REG-BlackRock Frontiers Investment Trust Plc: Portfolio Update
17/10/2025 14:00
BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI: 5493003K5E043LHLO706)
All information is at 30 September 2025
and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested.
One Three One Three Five Since
month months year years years Launch*
% % % % % %
Sterling:
Share price 0.6 7.3 21.4 50.6 124.0 194.5
Net asset value 0.2 8.0 14.7 39.0 119.4 209.3
Benchmark (NR)** 2.8 8.4 10.2 11.5 52.4 109.1
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR) 1.6 16.9 35.7 38.4 58.5 141.1
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR) 7.5 12.6 16.9 37.0 34.8 101.0
US Dollars:
Share price 0.2 5.5 21.9 81.8 133.4 155.7
Net asset value -0.1 6.1 15.1 67.8 128.7 168.1
Benchmark (NR)** 2.5 6.5 10.6 34.4 58.6 81.9
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR) 1.2 14.9 36.2 66.9 65.1 108.1
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR) 7.2 10.6 17.3 65.2 40.4 73.5
Sources: BlackRock and Standard & Poor’s Micropal
* 17 December 2010.
** The Company’s benchmark changed to MSCI Frontier + Emerging ex Selected
Countries Index (net total return, USD) effective 1/4/2018.
At month end
US Dollar
Net asset value - capital only: 229.46c
Net asset value - cum income: 236.04c
Sterling:
Net asset value - capital only: 170.44p
Net asset value - cum income: 175.33p
Share price: 168.00p
Total assets (including income): £331.9m
Discount to cum-income NAV: 4.2%
Gearing: Nil
Gearing range (as a % of gross assets): 0-20%
Net yield*: 4.5%
Ordinary shares in issue**: 189,270,248
Ongoing charges***: 1.41%
Ongoing charges plus taxation and performance fee****: 2.33%
*The Company’s yield based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as
at the date of the release of this announcement is 4.5% and includes the 2024
final dividend of 6.00 cents per share, declared on 5 December 2024 paid to
shareholders on 14 February 2025 and the 2025 interim dividend of 3.65 cents
per share, declared on 29 May 2025, paid to shareholders on 24 June 2025.
** Excluding 52,552,553 ordinary shares held in treasury.
***The Company’s ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average
daily net assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses
excluding performance fees, finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody
transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain non-recurring items
for Year ended 30 September 2024.
**** The Company’s ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average
daily net assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses
and including performance fees but excluding finance costs, direct transaction
costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain
non-recurring items for Year ended 30 September 2024.
Sector Gross market value as a % of net assets Country Gross market value as a % of net assets
Analysis Analysis
Financials 49.1 Saudi Arabia 15.2
Real Estate 11.1 United Arab Emirates 11.3
Consumer Discretionary 10.5 Turkey 10.6
Industrials 8.5 Poland 9.5
Materials 8.1 Indonesia 6.9
Communication Services 8.0 Greece 6.8
Information Technology 4.8 Kazakhstan 6.1
Consumer Staples 4.3 Thailand 6.0
Health Care 4.3 Pakistan 5.9
Energy 3.5 Hungary 5.5
----- Vietnam 4.5
112.2 Kenya 4.2
----- Georgia 4.1
Short Positions -1.7 Bangladesh 3.8
----- Philippines 3.5
Multi-International 2.7
Malaysia 2.3
Egypt 1.9
Chile 1.4
-----
112.2
-----
Short Positions -1.7 ----
*reflects gross market exposure from contracts for difference (CFDs).
Market Exposure
31.10 2024 % 30.11 2024 % 31.12 2024 % 31.01 2025 % 28.02 2025 % 31.03 2025 % 30.04 2025 % 31.05 2025 % 30.06 2025 % 31.07 2025 % 31.08 2025 % 30.09 2025 %
Long 110.1 109.6 112.4 118.5 121.0 118.5 111.3 117.9 121.2 113.0 114.3 112.2
Short 3.6 3.3 4.0 4.2 3.9 4.3 3.8 3.4 3.4 2.5 2.4 1.7
Gross 113.7 112.9 116.4 122.7 124.9 122.8 115.1 121.3 124.6 115.5 116.7 113.9
Net 106.5 106.3 108.4 114.3 117.1 114.2 107.5 114.5 117.8 110.5 111.9 110.5
Ten Largest Investments
Company Country of Risk Gross market value as a % of net assets
Emaar Properties United Arab Emirates 4.7
Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Arabia 4.3
Bank Mandiri Indonesia 3.9
OTP Bank Hungary 3.9
LPP Poland 3.7
Etihad Etisalat Saudi Arabia 3.7
PZU Poland 3.5
Akbank Turkey 3.4
Lucky Cement Pakistan 3.3
Eldorado Gold Turkey 3.1
Commenting on the markets, Sam Vecht and Emily Fletcher, representing the
Investment Manager noted:
The Company’s NAV returned -0.1% in September 2025, underperforming its
benchmark, the MSCI Frontier + Emerging ex Selected Countries Index
(‘Benchmark Index‘), which returned +2.5%. For reference, the MSCI
Emerging Markets Index returned +7.2% while the MSCI Frontier Markets Index
returned +1.2% over the same period. All performance figures are on a US
Dollar basis with net income reinvested.
Pakistan stood out as the top performer, posting a 13.9% gain for the month.
This was driven by a combination of declining interest rates, a more
supportive fiscal environment compared to previous years, and a series of
credit rating upgrades from a collection of rating agencies, which
collectively boosted investor sentiment. Additionally, the government secured
a trade agreement with the US that grants Pakistani exports lower tariffs than
those faced by other South Asian countries, providing a comparative advantage.
Other notable performers included Egypt, Greece, Malaysia and Kenya, which
delivered robust returns of +6.4%, +4.8%, +4.1% and +3.8% respectively in
September.
At the stock level, a broad range of names showed meaningful positive
contributions. Turkish gold mine operator Eldorado Gold (+16.3%) continued to
rise on stronger gold prices, coupled with the news of inclusion in the TSX30
Index for 2025. The Pakistan-based conglomerate, Lucky
Cement (+12.3%), also did well as momentum continued on the back of analyst
upgrades and a 12.5% year-on-year (‘YoY’) increase in total cement sales
within Pakistan. Kazakhstan based NAC Kazatomprom (14.6%), the world’s
largest producer and seller of natural uranium, was another strong performer.
The stock benefited from stronger uranium prices, leading to an upward
revision to near-term supply outlook. Saudi Arabian telecom operator Etihad
Etisalat (Mobily) (+7.5%) also contributed positively as Saudi Arabia’s
stock market surged on news of potential easing of foreign ownership limits
for listed companies, alongside a share buyback by the company. Kenyan bank,
KCB Group (+11.7%) also contributed positively to returns, driven by a surge
in bank lending following a series of interest rate cuts by the central bank.
On the flipside, IT services company EPAM (-14.5%) detracted following analyst
downgrades amid muted expectations driven by AI-related budget constraints,
increasing pricing pressure and limited margin expansion. Emaar Properties
(-9.4%) fell alongside the broader UAE market as investors rotated into Saudi
equities following news of relaxed foreign ownership limits there. In
Indonesia, our holding in Bank Mandiri (-8.0%) was affected by foreign
outflows that were triggered by violent domestic unrest at the start of the
month. However, the central bank’s plan to inject 200 trillion rupiah into
state lenders, alongside recent rate cuts, could help to ease tight liquidity.
Our Turkish holding in Akbank (-9.2%) was another detractor as the bank
lowered its NIM guidance to reflect Turkey's slower-than-expected monetary
easing. Polish low-cost airline, Wizz Air (-15.3%) also detracted after
announcing plans to end operations in Vienna due to persistent cost pressures.
We made a few changes in September, initiating a position in Emirates
Integrated Telecom (Du), on stable P&L and a high-dividend yield. We also
initiated a position in Ades Holding, a provider of offshore and onshore
drilling services to the oil & gas sector, supported by its cash flow
accretive acquisition of Shelf Drilling and a constructive view on its
industry consolidation strategy. Elsewhere, we added to Kenyan bank, Equity
Bank on cheap valuations and signs of stabilizing asset quality in Kenya, with
scope for dividend upside over time. We trimmed our positions in Eldorado Gold
and Lucky Cement to lock in gains following strong performance.
In Indonesia, we significantly reduced property developer, Ciputra amid
signs of weakness in the lower-end property segment. Although strong pre-sales
suggest earnings upgrades ahead, we expect the stock to reflect broader market
sentiment rather than near-term earnings. We also exited Astra amid rising
competitive pressure and a regulatory tilt toward EVs, which may compress
margins.
Looking ahead, we remain constructive on the outlook for smaller emerging and
frontier markets. With inflation easing across many of our key markets and
U.S. bond yields remaining relatively stable, we anticipate that central banks
in our target countries will begin to resume interest rate cuts in the near
term. This backdrop sets the stage for a cyclical recovery in domestically
driven economies. Valuations across our investment universe remain attractive,
both in absolute and relative terms. Many of these markets are still
under-researched and we believe this creates fertile ground for finding
high-conviction, alpha-generating opportunities.
Sources:
1 BlackRock as at 30 September 2025
2 MSCI as at 30 September 2025
17 October 2025
ENDS
Latest information is available by typing
www.blackrock.com/uk/brfi on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on
Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Neither the
contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible
from hyperlinks on BlackRock’s website (or any other website) is
incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Release (https://mb.cision.com/Main/22403/4252056/3729091.pdf)
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