REG-BlackRock Income and Growth Investment Trust Plc: Portfolio Update

Blackrock Income and Growth Investment TrustAnnouncement

23/01/2026 15:45

BLACKROCK INCOME & GROWTH INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI:5493003YBY59H9EJLJ16      
                        )

All information is at                                  31 December 2025       
                        and unaudited.

 

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

 

                              One   Month  Three   Months  One   Year  Three   Years  Five   Years  Since   1 April   2012  
 Sterling                                                                                                                   
 Share price                  2.3%         7.8%            15.8%       29.2%          55.4%         171.5%                  
 Net asset value              2.5%         6.0%            16.2%       36.7%          56.7%         176.8%                  
 FTSE All-Share Total Return  2.2%         6.4%            24.0%       46.5%          73.9%         191.9%                  
                                                                                                                            
 Source: BlackRock                                                                                                          

 

BlackRock took over the investment management of the Company with effect from
1 April 2012.

 

At month end

Sterling:

 Net asset value - capital only:        244.90p     
 Net asset value - cum income*:         250.73p     
 Share price:                           220.00p     
 Total assets (including income):       £53.4m      
 Discount to cum-income NAV:            12.3%       
 Gearing:                               4.6%        
 Net yield**:                           3.5%        
 Ordinary shares in issue***:           18,918,794  
 Gearing range (as a % of net assets):  0-20%       
 Ongoing charges****:                   1.15%       
 *  Includes net revenue of 5.83  pence per share   
 ** The Company's yield based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as at the date of the release of this announcement is 3.5% and includes the 2024 final dividend of 4.90p per share declared on 07 January 2025 with pay date 14 March 2025 and the Interim Dividend of 2.70p per share declared on 19 June 2025 with pay date 02 September 2025. 
 *** excludes 10,081,532  shares held in treasury.  
 **** The Company's ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net assets and using management fee and all other operating expenses excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain non-recurring items for the year ended 31 October 2024.  In addition, the Company's Manager has also agreed to cap ongoing charges by rebating a portion of the management fee to the extent that the Company's ongoing charges exceed 1.15% of 
 average net assets.                                

 

 Sector Analysis                      Total assets (%)  
 Banks                                13.0              
 Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology      7.7               
 Nonequity Investment Instruments     6.9               
 Aerospace & Defense                  5.6               
 Oil & Gas Producers                  4.9               
 Mining                               4.9               
 Financial Services                   4.6               
 General Retailers                    4.5               
 Nonlife Insurance                    4.4               
 Software & Computer Services         4.3               
 Household Goods & Home Construction  4.1               
 Real Estate Investment Trusts        3.6               
 Personal Goods                       3.4               
 Support Services                     3.3               
 Electronic & Electrical Equipment    3.0               
 Life Insurance                       2.8               
 Travel & Leisure                     2.6               
 Tobacco                              2.5               
 Industrial Engineering               2.4               
 Electricity                          2.1               
 General Industrials                  1.0               
 Food Producers                       0.7               
 Beverages                            0.5               
 Net Current Assets                   7.2               
                                      -----             
 Total                                100.0             
                                      =====             
 Country Analysis                     Percentage        
 United Kingdom                       90.7              
 United States                        2.1               
 Net Current Assets                   7.2               
                                      -----             
                                      100.0             
                                                        
 Top 10 Holdings                      Fund %            
 AstraZeneca                          7.2               
 Standard Chartered                   4.6               
 RELX                                 4.6               
 Lloyds Banking Group                 4.2               
 HSBC                                 4.0               
 Shell                                3.9               
 Reckitt                              3.7               
 Unilever                             3.7               
 Rio Tinto                            3.5               
 Phoenix Group                        2.9               
                                                        

Commenting on the markets, representing the Investment Manager noted:

 

Market Summary:

 

December wrapped up a strong albeit volatile year for global equities, with
many indexes finishing at or near record highs - a sharp contrast to the
sluggish close of December 2024. The MSCI All Countries World Index advanced
+1.1% in the month, marking its third straight year of double-digit gains
despite consistent bouts of volatility.

 

In the UK, the Bank of England delivered a 25bps rate cut mid-month to the
lowest level in 3 years, supporting equity markets. Inflation cooled more than
expected, though wage growth and sticky food prices kept policymakers cautious
about further easing. The FTSE All-Share gained +2.2%, driven by financials
and materials. Across Europe, the STOXX 600 surged to all-time highs, up +3.1%
in USD terms for December and an eye-catching +37% for the year - powered by
dollar weakness, falling interest rates, Germany's fiscal boost, and rotations
out of US tech names at the start of the year.

 

In the US, things were choppier. Despite an optimistic start, AI funding
jitters sparked a tech wobble mid-month (NDX - 1.8% on December 17). Still,
sentiment improved after the Fed's rate cut and a softer CPI print. The Nasdaq
ended December down -0.67%, and the S&P 500 eked out +0.1% for the month.

 

Looking at 2025, global equities have had another stellar run. Europe stole
the spotlight (in USD terms) with +37% for the year with the total return for
UK All Share also up strongly, +24% in GBP or +33% in USD. US stocks lagged
the MSCI ACWI ex-US index by the widest margin since 2009*, despite continued
tech dominance. AI was the megatrend of the year, driving hyperscaler capex,
despite bouts of tech jitters. Elsewhere, commodities were equally dramatic as
gold surged ~65% through the year, and silver was up ~140%*.

 

Stock comments

 

The biggest contributor to performance for the month was Standard Chartered,
which rallied in step with the broader financials sector as investors rotated
into cyclicals given policy easing and softening inflation signals. Phoenix
Group also contributed as the shares did well following relief from the Autumn
Budget when the bond market remained stable, and also given rotation into UK
financials through the month. The underweight in Diageo contributed as the
shares fell due to ongoing concerns over weak volume growth. Sentiment was
further pressured by UBS's early-December downgrade, citing persistent
softness in the US spirits market. Rio Tinto, contributed in December,
benefitting from strong trends in commodity prices.

 

Detractors this month were a function of underweight positions. HSBC
(underweight) and Barclays (not owned) both rallied sharply as investors
rotated into cyclicals with financials in particular performing well following
the November Budget and associated bond market stability, as well as a broader
shift toward value stocks in Europe. UK banks building on their strong
year-to-date gains (+68%). Glencore (not owned) also detracted after copper
prices reached new all-time highs early in the month, driven by structural
supply deficits. The company also performed well on raised copper production
numbers ahead of their capital markets day at the start of the month. Next
detracted during the month on limited stock specific news.

 

Changes

 

We were focused mainly on ensuring the fund was in a good place for the start
of 2026, re-underwriting investment cases and pruning areas where conviction
was lower and allocating to those names where we see most opportunity. There
were no major purchases or disposals in the month.

During the period, we reduced BP and Shell following strong runs despite weak
energy prices and weak earnings. We also added to Rolls-Royce given the strong
outlook for civil aerospace, defence and data centre expenditure.           

 

Outlook

 

The outlook for investment markets continues to be driven by a complex
interplay of elevated geopolitical uncertainty, easing monetary policy and
strong thematic winds in AI, Defence and Financials sectors. The first half of
2025 saw global markets fall sharply as tariffs were threatened only to be
followed by an impressive recovery as proposed tariff levels were lowered and
their implementation delayed. However, tariffs remain a key source of market
volatility with the potential for outsized impacts on specific industries and
companies. Expectations of Fed rate cuts have consistently been pushed out
this year. US President Trump's unpredictability, whether tariff related or
more generally, suggests volatility in both equity and bond markets is likely
to remain elevated. These factors have also driven weakness in the US Dollar
impacting companies with USD earnings. Our response is to focus on those
companies that have strong and sustainable competitive advantages alongside
sufficient pricing power to navigate these uncertain times while seeking
opportunities that may result from elevated volatility in markets.

 

The outlook for Europe is buoyed by a combination of rate cuts by the ECB
(from 3.0% to 2.0%) and significant fiscal expansion from Germany with an
emphasis on defence and infrastructure spending. This has already led to the
significant outperformance of European defence exposed companies though the
question is whether this spend stimulates economic activity more broadly in
Germany and then Europe as a whole. In our conversations with corporates,
those exposed to highlighted industries, such as defence, are very optimistic,
yet the outlook more generally suggests stabilisation rather than anything
more for now. Meanwhile, China continues to fight weak domestic demand and
deflationary pressures with a broad range of fiscal and monetary tools with
limited success to date; the uncertainty created by US tariff announcements
clearly hampering their efforts.

 

The UK index continues to be relatively immune to the political challenges of
the UK government and economy, as the strong performance during 2025. However,
for the domestic exposed companies which represent c.20% of the index, the
challenges of politics have been notable for investor confidence. The hope of
`certainty' delivered by a large majority in 2024, has given way to an
elevated equity risk premium as both equity, and indeed gilt markets, continue
to suffer from the fractures within this majority. Whilst fiscal consolidation
is welcomed as the sensible path for a highly indebted nation, there remains
little confidence in either its delivery or its architects surviving a
potential leadership challenge. The UK saver remains robust, with high savings
rates and real wages continue to grow highlighting the potential for UK
economic recovery when consumer and business confidence improves. While
economic data has shown signs of stability, uncertainty around the growth
outlook and future policy direction has constrained investor confidence.

 

The UK stock market remains very depressed in valuation terms relative to
other developed markets offering double-digit discounts across a range of
valuation metrics. This valuation anomaly saw further reactions from UK
corporates who continue to use excess cashflows to fund buybacks. Combining
this with a dividend yield of 3.2% (FTSE All Share Index yield as at end of
October 2025; source: FT), the cash return of the UK market is attractive in
absolute terms and higher than other developed markets. This valuation anomaly
has also been evidenced by the continuation of inbound M&A for UK listed
companies. Although we anticipate further volatility ahead, we believe that
risk appetite will return and opportunities are emerging.

 

We continue to focus the portfolio on cash generative businesses that we
believe offer durable, competitive advantages as we believe these companies
are best placed to drive superior returns over the long term. Whilst we
anticipate economic and market volatility will persist throughout the year
ahead, we expect that this will create opportunities; by seeking to identify
the companies that strengthen their long-term prospects as well as attractive
turnaround situations.

 

*Source: The Financial Times as at 29th December 2025                     
https://www.ft.com/content/10a8a099-5719-42ce-a2eb-edc3045a632f

*Source: As at 31st December 2025 Record Gold Price Ends 2025 Up 65%, Silver
Jumps 144% | Gold News

 

23 January 2026

 

 

 Release  (https://mb.cision.com/Main/22401/4297126/3894866.pdf)  



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