Tag Archives: blackrock

Black Rock Commodities Income Investment Trust –ISIN GB00B0N8MF98-BRCI

Oil remains one of the strongest major commodities this year and despite recent exemptions from Iranian sanctions, looks likely to stay well supported.

The major companies themselves Royal Dutch #RDSB, BP #BP, Total, Eni, Norsk Hydro etc have been major beneficiaries of the stronger spot price and, with greater capital discipline, have rebuilt balance sheets and engaged in shareholder friendly actions whether dividend increases or share buy-backs.

One way of accessing this sector is through the Black Rock Commodities Income Investment Trust.

The object of this investment trust is to achieve an annual dividend target, (currently 4p), and over the long term, capital growth, by investing primarily in securities of companies operating in the mining and energy sector.

• The fund predominantly invests in large quoted equities, the split between oil and mining being approximately oil, majors plus exploration/production 42%, and mining 56%, as at end September 2018.
• Underlying major mining companies, have for the large part responded to the historic weaker trend in resource prices, maintaining balance sheet discipline and adjusting their cost bases. There have been some examples of spectacular self-help stories e.g. Glencore and Anglo-American Mining.
• Recent mining conferences have highlighted the need for increased use of Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel and Copper relating to Electronic Vehicles.BRCI has been building exposure to these elements over the last couple of years. For example, Glencore (5.2% of assets) is now one of the leading global suppliers of Cobalt, a vital component for rechargeable batteries.
• Rising economic growth projections, supply constraints and a changing OPEC stance have significantly helped the prospects of the major oil companies held. Royal Dutch and BP have both recently announced good third quarter figures and both have annual dividend yields near 6%. Statoil and Total also confirmed the more favourable trend for oil majors.
• As at End September 2018, the Fund ‘s major holdings featured BHP (8.9%), Royal Dutch (6.7%) Rio Tinto (6.2%), First Quantum (5.7%), Glencore (5.2%), Exxon (4.2%), and Teck Resources (4. 5%). The top ten holdings represented over 55% of the total portfolio, a relatively concentrated stance.
• The global nature of these companies provides exposure to non-sterling currencies, especially the US dollar. This can benefit both capital and income when sterling is on a weaker trend. In this regard, the instrument may be seen partially as a no-deal BREXIT hedge.
• On a TECHNICAL NOTE, it should be noted that energy and material stocks represent about 27% and 24% of the FTSE100 index and the FT All-Share index respectively. If using these as benchmarks, the weighting in these sectors can materially affect the relative performance of UK active and passive funds.
• As well as targeting financially strong dividend paying equities the company also employs option writing strategies and an element of gearing, currently near 10%, to further improve the sources of income.
• On an annual yield, over 5.5%, (payable quarterly), this trust represents a high-income longer-term value play, but investors should be aware of the volatility of the underlying sector-maybe another reason to adopt a pooled approach. The trust currently trades at a current discount to net assets of near 8%, near the ten year’s low, compared with the premium on which it traded for most 2008-2016 period (see graph below). The company operates a discount management procedure from time to time.

https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/b/blackrock-commodities-income-it-ordinary-1p/share-charts

www.trustnet.com/factsheets/t/rw98/blackrock-commodities-income-it

Ken Baksh

Ken has over 35 years of investment management experience, working for two major City institutions between 1976 and 2002.

Since then he has been engaged as a self-employed investment consultant. He has worked with investment trusts, unit trusts, pension funds, charities, Life Fund,hedge fund and private clients. Individual asset managed have included direct equities and bonds pooled vehicles currencies, derivatives and commodities.

Projects undertaken in a number of areas including asset allocation, risk control, performance measurement, marketing, individual company research, legacy portfolios and portfolio construction. He has a BSc(Mathematics/Statistics) and is a Fellow Member of the UK Society of Investment Professionals.

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