497K 1 d611742d497k.htm FORM 497K Form 497K
November 29, 2018
2018 Summary Prospectus
►  iShares MSCI China A ETF | CNYA | CBOE BZX
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus (including amendments and supplements) and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s statement of additional information and shareholder report, online at https://www.ishares.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or by sending an e-mail request to iSharesETFs@blackrock.com, or from your financial professional. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated November 29, 2018, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“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.

 


iSHARES® MSCI CHINA A ETF
Ticker: CNYA Stock Exchange: Cboe BZX
Investment Objective
The iShares MSCI China A ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of domestic Chinese equities that trade on the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Fees and Expenses
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you own shares of the Fund. 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 the management fees, interest expenses, taxes, expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, distribution fees or expenses, litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses.
You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions and other charges when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the Example that follows:
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)
Management
Fees
  Distribution and
Service (12b-1)
Fees
  Other
Expenses
  Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
0.65%   None   None   0.65%
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. 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   5 Years   10 Years
$66   $208   $362   $810
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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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 154% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI China A Inclusion Index (the “Underlying Index”), which is designed to measure the equity market performance in the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”), as represented by “A-shares” (as defined below) that are accessible through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program (“Shanghai Connect”) or the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect program (“Shenzhen Connect,” and together with Shanghai Connect, “Stock Connect”). “A-shares” are equity securities of companies based in China that trade on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (“SSE”) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (“SZSE”).
The Underlying Index is designed to track the inclusion of A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index over time and is constructed by MSCI, Inc. (the “Index Provider” or “MSCI”) by applying eligibility criteria for the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes (“GIMI”), and then excluding mid- and small-capitalization A-shares (as determined by MSCI), A-shares suspended for
trading for more than 50 days in the past 12 months and A-shares that are not accessible through Stock Connect. The Underlying Index is weighted by each issuer’s free float-adjusted market capitalization available to foreign investors and includes only large-capitalization companies, as determined by MSCI. As of July 31, 2018, a significant portion of the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the financials industry or sector. The components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time.
The Fund intends to invest in A-shares included in the Underlying Index primarily through Stock Connect. Stock Connect is a securities trading and clearing program with an aim to achieve mutual stock market access between the PRC and Hong Kong. Stock Connect was developed by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, the SSE (in the case of Shanghai Connect) or the SZSE (in the case of Shenzhen Connect), and China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited (“CSDCC”). Under Stock Connect, the Fund’s trading of eligible A-shares listed on the SSE or the SZSE, as applicable, would be effectuated through its Hong Kong brokers. Trading through Stock Connect is subject to a daily quota (the “Daily Quota”), which limits the maximum net purchases under Stock Connect each day, and as such, buy orders for A-shares would be rejected once the Daily Quota is exceeded (although the Fund will be permitted to sell A-shares regardless of the Daily Quota balance). The Daily Quota is not specific to the Fund. From time to time, other stock exchanges in China may participate in Stock Connect, and A-shares listed and traded on such
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other stock exchanges and accessible through Stock Connect may be added to the Underlying Index, as determined by MSCI.
Foreign investment in A-shares is also permitted through regulations in the PRC known as the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“RQFII”) system. Under certain circumstances, including when the Fund’s ability to invest in A-shares through Stock Connect is restricted as a result of the Daily Quota or otherwise, the Fund may invest directly in A-shares under the RQFII system.
While the Fund seeks to invest in A-shares, the Fund occasionally may invest in other assets consistent with its investment strategies if it is not possible to acquire A-shares. Prior to the selection of the Underlying Index on April 26, 2018, the Fund tracked the MSCI China A International Index.
BFA uses a “passive” or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, 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 keeping 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 that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The securities selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of an applicable underlying index. The Fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the Underlying Index.
The Fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of the Underlying Index (i.e., depositary receipts representing securities of the Underlying Index) and may invest up to 10% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates, as well as in securities not included in the Underlying Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index before fees and expenses of the Fund.
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 sponsored by MSCI, which is independent of the Fund and BFA. The Index Provider determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index
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and publishes information regarding the market value of the Underlying Index.
Industry Concentration Policy. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Underlying Index is concentrated. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
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.
A-Share Market Suspension Risk. The A-shares market can have a higher propensity for trading suspensions than many other global equity markets. Trading suspensions in certain stocks could lead to greater market execution risk, valuation risks, liquidity risks and costs for the Fund, and the creation and redemption of Creation Units (as defined below) may also be disrupted.
Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Underlying Index or in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.
Assets Under Management (AUM) Risk. From time to time, an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of this prospectus (the “Prospectus”)), a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, or a fund may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a specific period of time in order to facilitate commencement of the Fund’s operations or 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. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined in the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares section of the Prospectus), Fund shares may be 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 exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), such as the Fund, that invest in securities issued by non-U.S. issuers or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund expects to effect all of its creations and
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redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. As a result, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in-kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at wider bid-ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
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 of a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class.
Currency Risk. The Fund’s assets will be invested primarily in domestic Chinese equities and the income received by the Fund will be primarily in renminbi (“RMB”). Because the Fund’s NAV is determined on the basis of the U.S. dollar, investors may lose money if the RMB depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the local currency values of the Fund’s holdings in Chinese securities increase. Furthermore, the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and RMB, as well as in connection with conversions between the two separate types of RMB, the onshore RMB (“CNY”) and the offshore RMB (“CNH”). The Fund does not intend to hedge its currency exposure.
While transactions with Authorized Participants will be in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s transactions in A-shares through Stock Connect not in connection with creation or redemption activity generally will be in CNH. To the extent the Fund transacts in A-shares under the RQFII regime, such transactions will be in CNY. CNY and CNH are traded in separate markets that operate independently, may trade at different rates and may not move in the same direction. The Underlying Index uses CNH to value its component securities, and the CNH exchange rate will be used for purposes of determining the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the Fund invests in A-shares under the RQFII regime, or income received by the Fund is in CNY, and the CNY exchange rate differs from the CNH exchange rate, the Fund’s NAV and its ability to track the Underlying Index may be adversely impacted.
In addition, there is no assurance that there will always be sufficient amounts of RMB available for the Fund to remain fully invested in Chinese equities. The Chinese government heavily regulates the domestic exchange of foreign currencies and RMB exchange rates in China, which may adversely affect the operations and financial results of the Fund’s investments in China.
Custody Risk. Less developed securities markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades, as well as the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.
Cyber Security Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund's adviser, distributor, and other service providers, the Index Provider, market makers, Authorized Participants or the
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issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the Fund’s service providers, the Index Provider, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes. The Underlying Index is comprised of common stocks, which generally subject their holders to more risks than preferred stocks and debt securities because common stockholders’ claims are subordinated to those of holders of preferred stocks and debt securities upon the bankruptcy of the issuer.
Financials Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, changes in government regulations, economic conditions, and interest rates, credit rating downgrades, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. Chinese financials sector regulation and ownership may be more intrusive than in the U.S. and other developed countries, especially with respect to the regulation of non-Chinese banks and other non-Chinese financial companies. Greater Chinese governmental involvement in the financials sector may
pose additional risks for investors. Market conditions in China may be particularly subject to change based on government policy. The extent to which the Fund may invest in a company that engages in securities-related activities or banking is limited by applicable law. The impact of changes in capital requirements and recent or future regulation of any individual financial company, or of the financials sector as a whole, cannot be predicted. In recent years, cyber-attacks and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent in this sector and have caused significant losses to companies in this sector, which may negatively impact the Fund.
Geographic Risk. A natural disaster could occur in China, which could adversely affect the economy or the business operations of companies in China, causing an adverse impact on the Fund's investments in China.
Index-Related Risk. 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 disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Underlying Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.
Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of
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individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.
Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller capitalization companies. During different market cycles, the performance of large-capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
Management Risk. As the Fund may not fully replicate the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that BFA's investment strategy may not produce the intended results.
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.
Market Timing Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that an Authorized Participant may create or redeem shares of the Fund at a net asset value that does not take into account events subsequent to the local China market close and therefore may not appropriately reflect the intrinsic value of the Fund’s assets.
Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruptions in the creation/redemption process. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS,
MAY LEAD TO THE FUND'S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV.
National Closed Market Trading Risk. To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges or in foreign markets that may be closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund’s shares trade is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of such an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security (i.e., the Fund’s quote from the closed foreign market). These deviations could result in premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Nationalization Risk. Investments in China may be subject to loss due to expropriation or nationalization of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and repatriation of capital.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may invest a large percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the Fund's performance may depend on the performance of a small number of issuers.
Non-U.S. Securities Risk. Investments in Chinese issuers are subject to the risks associated with investing in China, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The Fund may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting issuers of Chinese securities or Chinese markets. In addition, non-U.S. securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to changes in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.
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The Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and BFA seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address significant operational risks.
Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed, and BFA generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets.
Privatization Risk. China has privatized, or has begun the process of privatizing, certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.
Reliance on Trading Partners Risk. The Fund invests in a country whose economy is heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading may have an adverse impact on the Fund's investments. Through its holdings of securities of certain issuers, the Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk, European Economic Risk and U.S. Economic Risk.
Risk of Investing in China. Investments in Chinese securities subject the Fund to risks specific to China. China may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. China is an emerging market and demonstrates
significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. Over the last few decades, the Chinese government has undertaken reform of economic and market practices and has expanded the sphere of private ownership of property in China. However, Chinese markets generally continue to experience inefficiency, volatility and pricing anomalies resulting from governmental influence, a lack of publicly available information and/or political and social instability. Internal social unrest or confrontations with other neighboring countries, including military conflicts in response to such events, may also disrupt economic development in China and result in a greater risk of currency fluctuations, currency non-convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation. China has experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving China's or the region's security may cause uncertainty in Chinese markets and may adversely affect the Chinese economy and the Fund's investments. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China's rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of additional tariffs or other trade barriers, including as a result of heightened trade tensions between China and the U.S., or a downturn in any of the economies of China's key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy.
Risk of Investing in Emerging Markets. The Fund's investments in China may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in issuers located or operating in more developed markets. Emerging markets may be
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more likely to experience inflation, political turmoil and rapid changes in economic conditions than more developed markets. Emerging markets often have less uniformity in accounting and reporting requirements, less reliable securities valuations and greater risk associated with custody of securities than developed markets.
Risk of Investing through Stock Connect. Investing in A-shares through Stock Connect is subject to trading, clearance, settlement and other procedures, which could pose risks to the Fund. Trading through Stock Connect is subject to the Daily Quota, which may restrict the Fund’s ability to invest in A-shares through Stock Connect on a timely basis and could affect the Fund’s ability to effectively pursue its investment strategy. Stock Connect will only operate on days when both the Chinese and Hong Kong markets are open for trading and when banking services are available in both markets on the corresponding settlement days. Therefore, an investment in A-shares through Stock Connect may subject the Fund to the risk of price fluctuations on days when the Chinese markets are open, but Stock Connect is not trading.
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. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Tax Risk. A 10% PRC withholding tax is applicable to the payment of dividends and interest to foreign investors by PRC-listed companies. Withholding tax, as a technical matter, is legally applicable to capital gains realized by foreign investors on the disposal of A-shares under the PRC Corporate Income Tax (“CIT”); however, before the release of Caishui (“Circular”) 79 by the PRC tax authorities, the PRC tax authorities had not in practice been reported to have sought to collect such withholding tax on capital gains realized by foreign investors on the disposal of A-shares. Under Circular 79, which was released by the PRC tax authorities on November 14, 2014, capital gains realized on or after November 17, 2014 by QFIIs and RQFIIs from the disposal of A-shares, including PRC “land-rich” companies (i.e., companies that have derived more than 50% of their value from immovable property located in the PRC at any time in the three years prior to the disposal) are temporarily exempt from Chinese taxation. A second notice was issued the same day providing that the capital gain from disposal of A-shares by foreign investor enterprises through Stock Connect will be temporarily exempt from Chinese taxation. The duration of the exemption is not stated in these notices and it is subject to termination by the PRC tax authorities with or without notice. If the exemption is withdrawn or modified, there is a risk that the PRC tax authorities may seek to collect tax on capital gains realized on the Fund’s investments in A-shares or
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other Chinese investments. If the temporary exemption is withdrawn, the Fund would be subject to PRC taxation in respect of gains on A-shares and the resultant tax liability would adversely affect the Fund’s NAV.
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 because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index, pricing differences (including, as applicable, differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund's valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund's NAV), differences in transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of dividends or interest, the requirements to maintain pass-through tax treatment, portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders, changes to the Underlying Index or the costs to the Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the Underlying Index does not. INDEX ETFS THAT
TRACK INDICES WITH SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT IN EMERGING MARKETS ISSUERS MAY EXPERIENCE HIGHER TRACKING ERROR THAN OTHER INDEX ETFS THAT DO NOT TRACK SUCH INDICES.
Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund's valuation of the security or other asset and from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. In addition, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund's portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's shares. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
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Performance Information
The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Both assume that all dividends and distributions have been reinvested in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Supplemental information about the Fund’s performance is shown under the heading Total Return Information in the Supplemental Information section of the Prospectus.
Year by Year Returns1 (Year Ended December 31)

1 The Fund’s year-to-date return as of September 30, 2018 was -16.83%.
The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 7.96% in the 3rd quarter of 2017; the worst was 5.38% in the 4th quarter of 2017.
Updated performance information may be obtained by visiting our website at www.iShares.com or by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) (toll free).
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Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2017)
  One Year   Since Fund
Inception
(Inception Date: 6/13/2016)      
Return Before Taxes 29.15%   21.33%
Return After Taxes on Distributions1 29.00%   21.04%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares1 16.90%   16.55%
MSCI China A International Index (Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes)2 25.63%   18.69%
MSCI China A Inclusion Index (Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes)2 N/A   N/A

1 After-tax returns in the table above are calculated using the historical highest individual U.S. federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state or local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt investors or investors who hold shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”). Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sales of Fund shares are calculated assuming that an investor has sufficient capital gains of the same character from other investments to offset any capital losses from the sale of Fund shares. As a result, Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sales of Fund shares may exceed Fund returns before taxes and/or returns after taxes on distributions.
2 On April 26, 2018, the Fund’s Underlying Index changed from the MSCI China A International Index to the MSCI China A Inclusion Index. The inception date of the MSCI China A Inclusion Index was October 23, 2017.
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Management
Investment Adviser. BlackRock Fund Advisors.
Portfolio Managers. Rachel Aguirre, Diane Hsiung, Jennifer Hsui, Alan Mason, Greg Savage and Amy Whitelaw (the “Portfolio Managers”) are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager supervises a portfolio management team. Ms. Hsiung, Ms. Hsui, Mr. Mason and Mr. Savage have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2016. Ms. Aguirre and Ms. Whitelaw have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2018.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Individual shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and 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). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund's distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem
Creation Units in return for a specified amount of cash.
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 IRA, in which case, your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn.
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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For more information visit www.iShares.com or call 1-800-474-2737
IS-SP-CNYA-1118
Investment Company Act file No.: 811-09729