Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc
All information is at31 July 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 3.2% 15.2% 20.6% 24.5% 70.9%
Share price 6.1% 13.9% 24.8% 25.6% 58.0%
Russell 1000 Value Index 3.6% 16.3% 23.2% 23.9% 93.9%
Source: BlackRock

   

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:   146.39p
Net asset value – cum income:                                 148.41p
Share price:                                                  139.00p
Discount to cum income NAV:  6.3%
Net yield*:                                                      3.3%
Total assets including current year revenue:                  £102.3m
Gearing:                                                          Nil
Options overwrite:                              17.01%
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 24.5
Health Care 15.1
Industrials 11.9
Energy 10.9
Information Technology 10.6
Consumer Discretionary 7.5
Consumer Staples 7.3
Utilities 5.8
Materials 3.5
Telecommunication Services 2.4
Net current assets 0.5
-----
100.0
=====

   

Country Analysis Total Assets (%)
USA 93.6
United Kingdom 2.2
France 1.5
Canada 1.1
Netherlands 0.7
China 0.4
Net current assets 0.5
-----
100.0  
=====

   

Ten Largest Investments
Company Country of Risk Total Assets (%)
Pfizer USA 3.8
JPMorgan Chase USA 3.3
General Electric USA 3.2
Wells Fargo USA 3.1
Intel Corporation USA 2.6
Bank of America USA 2.3
Exxon Mobil USA 2.3
Dollar General USA 2.2
Microsoft USA 2.2
Merck USA 2.1

   

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

For the one month period ended 31 July, 2016 the Company’s NAV increased by 3.2% while the share price increased by 6.1% (all in sterling with income reinvested).  The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, gained 3.6% for the period. 

The largest contributor to relative performance during the month was stock selection in the financials sector.  Notably, stock selection in the insurance industry proved to be beneficial, as did selection decisions in the diversified financial services industry. Stock selection in information technology also added to relative performance, led by non-benchmark holding Microsoft.  Lastly, an underweight to the utilities and energy sector also contributed positively to relative returns for the month.

The largest detractor from relative performance was a combination of stock selection and allocation decisions in the industrials sector.  Notably, stock selection in the aerospace & defence industry dampened relative returns, and an underweight to the machinery and airlines industries also proved to be costly.  Stock selection in health care also weighed on relative performance, as did stock selection in the consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: During the month of July, we increased our allocation to the health care sector by adding to our position in pharmaceuticals manufacturer AstraZeneca.

Options:  As of 31 July 2016, the Company’s options exposure was 17.01% and the delta of the options was 90.43%. 

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