497K 1 d541536d497k.htm FORM 497K Form 497K
December 29, 2023
 
 
2023 Summary Prospectus
• iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF | FM |  NYSE ARCA
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 reports, online at https://www.blackrock.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 December 29, 2023, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus. Information on the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads can be found at www.iShares.com.

The Securities and Exchange Commission 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® FRONTIER AND SELECT EM ETF
Ticker: FMStock Exchange: NYSE Arca
Investment Objective
The iShares Frontier and Select EM ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide exposure to frontier market equities along with select emerging market equities.
Fees and Expenses
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between iShares, Inc. (the Company) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (BFA) (the Investment Advisory Agreement) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except: (i) the management fees, (ii) interest expenses, (iii) taxes, (iv) expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, (v) distribution fees or expenses, and (vi) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses.
You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)1
Management
Fees
Distribution
and Service
(12b-1) Fees
Other
Expenses2
Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
0.79%
None
0.00%
0.79%

1
Operating expenses paid by BFA under the Investment Advisory Agreement exclude acquired fund fees and expenses, if any.
2
The amount rounded to 0.00%.
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
$81
$252
$439
$978
S-1


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 53% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of issuers economically tied to frontier markets and issuers economically tied to emerging markets, or in depositary receipts representing such securities.
Frontier markets are those markets that are considered to be among the smallest, least mature and least liquid investable equity markets. Additionally, the emerging markets in which the Fund seeks to invest are those markets selected from the lower size spectrum of emerging markets (i.e., emerging market countries with lower gross national income per capita and total stock market capitalizations relative to those of the full spectrum of emerging market countries). For this purpose, frontier markets and select emerging markets include, but are not limited to, the markets included in the MSCI Frontier and Emerging Markets Select
Index (the Benchmark). As of August 31, 2023, the Benchmark consisted of large-, mid- and small-capitalization securities in the following countries or regions: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Estonia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Romania, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. BFA determines that an issuer is economically tied to a frontier market or an emerging market if such investment satisfies one or more of the following conditions: (1) the issuer's primary trading market is in such market; (2) the issuer is organized under the laws of, derives at least 50% of its revenue from, or has at least 50% of its assets in such market; and (3) the issuer has been classified as being in such market by MSCI Inc., the Benchmark provider. To the extent that markets restrict or delay repatriation of the applicable local currency, the Fund may choose not to invest in, or limit their investments in, such markets. As of August 31, 2023, a significant portion of the Fund is invested in securities of companies in the financials industry or sector. The holdings of the Fund are likely to change over time.
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. In selecting investments for the Fund, BFA uses optimization techniques relative to the Benchmark in order to provide exposure to frontier markets and select emerging markets while taking into account, among other things, regulatory requirements, market limitations, and repatriation restrictions as determined by BFA. As a result of the optimization techniques, the performance of the
S-2


Fund may materially differ from that of the Benchmark.
The Fund may also invest in other securities and instruments, including but not limited to, certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates. In certain situations or market conditions, the Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment process, provided that the alternative, in the opinion of BFA, is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and is in the best interest 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).
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. Certain key risks are prioritized below (with others following in alphabetical order), but the relative significance of any risk is difficult to predict and may change over time. You should review each risk factor carefully.
Risk of Investing in Frontier Markets. Frontier markets are those emerging markets that are considered to be among the smallest, least mature and least liquid, and as a result, may be more likely to experience inflation, political turmoil and rapid changes in
economic conditions than more developed and traditional emerging markets. Investments in frontier markets may be subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in more developed and traditional emerging markets. Frontier markets often have less uniformity in accounting and reporting requirements, unreliable securities valuations and greater risk associated with custody of securities. Economic, political, illiquidity and currency risks may be more pronounced with respect to investments in frontier markets than in emerging markets.
Risk of Investing in Emerging Markets. 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, social instability, political turmoil or rapid changes in economic conditions than more developed markets. Companies in many emerging markets are not subject to the same degree of regulatory requirements, accounting standards or auditor oversight as companies in more developed countries, and as a result, information about the securities in which the Fund invests may be less reliable or complete. Emerging markets often have less reliable securities valuations and greater risk associated with custody of securities than developed markets. There may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against companies and shareholders may have limited legal remedies.
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value, and their values may be more
S-3


volatile than those of other asset classes. Holders of common stocks, which generally subjecttheir 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.
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. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, public health issues, recessions, the prospect or occurrence of a sovereign default or other financial crisis, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fundand its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk, which is the risk that the investment process, techniques and risk analyses applied by BFA will not produce the desired results, and that securities selected by BFA may underperform the market or any relevant benchmark. In addition, legislative, regulatory, or tax developments may affect the investment techniques available to BFA in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as
defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of this prospectus (the Prospectus)) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and none of those Authorized Participants is obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. 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, 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.
Commodity Risk. The Fund invests in companies that are susceptible to fluctuations in certain commodity markets and to price changes due to trade relations. Any negative changes in commodity markets that may be due to changes in supply and demand for commodities, market events, war, regulatory developments, other catastrophic events, or other factors that the Fund cannot control could have an adverse impact on those companies.
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
S-4


concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector, market segment or asset class.
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 Fund's NAV may change quickly and without warning.
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.
Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund's adviser, distributor, the benchmark provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result 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 cybersecurity plans and systems of the Fund’s benchmark provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized
Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.
Financials Sector Risk. The 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, adverse public perception, exposure concentration and decreased liquidity in credit markets. The impact of changes in regulation of any individual financial company, or of the financials sector as a whole, cannot be predicted. Cybersecurity incidents and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent and have caused significant losses to companies in this sector, which may negatively impact the Fund.
Geographic Risk. A natural disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could adversely affect the economy or the business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund's investments in, or which are exposed to, the affected region.
Illiquid Investments Risk. The Fund may not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. To the extent the Fund holds illiquid investments, the illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund
S-5


because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices. In addition, if the Fund is limited in its ability to sell illiquid investments during periods when shareholders are redeeming their shares, the Fund will need to sell liquid securities to meet redemption requests and illiquid securities will become a larger portion of the Fund’s holdings. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for the Fund’s shares may be impacted by the liquidity in the market for the underlying securities or instruments held by the Fund, which could lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV.
Infectious Illness Risk. A widespread outbreak of an infectious illness, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in travel restrictions, disruption of healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions, business closures, lower consumer demand, layoffs, ratings downgrades, defaults and other significant economic, social and political impacts. Markets may experience temporary closures, extreme volatility, severe losses, reduced liquidity and increased trading costs. Such events may adversely affect the Fund and its investments and may impact the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or cause elevated tracking error and increased premiums or discounts to the Fund's NAV. Despite the development of vaccines, the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects cannot be predicted with certainty.
Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund 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. During different market cycles, the performance of large-capitalization companies has trailed the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares, or may invest in the Fund and hold their investment for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares could require the Fund to dispose of assets to meet the redemption requests, which can accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or capital gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such year. In some circumstances, the Fund may hold a relatively large proportion of its assets in cash in anticipation of large redemptions, diluting its investment
S-6


returns. These large redemptions may also force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or have a material effect on the market price of the Fund shares.
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. In addition, the securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and less liquid than those of large-capitalization companies.
National Closed Market Trading Risk. To the extent that the underlying securities or other instruments 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).The impact of a closed foreign market on the Fund is likely to be greater where a large portion of the Fund’s underlying securities or other instruments trade on that closed foreign
market or when the foreign market is closed for unscheduled reasons. These deviations could result in premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
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. securitiesor 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 changes in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times. The Fund is specifically exposed to African Economic Risk and 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.
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.
S-7


Reliance on Trading Partners Risk. The Fund invests in countries or regions 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 holdings of securities of certain issuers, the Fund is specifically exposed to African Economic Risk, Asian Economic Risk, European Economic Risk and Middle Eastern Economic Risk.
Risk of Investing in Vietnam. Investments in Vietnamese issuers involve risks that are specific to Vietnam, including legal, regulatory, political and economic risks.
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
war, terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving a country's or region's security may cause uncertainty in its markets and may adversely affect its economy and the Fund's investments.
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, 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 securities not been fair valued or been valued using a different methodology. The ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
S-8


Performance Information
The bar chart and table that follow show how the Fund has performed on a calendar year basis and provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years compare with the Bechmark. 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. Effective June 1, 2023, the Fund became actively managed. Prior to June 1, 2023, BFA used an indexing approach to try to track the investment results of an underlying index.
Calendar Year by Year Returns1

1
The Fund’s year-to-date return as of September 30, 2023 was 6.75%.
The best calendar quarter return during the periods shown above was 12.25% in the 2nd quarter of 2021; the worst was -26.85% in the 1st quarter of 2020.
Updated performance information, including the Fund’s current NAV, may be obtained by visiting our website at www.iShares.com or by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) (toll free).
S-9


Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2022)
 
One Year
Five Years
Ten Years
(Inception Date: 9/12/2012)
 
 
 
Return Before Taxes
-25.93%
-2.77%
2.89%
Return After Taxes on Distributions1
-26.20%
-3.58%
1.92%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund
Shares1
-14.83%
-2.16%
2.13%
MSCI Frontier and Emerging Markets Select Index2
(Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees,
expenses or taxes)
-23.39%
-0.74%
4.69%

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
Index returns through February 28, 2021 reflect the performance of the MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index. Index returns beginning on March 1, 2021 reflect the performance of the MSCI Frontier and Emerging Markets Select Index, which, effective as of March 1, 2021, replaced the MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index as the underlying index of the Fund. Effective June 1, 2023, the Fund became actively managed and compares its performance to the MSCI Frontier and Emerging Markets Select Index.
S-10


Management
Investment Adviser. BlackRock Fund Advisors.
Portfolio Managers. Jennifer Hsui, Greg Savage and Paul Whitehead (the Portfolio Managers) are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager supervises a portfolio management team. Ms. Hsui and Mr. Savage have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since 2012. Mr. Whitehead has been a Portfolio Manager of the Fund since 2022.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Individual shares of the Fund may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer. 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). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the bid-ask spread).
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.
S-11


[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]


[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]


[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]


For more information visit www.iShares.com or call 1-800-474-2737
Investment Company Act file No.: 811-09102
IS-SP-FM-1223