What Are iShares, you ask? According to Barclay’s Bank, “i” stands for “industrial strength” and “investment,” as in “iShares Industrial strength investment tools from Barclays Global Investors.” Oh, and also “i” for “innovative”, and “index funds” as the pitch continues:

iShares Are an Innovative New Investment Opportunity

iShares are the world’s most extensive family of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). iShares combine the advantages of stocks with those of index funds. Like stocks, they are liquid, easy to use, and can be traded in whatever number of shares you wish. Like index funds, they provide diversification, market tracking, and low expenses. In short, iShares are “industrial strength” investment tools you can use to get the exposure you need, at the level you want, at the moment you need it.

Unfortunately, the one thing investors are most afraid of is getting burned by another Internetesque flame-out, so the adoption of the quintessential Internet naming convention and the letter that has come symbolize “Internet” is an odd choice, to put it charitably.

iShares — the stuff parodies are made of.