High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

Focused Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, sub-sectors, industries, groups of industries, asset classes, markets, regions, countries, or groups of countries, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. In addition, the value of the Fund’s shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. An individual sector, sub-sector, industry, group of industries, asset-class, market, region, country, or group of countries may outperform the broader market during particular periods, but may do so with considerably greater volatility than the broader market. In addition, the several industries that constitute a sector or sub-sector or the several countries or markets that constitute a region or group of countries may all react similarly to economic, political, regulatory or other market events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries do not perform as expected. Alternatively, a lack of exposure to one or more other sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries may adversely affect performance.

Interest Rate Risk. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to Fund shareholders. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, result in heightened market volatility and detract from the Fund’s performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates. Additionally, under certain market conditions in which interest rates are low and the market prices for portfolio securities have increased, the Fund may have a very low, or even negative yield. A low or negative yield would cause the Fund to lose money in certain conditions and over certain time periods. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have from time to time taken steps to support financial markets. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve may, conversely, reduce market support activities, including by taking action intended to increase certain interest rates. This and other government intervention may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results. Changes in government activities in this regard, such as changes in interest rate policy, can negatively affect financial markets generally, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of securities in which the Fund invests.

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security prior to its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower interest rates, which would result in a decline in the Fund’s income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Market risk includes the risk that geopolitical and other events will disrupt the economy on a national or global level. For instance, actual or threatened events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, supply chain disruptions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, the advent of significant inflation, imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, including the imposition of tariffs, or other U.S. economic policies, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.

Basic Materials Sub-Sector Risk. Issuers in the basic materials sub-sector may be adversely affected by commodity price volatility, exchange rate fluctuations, import controls and increased competition. Production of industrial materials often exceeds demand as a result of over-building or economic downturns, leading to poor investment returns. Issuers in the basic materials sub-sector are at risk for environmental damage and product liability claims and may be adversely affected by depletion of resources, interruptions in supplies of certain commodities, delays in technical progress, labor relations and government and environmental regulations.

Transportation Sub-Sector Risk. Companies in the transportation sub-sector may be adversely affected by changes in the economy, increases in fuel and operating costs, labor relations, technology developments, exchange rates, insurance costs, industry competition and government regulation. Companies in the transportation sub-sector are also affected by severe weather events, mass casualty accidents or environmental catastrophes, acts of terrorism and other similar events that target or damage transportation infrastructure or vessels, war or risk of war, widespread disruption of technology systems and increasing equipment and operational costs. Such global or regional events and conditions may adversely affect the operations, financial condition and liquidity of companies in the transportation sub-sector and cause insurance premiums to increase dramatically or result in insurance coverage becoming unavailable for certain business lines or assets. Securities of companies in the transportation sub-sector are generally cyclical and occasionally subject to sharp price movements.

Geographic Risk. A natural disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could adversely affect the economy or the business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund’s investments in, or which are exposed to, the affected region.

Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, sector, sub-sector, market segment, market, industry, group of industries, country, group of countries, region or asset class.

Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the 1933 Act. Privately issued securities are securities that have not been registered under the 1933 Act and as a result may be subject to legal restrictions on resale. Privately issued securities are generally not traded on established markets. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately issued securities may be deemed to be illiquid investments, may be more difficult to value than publicly traded securities and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the Fund.

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 its 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. 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 Shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, diluting its investment returns.

Management Risk. Because BIM uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, the Fund may not be able to fully replicate the Index and may hold securities not included in the Index. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that BIM’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

Limited History of Operations Risk. The Fund has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate. Accordingly, the Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies and remain viable. If the Fund fails to achieve sufficient scale, it may be liquidated.

Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic or computer systems of the Fund, BIM, the Fund’s distributor, the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

As with any investment, you could lose all or a substantial 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. Any such risk may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective.

Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares or the Fund’s underlying portfolio securities, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruptions in the creation/redemption process. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUND’S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV. Accordingly, if a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV, or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses.

Tracking Error Risk. The Fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Index, pricing differences (including, as applicable, differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV or differences between the securities prices used to value the Index and those used by the Fund), transaction costs incurred by the Fund, securities lending earnings, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of distributions, the requirements to maintain qualification for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes, portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders, acceptance of custom baskets, changes to the Index or the costs to the Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements, among other reasons. 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 Index does not. INDEX-BASED EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (“ETFs”) THAT TRACK INDICES WITH SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT IN HIGH YIELD SECURITIES MAY EXPERIENCE HIGHER TRACKING ERROR THAN OTHER INDEX ETFs THAT DO NOT TRACK SUCH INDICES.

Corporate Bond Risk. The Fund will invest in corporate bonds, which are debt instruments issued by corporations to raise capital. The investment return of corporate bonds reflects interest earned on the security and changes in the market value of the security. The market value of a corporate bond may be affected by changes in the market rate of interest, the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace. There is a risk that the issuers of the securities may not be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by an instrument.

Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed, and BIM generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets or changing interest rate environments.

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security prior to its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower interest rates, which would result in a decline in the Fund’s income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Market risk includes the risk that geopolitical and other events will disrupt the economy on a national or global level. For instance, actual or threatened events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, supply chain disruptions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, the advent of significant inflation, imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, including the imposition of tariffs, or other U.S. economic policies, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.

Geographic Risk. A natural disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could adversely affect the economy or the business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund’s investments in, or which are exposed to, the affected region.

Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, sector, sub-sector, market segment, market, industry, group of industries, country, group of countries, region or asset class.

Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the 1933 Act. Privately issued securities are securities that have not been registered under the 1933 Act and as a result may be subject to legal restrictions on resale. Privately issued securities are generally not traded on established markets. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately issued securities may be deemed to be illiquid investments, may be more difficult to value than publicly traded securities and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the Fund.

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 its 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. 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 Shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, diluting its investment returns.

Management Risk. Because BIM uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, the Fund may not be able to fully replicate the Index and may hold securities not included in the Index. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that BIM’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

Limited History of Operations Risk. The Fund has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate. Accordingly, the Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies and remain viable. If the Fund fails to achieve sufficient scale, it may be liquidated.

Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic or computer systems of the Fund, BIM, the Fund’s distributor, the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Telecom, Media and Technology Sector Risk. The telecom, media and technology sector consists of a number of sub-sectors, including the telecommunications, technology and electronics and media sub-sectors. These sectors are subject to the risks of rapid innovation and obsolescence cycles, intellectual property theft, government regulation, cybersecurity incidents and labor force challenges, among others. There is significant competition for technological advances, and issuers that fail to innovate will be adversely impacted. In addition, issuers in certain sub-sectors require substantial capital investments to develop products and services. While all companies may be susceptible to network security breaches, certain companies in the telecom, media and technology sector may be particular targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or consumer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses. The telecom, media and technology sector can also be significantly affected by intense competition for market share, including competition with alternative technologies such as wireless communications, product compatibility and standardization, consumer preferences, rapid product obsolescence, research and development of new products, lack of standardization or compatibility with existing technologies, and a dependency on patent and copyright protections.

Media Sub-Sector Risk. Companies in the media sub-sector may encounter distressed cash flows due to the need to commit substantial capital to meet increasing competition, particularly in formulating new content, products and services using new technology. Media companies are subject to risks that include cyclicality of revenues and earnings, a potential decrease in the discretionary income of targeted individuals, changing consumer tastes and interests, competition in the sub-sector and among different media delivery mechanisms, and the potential for increased state and federal regulation. Advertising spending is an important source of revenue for media companies. Fluctuating domestic and international demand, shifting demographics and often unpredictable changes in consumer tastes can drastically affect a media company’s profitability. During economic downturns advertising spending typically decreases and as a result, media companies tend to generate less revenue.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

Focused Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, sub-sectors, industries, groups of industries, asset classes, markets, regions, countries, or groups of countries, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. In addition, the value of the Fund’s shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. An individual sector, sub-sector, industry, group of industries, asset-class, market, region, country, or group of countries may outperform the broader market during particular periods, but may do so with considerably greater volatility than the broader market. In addition, the several industries that constitute a sector or sub-sector or the several countries or markets that constitute a region or group of countries may all react similarly to economic, political, regulatory or other market events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries do not perform as expected. Alternatively, a lack of exposure to one or more other sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries may adversely affect performance.

Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline if interest rates fall. This decline in income can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, bonds in the Index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.

Inflation Risk. Inflation is a sustained rise in overall price levels. Moderate inflation is associated with economic growth, while high inflation can signal an overheated economy. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money (i.e., as inflation increases, the values of the Fund’s assets can decline). Inflation poses a “stealth” threat to investors because it reduces savings and investment returns. Central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, generally attempt to control inflation by regulating the pace of economic activity. They typically attempt to affect economic activity by raising and lowering short-term interest rates. At times, governments may attempt to manage inflation through fiscal policy, such as by raising taxes or reducing spending, thereby reducing economic activity; conversely, governments can attempt to combat deflation with tax cuts and increased spending designed to stimulate economic activity. Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and changes in economic policies, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund shareholders. This risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. The Fund may be adversely affected if an issuer of underlying securities held by the Fund is unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

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.

Illiquid Investments Risk. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. To the extent the Fund holds illiquid investments, the illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for the Fund’s shares may be impacted by the liquidity in the market for the underlying securities or instruments held by the Fund, which could lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV. The high yield securities in which the Fund invests may experience greater liquidity challenges than other types of securities during periods of market stress.

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 (“Creation Units”). Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and Authorized Participants are not obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is willing or able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

Exchange-Traded Fund and Other Registered Investment Company Risk. The Fund may invest in shares of other registered investment companies and ETFs. Shareholders bear both their proportionate share of the Fund’s expenses and similar expenses of the underlying investment company or ETF when the Fund invests in shares of another registered investment company or ETF. The Fund is subject to the risks associated with the ETF or investment company’s investments. The price and movement of an ETF designed to track an index may not track the index and may result in a loss. In addition, ETFs may trade at a price above (premium) or below (discount) their net asset value, especially during periods of significant market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio. Certain ETFs traded on exchanges may be thinly traded and experience large spreads between the “ask” price quoted by a seller and the “bid” price offered by a buyer.

Operational Risk. An investment in the Fund, like any fund, can involve operational risks arising from factors such as processing errors, human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology, changes in personnel and errors caused by third-party service providers. The rapid development and increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry, including machine learning technology and generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, could exacerbate these risks. The occurrence of any of these failures, errors or breaches could result in investment losses to the Fund, a loss of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage or other events, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Fund. While the Fund and BIM seek to minimize such events through controls and oversight, there may still be failures that could cause losses to the Fund.

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security or other asset and from the value used by the Index, particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. In addition, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by a lack of current market prices, technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

Interest Rate Risk. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to Fund shareholders. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, result in heightened market volatility and detract from the Fund’s performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates. Additionally, under certain market conditions in which interest rates are low and the market prices for portfolio securities have increased, the Fund may have a very low, or even negative yield. A low or negative yield would cause the Fund to lose money in certain conditions and over certain time periods. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have from time to time taken steps to support financial markets. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve may, conversely, reduce market support activities, including by taking action intended to increase certain interest rates. This and other government intervention may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results. Changes in government activities in this regard, such as changes in interest rate policy, can negatively affect financial markets generally, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of securities in which the Fund invests.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Accordingly, the Fund may invest a greater portion of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than if it were a “diversified” fund. To the extent that the Fund invests a higher percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer, the Fund is subject to a higher degree of risk associated with and developments affecting that issuer than a fund that invests more widely.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

Focused Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, sub-sectors, industries, groups of industries, asset classes, markets, regions, countries, or groups of countries, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. In addition, the value of the Fund’s shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. An individual sector, sub-sector, industry, group of industries, asset-class, market, region, country, or group of countries may outperform the broader market during particular periods, but may do so with considerably greater volatility than the broader market. In addition, the several industries that constitute a sector or sub-sector or the several countries or markets that constitute a region or group of countries may all react similarly to economic, political, regulatory or other market events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries do not perform as expected. Alternatively, a lack of exposure to one or more other sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries may adversely affect performance.

Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline if interest rates fall. This decline in income can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, bonds in the Index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.

Inflation Risk. Inflation is a sustained rise in overall price levels. Moderate inflation is associated with economic growth, while high inflation can signal an overheated economy. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money (i.e., as inflation increases, the values of the Fund’s assets can decline). Inflation poses a “stealth” threat to investors because it reduces savings and investment returns. Central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, generally attempt to control inflation by regulating the pace of economic activity. They typically attempt to affect economic activity by raising and lowering short-term interest rates. At times, governments may attempt to manage inflation through fiscal policy, such as by raising taxes or reducing spending, thereby reducing economic activity; conversely, governments can attempt to combat deflation with tax cuts and increased spending designed to stimulate economic activity. Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and changes in economic policies, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund shareholders. This risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. The Fund may be adversely affected if an issuer of underlying securities held by the Fund is unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

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.

Illiquid Investments Risk. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. To the extent the Fund holds illiquid investments, the illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for the Fund’s shares may be impacted by the liquidity in the market for the underlying securities or instruments held by the Fund, which could lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV. The high yield securities in which the Fund invests may experience greater liquidity challenges than other types of securities during periods of market stress.

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 (“Creation Units”). Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and Authorized Participants are not obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is willing or able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

Exchange-Traded Fund and Other Registered Investment Company Risk. The Fund may invest in shares of other registered investment companies and ETFs. Shareholders bear both their proportionate share of the Fund’s expenses and similar expenses of the underlying investment company or ETF when the Fund invests in shares of another registered investment company or ETF. The Fund is subject to the risks associated with the ETF or investment company’s investments. The price and movement of an ETF designed to track an index may not track the index and may result in a loss. In addition, ETFs may trade at a price above (premium) or below (discount) their net asset value, especially during periods of significant market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio. Certain ETFs traded on exchanges may be thinly traded and experience large spreads between the “ask” price quoted by a seller and the “bid” price offered by a buyer.

Operational Risk. An investment in the Fund, like any fund, can involve operational risks arising from factors such as processing errors, human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology, changes in personnel and errors caused by third-party service providers. The rapid development and increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry, including machine learning technology and generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, could exacerbate these risks. The occurrence of any of these failures, errors or breaches could result in investment losses to the Fund, a loss of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage or other events, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Fund. While the Fund and BIM seek to minimize such events through controls and oversight, there may still be failures that could cause losses to the Fund.

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security or other asset and from the value used by the Index, particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. In addition, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by a lack of current market prices, technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

Interest Rate Risk. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to Fund shareholders. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, result in heightened market volatility and detract from the Fund’s performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates. Additionally, under certain market conditions in which interest rates are low and the market prices for portfolio securities have increased, the Fund may have a very low, or even negative yield. A low or negative yield would cause the Fund to lose money in certain conditions and over certain time periods. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have from time to time taken steps to support financial markets. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve may, conversely, reduce market support activities, including by taking action intended to increase certain interest rates. This and other government intervention may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results. Changes in government activities in this regard, such as changes in interest rate policy, can negatively affect financial markets generally, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of securities in which the Fund invests.

Banking Sub-Sector Risk. Banking and financial services companies are subject to extensive regulation. Previously, enacted legislation in the U.S. has relaxed capital requirements and other regulatory burdens on certain U.S. banks. While the effect of the legislation may benefit certain companies in the banking sub-sector, increased risk taking by affected banks may also result in greater overall risk in the U.S. and global financial sector. The impact of changes in capital requirements, or recent or future regulation in various countries, on any individual financial company or on the banking sub-sector as a whole cannot be predicted. Certain risks may impact the value of investments in the banking sub-sector more severely than those of investments outside this sub-sector, including the risks associated with companies that operate with substantial financial leverage.

Real Estate and REIT Sub-Sector Risk. Investments in real estate related securities are subject to the risk that the value of the real estate underlying the securities will go down. Investments in REITs involve unique risks. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in limited volume, and may be more volatile than other securities. REITs may fail to qualify for the favorable tax treatment available to REITs or may fail to maintain their exemptions from investment company registration. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. Additionally, rising interest rates may cause REIT investors to demand a higher annual yield, which may, in turn, cause a decline in the market price of the equity securities issued by a REIT. Some REITs may utilize leverage, which increases investment risk and may potentially increase the Fund’s losses.

As with any investment, you could lose all or a substantial 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. Any such risk may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective.

Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares or the Fund’s underlying portfolio securities, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruptions in the creation/redemption process. ANY OF THESE FACTORS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY LEAD TO THE FUND’S SHARES TRADING AT A PREMIUM OR DISCOUNT TO NAV. Accordingly, if a shareholder purchases Fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV, or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses.

Tracking Error Risk. The Fund may be subject to tracking error, which is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities and other instruments held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the Index, pricing differences (including, as applicable, differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV or differences between the securities prices used to value the Index and those used by the Fund), transaction costs incurred by the Fund, securities lending earnings, the Fund’s holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of or the valuation of distributions, the requirements to maintain qualification for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes, portfolio transactions carried out to minimize the distribution of capital gains to shareholders, acceptance of custom baskets, changes to the Index or the costs to the Fund of complying with various new or existing regulatory requirements, among other reasons. 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 Index does not. INDEX-BASED EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (“ETFs”) THAT TRACK INDICES WITH SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT IN HIGH YIELD SECURITIES MAY EXPERIENCE HIGHER TRACKING ERROR THAN OTHER INDEX ETFs THAT DO NOT TRACK SUCH INDICES.

Corporate Bond Risk. The Fund will invest in corporate bonds, which are debt instruments issued by corporations to raise capital. The investment return of corporate bonds reflects interest earned on the security and changes in the market value of the security. The market value of a corporate bond may be affected by changes in the market rate of interest, the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace. There is a risk that the issuers of the securities may not be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by an instrument.

Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed, and BIM generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets or changing interest rate environments.

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security prior to its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower interest rates, which would result in a decline in the Fund’s income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Market risk includes the risk that geopolitical and other events will disrupt the economy on a national or global level. For instance, actual or threatened events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, supply chain disruptions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, the advent of significant inflation, imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, including the imposition of tariffs, or other U.S. economic policies, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.

Geographic Risk. A natural disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could adversely affect the economy or the business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund’s investments in, or which are exposed to, the affected region.

Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, sector, sub-sector, market segment, market, industry, group of industries, country, group of countries, region or asset class.

Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the 1933 Act. Privately issued securities are securities that have not been registered under the 1933 Act and as a result may be subject to legal restrictions on resale. Privately issued securities are generally not traded on established markets. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately issued securities may be deemed to be illiquid investments, may be more difficult to value than publicly traded securities and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the Fund.

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 its 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. 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 Shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, diluting its investment returns.

Management Risk. Because BIM uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, the Fund may not be able to fully replicate the Index and may hold securities not included in the Index. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that BIM’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

Limited History of Operations Risk. The Fund has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate. Accordingly, the Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies and remain viable. If the Fund fails to achieve sufficient scale, it may be liquidated.

Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic or computer systems of the Fund, BIM, the Fund’s distributor, the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Energy Sector Risk. The energy sector consists of a number of sub-sectors, including the exploration & production, gas distribution, oil field equipment & services, and oil refining & marketing sub-sectors. The market value of securities in the energy sector may decline for many reasons, including, among others, changes in energy prices, energy supply and demand, geopolitical instability, government regulations and energy conservation efforts. The energy sector has recently experienced increased volatility. In particular, there has been significant market volatility in the crude oil markets as well as the oil futures markets, which resulted in the market price of certain crude oil futures contracts falling below zero for a period of time.

Exploration & Production Sub-Sector Risk. Financial results of companies in the exploration and production sub-sector correlate closely to the prices they obtain for their products, such as oil, natural gas, and their chemical products. These prices have historically fluctuated wildly, and if prices decline, these companies’ operations, financial condition, cash flows, expenditure levels and quantity of estimated proved reserved attributable to their properties may be materially and adversely affected. Prices are set by global and local market forces not in these companies’ control. In addition, activities in this sub-sector are subject to risks outside the companies’ control, including the risk that drilling will not result in commercially viable oil or natural gas production. Exploration is inherently risky and subject to delays, misinterpretation of geologic or engineering data, unexpected geologic conditions or finding reserves of disappointing quality or quantity, which may result in significant losses.

Oil Field Equipment & Services Sub-Sector Risk. Companies in the oil field equipment and services sub-sector are highly dependent on activity levels in the oil and gas industry, which is significantly affected by volatile oil and gas prices, and other factors. This includes activity levels in offshore areas worldwide. Prolonged reductions in oil and natural gas prices could depress the immediate levels of exploration, development and production activity. Perceptions of longer-term lower oil and natural gas prices by oil and gas companies could similarly reduce or defer major expenditures given the long-term nature of many large-scale development projects. Lower levels of activity result in a corresponding decline in the demand for these companies’ services, which could have a material adverse effect on revenue and profitability. Oil and gas prices and market expectations of potential changes in these prices significantly affect this level of activity. However, increases in near-term commodity prices do not necessarily translate into increased offshore drilling activity since customers’ expectations of longer-term future commodity prices typically have a greater impact on demand for rigs. Consistent with this dynamic, customers may delay or cancel many exploration and development programs, resulting in reduced demand for services. Also, increased competition for customers’ drilling budgets could come from, among other areas, land-based energy markets worldwide. The availability of quality drilling prospects, exploration success, relative production costs, the stage of reservoir development and political and regulatory environments also affect customers’ drilling campaigns. Worldwide military, political and economic events have often contributed to oil and gas price volatility and are likely to do so in the future.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

Focused Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, sub-sectors, industries, groups of industries, asset classes, markets, regions, countries, or groups of countries, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. In addition, the value of the Fund’s shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. An individual sector, sub-sector, industry, group of industries, asset-class, market, region, country, or group of countries may outperform the broader market during particular periods, but may do so with considerably greater volatility than the broader market. In addition, the several industries that constitute a sector or sub-sector or the several countries or markets that constitute a region or group of countries may all react similarly to economic, political, regulatory or other market events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries do not perform as expected. Alternatively, a lack of exposure to one or more other sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries may adversely affect performance.

Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline if interest rates fall. This decline in income can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, bonds in the Index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.

Inflation Risk. Inflation is a sustained rise in overall price levels. Moderate inflation is associated with economic growth, while high inflation can signal an overheated economy. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money (i.e., as inflation increases, the values of the Fund’s assets can decline). Inflation poses a “stealth” threat to investors because it reduces savings and investment returns. Central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, generally attempt to control inflation by regulating the pace of economic activity. They typically attempt to affect economic activity by raising and lowering short-term interest rates. At times, governments may attempt to manage inflation through fiscal policy, such as by raising taxes or reducing spending, thereby reducing economic activity; conversely, governments can attempt to combat deflation with tax cuts and increased spending designed to stimulate economic activity. Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and changes in economic policies, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund shareholders. This risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. The Fund may be adversely affected if an issuer of underlying securities held by the Fund is unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

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.

Illiquid Investments Risk. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. To the extent the Fund holds illiquid investments, the illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for the Fund’s shares may be impacted by the liquidity in the market for the underlying securities or instruments held by the Fund, which could lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV. The high yield securities in which the Fund invests may experience greater liquidity challenges than other types of securities during periods of market stress.

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 (“Creation Units”). Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and Authorized Participants are not obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is willing or able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

Exchange-Traded Fund and Other Registered Investment Company Risk. The Fund may invest in shares of other registered investment companies and ETFs. Shareholders bear both their proportionate share of the Fund’s expenses and similar expenses of the underlying investment company or ETF when the Fund invests in shares of another registered investment company or ETF. The Fund is subject to the risks associated with the ETF or investment company’s investments. The price and movement of an ETF designed to track an index may not track the index and may result in a loss. In addition, ETFs may trade at a price above (premium) or below (discount) their net asset value, especially during periods of significant market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio. Certain ETFs traded on exchanges may be thinly traded and experience large spreads between the “ask” price quoted by a seller and the “bid” price offered by a buyer.

Operational Risk. An investment in the Fund, like any fund, can involve operational risks arising from factors such as processing errors, human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology, changes in personnel and errors caused by third-party service providers. The rapid development and increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry, including machine learning technology and generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, could exacerbate these risks. The occurrence of any of these failures, errors or breaches could result in investment losses to the Fund, a loss of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage or other events, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Fund. While the Fund and BIM seek to minimize such events through controls and oversight, there may still be failures that could cause losses to the Fund.

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security or other asset and from the value used by the Index, particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. In addition, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by a lack of current market prices, technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

Interest Rate Risk. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to Fund shareholders. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, result in heightened market volatility and detract from the Fund’s performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates. Additionally, under certain market conditions in which interest rates are low and the market prices for portfolio securities have increased, the Fund may have a very low, or even negative yield. A low or negative yield would cause the Fund to lose money in certain conditions and over certain time periods. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have from time to time taken steps to support financial markets. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve may, conversely, reduce market support activities, including by taking action intended to increase certain interest rates. This and other government intervention may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results. Changes in government activities in this regard, such as changes in interest rate policy, can negatively affect financial markets generally, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of securities in which the Fund invests.

Consumer Discretionary Sub-Sector Risk. Companies engaged in the design, production or distribution of products or services for the consumer discretionary sub-sector (including, for example, leisure, gaming, hotels, recreation, theaters, entertainment, etc.) are subject to the risk that their products or services may become obsolete quickly. The success of these companies can depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending. During periods of an expanding economy, the consumer discretionary sub-sector may outperform other sub-sectors, but may underperform when economic conditions worsen. Moreover, the consumer discretionary sub-sector can be significantly affected by several factors, including, without limitation, the performance of domestic and international economies, exchange rates, changing consumer preferences, demographics, marketing campaigns, cyclical revenue generation, consumer confidence, commodity price volatility, labor relations, interest rates, import and export controls, intense competition, technological developments and government regulation.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions may cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance, which could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

Focused Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, sub-sectors, industries, groups of industries, asset classes, markets, regions, countries, or groups of countries, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. In addition, the value of the Fund’s shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. An individual sector, sub-sector, industry, group of industries, asset-class, market, region, country, or group of countries may outperform the broader market during particular periods, but may do so with considerably greater volatility than the broader market. In addition, the several industries that constitute a sector or sub-sector or the several countries or markets that constitute a region or group of countries may all react similarly to economic, political, regulatory or other market events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries do not perform as expected. Alternatively, a lack of exposure to one or more other sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries may adversely affect performance.

Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline if interest rates fall. This decline in income can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, bonds in the Index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.

Inflation Risk. Inflation is a sustained rise in overall price levels. Moderate inflation is associated with economic growth, while high inflation can signal an overheated economy. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money (i.e., as inflation increases, the values of the Fund’s assets can decline). Inflation poses a “stealth” threat to investors because it reduces savings and investment returns. Central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, generally attempt to control inflation by regulating the pace of economic activity. They typically attempt to affect economic activity by raising and lowering short-term interest rates. At times, governments may attempt to manage inflation through fiscal policy, such as by raising taxes or reducing spending, thereby reducing economic activity; conversely, governments can attempt to combat deflation with tax cuts and increased spending designed to stimulate economic activity. Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and changes in economic policies, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund shareholders. This risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. The Fund may be adversely affected if an issuer of underlying securities held by the Fund is unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

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.

Illiquid Investments Risk. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without significantly changing the market value of the investment. To the extent the Fund holds illiquid investments, the illiquid investments may reduce the returns of the Fund because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices. During periods of market volatility, liquidity in the market for the Fund’s shares may be impacted by the liquidity in the market for the underlying securities or instruments held by the Fund, which could lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV. The high yield securities in which the Fund invests may experience greater liquidity challenges than other types of securities during periods of market stress.

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 (“Creation Units”). Only an Authorized Participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund, and Authorized Participants are not obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as Authorized Participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable or unwilling to proceed with creation or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is willing or able to step forward to create or redeem, Fund shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts or delisting.

Exchange-Traded Fund and Other Registered Investment Company Risk. The Fund may invest in shares of other registered investment companies and ETFs. Shareholders bear both their proportionate share of the Fund’s expenses and similar expenses of the underlying investment company or ETF when the Fund invests in shares of another registered investment company or ETF. The Fund is subject to the risks associated with the ETF or investment company’s investments. The price and movement of an ETF designed to track an index may not track the index and may result in a loss. In addition, ETFs may trade at a price above (premium) or below (discount) their net asset value, especially during periods of significant market volatility or stress, causing investors to pay significantly more or less than the value of the ETF’s underlying portfolio. Certain ETFs traded on exchanges may be thinly traded and experience large spreads between the “ask” price quoted by a seller and the “bid” price offered by a buyer.

Operational Risk. An investment in the Fund, like any fund, can involve operational risks arising from factors such as processing errors, human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology, changes in personnel and errors caused by third-party service providers. The rapid development and increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence in the financial services industry, including machine learning technology and generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, could exacerbate these risks. The occurrence of any of these failures, errors or breaches could result in investment losses to the Fund, a loss of information, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage or other events, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Fund. While the Fund and BIM seek to minimize such events through controls and oversight, there may still be failures that could cause losses to the Fund.

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security or other asset and from the value used by the Index, particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. In addition, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by a lack of current market prices, technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

Interest Rate Risk. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or pay dividends to Fund shareholders. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, result in heightened market volatility and detract from the Fund’s performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates. Additionally, under certain market conditions in which interest rates are low and the market prices for portfolio securities have increased, the Fund may have a very low, or even negative yield. A low or negative yield would cause the Fund to lose money in certain conditions and over certain time periods. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have from time to time taken steps to support financial markets. The U.S. government and the U.S. Federal Reserve may, conversely, reduce market support activities, including by taking action intended to increase certain interest rates. This and other government intervention may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results. Changes in government activities in this regard, such as changes in interest rate policy, can negatively affect financial markets generally, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of securities in which the Fund invests.

Consumer Staples Sub-Sector Risk. Companies in the consumer goods sub-sector may be strongly affected by social trends, marketing campaigns and other factors affecting consumer demand. Governmental regulation affecting the use of various food additives may affect the profitability of certain consumer goods companies represented in the Index. Many consumer goods in the U.S. may also be marketed globally, and such consumer goods companies may be affected by the demand and market conditions in non-U.S. countries.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

High yield securities that are unrated expose investors to risks with respect to capacity to pay interest or repay principal that are similar to the risks of below investment grade bonds. Evaluation of these securities is dependent on BIM’s judgment, analysis and experience in the evaluation of such securities.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

Income Risk. The Fund’s income may decline if interest rates fall. This decline in income can occur because the Fund may subsequently invest in lower-yielding bonds as bonds in its portfolio mature, are near maturity or are called, bonds in an Underlying Fund’s underlying index are substituted, or the Fund otherwise needs to purchase additional bonds.

Inflation Risk. Inflation is a sustained rise in overall price levels. Moderate inflation is associated with economic growth, while high inflation can signal an overheated economy. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money (i.e., as inflation increases, the values of the Fund’s assets can decline). Inflation poses a “stealth” threat to investors because it reduces savings and investment returns. Central banks, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, generally attempt to control inflation by regulating the pace of economic activity. They typically attempt to affect economic activity by raising and lowering short-term interest rates. At times, governments may attempt to manage inflation through fiscal policy, such as by raising taxes or reducing spending, thereby reducing economic activity; conversely, governments can attempt to combat deflation with tax cuts and increased spending designed to stimulate economic activity. Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and changes in economic policies, and the Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund shareholders. This risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities.

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. The Fund may be adversely affected if an issuer of underlying securities held by the Fund is unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

Concentration Risk. It is possible the Fund may not have exposure to all Sectors or Underlying Funds at all times. Accordingly, the Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that, based on the Fund’s exposure to certain Sectors or Underlying Funds at various times, the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, sector, sub-sector, market segment, market, industry, group of industries, country, group of countries, region or asset class.

Each Underlying Fund has an industry concentration policy such that the Underlying 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 its underlying index is concentrated. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, and tax-exempt securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry. As of December 31, 2025: with respect to BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Industrial Sector ETF, its underlying index holds 25% or more of its assets in the basic industry, capital goods, and services sub-sectors; with respect to BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Telecom, Media & Technology Sector ETF, its underlying index currently holds 25% or more of its assets in the media, telecommunications and technology and electronics sub-sectors; with respect to BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Healthcare Sector ETF, its underlying index currently holds 25% or more of its assets in the healthcare sub-sector; with respect to BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Financial & REIT Sector ETF, its underlying index currently holds 25% or more of its assets in the financial services and REIT sub-sectors; with respect to BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Energy Sector ETF, its underlying index currently holds 25% or more of its assets in the energy sub-sector; with respect to BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Consumer Cyclicals Sector ETF, its underlying index currently holds 25% or more of its assets in the leisure sub-sector; and with respect to BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Consumer Non-Cyclicals Sector ETF, its underlying index currently holds 25% or more of its assets in the consumer goods and utilities sub-sectors.

To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors, sub-sectors, industries, groups of industries, asset classes, markets, regions, countries, or groups of countries, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. In addition, the value of the Fund’s shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries. An individual sector, sub-sector, industry, group of industries, asset-class, market, region, country, or group of countries may outperform the broader market during particular periods, but may do so with considerably greater volatility than the broader market. In addition, the several industries that constitute a sector or sub-sector or the several countries or markets that constitute a region or group of countries may all react similarly to economic, political, regulatory or other market events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries do not perform as expected. Alternatively, a lack of exposure to one or more other sectors, sub-sectors, industries, asset classes, markets, regions, or countries may adversely affect performance. 

Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Privately issued securities are securities that have not been registered under the 1933 Act and as a result may be subject to legal restrictions on resale. Privately issued securities are generally not traded on established markets. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately issued securities may be deemed to be illiquid investments, may be more difficult to value than publicly traded securities and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the Fund.

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 its 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. 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 Shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, diluting its investment returns. 

Management Risk. Because BIM uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, an Underlying Fund may not be able to fully replicate its underlying index and may hold securities not included in the underlying index. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that BIM’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

Limited History of Operations Risk. The Fund has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate. Accordingly, the Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies and remain viable. If the Fund fails to achieve sufficient scale, it may be liquidated.

Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic or computer systems of the Fund, BIM, the Fund’s distributor, the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Accordingly, the Fund may invest a greater portion of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than if it were a “diversified” fund. To the extent that the Fund invests a higher percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer, the Fund is subject to a higher degree of risk associated with and developments affecting that issuer than a fund that invests more widely. 

Affiliated ETF Risk. The Adviser receives advisory fees from the Underlying Funds. It is possible that a conflict of interest among the Fund and the Underlying Funds could affect how the Adviser fulfills its fiduciary duties to the Fund and the Underlying Funds. The Adviser may have an incentive to take into account the effect on an Underlying Fund in which the Fund may invest in determining whether, and under what circumstances, to purchase or sell shares in that Underlying Fund. In addition, the fees payable to the Adviser by certain of the Underlying Funds may be higher than the fee payable by the Fund. However, the Adviser has a fiduciary duty to act in the Fund’s best interests when selecting the Underlying Funds.

Portfolio Turnover Risk. High portfolio turnover (considered by the Fund and the Underlying Funds to mean higher than 100% annually) may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund or an Underlying Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the securities and on reinvestment in other securities.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Indexing will eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection. 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural disasters, political unrest or war) may impact the Index Provider or a third-party data provider, and could cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. This could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed, and BIM generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets or changing interest rate environments.

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security prior to its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower interest rates, which would result in a decline in the Fund’s income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Market risk includes the risk that geopolitical and other events will disrupt the economy on a national or global level. For instance, actual or threatened events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, supply chain disruptions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, the advent of significant inflation, imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, including the imposition of tariffs, or other U.S. economic policies, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.

Geographic Risk. A natural disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could adversely affect the economy or the business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund’s investments in, or which are exposed to, the affected region.

Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, sector, sub-sector, market segment, market, industry, group of industries, country, group of countries, region or asset class.

Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the 1933 Act. Privately issued securities are securities that have not been registered under the 1933 Act and as a result may be subject to legal restrictions on resale. Privately issued securities are generally not traded on established markets. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately issued securities may be deemed to be illiquid investments, may be more difficult to value than publicly traded securities and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the Fund.

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 its 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. 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 Shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, diluting its investment returns.

Management Risk. Because BIM uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, the Fund may not be able to fully replicate the Index and may hold securities not included in the Index. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that BIM’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

Limited History of Operations Risk. The Fund has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate. Accordingly, the Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies and remain viable. If the Fund fails to achieve sufficient scale, it may be liquidated.

Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic or computer systems of the Fund, BIM, the Fund’s distributor, the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Indexing will eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection. 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural disasters, political unrest or war) may impact the Index Provider or a third-party data provider, and could cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. This could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).

Asset Class Risk. Securities and other assets in the Index or in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform in comparison to the general financial markets, a particular financial market or other asset classes.

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed, and BIM generally does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets or changing interest rate environments.

Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security prior to its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds in securities with lower interest rates, which would result in a decline in the Fund’s income, or in securities with greater risks or with other less favorable features.

Market Risk. The Fund could lose money over short periods due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during more prolonged market downturns. Market risk includes the risk that geopolitical and other events will disrupt the economy on a national or global level. For instance, actual or threatened events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, supply chain disruptions, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, the advent of significant inflation, imposition of sanctions and other similar measures, including the imposition of tariffs, or other U.S. economic policies, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.

Geographic Risk. A natural disaster could occur in a geographic region in which the Fund invests, which could adversely affect the economy or the business operations of companies in the specific geographic region, causing an adverse impact on the Fund’s investments in, or which are exposed to, the affected region.

Concentration Risk. The Fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to adverse events that affect the Fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in the securities and/or other assets of a particular issuer or issuers, sector, sub-sector, market segment, market, industry, group of industries, country, group of countries, region or asset class.

Privately Issued Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in privately issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the 1933 Act. Privately issued securities are securities that have not been registered under the 1933 Act and as a result may be subject to legal restrictions on resale. Privately issued securities are generally not traded on established markets. As a result of the absence of a public trading market, privately issued securities may be deemed to be illiquid investments, may be more difficult to value than publicly traded securities and may be subject to wide fluctuations in value. Delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the Fund.

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 its 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. 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 Shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, diluting its investment returns.

Management Risk. Because BIM uses a representative sampling indexing strategy, the Fund may not be able to fully replicate the Index and may hold securities not included in the Index. As a result, the Fund is subject to the risk that BIM’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.

Limited History of Operations Risk. The Fund has a limited history of operations for investors to evaluate. Accordingly, the Fund may not attract sufficient assets to achieve or maximize investment and operational efficiencies and remain viable. If the Fund fails to achieve sufficient scale, it may be liquidated.

Cybersecurity Risk. Failures or breaches of the electronic or computer systems of the Fund, BIM, the Fund’s distributor, the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions, negatively impact the Fund’s business operations and/or potentially result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems seeking to address system breaches or failures, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems of the Index Provider and other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.

Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may be unable or unwilling to make timely interest and/or principal payments 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. The degree of credit risk depends on an issuer’s or counterparty’s financial condition and on the terms of an obligation. The Fund invests in fixed income securities of high yield issuers that may exhibit higher levels of credit risk than other types of fixed income instruments.

High Yield Securities Risk. Securities that are rated below investment-grade (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds,” which may include those bonds rated below “BBB-” by S&P and Fitch or below “Baa3” by Moody’s), or similar securities that are unrated, may be deemed speculative, may involve greater levels of risk than higher-rated securities of similar maturity and may be more likely to default. High-yield debt securities’ total return and yield may generally be expected to fluctuate more than the total return and yield of investment-grade debt securities. A real or perceived economic downturn or an increase in market interest rates could cause a decline in the value of high-yield debt securities, result in increased redemptions and/or result in increased portfolio turnover, which could result in a decline in the NAV of the Fund, reduce liquidity for certain investments and/or increase costs. High-yield debt securities are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than investment-grade debt securities because there may be no established secondary market. Investments in high-yield debt securities could increase liquidity risk for the Fund. In addition, the market for high-yield debt securities could experience sudden and sharp volatility, which is generally associated more with investments in stocks.

Index-Related Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund’s investment results will have a high degree of correlation to those of the Index or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. Indexing will eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection. 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 Index. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Unusual market conditions or other unforeseen circumstances (such as natural disasters, political unrest or war) may impact the Index Provider or a third-party data provider, and could cause the Index Provider to postpone a scheduled rebalance. This could cause the Index to vary from its normal or expected composition. In addition, the Index Provider may be subject to business or regulatory changes that impair its ability to continue to operate the Index in its current form.

Bond Risk. The Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. A bond is an interest-bearing security typically issued by a corporate or government issuer that has a contractual obligation to pay interest at a stated rate on specific dates and to repay principal (the bond’s face value) periodically or on a specified maturity date. Bonds generally are used by corporations and governments to borrow money from investors. An issuer may have the right to redeem or “call” a bond before maturity, in which case the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower market rates. Similarly, the Fund may have to reinvest interest income or payments received when bonds mature, sometimes at lower market rates. Most bonds bear interest income at a “coupon” rate that is fixed for the life of the bond. The value of a fixed-rate bond usually rises when market interest rates fall, and falls when market interest rates rise. Bonds may be unsecured (backed only by the issuer’s general creditworthiness) or secured (backed by specified collateral).