_______, 2025
 
 
Prospectus
iShares Trust
iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF* | ____ | _________

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The securities described herein may not be sold until the registration statement becomes effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities and is not offering or soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
The SEC has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
*The iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF may also conduct business as the iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF.


Table of Contents
Fund Summary
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iSHARES® iBONDS® OCT 2036 TERM TIPS ETF
Ticker: ____Stock Exchange: _________
Investment Objective
The iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF (the Fund) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of inflation-protected U.S. Treasury bonds maturing in 2036.
Fees and Expenses
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. Amounts in the table are rounded to the nearest basis point, which in some cases may be 0.00.  The investment advisory agreement between iShares Trust (the Trust) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (BFA) (the Investment Advisory Agreement) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except: (i) the management fees, (ii) interest expenses, (iii) taxes, (iv) expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, (v) distribution fees or expenses, and (vi) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses.
You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)1
Management
Fees
Distribution and
Service (12b-1)
Fees
Other
Expenses2
Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
____%
None
0.00%
___%

1
Operating expenses paid by BFA under the Investment Advisory Agreement exclude acquired fund fees and expenses, if any.
2 Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of owning shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods.Fund expenses (and any applicable waivers) are calculated only through October 15, 2036 because the Fund is scheduled to cease operations and liquidate by that date. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
 
1 Year
3 Years
 
$__
$__
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or turns over its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is new, there is no reportable turnover.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the ICE 2036 Maturity US Inflation-Linked Treasury Index (the Underlying Index), which consists of inflation-protected public obligations of the U.S. Treasury, commonly known as TIPS, that are scheduled to mature between January 1, 2036 and October 15, 2036, inclusive. The Fund is a term fund that will terminate on or about October 15, 2036, at which time it will distribute its remaining net assets to shareholders pursuant to a plan of liquidation. The Fund does not seek to return any predetermined amount at maturity or
in periodic distributions. As of _______, 2025, there were 2 components in the Underlying Index.
TIPS are securities issued by the U.S. Treasury that are designed to provide inflation protection to investors. TIPS are income-generating instruments whose interest and principal payments are adjusted for inflation—a sustained increase in prices that erodes the purchasing power of money. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index, the non-seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI), and TIPS’ principal payments are adjusted according to changes in the CPI. A fixed coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that, as inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of an investment. Because of this inflation adjustment feature, inflation-protected bonds typically have lower yields than conventional fixed-rate bonds.
The securities in the Underlying Index must be denominated in U.S. dollars and have (1) a fixed coupon schedule, (2) a remaining
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term to final maturity of more than one day as of the monthly rebalancing date and (3) at least $1 billion of outstanding face value (excluding amounts held by the Federal Reserve System Open Market Account (SOMA)). Excluded from the Underlying Index are government agency debt with or without a government guarantee, securities issued or marketed primarily to retail investors, floating rate notes, cash management and Treasury bills, original issue zero coupon securities and Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal Securities (or STRIPs). However, the amounts outstanding of qualifying securities in the Underlying Index are not reduced by any portions of such securities that have been stripped after inclusion in the Underlying Index. Index constituents are market capitalization weighted based on amounts outstanding reduced by amounts held by the Federal Reserve SOMA times price plus accrued interest.
The Underlying Index is rebalanced on the last calendar day of each month. New issues must settle on or before the following calendar month end rebalancing date in order to qualify for inclusion for such following month (e.g., an issue must settle on or before August 31 in order to be included in the index on July 31). The securities in the Underlying Index are updated on the last calendar day of each month. Cash flows from bond payments that are received during the month are retained in the Underlying Index until the end of the month and then are removed as part of the rebalancing. When cash or a security is removed as part of the rebalancing, it effectively increases the weighting of the remaining securities in the Underlying Index, and the Fund is required to invest in the remaining securities to bring its holdings in line with the Underlying Index. Cash does not earn any reinvestment income while it is held in the Underlying Index.
The Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index, and the Fund will invest at least 90% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities that BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index, in each case except as described below. The Fund will invest no more than 10% of its assets in futures, options and swaps contracts that BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. Cash and cash equivalent investments associated with a derivative position will be treated as part of that position for the purposes of calculating the percentage of investments included in the Underlying Index.
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index before fees and expenses of the Fund. In the last six months of operation, as the bonds held by the Fund mature, the proceeds will typically be reinvested by the Fund in investments already in the Underlying Index but may also be invested in other cash and cash equivalents as determined by BFA. To the extent that the Fund invests in money market or similar funds, it will incur the fees and expenses of such funds. 
By October 15, 2036, the Fund is expected to consist almost entirely of cash. On or around this date, the Fund will wind up and terminate. After appropriate provision is made for any Fund liabilities, its net assets will be distributed to then-current shareholders pursuant to a plan of liquidation. The Fund's termination was approved by a majority of the Trust's Board of Trustees (the Board) and does not require additional approval by Fund shareholders. The Board may extend the termination date if a majority of the Board determines the extension to be in the best interest of the Fund.
BFA uses an indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The Fund does not try to beat the index it tracks and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.
Indexing may eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the Underlying Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection. Indexing seeks to achieve lower costs and better after-tax performance by aiming to keep portfolio turnover low in comparison to actively managed investment companies.
BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Fund. Representative sampling is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities or other instruments that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The instruments selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market value and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability, duration (i.e., an instrument's price sensitivity to a change in interest rates), maturity or credit ratings and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of an applicable underlying index. The Fund may or may not hold all of the components of the Underlying Index.
The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the value of any collateral received).
The Underlying Index is owned, maintained and administered by ICE Data Indices, LLC (the Index Provider or IDI), which isindependent of the Fund and BFA. The Index Provider determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Underlying Index.
Summary of Principal Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund's performance could trail that of other investments. The Fund is subject to certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's net asset value per share (NAV), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Certain key risks are prioritized below (with others following in alphabetical order), but the relative significance of any risk is difficult to predict and may change over time. You should review each risk factor carefully.
U.S. Treasury Obligations Risk. U.S. Treasury obligations may differ from other securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide relatively lower returns than those of other securities. Changes in the U.S. government’s financial condition or credit rating may cause the value of U.S. Treasury obligations to decline. Direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury have historically involved little risk of loss of principal if held to maturity, but the market value of such securities is not guaranteed and may fluctuate. Although U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal.
Inflation-Indexed Bonds Risk. The principal value of an investment in the Fund is not protected or otherwise guaranteed by virtue of the Fund’s investments in inflation-indexed bonds. The value of inflation-indexed securities generally fluctuates with changes in real interest rates, decreasing when real interest rates rise and increasing when real interest rates fall. Real interest rates represent nominal (or stated) interest rates minus the inflation rate. In addition, interest payments on inflation-indexed securities generally vary up or down along with the rate of inflation.
If the Fund purchases TIPS in the secondary market and the bonds’ principal values previously were adjusted upward, but then
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there is a period of declining inflation rates, the Fund may receive at maturity less than it invested. Depending on changes in inflation rates while the Fund holds an inflation-indexed security, the Fund may earn less on the security than on a conventional bond.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk of fluctuations in the value of a fixed-income security due to changes in the general level of interest rates. Interest rate changes can be sudden and unpredictable and are influenced by a number of factors, including government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, perceptions of risk, and supply and demand for fixed-income securities. An increase in interest rates generally will cause the value of fixed-income securities to decline. Securities with longer maturities generally are more sensitive to interest rate changes and subject to greater fluctuations in value. Changes in interest rates may have unpredictable effects on fixed-income markets and result in heightened volatility and lower liquidity for certain instruments, which may adversely affect a Fund’s performance. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to shareholders.
Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, pandemics or other public health issues, recessions, the prospect or occurrence of a sovereign default or other financial crisis, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
Index-Related Risk. The Index Provider may rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of components of the Underlying Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor BFA can offer assurances that the Index Provider’s methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included components or will result in the Fund meeting its investment objective. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur, and the Index Provider may not identify or correct them promptly or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural disasters, political unrest or war) may impact the Index Provider or a third-party data provider and could cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. This could cause the Underlying Index to vary from its normal or expected composition.
Asset Class Risk. The securities and other assets in the Underlying Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to financial markets generally, a particular financial market, another index, or other asset classes.
Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant (as defined below in Authorized Participant Concentration Risk), a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser, an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, or another fund may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time to allow the Fund to achieve size or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, which could negatively impact the Fund.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk.  An Authorized Participant is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the
Fund or one of its service providers that allows the Authorized Participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of creation units (Creation Units). Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. There are a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants for the Fund, including on an agency basis on behalf of other market participants. No Authorized Participant is obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or do not place creation or redemption orders for the Fund and no other Authorized Participant places orders, Fund shares are more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.
Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities or other assets of one or more issuers, countries or other geographic units, markets, industries, project types, or asset classes.
Declining Yield Risk. During the six months prior to the Fund’s planned termination date, the Fund’s yield may move toward prevailing money market rates and may be lower than the yields of the bonds previously held by the Fund and lower than prevailing yields for bonds in the market.
Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline due to falling interest rates or other factors. This can occur because the Fund may be required to invest in lower-yielding bonds when a bond in the Fund’s portfolio matures, is near maturity, is called or is prepaid, when bonds in the Underlying Index are substituted, or when the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds. The Index Provider’s substitution of bonds in the Underlying Index may occur, for example, when the time to maturity for the bond no longer matches the Underlying Index’s stated maturity guidelines.
Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities or other assets to which the Fund has exposure. The value of securities or other assets may decline, or perform differently from the market as a whole, due to changes in the financial condition or credit rating of the issuer or counterparty.
Management Risk. The Fund generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. As the Fund will not fully replicate the Underlying Index and may hold securities or other assets not included in the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that the investment strategy of BFA may not produce the intended results. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Underlying Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares (including through a trading halt), losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility, and disruptions in the process of creating and redeeming Fund shares. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading in the secondary market at a premium or discount to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. If you buy Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to NAV or sell Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to NAV, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares.
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Operational and Technology Risks. The Fund is directly and indirectly susceptible to operational and technology risks, including those related to human errors, processing errors, communication errors, systems failures, cybersecurity incidents, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI), which may result in losses for the Fund and its shareholders or may impair the Fund’s operations. While the Fund’s service providers are required to have appropriate operational, information security and cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Fund. Operational and technology risks for the issuers in which the Fund invests could also result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value.
Risk of Investing in the U.S. Investing in U.S. issuers subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks that are specific to the U.S. Certain changes in the U.S., such as a weakening of the U.S. economy or a decline in its financial markets, may have an adverse effect on U.S. issuers.
Securities Lending Risk. The Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund.
Small Fund Risk. When the Fund’s size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. The Fund’s performance near its inception date may not represent how the Fund will perform in the future or with a larger asset base. A Fund that holds fixed-income securities may buy smaller-sized bonds known as odd lots, which may be purchased or sold at a discount to similar round lot bonds. The prices used by the Fund may differ from the value that would be realized if these securities were sold, and the impact of such pricing differences on
a Fund’s performance may be heightened when the Fund’s size is small. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if it does not meet certain requirements set by the listing exchange. Any resulting liquidation of the Fund could lead to elevated transaction costs for the Fund and negative tax consequences for its shareholders.
Tracking Error Risk. The Fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. Tracking error may occur due to a number of factors, including differences between the securities and other assets held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index; differences in the timing and methodologies used to value securities and other assets; transaction costs and other expenses incurred by the Fund that the Underlying Index does not incur; the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash; differences in the timing of the accrual or the valuation of dividends or interest received by the Fund or distributions paid to Fund shareholders; tax gains or losses; differences between the amount and/or timing of withholding taxes on dividends reflected in the Underlying Index from the Fund’s obligation, if any, for foreign withholding taxes; the requirements for the Fund to maintain pass-through tax treatment; portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders; the acceptance of custom baskets; changes to the Underlying Index; and impacts to the Fund of complying with certain regulatory requirements or limits. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Until the Fund reaches greater scale, it may experience higher tracking error than is typical for similar index ETFs.
Performance Information
As of the date of the Prospectus, the Fund has not commenced operations and therefore has no performance information to report.
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Management
Investment Adviser. BlackRock Fund Advisors.
Portfolio Managers. Jonathan Graves, James Mauro and Marcus Tom (the Portfolio Managers) are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager supervises a portfolio management team. Mr. Graves, Mr. Mauro and Mr. Tom have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since inception (2026).
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Individual shares of the Fund may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the bid-ask spread).
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (IRA), in which case, your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn. Certain states and localities may exempt from tax distributions attributable to interest from U.S. federal government obligations.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), BFA or other related companies may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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More Information About the Fund
This Prospectus contains important information about investing in the Fund listed below. Please read this Prospectus carefully before you make any investment decisions. Additional information regarding the Fund as well as other funds that are series of iShares Trust, iShares U.S. ETF Trust or iShares, Inc. (each, a Fund) is available at www.iShares.com.
The Fund’s investment objective and its Underlying Index  may be changed without shareholder approval.
Fund
Underlying Index
Investment Objective
iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term
TIPS ETF
ICE 2036 Maturity US Inflation-
Linked Treasury Index
The iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF seeks to track the
investment results of an index composed of inflation-protected
U.S. Treasury bonds maturing in 2036.
ETFs are funds that trade like other publicly traded securities. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and trade in the secondary market at market prices that change throughout the day. The market price for a share of a Fund may be different from the Fund’s most recent NAV.
The Fund invests in a particular segment of the markets for securities and other instruments (as applicable) and is designed to be used as part of broader asset allocation strategies. Accordingly, an investment in a Fund should not constitute a complete investment program. An investment in a Fund is not a bank deposit, and it is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, any other government agency, BFA or any of BFA’s affiliates.
Index Funds
A share of a Fund represents an ownership interest in an underlying portfolio of securities and other instruments (as applicable) that is intended to track the Fund’s Underlying Index. An index is a financial calculation, based on a grouping of financial instruments, and is not an investment product, while the Fund is an actual investment portfolio. The performance of a Fund and that of its Underlying Index may vary for a number of reasons, including transaction costs, asset or currency valuations, corporate actions, timing variances and differences between the composition of a Fund’s portfolio and that of the Underlying Index resulting from the Fund’s use of representative sampling or from legal restrictions (such as diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not to its Underlying Index.
From time to time, the provider of the Underlying Index (Index Provider) may make changes to the index methodology or other adjustments to a Fund’s Underlying Index. Unless otherwise determined by BFA, any such change will be reflected in the calculation of the Underlying Index’s performance on a going-forward basis after the effective date of such change. Therefore, the performance of the Underlying Index that is shown for periods prior to the effective date of any such change generally will not be recalculated or restated to reflect the change.
BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Funds. Representative sampling is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities or other instruments that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. Because the Funds use representative sampling, they can be expected to have a larger tracking error than if they used a replication indexing strategy. Replication is an indexing strategy in which a fund invests in substantially all of the components of its underlying index in approximately the same proportions as in the underlying index.
Additional Information About the Fund's Risks
Each Fund is subject to various risks, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV, trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Each Fund discloses its portfolio holdings daily at www.iShares.com. You could lose all or part of your investment in a Fund, which could underperform other investments. The principal and other (non-principal) risks that apply to the Fundare described below. A Fund that invests in an underlying fund (Underlying Fund) also may be indirectly exposed to these risks through such investment.
Principal Risks
Asset Class Risk. The securities and other assets in a Fund’s portfolio or, if applicable, its Underlying Index may underperform in comparison to indexes that track, or assets that represent, other countries or geographic units, industries, markets, market segments, or asset classes. Various types of securities, other assets and indexes may experience cycles of outperformance and underperformance in comparison to financial markets generally. This divergence may be due to a number of factors including, among other things, inflation, interest rates, productivity, global demand for local products or resources, and regulation and governmental controls. This may cause a Fund to underperform other investment vehicles that invest in different asset classes.
Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, a Fund’s adviser, an affiliate of a Fund’s adviser, or another fund may invest in a Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time to allow the Fund to achieve size or scale. There can be no assurance that any such entity would not redeem its investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels, which could negatively impact the Fund.
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Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a Fund. There are a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants for the Fund, including on an agency basis on behalf of other market participants. No Authorized Participant is obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or do not place creation or redemption orders for a Fund and no other Authorized Participant places orders, Fund shares are more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for a Fund that invests in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or instruments with lower trading volume. Such assets often entail greater settlement and operational complexity and higher capital costs for Authorized Participants, which may limit the number of Authorized Participants that engage with the Fund.
Concentration Risk. A Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities or other assets of one or more issuers, countries or other geographic units, markets, industries, project types, or asset classes. A Fund with investment concentration may be more adversely affected by the underperformance of those assets, may experience greater price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory impacts on those assets compared to a fund that does not concentrate its investments.
Declining Yield Risk. During the months prior to the Fund's planned termination date, the Fund’s yield may move toward prevailing money market rates, and may be lower than the yields of the bonds previously held by the Fund and lower than prevailing yields for bonds in the market.
Income Risk. A Fund’s income may decline due to falling interest rates or other factors. This can occur because the Fund may be required to invest in lower-yielding bonds when a bond in the Fund’s portfolio matures, is near maturity, is called or is prepaid or when the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds, such as due to a substitution in the underlying index for an index fund.
Index-Related Risk. A Fund that tracks an Underlying Index seeks to achieve a return that corresponds generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of its Underlying Index as published by the Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider or its agents will construct or calculate the Underlying Index accurately. While the Index Provider describes what the Underlying Index is designed to achieve, neither the Index Provider nor its agents provide any warranty or accept any liability regarding the quality, accuracy or completeness of the Underlying Index or its related data, and they do not guarantee that the Underlying Index will be in line with the Index Provider’s methodology. BFA also does not provide any warranty or guarantee against the Index Provider’s or any agent’s errors.
The Index Provider may rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of components of the Underlying Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither a Fund nor BFA can offer assurances that the Index Provider’s methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included components or will result in the Fund meeting its investment objective. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of an Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur, and the Index Provider may not identify or correct them promptly or at all, particularly for indexes that are less commonly used as benchmarks. In addition, there may be heightened risks associated with the adequacy and reliability of information about emerging markets constituents, as such markets may have less information available or less regulatory oversight. Errors related to an Underlying Index may negatively or positively impact a Fund and its shareholders. For example, if the Underlying Index contains incorrect constituents, the Fund will have exposure to such constituents and will be underexposed to the Underlying Index’s other constituents. Shareholders should understand that any gains from an Index Provider’s errors will be kept by the Fund and its shareholders and any losses or costs from such errors will be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Unusual market conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural disasters, political unrest or war) may impact an Index Provider or a third-party data provider and could cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance to an Underlying Index. This could cause the Underlying Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. If a scheduled rebalance is postponed, index constituents that would otherwise be removed at the rebalance (due to, for example, changes in market capitalization or issuer credit ratings) may remain, causing the performance and constituents of the Underlying Index to vary from those expected under normal conditions. In addition, to the extent circumstances evolve between periodic index reviews and reconstitutions, an Underlying Index may include constituents that do not align with its objective or selection criteria, and the Fund tracking the Underlying Index may be similarly affected.
In addition to scheduled rebalances, an Index Provider or its agents may carry out ad hoc index rebalances due to reaching certain weighting constraints, unusual market conditions, corporate events, or corrections of errors. The relevant Fund will in turn rebalance its portfolio to attempt to increase the correlation between the portfolio and the Underlying Index. The Fund and its shareholders will directly bear any transaction costs and market exposure from such portfolio rebalancing. Therefore, index-related errors and ad hoc rebalances may increase a Fund’s costs and tracking error.
Inflation-Indexed Bonds Risk. The principal value of an investment in a Fund is not protected or otherwise guaranteed by virtue of any investments by the Fund in inflation-indexed bonds. The value of inflation-indexed securities generally fluctuates with changes in real interest rates, decreasing when real interest rates rise and increasing when real interest rates fall. Real interest rates represent nominal (or stated) interest rates minus the inflation rates. If a Fund purchases TIPS in the secondary market and the bonds’ principal values previously were adjusted upward, but then there is a period of declining inflation rates, the Fund may receive at maturity less than it invested.
In addition, interest payments on inflation-indexed securities generally vary up or down along with the rate of inflation, and inflation-indexed bonds typically have lower nominal yields than conventional fixed-rate bonds. If the index measuring inflation falls, the principal value of
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inflation-indexed bonds will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced.
Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed bond will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though investors do not receive their principal until maturity. Periodic adjustments for inflation to the principal amount of an inflation-indexed bond may give rise to original issue discount, which will be includable in a Fund’s gross income. Due to original issue discount, a Fund may be required to make annual distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash received, which may cause the Fund to liquidate certain investments when it is not advantageous to do so. Also, if the principal value of an inflation-indexed bond is adjusted downward due to deflation, amounts previously distributed in the taxable year may be characterized in some circumstances as a return of capital.
Interest Rate Risk. Interest rate changes can be sudden and unpredictable and are influenced by a number of factors, including government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, perceptions of risk, and supply and demand for fixed-income securities. Changes in interest rates may have unpredictable effects on fixed-income markets and may result in heightened volatility and lower liquidity for certain instruments, which may adversely affect a Fund’s performance. When interest rates rise, the value of fixed-income securities or other instruments sensitive to interest rates typically decreases. Duration is a measure of how sensitive a bond is to interest rate changes. Fixed-income securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes, and their prices usually are more volatile than those of shorter-duration securities. For example, if a bond has a duration of five years and interest rates rise, the price of the bond will likely decline by a greater percentage than for a bond with a one-year duration. To the extent a Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in fixed-income securities with longer duration, rising interest rates may cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly, which would adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
In addition, changes in prevailing interest rates, particularly sudden and significant changes, may lead to fluctuations in the value of floating-rate debt securities, because the rates for those securities typically reset only periodically. Additionally, during periods of very low or negative interest rates, a Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to shareholders. Under certain market conditions when interest rates are set at low levels and the market prices of portfolio securities have increased, a Fund may have a very low or even negative yield, which would cause the Fund to lose money under certain conditions.
Decreases in market-making capacity for fixed-income dealers may lead to lower trading volume, heightened volatility, wider bid-ask spreads and less transparent pricing in certain fixed-income markets.
Issuer Risk. The performance of a Fund depends on the performance of individual securities or other assets to which the Fund has exposure. The value of securities or other assets may decline, or perform differently from the market as a whole, due to changes in the financial condition or credit rating of the issuer or counterparty.
Management Risk. An index Fund invests in securities or other assets included in, or representative of, its Underlying Index, regardless of their investment merits. Such a Fund may be affected by a general decline in market segments related to its Underlying Index, and BFA generally does not attempt to invest the Fund’s assets in defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on a Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track its Underlying Index. Because BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, a Fund will not fully replicate its Underlying Index and may hold securities or other assets not included in the Underlying Index. As a result, a Fund is subject to the risk that BFA’s investment strategy, whose implementation is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results. There is no guarantee that a Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of its Underlying Index or that a Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Market Risk. A Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. The value of a financial instrument or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the particular instrument or asset, or factors that affect one or more issuers, counterparties, exchanges, countries or other geographic units, markets, industries, or asset classes. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, pandemics or other public health issues, recessions, the prospect or occurrence of a sovereign default or other financial crisis, or other events could have a significant impact on a Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to a Fund’s NAV. Changes in market and economic conditions generally do not have the same impact on all types of instruments and assets.
It is possible that prices throughout the economy may decline over time, resulting in deflation. If this occurs, the principal and income of inflation-protected bonds held by the Fund would likely decline in value, which could result in losses for the Fund.
Market Trading Risk. A Fund faces numerous market trading risks, any of which may lead to its shares trading in the secondary market at a premium or discount to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. If you buy Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to NAV or sell Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares.
Absence of an Active Primary Market. Although Fund shares are listed for trading on one or more stock exchanges, there can be no assurance that an active primary trading market for Fund shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or Authorized Participants.
Secondary Listing Risks. A Fund’s shares may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the U.S. stock exchange where the Fund’s primary listing is maintained. Fund shares also may be available to non-U.S. investors through funds or structured
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investment vehicles similar to depositary receipts. There can be no assurance that a Fund’s shares will continue to trade on any such stock exchange or in any market or that a Fund’s shares will continue to meet the requirements for exchange listing or market trading. A Fund’s shares may be less actively traded in certain markets than in others, and investors are subject to the execution and settlement risks and market standards of the market where they or their broker direct their trades for execution. Certain information that is available to investors who trade Fund shares on a U.S. stock exchange during regular U.S. market hours may not be available to investors who trade in other markets, which may result in secondary market prices in such markets being less efficient.
Secondary Market Trading Risk. Shares of a Fund may trade in the secondary market at times when the Fund does not accept orders to create or redeem shares. At such times, shares may trade in the secondary market with more significant premiums or discounts to NAV than might be experienced at times when the Fund accepts creation and redemption orders. Securities held by a Fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than an exchange on which Fund shares are traded. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing time. As a result, during the time when the exchange is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement time, there may be wider bid/ask spreads on the exchange and a greater premium or discount to NAV.
In stressed market conditions, the market for a Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s portfolio holdings, and an investor may be unable to sell their Fund shares.
Secondary market trading in Fund shares may be halted by a stock exchange because of market conditions or for other reasons. In times of extraordinary market volatility, Fund shares may be subject to trading halts pursuant to circuit breaker rules of a stock exchange or market. If there is a trading halt or unanticipated closure of an exchange or market, an investor may be unable to purchase or sell Fund shares. In addition, if trading in certain securities or financial instruments is restricted, this may disrupt a Fund’s creation/redemption process, affect the price at which Fund shares trade in the secondary market, and result in a Fund being unable to trade certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, a Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio or accurately price its portfolio holdings and may incur substantial trading losses.
Shares of a Fund, similar to shares of other issuers listed on a stock exchange, may be sold short and are therefore subject to the risk of increased volatility and price decreases associated with being sold short. In addition, trading activity in derivative products based on a Fund may lead to increased trading volume and volatility in the secondary market for the shares of the Fund.
Fund Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Shares of a Fund trade on stock exchanges at prices at, above or below the Fund’s most recent NAV. A Fund’s NAV is calculated at the end of each business day and fluctuates with changes in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. The trading price of a Fund’s shares fluctuates throughout trading hours based on both market supply of and demand for Fund shares and the underlying value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings or NAV. As a result, the trading prices of a Fund’s shares may deviate significantly from NAV during times of market volatility, significant redemption requests, or other unusual market conditions
However, because Fund shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units at NAV, BFA believes that large discounts or premiums to a Fund’s NAV are not likely to be sustained over the long term (unlike shares of many closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their NAVs). While the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it more likely that a Fund’s shares normally will trade on stock exchanges at prices close to the Fund’s next calculated NAV, exchange prices are not expected to correlate exactly with the Fund’s NAV due to timing reasons, supply and demand imbalances and other factors. In addition, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, Authorized Participants, or other market participants, and during periods of significant market volatility, may result in trading prices for shares of a Fund that differ significantly from its NAV. Authorized Participants may be less willing to create or redeem a Fund’s shares if there is a lack of an active market for such shares or the Fund’s underlying investments, which may contribute to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.
Costs of Buying or Selling Fund Shares. Buying or selling Fund shares on an exchange involves two types of costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling Fund shares through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission and other charges. In addition, you may incur the cost of the spread, which is the difference between what investors are willing to pay for Fund shares (the bid price) and the price at which they are willing to sell Fund shares (the ask price). The spread varies over time for Fund shares based on trading volume and market liquidity. It is generally narrower if a Fund has more trading volume and market liquidity and wider if a Fund has less trading volume and market liquidity. Increased market volatility also may cause wider spreads. In addition, there may be regulatory and other charges that are incurred as a result of trading activity. Because of the costs inherent in buying or selling Fund shares, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment results, and an investment in Fund shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments through a brokerage account.
Operational and Technology Risks. A Fund and the entities with which it interacts directly or indirectly are susceptible to operational and technology risks, including those related to human errors, processing errors, communication errors, systems failures, cybersecurity incidents, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI), which may result in losses for the Fund and its shareholders or impair the Fund’s operations. These entities include, but are not limited to, a Fund’s adviser, administrator, distributor, other service providers (e.g., index and benchmark providers, accountants, custodians, and transfer agents), financial intermediaries, counterparties, market makers, Authorized Participants, listing exchanges, other financial market operators, and governmental authorities. Operational and technology risks for the issuers in which a Fund invests could also result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value. A Fund may incur substantial costs in order to mitigate operational and technology risks.
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Cybersecurity incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events against an issuer in which a Fund invests, the Fund or any of its service providers. They include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to systems, misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting or destroying data, and causing operational disruption. Geopolitical tension may increase the scale and sophistication of deliberate attacks, particularly those from nation states or from entities with nation state backing. Cybersecurity incidents may result in any of the following: financial losses; interference with a Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV; disclosure of confidential information; impediments to trading; submission of erroneous trades by a Fund or erroneous subscription or redemption orders; the inability of a Fund or its service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines; penalties; reputational damage; reimbursement or other compensation costs; and other legal and compliance expenses. Furthermore, cybersecurity incidents may render records of a Fund, including records relating to its assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Fund shares, and other data integral to a Fund’s functioning, inaccessible, inaccurate or incomplete. Power outages, natural disasters, equipment malfunctions and processing errors that threaten information and technology systems relied upon by a Fund or its service providers, as well as market events that occur at a pace that overloads these systems, may also disrupt business operations or impact critical data. In addition, the risks of increased use of AI technologies, such as machine learning, include data risk, transparency risk, and operational risk. The AI technologies, which are generally highly reliant on the collection and analysis of large amounts of data, may incorporate biased or inaccurate data, and it is not possible or practicable to incorporate all relevant data into such technologies. The output or results of any such AI technologies may therefore be incomplete, erroneous, distorted or misleading. Further, AI tools may lack transparency as to how data is utilized and how outputs are generated. AI technologies may also allow the unintended introduction of vulnerabilities into infrastructures and applications. A Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of these risks associated with AI technologies. AI technologies and their current and potential future applications, and the regulatory frameworks within which they operate, continue to quickly evolve, and it is impossible to anticipate the full scope of future AI capabilities or rules and the associated risks to a Fund.
While a Fund’s service providers are required to have appropriate operational, information security and cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Fund in the setting of priorities, the personnel and resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. Each Fund and its adviser seek to reduce these risks through controls, procedures and oversight, including establishing business continuity plans and risk management systems. However, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks that may affect a Fund have not been identified or may emerge in the future; that such plans and systems may not completely eliminate the occurrence or mitigate the effects of operational or information security disruptions or failures or of cybersecurity incidents; or that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful or that incidents will go undetected. A Fund cannot control the systems, information security or other cybersecurity of the issuers in which it invests or its service providers, counterparties, and other third parties whose activities affect the Fund.
Lastly, the regulatory climate governing cybersecurity and data protection is developing quickly and may vary considerably across jurisdictions. Regulators continue to develop new rules and standards related to cybersecurity and data protection. Compliance with evolving regulations can be demanding and costly, requiring substantial resources to monitor and implement required changes.
Risk of Investing in the U.S. Investing in U.S. issuers involves legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks that are specific to the U.S. A decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations, inflation, an economic recession, financial system stress, or political turmoil, among other risks, may have an adverse effect on the U.S. economy and the securities listed on U.S. exchanges. The U.S. is also subject to the risk of natural disasters, such as droughts, earthquakes, fires and floods. U.S. security risks include acts of terrorism, internal unrest and a deterioration in relations between the U.S. and certain countries. Any of these may adversely affect the U.S. economy, financial markets or issuers.
Governmental agencies project that the U.S. will maintain elevated public debt levels for the foreseeable future. Although elevated debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, the costs of servicing such debt may constrain future economic growth. Circumstances could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal on U.S. government debt, such as reaching the legislative debt ceiling. Such non-payment would result in substantial negative consequences for the U.S. economy and the global financial system.
Securities Lending Risk. A Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that a Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. A Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for a Fund.
Small Fund Risk. When a Fund’s size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. A Fund’s performance near its inception date may not represent how the Fund will perform in the future or with a larger asset base. A Fund that holds fixed-income securities may buy smaller-sized bonds known as odd lots, which may be purchased or sold at a discount to similar round lot bonds. The prices used by the Fund may differ from the value that would be realized if these securities were sold, and the impact of such pricing differences on a Fund’s performance may be heightened when the Fund’s size is small. In addition, a Fund may face the risk of being delisted if it does not meet certain requirements set by the listing exchange. If a Fund were required to delist from the listing exchange, the Fund’s value may rapidly decline and its performance may be negatively impacted. Any resulting liquidation of a Fund could lead to elevated transaction costs for the Fund and negative tax consequences for its shareholders.
Tracking Error Risk. A Fund that tracks an index is subject to the risk of tracking error, which is the divergence of a Fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. Tracking error may occur due to a number of factors, including differences between the securities and
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other assets held in a Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index; differences in the timing and methodologies used to value securities and other assets; transaction costs and other expenses incurred by a Fund that the Underlying Index does not incur; a Fund’s holding of uninvested cash; differences in the timing of the accrual or the valuation of dividends or interest received by a Fund or distributions paid to Fund shareholders; tax gains or losses; differences between the amount and/or timing of withholding taxes on dividends reflected in the Underlying Index from a Fund’s obligation, if any, for foreign withholding taxes; the requirements for a Fund to maintain pass-through tax treatment; portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders; the acceptance of custom baskets; changes to the Underlying Index, such as during a rebalancing or reconstitution; and impacts to a Fund of complying with certain regulatory requirements or limits. A Fund that tracks an index composed of a large number of securities or other assets may experience greater tracking error than a Fund that tracks a more narrow index. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions.
U.S. Treasury Obligations Risk. U.S. Treasury obligations may differ from other securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics. Direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury have historically involved little risk of loss of principal if held to maturity, but the market value of such securities is not guaranteed and may fluctuate. Although U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances (e.g., reaching the legislative debt ceiling) could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal. An actual or threatened failure of the U.S. government to pay its obligations would result in losses to a Fund holding such securities as well as substantial negative consequences for the U.S. economy and the global financial system.
Changes in the U.S. government’s financial condition or credit rating may cause the value of U.S. Treasury obligations to decline. Because U.S. government debt obligations are often used as a benchmark for other borrowing arrangements, a downgrade to the credit rating of the U.S. could result in higher interest rates for a range of borrowers, cause disruptions in the international bond markets and have a substantial adverse effect on the U.S. and global economies.
A high national debt level may increase market pressures to meet government funding needs, which may drive debt costs higher and lead the government to issue additional debt, thereby increasing refinancing risk. A high national debt also raises concerns that the U.S. government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. If market participants determine that U.S. sovereign debt levels are unsustainable, the value of the U.S. dollar could decline, thus increasing inflationary pressures and constraining the U.S. government’s ability to implement effective countercyclical fiscal policy in economic downturns.
Other Risks
The order of the below risk factors does not indicate the significance of any particular risk factor.
Close-Out Risk for Qualified Financial Contracts. Regulations adopted by global prudential regulators require counterparties that are part of U.S. or foreign global systemically important banking organizations to include contractual restrictions on close-out and cross-default in agreements relating to qualified financial contracts. Qualified financial contracts include agreements relating to swaps, currency forwards and other derivatives as well as repurchase agreements and securities lending agreements. The restrictions prevent a Fund from closing out a qualified financial contract during a specified time period if the counterparty is subject to resolution proceedings and also prohibit a Fund from exercising default rights due to a receivership or similar proceeding of an affiliate of the counterparty. These requirements may increase credit risk and other risks to a Fund.
Illiquid Investments Risk. An illiquid investment is any investment that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. An investment may be illiquid due to, among other things, fewer participants or less capacity to make a market in the investment, the lack of an active market for the investment, capital controls, delays or limits on repatriation of local currency, and the insolvency of local governments. To the extent that a Fund invests in securities or other assets with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have increased exposure to the risks associated with illiquid investments. Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets.
Liquid investments may become illiquid after purchase by a Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. There can be no assurance that a security or other asset that is deemed to be liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid for as long as it is held by a Fund, and any security or other asset held by a Fund may be deemed an illiquid investment pursuant to the Fund’s liquidity risk management program.
Holdings of illiquid investments may reduce a Fund’s returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices. If a Fund is forced to sell underlying investments at reduced prices or under unfavorable conditions to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where redemptions of Fund shares may be greater than normal. If other market participants attempt to liquidate holdings at the same time as a Fund, this will lead to an increased supply of the Fund’s underlying investments in the market and contribute to greater illiquid investments risk and downward pricing pressure. In addition, if a Fund is limited in its ability to sell illiquid investments during periods when shareholders are redeeming their shares, the Fund will need to sell liquid securities to meet redemption requests, and illiquid securities will become a larger portion of the Fund’s holdings. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for a Fund’s shares may be impacted by the liquidity in the market for the underlying securities or other assets held by the Fund, which could lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund's NAV.
Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders of a Fund, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser, an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a
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substantial amount of Fund shares or may hold their investment in the Fund for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of a Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares may adversely affect a Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent a Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities or other assets when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of Fund shares, increase the Fund’s brokerage costs, accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or capital gains, and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such tax year. A Fund also may be required to sell its more liquid investments to meet a large redemption, in which case the Fund’s remaining assets may be less liquid, more volatile, and more difficult to price.
To the extent these large shareholders transact in Fund shares on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume for Fund shares and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, diluting its investment returns.
Ownership Limitations Risk. If certain aggregate and/or fund-level ownership thresholds are reached through transactions undertaken by BFA, its affiliates or a Fund, or as a result of third-party transactions or actions by an issuer or regulator, the ability of BFA and its affiliates on behalf of clients (including a Fund) to purchase or dispose of investments, exercise rights or undertake business transactions may be restricted by law, regulation or rules or otherwise impaired. The capacity of a Fund to invest in certain securities or other assets may be affected by the relevant threshold limits, and such limitations may have adverse effects on the liquidity and performance of a Fund’s portfolio holdings.
For example, ownership limits may apply to securities whose issuers operate in certain regulated industries or in certain international markets. Such limits also may apply where the investing entity (such as a Fund) is subject to corporate or regulatory ownership restrictions or invests in certain futures or other derivative transactions. In certain circumstances, aggregate and/or fund-level amounts invested or voted by BFA and its affiliates for client funds and accounts managed by BFA (including a Fund) may not exceed the relevant limits without the grant of a license or other regulatory or corporate approval, order, consent, relief or non-disapproval. However, there is no guarantee that permission will be granted or that, once granted, it will not be modified or revoked at a later date with minimal or no notice. In other cases, exceeding such thresholds may cause BFA and its affiliates, a Fund or other client accounts to suffer disadvantages or business restrictions.
Ownership limitations are highly complex. It is possible that, despite BFA’s intent to either comply with or be granted permission to exceed ownership limitations, it may inadvertently breach a limit or violate the corporate or regulatory approval, order, consent, relief or non-disapproval that was obtained.
Portfolio Holdings Information
A description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio securities and other assets (as applicable) is available in the applicable Statement of Additional Information (SAI). Each Fund discloses its portfolio holdings daily at www.iShares.com. Fact sheets providing information about each Fund’s top holdings are posted on www.iShares.com when available and may be requested by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).
Management of the Fund
Investment Adviser
As investment adviser, BFA has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Funds. BFA provides an investment program for the Funds and manages the investment of the Funds’ assets. In seeking to achieve the Funds’ respective investment objectives, BFA uses teams of portfolio managers, investment strategists and other investment specialists and may draw upon the trading, research and expertise of its affiliates. This team approach brings together many disciplines and leverages BFA’s extensive resources.
BFA is an indirect majority-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (BlackRock) and is located at 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. As of __________, 2025, BFA and its affiliates provided investment advisory services for assets of approximately $____ trillion.
From time to time, an employee of BlackRock may express views regarding a particular security or other instrument, asset class, company, industry, or market sector. Such views are the views of only that individual as of the time expressed. They do not necessarily represent the views of BlackRock or any other person within the BlackRock organization. Such views may change at any time based upon market or other conditions, and BlackRock has no responsibility to update such views. You should not rely on any such views as investment advice or as an indication of trading intent on behalf of a Fund.
Fees and Expenses
Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement between BFA and the Trust (entered into on behalf of the Funds), BFA is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Fund, except the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the
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acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, and litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses (as determined by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust). Operating expenses paid by BFA under the Investment Advisory Agreement exclude Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any.
A discussion regarding the basis for the approval by the Trust's Board of Trustees (the Board) of the Investment Advisory Agreement with BFA will be available in the Fund's Form N-CSR filed with the SEC for the period ending _______, ____ and in the applicable financial statements and additional information documents posted at www.iShares.com.
For its investment advisory services to the Fund, BFA is paid a management fee from the Fund, as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets, net of any applicable waivers, at the annual rate set forth in the table below. If BFA has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees for a Fund, the contractual waiver may be terminated prior to its expiration date only upon written agreement of the Trust and BFA. In addition, BFA may from time to time voluntarily waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses to reduce a Fund’s total annual fund operating expenses (excluding Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any). Any such voluntary waiver or reimbursement may be eliminated by BFA at any time.
Fund
Management Fee
iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF
____%
Portfolio Managers
The Portfolio Managers for the Fund are responsible for various functions related to portfolio management, including, but not limited to, investing cash inflows, coordinating with members of their respective portfolio management teams to focus on certain asset classes, implementing investment strategy, researching and reviewing investment strategy and overseeing members of their respective teams who have more limited responsibilities.
Jonathan Graves, James Mauro and Marcus Tom are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Jonathan Graves has been employed by BFA or its affiliates as a senior portfolio manager since 2003. He is a Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
James Mauro has been employed by BFA or its affiliates as a portfolio manager since 2011. He is a Managing Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Marcus Tom has been employed by BFA or its affiliates as a senior portfolio manager since 2000. He is a Director of BlackRock, Inc.
Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent
The administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Fund is indicated in the table below.
Fund
The Bank of
New York
Mellon
Citibank, N.A.
JPMorgan
Chase Bank,
N.A.
State Street
Bank and Trust
Company
iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF
 
 
 
Conflicts of Interest
The investment activities of BFA and its affiliates (including BlackRock and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Affiliates)), and their respective directors, officers or employees, in managing their own accounts and other accounts, may present conflicts of interest that could disadvantage a Fund and its shareholders.
BFA and its Affiliates are involved worldwide with a broad spectrum of financial services and asset management activities and in the ordinary course of business may engage in activities in which their interests or the interests of other clients may conflict with those of a Fund. BFA and its Affiliates act, or may act, as an investor, research provider, investment manager, commodity pool operator, commodity trading advisor, financier, underwriter, adviser, trader, lender, index provider, agent and/or principal. BFA and its Affiliates may have other direct and indirect interests in securities, currencies, commodities, derivatives and other assets in which a Fund may directly or indirectly invest.
BFA and its Affiliates may engage in proprietary trading and advise accounts and other funds that have investment objectives similar to those of a Fund and/or that engage in and compete for transactions in the same or similar types of securities, currencies and other assets as are held by a Fund. This may include transactions in securities issued by other open-end and closed-end investment companies, including investment companies that are affiliated with the Fund and BFA, to the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act). The trading activities of BFA and its Affiliates are carried out without reference to positions held directly or indirectly by a Fund. These activities may result in BFA or an Affiliate having positions in assets that are senior or junior to, or that have interests different from or adverse to, the assets held by a Fund.
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A Fund may invest in securities issued by, or engage in other transactions with, entities with which an Affiliate has significant debt or equity investments or other interests. A Fund may also invest in issuances (such as debt offerings or structured notes) for which an Affiliate is compensated for providing advisory, cash management or other services. A Fund also may invest in securities of, or engage in other transactions with, entities for which an Affiliate provides or may provide research coverage or other analysis.
An Affiliate may have business relationships with, and receive compensation from, distributors, consultants or others who recommend a Fund or who engage in transactions with or for a Fund.
Neither BlackRock nor any Affiliate is under any obligation to share any investment opportunity, idea or strategy with a Fund. As a result, an Affiliate may compete with a Fund for appropriate investment opportunities. The results of a Fund’s investment activities, therefore, may differ from those of an Affiliate and of other accounts managed by an Affiliate. It is possible that a Fund could sustain losses during periods in which one or more Affiliates and other accounts achieve profits on their trading for proprietary or other accounts. The opposite result is also possible.
In addition, a Fund may enter into transactions in which BFA or an Affiliate or their directors, officers, employees or clients have an adverse interest. A Fund may be adversely impacted by the effects of transactions undertaken by BFA or an Affiliate or their directors, officers, employees or clients.
From time to time, BlackRock or its advisory clients (including other funds and accounts) may, subject to compliance with applicable law, purchase and hold shares of a Fund. The price, availability, liquidity, and (in some cases) expense ratio of a Fund may be impacted by purchases and sales of the Fund by BlackRock or its advisory clients.
A Fund’s activities may be limited because of regulatory restrictions applicable to BFA or an Affiliate or their policies designed to comply with such restrictions.
Under a securities lending program approved by the Board, the Funds have retained BTC, an Affiliate of BFA, to serve as their securities lending agent to the extent that they participate in the securities lending program. For these services, the securities lending agent will receive a fee from the participating Fund based on the returns earned on the Fund’s lending activities, including investment of the cash received as collateral for the loaned securities. In addition, one or more Affiliates may be among the entities to which a Fund may lend its portfolio securities under the securities lending program.
Under an ETF Services Agreement, certain Funds have retained BlackRock Investments, LLC (the Distributor or BRIL), an Affiliate of BFA, to perform certain order processing, Authorized Participant communications, and related services in connection with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units (ETF Services). BRIL has engaged Citibank, N.A. (Citibank) as a subcontractor to provide certain ETF Services. BRIL retains a portion of the standard transaction fee received from Authorized Participants on each creation or redemption order from the Authorized Participant for the ETF Services provided. BlackRock collaborated with, and received payment from, Citibank on the design and development of the ETF Services platform. Citibank has, and from time to time may develop, additional relationships with BlackRock or funds managed by BFA and its Affiliates.
BlackRock and its Affiliates may benefit from a Fund using a BlackRock index by creating increasing acceptance in the marketplace for such indexes. BlackRock and its Affiliates are not obligated to license an index to a Fund, and no Fund is under an obligation to use a BlackRock index. The terms of a Fund’s index licensing agreement with BlackRock or its Affiliates may not be as favorable as the terms offered to other licensees.
The activities of BFA and its Affiliates and their respective directors, officers or employees may give rise to other conflicts of interest that could disadvantage a Fund and its shareholders. BFA has adopted policies and procedures designed to address these potential conflicts of interest. Please see the SAI for further information.
Shareholder Information
Additional shareholder information, including how to buy and sell shares of the Funds, is available free of charge by calling toll-free 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or visiting www.iShares.com.
Buying and Selling Shares
Transactions in shares of the Funds occur in the primary market and the secondary market. Primary market transactions, known as creations and redemptions, occur only between the Funds and Authorized Participants (i.e., financial institutions that are authorized to participate in such transactions), as described in the Creations and Redemptions section below.
Fund shares are listed on U.S. national securities exchanges, where they can be bought and sold throughout the trading day at market prices, like shares of other publicly traded companies. A Fund’s shares may also be available in other secondary markets, such as on non-U.S. exchanges and through funds or structured investment vehicles similar to depositary receipts. The Funds do not impose any minimum investment for Fund shares purchased on an exchange or otherwise in the secondary market.
Buying or selling Fund shares on an exchange or other secondary market generally involves two types of costs that are common in securities transactions. First, when buying or selling Fund shares through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission and other charges. The
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commission is frequently a fixed amount; it may be a significant proportional cost if you are seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. Second, you may incur the cost of the spread, which is any difference between the bid price and the ask price for the shares. The spread varies over time based on a Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity. Generally, the spread is smaller if a Fund has high trading volume and market liquidity, and larger if a Fund has lower trading volume and market liquidity. The latter is often the case for newly launched or smaller funds. A Fund’s spread may also be impacted by the liquidity (or lack thereof) of the underlying securities or other assets held by the Fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds, or by instances of significant volatility of the underlying assets.
The U.S. national securities exchanges that list Fund shares are open for trading Monday through Friday and are closed on weekends and the following holidays (or the days on which they are observed): New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Investments in Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act generally restricts investments by investment companies, including foreign and unregistered investment companies, in the securities of other investment companies. For example, a registered investment company (the Acquired Fund), such as the Funds, may not knowingly sell or otherwise dispose of any security issued by the Acquired Fund to any investment company (the Acquiring Fund) or any company or companies controlled by the Acquiring Fund if, immediately after such sale or disposition: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the Acquired Fund is owned by the Acquiring Fund and any company or companies controlled by the Acquiring Fund, or (ii) more than 10% of the total outstanding voting stock of the Acquired Fund is owned by the Acquiring Fund and other investment companies and companies controlled by them.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, registered investment companies are permitted to invest in a Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act. To make such an investment in an Acquired Fund, a registered investment company must, among other things, enter into an agreement with the Trust. If an Acquired Fund invests significantly in other registered investment companies in reliance on Rule 12d1-4, an Acquiring Fund will not be permitted to rely on Rule 12d1-4 and invest in the Fund beyond the Section 12(d)(1) limits. Any investment company interested in purchasing shares of a Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) should contact BFA.
Foreign investment companies are permitted to invest in a Fund only up to the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to any applicable SEC no-action relief.
Book Entry
Shares of the Funds are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (DTC), which serves as the securities depository for shares of the Funds, or its nominee is the record owner of, and holds legal title to, all outstanding shares of the Funds.
Investors owning Fund shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Fund shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Fund shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities held in book-entry or street name form.
Share Prices
The trading prices of a Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV and are affected by various factors, such as the supply of and demand for ETF shares and the securities or other assets held by a Fund as well as other market and economic conditions.
Determination of Net Asset Value
The NAV of a Fund normally is determined once daily Monday through Friday, on each day that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open for trading. The NAV generally is determined as of the close of the NYSE’s regular trading hours, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, based on prices at the time of closing.
Any Fund assets or liabilities that are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers.
The NAV of a Fund is calculated by dividing the value of the Fund’s net assets (i.e., the value of its total assets, including the value of any underlying fund shares in which the Fund invests, less total liabilities) by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund, generally rounded to the nearest cent. The value of a Fund’s assets and liabilities is determined pursuant to BFA’s valuation policies and procedures. BFA has been designated by the Board as the valuation designee for each Fund pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the Investment Company Act.
Equity securities and other equity instruments (except ETF options, equity index options or those that are customized) for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value, which is generally determined using the last reported official closing price or, if a reported closing price is not available, the last traded price on the exchange or market on which the security or instrument is primarily traded
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at the time of valuation. Shares of underlying open-end funds (including money market funds) that are not traded on an exchange are valued at net asset value. Shares of underlying ETFs and closed-end funds that trade on exchanges are valued at their most recent market closing price.
Fixed-income securities and certain derivative instruments are valued using last available bid prices or current market quotations provided by dealers or prices (including evaluated prices) supplied by the Funds’ approved independent third-party pricing services, each in accordance with BFA’s valuation policies and procedures. Pricing services may use matrix pricing or valuation models that utilize certain inputs and assumptions to derive values. Pricing services generally value fixed-income securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but a Fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller odd lot sizes. Odd lots of securities in certain asset classes may trade at lower prices than institutional round lots, and the value ultimately realized when the securities are sold could differ from the prices used by a Fund. The amortized cost method of valuation may be used with respect to debt obligations with 60 days or less remaining to maturity unless BFA determines in good faith that such method does not represent fair value.
Generally, trading in certain instruments (e.g., non-U.S. securities, money market instruments, etc.) is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of the NYSE’s regular trading hours. The values of such instruments used in computing a Fund’s NAV are determined as of such times.
For certain foreign assets, a third-party vendor supplies evaluated, systematic fair value pricing based upon the movement of a proprietary multi-factor model after the relevant foreign markets have closed. This systematic fair value pricing methodology is designed to correlate the prices of foreign assets in one or more non-U.S. markets following the close of the local markets to the prices that might have prevailed as of a Fund’s pricing time.
Customized exchange-traded equity options, ETF options, equity index options and other derivatives may be valued using a mathematical model that may incorporate a number of market data factors.
When market quotations are not readily available or are believed by BFA to be unreliable, BFA will fair value a Fund’s investments in accordance with its policies and procedures. Fair value represents a good faith approximation of the value of an asset or liability. It is the amount that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive from the current sale of an asset or the cost to extinguish a liability in an arm’s-length transaction.
BFA may conclude that a market quotation is not readily available or is unreliable if:
An asset or liability does not have a price source due to its lack of trading or other reasons;
A market quotation differs significantly from recent price quotations or otherwise no longer appears to reflect fair value;
An asset or liability is thinly traded;
There is a significant event subsequent to the most recent market quotation; or
The trading market on which an instrument is listed is suspended or closed and no appropriate alternative trading market is available.
A significant event is deemed to occur if BFA determines, in its reasonable business judgment prior to or at the time of pricing a Fund’s assets or liabilities, that the event is likely to cause a material change to the last exchange closing price or closing market price of one or more of the Fund’s assets or liabilities.
Valuing a Fund’s investments using fair value pricing may result in prices that differ from current market valuations and that may not be the prices at which those investments could have been sold during the period for which the particular fair values were used. For an index Fund, the use of both fair value prices and current market valuations in a particular NAV calculation 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. This could, in turn, result in a difference between the Fund’s performance and the performance of its underlying index.
Dividends and Distributions
General Policies. A Fund generally declares and pays dividends from net investment income, if any, at least once a year. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis for a Fund. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a regulated investment company or to avoid the imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains.
Dividends and other distributions on Fund shares are distributed on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners of the shares. Dividend payments and other distributions are made through DTC participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners then of record with proceeds received from the Funds.
Dividend Reinvestment Service. No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Program available to beneficial owners of Fund shares for the reinvestment of distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If the program is used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Fund shares purchased in the secondary market.
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Note on Tax Information. The following sections summarize some of the consequences under current U.S. federal tax law of an investment in a Fund. This information is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You may also be subject to state and local taxation on Fund distributions and sales of Fund shares. Distributions that are attributable to interest from U.S. federal government obligations may be exempt from certain state and local tax. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Fund shares under all applicable tax laws.
Taxes
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in shares of a Fund will be taxed, including possible tax consequences when a Fund makes distributions or when you sell Fund shares. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information, based on current law. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in shares of a Fund. There is no guarantee that shares of a Fund will receive certain regulatory or accounting treatment.
Taxes on Fund Distributions
Shareholders in a Fund will receive information after the end of each calendar year setting forth the amount of dividends and long-term capital gains distributed to them by the Fund during the prior year, if any. Likewise, the amount of tax-exempt income, if any, that a Fund distributes will be reported. Such income must be reported on the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return.
In general, distributions are subject to U.S. federal income tax for the year when they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year.
Capital Gains. Distributions from a Fund’s net investment income (other than qualified dividend income or from net tax-exempt income, if any), including distributions of income from securities lending and distributions out of a Fund’s net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income. Distributions by a Fund of net long-term capital gains, if any, in excess of net short-term capital losses (capital gain dividends) are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held the Fund’s shares. Long-term capital gains and qualified dividend income are generally eligible for taxation at preferential rates for non-corporate shareholders. However, different preferential rates may apply depending on the type of capital gains, such as Fund distributions of certain amounts received from real estate investment trusts (REITs), if any.
Return of Capital. If a Fund’s distributions exceed current and accumulated earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made in the taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder’s cost basis and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold. Once a shareholder’s cost basis is reduced to zero, further distributions will be treated as capital gains, if the shareholder holds shares of the Fund as capital assets. Distributions in excess of a Fund’s minimum distribution requirements, but not in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits, will be taxable to shareholders and will not constitute nontaxable returns of capital.
Qualified Dividend Income. Distributions by a Fund that qualify as qualified dividend income, if any, are taxable to you at long-term capital gain rates. Dividends will be qualified dividend income to you if they are attributable to qualified dividend income received by a Fund. Generally, qualified dividend income includes dividend income from stock issued by taxable U.S. corporations and qualified non-U.S. corporations, provided that the Fund satisfies certain holding period requirements and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. For this purpose, a qualified non-U.S. corporation means any non-U.S. corporation that is eligible for benefits under a comprehensive income tax treaty with the U.S., which includes an exchange of information program, or if the stock with respect to which the dividend was paid is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. The term excludes a corporation that is a passive foreign investment company.
Dividends received by a Fund from a RIC, if any, generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent that such dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such RIC. Additionally, it is expected that dividends received by a Fund from a REIT, if any, and distributed to a shareholder generally will be taxable to the shareholder as ordinary income. However, a Fund may report dividends eligible for a 20% qualified business income deduction for non-corporate U.S. shareholders to the extent that the Fund’s income is derived from ordinary REIT dividends, reduced by allocable Fund expenses.
For a dividend to be treated as qualified dividend income, the dividend must be received with respect to a share of stock held without being hedged by the relevant Fund, and with respect to a share of the Fund held without being hedged by you, for 61 days during the 121-day period beginning at the date that is 60 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend or, in the case of certain preferred stock, 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date.
Fund distributions, to the extent attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations, will be eligible for the dividends received deduction for Fund shareholders that are corporations, subject to certain hedging and holding requirements.
Substitute dividends received by a Fund with respect to dividends paid on securities lent out, if any, will not be qualified dividend income.
Medicare Tax. A 3.8% U.S. federal Medicare contribution tax is imposed on net investment income, including, but not limited to, interest, dividends, and net gain, of U.S. individuals with income exceeding $200,000 (or $250,000 if married and filing jointly) and of estates and trusts.
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Alternative Minimum Tax. The AMT is a separate U.S. federal tax system that operates in parallel to the regular federal income tax system but eliminates many deductions and exclusions. The AMT has different tax rates and treats as taxable certain types of income that are nontaxable for regular income tax purposes, such as the interest on certain private activity municipal bonds. If a taxpayer’s overall AMT liability is higher than regular income tax liability, then the taxpayer owes the regular income tax liability plus the difference between the AMT liability and the regular income tax liability.
Original Issue Discount and Inflation-Related Adjustments
Accruals of original issue discount on bonds that a Fund acquires at a discount and adjustments for inflation to the principal amount of an inflation-protected U.S. Treasury bond held by a Fund may be included for tax purposes in the Fund’s gross income, even though no cash attributable to such gross income has at that point been received by the Fund. In such event, the Fund may be required to make annual distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it has otherwise received. In order to pay such distributions, the Fund may be required to raise cash by selling portfolio investments. The sale of such investments could result in capital gains to the Fund and additional capital gains distributions to Fund shareholders. In addition, any deflation-related adjustments during the taxable year to an inflation-indexed bond held by a Fund may cause amounts distributed in the taxable year as income to be characterized as a return of capital.
Market Discount Bonds
Any market discount recognized on a bond, including a tax-exempt interest bond, is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value or adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount. To the extent that a Fund does not include the market discount in income as it accrues, gains on the Fund’s disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gains to the extent of the accrued market discount.
Derivatives and Other Complex Instruments
A Fund may invest in derivatives and other complex instruments, and such investments may be subject to special and complicated rules. These rules could affect whether gains and losses recognized by a Fund are treated as ordinary income or capital gains, accelerate the recognition of income to a Fund or defer a Fund’s ability to recognize losses. In addition, these rules may affect the amount, timing or character of income distributed to you by a Fund. You should consult your personal tax advisor regarding the application of these rules.
Non-U.S. Income Taxes
Dividends, interest and capital gains (if any) earned by a Fund with respect to securities issued by non-U.S. issuers may give rise to withholding, capital gains and other taxes imposed by non-U.S. countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If, at the close of a year, more than 50% of a Fund’s total assets consist of non-U.S. stocks or securities (generally, for this purpose, depositary receipts, no matter where traded, of non-U.S. companies are treated as non-U.S.), generally the Fund may pass through to you certain non-U.S. income taxes, including withholding taxes, paid by the Fund. This means that you would be considered to have received as an additional dividend your share of such non-U.S. taxes, but you may be entitled to either a corresponding tax deduction in calculating your taxable income or, subject to certain limitations, a credit in calculating your U.S. federal income tax. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. If a Fund does not pass through non-U.S. taxes, the Fund will be entitled to claim a deduction for certain foreign taxes that it incurs.
Under certain circumstances, if a Fund receives a refund of foreign taxes paid with respect to a prior year, the value of Fund shares could be affected or any foreign tax credits or deductions passed through to shareholders with respect to the Fund’s foreign taxes for the current year could be reduced.
If, at the close of the year, more than 50% of a Fund’s total assets consist of stocks or securities issued by non-U.S. issuers, including depositary receipts (no matter where traded) of non-U.S. companies, or, at the close of each quarter, more than 50% of a Fund’s total assets consist of shares of an Underlying Fund, the Fund may pass-through to you certain non-U.S. income taxes (including withholding taxes) paid by the Fund or, if its assets meet these requirements, the Underlying Fund.
For purposes of foreign tax credits for U.S. shareholders of a Fund, foreign capital gains taxes may not produce associated foreign source income, limiting the availability of such credits for U.S. persons.
Non-U.S. Shareholders
If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the U.S. or if you are a non-U.S. entity (other than a pass-through entity to the extent owned by U.S. persons), a Fund’s ordinary income dividends, if any, generally will be subject to a 30% U.S. federal withholding tax, unless a lower treaty rate applies. However, withholding tax generally will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder upon the sale or other disposition of Fund shares or with respect to certain distributions paid to a non-U.S. shareholder and reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends, interest-related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends.
Separately, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on Fund distributions (if any) paid to certain foreign entities, unless such entities comply, or are deemed compliant, with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts.
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Backup Withholding
If you are a resident or a citizen of the U.S. and you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number and made other required certifications, by law, backup withholding at a 24% rate will apply to Fund distributions and proceeds (if any).
Securities Lending
If your shares of a Fund are loaned out pursuant to a securities lending arrangement, you may lose the ability to treat Fund dividends that are paid while the shares are held by the borrower as qualified dividend income, and you may lose the ability to use non-U.S. tax credits passed through by the Fund.
Fund of Funds
If a Fund invests in an Underlying Fund, short-term capital gains earned by the Underlying Fund, if any, will be ordinary income when distributed to the Fund and will not be offset by the Fund’s capital losses. To the extent such Fund is expected to invest in an Underlying Fund, the Fund’s realized losses on sales of shares of the Underlying Fund may be indefinitely or permanently deferred as wash sales. Capital loss carryforwards of the Underlying Fund, if any, will not offset net capital gains of the Fund.
Taxes on the Sale of Exchange-Listed Fund Shares
Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares that have been held for one year or less is generally treated as a short-term capital gain or loss. However, any capital loss on a sale of Fund shares held for six months or less is treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent that capital gain dividends were paid with respect to such shares. Any such capital gains, including from sales of Fund shares or from capital gain dividends, are included in net investment income for purposes of the 3.8% U.S. federal Medicare contribution tax mentioned above.
Creations and Redemptions
Prior to being traded in the secondary market, Fund shares are created at NAV by Authorized Participants (i.e., market makers, large investors and other financial institutions) in block-size Creation Units or multiples thereof. Fund shares are created or redeemed only in Creation Units, and only Authorized Participants may create or redeem Creation Units with the Funds.
Each Authorized Participant is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC and has entered into a written agreement with the Funds’ Distributor, an affiliate of BFA. The agreement allows the Authorized Participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units. Authorized Participants may create or redeem Creation Units for their own accounts or for customers, including, without limitation, affiliates of the Funds. Creation transactions are subject to acceptance by the Distributor and the relevant Fund.
Generally, there are three transaction methods for creating and redeeming Fund shares: in-kind securities (in-kind), partial cash and all cash.
In-Kind. In a creation transaction, an Authorized Participant deposits into a Fund a creation basket, which is a portfolio of securities or other assets designated by the Fund, as well as a cash amount. The Authorized Participant receives a specified number of Creation Units in return. In a redemption transaction, an Authorized Participant deposits Creation Units with a Fund and receives from the Fund a redemption basket, which is a portfolio of securities or other assets designated by the Fund, as well as a cash amount.
Partial Cash. In a creation transaction, an Authorized Participant deposits into a Fund a creation basket and a cash amount, including cash that replaces a security or other asset in the creation basket, in exchange for Creation Units. In a redemption transaction, an Authorized Participant deposits Creation Units with a Fund and receives from the Fund a redemption basket and a cash amount, including cash that replaces a security or other asset in the redemption basket.
All Cash. In a creation transaction, an Authorized Participant deposits into a Fund an amount of cash specified by the Fund in exchange for Creation Units. In a redemption transaction, an Authorized Participant deposits Creation Units with a Fund and receives from the Fund a specified amount of cash.
The creation and redemption baskets for a Fund may differ in composition, and certain iShares ETFs accept custom baskets. More information about custom baskets is provided in the Funds’ SAI.
Each Fund generally engages in creation and redemption transactions according to the method indicated in the table below. In certain circumstances, however, a Fund may use another transaction method (e.g., an in-kind Fund may transact partially or fully in cash).
Fund
In-Kind
Partial Cash
All Cash
iShares iBonds Oct 2036 Term TIPS ETF
 
 
The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of a Fund’s NAV after a creation or redemption order is tendered in an acceptable form under the Authorized Participant agreement. In the event of a system failure or other interruption, including
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disruptions at market makers or Authorized Participants, creation and redemption orders may not be executed according to a Fund’s instructions or may not be executed at all.
Additional information about the creation and redemption of Creation Units (including the cut-off times for the receipt of creation and redemption orders) is included in the Funds’ SAI.
The Funds do not impose restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Fund shares directly with a Fund. The Board determined not to adopt policies and procedures designed to prevent or monitor for frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares because each Fund generally sells and redeems its shares directly through transactions that are in-kind and/or for cash, with a deadline for placing cash-related transactions no later than the close of the primary markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities. However, the Funds have taken certain measures (e.g., imposing transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units and reserving the right to reject purchases of Creation Units under certain circumstances) to minimize the potential consequences of frequent cash purchases and redemptions by Authorized Participants, such as increased tracking error, disruption of portfolio management, dilution to the Funds, and/or increased transaction costs. Further, the vast majority of trading in Fund shares occurs on the secondary market, which does not involve the Funds directly, and such trading is unlikely to cause many of the harmful effects of frequent cash purchases or redemptions of Fund shares.
To the extent a Fund engages in in-kind transactions, the Fund intends to comply with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposit and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities by, among other means, assuring that any securities accepted for deposit and any securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act). Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a qualified institutional buyer, as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, will not be able to receive restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.
Because Fund shares may be created and issued on an ongoing basis, at any point during the life of a Fund a distribution, as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may be occurring. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. Any determination of whether one is an underwriter must take into account all the relevant facts and circumstances of each particular case.
Broker-dealers should also note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an unsold allotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the 1933 Act is available only with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange.
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 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.
Distribution
The Distributor or its agent distributes Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the Funds. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities or other assets (as applicable) that are purchased or sold by the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is 50 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001.
BFA or its affiliates make payments to broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks or other intermediaries (together, intermediaries) related to marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, data provision services, or their making shares of the Funds available to their customers generally and in certain investment programs. Such payments, which may be significant to the intermediary, are not made by the Funds. Rather, such payments are made by BFA or its affiliates from their own resources, which come directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the Funds. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. A financial intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it recommends or makes available, or the level of services provided, to its customers based on the payments or other financial incentives the intermediary is eligible to receive. Therefore, such payments or other financial incentives that are offered or made to an intermediary create conflicts of interest between the intermediary and its customers and may cause the intermediary to recommend the Funds over another investment. More information regarding these payments is contained in the applicable SAI. Please contact your salesperson or other investment professional for more information regarding any such payments that their firm may receive from BFA or its affiliates.
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Financial Highlights
Financial highlights for the Fund are not available because, as of the effective date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not commenced operations and therefore has no financial highlights to report.
Index Provider and Disclaimers
The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Trust, BFA, the Distributor or any of their respective affiliates. BFA or its affiliates have entered into a license agreement with the Index Provider to use the Underlying index. BFA or its affiliates sublicense rights in each Underlying Index for use by the applicable Fund at no charge.
The past performance of an Underlying Index is not a guide to future performance. BFA and its affiliates do not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of an Underlying Index or any data included therein, and BFA and its affiliates shall have no liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions therein. BFA and its affiliates make no warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of a Fund or to any other person or entity, as to results to be obtained by a Fund from the use of an Underlying Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall BFA or its affiliates have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
ICE Data Indices
The following applies with respect to each Underlying Index provided by IDI:
ICE Data Indices, LLC (IDI) is used with permission. NYSE is a registered trademark of NYSE Group, Inc., an affiliate of IDI, and is used by IDI with permission and under a license. FactSet is a registered trademark of FactSet Research Systems, Inc. These trademarks (as applicable) have been licensed, along with the Underlying Index, in connection with the Fund. Neither BFA, the Trust nor the Fund, as applicable, is sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by IDI, its affiliates or its third party suppliers (IDI and its Suppliers). IDI and its Suppliers make no representations or warranties regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally, in the Fund particularly, the Trust or the ability of the Underlying Index to track general market performance. IDI’s only relationship to BFA is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names and the Underlying Index or components thereof. The Underlying Index is determined, composed and calculated by IDI without regard to BFA or the Fund or its holders. IDI has no obligation to take the needs of BFA or the holders of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Underlying Index. IDI is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be priced, sold, purchased, or redeemed. Except for certain custom index calculation services, all information provided by IDI is general in nature and not tailored to the needs of BFA or any other person, entity or group of persons. IDI has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the Fund. IDI is not an investment adviser. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by IDI to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.
IDI AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS AND/OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, INCLUDING THE UNDERLYING INDEX, INDEX DATA AND ANY INFORMATION INCLUDED IN, RELATED TO, OR DERIVED THEREFROM (INDEX DATA). IDI AND ITS SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR COMPLETENESS OF THE UNDERLYING INDEX AND THE INDEX DATA, WHICH ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS IS BASIS, AND YOUR USE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
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Want to know more?
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Information on each Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads can be found at www.iShares.com. Copies of each Fund’s Prospectus, SAI, shareholder reports and other information, as applicable and when available, can be found at www.iShares.com. For more information about a Fund, you may request a copy of the Fund’s SAI. The SAI provides detailed information about the Fund and is incorporated by reference into the Fund’s Prospectus. This means that the SAI, for legal purposes, is a part of the Fund’s Prospectus.
Additional information about each Fund's investments is, or will be, available in the Fund's Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In a Fund's Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during the last fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial statements.
If you have any questions about the Trust or shares of a Fund or you wish to obtain a Fund’s SAI, Semi-Annual or Annual Report free of charge, please:
Call:
1-800-iShares or 1-800-474-2737 (toll free)
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Eastern time)
Email:
Write:
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1 University Square Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540
Reports and other information about each Fund are available on the EDGAR database on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: [email protected].
No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about a Fund and its shares not contained in this Prospectus and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep this Prospectus for future reference.
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Investment Company Act File No.: 811-09729
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