497K 1 d667993d497k.htm FORM 497K Form 497K
January 31, 2014
2014 Summary Prospectus
iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF  |  HEFA |  NYSE ARCA
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus (including amendments and supplements) and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s statement of additional information and shareholder report, online at http://us.ishares.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or by sending an e-mail request to iSharesETFs@blackrock.com, or from your financial professional. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated December 20, 2013, as amended and supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into (legally made a part of) this Summary Prospectus.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.


iSHARES® CURRENCY HEDGED MSCI EAFE ETF
Ticker: HEFA Stock Exchange: NYSE Arca
Investment Objective
The iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization equities in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East while mitigating exposure to fluctuations between the value of the component currencies and the U.S. dollar.
Fees and Expenses
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you own shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between iShares Trust (the “Trust”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, future distribution fees or expenses, and extraordinary expenses. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” reflect the Fund's pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred by investing in other investment companies. As the Fund has not commenced operations prior to the date of the Fund’s prospectus (the “Prospectus”), Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are based on an estimate of the Fund’s allocation to other investment companies for the current fiscal year. The impact of Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will be included in the total returns of the Fund. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are not used to calculate the Fund's net asset value per share (“NAV”). BFA, the investment adviser to the Fund, has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees in an amount equal to the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses attributable to the Fund's investments in other iShares funds until November 30, 2015. The contractual waiver may be terminated prior to November 30, 2015 only upon written agreement of the Trust and BFA.
You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in the Example that follows:
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)
Management
Fees
  Distribution and
Service (12b-1)
Fees
  Other
Expenses
  Acquired Fund Fees
and Expenses
  Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
  Fee Waiver   Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
After
Fee Waiver
0.39%   None   None   0.34%   0.73%   (0.34)%   0.39%
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Example. This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of owning shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
  1 Year   3 Years    
  $40   $165    
Portfolio Turnover. The Fund and the other fund in which the Fund principally invests, the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (the “Underlying Fund”), may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate for the Fund or the Underlying Fund may indicate higher transaction costs and cause the Fund or the Underlying Fund to incur increased expenses. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example (except costs to the Underlying Fund included as part of Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses), affect the Fund's performance. To the extent the Underlying Fund incurs costs from high portfolio turnover, such costs may have a negative effect on the performance of the Fund.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI EAFE® 100% Hedged to USD Index (the “Underlying Index”), which has been developed by MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”) as an equity benchmark for its international stock performance with the currency risk of the securities included in the Underlying Index hedged against the U.S. dollar on
a monthly basis. The Underlying Index includes stocks from Europe, Australasia and the Far East and, as of December 1, 2013, consisted of the following 21 developed market countries or regions: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The Underlying Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include consumer discretionary, financials and industrials companies. The components of the Underlying Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, may change over time.
As of its inception date, the Fund intends to seek to achieve its investment objective initially by investing a substantial portion of its assets in one Underlying Fund, the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF.
BFA uses a “passive” or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to “beat” the index it tracks and does not seek temporary defensive
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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 keeping portfolio turnover low in comparison to actively managed investment companies.
BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Fund and the Underlying Fund. “Representative sampling” is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Underlying Index. The securities selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of the Underlying Index. The Fund or the Underlying Fund may or may not hold all of the securities in its Underlying Index.
The Fund generally invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of the Underlying Index (including indirect investments through the Underlying Fund) and in depositary receipts representing securities of the Underlying Index, including foreign currency forward contracts designed to hedge against non-U.S. currency fluctuations. The Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including money market funds advised by BFA or
its affiliates, as well as in securities not included in the Underlying Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index.
The Underlying Index applies a one-month forward rate to the total value of the non-U.S. dollar denominated securities included in the Underlying Index to effectively create a “hedge” against fluctuations in the relative value of the component currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar. The hedge is reset on a monthly basis. The Underlying Index is designed to have higher returns than an equivalent unhedged investment when the component currencies are weakening relative to the U.S. dollar. Conversely, the Underlying Index is designed to have lower returns than an equivalent unhedged investment when the component currencies are rising relative to the U.S. dollar.
In order to replicate the “hedging” component of the Underlying Index, the Fund intends to enter into foreign currency forward contracts designed to offset the Fund’s exposure to the component currencies. A foreign currency forward contract is a contract between two parties to buy or sell a specified amount of a specific currency in the future at an agreed upon exchange rate. The Fund's exposure to foreign currency forward contracts is based on the aggregate exposure of the Fund to the component currencies. While this approach is designed to minimize the impact of currency fluctuations on Fund returns, it does not necessarily eliminate the Fund’s exposure to the component currencies. The return of the foreign currency forward contracts may not perfectly offset the actual fluctuations between the component currencies and the U.S. dollar.
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The Fund may use non-deliverable forward contracts to execute its hedging transactions. A non-deliverable foreign currency forward contract is a contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity. Rather, based on the movement of the currencies, a net cash settlement will be made by one party to the other.
The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the value of the collateral received).
The Underlying Index is sponsored by an organization (the “Index Provider”) that 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. The Fund’s Index Provider is MSCI.
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) and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
Summary of Principal Risks
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. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted
below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund's NAV, trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective.
Asset Class Risk. Securities in the Underlying Index or in the Fund's portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general securities markets or other asset classes.
Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences to the extent that the Fund's or the Underlying Fund's investments are concentrated in a particular issuer or issuers, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class.
Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The consumer discretionary sector may be affected by changes in domestic and international economies, exchange and interest rates, competition, consumers' disposable income and consumer preferences, social trends and marketing campaigns.
Currency Hedging Risk. When a derivative is used as a hedge against a position that the Fund holds, any loss generated by the derivative generally should be substantially offset by gains on the hedged investment, and vice versa. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains. Hedges are sometimes subject to imperfect matching between the derivative and its reference asset, and there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging transactions will be effective.
In seeking to track the performance of the Underlying Index, the Fund will attempt to hedge the currency exposure of non-U.S. dollar denominated securities held in its portfolio by
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investing in foreign currency forward contracts, which may include non-deliverable forward contracts. Foreign currency forward contracts do not eliminate movements in the value of non-U.S. currencies and securities but rather allow the Fund to establish a fixed rate of exchange for a future point in time. Exchange rates may be volatile and may change quickly and unpredictably in response to both global economic developments and economic conditions in a geographic region in which the Fund or the Underlying Fund invests. In addition, the Fund’s exposure to the value of the component currencies may not be fully hedged at all times. Because the Fund’s currency hedge is reset on a monthly basis, currency risk can develop or increase intra-month. Furthermore, while the Fund is designed to hedge against currency fluctuations, it is possible that a degree of currency exposure may remain even at the time a hedging transaction is implemented. As a result, the Fund may not be able to structure its hedging transactions as anticipated or its hedging transactions may not successfully reduce the currency risk included in the Fund’s portfolio. The effectiveness of the Fund’s currency hedging strategy will in general be affected by the volatility of both the Underlying Index, and the volatility of the U.S. dollar relative to the currencies to be hedged. Increased volatility will generally reduce the effectiveness of the Fund’s currency hedging strategy. The effectiveness of the Fund’s currency hedging strategy will also in general be affected by interest rates. Significant differences between U.S. dollar interest rates and foreign currency interest rates may affect the effectiveness of the Fund’s currency hedging strategy.
Currency Risk. Because the Fund's NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund's NAV could decline if the currency of a non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar and the Fund's attempt to hedge currency exposure is unsuccessful. Generally, an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar against a foreign currency will reduce the value of a security denominated in that foreign currency, thereby decreasing the Fund's overall NAV. In addition, fluctuations in the exchange values of currencies could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies in a geographic region in which the Fund or the Underlying Fund invests, causing an adverse impact on the Fund’s or the Underlying Fund’s investments in the affected region and the United States. As a result, investors have the potential for losses regardless of the length of time they intend to hold Fund shares.
Derivatives Risk. The Fund may use derivatives to hedge the currency exposure resulting from investments in foreign securities. The Fund’s use of derivatives may reduce the Fund’s returns and/or increase volatility. Volatility is defined as the characteristic of a security, a currency, an index or a market to fluctuate significantly in price within a short time period. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party in the transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate perfectly with the reference asset to the derivative. 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
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Fund to losses and could make derivatives more difficult for the Fund to value accurately. The Fund could also suffer losses related to its derivatives positions as a result of unanticipated market movements, which losses are potentially unlimited. BFA’s use of derivatives is not intended to predict the direction of securities prices, currency exchange rates, interest rates and other economic factors, which could cause the Fund’s derivatives positions to lose value. Derivatives may give rise to a form of leverage and may expose the Fund to greater risk and increase its costs. Recent legislation calls for new regulation of the derivatives markets. The extent and impact of the regulation is not yet known and may not be known for some time. New regulation may make derivatives more costly, may limit the availability of derivatives, or may otherwise adversely affect the value or performance of derivatives.
Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are subject to changes in value and their values may be more volatile than those of other asset classes.
Financials Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. This sector has experienced significant losses in the recent past, and the impact of more stringent capital requirements and of recent or future regulation on any individual financial company or on the sector as a whole cannot be predicted.
Geographic Risk. A natural or other disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund or the Underlying Fund invests, which could affect the economy or particular business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund's or the Underlying Fund's investments in the affected region.
Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the Underlying Index and therefore achieve its investment objective. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the Underlying Index. Errors in index data may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected for a period of time, and may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.
Industrials Sector Risk. The industrials sector may be affected by changes in the supply and demand for products and services, product obsolescence, claims for environmental damage or product liability and general economic conditions, among other factors.
Investment in Underlying Funds Risk. The Fund expects to invest a substantial portion of its assets in the Underlying Fund, so the Fund’s investment performance is directly related to the performance of the Underlying Fund. The Fund’s NAV will change with changes in the value of the Underlying Fund and other securities in which the Fund invests based on their market valuations. An investment in the Fund will entail more costs and expenses
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than a direct investment in the Underlying Fund.
As the Fund’s allocation to the Underlying Fund changes from time to time, or to the extent that the expense ratio of the Underlying Fund changes, the weighted average operating expenses borne by the Fund may increase or decrease.
Issuer Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund or the Underlying Fund has exposure. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.
Management Risk. As the Fund may not fully replicate the Underlying Index, it is subject to the risk that BFA's investment strategy may not produce the intended results.
Market Risk. The Fund and the Underlying Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns.
Market Trading Risk. The Fund and the Underlying Fund face numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for their shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the funds. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUND'S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV.
Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. Compared to large-capitalization companies, mid-capitalization companies may be less stable and more susceptible to adverse developments,
and their securities may be more volatile and less liquid.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund or the Underlying Fund may invest a large percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the Fund's performance may depend on the performance of a small number of issuers.
Non-U.S. Securities Risk. Investments in the securities of non-U.S. issuers are subject to the risks associated with investing in those non-U.S. markets, such as heightened risks of inflation or nationalization. The Fund may lose money due to political, economic and geographic events affecting issuers of non-U.S. securities or non-U.S. markets. The Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk and European Economic Risk.
Passive Investment Risk. The Fund and the Underlying Fund are not actively managed and BFA does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets.
Privatization Risk. Some countries in which the Fund or the Underlying Fund invests have privatized, or have begun the process of privatizing, certain entities and industries. Privatized entities may lose money or be re-nationalized.
Reliance on Trading Partners Risk. The Fund or the Underlying Fund invests in countries whose economies are heavily dependent upon trading with key partners. Any reduction in this trading may have an adverse impact on the Fund's investments. Through its trading partners, the Fund is specifically exposed to Asian Economic Risk and European Economic Risk.
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Risk of Investing in Developed Countries. The Fund’s or the Underlying Fund's investment in developed country issuers may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some other countries. A majority of developed countries have recently experienced a significant economic slowdown. In addition, developed countries may be impacted by changes to the economic health of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens and the price or availability of certain commodities.
Risk of Investing in Japan. The Japanese economy may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability, which could have a negative impact on Japanese securities. Since the year 2000, Japan’s economic growth rate has remained relatively low and it may remain low in the future. In addition, Japan is subject to the risk of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons and tsunamis.
Risk of Investing in the United Kingdom. Investments in British issuers may subject the Fund or the Underlying Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risk specific to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom has one of the largest economies in Europe, and the United States and other European countries are substantial trading partners of the United Kingdom. As a result, the British economy may be impacted by changes to the economic condition of the United States and other European countries. The British economy, along with certain
other European Union (“EU”) economies, experienced a significant economic slowdown during the recent financial crisis; certain British financial institutions suffered significant losses, were severely under-capitalized and required government intervention to survive.
Securities Lending Risk. The Fund or the Underlying Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund or the Underlying Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund or the Underlying Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of the collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund.
Security Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund or the Underlying Fund invests have experienced security concerns. Incidents involving a country's or region's security may cause uncertainty in these markets and may adversely affect their economies and the Fund's investments.
Tax Risk. Because the Fund is expected to invest in the Underlying Fund, the Fund’s realized losses on sales of shares of the Underlying Fund may be indefinitely or permanently deferred as “wash sales.” Distributions of short-term capital gains by the Underlying Fund will be recognized as ordinary income by the Fund and would not be offset by the Fund’s capital loss carryforwards, if any. Capital loss carryforwards of the Underlying Fund, if
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any, would not offset net capital gains of the Fund. Each of these effects is caused by the Fund’s expected investment in the Underlying Fund and may result in distributions to Fund shareholders being of higher magnitudes and less likely to qualify for lower capital gain tax rates than if the Fund were to invest otherwise.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Underlying Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Underlying Index, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends, changes to the Underlying Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the Underlying
Index does not. The Underlying Fund is also subject to tracking error risk in seeking to track the performance of its underlying index.
Valuation Risk. The sale price the Fund or the Underlying Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund's valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Underlying Index, particularly for securities that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. In addition, the value of the securities in the Fund's  or the Underlying Fund's portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund's shares.
Performance Information
As of the date of the Prospectus, the Fund has been in operation for less than one full calendar year and therefore does not report its performance information.
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Management
Investment Adviser. BlackRock Fund Advisors.
Portfolio Managers. Matthew Goff, Diane Hsiung, Jennifer Hsui, Orlando Montalvo and Greg Savage (the “Portfolio Managers”) are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Each Portfolio Manager supervises a portfolio management team. Mr. Goff, Ms. Hsiung, Ms. Hsui, Mr. Montalvo and Mr. Savage have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since inception.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (commonly referred to as an “ETF”). Individual Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund will only issue or redeem shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (“Creation Units”) to authorized participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund's distributor. The Fund generally will issue or redeem Creation Units in
return for a designated portfolio of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account (“IRA”).
Payments to Broker-Dealers and other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), BFA or other related companies may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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For more information visit www.iShares.com or call 1-800-474-2737
IS-SP-HEFA-0114
Investment Company Act file No.: 811-09729