- Business
- iShares II Public Limited Company - iShares J.P. Morgan $ Emerging Markets Bond UCITS ETF (ISRWF) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to US dollar-denominated fixed-rate and floating-rate bonds issued by governments and government-related entities in emerging market countries; it primarily invests in investment-grade and high-yield sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt instruments with a minimum maturity of two years, tracking the performance of the J.P. Morgan EMBI Global Core Index through a representative sampling methodology. The ETF, launched on February 15, 2008, forms part of the broader iShares II Public Limited Company umbrella, an open-ended investment company with variable capital incorporated in Ireland on December 16, 1999, and headquartered at J.P. Morgan, 200 Capital Dock, 79 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, D02 RK57. Managed by BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited with co-management by BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, and BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, it targets institutional and retail investors seeking diversified emerging markets fixed income exposure and lists on multiple European exchanges with monthly distributions.
The fund operates within the global fixed income asset class, focusing on emerging markets segments across regions including Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East; it emphasizes USD-denominated instruments to mitigate currency risk for investors while capturing yield opportunities from sovereign issuers such as those in Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, and South Africa. iShares II Public Limited Company, as the umbrella entity, encompasses numerous UCITS-compliant ETFs covering equities, bonds, commodities, and multi-asset strategies; key offerings include other emerging markets debt products like the iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Corporate Bond UCITS ETF, alongside broad fixed income and equity index trackers.
In recent developments, iShares II Public Limited Company launched new share classes during the financial period ended April 30, 2024, including the USD (Dist) class for the iShares $ Sukuk UCITS ETF on January 16, 2024, and the EUR Hedged (Dist) class for the iShares US Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF, reflecting strategic expansion into Islamic finance and hedged US bond exposure. The company updated its prospectus on May 30, 2025, and issued its annual report for the year ended October 31, 2024, in November 2025, alongside routine shareholder communications such as de-listings of certain currency trading lines and notices for the 2025 Annual General Meeting. No major acquisitions, funding rounds, or reorganizations were reported in 2024-2025, with operations remaining stable under BlackRock's oversight and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.