Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements
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Annual report and audited financial statements BlackRock Global Index Funds R.C.S. Luxembourg: B 171278 For the financial year ended 31 March 2020 Contents General Information 2 Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders 4 Investment Advisers’ Report 6 Directors’ Report 11 Report on Remuneration (Unaudited) 15 Statement of Net Assets 19 Three Year Summary of Net Asset Values 21 Statement of Operations and Changes in Net Assets 24 Statement of Changes in Shares Outstanding 27 Portfolio of Investments 29 iShares Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund (LU) 29 iShares Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund (LU) 44 iShares Europe Equity Index Fund (LU) 64 iShares Euro Aggregate Bond Index Fund (LU) 69 iShares Euro Government Bond Index Fund (LU) 116 iShares Global Government Bond Index Fund (LU) 124 iShares Japan Equity Index Fund (LU) 141 iShares North America Equity Index Fund (LU) 145 iShares Pacific ex Japan Equity Index Fund (LU) 153 iShares World Equity Index Fund (LU) 156 Notes to the Financial Statements 172 Independent Auditors’ Report 180 Appendix I – Share Classes (Unaudited) 183 Appendix II – Global Market Risk Exposure (Unaudited) 184 Supplementary Information (Unaudited) 185 Subscriptions can only be made on the basis of the current Prospectus, the Key Investor Information Document (“KIID”) supplemented by the most recent Annual report and audited financial statements and Interim report and unaudited financial statements, if published after such annual report and audited financial statements. Copies are available at the registered office of the BlackRock Global Index Funds (the ЉCompanyЉ) from the Local Investor Servicing team, the Transfer Agent, the Management Company or any of the Distributors. See General Information section for further details. Annual report and audited financial statements [1] General Information Board of Directors Securities Lending Agent Paul Freeman, Chairman BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited Michael Gruener 12 Throgmorton Avenue, Robert Hayes London EC2N 2DL, Barry O’Dwyer United Kingdom Geoffrey Radcliffe Denise Voss (appointed effective 18 May 2020) Paying Agents Austria: Raiffeisen Bank International AG All Directors are non-executive Directors. Michael Gruener, Robert Hayes, Barry O’Dwyer and Geoffrey Radcliffe are employees of the Am Stadtpark 9, BlackRock Group (the BlackRock Group of companies, the ultimate holding company of which 1030 Vienna, is BlackRock, Inc., of which the Management Company and Investment Advisers are part of). Austria Paul Freeman is a former employee of the BlackRock Group. Denmark: Management Company BlackRock Copenhagen Branch BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A. Harbour House, 35A, avenue J.F.Kennedy, Sundkrogsgade 21, L-1855 Luxembourg, DK- 2100 Copenhagen, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Denmark Investment Advisers France: BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited CACEIS Bank 12 Throgmorton Avenue, 1-3 Place Valhubert, London EC2N 2DL, 75013 Paris, United Kingdom France BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. Germany: 400 Howard Street, J.P.MorganAG San Francisco CA 94105, CIB / Investor Services – Trustee & Fiduciar, United States of America Taunustor 1 (TaunusTurm), 60310 Frankfurt am Main, Principal Distributor Germany BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited 12 Throgmorton Avenue, Ireland: London EC2N 2DL, J.P. Morgan United Kingdom 200 Capital Dock, 79 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Depositary and Fund Accountant Dublin 2 D02 RK57, State Street Bank International GmbH, Luxembourg Branch Ireland 49, avenue J.F.Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, Luxembourg: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Central Paying Agent) J.P. Morgan Bank Luxembourg S.A. Listing Agent, Registrar and Transfer Agent European Bank & Business Centre, J.P. Morgan Bank Luxembourg S.A. 6, route de Trèves, Building C, European Bank & Business Centre, L-2633 Senningerberg, 6, route de Trèves, Building C, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg L-2633 Senningerberg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Sweden: BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Independent Auditor Limited-Stockholm Filial Deloitte Audit, S.à.r.l. Norrlandsgatan 16, 20, Boulevard de Kockelscheuer, 111 43 Stockholm, L-1821 Luxembourg, Sweden Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Switzerland: Legal Advisers State Street Bank International GmbH Munich Linklaters LLP Zurich Branch 35, avenue J.F.Kennedy, Beethovenstrasse 19, L-1855 Luxembourg, CH-8027 Zurich, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Switzerland [2] BlackRock Global Index Funds General Information continued United Kingdom: BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, J.P. Morgan Europe Limited c/o BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A. 3 Lochside View, P.O. Box 1058, Edinburgh EH12 9DH, L-1010 Luxembourg, United Kingdom Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Registered Office All other enquiries: 49, avenue J.F.Kennedy, Telephone: + 44 207 743 3300, L-1855 Luxembourg, Fax: + 44 207 743 1143. Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Email: [email protected] Enquiries In the absence of other arrangements, enquiries regarding the Company should be addressed as follows: Written Enquiries: Current Prospectus The Company’s Prospectus and the relevant KIID along with copies of the Application Form may be obtained from the Investor Service Centre, the Management Company or any of the Representatives or Distributors. Copies of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, the Annual report and audited financial statements and Interim report and unaudited financial statements may also be obtained free of charge from any of these offices and from the Paying Agents. All these documents are also available from www.blackrockinternational.com. Representatives The representative in Denmark is BlackRock Copenhagen Branch, subsidiary of BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, United Kingdom, Harbour House, Sundkrogsgade 21, Copenhagen, DK 2100, Denmark. The representative in South Africa is BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited (South African Branch), Regus Convention Towers, Crn. Of Heerngracht and Coen Steyter Street, Cape Town 8001, South Africa. The representative in Switzerland is BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, Bahnhofstrasse 39, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland. Portfolio of Investments Equities are primarily classified by the country of incorporation of the entity in which the Fund (each a “Fund”, together the “Funds”) holds shares. Corporate and government fixed and variable income securities are primarily classified by the country of incorporation of the issuer. Collective Investment Schemes (“CIS”) and Exchange Traded Funds (“ETF”) are primarily classified by the country of domicile of the CIS or ETF. Purchases and Sales A detailed list of investments purchased and sold for any Fund during the year is available upon request, free of charge, from the Registered Office, or the offices of the Representatives as mentioned above. Authorised Status The Company is an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (“UCITS”) under the Part I of Luxembourg Law of 17 December 2010, as amended. Regulatory consents have been obtained or appropriate notifications have been made for the distribution of shares of all the Company’s Funds in the umbrella in the following countries: Austria, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. The Company is duly registered with the Comisión Nacional de Mercado de Valores in Spain under number 1239. Annual report and audited financial statements [3] Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders March 2020 Dear Shareholder, I am writing to update you on the activities of BlackRock Global Index Funds (the “Company” or “BGIF”) over the 12 months to 31 March 2020. The BGIF range comprised 10 funds (each a “Fund”, together the “Funds”) as at 31 March 2020. The Funds’ performance is covered in more detail in the separate Investment Adviser’s Report. The economic and market environment was benign for much of the year under review, but this was thoroughly over-shadowed by the impact of a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 towards the end of the year under review, primarily in February and March 2020. This outbreak, caused by COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 and has now developed into a global pandemic. This coronavirus has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings at ports of entry and elsewhere, disruption of and delays in healthcare service preparation and delivery, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, supply chain disruptions and lower consumer demand, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The impact of COVID-19 has adversely affected the economies of many nations across the entire global economy, individual issuers and capital markets, and could continue to extents that cannot necessarily be foreseen. In addition, the impact of infectious illnesses in emerging market countries may be greater due to generally less established healthcare systems. Public health crises caused by the COVID-19 outbreak may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries or globally. The duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and its effects cannot be determined with certainty. The lockdown measures imposed by governments to curb the spread of the virus look set to have far-reaching implications for many months to come. Businesses have been forced to close or operate at severely reduced capacity. The impact for certain sectors – airlines, leisure, retail – has been catastrophic. This has prompted a severe downturn in economic conditions, reflected