# BlackRock North American Income Trust NAV increased by 1.7% in August - Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/blackrock-north-american-income-trust-nav-increased-by-1-7-in-august/412860097 - Published: 2020-09-21T15:10:23+01:00 - Author: Amilia Stone **BlackRock North American Income Trust plc** ([LON:BRNA](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/company/blackrock-north-american-income-trust-plc/brsa.l)) has provided the following portfolio update: All information is at 31 August 2020 and unaudited. **Discover more about the BlackRock North American Income Trust plc at [blackrock.com/uk/brna](https://www.blackrock.com/uk/individual/products/investment-trusts/our-range/blackrock-north-american-income-investment-trust/trust-information?siteEntryPassthrough=true&cid=aff:investmenttrusts2020:brna:directorstalk:link)** Performance at month end with net income reinvested |   | OneMonth | ThreeMonths | SixMonths |  One Year | ThreeYears | FiveYears | | Net asset value | 1.7% | -1.7% | -1.4% |  -7.8% | 9.7% | 68.4% | | Share price | -1.0% | -3.0% | -4.4% | -17.3% | 11.3% | 71.2% | | Russell 1000 Value Index | 2.1% | -0.7% | -2.1% |  -8.3% | 9.8% | 65.2% | Source: BlackRock | **At month end** | | | Net asset value – capital only:   | 162.04p | | Net asset value – cum income:                                 | 162.18p | | Share price:                                                  | 152.50p | | Discount to cum income NAV:  | 6.0% | | Net yield¹:                                                      | 5.2% | | Total assets including current year revenue:                  | £130.8m | | Gearing:                                                          | Nil | | Options overwrite:                              | 18.4% | | Ordinary shares in issue²: | 80,629,044 | | 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 on 20 March 2020, 5 May 2020 and 6 August 2020 for the year ending 31 October 2020, and based on the share price as at close of business on 31 August 2020. ² Excluding 19,732,261 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. | **Benchmark Sector Analysis** | **Total Assets (%)** | | | | | Financials | 24.9 | | Health Care | 17.4 | | Information Technology | 11.3 | | Consumer Staples | 8.9 | | Energy | 7.6 | | Communication Services | 7.5 | | Industrials | 7.3 | | Consumer Discretionary | 4.7 | | Utilities | 3.3 | | Materials | 1.4 | | Net current assets | 5.7 | | | —– | | | 100.0 | | | ===== | | **Country Analysis** | **Total Assets (%)** | | | | | United States | 71.9 | | United Kingdom | 5.1 | | Netherlands | 4.9 | | Germany | 4.3 | | Ireland | 2.5 | | France | 2.5 | | Switzerland | 1.6 | | Norway | 1.0 | | Canada | 0.5 | | Net current assets | 5.7 | | | —– | | | 100.0 | | | ===== | | **Ten Largest Investments** | | | | **Company** | **Country of Risk** | **Total Assets (%)** | | | | | | Verizon Communications | USA | 4.1 | | Bank of America | USA | 3.1 | | Citigroup | USA | 3.1 | | Medtronic | Ireland | 2.5 | | Cognizant Technology Solutions | USA | 2.4 | | Comcast Corporation | USA | 2.4 | | Wells Fargo | USA | 2.3 | | BAE Systems | United Kingdom | 2.3 | | Sanofi | France | 2.2 | | Anthem | USA | 2.2 | > **Tony DeSpirito, Franco Tapia and David Zhao, representing the Investment Manager, > noted:** > For the one-month period ended 31 August 2020, the Company’s NAV increased by > 1.7% and the share price decreased by 1.0% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, > the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned -2.1% for the period. > The largest contributor to relative performance was our decision to not invest > in the real estate sector. Our lack of exposure to real estate reflects our view > that company fundamentals and valuations are unattractive at current prices. In > energy, stock selection in the oil, gas and consumable fuels industry boosted > relative results during the month. Other modest contributors included an underweight > exposure to utilities and stock selection in information technology. > The largest detractor from relative performance was stock selection in the health > care sector. Notably, stock selection in the pharmaceuticals and health care equipment > and supplies industries proved costly during the month. In financials, stock selection > and an overweight exposure to the insurance industry weighed on relative performance, > as did investment decisions in the banks and diversified financial services industries. > Other notable detractors during the period included stock selection and an underweight > exposure to the consumer discretionary and communication services sectors. > The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy modestly detracted from relative performance > in August. > **Transactions/Options** > Transactions: In August, the portfolio initiated new positions in Humana and Danone > SA as well as added to our existing positions in Motorola Solutions, Comcast and > Coca-Cola. Conversely, we exited our position in Willis Towers Watson and reduced > our exposure to Pfizer, Nestle SA and Public Service Enterprise Group during the > month. > Options:  As of 31 August 2020, the Company’s options exposure was 18.4% and the > delta of the options was 85.5. > **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 industrials, > real estate and materials sectors. Source: BlackRock. Data as of 31 August 2020. 21 September 2020 **Discover more about the BlackRock North American Income Trust plc at [blackrock.com/uk/brna](https://www.blackrock.com/uk/individual/products/investment-trusts/our-range/blackrock-north-american-income-investment-trust/trust-information?siteEntryPassthrough=true&cid=aff:investmenttrusts2020:brna:directorstalk:link)** Share on: