Index-Related Risk. The Index Provider may rely on various sources of information to assess the criteria of components of the Underlying Index,
including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor BFA can offer assurances that the Index Provider’s methodology or sources of
information will provide an accurate assessment of included components or will result in the Fund meeting its investment objective. Errors in index data, index computations or
the construction of the Underlying Index in accordance with its methodology may occur, and the Index Provider may not identify or correct them promptly or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market
conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural disasters, political unrest or war) may impact the Index Provider or a third-party data provider and could cause the
Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. This could cause the Underlying Index to vary from its normal or expected composition.
Asset Class Risk. The securities and other assets in the Underlying Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to
financial markets generally, a particular financial market, another index, or other asset classes.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. An “Authorized Participant” is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the Fund or one
of its service providers that allows the Authorized Participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of creation units (“Creation Units”). 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.
Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse
events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities or other assets of one or more issuers, countries or other geographic units, markets, industries, project types, or asset classes.
Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline due to falling interest rates or other factors. This can
occur because the Fund may be required to invest in lower-yielding bonds when a bond in the Fund’s portfolio matures, is near maturity, is called or is prepaid, when bonds in the Underlying Index are substituted, or when the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.
The Index Provider’s substitution of bonds in the Underlying Index may occur, for example, when the time to maturity for the bond no longer matches the Underlying
Index’s stated maturity guidelines.
Issuer
Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities or other assets to which the
Fund has exposure. The value of securities or other assets may decline, or perform differently from the market as a whole, due to changes in the financial condition or credit rating of the issuer or counterparty.
Management Risk. The Fund generally does not attempt to take defensive
positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. As the Fund will not fully replicate the Underlying Index and may hold securities or other assets not included in the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that the investment strategy of BFA may not produce the intended
results. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Underlying Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
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.
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 artificial intelligence and machine learning (“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.
Risk of Investing in the U.S. Investing in U.S. issuers subjects the Fund
to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks that are specific to the U.S. Certain changes in the U.S., such as a weakening of the U.S. economy or a
decline in its financial markets, may have an adverse effect on U.S. issuers.