Portfolio Turnover. The Fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when
Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 87% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investments results of the Bloomberg MSCI US Universal Choice ESG Screened Index (the
“Underlying Index”), which has been developed by Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (the “Index Provider” or “Bloomberg”) with environmental, social and governance
(“ESG”) rating inputs from MSCI Solutions LLC (“MSCI
Solutions”) pursuant to an agreement
between MSCI Solutions and Bloomberg Index Services Limited (a subsidiary of Bloomberg) or an affiliate. The Underlying Index is a modified market value-weighted index designed to
reflect the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated, taxable bonds with favorable ESG ratings (as determined by MSCI Solutions) while applying extensive screens, including, for example, a screen which focuses on removing fossil fuel exposure.
To construct the Underlying Index, Bloomberg begins with the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index (the “Parent Index”). The Parent Index includes securities with at least one year until final maturity, without regard to optionality features
such as call provisions or conversion provisions. The Parent Index includes Treasury securities, government-related securities (i.e., U.S. and non-U.S. agency debt
securities, and non-U.S. sovereign, quasi-sovereign, supranational and local authority debt), investment-grade and high yield (as well as unrated) corporate bonds, U.S. agency
mortgage-backed pass-through securities
(“MBS”), commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset backed securities, Eurodollar bonds, bonds registered with the SEC
or exempt from registration at the time of issuance or offered pursuant to Rule 144A with or without registration rights and U.S. dollar-denominated emerging market bonds.
From the Parent Index, Bloomberg excludes issuers with unfavorable ESG ratings, as calculated by MSCI Solutions, and then
further excludes securities of issuers involved in adult entertainment, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, genetic engineering, controversial weapons, nuclear weapons, civilian firearms, conventional weapons, palm oil, private prisons, predatory lending,
and nuclear power based on revenue or percentage of revenue thresholds for certain categories
(e.g., $500 million or 50%)
and categorical exclusions for others (e.g., nuclear weapons). Bloomberg screens companies with involvement in fossil fuels by excluding any company in the Bloomberg
energy sector and all companies with an industry tie to fossil fuels such as thermal coal, oil and gas—in particular, reserve ownership, related revenues and power generation.
Additionally, Bloomberg excludes companies involved in very serious business controversies.
For each industry, MSCI Solutions identifies key ESG issues that can lead to unexpected costs for entities in the medium- to long-term (e.g., climate change,
resource scarcity, demographic shifts). MSCI Solutions then calculates the size of each entity's exposure to each key issue based on the entity's business segment and
geographic risk and analyzes the extent to which such entities have developed robust strategies and programs to manage ESG risks and opportunities. MSCI Solutions scores entities based on both their risk exposure and risk management. To score well on a key issue, MSCI
Solutions assesses management practices, management performance (through demonstrated track record and other
quantitative performance indicators), governance structures, and/or implications in controversies, which all may be taken as a proxy for overall management quality. Controversies, including, among other things, issues involving anti-competitive
practices, toxic emissions and waste, and health and safety, occurring within the last three years lead to a deduction from the overall management score on each issue. Using a sector-specific key issue weighting model, entities are rated and ranked in
comparison to their industry peers. Key issues and weights are reviewed at the end of each calendar year. Corporate
governance is always weighted and analyzed for all entities.
As of February 28, 2026, there were 10,338 issues in the Underlying Index. As of February 28, 2026, a significant portion of
the Underlying Index was represented by U.S. agency MBS and U.S. Treasury bonds. The components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time. The securities in the Underlying Index are updated on the last business day of each month.
BFA uses an indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The
Fund does not try to
“beat” the index it tracks and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.
Indexing may eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the
Underlying Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection. Indexing seeks to achieve lower costs and better after-tax performance by aiming to keep portfolio turnover low in comparison to actively managed investment companies.
BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Fund. “Representative sampling” is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities or other instruments that
collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The instruments selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market value and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return
variability, duration
(i.e., an instrument's price sensitivity to a change in interest rates), maturity or credit
ratings and yield)