Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc (LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 31 July 2017 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

	One Month	Three Months	Six Months	One Year	Three Years	Since Launch*
Net asset value	0.1%	1.9%	2.6%	16.9%	67.5%	99.9%
Share price	0.3%	-0.1%	-2.6%	16.2%	66.2%	83.6%
Russell 1000 Value Index	-0.2%	1.0%	0.5%	14.6%	63.4%	122.1%

Source: BlackRock
*Launched on 24 October 2012.

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:	166.76p
Net asset value – cum income:	168.38p
Share price:	156.50p
Discount to cum income NAV:	7.1%
Net yield*:	3.1%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£116.0m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite:	16.6%
Ordinary shares in issue**:	68,874,044
Ongoing charges***:	1.0%

* Based on dividends of 1.20p per share declared on 21 February 2017, 3 November 2016 and 3 August 2016 and 1.25p per share declared on 3 May 2017.
** Excluding 31,487,261 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 2016.

Benchmark
Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Financials	27.0
Health Care	15.3
Industrials	11.0
Energy	10.6
Information Technology	10.0
Consumer Staples	6.1
Utilities	5.1
Consumer Discretionary	4.2
Materials	3.5
Telecommunication Services	2.2
Net current assets	5.0
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
USA	81.4
Netherlands	3.8
United Kingdom	3.4
Canada	2.5
France	2.1
Ireland	0.8
South Korea	0.6
China	0.4
Net current assets	5.0
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Ten Largest Investments
Company	Country of Risk	Total Assets (%)
JPMorgan Chase	USA	4.0
Citigroup	USA	3.7
Bank of America	USA	3.6
Pfizer	USA	3.3
Oracle	USA	2.9
Dow Chemical	USA	2.8
Wells Fargo	USA	2.6
Anthem	USA	2.3
Merck	USA	2.1
Microsoft	USA	2.0

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

For the one month period ended 31 July 2017, the Company’s NAV increased by 0.1% while the share price increased by 0.3%. The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, fell by 0.2% during the period (all performance figures in sterling terms and with income reinvested). 

The largest contributor to relative performance during the month was a combination of stock selection and allocation decisions in the industrials sector. Notably, stock selection in the aerospace & defence industry and our decision to be underweight the airlines and building products industries proved to be beneficial. Stock selection in the energy and information technology sectors also boosted relative returns, as did stock selection in the utilities and consumer staples sectors during the month.

The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the health care sector, most notably within the pharmaceuticals industry. Stock selection in the financials sector also proved to be costly, including our decision not to own Berkshire Hathaway, a large benchmark holding that does not pay a dividend. Lastly, the portfolio’s cash allocation and stock selection in materials weighed on relative returns during the month.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: Notable portfolio transactions during the month included initiating new positions in Mattel, General Mills, Kellogg Company and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Conversely, we exited our positions in The Gap, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Hilton Worldwide Holdings.

Options:  As of 31 July 2017, the Company’s options exposure was 16.6% and the delta of the options was 86.9. 

Positioning

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

22 August 2017

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.