UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM N-CSR

 

 

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT

OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-09729

 

 

iShares Trust

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

 

c/o: State Street Bank and Trust Company

100 Summer Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02110

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

 

The Corporation Trust Company

1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, DE 19801

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (415) 670-2000

Date of fiscal year end: April 30, 2022

Date of reporting period: April 30, 2022

 

 

 

 


Item 1.

Reports to Stockholders.

(a) The Report to Shareholders is attached herewith.

 


 

LOGO

  APRIL 30, 2022

 

 

   

   2022 Annual Report

 

iShares Trust

 

·  

iShares Global Clean Energy ETF | ICLN | NASDAQ


The Markets in Review

Dear Shareholder,

The 12-month reporting period as of April 30, 2022 saw the emergence of significant challenges that disrupted the economic recovery and strong financial markets which characterized 2021. The U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter of 2022, ending the run of robust growth which followed reopening and the development of the COVID-19 vaccines. Rapid changes in consumer spending led to supply constraints and elevated inflation, which reached a 40-year high. Moreover, while the foremost effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a severe humanitarian crisis, the invasion has presented challenges for both investors and policymakers.

Equity prices were mixed but mostly down, as persistently high inflation drove investors’ expectations for higher interest rates, particularly weighing on relatively high valuation growth stocks and economically sensitive small-capitalization stocks. Overall, small-capitalization U.S. stocks declined, while large-capitalization U.S. stocks were nearly flat. Both emerging market stocks and international equities from developed markets fell significantly, pressured by rising interest rates and a strengthening U.S. dollar.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield (which is inversely related to bond prices) rose during the reporting period as increasing inflation drove investors’ expectations for higher interest rates. The corporate bond market also faced inflationary headwinds, and increasing uncertainty led to higher corporate bond spreads (the difference in yield between U.S. Treasuries and similarly-dated corporate bonds).

The U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”), acknowledging that inflation is growing faster than expected, raised interest rates in March 2022, the first increase of this business cycle. Furthermore, the Fed wound down its bond-buying programs and raised the prospect of reversing the flow and reducing its balance sheet. Continued high inflation and the Fed’s new tone led many analysts to anticipate that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates multiple times throughout the year.

Looking ahead, however, the horrific war in Ukraine has significantly clouded the outlook for the global economy, leading to major volatility in energy and metal markets. Sanctions on Russia, Europe’s top energy supplier, and general wartime disruption are likely to drive already-high commodity prices even higher. We believe sharp increases in energy prices will exacerbate inflationary pressure while also constraining economic growth. Combating inflation without stifling a recovery, while buffering against ongoing supply and price shocks amid the ebb and flow of the pandemic, will be an especially challenging environment for setting effective monetary policy. Despite the likelihood of more rate increases on the horizon, we believe the Fed will err on the side of protecting employment, even at the expense of higher inflation.

In this environment, we favor an overweight to equities, as valuations have become more attractive and inflation-adjusted interest rates remain low. Sectors that are better poised to manage the transition to a lower-carbon world, such as technology and healthcare, are particularly attractive in the long term. We favor U.S. equities due to strong earnings momentum, while Japanese equities should benefit from supportive monetary and fiscal policy. We are underweight credit overall, but inflation-protected U.S. Treasuries, Asian fixed income, and emerging market local-currency bonds offer potential opportunities for additional yield. We believe that international diversification and a focus on sustainability and quality can help provide portfolio resilience.

Overall, our view is that investors need to think globally, extend their scope across a broad array of asset classes, and be nimble as market conditions change. We encourage you to talk with your financial advisor and visit iShares.com for further insight about investing in today’s markets.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock, Inc.

LOGO

Rob Kapito

President, BlackRock, Inc.

 

Total Returns as of April 30, 2022

 

     
    

 

6-Month

 

 

 

12-Month

 

   

U.S. large cap equities
(S&P 500® Index)

 

  (9.65)%   0.21%
   

U.S. small cap equities
(Russell 2000® Index)

 

  (18.38)     (16.87)  
   

International equities
(MSCI Europe, Australasia,
Far East Index)

 

  (11.80)     (8.15)  
   

Emerging market equities
(MSCI Emerging Markets
Index)

 

  (14.15)     (18.33)  
   

3-month Treasury bills
(ICE BofA 3-Month
U.S. Treasury Bill Index)

 

  0.07      0.08   
   

U.S. Treasury securities
(ICE BofA 10-Year U.S.
Treasury Index)

 

  (10.29)     (8.86)  
   

U.S. investment grade bonds
(Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index)

 

  (9.47)     (8.51)  
   

Tax-exempt municipal bonds
(Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index)

 

  (7.90)     (7.88)  
   

U.S. high yield bonds
(Bloomberg U.S. Corporate
High Yield 2% Issuer Capped
Index)

 

  (7.40)     (5.22)  

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Index performance is shown for illustrative purposes only. You cannot invest directly in an index.

 

 

 

 

2  

H I S   P A G E   I S   N O T   P A R T   O F   Y O U R  U N D  E P O R T


Table of Contents

 

     

Page

 

 

The Markets in Review

     2  

Market Overview

     4  

Fund Summary

     5  

About Fund Performance

     7  

Shareholder Expenses

     7  

Schedule of Investments

     8  

Financial Statements

  

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

     14  

Statement of Operations

     15  

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

     16  

Financial Highlights

     17  

Notes to Financial Statements

     18  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     27  

Important Tax Information (Unaudited)

     28  

Statement Regarding Liquidity Risk Management Program

     29  

Supplemental Information

     30  

Trustee and Officer Information

     31  

General Information

     34  

Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

     35  

 

 

 


Market Overview   

 

iShares Trust

Global Market Overview

Global equity markets declined during the 12 months ended April 30, 2022 (“reporting period”). The MSCI ACWI, a broad global equity index that includes both developed and emerging markets, returned -5.44% in U.S. dollar terms for the reporting period.

In the first half of the reporting period, stocks were supported by economic recovery in most regions of the world. The global economy continued to rebound from the impact of restrictions imposed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, as mitigation and adaptation allowed most economic activity to continue. However, significant challenges emerged in the second half of the reporting period, erasing earlier gains. Inflation rose significantly in many countries, reducing consumers’ purchasing power and leading many central banks to tighten monetary policy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presented a further challenge to the global economy, disrupting markets in important commodities such as oil, natural gas, and wheat.

The U.S. economy grew briskly over the final three quarters of 2021, powered primarily by consumers with strong household balance sheets. Record-high personal savings rates allowed consumers to spend at an elevated level throughout much of the reporting period, releasing pent-up demand for goods and services. Hiring increased as businesses restored capacity, and unemployment decreased substantially, falling to 3.6% in April 2022 — only marginally higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 3.5% in February 2020. However, the economy contracted in the first quarter of 2022 amid lower inventory investment and an inflation-driven decline in consumer sentiment.

Rising inflation led to a shift in policy from the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank (“Fed”). As the reporting period began, the Fed was using accommodative monetary policy to stimulate the economy. Short-term interest rates were kept at near zero levels, and the Fed used bond-buying programs to stabilize debt markets. However, rising prices led the Fed to tighten monetary policy in the second half of the reporting period in an attempt to prevent runaway inflation. The Fed slowed and then ended its bond-buying activities and discussed plans to begin reducing its balance sheet by selling bonds later in 2022. In March 2022, it raised short-term interest rates and indicated that further increases could be necessary. Interest rates rose significantly in anticipation of further tightening, leading to higher borrowing costs for businesses.

Stocks declined in Europe and economic growth stalled, with the Eurozone economy slowing substantially in the second half of the reporting period. Significantly higher inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine negatively impacted equities. Russia is an important trading partner with many European countries, and new sanctions against Russia imposed limits on certain types of trade with Russia. Investors became concerned that the sharp rise in energy prices during the reporting period would constrain economic growth, as Europe relies on imported energy for much of its industrial and heating needs. The European Central Bank (“ECB”) maintained ultra-low interest rates but started to wind down its bond buying program.

Despite relatively low inflation by global standards, Asia-Pacific stocks declined significantly. Chinese stocks endured substantial declines, driving much of the negative performance in the region. Regulatory interventions by the Chinese government weighed on equity markets, particularly in the information technology sector. While China’s economy continued to expand at a solid pace, COVID-19 cases rose sharply late in the reporting period, and analysts became concerned that the subsequent lockdowns would constrain growth.

 

 

4  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Fund Summary as  of April 30, 2022    iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

 

Investment Objective

The iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of global equities in the clean energy sector, as represented by the S&P Global Clean Energy IndexTM (the “Index”). The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. Due to the use of representative sampling, the Fund may or may not hold all of the securities that are included in the Index.

Performance

 

          

Average Annual Total Returns

 

          

Cumulative Total Returns

 

 
            

 

1 Year

 

   

 

5 Years

   

 

10 Years

           

 

1 Year

   

 

5 Years

   

 

10 Years

 

Fund NAV

       (17.64 )%      19.38     10.83        (17.64 )%      142.45     179.64

Fund Market

       (18.01     19.29       10.78          (18.01     141.57       178.26  

Index

             (16.97     19.65       10.26                (16.97     145.21       165.61  

GROWTH OF $10,000 INVESTMENT

(AT NET ASSET VALUE)

 

LOGO

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Performance results do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. See “About Fund Performance” on page 7 for more information.

Expense Example

 

   

Actual

 

         

Hypothetical 5% Return

 

          
 

 

 

     

 

 

      
     

 

Beginning
Account Value
(11/01/21)

 

 
 
 

 

      

 

Ending
Account Value
(04/30/22)

 

 
 
 

 

      

 

Expenses
Paid During
the Period 

 

 
 
(a) 

 

           

 

Beginning
Account Value
(11/01/21)

 

 
 
 

 

      

 

Ending
Account Value
(04/30/22)

 

 
 
 

 

      

 

Expenses
Paid During
the Period 

 

 
 
(a) 

 

      

 

Annualized
Expense
Ratio

 

 
 
 

 

      $

 

1,000.00

 

 

 

     $

 

753.10

 

 

 

     $

 

1.74

 

 

 

          $

 

1,000.00

 

 

 

     $

 

1,022.80

 

 

 

     $

 

2.01

 

 

 

      

 

0.40

 

 

 

  (a)

Expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period shown). Other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, may be paid which are not reflected in the tables and examples above. See “Shareholder Expenses” for more information.

 

 

 

F U N D    S U M M A R Y

  5


Fund Summary  as of April  30, 2022     (continued)    iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

 

Portfolio Management Commentary

Clean energy stocks declined for the reporting period despite the continued growth of renewable energy, as relatively high valuations and operational difficulties ultimately weighed on the industry. Record-setting demand for alternative energy in 2021 led to relatively high valuations and high expectations for earnings derived from clean energy. During the reporting period, governments budgeted record amounts toward climate goals, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led some countries to seek alternatives to Russian fossil fuels. Despite expectations for another record-setting year of demand in 2022, headwinds related to rising cost and component shortages hampered the industry’s growth, while rising interest rates dampened enthusiasm for high-valuation growth stocks, including renewable energy stocks.

Clean energy stocks in the U.S. were the largest detractors from the Index’s performance, led by the industrials sector. Supply constraints weighed on accelerating installation growth for solar battery systems, as did associated sales and marketing costs. Proposed reduction in incentives for rooftop solar installations in California further weighed on solar stocks. A hydrogen fuel cell maker posted declines as the higher interest rate environment soured investors on low-profitability stocks. Stiff competition further pressured the industry, as a competitor announced partnerships to supply fuel cell solutions for heavy-duty and electric trucks.

Danish equities also detracted from the Index’s return, particularly stocks in the industrials sector. A wind turbine maker in the electrical components industry reported lower profits amid supply chain constraints and higher input and shipping costs. Despite strong demand, the war in Ukraine and more expensive commodities constrained the ability to raise prices in an increasingly competitive field. Danish stocks in the utilities sector also weighed on the Index’s return. A large wind farm owner-operator in the electric utilities industry was pressured by lower-than-average wind speeds, which reduced the amount of energy generated and sold. Unexpected repair costs also weighed on profits.

Spanish stocks detracted notably from the Index’s return, led by a major firm in the electrical equipment industry. This company’s wind turbine division, which faced the same input price pressures and supply chain issues as its Danish counterpart, drove the decline. Costs to onboard a new onshore wind turbine platform were higher than expected, reducing profitability.

Portfolio Information

ALLOCATION BY SECTOR

   

Sector

 

   

 

Percent of
Total Investments

 

 
(a)  

 

Semiconductor Equipment

    21.0

Renewable Electricity

    18.3  

Electric Utilities

    16.1  

Heavy Electrical Equipment

    12.4  

Electrical Components & Equipment

    11.6  

Semiconductors

    8.0  

Multi-Utilities

    6.6  

Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing

    3.0  

Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders

    1.5  

Commodity Chemicals

    1.3  

Other (each representing less than 1%)

 

   

 

0.2

 

 

 

 

  (a)

Excludes money market funds

 

 

TEN LARGEST GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION

   

Country/Geographic Region

 

   

 

Percent of

Total Investments

 

 

(a) 

 

United States

    42.9

China

    12.3  

Denmark

    10.3  

Canada

    4.4  

Spain

    4.3  

Brazil

    4.0  

Portugal

    2.9  

Japan

    2.6  

Germany

    2.4  

South Korea

 

   

 

2.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

6  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


About Fund Performance

 

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and trading in many instruments has been disrupted. These circumstances may continue for an extended period of time and may continue to affect adversely the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. As a result, current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month-end is available at iShares.com. Performance results assume reinvestment of all dividends and capital gain distributions and do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or on the redemption or sale of fund shares. The investment return and principal value of shares will vary with changes in market conditions. Shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when they are redeemed or sold in the market. Performance for certain funds may reflect a waiver of a portion of investment advisory fees. Without such a waiver, performance would have been lower.

Net asset value or “NAV” is the value of one share of a fund as calculated in accordance with the standard formula for valuing mutual fund shares. Beginning August 10, 2020, the price used to calculate market return (“Market Price”) is the closing price. Prior to August 10, 2020, Market Price was determined using the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest ask on the primary stock exchange on which shares of a fund are listed for trading, as of the time that such fund’s NAV is calculated. Market and NAV returns assume that dividends and capital gain distributions have been reinvested at Market Price and NAV, respectively.

An index is a statistical composite that tracks a specified financial market or sector. Unlike a fund, an index does not actually hold a portfolio of securities and therefore does not incur the expenses incurred by a fund. These expenses negatively impact fund performance. Also, market returns do not include brokerage commissions that may be payable on secondary market transactions. If brokerage commissions were included, market returns would be lower.

Shareholder Expenses

Shareholders of the Fund may incur the following charges: (1) transactional expenses, including brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of fund shares and (2) ongoing expenses, including management fees and other fund expenses. The expense example shown (which is based on a hypothetical investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held through the end of the period) is intended to assist shareholders both in calculating expenses based on an investment in the Fund and in comparing these expenses with similar costs of investing in other funds.

The expense example provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. Annualized expense ratios reflect contractual and voluntary fee waivers, if any. In order to estimate the expenses a shareholder paid during the period covered by this report, shareholders can divide their account value by $1,000 and then multiply the result by the number under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period.”

The expense example also provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses. In order to assist shareholders in comparing the ongoing expenses of investing in the Fund and other funds, compare the 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

The expenses shown in the expense example are intended to highlight shareholders’ ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional expenses, such as brokerage commissions and other fees paid on purchases and sales of fund shares. Therefore, the hypothetical example is useful in comparing ongoing expenses only and will not help shareholders determine the relative total expenses of owning different funds. If these transactional expenses were included, shareholder expenses would have been higher.

 

 

A B O U T   F U N D   P E R F O R M A N C E / S H A R E H O L D E R   E X P E N S E S

  7


Schedule of Investments

April 30, 2022

  

iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security

 

 

Shares

 

   

Value

 

 

Common Stocks

   
Austria — 1.1%            

Verbund AG

    502,818     $ 53,745,833  
   

 

 

 
Brazil — 2.4%            

Auren Energia SA

    3,573,443       10,596,118  

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, ADR(a)

    6,905,104       57,243,312  

CPFL Energia SA

    2,351,796       17,196,255  

EDP - Energias do Brasil SA

    3,187,861       13,656,873  

Light SA

    3,801,996       6,867,348  

Neoenergia SA

    2,206,442       8,381,351  

Omega Energia SA(b)

    3,540,653       7,648,575  
   

 

 

 
          121,589,832  
Canada — 4.3%            

Ballard Power Systems Inc.(a)(b)

    5,499,426       45,676,935  

Boralex Inc., Class A

    966,755       28,980,450  

Brookfield Renewable Corp., Class A

    816,363       29,314,463  

Canadian Solar Inc.(a)(b)

    875,142       24,083,908  

Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.

    1,878,327       25,148,659  

Northland Power Inc.

    2,076,451       62,666,100  
   

 

 

 
      215,870,515  
Chile — 0.5%            

Enel Americas SA, ADR

    4,269,742       22,715,027  
   

 

 

 
China — 12.2%            

CECEP Solar Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,160,300       3,153,188  

CECEP Wind Power Corp, Class A

    5,274,600       3,164,495  

China Datang Corp. Renewable Power Co. Ltd., Class H

    59,346,000       22,433,348  

China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd., Class A

    23,212,000       79,101,534  

Daqo New Energy Corp., ADR(a)(b)

    1,519,166       63,151,731  

Dynagreen Environmental Protection Group Co. Ltd.

    1,009,300       1,098,167  

Flat Glass Group Co. Ltd., Class H(a)

    10,217,000       36,534,185  

Ginlong Technologies Co. Ltd., Class A

    256,300       7,360,924  

Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower Inc.

    6,993,700       6,429,457  

JA Solar Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,651,400       19,983,578  

Jiangsu Akcome Science & Technology Co. Ltd.(b)

    4,571,600       1,861,924  

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd., ADR(a)(b)

    1,034,117       53,008,837  

LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,143,600       41,666,903  

Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Ltd., Class A

    2,026,600       6,664,404  

Risen Energy Co. Ltd.

    920,000       2,968,884  

Sichuan Chuantou Energy Co. Ltd., Class A

    4,557,000       7,533,644  

Sinoma Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,316,500       3,976,638  

Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,533,600       14,382,271  

Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co. Ltd., Class A

    3,337,100       19,349,616  

Titan Wind Energy Suzhou Co. Ltd., Class A

    1,839,500       2,743,170  

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Class H

    19,795,600       28,136,369  

Xinyi Energy Holdings Ltd.

    20,180,000       10,794,454  

Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd.

    114,972,000       170,897,211  
   

 

 

 
      606,394,932  
Denmark — 10.2%            

Orsted AS(c)

    1,824,494       201,844,538  

Vestas Wind Systems A/S

    12,095,345       308,443,324  
   

 

 

 
      510,287,862  
France — 0.7%            

McPhy Energy SA(a)(b)

    570,874       10,428,307  

Neoen SA(a)(b)(c)

    539,909       21,572,448  
   

 

 

 
      32,000,755  

Security

 

 

Shares

 

   

Value

 

 
Germany — 2.4%            

Encavis AG

    1,233,605     $ 26,930,392  

Nordex SE(a)(b)

    2,735,290       39,476,017  

SMA Solar Technology AG(a)

    436,149       19,848,623  

VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG

    446,480       31,639,525  
   

 

 

 
          117,894,557  
India — 1.7%            

Adani Green Energy Ltd.(b)

    2,091,578       78,270,165  

Azure Power Global Ltd.(a)(b)

    469,963       6,602,980  
   

 

 

 
      84,873,145  
Israel — 0.7%            

Energix-Renewable Energies Ltd.

    3,894,022       13,192,905  

Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd.(a)(b)

    10,625,674       22,796,771  
   

 

 

 
      35,989,676  
Italy — 1.1%            

ERG SpA

    817,898       28,181,285  

Falck Renewables SpA

    2,978,230       27,758,549  
   

 

 

 
      55,939,834  
Japan — 2.6%            

Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc.

    9,679,200       97,712,156  

RENOVA Inc.(a)(b)

    1,089,600       13,424,810  

West Holdings Corp.(a)

    415,300       16,381,400  
   

 

 

 
      127,518,366  
New Zealand — 0.7%            

Contact Energy Ltd.

    3,686,801       19,369,011  

Meridian Energy Ltd.

    5,311,498       16,120,694  
   

 

 

 
      35,489,705  
Norway — 1.1%            

NEL ASA(a)(b)

    18,267,499       25,959,385  

Scatec ASA(c)

    2,312,658       27,952,275  
   

 

 

 
      53,911,660  
Portugal — 2.8%            

EDP - Energias de Portugal SA

    30,323,088       141,325,650  
   

 

 

 
Singapore — 0.1%            

Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd.(a)(b)

    558,594       6,468,519  
   

 

 

 
South Korea — 2.3%            

CS Wind Corp.

    602,637       28,194,129  

Doosan Fuel Cell Co. Ltd.(a)(b)

    1,036,298       28,155,829  

Hanwha Solutions Corp.(b)

    2,342,377       58,873,154  
   

 

 

 
      115,223,112  
Spain — 4.3%            

Corp. ACCIONA Energias Renovables SA

    465,783       17,218,697  

EDP Renovaveis SA

    2,625,835       62,146,052  

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA(a)(b)

    5,734,605       91,344,035  

Solaria Energia y Medio Ambiente SA(b)

    1,912,678       42,443,563  
   

 

 

 
      213,152,347  
Sweden — 0.3%            

PowerCell Sweden AB(a)(b)

    1,100,598       16,079,916  
   

 

 

 
Switzerland — 1.0%            

BKW AG

    201,487       24,527,248  

Meyer Burger Technology AG(a)(b)

    56,083,962       26,574,660  
   

 

 

 
      51,101,908  
Taiwan — 0.5%            

Motech Industries Inc.

    4,106,000       4,240,933  

TSEC Corp.(b)

    5,284,000       7,774,548  
 

 

 

8  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments   (continued)

April 30, 2022

  

iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

(Percentages shown are based on Net Assets)

 

Security

 

 

Shares

 

   

Value

 

 

Taiwan (continued)

   

United Renewable Energy Co. Ltd.(b)

    18,246,000     $ 13,162,134  
   

 

 

 
      25,177,615  
Thailand — 1.4%            

BCPG PCL, NVDR

    14,739,000       5,268,940  

Energy Absolute PCL, NVDR

    23,271,200       59,704,429  

Super Energy Corp. PCL, NVDR

    170,629,600       4,334,241  
   

 

 

 
      69,307,610  
United Kingdom — 0.7%            

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure PLC

    1,187,219       36,685,067  
   

 

 

 
United States — 42.5%            

Aemetis Inc.(a)(b)

    755,867       6,901,066  

Array Technologies Inc.(a)(b)

    3,035,341       19,820,777  

Avangrid Inc.

    1,334,142       59,169,198  

Bloom Energy Corp., Class A(a)(b)

    3,770,509       69,980,647  

Clearway Energy Inc., Class C

    1,565,405       47,791,815  

Consolidated Edison Inc.

    3,505,098       325,062,789  

Enphase Energy Inc.(a)(b)

    2,254,371       363,855,479  

First Solar Inc.(a)(b)

    2,522,770       184,237,893  

FTC Solar Inc.(a)(b)

    562,415       1,574,762  

FuelCell Energy Inc.(a)(b)

    6,946,006       28,339,704  

Gevo Inc.(a)(b)

    5,101,514       18,926,617  

Green Plains Inc.(a)(b)

    920,264       25,831,810  

Ormat Technologies Inc.

    857,246       66,608,014  

Plug Power Inc.(a)(b)

    13,233,798       278,174,434  

Renewable Energy Group Inc.(a)(b)

    1,085,767       66,296,933  

Shoals Technologies Group Inc., Class A(a)(b)

    2,631,347       26,260,843  

SolarEdge Technologies Inc.(a)(b)

    1,339,909       335,526,613  

Sunnova Energy International Inc.(a)(b)

    2,376,504       41,042,224  

SunPower Corp.(a)(b)

    2,117,725       34,963,640  

Sunrun Inc.(a)(b)

    5,281,194       105,518,256  

TPI Composites Inc.(a)(b)

    941,586       10,771,744  
   

 

 

 
      2,116,655,258  
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks — 97.6%
(Cost: $5,540,283,203)

      4,865,398,701  
   

 

 

 

Security

 

 

Shares

 

   

Value

 

 

Preferred Stocks

   
Brazil — 1.5%            

Cia. Energetica de Minas Gerais, Preference Shares, ADR

    24,560,843     $ 74,419,354  
   

 

 

 

Total Preferred Stocks — 1.5%
(Cost: $52,447,242)

      74,419,354  
   

 

 

 

Short-Term Investments

   

Money Market Funds — 14.4%

   

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional, SL Agency
Shares, 0.38%(d)(e)(f)

    691,889,565       691,889,565  

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency
Shares, 0.34%(d)(e)

    27,160,000       27,160,000  
   

 

 

 
      719,049,565  
   

 

 

 

Total Short-Term Investments — 14.4%
(Cost: $718,977,009)

      719,049,565  
   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities — 113.5%
(Cost: $6,311,707,454)

      5,658,867,620  

Other Assets, Less Liabilities — (13.5)%

      (675,272,110
   

 

 

 

Net Assets — 100.0%

    $  4,983,595,510  
   

 

 

 

 

(a) 

All or a portion of this security is on loan.

(b) 

Non-income producing security.

(c) 

Security exempt from registration pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration to qualified institutional investors.

(d) 

Affiliate of the Fund.

(e) 

Annualized 7-day yield as of period end.

(f) 

All or a portion of this security was purchased with the cash collateral from loaned securities.

 

Affiliates

Investments in issuers considered to be affiliate(s) of the Fund during the year ended April 30, 2022 for purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, were as follows:

 

 

 

Affiliated Issuer

 

  

Value at
04/30/21

 

    

Purchases
at Cost

 

    

Proceeds
from Sales

 

    

Net Realized
Gain (Loss)

 

    

Change in
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)

 

    

Value at
04/30/22

 

    

Shares
Held at
04/30/22

 

    

Income

 

    

Capital

Gain
Distributions
from
Underlying
Funds

 

 

 

 

BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional, SL Agency Shares

   $ 436,749,892      $ 255,448,737 (a)     $      $ (360,556    $ 51,492      $ 691,889,565        691,889,565      $ 3,467,082 (b)     $  

BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, SL Agency Shares

     43,810,000               (16,650,000 )(a)                     27,160,000        27,160,000        3,068         
           

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

       

 

 

    

 

 

 
            $

 

(360,556

 

 

   $

 

51,492

 

 

 

   $

 

719,049,565

 

 

 

      $

 

3,470,150

 

 

 

   $

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

       

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Represents net amount purchased (sold).

 
  (b) 

All or a portion represents securities lending income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral from loaned securities, net of fees and collateral investment expenses, and other payments to and from borrowers of securities.

 

 

 

  9


Schedule of Investments   (continued)

April 30, 2022

  

iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Outstanding as of Period End

Futures Contracts

 

 

 

Description

 

  

Number of
Contracts

 

    

Expiration
Date

 

    

Notional
Amount
(000)

 

    

Value/
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)

 

 

 

 

Long Contracts

           

Euro Stoxx 50 Index

     80        06/17/22      $ 3,113      $ 26,643  

MSCI Emerging Markets Index

     85        06/17/22        4,494        130,472  

S&P 500 E-Mini Index

     46        06/17/22        9,493        (101,814
           

 

 

 
            $

 

55,301

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

OTC Total Return Swaps

 

 

 

Reference Entity

 

 

Payment
Frequency

 

  

Counterparty(a)

 

  

Termination
Date

 

    

Net Notional

 

    

Accrued
Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)

 

   

Net Value of
Reference
Entity

 

    

Gross
Notional
Amount
Net Asset
Percentage

 

 

 

 

Equity Securities Long

  Monthly    Goldman Sachs Bank USA(b)      02/27/23      $ 1,528,327      $ (43,519 )(c)    $ 1,420,830        0.0 %(d) 
  Monthly    HSBC Bank PLC(e)      02/10/23        22,934,293        (830,888 )(f)      22,107,373        0.5  
  Monthly    JPMorgan Chase Bank NA(g)      02/08/23        1,452,410        (24,939 )(h)      1,427,549        0.0 (d) 
             

 

 

   

 

 

    
              $

 

(899,346

 

 

  $

 

24,955,752

 

 

 

  
             

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

  (a) 

The Fund receives the total return on a portfolio of long positions underlying the total return swap. The Fund pays the total return on a portfolio of short positions underlying the total return swap. In addition, the Fund pays or receives a variable rate of interest, based on a specified benchmark. The benchmark and spread are determined based upon the country and/or currency of the individual underlying positions.

 
  (c) 

Amount includes $63,978 of net dividends and financing fees.

 
  (d) 

Rounds to less than 0.1%.

 
  (f) 

Amount includes $(3,968) of net dividends, payable for referenced securities purchased and financing fees.

 
  (h) 

Amount includes $(78) of net dividends, payable for referenced securities purchased and financing fees.

 

The following are the specified benchmarks (plus or minus a range) used in determining the variable rate of interest:

  (b)    (e)    (g)
Range:   26-65 basis points    65 basis points    65 basis points
Benchmarks:   EUR - 1D Euro Short Term Rate (ESTR)    USD - 1D Overnight Bank Funding Rate    USD - 1D Overnight Bank Funding Rate
 

USD - 1D Overnight Fed Funds Effective Rate

(FEDL01)

   (OBFR01)    (OBFR01)

 

 

10  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments   (continued)

April 30, 2022

  

iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

 

The following table represents the individual long positions and related values of the equity securities underlying the total return swap with Goldman Sachs Bank USA as of April 30, 2022 expiration 2/27/2023.

 

    

Shares

 

   

Value

 

   

% of  
Basket  
Value  

 

Reference Entity — Long

     
Portugal                

EDP - Energias de Portugal SA

    4,652     $ 21,681       1.5
   

 

 

   
United States                

Green Plains Inc.(a)

    49,845       1,399,149       98.5  
   

 

 

   

Total Reference Entity — Long

      1,420,830    
   

 

 

   

Net Value of Reference Entity — Goldman Sachs Bank USA

 

  $

 

1,420,830

 

 

 

 
   

 

 

   

The following table represents the individual long positions and related values of the equity securities underlying the total return swap with HSBC Bank PLC as of April 30, 2022 expiration 2/10/2023.

 

    

Shares

 

   

Value

 

   

% of  
Basket  
Value  

 

Reference Entity — Long

     
United States                

Green Plains Inc.(a)

    385,700     $ 10,826,599       49.0

Renewable Energy Group Inc.(a)

    184,749       11,280,774       51.0  
   

 

 

   

Net Value of Reference Entity — HSBC Bank PLC

 

  $

 

22,107,373

 

 

 

 
   

 

 

   

The following table represents the individual long positions and related values of the equity securities underlying the total return swap with JPMorgan Chase Bank NA as of April 30, 2022 expiration 2/8/2023.

 

    

Shares

 

   

Value

 

   

% of  
Basket  
Value  

 

Reference Entity — Long

     
United States                

Green Plains Inc.(a)

    16,259     $ 456,390       32.0

Renewable Energy Group Inc.(a)

    15,905       971,159       68.0  
   

 

 

   

Net Value of Reference Entity — JPMorgan Chase Bank NA

 

  $

 

1,427,549

 

 

 

 
   

 

 

   

 

(a)

Non-income producing security.

 

 

Balances Reported in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities for Total Return Swaps

 

 

 
    

Premiums
Paid

 

      

Premiums
Received

 

      

Unrealized
Appreciation

 

      

Unrealized   
Depreciation   

 

 

 

 

Total Return Swaps

 

    

 

$—

 

 

 

      

 

$—

 

 

 

      

 

$—

 

 

 

      

 

$(899,346)  

 

 

 

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure

As of period end, the fair values of derivative financial instruments located in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities were as follows:

 

 

 
    

Equity
Contracts

 

 

 

 

Assets — Derivative Financial Instruments

  

Futures contracts

  

Unrealized appreciation on futures contracts(a)

   $

 

157,115

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Liabilities — Derivative Financial Instruments

  

Futures contracts

  

Unrealized depreciation on futures contracts(a)

   $ 101,814  

Swaps — OTC

  

Unrealized depreciation on OTC swaps; Swap premiums received

   $ 899,346  
  

 

 

 
   $

 

1,001,160

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Net cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on futures contracts are reported in the Schedule of Investments. In the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, only current day’s variation margin is reported in receivables or payables and the net cumulative unrealized appreciation (depreciation) is included in accumulated earnings (loss).

 

 

 

  11


Schedule of Investments   (continued)

April 30, 2022

  

iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

 

Derivative Financial Instruments Categorized by Risk Exposure (continued)

For the period ended April 30, 2022, the effect of derivative financial instruments in the Statement of Operations was as follows:

 

 

 
    

Equity
Contracts

 

 

 

 

Net Realized Gain (Loss) from:

  

Futures contracts

   $ (696,023

Swaps

     3,580,906  
  

 

 

 
   $

 

2,884,883

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on:

  

Futures contracts

   $ (133,731

Swaps

     (3,168,405
  

 

 

 
   $

 

(3,302,136

 

 

  

 

 

 

Average Quarterly Balances of Outstanding Derivative Financial Instruments

 

 

 

Futures contracts:

  

Average notional value of contracts — long

   $ 18,179,125      

Total return swaps:

  

Average notional value

   $

 

21,069,018    

 

 

 

 

 

For more information about the Fund’s investment risks regarding derivative financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

Derivative Financial Instruments - Offsetting as of Period End

The Fund’s derivative assets and liabilities (by type) were as follows:

 

 

 
    

Assets

 

    

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

Derivative Financial Instruments:

     

Futures contracts

   $ 157,115      $ 101,814  

Swaps - OTC(a)

            899,346  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities

     157,115        1,001,160  

Derivatives not subject to a Master Netting Agreement or similar agreement (“MNA”)

     (157,115      (101,814
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total derivative assets and liabilities subject to an MNA

    

 

 

 

 

    

 

899,346

 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Includes unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on OTC swaps and swap premiums (paid/received) in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

 

The following table presents the Fund’s derivative liabilities by counterparty net of amounts available for offset under an MNA and net of the related collateral pledged by the Fund:

 

 

 

Counterparty

 

    



 

Derivative
Liabilities
Subject to
an MNA by
Counterparty

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

    

 

Derivatives
Available

for Offset

 

 
 

(a)  

 

   

 

Non-Cash
Collateral
Pledged

 

 
 
 

 

   

 

Cash
Collateral
Pledged

 

 
 
(b) 

 

   

 

Net Amount
of Derivative
Liabilities

 

 
 
(c) 

 

 

 

Goldman Sachs Bank USA

   $ 43,519      $     $     $     $ 43,519  

HSBC Bank PLC

     830,888                    (800,000     30,888  

JPMorgan Chase Bank NA

     24,939                          24,939  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $

 

899,346

 

 

 

   $

 

 

 

 

  $

 

 

 

 

  $

 

(800,000

 

 

  $

 

99,346

 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

The amount of derivatives available for offset is limited to the amount of derivative assets and/or liabilities that are subject to an MNA.

 
  (b) 

Excess of collateral pledged to the individual counterparty is not shown for financial reporting purposes.

 
  (c) 

Net amount represents the net amount payable due to the counterparty in the event of default.

 

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End

Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. For a description of the input levels and information about the Fund’s policy regarding valuation of financial instruments, refer to the Notes to Financial Statements.

 

 

12  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Schedule of Investments   (continued)

April 30, 2022

  

iShares® Global Clean Energy ETF

 

Fair Value Hierarchy as of Period End (continued)

The following table summarizes the Fund’s financial instruments categorized in the fair value hierarchy. The breakdown of the Fund’s financial instruments into major categories is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments above.

 

                                                                                                   

 

 
     Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

 

 

Investments

           

Assets

           

Common Stocks

   $ 2,674,840,556      $ 2,190,558,145      $      $ 4,865,398,701  

Preferred Stocks

     74,419,354                      74,419,354  

Money Market Funds

     719,049,565                      719,049,565  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $

 

3,468,309,475

 

 

 

   $

 

2,190,558,145

 

 

 

   $

 

 

 

 

   $

 

5,658,867,620

 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments(a)

           

Assets

           

Futures Contracts

   $ 130,472      $ 26,643      $      $ 157,115  

Liabilities

           

Futures Contracts

     (101,814                    (101,814

Swaps

            (899,346             (899,346
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $

 

28,658

 

 

 

   $

 

(872,703

 

 

   $

 

 

 

 

   $

 

(844,045

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Derivative financial instruments are swaps and futures contracts. Swaps and futures contracts are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument.

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

  13


 

Statement of Assets and Liabilities  

April 30, 2022

 

   

iShares

Global Clean

Energy ETF

 

 

 

ASSETS

 

Investments in securities, at value (including securities on loan)(a):

 

Unaffiliated(b)

  $ 4,939,818,055  

Affiliated(c)

    719,049,565  

Cash

    256,851  

Foreign currency, at value(d)

    7,938,198  

Cash pledged:

 

Futures contracts

    788,000  

OTC swaps

    800,000  

Foreign currency collateral pledged:

 

Futures contracts(e)

    347,079  

Receivables:

 

Investments sold

    1,120,373  

Securities lending income — Affiliated

    302,142  

Dividends

    8,542,943  

Tax reclaims

    1,382,980  
 

 

 

 

Total assets

    5,680,346,186  
 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

 

Collateral on securities loaned, at value

    692,235,585  

Deferred foreign capital gain tax

    176,025  

Payables:

 

Investments purchased

    220,846  

Variation margin on futures contracts

    356,208  

Capital shares redeemed

    1,045,535  

Investment advisory fees

    1,817,131  

Unrealized depreciation on:

 

OTC swaps

    899,346  
 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    696,750,676  
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

  $

 

4,983,595,510

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS CONSIST OF:

 

Paid-in capital

  $ 6,437,622,031  

Accumulated loss

    (1,454,026,521
 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

  $

 

4,983,595,510

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares outstanding

   

 

263,900,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value

  $

 

18.88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares authorized

   

 

Unlimited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Par value

   

 

None

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a) Securities loaned, at value

  $ 653,943,893  

(b) Investments, at cost — Unaffiliated

  $ 5,592,730,445  

(c)  Investments, at cost — Affiliated

  $ 718,977,009  

(d) Foreign currency, at cost

  $ 7,931,957  

(e) Foreign currency collateral pledged, at cost

  $ 350,042  

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

14  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Statement of Operations

Year Ended April 30, 2022

 

   

iShares

Global Clean

Energy ETF

 

 

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

 

Dividends — Unaffiliated

  $ 76,836,188  

Dividends — Affiliated

    49,994  

Non-cash dividends — Unaffiliated

    10,205,901  

Securities lending income — Affiliated — net

    3,420,156  

Foreign taxes withheld

    (5,860,196
 

 

 

 

Total investment income

    84,652,043  
 

 

 

 

EXPENSES

 

Investment advisory fees

    23,155,729  

Commitment fees

    20,045  

Professional fees

    217  
 

 

 

 

Total expenses

    23,175,991  
 

 

 

 

Net investment income

    61,476,052  
 

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS)

 

Net realized gain (loss) from:

 

Investments — Unaffiliated

    (341,611,601

Investments — Affiliated

    (360,556

In-kind redemptions — Unaffiliated

    181,526,938  

Futures contracts

    (696,023

Foreign currency transactions

    (3,084,237

Swaps

    3,580,906  
 

 

 

 

Net realized loss

    (160,644,573
 

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

 

Investments — Unaffiliated(a)

    (1,021,809,719

Investments — Affiliated

    51,492  

Futures contracts

    (133,731

Foreign currency translations

    (141,523

Swaps

    (3,168,405
 

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

    (1,025,201,886
 

 

 

 

Net realized and unrealized loss

    (1,185,846,459
 

 

 

 

NET DECREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS

  $

 

(1,124,370,407

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a) Net of increase in deferred foreign capital gain tax of

  $ (176,025

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  15


 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

   

iShares

Global Clean Energy ETF

 
 

 

 

 
   

Year Ended

04/30/22

       

Period from

04/01/21

to 04/30/21

       

Year Ended

03/31/21

 

 

 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS

         

OPERATIONS

         

Net investment income

  $ 61,476,052       $ 14,355,638       $ 14,798,479  

Net realized gain (loss)

    (160,644,573       (300,457,331       271,060,644  

Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation)

    (1,025,201,886       65,740,037         367,839,615  
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (1,124,370,407       (220,361,656       653,698,738  
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS(a)

         

Decrease in net assets resulting from distributions to shareholders

    (66,429,706               (9,446,251
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

         

Net increase in net assets derived from capital share transactions

    318,441,275         434,045,210         4,498,791,051  
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

         

Total increase (decrease) in net assets

    (872,358,838       213,683,554         5,143,043,538  

Beginning of period

    5,855,954,348         5,642,270,794         499,227,256  
 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

End of period

  $

 

4,983,595,510

 

 

 

    $

 

5,855,954,348

 

 

 

         $

 

5,642,270,794

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(a)

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

 

16  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Financial Highlights  

(For a share outstanding throughout each period)

 

          iShares Global Clean Energy ETF
   

 

 

 
                Period From                                                      
          Year Ended
04/30/22
   

04/01/21

to 04/30/21

           Year Ended
03/31/21
           Year Ended
03/31/20
           Year Ended
03/31/19
           Year Ended
03/31/18
 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

                 $ 23.19     $ 24.07        $ 9.62       

$

9.75

 

     $ 9.47        $ 8.54  
   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net investment income(a)

      0.23       0.06          0.13          0.11          0.19          0.26  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)(b)

      (4.29     (0.94        14.42          (0.08        0.32          0.90  
   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) from investment operations

      (4.06     (0.88        14.55          0.03          0.51          1.16  
   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Distributions(c)

                         

From net investment income

      (0.25              (0.10        (0.16        (0.23        (0.23
   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions

      (0.25              (0.10        (0.16        (0.23        (0.23
   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $

 

18.88

 

 

 

  $

 

23.19

 

 

 

     $

 

24.07

 

 

 

     $

 

9.62

 

 

 

     $

 

9.75

 

 

 

     $

 

9.47

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Return(d)

                         

Based on net asset value

     

 

(17.64

 

)% 

 

   

 

(3.66

 

)%(e)  

 

      

 

151.73

 

 

      

 

0.12

 

 

      

 

5.69

 

 

      

 

13.90

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Net Assets (f)

                         

Total expenses

     

 

0.40

 

 

   

 

0.41

 

%(g)  

 

      

 

0.42

 

 

      

 

0.46

 

 

      

 

0.46

 

 

      

 

0.47

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Net investment income

     

 

1.07

 

 

   

 

3.07

 

%(g)  

 

      

 

0.57

 

 

      

 

1.01

 

 

      

 

2.13

 

 

      

 

2.91

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Supplemental Data

                         

Net assets, end of period (000)

    $

 

4,983,596

 

 

 

  $

 

5,855,954

 

 

 

     $

 

5,642,271

 

 

 

     $

 

499,227

 

 

 

     $

 

208,595

 

 

 

     $

 

156,209

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

Portfolio turnover rate(h)

     

 

52

 

 

   

 

54

 

%(e)  

 

      

 

31

 

 

      

 

37

 

 

      

 

42

 

 

      

 

29

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

(a) 

Based on average shares outstanding.

(b)

The amounts reported for a share outstanding may not accord with the change in aggregate gains and losses in securities for the fiscal period due to the timing of capital share transactions in relation to the fluctuating market values of the Fund’s underlying securities.

(c) 

Distributions for annual periods determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations.

(d) 

Where applicable, assumes the reinvestment of distributions.

(e) 

Not annualized.

(f)

Excludes fees and expenses incurred indirectly as a result of investments in underlying funds.

(g) 

Annualized.

(h) 

Portfolio turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

 

F I N A N C I A L   H I G H L I G H T S

  17


Notes to Financial Statements  

 

1.  

ORGANIZATION

iShares Trust (the “Trust”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios.

These financial statements relate only to the following fund (the “Fund”):

 

   

iShares ETF

 

  

Diversification
Classification

 

 

Global Clean Energy

 

    

 

Non-diversified

 

 

 

 

2.  

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), which may require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies. Below is a summary of significant accounting policies:

Investment Transactions and Income Recognition: For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the dates the transactions are executed. Realized gains and losses on investment transactions are determined using the specific identification method. Dividend income and capital gain distributions, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date at fair value. Dividends from foreign securities where the ex-dividend date may have passed are subsequently recorded when the Fund is informed of the ex-dividend date. Under the applicable foreign tax laws, a withholding tax at various rates may be imposed on capital gains, dividends and interest.

Foreign Currency Translation: The Fund’s books and records are maintained in U.S. dollars. Securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars using prevailing market rates as quoted by one or more data service providers. Purchases and sales of investments are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, the investments denominated in that currency will lose value; the opposite effect occurs if the U.S. dollar falls in relative value.

The Fund does not isolate the effect of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates from the effect of fluctuations in the market prices of investments for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the effects of changes in exchange rates on investments are not segregated in the Statement of Operations from the effects of changes in market prices of those investments, but are included as a component of net realized and unrealized gain (loss) from investments. The Fund reports realized currency gains (losses) on foreign currency related transactions as components of net realized gain (loss) for financial reporting purposes, whereas such components are generally treated as ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Foreign Taxes: The Fund may be subject to foreign taxes (a portion of which may be reclaimable) on income, stock dividends, capital gains on investments, or certain foreign currency transactions. All foreign taxes are recorded in accordance with the applicable foreign tax regulations and rates that exist in the foreign jurisdictions in which the Fund invests. These foreign taxes, if any, are paid by the Fund and are reflected in its Statement of Operations as follows: foreign taxes withheld at source are presented as a reduction of income, foreign taxes on securities lending income are presented as a reduction of securities lending income, foreign taxes on stock dividends are presented as “Other foreign taxes”, and foreign taxes on capital gains from sales of investments and foreign taxes on foreign currency transactions are included in their respective net realized gain (loss) categories. Foreign taxes payable or deferred as of April 30, 2022, if any, are disclosed in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund files withholding tax reclaims in certain jurisdictions to recover a portion of amounts previously withheld. The Fund may record a reclaim receivable based on collectability, which includes factors such as the jurisdiction’s applicable laws, payment history and market convention. The Statement of Operations includes tax reclaims recorded as well as professional and other fees, if any, associated with recovery of foreign withholding taxes.

Segregation and Collateralization: In cases where the Fund enters into certain investments (e.g., futures contracts and swaps) that would be treated as “senior securities” for 1940 Act purposes, the Fund may segregate or designate on its books and record cash or liquid assets having a market value at least equal to the amount of its future obligations under such investments. Doing so allows the investment to be excluded from treatment as a “senior security.” Furthermore, if required by an exchange or counterparty agreement, the Fund may be required to deliver/deposit cash and/or securities to/with an exchange, or broker-dealer or custodian as collateral for certain investments or obligations.

In-kind Redemptions: For financial reporting purposes, in-kind redemptions are treated as sales of securities resulting in realized capital gains or losses to the Fund. Because such gains or losses are not taxable to the Fund and are not distributed to existing Fund shareholders, the gains or losses are reclassified from accumulated net realized gain (loss) to paid-in capital at the end of the Fund’s tax year. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset value (“NAV”) per share.

Distributions: Dividends and distributions paid by the Fund are recorded on the ex-dividend dates. Distributions are determined on a tax basis and may differ from net investment income and net realized capital gains for financial reporting purposes. Dividends and distributions are paid in U.S. dollars and cannot be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Fund. The character and timing of distributions are determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.

 

 

 

18  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

Indemnifications: In the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations that provide general indemnification. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown because it involves future potential claims against the Fund, which cannot be predicted with any certainty.

 

3.  

INVESTMENT VALUATION AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Investment Valuation Policies: The Fund’s investments are valued at fair value (also referred to as “market value” within the financial statements) each day that the Fund’s listing exchange is open and, for financial reporting purposes, as of the report date. U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price a fund would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Fund determines the fair values of its financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under policies approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”). If a security’s market price is not readily available or does not otherwise accurately represent the fair value of the security, the security will be valued in accordance with a policy approved by the Board as reflecting fair value. The BlackRock Global Valuation Methodologies Committee (the “Global Valuation Committee”) is the committee formed by management to develop global pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments.

Fair Value Inputs and Methodologies: The following methods and inputs are used to establish the fair value of the Fund’s assets and liabilities:

 

   

Equity investments traded on a recognized securities exchange are valued at that day’s official closing price, as applicable, on the exchange where the stock is primarily traded. Equity investments traded on a recognized exchange for which there were no sales on that day are valued at the last traded price.

   

Investments in open-end U.S. mutual funds (including money market funds) are valued at that day’s published NAV.

   

Futures contracts are valued based on that day’s last reported settlement or trade price on the exchange where the contract is traded.

   

Swap agreements are valued utilizing quotes received daily by independent pricing services or through brokers, which are derived using daily swap curves and models that incorporate a number of market data factors, such as discounted cash flows, trades and values of the underlying reference instruments.

Generally, trading in foreign instruments is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Each business day, the Fund uses current market factors supplied by independent pricing services to value certain foreign instruments (“Systematic Fair Value Price”). The Systematic Fair Value Price is designed to value such foreign securities at fair value as of the close of trading on the NYSE, which follows the close of the local markets.

If events (e.g., market volatility, company announcement or a natural disaster) occur that are expected to materially affect the value of such investment, or in the event that application of these methods of valuation results in a price for an investment that is deemed not to be representative of the market value of such investment, or if a price is not available, the investment will be valued by the Global Valuation Committee, in accordance with a policy approved by the Board as reflecting fair value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the Global Valuation Committee include market approach, income approach and cost approach. Valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, use of market comparables and matrix pricing are types of valuation approaches and are typically used in determining fair value. When determining the price for Fair Valued Investments, the Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, seeks to determine the price that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive or pay from the current sale or purchase of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Global Valuation Committee, or its delegate, deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement. The pricing of all Fair Valued Investments is subsequently reported to the Board or a committee thereof on a quarterly basis.

Fair value pricing could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate a fund’s NAV and the prices used by the fund’s underlying index, which in turn could result in a difference between the fund’s performance and the performance of the fund’s underlying index.

Fair Value Hierarchy: Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. These inputs to valuation techniques are categorized into a fair value hierarchy consisting of three broad levels for financial reporting purposes as follows:

 

   

Level 1 – Unadjusted price quotations in active markets/exchanges for identical assets or liabilities that the Fund has the ability to access;

   

Level 2 – Other observable inputs (including, but not limited to, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in markets that are active, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the assets or liabilities (such as interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates) or other market-corroborated inputs); and

   

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs based on the best information available in the circumstances, to the extent observable inputs are not available, (including the Global Valuation Committee’s assumptions used in determining the fair value of financial instruments).

The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the fair value hierarchy classification is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Investments classified within Level 3 have significant unobservable inputs used by the Global Valuation Committee in determining the price for Fair Valued Investments. Level 3 investments include equity or debt issued by privately held companies or funds that may not have a secondary market and/or may have a limited number of investors. The categorization of a value determined for financial instruments is based on the pricing transparency of the financial instruments and is not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities.

 

4.  

SECURITIES AND OTHER INVESTMENTS

Securities Lending: The Fund may lend its securities to approved borrowers, such as brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. The borrower pledges and maintains with the Fund collateral consisting of cash, an irrevocable letter of credit issued by an approved bank, or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government. The initial collateral received by the Fund is required to have a value of at least 102% of the current market value of the loaned securities for securities traded on U.S. exchanges and a value of at least 105% for all other securities. The collateral is maintained thereafter at a value equal to at least 100% of the current value of the securities on loan. The

 

 

 

N O T E S   T O    F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  19


Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

market value of the loaned securities is determined at the close of each business day of the Fund and any additional required collateral is delivered to the Fund or excess collateral is returned by the Fund, on the next business day. During the term of the loan, the Fund is entitled to all distributions made on or in respect of the loaned securities but does not receive interest income on securities received as collateral. Loans of securities are terminable at any time and the borrower, after notice, is required to return borrowed securities within the standard time period for settlement of securities transactions.

As of period end, any securities on loan were collateralized by cash and/or U.S. Government obligations. Cash collateral invested in money market funds managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”), the Fund’s investment adviser, or its affiliates is disclosed in the Schedule of Investments. Any non-cash collateral received cannot be sold, re-invested or pledged by the Fund, except in the event of borrower default. The securities on loan, if any, are also disclosed in the Fund’s Schedule of Investments. The market value of any securities on loan and the value of any related cash collateral are disclosed in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities lending transactions are entered into by the Fund under Master Securities Lending Agreements (each, an “MSLA”) which provide the right, in the event of default (including bankruptcy or insolvency) for the non-defaulting party to liquidate the collateral and calculate a net exposure to the defaulting party or request additional collateral. In the event that a borrower defaults, the Fund, as lender, would offset the market value of the collateral received against the market value of the securities loaned. When the value of the collateral is greater than that of the market value of the securities loaned, the lender is left with a net amount payable to the defaulting party. However, bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against such a right of offset in the event of an MSLA counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. Under the MSLA, absent an event of default, the borrower can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities, and the Fund can reinvest cash collateral received in connection with loaned securities. Upon an event of default, the parties’ obligations to return the securities or collateral to the other party are extinguished, and the parties can resell or re-pledge the loaned securities or the collateral received in connection with the loaned securities in order to satisfy the defaulting party’s net payment obligation for all transactions under the MSLA. The defaulting party remains liable for any deficiency.

As of period end, the following table is a summary of the securities on loan by counterparty which are subject to offset under an MSLA:

 

 

 

iShares ETF and Counterparty

 

  

 

 

 

 

Market Value of
Securities on Loan

 

 

 
 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Cash Collateral
Received

 

 

 
(a)  

 

  

 

 

 

 

Non-Cash Collateral
Received

 

 

 
 

 

    

 

Net Amount

 

 

 

 

 

Global Clean Energy

           

Barclays Bank PLC

   $ 44,868,287      $ 44,868,287      $      $  

Barclays Capital, Inc.

     11,187,917        11,187,917                

BNP Paribas SA

     93,042,815        93,042,815                

BofA Securities, Inc.

     28,120,942        28,120,942                

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.

     10,030,195        10,030,195                

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

     15,452,730        15,452,730                

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

     129,748,846        129,748,846                

HSBC Bank PLC

     1,197,362        1,197,362                

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

     140,665,170        140,665,170                

Jefferies LLC

     1,993,140        1,993,140                

Macquarie Bank Ltd.

     3,024,528        3,024,528                

Morgan Stanley

     109,734,593        109,734,593                

National Financial Services LLC

     2,303,307        2,303,307                

Natixis SA

     807,420        807,420                

Scotia Capital (USA), Inc.

     3,950,637        3,950,637                

SG Americas Securities LLC

     2,838,163        2,838,163                

State Street Bank & Trust Co.

     2,414,396        2,414,396                

Toronto-Dominion Bank

     5,514,260        5,514,260                

UBS AG

     37,219,346        37,219,346                

UBS Securities LLC

     669,717        669,717                

Wells Fargo Bank N.A

     7,167,675        7,167,675                

Wells Fargo Securities LLC

     1,992,447        1,992,447                
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $

 

653,943,893

 

 

 

   $

 

653,943,893

 

 

 

   $

 

 

 

 

   $

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Collateral received in excess of the market value of securities on loan is not presented in this table. The total cash collateral received by the Fund is disclosed in the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities.

 

The risks of securities lending include the risk that the borrower may not provide additional collateral when required or may not return the securities when due. To mitigate these risks, the Fund benefits from a borrower default indemnity provided by BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”). BlackRock’s indemnity allows for full replacement of the securities loaned to the extent the collateral received does not cover the value of the securities loaned in the event of borrower default. The Fund could incur a loss if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the market value of the loaned securities or if the value of an investment purchased with cash collateral falls below the value of the original cash collateral received. Such losses are borne entirely by the Fund.

 

5.  

DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Futures Contracts: Futures contracts are purchased or sold to gain exposure to, or manage exposure to, changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) and changes in the value of equity securities (equity risk) or foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

 

 

20  

2 0 2 2   I S H A R E S   A N N U A L   R E P O R T   T O   S H A R E H O L D E R S


Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

Futures contracts are exchange-traded agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specified price and on a specified date. Depending on the terms of a contract, it is settled either through physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash amount on the settlement date. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or securities in an amount that varies depending on a contract’s size and risk profile. The initial margin deposit must then be maintained at an established level over the life of the contract. Amounts pledged, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities deposited as initial margin are designated in the Schedule of Investments and cash deposited, if any, are shown as cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in market value of the contract (“variation margin”). Variation margin is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and, if any, shown as variation margin receivable (or payable) on futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When the contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the notional amount of the contract at the time it was opened and the notional amount at the time it was closed. The use of futures contracts involves the risk of an imperfect correlation in the movements in the price of futures contracts and interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or underlying assets.

Swaps: Swap contracts are entered into to manage exposure to issuers, markets and securities. Such contracts are agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to make periodic net payments on a specified notional amount or a net payment upon termination. Swap agreements are privately negotiated in the OTC market and may be entered into as a bilateral contract (“OTC swaps”) or centrally cleared (“centrally cleared swaps”). For OTC swaps, any upfront premiums paid and any upfront fees received are shown as swap premiums paid and swap premiums received, respectively, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and amortized over the term of the contract. The daily fluctuation in market value is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on OTC Swaps in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Payments received or paid are recorded in the Statement of Operations as realized gains or losses, respectively. When an OTC swap is terminated, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the proceeds from (or cost of) the closing transaction and the Fund’s basis in the contract, if any. Generally, the basis of the contract is the premium received or paid. Total return swaps are entered into by the Fund to obtain exposure to a security or market without owning such security or investing directly in such market or to exchange the risk/return of one security or market (e.g., fixed-income) with another security or market (e.g., equity or commodity prices) (equity risk, commodity price risk and/or interest rate risk).

Total return swaps are agreements in which there is an exchange of cash flows whereby one party commits to make payments based on the total return (distributions plus capital gains/losses) of an underlying instrument, or basket or underlying instruments, in exchange for fixed or floating rate interest payments. If the total return of the instruments or index underlying the transaction exceeds or falls short of the offsetting fixed or floating interest rate obligation, the Fund receives payment from or makes a payment to the counterparty.

Certain total return swaps are designed to function as a portfolio of direct investments in long and short equity positions. This means that the Fund has the ability to trade in and out of these long and short positions within the swap and will receive the economic benefits and risks equivalent to direct investment in these positions, subject to certain adjustments due to events related to the counterparty. Benefits and risks include capital appreciation (depreciation), corporate actions and dividends received and paid, all of which are reflected in the swap’s market value. The market value also includes interest charges and credits (“financing fees”) related to the notional values of the long and short positions and cash balances within the swap. These interest charges and credits are based on a specified benchmark rate plus or minus a specified spread determined based upon the country and/or currency of the positions in the portfolio.

Positions within the swap and financing fees are reset periodically. During a reset, any unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on positions and accrued financing fees become available for cash settlement between the Fund and the counterparty. The amounts that are available for cash settlement are recorded as realized gains or losses in the Statement of Operations. Cash settlement in and out of the swap may occur at a reset date or any other date, at the discretion of the Fund and the counterparty, over the life of the agreement. Certain swaps have no stated expiration and can be terminated by either party at any time.

Swap transactions involve, to varying degrees, elements of interest rate, credit and market risks in excess of the amounts recognized in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Such risks involve the possibility that there will be no liquid market for these agreements, that the counterparty to the agreements may default on its obligation to perform or disagree as to the meaning of the contractual terms in the agreements, and that there may be unfavorable changes in interest rates and/or market values associated with these transactions.

Master Netting Arrangements: In order to define its contractual rights and to secure rights that will help mitigate its counterparty risk, a Fund may enter into an International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. Master Agreement (“ISDA Master Agreement”) or similar agreement with its derivative contract counterparties. An ISDA Master Agreement is a bilateral agreement between a Fund and a counterparty that governs certain OTC derivatives and typically contains, among other things, collateral posting terms and netting provisions in the event of a default and/or termination event. Under an ISDA Master Agreement, a Fund may, under certain circumstances, offset with the counterparty certain derivative financial instruments’ payables and/or receivables with collateral held and/or posted and create one single net payment. The provisions of the ISDA Master Agreement typically permit a single net payment in the event of default including the bankruptcy or insolvency of the counterparty. However, bankruptcy or insolvency laws of a particular jurisdiction may impose restrictions on or prohibitions against the right of offset in bankruptcy, insolvency, or other events.

For derivatives traded under an ISDA Master Agreement, the collateral requirements are typically calculated by netting the mark-to-market amount for each transaction under such agreement, and comparing that amount to the value of any collateral currently pledged by a Fund and the counterparty.

Cash collateral that has been pledged to cover obligations of the Fund and cash collateral received from the counterparty, if any, is reported separately in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as cash pledged as collateral and cash received as collateral, respectively. Non-cash collateral pledged by the Fund, if any, is noted in the Schedule of Investments. Generally, the amount of collateral due from or to a counterparty is subject to a certain minimum transfer amount threshold before a transfer is required, which is determined at the close of business of the Fund. Any additional required collateral is delivered to/pledged by the Fund on the next business day. Typically, the counterparty is not permitted to sell, re-pledge or use cash and non-cash collateral it receives. The Fund generally agrees not to use non-cash collateral that it receives but

 

 

 

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Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

may, absent default or certain other circumstances defined in the underlying ISDA Master Agreement, be permitted to use cash collateral received. In such cases, interest may be paid pursuant to the collateral arrangement with the counterparty. To the extent amounts due to the Fund from the counterparty are not fully collateralized, the Fund bears the risk of loss from counterparty non-performance. Likewise, to the extent the Fund has delivered collateral to a counterparty and stands ready to perform under the terms of its agreement with such counterparty, the Fund bears the risk of loss from a counterparty in the amount of the value of the collateral in the event the counterparty fails to return such collateral. Based on the terms of agreements, collateral may not be required for all derivative contracts.

For financial reporting purposes, the Fund does not offset derivative assets and derivative liabilities that are subject to netting arrangements, if any, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

 

6.

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Advisory Fees: Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Trust, BFA manages the investment of the Fund’s assets. BFA is a California corporation indirectly owned by BlackRock. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, BFA is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Fund, except (i) interest and taxes; (ii) brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions; (iii) distribution fees; (iv) the advisory fee payable to BFA; and (v) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses (in each case as determined by a majority of the independent trustees).

For its investment advisory services to the Fund, BFA is entitled to an annual investment advisory fee, accrued daily and paid monthly by the Fund, based on the Fund’s allocable portion of the aggregate of the average daily net assets of the Fund and certain other iShares funds as follows:

 

 

 

Aggregate Average Daily Net Assets

 

  

Investment Advisory Fee   

 

 

 

 

 

First $10 billion

     0.4800%  

Over $10 billion, up to and including $20 billion

     0.4300     

Over $20 billion, up to and including $30 billion

     0.3800     

Over $30 billion, up to and including $40 billion

     0.3420     

Over $40 billion

    

 

0.3078   

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to July 14, 2021, for its investment advisory services to the Fund, BFA was entitled to an annual investment advisory fee, accrued daily and paid monthly by the Fund, based on the Fund’s allocable portion of the aggregate of the average daily net assets of the Fund and certain other iShares funds as follows:

 

 

 

Aggregate Average Daily Net Assets

 

  

Investment Advisory Fee   

 

 

 

 

First $10 billion

     0.480%  

Over $10 billion, up to and including $20 billion

     0.430     

Over $20 billion, up to and including $30 billion

     0.380     

Over $30 billion

 

    

 

0.342   

 

 

 

 

 

Distributor: BlackRock Investments, LLC, an affiliate of BFA, is the distributor for the Fund. Pursuant to the distribution agreement, BFA is responsible for any fees or expenses for distribution services provided to the Fund.

Securities Lending: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has issued an exemptive order which permits BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (“BTC”), an affiliate of BFA, to serve as securities lending agent for the Fund, subject to applicable conditions. As securities lending agent, BTC bears all operational costs directly related to securities lending, including any custodial costs. The Fund is responsible for fees in connection with the investment of cash collateral received for securities on loan (the “collateral investment fees”). The cash collateral is invested in a money market fund, BlackRock Cash Funds: Institutional or BlackRock Cash Funds: Treasury, managed by BFA, or its affiliates. However, BTC has agreed to reduce the amount of securities lending income it receives in order to effectively limit the collateral investment fees the Fund bears to an annual rate of 0.04%. The SL Agency Shares of such money market fund will not be subject to a sales load, distribution fee or service fee. The money market fund in which the cash collateral has been invested may, under certain circumstances, impose a liquidity fee of up to 2% of the value redeemed or temporarily restrict redemptions for up to 10 business days during a 90 day period, in the event that the money market fund’s weekly liquid assets fall below certain thresholds.

Securities lending income is equal to the total of income earned from the reinvestment of cash collateral, net of fees and other payments to and from borrowers of securities, and less the collateral investment fees. The Fund retains a portion of securities lending income and remits the remaining portion to BTC as compensation for its services as securities lending agent.

Pursuant to the current securities lending agreement, the Fund retains 82% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment fees) and the amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment fees.

In addition, commencing the business day following the date that the aggregate securities lending income plus the collateral investment fees generated across all 1940 Act iShares exchange-traded funds (the “iShares ETF Complex”) in that calendar year exceeds a specified threshold, the Fund, pursuant to the securities lending agreement, will retain for the remainder of that calendar year 85% of securities lending income (which excludes collateral investment fees), and the amount retained can never be less than 70% of the total of securities lending income plus the collateral investment fees.

The share of securities lending income earned by the Fund is shown as securities lending income – affiliated – net in its Statement of Operations. For the year ended April 30, 2022, the Fund paid BTC $961,855 for securities lending agent services.

 

 

 

22  

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Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

Officers and Trustees: Certain officers and/or trustees of the Trust are officers and/or trustees of BlackRock or its affiliates.

Other Transactions: Cross trading is the buying or selling of portfolio securities between funds to which BFA (or an affiliate) serves as investment adviser. At its regularly scheduled quarterly meetings, the Board reviews such transactions as of the most recent calendar quarter for compliance with the requirements and restrictions set forth by Rule 17a-7.

For the year ended April 30, 2022, transactions executed by the Fund pursuant to Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act were as follows:

 

       

iShares ETF

 

 

Purchases

 

    

Sales

 

    

Net Realized
Gain (Loss)

 

 

Global Clean Energy

 

  $

 

4,470,918

 

 

 

   $

 

4,282,685

 

 

 

   $

 

(465,170

 

 

The Fund may invest its positive cash balances in certain money market funds managed by BFA or an affiliate. The income earned on these temporary cash investments is shown as dividends – affiliated in the Statement of Operations.

A fund, in order to improve its portfolio liquidity and its ability to track its underlying index, may invest in shares of other iShares funds that invest in securities in the fund’s underlying index.

 

7.  

PURCHASES AND SALES

For the year ended April 30, 2022, purchases and sales of investments, excluding short-term investments and in-kind transactions, were as follows:

 

 

 

iShares ETF

 

 

Purchases

 

    

Sales  

 

 

 

 

Global Clean Energy

 

  $

 

3,095,070,511

 

 

 

   $

 

3,034,279,783  

 

 

 

 

 

For the year ended April 30, 2022, in-kind transactions were as follows:

 

 

 

iShares ETF

 

 

In-kind
Purchases

 

    

In-kind  

Sales   

 

 

 

 

Global Clean Energy

 

  $

 

988,667,638

 

 

 

   $

 

728,884,355  

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.  

INCOME TAX INFORMATION

The Fund is treated as an entity separate from the Trust’s other funds for federal income tax purposes. It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no U.S. federal income tax provision is required.

Management has analyzed tax laws and regulations and their application to the Fund as of April 30, 2022, inclusive of the open tax return years, and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability in the Fund’s financial statements.

U.S. GAAP requires that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or NAV per share. As of April 30, 2022, permanent differences attributable to realized gains (losses) from in-kind redemptions were reclassified to the following accounts:

 

 

 

iShares ETF

 

 

Paid-in Capital

 

    

Accumulated  
Loss   

 

 

 

 

Global Clean Energy

 

  $

 

171,290,089

 

 

 

    

 

$(171,290,089)  

 

 

 

 

 

The tax character of distributions paid was as follows:

 

 

 

iShares ETF

 

  

Year Ended
04/30/22

 

    

Period From
04/01/21
to 04/30/21

 

    

Year Ended
03/31/21

 

 

 

 

Global Clean Energy

        

Ordinary income

   $

 

66,429,706

 

 

 

   $

 

 

 

 

   $

 

9,446,251

 

 

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

N O T E S   T O    F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  23


Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

As of April 30, 2022, the tax components of accumulated net earnings (losses) were as follows:

 

         

iShares ETF

 

    

 

Undistributed
Ordinary Income

 

 
 

 

    

 

Non-expiring
Capital Loss
Carryforwards

 

 
 
(a) 

 

    

 

Net Unrealized
Gains (Losses)

 

 
(b) 

 

    

 

Total

 

 

 

Global Clean Energy

 

     $

 

14,932,752

 

 

 

    

 

$(754,463,277)

 

 

 

    

 

$(714,495,996)

 

 

 

    

 

$(1,454,026,521)

 

 

 

 

  (a) 

Amounts available to offset future realized capital gains.

 
  (b) 

The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized gains (losses) was attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales, the realization for tax purposes of unrealized gains (losses) on certain futures contracts and accounting for swap agreements.

 

A fund may own shares in certain foreign investment entities, referred to, under U.S. tax law, as “passive foreign investment companies.” Such fund may elect to mark-to-market annually the shares of each passive foreign investment company and would be required to distribute to shareholders any such marked-to-market gains.

As of April 30, 2022, gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation based on cost of investments (including short positions and derivatives, if any) for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

 

         

iShares ETF

 

  

Tax Cost

 

    

Gross Unrealized
Appreciation

 

    

Gross Unrealized
Depreciation

 

    

Net Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)

 

 

Global Clean Energy

 

    

 

$6,373,035,341

 

 

 

   $

 

261,661,151

 

 

 

   $

 

(975,828,872

 

 

    

 

$(714,167,721)

 

 

 

 

9.  

LINE OF CREDIT

The Fund, along with certain other iShares funds (“Participating Funds”), is a party to a $300 million credit agreement (“Credit Agreement”) with State Street Bank and Trust Company, which expires on October 15, 2021. The line of credit may be used for temporary or emergency purposes, including redemptions, settlement of trades and rebalancing of portfolio holdings in certain target markets. The Credit Agreement sets specific sub limits on aggregate borrowings based on two tiers of Participating Funds: $300 million with respect to the funds within Tier 1, including the Fund, and $200 million with respect to Tier 2. The Funds may borrow up to the aggregate commitment amount subject to asset coverage and other limitations as specified in the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement has the following terms: a commitment fee of 0.20% per annum on the unused portion of the credit agreement and interest at a rate equal to the higher of (a) the one-month LIBOR rate (not less than zero) plus 1.00% per annum or (b) the U.S. Federal Funds rate (not less than zero) plus 1.00% per annum on amounts borrowed. The commitment fee is generally allocated to each Participating Fund based on the lesser of a Participating Fund’s relative exposure to certain target markets or a Participating Fund’s maximum borrowing amount as set forth by the terms of the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement was terminated on August 12, 2021.

Effective August 13, 2021, the Fund, along with certain other iShares funds (“Participating Funds”), is a party to a $800 million credit agreement (“Syndicated Credit Agreement”) with a group of lenders, which expires on August 12, 2022. The line of credit may be used for temporary or emergency purposes, including redemptions, settlement of trades and rebalancing of portfolio holdings in certain target markets. The Funds may borrow up to the aggregate commitment amount subject to asset coverage and other limitations as specified in the Syndicated Credit Agreement. The Syndicated Credit Agreement has the following terms: a commitment fee of 0.15% per annum on the unused portion of the credit agreement and interest at a rate equal to the higher of (a) the one-month LIBOR rate (not less than zero) plus 1.00% per annum or (b) the U.S. Federal Funds rate (not less than zero) plus 1.00% per annum on amounts borrowed. The commitment fee is generally allocated to each Participating Fund based on the lesser of a Participating Fund’s relative exposure to certain target markets or a Participating Fund’s maximum borrowing amount as set forth by the terms of the Syndicated Credit Agreement.

During the year ended April 30, 2022, the Fund did not borrow under the Credit Agreement or Syndicated Credit Agreement.

 

10.  

PRINCIPAL RISKS

In the normal course of business, the Fund invests in securities or other instruments and may enter into certain transactions, and such activities subject the Fund to various risks, including, among others, fluctuations in the market (market risk) or failure of an issuer to meet all of its obligations. The value of securities or other instruments may also be affected by various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the general economy; (ii) the overall market as well as local, regional or global political and/or social instability; (iii) regulation, taxation or international tax treaties between various countries; or (iv) currency, interest rate or price fluctuations. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. The Fund’s prospectus provides details of the risks to which the Fund is subject.

BFA uses a “passive” or index approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective following the securities included in its underlying index during upturns as well as downturns. BFA does not take steps to reduce market exposure or to lessen the effects of a declining market. Divergence from the underlying index and the composition of the portfolio is monitored by BFA.

The Fund may be exposed to additional risks when reinvesting cash collateral in money market funds that do not seek to maintain a stable NAV per share of $1.00, which may be subject to redemption gates or liquidity fees under certain circumstances.

 

 

24  

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Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

Market Risk: An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus has developed into a global pandemic and has resulted in closing borders, quarantines, disruptions to supply chains and customer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of this pandemic, and other global health crises that may arise in the future, could affect the economies of many nations, individual companies and the market in general in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time. This pandemic may result in substantial market volatility and may adversely impact the prices and liquidity of a fund’s investments. Although vaccines have been developed and approved for use by various governments, the duration of this pandemic and its effects cannot be determined with certainty.

Valuation Risk: The market values of equities, such as common stocks and preferred securities or equity related investments, such as futures and options, may decline due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to a particular company. They may also decline due to factors which affect a particular industry or industries. A fund may invest in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that a 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. A fund may experience difficulty in selling illiquid investments in a timely manner at the price that it believes the investments are worth. Prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to company, market or economic news. Markets also tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. This volatility may cause a fund’s NAV to experience significant increases or decreases over short periods of time. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, the NAV of a fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which a fund invests.

Counterparty Credit Risk: The Fund may be exposed to counterparty credit risk, or the risk that an entity may fail to or be unable to perform on its commitments related to unsettled or open transactions, including making timely interest and/or principal payments or otherwise honoring its obligations. The Fund manages counterparty credit risk by entering into transactions only with counterparties that the Manager believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by monitoring the financial stability of those counterparties. Financial assets, which potentially expose the Fund to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks, consist principally of financial instruments and receivables due from counterparties. The extent of the Fund’s exposure to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks with respect to these financial assets is approximately their value recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, less any collateral held by the Fund.

A derivative contract may suffer a mark-to-market loss if the value of the contract decreases due to an unfavorable change in the market rates or values of the underlying instrument. Losses can also occur if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.

With exchange-traded futures, there is less counterparty credit risk to the Fund since the exchange or clearinghouse, as counterparty to such instruments, guarantees against a possible default. The clearinghouse stands between the buyer and the seller of the contract; therefore, credit risk is limited to failure of the clearinghouse. While offset rights may exist under applicable law, the Fund does not have a contractual right of offset against a clearing broker or clearinghouse in the event of a default (including the bankruptcy or insolvency). Additionally, credit risk exists in exchange-traded futures with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a clearing broker’s customer accounts. While clearing brokers are required to segregate customer margin from their own assets, in the event that a clearing broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy and at that time there is a shortfall in the aggregate amount of margin held by the clearing broker for all its clients, typically the shortfall would be allocated on a pro rata basis across all the clearing broker’s customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund.

Concentration Risk: A diversified portfolio, where this is appropriate and consistent with a fund’s objectives, minimizes the risk that a price change of a particular investment will have a material impact on the NAV of a fund. The investment concentrations within the Fund’s portfolio are disclosed in its Schedule of Investments.

The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers located in Europe or with significant exposure to European issuers or countries. The European financial markets have recently experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about economic downturns in, or rising government debt levels of, several European countries as well as acts of war in the region. These events may spread to other countries in Europe and may affect the value and liquidity of certain of the Fund’s investments.

Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not work, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructurings by governments and others of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. The United Kingdom has withdrawn from the European Union, and one or more other countries may withdraw from the European Union and/or abandon the Euro, the common currency of the European Union. The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, is not clear but could be significant and far reaching. In addition, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The extent and duration of the military action, resulting sanctions and resulting future market disruptions in the region are impossible to predict, but could be significant and have a severe adverse effect on the region, including significant negative impacts on the economy and the markets for certain securities and commodities, such as oil and natural gas, as well as other sectors.

Significant Shareholder Redemption Risk: Certain shareholders may own or manage a substantial amount of fund shares and/or hold their fund investments for a limited period of time. Large redemptions of fund shares by these shareholders may force a Fund to sell portfolio securities, which may negatively impact the fund’s NAV, increase the fund’s brokerage costs, and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income/gains and cause the fund to make additional taxable distributions to shareholders.

LIBOR Transition Risk: The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority announced a phase out of the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). Although many LIBOR rates ceased to be published or no longer are representative of the underlying market they seek to measure after December 31, 2021, a selection of widely used USD LIBOR rates will continue to be published through June 2023 in order to assist with the transition. The Fund may be exposed to financial instruments tied to LIBOR to determine payment obligations, financing terms, hedging strategies or investment value. The transition process away from LIBOR might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets for, and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against instruments whose terms currently include LIBOR. The ultimate effect of the LIBOR transition process on the Fund is uncertain.

 

 

N O T E S   T O    F I N A N C I A L   S T A T E M E N T S

  25


Notes to Financial Statements   (continued)

 

11.  

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

Capital shares are issued and redeemed by the Fund only in aggregations of a specified number of shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) at NAV. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the Fund are not redeemable.

Transactions in capital shares were as follows:

 

 

 
   

Year Ended

04/30/22

 

   

Period From

04/01/21

to 04/30/21

 

   

Year Ended

03/31/21

 

 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

iShares ETF

 

 

Shares

 

   

Amount

 

   

Shares

 

   

Amount

 

   

Shares

 

   

Amount

 

 

 

 

Global Clean Energy

           

Shares sold

    49,000,000     $ 1,087,738,922       21,400,000     $ 512,390,471       208,000,000     $ 5,064,503,842  

Shares redeemed

    (37,600,000     (769,297,647     (3,300,000     (78,345,261     (25,500,000     (565,712,791
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase

 

   

 

11,400,000

 

 

 

  $

 

318,441,275

 

 

 

   

 

18,100,000

 

 

 

  $

 

434,045,210

 

 

 

   

 

182,500,000

 

 

 

  $

 

4,498,791,051

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The consideration for the purchase of Creation Units of a fund in the Trust generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities and a specified amount of cash. Certain funds in the Trust may be offered in Creation Units solely or partially for cash in U.S. dollars. Investors purchasing and redeeming Creation Units may pay a purchase transaction fee and a redemption transaction fee directly to State Street Bank and Trust Company, the Trust’s administrator, to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units, including Creation Units for cash. Investors transacting in Creation Units for cash may also pay an additional variable charge to compensate the relevant fund for certain transaction costs (i.e., stamp taxes, taxes on currency or other financial transactions, and brokerage costs) and market impact expenses relating to investing in portfolio securities. Such variable charges, if any, are included in shares sold in the table above.

From time to time, settlement of securities related to in-kind contributions or in-kind redemptions may be delayed. In such cases, securities related to in-kind transactions are reflected as a receivable or a payable in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

 

12.  

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events on the Fund through the date the financial statements were available to be issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring adjustment or additional disclosure in the financial statements.

 

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Board of Trustees of iShares Trust and

Shareholders of iShares Global Clean Energy ETF

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the schedule of investments, of iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (one of the funds constituting iShares Trust, referred to hereafter as the “Fund”) as of April 30, 2022, the related statements of operations for the year ended April 30, 2022, the statements of changes in net assets for the year ended April 30, 2022, the period from April 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021 and for the year ended March 31, 2021, including the related notes, and the financial highlights for the year ended April 30, 2022, the period from April 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021 and for each of the four years in the period ended March 31, 2021 (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of April 30, 2022, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for the year ended April 30, 2022, the period from April 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021 and for the year ended March 31, 2021 and the financial highlights for the year ended April 30, 2022, the period from April 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021 and for each of the four years in the period ended March 31, 2021 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of April 30, 2022 by correspondence with the custodian, transfer agent and brokers; when replies were not received from brokers, we performed other auditing procedures. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

June 23, 2022

We have served as the auditor of one or more BlackRock investment companies since 2000.

 

 

R E P O R T   O F   I N D E P E N D E N T   R E G I S T E R E D   P U B L I C   A C C O U N T I N G   F I R M

  27


Important Tax Information   (unaudited)   

 

The following amount, or maximum amount allowable by law, are hereby designated as qualified dividend income for individuals for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022:

 

   

iShares ETF

 

  

Qualified Dividend
Income

 

 

Global Clean Energy

   $

 

81,523,519

 

 

 

The following percentage, or maximum percentage allowable by law, of ordinary income distributions paid during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022 qualified for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders:

 

   

iShares ETF

 

  

Dividends-Received
Deduction

 

 

Global Clean Energy

    

 

28.11

 

 

 

 

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Statement Regarding Liquidity Risk Management Program   (unaudited)

 

In compliance with Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Liquidity Rule”), iShares Trust (the “Trust”) has adopted and implemented a liquidity risk management program (the “Program”) for iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (the “Fund” or “ETF”), a series of the Trust, which is reasonably designed to assess and manage the Fund’s liquidity risk.

The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, met on December 9, 2021 (the “Meeting”) to review the Program. The Board previously appointed BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BlackRock”), the investment adviser to the Fund, as the program administrator for the Fund’s Program. BlackRock also previously delegated oversight of the Program to the 40 Act Liquidity Risk Management Committee (the “Committee”). At the Meeting, the Committee, on behalf of BlackRock, provided the Board with a report that addressed the operation of the Program and assessed its adequacy and effectiveness of implementation, including the management of the Fund’s Highly Liquid Investment Minimum (“HLIM”) where applicable, and any material changes to the Program (the “Report”). The Report covered the period from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021 (the “Program Reporting Period”).

The Report described the Program’s liquidity classification methodology for categorizing the Fund’s investments (including derivative transactions) into one of four liquidity buckets. It also referenced the methodology used by BlackRock to establish the Fund’s HLIM and noted that the Committee reviews and ratifies the HLIM assigned to the Fund no less frequently than annually. The Report also discussed notable events affecting liquidity over the Program Reporting Period, including extended market holidays and the imposition of capital controls in certain non-U.S. countries.

The Report noted that the Program complied with the key factors for consideration under the Liquidity Rule for assessing, managing and periodically reviewing the Fund’s liquidity risk, as follows:

 

  a)

The Fund’s investment strategy and liquidity of portfolio investments during both normal and reasonably foreseeable stressed conditions. During the Program Reporting Period, the Committee reviewed whether the Fund’s strategy is appropriate for an open-end fund structure, with a focus on funds with more significant and consistent holdings of less liquid and illiquid assets. The Committee also factored a fund’s concentration in an issuer into the liquidity classification methodology by taking issuer position sizes into account. Derivative exposure was also considered in the calculation of a fund’s liquidity bucketing. Finally, a factor for consideration under the Liquidity Rule is a Fund’s use of borrowings for investment purposes. However, the Funds do not borrow for investment purposes.

 

  b)

Short-term and long-term cash flow projections during both normal and reasonably foreseeable stressed conditions. During the Program Reporting Period, the Committee reviewed historical redemption activity and used this information as a component to establish each ETF’s reasonably anticipated trading size (“RATS”). The Committee may also take into consideration a fund’s shareholder ownership concentration (which, depending on product type and distribution channel, may or may not be available), a fund’s distribution channels, and the degree of certainty associated with a fund’s short-term and long-term cash flow projections.

 

  c)

Holdings of cash and cash equivalents, as well as borrowing arrangements. The Committee considered that ETFs generally do not hold more than de minimis amounts of cash. While the ETFs generally do not engage in borrowing, certain of the ETFs have the flexibility to draw on a line of credit to meet redemption requests or facilitate settlements.

 

  d)

The relationship between an ETF’s portfolio liquidity and the way in which, and the prices and spreads at which, ETF shares trade, including the efficiency of the arbitrage function and the level of active participation by market participants, including authorized participants. The Committee monitored the prevailing bid/ask spread and the ETF price premium (or discount) to NAV for all ETFs and reviewed any persistent deviations from long-term averages.

 

  e)

The effect of the composition of baskets on the overall liquidity of an ETF’s portfolio. In reviewing the linkage between the composition of custom baskets accepted by an ETF and any significant change in the liquidity profile of such ETF, the Committee reviewed changes in the proportion of each ETF’s portfolio comprised of less liquid and illiquid holdings to determine if applicable thresholds were met requiring enhanced review.

As part of BlackRock’s continuous review of the effectiveness of the Program, the Committee made the following material changes to the Program: (1) updates to certain model components in the Program’s methodology; and (2) certain iShares Funds entered into a $800 million credit agreement with a group of lenders that replaced a previous liquidity facility. The Report provided to the Board stated that the Committee concluded that based on the operation of the functions, as described in the Report, the Program is operating as intended and is effective in implementing the requirements of the Liquidity Rule.

 

 

S T A T E M E N T   R E G A R D I N G   L I Q U I D I T Y   R I S K   M A N A G E M E N T   P R O G R A M

  29


Supplemental Information   (unaudited)

 

Regulation Regarding Derivatives

On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies (“Rule 18f-4”). The Fund will be required to implement and comply with Rule 18f-4 by August 19, 2022. Once implemented, Rule 18f-4 will impose limits on the amount of derivatives a fund can enter into, eliminate the asset segregation framework currently used by funds to comply with Section 18 of the 1940 Act, treat derivatives as senior securities and require funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program and appoint a derivatives risk manager.

Section 19(a) Notices

The amounts and sources of distributions reported are estimates and are being provided pursuant to regulatory requirements and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund’s investment experience during the year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Shareholders will receive a Form 1099-DIV each calendar year that will inform them how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

April 30, 2022

 

     Total Cumulative Distributions
for the Fiscal Year

 

    % Breakdown of the Total Cumulative
Distributions for the Fiscal Year

 

 

iShares ETF

 

  Net
Investment
Income
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
    Return of
Capital
    Total Per
Share
    Net
Investment
Income
    Net Realized
Capital Gains
    Return of
Capital
    Total Per
Share
 

Global Clean Energy(a)

 

  $

 

0.235456

 

 

 

  $

 

 

 

 

  $

 

0.015370

 

 

 

  $

 

0.250826

 

 

 

   

 

94

 

 

   

 

 

 

   

 

6

 

 

   

 

100

 

 

 

  (a)

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its net investment income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of the distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the shareholder’s investment in the Fund is returned to the shareholder. A return of capital does not necessarily reflect the Fund’s investment performance and should not be confused with “yield” or “income”. When distributions exceed total return performance, the difference will incrementally reduce the Fund’s net asset value per share.

 

Premium/Discount Information

Information on the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads can be found at iShares.com.

 

 

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Trustee and Officer Information  

 

The Board of Trustees has responsibility for the overall management and operations of the Funds, including general supervision of the duties performed by BFA and other service providers. Each Trustee serves until he or she resigns, is removed, dies, retires or becomes incapacitated. Each officer shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualifies or until his or her death, resignation or removal. Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust are referred to as independent trustees (“Independent Trustees”).

The registered investment companies advised by BFA or its affiliates (the “BlackRock-advised Funds”) are organized into one complex of open-end equity, multi-asset, index and money market funds and ETFs (the “BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex”), one complex of closed-end funds and open-end non-index fixed-income funds (including ETFs) (the “BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex”) and one complex of ETFs (“Exchange-Traded Fund Complex”) (each, a “BlackRock Fund Complex”). Each Fund is included in the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex. Each Trustee also serves as a Director of iShares, Inc. and a Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust and, as a result, oversees all of the funds within the Exchange-Traded Fund Complex, which consists of 380 funds as of April 30, 2022. With the exception of Robert S. Kapito, Salim Ramji and Charles Park, the address of each Trustee and officer is c/o BlackRock, Inc., 400 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. The address of Mr. Kapito, Mr. Ramji and Mr. Park is c/o BlackRock, Inc., Park Avenue Plaza, 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055. The Board has designated John E. Kerrigan as its Independent Board Chair. Additional information about the Funds’ Trustees and officers may be found in the Funds’ combined Statement of Additional Information, which is available without charge, upon request, by calling toll-free 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737).

 

    

Interested Trustees

 

    
       

  Name (Age)

 

  

    Position(s)

 

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During the Past 5 Years

 

  

Other Directorships Held by Trustee    

 

Robert S.

Kapito(a) (65)

   Trustee
(since 2009).
  

President, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2006); Vice Chairman of BlackRock, Inc. and Head of BlackRock’s Portfolio Management Group (since its formation in 1998) and BlackRock, Inc.’s predecessor entities (since 1988); Trustee, University of Pennsylvania (since 2009); President of Board of Directors, Hope & Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund (since 2002).

 

  

Director of BlackRock, Inc. (since 2006); Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2009); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011).

 

Salim Ramji(b)

(51)

   Trustee
(since 2019).
  

Senior Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2014); Global Head of BlackRock’s ETF and Index Investments Business (since 2019); Head of BlackRock’s U.S. Wealth Advisory Business (2015-2019); Global Head of Corporate Strategy, BlackRock, Inc. (2014-2015); Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company (2010-2014).

 

   Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2019); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2019).

 

(a) Robert S. Kapito is deemed to be an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust due to his affiliations with BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates.

(b) Salim Ramji is deemed to be an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust due to his affiliations with BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliates.
Independent Trustees
       

  Name (Age)

 

  

    Position(s)

 

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During the Past 5 Years

 

  

Other Directorships Held by Trustee    

 

John E. Kerrigan (66)    Trustee (since 2005); Independent Board Chair (since 2022).   

Chief Investment Officer, Santa Clara University (since 2002).

  

Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2005); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011); Independent Board Chair of iShares, Inc. and iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2022).

 

Jane D. Carlin (66)    Trustee (since 2015); Risk Committee Chair (since 2016).    Consultant (since 2012); Member of the Audit Committee (2012-2018), Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee (2017-2018) and Director of PHH Corporation (mortgage solutions) (2012-2018); Managing Director and Global Head of Financial Holding Company Governance & Assurance and the Global Head of Operational Risk Management of Morgan Stanley (2006-2012).   

Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2015); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2015); Member of the Audit Committee (since 2016), Chair of the Audit Committee (since 2020) and Director of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (since 2016).

 

Richard L. Fagnani (67)   

Trustee (since 2017); Audit Committee Chair (since 2019).

 

  

Partner, KPMG LLP (2002-2016).

  

Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2017); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2017).

 

 

 

T R U S T E E   A N D   O F F I C E R   I N F O R M A T I O N

  31


Trustee and Officer Information   (continued)

 

    

Independent Trustees (continued)

 

    
       

  Name (Age)

 

  

    Position(s)

 

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During the Past 5 Years

 

  

Other Directorships Held by Trustee    

 

Cecilia H. Herbert (73)    Trustee (since 2005); Nominating and Governance and Equity Plus Committee Chairs (since 2022).   

Chair of the Finance Committee (since 2019) and Trustee and Member of the Finance, Audit and Quality Committees of Stanford Health Care (since 2016); Trustee of WNET, New York’s public media company (since 2011) and Member of the Audit Committee (since 2018) and Investment Committee (since 2011); Chair (1994-2005) and Member (since 1992) of the Investment Committee, Archdiocese of San Francisco; Trustee of Forward Funds (14 portfolios) (2009-2018); Trustee of Salient MF Trust (4 portfolios) (2015-2018); Director (1998-2013) and President (2007-2011) of the Board of Directors, Catholic Charities CYO; Trustee (2002-2011) and Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee (2006-2010) of the Thacher School; Director of the Senior Center of Jackson Hole (since 2020).

 

   Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2005); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011); Trustee of Thrivent Church Loan and Income Fund (since 2019).
Drew E. Lawton (63)   

Trustee (since 2017); 15(c) Committee Chair (since 2017).

 

   Senior Managing Director of New York Life Insurance Company (2010-2015).   

Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2017); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2017).

 

John E. Martinez (60)   

Trustee (since 2003); Securities Lending Committee Chair (since 2019).

 

   Director of Real Estate Equity Exchange, Inc. (since 2005); Director of Cloudera Foundation (2017-2020); and Director of Reading Partners (2012-2016).    Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2003); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011).
Madhav V. Rajan (57)    Trustee (since 2011); Fixed Income Plus Committee Chair (since 2019).   

Dean, and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting, University of Chicago Booth School of Business (since 2017); Advisory Board Member (since 2016) and Director (since 2020) of C.M. Capital Corporation; Chair of the Board for the Center for Research in Security Prices, LLC (since 2020); Robert K. Jaedicke Professor of Accounting, Stanford University Graduate School of Business (2001-2017); Professor of Law (by courtesy), Stanford Law School (2005-2017); Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Head of MBA Program, Stanford University Graduate School of Business (2010-2016).

 

   Director of iShares, Inc. (since 2011); Trustee of iShares U.S. ETF Trust (since 2011).

 

    

Officers                                     

 

     

  Name (Age)

 

  

    Position(s)

 

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During the Past 5 Years

 

Armando Senra (50)   

President

(since 2019).

  

Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2007); Head of U.S., Canada and Latam iShares, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2019); Head of Latin America Region, BlackRock, Inc. (2006-2019); Managing Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (1994-2006).

 

Trent Walker (47)   

Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

(since 2020).

  

Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since September 2019); Chief Financial Officer of iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, BlackRock Funds, BlackRock Funds II, BlackRock Funds IV, BlackRock Funds V and BlackRock Funds VI (since 2021); Executive Vice President of PIMCO (2016-2019); Senior Vice President of PIMCO (2008-2015); Treasurer (2013-2019) and Assistant Treasurer (2007-2017) of PIMCO Funds, PIMCO Variable Insurance Trust, PIMCO ETF Trust, PIMCO Equity Series, PIMCO Equity Series VIT, PIMCO Managed Accounts Trust, 2 PIMCO-sponsored interval funds and 21 PIMCO-sponsored closed-end funds.

 

Charles Park (54)   

Chief Compliance Officer

(since 2006).

  

Chief Compliance Officer of BlackRock Advisors, LLC and the BlackRock-advised Funds in the BlackRock Multi-Asset Complex and the BlackRock Fixed-Income Complex (since 2014); Chief Compliance Officer of BFA (since 2006).

 

 

Deepa Damre Smith (46)   

Secretary

(since 2019).

 

   Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2014); Director, BlackRock, Inc. (2009-2013).
Rachel Aguirre (39)   

Executive Vice President

(since 2022).

   Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2018); Director, BlackRock, Inc. (2009-2018); Head of U.S. iShares Product (since 2022); Head of EII U.S. Product Engineering (since 2021); Co-Head of EII’s Americas Portfolio Engineering (2020-2021); Head of Developed Markets Portfolio Engineering 2021); Head of Developed Markets Portfolio Engineering (2016-2019).
Jennifer Hsui (46)   

Executive Vice President

(since 2022).

 

   Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2009); Co-Head of Index Equity (since 2022).
James Mauro (51)   

Executive Vice President

(since 2022).

 

   Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (since 2010); Head of Fixed Income Index Investments in the Americas and Head of San Francisco Core Portfolio Management (since 2020).

 

 

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Trustee and Officer Information   (continued)

 

 

Effective March 18, 2022, Rachel Aguirre, Jennifer Hsui, and James Mauro have replaced Scott Radell, Alan Mason, and Marybeth Leithead as Executive Vice Presidents.

 

 

 

 

T  R  U  S  T  E  E     A  N  D     O  F  F  I  C  E  R     I  N  F  O  R  M  A  T  I  O  N

  33


General Information

 

Electronic Delivery

Shareholders can sign up for e-mail notifications announcing that the shareholder report or prospectus has been posted on the iShares website at iShares.com. Once you have enrolled, you will no longer receive prospectuses and shareholder reports in the mail.

To enroll in electronic delivery:

 

   

Go to icsdelivery.com.

   

If your brokerage firm is not listed, electronic delivery may not be available. Please contact your broker-dealer or financial advisor.

Householding

Householding is an option available to certain fund investors. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents and Rule 30e-3 notices can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Please contact your broker-dealer if you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, or if you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status.

Availability of Quarterly Schedule of Investments

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Forms N-PORT are available on the SEC’s website at sec.gov. Additionally, the Fund makes its portfolio holdings for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year available at iShares.com/fundreports.

Availability of Proxy Voting Policies and Proxy Voting Records

A description of the policies and procedures that the iShares Funds use to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities and information about how the iShares Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ending June 30 is available without charge, upon request (1) by calling toll-free 1-800-474-2737; (2) on the iShares website at iShares.com; and (3) on the SEC website at sec.gov.

A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund Prospectus. The Fund discloses its portfolio holdings daily and provides information regarding its top holdings in Fund fact sheets at iShares.com.

 

 

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Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

 

Portfolio Abbreviations - Equity

 

ADR    American Depositary Receipt
NVDR    Non-Voting Depositary Receipt

 

 

 

G  L  O  S  S  A  R  Y    O  F     T  E  R  M  S    U  S  E  D    I  N    T  H  I   S    R  E  P  O  R  T

  35


 

 

 

Want to know more?

iShares.com    |     1-800-474-2737

This report is intended for the Fund’s shareholders. It may not be distributed to prospective investors unless it is preceded or accompanied by the current prospectus.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

The iShares Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its affiliates, “BlackRock”).

The iShares Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, nor does this company make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the iShares Funds. BlackRock is not affiliated with the company listed above.

©2022 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

iS-AR-408-0422

 

 

LOGO

   LOGO


(b) Not Applicable

 

Item 2.

Code of Ethics.

The registrant has adopted a code of ethics, as of the end of the period covered by this report, applicable to the registrant’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. During the period covered by this report, the code of ethics was amended to clarify an inconsistency in to whom persons covered by the code should report suspected violations of the code. The amendment clarifies that such reporting should be made to BlackRock’s General Counsel, and retains the alternative option of anonymous reporting following “whistleblower” policies. Other non-material changes were also made in connection with this amendment. During the period covered by this report, there have been no waivers granted under the code of ethics. The registrant undertakes to provide a copy of the code of ethics to any person upon request, without charge, by calling 1-800-474-2737.

 

Item 3.

Audit Committee Financial Expert.

The registrant’s Board of Trustees has determined that the registrant has more than one audit committee financial expert, as that term is defined under Item 3(b) and 3(c), serving on its audit committee. The audit committee


financial experts serving on the registrant’s audit committee are Richard L. Fagnani and Madhav V. Rajan, all of whom are independent, as that term is defined under Item 3(a)(2).

 

Item 4.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

The principal accountant fees disclosed in items 4(a), 4(b), 4(c), 4(d) and 4(g) are for the one series of the registrant for which the fiscal year-end is April 30, 2022 (the “Funds”), and whose annual financial statements are reported in Item 1.

(a) Audit Fees – The aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of the Funds’ annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years were $6,000 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021 and $16,400 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022.

(b) Audit-Related Fees – There were no fees billed for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2021 and April 30, 2022 for assurance and related services by the principal accountant that were reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the Fund’s financial statements and are not reported under (a) of this Item.

(c) Tax Fees – The aggregate fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning for the Funds were $9,700 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021 and $9,700 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022. These services related to the review of the Funds’ tax returns and excise tax calculations.

(d) All Other Fees – There were no other fees billed in each of the fiscal years ended April 30, 2021 and April 30, 2022 for products and services provided by the principal accountant, other than the services reported in (a) through (c) of this Item.

(e) (1) The registrant’s audit committee charter, as amended, provides that the audit committee is responsible for the approval, prior to appointment, of the engagement of the principal accountant to annually audit and provide their opinion on the registrant’s financial statements. The audit committee must also approve, prior to appointment, the engagement of the principal accountant to provide non-audit services to the registrant or to any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the registrant’s investment adviser (“Adviser Affiliate”) that provides ongoing services to the registrant, if the engagement relates directly to the operations and financial reporting of the registrant.

(2) There were no services described in (b) through (d) above that were approved by the audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.

(f) None of the hours expended on the principal accountant’s engagement to audit the Funds’ financial statements for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022 were attributable to work performed by persons other than the principal accountant’s full-time, permanent employees.

(g) The aggregate non-audit fees billed by the registrant’s principal accountant for services rendered to the Funds, and rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser, and any Adviser Affiliate that provides ongoing services to the registrant for the last two fiscal years were $9,700 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2021 and $9,700 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022.

(h) The registrant’s audit committee has considered whether the provision of non-audit services rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser and any Adviser Affiliate that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X, if any, is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence, and has determined that the provision of these services, if any, does not compromise the principal accountant’s independence.


Item 5.

Audit Committee of Listed Registrants

(a) The registrant is a listed issuer as defined in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act of 1934 and has a separately-designated standing audit committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act of 1934. The registrant’s audit committee members are Richard L. Fagnani, Cecilia H. Herbert and Madhav V. Rajan.

(b) Not applicable.

 

Item 6.

Investments.

(a) Schedules of investments are included as part of the reports to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.

(b) Not applicable.

 

Item 7.

Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

Item 8.

Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

Item 9.

Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

Item 10.

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

There were no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s Board of Trustees.

 

Item 11.

Controls and Procedures.

(a) The President (the registrant’s Principal Executive Officer) and Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (the registrant’s Principal Financial Officer) have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report, based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Exchange Act of 1934.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 12.

Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

Item 13.

Exhibits.

(a) (1) Code of Ethics is not filed as an exhibit; please refer to Item 2.


(a) (2) Section 302 Certifications are attached.

(a) (3) Any written solicitation to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1 – Not Applicable.

(a) (4) Change in Registrant’s independent public accountant – Not Applicable.

(b) Section 906 Certifications are attached.

 


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

iShares Trust

 

   By:     

/s/ Armando Senra                            

       Armando Senra, President (Principal Executive Officer)

Date: June 23, 2022

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

   By:     

/s/ Armando Senra                            

       Armando Senra, President (Principal Executive Officer)

Date: June 23, 2022

 

   By:     

/s/ Trent Walker                            

       Trent Walker, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)

Date: June 23, 2022

 


Certifications Pursuant to Section 302

EX-99.CERT

N-CSR Exhibit for Item 13(a)(2): SECTION 302 CERTIFICATIONS

 

 

I, Armando Senra, certify that:

1.            I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of iShares Trust for the following one series: iShares Global Clean Energy ETF;

2.            Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.            Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.            The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

(a)            Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b)            Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c)            Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

(d)            Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.            The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)            All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

(b)            Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date:      June 23, 2022                 /s/ Armando Senra   

President

(Principal Executive Officer)

    Armando Senra   


EX-99.CERT

N-CSR Exhibit for Item 13(a)(2): SECTION 302 CERTIFICATIONS

 

 

I, Trent Walker, certify that:

1.            I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of iShares Trust for the following one series: iShares Global Clean Energy ETF;

2.            Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.            Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.            The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

(a)            Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

(b)            Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(c)            Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

(d)            Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.            The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

(a)            All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

(b)            Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date:      June 23, 2022                 /s/ Trent Walker   

Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

      Trent Walker     

 


Certifications Pursuant to Section 906

Ex.99.906 CERT

N-CSR Exhibit for Item 13(b): CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

Armando Senra, President (Principal Executive Officer), and Trent Walker, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer), of iShares Trust (the “Registrant”), each certify, to his knowledge, that:

1. The Registrant’s periodic report on Form N-CSR for the period ended April 30, 2022 (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

2. The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant.

 

Date:      June 23, 2022                 /s/ Armando Senra   

President

(Principal Executive Officer)

    Armando Senra   
Date:      June 23, 2022                 /s/ Trent Walker   

Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

    Trent Walker