ABOUT US

WHO WE ARE

With a global lineup of 1,400+ Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), we are committed to unlocking opportunity across markets to match the ambition of our investors large and small.1

AN INDUSTRY LEADER

iShares has been a leader in the ETF marketplace for more than two decades, and as a part of BlackRock, our products are engineered by investment professionals with discipline and deep risk management expertise.

43
MILLIONS OF INVESTORS AROUND THE WORLD ARE USING iSHARES ETFs2
$167
IN 2023 OUR CLIENTS ENTRUSTED US WITH OVER $167 BILLION IN NEW ETF AND INDEX FUNDS MUTUAL ASSETS3
$3.3
TOTAL GLOBAL AUM4

OUR HISTORY

Buoyed by an always pushing, never settling approach, we’ve always focused on anticipating investor needs and innovating to stay ahead of new market realities.
  • 1973

    OUR BEGINNINGS

    Our predecessors at Wells Fargo pioneered the first index strategy. Their unit was later sold to Barclays which was then sold to BlackRock in 2009.5

  • 1996

    THE FIRST iSHARES ETF

    Our first 17 ETFs were launched in 1996, starting with US equity ETFs and expanding internationally with some of the first international ETFs, including exposure to Mexico, Canada, and Brazil.

  • 2002

    A NEW WAY TO TRADE BONDS

    We launched the first bond ETFs, modernizing fixed income portfolios with low costs and deep liquidity.6

  • 2005

    FIRST iSHARES SUSTAINABLE ETFs

    We debuted sustainable ETFs, helping investors target Environmental, Social and Governance-related priorities (ESG) within their portfolios.7

  • 2017

    FIRST SUSTAINABLE FIXED INCOME ETFs

    We launched the first sustainable fixed income ETFs, offering investors multiple approaches to fixed income investing.8

  • 2019

    LAUNCH OF THEMATIC ETFs

    We created thematic ETFs, offering investors access to companies focused on long-term innovation in industries including tech, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture.9

  • 2021

    EUROPE’S LARGEST ETF PROVIDER CONTINUES TO DRIVE INNOVATION

    In 2021, we launched more ETFs than any other European ETF provider,10 and 75% of these launches were sustainable funds.11

 

1BlackRock Global Business Intelligence as of of 02/01/24.

2BlackRock, as of September 30, 2023. 43 figure is an estimated of the number of investors holding iShares ETFs globally using various sources. For the United States, ETF BlackRock, as of September 30, 2023.

3ETF assets: BlackRock iShares Global Business Intelligence (YTD data as of 7 December 2023). BlackRock IMFs: BlackRock Financial Planning and Analysis (YTD as of 31 October 2023).

4 BlackRock Global Business Intelligence as of 11/30/23.

5 In 1973, Wells Fargo set up an index fund based on the S&P 500.

6 iShares launched the first bond ETFs in the U.S. in July 2002 (LQD, SHY, IEF, TLT).

7 iShares MSCI USA ESG Select ETF (SUSA) debuted on January 24, 2005.

8 iShares ESG Aware USD Corporate Bond ETF (SUSC) debuted on July 11, 2017.

9 IDRV, IHAK, and IDNA all launched during 2019, and iShares formalized its Megatrends product suite.

10 Excludes single line, leveraged products, as of December 31, 2021 (BlackRock).

11 BlackRock, as of December 31, 2021.


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