Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc
All information is at30 April 2016 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested

   


 
One
Month
Three
Months
Six
Months
One
Year
Since
Launch
(24 Oct 2012)
Net asset value 0.5% 4.7% 8.0% 7.3% 48.4%
Share price 2.3% 9.6% 11.1% 9.0% 38.8%
Russell 1000 Value Index 0.2% 6.0% 7.5% 4.5% 66.7%
Source: BlackRock

   

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:   128.31p
Net asset value – cum income:                                 130.03p
Share price:                                                  123.25p
Discount to cum income NAV:  5.2%
Net yield*:                                                      3.7%
Total assets including current year revenue:                  £90.4m
Net cash:                                                          1.3%
Options overwrite:                              17.51%
Ordinary shares in issue**: 69,549,044
Ongoing charges***: 1.2%

   

* Based on dividends of 1.20p per share declared on 4 May 2016 and 1.10p per share declared on 18 February 2016, 4 November 2015 and 5 August 2015.
** Excluding 30,812,261 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 25.1
Health Care 14.2
Industrials 12.3
Energy 10.8
Information Technology 9.8
Consumer Staples 7.7
Consumer Discretionary 7.3
Utilities 5.8
Materials 3.4
Telecommunication Services 2.3
Net current assets    1.3
-----
100.0
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Country Analysis Total Assets (%)
USA 94.6
France 1.6
United Kingdom 1.6
China 0.4
Canada 0.3
Netherlands 0.2
Net current assets 1.3
-----
100.0  
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Ten Largest Investments
Company Country of Risk Total Assets (%)
JPMorgan Chase USA 3.8
Wells Fargo USA 3.4
General Electric USA 3.2
Pfizer USA 3.1
Bank of America USA 2.4
Exxon Mobil USA 2.3
Intel USA 2.3
Home Depot USA 2.2
Citigroup USA 2.1
Occidental Petroleum USA 2.0

   

Bob Shearer and Tony DeSpirito, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
Performance
For the one month period ended 30 April 2016 the Company’s NAV increased by 0.5% whilst the share price increased by 2.3% (all in sterling).  The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, increased by 0.2% for the period. 

The largest contributor to relative performance during the month was stock selection in the financials sector.  Notably, our overweight position in SunTrust Banks outperformed after the company exceeded quarterly earnings estimates. Our overweight to bank holdings Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase also added to relative returns, as did our underweight to real estate investment trusts.  Stock selection in health care also contributed to relative returns, especially within the pharmaceuticals industry.  Lastly, a combination of stock selection and an underweight to the information technology and utilities sectors added to relative performance for the period.

The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector, with notable detractors including our non-benchmark positions in The Gap and Dollar General Corporation.  Our underweight to the energy equipment & services and metals & mining industries also hurt relative performance, given the rally in oil & metals commodity prices.  Stock selection in consumer staples and industrials also modestly dampened relative performance for the month.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: Few changes were made to the portfolio positioning during the month.  Within the financials sector, we reduced our allocation to Citigroup and used the proceeds to increase our exposure to Bank of America. Similarly, in health care we reduced our allocation to AbbVie, and used the proceeds to increase our exposure to AstraZeneca. Lastly, we exited our position in mining operator BHP Billiton during the month.

Options:  As at 30 April 2016, the Company’s options exposure was 17.51% and the delta of the options was 91.01%. 

Positioning
The Company is currently overweight to the health care, consumer discretionary, industrials, consumer staples, and materials sectors.  We are underweight to the financials, energy, utilities, information technology, and telecom services sectors.
 
16 May 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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