Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc
All information is at31 October 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 5.8% 7.8% 24.2% 34.1% 57.1% 84.2%
Share price 7.0% 13.0% 28.7% 43.0% 53.3% 78.6%
Russell 1000 Value Index 4.8% 7.7% 25.2% 34.6% 63.9% 108.7%
Source: BlackRock

   

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:   156.38p
Net asset value – cum income:                                 158.68p
Share price:                                                  155.75p
Discount to cum income NAV:  1.8%
Net yield*:                                                      3.0%
Total assets including current year revenue:                  £109.4m
Gearing:                                                          Nil
Options overwrite:                              16.84%
Ordinary shares in issue**: 68,949,044
Ongoing charges***: 1.24%

   

* Based on dividends of 1.20p per share declared on 3 November 2016, 3 August 2016 and 4 May 2016 and 1.10p per share declared on 18 February 2016.
** 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 25.4
Health Care 14.2
Industrials 11.9
Energy 11.3
Information Technology 9.1
Consumer Staples 7.2
Consumer Discretionary 5.9
Utilities 5.7
Materials 3.5
Telecommunication Services 2.2
Net current assets 3.6
-----
100.0
=====

   

Country Analysis Total Assets (%)
USA 89.0
United Kingdom 2.1
France 2.0
Canada 1.7
Netherlands 0.7
China 0.5
Ireland 0.4
Net current assets 3.6
-----
100.0  
=====

   

Ten Largest Investments
Company Country of Risk Total Assets (%)
JPMorgan Chase USA 3.4
Pfizer USA 3.3
Bank of America USA 3.2
General Electric USA 3.0
Wells Fargo USA 2.6
Citigroup USA 2.4
Microsoft USA 2.3
Merck USA 2.2
Occidental Petroleum USA 2.0
SunTrust Banks USA 1.8

   

Bob Shearer and Tony DeSpirito, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
Performance

For the one month period ended 31 October 2016 the Company’s NAV increased by 5.8% whilst the share price increased by 7.0% (all on a total return basis in sterling).  The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, gained 4.8% for the period. 

The largest contributor to relative performance during the month was stock selection in the energy sector.  Notably, ownership of non-benchmark holding Suncor Energy proved to be beneficial.  An underweight to real estate and an overweight to the banks industry also added to relative performance.  In regards to banks, our portfolio’s overweight positions in Bank of America Corporation and SunTrust Banks, were the largest relative contributors during the month. Lastly, stock selection in information technology and an underweight to telecom services also contributed to relative returns.

The largest detractor from relative performance was a combination of stock selection and allocation decisions in the health care sector.  Notably, our overweight to the pharmaceuticals industry proved to be costly, particularly our ownership of non-benchmark holding AstraZeneca. An overweight to the health care providers & services industry also dampened relative returns within the sector. Lastly, stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector dampened relative performance during the month.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: During the month of October new positions were initiated in Mead Johnson Nutrition Company and FirstEnergy. Further, we exited our position in American Express. Other notable trades took place in the energy sector as we decreased our exposure to Exxon Mobil and used the proceeds to increase our allocation to Suncor Energy.

Options:  As at 31 October 2016, the Company’s options exposure was 16.84% and the delta of the options was 90.20%. 

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