Portfolio Update

	BLACKROCK INCOME AND GROWTH INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
	All information is at 31 August 2015 and unaudited.
	Performance at month end with net income reinvested
		One Month	Three Months		One Year	Three Years	Since 1 April 2012	Five Years
	Sterling
	Share price	-3.8%	-6.3%		7.0%	44.9%	51.9%	69.0%
	Net asset value	-4.0%	-4.9%		7.7%	39.0%	42.6%	62.7%
	FTSE All-Share Total Return	-5.3%	-8.6%		-2.3%	28.1%	29.2%	51.4%
	Source: BlackRock
BlackRock took over the investment management of the Company with effect from 1 April 2012.
At month end
Sterling:
Net asset value - capital only:				179.01p
Net asset value - cum income*:				182.31p
Share price:				177.50p
Total assets (including income):				£49.8m
Discount to cum-income NAV:				2.6%
Net Gearing:				2.9%
Net yield**:				3.3%
Ordinary shares in issue***:				26,229,268
Gearing range (as a % of net assets):				0-20%
Ongoing charges****:				1.2%
* includes net revenue of 3.30 pence per share
** based on an interim dividend of 2.40p per share in respect of the year ending 31 October 2015 and a final dividend of 3.50p per share in respect of the year ended 31 October 2014.
*** excludes 6,704,664 shares held in treasury
**** Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding performance fees and interest costs for the year ended 31 October 2014.
Benchmark
Sector Analysis				Total assets (%)
Banks				12.2
Support Services				8.4
Tobacco				8.4
Travel & Leisure				8.2
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology				8.1
Media				7.6
General Retailers				7.6
Life Insurance				7.0
Oil & Gas Producers				6.6
Mining				5.9
Non-Life Insurance				3.7
Financial Services				3.2
Food Producers				2.7
Fixed Line Telecommunications				2.7
General Industrials				1.8
Industrial Engineering				1.6
Technology & Hardware Equipment				1.4
Household Goods & Home Construction				0.9
Real Estate Investment Trusts				0.7
Net Current Assets				1.3
Total				100.0
Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company				Total assets (%)
British American Tobacco				5.2
AstraZeneca				5.0
HSBC Holdings				4.8
Lloyds Banking Group				4.4
Next				4.0
RELX				3.9
Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’				3.6
Legal & General Group				3.5
Aviva				3.5
Rio Tinto				3.3
Commenting on the markets, Adam Avigdori and Mark Wharrier representing the Investment Manager noted:
The Company’s NAV fell by 4.0% in August 2015, significantly outperforming its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, as it fell by 5.3% in an extremely challenging environment.
Calendar year to date, the Company has returned 5.7%, significantly outperforming the FTSE All Share Index which has fallen by 0.1% and the IA UK Equity Income Sector which has returned 2.6%.
August was a challenging month for the market as concerns around a slowdown in China and the potential impact on the wider global economy were once again the key drivers of investor sentiment. The market fell by 5.3% bringing the calendar year to date performance almost flat. Fears over global growth rates were heightened when the Chinese Government unexpectedly devalued its currency, a move that was welcomed by the IMF, but led investors to worry the economy was weaker than expected.
The largest contributor to performance over the month came from the Company’s holding in Cineworld Group which reported strong first half results with revenues and profits exceeding expectations and a more positive outlook. Admiral Group reported a rise in pre-tax profits, ahead of expectations, driven largely by an increase in reserve releases and a growing number of customers. Minutes from the Bank of England coupled with the market sell-off in August have once again pushed back expectations of an interest rate rise. This was beneficial to companies exposed to the property sector, such as house builder Berkeley Group. Elsewhere, Rentokil Initial, Next and Wolseley all contributed to the Company’s relative performance.
The biggest detractor to relative performance came from the Company’s holding in Sky which fell on the back of media sector weakness in the US after Walt Disney reported disappointing results. Unilever suffered downgrades as slower growth in emerging markets, where the company generates a significant portion of sales, and the rise in e-commerce, are both expected to negatively impact the company.
Activity during the month included adding to our holdings in BHP Billiton, Royal Dutch Shell and ARM Holdings. We reduced our positions in Berkeley Group, DFS Furniture and Imperial Tobacco Group and sold our holding in Howden Joinery.
Eurozone economic activity is showing signs of improvement as the European Central Bank continues its programme of quantitative easing, whilst in the US speculation over the path of future interest rates is contributing to uncertainty. We continue to focus on the specific drivers of individual companies and the ability to determine their future rather than relying on a specific macro outcome. Given the outlook for both economic growth and interest rates remains uncertain, we seek those companies that can drive returns through self-help and have a clear strategy to deploy the cash flow they generate. The portfolio is primarily invested in high free cash flow companies that can sustain cash generation and pay a growing dividend yield. It also has exposure to companies with sustainable growth franchises and turnaround situations.
17 September 2015