Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc
All information is at31 August 2016 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested

   


 
One
Month
Three
Months
Six
Months
One
Year
Three
Years
Since
Launch
(24 Oct 2012)
Net asset value 2.0% 15.5% 21.3% 32.2% 52.0% 74.4%
Share price 2.4% 13.4% 19.8% 33.7% 38.9% 61.8%
Russell 1000 Value Index 2.2% 16.2% 23.7% 32.6% 60.2% 98.0%
Source: BlackRock

   

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:   148.72p
Net asset value – cum income:                                 150.21p
Share price:                                                  141.13p
Discount to cum income NAV:  6.0%
Net yield*:                                                      3.3%
Total assets including current year revenue:                  £103.6m
Target yield:  4.0p
Gearing:                                                          Nil
Options overwrite:                              17.46%
Ordinary shares in issue**: 68,949,044
Ongoing charges***: 1.24%

   

* Based on dividends of 1.20p per share declared on 3 August 2016 and 4 May 2016 and 1.10p per share declared on 18 February 2016 and 4 November 2015.
** excluding 31,412,261 ordinary shares held in treasury.
*** Ongoing charges represent the management fee and all other operating expenses excluding interest as a % of average shareholders’ funds for the year ended 31 October 2015.

   

Benchmark
Sector Analysis Total Assets (%)
Financials 26.6
Health Care 15.0
Industrials 12.2
Energy 11.3
Information Technology 9.4
Consumer Staples 7.7
Consumer Discretionary 6.2
Utilities 5.3
Materials 3.5
Telecommunication Services 2.3
Net current assets 0.5
-----
100.0
=====

   

Country Analysis Total Assets (%)
USA 92.5
United Kingdom 2.3
France 1.8
Canada 1.3
Netherlands 0.8
China 0.5
Ireland 0.3
Net current assets 0.5
-----
100.0  
=====

   

Ten Largest Investments
Company Country of Risk Total Assets (%)
Pfizer USA 3.6
JPMorgan Chase USA 3.3
General Electric USA 3.2
Bank of America USA 3.1
Wells Fargo USA 3.1
Citigroup USA 2.3
Merck USA 2.2
Microsoft USA 2.2
Occidental Petroleum USA 2.1
Exxon Mobil USA 1.9

   

Bob Shearer and Tony DeSpirito, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
Performance
For the one month period ended 31 August 2016, the Company’s NAV increased by 2.0% while the share price increased by 2.4% (all on a total return basis in sterling).  The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, gained 2.2% for the period. 
The largest contributor to relative performance during the month was a combination of stock selection and allocation decisions in the financials sector.  Notably, stock selection in the banks industry proved to be beneficial, as did our underweight to the real estate investment trusts industry. An underweight to telecommunication services also added to relative performance led by our decision not to not own benchmark holding AT&T. Lastly, stock selection in materials contributed modestly to relative returns for the month.
The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector. Notably, ownership of non-benchmark holding Dollar General, a U.S. discount retailer, proved to be costly after the firm reported weaker than expected quarterly earnings. Stock selection in industrials and consumer staples also detracted from relative performance, as did an overweight to the health care sector.
Transactions/Options
Transactions: During the month of August, we increased our allocation to the financials sector by adding to our position in Bank of America and initiating a new position in KeyCorp. Other notable purchases during the month include initiating new positions in Experian Plc and Publicis Groupe SA.  Conversely, we decreased our allocation to consumer discretionary and information technology sectors by exiting our position in McDonald’s and trimming our position in Intel, respectively.
Options: As at 31 August 2016, the Company’s options exposure was 17.46% and the delta of the options was 92.73%. 
Positioning
The Company is currently overweight to the health care, industrials, financials, consumer discretionary, and materials sectors. We are underweight to real estate, utilities, telecom, energy, consumer staples, and information technology sectors.
20 September 2016
Latest information is available by typing blackrock.co.uk/brna on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).  Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
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