iSHARES BASICS
GETTING STARTED WITH ETFs
Investors today face a variety of challenges—from generating income to managing volatility to growing their assets. What
they all have in common is the need for efficient, straight-forward investment products that they can trust. That’s why so
many investors have turned to iShares Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to meet their unique needs.
Growth of U.S. ETP Assets: 2000-2015
Key Benefits of iShares ETFs
1
They can help you keep more of what you earn
$2,400
In today’s low-yield environment, every dollar counts.
 Our Portfolio Managers specifically work to minimize capital
gains distributions, which can result in a lower tax bill for you
 Over the past 5 years, 88% of iShares ETFs have not
distributed capital gains2
Even a small difference in cost can translate into a large
difference in returns over time.
2
They’re easy to use
Using ETFs can help you efficiently build a balanced portfolio.
 iShares ETFs provide instant diversification by giving you
access to a portfolio of stocks and bonds
 They can easily be bought or sold in your brokerage account
 Unlike mutual funds which offer several shares classes with
different fees, each iShares ETF has one share class with
one low price.
$2,100
U.S. ETP AUM ($bn)
 The average fee for iShares ETFs is 0.37%, whereas the
average fee for open end mutual funds is 1.10%1
$1,800
$1,500
$1,200
$900
$600
$300
$0
Others
iShares ETF AUM
Source: Morningstar as of 12/31/15.
Put iShares to Work in Your Portfolio
A diversified portfolio can be constructed using only a few broad
market iShares ETFs.
IWR, IWM, IWO
They’re flexible
3
iShares ETFs cover all corners of the market and can be useful
tools for many different investment strategies.
IWV, IUSG, OEF, EFA
 They can serve as core long-term holdings in your portfolio
 iShares can help you access hard-to-reach areas of the
market that are difficult and expensive to buy
IUSV, IWD, EFV
 Because they trade on an exchange during market hours like
a stock, iShares ETFs give you the ability to get in or out
throughout the trading day
Regardless of what your investment goals are, there is likely an
ETF to help you achieve them.
1. Source: Morningstar, as of 3/31/16. Comparison is between the Prospectus Net Expense
Ratio for the average iShares ETF and the average Open-End Mutual Fund available in the U.S.
2. BlackRock, 12/31/15. Past distributions are not indicative of future distributions.
AGG
For illustrative purposes only.
What are ETFs?
As the largest provider of ETFs, iShares offers…
ETFs are diversified portfolios of stocks or bonds (like mutual
funds) that trade throughout the day (like stocks). They are
managed by teams of professional investors and can serve as
core holdings in your portfolio or help you express a view on a
sector or region. Regardless of what your investment goals are,
there is likely an ETF to help you achieve them.
iShares has over 10 years of experience in the ETF industry and
is the brand that institutional investors choose most.
70+
US Stock
ETFs
130+
International
Stock ETFs
70+
Bond
ETFs
as well as multi-asset and commodities ETFs.
iShares Index Funds & Active Mutual Funds: Key Differences
Criteria
iShares Index ETFs
Active Mutual Funds
Performance goal
Track a benchmark
Outperform a benchmark
Management
Passive
Active
Performance risks
 Performance may differ from benchmark.
 Holdings not altered during rising / falling
markets.
 May not meet performance goal.
 May underperform due to manager’s holdings
selection.
Buying / selling shares
Intraday on exchanges
Once per day via fund company
Price to buy / sell
Current market price, which may differ from NAV,
brokerage commissions
End-of-day NAV, less fees
Fees
Expense ratio; transaction fees/brokerage
commissions
Expense ratio; may charge sales loads/redemption
fees
Tax impact1 of buyers / sellers
Shareholders only impacted by their own action
Shareholders may be impacted by all other
shareholders’ actions
Holdings disclosure
Daily
Typically quarterly
1. Both vehicles are required to distribute capital gains to all shareholders.
Carefully consider the iShares Funds’ investment objectives,
risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This
and other information can be found in the Funds’
prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses
which may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or
www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before
investing.
iS-18222-0516
Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.
International investing involves risks, including risks related to foreign currency, limited
liquidity, less government regulation and the possibility of substantial volatility due to
adverse political, economic or other developments. These risks often are heightened for
investments in emerging/ developing markets, in concentrations of single countries or
smaller capital markets. Bonds and bond funds will decrease in value as interest rates rise
and are subject to credit risk, which refers to the possibility that the debt issuers may not be
able to make principal and interest payments or may have their debt downgraded by ratings
agencies.
Fixed income risks include interest-rate and credit risk. Typically, when interest rates rise,
there is a corresponding decline in bond values. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the
bond issuer will not be able to make principal and interest payments. Non-investment-grade
debt securities (high-yield/junk bonds) may be subject to greater market fluctuations, risk of
default or loss of income and principal than higher-rated securities.
The Minimum Volatility Funds may experience more than minimum volatility as there
is no guarantee that the underlying index’s strategy of seeking to lower volatility will
be successful.
There is no guarantee that any fund will pay dividends. Transactions in shares of the
iShares Funds will result in brokerage commissions and will generate tax
consequences. iShares Funds are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to
shareholders.
The iShares Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its
affiliates, “BlackRock”).
©2016 BlackRock. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered
trademarks of BlackRock. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Not FDIC Insured  No Bank Guarantee  May Lose Value