AN iSHARES ETF UPDATE ON THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS

Overview

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. On March 10, 2022, BlackRock first published a list of actions taken in response and began providing updates specific to two Irish-domiciled iShares ETFs which held impacted securities. Since then, this information has been updated periodically to reflect key developments related to index changes and the status of the Russian marketplace.

Actions we have taken

Shareholders of iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF and iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF can find a summary of the events and the main actions we have taken to date regarding these two ETFs below:

• February 28 2022: BlackRock suspended the purchase of Russian securities in our active and index funds.
• March 02 2022 and March 03 2022: Valuations, subscriptions and redemptions were suspended for iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF and iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF respectively. BlackRock also voluntarily waived the total expense ratios (TERs) that BlackRock is entitled to be paid by the ETFs.
• March 04 2022: European exchanges began to suspend trading in the iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF and the iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF.
• March 07 2022: All major index providers began the removal of Russian securities from their indexes.
• March 10 2022: Shareholder letters informed investors in iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF and iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF of the suspension of valuations, subscriptions and redemptions on the primary market.
• May 20 2022: Shareholder letters informed investors of the decisions to terminate iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF and iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF , including detail about the rationale for termination, the related process, timing and costs.
• June 16 2022: Supplemental shareholder letters informed investors of changes to the closure process for iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF and iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF, such that the shares of the funds were not cancelled at the start of the termination process but instead have been retained on the funds’ shareholder registers. This should be helpful to investors in evidencing their entitlement to potential future payments and in helping intermediaries to maintain records of beneficial owners for longer.
• June 23 2022: RNS announcement informing shareholders of the initial payments received upon termination of iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF and iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF.
• June 27 2022: Existing liquidation proceeds were distributed to shareholders.
• August 2023: Conditions have allowed the sale of a limited number of securities held by iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF. Proceeds from these disposals were distributed (USD 1.619438 per share) to investors who held fund shares on 20 June 2022 (the Termination Start Date). As and if market conditions and legal and regulatory restrictions allow, BlackRock will seek to implement an orderly disposal of further Russian securities in line with our fiduciary duties and respective fund investment objectives and policies in order to return any residual net proceeds to investors.
• November 2023: Conditions have allowed for the further sale of a limited number of securities held by iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF. Proceeds from these disposals were distributed to investors at a rate of USD 1.3955 per share on 17 November 2023 or shortly thereafter.
• January 2024: Both iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF and iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF were able to sell more securities, allowing for further distributions of related proceeds: USD 0.1537 per share and USD 1.1959 respectively.
• May 2024: iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF was able to sell more securities, allowing for another distribution of related proceeds of USD 0.1202 per share.
• August 2024: Conditions have allowed for the distribution of further amounts received by iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF. These amounts will be distributed to investors at a rate of USD 0.1007 per share on or around August 23, 2024.
• January 2025: Conditions have allowed for further selling of a limited number of securities held by iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF USD (Dist). On 21 January 2025 or shortly thereafter, proceeds from these disposals will be distributed to investors at a rate of USD 0.8737 per share.

Our continuing approach

BlackRock continues to consult with market participants to help our funds to exit their positions in Russian securities whenever and wherever regulatory and market conditions allow.

At this time, Russian securities that cannot be divested continue to be held in these and/or other ETFs with Russian exposure.

As and when non-local investors are allowed to trade and settle in the Russian stock market and in compliance with applicable law and regulations, including relevant sanctions laws, and under appropriate market conditions, BlackRock will seek to implement an orderly and managed disposal of such Russian securities in line with our fiduciary duties and respective fund investment objectives and policies.

Where certain Russian securities are not the subject or target of sanctions, or the respective sanctions regimes have issued legal authorisation to divest within a prescribed timeframe, BlackRock continues to assess whether it can transfer or divest those securities, including depositary receipts, when it is legally permissible and in the best interests of investors.

For any potential disposal, BlackRock will assess market conditions based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, legal restrictions, liquidity, spreads, international investor access, volume and volatility.