7,697,299  

Anglo American Platinum Ltd.

    197,080       30,761,206  

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.

    1,535,025       35,914,819  

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd.

    1,441,907       18,848,764  

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  19


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
South Africa (continued)            

Bid Corp. Ltd.

    1,243,221     $ 25,258,580  

Bidvest Group Ltd (The)

    1,021,476       13,995,557  

Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd.

    298,396       40,287,244  

Clicks Group Ltd.

    915,905       17,807,320  

Discovery Ltd.(a)

    1,588,529       16,268,188  

Exxaro Resources Ltd.

    942,511       12,157,220  

FirstRand Ltd.

    18,340,251       78,966,797  

Gold Fields Ltd.

    3,283,667       45,721,005  

Growthpoint Properties Ltd.

    12,174,727       10,609,956  

Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd.

    2,075,977       8,865,647  

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.

    3,015,842       57,525,325  

Kumba Iron Ore Ltd.

    237,552       9,390,142  

Mr. Price Group Ltd.

    952,355       12,983,182  

MTN Group Ltd.(a)

    6,271,806       78,288,097  

MultiChoice Group

    1,357,453       11,125,354  

Naspers Ltd., Class N

    793,250       99,894,412  

Nedbank Group Ltd.

    1,673,091       23,784,795  

NEPI Rockcastle PLC

    1,587,276       10,144,465  

Northam Platinum Holdings Ltd.(a)

    1,267,707       20,468,815  

Old Mutual Ltd.

    17,182,421       14,080,059  

Pepkor Holdings Ltd.(b)

    4,863,145       6,942,267  

Rand Merchant Investment Holdings Ltd.

    3,058,418       9,623,040  

Reinet Investments SCA

    511,907       10,552,916  

Remgro Ltd.

    1,909,088       17,348,630  

Sanlam Ltd.

    6,844,695       28,844,470  

Sasol Ltd.(a)

    2,084,138       47,820,421  

Shoprite Holdings Ltd.

    1,862,615       27,783,272  

Sibanye Stillwater Ltd.

    9,822,856       46,340,561  

SPAR Group Ltd (The)

    681,489       7,272,171  

Standard Bank Group Ltd.

    4,811,358       50,981,197  

Tiger Brands Ltd.

    603,974       6,415,941  

Vodacom Group Ltd.

    2,280,882       21,955,506  

Woolworths Holdings Ltd.

    3,693,842       12,162,678  
   

 

 

 
          1,025,145,387  
South Korea — 11.7%            

Alteogen Inc.(a)(c)

    105,528       4,753,024  

Amorepacific Corp.(c)

    118,015       18,216,884  

AMOREPACIFIC Group

    111,064       4,537,675  

BGF retail Co. Ltd.

    31,218       4,422,541  

Celltrion Healthcare Co. Ltd.

    317,953       16,911,151  

Celltrion Inc.

    359,595       47,998,699  

Celltrion Pharm Inc.(a)

    63,700       4,686,910  

Cheil Worldwide Inc.

    265,159       4,985,499  

CJ CheilJedang Corp.

    30,256       9,583,752  

CJ Corp.

    52,790       3,718,818  

CJ ENM Co. Ltd.

    39,988       4,363,629  

CJ Logistics Corp.(a)

    29,273       3,035,074  

Coway Co. Ltd.

    207,765       12,478,114  

DB Insurance Co. Ltd.

    176,301       9,061,756  

Doosan Bobcat Inc.

    197,787       6,347,947  

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    1,302,695       22,840,960  

Douzone Bizon Co. Ltd.

    4,111       166,480  

Ecopro BM Co. Ltd.(c)

    41,800       13,227,685  

E-MART Inc.

    70,375       7,674,701  

F&F Co. Ltd./New(a)

    13,259       9,910,279  

Green Cross Corp.(c)

    21,869       3,327,546  

GS Engineering & Construction Corp.

    237,637       8,540,455  

GS Holdings Corp.

    181,194       6,058,955  

Hana Financial Group Inc.

    1,098,777       44,640,929  
Security   Shares     Value  
South Korea (continued)            

Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd.

    276,458     $ 8,145,343  

Hanmi Pharm Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    25,857       5,727,325  

Hanon Systems

    697,821       6,757,851  

Hanwha Solutions Corp.(a)

    453,363       12,888,881  

HLB Inc.(a)(c)

    357,758       9,373,730  

HMM Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    993,400       24,063,401  

Hotel Shilla Co. Ltd.(c)

    120,240       8,126,644  

HYBE Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    62,069       15,081,849  

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd.

    284,042       10,348,279  

Hyundai Glovis Co. Ltd.

    67,417       9,945,041  

Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. Ltd.

    180,630       7,777,816  

Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd.

    241,948       45,429,601  

Hyundai Motor Co.

    513,465       75,554,687  

Hyundai Steel Co.

    324,241       10,813,720  

Iljin Materials Co. Ltd.

    87,287       6,681,529  

Industrial Bank of Korea

    949,272       8,527,835  

Kakao Corp.(c)

    1,146,177       90,773,516  

Kakao Games Corp.(a)(c)

    112,580       6,994,776  

KakaoBank Corp.(a)(c)

    349,221       14,099,314  

Kangwon Land Inc.(a)(c)

    365,443       8,128,181  

KB Financial Group Inc.

    1,448,006       71,436,564  

Kia Corp.

    967,783       59,998,011  

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd.(a)

    275,281       8,564,510  

Korea Electric Power Corp.(a)

    920,737       17,843,246  

Korea Investment Holdings Co. Ltd.(a)

    150,860       10,022,412  

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd.(a)

    146,013       10,824,816  

Korea Zinc Co. Ltd.

    32,463       14,888,849  

Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd.(a)

    642,320       15,824,792  

Krafton Inc.(a)

    81,050       20,107,258  

KT&G Corp.

    418,512       27,821,234  

Kumho Petrochemical Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    67,853       9,154,092  

L&F Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    85,829       14,121,917  

LG Chem Ltd.

    168,498       79,959,728  

LG Corp.

    317,879       19,978,763  

LG Display Co. Ltd.(c)

    856,352       13,467,333  

LG Electronics Inc.

    393,703       41,101,157  

LG Energy Solution(a)(c)

    78,083       26,756,099  

LG Household & Health Care Ltd.(c)

    34,052       27,018,334  

LG Innotek Co. Ltd.

    53,470       14,760,534  

LG Uplus Corp.

    765,515       8,408,684  

Lotte Chemical Corp.

    60,755       11,197,131  

Lotte Shopping Co. Ltd.

    40,842       2,918,275  

Meritz Financial Group Inc.

    42,337       1,297,558  

Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Ltd.

    81,377       2,781,715  

Meritz Securities Co. Ltd.

    1,174,128       5,749,662  

Mirae Asset Securities Co. Ltd.

    1,023,162       7,550,310  

NAVER Corp.

    451,659       120,347,796  

NCSoft Corp.

    60,222       22,308,931  

Netmarble Corp.(b)

    77,828       6,687,602  

NH Investment & Securities Co. Ltd.(a)

    515,742       4,990,798  

Orion Corp./Republic of Korea

    89,828       6,874,020  

Pan Ocean Co. Ltd.

    1,019,114       5,623,874  

Pearl Abyss Corp.(a)(c)

    113,321       9,088,692  

POSCO

    272,138       64,748,091  

POSCO Chemical Co. Ltd.

    116,612       11,170,175  

S-1 Corp.

    65,194       3,795,159  

Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd.(a)(b)

    61,211       39,820,997  

Samsung C&T Corp.

    302,387       27,927,141  

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd.

    206,869       28,921,985  

 

 

20  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
South Korea (continued)            

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

    17,487,705     $ 1,053,693,276  

Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd.(a)

    599,607       11,713,360  

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Ltd.

    113,475       18,044,858  

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.(a)

    2,424,765       11,820,177  

Samsung Life Insurance Co. Ltd.(c)

    248,978       12,448,784  

Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.

    202,309       93,232,087  

Samsung SDS Co. Ltd.

    120,591       14,157,154  

Samsung Securities Co. Ltd.

    229,304       8,126,954  

SD Biosensor Inc.

    132,213       6,003,934  

Seegene Inc.(c)

    134,974       5,784,989  

Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd.

    1,587,515       51,650,983  

SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    99,007       7,027,530  

SK Bioscience Co. Ltd.(a)

    84,865       10,392,458  

SK Chemicals Co. Ltd.

    43,171       4,535,033  

SK Hynix Inc.

    1,999,547       208,461,777  

SK IE Technology Co. Ltd.(a)(b)(c)

    93,026       9,661,429  

SK Inc.(c)

    153,650       29,348,676  

SK Innovation Co. Ltd.(a)

    187,271       31,614,350  

SK Square Co. Ltd.(a)

    353,143       16,389,054  

SK Telecom Co. Ltd.

    97,351       4,442,426  

SKC Co. Ltd.

    80,886       9,406,556  

S-Oil Corp.(c)

    167,901       11,957,803  

Woori Financial Group Inc.

    1,865,668       22,316,367  

Yuhan Corp.

    196,238       9,534,850  
   

 

 

 
          3,214,351,892  
Taiwan — 16.1%            

Accton Technology Corp.(c)

    1,870,000       16,958,219  

Acer Inc.(c)

    10,684,121       11,088,283  

Advantech Co. Ltd.(c)

    1,437,455       18,929,137  

Airtac International Group

    518,526       17,247,260  

ASE Technology Holding Co. Ltd.

    12,098,110       43,726,289  

Asia Cement Corp.

    8,011,077       12,947,953  

ASMedia Technology Inc.(c)

    103,000       6,376,557  

Asustek Computer Inc.(c)

    2,591,968       34,578,082  

AU Optronics Corp.(c)

    30,205,000       22,613,782  

Catcher Technology Co. Ltd.

    2,373,210       12,181,236  

Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    29,007,710       65,227,767  

Chailease Holding Co. Ltd.(c)

    4,844,889       43,969,839  

Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd.

    15,775,369       10,015,532  

Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. Ltd.(c)

    6,570,128       8,405,167  

China Development Financial Holding Corp.

    57,658,588       39,485,438  

China Steel Corp.

    43,739,313       56,876,609  

Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd.

    13,532,410       60,146,375  

Compal Electronics Inc.(c)

    14,671,908       13,366,277  

CTBC Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    67,557,772       66,036,200  

Delta Electronics Inc.(c)

    7,134,000       63,578,972  

E Ink Holdings Inc.

    2,658,000       14,324,754  

E.Sun Financial Holding Co Ltd(c)

    43,867,640       46,370,410  

Eclat Textile Co. Ltd.

    725,427       15,036,781  

eMemory Technology Inc.

    242,000       16,331,915  

Evergreen Marine Corp. Taiwan Ltd.

    9,371,810       49,232,524  

Far Eastern New Century Corp.

    9,700,038       10,282,461  

Far EasTone Telecommunications Co. Ltd.(c)

    5,603,000       13,858,076  

Feng TAY Enterprise Co. Ltd.

    1,628,137       12,136,712  

First Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    37,734,901       34,743,936  

Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp.

    12,690,090       35,977,330  

Formosa Petrochemical Corp.(c)

    4,177,000       14,692,947  

Formosa Plastics Corp.

    14,070,280       53,129,588  

Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd.(c)

    3,369,637       7,756,069  

Fubon Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    27,844,974       75,183,212  
Security   Shares     Value  
Taiwan (continued)            

Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

    1,129,203     $ 11,723,159  

Globalwafers Co. Ltd.(c)

    806,000       19,950,448  

Hiwin Technologies Corp.

    1,010,527       9,648,075  

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.

    45,442,873       168,800,190  

Hotai Motor Co. Ltd.(c)

    1,128,000       25,539,542  

Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co. Ltd.

    32,577,114       25,831,372  

Innolux Corp.(c)

    34,978,002       21,284,584  

Inventec Corp.

    9,751,281       9,005,305  

Largan Precision Co. Ltd.(c)

    364,000       26,452,901  

Lite-On Technology Corp.

    7,857,246       19,320,020  

MediaTek Inc.(c)

    5,566,338       219,958,453  

Mega Financial Holding Co. Ltd.(c)

    39,543,162       53,288,400  

Micro-Star International Co. Ltd.(c)

    2,507,000       14,131,399  

momo.com Inc.

    174,000       6,194,234  

Nan Ya Plastics Corp.

    19,130,160       60,336,521  

Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board Corp.(c)

    857,000       16,411,221  

Nanya Technology Corp.

    4,458,000       12,484,186  

Nien Made Enterprise Co. Ltd.

    638,000       8,270,877  

Novatek Microelectronics Corp.(c)

    2,121,000       35,162,924  

Oneness Biotech Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    863,000       7,618,780  

Parade Technologies Ltd.

    285,000       19,676,872  

Pegatron Corp.

    7,012,414       17,380,666  

Pou Chen Corp.

    8,418,220       9,707,998  

President Chain Store Corp.

    2,042,000       19,081,488  

Quanta Computer Inc.

    9,804,000       32,783,559  

Realtek Semiconductor Corp.(c)

    1,685,637       27,792,712  

Ruentex Development Co. Ltd.

    4,529,161       11,694,411  

Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank Ltd/The

    13,318,318       21,938,551  

Shin Kong Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    44,446,149       18,024,447  

SinoPac Financial Holdings Co. Ltd.

    39,101,626       24,010,786  

Synnex Technology International Corp.

    5,122,834       13,262,847  

Taishin Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    38,725,610       27,139,883  

Taiwan Cement Corp.(c)

    19,243,725       32,668,588  

Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    35,879,094       34,037,911  

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.

    6,975,000       7,382,142  

Taiwan Mobile Co. Ltd.

    5,945,600       21,986,178  

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

    90,289,000       1,941,173,423  

Unimicron Technology Corp.(c)

    4,474,000       41,598,336  

Uni-President Enterprises Corp.(c)

    17,290,839       41,599,895  

United Microelectronics Corp.(c)

    43,505,000       81,978,696  

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp.(c)

    3,307,000       15,008,369  

Voltronic Power Technology Corp.

    230,000       11,944,642  

Wan Hai Lines Ltd.(c)

    2,283,600       15,554,641  

Win Semiconductors Corp.(c)

    1,239,000       13,564,236  

Winbond Electronics Corp.

    11,068,000       13,329,094  

Wiwynn Corp.(c)

    300,000       10,714,680  

WPG Holdings Ltd.

    5,911,449       11,797,532  

Yageo Corp.(c)

    1,601,861       26,281,340  

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.(a)(c)

    6,488,000       27,421,510  

Yuanta Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    35,066,980       31,325,072  

Zhen Ding Technology Holding Ltd.(c)

    2,239,075       7,426,537  
   

 

 

 
          4,423,511,322  
Thailand — 1.9%            

Advanced Info Service PCL, NVDR

    4,325,500       30,448,563  

Airports of Thailand PCL, NVDR(a)

    15,427,000       30,479,621  

Asset World Corp. PCL, NVDR(a)

    31,166,800       4,591,533  

B Grimm Power PCL, NVDR(c)

    3,007,300       3,190,616  

Bangkok Commercial Asset Management PCL, NVDR

    6,531,700       4,397,256  

Bangkok Dusit Medical Services PCL, NVDR

    34,618,100       25,169,541  

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  21


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Thailand (continued)            

Bangkok Expressway & Metro PCL, NVDR(c)

    27,240,700     $ 7,448,196  

Berli Jucker PCL, NVDR

    4,321,800       4,443,955  

BTS Group Holdings PCL, NVDR

    27,193,600       7,926,946  

Bumrungrad Hospital PCL, NVDR

    1,776,400       8,370,933  

Carabao Group PCL, NVDR(c)

    1,178,400       3,858,029  

Central Pattana PCL, NVDR

    7,384,300       12,557,235  

Central Retail Corp. PCL, NVDR

    6,806,834       8,003,808  

Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL, NVDR(c)

    13,145,500       10,185,344  

CP ALL PCL, NVDR

    21,134,000       44,153,490  

Delta Electronics Thailand PCL, NVDR

    1,158,900       14,509,779  

Electricity Generating PCL, NVDR

    945,200       5,206,514  

Energy Absolute PCL, NVDR

    5,702,900       16,667,518  

Global Power Synergy PCL, NVDR

    2,658,800       6,137,526  

Gulf Energy Development PCL, NVDR

    10,980,900       17,072,360  

Home Product Center PCL, NVDR

    21,909,814       10,259,898  

Indorama Ventures PCL, NVDR

    6,514,380       9,025,333  

Intouch Holdings PCL, NVDR

    4,328,525       10,065,325  

Krung Thai Bank PCL, NVDR

    12,050,300       5,184,374  

Krungthai Card PCL, NVDR(c)

    3,427,300       6,669,532  

Land & Houses PCL, NVDR

    30,302,600       8,924,163  

Minor International PCL, NVDR(a)

    11,630,020       11,014,190  

Muangthai Capital PCL, NVDR

    2,886,200       4,571,290  

Osotspa PCL, NVDR(c)

    4,507,900       4,879,652  

PTT Exploration & Production PCL, NVDR

    5,134,739       21,618,551  

PTT Global Chemical PCL, NVDR

    8,196,430       13,357,450  

PTT Oil & Retail Business PCL, NVDR

    10,816,400       8,571,011  

PTT PCL, NVDR

    36,154,800       44,010,099  

Ratch Group PCL, NVDR

    2,989,300       4,215,579  

SCG Packaging PCL, NVDR

    4,945,700       9,302,427  

Siam Cement PCL (The), NVDR

    2,814,200       33,867,867  

Siam Commercial Bank PCL (The), NVDR

    3,118,200       12,049,521  

Sri Trang Gloves Thailand PCL, NVDR(c)

    3,446,400       2,715,985  

Srisawad Corp. PCL, NVDR(c)

    2,958,700       5,252,641  

Thai Oil PCL, NVDR

    4,202,700       6,986,475  

Thai Union Group PCL, NVDR

    10,908,500       6,810,510  

True Corp. PCL, NVDR

    44,061,601       6,773,027  
   

 

 

 
          510,943,663  
Turkey — 0.3%            

Akbank TAS

    11,067,377       5,649,096  

Aselsan Elektronik Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS

    2,422,632       3,892,945  

BIM Birlesik Magazalar AS

    1,604,701       8,475,544  

Enka Insaat ve Sanayi AS

    2       1  

Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari TAS

    5,300,249       11,902,367  

Ford Otomotiv Sanayi AS

    273,314       5,323,997  

KOC Holding AS

    2,724,274       6,227,924  

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS

    4,306,815       6,385,423  

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS

    8,236,533       6,593,868  

Turkiye Is Bankasi AS, Class C

    5,471,285       3,167,982  

Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS(a)

    483,726       6,741,984  

Turkiye Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari AS

    5,246,012       4,692,518  
   

 

 

 
      69,053,649  
United Arab Emirates — 1.3%            

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC

    10,225,809       29,991,508  

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC

    5,593,952       13,495,593  

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. for Distribution PJSC

    9,402,123       10,556,088  

Aldar Properties PJSC

    14,077,213       16,088,269  

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC

    9,910,559       16,470,545  

Emaar Properties PJSC

    14,578,415       20,193,962  

Emirates NBD Bank PJSC

    9,200,367       35,890,997  
Security   Shares     Value  
United Arab Emirates (continued)            

Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. PJSC

    12,826,771     $ 122,501,165  

First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC

    16,042,188       90,320,700  
   

 

 

 
      355,508,827  
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks — 97.5%
(Cost: $22,466,964,986)

          26,757,331,752  
   

 

 

 

Preferred Stocks

   
Brazil — 1.3%            

Alpargatas SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    719,150       3,580,773  

Banco Bradesco SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    17,728,340       69,447,486  

Braskem SA, Class A, Preference Shares, NVS

    722,851       6,773,539  

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, Class B, Preference Shares, NVS

    978,580       6,499,497  

Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais, Preference Shares, NVS

    4,049,821       9,951,498  

Gerdau SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    4,300,188       21,328,135  

Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    17,641,704       86,605,836  

Itausa SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    17,082,678       33,082,615  

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    17,495,619       115,006,691  
   

 

 

 
      352,276,070  
Chile — 0.1%            

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA, Class B, Preference Shares

    505,347       33,561,043  
   

 

 

 
Colombia — 0.0%            

Bancolombia SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    1,676,132       14,815,677  
   

 

 

 
Russia — 0.0%            

Surgutneftegas PJSC, Preference Shares, NVS(d)

    25,014,400       2,685,835  
   

 

 

 
South Korea — 0.7%            

Hyundai Motor Co.

   

Preference Shares, NVS

    82,275       6,034,603  

Series 2, Preference Shares, NVS

    124,405       9,202,928  

LG Chem Ltd., Preference Shares, NVS

    28,199       6,391,288  

LG Household & Health Care Ltd., Preference Shares, NVS

    7,767       3,404,336  

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Preference Shares, NVS

    3,026,820       167,284,724  
   

 

 

 
      192,317,879  
   

 

 

 

Total Preferred Stocks — 2.1%
(Cost: $371,736,572)

      595,656,504  
   

 

 

 

Rights

   
Brazil — 0.0%            

Americanas SA (Expires 04/08/22)(a)

    51,710       67,954  
   

 

 

 
South Korea — 0.0%            

Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd.
(Expires 03/03/22)(a)

    4,058       472,499  
   

 

 

 

Total Rights — 0.0%
(Cost: $0)

      540,453  
   

 

 

 

Short-Term Investments

   
Money Market Funds — 2.5%            

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional, SL Agency Shares, 0.09%(e)(f)(g)

    669,337,148       669,471,015  

 

 

22  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Money Market Funds (continued)            

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares, 0.03%(e)(f)

    11,270,000     $ 11,270,000  
   

 

 

 
    680,741,015  
   

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Investments — 2.5%
(Cost: $680,587,906)

 

    680,741,015  
   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities — 102.1%
(Cost: $23,519,289,464)

 

    28,034,269,724  

Other Assets, Less Liabilities — (2.1)%

 

    (584,803,004
   

 

 

 

Net Assets — 100.0%

    $  27,449,466,720  
   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Non-income producing security.

 

(b) 

Security exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration to qualified institutional investors.

(c) 

All or a portion of this security is on loan.

(d) 

Security is valued using significant unobservable inputs and is classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy.

(e) 

Affiliate of the Fund.

(f) 

Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

(g) 

All or a portion of this security was purchased with the cash collateral from loaned securities.

Affiliates

Investments in issuers considered to be affiliate(s) of the Fund during the six months ended February 28, 2022 for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

 

 

   
     Affiliated Issuer   Value at
08/31/21
    Purchases
at Cost
    Proceeds
from Sales
    Net Realized
Gain (Loss)
    Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
    Value at
02/28/22
    Shares
Held at
02/28/22
    Income     Capital
Gain
Distributions
from
Underlying
Funds
        
 

 

   
 

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional, SL Agency Shares

  $ 930,601,386     $     $ (260,900,761 )(a)    $ (80,554   $ (149,056   $ 669,471,015       669,337,148     $ 7,187,285 (b)    $    
 

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares

    25,200,000             (13,930,000 )(a)                  11,270,000       11,270,000       4,544          
         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

   
          $ (80,554   $ (149,056   $ 680,741,015       $ 7,191,829     $    
         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

  (a) 

Represents net amount purchased (sold).

 
  (b) 

All or a portion represents securities lending income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral from loaned securities, net of fees and collateral investment expenses, and other payments to and from borrowers of securities.

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Futures Contracts

 

 

 
Description   Number of
Contracts
     Expiration
Date
     Notional
Amount
(000)
   Value/
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

 

 

Long Contracts

          

MSCI Emerging Markets Index

    1,339        03/18/22      $78,700    $ (1,444,602
          

 

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure

As of period end, the fair values of derivative financial instruments located in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities were as follows:

 

 

 
     Equity
Contracts
 

 

 

Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments

  

Futures contracts

  

Unrealized depreciation on futures contracts(a)

   $ 1,444,602  
  

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Net cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts are reported in the Schedule of Investments. In the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, only current day’s variation margin is reported in receivables or payables and the net cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation) is included in accumulated earnings (loss).

 

 

 

S C H E D U L E   O F   I N V E S T M E N T S

  23


Schedule of Investments  (unaudited) (continued)

February 28, 2022

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

For the period ended February 28, 2022, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statements of Operations was as follows:

 

 

 
     Equity
Contracts
 

 

 

Net Realized Gain (Loss) from:

  

Futures contracts

   $ (16,447,268
  

 

 

 
Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on:       

Futures contracts

   $ (1,444,602
  

 

 

 

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

 

   

Futures contracts:

  

Average notional value of contracts — long

   $ 117,519,432  

For more information about the Fund’s investment risks regarding derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End

Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. For a description of the input levels and information about the Fund’s policy regarding valuation of financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

The following table summarizes the Fund’s financial instruments categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The breakdown of the Fund’s financial instruments into major categories is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments above.

 

                                                                                                           

 

 
     Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

 

 

Investments

           

Assets

           

Common Stocks

   $ 2,721,028,241      $ 23,887,307,971      $ 148,995,540      $ 26,757,331,752  

Preferred Stocks

     14,815,677        578,154,992        2,685,835        595,656,504  

Rights

            540,453               540,453  

Money Market Funds

     680,741,015                      680,741,015  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 3,416,584,933      $ 24,466,003,416      $ 151,681,375      $ 28,034,269,724  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments(a)

           

Liabilities

           

Futures Contracts

   $ (1,444,602    $      $      $ (1,444,602
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Derivative financial instruments are futures contracts. Futures contracts are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument.

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

24  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


 

Statements of Assets and Liabilities  (unaudited)

February 28, 2022

 

   

iShares

Currency

Hedged

MSCI

Emerging

Markets ETF

      

iShares

MSCI Emerging

Markets ETF

 

 

 

ASSETS

      

Investments in securities, at value (including securities on loan)(a):

      

Unaffiliated(b)

  $        $ 27,353,528,709  

Affiliated(c)

    184,512,282          680,741,015  

Cash

    5,256          5,091,895  

Foreign currency, at value(d)

             30,664,848  

Cash pledged:

      

Futures contracts

             2,440,000  

Receivables:

      

Investments sold

             197,517,592  

Securities lending income — Affiliated

             1,012,083  

Capital shares sold

    2,127           

Dividends

             47,848,461  

Tax reclaims

             607,115  

Unrealized appreciation on:

      

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    2,435,107           
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total assets

    186,954,772          28,319,451,718  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

      

Collateral on securities loaned, at value

             668,959,352  

Payables:

      

Investments purchased

    1,217,853          182,447,712  

Variation margin on futures contracts

             571,461  

Bank borrowings

             2,500,086  

Investment advisory fees

             15,182,451  

Foreign taxes

             323,936  

Unrealized depreciation on:

      

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    1,351,111           
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    2,568,964          869,984,998  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

  $ 184,385,808        $ 27,449,466,720  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF:

      

Paid-in capital

  $ 183,319,814        $ 34,361,697,303  

Accumulated earnings (loss)

    1,065,994          (6,912,230,583
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

  $ 184,385,808        $ 27,449,466,720  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Shares outstanding

    6,480,000          592,200,000  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net asset value

  $ 28.45        $ 46.35  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Shares authorized

    250 million          4 billion  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Par value

  $ 0.001        $ 0.001  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

(a) Securities loaned, at value

  $        $ 622,028,010  

(b) Investments, at cost — Unaffiliated

  $        $ 22,838,701,558  

(c)  Investments, at cost — Affiliated

  $ 181,709,255        $ 680,587,906  

(d) Foreign currency, at cost

  $        $ 30,743,554  

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  25


 

Statements of Operations  (unaudited)

Six Months Ended February 28, 2022

 

    iShares
Currency
Hedged
MSCI
Emerging
Markets ETF
       iShares
MSCI Emerging
Markets ETF
(Consolidated)
 

 

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

      

Dividends — Unaffiliated

  $        $ 281,935,019  

Dividends — Affiliated

    2,937,497          64,876  

Securities lending income — Affiliated — net(a)

             7,126,953  

Foreign taxes withheld

             (31,191,024

Other foreign taxes

             (393,487
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total investment income

    2,937,497          257,542,337  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

EXPENSES

      

Investment advisory fees

    753,102          100,657,939  

Commitment fees

    951          19,090  

Professional fees

    217          217  

Mauritius income taxes

             295  

Interest expense

             511,175  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total expenses

    754,270          101,188,716  

Less:

      

Investment advisory fees waived

    (754,270         
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived

             101,188,716  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net investment income

    2,937,497          156,353,621  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)

      

Net realized gain (loss) from:

      

Investments — Unaffiliated(b)

             1,361,650,222  

Investments — Affiliated

    (592,718        (80,554

In-kind redemptions — Affiliated

    5,364,297           

Futures contracts

             (16,447,268

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    1,504,392           

Foreign currency transactions

    (9,107        (14,932,084
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net realized gain

    6,266,864          1,330,190,316  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

      

Investments — Unaffiliated(c)

             (4,720,357,506

Investments — Affiliated

    (26,042,562        (149,056

Futures contracts

             (1,444,602

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

    1,844,966           

Foreign currency translations

             2,386,983  
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

    (24,197,596        (4,719,564,181
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized loss

    (17,930,732        (3,389,373,865
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

NET DECREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS

  $ (14,993,235      $ (3,233,020,244
 

 

 

      

 

 

 

(a) Net of securities lending income tax paid of

  $        $ 664,039  

(b) Net of foreign capital gain tax and capital gain tax refund, if applicable

  $        $ (133,629,674

(c)  Net of reduction in deferred foreign capital gain tax of

  $        $ 109,498,234  

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

26  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   S E M I - A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

           iShares
Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets
ETF
            iShares
MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
(Consolidated)
 
                      Six Months Ended
02/28/22
(unaudited)
     Year Ended
08/31/21
         Six Months Ended
02/28/22
(unaudited)
     Year Ended
08/31/21
 

 

 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS

 

             

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income

     $ 2,937,497      $ 2,863,955        $ 156,353,621      $ 422,538,344  

Net realized gain (loss)

       6,266,864        1,206,589          1,330,190,316        (540,784,216

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

       (24,197,596      22,470,366          (4,719,564,181      4,851,060,910  
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

       (14,993,235      26,540,910          (3,233,020,244      4,732,815,038  
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS(a)

               

Decrease in net assets resulting from distributions to shareholders

       (2,937,497      (2,865,230        (432,075,862      (421,960,887
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions

       (863,104      (4,122,036        131,260,914        2,647,877,164  
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

               

Total increase (decrease) in net assets

       (18,793,836      19,553,644          (3,533,835,192      6,958,731,315  

Beginning of period

       203,179,644        183,626,000          30,983,301,912        24,024,570,597  
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

End of period

     $ 184,385,808      $ 203,179,644        $ 27,449,466,720      $ 30,983,301,912  
    

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  27


Financial Highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF  
 

 

 

 
    Six Months Ended
02/28/22
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
08/31/21
    Year Ended
08/31/20
    Year Ended
08/31/19
    Year Ended
08/31/18
    Year Ended
08/31/17
 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $ 31.31              $ 27.41              $ 24.38       $ 25.70       $ 25.57       $ 21.72  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income(a)

      0.46         0.44         0.71         0.55         0.60         0.36  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)(b)

             (2.89       3.92         3.03                (1.27              0.12                3.83  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) from investment operations

      (2.43       4.36         3.74         (0.72       0.72         4.19  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Distributions(c)

                       

From net investment income

      (0.43       (0.46       (0.71       (0.60       (0.59       (0.34
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total distributions

      (0.43       (0.46       (0.71       (0.60       (0.59       (0.34
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $ 28.45       $ 31.31       $ 27.41       $ 24.38       $ 25.70       $ 25.57  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total Return(d)

                       

Based on net asset value

      (7.73 )%(e)        15.96       15.49       (2.72 )%        2.77       19.55
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)

                       

Total expenses

      0.78 %(g)         0.78       0.78       0.78       0.78       0.78
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived

      0.00 %(g)         0.00 %(h)         0.00 %(h)         0.00       0.00       0.00
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income

      3.04 %(g)         1.41       2.84       2.22       2.25       1.56
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Supplemental Data

                       

Net assets, end of period (000)

    $ 184,386       $ 203,180       $ 183,626       $ 180,376       $ 344,328       $ 393,757  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Portfolio turnover rate(i)

      2 %(e)         6       9       7       7       4
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b) 

The amounts reported for a share outstanding may not accord with the change in aggregate gains and losses in securities for the fiscal period due to the timing of capital share transactions in relation to the fluctuating market values of the Fund’s underlying securities.

 

(c) 

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

 

(d) 

Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

 

(e) 

Not annualized.

 

(f) 

Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

 

(g) 

Annualized.

 

(h) 

Rounds to less than 0.01%.

 

(i) 

Portfolio turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

28  

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Financial Highlights  (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

   

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Consolidated)

 
 

 

 

 
    Six Months Ended
02/28/22
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
08/31/21
   

Year Ended
08/31/20

    Year Ended
08/31/19
    Year Ended
08/31/18
    Year Ended
08/31/17
 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $ 52.56              $ 44.56       $ 40.22              $ 43.24              $ 44.76       $ 36.74  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income(a)

      0.26         0.75                0.98         0.90         0.83 (b)         0.75  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)(c)

             (5.74       8.01         4.52         (3.02       (1.36              7.86  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) from investment operations

      (5.48       8.76         5.50         (2.12       (0.53       8.61  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Distributions(d)

                       

From net investment income

      (0.73       (0.76       (1.16       (0.90       (0.99       (0.59
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total distributions

      (0.73       (0.76       (1.16       (0.90       (0.99       (0.59
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $ 46.35       $ 52.56       $ 44.56       $ 40.22       $ 43.24       $ 44.76  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total Return(e)

                       

Based on net asset value

      (10.50 )%(f)         19.72       13.82       (4.87 )%        (1.28 )%(b)         23.80
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets(g)

                       

Total expenses

      0.69 %(h)         0.69       0.70       0.68       0.67       0.69
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total expenses excluding professional fees for foreign withholding tax claims

      N/A         0.68       0.70       0.68       0.67       0.69
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income

      1.07 %(h)         1.45       2.38       2.16       1.78 %(b)         1.92
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Supplemental Data

                       

Net assets, end of period (000)

    $ 27,449,467       $ 30,983,302       $ 24,024,571       $ 24,631,575       $ 31,149,012       $ 35,891,890  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Portfolio turnover rate(i)

      16 %(f)         9       19       15       16       9
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b) 

Reflects the one-time, positive effect of foreign withholding tax claims, net of the associated professional fees, which resulted in the following increases for the year ended August 31, 2018:

 

   

Net investment income per share by $0.02.

 

   

Total return by 0.07%.

 

   

Ratio of net investment income to average net assets by 0.04%.

 

(c) 

The amounts reported for a share outstanding may not accord with the change in aggregate gains and losses in securities for the fiscal period due to the timing of capital share transactions in relation to the fluctuating market values of the Fund’s underlying securities.

 

(d) 

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

 

(e) 

Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

 

(f) 

Not annualized.

 

(g) 

Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

 

(h) 

Annualized.

 

(i) 

Portfolio turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   H I G H L I G H T S

  29


Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited)

 

1.

ORGANIZATION

iShares, Inc. (the “Company”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Company is organized as a Maryland corporation and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios.

These financial statements relate only to the following funds (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”):

 

iShares ETF   Diversification    
Classification    

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  Diversified    

MSCI Emerging Markets

  Diversified    

Currently the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing a substantial portion of its assets in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (the “underlying fund”). The financial statements, including the accounting policies, and Schedule of Investments for the underlying fund are included in this report and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements of the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF.

Basis of Consolidation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements for the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF includes the accounts of its subsidiary in the Republic of Mauritius, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) of the Fund that invests in Indian securities. Through this investment structure, the Fund expects to obtain certain benefits under a current tax treaty between Mauritius and India. The net assets of the Subsidiary as of period end were $2,237, which is less than 0.1% of the Fund’s consolidated net assets. Intercompany accounts and transactions, if any, have been eliminated.

As of period end, MSCI Emerging Markets no longer invests in the Subsidiary. Effective October 20, 2021, MSCI Emerging Markets transferred all of the assets of MSCI Emerging Markets’s wholly owned Mauritius Subsidiary to MSCI Emerging Markets through on-exchange transactions in India. MSCI Emerging Markets recognized a realized gain/loss of $1,882,431,068 as a result of this transaction. After the transfer, MSCI Emerging Markets began making new investments in India directly.

 

2.

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), which may require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Each Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies. Below is a summary of significant accounting policies:

Investment Transactions and Income Recognition: For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the dates the transactions are executed. Realized gains and losses on investment transactions are determined using the specific identification method. Dividend income and capital gain distributions, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date at fair value. Dividends from foreign securities where the ex-dividend date may have passed are subsequently recorded when the Funds are informed of the ex-dividend date. Under the applicable foreign tax laws, a withholding tax at various rates may be imposed on capital gains, dividends and interest.

Foreign Currency Translation: Each Fund’s books and records are maintained in U.S. dollars. Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using prevailing market rates as quoted by one or more data service providers. Purchases and sales of investments are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, the investments denominated in that currency will lose value; the opposite effect occurs if the U.S. dollar falls in relative value.

Each Fund does not isolate the effect of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates from the effect of fluctuations in the market prices of investments for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the effects of changes in exchange rates on investments are not segregated in the Statements of Operations from the effects of changes in market prices of those investments, but are included as a component of net realized and unrealized gain (loss) from investments. Each Fund reports realized currency gains (losses) on foreign currency related transactions as components of net realized gain (loss) for financial reporting purposes, whereas such components are generally treated as ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, the currency hedged fund has elected to treat realized gains (losses) from certain foreign currency contracts as capital gain (loss) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Foreign Taxes: Certain Funds may be subject to foreign taxes (a portion of which may be reclaimable) on income, stock dividends, capital gains on investments, or certain foreign currency transactions. All foreign taxes are recorded in accordance with the applicable foreign tax regulations and rates that exist in the foreign jurisdictions in which each Fund invests. These foreign taxes, if any, are paid by each Fund and are reflected in its Statements of Operations as follows: foreign taxes withheld at source are presented as a reduction of income, foreign taxes on securities lending income are presented as a reduction of securities lending income, foreign taxes on stock dividends are presented as “Other foreign taxes”, and foreign taxes on capital gains from sales of investments and foreign taxes on foreign currency transactions are included in their respective net realized gain (loss) categories. Foreign taxes payable or deferred as of February 28, 2022, if any, are disclosed in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

The Funds file withholding tax reclaims in certain jurisdictions to recover a portion of amounts previously withheld. The Funds may record a reclaim receivable based on collectability, which includes factors such as the jurisdiction’s applicable laws, payment history and market convention. The Statements of Operations includes tax reclaims recorded as well as professional and other fees, if any, associated with recovery of foreign withholding taxes.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has conducted investment activities in India through its Subsidiary and expects to obtain benefits under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (“DTAA”) between India and Mauritius. In order to be eligible to claim benefits under the DTAA, the Subsidiary must have commercial substance, on an annual basis, to satisfy certain tests and conditions, including the establishment and maintenance of valid tax residence in Mauritius, have the place of effective management outside of India, and related requirements. The Fund has obtained a current tax residence certificate issued by the Mauritian Revenue Authorities.

Based upon current interpretation and practice of the current tax laws in India and Mauritius and the DTAA, the Subsidiary is subject to tax in Mauritius on its net income at the rate of 15%. However, the Subsidiary is entitled to a tax credit equivalent to the higher of the actual foreign tax incurred or 80% of the Mauritius tax on its foreign source income, thus reducing its maximum effective tax rate to 3% up to June 30, 2021. After June 30, 2021, under the new tax regime and subject to meeting the necessary substance requirements as required under the Financial Services Act 2007 (as amended by the Finance Act 2018) and such guidelines issued by the Financial Services Commission (the “FSC”), the Subsidiary is entitled to either (a) a foreign tax credit equivalent to the actual foreign tax suffered on its foreign income against the Subsidiary’s tax liability computed at 15% on such income, or (b) a partial exemption of 80% of some of the income derived, including interest income or foreign source dividends. Taxes on income, if any, are paid by the Subsidiary and are disclosed in its Consolidated Statements of Operations. Any dividends paid by the Subsidiary to its Fund are not subject to tax in Mauritius. The Subsidiary is currently exempt from tax in Mauritius on any gains from the sale of securities.

The DTAA provides that capital gains will be taxable in India with respect to the sale of shares acquired on or after April 1, 2017. Capital gains arising from shares acquired before April 1, 2017, regardless of when they are sold, will continue to be exempt from taxation under the amended DTAA, assuming requirements for eligibility under the DTAA are satisfied. There can be no assurance, however, that the DTAA will remain in effect during the Subsidiary’s existence or that it will continue to enjoy its benefits on the shares acquired prior to April 1, 2017.

Segregation and Collateralization: In cases where a Fund enters into certain investments (e.g., futures contracts and forward foreign currency exchange contracts) that would be treated as “senior securities” for 1940 Act purposes, a Fund may segregate or designate on its books and record cash or liquid assets having a market value at least equal to the amount of its future obligations under such investments. Doing so allows the investment to be excluded from treatment as a “senior security.” Furthermore, if required by an exchange or counterparty agreement, the Funds may be required to deliver/deposit cash and/or securities to/with an exchange, or broker-dealer or custodian as collateral for certain investments or obligations.

In-kind Redemptions: For financial reporting purposes, in-kind redemptions are treated as sales of securities resulting in realized capital gains or losses to the Funds. Because such gains or losses are not taxable to the Funds and are not distributed to existing Fund shareholders, the gains or losses are reclassified from accumulated net realized gain (loss) to paid-in capital at the end of the Funds’ tax year. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset value (“NAV”) per share.

Distributions: Dividends and distributions paid by each Fund are recorded on the ex-dividend dates. Distributions are determined on a tax basis and may differ from net investment income and net realized capital gains for financial reporting purposes. Dividends and distributions are paid in U.S. dollars and cannot be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Funds. The character and timing of distributions are determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.

Indemnifications: In the normal course of business, each Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations that provide general indemnification. The Funds’ maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown because it involves future potential claims against the Funds, which cannot be predicted with any certainty.

 

3.

INVESTMENT VALUATION AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Investment Valuation Policies: Each Fund’s investments are valued at fair value (also referred to as “market value” within the financial statements) each day that the Fund’s listing exchange is open and, for financial reporting purposes, as of the report date. U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price a fund would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Each Fund determines the fair values of its financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under policies approved by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”). If a security’s market price is not readily available or does not otherwise accurately represent the fair value of the security, the security will be valued in accordance with a policy approved by the Board as reflecting fair value. The BlackRock Global Valuation Methodologies Committee (the “Global Valuation Committee”) is the committee formed by management to develop global pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments.

Fair Value Inputs and Methodologies: The following methods and inputs are used to establish the fair value of each Fund’s assets and liabilities:

   

Equity investments traded on a recognized securities exchange are valued at that day’s official closing price, as applicable, on the exchange where the stock is primarily traded. Equity investments traded on a recognized exchange for which there were no sales on that day are valued at the last traded price.

   

Exchange-traded funds and closed-end funds traded on a recognized securities exchange are valued at that day’s last traded price or official closing price, as applicable, on the exchange where the fund is primarily traded. Funds traded on a recognized exchange for which there were no sales on that day may be valued at the last traded price.

   

Investments in open-end U.S. mutual funds (including money market funds) are valued at that day’s published NAV.

   

Futures contracts are valued based on that day’s last reported settlement or trade price on the exchange where the contract is traded.

   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are valued based on that day’s prevailing forward exchange rate for the underlying currencies.

Generally, trading in foreign instruments is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Each business day, the Funds use current market factors supplied by independent pricing services to value certain foreign instruments (“Systematic Fair Value Price”). The Systematic Fair Value Price is designed to value such foreign securities at fair value as of the close of trading on the NYSE, which follows the close of the local markets.

 

 

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  31


Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

If events (e.g., market volatility, company announcement or a natural disaster) occur that are expected to materially affect the value of such investment, or in the event that application of these methods of valuation results in a price for an investment that is deemed not to be representative of the market value of such investment, or if a price is not available, the investment will be valued by the Global Valuation Committee, in accordance with a policy approved by the Board as reflecting fair value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the Global Valuation Committee include market approach, income approach and cost approach. Valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, use of market comparables and matrix pricing are types of valuation approaches and are typically used in determining fair value. When determining the price for Fair Valued Investments, the Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, seeks to determine the price that each Fund might reasonably expect to receive or pay from the current sale or purchase of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement. The pricing of all Fair Valued Investments is subsequently reported to the Board or a committee thereof on a quarterly basis.

Fair value pricing could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate a fund’s NAV and the prices used by the fund’s underlying index, which in turn could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance of the fund’s underlying index.

Fair Value Hierarchy: Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. These inputs to valuation techniques are categorized into a fair value hierarchy consisting of three broad levels for financial reporting purposes as follows:

   

Level 1 – Unadjusted price quotations in active markets/exchanges for identical assets or liabilities that each Fund has the ability to access;

   

Level 2 – Other observable inputs (including, but not limited to, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in markets that are active, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the assets or liabilities (such as interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates) or other market-corroborated inputs); and

   

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs based on the best information available in the circumstances, to the extent observable inputs are not available, (including the Global Valuation Committee’s assumptions used in determining the fair value of financial instruments).

The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the fair value hierarchy classification is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Investments classified within Level 3 have significant unobservable inputs used by the Global Valuation Committee in determining the price for Fair Valued Investments. Level 3 investments include equity or debt issued by privately held companies or funds that may not have a secondary market and/or may have a limited number of investors. The categorization of a value determined for financial instruments is based on the pricing transparency of the financial instruments and is not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities.

 

4.

SECURITIES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS

Securities Lending: Each Fund may lend its securities to approved borrowers, such as brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. The borrower pledges and maintains with the Fund collateral consisting of cash, an irrevocable letter of credit issued by an approved bank, or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government. The initial collateral received by each Fund is required to have a value of at least 102% of the current market value of the loaned securities for securities traded on U.S. exchanges and a value of at least 105% for all other securities. The collateral is maintained thereafter at a value equal to at least 100% of the current value of the securities on loan. The market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day of the Fund and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund or excess collateral is returned by the Fund, on the next business day. During the term of the loan, each Fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities but does not receive interest income on securities received as collateral. Loans of securities are terminable at any time and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within the standard time period for settlement of securities transactions.

As of period end, any securities on loan were collateralized by cash and/or U.S. Government obligations. Cash collateral invested in money market funds managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”), the Funds’ investment adviser, or its affiliates is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments. Any non-cash collateral received cannot be sold, re-invested or pledged by the Fund, except in the event of borrower default. The securities on loan, if any, are also disclosed in each Fund’s Schedule of Investments. The market value of any securities on loan and the value of any related cash collateral are disclosed in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities lending transactions are entered into by the Funds under Master Securities Lending Agreements (each, an “MSLA”) which provide the right, in the event of default (including bankruptcy or insolvency) for the non-defaulting party to liquidate the collateral and calculate a net exposure to the defaulting party or request additional collateral. In the event that a borrower defaults, the Funds, as lender, would offset the market value of the collateral received against the market value of the securities loaned. When the value of the collateral is greater than that of the market value of the securities loaned, the lender is left with a net amount payable to the defaulting party. However, bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against such a right of offset in the event of an MSLA counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. Under the MSLA, absent an event of default, the borrower can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities, and the Funds can reinvest cash collateral received in connection with loaned securities. Upon an event of default, the parties’ obligations to return the securities or collateral to the other party are extinguished, and the parties can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities or the collateral received in connection with the loaned securities in order to satisfy the defaulting party’s net payment obligation for all transactions under the MSLA. The defaulting party remains liable for any deficiency.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

As of period end, the following table is a summary of the securities on loan by counterparty which are subject to offset under an MSLA:

 

 

 

iShares ETF and Counterparty

   
Market Value of
Securities on Loan
 
 
   
Cash Collateral
Received
 
(a)  
   
Non-Cash Collateral
Received
 
 
    Net Amount  

 

 

MSCI Emerging Markets

       

Barclays Capital, Inc

  $ 12,486,167     $ 12,486,167     $     $  

BNP Paribas SA

    7,003,453       7,003,453              

BofA Securities, Inc

    65,133,241       65,133,241              

Citigroup Global Markets Ltd.

    2,124,008       2,124,008              

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

    39,500,478       39,500,478              

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

    1,853,546       1,853,546              

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

    30,937,894       30,937,894              

Goldman Sachs International

    72,079,893       72,079,893              

HSBC Bank PLC

    7,578,346       7,578,346              

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

    26,681,014       26,681,014              

J.P. Morgan Securities PLC

    21,061,745       21,061,745              

Jefferies LLC

    3,435,041       3,435,041              

Macquarie Bank Ltd.

    19,217,193       19,217,193              

Morgan Stanley

    289,884,872       289,884,872              

Nomura Securities International, Inc.

    67,680       67,680              

RBC Capital Markets LLC

    5,838,463       5,838,463              

Scotia Capital (USA), Inc.

    149,868       149,868              

SG Americas Securities LLC

    6,884,676       6,884,676              

State Street Bank & Trust Co.

    156,657       156,657              

UBS AG

    2,855,830       2,855,830              

UBS Securities LLC

    7,097,945       7,097,945              
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $ 622,028,010     $ 622,028,010     $     $  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Collateral received in excess of the market value of securities on loan is not presented in this table. The total cash collateral received by each Fund is disclosed in the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities.

 

The risks of securities lending include the risk that the borrower may not provide additional collateral when required or may not return the securities when due. To mitigate these risks, each Fund benefits from a borrower default indemnity provided by BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”). BlackRock’s indemnity allows for full replacement of the securities loaned to the extent the collateral received does not cover the value of the securities loaned in the event of borrower default. Each Fund could incur a loss if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the market value of the loaned securities or if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the value of the original cash collateral received. Such losses are borne entirely by each Fund.

 

5.

DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Futures Contracts: Futures contracts are purchased or sold to gain exposure to, or manage exposure to, changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) and changes in the value of equity securities (equity risk) or foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

Futures contracts are exchange-traded agreements between the Funds and a counterparty to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specified price and on a specified date. Depending on the terms of a contract, it is settled either through physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash amount on the settlement date. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Funds are required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or securities in an amount that varies depending on a contract’s size and risk profile. The initial margin deposit must then be maintained at an established level over the life of the contract. Amounts pledged, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities deposited as initial margin are designated in the Schedule of Investments and cash deposited, if any, are shown as cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Pursuant to the contract, the Funds agree to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in market value of the contract (“variation margin”). Variation margin is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and, if any, shown as variation margin receivable (or payable) on futures contracts in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. When the contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statements of Operations equal to the difference between the notional amount of the contract at the time it was opened and the notional amount at the time it was closed. The use of futures contracts involves the risk of an imperfect correlation in the movements in the price of futures contracts and interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or underlying assets.

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts: Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are entered into to gain or reduce exposure to foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

A forward foreign currency exchange contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a currency at a set exchange rate on a specified date. These contracts help to manage the overall exposure to the currencies in which some of the investments held by the Funds are denominated and in some cases, may be used to obtain exposure to a particular market. The contracts are traded over-the-counter (“OTC”) and not on an organized exchange.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

The contract is marked-to-market daily and the change in market value is recorded as unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. When the contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statements of Operations equal to the difference between the value at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed. Non-deliverable forward foreign currency exchange contracts are settled with the counterparty in cash without the delivery of foreign currency. The use of forward foreign currency exchange contracts involves the risk that the value of a contract changes unfavorably due to movements in the value of the referenced foreign currencies, and such value may exceed the amount(s) reflected in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Cash amounts pledged for forward foreign currency exchange contracts are considered restricted and are included in cash pledged as collateral for OTC derivatives in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. A Fund’s risk of loss from counterparty credit risk on OTC derivatives is generally limited to the aggregate unrealized gain netted against any collateral held by the Fund.

Master Netting Arrangements: In order to define its contractual rights and to secure rights that will help mitigate its counterparty risk, a Fund may enter into an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. Master Agreement (“ISDA Master Agreement”) or similar agreement with its derivative contract counterparties. An ISDA Master Agreement is a bilateral agreement between a Fund and a counterparty that governs certain OTC derivatives and typically contains, among other things, collateral posting terms and netting provisions in the event of a default and/or termination event. Under an ISDA Master Agreement, a Fund may, under certain circumstances, offset with the counterparty certain derivative financial instruments’ payables and/or receivables with collateral held and/or posted and create one single net payment. The provisions of the ISDA Master Agreement typically permit a single net payment in the event of default including the bankruptcy or insolvency of the counterparty. However, bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against the right of offset in bankruptcy, insolvency, or other events.

For derivatives traded under an ISDA Master Agreement, the collateral requirements are typically calculated by netting the mark-to-market amount for each transaction under such agreement, and comparing that amount to the value of any collateral currently pledged by a Fund and the counterparty.

Cash collateral that has been pledged to cover obligations of the Funds and cash collateral received from the counterparty, if any, is reported separately in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as cash pledged as collateral and cash received as collateral, respectively. Non-cash collateral pledged by the Funds, if any, is noted in the Schedules of Investments. Generally, the amount of collateral due from or to a counterparty is subject to a certain minimum transfer amount threshold before a transfer is required, which is determined at the close of business of the Funds. Any additional required collateral is delivered to/pledged by the Funds on the next business day. Typically, the counterparty is not permitted to sell, re-pledge or use cash and non-cash collateral it receives. A Fund generally agrees not to use non-cash collateral that it receives but may, absent default or certain other circumstances defined in the underlying ISDA Master Agreement, be permitted to use cash collateral received. In such cases, interest may be paid pursuant to the collateral arrangement with the counterparty. To the extent amounts due to the Funds from the counterparty are not fully collateralized, each Fund bears the risk of loss from counterparty non-performance. Likewise, to the extent the Funds have delivered collateral to a counterparty and stand ready to perform under the terms of their agreement with such counterparty, each Fund bears the risk of loss from a counterparty in the amount of the value of the collateral in the event the counterparty fails to return such collateral. Based on the terms of agreements, collateral may not be required for all derivative contracts.

For financial reporting purposes, each Fund does not offset derivative assets and derivative liabilities that are subject to netting arrangements, if any, in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

6.

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Advisory Fees: Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Company, BFA manages the investment of each Fund’s assets. BFA is a California corporation indirectly owned by BlackRock. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, BFA is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Funds, except (i) interest and taxes; (ii) brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions; (iii) distribution fees; (iv) the advisory fee payable to BFA; and (v) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses (in each case as determined by a majority of the independent directors).

For its investment advisory services to the following Fund, BFA is entitled to an annual investment advisory fee, accrued daily and paid monthly by the Fund, based on the average daily net assets of the Fund as follows:

 

   
iShares ETF   Investment Advisory Fee  

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

    0.78 %   

For its investment advisory services to the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, BFA is entitled to an annual investment advisory fee, accrued daily and paid monthly by the Fund, based on the Fund’s allocable portion of the aggregate of the average daily net assets of the Fund and certain other iShares funds, as follows:

 

   
Aggregate Average Daily Net Assets   Investment Advisory Fee  

First $14 billion

    0.75 %   

Over $14 billion, up to and including $28 billion

    0.68  

Over $28 billion, up to and including $42 billion

    0.61  

Over $42 billion, up to and including $56 billion

    0.54  

Over $56 billion, up to and including $70 billion

    0.47  

Over $70 billion, up to and including $84 billion

    0.41  

Over $84 billion

    0.35  

The Subsidiary has entered into a separate contract with BFA under which BFA provides investment advisory services to the Subsidiary but does not receive separate compensation from the Subsidiary for providing it with such services. The Subsidiary has also entered into separate arrangements that provide for the provision of other services to the Subsidiary (including administrative, custody, transfer agency and other services), and BFA pays the costs and expenses related to the provision of those services.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

Expense Waivers: A fund may incur its pro rata share of fees and expenses attributable to its investments in other investment companies (“acquired fund fees and expenses”). The total of the investment advisory fee and acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, is a fund’s total annual operating expenses. Total expenses as shown in the Statement of Operations does not include acquired fund fees and expenses.

For the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, BFA has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its investment advisory fee for the Fund through December 31, 2025 so that the Fund’s total annual operating expenses after fee waiver is equal to the acquired fund fees and expenses attributable to the Fund’s investment in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (“EEM”), after taking into account any fee waivers by EEM.

This amount is included in investment advisory fees waived in the Statements of Operations. For the six months ended February 28, 2022, the amounts waived in investment advisory fees pursuant to this arrangement were as follows:

 

   
iShares ETF   Amounts waived  

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 754,270  

Distributor: BlackRock Investments, LLC, an affiliate of BFA, is the distributor for each Fund. Pursuant to the distribution agreement, BFA is responsible for any fees or expenses for distribution services provided to the Funds.

Securities Lending: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has issued an exemptive order which permits BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (“BTC”), an affiliate of BFA, to serve as securities lending agent for the Funds, subject to applicable conditions. As securities lending agent, BTC bears all operational costs directly related to securities lending, including any custodial costs. Each Fund is responsible for fees in connection with the investment of cash collateral received for securities on loan (the “collateral investment fees”). The cash collateral is invested in a money market fund, BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional or BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, managed by BFA, or its affiliates. However, BTC has agreed to reduce the amount of securities lending income it receives in order to effectively limit the collateral investment fees each Fund bears to an annual rate of 0.04%. The SL Agency Shares of such money market fund will not be subject to a sales load, distribution fee or service fee. The money market fund in which the cash collateral has been invested may, under certain circumstances, impose a liquidity fee of up to 2% of the value redeemed or temporarily restrict redemptions for up to 10 business days during a 90 day period, in the event that the money market fund’s weekly liquid assets fall below certain thresholds.

Securities lending income is equal to the total of income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral, net of fees and other payments to and from borrowers of securities, and less the collateral investment fees. Each Fund retains a portion of securities lending income and remits the remaining portion to BTC as compensation for its services as securities lending agent.

Pursuant to the current securities lending agreement, each Fund retains 82% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment fees) and the amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment fees.

In addition, commencing the business day following the date that the aggregate securities lending income plus the collateral investment fees generated across all 1940 Act iShares exchange-traded funds (the “iShares ETF Complex”) in that calendar year exceeds a specified threshold, each Fund, pursuant to the securities lending agreement, will retain for the remainder of that calendar year 85% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment fees), and the amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment fees.

The share of securities lending income earned by each Fund is shown as securities lending income – affiliated – net in its Statements of Operations. For the six months ended February 28, 2022, the Funds paid BTC the following amounts for securities lending agent services:

 

   
iShares ETF   Fees Paid
to BTC
 

MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 1,871,587  

Officers and Directors: Certain officers and/or directors of the Company are officers and/or directors of BlackRock or its affiliates.

Other Transactions: Cross trading is the buying or selling of portfolio securities between funds to which BFA (or an affiliate) serves as investment adviser. At its regularly scheduled quarterly meetings, the Board reviews such transactions as of the most recent calendar quarter for compliance with the requirements and restrictions set forth by Rule 17a-7.

For the six months ended February 28, 2022, transactions executed by the Funds pursuant to Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act were as follows:

 

       
iShares ETF   Purchases      Sales      Net Realized
Gain (Loss)
 

MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 48,381,859      $ 52,231,646      $ (61,364,989

Each Fund may invest its positive cash balances in certain money market funds managed by BFA or an affiliate. The income earned on these temporary cash investments is shown as dividends – affiliated in the Statements of Operations.

A fund, in order to improve its portfolio liquidity and its ability to track its underlying index, may invest in shares of other iShares funds that invest in securities in the fund’s underlying index.

 

 

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

7.

PURCHASES AND SALES

For the six months ended February 28, 2022, purchases and sales of investments, excluding short-term investments and in-kind transactions, were as follows:

 

     
iShares ETF   Purchases     Sales  

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 8,219,335     $ 4,532,786  

MSCI Emerging Markets

    4,619,017,163       4,851,641,102  

For the six months ended February 28, 2022, in-kind transactions were as follows:

 

     
iShares ETF   In-kind
Purchases
    In-kind
Sales
 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 32,426,742     $ 33,337,867  

 

8.

INCOME TAX INFORMATION

Each Fund is treated as an entity separate from the Company’s other funds for federal income tax purposes. It is each Fund’s policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no U.S. federal income tax provision is required.

Management has analyzed tax laws and regulations and their application to the Funds as of February 28, 2022, inclusive of the open tax return years, and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability in the Funds’ financial statements.

As of August 31, 2021, the Funds had non-expiring capital loss carryforwards available to offset future realized capital gains as follows:

 

iShares ETF   Non-Expiring       

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 8,227,708      

MSCI Emerging Markets

    11,976,796,425      

A fund may own shares in certain foreign investment entities, referred to, under U.S. tax law, as “passive foreign investment companies.” Such fund may elect to mark-to-market annually the shares of each passive foreign investment company and would be required to distribute to shareholders any such marked-to-market gains.

As of February 28, 2022, gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation based on cost of investments (including short positions and derivatives, if any) for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

 

         
iShares ETF   Tax Cost      Gross Unrealized
Appreciation
     Gross Unrealized
Depreciation
    Net Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 182,935,165      $ 5,238,134      $ (2,577,021   $ 2,661,113  

MSCI Emerging Markets

    24,271,862,679        8,418,981,409        (4,658,018,966     3,760,962,443  

 

9.

LINE OF CREDIT

The iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, along with certain other iShares funds (“Participating Funds”), are parties to a $800 million credit agreement (“Syndicated Credit Agreement”) with a group of lenders, which expires on August 12, 2022. The line of credit may be used for temporary or emergency purposes, including redemptions, settlement of trades and rebalancing of portfolio holdings in certain target markets. The Funds may borrow up to the aggregate commitment amount subject to asset coverage and other limitations as specified in the Syndicated Credit Agreement. The Syndicated Credit Agreement has the following terms: a commitment fee of 0.15% per annum on the unused portion of the credit agreement and interest at a rate equal to the higher of (a) the one-month LIBOR rate (not less than zero) plus 1.00% per annum or (b) the U.S. Federal Funds rate (not less than zero) plus 1.00% per annum on amounts borrowed. The commitment fee is generally allocated to each Participating Fund based on the lesser of a Participating Fund’s relative exposure to certain target markets or a Participating Fund’s maximum borrowing amount as set forth by the terms of the Syndicated Credit Agreement.

During the six months ended February 28, 2022, the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF did not borrow under the Syndicated Credit Agreement.

For the six months ended February 28, 2022, the maximum amount borrowed, the average daily borrowing and the weighted average interest rate, if any, under the Syndicated Credit Agreement were as follows:

 

       
iShares ETF   Maximum
Amount
Borrowed
    Average
          Borrowing
   

Weighted    

Average    
        Interest Rates    

MSCI Emerging Markets

    $6,958,000       $244,464     1.11% 

 

 

36  

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, along with certain other iShares funds (“Mauritius Participating Funds”), is a party to a $750,000,000 unsecured and uncommitted line of credit (“Uncommitted Liquidity Facility”) with State Street Bank and Trust Company, which may be used solely to facilitate trading associated with the closure of the Fund’s Mauritius subsidiary. The Uncommitted Liquidity Facility has interest at a rate equal to the higher of (a) the U.S. Federal Funds rate (not less than zero) plus 1.25% per annum or (b) the Overnight Bank Funding rate (not less than zero) plus 1.25% per annum on amounts borrowed. Each Mauritius Participating Fund will be removed from the Uncommitted Liquidity Facility once trading out of its holdings in the Mauritius subsidiary is complete.

For the six months ended February 28, 2022, the maximum amount borrowed, the average daily borrowing and the weighted average interest rate, if any, under the Uncommitted Liquidity Facility were as follows:

 

       
iShares ETF   Maximum
Amount
Borrowed
     Average
        Borrowing
     Weighted
Average
Interest Rates
 

MSCI Emerging Markets

    $600,000,000        $76,243,094        1.33

 

10.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

In the normal course of business, each Fund invests in securities or other instruments and may enter into certain transactions, and such activities subject the Fund to various risks, including, among others, fluctuations in the market (market risk) or failure of an issuer to meet all of its obligations. The value of securities or other instruments may also be affected by various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the general economy; (ii) the overall market as well as local, regional or global political and/or social instability; (iii) regulation, taxation or international tax treaties between various countries; or (iv) currency, interest rate or price fluctuations. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Funds and their investments. Each Fund’s prospectus provides details of the risks to which the Fund is subject.

BFA uses a “passive” or index approach to try to achieve each Fund’s investment objective following the securities included in its underlying index during upturns as well as downturns. BFA does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. Divergence from the underlying index and the composition of the portfolio is monitored by BFA.

The Funds may be exposed to additional risks when reinvesting cash collateral in money market funds that do not seek to maintain a stable NAV per share of $1.00, which may be subject to redemption gates or liquidity fees under certain circumstances.

Market Risk: Investments in the securities of issuers domiciled in countries with emerging capital markets involve certain additional risks that do not generally apply to investments in securities of issuers in more developed capital markets, such as (i) low or nonexistent trading volume, resulting in a lack of liquidity and increased volatility in prices for such securities; (ii) uncertain national policies and social, political and economic instability, increasing the potential for expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, high rates of inflation or unfavorable diplomatic developments; (iii) lack of publicly available or reliable information about issuers as a result of not being subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements and accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards; and (iv) possible fluctuations in exchange rates, differing legal systems and the existence or possible imposition of exchange controls, custodial restrictions or other foreign or U.S. governmental laws or restrictions applicable to such investments.

An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic and has resulted in closing borders, quarantines, disruptions to supply chains and customer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this pandemic, and other global health crises that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. This pandemic may result in substantial market volatility and may adversely impact the prices and liquidity of a fund’s investments. Although vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the duration of this pandemic and its effects cannot be determined with certainty.

Valuation Risk: The market values of equities, such as common stocks and preferred securities or equity related investments, such as futures and options, may decline due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to a particular company. They may also decline due to factors which affect a particular industry or industries. A fund may invest 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 the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. A fund may experience difficulty in selling illiquid investments in a timely manner at the price that it believes the investments are worth. Prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to company, market or economic news. Markets also tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. This volatility may cause a fund’s NAV to experience significant increases or decreases over short periods of time. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, the NAV of a fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which a fund invests.

The price each Fund could receive upon the sale of any particular portfolio investment may differ from each Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair valuation technique or a price provided by an independent pricing service. Changes to significant unobservable inputs and assumptions (i.e., publicly traded company multiples, growth rate, time to exit) due to the lack of observable inputs.

Counterparty Credit Risk: The Funds may be exposed to counterparty credit risk, or the risk that an entity may fail to or be unable to perform on its commitments related to unsettled or open transactions, including making timely interest and/or principal payments or otherwise honoring its obligations. The Funds manage counterparty credit risk by entering into transactions only with counterparties that the Manager believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by monitoring the financial stability of those counterparties. Financial assets, which potentially expose the Funds to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks, consist principally of financial

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

instruments and receivables due from counterparties. The extent of the Funds’ exposure to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks with respect to these financial assets is approximately their value recorded in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, less any collateral held by the Funds.

A derivative contract may suffer a mark-to-market loss if the value of the contract decreases due to an unfavorable change in the market rates or values of the underlying instrument. Losses can also occur if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.

With exchange-traded futures, there is less counterparty credit risk to the Funds since the exchange or clearinghouse, as counterparty to such instruments, guarantees against a possible default. The clearinghouse stands between the buyer and the seller of the contract; therefore, credit risk is limited to failure of the clearinghouse. While offset rights may exist under applicable law, a Fund does not have a contractual right of offset against a clearing broker or clearinghouse in the event of a default (including the bankruptcy or insolvency). Additionally, credit risk exists in exchange-traded futures with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a clearing broker’s customer accounts. While clearing brokers are required to segregate customer margin from their own assets, in the event that a clearing broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy and at that time there is a shortfall in the aggregate amount of margin held by the clearing broker for all its clients, typically the shortfall would be allocated on a pro rata basis across all the clearing broker’s customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Funds.

Concentration Risk: A diversified portfolio, where this is appropriate and consistent with a fund’s objectives, minimizes the risk that a price change of a particular investment will have a material impact on the NAV of a fund. The investment concentrations within each Fund’s portfolio are disclosed in its Schedule of Investments.

Certain Funds invest a significant portion of their assets in issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. When a Fund concentrates its investments in this manner, it assumes the risk that economic, regulatory, political and social conditions in that country or those countries may have a significant impact on the fund and could affect the income from, or the value or liquidity of, the Fund’s portfolio. Unanticipated or sudden political or social developments may cause uncertainty in the markets and as a result adversely affect the Fund’s investments. Foreign issuers may not be subject to the same uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices as used in the United States. Foreign securities markets may also be more volatile and less liquid than U.S. securities and may be less subject to governmental supervision not typically associated with investing in U.S. securities. Investment percentages in specific countries are presented in the Schedule of Investments.

Certain Funds invest a significant portion of their assets in securities of issuers located in Russia or with significant exposure to Russian issuers or countries. Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Governments in the U.S. and many other countries have imposed economic sanctions on certain Russian individuals and Russian corporate and banking entities. Jurisdictions have instituted broader sanctions on Russia, including banning Russia from global payments systems that facilitate cross-border payments. The extent and duration of the military action, resulting sanctions and resulting future market disruptions, including declines in Russia’s stock markets and the value of the ruble against the U.S. dollar, are impossible to predict, but could be significant. Any such disruptions caused by the Russian military action or any response to such activity from the international community may negatively impact Russia’s economy and Russian issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Certain Funds invest a significant portion of their assets in securities of issuers located in China or with significant exposure to Chinese issuers or countries. Investments in Chinese securities, including certain Hong Kong-listed securities, involves risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries may disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency non-convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. Incidents involving China’s or the region’s security may cause uncertainty in Chinese markets and may adversely affect the Chinese economy and a fund’s investments. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy. In addition, measures may be taken to limit the flow of capital and/or sanctions may be imposed, which could prohibit or restrict the ability to own or transfer fund assets and may also include retaliatory actions, such as seizure of fund assets.

Certain Funds invest a significant portion of their assets in securities of issuers located in Asia or with significant exposure to Asian issuers or countries. The Asian financial markets have recently experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns in several Asian countries regarding monetary policy, government intervention in the markets, rising government debt levels or economic downturns. These events may spread to other countries in Asia and may affect the value and liquidity of certain of the Funds’ investments.

Significant Shareholder Redemption Risk: Certain shareholders may own or manage a substantial amount of fund shares and/or hold their fund investments for a limited period of time. Large redemptions of fund shares by these shareholders may force a Fund to sell portfolio securities, which may negatively impact the fund’s NAV, increase the fund’s brokerage costs, and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income/gains and cause the fund to make additional taxable distributions to shareholders.

LIBOR Transition Risk: The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority announced a phase out of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). Although many LIBOR rates ceased to be published or no longer are representative of the underlying market they seek to measure after December 31, 2021, a selection of widely used USD LIBOR rates will continue to be published through June 2023 in order to assist with the transition. The Funds may be exposed to financial instruments tied to LIBOR to determine payment obligations, financing terms, hedging strategies or investment value. The transition process away from LIBOR might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets for, and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against, instruments whose terms currently include LIBOR. The ultimate effect of the LIBOR transition process on the Funds is uncertain.

 

11.

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

Capital shares are issued and redeemed by each Fund only in aggregations of a specified number of shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) at NAV. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of each Fund are not redeemable.

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements  (unaudited) (continued)

 

Transactions in capital shares were as follows:

 

 

 
     Six Months Ended
02/28/22
         Year Ended
08/31/21
 
  

 

 

      

 

 

 
iShares ETF    Shares      Amount          Shares      Amount  

 

 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

             

Shares sold

     1,080,000      $ 32,431,965          1,320,000      $ 41,187,291  

Shares redeemed

     (1,090,000      (33,295,069        (1,530,000      (45,309,327
  

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net decrease

     (10,000    $ (863,104        (210,000    $ (4,122,036
  

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

MSCI Emerging Markets

             

Shares sold

     2,700,000      $ 131,260,914          50,400,000      $ 2,647,877,164  
  

 

 

    

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

 

The consideration for the purchase of Creation Units of a fund in the Company generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities and a specified amount of cash. Certain funds in the Company may be offered in Creation Units solely or partially for cash in U.S. dollars. Investors purchasing and redeeming Creation Units may pay a purchase transaction fee and a redemption transaction fee directly to State Street Bank and Trust Company, the Company’s administrator, to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units, including Creation Units for cash. Investors transacting in Creation Units for cash may also pay an additional variable charge to compensate the relevant fund for certain transaction costs (i.e., stamp taxes, taxes on currency or other financial transactions, and brokerage costs) and market impact expenses relating to investing in portfolio securities. Such variable charges, if any, are included in shares sold in the table above.

From time to time, settlement of securities related to in-kind contributions or in-kind redemptions may be delayed. In such cases, securities related to in-kind transactions are reflected as a receivable or a payable in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

 

12.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events on the Funds through the date the financial statements were available to be issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring adjustment or additional disclosure in the financial statements.

 

 

N O T E S   T O   F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  39


Statement Regarding Liquidity Risk Management Program (unaudited)

 

In compliance with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Liquidity Rule”), iShares, Inc. (the “Company”) has adopted and implemented a liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) for iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (the “Funds” or “ETFs”), each a series of the Company, which is reasonably designed to assess and manage each Fund’s liquidity risk.

The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Company, on behalf of the Funds, met on December 9, 2021 (the “Meeting”) to review the Program. The Board previously appointed BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BlackRock”), the investment adviser to the Funds, as the program administrator for each Fund’s Program. BlackRock also previously delegated oversight of the Program to the 40 Act Liquidity Risk Management Committee (the “Committee”). At the Meeting, the Committee, on behalf of BlackRock, provided the Board with a report that addressed the operation of the Program and assessed its adequacy and effectiveness of implementation, including the management of each Fund’s Highly Liquid Investment Minimum (“HLIM”) where applicable, and any material changes to the Program (the “Report”). The Report covered the period from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021 (the “Program Reporting Period”).

The Report described the Program’s liquidity classification methodology for categorizing each Fund’s investments (including derivative transactions) into one of four liquidity buckets. It also referenced the methodology used by BlackRock to establish each Fund’s HLIM and noted that the Committee reviews and ratifies the HLIM assigned to each Fund no less frequently than annually. The Report also discussed notable events affecting liquidity over the Program Reporting Period, including extended market holidays and the imposition of capital controls in certain non-U.S. countries.

The Report noted that the Program complied with the key factors for consideration under the Liquidity Rule for assessing, managing and periodically reviewing each Fund’s liquidity risk, as follows:

 

  a)

The Fund’s investment strategy and liquidity of portfolio investments during both normal and reasonably foreseeable stressed conditions. During the Program Reporting Period, the Committee reviewed whether each Fund’s strategy is appropriate for an open-end fund structure, with a focus on funds with more significant and consistent holdings of less liquid and illiquid assets. The Committee also factored a fund’s concentration in an issuer into the liquidity classification methodology by taking issuer position sizes into account. Derivative exposure was also considered in the calculation of a fund’s liquidity bucketing. Finally, a factor for consideration under the Liquidity Rule is a Fund’s use of borrowings for investment purposes. However, the Funds do not borrow for investment purposes.

 

  b)

Short-term and long-term cash flow projections during both normal and reasonably foreseeable stressed conditions. During the Program Reporting Period, the Committee reviewed historical redemption activity and used this information as a component to establish each ETF’s reasonably anticipated trading size (“RATS”). The Committee may also take into consideration a fund’s shareholder ownership concentration (which, depending on product type and distribution channel, may or may not be available), a fund’s distribution channels, and the degree of certainty associated with a fund’s short-term and long-term cash flow projections.

 

  c)

Holdings of cash and cash equivalents, as well as borrowing arrangements. The Committee considered that ETFs generally do not hold more than de minimis amounts of cash. While the ETFs generally do not engage in borrowing, certain of the ETFs have the flexibility to draw on a line of credit to meet redemption requests or facilitate settlements.

 

  d)

The relationship between an ETF’s portfolio liquidity and the way in which, and the prices and spreads at which, ETF shares trade, including the efficiency of the arbitrage function and the level of active participation by market participants, including authorized participants. The Committee monitored the prevailing bid/ask spread and the ETF price premium (or discount) to NAV for all ETFs and reviewed any persistent deviations from long-term averages.

 

  e)

The effect of the composition of baskets on the overall liquidity of an ETF’s portfolio. In reviewing the linkage between the composition of custom baskets accepted by an ETF and any significant change in the liquidity profile of such ETF, the Committee reviewed changes in the proportion of each ETF’s portfolio comprised of less liquid and illiquid holdings to determine if applicable thresholds were met requiring enhanced review.

As part of BlackRock’s continuous review of the effectiveness of the Program, the Committee made the following material changes to the Program: (1) updates to certain model components in the Program’s methodology; and (2) certain iShares Funds entered into a $800 million credit agreement with a group of lenders that replaced a previous liquidity facility. The Report provided to the Board stated that the Committee concluded that based on the operation of the functions, as described in the Report, the Program is operating as intended and is effective in implementing the requirements of the Liquidity Rule.

 

 

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Supplemental Information (unaudited)

 

Regulation Regarding Derivatives

On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies (“Rule 18f-4”). The Funds will be required to implement and comply with Rule 18f-4 by August 19, 2022. Once implemented, Rule 18f-4 will impose limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminate the asset segregation framework currently used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the 1940 Act, treat derivatives as senior securities and require funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program and appoint a derivatives risk manager.

Section 19(a) Notices

The amounts and sources of distributions reported are estimates and are being provided pursuant to regulatory requirements and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources for tax reporting purposes will depend upon each Fund’s investment experience during the year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Shareholders will receive a Form 1099-DIV each calendar year that will inform them how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

February 28, 2022

 

       
   

Total Cumulative Distributions

for the Fiscal Year-to-Date

         

% Breakdown of the Total Cumulative

Distributions for the Fiscal Year-to-Date

 
 

 

 

     

 

 

 
iShares ETF   Net
Investment
Income
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
    Return of
Capital
    Total Per
Share
           Net
Investment
Income
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
    Return of
Capital
    Total Per
Share
 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets(a)

  $ 0.203421     $     $   0.225899     $   0.429320         47         53     100

MSCI Emerging Markets(a)

    0.347253             0.385581       0.732834               47             53       100  

 

  (a) 

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its net investment income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of the distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the shareholder’s investment in the Fund is returned to the shareholder. A return of capital does not necessarily reflect the Fund’s investment performance and should not be confused with “yield” or “income”. When distributions exceed total return performance, the difference will incrementally reduce the Fund’s net asset value per share.

 

 

 

S U P P L E M E N T A L   I N F O R M A T I O N

  41


General Information

 

Electronic Delivery

Shareholders can sign up for e-mail notifications announcing that the shareholder report or prospectus has been posted on the iShares website at iShares.com. Once you have enrolled, you will no longer receive prospectuses and shareholder reports in the mail.

To enroll in electronic delivery:

 

   

Go to icsdelivery.com.

   

If your brokerage firm is not listed, electronic delivery may not be available. Please contact your broker-dealer or financial advisor.

Householding

Householding is an option available to certain fund investors. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents and Rule 30e-3 notices can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Please contact your broker-dealer if you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, or if you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status.

Availability of Quarterly Schedule of Investments

The Funds file their complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to their reports on Form N-PORT. The Funds’ Forms N-PORT are available on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Additionally, each Fund makes its portfolio holdings for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year available at iShares.com/fundreports.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policies and Proxy Voting Records

A description of the policies and procedures that the iShares Funds use to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities and information about how the iShares Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ending June 30 is available without charge, upon request (1) by calling toll-free 1-800-474-2737; (2) on the iShares website at iShares.com; and (3) on the SEC website at sec.gov.

A description of the Company’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund Prospectus. The Fund discloses its portfolio holdings daily and provides information regarding its top holdings in Fund fact sheets at iShares.com.

 

 

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Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

 

Portfolio Abbreviations - Equity
ADR    American Depositary Receipt
CPO    Certificates of Participation (Ordinary)
GDR    Global Depositary Receipt
JSC    Joint Stock Company
NVDR    Non-Voting Depositary Receipt
NVS    Non-Voting Shares
PJSC    Public Joint Stock Company
  
Currency Abbreviations
BRL    Brazilian Real
CLP    Chilean Peso
CNY    Chinese Yuan
EUR    Euro
HKD    Hong Kong Dollar
INR    Indian Rupee
KRW    South Korean Won
MXN    Mexican Peso
MYR    Malaysian Ringgit
RUB    Russian Ruble
THB    Thai Baht
TRY    Turkish Lira
TWD    New Taiwan Dollar
USD    United States Dollar
ZAR    South African Rand
Counterparty Abbreviations
CITI    Citibank N.A.
GS    Goldman Sachs & Co.
JPM    JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.
MS    Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC
SSB    State Street Bank and Trust Co.

 

 

G L O S S A R Y   O F   T E R M S   U S E D   I N   T H I S   R E P O R T

  43


 

 

 

 

Want to know more?

iShares.com   |   1-800-474-2737

This report is intended for the Funds’ shareholders. It may not be distributed to prospective investors unless it is preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

The iShares Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its affiliates, “BlackRock”).

The iShares Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI Inc., nor does this company make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the iShares Funds. BlackRock is not affiliated with the company listed above.

©2022 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

iS-SAR-805-0222

 

 

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