Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc (LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 31 July 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	4.9%	8.0%	16.3%	10.0%	42.9%	104.7%
Share price	8.1%	11.1%	20.4%	20.6%	61.2%	130.6%
Russell 1000 Value Index	4.8%	7.7%	16.8%	12.7%	42.1%	102.7%

Source: BlackRock

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:	187.55p
Net asset value – cum income:	189.29p
Share price:	199.50p
Premium to cum income NAV:	5.4%
Net yield¹:	4.0%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£144.9m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite:	15.2%
Ordinary shares in issue²:	76,574,044
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 July 2019.

² Excluding 23,787,261 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	25.5
Health Care	17.0
Energy	9.2
Information Technology	9.2
Consumer Staples	7.3
Industrials	6.9
Communication Services	5.9
Consumer Discretionary	5.5
Utilities	2.4
Materials	2.2
Net current assets	8.9
	-----
	100.0
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Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	71.0
United Kingdom	7.0
Ireland	3.0
Switzerland	2.6
Netherlands	2.2
Germany	1.8
Japan	1.6
Canada	1.0
France	0.5
Denmark	0.4
Net current assets	8.9
	-----
	100.0
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Ten Largest Investments
Company	Country of Risk	Total Assets (%)
Verizon Communications	USA	3.9
JPMorgan Chase	USA	3.7
Wells Fargo	USA	3.5
Citigroup	USA	3.4
Bank of America	USA	2.8
Medtronic	Ireland	2.5
Williams Companies	USA	2.3
Koninklijke Philips	Netherlands	2.2
BP Group	United Kingdom	2.2
American International Group	USA	2.1

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

For the one-month period ended 31 July 2019, the Company’s NAV increased by 4.9% and the share price by 8.1% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned 4.8% for the period.

At the sector level, the largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the health care sector. Within the sector, the relative outperformance was generated from our selection among health care providers and services, health care equipment and supplies and pharmaceuticals firms. In industrials, stock selection and an underweight to the machinery industry proved beneficial, as did stock selection among aerospace & defence firms. Additionally, stock selection and allocation decisions in utilities proved additive. Notably, stock selection among electric utilities proved beneficial, as did underweight exposure to multi-utilities. Lastly, selection decisions in the consumer discretionary sector contributed positively to relative results.

The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the energy sector. Within the sector, selection decisions in the oil, gas and consumable fuels industry proved challenging. In information technology, stock selection in the semiconductors & semiconductor equipment, technology hardware, storage, peripherals and IT (Information Technology) services industries weighed on relative returns, as did an overweight to semiconductors & semiconductor equipment. Stock selection decisions in the communication services sector also detracted from relative performance, primarily due to decisions made within the diversified telecommunication services industry. In consumer staples, overweight exposure to household products and selection among tobacco and beverages names proved harmful. Lastly, an elevated cash balance hindered relative performance.

The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy contributed modestly to performance in July.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: In July, the portfolio initiated a new position in Ferguson. We also added to existing positions in Sony and Medtronic. Conversely, we trimmed our existing positions in Oracle and Microsoft.

Options:  As of 31 July 2019, the Company’s options exposure was 15.2% and the delta of the options 86.2. 

Positioning

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

Source: BlackRock. Data as of 31 July 2019.

21 August 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.