A sound investment process and strong management team underpin iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF's Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze. The portfolio maintains a sizable cost advantage over competitors, priced within the least expensive fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy's investment process inspires confidence and earns a High Process Pillar rating. Independent of the rating, analysis of the strategy's portfolio shows it has maintained a significant overweight position in liquidity exposure and an underweight in quality exposure compared with category peers. High liquidity exposure is attributed to stocks with a high trading volume, lending managers more flexibility. And a low quality exposure is rooted in stocks with higher financial leverage and lower profitability. The strategy’s management team earns an Above Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Above Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

Analyst Rating

BHP Billiton

ClearBridge American Energy MLP Fund, Inc.

Carlisle Companies

WABCO Hlds

Western Gas Partners

Woodside Energy Group Ltd

Rio Tinto plc Sponsored

WideOpenWest

Statoil ASA Sponsored

Allstate

Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF earns a High Process Pillar rating. The primary contributor to the rating is that this fund tracks an index. Historical data, such as Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, finds that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. Impressive risk-adjusted performance also strengthens the process. This can be seen in the fund's five-year alpha calculated relative to the category average, which suggests that the process was successful over that period. The firm's five-year retention rate of 92% reinforces the process as well.

The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is:  The investment seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI Pacific IMI (the "underlying index").  The fund generally will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of the underlying index. The index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index which consists of securities from the following five countries or regions: Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and New Zealand and Singapore. 

 The portfolio is overweight in financial services by 2.8 percentage points in terms of assets compared with the category average, and its basic materials allocation is similar to the category. The sectors with low exposure compared to category peers are technology and consumer cyclical, with technology underweighting the average portfolio by 5.9 percentage points of assets and consumer cyclical similar to the average. The strategy owns 1,528 securities and invests 17.5% of assets in its top 10 holdings, similar to the category average. And in closing, in terms of portfolio turnover, on a year-over-year basis, 7% of the fund's holdings have changed, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

High

Process

iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF benefits considerably from its team, earning it an Above Average People Pillar rating. There are three managers listed on the fund: Paul Whitehead, Jennifer Hsui, Greg Savage. Experience on the team is abundant, with 18 years of average portfolio management experience. Together, they manage a total of 257 strategies, with solid long-term prospects. The strategies average a Silver asset-weighted Morningstar Medalist Rating, indicating a position to deliver positive alpha relative to the category median in aggregate.  

 Note: This People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. Morningstar analysts evaluate the People Pillar for passive products at the brand level and may also differentiate by asset class. There is at least one other passive strategy at the firm that is covered by a Morningstar analyst, so the People Pillar rating of the fund is inherited from the rating that the Morningstar analyst assigned to investment vehicles under the same brand name.

Above Average

People

BlackRock offers compelling options across asset classes and vehicles. It earns an Above Average rating for Parent. 
The firm’s approximately USD 8 trillion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, 2022, gives it unparalleled scale and influence. It is a market-leading index fund provider globally, and its iShares exchange-traded fund franchise offers a low-cost lineup of core funds that investors can use to build a well-diversified portfolio for dirt cheap. The firm can be more adventurous in its ETF launches than some peers, so not everything it launches is appropriate for the masses. As a result, it is likely to have more ETF closures than peers that stick to the basic building blocks.  
The firm’s active fixed-income and multi-asset efforts also stand out as some of the best in the industry. Those benefit from BlackRock’s commitment to building a first-class risk management system via its Aladdin analytics software. The software is also available for sale to other firms and has proved to be a popular option for competitors, a testament to its usefulness. 
More recently, the firm has shifted its focus to ESG offerings and incorporating ESG across its investment lineup, leading to a political backlash in the United States.
BlackRock isn’t the best at everything it tries to do, but retail investors, financial advisors, and large institutions could all build robust portfolios using BlackRock’s products.

Parent

iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF

IPAC tracks a market-cap-weighted index of developed Pacific securities.

iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF

SmartETFs Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF

iShares Asia 50 ETF

Global X FTSE Southeast Asia ETF

JPMorgan BetaBuilders Developed Asia EX-Japan ETF

JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF

Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF

WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund

iShares Asia/Pacific Dividend ETF

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity Fund

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Asia ETF

iShares MSCI Philippines ETF

iShares MSCI Pacific ex-Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Australia ETF

iShares MSCI Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Japan Value ETF

iShares MSCI Malaysia ETF

iShares MSCI Singapore ETF

iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF

iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

First Trust Japan AlphaDEX Fund

Franklin FTSE Australia ETF

Franklin FTSE Asia ex Japan ETF

Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF

Franklin FTSE Japan ETF

Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF

Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund

SPDR S&P Emerging Asia Pacific ETF

Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta Japan Equity ETF

Xtrackers International Real Estate ETF

iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF

iShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF

Direxion MSCI Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares

iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF

iShares MSCI Thailand ETF

Global X MSCI Vietnam ETF

VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF

Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF

While the China macro story of ongoing transition is a headwind to the rest of Asia, there is more to the region's economic health than this.

Asia-Pacific Is Not Just China

iShares MSCI Indonesia ETF

VanEck Vectors Indonesia Index ETF

The total nominal GDP of the ten ASEAN nations measured in US dollar terms amounted to USD 3.6 trillion in 2022, more than doubling compared with total GDP of USD 1.6 trillion in 2009. Singapore's GDP growth rate improved to a pace of 2.8% y/y in the fourth quarter of 2023 according to the advance estimate of GDP from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

ASEAN Economic Outlook In 2024

The region is likely to see faster disinflation, but prospects for growth in coming years are dimming. Strong consumer spending has supported growth in Asia's three largest economies this year, but there are already signs that the region's recovery may be running out of steam.

Asia Continues To Fuel Global Growth, But Economic Momentum Is Slowing

CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF

Xtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF

Xtrackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETF

Xtrackers MSCI China A Inclusion Equity ETF

VanEck China Bond ETF

Global X China Biotech Innovation ETF

Global X MSCI China Communication Services ETF

Global X China Energy ETF

Global X MSCI China Health Care ETF

Global X China Industrials

Global X MSCI China Information Technology ETF

Global X MSCI China Large Cap 50 ETF

Global X China Materials ETF

Global X China Consumer ETF

Global X MSCI China Real Estate ETF

Global X MSCI China Consumer Staples ETF

Global X MSCI China Utilities ETF

Global X China Financials ETF

Loncar China Biopharma ETF

Xtrackers MSCI All China Equity ETF

VanEck Vectors ChinaAMC SME-ChiNext ETF

iShares MSCI China A ETF

Invesco China Technology ETF

Asian Growth CUBS ETF

WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund

iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF

iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF

First Trust China AlphaDEX Fund

Franklin FTSE China ETF

Franklin FTSE Hong Kong ETF

First Trust Chindia ETF

iShares China Large-Cap ETF

ProShares UltraShort FTSE China 50

SPDR S&P China ETF

KraneShares MSCI All China Index ETF

KraneShares Bosera MSCI China A Share ETF

KraneShares Bloomberg China Bond Inclusion Index ETF

KraneShares CICC China 5G & Semiconductor Index ETF

KraneShares CICC China Leaders 100 Index ETF

Kraneshares MSCI China Environment Index ETF

KraneShares SSE STAR Market 50 Index ETF

KraneShares Hang Seng Tech Index ETF

KraneShares MSCI All China Health Care Index ETF

KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF

iShares MSCI China ETF

Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF

Rayliant Quantamental China Equity ETF

Templeton Dragon Fund

ProShares Ultra FTSE China 50

Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares

Direxion Daily FTSE China Bull 3X Shares

ProShares Short FTSE China 50

Non-China Asian exports are still growing, but the pace of increase has slowed and will slow still further as key export destinations struggle with inflation, energy security, and rising recession risks. In year-on-year terms, the rate of overall export growth is now skirting single-digits again.

Asian Exports Are Softening

iShares MSCI Japan Equal Weighted ETF

iShs Crr Hg JPX Shs

A multifaced response, including increasing interest rates, is needed to prevent an upward spiral of price expectations and rising capital outflows. China, Asia's largest economy, saw a significant deceleration in the second quarter as the zero-COVID policy prompted lockdowns for major cities and supply-chain hubs.

Asia's Economies Face Weakening Growth, Rising Inflation Pressures

Asian region-related exchange traded funds are a cheap play for global bargain hunters as valuations for Asia's equity markets dipped for a third consecutive month in June, touching their lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Refinitiv data, the MSCI Asia-Pacific index's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio was at 12.1 as of [.

Bargain Hunters Can Find Some Cheap Picks Among Asia ETFs

Bargain hunters should take a look at Asia region-related exchange traded funds after Asian equities dipped to a more than two-year low. According to Refinitiv data, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index's forward 12-month price-to-earnings was at 12.6 as of the end of May, the lowest level since March 2020, Reuters reported.

Asia ETFs Are Some Cheap Bargain Picks

The ASEAN region has shown a strong rebound in manufacturing output during October. As a result of the severe negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread lockdowns and travel bans, many ASEAN economies were in deep recession during 2020.

ASEAN Manufacturing Rebounds In October, RCEP Ratification Boosts Longer-Term Economic Outlook

First Trust RiverFront Dynamic Asia Pacific ETF

In the pandemic's aftermath, many countries will have to contend with high public and private debt burdens-possibly too large for some to manage. Many-especially emerging and developing economies-are resorting more to unconventional monetary policies to ease the pressure on banks and borrowers.

The Future Of Asia: What A Difference A Year Can Make

Sony

Toyota Motor

Equities across the Asia-Pacific region look poised to move higher due to well-defined risk/reward setups.

News for iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF ETF (IPAC)