iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV)
AI Summary
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the FTSE World Government Bond Index Developed Markets Capped Select Index, which measures the performance of fixed-rate, local currency, investment-grade sovereign bonds from certain developed markets, excluding the U.S. The index includes bonds with a remaining maturity greater than one year and a minimum credit rating of A- by S&P and A3 by Moody’s.
The key strategy is to use a representative sampling indexing approach, investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to the underlying index. The Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in the index components and at least 90% in fixed income securities of the types included in the index.
A unique feature is the capping of individual country weights at 21% and the total weight of countries with more than 4.6% weight at 47%. The index is rebalanced monthly, and as of October 31, 2023, it had 841 components.
Strategy Narrative (Prospectus)
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the FTSE World Government Bond Index Developed Markets Capped Select Index (the Underlying Index), which measures the performance of fixed-rate, local currency, investment-grade, sovereign bonds from certain developed markets, and is a subset of the FTSE World Government Bond Index - Developed Markets (WGBI-DM) Index (the Parent Index). For a security to be eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index, the issuing country must be classified by the International Monetary Fund or by the World Bank as a developed country, must meet market accessibility standards (as determined by FTSE Fixed Income LLC (the Index Provider or FTSE)), and must have a minimum market size greater than each of USD 50 billion, EUR 40 billion and JPY 5 trillion. Market size is defined as the total outstanding market value of eligible securities. However, the Underlying Index excludes the U.S. The minimum credit rating for entry to the Underlying Index is A- by Standard & Poors Financial Services LLC (S&P) and A3 by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. (Moodys). The Underlying Index includes bonds having a remaining maturity greater than one year. The market value-based weights of each individual country in the Underlying Index are capped at 21%. Furthermore, the total market weights of the countries with more than 4.6% market weight in the index cannot exceed 47% of the total index weight. Constituent securities of each country are assigned weights in proportion to their market value. The Underlying Index is rebalanced on a monthly basis at month end. As of October 31, 2023, the Underlying Index was composed of 841 components. BFA uses an indexing approach to try to achieve the Funds investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, 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 that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The securities 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., a security’s price sensitivity to a change in interest rates), maturity or credit ratings and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of an applicable underlying index. The Fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the Underlying Index. The Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index, and the Fund will invest at least 90% of its assets in fixed income securities of the types included in the Underlying Index that BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. The Fund will invest no more than 10% of its assets in futures, options and swaps contracts that BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index as well as in fixed income securities other than the types included in the Underlying Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. Cash and cash equivalent investments associated with a derivative position will be treated as part of that position for the purposes of calculating the percentage of investments included in the Underlying Index. The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index before fees and expenses of the Fund. The Underlying Index is sponsored by FTSE, which is independent of the Fund and BFA. The Index Provider determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Underlying Index. Industry Concentration Policy. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Underlying Index is concentrated. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.