Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc (LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 31 January 2018 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	-0.7%	0.8%	3.6%	6.3%	52.6%	107.0%
Share price	1.2%	3.3%	6.8%	3.9%	55.3%	96.1%
Russell 1000 Value Index	-1.2%	1.4%	3.2%	3.7%	46.6%	129.2%

Source: BlackRock

*Launched on 24 October 2012.
 

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:	170.78p
Net asset value – cum income:	171.87p
Share price:	164.50p
Discount to cum income NAV:	4.3%
Net yield*:	3.0%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£118.4m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite:	14.7%
Ordinary shares in issue**:	68,874,044
Ongoing charges***:	1.1%

* Based on dividends of 1.20p per share declared on 21 February 2017 and 1.25p per share declared on 3 May 2017, 8 August 2017 and 2 November 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 2017.

Benchmark Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Financials	28.3
Health Care	17.1
Energy	11.3
Information Technology	10.1
Industrials	8.3
Consumer Staples	7.0
Utilities	4.4
Consumer Discretionary	3.8
Telecommunication Services	2.7
Materials	2.6
Net current assets	4.4
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
USA	77.0
United Kingdom	5.2
Netherlands	4.5
Canada	2.8
Ireland	2.6
France	1.7
Denmark	0.8
China	0.4
Germany	0.3
South Korea	0.3
Net current assets	4.4
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Ten Largest Investments
Company	Country of Risk	Total Assets (%)
Bank of America	USA	4.2
JPMorgan Chase	USA	4.2
Citigroup	USA	3.7
Pfizer	USA	3.6
Wells Fargo	USA	3.2
Oracle	USA	3.0
Anthem	USA	2.6
Royal Dutch Shell	Netherlands	2.3
Microsoft	USA	2.3
Verizon Communications	USA	2.1

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

For the one-month period ended 31 January 2018, the Company’s NAV increased by 0.7% while the share price increased by 1.2% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned -1.2% for the period. Notably, monthly performance was sharply impacted by the negative effects of currency translation from US Dollars to Pound Sterling.

The Company outperformed its benchmark in all 11 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) sectors during the month. The largest contributor to relative performance was an underweight to the real estate sector. Our underweight position was driven by valuations, which we view as unattractive at current levels, and by our concerns that additional increases in U.S. interest rates may potentially have a negative impact on the sector. Stock selection in utilities also added to relative returns, led by selection decisions in the multi-utilities and electric utilities industries. Lastly, stock selection in information technology, consumer staples and financials also boosted relative returns during the period.

The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy was the largest detractor from absolute performance during the month. This should be understood within the context of sharply positive U.S. equity market returns (in U.S. Dollar terms). Relative to the Company’s benchmark, the portfolio’s cash position weighed on relative performance. At the industry level, an underweight to the diversified financial services industry proved to be costly, as did stock selection in the technology hardware, storage & peripherals industry.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: In January we initiated nine new positions in the portfolio. Notable new buys included Bayer AG, BP, Cisco Systems and CVS Health Corporation. Conversely, we eliminated our positions in Equifax, Exelon Corporation, Philip Morris International and Praxair.

Options:  As of 31 January 2018, the Company’s options exposure was 14.7% and the delta of the options was 88.6. 

Positioning
 

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

Source: BlackRock.

13 February 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.