ETF INVESTING: TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE

00:00

Faye Witherall

Welcome to episode one of iShares Investor Insights. This is a new audio series from iShares where we're committed to empowering all investors everywhere. I'm your host, Faye Witherall, and I'm so excited that my guest for our inaugural episode is Priya Panse, a CFA. Priya, you are currently an investment strategist on the U.S. iShares Factors and Sustainable Team.

00:21

Priya Panse

That's right. And before this I was also a strategist on BlackRock's Fundamental Active equities group.

00:27

Faye Witherall

Okay, well, welcome Priya. So excited to have you here. You are definitely what I'd call a sophisticated investor, but for listeners who might just be getting started or anyone who needs, you know, a refresher course, can you give us a quick overview or 101? What is investing and why do people do it?

00:43

Priya Panse

Ooh, I am so humbled to be called a sophisticated investor when in reality I find myself being a student of the market. I'm going to start with the why question here. Why should we all be investing? As we age from 0 to 100 we go through distinct phases of our financial journey. The vast majority of us are dependents in our earlier years.

Then we start earning and begin accumulating wealth. And finally, once we retire, we start using up our wealth all the way till the end. This is called the deccumulation phase, and it actually can be the most uncertain phase of our life. We don't know how long we're going to live or how expensive medical bills are going to be.

Some of us may have even aspirations to live more comfortably in retirement or send kids to college. Lots of reasons ultimately to be growing your wealth. But investing can be a great way to create wealth in your lifetime.

1:40

Faye Witherall

Okay, this makes a lot of sense. I love how you describe the different phases of life and maybe different needs for income at those different stages. I'll also add here that you don't need a ton of money to get started.   Totally.  The investment journey is accessible to everybody, regardless of age, regardless of income. And I am realizing that I am totally getting ahead of myself.

And we do touch on those in just a moment. But what is investing anyway is, you know, how do you, Priya, define it?

2:08

Priya Panse

Yes. So investing is all about the act of buying and selling assets like stocks, like bonds or even ETFs. With the goal of those financial instruments rising in value over time. Investing is about trying to make your money work for you by purchasing assets that have the potential to increase in value. And I stress potential because as in life, there are no guarantees in investing.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of your principal, meaning the money that you started with.

2:41

Faye Witherall

Ok this makes a lot of sense, and we'll definitely get to those risks that you mentioned. But let's back up even before that. How does someone get started?

2:49

Priya Panse

Great question. First, you can't invest what you don't have and the money that you do end up using to invest that principal, which I just mentioned, should be the money that's left over after your bills are paid. In other words, step one of investing is setting a budget to manage your basic expenses; the necessities like food, clothing, shelter, or it could be repaying student loans and any debt with high interest rates.

Ideally, you'll also want to have some extra money saved for an emergency fund, like if you're ever out of work or if you want money to have left over to be investing continually. Saving money so that you can afford to invest is critical, especially when you're getting started. And the good news is, like you said, Faye, you don't need a lot these days to get started.

And the final thing to think about is to set clear financial goals. Ask yourself, what is it that you're investing for. Is it for your retirement? Are you trying to buy a new home? Are you funding your children's education? It could be all of the above. It could be something completely different. But having goals can make it way easier to tailor your investment strategy.

4:00

Faye Witherall

Okay, so we've set this budget. We've started in saving some money to invest, and we're thinking about, you know, what should we be investing for? For me, it's, you know, I definitely want to have a house one day, and that's why I'm kind of setting aside some money and making sure.

4:14

Priya Panse

That's good to know. I was actually going to ask you why. Why did you start investing?

4:20

Faye Witherall

Okay. I feel put on the spot here. For me, it was when I started working and started having this income, I started saving, but it was in a savings account and I think it was yielding like 0.01%. You know, I wasn't getting anything there. So I wanted to make sure that I was putting my money to work after I set my budget, which was kind of a rude awakening for my first six months of working, was setting my budget.

What about you, Priya? What was your investing journey?

4:44

Priya Panse

I would say I was a finance student undergrad. I did not really know what exactly to start with, but at that point in time, something like the stock market was definitely one that kept flashing at me at every news sources. But speaking of just the basics, the 1 to 1 of investments, we should probably start with stocks, which I think many listeners have heard about this.

Stocks represent ownership in a company. When you buy stock, whether it's one share or a thousand, you're buying a piece of that company and hoping it's profit to grow and the value of its stock to rise.

Bonds, on the other hand, are essentially loans you give to companies or governments, and then in return, they promise to return your initial investment plus some interest after some specified period of time.

The interest payments typically don't change and they occur on a regular schedule, which is why bonds are also known to be fixed income. The income is fixed, in other words.

Stocks and bonds are probably the largest and and best-known financial assets. But you can invest in commodities like oil, like gold, digital assets, real estate. There are alternative assets that honestly include anything from private equity to fine art.

6:02

Faye Witherall

Okay. I'm going to slow us down here because we're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves and we do discuss those other assets in a later episode. But for now, you know, instead of just talking about all of the choices we have, let's also talk about the how, you know, how do I actually invest?

6:18

Priya Panse

Yes. And and I did not mean to get ahead of myself. It gets very exciting in the world of investments, as you can see. Okay. So for most of us, the simplest way to get started is to open a brokerage account. Most online brokers like Fidelity, one of our partners here at iShares, offers commission free trading and low minimums to get started.

And like I said before, you don't need a lot of money to get started. Honestly, you definitely don't need to be paying big fees if you stick to traditional assets like common stocks. Get it they‚re common. Once your brokerage account is opened, that's the how. Then you can think about the what as in what investments will you choose?

You can buy individual stocks and bonds and you can get exposures to commodities, real estate and depending on the broker, even digital assets. And then there are ETFs and mutual funds…there are a huge plethora of ETFs that we can choose from.

These invest in a basket of stocks and bonds and other types of securities. Here at iShares, we are big believers in the power of ETFs, which offer the diversification benefits of mutual funds but can be traded whenever markets are open, just like individual stocks. And just like there are different types of stocks and bonds, there are also different types of ETFs that really invest in different types of securities and even strategies.

7:48

Faye Witherall

Okay, we are going to drill down into the benefits of ETFs and the options that ETFs give you in episode two. Oh good.

But like I was saying before, you know, there are so many options that it can be pretty overwhelming for people who maybe don't have that finance background or who are new to investing. So we'll walk this back a bit.

Let's just say I've budgeted, I've saved a thought about my financial goals and I just opened my brokerage account like we just discussed. What's the next step?

8:18

Priya Panse

Right. Well, this is where it gets a little tricky because everyone is different. Your goals, your finances, your personal situation. And this is the big one. Your stomach for risk taking is completely unique to you. I do advise anyone listening to this to have an honest conversation with yourselves, a family member, or maybe even a trusted friend before you start investing.

Many people find it very helpful to even speak with a financial advisor, whose job is to find what is the right investment strategy based on your long term goals. You can also feel empowered by doing your own research, like on iShares.com to learn more about investing and long-term market trends.

9:02

Faye Witherall

That's exactly how I got started. It wasn't with a financial advisor, but it was rather doing just some of that research myself, iShares.com has all of these insights articles. So a lot of options for folks who are, you know, just getting started.

9:14

Priya Panse

Those are fantastic ways to get started.

9:17

Faye Witherall

Okay. Before we wrap up, you know, I know we've covered a lot of ground here, but you mentioned the risk of investing before. Let's bring it back to that. What are your thoughts on how investors can manage, you know, and maybe understand some of those risks?

9:31

Priya Panse

Yes. So risk is a natural part of investing. It is so crucial not to put all your eggs in one basket. Diversification, the spreading of your money across different asset classes can really help to reduce risk and may deliver better returns over the long run. And again, that's a huge reason why we're so big on ETFs at iShares.

While offering the diversification benefits of mutual funds, ETFs trade like stocks, typically have little seeds and are built to be tax efficient so they can help you keep more of what you earn.

10:06

Faye Witherall

Okay, we could probably spend the better part of the rest of the day sitting here talking about ETFs and investing. There's so much we can cover, but I want to save some content for our, you know, later episodes. Yeah.

Before we wrap. Any final words or insights that you want to make sure you hit on?

10:23

Priya Panse

Yes. So I would say there are going to be ups and downs on Wall Street. We call this volatility and sometimes it can be scary. Markets have thankfully trended upwards over time. So it's important for us to do our best to ignore the short-term fluctuations or at least not act on it. Stay disciplined. Stay focused on your long-term goals and stick to your plan.

10:50

Faye Witherall

Absolutely. Sometimes it can be a little hard to get over that emotional barrier of seeing those moves. But to your point, markets historically have trended up. So, you know, you just got to stick -- stick to the path.

11:01

Priya Panse

The psychology of investing is really one that is absolutely fascinating. And we can definitely dive into that later.

11:07

Faye Witherall

Yeah, I like I said, we could be here for hours, but I won't do that to the listeners. Okay. Thank you, Priya. And that's a wrap on episode one of iShares Investor Insights.

Thanks, everyone, for listening. Please check out our other episodes and if you know someone who might enjoy or benefit from this series, please share it with them.

You can always explore iShares.com for additional insights and education about our entire suite of ETFs. And if you haven’t already, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to our social channels for exclusive, timely, and digestible insights.

I'm Faye Witherall and please remember that investing is a journey. The more informed you are, the better decisions you make.

11:45

Spoken Disclosure:

Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Written Disclosure:

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Diversification and asset allocation may not protect against market risk or loss of principal. Transactions in shares of ETFs may result in brokerage commissions and may generate tax consequences. All regulated investment companies are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to shareholders.

Funds that concentrate investments in specific industries, sectors, markets or asset classes may underperform or be more volatile than other industries, sectors, markets or asset classes and the general securities market. Technology companies may be subject to severe competition and product obsolescence.

This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation within the meaning of federal, state or local law.  You are solely responsible for evaluating and acting upon the education and information contained in this material. BlackRock will not be liable for direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information obtained from these materials or from any other source mentioned. BlackRock does not render any legal, tax or accounting advice and the education and information contained in this material should not be construed as such.  Please consult with a qualified professional for these types of advice.

This material contains general information only and does not take into account an individual's financial circumstances. This information should not be relied upon as a primary basis for an investment decision. Rather, an assessment should be made as to whether the information is appropriate in individual circumstances and consideration should be given to talking to a financial professional before making an investment decision.

Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA, together with its affiliates BlackRock.

© 2024 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners

00:00

Faye Witherall

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to our series Introduction to Investing. We covered the basics of investing in episode one, and now we're going to introduce you to and break down the power of our favorite investment instrument, the ETF. We'll be highlighting what an ETF is and how they work. For this episode, I'm so excited to be joined by Anna Nerys.She is a product strategist here at iShares.

Hi Anna, thanks for coming on.

00:28

Anna Nerys

Hi, Faye. Thanks for having me.

00:30

Faye Witherall

Okay. Are you ready to be grilled?

00:31

Anna Nerys

I'm so ready.

00:31

Faye Witherall

Okay. Tuck in here. But what does an ETF stand for?

00:36

Anna Nerys

Ooh, starting with a tough one, ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund.

00:42

Faye Witherall

Okay, I promise it only gets easier.

00:43

Anna Nerys

Did I pass?

00:44

Faye Witherall

Yes, A+. What is an exchange traded fund, Anna? And how is that different from, you know, a mutual fund or a stock?

00:53

Anna Nerys

Sure. So, let's start with a stock. When you buy a stock, you're essentially buying a piece of ownership in a company like Amazon or Apple. And if the company performs well, the stock could rise in value, and you might be able to sell it for a profit. An ETF, on the other hand, is an investment product that typically seeks to track an index or the performance of an index like the S&P 500 as an example. And it can be bought and sold just like an individual stock.

To put it simply, imagine that you have a wicker picnic basket in your hand. Stick with me, and imagine you can fill that picnic basket with ten or a hundred different stocks or maybe bonds or a different type of financial asset. That picnic basket is now your ETF. So, ETFs are very similar to mutual funds in that they can invest in a basket of securities. But unlike mutual funds, ETFs can be traded whenever the markets are open, just like a stock.

01:55

Faye Witherall

Okay, thank you Anna. I love that analogy. You just transported me to this lovely picnic, a field somewhere. Love that. Can you give me an example of a real-life ETF?

02:08

Anna Nerys

Definitely. So, let's say you're interested in investing in American technology companies, but you're not sure which one is going to perform the best. Instead of just choosing one or maybe two technology companies to invest in, you can choose a technology themed ETF, which would give you exposure to a pretty wide collection of technology stocks.

So as an example, think about the iShares U.S. technology ETF that's ticker symbol IYW this ETF is comprised of over 130 different U.S. technology stocks across different areas in tech. So again, instead of having to choose one or two companies to invest in and hope that you picked wisely and that they perform well, you can choose an ETF that gives you exposure to hundreds of companies.

02:53

Faye Witherall

I love that. That makes a lot of sense. And it just sounds like ETFs provide investors with this broader exposure. Does this mean that they're less risky?

03:01

Anna Nerys

Well, there's always risk with any investment, including ETFs. But I think one of the great benefits of ETFs is that they're able to achieve a different risk profile through diversification. Since equity ETFs typically hold hundreds, sometimes even thousands of individual stocks, you get exposure to many markets in just one product and in just one trade. And this kind of helps reduce the risk of large losses from an individual security or company. All right.

Here, let me try another analogy. Okay. You can think of an ETF like a sports team. This is maybe a bad analogy for me to pick since I don't really watch a lot of sports. But, you know, let's say if one player or one stock, if you will, on the team doesn't perform well, there are other players and stocks that can perform well and contribute to the overall ETF success and growth.

03:51

Faye Witherall

Okay. So, if that one stock isn't playing well, you know, we can put them on the bench and the other stocks will kind of carry.

03:58

Anna Nerys

Very well said.

03:59

Faye Witherall

Perfect. Okay. So, we've got that. We've got the broader exposure. We've discussed this or any other benefit. But you think, you know, you want to highlight about ETFs?

04:09

Anna Nerys

Certainly, ETFs are also hugely cost effective and convenient, which makes them accessible and effective for investors of all levels of experience and income. For instance, let's stick with the iShares U.S. Technology ETF, for example, if you wanted to invest in U.S. technology companies, you could choose between purchasing individual stocks or purchasing the technology ETF. And buying individual stocks would require identifying specific companies that are likely to grow and buying their stock, which can sometimes be like hundreds of dollars for a single share. On the other hand, purchasing the technology ETF gives you exposure to hundreds of different tech companies with a single share. You can think of it like.

All right, here we go. Another analogy. Think of it like ordering an appetizer sampler at a restaurant instead of choosing one appetizer and hoping you like it. You get the sampler, and you get a full variety of appetizers, increasing the likelihood of having something you like. You know why? Why settle for buffalo wings when you can have shrimp cocktail and cheeseburger sliders? And now I'm hungry.

05:21

Faye Witherall

You know, And I'm starting to think you were a creative writing major. Maybe in college.

05:26

Anna Nerys

I actually was a minor. Yeah, how did you know Faye?

05:29

Faye Witherall

It was lucky, guess, But the analogies were kind of giving you away.

05:32

Anna Nerys

Yeah, my parents weren't super excited about my interest in poetry, so I majored in economics to kind of balance things out. All about balance. Yeah.

05:40

Faye Witherall

Barbelling it. Well, you're weaving it in now. See, you can see that most of your parents see that coming to work.

05:46

Anna Nerys

There we go. Take that, mom and dad.

05:47

Faye Witherall

Before we wrap up, Anna can you please walk us through how to buy an ETF?

05:52

Anna Nerys

Happy to. I think the simplest avenue would be to first open up a brokerage account. Think about your budget. Think about your risk tolerance, your investment goals. And the good thing is, most brokerage accounts today typically come with very low minimums to open. And frequently ETFs fall under this NTF or no trade fee sort of protocol. So, it's easy to get started with whether it's a U.S. technology ETF or a different type of exposure once you open a brokerage account.

06:24

Faye Witherall

Amazing. Thank you. So, we open that brokerage account and then we get a wicker basket full of appetizer samplers.

06:30

Anna Nerys

Exactly. And you're off to the picnic.

06:32

Faye Witherall

Okay, I'll quickly recap and a please jump in. Tell me if I'm missing anything. But the first is that ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund. It differs from a stock because an ETF is a basket of multiple stocks rather than just one security.

An example of a real ETF is the iShares U.S. Technology ETF, which gives investors exposure to over 130 different technology companies. ETFs can reduce the risk of owning individual stocks because they provide diversification benefits.

And finally, ETF also provides investors with a cost effective and convenient alternative than purchasing, you know, tons of individual stocks. Does that sound about right?

07:18

Anna Nerys

That's dead on.

07:19

Faye Witherall

There it is. Well, thank you, everyone, for listening. And thank you so much Anna for joining me today. Our next episode will be focused on how ETFs can empower the investor to choose what they want to invest in.

Thanks, everyone, for listening. Please check out our other episodes and if you know someone who might enjoy or benefit from this series, please share it with them. You can always explore ishares.com for additional insights and education about our entire suite of ETFs. And if you haven’t already, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to our social channels for exclusive, timely, and digestible insights. I'm Faye Witherall and please remember that investing is a journey. The more informed you are, the better decisions you make.

Spoken Disclosure:

Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Written Disclosure:

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Diversification and asset allocation may not protect against market risk or loss of principal. Transactions in shares of ETFs may result in brokerage commissions and may generate tax consequences. All regulated investment companies are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to shareholders. 

Funds that concentrate investments in specific industries, sectors, markets or asset classes may underperform or be more volatile than other industries, sectors, markets or asset classes and the general securities market. Technology companies may be subject to severe competition and product obsolescence.

This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation within the meaning of federal, state or local law.  You are solely responsible for evaluating and acting upon the education and information contained in this material. BlackRock will not be liable for direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information obtained from these materials or from any other source mentioned. BlackRock does not render any legal, tax or accounting advice and the education and information contained in this material should not be construed as such.  Please consult with a qualified professional for these types of advice.

This material contains general information only and does not take into account an individual's financial circumstances. This information should not be relied upon as a primary basis for an investment decision. Rather, an assessment should be made as to whether the information is appropriate in individual circumstances and consideration should be given to talking to a financial professional before making an investment decision.

Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA, together with its affiliates BlackRock.

© 2024 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.

00:00

Faye Witherall

Welcome to episode three of iShares Investor Insights. In episode one, We talked about the basics of investing and in episode two we explored the power of the ETF as an investment vehicle. Now we're going to discuss how ETFs can give investors the power of choice. Hi, I'm Faye Weatherall and my guest for this episode is Priya Panse, a CFA an investment strategist on the US iShares Factors and Sustainable teams... say that three times fast.

00:30

Priya Panse

Hi Faye Thanks to be back.

00:32

Faye Witherall

Okay. In episode one you walked us through an amazing 101 on investing. Now let's go a little bit deeper into the world of ETFs. What does the power of choice mean to you and to investing?

00:45

Priya Panse

Yes, and you know, once again, it's so great to be back here. And here's what the power of choice means to me. And really everyone at iShares. We believe investor choice is a bedrock principle of free and open capital markets. And we do believe that ETFs are a great vehicle to help advance the financial freedoms of millions of people.

And that's because ETFs enable individuals to invest in ways that were once exclusively only for professionals. And it can be done in a low cost, tax efficient way. The iShares brand itself has committed itself to making investing more accessible and more affordable for everyone. And that really underscores why we offer choice and the most amount of choice in the industry.¹

iShares does have the broadest platform of choice for anyone out there, really. It's similar to going to an ice cream shop. Faye I wonder, what's your favorite?

1:42

Faye Witherall

Ice cream?

1:43

Priya Panse

Yeah, What's your favorite ice cream?

1:44

Faye Witherall

It's been pretty cold in here in San Francisco and so I haven't been eating a ton of ice cream, but I love, like, a mint chocolate chip.

1:51

Priya Panse

That. That sounds amazing. And definitely it is cold out here, but this is. This is what iShares does. It goes beyond the vanilla, the chocolates of the world to innovate and produce flavors that investors really want.

Maybe tomorrow you want mint chocolate chip and a little bit of raspberry on it. So there are over 1,400 iShares ETFs globally in the industry.²

And this includes, for example, our low-cost core ETFs. They're designed to be the core building blocks of a long-term portfolio. Second, fixed income ETFs, which investors can use to effectively access different parts of the bond markets that were previously pretty hard to reach.

Thirdly, active and factor ETFs. These have had the potential to deliver what Wall Street calls as alpha, which is essentially the excess return of a fund relative to its benchmark.

And last but not least, and obviously a hot favorite here at iShares Precision ETFs, which enable investors to access opportunities across various countries, sectors, commodities and, as of earlier this year, digital assets as well.

3:02

Faye Witherall

That's amazing. Okay. I knew this episode would be about the power of choice, but that's a lot of choice.

3:08

Priya Panse

I agree. And you know, the reality is that despite having a lot of choice in reality, portfolio building has some science to it, and that can be easily understood. The first principle is the idea that the largest allocation of your portfolio, what we like to call the core, is in a broad asset class like the U.S. stock markets and the U.S. bond markets.

Index funds can be a great way to get cost efficient exposure to broad markets. An example is the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) which can be a great way for a portfolio because it gives you access to a broad swath of the market. In the case of IVV the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies. So that's the first principle in terms of what to hold.

Index funds could give you a cost-efficient exposure to drivers of return in the long run. Now the second principle of constructing your portfolio is asset allocation.

4:06

Faye Witherall

Okay. Priya, I'm going to pause right there just for one second. You mentioned this term asset allocation, and this is short for how portfolios are spread across stocks, bonds and some of those other assets that you mentioned.

4:18

Priya Panse

That's absolutely right.

4:19

Faye Witherall

Commodities, real estate. Perfect.

4:20

Priya Panse

Totally.

4:21

Faye Witherall

Okay. But choosing how much to put into each of those buckets, you know, that's kind of an exercise in and of itself, right?

4:28

Priya Panse

Yes. Yes. Your listeners may have heard the term 60/40, which is the broad guideline of how to construct portfolios. 60/40 refers to a portfolio made up of 60% stocks and 40% bonds. Now, the exact percentages may vary based on the investors age and their risk tolerance, but you can think about it this way 60-40 is shorthand for don't put all your eggs in one basket.

And the main reason you don't want to be 100% in stocks is that stocks can be volatile. And historically we have observed that typically when stock markets have gone up, bond markets have been down and vice versa, that when stock markets have been down, bond markets have been up. That's the goal of diversification. And if you want to think about it, in the world of investing years, 1 to 2 years in the investment world is actually considered a short period of time.

And in such a short duration, you want to ensure that the portfolio is benefiting from something that is working. True generational wealth, if we think about it, is truly built in the long run, and that's where the principle of just time in the market becomes so crucial. The longer you stay invested, the more you are going to benefit from the eighth wonder of the world, which is compounding interest. 

And now that's a whole separate mathematical topic Faye. One day maybe we can have a drawing board and we can draw it out. But the key point here is to stay invested in the long run through a diversified portfolio.

6:02

Faye Witherall

Okay, I love that. So, you know, you mentioned you don't want to put all your eggs in the basket. And if bonds can help diversify your portfolio, you know, potentially, you know, maybe offset some of those losses in stocks, is that the main or the only reason why I would want to buy bonds?

6:19

Priya Panse

Absolutely not. And good point. That was more like a, you know, one of those late-night TV commercials. But wait, there's more.

6:27

Faye Witherall

There's‚ more! It's not just that people!

6:28

Priya Panse

It's not just that. So now past performance doesn't necessarily guarantee future performance, but bonds have historically played three unique roles like we discussed. They have one provided ways for investors to diversify. Two they can be used to seek income. And three, they can preserve capital. Let's talk about the income generation point. Bonds in general are designed to pay out a fixed amount of money at a regular interval.

So from the perspective of retirees, bonds could provide a great source of regular income. And finally, in terms of capital preservation, when bonds are held right up to maturity, bondholders do get back the entire original investment. And in contrast, if we think about the stock market, there is no set maturity to stocks. They either perform well or they don't, which is why bonds are used to diversify some of that risk, especially the closer you get to retiring, your capacity for losing money goes down significantly since you're no longer earning.

7:30

Faye Witherall

Okay, I love this. I feel like I've been taking notes myself. Thank you so much, Priya. So we have some guiding principles that you've laid out for us, right? The first is to consider these low-cost index funds at the core of your portfolio. And then the second is to make sure you have that mix of stocks and bonds to diversify your portfolio, make sure your eggs aren't all in one basket.

Why do I have a feeling like you're about to hit me with a wait…there's more again.

7:56

Priya Panse

There actually is more. But here's. Here's the voice of investment strategists across the industry as well. For investors who are optimizing for the lowest amount of fees, that could be enough. And studies have shown that roughly 80% of your investment experience is actually derived from your asset allocation.³  Now back to your question.

There are characteristics of an investment that have been observed over time that have tended to drive higher levels of performance.

8:34

Faye Witherall

Okay I'm not going to cut you off, but I do want to stop you right there. What are these characteristics?

8:39

Priya Panse

Yes, these are factors. Factors are sometimes known as smart beta. They can be used to seek out performance or manage risk in portfolios. BlackRock believes that there are five factors value, quality, momentum, size and minimum volatility.⁴ These have stood the test of time and historically have driven risk and return across markets and across asset classes, and they have a strong economic rationale.

9:07

Faye Witherall

Okay, Thank you so much. I love this explanation. Quality. I want to stick with that just because it's been the theme that my team has talked about for quite some time right now. Can you maybe define this the listeners? What is quality and how could someone get exposure to it?

9:21

Priya Panse

Yes, absolutely. Quality refers to a company which is profitable without too much debt and is growing in a rather stable way. Think about blue chip investing. Investing in higher quality stocks has historically led to outperformance relative to broader U.S. markets⁵, and that's because these high-quality stocks tend to generate higher profitability relative to their peers. They own less debt, which is actually very valuable, especially when interest rates are high like today.

And importantly, their earnings are growing in a stable way. The iShares MSCI Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) is a great way to gain diversified exposure to high quality companies in the U.S. stock market. Factors in general have been used in portfolios for decades, but the reality is that the advancement of ETFs in the space has revolutionized how investors gain access to these strategies by capturing the power of factors in a transparent and cost-effective way.

Before, most investors needed an active manager to help you really select those companies with these characteristics. But today, with the presence of factor ETFs, you can gain exposure to these historical performance drivers in a cost effective and tax efficient way.

10:37

Faye Witherall

I love this. I think it's so timely. It sounds like there are solutions for different maybe macro environments. And like you said, quality seems to be one that makes a lot of sense in this high interest rate environment that we're in right now. So I really appreciate that background. You know, we've covered a lot of ground here, but before we wrap up, you know, Priya I know that you used to be a strategist for BlackRock Fundamental Active Equities Group.

You know, maybe you can shed some insight on the role of active ETFs in an investment portfolio.

11:07

Priya Panse

It's really awesome when your career comes full circle. In the past, as a fundamental active strategist, we were essentially looking at stock picking strategies within the mutual fund wrapper. And today the industry has gone into a territory where active ETFs are able to do the same thing. Active ETFs seek to outperform a specific index, what we call alpha, or achieve a specific outcome such as maximizing income.

Both active and index ETFs are professionally managed, but active ETFs typically require more monitoring and more trading by the managers, and that typically results in higher fees.

11:47

Faye Witherall

Okay, this makes a lot of sense. Can you give us a couple examples?

11:49

Priya Panse

Yeah, we touched on factor investing earlier, so I'll give you an example from that wheelhouse. The BlackRock U.S. Factor Rotation Strategy (DYNF) is a strategy that seeks outperformance by dynamically tilting in and out of near-term characteristics of return.

In bond markets you also may want to seek an expert to help you seek income from harder to reach parts of the market.

That is where BlackRock Flexible Income ETF, (BINC) can help. It is managed by an experienced team led by Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income. These strategies tend to be more expensive as you are paying for the skill, but can certainly play a role in a portfolio. And these exposures in an ETF are likely to be more tax efficient than traditional mutual funds.

12:40

Faye Witherall

Thanks so much, Priya. This is really interesting. And, you know, just from our desk too, anecdotally, we've been talking quite a bit more about active ETFs. We've seen higher adoption from investors so this is really timely and interesting. Thank you. So thank you Priya for joining me and thank you everybody for listening.

Please check out our other episodes and if you know someone who might enjoy or benefit from this series, please share it with them. 

You can always explore iShares.com for additional insights and education about our entire suite of ETFs. And if you haven't already, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to our social channels for exclusive, timely, and digestible insights.  

I'm Faye Witherall and please remember that investing is a journey. The more informed you are, the better decisions you make. 

13:04

Spoken Disclosure:

Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

¹Source: BlackRock Global Business Intelligence as of 11/30/23. Based on number of funds offered globally.

²Source: BlackRock Global Business Intelligence as of 11/30/23.

³Source: Determinants of Portfolio Performance, Brinson, Hood, Beebower, 1995 
Determinants of Portfolio Performance (cfainstitute.org)

⁴Source: BlackRock https://www.ishares.com/us/strategies/smart-beta-investing

⁵Sources: R. Sloan, “Do Stock Prices Fully Reflect Information in Accruals and Cash Flows About Future Earnings.” Accounting Review, 1996; Novy - Marx, Robert, “The Other Side of Value: The Gross Profitability Premium”, Journal of Financial Economics, 108(1) , 1 - 28, 2013.

Written Disclosure:

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

There can be no assurance that performance will be enhanced or risk will be reduced for funds that seek to provide exposure to certain quantitative investment characteristics ('factors'). Exposure to such investment factors may detract from performance in some market environments, perhaps for extended periods. In such circumstances, a fund may seek to maintain exposure to the targeted investment factors and not adjust to target different factors, which could result in losses. Actively managed funds do not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Actively managed funds may have higher portfolio turnover than index funds.

Diversification and asset allocation may not protect against market risk or loss of principal. Transactions in shares of ETFs may result in brokerage commissions and may generate tax consequences. All regulated investment companies are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to shareholders.

This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation within the meaning of federal, state or local law. You are solely responsible for evaluating and acting upon the education and information contained in this material. BlackRock will not be liable for direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information obtained from these materials or from any other source mentioned. BlackRock does not render any legal, tax or accounting advice and the education and information contained in this material should not be construed as such. Please consult with a qualified professional for these types of advice.

This material contains general information only and does not take into account an individual's financial circumstances. This information should not be relied upon as a primary basis for an investment decision. Rather, an assessment should be made as to whether the information is appropriate in individual circumstances and consideration should be given to talking to a financial professional before making an investment decision.

Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA, together with its affiliates BlackRock.

© 2024 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.

00:00

Faye Witherall

Hi everyone. Welcome to episode four of iShares Investor Insights. I'm your host, Faye Witherall, and I'm pleased to welcome Gargi Chaudhuri, head of investment strategy and markets coverage here at iShares. Gargi is a regular guest on news outlets like Bloomberg Surveillance and Yahoo! Finance and she happens to be my boss, so wish me luck. Gargi, welcome.

00:21

Gargi Chaudhuri

Faye, it's so wonderful to be here. Thank you for doing this and thank you for having me.

00:25

Faye Witherall

So excited to have you, Gargi. So, so far in the series, we've covered the basics of investing, the power of ETFs, iShares' commitment to empower investor choice. And for this episode, Gargi, we're hoping that you can share some thoughts about how people can actually implement the ideas and the concepts that we've discussed. In honor of Women's History Month, let's frame this discussion around the outlook for women investors.

00:49

Faye Witherall

If that works for you.

00:50

Gargi Chaudhuri

Yeah, that would be great.

00:52

Faye Witherall

Perfect. Okay, let's start with the wealth gap. Women make about $0.82 on the dollar when compared to men.¹ Let's set aside the moral implications of that. But what does this mean for investing? You know, is that really even going to make a big difference over the course of my, you know, hopefully long career?

01:09

Gargi Chaudhuri

Yeah, great start and a really good point in terms of understanding the consequences of pay gap. So, as you pointed out, it's about $0.82 on the dollar. And while, you know, we can get into a further another debate around what that means, I think the more important implication, from a financial standpoint, is what it can mean for women in terms of the harm it can do to their investing career, to their financial careers, and not just for them, but their dependents.

And in addition to the pay gap which you referred to, I think there's a few other things that we also have to take into consideration that impact women particularly. So women tend to live longer than men, which of course is a good thing. But you would need to have your money with you and you need to have your money work for you for a longer period of time.

We also need to consider that many women tend to take some time away from markets to look after loved ones, and that's also when they don't get to participate either in their firm's 401ks or they don't get to participate in compensation growth. And again, that is something that impacts their financial well-being and financial wellness as well.

And I think the other thing and hopefully we spend a lot more time talking about this is thinking about compound interest, right? So, the more you earn, the more you save and the more you invest, and I want to sort of underline that, if I could, the better you do.

02:44

Faye Witherall

Thanks, Gargi, I don't want to put you on the spot with any math, but I do have some numbers in front of me that kind of illustrates that point you were talking about. You know, we can look at a saver versus an investor, and if you're just putting away $5,000 a year, that saver at the end of 40 years will have $200,000.

And, you know, that's a heck of a lot better than not saving. But any interest earned on that saving is unlikely to keep up with inflation. And the investor, on the other hand, that is the exact same thing about investing that $5,000 over the course of 40 years will actually have around $868,000 at the end of that period.²

So you can really see that monumental kind of gap there.

03:27

Gargi Chaudhuri

Absolutely. And that $868,000 that you laid out is just assuming, you know, what has happened historically. And markets are very in a, you know, a 7% annual return, which has very much been in line with historical averages, which doesn't take into effect other things that can happen, you know, GDP, things like that, you know, make your investment returns do a certain way and the other.

I'd also say that one of the things that we have to remember as we think about why it's so important for everyone to invest, but certainly those that are already sort of starting off at a little bit of a disadvantage from that wealth gap standpoint, I think recognizing that one of the ways that you can own your financial future is actually with investing and starting small, starting diversified, but starting investing today, even doing it one year earlier or five years earlier makes a lot of difference versus, you know, putting it off for a for a future period.

04:30

Faye Witherall

I want to jump in there. I had recently caught you on an episode of The Bid, which is BlackRock's podcast as well. You were with Anne Ackerley the head of our retirement group. I think something that you highlighted that was really interesting was that women tend to be more conservative than men in their investments.³

04:47

Gargi Chaudhuri

Yeah, so we've done a lot of work around this and sort of looked at a lot of surveys that have gone out that look at, you know, how men and women tend to invest differently. And again, there is some good news here, right. And we'll start with the good news first, which is that more and more younger women, and I'd love to pick your brain on that.

More and more younger women are investing today compared to a few years ago, and they are opening up more accounts and investing outside of retirement, which is fantastic.⁴

I mean, I tend to look at intersectional data as well, given that I am a woman of color. And we again find some of the studies that showed that women, Black women, Hispanic and Latina women are more knowledgeable today than they were five years ago around their investing knowledge, which again is something to celebrate.⁵

However, there was this Fidelity study that was done that showed only about a third of the women see themselves as investors.⁶ Women tend to have more that they pile up in cash. And, you know, women, I think, you know, tend to hold themselves back for a variety of different reasons that we can get into. But being more conservative, holding more cash, not having the same sort of portfolio that you could otherwise have in a diversified manner over a period of time has a drag on your portfolios.

So if you even hold, you know, five or 10% cash versus being fully invested over the course of 10, 15, 20 years, that adds up meaningfully and you've lost out on all those returns from a diversified portfolio.⁷

06:32

Faye Witherall

You know, it's really interesting you bring this up, Gargi because I just came back from a weekend trip with my college roommates and of the five of us, where I'm the only one who invests outside of my 401k.

06:42

Gargi Chaudhuri

We are very proud of you. Yay!

06:46

Faye Witherall

But yeah, everyone else is saying they, you know, keep the rest of their money in a savings account just in cash.

That anecdotal information is great, and that's not too far away from what we see in some of the data as well, that, you know, women tend to shy away from investing.⁸ And yes, the numbers are increasing. So you are the representation of the number that is increasing. But I think, you know, when I think about the reasons that might be holding some of your friends back and hopefully after this conversation with you, they're all going to go and invest and do really well over the next 10, 20, 30 years.

But when I think about some of the reasons that may hold back women from investing, I think, you know, part of it can be the lack of representation. You don't see people that look like you that are investing, whether that's, you know, when you're watching TV and who's reading financial news or when you are looking at who manages money.

You know, I looked at the number for the Certified Financial Planner board, which is obviously the financial advisors of the about 100,000 in total, only about 24% are women.⁹ So there is that lack of representation, lack of women money managers. We've looked at some data around models and, you know, we've tended to find that the number of women that are portfolio managers is stuck between that 12% to 20% range.¹⁰

So I think there's a variety of reasons, which is why us having this conversation, us spreading awareness. You having that conversation on your trip with friends is so important. Spreading the news that when you're not investing, you are not taking control of your financial future. It's the one way in which we can, you know, it's a feminist thing to do for everyone.

And when we're leaving money on the sidelines, when we're leaving money in cash, we're really missing out. And it is for everyone. Historically, we might not have felt as represented, but today we recognize that investing is for everyone. And there's very easy ways to do that. And you don't need a lot of money to start on your investing journey.

08:49

Faye Witherall

Okay, you got me. I'm sold. So how then do we implement this? What tips do you have for women or anyone who want to start that investing journey?

08:59

Gargi Chaudhuri

Yes, absolutely. So I think, you know, first of all, the one place that everyone thinks about is really around retirement. So let's speak about that first, because we are all thinking about what we're going to do, how many marathons are going to run when we are retired, and that needs money. So one of the ways in which we can think about that and something that we're so proud of where we've innovated is iShares Lifepath Target Date ETFs, really easy way to navigate your retirement planning.

You know, you sort of select a fund that's closest to your target date of retirement. When do you plan to retire, and you choose that fund and the LifePath investment team will change the mix of stocks and bonds to reduce your exposure as that date slowly comes closer. So it's automated so you don't have to worry about getting in there and having to readjust or spend the time or wonder what you need to do.

You don't have to worry about that yourself. So that's one that immediately comes to mind, especially for those that are thinking about retirement, which is hopefully everyone.

But also away from retirement. When we think about other options, you know, we have the iShares core allocation funds. These are low-cost ETFs and it's a one stop solution, it's a really simple way to get you that diversification that we talked about earlier, which is a good way to just get started or stay invested.

So, the one that we can talk about is the core growth allocation ETF. The AOR ticker holds about 6,000 stocks and 14,000 bonds. And if you have a growth mindset, so let's say, you know, retirement is pretty far away for you. And this is one way. It comes in variety of flavors and, you know, conservative, moderate, aggressive¹¹ -- but sort of thinking about what your risk tolerance is, AOR is a good one

where, you know, if you have that growth mindset or a little bit of tolerance for risk.

The big difference between whether you have a conservative, moderate or aggressive mindset is really around how much of the fund is invested in stocks versus bonds. So again, these are ways in which you can get started. It's easy, it's convenient. And most importantly, the myth that I want to bust is that you don't need a lot to get started.

You can do this tomorrow. Today would have been better, yesterday the best.

11:22

Faye Witherall

I love that. I think this is a really good opportunity. And you mentioned that this sort of automatically takes care of those adjustments or rebalances as you approach your retirement date. So I think that's a really awesome solution, and I will be plugging it in my college group chat.

So thank you. Gargi. You know, before we part, I wonder if you have any final tips or investment advice for women before we wrap up.

11:51

Gargi Chaudhuri

Yeah, sure. I think the one thing that we can all do is what you already did on your college friends' trip, which is encourage conversations about investing. You know, we are privileged that we work in the asset management industry, Faye for you and I, this is every day we talk about this stuff every day. But it's not for everyone or it's not everyone's cup of tea every day, but it's on us to have those transparent, open conversations about what does investing look like, why you need to do it.

The numbers that you talked about earlier around how much you lose out on over the course of four decades if you're staying in cash versus if you're investing it in a diversified portfolio. So having those conversations is something that we can all do -- transparency and honesty about things like, you know, debt, compensation growth, pay, wealth gaps. I think that's something, again, which is incumbent on all of us to do and have those conversations often and honestly.

12:55

Faye Witherall

Okay, Thank you, Gargi. This has been a really fun conversation. I really appreciate you joining us.

00;13;01;10 - 00;13;02;28

12:56

Gargi Chaudhuri

Thank you for having me Faye.

13:05

Faye Witherall

Thanks, everyone, for listening. Please check out our other episodes and if you know someone who might enjoy or benefit from this series, please share it with them. You can always explore ishares.com for additional insights and education about our entire suite of ETFs. And if you haven't already, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to our social channels for exclusive, timely, and digestible insights. I'm Faye Witherall and please remember that investing is a journey. The more informed you are, the better decisions you make.

¹ Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bloomberg. Wages as represented by US Average Weekly Earnings All Employees Total Private SA US Average Weekly Wages All Employees Total Private SA. As of February 24, 2024.

² Source: BlackRock. Hypothetical example assuming a 7% return over 40 years, with an annual contribution of $5,000 per year. 7% is the weighted average annual return of a hypothetical portfolio composed of 60% weight to the S&P 500 Index and a 40% weight to the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index for the 20-year time period ending 9/30/2023. 

³ Source: Fidelity Investments, '2021 Women and Investing Study.' As of December 31, 2021.

⁴ Source: Fidelity Investments, '2021 Women and Investing Study.' As of December 31, 2021.

⁵ Source: JP Morgan as of September 2023: Black, Hispanic and Latina Women Report Increased Confidence in Investing Knowledge and Build Generational Wealth, Finds New J.P. Morgan Wealth Management Study (jpmorganchase.com)

⁶ Source: Fidelity Investments, '2021 Women and Investing Study.' As of December 31, 2021.

⁷ Source: Bloomberg, BlackRock. Cash as represented by Bloomberg US Treasury Bill 1-3M, returns as represented by SPX Total Return Index. On average over past 10, 15, 20-year timeframe (from December 2023), SPX Index outperformed Bloomberg US Treasury Bill 1-3M on both a total return and price return basis.

⁸ Source: Wells Fargo Investment Institute, 'Women and Investing,' as of November 30, 2023.

⁹ Source: CFA Institute Research Foundation.

¹⁰ BlackRock, Morningstar. Dataset as represented by 1665 moderate models (as classified by Morningstar) that tracked against a benchmark in 2023, and 1286 moderate models that tracked against a benchmark over the past 3 years. Number of women that are PMs as represented by teams that include at least one female on portfolio management team. As of Dec. 31, 2023

¹¹ Source: Asset Allocation Solutions (ishares.com)

Spoken Disclosure:

Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Written Disclosure:

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Actively managed funds do not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Actively managed funds may have higher portfolio turnover than index funds. Each target date fund has a number (a target date) at the end of the name that designates an approximate year when an investor plans to start withdrawing their money. The asset allocation of the fund will become progressively more conservative as the specified target date approaches. An investment in the fund is not guaranteed, and an investor may experience losses, including near, at, or after the target date. Investment in a fund of funds is subject to the risks and expenses of the underlying funds.

Diversification and asset allocation may not protect against market risk or loss of principal. Transactions in shares of ETFs may result in brokerage commissions and may generate tax consequences. All regulated investment companies are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to shareholders.

This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation within the meaning of federal, state or local law. You are solely responsible for evaluating and acting upon the education and information contained in this material. BlackRock will not be liable for direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information obtained from these materials or from any other source mentioned. BlackRock does not render any legal, tax or accounting advice and the education and information contained in this material should not be construed as such. Please consult with a qualified professional for these types of advice.

This material contains general information only and does not take into account an individual's financial circumstances. This information should not be relied upon as a primary basis for an investment decision. Rather, an assessment should be made as to whether the information is appropriate in individual circumstances and consideration should be given to talking to a financial professional before making an investment decision.

Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA, together with its affiliates BlackRock.

© 2024 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.

00:00

Faye Witherall

Welcome back to iShares Investing Insights. I'm Faye Witherall and I hope you've enjoyed our series as much as I've enjoyed hosting it. Now, we've covered a lot of ground in our first four episodes, so I'm here solo today to recap. The first takeaway is that investing is a journey. You decide the destination. Is it retiring, buying a home, maybe getting a degree?

It's never too soon or too late to start. The most important thing is to get invested and stay invested. Time in the market, not timing the market is the main takeaway here. Staying focused on the long term may be the single most important thing you can do as an investor. Focusing on the future helps you stomach any short-term fluctuations in the market.

It's your money, so it pays literally to educate yourself. Check out podcasts, scroll through financial advice, social posts, find a news outlet that resonates with you and make it your new habit. Gargi Chaudhuri, a senior investment strategist here, once told me to take financial information in bite-sized pieces. Just spend 5 minutes on it every day just to get started. You know, I'll take a sec to back up here.

You can't invest what you haven't saved. But investing it also doesn't need to be expensive. ETFs are designed to make it easier to get invested and stay invested. First, ETFs are low cost. You can invest more of your hard-earned money.

Second, they're tax efficient. You can keep more of what you earn.

And finally, third, they're transparent. You can see what you own, and you can buy and sell ETF whenever markets are open for a known price.

Finally, and I do want to emphasize this here, your retirement plan needs to get you through retirement, not just to it. And this is especially important because retirement can last decades.

Thanks, everyone, for listening. Please check out our other episodes and if you know someone who might enjoy or benefit from this series, please share it with them. You can always explore ishares.com for additional insights and education about our entire suite of ETFs. And if you haven’t already, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to our social channels for exclusive, timely, and digestible insights. I'm Faye Witherall and please remember that investing is a journey. The more informed you are, the better decisions you make.

Spoken Disclosure:

Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Written Disclosure:

Carefully consider the Funds' investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectuses or, if available, the summary prospectuses which may be obtained by visiting www.iShares.com or www.blackrock.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

Diversification and asset allocation may not protect against market risk or loss of principal. Transactions in shares of ETFs may result in brokerage commissions and may generate tax consequences. All regulated investment companies are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to shareholders.

This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation within the meaning of federal, state or local law.  You are solely responsible for evaluating and acting upon the education and information contained in this material. BlackRock will not be liable for direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information obtained from these materials or from any other source mentioned. BlackRock does not render any legal, tax or accounting advice and the education and information contained in this material should not be construed as such.  Please consult with a qualified professional for these types of advice.

This material contains general information only and does not take into account an individual's financial circumstances. This information should not be relied upon as a primary basis for an investment decision. Rather, an assessment should be made as to whether the information is appropriate in individual circumstances and consideration should be given to talking to a financial professional before making an investment decision.

Prepared by BlackRock Investments, LLC, member FINRA, together with its affiliates BlackRock.

© 2024 BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. BLACKROCK and iSHARES are trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.