SAN FRANCISCO, CA — (Marketwire) — 10/20/11 — BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) today announced that its iShares® Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) business, the world-s largest manager of ETFs, has launched on the NYSE Arca four new minimum volatility funds designed to help investors manage risk in their portfolios. The new funds can help provide a portfolio with downside protection while seeking to maintain some exposure to the upside price movement.
The funds are:
– iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSE Arca: EEMV)
– iShares MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSE Arca: EFAV)
– iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSE Arca: USMV)
– iShares All Country World Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSE Arca: ACWV)
“In today-s market environment, there is increased interest in managing risk and finding a solution via ETFs. Investors are seeking -smart beta- solutions,” said Darek Wojnar, Head of iShares Product Development at BlackRock. “The new iShares Minimum Volatility Funds can help investors to reduce overall risk in a portfolio while retaining equity exposures. These funds can provide a complement to the core passive portfolio, helping to optimize risk-adjusted returns over the long term.”
The funds track the MSCI Minimum Volatility Indices. The indices are constructed by optimizing the respective parent MSCI Indices, which are capitalization-weighted, by determining weights for securities in the indices with the lowest total risk. Index constraints such as country, sector and style exposures are applied to the optimization to ensure diversification, while broadly matching the profile of the corresponding cap-weighted MSCI index.
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At September 30, 2011, BlackRock-s AUM was $3.345 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 June 30, 2011, the firm has approximately 9,700 employees in 26 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 .
iShares is the global product leader in exchange traded funds with over 460 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 19 exchanges worldwide. The iShares Funds are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges. 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 shares 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 high net worth individuals.
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. Diversification may not protect against market risk.
In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, international investments may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuation in currency values, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles or from economic or political instability in other nations. Emerging markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors as well as increased volatility and lower trading volume. The Funds may experience more than minimum volatility as there is no guarantee that the underlying indices- strategy of seeking to lower volatility will be successful.
Transactions in shares of the iShares Funds will result in brokerage commissions and will generate tax consequences. iShares Funds are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to shareholders. Shares of the iShares Funds may be sold throughout the day on the exchange through any brokerage account. However, shares may only be redeemed directly from a Fund by Authorized Participants, in very large creation/redemption units.
The iShares Funds (“Funds”) are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (“SEI”). BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) serves as the investment advisor to the Funds. BlackRock Fund Distribution Company (“BFDC”) assists in the marketing of the Funds. BFA and BFDC are affiliates of BlackRock, Inc., none of which is affiliated with SEI.
The iShares Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by MSCI Inc. This company does not make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Funds. Neither SEI, nor BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A., nor any of their affiliates, are affiliated with the company listed above.