BlackRock Cuts Fees on 8 iShares ETFs

BlackRock Inc., whose subsidiary iShares is the largest issuer of exchange-traded funds globally, announced Friday it was shaving expense ratios by as much as 20 basis points on eight of its ETFs, following similar moves from competing issuers. 

The asset manager is lowering fees for three corporate bond ETFs, four multifactor equity ETFs and one semiconductor ETF. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF (EMGF) saw the biggest expense-ratio cut from 0.45% to 0.25%. 

The announcement is the latest in a recent wave of fee cuts prompted by ETF giants, such as Vanguard Group Inc. and State Street Global Advisors, to attract investors with near-zero level expense fees as firms compete to secure assets.  

Vanguard lowered costs across 17 of its ETFs in December, following State Street’s move to cut fees on three of its corporate bond ETFs.

“These actions are part of our regular review of our pricing strategy to reflect continued growth in iShares ETFs and our ability to leverage our scale to benefit clients,” a BlackRock spokesperson wrote in an email. 

EMGF’s year to date returns were down 17.38%, according to ETF.com data, while other funds that received fee cuts had similar drops in performance. The $23 billion iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (IGSB)—which is the largest fund in the list of eight—was down 5.14% year to date. 

The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down by 32.16% year to date, according to data from ETF.com. 

Contact Zoya Mirza at [email protected]