LOGO

  FEBRUARY 29, 2024

 

 

 

  

 

2024 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 combination of continued economic growth and cooling inflation provided a supportive backdrop for investors during the 12-month reporting period ended February 29, 2024. Significantly tighter monetary policy helped to rein in inflation, and the Consumer Price Index decelerated substantially while remaining above pre-pandemic levels. A moderating labor market helped ease inflationary pressure, although wages continued to grow. Wage and job growth powered robust consumer spending, backstopping the economy. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a horrific attack on Israel. The ensuing war will have a significant humanitarian impact and could lead to heightened economic and market volatility. We see geopolitics as a structural market risk going forward. See our geopolitical risk dashboard at blackrock.com for more details.

Equity returns were robust during the period, as interest rates stabilized and the economy proved to be more resilient than many investors expected. The U.S. economy continued to show strength, and growth further accelerated in the second half of 2023. Large-capitalization U.S. stocks posted particularly substantial gains, supported by the performance of a few notable technology companies, while small-capitalization U.S. stocks advanced at a significantly slower pace. Meanwhile, international developed market equities also gained strongly, while emerging market stocks advanced at a more modest pace.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose during the reporting period, as investors reacted to elevated inflation and attempted to anticipate future interest rate changes. However, higher yields drove positive returns overall for 10-year U.S. Treasuries and solid gains in shorter-duration U.S. Treasuries. The corporate bond market benefited from improving economic sentiment, although high-yield corporate bond prices fared significantly better than investment-grade bonds as demand from yield-seeking investors remained strong.

The U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”), attempting to manage persistent inflation, raised interest rates three times during the 12-month period, but paused its tightening after its July meeting. The Fed also continued to reduce its balance sheet by not replacing some of the securities that reach maturity.

Supply constraints appear to have become an embedded feature of the new macroeconomic environment, making it difficult for developed economies to increase production without sparking higher inflation. Geopolitical fragmentation and an aging population risk further exacerbating these constraints, keeping the labor market tight and wage growth high. Although the Fed has stopped tightening for now, we believe that the new economic regime means that the Fed will need to maintain high rates for an extended period despite the market’s hopes for rapid interest rate cuts, as reflected in the recent rally. In this new regime, we anticipate greater volatility and dispersion of returns, creating more opportunities for selective portfolio management.

Looking at developed market stocks, we have an overweight stance on U.S. stocks overall, particularly given the promise of emerging AI technologies. We are also overweight Japanese stocks as shareholder-friendly policies generate increased investor interest, although we maintain an underweight stance on European stocks. In credit, there are selective opportunities in the near term despite tighter credit and financial conditions. For fixed income investing with a six- to twelve-month horizon, we see the most attractive investments in short-term U.S. Treasuries and hard-currency emerging market bonds.

Overall, our view is that investors need to think globally, position themselves to be prepared for a decarbonizing economy, 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.

 

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock Inc.

 

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock Inc.

 

Total Returns as of February 29, 2024

 

 
    

 

  6-Month

 

   

 

 12-Month 

 

 
     

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

    13.93%        30.45%  
     

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

    8.97          10.05    
     

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

    9.23          14.41    
     

Emerging market equities
(MSCI Emerging Markets Index)

    4.93          8.73    
     

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

    2.69          5.22    
     

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

    0.58          0.69    
     

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

    2.35          3.33    
     

Tax-exempt municipal bonds 
(Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index)

    4.33          5.42    
     

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

    6.18          11.01    
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 EI SN O T  P A R TO F  Y O U R  F U N D  R E P O R T


Table of Contents

 

 

     Page  

 

 

The Markets in Review

     2  

Semi-Annual Report:

  

Fund Summary

     4  

About Fund Performance

     6  

Disclosure of Expenses

     6  

Schedules of Investments

     7  

Financial Statements

  

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

     28  

Statements of Operations

     29  

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

     30  

Financial Highlights

     31  

Notes to Financial Statements

     33  

Statement Regarding Liquidity Risk Management Program

     43  

Supplemental Information

     44  

General Information

     45  

Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

     46  

 

 

 

 

 

 


Fund Summary as of February 29, 2024    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-Month
Total Returns
    1 Year     5 Years    

Since

Inception

         1 Year     5 Years    

Since

Inception

 

Fund NAV

    4.71     8.91     3.15     3.47       8.91     16.78     37.94

Fund Market

    4.36       8.55       3.03       3.42         8.55       16.07       37.30  

Index

    5.30       9.82       3.67       3.95           9.82       19.77       44.13  

The inception date of the Fund was September 23, 2014. The first day of secondary market trading was September 25, 2014.

Past performance is not an indication 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” for more information.

Expense Example

 

Actual           Hypothetical 5% Return         

 

 

     

 

 

    
 

Beginning

Account Value

(09/01/23)

 

 

 

      

Ending

Account Value

(02/29/24)

 

 

 

      

Expenses

Paid During

the Period

 

 

(a) 

           

Beginning

Account Value

(09/01/23)

 

 

 

      

Ending

Account Value

(02/29/24)

 

 

 

      

Expenses

Paid During

the Period

 

 

(a) 

    

    Annualized

Expense

Ratio

 

 

 

  $  1,000.00          $  1,047.10          $    0.00               $  1,000.00          $  1,024.90          $    0.00        0.00

 

  (a) 

Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 182/366 (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 “Disclosure of Expenses” for more information.

 

Portfolio Information

 

PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

 

   
Investment Type  

Percent of

Net Assets

 

Investment Companies

    99.9

Short-term Investments

    34.0  
Forward foreign currency exchange contracts, net cumulative appreciation     0.5  

Other assets less liabilities

    (34.4
SECTOR ALLOCATION (of the UNDERLYING FUND)

 

   
Sector  

Percent of

Total Investment(a)

 

Financials

    22.8

Information Technology

    22.6  

Consumer Discretionary

    12.7  

Communication Services

    8.4  

Industrials

    7.1  

Materials

    7.1  

Consumer Staples

    5.8  

Energy

    5.4  

Health Care

    3.6  

Utilities

    2.9  

Real Estate

    1.6  

 

  (a)

Excludes money market funds.

 

 

 

4  

2 0 2 4I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L  R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Fund Summary as of February 29, 2024    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-Month

Total Returns

    1 Year     5 Years     10 Years           1 Year     5 Years     10 Years  

Fund NAV

    4.29     7.76     1.11     2.32        7.76     5.65     25.83

Fund Market

    4.06       7.46       1.10       2.35          7.46       5.62       26.20  

Index

    4.93       8.73       1.89       3.01            8.73       9.82       34.47  

Past performance is not an indication 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” for more information.

Expense Example

 

Actual           Hypothetical 5% Return         

 

 

     

 

 

    
 

Beginning

Account Value

(09/01/23)

 

 

 

      

Ending

Account Value

(02/29/24)

 

 

 

      

Expenses

Paid During

the Period

 

 

(a) 

           

Beginning

Account Value

(09/01/23)

 

 

 

      

Ending

Account Value

(02/29/24)

 

 

 

      

Expenses

Paid During

the Period

 

 

(a) 

    

    Annualized

Expense

Ratio

 

 

 

   $   1,000.00          $  1,042.90          $   3.71               $   1,000.00          $   1,021.20          $    3.67        0.73

 

  (a) 

Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 182/366 (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 “Disclosure of Expenses” for more information.

 

Portfolio Information

 

SECTOR ALLOCATION

 

Sector

            

Percent of

Total Investments

 

(a) 

Financials

       22.8

Information Technology

       22.6  

Consumer Discretionary

       12.7  

Communication Services

       8.4  

Materials

       7.1  

Industrials

       7.1  

Consumer Staples

       5.8  

Energy

       5.4  

Health Care

       3.6  

Utilities

       2.9  

Real Estate

             1.6  

 

  (a) 

Excludes money market funds.

 

GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION

 

Country/Geographic Region

   

Percent of

Total Investments

 

(a) 

China

    25.3

India

    18.0  

Taiwan

    16.8  

South Korea

    12.5  

Brazil

    5.5  

Saudi Arabia

    4.6  

Mexico

    2.6  

South Africa

    2.5  

Indonesia

    1.9  

Thailand

    1.6  

Malaysia

    1.4  

United Arab Emirates

    1.2  

Poland

    1.0  

Other (each representing less than 1%)

    5.1  

 

 

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, index returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, index returns would be lower.

Disclosure of 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 the 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 the 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 4I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L  R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  

 

 

Investment Companies

   
Exchange-Traded Funds — 99.9%            

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF(a)(b)

    2,975,975     $ 119,009,240  
   

 

 

 

Total Investment Companies
(Cost: $134,345,987)

      119,009,240  
   

 

 

 

Short-Term Securities

   
Money Market Funds — 34.0%            

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional, SL Agency Shares,

   

5.50%(a)(c)(d)

    40,017,475       40,037,484  

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares,

   

5.30%(a)(c)

    440,000       440,000  
   

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Securities — 34.0%
(Cost: $40,477,484)

      40,477,484  
   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities — 133.9%
(Cost: $174,823,471)

      159,486,724  

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets — (33.9)%

 

    (40,405,521
   

 

 

 

Net Assets — 100.0%

    $  119,081,203  
   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Affiliate of the Fund.

(b) 

All or a portion of this security is on loan.

(c) 

Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

(d) 

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 29, 2024 for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

                   
Affiliated Issuer  

Value at

08/31/23

   

Purchases

at Cost

   

Proceeds

from Sale

   

 Net Realized

Gain (Loss)

   

Change in

Unrealized

Appreciation

(Depreciation)

   

Value at

02/29/24

   

Shares

Held at

02/29/24

    Income    

Capital

Gain

Distributions

from

Underlying

Funds

 

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional, SL Agency Shares

  $     $ 40,013,347 (a)    $     $ 24,137     $     $ 40,037,484       40,017,475     $ 29,168 (b)    $  

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares

    1,240,000             (800,000 )(a)                  440,000       440,000       11,525        

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

    134,168,374       8,330,896       (25,965,238     (1,954,221     4,429,429       119,009,240       2,975,975       2,422,754        
       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 
        $ (1,930,084   $ 4,429,429     $ 159,486,724       $ 2,463,447     $  
       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (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

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

 

         
    Currency Purchased     Currency Sold        Counterparty    Settlement Date    

Unrealized

Appreciation

(Depreciation)

       
 

BRL

    33,401,000           USD          6,716,226        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24           $ 1,227        
 

CLP

    637,182,000     USD      658,927        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       573    

  

 

CNH

    651,000     USD      90,274        BNP Paribas SA      03/06/24       74    
 

EUR

    37,000     USD      39,878        Bank of America N.A.      03/06/24       115    
 

INR

    14,599,000     USD      175,610        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       448    

 

 

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

  7


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts (continued)

         
    Currency Purchased     Currency Sold        Counterparty    Settlement Date    

Unrealized

Appreciation

(Depreciation)

       
 

INR

    31,637,000     USD      381,077        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24     $ 452    
 

KRW

     19,994,210,000           USD      14,985,804        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      03/06/24       24,461    

  

 

MXN

    1,047,000     USD      61,280        Bank of America N.A.      03/06/24             129    
 

MXN

    56,660,000     USD      3,319,954        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       3,253    
 

MYR

    7,756,000     USD      1,632,668        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       1,378    
 

THB

    1,288,000     USD      35,729        HSBC Bank PLC      03/06/24       189    
 

TRY

    25,765,000     USD      821,071        Bank of America N.A.      03/06/24       2,058        
 

TRY

    48,000     USD      1,529        BNP Paribas SA      03/06/24       4    
 

USD

    6,944,694     BRL      34,437,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       18,885    
 

USD

    714,653     CLP      667,529,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       23,744    
 

USD

    5,261,292     CNH      37,662,320        HSBC Bank PLC      03/06/24       34,376    
 

USD

    2,233,187     EUR      2,053,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       14,133    
 

USD

    21,716     EUR      20,000        HSBC Bank PLC      03/06/24       99    
 

USD

    23,755,334     HKD      185,525,000        Bank of America N.A.      03/06/24       58,052    
 

USD

    15,989,266     KRW       21,255,650,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       31,998    
 

USD

    21,571     KRW      28,671,000        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       47    
 

USD

    1,643,720     MYR      7,769,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       6,935    
 

USD

    2,060,881     THB      72,610,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       36,022    
 

USD

    2,064     THB      73,000        UBS AG      03/06/24       28    
 

USD

    732,557     TRY      22,910,000        UBS AG      03/06/24       639    
 

USD

    19,937,870     TWD      620,307,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       320,716    
 

USD

    3,646,472     ZAR      68,009,000        Bank of America N.A.      03/06/24       101,237    
 

USD

    14,157     ZAR      265,000        Bank of New York      03/06/24       343    
 

ZAR

    65,378,000     USD      3,407,456        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       628    
 

BRL

    539,000     USD      108,067        Citibank N.A.      04/03/24       23    
 

BRL

    632,000     USD      126,605        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       136    
 

CLP

    10,467,000     USD      10,814        Citibank N.A.      04/03/24       4    
 

CLP

    355,000     USD      367        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24          
 

CNH

    675,000     USD      93,820        Bank of New York      04/03/24       16    
 

CNH

    579,000     USD      80,481        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       9    
 

EUR

    33,000     USD      35,703        Barclays Bank PLC      04/03/24       7    
 

EUR

    33,000     USD      35,691        HSBC Bank PLC      04/03/24       19    
 

HKD

    2,767,000     USD      353,717        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       5    
 

KRW

    328,447,000     USD      246,271        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       117    
 

MXN

    2,040,000     USD      119,010        Bank of America N.A.      04/03/24       107    
 

MXN

    1,148,000     USD      66,991        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       42    
 

THB

    1,145,000     USD      31,937        HSBC Bank PLC      04/03/24       65    
 

THB

    881,000     USD      24,555        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       68    
 

TRY

    878,000     USD      27,097        BNP Paribas SA      04/03/24       76    
 

TWD

    97,000     USD      3,068        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24          
 

TWD

    9,951,000     USD      314,423        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       274    
 

USD

    6,812,997     BRL      33,972,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       280    
 

USD

    437,400     CNH      3,146,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       56    
 

USD

    4,896,766     CNH      35,216,320        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       1,128    
 

USD

    164,685     EUR      152,000        Bank of America N.A.      04/03/24       203    

 

 

8  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L  R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts (continued)

         
    Currency Purchased     Currency Sold        Counterparty    Settlement Date    

Unrealized

Appreciation

(Depreciation)

       

  

 

USD

    2,191,874     EUR      2,023,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24     $ 2,747    
 

USD

    2,017,938     HKD      15,784,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       172    
 

USD

    21,535,515           HKD      168,448,000        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24             1,768    
 

USD

    8,860     IDR      139,267,000        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       2        
 

USD

    15,005,373     KRW       19,994,210,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       6,482    
 

USD

    796,937     KRW      1,061,759,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       446    
 

USD

    1,662,379     MYR      7,883,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       1,780    
 

USD

    19,167,663     TWD      605,794,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       9,688    
 

USD

    1,114,263     TWD      35,233,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       35    
 

ZAR

    2,278,000     USD      118,385        Bank of America N.A.      04/03/24       86    
 

ZAR

    856,000     USD      44,508        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       9    
 

USD

    20,625,523     INR      1,711,939,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/04/24       5,962    
 

USD

    1,008,818     INR      83,742,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/04/24       182    
                  

 

 

   
                     714,237    
                  

 

 

   
 

BRL

    791,000     USD      159,516        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       (434  
 

BRL

    245,000     USD      49,422        Goldman Sachs & Co.      03/06/24       (149  
 

CLP

    18,572,000     USD      19,866        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       (643  
 

CLP

    11,775,000     USD      12,191        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       (4  
 

CNH

    692,000     USD      96,529        Bank of New York      03/06/24       (490  
 

CNH

    36,319,320     USD      5,042,425        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       (1,895  
 

EUR

    13,000     USD      14,142        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      03/06/24       (91  
 

EUR

    2,023,000     USD      2,189,358        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       (2,731  
 

HKD

    9,182,000     USD      1,175,792        Bank of America N.A.      03/06/24       (2,967  
 

HKD

    4,782,000     USD      612,273        HSBC Bank PLC      03/06/24       (1,463  
 

HKD

    3,113,000     USD      398,307        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      03/06/24       (681  
 

HKD

    168,448,000     USD      21,518,734        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       (2,713  
 

IDR

     35,505,497,000     USD      2,260,057        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      03/06/24       (336  
 

IDR

    656,159,000     USD      41,983        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       (222  
 

INR

    1,711,939,000     USD      20,650,901        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      03/06/24       (5,630  
 

KRW

    1,290,111,000     USD      970,646        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       (2,120  
 

MYR

    13,000     USD      2,767        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       (29  
 

THB

    69,692,000     USD      1,945,698        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       (2,213  
 

THB

    1,703,000     USD      48,343        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       (851  
 

TRY

    476,000     USD      15,219        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      03/06/24       (12  
 

TWD

    605,794,000     USD      19,159,782        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      03/06/24       (1,601  
 

TWD

    3,318,000     USD      106,637        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       (1,705  
 

TWD

    11,195,000     USD      357,713        State Street Bank & Trust Company      03/06/24       (3,673  
 

USD

    2,265,046     IDR      35,698,265,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       (6,944  
 

USD

    29,361     IDR      463,391,000        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24       (131  
 

USD

    21,148,433     INR      1,758,175,000        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       (54,424  
 

USD

    3,306,538     MXN      57,104,000        HSBC Bank PLC      03/06/24       (42,711  

 

 

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

    9  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Forward Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts (continued)

         
    Currency Purchased     Currency Sold        Counterparty    Settlement Date    

Unrealized

Appreciation

(Depreciation)

       

  

 

USD

    34,905       MXN        603,000        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      03/06/24     $ (462  
 

USD

    107,591       TRY        3,379,000        UBS AG      03/06/24       (360  
 

ZAR

    1,208,000       USD        63,680        Bank of America N.A.      03/06/24             (708      
 

ZAR

    1,688,000       USD        90,512        Citibank N.A.      03/06/24       (2,518  
 

HKD

    4,212,000       USD        538,466        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       (20  
 

IDR

     583,253,000             USD        37,126        Citibank N.A.      04/03/24       (29  
 

MYR

    101,000       USD        21,285        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       (9  
 

MYR

    125,000       USD        26,399        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       (67  
 

USD

    707,612       CLP        685,229,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       (605  
 

USD

    2,258,188       IDR           35,505,497,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       (96  
 

USD

    77,486       IDR        1,218,470,000        State Street Bank & Trust Company      04/03/24       (13  
 

USD

    163,190       KRW        217,679,000        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       (104  
 

USD

    3,305,139       MXN        56,660,000        Citibank N.A.      04/03/24       (3,283  
 

USD

    1,947,553       THB        69,692,000        Citibank N.A.      04/03/24       (301  
 

USD

    52,039       THB        1,863,000        JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.      04/03/24       (31  
 

USD

    856,484       TRY        27,767,000        Bank of America N.A.      04/03/24       (2,867  
 

USD

    3,399,359       ZAR        65,378,000        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/03/24       (744  
 

INR

    28,122,000       USD        338,778        Citibank N.A.      04/04/24       (61  
 

INR

    29,940,000       USD        360,719        Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC      04/04/24       (104  
                  

 

 

   
                     (149,245  
                  

 

 

   
                     $564,992    
                  

 

 

   

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:

 

 

 
   

Commodity

Contracts

    

Credit

Contracts

    

Equity

Contracts

    

Foreign

Currency

Exchange

Contracts

    

Interest

Rate

Contracts

    

Other

Contracts

     Total  

 

 

Assets — Derivative Financial Instruments

                   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                   

Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

  $      $      $      $ 714,237      $      $      $ 714,237  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments

                   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                   

Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

  $      $      $      $ 149,245      $      $      $ 149,245  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the period ended February 29, 2024, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statements of Operations was as follows:

 

 

 
   

Commodity

Contracts

    

Credit

Contracts

    

Equity

Contracts

    

Foreign

Currency

Exchange

Contracts

   

Interest

Rate

Contracts

    

Other

Contracts

     Total  

 

 

Net Realized Gain (Loss) from

                  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

  $      $      $      $ 2,163,434     $      $      $ 2,163,434  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on

                  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

  $      $      $      $ (1,498,901   $      $      $ (1,498,901
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

10  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L  R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

 

   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts:

 

Average amounts purchased — in USD

  $ 115,301,879  

Average amounts sold — in USD

  $ 225,716,168  

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

  $ 714,237     $ 149,245  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

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

    714,237        149,245  

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

           
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities subject to an MNA

  $ 714,237     $ 149,245  
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

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

 


(b) 

   

Net Amount

of Derivative

Assets

 

 

(c) 

 

 

Bank of America N.A.

    $ 161,987      $ (6,542   $      $     $ 155,445  

Bank of New York

      359        (359                   

Barclays Bank PLC

         7                           7  

BNP Paribas SA

      154                           154  

Citibank N.A.

      448,778        (70,850            (377,928      

HSBC Bank PLC

      34,748        (34,748                   

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

      46,898        (8,478                  38,420  

Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC

      4,208        (4,208                   

State Street Bank & Trust Company

      16,431        (9,455                  6,976  

UBS AG

      667        (360                  307  
   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
    $ 714,237      $ (135,000   $      $ (377,928   $ 201,309  
   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

     

             

 

 

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

 

 

(d) 

 

 

Bank of America N.A.

    $ 6,542      $ (6,542   $      $     $  

Bank of New York

      490        (359                  131  

Citibank N.A.

      70,850        (70,850                   

Goldman Sachs & Co.

      149                           149  

HSBC Bank PLC

      44,174        (34,748                  9,426  

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.

      8,478        (8,478                   

Morgan Stanley & Co. International PLC

      8,747        (4,208                  4,539  

State Street Bank & Trust Company

      9,455        (9,455                   

UBS AG

      360        (360                   
   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
    $ 149,245      $ (135,000   $      $     $ 14,245  
   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (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)

Excess of collateral received/pledged, if any, from the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

 
  (c) 

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

 
  (d)

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

 

 

 

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

    11  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

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  

 

 

Assets

       

Investments

       

Long-Term Investments

       

Investment Companies

  $ 119,009,240     $     $     $ 119,009,240  

Short-Term Securities

       

Money Market Funds

    40,477,484                   40,477,484  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $ 159,486,724      $     —      $     —      $ 159,486,724  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments(a)

       

Assets

       

Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

  $     $ 714,237     $     $ 714,237  

Liabilities

       

Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts

          (149,245           (149,245
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $     $ 564,992     $       564,992  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (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.

 

 

12  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L  R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  

Common Stocks

   
Brazil — 3.9%            

Ambev SA

    11,827,077     $ 29,929,921  

Atacadao SA

    1,597,144       3,884,346  

B3 SA - Brasil Bolsa Balcao

    14,411,644       37,195,267  

Banco Bradesco SA

    3,859,618       9,549,859  

Banco BTG Pactual SA

    2,992,517       21,906,156  

Banco do Brasil SA

    2,146,378       24,982,284  

Banco Santander Brasil SA

    912,178       5,247,992  

BB Seguridade Participacoes SA

    1,749,970       11,736,638  

Caixa Seguridade Participacoes S/A

    1,506,778       4,355,656  

CCR SA

    2,553,280       7,077,749  

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA

    3,040,846       26,609,161  

Cia. de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo

    867,260       13,810,284  

Cia. Siderurgica Nacional SA

    1,714,900       5,802,462  

Cosan SA

    3,090,961       10,570,364  

CPFL Energia SA

    551,281       3,924,651  

Energisa SA

    548,998       5,614,664  

Eneva SA(a)

    1,846,059       4,764,526  

Engie Brasil Energia SA

    515,713       4,359,249  

Equatorial Energia SA

    2,580,464       17,742,604  

Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos SA(a)(b)

    12,383,585       9,142,394  

Hypera SA

    964,357       6,378,479  

JBS SA

    1,939,235       8,995,747  

Klabin SA

    1,896,668       8,611,333  

Localiza Rent a Car SA

    2,293,934       24,457,062  

Localiza Rent a Car SA, NVS(a)

    8,247       83,945  

Lojas Renner SA

    2,444,105       7,768,272  

Magazine Luiza SA(a)

    7,776,708       3,332,137  

Magazine Luiza SA, NVS

    744,932       319,186  

Natura & Co. Holding SA(a)

    2,322,853       7,621,197  

Petroleo Brasileiro SA

    9,366,049       77,662,598  

PRIO SA

    2,020,175       17,763,040  

Raia Drogasil SA

    3,269,481       17,521,067  

Rede D’Or Sao Luiz SA(b)

    1,452,329       7,397,351  

Rumo SA

    3,271,253       14,950,990  

Sendas Distribuidora SA

    3,414,099       9,752,410  

Suzano SA

    1,995,024       22,614,633  

Telefonica Brasil SA

    1,055,339       11,565,824  

TIM SA/Brazil

    2,219,171       8,111,351  

TOTVS SA

    1,376,170       8,496,039  

Ultrapar Participacoes SA

    1,835,322       10,839,664  

Vale SA

    8,566,357       115,439,290  

Vibra Energia SA

    2,933,140       15,258,394  

WEG SA

    4,259,968       31,441,376  
   

 

 

 
      694,587,612  
Chile — 0.4%            

Banco de Chile

    113,770,353       13,192,413  

Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA

    198,621       5,510,054  

Banco Santander Chile

    168,433,008       8,190,985  

Cencosud SA

    3,333,248       5,986,362  

Cia. Sud Americana de Vapores SA

    39,063,910       2,727,430  

Empresas CMPC SA

    2,883,600       5,119,117  

Empresas Copec SA

    989,695       6,351,685  

Enel Americas SA

    54,440,781       5,550,812  

Enel Chile SA

    70,568,699       4,238,972  

Falabella SA(a)

    2,166,829       5,495,729  

Latam Airlines Group SA(a)

     468,177,037       5,888,196  
   

 

 

 
       68,251,755  
China — 25.3%            

360 Security Technology Inc., Class A(a)

    1,202,306       1,461,726  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

37 Interactive Entertainment Network Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    365,188     $ 983,621  

AAC Technologies Holdings Inc.

    1,846,000       4,589,433  

Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc., Class A

    105,029       2,142,526  

AECC Aviation Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    426,073       2,034,085  

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Class A

    13,079,800       7,597,915  

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Class H

    69,665,000       28,579,751  

Aier Eye Hospital Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,544,317       3,131,124  

Air China Ltd., Class A(a)

    2,042,593       2,115,444  

Air China Ltd., Class H(a)

    4,152,000       2,223,338  

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

    1,285,000       7,705,404  

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

    41,004,856       376,985,417  

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

    13,880,000       6,064,908  

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., Class A

    2,958,900       2,474,457  

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., Class H

    9,672,000       4,819,487  

Anhui Conch Cement Co. Ltd., Class A

    676,986       2,247,207  

Anhui Conch Cement Co. Ltd., Class H

    2,972,500       6,468,112  

Anhui Gujing Distillery Co. Ltd., Class A

    62,985       1,909,039  

Anhui Gujing Distillery Co. Ltd., Class B

    273,000       3,859,781  

Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp.
Ltd.(a)

    468,200       1,002,534  

Anhui Kouzi Distillery Co. Ltd., Class A

    118,452       699,271  

Anhui Yingjia Distillery Co. Ltd., Class A

    117,800       1,041,638  

Anjoy Foods Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    60,500       731,425  

ANTA Sports Products Ltd.

    3,163,802       30,844,060  

Asymchem Laboratories Tianjin Co. Ltd., Class A

    60,680       851,634  

Autohome Inc., ADR

    178,340       4,635,057  

Avary Holding Shenzhen Co. Ltd., Class A

    447,004       1,305,984  

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

    1,745,289       802,824  

AviChina Industry & Technology Co. Ltd., Class H

    6,029,000       2,473,757  

Avicopter PLC, Class A

    135,553       685,053  

BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology Co. Ltd.

    1,119,900       921,784  

Baidu Inc.(a)

    5,687,780       71,969,737  

Bank of Beijing Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,808,206       2,737,400  

Bank of Chengdu Co. Ltd., Class A

    632,295       1,159,244  

Bank of China Ltd., Class A

    5,999,800       3,717,764  

Bank of China Ltd., Class H

    199,143,000       78,124,057  

Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., Class A

    6,403,593       5,564,656  

Bank of Communications Co. Ltd.,
Class H

    21,866,600       14,325,808  

Bank of Hangzhou Co. Ltd., Class A

    998,845       1,534,750  

Bank of Jiangsu Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,980,110       3,168,495  

Bank of Nanjing Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,725,646       2,093,649  

Bank of Ningbo Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,003,979       3,094,587  

Bank of Shanghai Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,692,542       2,439,424  

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,673,773       3,394,713  

BeiGene Ltd.(a)

    1,732,022       22,299,342  

Beijing Enlight Media Co. Ltd., Class A

    742,895       932,829  

Beijing Enterprises Holdings Ltd.

    1,413,500       5,317,330  

Beijing Enterprises Water Group Ltd.

    11,970,000       2,807,936  

Beijing Kingsoft Office Software Inc., Class A

    71,481       2,688,980  

Beijing New Building Materials PLC, Class A

    284,213       1,106,563  

Beijing Roborock Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    24,165       1,092,923  

Beijing Tongrentang Co. Ltd., Class A

    267,000       1,649,106  

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

    135,130       1,386,338  

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

    8,010,100       5,612,498  

Bilibili Inc.(a)(c)

    494,674       4,796,975  

 

 

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

  13


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Bloomage Biotechnology Corp. Ltd.

    92,105     $ 816,220  

BOC Aviation Ltd.(b)

    579,300       4,264,317  

BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    6,681,900       3,696,453  

Bosideng International Holdings Ltd.

    10,046,000       5,052,908  

Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.

    7,448,000       4,335,421  

BYD Co. Ltd., Class A

    279,212       7,374,723  

BYD Co. Ltd., Class H

    2,621,500       64,567,719  

BYD Electronic International Co. Ltd.

    1,996,500       7,538,518  

C&D International Investment Group Ltd.

    1,796,000       2,920,172  

Caitong Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    999,074       1,105,516  

Cambricon Technologies Corp. Ltd.(a)

    68,154       1,595,112  

CGN Power Co. Ltd.

    1,920,100       1,027,845  

CGN Power Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    27,351,000       8,306,016  

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

    67,494       1,205,057  

Changjiang Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,234,435       941,798  

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

    51,100       995,920  

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

    397,730       1,399,533  

China Cinda Asset Management Co. Ltd., Class H

    25,097,000       2,403,090  

China CITIC Bank Corp. Ltd., Class H

    22,886,800       12,168,639  

China Coal Energy Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,281,000       5,687,205  

China Communications Services Corp. Ltd., Class H

    6,710,000       2,850,267  

China Construction Bank Corp., Class A

    1,763,568       1,711,329  

China Construction Bank Corp., Class H

     241,666,760        149,871,110  

China CSSC Holdings Ltd., Class A

    767,300       3,781,458  

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

    2,754,297       1,453,974  

China Energy Engineering Corp. Ltd.

    6,654,152       2,010,646  

China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    8,299,903       3,705,081  

China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,211,000       1,629,219  

China Feihe Ltd.(b)

    9,480,000       4,715,264  

China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    822,300       1,385,934  

China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    8,688,000       4,564,976  

China Gas Holdings Ltd.

    7,031,800       6,435,377  

China Greatwall Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    680,573       979,628  

China Hongqiao Group Ltd.(c)

    6,249,500       4,836,372  

China International Capital Corp. Ltd., Class A

    290,000       1,406,130  

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

    3,976,400       4,984,649  

China Jushi Co. Ltd., Class A

    831,940       1,154,891  

China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class A

    448,512       1,882,492  

China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H

    18,609,000       22,810,719  

China Literature Ltd.(a)(b)

    1,040,200       3,188,938  

China Longyuan Power Group Corp. Ltd., Class H

    8,541,000       6,018,954  

China Medical System Holdings Ltd.

    3,542,000       5,822,608  

China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd.

    7,995,000       19,990,231  

China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,226,489       14,287,974  

China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd., Class H

    9,653,967       37,332,069  

China Merchants Energy Shipping Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,419,000       1,417,740  

China Merchants Port Holdings Co. Ltd.

    3,592,000       4,458,576  

China Merchants Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,471,779       2,879,596  

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

    1,301,590       1,698,284  

China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd., Class A

    6,873,155       3,850,754  

China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd., Class H

    13,996,548       4,925,989  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

China National Building Material Co. Ltd., Class H

    9,942,000     $ 3,739,257  

China National Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,282,467       1,241,179  

China National Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,207,100       3,860,794  

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

    704,754       1,843,257  

China Oilfield Services Ltd., Class H

    4,912,000       4,322,521  

China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd.

    9,668,460       14,278,554  

China Overseas Property Holdings Ltd.(c)

    3,360,000       2,824,859  

China Pacific Insurance Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,144,907       4,054,163  

China Pacific Insurance Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    6,413,000       12,164,514  

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Class A

    4,793,889       4,148,365  

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Class H

    62,020,800       34,170,558  

China Power International Development Ltd.

    12,882,000       5,203,456  

China Railway Group Ltd., Class A

    3,346,500       2,943,831  

China Railway Group Ltd., Class H

    10,220,000       4,978,043  

China Resources Beer Holdings Co. Ltd.

    4,092,000       17,632,244  

China Resources Gas Group Ltd.

    2,370,900       7,154,713  

China Resources Land Ltd.

    8,117,333        24,793,212  

China Resources Microelectronics Ltd.

    292,493       1,736,094  

China Resources Mixc Lifestyle Services
Ltd.(b)

    1,706,200       5,142,177  

China Resources Pharmaceutical Group
Ltd.(b)

    4,067,500       2,751,002  

China Resources Power Holdings Co. Ltd.

    4,932,999       10,619,038  

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

    172,599       1,316,815  

China Ruyi Holdings Ltd.(a)(c)

     14,760,000       2,897,247  

China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,100,039       5,877,086  

China Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., Class H

    8,429,000       32,432,181  

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

    2,403,800       1,971,020  

China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd., Class A

    6,656,871       4,933,364  

China State Construction International Holdings Ltd.

    5,506,000       6,135,403  

China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. Ltd.

    3,842,260       3,338,236  

China Three Gorges Renewables Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    5,118,825       3,279,526  

China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp.
Ltd.(b)(c)

    193,000       1,889,915  

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

    359,132       4,324,646  

China Tower Corp. Ltd., Class H(b)

    115,412,000       13,988,857  

China United Network Communications Ltd., Class A

    5,063,900       3,369,508  

China Vanke Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,406,366       1,953,926  

China Vanke Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,321,931       4,103,116  

China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,764,415       13,085,396  

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

    127,500       1,013,908  

China Zheshang Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,692,730       1,808,740  

Chongqing Brewery Co. Ltd., Class A

    84,600       766,497  

Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,285,817       2,652,385  

Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co. Ltd., Class A

    367,913       2,728,066  

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd.(c)

    5,038,800       7,508,169  

CITIC Ltd.

    14,815,000       14,903,470  

CITIC Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,925,793       5,682,174  

CITIC Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    4,366,100       8,070,530  

CMOC Group Ltd., Class A

    3,333,198       2,837,168  

 

 

14  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

CMOC Group Ltd., Class H

    8,700,000     $ 5,367,090  

CNPC Capital Co. Ltd., NVS

    1,445,100       1,240,734  

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    673,534       15,233,619  

COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co. Ltd., Class A

    620,800       1,184,018  

COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co. Ltd., Class H

    3,216,000       3,042,730  

COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,003,864       2,919,706  

COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd., Class H

    7,462,849       8,034,059  

COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd.

    3,734,000       2,228,062  

Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    31,100,939       2,527,349  

Country Garden Services Holdings Co. Ltd.

    5,414,000       4,121,063  

CRRC Corp. Ltd., Class A

    4,067,800       3,599,701  

CRRC Corp. Ltd., Class H

    11,351,000       5,844,087  

CSC Financial Co. Ltd., Class A

    736,033       2,373,782  

CSPC Innovation Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

    175,600       827,493  

CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.

    22,650,479       17,641,320  

Daqin Railway Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,745,100       2,841,703  

Dongfang Electric Corp. Ltd., Class A

    553,900       1,256,065  

Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    6,718,000       2,873,676  

Dongxing Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    853,797       1,004,507  

East Buy Holding Ltd.(a)(b)(c)

    1,156,500       3,564,887  

East Money Information Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,421,498       4,703,706  

Eastroc Beverage Group Co. Ltd.

    51,000       1,265,291  

Ecovacs Robotics Co. Ltd., Class A

    121,653       628,910  

ENN Energy Holdings Ltd.

    2,009,300       16,315,188  

ENN Natural Gas Co. Ltd., Class A

    410,500       1,066,017  

Eoptolink Technology Inc. Ltd.

    123,900       1,034,506  

Eve Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    330,853       1,755,559  

Everbright Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    689,083       1,614,531  

Fangda Carbon New Material Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,313,834       897,008  

Far East Horizon Ltd.

    4,285,000       3,442,448  

First Capital Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,041,900       827,210  

Flat Glass Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    255,400       772,821  

Flat Glass Group Co. Ltd., Class H(c)

    1,066,000       1,970,789  

Focus Media Information Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,618,978       2,283,384  

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

    748,756       4,208,156  

Fosun International Ltd.

    6,552,000       3,780,089  

Founder Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,491,200       1,576,556  

Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,034,997       5,277,072  

Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    366,772       2,202,370  

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

    1,536,800       7,703,094  

Ganfeng Lithium Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    300,173       1,664,564  

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

    982,080       3,253,452  

GCL Technology Holdings Ltd.

     53,688,000       7,467,943  

GD Power Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,227,900       2,096,272  

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

    15,308,000        16,659,265  

GEM Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,823,100       1,354,904  

Genscript Biotech Corp.(a)(c)

    2,956,000       5,975,956  

GF Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,018,694       2,001,326  

GF Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    2,771,600       2,975,987  

Giant Biogene Holding Co. Ltd.(a)(b)

    749,600       3,427,509  

GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc., Class A

    122,894       1,248,703  

Ginlong Technologies Co. Ltd., Class A

    70,500       636,360  

GoerTek Inc., Class A

    529,100       1,222,572  

Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd., Class A

    1,074,393       1,138,192  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Gongniu Group Co. Ltd.

    85,300     $ 1,205,815  

GoodWe Technologies Co. Ltd., NVS

    29,209       439,021  

Gotion High-tech Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    368,723       1,012,115  

Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd.

    415,400       1,346,821  

Great Wall Motor Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,807,500       6,554,664  

Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai, Class A

    463,600       2,508,862  

Guangdong Haid Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    306,627       1,831,919  

Guangdong Investment Ltd.

    7,618,110       4,520,721  

Guanghui Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,166,500       1,212,098  

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    908,400       1,121,204  

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    7,751,838       3,354,206  

Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    293,596       1,205,676  

Guangzhou Kingmed Diagnostics Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    98,584       822,016  

Guangzhou Shiyuan Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    152,591       829,398  

Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    354,200       1,014,005  

Guosen Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,238,751       1,480,159  

Guotai Junan Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,313,040       2,746,843  

H World Group Ltd., ADR

    522,740       19,111,374  

Haidilao International Holding Ltd.(b)(c)

    4,255,000       7,738,019  

Haier Smart Home Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,071,341       3,568,542  

Haier Smart Home Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,984,800        18,125,809  

Hainan Airlines Holding Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    6,855,200       1,360,747  

Hainan Airport Infrastructure Co. Ltd., NVS(a)

    2,355,600       1,224,467  

Haitian International Holdings Ltd.

    1,788,000       4,527,337  

Haitong Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,718,300       2,176,701  

Haitong Securities Co. Ltd., Class H

    6,485,200       3,219,202  

Hangzhou First Applied Material Co. Ltd., Class A

    328,192       1,265,233  

Hangzhou Robam Appliances Co. Ltd., Class A

    225,864       781,699  

Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    323,500       936,946  

Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting Co. Ltd., Class A

    55,100       343,985  

Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd.(b)

    3,004,000       5,294,744  

Henan Shenhuo Coal & Power Co. Ltd.

    495,500       1,264,698  

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

    676,400       2,738,159  

Hengan International Group Co. Ltd.

    1,609,500       4,960,803  

Hengli Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,255,291       2,217,557  

Hengyi Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,098,349       1,052,733  

Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network Co. Ltd., Class A

    85,600       1,624,245  

Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    155,300       1,140,658  

Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd.(a)(b)

    1,534,000       3,287,717  

Huadian Power International Corp. Ltd., Class A

    1,646,200       1,414,018  

Huadong Medicine Co. Ltd., Class A

    327,705       1,525,960  

Huafon Chemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,104,400       1,044,713  

Huagong Tech Co. Ltd., Class A

    208,600       918,898  

Hualan Biological Engineering Inc., Class A

    483,883       1,322,310  

Huaneng Power International Inc.,
Class A(a)

    1,665,800       2,038,130  

Huaneng Power International Inc.,
Class H(a)

     10,616,000       5,954,107  

Huatai Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,307,909       2,633,805  

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

    2,895,400       3,417,498  

Huaxia Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,644,960       2,325,649  

 

 

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

  15


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Huayu Automotive Systems Co. Ltd., Class A

    617,268     $ 1,493,484  

Huizhou Desay Sv Automotive Co. Ltd., Class A

    90,900       1,289,404  

Humanwell Healthcare Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    350,200       1,068,174  

Hunan Valin Steel Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,479,200       1,165,307  

Hundsun Technologies Inc., Class A

    327,144       1,106,264  

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

    884,400       3,319,896  

Hygon Information Technology Co. Ltd., NVS

    312,752       3,691,676  

IEIT Systems Co. Ltd., Class A

    233,790       1,213,006  

Iflytek Co. Ltd., Class A

    371,419       2,548,590  

Imeik Technology Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    36,900       1,675,370  

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Class A

    9,969,962       7,367,733  

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Class H

     163,298,085       83,708,669  

Industrial Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,174,242       7,322,592  

Industrial Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,930,676       1,555,056  

Ingenic Semiconductor Co. Ltd., Class A

    98,100       888,257  

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

    8,757,600       1,871,130  

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

    2,027,600       1,093,280  

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

    997,170       3,914,918  

Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co. Ltd., Class B

    2,768,600       5,561,135  

Innovent Biologics Inc.(a)(b)

    3,036,000       16,372,237  

iQIYI Inc., ADR(a)(c)

    1,131,996       4,177,065  

Isoftstone Information Technology Group Co. Ltd., NVS(a)

    151,400       957,163  

JA Solar Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    567,660       1,474,521  

JCET Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    381,500       1,384,714  

JD Health International Inc.(a)(b)(c)

    2,821,500       10,641,495  

JD Logistics Inc.(a)(b)

    4,929,300       4,867,194  

JD.com Inc.

    5,916,204       66,769,571  

Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,095,400       1,594,480  

Jiangsu Expressway Co. Ltd., Class H

    3,882,000       3,987,540  

Jiangsu Hengli Hydraulic Co. Ltd., Class A

    230,288       1,813,117  

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Class A

    997,241       5,885,308  

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

    212,286       1,576,362  

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

    231,250       3,226,831  

Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    610,624       1,107,305  

Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd., Class A

    497,200       1,347,871  

Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd., Class H

    2,902,000       4,306,897  

Jinko Solar Co. Ltd.

    1,160,002       1,422,467  

JiuGui Liquor Co. Ltd., Class A

    65,300       550,708  

Jonjee Hi-Tech Industrial & Commercial Holding Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    235,733       826,198  

Kanzhun Ltd., ADR

    568,333       8,894,411  

KE Holdings Inc., ADR

    1,663,117        22,601,760  

Kingboard Holdings Ltd.

    1,791,000       3,512,989  

Kingdee International Software Group Co. Ltd.(a)

    7,174,000       7,714,109  

Kingsoft Corp. Ltd.

    2,409,200       6,694,294  

Kuaishou Technology(a)(b)

    5,889,000       33,254,655  

Kunlun Energy Co. Ltd.

    9,986,000       8,513,198  

Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    213,200       1,195,823  

Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd., Class A

    189,687       44,498,483  

LB Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    546,500       1,421,991  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Legend Biotech Corp., ADR(a)(c)

    183,585     $ 11,962,399  

Lenovo Group Ltd.

    20,226,000       22,344,255  

Lens Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    993,800       1,667,486  

Lepu Medical Technology Beijing Co. Ltd., Class A

    432,570       905,789  

Li Auto Inc.(a)

    2,892,190       66,005,444  

Li Ning Co. Ltd.

    5,965,500       14,759,301  

Lingyi iTech Guangdong Co., Class A

    1,794,480       1,365,956  

Longfor Group Holdings Ltd.(b)

    4,913,500       6,154,180  

LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,168,371       3,439,484  

Luxshare Precision Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,112,946       4,258,789  

Luzhou Laojiao Co. Ltd., Class A

    222,739       5,401,058  

Mango Excellent Media Co. Ltd., Class A

    319,200       1,096,031  

Maxscend Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    92,644       1,381,419  

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

    1,010,680       779,860  

Meituan, Class B(a)(b)

     12,794,300        129,889,861  

Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd., Class A

    3,427,690       1,581,877  

Midea Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    529,100       4,598,348  

Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Ltd., Class A

    430,800       609,706  

MINISO Group Holding Ltd.

    945,080       4,343,676  

Montage Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    206,400       1,496,602  

Muyuan Foods Co. Ltd., Class A

    881,639       4,697,071  

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

    377,953       751,226  

NARI Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,416,054       4,550,577  

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

    529,941       1,132,972  

NAURA Technology Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    86,200       3,397,119  

NetEase Inc.

    4,875,750       105,913,828  

New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class A

    354,702       1,610,634  

New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H

    1,930,200       3,707,979  

New Hope Liuhe Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,049,597       1,287,752  

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.(a)

    3,754,100       35,282,081  

Ninestar Corp., Class A

    308,338       1,002,579  

Ningbo Deye Technology Co. Ltd., NVS

    74,300       862,758  

Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., Class A

    344,100       793,614  

Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables Co. Ltd.

    149,700       804,274  

Ningbo Shanshan Co. Ltd.

    580,903       921,981  

Ningbo Tuopu Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    186,200       1,512,391  

Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,377,300       2,911,834  

NIO Inc., ADR(a)(c)

    3,418,909       19,658,727  

Nongfu Spring Co. Ltd., Class H(b)

    4,996,200       28,252,513  

OFILM Group Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    623,300       705,779  

Oppein Home Group Inc., Class A

    87,700       843,746  

Orient Overseas International Ltd.

    331,500       5,133,388  

Orient Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,310,134       1,599,350  

Pangang Group Vanadium Titanium & Resources Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    2,003,589       884,870  

PDD Holdings Inc., ADR(a)

    1,507,364       187,727,113  

People.cn Co. Ltd.

    181,200       666,897  

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

    1,842,300       1,339,195  

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

    19,804,000       6,596,782  

Perfect World Co. Ltd., Class A

    432,100       700,635  

PetroChina Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,221,300       3,943,273  

PetroChina Co. Ltd., Class H

    53,208,000       41,731,640  

Pharmaron Beijing Co. Ltd., Class A

    235,300       760,426  

 

 

16  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

PICC Property & Casualty Co. Ltd., Class H

    17,297,192     $ 23,647,313  

Ping An Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,938,667       4,308,656  

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

    1,687,584       10,009,549  

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

    16,741,500       74,452,246  

Piotech Inc., NVS

    38,368       1,137,751  

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

    1,781,884       2,408,325  

Pop Mart International Group Ltd.(b)

    1,208,000       3,011,512  

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

    4,707,500       3,161,966  

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

    18,823,000       9,889,108  

Power Construction Corp. of China Ltd., Class A

    2,799,400       1,982,280  

Qifu Technology Inc.

    301,942       4,665,004  

Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    979,500       2,194,193  

Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group Co. Ltd.

    309,700       1,115,235  

Rongsheng Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,672,158       2,377,592  

SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd., Class A

    1,416,106       2,935,337  

Sanan Optoelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    960,700       1,656,938  

Sangfor Technologies Inc., Class A(a)

    80,300       706,594  

Sany Heavy Equipment International Holdings Co. Ltd.

    2,999,000       2,319,023  

Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,462,952       2,822,544  

Satellite Chemical Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    696,684       1,599,384  

SDIC Capital Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,729,100       1,655,755  

SDIC Power Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,292,300       2,584,098  

Seazen Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    374,973       538,912  

Seres Group Co. Ltd., NVS(a)

    235,200       2,999,495  

SF Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    778,735       4,129,657  

SG Micro Corp., Class A

    97,121       952,805  

Shaanxi Coal Industry Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,527,376       5,461,330  

Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd., Class A

    657,836       1,974,237  

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

    1,792,500       2,832,270  

Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co. Ltd., Class A

    454,080       1,729,596  

Shandong Linglong Tyre Co. Ltd., Class A

    368,800       1,131,942  

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

    6,248,000       4,061,858  

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

    263,272       733,718  

Shanghai Baosight Software Co. Ltd., Class A

    321,216       2,085,645  

Shanghai Baosight Software Co. Ltd., Class B

    1,564,297       3,514,778  

Shanghai Construction Group Co. Ltd., Class A

     2,241,752       761,264  

Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    2,967,391       1,744,166  

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    386,600       1,316,580  

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    1,302,500       2,346,949   

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

    238,198       1,160,055  

Shanghai International Port Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,897,189       1,429,229  

Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co. Ltd.(a)

    125,200       545,987  

Shanghai M&G Stationery Inc., Class A

    195,537       965,477  

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    579,300       1,455,250  

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. Ltd., Class H

    1,920,000       3,087,553  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,849,495     $ 4,804,978  

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

    386,466       1,005,850  

Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,385,700       1,382,337  

Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank Co. Ltd.

    1,894,600       1,694,718  

Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co. Ltd., NVS

    125,684       2,483,916  

Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Park Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    234,700       649,479  

Shanxi Coal International Energy Group Co. Ltd.

    360,200       918,826  

Shanxi Coking Coal Energy Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    966,000       1,559,890  

Shanxi Lu’an Environmental Energy Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    488,700       1,751,717  

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

    1,144,400       1,089,577  

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

    185,200       5,962,455  

Shede Spirits Co. Ltd.

    54,900       616,032  

Shengyi Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    535,300       1,272,026  

Shennan Circuits Co. Ltd., Class A

    114,640       1,115,251  

Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,493,670       2,853,101  

Shenzhen Inovance Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    250,697       2,195,345  

Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. Ltd., Class A

    235,635       791,813  

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

    195,832       7,830,201  

Shenzhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering Co. Ltd., Class A

    139,100       1,561,471  

Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    1,448,600       615,895  

Shenzhen Transsion Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    124,533       2,745,019  

Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd.

    2,097,400       17,203,897  

Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    289,900       862,438  

Sichuan Chuantou Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    914,860       1,988,053  

Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    318,578       1,210,872  

Sichuan Road & Bridge Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,388,080       1,570,683  

Sichuan Swellfun Co. Ltd., Class A

    98,193       682,720  

Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd.(c)

     26,247,750        10,432,424  

Sinoma Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    411,600       893,032  

Sinopharm Group Co. Ltd., Class H

    3,524,800       9,863,919  

Sinotruk Hong Kong Ltd.

    1,652,000       4,367,635  

Skshu Paint Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    106,796       571,313  

Smoore International Holdings Ltd.(b)(c)

    4,671,000       3,247,130  

Songcheng Performance Development Co. Ltd., Class A

    617,318       923,251  

SooChow Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    884,100       894,270  

Spring Airlines Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    190,300       1,513,759  

StarPower Semiconductor Ltd., Class A

    32,500       683,092  

Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd., Class A

    234,300       2,828,767  

Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. Ltd.

    1,785,400       11,490,670  

Sunwoda Electronic Co. Ltd., Class A

    443,100       872,611  

SUPCON Technology Co. Ltd.

    183,243       1,168,835  

Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Class A

    439,500       911,948  

 

 

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

  17


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

Suzhou Maxwell Technologies Co. Ltd., Class A

    49,440     $ 832,126  

Suzhou TFC Optical Communication Co. Ltd.

    69,200       1,308,244  

TAL Education Group, ADR(a)

    1,118,559       16,476,374  

TBEA Co. Ltd., Class A

    935,380       1,930,939  

TCL Technology Group Corp., Class A(a)

    3,813,530       2,392,799  

TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    691,316       1,295,596  

Tencent Holdings Ltd.

    16,691,900        584,727,550  

Tencent Music Entertainment Group, ADR(a)

    1,905,220       19,947,653  

Thunder Software Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    79,987       671,685  

Tianma Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    914,823       1,161,306  

Tianqi Lithium Corp., Class A

    224,000       1,662,901  

Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding Corp.

    5,220,000       5,804,930  

Tongcheng Travel Holdings Ltd.(a)

    3,319,600       8,345,310  

TongFu Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A

    338,400       1,042,138  

Tongkun Group Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    682,500       1,283,666  

Tongwei Co. Ltd., Class A

    709,384       2,604,033  

Topchoice Medical Corp., Class A(a)

    77,700       706,838  

Topsports International Holdings Ltd.(b)

    4,942,000       3,344,347  

TravelSky Technology Ltd., Class H

    2,615,000       3,126,149  

Trina Solar Co. Ltd.

    360,397       1,252,710  

Trip.com Group Ltd.(a)

    1,388,762       63,036,287  

Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd., Class A

    121,090       1,345,297  

Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd., Class H

    1,550,000       9,918,020  

Unigroup Guoxin Microelectronics Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    156,839       1,554,035  

Unisplendour Corp. Ltd., Class A(a)

    500,354       1,533,520  

Vinda International Holdings Ltd.

    814,000       2,410,702  

Vipshop Holdings Ltd., ADR(a)

    871,810       16,782,342  

Walvax Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Class A

    351,847       897,100  

Wanhua Chemical Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    494,591       5,440,871  

Want Want China Holdings Ltd.

     12,568,000       6,934,512  

Weichai Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,318,144       3,088,460  

Weichai Power Co. Ltd., Class H

    4,749,800       9,349,324  

Wens Foodstuffs Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,130,870       3,009,837  

Western Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,146,110       1,267,202  

Western Superconducting Technologies Co. Ltd., Class A

    195,212       1,084,090  

Will Semiconductor Co. Ltd. Shanghai, Class A

    199,970       2,654,826  

Wingtech Technology Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    181,400       959,268  

Wuhan Guide Infrared Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,079,732       943,544  

Wuliangye Yibin Co. Ltd., Class A

    588,028        11,569,050  

WUS Printed Circuit Kunshan Co. Ltd., Class A

    356,823       1,307,892  

WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd., Class A

    378,229       2,850,430  

WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd., Class H(b)(c)

    880,770       5,429,513  

Wuxi Biologics Cayman Inc.(a)(b)

    9,662,000       22,885,491  

XCMG Construction Machinery Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,196,069       1,805,855  

Xiaomi Corp., Class B(a)(b)

    38,622,800       64,902,652  

Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co. Ltd.

    329,152       1,332,579  

Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd.

    12,690,000       7,684,370  

XPeng Inc.(a)(c)

    2,884,076       13,498,319  

Yadea Group Holdings Ltd.(b)(c)

    3,202,000       5,030,565  

Yankuang Energy Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    649,900       2,330,377  

Yankuang Energy Group Co. Ltd., Class H(a)

    5,662,200       13,057,273  

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

    271,298       1,135,568  

Yealink Network Technology Corp. Ltd., Class A

    266,242       1,083,211  

Yifeng Pharmacy Chain Co. Ltd., Class A

    194,090       1,059,861  

Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Ltd., Class A

    290,100       1,298,257  

Yintai Gold Co. Ltd., Class A

    596,600       1,237,131  
Security   Shares     Value  
China (continued)            

YongXing Special Materials Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    98,630     $ 753,816  

Yonyou Network Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    548,351       964,265  

YTO Express Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    652,200       1,152,570  

Yuexiu Property Co. Ltd.

    4,192,000       2,787,755  

Yum China Holdings Inc.

    1,027,588       44,073,249  

Yunda Holding Co. Ltd., Class A

    641,804       641,276  

Yunnan Aluminium Co. Ltd., Class A

    641,500       1,028,225  

Yunnan Baiyao Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    354,922       2,450,312  

Yunnan Energy New Material Co. Ltd., Class A

    144,800       921,158  

Zai Lab Ltd.(a)

    2,361,760       5,040,410  

Zangge Mining Co. Ltd.

    369,800       1,501,320  

Zhangzhou Pientzehuang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    97,964       3,027,273  

Zhaojin Mining Industry Co. Ltd., Class H(c)

    3,458,500       3,575,971  

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

    1,293,598       877,788  

Zhejiang China Commodities City Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    801,100       911,904  

Zhejiang Chint Electrics Co. Ltd., Class A

    471,423       1,344,113  

Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    549,284       1,407,741  

Zhejiang Expressway Co. Ltd., Class H

    5,154,640       3,931,032  

Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Class A

    374,404       722,986  

Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. Ltd., Class A

    300,815       1,153,912  

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

    258,084       1,324,373  

Zhejiang Juhua Co. Ltd., Class A

    560,700       1,582,637  

Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co.
Ltd.(a)(b)(c)

    1,288,000       4,506,230  

Zhejiang NHU Co. Ltd., Class A

    658,687       1,644,098  

Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls Co. Ltd., Class A

    290,500       1,003,543  

Zhejiang Supor Co. Ltd., Class A

    138,082       1,061,097  

Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power Co. Ltd., Class A(a)

    2,359,600       1,761,580  

Zheshang Securities Co. Ltd., Class A

    921,700       1,309,126  

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

    1,769,700       2,786,785  

Zhongji Innolight Co. Ltd., Class A

    126,900       2,733,272  

Zhongjin Gold Corp. Ltd., Class A

    842,600       1,213,832  

Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd.

    2,035,500       3,705,901  

Zhongtai Securities Co. Ltd.

    1,764,700       1,699,954  

Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co. Ltd.

    1,387,400       4,067,783  

Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,339,400       6,051,683  

Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd., Class H

     13,538,000        21,746,406  

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

    1,520,354       1,686,806  

ZTE Corp., Class A

    604,000       2,499,024  

ZTE Corp., Class H

    1,886,600       4,249,536  

ZTO Express Cayman Inc., ADR

    1,062,404       20,387,533  
   

 

 

 
      4,494,015,653  
Colombia — 0.1%            

Bancolombia SA

    630,177       5,288,670  

Interconexion Electrica SA ESP

    1,157,083       4,929,026  
   

 

 

 
      10,217,696  
Czech Republic — 0.1%            

CEZ AS

    402,872       13,764,090  

Komercni Banka AS

    187,587       6,528,396  

Moneta Money Bank AS(b)

    853,562       3,746,845  
   

 

 

 
      24,039,331  

 

 

18  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Egypt — 0.1%            

Commercial International Bank - Egypt (CIB)

    9,039,285     $ 12,904,079  

Eastern Co. S.A.E

    4,110,572       2,907,649  

EFG Holding S.A.E.(a)

    2,296,495       842,870  
   

 

 

 
      16,654,598  
Greece — 0.5%            

Alpha Services and Holdings SA(a)

    5,539,714       10,435,366  

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

    6,331,967       13,081,516  

FF Group(d)

    246,892       3  

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA

    490,670       7,403,210  

JUMBO SA

    299,790       8,761,308  

Motor Oil Hellas Corinth Refineries SA

    161,140       4,603,981  

Mytilineos SA

    246,359       9,585,529  

National Bank of Greece SA(a)

    1,925,955       15,122,523  

OPAP SA

    468,507       8,542,329  

Piraeus Financial Holdings SA(a)

    1,725,456       7,622,908  

Public Power Corp. SA(a)

    535,884       6,999,910  
   

 

 

 
      92,158,583  
Hungary — 0.3%            

MOL Hungarian Oil & Gas PLC

    1,098,501       8,740,193  

OTP Bank Nyrt

    561,495       26,921,055  

Richter Gedeon Nyrt

    347,459       9,250,235  
   

 

 

 
      44,911,483  
India — 17.9%            

ABB India Ltd.

    134,291       8,803,154  

Adani Enterprises Ltd.

    433,876       17,185,054  

Adani Green Energy Ltd.(a)

    802,673       18,345,083  

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd.

    1,334,655       21,188,797  

Adani Power Ltd.(a)

    1,945,786       12,877,466  

Ambuja Cements Ltd.

    1,504,566       10,988,346  

APL Apollo Tubes Ltd.

    432,905       8,062,713  

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd.

    255,528       18,811,791  

Ashok Leyland Ltd.

    3,849,312       7,884,354  

Asian Paints Ltd.

    969,008       33,051,428  

Astral Ltd.

    331,993       8,284,668  

AU Small Finance Bank Ltd.(b)

    427,058       2,927,490  

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.

    668,886       8,291,866  

Avenue Supermarts Ltd.(a)(b)

    415,939       19,642,748  

Axis Bank Ltd.

     5,737,180       74,267,941  

Bajaj Auto Ltd.

    171,440       16,339,778  

Bajaj Finance Ltd.

    697,121       54,387,708  

Bajaj Finserv Ltd.

    968,906       18,597,974  

Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd.

    67,632       7,460,447  

Balkrishna Industries Ltd.

    196,275       5,271,996  

Bandhan Bank Ltd.(b)

    1,800,847       4,240,857  

Bank of Baroda

    2,624,317       8,396,567  

Berger Paints India Ltd.

    764,319       5,592,673  

Bharat Electronics Ltd.

    9,273,590        22,906,671  

Bharat Forge Ltd.

    648,027       8,985,668  

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.

    2,631,482       7,221,669  

Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.

    1,923,908       13,981,752  

Bharti Airtel Ltd.

    5,665,971       76,711,572  

Britannia Industries Ltd.

    275,050       16,483,372  

CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd.

    1,550,046       8,283,159  

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. Ltd.

    1,043,216       13,666,440  

Cipla Ltd.

    1,320,364       23,579,842  

Coal India Ltd.

    3,850,540       20,220,410  

Colgate-Palmolive India Ltd.

    315,159       9,584,345  

Container Corp. of India Ltd.

    692,811       8,161,767  

Cummins India Ltd.

    363,519       12,010,756  
Security   Shares     Value  
India (continued)            

Dabur India Ltd.

    1,583,655     $ 10,283,931  

Divi’s Laboratories Ltd.

    303,606       12,770,586  

DLF Ltd.

    1,870,658       20,322,208  

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.

    288,336       22,357,548  

Eicher Motors Ltd.

    346,994       15,856,509  

GAIL India Ltd.

    5,839,138       12,813,357  

GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd.(a)

    6,063,220       6,142,469  

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.

    1,038,091       15,716,743  

Godrej Properties Ltd.(a)

    317,507       9,184,467  

Grasim Industries Ltd.

    668,363       17,641,342  

Havells India Ltd.

    635,974       11,733,991  

HCL Technologies Ltd.

    2,380,780       47,711,225  

HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd.(b)

    235,699       10,667,066  

HDFC Bank Ltd.

    7,059,123       119,221,197  

HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd.(b)

    2,435,826       17,099,091  

Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

    295,623       15,754,793  

Hindalco Industries Ltd.

    3,340,859       20,265,399  

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., NVS

    500,385       18,578,422  

Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd.

    1,439,870       8,851,820  

Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

    2,068,049       60,169,376  

ICICI Bank Ltd.

    13,063,076       165,911,031  

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co.
Ltd.(b)

    607,598       12,552,419  

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.(b)

    908,873       5,841,283  

IDFC First Bank Ltd.(a)

    8,515,594       8,319,916  

Indian Hotels Co. Ltd., Class A

    2,176,498       15,405,285  

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.

    7,116,765       14,192,146  

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp. Ltd.

    608,951       6,809,001  

Indraprastha Gas Ltd.

    796,161       4,086,140  

IndusInd Bank Ltd.

    738,742       13,122,810  

Info Edge India Ltd.

    181,727       11,528,206  

Infosys Ltd.

    8,363,130        168,303,732  

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.(a)(b)

    370,884       14,083,196  

ITC Ltd.

    7,559,894       36,998,491  

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.

    906,060       8,453,046  

Jio Financial Services Ltd., NVS(a)

    7,884,443       29,434,184  

JSW Steel Ltd.

    1,533,455       14,784,253  

Jubilant Foodworks Ltd.

    1,008,475       5,640,937  

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

    2,763,368       56,220,663  

Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

    1,700,199       71,283,044  

LTIMindtree Ltd.(b)

    225,320       14,406,287  

Lupin Ltd.

    543,786       10,636,917  

Macrotech Developers Ltd.

    570,022       7,987,112  

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

    2,366,417       55,101,370  

Marico Ltd.

    1,304,281       8,217,616  

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

    353,934       48,168,465  

Max Healthcare Institute Ltd.

    1,981,604       18,965,281  

Mphasis Ltd.

    194,157       6,125,058  

MRF Ltd.

    5,876       10,359,013  

Muthoot Finance Ltd.

    305,734       4,795,577  

Nestle India Ltd., NVS

    853,726       26,736,590  

NMDC Ltd.

    2,575,867       7,017,784  

NTPC Ltd.

     10,972,042       44,336,443  

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd.

    7,872,032       25,043,960  

One 97 Communications Ltd., NVS(a)

    618,033       2,991,444  

Page Industries Ltd.

    15,630       6,467,262  

Persistent Systems Ltd.

    127,943       13,314,143  

Petronet LNG Ltd.

    1,863,062       6,134,164  

PI Industries Ltd.

    208,362       9,229,289  

Pidilite Industries Ltd.

    390,068       12,879,113  

Polycab India Ltd.

    111,805       6,400,416  

Power Finance Corp. Ltd.

    3,727,622       18,033,135  

Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd.

    11,695,280       39,956,639  

 

 

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

  19


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
India (continued)            

Punjab National Bank

    5,547,534     $ 8,152,407  

REC Ltd.

    3,301,054       17,577,858  

Reliance Industries Ltd.

    7,670,187       269,954,107  

Samvardhana Motherson International Ltd.

    5,991,010       8,607,152  

SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd.

    705,527       6,120,750  

SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd.(b)

    1,140,469       21,309,657  

Shree Cement Ltd.

    22,761       6,985,209  

Shriram Finance Ltd.

    712,469       20,928,937  

Siemens Ltd.

    224,671       12,667,206  

Sona Blw Precision Forgings Ltd.(b)

    1,039,858       8,637,142  

SRF Ltd.

    377,698       10,888,288  

State Bank of India

    4,492,174       40,451,126  

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

    2,419,289       45,993,170  

Supreme Industries Ltd.

    164,564       8,230,189  

Suzlon Energy Ltd.(a)

    22,084,529       12,032,009  

Tata Communications Ltd.

    305,243       7,068,995  

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

    2,293,306       113,131,304  

Tata Consumer Products Ltd.

    1,414,428       20,284,163  

Tata Elxsi Ltd.

    86,920       8,184,821  

Tata Motors Ltd.

    4,157,465       47,599,322  

Tata Motors Ltd., Class A

    1,196,730       9,112,542  

Tata Power Co. Ltd. (The)

    3,648,495       16,362,992  

Tata Steel Ltd.

    18,597,773       31,526,489  

Tech Mahindra Ltd.

    1,342,807       20,635,217  

Titan Co. Ltd.

    897,790       39,234,751  

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

    257,671       8,301,782  

Trent Ltd.

    462,304       21,606,434  

Tube Investments of India Ltd.

    269,809       11,326,017  

TVS Motor Co. Ltd.

    602,352       15,522,059  

UltraTech Cement Ltd.

    291,586       34,788,042  

Union Bank of India Ltd.

    3,086,095       5,445,202  

United Spirits Ltd.

    738,255       10,377,413  

UPL Ltd.

    1,142,726       6,471,706  

Varun Beverages Ltd.

    1,153,816       19,608,402  

Vedanta Ltd.

    2,245,314       7,235,016  

Wipro Ltd.

    3,237,528       20,198,367  

Yes Bank Ltd.(a)

    32,914,574       9,678,537  

Zomato Ltd.(a)

    15,312,986       30,479,127  
   

 

 

 
       3,184,826,630  
Indonesia — 1.9%            

Adaro Energy Indonesia Tbk PT

    36,433,700       5,615,180  

Amman Mineral Internasional PT(a)

    16,975,900       9,175,611  

Aneka Tambang Tbk

    23,124,300       2,147,681  

Astra International Tbk PT

    51,160,700       17,031,303  

Bank Central Asia Tbk PT

    139,193,600       87,589,788  

Bank Mandiri Persero Tbk PT

    93,768,000       41,883,680  

Bank Negara Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    37,901,752       14,485,449  

Bank Rakyat Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    171,336,908       66,767,198  

Barito Pacific Tbk PT

    71,670,622       4,454,927  

Charoen Pokphand Indonesia Tbk PT

    18,723,145       5,772,717  

GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk PT(a)

     2,121,524,100       9,602,815  

Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk PT

    6,444,700       3,581,810  

Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk PT

    5,970,500       4,401,949  

Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk PT

    11,085,500       4,673,334  

Kalbe Farma Tbk PT

    53,367,415       5,052,250  

Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk PT(a)

    26,675,563       3,836,679  

Sarana Menara Nusantara Tbk PT

    51,787,800       3,036,805  

Semen Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    8,396,071       3,261,485  

Sumber Alfaria Trijaya Tbk PT

    43,810,700       7,666,524  

Telkom Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    125,191,000       31,912,353  

Unilever Indonesia Tbk PT

    19,011,700       3,302,701  
Security   Shares     Value  
Indonesia (continued)            

United Tractors Tbk PT

    3,648,553     $ 5,464,418  
   

 

 

 
      340,716,657  
Kazakhstan — 0.0%            

Polymetal International PLC(a)(d)

    1,312,267       144  
   

 

 

 
Kuwait — 0.8%            

Agility Public Warehousing Co. KSC(a)

    4,060,890       7,941,016  

Boubyan Bank KSCP

    3,519,502       7,358,898  

Gulf Bank KSCP

    5,144,265       4,935,419  

Kuwait Finance House KSCP

    21,698,364       57,167,839  

Mabanee Co. KPSC

    1,669,829       4,438,408  

Mobile Telecommunications Co. KSCP

    4,940,662       8,080,419  

National Bank of Kuwait SAKP

    18,810,883       59,934,254  
   

 

 

 
      149,856,253  
Malaysia — 1.4%            

AMMB Holdings Bhd

    4,218,375       3,861,439  

Axiata Group Bhd

    7,060,900       4,139,025  

CELCOMDIGI Bhd

    9,096,300       8,352,728  

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd

    15,994,500       21,780,963  

Gamuda Bhd

    4,527,700       5,047,210  

Genting Bhd

    5,285,200       5,316,582  

Genting Malaysia Bhd

    7,346,900       4,449,633  

Hong Leong Bank Bhd

    1,649,600       6,859,360  

IHH Healthcare Bhd

    4,922,300       6,379,126  

Inari Amertron Bhd

    6,791,900       4,546,760  

IOI Corp. Bhd

    6,466,220       5,421,809  

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd

    1,287,400       6,083,585  

Malayan Banking Bhd

    13,389,100       26,900,173  

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd

    1,930,900       3,450,433  

Maxis Bhd(c)

    6,020,400       4,719,395  

MISC Bhd

    3,282,200       5,262,061  

MR DIY Group M Bhd(b)

    7,866,300       2,585,438  

Nestle Malaysia Bhd

    195,100       5,134,968  

Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd

    7,065,600       10,428,684  

Petronas Dagangan Bhd

    772,500       3,718,028  

Petronas Gas Bhd

    2,027,400       7,664,431  

PPB Group Bhd

    1,640,860       5,387,124  

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd

    9,419,700       9,296,697  

Public Bank Bhd

    36,486,750       33,864,471  

QL Resources Bhd

    2,799,400       3,426,032  

RHB Bank Bhd

    3,701,325       4,371,409  

Sime Darby Bhd

    6,851,973       3,915,215  

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd

    5,407,373       4,941,702  

Telekom Malaysia Bhd

    3,116,100       3,974,761  

Tenaga Nasional Bhd

    6,466,250       15,342,951  

YTL Corp. Bhd

    7,990,700       4,495,874  

YTL Power International Bhd

    6,146,300       5,115,980  
   

 

 

 
       246,234,047  
Mexico — 2.6%            

Alfa SAB de CV, Class A

    7,603,947       5,670,309  

America Movil SAB de CV

    47,330,550       44,319,672  

Arca Continental SAB de CV

    1,284,936       13,842,035  

Banco del Bajio SA(b)

    1,976,800       7,356,641  

Cemex SAB de CV, NVS(a)

     38,463,415       29,404,538  

Coca-Cola Femsa SAB de CV

    1,332,569       13,006,508  

Fibra Uno Administracion SA de CV

    7,348,581       13,279,334  

Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV

    4,898,472       61,166,774  

Gruma SAB de CV, Class B

    469,666       8,363,977  

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB de CV, Class B

    732,654       6,350,234  

 

 

20  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Mexico (continued)            

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico SAB de CV, Class B

    978,100     $ 14,442,315  

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV, Class B

    469,542       13,776,685  

Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, Series A

    3,345,946       13,996,858  

Grupo Carso SAB de CV, Series A1

    1,424,941       12,328,017  

Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV, Class O

    6,542,712       67,644,907  

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

    4,665,549       14,154,659  

Grupo Mexico SAB de CV, Series B

    7,917,388       38,434,351  

Industrias Penoles SAB de CV(a)(c)

    511,563       6,410,351  

Kimberly-Clark de Mexico SAB de CV, Class A

    3,860,263       8,579,243  

Operadora De Sites Mexicanos SAB de CV

    3,277,721       3,809,593  

Orbia Advance Corp. SAB de CV

    2,629,934       4,863,548  

Prologis Property Mexico SA de CV

    1,871,642       8,412,602  

Promotora y Operadora de Infraestructura SAB de CV

    472,425       4,909,888  

Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB de CV

    13,121,200       52,540,998  
   

 

 

 
       467,064,037  
Netherlands — 0.1%            

NEPI Rockcastle NV

    1,300,516       9,279,229  

Pepco Group NV(a)

    426,309       2,139,377  
   

 

 

 
      11,418,606  
Peru — 0.3%            

Cia. de Minas Buenaventura SAA, ADR

    519,532       7,844,933  

Credicorp Ltd.

    170,216       29,086,510  

Southern Copper Corp.

    216,194       17,481,447  
   

 

 

 
      54,412,890  
Philippines — 0.7%            

Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc.

    4,292,730       4,048,426  

Ayala Corp.

    629,516       7,597,183  

Ayala Land Inc.

    17,081,600       10,646,346  

Bank of the Philippine Islands

    4,758,008       10,593,819  

BDO Unibank Inc.

    6,012,243       16,379,175  

International Container Terminal Services Inc.

    2,578,040       13,230,065  

JG Summit Holdings Inc.

    7,205,293       5,255,128  

Jollibee Foods Corp.

    1,137,669       5,541,115  

Manila Electric Co.

    611,540       4,242,651  

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.

    4,718,245       5,203,881  

PLDT Inc.

    191,788       4,475,178  

SM Investments Corp.

    627,292       10,496,615  

SM Prime Holdings Inc.

     25,664,525       14,426,737  

Universal Robina Corp.

    2,211,270       4,603,391  
   

 

 

 
      116,739,710  
Poland — 1.0%            

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

    1,309,987       10,586,547  

Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA

    459,200       19,917,060  

Budimex SA

    33,610       6,144,424  

CD Projekt SA

    167,277       4,597,406  

Dino Polska SA(a)(b)(c)

    123,622       14,384,862  

KGHM Polska Miedz SA

    355,241       9,601,317  

LPP SA

    2,834       12,732,454  

mBank SA(a)

    38,255       6,665,856  

ORLEN SA

    1,434,072       22,275,904  

PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA(a)

    2,305,165       4,606,743  

Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski SA

    2,191,623       30,541,146  

Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA

    1,487,317       18,301,765  

Santander Bank Polska SA

    90,758       12,516,239  
   

 

 

 
      172,871,723  
Security   Shares     Value  
Qatar — 0.9%            

Barwa Real Estate Co.

    4,970,504     $ 4,170,409  

Commercial Bank PSQC (The)

    8,171,223       11,333,391  

Dukhan Bank

    4,740,904       5,414,959  

Industries Qatar QSC

    3,820,894       13,528,784  

Masraf Al Rayan QSC

    14,032,212       9,746,821  

Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Co. QSC

    12,079,114       6,260,668  

Ooredoo QPSC

    2,043,632       6,372,164  

Qatar Electricity & Water Co. QSC

    1,116,569       5,294,775  

Qatar Fuel QSC

    1,702,137       6,979,579  

Qatar Gas Transport Co. Ltd.

    6,416,182       7,034,331  

Qatar International Islamic Bank QSC

    2,372,716       7,424,294  

Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ

    4,270,251       23,596,753  

Qatar National Bank QPSC

    11,598,657       48,443,040  
   

 

 

 
       155,599,968  
Russia — 0.0%            

Alrosa PJSC(a)(d)

    9,805,890       1,072  

Gazprom PJSC(a)(d)

    43,696,315       4,775  

Inter RAO UES PJSC(a)(d)

    121,651,300       13,295  

LUKOIL PJSC(a)(d)

    1,533,792       168  

MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC(a)(d)

    233,757       26  

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC(a)(d)

    3,162,662       346  

Moscow Exchange MICEX-RTS PJSC(a)(d)

    5,279,850       577  

Novatek PJSC(a)(d)

    3,371,230       368  

Novolipetsk Steel PJSC(a)(d)

    5,629,360       615  

Ozon Holdings PLC, ADR(a)(d)

    197,078       21  

PhosAgro PJSC(a)(d)

    174,249       19  

PhosAgro PJSC, GDR(a)(d)(e)

    2        

PhosAgro PJSC, New(a)(d)

    3,367       34  

Polyus PJSC(a)(d)

    126,490       14  

Rosneft Oil Co. PJSC(a)(d)

    4,281,715       468  

Sberbank of Russia PJSC(a)(d)

    39,606,181       4,328  

Severstal PAO(a)(d)

    805,849       88  

Surgutneftegas PJSC(a)(d)

    26,192,370       2,863  

Tatneft PJSC(a)(d)

    5,175,395       566  

TCS Group Holding PLC, GDR(a)(d)(e)

    445,207       49  

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

    11,428,270       1,249  

VK Co. Ltd.(a)(d)

    404,870       44  

VTB Bank PJSC(a)(d)

     11,783,971,998       1,288  

X5 Retail Group NV, GDR(a)(d)

    424,766       46  

Yandex NV(a)(d)

    1,127,576       123  
   

 

 

 
      32,442  
Saudi Arabia — 4.5%            

ACWA Power Co.

    236,813       16,672,735  

Ades Holding Co.(a)

    850,623       4,536,293  

Advanced Petrochemical Co.

    349,348       3,557,103  

Al Rajhi Bank

    4,951,900       117,598,776  

Alinma Bank

    2,461,101       28,886,501  

Almarai Co. JSC

    619,567       9,714,033  

Anglogold Ashanti PLC, NVS

    1,063,366       20,032,072  

Arab National Bank

    1,710,052       12,715,009  

Arabian Internet & Communications Services Co.

    58,718       5,750,703  

Bank AlBilad

    1,243,344       16,410,070  

Bank Al-Jazira(a)

    1,024,571       5,322,018  

Banque Saudi Fransi

    1,489,402       15,143,642  

Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance Co.

    202,331       12,379,679  

Co. for Cooperative Insurance (The)

    177,878       7,683,715  

Dallah Healthcare Co.

    86,860       4,344,969  

Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co.(a)

    1,342,821       5,004,518  

Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group Co.

    222,027       19,551,624  

 

 

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

  21


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Saudi Arabia (continued)            

Elm Co.

    60,921     $ 17,183,292  

Etihad Etisalat Co.

    948,044       13,979,371  

Jarir Marketing Co.

    1,484,862       6,171,851  

Mobile Telecommunications Co. Saudi Arabia

    1,118,508       4,443,850  

Mouwasat Medical Services Co.

    248,815       8,199,650  

Nahdi Medical Co.

    96,674       3,660,429  

Power & Water Utility Co. for Jubail & Yanbu

    194,408       3,944,217  

Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.(a)

    49,082       108,277  

Reinet Investments SCA

    348,162       8,786,462  

Riyad Bank

    3,710,588       30,805,667  

SABIC Agri-Nutrients Co.

    589,751       19,716,458  

Sahara International Petrochemical Co.

    902,719       7,376,482  

Saudi Arabian Mining Co.(a)

    3,299,171       43,779,593  

Saudi Arabian Oil Co.(b)

    6,607,159       55,862,681  

Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co.

    131,224       5,886,577  

Saudi Awwal Bank

    2,542,490       27,996,362  

Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

    2,262,167       47,525,878  

Saudi Electricity Co.

    2,114,401       11,286,807  

Saudi Industrial Investment Group

    938,520       5,188,385  

Saudi Investment Bank (The)

    1,243,344       5,372,092  

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co.(a)

    1,941,408       4,995,490  

Saudi National Bank (The)

    7,392,949       83,549,392  

Saudi Research & Media Group(a)

    95,719       6,321,120  

Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Co.

    122,521       7,909,890  

Saudi Telecom Co.

    5,052,436       57,191,516  

Savola Group (The)

    654,303       9,246,743  

Yanbu National Petrochemical Co.

    666,466       6,651,115  
   

 

 

 
       808,443,107  
South Africa — 2.5%            

Absa Group Ltd.

    2,122,086       18,115,770  

Anglo American Platinum Ltd.

    169,546       6,522,208  

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd.

    957,728       9,786,502  

Bid Corp. Ltd.

    851,178       19,912,595  

Bidvest Group Ltd. (The)

    733,977       8,941,661  

Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd.

    219,147       23,088,820  

Clicks Group Ltd.

    606,490       9,489,134  

Discovery Ltd.

    1,375,181       9,752,954  

Exxaro Resources Ltd.

    620,527       5,757,936  

FirstRand Ltd.

    12,756,828       43,157,539  

Gold Fields Ltd.

    2,258,570       29,753,120  

Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd.

    1,422,088       8,266,658  

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.

    2,234,761       7,583,833  

Kumba Iron Ore Ltd.

    164,972       4,618,442  

MTN Group Ltd.

    4,303,004       18,733,099  

Naspers Ltd., Class N

    463,720       76,282,665  

Nedbank Group Ltd.

    1,106,385       12,657,377  

Northam Platinum Holdings Ltd.

    905,816       5,179,870  

Old Mutual Ltd.

     11,891,493       7,401,060  

OUTsurance Group Ltd., NVS

    2,052,639       4,456,303  

Pepkor Holdings Ltd.(b)(c)

    5,127,253       4,990,918  

Remgro Ltd.

    1,334,698       10,122,272  

Sanlam Ltd.

    4,459,908       17,102,515  

Sasol Ltd.

    1,454,340       10,960,427  

Shoprite Holdings Ltd.

    1,268,247       17,074,387  

Sibanye Stillwater Ltd.

    7,181,979       7,402,397  

Standard Bank Group Ltd.

    3,375,813       35,521,719  

Vodacom Group Ltd.

    1,584,597       7,767,665  

Woolworths Holdings Ltd./South Africa

    2,383,292       7,973,715  
   

 

 

 
          448,373,561  
South Korea — 11.8%            

Amorepacific Corp.

    73,917       6,646,421  
Security   Shares     Value  
South Korea (continued)            

Celltrion Inc.

    385,778     $ 52,171,226  

Celltrion Pharm Inc.(a)(c)

    47,471       3,956,165  

CJ CheilJedang Corp.

    21,195       4,776,630  

CosmoAM&T Co. Ltd.(a)

    61,451       8,213,326  

Coway Co. Ltd.

    140,566       5,721,354  

DB Insurance Co. Ltd.(a)

    113,770       8,442,251  

Doosan Bobcat Inc.

    140,593       4,963,723  

Doosan Enerbility Co. Ltd.(a)

     1,137,782       13,887,158  

Ecopro BM Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    123,619       24,846,499  

Ecopro Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    50,396       23,503,979  

Ecopro Materials Co. Ltd.(a)

    34,648       5,024,428  

GS Holdings Corp.

    117,913       4,256,276  

Hana Financial Group Inc.

    733,525       31,209,941  

Hanjin Kal Corp.

    67,064       3,182,971  

Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd.

    188,685       7,687,080  

Hanmi Pharm Co. Ltd.(a)

    17,922       4,498,034  

Hanmi Semiconductor Co. Ltd.(a)

    112,343       7,187,697  

Hanon Systems

    474,093       2,196,750  

Hanwha Aerospace Co. Ltd.

    89,968       12,677,771  

Hanwha Ocean Co. Ltd.(a)

    182,505       3,239,327  

Hanwha Solutions Corp.

    277,889       5,802,652  

HD Hyundai Co. Ltd.

    112,172       5,962,887  

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.(a)

    55,582       4,928,756  

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

    107,900       9,076,870  

HLB Inc.(a)

    296,180       18,170,549  

HMM Co. Ltd.(a)

    604,421       8,292,677  

HYBE Co. Ltd.

    52,940       7,928,901  

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co.
Ltd.(a)

    198,197       5,169,780  

Hyundai Glovis Co. Ltd.(a)

    46,306       6,629,385  

Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd.

    153,734        28,040,722  

Hyundai Motor Co.

    346,494       65,233,531  

Hyundai Steel Co.(a)

    224,629       6,072,891  

Industrial Bank of Korea(a)

    685,697       7,216,241  

Kakao Corp.

    782,523       31,408,900  

KakaoBank Corp.

    420,335       9,007,488  

Kakaopay Corp.(a)(c)

    68,142       2,258,507  

Kangwon Land Inc.(a)

    253,393       3,310,680  

KB Financial Group Inc.

    963,578       45,957,076  

Kia Corp.(a)

    657,016       61,528,179  

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd.(a)

    185,543       7,159,096  

Korea Electric Power Corp.(a)

    657,195       12,237,352  

Korea Investment Holdings Co. Ltd.(a)

    110,220       5,886,752  

Korea Zinc Co. Ltd.(c)

    21,048       7,076,592  

Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd.

    456,657       7,889,346  

Krafton Inc.(a)

    73,699       12,596,290  

KT Corp.

    169,279       4,965,409  

KT&G Corp.

    257,731       18,001,145  

Kum Yang Co. Ltd.(a)

    86,812       6,298,533  

Kumho Petrochemical Co. Ltd.(a)

    41,873       4,650,288  

L&F Co. Ltd.(a)

    64,535       8,243,884  

LG Chem Ltd.

    124,122       42,394,624  

LG Corp.

    237,406       16,710,769  

LG Display Co. Ltd.(a)

    590,244       5,037,591  

LG Electronics Inc.

    268,600       19,201,602  

LG Energy Solution Ltd.(a)(c)

    118,291       35,748,742  

LG H&H Co. Ltd.

    23,566       5,660,160  

LG Innotek Co. Ltd.

    35,067       5,329,035  

LG Uplus Corp.

    548,145       4,251,398  

Lotte Chemical Corp.

    47,839       4,398,748  

Meritz Financial Group Inc.

    260,687       16,270,516  

Mirae Asset Securities Co. Ltd.(a)

    657,130       4,459,381  

 

 

22  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
South Korea (continued)            

NAVER Corp.

    328,181     $ 48,187,169  

NCSoft Corp.

    36,447       5,315,851  

Netmarble Corp.(a)(b)

    62,741       2,913,332  

NH Investment & Securities Co. Ltd.(a)

    357,284       3,154,706  

Orion Corp./Republic of Korea

    60,278       4,204,172  

Pearl Abyss Corp.(a)

    6,815       155,781  

Posco DX Co. Ltd.(a)

    134,738       5,498,268  

POSCO Future M Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    78,244       18,702,388  

POSCO Holdings Inc.

    181,129       58,865,797  

Posco International Corp.(a)

    134,094       5,687,816  

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

    44,551       25,922,839  

Samsung C&T Corp.

    209,368       24,649,707  

Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd.

    139,657       14,717,197  

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

    12,025,628       663,728,987  

Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd.(a)

    392,316       7,255,943  

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Ltd.(a)

    76,986       17,229,389  

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.(a)

    1,637,427       9,734,590  

Samsung Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

    200,614       14,602,878  

Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.

    139,104       39,518,213  

Samsung SDS Co. Ltd.

    95,539       11,492,449  

Samsung Securities Co. Ltd.

    158,691       4,959,568  

Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd.

    1,089,380       35,611,374  

SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.(a)

    79,570       5,798,968  

SK Bioscience Co. Ltd.(a)

    68,348       3,158,553  

SK Hynix Inc.

    1,375,659       162,168,778  

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

    69,801       3,850,047  

SK Inc.

    92,680       13,368,595  

SK Innovation Co. Ltd.(a)

    151,712       13,385,237  

SK Square Co. Ltd.(a)

    251,349       13,188,952  

SK Telecom Co. Ltd.

    147,168       5,825,534  

SKC Co. Ltd.(a)

    48,799       3,040,528  

S-Oil Corp.

    111,473       6,404,070  

Woori Financial Group Inc.

    1,510,662       16,926,764  

Yuhan Corp.

    142,936       7,249,984  
   

 

 

 
       2,101,227,356  
Taiwan — 16.7%            

Accton Technology Corp.

    1,259,000       20,718,652  

Acer Inc.(c)

    7,429,121       10,624,911  

Advantech Co. Ltd.

    1,229,213       15,170,900  

Airtac International Group(c)

    348,526       13,353,160  

Alchip Technologies Ltd.

    187,000       24,531,118  

ASE Technology Holding Co. Ltd.

    7,781,110       34,350,809  

Asia Cement Corp.

    5,865,077       7,507,650  

Asustek Computer Inc.

    1,773,968       25,560,497  

AUO Corp.

    16,657,200       9,238,450  

Catcher Technology Co. Ltd.

    1,481,210       9,228,849  

Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

     23,712,000       33,833,142  

Chailease Holding Co. Ltd.(c)

    3,884,081       21,474,502  

Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd.

    13,872,047       7,816,277  

Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. Ltd.

    4,979,128       7,401,295  

China Airlines Ltd.(c)

    7,453,000       4,720,000  

China Development Financial Holding Corp.(a)

    40,604,588       16,140,108  

China Steel Corp.(c)

    29,950,313       23,325,105  

Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd.(c)

    9,536,410       36,330,475  

Compal Electronics Inc.

    10,573,908       12,210,387  

CTBC Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    44,247,772       41,190,827  

Delta Electronics Inc.

    4,901,000       45,670,727  

E Ink Holdings Inc.(c)

    2,147,000       16,714,996  

E.Sun Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    35,202,378       28,143,002  

Eclat Textile Co. Ltd.

    451,427       7,715,681  

eMemory Technology Inc.

    164,000       14,081,406  

Eva Airways Corp.

    6,681,000       6,651,004  
Security   Shares     Value  
Taiwan (continued)            

Evergreen Marine Corp. Taiwan Ltd.

    2,537,324     $ 13,292,305  

Far Eastern New Century Corp.

    7,621,038       7,860,774  

Far EasTone Telecommunications Co. Ltd.

    4,355,000       10,850,041  

Feng TAY Enterprise Co. Ltd.(c)

    1,325,593       6,934,473  

First Financial Holding Co. Ltd.(c)

    27,324,089       23,435,211  

Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp.(c)

    8,987,090       16,276,656  

Formosa Petrochemical Corp.(c)

    2,872,000       6,754,080  

Formosa Plastics Corp.(c)

    9,791,280       22,221,162  

Fubon Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    19,493,073       41,967,179  

Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd.(c)

    1,285,000       14,054,929  

Global Unichip Corp.(c)

    235,000       11,843,982  

Globalwafers Co. Ltd.

    549,000       9,696,629  

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.

    31,316,873       102,107,903  

Hotai Motor Co. Ltd.

    780,380       16,573,152  

Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co. Ltd.

    22,174,407       15,442,576  

Innolux Corp.

    22,007,738       10,559,610  

Inventec Corp.(c)

    6,812,281       11,865,926  

Largan Precision Co. Ltd.

    253,000       20,763,556  

Lite-On Technology Corp.

    5,078,246       17,619,769  

MediaTek Inc.

    3,826,338       138,078,432  

Mega Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    29,023,100       35,557,344  

Micro-Star International Co. Ltd.

    1,830,000       11,074,382  

momo.com Inc.

    1,000       14,089  

Nan Ya Plastics Corp.(c)

    12,198,160        23,067,291  

Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board Corp.(c)

    585,000       3,919,429  

Nanya Technology Corp.

    3,207,000       6,827,704  

Nien Made Enterprise Co. Ltd.

    450,000       5,267,803  

Novatek Microelectronics Corp.(c)

    1,458,000       27,750,623  

Parade Technologies Ltd.(c)

    196,000       6,304,780  

Pegatron Corp.

    4,917,414       13,315,169  

PharmaEssentia Corp.(a)

    591,000       6,141,935  

Pou Chen Corp.

    5,792,220       5,595,747  

Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.(c)

    7,729,000       6,756,479  

President Chain Store Corp.

    1,447,000       12,337,225  

Quanta Computer Inc.

    6,814,000       50,071,514  

Realtek Semiconductor Corp.

    1,242,637       22,396,097  

Ruentex Development Co. Ltd.

    4,123,916       4,745,726  

Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank Ltd. (The)

    9,794,229       13,944,959  

Shin Kong Financial Holding Co. Ltd.(a)(c)

    33,092,149       8,687,843  

Silergy Corp.

    820,000       10,819,981  

SinoPac Financial Holdings Co. Ltd.

     26,851,521       17,086,289  

Synnex Technology International Corp.

    3,244,834       7,993,778  

Taishin Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    28,445,523       15,663,469  

Taiwan Business Bank

    15,952,184       7,067,850  

Taiwan Cement Corp.(c)

    16,073,748       16,341,634  

Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

    26,143,701       21,480,678  

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.

    5,042,000       4,818,160  

Taiwan Mobile Co. Ltd.

    4,455,600       13,963,164  

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

    62,072,000       1,360,277,791  

Unimicron Technology Corp.(c)

    3,459,000       19,653,803  

Uni-President Enterprises Corp.

    12,129,839       29,454,161  

United Microelectronics Corp.(c)

    28,157,000       43,413,261  

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp.(c)

    2,329,000       5,320,234  

Voltronic Power Technology Corp.

    169,000       8,588,768  

Walsin Lihwa Corp.(c)

    7,098,406       8,314,402  

Wan Hai Lines Ltd.

    1,693,090       2,697,122  

Winbond Electronics Corp.(c)

    8,061,863       7,127,554  

Wistron Corp.(c)

    6,585,000       24,112,729  

Wiwynn Corp.(c)

    241,000       17,792,504  

WPG Holdings Ltd.

    4,094,449       12,021,733  

 

 

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

  23


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  
Taiwan (continued)            

Yageo Corp.(c)

    841,940     $ 14,875,705  

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.

    4,246,000       6,698,851  

Yuanta Financial Holding Co. Ltd.

     25,287,004       21,974,964  

Zhen Ding Technology Holding Ltd.(c)

    1,653,075       5,260,872  
   

 

 

 
       2,978,497,871  
Thailand — 1.6%            

Advanced Info Service PCL, NVDR

    3,005,600       16,862,457  

Airports of Thailand PCL, NVDR(c)

    10,712,200       18,983,627  

Asset World Corp. PCL, NVDR(c)

    20,308,300       2,181,940  

Bangkok Dusit Medical Services PCL, NVDR

    27,776,100       22,066,996  

Bangkok Expressway & Metro PCL, NVDR

    19,420,400       4,365,441  

Berli Jucker PCL, NVDR

    122,500       82,799  

BTS Group Holdings PCL, NVDR(c)

    19,301,700       2,773,851  

Bumrungrad Hospital PCL, NVDR

    1,529,000       9,539,963  

Central Pattana PCL, NVDR

    5,126,700       9,255,148  

Central Retail Corp. PCL, NVDR(c)

    4,604,634       4,469,659  

Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL, NVDR(c)

    9,557,700       5,035,934  

CP ALL PCL, NVDR

    14,766,100       23,676,857  

CP Axtra PCL, NVDR

    5,384,500       5,000,000  

Delta Electronics Thailand PCL, NVDR

    7,867,300       15,661,551  

Energy Absolute PCL, NVDR(c)

    4,262,100       4,194,930  

Global Power Synergy PCL, NVDR(c)

    1,943,000       2,763,428  

Gulf Energy Development PCL, NVDR

    7,445,700       8,939,279  

Home Product Center PCL, NVDR

    15,030,314       4,694,403  

Indorama Ventures PCL, NVDR

    4,342,780       2,822,277  

Intouch Holdings PCL, NVDR

    2,552,425       4,823,271  

Kasikornbank PCL, NVDR

    1,476,000       5,065,065  

Krung Thai Bank PCL, NVDR

    8,754,500       3,929,080  

Krungthai Card PCL, NVDR

    2,660,400       3,172,487  

Land & Houses PCL, NVDR(c)

    20,942,400       4,433,976  

Minor International PCL, NVDR

    8,203,020       7,263,554  

Muangthai Capital PCL, NVDR(c)

    1,863,800       2,385,181  

PTT Exploration & Production PCL, NVDR(c)

    3,483,039       14,626,468  

PTT Global Chemical PCL, NVDR(c)

    5,703,430       6,036,470  

PTT Oil & Retail Business PCL, NVDR

    7,576,000       3,821,921  

PTT PCL, NVDR

    25,346,900       24,193,088  

SCB X PCL, NVDR

    2,054,300       6,452,403  

SCG Packaging PCL, NVDR

    3,189,500       2,490,488  

Siam Cement PCL (The), NVDR

    1,945,300       14,590,778  

Thai Oil PCL, NVDR

    3,088,200       4,821,481  

TMBThanachart Bank PCL, NVDR(c)

    61,611,900       3,164,715  

True Corp. PCL, NVDR(a)(c)

    26,581,520       5,235,451  
   

 

 

 
      279,876,417  
Turkey — 0.7%            

Akbank TAS

    7,901,900       10,520,180  

Aselsan Elektronik Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS

    3,519,912       6,754,769  

BIM Birlesik Magazalar AS

    1,146,195       14,225,522  

Coca-Cola Icecek A/S

    191,640       3,970,065  

Enka Insaat ve Sanayi AS

    2       2  

Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari
TAS(a)(c)

    3,562,125       5,189,512  

Ford Otomotiv Sanayi AS

    180,401       5,874,448  

Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS

    2,510,135       6,389,566  

KOC Holding AS

    1,902,165       10,244,278  

Pegasus Hava Tasimaciligi AS(a)

    115,187       3,162,379  

Sasa Polyester Sanayi AS(a)

    3,323,056       4,209,215  

Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi AS

    320,399       2,739,597  

Turk Hava Yollari AO(a)

    1,373,672       12,392,363  

Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS

    3,046,632       6,530,971  

Turkiye Is Bankasi AS, Class C

    22,187,846       7,868,300  

Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS

    2,415,355       12,513,150  

Turkiye Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari AS

    3,519,613       5,761,254  
Security   Shares     Value  
Turkey (continued)            

Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi AS

    8,522,080     $ 6,289,171  
   

 

 

 
      124,634,742  
United Arab Emirates — 1.2%            

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC

    7,344,332       17,136,341  

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC

    3,686,333       11,280,955  

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. for Distribution PJSC

    7,808,155       7,440,488  

Aldar Properties PJSC

    9,710,395       14,619,988  

Americana Restaurants International PLC

    6,411,994       5,987,868  

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC

    7,159,505       12,553,183  

Emaar Properties PJSC

    16,722,720       36,969,871  

Emirates NBD Bank PJSC

    4,775,352       23,792,576  

Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. PJSC

    8,801,007       43,370,649  

First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC

    11,082,660       41,171,740  

Multiply Group PJSC(a)

    9,808,613       6,066,145  
   

 

 

 
      220,389,804  
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks — 97.3%
(Cost: $16,333,606,761)

      17,306,052,676  
   

 

 

 

Preferred Stocks

   
Brazil — 1.6%            

Banco Bradesco SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    13,477,734       37,279,242  

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

    639,364       6,162,002  

Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais, Preference Shares, NVS

    3,473,474       8,363,840  

Companhia Paranaense de Energia, Preference Shares, NVS

    2,582,695       5,309,719  

Gerdau SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    2,945,569       12,739,581  

Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    12,201,922       83,308,168  

Itausa SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    13,813,595       28,621,438  

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Preference Shares, NVS

     11,994,149       96,848,814  
   

 

 

 
      278,632,804  
Chile — 0.1%            

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA,

   

Class B, Preference Shares

    362,493       17,976,969  
   

 

 

 
Colombia — 0.0%            

Bancolombia SA, Preference Shares, NVS

    1,129,912       9,235,051  
   

 

 

 
Russia — 0.0%            

Surgutneftegas PJSC, Preference Shares, NVS(a)(d)

    25,014,400       2,734  
   

 

 

 
South Korea — 0.7%            

Hyundai Motor Co.

   

Preference Shares, NVS

    56,702       6,802,687  

Series 2, Preference Shares, NVS

    91,427       11,058,784  

LG Chem Ltd., Preference Shares, NVS

    20,267       4,581,932  

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Preference Shares, NVS

    2,074,450       99,338,470  
   

 

 

 
      121,781,873  
   

 

 

 

Total Preferred Stocks — 2.4%
(Cost: $231,678,968)

       427,629,431  
   

 

 

 

 

 

24  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security   Shares     Value  

 

 

Rights

   
China — 0.0%            

Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.,
(Expires 12/31/49)(a)

    255,006     $  
   

 

 

 
South Korea — 0.0%            

LG Display Co. Ltd., (Expires 03/14/24, Strike Price KRW 10070)(a)

    187,634       184,591  
   

 

 

 

Total Rights — 0.0%
(Cost: $—)

      184,591  
   

 

 

 

Total Long-Term Investments — 99.7%
(Cost: $16,565,285,729)

 

    17,733,866,698  
   

 

 

 

Short-Term Securities

   
Money Market Funds — 2.6%            

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional, SL Agency Shares, 5.50%(f)(g)(h)

    446,818,337       447,041,746  

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares, 5.30%(f)(g)

    12,100,000       12,100,000  
   

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Securities — 2.6%
(Cost: $458,792,342)

      459,141,746  
   

 

 

 

Total Investments — 102.3%
(Cost: $17,024,078,071)

      18,193,008,444  

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets — (2.3)%

 

    (408,834,113
   

 

 

 
Net Assets — 100.0%         $ 17,784,174,331  
   

 

 

 

 

(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) 

This security may be resold to qualified foreign investors and foreign institutional buyers under Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933.

(f) 

Affiliate of the Fund.

(g) 

Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

(h) 

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 29, 2024 for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

 

 

   
  Affiliated Issuer  

Value at

08/31/23

    

Purchases

at Cost

   

Proceeds

from Sale

   

Net Realized

Gain (Loss)

    

Change in

Unrealized

Appreciation

(Depreciation)

   

Value at

02/29/24

    

Shares

Held at

02/29/24

     Income    

Capital

Gain

Distributions

from

Underlying

Funds

   

 
 

 

   
 

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institu-tional, SL Agency Shares

  $ 706,808,674      $     $  (259,894,350) (a)    $ 136,479      $ (9,057   $ 447,041,746        446,818,337      $ 4,296,969 (b)    $    
 

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares

           12,100,000 (a)                         12,100,000        12,100,000        1,250,603          
          

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   
           $ 136,479      $ (9,057   $ 459,141,746         $ 5,547,572     $    
          

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

  (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

    1,176        03/15/24      $ 59,788      $ 459,969  
          

 

 

 

 

 

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

    25  


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

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:

 

 

 
   

Commodity

Contracts

    

Credit

Contracts

    

Equity

Contracts

    

Foreign

Currency

Exchange

Contracts

    

Interest

Rate

Contracts

    

Other

Contracts

     Total  

 

 

Assets — Derivative Financial Instruments

                   

Futures contracts

                   

Unrealized appreciation on futures contracts(a)

  $      $      $ 459,969      $      $      $      $ 459,969  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (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).

 

For the period ended February 29, 2024, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statements of Operations was as follows:

 

 

 
   

Commodity

Contracts

    

Credit

Contracts

    

Equity

Contracts

   

Foreign

Currency

Exchange

Contracts

    

Interest

Rate

Contracts

    

Other

Contracts

     Total  

 

 

Net Realized Gain (Loss) from

                  

Futures contracts

  $      $      $  (311,921   $      $      $      $  (311,921

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

                        16,951                      16,951  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
  $      $      $ (311,921   $ 16,951      $      $      $ (294,970
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on

                  

Futures contracts

  $      $      $ 553,273     $      $      $      $ 553,273  
 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

 

 

 

Futures contracts:

 

Average notional value of contracts — long

  $ 35,446,358   

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts:

 

Average amounts purchased — in USD

  $ 241,108   

Average amounts sold — in USD

  $ 481,817   

 

 

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  

 

 

Assets

                 

Investments

                 

Long-Term Investments

                 

Common Stocks

   $ 2,691,568,489        $ 14,614,451,598        $ 32,589        $ 17,306,052,676  

Preferred Stocks

     287,867,855          139,758,842          2,734          427,629,431  

Rights

              184,591                   184,591  

Short-Term Securities

                 

Money Market Funds

     459,141,746                            459,141,746  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 
   $  3,438,578,090        $ 14,754,395,031        $    35,323        $ 18,193,008,444  
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

26  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L  R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

February 29, 2024

  

iShares® MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End (continued)

 

 

 
    Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments(a)

       

Assets

       

Equity Contracts

  $  459,969     $    —     $    —     $  459,969  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

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

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

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

  27


Statements of Assets and Liabilities (unaudited)

February 29, 2024

 

   

iShares

Currency

Hedged

MSCI

Emerging

Markets ETF

   

iShares

MSCI Emerging

Markets ETF

 

 

 

ASSETS

       

Investments, at value — unaffiliated(a)(b)

            $       $ 17,733,866,698  

Investments, at value — affiliated(c)

      159,486,724         459,141,746  

Cash

      1,944         59,212,510  

Cash pledged for futures contracts

              1,912,000  

Foreign currency, at value(d)

              43,334,470  

Receivables:

       

Investments sold

              94,771,637  

Securities lending income — affiliated

      2,828         441,311  

Capital shares sold

              130,912  

Dividends — unaffiliated

              33,794,600  

Dividends — affiliated

      1,528         272,137  

Tax reclaims

              422,604  

Variation margin on futures contracts

              11,704  

Unrealized appreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

      714,237          
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total assets

      160,207,261         18,427,312,329  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

       

Cash received as collateral for OTC derivatives

      380,000          

Collateral on securities loaned, at value

      40,037,484         446,274,217  

Payables:

       

Investments purchased

      549,566         109,707,310  

Capital shares redeemed

      9,763         15  

Deferred foreign capital gain tax

              76,622,493  

Foreign taxes

              72,312  

Investment advisory fees

              10,017,988  

Professional fees

              443,663  

Unrealized depreciation on forward foreign currency exchange contracts

      149,245          
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total liabilities

      41,126,058         643,137,998  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Commitments and contingent liabilities

       

NET ASSETS

    $ 119,081,203       $ 17,784,174,331  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF

       

Paid-in capital

    $ 145,106,879       $ 29,556,778,453  

Accumulated loss

      (26,025,676       (11,772,604,122
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

    $ 119,081,203       $ 17,784,174,331  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

NET ASSET VALUE

       

Shares outstanding

      4,790,000         442,800,000  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net asset value

    $ 24.86       $ 40.16  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Shares authorized

      250 million         5 billion  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Par value

    $ 0.001       $ 0.001  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

(a) Investments, at cost — unaffiliated

    $       $ 16,565,285,729  

(b) Securities loaned, at value

    $ 39,051,195       $ 421,954,447  

(c) Investments, at cost — affiliated

    $ 174,823,471       $ 458,792,342  

(d) Foreign currency, at cost

    $       $ 43,722,080  

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

28  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Statements of Operations (unaudited)

Six Months Ended February 29, 2024

 

   

iShares

Currency

Hedged

MSCI

Emerging

Markets ETF

   

iShares

MSCI

Emerging

Markets ETF

 

 

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

       

Dividends — unaffiliated

           $       $ 160,239,901  

Dividends — affiliated

      2,434,279         1,250,603  

Securities lending income — affiliated — net(a)

      29,168         4,296,969  

Other income — unaffiliated

              4,914,480  

Foreign taxes withheld

              (18,785,717

Foreign withholding tax claims

              82,898  

Other foreign taxes

              87,099  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total investment income

      2,463,447         152,086,233  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

EXPENSES

       

Investment advisory

      493,444         63,288,949  

Interest expense

      649         164,973  

Commitment costs

      633         19,473  

Professional

              499,750  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total expenses

      494,726         63,973,145  

Less:

       

Investment advisory fees waived

      (494,726        
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived

              63,973,145  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income

      2,463,447         88,113,088  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)

       

Net realized gain (loss) from:

       

Investments — unaffiliated(b)

              214,659,645  

Investments — affiliated

      (1,456,220       136,479  

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

      2,163,434         16,951  

Foreign currency transactions

              (1,716,632

Futures contracts

              (311,921

In-kind redemptions — unaffiliated(c)

              (83,400,187

In-kind redemptions — affiliated(c)

      (473,864        
   

 

 

     

 

 

 
      233,350         129,384,335  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

       

Investments — unaffiliated(d)

              349,079,953  

Investments — affiliated

      4,429,429         (9,057

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts

      (1,498,901        

Foreign currency translations

              (940,902

Futures contracts

              553,273  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 
      2,930,528         348,683,267  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized gain

      3,163,878         478,067,602  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS

    $ 5,627,325       $ 566,180,690  
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

(a) Net of securities lending income tax paid of

    $       $ 465,842  

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

    $       $ (41,498

(c) See Note 2 of the Notes to Financial Statements.

       

(d) Net of increase in deferred foreign capital gain tax of

    $       $ (56,821,025

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

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

  29


Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

iShares

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

ETF

         

iShares

MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

 
 

 

 

     

 

 

 
    Six Months Ended                 Six Months Ended        
    02/29/24         Year Ended       02/29/24         Year Ended (a) 
    (unaudited)           08/31/23           (unaudited)           08/31/23  

 

 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS

               

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income

    $ 2,463,447               $ 3,305,910           $ 88,113,088           $ 498,842,578  

Net realized gain (loss)

      233,350         (7,873,217       129,384,335         (723,710,832

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

      2,930,528         6,943,243         348,683,267         278,661,967  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets resulting from operations

      5,627,325         2,375,936         566,180,690         53,793,713  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS(b)

               

Decrease in net assets resulting from distributions to shareholders

      (2,496,446       (10,223,364       (325,507,865       (532,484,400
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Net decrease in net assets derived from capital share transactions

      (18,346,688       (11,848,604       (3,814,876,129       (4,033,313,036
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

               

Total decrease in net assets

      (15,215,809       (19,696,032       (3,574,203,304       (4,512,003,723

Beginning of period

      134,297,012         153,993,044         21,358,377,635         25,870,381,358  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

End of period

           $ 119,081,203       $ 134,297,012       $ 17,784,174,331       $ 21,358,377,635  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Net Assets.

(b) 

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

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

30  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Financial Highlights

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF  
 

 

 

 
    Six Months Ended                                                          
   

02/29/24

(unaudited)

   

Year Ended

08/31/23

    Year Ended
08/31/22
   

Year Ended

08/31/21

   

Year Ended

08/31/20

    Year Ended
08/31/19
 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $ 24.20       $ 25.20       $ 31.31       $ 27.41       $ 24.38       $ 25.70  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income(a)

      0.47         0.57         0.67         0.44         0.71         0.55  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)(b)

      0.66         0.12         (6.12       3.92             3.03         (1.27
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) from investment operations

              1.13         0.69         (5.45           4.36         3.74         (0.72
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Distributions(c)

                       

From net investment income

      (0.47       (0.56       (0.66       (0.46       (0.71       (0.60

From net realized gain

              (1.13                                
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total distributions

      (0.47       (1.69       (0.66       (0.46       (0.71       (0.60
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $ 24.86       $ 24.20       $ 25.20       $ 31.31       $ 27.41       $ 24.38  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total Return(d)

                       

Based on net asset value

      4.71 %(e)         2.93       (17.62 )%        15.96       15.49       (2.72 )% 
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets(f)

                       

Total expenses

      0.78 %(g)         0.79       0.78       0.78       0.78       0.78
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total expenses after fees waived

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

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income

      3.89 %(g)         2.36       2.38       1.41       2.84       2.22
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Supplemental Data

                       

Net assets, end of period (000)

    $ 119,081       $ 134,297       $ 153,993       $ 203,180       $ 183,626       $ 180,376  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Portfolio turnover rate(i)

      4       11       4       6       9       7
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(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, if any.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

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

  31


Financial Highlights (continued)

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

    iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF  
 

 

 

 
    Six Months Ended                                                    
     

 

    02/29/24         Year Ended         Year Ended         Year Ended         Year Ended         Year Ended  
      (unaudited)         08/31/23         08/31/22 (a)         08/31/21 (a)         08/31/20 (a)        08/31/19 (a)  

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $ 39.26       $ 39.68       $ 52.56       $ 44.56       $ 40.22       $ 43.24  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income(b)

      0.19         0.82         1.09 (c)         0.75         0.98         0.90  

Net realized and unrealized gain
(loss)(d)

      1.46         (0.35       (12.88       8.01         4.52         (3.02
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) from investment operations

      1.65         0.47         (11.79       8.76         5.50         (2.12
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Distributions from net investment income(e)

      (0.75       (0.89       (1.09       (0.76       (1.16       (0.90
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $ 40.16       $ 39.26       $ 39.68       $ 52.56       $ 44.56       $ 40.22  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total Return(f)

                       

Based on net asset value

      4.29 %(g)         1.23       (22.73 )%(c)         19.72       13.82       (4.87 )% 
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets(h)

                       

Total expenses

      0.73 %(i)         0.70       0.69       0.69       0.70       0.68
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total expenses excluding professional fees for foreign withholding tax claims

      0.72 %(i)         N/A         0.69       0.68       0.70       0.68
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net investment income

      1.00 %(i)         2.12       2.38 %(c)         1.45       2.38       2.16
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Supplemental Data

                       

Net assets, end of period (000)

    $ 17,784,174       $ 21,358,378       $ 25,870,381       $ 30,983,302       $ 24,024,571       $ 24,631,575  
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Portfolio turnover rate(j)

      3       15       21       9       19       15
   

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(a)

Consolidated Financial Highlights.

(b) 

Based on average shares outstanding.

(c)

Reflects the 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, 2022:

• Net investment income per share by $—..

• Total return by 0.01%.

• Ratio of net investment income to average net assets by 0.01%.

(d)

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.

(e)

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

(f) 

Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

(g) 

Not annualized.

(h)

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

(i)

Annualized.

(j)

Portfolio turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions, if any.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

32  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


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 included the accounts of its subsidiary in the Republic of Mauritius, which was a wholly-owned subsidiary (the “Subsidiary”) of the Fund that invested in Indian securities. On June 16, 2023, the Fund filed to liquidate its Subsidiary with the Mauritius Financial Services Commission.

 

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.

ForeignTaxes: 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 29, 2024, if any, are disclosed in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

Certain 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.

Bank Overdraft: Certain Funds had outstanding cash disbursements exceeding deposited cash amounts at the custodian during the reporting period. The Funds are obligated to repay the custodian for any overdraft, including any related costs or expenses, where applicable. For financial reporting purposes, overdraft fees, if any, are included in interest expense in the Statements of Operations.

 

 

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

  33


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

Collateralization: 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.

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.

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. The Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) of each Fund has approved the designation of BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”), the Funds’ investment adviser, as the valuation designee for each Fund. Each Fund determines the fair values of its financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under BFA’s policies. 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 BFA’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value. BFA has formed a committee (the “Valuation Committee”) to develop pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments, with assistance from other BlackRock pricing committees.

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 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 at the mean between the bid and ask prices and are determined as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) 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 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.

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 Valuation Committee, in accordance with BFA’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the 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 Valuation Committee 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 Valuation Committee deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement.

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;

 

 

34  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

   

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 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 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 BFA, 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.

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    

Securities Loaned

at Value

 

 

    

Cash Collateral

Received

 

(a)  

   

Non-Cash Collateral

Received, at Fair Value

 

(a) 

    Net Amount  

 

 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

        

BofA Securities, Inc.

  $ 39,051,195      $ (39,051,195   $     $  
 

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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

  35


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

 

 
iShares ETF and Counterparty    

Securities Loaned

at Value

 

 

    

Cash Collateral

Received

 

(a)  

   

Non-Cash Collateral

Received, at Fair Value

 

(a) 

    Net Amount  

 

 

MSCI Emerging Markets

        

Barclays Capital, Inc.

  $ 12,298,908      $ (12,298,908   $     $  

BNP Paribas SA

    5,933,574        (5,933,574            

BofA Securities, Inc.

    11,930,720        (11,930,720            

Citigroup Global Markets Ltd

    5,839,752        (5,839,752            

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

    3,936,632        (3,936,632            

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

    61,231,624        (61,231,624            

Goldman Sachs International

    25,533,020        (25,533,020            

HSBC Bank PLC

    14,958,336        (14,958,336            

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

    21,531,154        (21,531,154            

J.P. Morgan Securities PLC

    30,814,345        (30,814,345            

Jefferies LLC

    153,099        (153,099            

Macquarie Bank Ltd.

    3,083,233        (3,083,233            

Morgan Stanley

    220,347,824        (220,347,824            

Toronto-Dominion Bank (The)

    78,192        (78,192            

UBS AG

    2,395,457        (2,395,457            

UBS Europe SE

    1,719,161        (1,719,161            

Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

    169,416        (169,416            
 

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $ 421,954,447      $ (421,954,447   $     $  
 

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Collateral received, if any, 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 Statements 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.

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.

 

 

36  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

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 iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, BFA is entitled to an annual investment advisory fee of 0.78%, accrued daily and paid monthly by the Fund, based on the average daily net assets of the Fund.

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 Fees    

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    

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 Statements 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 29, 2024, the amounts waived in investment advisory fees pursuant to this arrangement were as follows:

 

   
iShares ETF   Amounts Waived    

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 494,726    

 

 

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

  37


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

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 29, 2024, the Funds paid BTC the following amounts for securities lending agent services:

 

   
iShares ETF   Amounts   

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 9,658   

MSCI Emerging Markets

    1,013,231   

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 29, 2024, 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

  $ 6,754,059               $ 39,915,088               $ (73,557,800

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.

 

7.

PURCHASES AND SALES

For the six months ended February 29, 2024, purchases and sales of investments, excluding short-term securities and in-kind transactions, were as follows:

 

     
iShares ETF   Purchases      Sales   

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 6,182,819      $ 5,598,217   

MSCI Emerging Markets

    581,522,769        3,133,814,725   

 

 

38  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

For the six months ended February 29, 2024, in-kind transactions were as follows:

 

       
iShares ETF   In-kind
Purchases
           

In-kind 

Sales  

 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $ 2,148,076        $ 20,367,021   

MSCI Emerging Markets

    40,259,695                1,596,735,151   

 

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 29, 2024, 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, 2023, the Funds had non-expiring capital loss carryforwards available to offset future realized capital gains and qualified late-year losses as follows:

 

     
iShares ETF   Non-Expiring
Capital Loss
Carryforwards
    Qualified  
Late-Year  
Capital  
Losses   
 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

  $     $  (8,764,793)   

MSCI Emerging Markets

    (13,713,746,522     —    

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 29, 2024, 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

  $ 176,067,976      $ 714,237      $ (16,730,497   $ (16,016,260)   

MSCI Emerging Markets

    16,307,041,573        5,378,265,402        (3,491,838,562     1,886,426,840    

 

9.

LINE OF CREDIT

The Funds, 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 October 16, 2024. 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) Daily Simple Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus 0.10% and 1.00% per annum or (b) the U.S. Federal Funds rate 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 29, 2024, the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF did not borrow under the Syndicated Credit Agreement.

For the six months ended February 29, 2024, 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

  $ 89,673,000      $ 4,833,615        6.44%  

 

 

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

  39


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

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 an indexing approach to try to achieve each Fund’s investment objective. The Fund is not actively managed, and BFAgenerally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets.

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) lack of reliable settlement procedures and significant delays in registereing the transfer of securities; (iii) 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; (iv) 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 (v) 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.

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 may significantly impact the resulting fair value and therefore each Fund’s results of operations. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by each Fund, and each Fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. Each Fund’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

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 BFA 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 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.

Geographic/Asset Class 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.

 

 

40  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

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 China or with significant exposure to Chinese issuers. Investments in Chinese securities, including certain Hong Kong-listed securities, involve 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, supply chain diversification, institution of tariffs, sanctions 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.

 

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.

Transactions in capital shares were as follows:

 

 

 
    Six Months Ended
02/29/24
    Year Ended
08/31/23
 
iShares ETF   Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount  

 

 

Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets

       

Shares sold

    90,000     $ 2,148,157       2,140,000     $ 52,467,876  

Shares redeemed

    (850,000     (20,494,845     (2,700,000     (64,316,480
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    (760,000   $ (18,346,688     (560,000   $ (11,848,604
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

MSCI Emerging Markets

       

Shares sold

    15,300,000      $ 611,440,069        59,400,000      $ 2,379,728,785   

Shares redeemed

    (116,550,000     (4,426,316,198     (167,400,000     (6,413,041,821
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    (101,250,000   $ (3,814,876,129     (108,000,000   $ (4,033,313,036
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

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. Authorized Participants 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. Authorized Participants 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.

 

 

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

  41


Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited) (continued)

 

12.

FOREIGN WITHHOLDING TAX CLAIMS

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance to address U.S. income tax liabilities attributable to fund shareholders resulting from the recovery of foreign taxes withheld in prior calendar years. These withheld foreign taxes were passed through to shareholders in the form of foreign tax credits in the year the taxes were withheld. Assuming there are sufficient foreign taxes paid which the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF is able to pass through to its shareholders as a foreign tax credit in the current year, the Fund will be able to offset the prior years’ withholding taxes recovered against the foreign taxes paid in the current year. Accordingly, no federal income tax liability is recorded by the Fund.

 

13.

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.

 

 

42  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


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 8, 2023 (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, 2022 through September 30, 2023 (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, delays in the repatriation of the local currency in certain non-U.S. countries, the continued illiquidity of Russian equity securities and the suspension of select sanctions in Venezuela.

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 utilized for liquidity classifications. 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. The Committee also considered that ETFs generally do not engage in borrowing.

 

  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. However, there were no ETFs with persistent deviations of fund premium/discount or bid/ask spreads from long-term averages over the Program Reporting Period.

 

  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. There were no ETFs for which the custom baskets accepted by the ETF had a significant change in its liquidity profile.

There were no material changes to the Program during the Program Reporting Period other than the enhancement of certain model components in the Program’s classification methodology. 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.

 

 

S T A T E M E N T  R E G A R D I N G  L I Q U I D I T Y  R I S K  M A N A G E M E N T  P R O G R A M

  43


Supplemental Information (unaudited)

 

Tailored Shareholder Reports for Open-End Mutual Funds and ETFs

Effective January 24, 2023, the SEC adopted rule and form amendments to require open-end mutual funds and ETFs to transmit concise and visually engaging streamlined annual and semiannual reports to shareholders that highlight key information. Other information, including financial statements, will no longer appear in a streamlined shareholder report but must be available online, delivered free of charge upon request, and filed on a semiannual basis on Form N-CSR. The rule and form amendments have a compliance date of July 24, 2024. At this time, management is evaluating the impact of these amendments on the shareholder reports for the Funds.

 

 

44  

2 0 2 4  I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L  R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


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.

 

 

G E N E R A L  I N F O R M A T I O N

  45


Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

 

Currency Abbreviation
BRL    Brazilian Real
CLP    Chilean Peso
CNH    Chinese Yuan
EUR    Euro
HKD    Hong Kong Dollar
IDR    Indonesian Rupiah
INR    Indian Rupee
KRW    South Korean Won
MXN    Mexican Peso
MYR    Malaysian Ringgit
THB    Thai Baht
TRY    Turkish Lira
TWD    New Taiwan Dollar
USD    United States Dollar
ZAR    South African Rand
Portfolio Abbreviation
ADR    American Depositary Receipt
GDR    Global Depositary Receipt
JSC    Joint Stock Company
NVDR    Non-Voting Depositary Receipt
NVS    Non-Voting Shares
PJSC    Public Joint Stock Company

 

 

46  

2 0 2 4 I S H A R E S  S E M I - A N N U A L R E P O R TT O  S H A R E H O L D E R S


 

 

 

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.

© 2024 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-805-0224

 

 

LOGO

   LOGO