IShares

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One of the earliest exchange-traded funds (ETF) families, iShares was expanded globally by owner Barclays, which sold it to BlackRock in 2009. iShares, whose origins stretch back more than 20 years, now covers almost every market-sector index in the U.S. and a wide range of international markets, with a global lineup of more than 1,400 exchange traded funds and more than $3.3 trillion in assets under management (AUM). 
In 2007 and 2008, Barclays increased the visibility of iShares by becoming the first presenting sponsor of the U.S. touring shows of the Quebec-based acrobatic circus Cirque du Soleil. 
In June 2008, Barclays Global Investors announced the launch on the NASDAQ exchange of four new iShares ETFs tracking Chinese and global alternative-energy markets. The Chinese ETF is based on the mid-cap/large-cap FTSE China Index, listed in Hong Kong, which holds around 90 'red-chip' shares. The three new global iShares offerings are compiled by Standard & Poors and track its global Clean Energy Index, Nuclear Energy Index and Timber & Forestry Index. IShares' global family of ETFs, the world's largest, now stands at 65 funds.
BlackRock said in June 2024 that it planned to liquidate its $400mn iShares Frontier and Select Emerging Markets ETF in 2025 because of “persistent liquidity challenges.”
== Brief History ==
The first iShares ETFs were called World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS) but were later rebranded to iShares. BGI launched its first 17 ETFs in 1996, including the first international ETFs with exposure to Mexico, Canada, and Brazil. Since then BGI has expanded the popular index-based ETFs into 163 separate iShares funds in 12 different domestic and international sectors. In 2000, Barclays launched more than 40 new funds under the iShares brand. 
It launched the first bond ETFs in 2002 and the first sustainable (ESG) ETFs in 2005.
In 2022, BlackRock created a suite of thematic ETFs, offering investors access to companies focused on long-term innovation in industries such as technology, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture.
BlackRock launched a spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) on January 19, 2024. It was the first spot bitcoin ETF to reach $1 billion in volume.
== Trading iShares ==
iShares are today traded on more than a dozen global exchanges, including the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), the NASDAQ exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and BATS Exchange in the US, as well as the London Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Mexican Stock Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange, B3, and the Australian Securities Exchange. For derivatives traders, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) also lists several iShares products in its CBOE index options family of contracts.
== Examples of Products As Of July of 2008==
*iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund (ICF)
*iShares Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index Fund (IDV)
*iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund (DVY)
*iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average Index Fund (IYT)
*iShares Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods Sector Index Fund (IYK)
*iShares Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Services Sector Index Fund (IYC)
*iShares S&P/TOPIX 150 Index Fund (ITF)
== References ==
Category:ETFs