497K 1 d898427d497k.htm ISHARES MANAGED FUTURES ACTIVE ETF - SP iShares Managed Futures Active ETF - SP

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      MARCH 3, 2025

 

2025 Summary Prospectus

 

BlackRock ETF Trust

 iShares Managed Futures Active ETF | ISMF | CBOE

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), reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s statement of additional information, online at https://www.blackrock.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-474-2737 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus.request@blackrock.com, or from your financial professional. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated March 3, 2025, 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 and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Summary Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

Not FDIC Insured • May Lose Value • No Bank Guarantee


ISHARES MANAGED FUTURES ACTIVE ETF

Ticker: ISMF      Stock Exchange: CBOE

Investment Objective

The iShares Managed Futures Active ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to maximize total return.

Fees and Expenses

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. The investment advisory agreement between BlackRock ETF Trust (the “Trust”) and BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”) provides that BFA will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, except: (i) the management fees, (ii) interest expenses, (iii) taxes, (iv) expenses incurred with respect to the acquisition and disposition of portfolio securities and the execution of portfolio transactions, including brokerage commissions, (v) distribution fees or expenses, and (vi) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses. The Fund may incur “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.” Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses reflect the Fund’s pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund as a result of investing in other investment companies. The impact of Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses is included in the total returns of the Fund.

You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(ongoing expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investments)
Management
Fees1
  Distribution and
Service (12b-1)
Fees
  Other
Expenses2
  Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
  Fee
Waiver1
  Total Annual
Fund
Operating
Expenses
After Fee Waiver1
0.80%   None   0.00%   0.80%     0.80%

 

1 

As described in the “Management” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 17, BFA has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees in an amount equal to the aggregate Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any, attributable to investments by the Fund in other equity and fixed-income mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) advised by BFA or its affiliates through June 30, 2027. As described in the “Management” section of the Fund’s prospectus beginning on page 17, BFA has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees in an amount equal to the aggregate Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any, attributable to investments by the Fund in money market funds managed by BFA or its affiliates through June 30, 2027. The agreement (with respect to either waiver) may be terminated upon 90 days’ notice by a majority of the non-interested trustees of the Trust or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.

 

2

Other Expenses are based on estimated amounts for the Fund’s current fiscal year. Amount rounds to 0.00%.

 

 

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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

$82   $255

 

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. There has been no portfolio turnover because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus (the “Prospectus”).

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund is a non-diversified, actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing pursuant to a managed futures strategy (“trend strategy”). Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowing for investment purposes), based on notional value, in futures contracts and futures-related instruments, including, but not limited to, forward contracts.

The Fund will follow a trend strategy by investing in futures contracts and

futures-related instruments, such as forward contracts, in global markets across a wide range of asset classes, including, but not limited to, equities, fixed income, currencies and commodities. Fund positions in those contracts are determined based on a proprietary, quantitative model by the portfolio management team of BFA, which will direct the strategy using advanced techniques to identify trends across securities and markets.

Futures contracts and forward contracts are contractual agreements to buy or sell a particular currency, commodity or financial instrument at a pre-determined price in the future. The Fund expects to maintain long and short positions primarily through the use of derivative instruments, such as futures, and may invest in such instruments without limitation. A long position arises where the Fund holds a security in its portfolio or maintains a position through a derivative instrument that provides economic exposure similar to direct ownership of the security. The Fund will have a short position where it sells a security it does not own by delivery of a borrowed security or has entered into a derivative instrument that provides economic exposure similar to a short sale of the security. The Fund looks to identify securities demonstrating positive or

 

 

 

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negative trend behavior through proprietary ranking techniques. The Fund takes long positions primarily in securities that BlackRock has identified as attractive from the perspective of the trend strategy and short positions in such securities that BlackRock has identified as unattractive from the perspective of the trend strategy.

The Fund may invest in other derivative instruments including, but not limited to options, interest rate, total return, credit default and credit default index swaps (which can be used to transfer the credit risk of a security without actually transferring ownership of the security or to customize exposure to a particular credit risk) and indexed and inverse floating-rate securities. The Fund may also invest in derivatives based on foreign currencies. The Fund may use derivates both to seek to increase the return of the Fund and to hedge (or protect) the value of its assets against adverse movements in currency exchange rates, interest rates and movements in the securities markets, although the Fund is not required to hedge and may choose not to do so.

The Fund expects that under normal market conditions it will invest at least 75% of its total assets in money market instruments (specifically, obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) and other short-term, high-quality investment-grade, U.S.-dollar denominated securities (including, but not limited to, bankers’ acceptances, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, loan participations, repurchase agreements and time deposits) (the “Collateral Portfolio”), although the Fund may invest less than

this percentage. BFA will determine the percentage of the Fund’s assets that will be invested in the Collateral Portfolio at any time. The assets allocated to the Collateral Portfolio will be used primarily to serve as margin or collateral for the Fund’s investments in derivatives and, secondarily, to provide the Fund with incremental income and liquidity.

The Fund may seek to provide exposure to the investment returns of real assets that trade in the commodity markets through investment in commodity-linked derivative instruments and investment vehicles such as exchange traded funds that invest exclusively in commodities and are designed to provide this exposure without direct investment in physical commodities. The Fund may also gain exposure to commodity markets by investing up to 25% of its total assets, inclusive of leverage, in iShares Managed Futures Active ETF Cayman, Ltd. (the “Cayman Subsidiary”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fund formed in the Cayman Islands, which invests primarily in commodity-related instruments. The Cayman Subsidiary may also hold cash and invest in other instruments, including fixed income securities, either as investments or to serve as margin or collateral for the Cayman Subsidiary’s derivative positions. The Cayman Subsidiary (unlike the Fund) may invest without limitation in commodity-related instruments. However, the Cayman Subsidiary is otherwise subject to the same fundamental, non-fundamental and certain other investment restrictions as the Fund. The Fund will limit its investments in the Cayman Subsidiary to 25% of its total assets, inclusive of leverage.

 

 

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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 certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, either directly or through its investments in the Cayman Subsidiary, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Unlike many ETFs, the Fund is not an index-based ETF. Certain key risks are prioritized below (with others following in alphabetical order), but the relative significance of any risk is difficult to predict and may change over time. You should review each risk factor carefully.

Futures Contract Risk — Futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts that obligate a purchaser to take delivery, and a seller to make delivery, of a specific amount of an asset at a specified future date at a specified price. Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing ownership stake in an issuer, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for delivery of the underlying commodity or settlement in cash based on the level of a reference rate. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts, or swaps or other derivatives referencing futures contracts, are: (i) the imperfect correlations between the market value of the reference asset underlying the futures contract and any related hedging instrument held by the Fund and the price of the futures contract; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the

resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iii) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (iv) BFA’s inability to predict correctly the direction of prices and other economic factors; and (v) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations under a swap. To the extent that the Fund rolls futures contracts, it may be subject to additional risk. In addition, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulations limit the types of foreign listed futures contracts that U.S. investors, like the Fund, are allowed to invest in. As a result, the Fund may not be able to gain the exposure it seeks through certain non-U.S. futures contracts. The Fund intends to treat any income that it derives from direct investment in the futures contracts as “qualifying income” under the annual 90% gross income test the Fund must satisfy to qualify as a regulated investment company (“RIC”). If the Internal Revenue Service successfully challenges this position, the Fund could be disqualified as a RIC and taxed as a C corporation, which could have significant negative tax consequences on the Fund and its shareholders.

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.

 

 

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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 sometimes 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.

Model Risk — The Fund seeks to pursue its investment objective by using proprietary models that incorporate quantitative analysis. Investments selected using these models may perform differently than as forecasted due to the factors incorporated into the models and the weighting of each factor, changes from historical trends, and issues in the construction and implementation of the models (including, but not limited to,

 

 

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software issues and other technological issues). There is no guarantee that BFA’s use of these models will result in effective investment decisions for the Fund.

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.

Subsidiary Risk — In compliance with Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets, inclusive of leverage, in the Cayman Subsidiary. By investing in the Cayman Subsidiary, the Fund is indirectly exposed to the risks associated with the Cayman Subsidiary’s investments. The commodity-related instruments that may be held by the Cayman Subsidiary are generally similar to those that are permitted to be held by the Fund and are subject to the same risks that would apply to similar investments if held directly by the Fund. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Cayman Subsidiary will be achieved. The Cayman Subsidiary is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), and, unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus, is not subject to the investor protections of the Investment Company Act. Changes in the laws of the U.S. and/or the Cayman Islands could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Cayman Subsidiary to operate as described in the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), and could adversely affect the Fund.

Allocation Risk — The Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective depends upon BFA’s skill in determining the Fund’s strategic asset class allocation and in selecting the best mix of underlying funds and direct investments. There is a risk that BFA’s evaluations and assumptions regarding asset classes or underlying funds may be incorrect in view of actual market conditions.

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. 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 — 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

 

 

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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.

Commodity Forward Risk — A commodity forward is a customized, non-standardized agreement that obligates one party to buy, and the other party to sell, a specific quantity of an underlying commodity for an agreed-upon price at a future date, usually for physical delivery. Commodity forwards that are settled by a cash payment at maturity are referred to as a “non-deliverable forward” or NDF. Because commodity forwards do not trade on a centralized exchange, they are subject to a higher degree of default risk and, depending upon the underlying commodity, may be less liquid than futures contracts on the same referenced commodity. In addition, use of commodity forwards creates risk for the Fund because the contracts require the Fund to take or make delivery of a physical commodity, which involves additional cost as well as delivery risk. Unless the Fund were to close out a contract prior to maturity, any failure of the Fund to comply with the contract delivery obligations at maturity would cause the Fund to default, which could have adverse collateral consequences for investors.

Commodity-Linked Derivatives Risk — The value of a commodity-linked derivative instrument (including swaps based on such instruments) typically is based upon the price movements of the

underlying commodity or an economic variable linked to such price movements. Spot prices and futures prices for commodities will vary depending upon expectations regarding market conditions. Both spot and futures prices of commodity-linked investments tied to both spot and futures prices of commodities may fluctuate quickly and dramatically as a result of changes affecting a particular commodity and may not correlate to price movements in other asset classes, such as stocks, bonds and cash. Commodity-linked derivatives are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the transaction, the exchange or trading facility on which they trade or the applicable clearing house may default or otherwise fail to perform. The Fund’s use of commodity-linked derivatives may also have a leveraging effect on the Fund’s portfolio because of the leverage inherent in the use of derivatives. Leverage generally magnifies the effect of a change in the value of an asset and creates a risk of loss of value on a larger pool of assets than the Fund would otherwise have had. The Fund is required to post margin with respect to its holdings in derivatives. Each of these factors and events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund.

Counterparty Risk — The counterparty to an over-the-counter derivatives contract or a borrower of the Fund’s securities may be unable or unwilling to make timely principal, interest or settlement payments, or otherwise to honor its obligations. Any such failure to honor its obligations may cause significant losses to the Fund.

Credit Risk — Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt

 

 

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security (i.e., the borrower) will be unable or unwilling to make timely payments of interest and principal when due or otherwise honor their obligations. Changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may also adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investment in that issuer.

Currency Risk — Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the NAV could decline if the currency of a non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar or if there are delays or limits on the repatriation of foreign currency. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the Fund’s NAV may change quickly and without warning. In addition, the Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between U.S. dollars and foreign currencies.

Depositary Receipts Risk — Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition to investment risks associated with the underlying issuer, depositary receipts expose the Fund to additional risks associated with the non-uniform terms that apply to depositary receipt programs, credit exposure to the depository bank and to the sponsors and other parties with whom the depository bank establishes the programs, currency risk and the risk of an illiquid market for depositary receipts. The issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not obligated to disclose information that is, in the United States, considered material. Therefore, there may be less

information available regarding these issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the depositary receipts. While depositary receipts provide an alternative to directly purchasing underlying foreign securities in their respective markets and currencies, they continue to be subject to many of the risks associated with investing directly in foreign securities, including political, economic, and currency risk.

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

 

 

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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.

 

    The European financial markets have recently experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about economic downturns in, or rising government debt levels of, several European countries as well as acts of war in the region. These events may spread to other countries in Europe and may affect the value and liquidity of certain of the Fund’s investments.

Geographic Concentration Risk — From time to time the Fund may invest a substantial amount of its assets in issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries. If the Fund concentrates its investments in this manner, it assumes the risk that economic, political and social conditions in those countries will have a significant impact on its investment performance. The Fund’s investment performance may also be more volatile if it concentrates its investments in certain countries, especially emerging market countries.

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. These effects of higher than normal portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance.

Indexed Securities Risk — Indexed 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 securities have greater sensitivity to changes in interest rates or index levels than other securities, and the Fund’s investment in

 

 

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such instruments may decline significantly in value if interest rates or index levels move in a way Fund management does not anticipate.

Investment in Other Investment Companies Risk — As with other investments, investments in other investment companies, including ETFs, are subject to market and selection risk. In addition, if the Fund acquires shares of investment companies, including ones affiliated with the Fund, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the Fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of the investment companies (to the extent not offset by BFA through waivers). To the extent the Fund is held by an affiliated fund, the ability of the Fund itself to hold other investment companies may be limited.

Issuer Risk — Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the 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.

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 — 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 Investment Company 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 Risk and Selection Risk — Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will

 

 

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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 “Model Risk” as described above. This means you may lose money.

Market Trading Risk — The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active primary market for Fund shares (including through a trading halt), losses from trading in secondary markets, hedging losses, 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 — 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.

Money Market Securities Risk — If market conditions improve while the Fund has invested some or all of its assets in high quality money market securities, this strategy could result in reducing the potential gain from the market upswing, thus reducing the Fund’s opportunity to achieve its investment objective.

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.

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 — 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

 

 

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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.

Treasury Obligations Risk — Direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury have historically involved little risk of loss of principal if held to maturity. However, due to fluctuations in interest rates, the market value of such securities may vary during the period shareholders own shares of the Fund. In addition, notwithstanding that U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, circumstances could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal, such as reaching the legislative “debt ceiling.” Such non-payment could result in losses to the Fund and substantial negative consequences for the U.S. economy and the global financial system.

Performance Information

Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, it does not have performance information an investor would find useful in evaluating the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s benchmarks are the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index and the ICE BofA 3 Month Treasury Bill Index.

Management

Investment Adviser. The Fund’s investment adviser is BFA.

Portfolio Managers. Jeffrey Rosenberg, Richard Mathieson and Stephanie Lee (the “Portfolio Managers”) are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Jeffrey Rosenberg, Richard Mathieson and Stephanie Lee have been Portfolio Managers of the Fund since March 2025.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Individual shares of the Fund may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer. 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). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”).

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, in which case, your distributions generally will be taxed when withdrawn.

 

 

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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.blackrock.com or call 1-800-474-2737

Investment Company Act File # 811-23402

 

SPRO-ISMF-ETF-0325

 

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