v3.26.1
Investment Risks - iShares Flexible Equity Active ETF
May 11, 2026
Foreign Securities Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Foreign Securities Risk. Foreign investments often involve special risks not present in U.S. investments that can increase the chances that the Fund will lose money. These risks include:
    The Fund generally holds its foreign securities and cash in foreign banks and securities depositories, which may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business and may be subject to only limited or no regulatory oversight.
    Changes in foreign currency exchange rates can affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.
    The economies of certain foreign markets may not compare favorably with the economy of the United States with respect to such issues as growth of gross national product, reinvestment of capital, resources and balance of payments position.
    The governments of certain countries, or the U.S. Government with respect to certain countries, may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions through capital controls and/or sanctions on foreign investments in the capital markets or certain industries in those countries, which may prohibit or restrict the ability to own or transfer currency, securities, derivatives or other assets.
    Many foreign governments do not supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to the same extent as does the United States and may not have laws to protect investors that are comparable to U.S. securities laws.
    Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets may result in delays in payment for or delivery of securities not typically associated with settlement and clearance of U.S. investments.
    The Fund’s claims to recover foreign withholding taxes may not be successful, and if the likelihood of recovery of foreign withholding taxes materially decreases, due to, for example, a change in tax regulation or approach in the foreign country, accruals in the Fund’s net asset value for such refunds may be written down partially or in full, which will adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value.
Quantitative Model Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Quantitative Model Risk. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis. Investments selected using these quantitative models may perform differently than as forecasted due to the factors
incorporated into the quantitative models and the weighting of each factor, changes from historical trends, and issues in the construction and implementation of the quantitative models (including, but not limited to, software issues, issues related to the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (“AI”), and other technological issues). There is no guarantee that BlackRock’s use of these quantitative models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund.
The information and data used in the quantitative models may be supplied by third parties. Inaccurate or incomplete data may limit the effectiveness of the quantitative models. In addition, some of the data that BlackRock uses may be historical data, which may not accurately predict future market movement. There is a risk that the quantitative models will not be successful in selecting investments or in determining the weighting of investment positions that will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
Market Risk and Selection Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Market Risk and Selection Risk. Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues like pandemics or epidemics, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis and is subject to “Quantitative Model Risk” as described above. This means you may lose money.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. There are a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants for the Fund, including on an agency basis on behalf of other market participants. No Authorized Participant is obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent
that Authorized Participants exit the business or do not place creation or redemption orders for the Fund and no other Authorized Participant places orders, Fund shares are more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.
Cash Transactions Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund may effect some or all of its creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in‑kind securities. As a result, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to obtain the cash needed to meet redemption orders. This may cause the Fund to sell a security and recognize a capital gain or loss that might not have been incurred if it had made a redemption in‑kind. The use of cash creations and redemptions may also cause the Fund’s shares to trade in the market at wider bid‑ask spreads or greater premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
Commodities Related Investments Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Commodities Related Investments Risk. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative investments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in inflation, interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments.
Convertible Securities Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Convertible Securities Risk. The market value of a convertible security performs like that of a regular debt security; that is, if market interest rates rise, the value of a convertible security usually falls. In addition, convertible securities are subject to the risk that the issuer will not be able to pay interest, principal or dividends when due, and their market value may change based on changes in the issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of the issuer’s creditworthiness. Since it derives a portion of its value from the common stock into which it may be converted, a convertible security is also subject to the same types of market and issuer risks that apply to the underlying common stock, including the potential for increased volatility in the price of the convertible security.
Derivatives Risks [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s use of derivatives may increase its costs, reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Derivatives involve significant risks, including:
Leverage Risk — The Fund’s use of derivatives can magnify the Fund’s gains and losses. Relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the
value of a derivatives position and can result in losses that greatly exceed the amount originally invested.
Market Risk — Some derivatives are more sensitive to interest rate changes and market price fluctuations than other securities. The Fund could also suffer losses related to its derivatives positions as a result of unanticipated market movements, which losses are potentially unlimited. Finally, BFA may not be able to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates and other economic factors, which could cause the Fund’s derivatives positions to lose value.
Counterparty Risk — Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will be unable or unwilling to fulfill its contractual obligation, and the related risks of having concentrated exposure to such a counterparty.
Illiquidity Risk — The possible lack of a liquid secondary market for derivatives and the resulting inability of the Fund to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position could expose the Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately.
Operational Risk — The use of derivatives includes the risk of potential operational issues, including documentation issues, settlement issues, systems failures, inadequate controls and human error.
Legal Risk — The risk of insufficient documentation, insufficient capacity or authority of counterparty, or legality or enforceability of a contract.
Volatility and Correlation Risk — Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate with the overall securities markets.
Valuation Risk — Valuation for derivatives may not be readily available in the market. Valuation may be more difficult in times of market turmoil since many investors and market makers may be reluctant to purchase complex instruments or quote prices for them.
Hedging Risk — Hedges are subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and the underlying security, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective. The use of hedging may result in certain adverse tax consequences.
Tax Risk — Certain aspects of the tax treatment of derivative instruments, including swap agreements and commodity-linked derivative instruments, are currently unclear and may be affected by changes in legislation, regulations or other legally binding authority. Such treatment may be less favorable than that given to a direct investment in an underlying asset and may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income the Fund realizes from its investments.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities. High portfolio turnover (more than 100%) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark‑ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities. The sale of Fund portfolio securities may result in the realization and/or distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains or losses as compared to a fund with less active trading policies, such as index ETFs. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance.
Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Indexed and Inverse Securities Risk. Indexed and inverse securities provide a potential return based on a particular index of value or interest rates. The Fund’s return on these securities will be subject to risk with respect to the value of the particular index. These securities are subject to leverage risk and correlation risk. Certain indexed and inverse securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate.
Large Capitalization Companies Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies may be less able than smaller-capitalization companies to adapt to changing market conditions and competitive challenges. Large-capitalization companies may be more mature and subject to more limited growth potential compared with smaller-capitalization companies. The performance of large-capitalization companies could trail the overall performance of the broader securities markets.
Large Shareholder and Large Scale Redemption Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares, or may
invest in the Fund and hold their investment for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment.
Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares could require the Fund to dispose of assets to meet the redemption requests, which can accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or capital gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such year. In some circumstances, the Fund may hold a relatively large proportion of its assets in cash in anticipation of large redemptions, diluting its investment returns. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these large redemptions may also force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or have a material effect on the market price of the Fund shares.
Leverage Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Leverage Risk. Some transactions may give rise to a form of economic leverage. These transactions may include, among others, derivatives, and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet the applicable requirements of the 1940 Act, and the rules thereunder. Increases and decreases in the value of the Fund’s portfolio will be magnified when the Fund uses leverage.
Market Trading Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares (including through a trading halt), losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility, and disruptions in the process of creating and redeeming Fund shares. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading in the secondary market at a premium or discount to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings. If you buy Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to NAV or sell Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to NAV, you may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares.
Mid Cap Securities Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Mid Cap Securities Risk. The securities of mid cap companies generally trade in lower volumes and are
generally subject to greater and less predictable price changes than the securities of larger capitalization companies.
New Fund Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
New Fund Risk. The Fund is new and has limited or no performance history as of the date of this prospectus. Like other new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure, and in turn, the Fund’s returns for limited periods of time. While the Fund is new, it may temporarily not be fully invested consistent with the principal investment strategies disclosed in its prospectus.
Operational and Technology Risks [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Operational and Technology Risks. The Fund is directly and indirectly susceptible to operational and technology risks, including those related to human errors, processing errors, communication errors, systems failures, cybersecurity incidents, and the use of AI, which may result in losses for the Fund and its shareholders or may impair the Fund’s operations. While the Fund’s service providers are required to have appropriate operational, information security and cybersecurity risk management policies and procedures, their methods of risk management may differ from those of the Fund. Operational and technology risks for the issuers in which the Fund invests could also result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value.
Real Estate Related Securities Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Real Estate-Related Securities Risk. The main risk of real estate-related securities is that the value of the underlying real estate may go down. Many factors may affect real estate values. These factors include both the general and local economies, vacancy rates, changes in rent schedules, tenant bankruptcies, the ability to re‑lease space under expiring leases on attractive terms, the amount of new construction in a particular area, the laws and regulations (including zoning, environmental and tax laws) affecting real estate and the costs of owning, maintaining and improving real estate. The availability of mortgage financing and changes in interest rates may also affect real estate values. If the Fund’s real estate-related investments are concentrated in one geographic area or in one property type, the Fund will be particularly subject to the risks associated with that area or property type. Many issuers of real estate-related securities are
highly leveraged, which increases the risk to holders of such securities. The value of the securities the Fund buys will not necessarily track the value of the underlying investments of the issuers of such securities. In addition, certain issuers of real estate-related securities may have developed or commenced development on properties and may develop additional properties in the future. Real estate development involves significant risks in addition to those involved in the ownership and operation of established properties. Real estate securities may have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. Real estate securities are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency and defaults by borrowers or tenants.
Risk of Investing in the United States [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Risk of Investing in the United States. Certain changes in the U.S. economy, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have an adverse effect on the securities to which the Fund has exposure.
Short Sales Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Short Sales Risk. Because making short sales in securities that it does not own exposes the Fund to the risks associated with those securities, such short sales involve speculative exposure risk. The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the security sold short. Short sale transactions involve leverage because they can provide investment exposure in an amount exceeding the initial investment.
Small Cap and Emerging Growth Securities Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Small Cap and Emerging Growth Securities Risk. Small cap or emerging growth companies may have limited product lines or markets. They may be less financially secure than larger, more established companies. They may depend on a more limited management group than larger capitalized companies.
Small Fund Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Small Fund Risk. When the Fund’s size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. The Fund’s performance near its inception date may not represent how the Fund will perform in the future or with a larger asset base. The Fund may buy smaller‑sized bonds known as “odd lots,” which may be purchased or sold at a discount to similar “round lot” bonds. The prices used by the Fund may differ from the value that would be realized if these securities were sold, and the impact of such pricing differences on the Fund’s performance may be heightened when the Fund’s size is small. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted
if it does not meet certain requirements set by the listing exchange. Any resulting liquidation of the Fund could lead to elevated transaction costs for the Fund and negative tax consequences for its shareholders.
Subsidiary Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Subsidiary Risk. By investing in the Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments. The commodity-related instruments held by the Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that apply to similar investments if held directly by the Fund (see “Commodities Related Investments Risk” above). There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Subsidiary will be achieved. The Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act and, unless otherwise noted in this prospectus, is not subject to all the investor protections of the Investment Company Act. However, the Fund wholly owns and controls the Subsidiary, and the Fund and the Subsidiary are both managed by BFA, making it unlikely that the Subsidiary will take action contrary to the interests of the Fund and its shareholders. The Board has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of the Fund, including its investment in the Subsidiary, and the Fund’s role as sole shareholder of the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary is subject to the same investment restrictions and limitations, and follows the same compliance policies and procedures, as the Fund, except that the Subsidiary may invest without limitation in commodity-related instruments. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this prospectus and the SAI and could adversely affect the Fund.
Equity Securities Risk [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Equity Securities Risk. Stock markets are volatile. The price of equity securities fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.
Risk Lose Money [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block] As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Fund, and the Fund’s performance could trail that of other investments.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Member]  
Prospectus [Line Items]  
Risk [Text Block]
Non‑Diversification Risk. The Fund is a non‑diversified fund. Because the Fund may invest in securities of a smaller number of issuers, it may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer than a fund that invests more widely.