iShares - Investopedia

iShares is one of the world's largest and well-known ETF providers, offering more than 800 products worldwide. · Founded in the year 2000, iShares now manages ... Investing ETFs WhatIsiShares? Agloballeaderinexchange-tradedfunds(ETFs),iShareshasover$2trillioninvestedinmorethan800differentproductofferingsacrossawiderangeofassetclassesandinvestmentstrategies.iSharesisasubsidiaryofBlackRock,theworld'slargestassetmanagementcompany,andBlackRockisresponsibleforissuingandmarketingiSharesproducts. Foundedintheyear2000,theinitialiShareslistingswereestablishedon majorexchangessuchastheNYSEEuronext,ChicagoBoardOptionsExchange,Nasdaq,andNYSEArca. KeyTakeaways iSharesisoneoftheworld'slargestandwell-knownETFproviders,offeringmorethan800productsworldwide.Foundedintheyear2000,iSharesnowmanagesover$2trillionamongitsexchange-tradedfunds.iSharesisasubsidiaryofBlackRock. TheBasicsofiShares ETFsfromiSharesarea flexible,low-costwayforinvestorstogain exposure tovariousmarketsegments,includingfixedincome,emergingmarketsandbroad-basedindexes. Forexample,theiSharesCoreS&P500ETF(IVV)trackstheS&P500Index,whereastheiShares MSCIEmergingMarketETF(EEM)followsmorethan800largeandmid-capcompaniesindevelopingcountries. Bycombininglowfeeswith taxefficiencyinanassetthatseekstomatchanindex,ETFs canbuildgreaterlongertermsavingscomparedwithmutualfunds.Beyondsavings,mostETFs aimtomatchtheperformanceofabenchmarkindex,whichmeansturnoverislessfrequentandthusfeesarelower.However,thisdoesn'tcomeattheexpenseofperformance.Infact,iShares CoreETFs outperformedmorethan76%oftheirpeersonaveragefrom2015to2020.    AlmostallmajorglobalmarketplaceslistiShares funds,includingtheLondonStockExchange,theHongKongStockExchange,theTorontoStockExchange,amongothers.Atanygiventime,iSharesandVanguardrepresentmorethan50%ofthetotalETFmarket. ExamplesofiShares ETFs ForU.S.investors,iSharesoffers394ETFsfocusedoncommodities,equities,fixedincome,multiassets,andrealestate.Inaddition,investorscanchoosetofocusondeveloping,emergingorfrontiermarkets;specificregionsandindividualcountries;industrysectors;megatrendssuchasclimatechange,demographicchangeandtechnologicalbreakthroughs;thematicinvestingsuchasEnvironmental,SocialandGovernance(ESG)criteria;andotherselectionmethodologies.Belowaresomepopularproductsunder theiShares brand:  iShares CoreS&P500ETF(IVV):ThisETFtrackingtheS&P500Indexheldapproximately$286billioninassetsasofJune2021.Ithasanexpenseratioof0.03%andhasreturned7.27%annuallysinceitsinceptioninMay2000,comparedwith7.33%foritsbenchmark. iShares MSCI EAFEETF(EFA):ThisETFprovidesaccesstomorethan900stocksforcompaniesinEurope,AustraliaAsia,andtheFarEast.Thefundheldabout$56.8billioninassetsasofJune2021.Ithasanexpenseratioof0.32%andhasreturned5.84%annuallysinceitsinceptioninAugust2001. iShares CoreUSAggregateBondETF(AGG):ThisETFprovidesbroadexposuretoinvestment-gradebondsintheU.S.Thefundheldapproximately$88.8billioninassetsasofJune2021.Ithasanexpenseratioof0.04%andhasreturned4.02%annuallysinceitsinceptioninSeptember2003. ArticleSources Investopediarequireswriterstouseprimarysourcestosupporttheirwork.Theseincludewhitepapers,governmentdata,originalreporting,andinterviewswithindustryexperts.Wealsoreferenceoriginalresearchfromotherreputablepublisherswhereappropriate.Youcanlearnmoreaboutthestandardswefollowinproducingaccurate,unbiasedcontentinour editorialpolicy. iShares byBlackRock."AboutiShares."AccessedJuly19,2021. BlackRock."History."AccessedJuly19,2021. Businesswire."iSharesMarksthe20thAnniversaryofThreeFlagshipU.S.CoreEquityFunds."AccessedJuly19,2021. iSharesbyBlackrock."iSharesMSCIEmergingMarketsETFFactsheet,EEM,06/30/2021,"Page1.AccessedJuly19,2021. iShares byBlackRock."iSharesCoreS&P500ETF,"Page1.AccessedJuly19,2021. iShares byBlackRock."WhatIsanETF?"AccessedJuly19,2021. ETFDatabase."ETFIssuerLeagueTables."AccessedJuly19,2021. iShares byBlackRock."FindiSharesETFs."AccessedJuly19,2021. iShares byBlackRock."iSharesMSCIEAFEETF,"Page1.AccessedJuly19,2021. iShares byBlackRock."iSharesCoreU.S.AggregateBondETF,"Page1.AccessedJuly19,2021. ReadytoTaketheNextStep? AdvertiserDisclosure × TheoffersthatappearinthistablearefrompartnershipsfromwhichInvestopediareceivescompensation.Thiscompensationmayimpacthowandwherelistingsappear.Investopediadoesnotincludealloffersavailableinthemarketplace. Provider Name Description RelatedTerms MSCIAllCountryWorldIndex(ACWI) TheMSCIAllCountryWorldIndex(ACWI)isastockindexdesignedtoprovideabroadmeasureofglobalequitymarketperformance. more DirectIndexingDefinition Directindexinginvolvespurchasingtheunderlyingsharesofanindex,ratherthanowninganindexmutualfundorindexexchange-tradedfund. more Exchange-TradedFund(ETF) Anexchange-tradedfund(ETF)isabasketofsecuritiesthattracksanunderlyingindex.ETFscancontaininvestmentssuchasstocksandbonds. more WhatIstheS&P600? TheS&P600isanindexofsmall-capstocksmanagedbyStandardandPoor's,comparabletotheRussell2000. more WhatIstheMSCIEmergingMarketsIndex? TheMSCIEmergingMarketsIndexwascreatedbyMorganStanleyCapitalInternationalandisdesignedtomeasureperformanceinemergingmarkets. more IndexFunds:HowTheyWork,ProsandCons Anindexfundisapooledinvestmentvehiclethatpassivelyseekstoreplicatethereturnsofsomemarketindexes. more PartnerLinks RelatedArticles RothIRA BestETFsforRothIRAs ETFEssentials S&P500ETFs:WhatEveryInvestorShouldKnow IndexTradingStrategy What'stheDifferenceBetweentheS&P500andtheRussell2000ETF? ETFs TheBasicsofInvestinginExchange-TradedFunds(ETFs) Gold 4GoldMiningETFsThatPayDividends TopETFs Top3ETFsforLong-TermInvestors