The Board of BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc (LON:BERI) has announced the following:
As set out in the annual report, the Board recognises that the sectors in which the Company invests are undergoing structural changes, with a shift in the energy sector away from carbon-based energy supplies towards alternative and renewable sources. Within the parameters of the Company’s existing investment policy, the Board’s intention is to increase the focus on exposure to stocks that benefit from this energy transition, such that these will represent a greater proportion of the stocks held within the portfolio in the medium term, subject to market conditions.
Given this, BlackRock’s energy specialist Mark Hume will be replacing Olivia Markham as portfolio manager to work alongside Tom Holl. Mark has 10 years of experience directly managing energy stocks and is co-manager of BlackRock’s all-cap Energy strategy. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2017, Mark was an energy portfolio manager at Colonial First State Investments Ltd. He had previously worked at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wood Mackenzie as a senior equities analyst covering large-cap energy stocks. Mark holds a MEng in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, and a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh.
The Board is also pleased to have agreed a reduction in management fees with effect from 17th March 2020. The management fee payable by the Company to BlackRock Fund Managers Ltd (the “Manager”) will be reduced to 80bps on gross assets per annum (previously 95bps per annum on the first £250 million of gross assets and 90bps per annum thereafter). In addition, the Company’s Ongoing Charges, as set out and defined in its annual report (and for avoidance of doubt including the management fee), will be capped at 125 bps per annum of net assets.
About BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc
BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc aims to achieve an annual dividend target and, over the long term, capital growth by investing primarily in securities of companies operating in the mining and energy sectors.
