ABOUT iSHARES

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.

20
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
164
NEW ETF AND INDEX MUTUAL FUND ASSETS2
3.3
GLOBAL AUM3

OUR PRODUCTS

With hundreds of ways to tailor your portfolio, our products can help you take on many challenges, from strengthening your core to investing in forces transforming the world.

1,400
ETFs GLOBALLY4
200
SUSTAINABLE ETFs GLOBALLY5
600
DOLLARS SAVED BY INVESTORS THROUGH iSHARES' REDUCTION IN FUND FEES6
BROWSE OUR FUNDS

OUR HISTORY

Buoyed by a “never-finished” outlook, 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 2009.7

  • 1996

    1st iSHARES ETF

    Our first 17 ETFs launched in 1996, including the first international ETFs with exposure to Mexico, Canada, and Brazil, making us one of the earliest ETF innovators.8

  • 2002

    A NEW WAY TO TRADE BONDS

    We launched the first bond ETFs, modernizing fixed income portfolios with low costs and deep liquidity.9

  • 2005

    1st iSHARES SUSTAINABLE ETFs

    We debuted sustainable ETFs, helping investors target Environmental, Social, and Governance-related priorities within their portfolios.10

  • 2017

    1st SUSTAINABLE FIXED INCOME ETFs

    We launched the first sustainable fixed income ETFs, offering investors multiple approaches to fixed income investing.11

  • 2019

    LAUNCHED THEMATIC ETF SUITE

    We created a suite of thematic ETFs, offering investors access to companies focused on long-term innovation in industries including tech, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture.12

  • 2022

    A PROVIDER WITH OVER 1400 FUNDS GLOBALLY AND OVER $3.3T AUM13

    We began 2022 responsible for managing the assets of over 100 million people around the world, just 50 years after introducing our first index fund and 25 years after our first ETF client. By the end of 2022, another 5 million people chose to invest in our iShares ETFs.14

MEET SOME OF THE BRAINS BEHIND iSHARES

The iShares team is a dynamic team of industry experts who keep an eye on micro and macro trends in investing.
Photo of Samara Cohen

LEARN ABOUT THE iSHARES APPROACH TO ETFs FROM SAMARA

Samara is Chief Investment Officer of iShares and leads the teams focused on delivering the market quality and investment integrity of iShares ETFs. From risk managers to platform architects, Samara and her teams seek to modernize the ETF markets to help more people experience financial well-being.

GET TO KNOW SAMARA
Photo of Gargi Pal Chaudhuri

TAP INTO iSHARES MARKET INSIGHTS WITH GARGI

Gargi and her team focus on delivering global macro thought leadership, investment insights, trade ideas and content to both retail and institutional clients of the firm.

GET TO KNOW GARGI
Photo of Jay Jacobs

BE IN THE KNOW ON EMERGING TRENDS WITH JAY

Jay Jacobs is the U.S. Head of Thematics and Active Equity ETFs and leads research and development of our thematic ETF suite, unlocking opportunities across innovative trends including electric vehicles, blockchain, clean energy and more.

GET TO KNOW JAY

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

iShares is a global leader in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with a line-up of over 1,400 funds.15 As part of BlackRock, iShares ETFs offer investors everywhere access to high quality, high value investment opportunities.

In March of 1996, our first ETFs were created, originally known as World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS). Four years later, the WEBS funds were folded into a new line of iShares-branded ETFs.

We manage over 1,400 ETFs globally, so whether you’re dipping your toes into ETFs or fine-tuning your portfolio, our broad range of cost-efficient ETFs is designed to help you build a portfolio to pursue your needs.16

iShares ETFs offer diversified, low-cost, and tax-efficient access to the world’s investment markets. To learn about the benefits and uses of ETFs, visit our education hub page “What is an ETF?”.

Please visit our page “How to Invest in ETFs” to learn how to buy iShares.