Strategy. The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index (IMI) (the Underlying Index ), which has been developed by MSCI Inc. (the Index Provider or MSCI ) to focus on approximately 25 companies in developed and emerging markets that are involved in silver mining or exploration. MSCI begins with the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index (IMI), which captures large-, mid- and small-capitalization exposure across developed and emerging markets and selects securities of companies primarily mining silver. Companies that are not involved in silver mining are excluded. As necessary to reach the target constituent count of 25, companies in the gold and precious metals and minerals sub-industries (under the Global Industry Classification … Show more… The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index (IMI) (the Underlying Index ), which has been developed by MSCI Inc. (the Index Provider or MSCI ) to focus on approximately 25 companies in developed and emerging markets that are involved in silver mining or exploration. MSCI begins with the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index (IMI), which captures large-, mid- and small-capitalization exposure across developed and emerging markets and selects securities of companies primarily mining silver. Companies that are not involved in silver mining are excluded. As necessary to reach the target constituent count of 25, companies in the gold and precious metals and minerals sub-industries (under the Global Industry Classification Standard) in the MSCI ACWI IMI are selected in the following order: Those that generate at least 25% of their revenue from silver mining; Those that are involved in silver mining exploration; and Those that generate some revenue (but less than 25%) from silver mining. If necessary to reach 25 constituents, MSCI selects companies from the MSCI World Micro Cap Index, starting with those that primarily mine silver and then moving to the other eligible categories noted above. The Underlying Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index. Any gold company that is a constituent is included at 5% of its free float market capitalization. A capping methodology limits all issuer weights so that no single issuer of a component exceeds 25% of the Underlying Index, and all issuers with a weight above 5% do not, in the aggregate, exceed 50% of the Underlying Index. A buffer of 10% is applied to these limits at the time of rebalancing. The Underlying Index is reviewed quarterly. The constituents of the Underlying Index may change over time. As of August 31, 2025, a significant portion of the Underlying Index is represented by securities of companies in the materials industry or sector. The components of the Underlying Index are likely to change over time. As of August 31, 2025, the Underlying Index consisted of stocks of companies in the following seven countries or regions: Canada, China, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom (the U.K. ) and the U.S. The Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 40% of its assets in issuers organized or located outside the U.S. or doing business outside the U.S. BFA uses an indexing approach to try to achieve the Funds investment objective. The Fund does not try to beat the index it tracks and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued. Indexing may eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the Underlying Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection. Indexing seeks to achieve lower costs and better after-tax performance by aiming to keep portfolio turnover low in comparison to actively managed investment companies. BFA uses a representative sampling indexing strategy to manage the Fund. Representative sampling is an indexing strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities or other instruments that collectively has an investment profile similar to that of an applicable underlying index. The instruments selected are expected to have, in the aggregate, investment characteristics (based on factors such as market capitalization and industry weightings), fundamental characteristics (such as return variability and yield) and liquidity measures similar to those of an applicable underlying index. The Fund may or may not hold all of the components of the Underlying Index. The Fund generally will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of its Underlying Index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of its Underlying Index ( i.e ., depositary receipts representing securities of the Underlying Index) and may invest up to 20% of its assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its affiliates, as well as in securities not included in the Underlying Index, but which BFA believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. Cash and cash equivalent investments associated with a derivative position will be treated as part of that position for the purposes of calculating the percentage of investments included in the Underlying Index. The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Underlying Index before fees and expenses of the Fund. The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund's total assets (including the value of any collateral received). The Underlying Index is sponsored by MSCI, which is ? independent of the Fund and BFA. The Index Provider determines the composition and relative weightings of the securities in the Underlying Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Underlying Index. Industry Concentration Policy. The Fund will concentrate its investments ( i.e. , hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Underlying Index is concentrated. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities are not considered to be issued by members of any industry. Show less