As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 28, 2016
Securities Act File No. 033-97598
Investment Company Act File No. 811-09102
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
| THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | x | |
| Pre-Effective Amendment No. | ¨ | |
| Post-Effective Amendment No. 462 | x |
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
| THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | x | |
| Amendment No. 464 | x | |
| (Check appropriate box or boxes) |
iShares, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
c/o State Street Bank and Trust Company
1 Iron Street
Boston, MA 02210
(Address of Principal Executive Office)(Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code (415) 670-2000
The Corporation Trust Incorporated
351 West Camden Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
With Copies to:
| MARGERY K. NEALE, ESQ. WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER LLP 787 SEVENTH AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10019-6099 |
DEEPA DAMRE, ESQ. BLACKROCK FUND ADVISORS 400 HOWARD STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective:
| x | immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) |
| ¨ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b) |
| ¨ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
| ¨ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) |
| ¨ | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) |
| ¨ | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485. |
If appropriate, check the following box:
| ¨ | This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment. |
This filing relates solely to the following Fund, a series of iShares, Inc.:
iShares MSCI EM ESG Select ETF
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all the requirements for the effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 462 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of San Francisco and the State of California on the 28th day of June, 2016.
| iSHARES, INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Manish Mehta* | ||
| President | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 462 to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.
| By: |
| |
| Mark Wiedman* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
|
| ||
| John E. Martinez* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
|
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| Cecilia H. Herbert* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
|
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| Charles A. Hurty* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
|
| ||
| John E. Kerrigan* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
|
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| Robert S. Kapito* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
|
| ||
| Madhav V. Rajan* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
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|
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| Jane D. Carlin* | ||
| Director | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
| /s/ Jack Gee | ||
| Jack Gee** | ||
| Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
| *By: | /s/ Jack Gee | |
| Jack Gee | ||
| Attorney-in-fact | ||
| Date: June 28, 2016 | ||
| * | Powers of Attorney, each dated March 25, 2015, for Manish Mehta, Jane D. Carlin, Mark Wiedman, Charles A. Hurty, Cecilia H. Herbert, John E. Kerrigan, Robert H. Silver, John E. Martinez, Madhav V. Rajan and Robert S. Kapito are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 443, filed August 7, 2015. |
| ** | Power of Attorney, dated March 24, 2016, for Jack Gee is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 461, filed June 13, 2016. |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
| Index No. |
Description of Exhibit | |
| EX-101.INS | XBRL Instance Document | |
| EX-101.SCH | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | |
| EX-101.CAL | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase | |
| EX-101.DEF | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase | |
| EX-101.LAB | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase | |
| EX-101.PRE | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase | |
- 5 -
| Label | Element | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Risk/Return: | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Document Type | dei_DocumentType | 485BPOS |
| Document Period End Date | dei_DocumentPeriodEndDate | Jun. 13, 2016 |
| Registrant Name | dei_EntityRegistrantName | iSHARES INC |
| Central Index Key | dei_EntityCentralIndexKey | 0000930667 |
| Amendment Flag | dei_AmendmentFlag | false |
| Document Creation Date | dei_DocumentCreationDate | Jun. 13, 2016 |
| Document Effective Date | dei_DocumentEffectiveDate | Jun. 13, 2016 |
| Prospectus Date | rr_ProspectusDate | Jun. 13, 2016 |
| iShares MSCI EM ESG Select ETF | ||||||||||
| iSHARES® MSCI EM ESG Select ETF Ticker: ESGE Stock Exchange: NASDAQ | ||||||||||
| Investment Objective | ||||||||||
| The iShares MSCI EM ESG Select ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization emerging market equities that have positive environmental, social and governance characteristics as identified by the index provider. | ||||||||||
| 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, Inc. (the “Company”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) (formerly, Barclays Global Fund Advisors (“BGFA”)) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses, and 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) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| 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: | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| 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 Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. | ||||||||||
| Principal Investment Strategies | ||||||||||
| The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI EM ESG Select Index (the “Underlying Index”), which has been developed by MSCI Inc. (the “Index Provider” or “MSCI”). The Underlying Index is an optimized equity index designed to reflect the equity performance of companies that have positive environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) characteristics (as determined by the Index Provider), which exhibit risk and return characteristics similar to the MSCI Market Cap Weighted Index (the MSCI EM Index or the “Parent Index”). The Index Provider begins with the Parent Index, excludes securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco and controversial weapons companies, as well as securities of companies involved in very severe business controversies (as determined by the Index Provider), and then follows a quantitative process that is designed to determine optimal weights for securities to maximize exposure to securities of companies with higher ESG ratings, subject to maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the Parent Index. For each industry, the Index Provider identifies key ESG issues that can turn into unexpected costs for companies in the medium to long term. The Index Provider then calculates the size of each company’s exposure to each key issue based on the company’s business segment and geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which companies have developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Using a sector-specific key issue weighting model, companies are rated and ranked in comparison to their industry peers. As of April 20, 2016, the Underlying Index consisted of the following 23 countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The Underlying Index may include large- or mid-capitalization companies. Components of the Underlying Index primarily include consumer discretionary, financials and information technology companies. The components of the Underlying Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, are likely to change over time. 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 the 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 the 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 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. 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. Securities of companies that have positive ESG characteristics may underperform other securities. Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of the Fund's prospectus (the “Prospectus”)) 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 those Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/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 trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. The Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened because international exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) may require Authorized Participants to post collateral, which only certain Authorized Participants are able to do. Commodity Risk. The Fund invests in economies that are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have an adverse impact on those economies. 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. Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The consumer discretionary sector may be affected by changes in domestic and international economies, exchange and interest rates, competition, consumers' disposable income, consumer preferences, social trends and marketing campaigns. Currency Risk. Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if the currency of a non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning. Custody Risk. Less developed 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, and the Fund's other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the 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. Holders of common stock generally are subject to more risks than holders of preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders have rights to receive payments from stock issuers that are inferior to the rights of other asset classes upon the bankruptcy of the issuer. ESG Investment Strategy Risk. The Fund’s ESG investment strategy limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Underlying Index’s ESG investment strategy may result in the Fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds screened for ESG standards. In addition, the Index Provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Financials Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, recent or future regulation of any individual financial company, or recent or future regulation of the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted. In recent years, cyber attacks and technology malfunctions 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 or other disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund's investments in the affected region. Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the Underlying Index and therefore 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 and/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. Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. Issuer Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of 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. Over certain periods, the performance of large-capitalization companies has trailed the performance of overall 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 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. Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. Compared to large-capitalization companies, mid-capitalization companies may be less stable and more susceptible to adverse developments, and their securities may be more volatile and less liquid. National Closed Market Trading Risk. To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges 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. 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 the securities of non-U.S. issuers are subject to the risks associated with investing in those non-U.S. markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The Fund may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting issuers of non-U.S. securities or non-U.S. markets. In addition, non-U.S. securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times. The Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk. Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risk 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 those 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. Some countries in which the Fund invests have privatized, or have 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 countries whose economies are heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading may have an adverse impact on the Fund's investments. Through its portfolio companies' trading partners, the Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk and U.S. Economic Risk. Risk of Investing in China. Investments in Chinese issuers 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. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China's rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, 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 emerging market issuers may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in issuers located or operating in more developed markets. Emerging markets may be 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. 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. Security Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving a country's or region's security may cause uncertainty in these markets and may adversely affect their economies and the Fund's investments. Structural Risk. The countries in which the Fund invests may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error 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 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), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the Underlying Index or the costs 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. FUNDS 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 sale price the Fund could receive for 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. 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. | ||||||||||
| Performance Information | ||||||||||
| As of the date of the Prospectus, the Fund has been in operation for less than one full calendar year and therefore does not report its performance information. |
| Label | Element | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Risk/Return: | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Registrant Name | dei_EntityRegistrantName | iSHARES INC |
| Prospectus Date | rr_ProspectusDate | Jun. 13, 2016 |
| iShares MSCI EM ESG Select ETF | ||
| Risk/Return: | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Risk/Return [Heading] | rr_RiskReturnHeading | iSHARES® MSCI EM ESG Select ETF Ticker: ESGE Stock Exchange: NASDAQ |
| Objective [Heading] | rr_ObjectiveHeading | Investment Objective |
| Objective, Primary [Text Block] | rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock | The iShares MSCI EM ESG Select ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization emerging market equities that have positive environmental, social and governance characteristics as identified by the index provider. |
| Expense [Heading] | rr_ExpenseHeading | Fees and Expenses |
| Expense Narrative [Text Block] | rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock | 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, Inc. (the “Company”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) (formerly, Barclays Global Fund Advisors (“BGFA”)) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, distribution fees or expenses, and 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: |
| Operating Expenses Caption [Text] | rr_OperatingExpensesCaption | Annual Fund Operating Expenses (ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investments) |
| Portfolio Turnover [Heading] | rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading | Portfolio Turnover. |
| Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] | rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock | 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 Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. |
| Expense Exchange Traded Fund Commissions [Text] | rr_ExpenseExchangeTradedFundCommissions | 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: |
| Expense Example [Heading] | rr_ExpenseExampleHeading | Example. |
| Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] | rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock | 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: |
| Strategy [Heading] | rr_StrategyHeading | Principal Investment Strategies |
| Strategy Narrative [Text Block] | rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock | The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI EM ESG Select Index (the “Underlying Index”), which has been developed by MSCI Inc. (the “Index Provider” or “MSCI”). The Underlying Index is an optimized equity index designed to reflect the equity performance of companies that have positive environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) characteristics (as determined by the Index Provider), which exhibit risk and return characteristics similar to the MSCI Market Cap Weighted Index (the MSCI EM Index or the “Parent Index”). The Index Provider begins with the Parent Index, excludes securities of companies involved in the business of tobacco and controversial weapons companies, as well as securities of companies involved in very severe business controversies (as determined by the Index Provider), and then follows a quantitative process that is designed to determine optimal weights for securities to maximize exposure to securities of companies with higher ESG ratings, subject to maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the Parent Index. For each industry, the Index Provider identifies key ESG issues that can turn into unexpected costs for companies in the medium to long term. The Index Provider then calculates the size of each company’s exposure to each key issue based on the company’s business segment and geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which companies have developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. Using a sector-specific key issue weighting model, companies are rated and ranked in comparison to their industry peers. As of April 20, 2016, the Underlying Index consisted of the following 23 countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The Underlying Index may include large- or mid-capitalization companies. Components of the Underlying Index primarily include consumer discretionary, financials and information technology companies. The components of the Underlying Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, are likely to change over time. 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 the 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 the 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 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. |
| Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text] | rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration | 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. |
| Risk [Heading] | rr_RiskHeading | Summary of Principal Risks |
| Risk Narrative [Text Block] | rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock | 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. 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. Securities of companies that have positive ESG characteristics may underperform other securities. Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of the Fund's prospectus (the “Prospectus”)) 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 those Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/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 trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. The Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened because international exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) may require Authorized Participants to post collateral, which only certain Authorized Participants are able to do. Commodity Risk. The Fund invests in economies that are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets. Any negative changes in commodity markets could have an adverse impact on those economies. 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. Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The consumer discretionary sector may be affected by changes in domestic and international economies, exchange and interest rates, competition, consumers' disposable income, consumer preferences, social trends and marketing campaigns. Currency Risk. Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if the currency of a non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on repatriation of such currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning. Custody Risk. Less developed 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, and the Fund's other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the 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. Holders of common stock generally are subject to more risks than holders of preferred stock and debt securities because common stockholders have rights to receive payments from stock issuers that are inferior to the rights of other asset classes upon the bankruptcy of the issuer. ESG Investment Strategy Risk. The Fund’s ESG investment strategy limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Underlying Index’s ESG investment strategy may result in the Fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds screened for ESG standards. In addition, the Index Provider may be unsuccessful in creating an index composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. Financials Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, recent or future regulation of any individual financial company, or recent or future regulation of the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted. In recent years, cyber attacks and technology malfunctions 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 or other disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund's investments in the affected region. Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the Underlying Index and therefore 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 and/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. Information Technology Sector Risk. Information technology companies face intense competition and potentially rapid product obsolescence. They are also heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by the loss or impairment of those rights. Issuer Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of 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. Over certain periods, the performance of large-capitalization companies has trailed the performance of overall 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 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. Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. Compared to large-capitalization companies, mid-capitalization companies may be less stable and more susceptible to adverse developments, and their securities may be more volatile and less liquid. National Closed Market Trading Risk. To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges 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. 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 the securities of non-U.S. issuers are subject to the risks associated with investing in those non-U.S. markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The Fund may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting issuers of non-U.S. securities or non-U.S. markets. In addition, non-U.S. securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times. The Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk. Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risk 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 those 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. Some countries in which the Fund invests have privatized, or have 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 countries whose economies are heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading may have an adverse impact on the Fund's investments. Through its portfolio companies' trading partners, the Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk and U.S. Economic Risk. Risk of Investing in China. Investments in Chinese issuers 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. Export growth continues to be a major driver of China's rapid economic growth. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, institution of tariffs or other trade barriers, 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 emerging market issuers may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in issuers located or operating in more developed markets. Emerging markets may be 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. 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. Security Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving a country's or region's security may cause uncertainty in these markets and may adversely affect their economies and the Fund's investments. Structural Risk. The countries in which the Fund invests may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability. Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error 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 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), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the Underlying Index or the costs 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. FUNDS 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 sale price the Fund could receive for 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. 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. |
| Risk Lose Money [Text] | rr_RiskLoseMoney | 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. |
| Risk Nondiversified Status [Text] | rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus | 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. |
| Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] | rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading | Performance Information |
| Performance Narrative [Text Block] | rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock | As of the date of the Prospectus, the Fund has been in operation for less than one full calendar year and therefore does not report its performance information. |
| Performance One Year or Less [Text] | rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess | As of the date of the Prospectus, the Fund has been in operation for less than one full calendar year and therefore does not report its performance information. |
| iShares MSCI EM ESG Select ETF | iShares MSCI EM ESG Select ETF | ||
| Risk/Return: | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Management Fees | rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets | 0.45% |
| Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets | none |
| Other Expenses | rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets | none |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | rr_ExpensesOverAssets | 0.45% |
| 1 Year | rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 | $ 46 |
| 3 Years | rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 | $ 144 |
| Label | Element | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Risk/Return: | rr_RiskReturnAbstract | |
| Registrant Name | dei_EntityRegistrantName | iSHARES INC |
| Prospectus Date | rr_ProspectusDate | Jun. 13, 2016 |
| Document Creation Date | dei_DocumentCreationDate | Jun. 13, 2016 |