About BlackRock

WHO WE ARE

BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, our clients turn to us for the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals. As of December 31, 2019, the firm managed approximately $7.43 trillion in assets on behalf of investors worldwide.

Our Company and Sites

INVEST IN A BRIGHTER TOMORROW

We interview the head of iShares Americas on what's next for sustainable investing.

SEARCH iSHARES FUNDS

Find an iShares ETF to help meet your investment goals.

ASSET CLASS
REGIONS
MARKETS
GO

GO SUSTAINABLE

I want to:

Strive for sustainable outcomes along with financial returns

EXPLORE

AIM TO MAXIMIZE GROWTH

I want to:

Pursue long-term opportunities in the stock market

EXPLORE

FOCUS ON INCOME

I want to:

Seek dividend and interest payments from stocks and bonds

EXPLORE

NAVIGATE RISK

I want to:

Hedge against potential market pitfalls, seek to minimize volatility

EXPLORE

SEEK AN ALTERNATIVE TO CASH

I want to:

Use a short-term investment strategy to pursue income from cash alternatives

EXPLORE

Liberate your potential

See how iShares ETFs can work for you.

Liberate Your Potential
Next
Prev

WHAT IS AN ETF?

An ETF (exchange traded fund) is a diversified collection of assets (like a mutual fund) that trades on an exchange (like a stock).

Here are some key benefits of ETFs in action:

75 %
OUTPERFORMED
iShares Core ETFs have outperformed over 75% of their peers on average over the past five years1
⅓
THE COST
iShares ETFs are ⅓ the cost of the average active mutual fund2
½
THE TAX COST
iShares ETFs are ½ the tax cost of the average active mutual fund3

Learn more about iShares ETFs

1 Morningstar, as of 12/31/2018. Comparison universe is ETFs and mutual funds in the Morningstar category and uses total return. Overall figure is a weighted average of the percentage of funds that the iShares Core ETFs have outperformed in each Morningstar category, weighted based on the number of funds in the Morningstar category. The funds outperformed 67%, 77% and 66% of peers on a 1, 5 and 10 year basis, respectively. Performance may be different for other time periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

2 Morningstar, as of 12/31/18. Comparison is between the average Prospectus Net Expense Ratio for the iShares ETFs (0.34%) and active open-end mutual funds (0.96%).

3 Morningstar, as of 12/31/18. "Tax Cost Ratio" is a Morningstar measure of the impact of taxes on capital gains and income distributions on performance. The average 5-year Tax Cost Ratio of iShares ETFs and actively managed open-end mutual funds available in the U.S. (excluding municipal bond and money market funds) included in the comparison is 0.68% and 1.50%, respectively.

GETTING STARTED

iShares ETFs (exchange traded funds) can help you build your portfolio in pursuit of your investment goals.

A Broad Approach

If you're new to investing, you may want to use iShares ETFs to help build a diversified portfolio. iShares ETFs can potentially offer a larger range of opportunities – allowing you to invest in up to hundreds or thousands of stocks or bonds in a single fund.1

Start With Your Core

iShares Core ETFs are a good starting point for achieving diversification in a low cost, tax efficient way.

Learn how to get started with iShares Core ETFs

1 The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. You may not get back the amount originally invested.

HOW TO BUY iSHARES ETFs

Talk to your financial planner about adding iShares ETFs to your portfolio.

Purchase through Fidelity, where iShares ETFs trade commission-free online.

Purchase through any online brokerage account.

Before engaging Fidelity or any broker-dealer, you should evaluate the overall fees and charges of the firm as well as the services provided. $0.00 commission applies to online U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a Fidelity retail account only for Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC (FBS) retail clients. The sale of ETFs is subject to an activity assessment fee (from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal). Other exclusions and conditions may apply. For iShares ETFs, Fidelity receives compensation from the ETF sponsor and/or its affiliates in connection with an exclusive long-term marketing program that includes promotion of iShares ETFs and inclusion of iShares funds in certain FBS platforms and investment programs. Please note, this security will not be marginable for 30 days from the settlement date, at which time it will automatically become eligible for margin collateral. Additional information about the sources, amounts, and terms of compensation can be found in the ETF’s prospectus and related documents. Fidelity may add or waive commissions on ETFs without prior notice.

Fidelity, Fidelity Investments, the Fidelity Investments and pyramid are registered trademarks of FMR LLC.
a balance scale for weighing two items

ETFs vs
MUTUAL FUNDS

Compare the benefits.

ETFs vs
MUTUAL FUNDS

Active Mutual Funds iShares ETFs Stocks
Diversified

Many stocks or bonds in a single fund
Traded on Exchange

Throughout the trading day
Intraday Pricing

Live pricing throughout the course of the trading day
Traded Throughout Trading Day

Buy and sell whenever the market is open
Management Fees

Annual cost of a professionally managed fund
Transaction Fees

Costs associated with buying or selling (e.g., mutual fund sales loads, brokerage commission fees)
Tax Efficient1

Generally have fewer unplanned capital gains distributions
Index Tracking

Seek to track the return of a market index

Learn more about comparing ETFs to Mutual Funds

Investment comparisons are for illustrative purposes only. To better understand the similarities and differences between investments, including investment objectives, risks, fees and expenses, it is important to read the products' prospectuses.

1 Due to fund structure, mutual fund holders may be subject to taxable capital gains distributions due to other investors' redemptions directly to the mutual fund. Taxable capital gain distributions can occur to ETF investors based on stocks trading within the fund as the ETF creates and redeems shares and rebalances its holdings. ETFs and stocks will also distribute taxable capital gains when an investor sells their own shares. Certain traditional mutual funds can also be tax efficient.

HELP YOUR CASH STRETCH FURTHER

You may be missing out on the potential to earn more. See how iShares Bond ETFs can help.

HELP YOUR CASH
STRETCH FURTHER

By investing in iShares short-term bond ETFs, you have the potential to earn more versus a traditional bank savings rate or cash-like investment return. Now that investors have more ways to trade commission-free, it’s easier than ever to invest your cash and potentially earn more with iShares bond ETFs.

BOND ETFs vs TRADITIONAL CASH SAVINGS1

Chart showing bond ETFs vs. traditional cash savings Chart showing bond ETFs vs. traditional cash savings

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end and standardized performance may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. For standardized performance, please click here.

Learn more about how to put cash to work

1 FDIC, Bloomberg, Morningstar, BlackRock, as of 12/31/19. “Savings Account” and “12 Month Bank CD” are the national average sourced from FDIC. “Money Market Fund” represents 2a7 Money Market Funds and is calculated using the Weighted Average 7-Day Yield of the Morningstar “Money Market – Taxable” Category. ETF yields are 30-Day SEC yields. An investment in fixed income funds is not equivalent to and involves risks not associated with an investment in cash.

KEY
INSIGHTS

Take a look at our global market insights and see what they mean for how you invest.

Explore our insights & strategies