BlackRock American Income Trust declared a Dividend and issued further Equity on 2 November 2026, days after a portfolio update showed its shares at a 1.7% premium to net asset value. That rating, at 30 September, followed a year in which NAV beat its US value benchmark.

What happened

The trust's announcement list shows three items on 2 November: a dividend declaration, an issue of equity and a disclosure of portfolio holdings. It issued equity on 30 October as well. The size of the new dividend was not reviewed for this article, so it is not stated here.

The fuller picture comes from the 27 October portfolio update, with unaudited figures as at 30 September. NAV including income was 273.45p, the share price was 278.00p, and total Assets were £194.6m. There were 71,155,138 shares in issue outside treasury, and the trust reported a net cash position of 0.88%.

Why it matters for investors

BRAI (LSE:BRAI) is the ticker of a US equity income Investment trust, and it is a FTSE All-Share constituent on the Hargreaves Lansdown list used for this report. Trading above NAV matters for a trust of this type, since it allows new shares to be sold without diluting existing holders on a NAV basis.

Analysis: the premium is thin. A modest fall in the share price relative to NAV would remove it, and with it the scope to issue more stock. (LSE:BRAI)

The income record has been climbing. The update's Yield footnote lists payments of 3.44p declared in November 2025, 3.55p in February 2026, 3.75p in May and 4.15p in August, giving a net yield of 5.4% at the end of September. Ongoing charges were 0.73%, calculated for the year to October 2025.

How the shares have performed

Over one year to 30 September, NAV returned 31.0% and the shares 38.5%, with Net Income reinvested, against 25.1% for the Russell 1000 Value with 15% Withholding tax deducted. Over six months the figures were 18.2%, 21.8% and 15.8%.

Over longer periods the comparison narrows. Across five years, NAV returned 71.8% against 75.4% for the net benchmark, though the shares returned 83.8%. September itself was weak, with NAV down 1.3% and the shares down 0.4%, against a 1.2% fall in the benchmark.

No more recent share price was retrieved for this report, so the 30 September figures are the latest cited.

What sits in the portfolio

The trust is almost entirely American, with 98.1% in US holdings. Information technology is its largest sector at 21.9% of total assets, ahead of financials at 17.2%, healthcare at 13.5% and industrials at 11.7%. Energy is 7.1%.

Amazon, at 6.1%, Apple, at 6.0%, and Microsoft, at 5.1%, are the three largest positions, followed by Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase and ExxonMobil. The top ten make up 30.9% of total assets. Those large technology weights are notable in a fund measured against a value index.

What to watch next

Managers Travis Cooke and Muzo Kayacan said the Federal Reserve raised rates in September for the first time in more than three years. They linked pressure on rate-sensitive and cyclical stocks to Inflation concerns, high long-term yields and Middle East tensions lifting oil prices. Gains were concentrated in AI-linked technology and semiconductors.

For the month, insurers, energy services and semiconductor equipment makers helped relative returns. Health care and industrials, notably aerospace and defence, detracted. On the stock-selection side, sentiment and macro signals contributed most, while quality signals were a key source of weakness.

The next steps for shareholders are the terms of the dividend declared on 2 November, whether share issuance continues at the same pace, and the portfolio update covering October, which will show whether the premium held.