BlackRock World Mining Trust
Why is this fund on our radar?
BlackRock World Mining invests in companies that produce physical commodities, including industrial metals such as copper and iron ore and precious metals such as gold and silver. The investment trust has a diversified remit that allows a portfolio of equities with their strong growth potential to be supplemented with options, royalties and bonds in order to boost the dividend yield. The managers like to refer to the trust as a ‘virtual mining company’, meaning that it can be considered a more flexible and comprehensive alternative to the real-life large-cap miners like Rio Tinto and BHP, and one which can adjust its exposure to different commodities quickly, without having the commitment to physical mines.
With a market capitalisation of over £1bn, BRWM’s shares can be easily traded and the trust benefits from efficiencies of scale when it comes to costs, which helped it make this list. We also think it has advantages as a consequence of its investment trust structure: it can invest in less easily tradable investments, for example private equity, and can take on debt, or ‘gearing’. to boost returns. The price might be more volatile than that of an open-ended fund, but we think there are advantages for long-term investors worth considering.
Skip to Our VerdictPerformance
BlackRock World Mining has tended to be very volatile, delivering exceptional returns when the market moves in its favour, but losing a lot of money at other points in the market cycle. This means that buying it when it, or its portfolio, is cheap, is likely to be more important than usual over the medium term. As such, it might better suit those investors with a higher ability and willingness to take risk. The chart below shows net asset value returns in the past ten calendar years, with 2025 shown to the end of August. (Net asset value returns show what the portfolio has done, not the share price of the trust which can depart from this at times – you can learn more about how this works here.) We have compared returns to a global equity ETF, and it is apparent that BRWM has tended to deliver greater gains and losses. For much of the past five years, a five-year investment would have been ahead of global markets, but the same was not true in the middle of 2025 as losses in 2023 and 2024 hit long-term returns. In these years, China was weak while the most successful companies in stockmarkets were large-cap technology companies like Microsoft and Nvidia. In late 2025, strong performance has seen the trust pull ahead of global equities on a five-year view again.
Calendar-year performance
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results
BRWM’s performance will inevitably be more linked to the performance of the physical economy, and factors such high industrial, construction and trade activity will be influential. Given China’s size and the structure of its economy, it has and will continue to be an important consideration. However, the managers note that demand for metals in China is more and more being driven by renewable energy and electric vehicles rather than construction. The sensitivity to Chinese real estate and manufacturing is therefore lower than 10 years ago, but it does remain. In our view, the growing importance of artificial intelligence and renewables should support the prices of mined commodities over the coming years, while deglobalisation and the trend for bringing factories closer to home should increase demand for construction. However, it is important to remember that a recession in the US or China would still hit demand meaningfully and could be felt in commodity prices and therefore the equity prices of BRWM’s holdings. Gold miners are an important part of the portfolio, nearing 40% at the time of writing in late 2025, which means they will be important to near-term returns. These are less linked to the economic cycle, with politics often driving moves in the price. Lower interest rates should be positive for gold too although we note that speculation in the gold market is often high and can therefore make markets behave unexpectedly.
Portfolio
The core of BRWM’s portfolio is made up of large cap diversified mining companies as well as specialist miners of copper, gold and other metals. The managers adjust the portfolio to take advantage of valuation and growth opportunities, considering the factors driving demand for the various metals and the individual companies’ financial health and ability to meet that demand. Global miners like Rio Tinto or BHP will look to build diversified portfolios and adjust their exposure to different metals as markets change, but BRWM can do this much more simply and quickly. Over 2024 and 2025, gold miners have done well as the gold price has soared and the inflation of their costs has moderated. As a result, in late 2025 gold makes up the largest allocation, with the chart below showing the exposure by area of concentration as of the end of August 2025. Copper is another key area of conviction, with the managers believing demand will be strong in the coming years thanks to the huge amounts required to build the basic wiring and infrastructure behind the global switch to electricity, both in pursuit of lower emission goals, as well as the huge expected increase in demand for electricity to power AI datacentres.
sector allocation
BRWM makes use of its ability as an investment trust to hold less easily tradable investments, with a number of investments in royalties secured over the production of certain mines, which produce a high income, as well as unlisted equity and bonds. These investments typically make up less than 10% of the portfolio. The managers can also add to the income their portfolio generates by employing a small amount of derivative trading, which allows fees to be earned in exchange for limiting the upside returns from some stocks. They are always led by relative value and risk when investing outside listed equities, and so exposure varies over time. Although income is not an investment objective, the sector does pay high dividends, although these can vary over time. BRWM has paid a very high income at some points of the business cycle, but the income can fall from year to year too.
Our Verdict
We think the case for having exposure to commodities is strong, particularly when considering the huge need for industrial metals in green energy projects and in the rollout of artificial intelligence. It is likely to remain a cyclical industry because of its sensitivity to a growing economy, with volatile price behaviour, so it probably suits best those investors with a higher willingness and ability to take risk. BRWM offers access to the industrial metals such as iron ore and copper, as well as precious metals such as gold which typically have very different drivers. The managers are able to shift between the very different exposures based on how they see the different markets evolving.
BRWM has all the tools to take advantage of the opportunities in the sector flexibly, while maximising income potential. The managers can go off-benchmark and into fixed income, royalties and unlisted investments to add value. They can also take on debt, or gearing, to increase their exposure to the market and therefore the growth potential. Investors looking for income might consider the trust too, but they should be prepared for the yield to vary from year to year and sometimes fall.
Key Risks
- The portfolio has typically been volatile in price
- The health of the Chinese economy is a key factor to watch
- As it is an investment trust, the share price may trade below NAV (on a discount)
