TORONTO, ONTARIO — (Marketwire) — 03/28/12 — BlackRock Investments Canada Inc., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), today announced that following its previously-announced acquisition, the names of most of the exchange-traded funds and closed-end funds managed by BlackRock Investments Canada Inc. (formerly Claymore Investments, Inc.) have been rebranded to iShares®. The TSX ticker symbols for these investment funds remain unchanged. The funds will begin trading under their new names on March 29, 2012, except for the iShares Premium Money Market Fund, which will begin trading under its new name on April 2, 2012. The name changes are as follows:
(i) Effective on or about April 2, 2012.
Where applicable, prospectus disclosure of the above investment funds has been updated to reflect these name changes as well as other changes incidental to the completion of the acquisition. The CUSIP numbers for these funds have changed and are available at .
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2011, BlackRock-s AUM was US$3.513 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients- needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2011, the firm has approximately 10,100 employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company-s website at .
About iShares ETFs
The iShares business is a global product leader in ETFs with over 460 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 19 exchanges worldwide. The iShares funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell securities through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. The iShares customer base consists of the institutional segment of pension plans and fund managers, as well as the retail segment of financial advisors and individual investors.
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