12/04/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/04/2024 09:19
NOVEMBER 27, 2024 |
2024 Summary Prospectus
Blackrock ETF Trust II
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iShares Floating Rate Loan Active ETF | BRLN | CBOE BZX |
Before you invest, you may want to review the Funds prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Funds prospectus (including amendments and supplements), reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund, including the Funds statement of additional information, online at https://www.blackrock.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-474-2737 or by sending an e-mail request to [email protected], or from your financial professional. The Funds prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated November 27, 2024, 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 has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Summary Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Not FDIC Insured May Lose Value No Bank Guarantee |
ISHARES FLOATING RATE LOAN ACTIVE ETF
Ticker: BRLN Stock Exchange: CBOE BZX
Investment Objective
The iShares Floating Rate Loan Active ETF (formerly known as BlackRock Floating Rate Loan ETF) (the Fund) primarily seeks to provide high current income and secondarily seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation.
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 BlackRock ETF Trust II (the Trust) 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 (other than any commitment fee relating to a committed line of credit), (v) distribution fees or expenses, and (vi) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses. The Fund may incur Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses reflect the Funds pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a result of investing in other investment companies. The impact of Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses is included in the total returns of the Fund.
You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investments) |
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Management Fees1,2 |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
Other Expenses3 |
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses1,3 |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses3 |
Fee Waiver1,2 |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver1,2 |
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0.60% | None | None | 0.03% | 0.63% | (0.08)% | 0.55% |
1 |
As described in the Management section of the Funds prospectus beginning on page 28, BFA has contractually agreed to waive its management fees in an amount equal to the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any, attributable to investments by the Fund in other funds advised by BFA or its affiliates through June 30, 2026. The agreement may be terminated upon 90 days notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Trust or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
2 |
As described in the Management section of the Funds prospectus beginning on page 28, BFA has contractually agreed to waive 0.05% of its management fee through June 30, 2026. The agreement may be terminated upon 90 days notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Trust or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. |
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3 |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and the restatement of Other Expenses to reflect current fees, which are not included in the ratio of expenses to average net assets given in the Funds most recent financial statements. |
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 Funds 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 |
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$56 | $189 | $338 | $774 |
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 Funds performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Funds portfolio turnover rate was 33% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in floating rate loans and investments that are the economic
equivalent of floating rate loans, which effectively enables the Fund to achieve a floating rate of income. The Fund may also invest in other floating rate debt instruments and investments that are the economic equivalent of floating rate debt instruments. The Funds investments may include, but are not limited to, any combination of the following: (i) senior secured floating rate loans or debt; (ii) second lien or other subordinated or unsecured floating rate loans or debt; (iii) participations or assignments in senior floating rate loans or second lien floating rate loans; and (iv) fixed-rate loans or debt with respect to which the Fund has entered into derivative instruments to effectively convert the fixed-rate interest payments into floating rate interest payments. The Funds investments in derivatives will be counted toward the Funds 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities.
For purposes of the Funds investments, the term debt instruments includes convertible or preferred securities.
The Fund may invest in investments of any credit quality without limitation, including investments rated below investment grade. A substantial portion of the Funds Portfolio may consist of leveraged loans rated below investment grade and similar investments. These investments are expected to exhibit credit risks similar to high yield securities, which are commonly referred to as junk bonds.
The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in fixed-rate loans and fixed
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income securities with respect to which the Fund has not entered into derivative instruments to effectively convert the fixed-rate interest payments into floating-rate interest payments. Such fixed-rate loans and fixed income securities include, but are not limited to, senior loans, second lien loans, corporate bonds, preferred securities, convertible securities, mezzanine investments, collateralized loan obligations, structured products and U.S. government debt securities.
The Funds investments in any floating rate and fixed income instruments may be of any duration or maturity. The Fund may invest in loans or debt of foreign issuers, including issuers located in emerging markets, without limitation. The Fund may also invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. The Fund intends to invest in certain high yield securities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for liquidity purposes.
The Fund may also invest in companies whose financial condition is uncertain, where the borrower has defaulted in the payment of interest or principal or in the performance of its covenants or agreements, or that may be involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings.
The Fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in common stocks or other equity securities. In addition, the Fund may acquire and hold such securities (or rights to acquire such securities) in unit offerings with fixed income securities, in connection with an amendment, waiver, conversion or exchange of fixed income securities, in connection with the bankruptcy or workout of a distressed fixed income
security, or upon the exercise of a right or warrant obtained on account of a fixed income security.
The Fund may buy or sell options or futures on a security or an index of securities, buy or sell options on futures or enter into credit default swaps and interest rate or foreign currency transactions, including swaps and forward contracts (collectively, commonly known as derivatives). The Fund may use derivatives for hedging purposes, but is not required to, as well as to increase the total return on its portfolio investments.
The Fund is classified as non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act).
Summary of Principal Risks
As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Funds 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 Funds net asset value per share (NAV), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Unlike many ETFs, the Fund is not an index-based ETF. The relative significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.
Corporate Loans Risk Commercial banks and other financial institutions or institutional investors make corporate loans to companies that need capital to grow or restructure. Borrowers generally pay interest on corporate loans at rates that change in response
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to changes in market interest rates such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or the prime rates of U.S. banks. As a result, the value of corporate loan investments is generally less exposed to the adverse effects of shifts in market interest rates than investments that pay a fixed rate of interest. The market for corporate loans may be subject to irregular trading activity and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, transactions in corporate loans may settle on a delayed basis. As a result, the proceeds from the sale of corporate loans may not be readily available to make additional investments or to meet the Funds redemption obligations. To the extent the extended settlement process gives rise to short-term liquidity needs, the Fund may hold additional cash, sell investments or temporarily borrow from banks and other lenders. The corporate loans in which the Fund invests are usually rated below investment grade.
Senior Loans Risk. There is less readily available, reliable information about most senior loans than is the case for many other types of securities.
An economic downturn generally leads to a higher non-payment rate, and a senior loan may lose significant value before a default occurs. Moreover, any specific collateral used to secure a senior loan may decline in value or become illiquid, which would adversely affect the senior loans value.
No active trading market may exist for certain senior loans, which may impair the ability of the Fund to realize full value in the event of the need to sell a senior loan and which may make it difficult to value senior loans.
Although senior loans in which the Fund will invest generally will be secured by specific collateral, there can be no assurance that liquidation of such collateral would satisfy the borrowers obligation in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal or that such collateral could be readily liquidated. To the extent that a senior loan is collateralized by stock in the borrower or its subsidiaries, such stock may lose all of its value in the event of the bankruptcy of the borrower. Uncollateralized senior loans involve a greater risk of loss. The senior loans in which the Fund invests are usually rated below investment grade. Senior loans made in connection with highly leveraged transactions are subject to greater risks than other senior loans. For example, the risks of default or bankruptcy of the borrower or the risks that other creditors of the borrower may seek to nullify or subordinate the Funds claims on any collateral securing the loan are greater in highly leveraged transactions.
Second Lien Loans Risk. Second lien loans generally are subject to similar risks as those associated with investments in senior loans. Because second lien loans are subordinated or unsecured and thus lower in priority of payment to senior loans, they are subject to the additional risk that the cash flow of the borrower and property securing the loan or debt, if any, may be insufficient to meet scheduled payments after giving effect to the senior secured obligations of the borrower.
High Yield Bonds Risk. Although junk bonds generally pay higher rates of interest than investment grade bonds, junk bonds are high risk investments
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that are considered speculative and may cause income and principal losses for the Fund.
Variable and Floating Rate Instrument Risk. Variable and floating rate securities provide for periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid on the securities. Securities with floating or variable interest rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates, but may decline in value if their coupon rates do not reset as high, or as quickly, as comparable market interest rates, and generally carry lower yields than fixed securities of the same maturity. These securities will not generally increase in value if interest rates decline. A decline in interest rates may result in a reduction in income received from variable and floating rate securities held by the Fund and may adversely affect the value of the Funds shares. These securities may be subject to greater illiquidity risk than other fixed income securities, meaning the absence of an active market for these securities could make it difficult for the Fund to dispose of them at any given time. Floating rate securities generally are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, may trade infrequently, and their value may be impaired when the Fund needs to liquidate such loans. Benchmark interest rates may not accurately track market interest rates. Although floating rate securities are less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed-rate securities, they are subject to credit risk and default risk, which could impair their value.
Debt Securities Risk Debt securities, such as bonds, involve risks, such as credit risk, interest rate risk,
extension risk, and prepayment risk, each of which are described in further detail below:
Credit Risk Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt security (i.e., the borrower) will not be able to make payments of interest and principal when due. Changes in an issuers credit rating or the markets perception of an issuers creditworthiness may also affect the value of the Funds investment in that issuer. The degree of credit risk depends on both the financial condition of the issuer and the terms of the obligation.
Interest Rate Risk The market value of bonds and other fixed-income securities changes in response to interest rate changes and other factors. Interest rate risk is the risk that prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities will increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise.
The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates during a period of historically low interest rates. For example, if interest rates increase by 1%, assuming a current portfolio duration of ten years, and all other factors being equal, the value of the Funds investments would be expected to decrease by 10%. (Duration is a measure of the price sensitivity of a debt security or portfolio of debt securities to relative changes in interest rates.) The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of bonds and other fixed-income securities is generally greater for those securities with longer maturities. Fluctuations in the market price of the Funds investments will not affect interest income derived from instruments already owned by the
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Fund, but will be reflected in the Funds net asset value. The Fund may lose money if short-term or long-term interest rates rise sharply in a manner not anticipated by Fund management.
To the extent the Fund invests in debt securities that may be prepaid at the option of the obligor (such as mortgage-backed securities), the sensitivity of such securities to changes in interest rates may increase (to the detriment of the Fund) when interest rates rise. Moreover, because rates on certain floating rate debt securities typically reset only periodically, changes in prevailing interest rates (and particularly sudden and significant changes) can be expected to cause some fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund to the extent that it invests in floating rate debt securities.
These basic principles of bond prices also apply to U.S. Government securities. A security backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government is guaranteed only as to its stated interest rate and face value at maturity, not its current market price. Just like other fixed-income securities, government-guaranteed securities will fluctuate in value when interest rates change.
A general rise in interest rates has the potential to cause investors to move out of fixed-income securities on a large scale, which may increase redemptions from funds that hold large amounts of fixed-income securities. Heavy redemptions could cause the Fund to sell assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value and could hurt the Funds performance.
Extension Risk When interest rates rise, certain obligations will be paid off
by the obligor more slowly than anticipated, causing the value of these obligations to fall.
Prepayment Risk When interest rates fall, certain obligations will be paid off by the obligor more quickly than originally anticipated, and the Fund may have to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.
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 Funds adviser or an affiliate of the Funds 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 Funds 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 (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of this 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
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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.
Collateralized Debt Obligations Risk In addition to the typical risks associated with fixed-income securities and asset-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the risk that the collateral may default or decline in value or be downgraded, if rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization; (iii) the Fund may invest in tranches of CDOs that are subordinate to other tranches; (iv) the structure and complexity of the transaction and the legal documents could lead to disputes among investors regarding the characterization of proceeds; (v) the investment return achieved by the Fund could be significantly different than those predicted by financial models; (vi) the lack of a readily available secondary market for CDOs; (vii) the risk of forced fire sale liquidation due to technical defaults such as coverage test failures; and (viii) the CDOs manager may perform poorly.
Convertible Securities Risk. The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest, principal or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the
issuers credit rating or the markets perception of the issuers creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock, including the potential for increased volatility in the price of the convertible security.
Derivatives Risk The Funds use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Funds returns and/or increase volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including:
Leverage Risk The Funds use of derivatives can magnify the Funds gains and losses. Relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of a derivatives position and can result in losses that greatly exceed the amount originally invested.
Market Risk Some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than other securities. The Fund could also suffer losses related to its derivatives positions as a result of unanticipated market movements, which losses are potentially unlimited. Finally, BFA may not be able to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates and other economic factors, which could cause the Funds derivatives positions to lose value.
Counterparty Risk Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will be unable or unwilling to fulfill its contractual obligation, and the related risks of having concentrated exposure to such a counterparty.
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Illiquidity Risk The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately.
Operational Risk The use of derivatives includes the risk of potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, systems failures, inadequate controls and human error.
Legal Risk The risk of insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
Volatility and Correlation Risk Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. A risk of the Funds use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets.
Valuation Risk Valuation for derivatives may not be readily available in the market. Valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them.
Hedging Risk Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that the Funds hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging may result in certain adverse tax consequences.
Tax Risk Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and commodity-linked derivative instruments, are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding authority. Such treatment may be less favorable than that given to a direct investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund realizes from its investments.
Distressed Securities Risk. Distressed securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and may incur costs to protect its investment. In addition, distressed securities involve the substantial risk that principal will not be repaid. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment. The Fund may incur additional expenses to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio company, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.
Dividend Risk. Because certain of the corporate loans held by the Fund will have floating or variable interest rates, the amounts of the Funds monthly distributions to its stockholders are expected to vary with fluctuations in
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market interest rates. Generally, when market interest rates fall, the amount of the distributions to stockholders will likewise decrease.
Emerging Markets Risk Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging securities markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets.
Equity Securities Risk. Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a companys financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.
Event Risk. Event risk is the risk that corporate issuers may undergo restructurings, such as mergers, leveraged buyouts, takeovers, or similar events financed by increased debt. As a result of the added debt, the credit quality and market value of a companys bonds and/or other debt securities may decline significantly.
Foreign Securities Risk Foreign investments often involve special risks not present in U.S. investments that can increase the chances that the Fund will lose money. These risks include:
| The Fund generally holds its foreign securities and cash in foreign banks and securities depositories, which may be recently organized or new to the |
foreign custody business and may be subject to only limited or no regulatory oversight. |
| Changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the value of the Funds portfolio. |
| The economies of certain foreign markets may not compare favorably with the economy of the United States with respect to such issues as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and balance of payments position. |
| The governments of certain countries, or the U.S. Government with respect to certain countries, may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions through capital controls and/or sanctions on foreign investments in the capital markets or certain industries in those countries, which may prohibit or restrict the ability to own or transfer currency, securities, derivatives or other assets. |
| Many foreign governments do not supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to the same extent as does the United States and may not have laws to protect investors that are comparable to U.S. securities laws. |
| Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets may result in delays in payment for or delivery of securities not typically associated with settlement and clearance of U.S. investments. |
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| The Funds claims to recover foreign withholding taxes may not be successful, and if the likelihood of recovery of foreign withholding taxes materially decreases, due to, for example, a change in tax regulation or approach in the foreign country, accruals in the Funds net asset value for such refunds may be written down partially or in full, which will adversely affect the Funds net asset value. |
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 the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Liquid investments may become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. There can be no assurance that a security or instrument that is deemed to be liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid for as long as it is held by the Fund, and any security or instrument held by the Fund may be deemed an illiquid investment pursuant to the Funds liquidity risk management program. The Funds illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund because it may be difficult to sell the illiquid investments at an advantageous time or price. 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 Funds holdings. An investment may be illiquid due to, among other things, the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities or the lack of an active trading market. To the extent that the Funds principal investment strategies involve derivatives or securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to the risks associated with illiquid investments. Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. This may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain securities, the Fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be subject to purchase and sale restrictions. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for the Funds 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 Funds shares trading at a premium or discount to the Funds NAV.
Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk. As with other investments, investments in other investment companies, including ETFs, are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund,
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shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies (to the extent not offset by BFA through waivers). To the extent the Fund is held by another fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited.
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 Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Funds adviser or an affiliate of the Funds 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 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 Funds NAV, increase the Funds brokerage costs and/or have a material effect on the market price of the Fund shares.
Leverage Risk. Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet the applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act and the rules thereunder. Increases and decreases in the value of the Funds portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk, which is the that the investment process, techniques and risk analyses applied by BFA will not produce the desired results, and that securities or other financial instruments, selected by BFA may result in returns that are inconsistent with a Funds investment objective. 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.
Market Risk and Selection Risk. Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will
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go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.
An outbreak of an infectious coronavirus (COVID-19) that was first detected in December 2019 developed into a global pandemic that has resulted in numerous disruptions in the market and has had significant economic impact leaving general concern and uncertainty. Although vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the duration of the pandemic and its effects cannot be predicted with certainty. The impact of this coronavirus, and other epidemics and pandemics that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.
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. Unlike some ETFs that track specific indexes, the Fund does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. Index-based ETFs have generally traded at prices that closely correspond to NAV per share. Given the high level of transparency of the Funds holdings, BFA believes that the trading experience of the Fund should be similar to that of index-based ETFs. However, ETFs that do not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index have a limited trading history and, therefore, there can be no assurance as to whether, and/or the extent to which, the Funds shares will trade at premiums or discounts to NAV. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUNDS SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV.
Mezzanine Securities Risk. Mezzanine securities carry the risk that the issuer will not be able to meet its obligations and that the equity securities purchased with the mezzanine investments may lose value.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified fund. Because the Fund may invest in securities of a smaller number of issuers, it may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer than a fund that invests more widely.
Preferred Securities Risk. Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Preferred securities are
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subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a companys preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt. For this reason, the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the companys financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities of smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse developments than preferred securities of larger companies.
Reference Rate Replacement Risk. The Fund may be exposed to financial instruments that recently transitioned from, or continue to be tied to, London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to determine payment obligations, financing terms, hedging strategies or investment value. The United Kingdoms Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, has ceased publishing all LIBOR settings. In April 2023, however, the FCA announced that some USD LIBOR settings will continue to be published under a synthetic methodology until September 30, 2024 for certain legacy contracts. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), which is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities in the repurchase agreement market, has been used increasingly on a voluntary basis in new instruments and transactions. Under U.S. regulations that implement a statutory fallback mechanism to replace LIBOR, benchmark rates based on SOFR have replaced LIBOR in different categories of financial contracts.
Neither the effect of the LIBOR transition process nor its ultimate success can yet be known. While some existing LIBOR-based instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate-setting methodology, there may be significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies to replicate LIBOR. Not all existing LIBOR-based instruments may have alternative rate-setting provisions and there remains uncertainty regarding the willingness and ability of issuers to add alternative rate-setting provisions in certain existing instruments. Parties to contracts, securities, or other instruments using LIBOR may disagree on transition rates or the application of transition regulation, potentially resulting in uncertainty of performance and the possibility of litigation. The Fund may have instruments linked to other interbank offered rates that may also cease to be published in the future.
Risk of Investing in the United States. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
Small Fund Risk. When the Funds 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. Any resulting liquidation of the Fund could cause the Fund to incur elevated transaction costs for the Fund and negative tax consequences for its shareholders.
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Structured Securities Risk. Because structured securities of the type in which the Fund may invest typically involve no credit enhancement, their credit risk generally will be equivalent to that of the underlying instruments, index or reference obligation and will also be subject to counterparty risk. The Fund may have the right to receive payments only from the structured security, and generally does not have direct rights against the issuer or the entity that sold the assets to be securitized. In addition to the general risks associated with debt securities discussed herein, structured securities carry additional risks, including, but not limited to: the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; and the possibility that the structured securities are subordinate to other classes. The Fund is permitted to invest in a class of structured securities that is either subordinated or unsubordinated to the right of payment of another class. Subordinated structured securities typically have higher yields and present greater risks than unsubordinated structured securities. Structured securities are typically sold in private placement transactions, and there currently is no active trading market for structured securities. Structured securities are based upon the movement of one or more factors, including currency exchange rates, interest rates, reference bonds and stock indices, and changes in interest rates and impact of these factors may cause significant price fluctuations. Additionally, changes in the reference instrument or security may cause the interest rate on the
structured security to be reduced to zero. Certain issuers of such structured securities may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the Investment Company Act. As a result, the Funds investment in such securities may be limited by certain investment restrictions contained in the Investment Company Act.
U.S. Government Issuer Risk. Treasury obligations may differ in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics. Obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees of credit but generally are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so.
Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Funds 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. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Funds portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Funds 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
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received had the Fund not fairvalued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Funds ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
Performance Information
The information shows you how the Funds performance has varied year by year and provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The table compares the Funds performance to that of the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index and the Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index. The Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index is relevant to the Fund because it has characteristics similar to the Funds investment strategies. To the extent that dividends and distributions have been paid by the Fund, the performance information for the Fund in the chart and table assumes reinvestment of the dividends and distributions. As with all such investments, past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. If the Funds investment manager and its affiliates had not waived or reimbursed certain Fund expenses during these periods, the Funds returns would have been lower.
Calendar Year by Year Returns1
1 |
The Funds year-to-date return as of September 30, 2024 was 6.24%. |
The best calendar quarter return during the period shown above was 3.17% in the first quarter of 2023; the worst was 2.71% in the third quarter of 2023.
Updated performance information, including the Funds current NAV, may be obtained by visiting our website at www.blackrock.com or by calling 1-800-474-2737 (toll free).
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Average Annual Total Returns
(for the periods ended December 31, 2023)
One Year |
Since Fund Inception |
|||||||
(Inception Date: 10/4/22) |
||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
12.46 | % | 11.74 | % | ||||
Return after Taxes on Distributions1 |
8.31 | % | 7.89 | % | ||||
Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares1 |
7.25 | % | 7.28 | % | ||||
Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index2,3 (Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
6.17 | % | 5.86 | % | ||||
Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index4 (Index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
13.32 | % | 12.39 | % |
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 investors 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 |
The Fund has adopted this broad-based index in response to new regulatory requirements. |
3 |
The Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index is an index that represents the union of the US Aggregate Index, US Corporate High Yield Index, Investment Grade 144A Index, Eurodollar Index, US Emerging Markets Index, and the non-ERISA eligible portion of the CMBS Index. The index covers USD-denominated, taxable bonds that are rated either investment grade or high-yield. Some US Universal Index constituents may be eligible for one or more of its contributing subcomponents that are not mutually exclusive. These securities are not double counted in the index. |
4 |
The Morningstar LSTA Leveraged Loan Index is a market-value weighted index designed to measure the performance of the US leveraged loan market. |
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Management
Investment Adviser. BlackRock Fund Advisors.
Portfolio Managers. Mitchell Garfin, CFA, Carly Wilson and Tara Fitzpatrick (the Portfolio Managers) are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Mr. Garfin and Mses. Wilson and Fitzpatrick have been Portfolio Managers 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 your as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (IRA), in which case, your distributions generally will be taxable 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 intermediarys website for more information.
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For more information visit www.blackrock.com or call 1-800-474-2737
Investment Company Act File # 811-23511
SPRO-FRL1124