BLK BlackRock Inc

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) today announced that its iShares® Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) business, the world's largest manager of ETFs, is the top ranked ETF provider among financial advisors in every major service category, according to survey results released today.

The survey, conducted by the financial services marketing consulting firm kasina, and the financial advisor media company Horsesmouth, asked 768 advisors which ETF provider they believe has the best wholesalers, best educational programs and support, best marketing support and best website. iShares was the highest ranked provider in each category, earning the most "best" ratings among the 43 ETF providers ranked on each attribute by advisors.

"Since its inception, iShares has been focused on meeting the needs of financial advisors and the results of the kasina survey clearly show that our longstanding commitment to value-added service and education for financial advisors is recognized and appreciated," said Jennifer Grancio, Head of Distribution for U.S. iShares at BlackRock. "As a pioneer of ETFs and the industry leader, we have made it a priority to provide advisors with the tools and resources they need to understand ETFs and to best put them to work for their clients, and this will continue to be a major focus for us."

iShares regularly provides advisors with information on timely topics such as market and economic trends and investment opportunities, while also helping them build their practices and expertise by educating them on best practices in areas such as asset allocation and client relationship management. iShares is also recognized for the quality and breadth of information it makes available to advisors and their clients about individual iShares ETFs.

Delivered through white papers, website articles, videos, online tools, iShares' wholesalers, advisor conferences, and a robust blog (www.isharesblog.com) that was recently named kasina's #1 asset manager blog, this marketing and educational content is easily accessible to advisors and is often available in different formats to suit advisor needs. iShares also has approximately 1,000 people around the world focused solely on iShares with the expertise to offer solutions to clients.

"This is great news for iShares and we thank the many advisors who rated us so highly for acknowledging the investment we have made and hard work of our marketing and sales teams," said Grancio.

About BlackRock BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At March 31, 2011, BlackRock's AUM was $3.648 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 March 31, 2011, the firm has approximately 9,300 employees in 26 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 460 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 19 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 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 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.

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.

The iShares Funds ("Funds") are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. ("SEI"). BlackRock Fund Advisors ("BFA") serves as the investment advisor to the Funds. BlackRock Fund Distribution Company ("BFDC") and BlackRock Execution Services ("BES") assist in the marketing of the Funds. BFA, BFDC and BES are affiliates of BlackRock, Inc., none of which is affiliated with SEI.

©2011 BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. iShares® is a registered trademark of BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. All other trademarks, servicemarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. iS-4860-0611

* Not FDIC Insured * No Bank Guarantee * May Lose Value