Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc (LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 30 November 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	1.3%	-2.4%	5.8%	7.4%	56.2%	88.0%
Share price	6.0%	-0.1%	9.0%	14.3%	78.0%	86.0%
Russell 1000 Value Index	3.1%	-0.3%	7.9%	9.2%	56.2%	94.4%

Source: BlackRock

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:	175.07p
Net asset value – cum income:	175.84p
Share price:	177.75p
Premium to cum income NAV:	1.1%
Net yield¹:	4.5%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£121.7m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite:	15.0%
Ordinary shares in issue²:	69,199,044
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 ended 31 October 2018 and based on the share price as at close of business on 30 November 2018.

² Excluding 31,162,261 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	25.2
Health Care	17.8
Energy	11.0
Information Technology	10.7
Industrials	7.8
Consumer Staples	7.4
Communication Services	6.2
Utilities	3.7
Consumer Discretionary	2.0
Materials	1.8
Net current assets	6.4
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	76.1
United Kingdom	5.3
Canada	2.8
Netherlands	2.6
Ireland	2.4
Switzerland	1.7
Germany	1.1
Denmark	0.8
France	0.4
China	0.4
Net current assets	6.4
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Ten Largest Investments
Company	Country of Risk	Total Assets (%)
Verizon Communications	USA	4.2
Pfizer	USA	4.1
JPMorgan Chase	USA	4.0
Wells Fargo	USA	3.5
Citigroup	USA	3.2
Bank of America	USA	3.0
Anthem	USA	2.8
Oracle	USA	2.6
Microsoft	USA	2.4
Suncor Energy	Canada	2.2

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

For the one-month period ended 30 November 2018, the Company’s NAV increased by 1.3% while the share price increased by 6.0% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned 3.1% for the period.

The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the utilities sector. Notably, our overweight position in PG&E Corporation sharply underperformed as investors priced in fears of potential company liabilities related to recent wildfires in northern California. Stock selection in the energy sector also weighed on relative results including investment decisions in the oil, gas & consumable fuels industry. In financials, stock selection in the capital markets industry and an underweight to diversified financial services also hindered relative performance during the month.

The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector. Notably, selection decisions in household durables and an underweight to multiline retail added to relative returns. In communication services, stock selection in the diversified telecommunication services industry boosted relative performance. At the industry level, a combination of stock selection and an overweight to health care providers & services also positively impacted relative performance.

The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy detracted modestly from absolute returns in November.

Transactions/Options

Transactions: In November we increased our exposure to existing positions in The Williams Companies, UnitedHealth Group, Nestle, and Novartis. Conversely, we exited our position in Danone and trimmed our exposure to existing positions in Edison International, ONEOK, Experian and PG&E.

Options:  As of 30 November 2018, the Company’s options exposure was 15.0% and the delta of the options was 85.1. 

Positioning

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

Source: BlackRock.

24 December 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.