Notes to Financial Statements

Currently the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing a substantial portion of its assets in an iShares fund (an “underlying fund”). The financial statements, including the accounting policies, and schedule of investments for the underlying fund are available on iShares.com and should be read in conjunction with the Fund’s financial statements.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), which may require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies. Below is a summary of significant accounting policies:

Investment Transactions and Income Recognition: For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the dates the transactions are executed. Realized gains and losses on investment transactions are determined using the specific identification method. Dividend income and capital gain distributions, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Non-cash dividends, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date at fair value.

Bank Overdraft: The Fund had outstanding cash disbursements exceeding deposited cash amounts at the custodian during the reporting period. The Fund is obligated to repay the custodian for any overdraft, including any related costs or expenses, where applicable. For financial reporting purposes, overdraft fees, if any, are included in interest expense in the Statement of Operations.

Collateralization: If required by an exchange or counterparty agreement, the Fund may be required to deliver/deposit cash and/or securities to/with an exchange, or broker-dealer or custodian as collateral for certain investments.

In-kind Redemptions: For financial reporting purposes, in-kind redemptions are treated as sales of securities resulting in realized capital gains or losses to the Fund. Because such gains or losses are not taxable to the Fund and are not distributed to existing Fund shareholders, the gains or losses are reclassified from accumulated net realized gain (loss) to paid-in capital at the end of the Fund’s tax year. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset value (“NAV”) per share.

Distributions: Dividends and distributions paid by the Fund are recorded on the ex-dividend dates. Distributions are determined on a tax basis and may differ from net investment income and net realized capital gains for financial reporting purposes. Dividends and distributions are paid in U.S. dollars and cannot be automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Fund.

Indemnifications: In the normal course of business, the Fund enter into contracts that contain a variety of representations that provide general indemnification. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown because it involves future potential claims against the Fund, which cannot be predicted with any certainty.

3. INVESTMENT VALUATION AND FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Investment Valuation Policies: The Fund’s investments are valued at fair value (also referred to as “market value” within the financial statements) each day that the Fund’s listing exchange is open and, for financial reporting purposes, as of the report date. U.S. GAAP defines fair value as the price a fund would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) of the Fund has approved the designation of BlackRock Fund Advisors (“BFA”), the Fund’s investment adviser, as the valuation designee for the Fund. The Fund determines the fair values of its financial instruments using various independent dealers or pricing services under BFA’s policies. If a security’s market price is not readily available or does not otherwise accurately represent the fair value of the security, the security will be valued in accordance with BFA’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value. BFA has formed a committee (the “Valuation Committee”) to develop pricing policies and procedures and to oversee the pricing function for all financial instruments, with assistance from other BlackRock pricing committees.

Fair Value Inputs and Methodologies: The following methods and inputs are used to establish the fair value of the Fund’s assets and liabilities:

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

If events (e.g., market volatility, company announcement or a natural disaster) occur that are expected to materially affect the value of such investment, or in the event that application of these methods of valuation results in a price for an investment that is deemed not to be representative of the market value of such investment, or if a price is not available, the investment will be valued by the Valuation Committee, in accordance with BFA’s policies and procedures as reflecting fair value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the Valuation Committee include market approach, income approach and cost approach. Valuation techniques such as discounted cash flow, use of market comparables and matrix pricing are types of valuation approaches and are typically used in determining fair value. When determining the price for Fair Valued Investments, the Valuation Committee seeks to determine the price that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive or pay from the current sale or purchase of that asset or liability in an arm’s-length transaction. Fair value determinations shall be based upon all available factors that the Valuation Committee deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurement.

Fair Value Hierarchy: Various inputs are used in determining the fair value of financial instruments. These inputs to valuation techniques are categorized into a fair value hierarchy consisting of three broad levels for financial reporting purposes as follows:

The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. The inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, for disclosure purposes, the fair value hierarchy classification is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. Investments classified within Level 3 have significant unobservable inputs used by the Valuation Committee in determining the price for Fair Valued Investments. Level 3 investments include equity or debt issued by privately held companies or funds that may not have a secondary market and/or may have a limited number of investors. The categorization of a value determined for financial instruments is based on the pricing transparency of the financial instruments and is not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities.

4. DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Futures Contracts: Futures contracts are purchased or sold to gain exposure to, or manage exposure to, changes in interest rates (interest rate risk) and changes in the value of equity securities (equity risk) or foreign currencies (foreign currency exchange rate risk).

Futures contracts are exchange-traded agreements between the Fund and a counterparty to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying instrument at a specified price and on a specified date. Depending on the terms of a contract, it is settled either through physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash amount on the settlement date. Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund are required to deposit initial margin with the broker in the form of cash or securities in an amount that varies depending on a contract’s size and risk profile. The initial margin deposit must then be maintained to an established level over the life of the contract. Amounts pledged, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

Securities deposited as initial margin are designated in the Schedule of Investment and cash deposited, if any, are shown as cash pledged for futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. Pursuant to the contract, the Fund agree to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in market value of the contract (“variation margin”). Variation margin is recorded as unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and, if any, shown as variation margin receivable (or payable) on futures contracts in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When the contract is closed, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations equal to the difference between the notional amount of the contract at the time it was opened and the notional amount at the time it was closed. The use of futures contracts involves the risk of an imperfect correlation in the movements in the price of futures contracts and interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or underlying assets.

Options: An options contract is an agreement between a buyer and seller that gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy (in the case of a call option) or sell (in the case of a put option) a particular asset at a specified future date at an agreed upon price (commonly known as the “strike price”).

The Fund invests primarily in FLEX Options. FLEX Options provide the Fund with the ability to customize key option contract terms such as strike price, style and expiration date, while avoiding the counterparty exposure of over-the-counter options positions. Like traditional exchange-traded options, FLEX Options are guaranteed for settlement by the Options Clearing Corporation (the “OCC”), a market clearinghouse that guarantees performance by counterparties to certain derivatives contracts. The FLEX Options in which the Fund invests are European-style, which are exercisable at the strike price only on the expiration date. The FLEX Options traded by the Fund are listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (“CBOE”). Although the Fund will generally utilize FLEX Options that are physically settled, a fund may also utilize FLEX Options that are cash-settled. Cash-settled options give the holder the right to receive an amount (or owe an amount) of cash upon the exercise of the option.

The Fund will purchase and sell call and put European-style FLEX Options. A European-style call option gives the purchaser (holder) of the option the right (but not then obligation) to buy, and obligates the seller (writer) to sell (when the option is exercised) the underlying instrument at the exercise or strike price on the expiration date. A European-style put option gives the seller (holder) of the option the right (but not the obligation) to sell, and obligates the buyer (writer) to buy (when the option is exercised) the underlying instrument at the exercise or strike price on the expiration date.

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

Premiums paid on options purchased and premiums received on options written, as well as the daily fluctuation in market value, are included in investments at value – unaffiliated and options written at value, respectively, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. When an instrument is purchased or sold through the exercise of an option, the premium is offset against the cost or proceeds of the underlying instrument. When an option expires, a realized gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations to the extent of the premiums received or paid. When an option is closed or sold, a gain or loss is recorded in the Statement of Operations to the extent the cost of the closing transaction exceeds the premiums received or paid. When the Fund writes put options, cash is segregated in an amount sufficient to cover the obligations. These amounts, which are considered restricted, are included in cash pledged as collateral for options written in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

In purchasing and writing options, the Fund bears the risk of an unfavorable change in the value of the underlying instrument or the risk that they may not be able to enter into a closing transaction due to an illiquid market.

5. INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES

Investment Advisory Fees: Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement with the Trust, BFA manages the investment of the Fund’s assets. BFA is a California corporation indirectly owned by BlackRock. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, BFA is responsible for substantially all expenses of the Fund, except (i) interest and taxes; (ii) brokerage commissions and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions; (iii) distribution fees; (iv) the advisory fee payable to BFA; and (v) litigation expenses and any extraordinary expenses (in each case as determined by a majority of the independent trustees).

For its investment advisory services to the Fund, BFA is entitled to an annual investment advisory fee, accrued daily and paid monthly by the Fund, based on the average daily net assets of the Fund as follows:

Expense Waivers: BFA has contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees to the Fund 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 ETFs advised by BFA or its affiliates through June 30, 2025. BFA has also contractually agreed to waive a portion of its management fees to the Fund by an amount equal to the aggregate Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any, attributable to investments by the Fund in money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates through June 30, 2025. The agreement 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. For the period ended July 31, 2024, the Manager waived $1,033 in investment advisory fees pursuant to this arrangement.

Distributor: BlackRock Investments, LLC (“BRIL”), an affiliate of BFA, is the distributor for the Fund. Pursuant to the distribution agreement, BFA is responsible for any fees or expenses for distribution services provided to the Fund.

ETF Servicing Fees:The Fund has entered into an ETF Services Agreement with BRIL to perform certain order processing, Authorized Participant communications, and related services in connection with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units (“ETF Services”). BRIL is entitled to a transaction fee from Authorized Participants on each creation or redemption order for the ETF Services provided. The Fund does, not pay BRIL for ETF Services.

Officers and Trustees: Certain officers and/or trustees of the Trust are officers and/or trustees of BlackRock or its affiliates.

Other Transactions: The Fund may invest its positive cash balances in certain money market funds managed by BFA or an affiliate. The income earned on these temporary cash investments is shown as dividends - affiliated in the Statement of Operations.

6. PURCHASES AND SALES

For the period ended July 31, 2024, purchases and sales of investments, excluding short-term securities, were as follows: 

7. INCOME TAX INFORMATION

The Fund is treated as an entity separate from the Trust’s other funds for federal income tax purposes. It is the Fund’s policy to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to regulated investment companies, and to distribute substantially all of its taxable income to its shareholders. Therefore, no U.S. federal income tax provision is required.

Management has analyzed tax laws and regulations and their application to the Fund as of July 31, 2024, and does not believe that there are any uncertain tax positions that require recognition of a tax liability in the Fund’s financial statements.

U.S. GAAP requires that certain components of net assets be adjusted to reflect permanent differences between financial and tax reporting. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or NAV per share. As of July 31, 2024, permanent differences attributable to net investment loss were reclassified to the following accounts:

As of July 31, 2024, gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation based on cost of investments (including short positions and derivatives, if any) for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

8. PRINCIPAL RISKS

In the normal course of business, the Fund invests in securities or other instruments and may enter into certain transactions, and such activities subject the Fund to various risks, including, among others, fluctuations in the market (market risk) or failure of an issuer to meet all of its obligations. The value of securities or other instruments may also be affected by various factors, including, without limitation: (i) the general economy; (ii) the overall market as well as local, regional or global political and/or social instability; (iii) regulation, taxation or international tax treaties between various countries; or (iv) currency, interest rate or price fluctuations. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. The Fund’s prospectus provides details of the risks to which the Fund is subject.

Valuation Risk: The market values of equities, such as common stocks and preferred securities or equity related investments, such as futures and options, may decline due to general market conditions which are not specifically related to a particular company. They may also decline due to factors which affect a particular industry or industries. A fund may invest in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that a fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. A fund may experience difficulty in selling illiquid investments in a timely manner at the price that it believes the investments are worth. Prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to company, market or economic news. Markets also tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. This volatility may cause a fund’s NAV to experience significant increases or decreases over short periods of time. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, the NAV of a fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which a fund invests.

Counterparty Credit Risk: The Fund may be exposed to counterparty credit risk, or the risk that an entity may fail to or be unable to perform on its commitments related to unsettled or open transactions, including making timely interest and/or principal payments or otherwise honoring its obligations. The Fund manages counterparty credit risk by entering into transactions only with counterparties that BFA believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by monitoring the financial stability of those counterparties. Financial assets, which potentially expose the Fund to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks, consist principally of financial instruments and receivables due from counterparties. The extent of the Fund’s exposure to market, issuer and counterparty credit risks with respect to these financial assets is approximately their value recorded in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, less any collateral held by the Fund.

A derivative contract may suffer a mark-to-market loss if the value of the contract decreases due to an unfavorable change in the market rates or values of the underlying instrument. Losses can also occur if the counterparty does not perform under the contract.

With exchange-traded futures, there is less counterparty credit risk to the Fund since the exchange or clearinghouse, as counterparty to such instruments, guarantees against a possible default. The clearinghouse stands between the buyer and the seller of the contract; therefore, credit risk is limited to failure of the clearinghouse. While offset rights may exist under applicable law, the Fund does not have a contractual right of offset against a clearing broker or clearinghouse in the event of a default (including the bankruptcy or insolvency). Additionally, credit risk exists in exchange-traded futures with respect to initial and variation margin that is held in a clearing broker’s customer accounts. While clearing brokers are required to segregate customer margin from their own assets, in the event that a clearing broker becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy and at that time there is a shortfall in the aggregate amount of margin held by the clearing broker for all its clients, typically the shortfall would be allocated on a pro rata basis across all the clearing broker’s customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund.

Geographic/Asset Class Risk: A diversified portfolio, where this is appropriate and consistent with a fund’s objectives, minimizes the risk that a price change of a particular investment will have a material impact on the NAV of a fund. The investment concentrations within the Fund’s portfolio are disclosed in its Schedule of Investments.

The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers located in the United States. A decrease in imports or exports, changes in trade regulations, inflation and/or an economic recession in the United States may have a material adverse effect on the U.S. economy and the securities listed on U.S. exchanges. Proposed and adopted policy and legislative changes in the United States may also have a significant effect on U.S. markets generally, as well as on the value of certain securities. Governmental agencies project that the United States will continue to maintain elevated public debt levels for the foreseeable future which may constrain future economic growth. Circumstances could arise that could prevent the timely payment of interest or principal on U.S. government debt, such as reaching the legislative “debt ceiling.” Such non-payment would result in substantial negative consequences for the U.S. economy and the global financial system. If U.S. relations with certain countries deteriorate, it could adversely affect issuers that rely on the United States for trade. The United States has also experienced increased internal unrest and discord. If these trends were to continue, they may have an adverse impact on the U.S. economy and the issuers in which the Fund invests.

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

Significant Shareholder Redemption Risk: Certain shareholders may own or manage a substantial amount of fund shares and/or hold their fund investments for a limited period of time. Large redemptions of fund shares by these shareholders may force a fund to sell portfolio securities, which may negatively impact the fund’s NAV, increase the fund’s brokerage costs, and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income/gains and cause the fund to make additional taxable distributions to shareholders.

FLEX Options Risk: FLEX Options are subject to the risk that they may be less liquid than certain other securities, such as standardized options. In less liquid markets, terminating the FLEX Options may require the payment of a premium or acceptance of a discounted price and may take longer to complete. In a less liquid market, the liquidation of a large number of options may significantly impact the price of the options and may adversely impact the value of the Fund. Additionally, to the extent market participants are not willing or able to enter into FLEX Option transactions with the Fund at prices that reflect the market price of the Fund’s shares, the Fund’s NAV and, in turn the share prices of the Fund, could be negatively impacted.

The consideration for the purchase of Creation Units of a fund in the Trust generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities and a specified amount of cash. Certain funds in the Trust may be offered in Creation Units solely or partially for cash in U.S. dollars. Authorized Participants purchasing and redeeming Creation Units may pay a purchase transaction fee and a redemption transaction fee directly to BRIL, to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units, including Creation Units for cash. Authorized Participants transacting in Creation Units for cash may also pay an additional variable charge to compensate the relevant fund for certain transaction costs (i.e., stamp taxes, taxes on currency or other financial transactions, and brokerage costs) and market impact expenses relating to investing in portfolio securities. Such variable charges, if any, are included in shares sold in the table above.

To the extent applicable, to facilitate the timely settlement of orders for the Fund using a clearing facility outside of the continuous net settlement process, the Fund, at its sole discretion, may permit an Authorized Participant to post cash as collateral in anticipation of the delivery of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities or Fund Securities, as further described in the applicable Authorized Participant Agreement. The collateral process is subject to a Control Agreement among the Authorized Participant, the Fund’s custodian, and the Fund. In the event that the Authorized Participant fails to deliver all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities or Fund Securities, the Fund may exercise control over such collateral pursuant to the terms of the Control Agreement in order to purchase the applicable Deposit Securities or Fund Securities.

From time to time, settlement of securities related to in-kind contributions or in-kind redemptions may be delayed. In such cases, securities related to in-kind transactions are reflected as a receivable or a payable in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

Management has evaluated the impact of all subsequent events on the Fund through the date the financial statements were available to be issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events requiring adjustment or additional disclosure in the financial statements.