Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc (LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 31 October 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	-3.0%	-2.7%	5.0%	8.5%	29.0%	81.5%
Share price	-2.2%	-5.5%	5.0%	15.0%	34.8%	101.8%
Russell 1000 Value Index	-3.4%	-3.6%	3.8%	9.8%	27.3%	78.4%

Source: BlackRock

At month end
Net asset value – capital only:	180.10p
Net asset value – cum income:	182.11p
Share price:	186.50p
Premium to cum income NAV:	2.4%
Net yield¹:	4.3%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£142.8m
Gearing:	Nil
Options overwrite:	15.8%
Ordinary shares in issue²:	78,399,044
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 October 2019.

² Excluding 21,962,261 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	24.7
Health Care	16.7
Energy	9.3
Information Technology	8.6
Industrials	8.1
Consumer Staples	6.8
Communication Services	6.6
Consumer Discretionary	6.1
Utilities	2.5
Materials	1.7
Net current assets	8.9
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	70.2
United Kingdom	6.3
Netherlands	3.5
Ireland	2.8
Germany	2.6
Switzerland	1.8
Japan	1.6
France	1.1
Canada	0.6
Norway	0.3
Denmark	0.3
Net current assets	8.9
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Ten Largest Investments
Company	Country of Risk	Total Assets (%)
Verizon Communications	USA	4.1
JPMorgan Chase	USA	3.8
Wells Fargo	USA	3.6
Citigroup	USA	3.3
Bank of America	USA	2.8
Medtronic	Ireland	2.5
Williams Companies	USA	2.2
BP Group	United Kingdom	2.0
Koninklijke Philips	Netherlands	1.9
Comcast Corporation	USA	1.8

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

For the one-month period ended 31 October 2019, the Company’s NAV decreased by 3.0% and the share price by 2.2% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned -3.4% for the period.

At the sector level, the largest contributor to relative performance was a combination of stock selection and allocation decisions in the health care sector. Within the sector, the relative outperformance was generated from our selection among health care providers and services and pharmaceuticals firms, as well as our overweight exposure to the former. In utilities, underweight exposure proved beneficial, mainly in the electric utilities industry. Additionally, stock selection in industrials proved additive. Notably, selection decisions among industrial conglomerates and trading companies and distributors proved beneficial. Lastly, stock selection in the consumer discretionary sector contributed positively to relative results.

The largest detractor from relative performance was a combination of stock selection and allocation decisions in the information technology sector. Within the sector, underweight exposure to the semiconductors industry hampered relative results. In communication services, stock selection in the media and diversified telecom services industries weighed on relative returns. A combination of stock selection decisions and overweight exposure to the energy sector also detracted from relative performance, primarily due to decisions made within the energy equipment and services industry. Lastly, underweight exposure to real estate and stock selection in materials detracted from relative returns during the month.

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

Transactions/Options

Transactions: In October, the portfolio initiated a new position in Fox. We also added to existing positions in JPMorgan and Bank of America. Conversely, we exited our positions in Procter & Gamble and Mondelez International. Additionally, we trimmed our existing positions in Goldman Sachs and NextEra Energy.

Options:  As of 31 October 2019, the Company’s options exposure was 15.8% and the delta of the options 84.2. 

Positioning

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

Source: BlackRock. Data as of 31 October 2019.

27 November 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.