Portfolio Update

The information contained in this release was correct as at 31 August 2021. Information on the Company’s up to date net asset values can be found on the London Stock Exchange Website at:

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html. 

BLACKROCK SUSTAINABLE AMERICAN INCOME TRUST PLC (LEI:549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 31 August 2021   and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
 

	One Month	Three Months	Six Months	One Year	Three Years	Five Years
Net asset value	3.0%	2.1%	13.9%	27.5%	24.6%	62.4%
Share price	4.9%	2.7%	16.5%	30.5%	21.6%	67.1%
Russell 1000 Value Index	3.0%	5.0%	16.3%	32.7%	30.7%	65.3%

At month end

Net asset value - capital only:	198.07p
Net asset value - cum income:	198.21p
Share price:	190.50p
Discount to cum income NAV:	3.9%
Net yield1:	4.2%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£159.0m
Gearing:	Nil
Ordinary shares in issue2:	80,229,044
Ongoing charges3:	1.1%

¹ Based on four quarterly interim dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 4 November 2020 for the year ended 31 October 2020, and on 23 March 2021, 5 May 2021 and 5 August 2021 for the year ending 31 October 2021, and based on the share price as at close of business on 31 August 2021.

² Excluding 20,132,261 ordinary shares held in treasury.

³ 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 2020.

Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Financials	24.4
Health Care	16.9
Information Technology	15.6
Consumer Discretionary	10.3
Communication Services	7.2
Utilities	6.2
Industrials	6.0
Consumer Staples	5.3
Materials	4.6
Energy	3.7
Real Estate	0.9
Net Current Liabilities	-1.1
	----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	75.5
Canada	5.4
France	5.2
Japan	4.4
United Kingdom	3.4
Switzerland	2.3
Australia	2.1
Norway	1.6
Denmark	1.2
Net Current Liabilities	-1.1
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Top 10 Holdings	Country	% Total Assets
Cisco Systems	United States	5.0
AstraZeneca	United Kingdom	3.4
Cognizant Technology Solutions	United States	3.2
Danone	France	3.2
Zimmer Biomet	United States	3.2
Comerica	United States	3.1
Wells Fargo	United States	3.0
Komatsu	Japan	2.9
Morgan Stanley	United States	2.9
American International Group	United States	2.8

Tony DeSpirito, David Zhao and Lisa Yang, representing the Investment Manager, noted:

For the one-month period ended 31 August 2021, the Company’s NAV increased by 3.0% and the share price by 4.9% (all in sterling). The Company’s reference index, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned +3.0% for the period.

The largest contributor to relative performance was security selection in the financial sector. Specifically, selection decisions within insurance and capital markets helped relative returns, as well as our overweight exposure to the insurance industry overall. Within information technology (IT), our overweight exposure to communications equipment benefited returns as did an underweight exposure to technology hardware, storage and peripherals. Finally, stock selection within consumer discretionary also contributed to relative performance with our choices within textile and apparel and specialty retail proving accretive.

The largest detractor from relative performance were our allocation decisions within health care. Specifically, our selection decisions in the health care equipment and supplies industries, as well as underweight exposure to biotechnology, proved costly. In industrials, stock selection within machinery also weighed on relative returns, as did our selection in road and rail. Lastly, consumer staples also detracted from relative returns as allocation decisions within food and staples retailing and food products hindered performance.

Transactions

There were no new purchases or sales in the portfolio this month.

Positioning

As of the period end, the Company’s largest overweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the IT, consumer discretionary and financials sectors. The Company’s largest underweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the industrials, real estate and consumer staples sectors.

Source: BlackRock. Data as of 31 August 2021.

22 September 2021

Latest information is available by typing blackrock.com/uk/brsa 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.