Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
All information is at 31 August 2015 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
							One		Three				Six				One				Three		Since
							month		months				months				year				years		Launch*
							%		%				%				%				%		%
Sterling:
Share price							-10.1		-10.6				-8.4				-14.5				46.0		17.2
Net asset value							-4.6		-8.7				-6.0				-8.5				44.1		25.4
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR)							-4.4		-9.3				-9.8				-15.6				32.1		8.7
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR)							-7.7		-18.2				-15.6				-16.8				-4.0		-15.9
US Dollars:
Share price							-11.4		-9.8				-8.8				-20.7				41.6		15.9
Net asset value							-6.1		-8.1				-6.5				-15.4				39.5		23.7
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR)							-5.7		-8.6				-10.2				-21.9				28.0		7.3
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR)							-9.0		-17.5				-16.0				-22.9				-7.1		-17.0
Sources: BlackRock and Standard & Poor’s Micropal * 17 December 2010.
At month end
US Dollar
Net asset value - capital only:																		162.32c
Net asset value - cum income:																		165.91c
Sterling:
Net asset value - capital only:																		105.72p
Net asset value - cum income:																		108.06p
Share price:																		102.63p
Total assets (including income):																		£162.8m
Discount to cum-income NAV:																		5.0%
Gearing:																		nil
Gearing range (as a % of gross assets):																		0-20%
Net yield*:																		4.0%
Ordinary shares in issue:																		150,621,621
Ongoing charges**:																		1.5%
Ongoing charges plus taxation and performance fee:																		1.5%
*The Company’s yield based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as at the date of the release of this announcement is 4.0% and includes the 2014 final dividend of 4.00 cents per share declared on 1 December 2014, paid to shareholders on 20 February 2015 and the 2015 interim dividend of 2.40 cents per share announced on 18 May 2015 and paid to shareholders on 3 July 2015. **Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding performance fees and interest costs for the year ended 30 September 2014.
Benchmark
Sector Analysis				Gross assets(%)*								Country Analysis							Gross assets(%)*
Financials				37.3								Bangladesh							12.2
Consumer Staples				17.5								Pakistan							11.9
Telecommunications				13.1								Sri Lanka							10.1
Energy				12.6								Kuwait							9.5
Industrials				5.9								Argentina							8.3
Health Care				5.3								Vietnam							6.2
Consumer Discretionary				4.4								Romania							6.2
Utilities				3.4								Ukraine							6.0
Materials Technology				2.0 1.6								Kazakhstan Morocco							5.6 4.8
				-----								Nigeria							4.1
Total				103.1								Iraq							2.5
				-----								Slovenia							2.2
Short positions				-1.5								Kenya							2.1
				=====								Panama							2.0
												Other							9.4
																			-----
												Total							103.1
																			-----
												Short positions							-1.5
																			=====
*reflects gross market exposure from contracts for difference (CFDs).
Market Exposure
	30.09  2014     %	31.10  2014     %	30.11  2014     %		31.12  2014     %	31.01  2015     %		28.02  2015     %			31.03  2015     %			30.04  2015     %		31.05  2015     %				30.06  2015     %		31.07  2015     %		31.08  2015     %
Long	100.0	99.9	97.9		98.6	101.1		102.0			106.4			105.9		105.8				101.5		102.9		103.1
Short	0.8	1.5	2.8		2.6	1.6		1.6			1.7			1.7		1.1				1.0		1.5		1.5
Gross	100.8	101.4	100.7		101.2	102.7		103.6			108.1			107.6		106.9				102.5		104.4		104.6
Net	99.2	98.4	95.1		96.0	99.5		100.4			104.7			104.2		104.7				100.5		101.4		101.6
Company						Country of Risk									% of gross assets
MHP						Ukraine									4.4
Kuwait Foods (Americana)						Kuwait									3.8
Hub Power						Pakistan									3.4
BRD Societe Generale						Romania									3.2
Square Pharmaceuticals						Bangladesh									3.1
Halyk Savings Bank						Kazakhstan									3.1
S.N.G.N Romgaz						Romania									3.0
Agility						Kuwait									3.0
Telecom Argentina						Argentina									2.9
Distilleries Co of Sri Lanka						Sri Lanka									2.9
Commenting on the markets, Sam Vecht, representing the Investment Manager noted:
Portfolio Performance
In August the Company’s NAV fell by 6.1%, underperforming the benchmark by 0.4% (on a US dollar basis with net income reinvested). Positive contributors to relative performance during August included Sri Lankan holdings. Although the overall market fell in line with the Frontier Market sell-off, portfolio holdings outperformed with both Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Hatton National Bank ending the month in positive territory. Commercial Bank of Ceylon rose by 1.1% after reporting strong results, announcing earnings growth of 19.4% year-on-year. Hatton National Bank also reported strong profit growth in August. The financial sector is benefiting from improving liquidity conditions, credit growth and the tailwind to the economy of lower energy import costs. Our holdings in Bangladesh also ended the month in positive territory. The strongest performer was health care company, Square Pharmaceuticals. The company was another that posted positive results in August. Prospects for the company are also strong as it is a beneficiary of falling oil prices. The raw materials for both pharmaceutical production and packaging are oil derivatives which will allow the company to reduce costs. Our underweight position in Nigeria detracted from relative performance over the month. Despite our long-term structural positive view of the country, in the near-term we are far more cautious. Oil prices at the current level place pressure on external balances and the fiscal budget and we retain an underweight position.
Portfolio Activity
We further reduced our exposure to Saudi Arabia during August and it is now below 1%. We believe that the enduring impacts of the fall in the oil price have yet to be reflected in the equity market. This capital has been redeployed in Argentina and Kenya. Our outlook on Argentina is increasingly positive in the run-up to Presidential elections in October. Regardless of who wins the election, we believe that Argentina will shift towards a more normalised macroeconomic policy framework. As the government implements more orthodox policies, we expect the cost of capital to fall, to the benefit of high quality companies. We also added to our positions in Kenya. The Kenyan market has been impacted by recent outflows which have left selected stocks trading at attractive valuations. We are also encouraged by the improvement in macroeconomic conditions; although Kenya currently runs twin deficits, this position is driven in part by a substantial increase in the structural investment program. This is directing funds towards productive capital expenditure projects which could drive future growth.
14 September 2015
ENDS
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/brfi 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 BlackRock’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.