BlackRock North American Income Trust plc (LON:BRNA) has announced its latest portfolio update.
All information is at 30 April 2021 and unaudited.
Discover more about the BlackRock North American Income Trust plc 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 | 3.5% | 15.6% | 28.0% | 29.5% | 37.1% | 86.9% |
| Share price | 5.0% | 22.4% | 39.2% | 29.4% | 47.5% | 98.2% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index | 3.6% | 15.8% | 27.3% | 32.9% | 40.9% | 87.7% |
At month end
| Net asset value – capital only: | 197.29p |
| Net asset value – cum income: | 198.02p |
| Share price: | 198.00p |
| Discount to cum income NAV: | 0.0% |
| Net yield1: | 4.0% |
| Total assets including current year revenue: | £158.9m |
| Gearing: | Nil |
| Options overwrite | 18.6% |
| Ordinary shares in issue2: | 80,229,044 |
| Ongoing charges3: | 1.1% |
1 Based on four quarterly interim dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 5 May 2020, 6 August 2020 and 4 November 2020 for the year ended 31 October 2020, and on 23 March 2021 for the year ending 31 October 2021, and based on the share price as at close of business on 30 April 2021.
² Excluding 20,132,261 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 2020.
| Sector Analysis | Total Assets (%) |
| Financials | 27.2 |
| Health Care | 16.5 |
| Information Technology | 10.6 |
| Consumer Staples | 7.6 |
| Energy | 6.9 |
| Industrials | 6.6 |
| Communication Services | 5.9 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 5.9 |
| Utilities | 4.2 |
| Materials | 1.5 |
| Net Current Assets | 7.1 |
| —- | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== |
| Country Analysis | Total Assets (%) |
| United States | 74.2 |
| United Kingdom | 4.1 |
| Germany | 4.1 |
| Netherlands | 3.6 |
| France | 2.9 |
| Ireland | 1.8 |
| Switzerland | 0.9 |
| Norway | 0.8 |
| Canada | 0.5 |
| Net Current Assets | 7.1 |
| —– | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== |
| Top 10 Holdings | Country | % Total Assets |
| Wells Fargo | United States | 3.6 |
| Citigroup | United States | 3.5 |
| American International Group | United States | 2.7 |
| Verizon Communications | United States | 2.5 |
| Cisco Systems | United States | 2.5 |
| Anthem | United States | 2.3 |
| Bank of America | United States | 2.2 |
| General Motors | United States | 2.0 |
| Comcast | United States | 2.0 |
| Sanofi | France | 2.0 |
Tony DeSpirito, Franco Tapia and David Zhao, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
For the one-month period ended 30 April 2021, the Company’s NAV increased by 3.5% and the share price by 5.0% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned +3.6% for the period.
The largest contributor to relative performance was investment decisions in financials. Notably, stock selection and an overweight exposure to the insurance industry proved beneficial, as did stock selection in the capital markets and banks industries. In information technology, a meaningful underweight exposure to the semiconductors and semiconductor equipment industry boosted relative returns. Finally, stock selection in health care contributed to relative results during the period.
The largest detractor from relative performance was the portfolio’s underweight exposure (0% allocation) to the real estate sector, which is based on our view that valuations are unattractive at current levels. In communication services, an underweight exposure to the interactive media and services industry weighed on relative returns, as did stock selection in diversified telecom services. Other detractors during the period included stock selection in the consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors.
The portfolio’s option overwriting strategy detracted from relative performance during the month, as did the portfolio’s cash position, amid rising U.S. stock prices.
Transactions/Options
Transactions: In April, the portfolio initiated new positions in The Southern Company, Fidelity National Information Services, Intercontinental Exchange and First Citizens BancShares. Conversely, we exited our positions in PPL and Ferguson, as well as reduced our exposure to Charles Schwab and Pioneer Natural Resources.
Options: As of 30 April 2021, the Company’s options exposure was 18.6% and the delta of the options was 83.9.
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 communication services sectors.
Source: BlackRock. Data as of 30 April 2021.
Discover more about the BlackRock North American Income Trust plc at blackrock.com/uk/brna
