61% of Financial Advisors Say Biggest Challenge in Building Blended Portfolios is Choosing the Appropriate Mix of Active and Index According to the iShares ‘The Way Forward’ Conference

More than 61% of financial advisors acknowledged that their biggest challenge when building a blended portfolio of index and active investments is choosing the appropriate allocations to meet client objectives, according to a survey of conference attendees conducted at the iShares ‘The Way Forward’ conference held yesterday. Hosted by BlackRock, Inc.’s (NYSE: BLK) iShares Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) business, the world’s largest manager of ETFs1, ‘The Way Forward’ brought more than 1,000 financial advisors together with leading industry experts in a highly interactive environment that featured panel discussions, an exhibitor hall, networking lounge and resource center – all in an online format.

Key themes of ‘The Way Forward’ focused on offering financial advisors intellectual content and actionable ideas on how to generate income, preserve capital and reduce volatility in today’s challenging environment.

During the conference, Russ Koesterich, Global Chief Investment Strategist for iShares, BlackRock validated the survey results when he commented about how financial advisors are constantly looking for guidance regarding how to put active and index strategies together in a portfolio: “This is something that comes up all the time. They say, ‘Give me the playbook. Give me the four asset classes where I use active, the three assets classes where I use passive. I just want the rule book’…But there isn’t an obvious answer to that question.”

To help financial advisors with this challenge, BlackRock recently began offering the BlackRock Model Portfolios which combine index and active strategies that focus on addressing specific client goals, such as income generation or managing the risks that are most on clients’ minds, such as inflation or rising interest rates.

Koesterich said, “Our goal is simple: as a leader in asset allocation, BlackRock strives to deliver the best of iShares and BlackRock to make it easier for financial advisors to create optimal asset allocations in active and index strategies for clients.”

For more information about The Way Forward conference and video-on-demand replays of all sessions, please go to: http://engage.vevent.com/rt/ishares~2012

About BlackRock

BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At September 30, 2012, BlackRock’s AUM was $3.673 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients’ needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York City, as of September 30, 2012, the firm has approximately 10,400 employees in 29 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.

About iShares

iShares is the global product leader in exchange traded funds with over 600 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 20 exchanges worldwide. The iShares Funds are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges. The iShares Funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. The iShares customer base consists of the institutional segment of pension plans and fund managers, as well as the retail segment of financial advisors and high net worth individuals.

Carefully consider the iShares Funds’ investment objectives, risk factors, and charges and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds’ prospectuses, which may be obtained by calling 1-800-iShares (1-800-474-2737) or by visiting www.iShares.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.

The iShares Funds are distributed by BlackRock Investments, LLC (together with its affiliates, “BlackRock”). BlackRock is not affiliated with Dorsey Wright & Associates, IndexUniverse, Morningstar, MSCI, Astor Asset Management, CLS Investments, F-Squared Investments, GLOBALT Investments, Good Harbor Financial or Horizon Investments.

Transactions in shares of the iShares Funds will result in brokerage commissions and will generate tax consequences. iShares Funds are obliged to distribute portfolio gains to shareholders. Shares of the iShares Funds may be sold throughout the day on the exchange through any brokerage account. However, shares may only be redeemed directly from a Fund by Authorized Participants, in very large creation/redemption units.

1 BlackRock ETP Landscape Report – October 2012