BlackRock North American Income Trust plc (LON:BRNA) has announced its latest portfolio update.
All information is at 30 November 2020 and unaudited.
Discover more about the trust at blackrock.com/uk/brna
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
| One Month | Three Months | Six Months | One Year | Three Years | Five Years | |
| Net asset value | 11.3% | 8.5% | 6.7% | -1.7% | 16.7% | 69.7% |
| Share price | 13.1% | 7.9% | 4.6% | -10.5% | 15.0% | 79.1% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index | 9.9% | 9.5% | 8.8% | -1.4% | 18.2% | 69.1% |
At month end
| Net asset value – capital only: | 173.61p |
| Net asset value – cum income: | 173.95p |
| Share price: | 162.50 |
| Discount to cum income NAV: | 6.6% |
| Net yield1: | 4.9% |
| Total assets including current year revenue: | 138.8m |
| Gearing: | Nil |
| Options overwrite | 17.9% |
| Ordinary shares in issue2: | 79,784,044 |
| Ongoing charges3: | 1.1% |
1 Based on four quarterly interim dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 7 November 2019 for the year ended 31 October 2019 and 20 March 2020, 5 May 2020 and 6 August 2020 for the year ended 31 October 2020, and based on the share price as at close of business on 30 November 2020.
² Excluding 20,577,261 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 2019.
| Sector Analysis | Total Assets (%) |
| Financials | 25.8 |
| Health Care | 16.9 |
| Information Technology | 12.4 |
| Consumer Staples | 8.5 |
| Energy | 7.1 |
| Communication Services | 6.8 |
| Industrials | 6.7 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 4.9 |
| Utilities | 3.9 |
| Materials | 2.2 |
| Net Current Assets | 4.8 |
| —– | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== |
| Country Analysis | Total Assets (%) |
| United States | 74.8 |
| Netherlands | 4.8 |
| United Kingdom | 4.5 |
| Germany | 3.9 |
| France | 2.3 |
| Ireland | 2.1 |
| Switzerland | 1.5 |
| Norway | 0.8 |
| Canada | 0.5 |
| Net Current Assets | 4.8 |
| —– | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== |
| Top 10 Holdings | Country | % Total Assets |
| Verizon Communications | United States | 3.4 |
| Citigroup | United States | 3.1 |
| Bank of America | United States | 3.1 |
| American International Group | United States | 2.5 |
| Wells Fargo | United States | 2.5 |
| Samsung Electronics | United States | 2.4 |
| Comcast Corporation | United States | 2.4 |
| Anthem | United States | 2.3 |
| BAE Systems | United Kingdom | 2.2 |
| Sanofi | France | 2.1 |
Tony DeSpirito, Franco Tapia and David Zhao, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
For the one-month period ended 30 November 2020, the Company’s NAV increased by 11.3% and the share price by 13.1% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned 9.9% for the period.
The largest contributor to relative performance was stock selection in the financials sector. Notably, selection decisions in the banks and insurance industries proved beneficial. In health care, stock selection in the health care equipment and supplies and pharmaceuticals industries boosted relative performance. In consumer discretionary, stock selection in specialty retail helped relative results. Other contributors during the month included stock selection and allocation decisions in utilities, stock selection in consumer staples, and overweight exposure to energy.
The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the communication services sector. Notably, selection decisions in the media industry proved costly during the month, as did a lack of exposure to entertainment. In information technology, stock selection in the IT services and software industries weighed on relative results. Underweight exposure to the industrials sector hampered relative returns, although stock selection in the sector more than offset the negative impact experienced from underweight exposure.
The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy detracted from relative performance during the month.
Transactions/Options
Transactions: In November, the portfolio initiated new positions in Cigna and Leidos Holdings Allocations. Cisco Systems, Cognizant Technology Solutions and Microsoft were also increased during the month. Conversely, we reduced our exposure to Lowe’s Companies.
Options: As of 30 November 2020, the Company’s options exposure was 17.9% and the delta of the options was 84.6.
Positioning
As of the period end, the Company’s largest overweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the financials, health care and information technology sectors. The Company’s largest underweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the industrials, real estate and consumer discretionary sectors.
Source: BlackRock. Data as of 30 November 2020.
Discover more about the BlackRock North American Income Trust plc at blackrock.com/uk/brna
22 December 2020
