BlackRock North American Income Trust Plc - 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

Source: BlackRock

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.

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.