Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST PLC (LEI:549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 30 November 2020 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	11.3%	8.5%	6.7%	-1.7%	16.7%	69.7%
Share price	13.1%	7.9%	4.6%	-10.5%	15.0%	79.1%
Russell 1000 Value Index	9.9%	9.5%	8.8%	-1.4%	18.2%	69.1%

At month end

Net asset value - capital only:	173.61p
Net asset value - cum income:	173.95p
Share price:	162.50
Discount to cum income NAV:	6.6%
Net yield1:	4.9%
Total assets including current year revenue:	138.8m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite	17.9%
Ordinary shares in issue2:	79,784,044
Ongoing charges3:	1.1%

¹ Based on four quarterly interim dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 7 November 2019 for the year ended 31 October 2019 and 20 March 2020, 5 May 2020 and 6 August 2020 for the year ended 31 October 2020, and based on the share price as at close of business on 30 November 2020.

² Excluding 20,577,261 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 2019.

Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Financials	25.8
Health Care	16.9
Information Technology	12.4
Consumer Staples	8.5
Energy	7.1
Communication Services	6.8
Industrials	6.7
Consumer Discretionary	4.9
Utilities	3.9
Materials	2.2
Net Current Assets	4.8
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	100.0
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Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	74.8
Netherlands	4.8
United Kingdom	4.5
Germany	3.9
France	2.3
Ireland	2.1
Switzerland	1.5
Norway	0.8
Canada	0.5
Net Current Assets	4.8
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	100.0
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Top 10 Holdings	Country	% Total Assets
Verizon Communications	United States	3.4
Citigroup	United States	3.1
Bank of America	United States	3.1
American International Group	United States	2.5
Wells Fargo	United States	2.5
Samsung Electronics	United States	2.4
Comcast Corporation	United States	2.4
Anthem	United States	2.3
BAE Systems	United Kingdom	2.2
Sanofi	France	2.1

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

For the one-month period ended 30 November 2020, the Company’s NAV increased by 11.3% and the share price by 13.1% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned 9.9% for the period.

The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the financials sector. Notably, selection decisions in the banks and insurance industries proved beneficial. In health care, stock selection in the health care equipment and supplies and pharmaceuticals industries boosted relative performance. In consumer discretionary, stock selection in specialty retail helped relative results. Other contributors during the month included stock selection and allocation decisions in utilities, stock selection in consumer staples, and overweight exposure to energy.

The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the communication services sector. Notably, selection decisions in the media industry proved costly during the month, as did a lack of exposure to entertainment. In information technology, stock selection in the IT services and software industries weighed on relative results. Underweight exposure to the industrials sector hampered relative returns, although stock selection in the sector more than offset the negative impact experienced from underweight exposure.

The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy detracted from relative performance during the month.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: In November, the portfolio initiated new positions in Cigna and Leidos Holdings Allocations. Cisco Systems, Cognizant Technology Solutions and Microsoft were also increased during the month. Conversely, we reduced our exposure to Lowe’s Companies.

Options:  As of 30 November 2020, the Company’s options exposure was 17.9% and the delta of the options was 84.6.

Positioning

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

Source: BlackRock. Data as of 30 November 2020.

22 December 2020

Latest information is available by typing blackrock.com/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.