Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc (LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 31 October 2018 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	-3.2%	-1.5%	8.3%	6.6%	59.4%	86.7%
Share price	-5.3%	-0.9%	12.3%	10.3%	67.7%	79.7%
Russell 1000 Value Index	-3.2%	-1.0%	9.0%	7.1%	56.0%	90.0%

Source: BlackRock

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:	174.19p
Net asset value – cum income:	175.60p
Share price:	169.50p
Discount to cum income NAV:	3.5%
Net yield¹:	4.7%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£120.9m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite:	16.1%
Ordinary shares in issue²:	68,874,044
Ongoing charges³:	1.1%

¹ In line with the dividend policy announced in the Annual Report on 13 December 2017 of dividends amounting to 8.00p per share for the year ending 31 October 2018 and based on the share price as at close of business on 31 October 2018.

² Excluding 31,487,261 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 2017.

Benchmark Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Financials	25.0
Health Care	18.3
Energy	11.2
Information Technology	10.7
Industrials	7.8
Consumer Staples	6.9
Utilities	4.9
Telecommunication Services	4.2
Consumer Discretionary	3.8
Materials	1.9
Net current assets	5.3
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	77.5
United Kingdom	5.4
Canada	2.9
Netherlands	2.5
Ireland	2.5
Switzerland	1.2
Germany	1.1
Denmark	0.7
France	0.5
China	0.4
Net current assets	5.3
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Ten Largest Investments
Company	Country of Risk	Total Assets (%)
JPMorgan Chase	USA	4.0
Verizon Communications	USA	4.0
Pfizer	USA	3.9
Wells Fargo	USA	3.4
Citigroup	USA	3.3
Bank of America	USA	3.0
Anthem	USA	2.8
Oracle	USA	2.6
Microsoft	USA	2.3
Suncor Energy	Canada	2.2

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

For the one-month period ended 31 October 2018, the Company’s NAV decreased by 3.2% while the share price fell by 5.3% (all performance figures are in sterling terms). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, fell by 3.2% for the period.

The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the communication services sector, most notably in the diversified telecommunication services industry. The Company’s cash position, which averaged 5.5% during the month, also added to relative performance amid declining U.S. stock prices. A combination of stock selection and an underweight position in industrials also proved beneficial to the portfolio, as did stock selection in the health care sector.

The largest detractor from relative performance was a combination of stock selection and an underweight position in the consumer staples sector. Notably, an underweight to the food & staples retailing industry hindered relative returns, as did stock selection in the food products industry. In the financials sector, stock selection in the insurance industry was a notable detractor. Lastly, stock selection in consumer discretionary and an overweight position in the energy sector weighed on relative performance during the period.

The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy contributed modestly to absolute returns in October. This should be understood within the context of declining U.S. equity market prices.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: In October we initiated new positions in Novartis , Siemens  and BAE Systems . Position sizes in Verizon Communications, State Street and Wells Fargo were also increased. Conversely, we exited our positions in SunTrust Banks, Nielsen Holdings, Interpublic Group of Companies and Quest Diagnostics. Other notable trades included trimming our existing positions in Hess, General Electric, and CVS Health.

Options:  As of 31 October 2018, the Company’s options exposure was 16.1% and the delta of the options was 88.3. 

Positioning

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

Source: BlackRock.

28 November 2018

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.