Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc (LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 31 January 2019 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	3.3%	-4.1%	-5.5%	1.5%	48.3%	82.1%
Share price	5.3%	1.1%	0.2%	8.0%	67.1%	85.4%
Russell 1000 Value Index	4.4%	-2.5%	-3.5%	2.9%	49.9%	86.4%

Source: BlackRock

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:	164.85p
Net asset value – cum income:	166.58p
Share price:	169.50p
Premium to cum income NAV:	1.8%
Net yield¹:	4.7%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£116.9m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite:	14.8%
Ordinary shares in issue²:	70,149,044
Ongoing charges³:	1.1%

¹ In line with the dividend policy announced in the Annual Report on 17 December 2018 of dividends amounting to 8.00p per share for the year ending 31 October 2019 and based on the share price as at close of business on 31 January 2019.

² Excluding 30,212,261 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 2018.

Benchmark Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Financials	25.0
Health Care	16.4
Energy	11.9
Information Technology	11.3
Industrials	8.1
Consumer Staples	7.4
Communication Services	5.7
Utilities	2.7
Consumer Discretionary	2.6
Materials	1.8
Net current assets	7.1
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	75.5
United Kingdom	5.4
Canada	2.9
Netherlands	2.7
Switzerland	2.1
Ireland	2.1
Germany	1.1
Denmark	0.7
France	0.4
Net current assets	7.1
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Ten Largest Investments
Company	Country of Risk	Total Assets (%)
Verizon Communications	USA	3.9
JPMorgan Chase	USA	3.6
Pfizer	USA	3.6
Wells Fargo	USA	3.5
Citigroup	USA	3.3
Bank of America	USA	3.0
Anthem	USA	2.7
Oracle	USA	2.7
Microsoft	USA	2.2
Suncor Energy	Canada	2.2

Tony DeSpirito, Franco Tapia and David Zhao, representing the Investment Manager, noted:

For the one-month period ended 31 January 2019, the Company’s NAV and share price increased by 3.3% and 5.3% respectively (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned 4.4% for the period.

The largest detractor from relative performance was the portfolio’s cash position, which averaged 7.5% during the month. Stock selection in the utilities sector also hurt relative returns, most notably within the electric utilities industry. Other notable detractors included our underweight to real estate and stock selection within the communication services and consumer staples sectors.

The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection and allocation decisions in the financials sector. Notably, a combination of stock selection and an underweight to diversified financial services proved beneficial, as did stock selection and an overweight to the banks industry. Stock selection in energy also added to relative performance, with portfolio positions in U.S. pipeline operators having the largest positive impact. Lastly, an underweight to the materials sector contributed modestly to relative performance during the month.

The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy detracted from portfolio returns in January amid rising U.S. stock prices.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: In January, new portfolio positions were initiated in Marvell Technology Group, Willis Towers Watson and Constellation Brands. The portfolio’s exposure to Samsung Electronics, Citigroup and The Williams Companies were also increased during the month. Conversely, we exited our positions in Cisco Systems, PG&E Corporation, Lenovo Group and Edison International. We also trimmed our positions in Merck & Co, Pfizer, and Verizon Communications.

Options:  As of 31 January 2019, the Company’s options exposure was 14.8% and the delta of the options was 84.4. 

Positioning

As of the period end, the Company’s largest overweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the health care, energy and financials sectors. The Company’s largest underweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the real estate, utilities and consumer discretionary sectors.

Source: BlackRock.

20 February 2019

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.