Blackrock Latin American... Share Discussion Threads

[andycranleigh] 05/12/2024 09:10

This Trust is toast unless something radical happens re performance. Too small, terrible track record and too wide a discount - reflecting the above factors. Merge it into Frontier Markets?

[sharesoc] 18/11/2024 09:49

On December 5th, ShareSoc is hosting a webinar with BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc (BRLA). Samuel Vecht (Managing Director) will provide an overview of the Trust’s performance, strategies, and future plans.
Find out more and register here: hxxps://www.sharesoc.org/events/sharesoc-webinar-with-blackrock-latin-american-investment-trust-plc-brla/

[cerrito] 19/8/2024 15:55

Checked in on the Portfolio Update RNS today and was reminded how badly this has performed against the index.
As a for example BRLA up 7% over 3 years and the index up 17%.
Over the 5 years BRLA down 15% and the index down3%.
Luckily I only have a small holding.

[galeforce1] 05/6/2024 15:36

This is not doing well.
There's been a significant underperformance of its benchmark in the last 2-3 years. I wonder why?
On the positive side, there's a 6% dividend.

[strollingmolby] 24/11/2023 15:11

I'm seeing 412p to buy on a dummy trade a moment ago (though AJ Bell's indicative spread showed as 401-409).

[swiss paul] 23/11/2023 19:27

That is some serious spread on this. Am looking at

Buy:450.00 p

Sell: 407.00 p

Wow

Any thoughts on how to minimise this?

[sharesoc] 14/11/2023 16:31

In case you missed our webinar with BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust (BRLA), the recording can be found on our YouTube channel:

[sharesoc] 20/9/2023 13:46

ShareSoc is hosting a webinar with BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc (BRLA) on 05 October 2023, which may be of interest to current shareholders or potential investors. Samuel Vecht (Managing Director) and Christoph Brinkman (Deputy Manager) will be presenting. You can register here:

[2wild] 19/6/2023 20:26

Good value at 420p, 11.8% discount to 474.38p NAV and 4.9% dividend yield.

[peckers56] 22/5/2023 18:38

Attended today's AGM (not a holder). As expected, no new news (though wine served). Reasonable presentation. Main question - can we buy back shares when trust is so small - response ambivalent.

[cerrito] 22/5/2023 11:28

About a month ago I bought a few shares through my on line platform.
I was gobsmacked to get a letter from them inviting me to today 's AGM which I cannot make.
First time I have received such a letter and a very big hat tip to their IR team.

[velvetide] 04/11/2022 15:01

Vale up 10% today and the BR looking strong against the GBP, what's not to like ??

[sharesoc] 31/3/2022 21:42

ShareSoc is hosting a webinar with BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust plc (BRLA) on 26 April 2022, which may be of interest to current shareholders or potential investors. Sam Vecht and Ed Kuczma (co-managers) will be presenting. You can register here:

[cerrito] 28/10/2021 20:06

Directors talk had an interview in the last couple of days with the Head of Investment Trusts at Edison on BRLA,
To me she struggled to come up with a buy case...perhaps not her job.
She mentioned the access to Blackrock's research capacity and the good yield,especially with the discount but the dividends are not being paid out of earnings.
I have not held for 20 years plus when they were run by Deutsche Bank.
One issue for me has been the wide bid/offered spread
I will continue to monitor in rather a lethargic fashion and to see how long the current price weakness continues.
One issue is that 56% of their assets are in Brazil-below the 60% benchmark granted- with its weak Bovespa and the interest rate rises of the last 24 hours.

[loganair] 01/2/2021 10:54

A rare opportunity for investors in Brazil by Alex Rankine:


Brazil is the country of the “perennial future”, writes Craig Mellow in Barron’s. Brighter times are always promised, but disappointment often follows. The economy has spent half the time since 2014 in recession. The Ibovespa index is up by 4% in local currency terms over the past 12 months, but the plunging currency, the real – down by 20% against the US dollar last year – means those gains turn into losses when translated into major currencies.

The market has been hampered by its exposure to out-of-favour industries. Raw materials (which includes miners such as Vale) and energy account for one-third of the MSCI Brazil index. The cyclical financial sector comprises another 28%. Yet talk of global “reflationR21; and a new commodities boom could see those weaknesses turn into strength this year.

Brazil’s new savings culture:

Traumatised by the hyperinflation of the 1980s, Brazilians are not natural stockmarket traders, says The Economist. The country’s savers became “addicted̶1; to the high interest rates that were used to get inflation under control, preferring to stash their money in fixed-income accounts. Yet the central bank has slashed rates from more than 14% in 2016 to just 2% now. That has turned many ordinary Brazilians into novice stockpickers. The number of retail investors on the local stockmarket has quintupled since 2017.

The frenzy has been centred on initial public offerings (IPOs), says Michael Pooler in the Financial Times: 28 firms went public last year, the highest number since 2007. This year is likely to be even more frenetic, with 41 already saying they intend to float, including “an iron ore miner” and “a crematorium operator”.

Long sceptical, foreign investors are now joining in too. The end of 2020 brought strong overseas investment inflows as money managers began to notice that a weak currency makes Brazilian assets cheap. The government launched a generous stimulus package last year that cushioned the worst of the pandemic’s economic fallout, but it is now feeling the fiscal hangover; years of mismanagement will soon send the government debt-to-GDP ratio above 100%, a dangerously high level for an emerging economy.

Brazil’s politicians are particularly unimpressive, says Mellow. The fractured Congress has spent most of this month quarrelling about new leadership and will “then take much of February off for Carnival”. Structural reforms now look unlikely before elections next year. Nevertheless, after so much bad luck the country’s shares appear to offer a rare opportunity.

[loganair] 27/11/2020 22:09

"a lack of exposure to Colombia detracted most on relative returns over the period."


"we added to Grupo Mexico, the largest mining company in Mexico and one of the largest copper producers in the world, to increase our exposure to copper. We initiated a position in Rumo, a Brazilian logistic company, as we see low competition risk for the company, an opportunity for market share gain and an increasing profitability which will help boost earnings growth."

[loganair] 27/11/2020 20:30

Which one?

Aberdeen is 60% Equity / 40% Bonds which puts me off whereas Blackrock is 100% Equity.


Aberdeen 5.35% Yield - Blackrock 5.85% Yield so very similar there.


Aberdeen - Brazil 46%, Mexico 24.6%, Columbia 8.0%, Uruguay 6.3%, Peru 6.2%, Chile 4.7%, Argentina 3.8%.

Blackrock - Brazil 65%, Mexico 21.5%, Chile 5.1%, Argentina 4.8%, Peru 1.7%, Panama 0.9%......Talking about their next country investment being Venezuela.


Aberdeen 49% above 52 week low - Blackrock 46%
Aberdeen 24% below 52 week high - Blackrock 39%

Aberdeen 31% below all time high (July 2019)- Blackrock 46% (Aug 2017)

[cerrito] 23/4/2020 13:18

I am not a holder at the moment but do keep my eye open.
I read the update this morning and given what is going on in Brazil and especially Mexico rather surprised that the share price holding up so well...even if so far in April in the depreciating local currency the Bovespa is up 10pc.

[killing_time] 18/5/2017 17:41

8.5% fall seems a bit over the top with NAV only slightly down. :-(

Edit: delayed reaction on the NAV.

[cerrito] 27/5/2016 14:55

I see Edison has come out with a note.
I am not in at the moment-and indeed sold too early- and not inclined to go back in as to me Brazil is very messy-even with falling inflation and even if there are no further car wash cabinet resignations I do not see the Government having the political authority to push through the reforms needed.

[cerrito] 08/3/2016 21:20

Just been through the prelims; of course with the good monthly fact sheets no surprises; after their decent out performance of the benchmark in 2014, in 2015 they underperformed the benchmark by 0.1% as the positive 1.4% of asset allocation was not enough to compensate for the -0.3% in stock selection and opex/fees of 1.2%.
I have reduced a bit in the last fortnight as I cannot fathom why both the real and bovespa have been so strong-and as the end of January 42% of the portfolio was in Brazil.

PS Interesting to see that NAV as of yesterday March 7 was 498c- a good increase from the 459 at 31.12.15 which means the shares are at an approx. 12% discount.

[cerrito] 09/9/2015 12:01

Been having a look at these especially comparing with ALAI. It is different from ALAI in that it is 100% equities and no fixed income; currently has no gearing and also more than twice the size of ALAI
Note that trading on a decent discount to the NAV yesterday at 320p and also yield 6.8%
While underweight Brazil compared to the index still has more than 50% of its portfolio there and still think we have more bad news so will be watching and waiting but seems to be a well run trust.

[danieldruff2] 14/8/2015 12:04

I started watching at 370p but thought it would decline further. It's now at a yield level that makes it interesting though I feel another 6-18 months may be required before a turnaround may occur... worth a punt soonish.

[its the oxman] 14/8/2015 11:43

Any holders out there. Chunky yield but will Latin America ever recover?

[strollingmolby] 27/8/2012 12:43

IC section this week on Brazil, featuring BRLA: