Nicholas Kaiser (right) accepting Amana Income's Award from Lipper's Andrew Clark.
NEW YORK, April 10, 2008 – Amana Income Fund has placed first for the second consecutive year for Best Equity Income over three-years at the 2008 Lipper Fund Awards. Amana Income, managed by Nicholas Kaiser, president and portfolio manager of Saturna Capital Corporation, also placed first in the five-year time period for the same category. The Fund was chosen from 198 funds in its category and rated the best fund over 3 years through December 31, 2007, for demonstrating “consistently strong risk-adjusted returns compared with peers." Lipper, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reuters, presented the award to Kaiser at a ceremony in New York City on April 9, 2008.
“At Saturna Capital, we follow a long-term value-oriented approach to investing, striving to deliver strong and consistent investment returns to our shareholders,” said Mr. Kaiser. “We are honored to receive, for the second year in a row, this prestigious award that recognizes our efforts.”
The Amana Funds are designed for American Muslims who wish to invest according to Islamic principles. In addition to Amana’s awards from Lipper, Monem Salam, Director and Vice President of Islamic Investing for Saturna, was recently recognized by Institutional Investor News as one of the “Twenty Rising Stars” in the mutual fund industry. Moreover, The Amana Funds have, over the last couple of years, received strong long-term performance ratings from investment research firm Morningstar (both the Amana Income and the Amana Growth Funds rate 5 stars overall). In addition, Failaka International, an Islamic fund monitoring and rating company, has named Saturna Capital Best US Islamic Fund Manager for every year since 2005.
About Saturna Capital
Saturna Capital Corporation, established in 1989 in Bellingham, WA, is the investment adviser and administrator to over $1 billion in assets in the Amana Mutual Funds Trust, which includes the Amana Growth and Amana Income funds, and the Saturna Investment Trust. Saturna Investment Trust consists of six funds: Sextant Growth (domestic equities), Sextant International (ADRs and foreign stocks), Sextant Core (bonds and equities), Sextant Bond Income (long-term bonds), Sextant Short-Term Bond and the Idaho Tax-Exempt Fund. Saturna Capital also manages private accounts for families, businesses and endowments. Saturna Brokerage Services provides general discount brokerage services and underwrites the Saturna mutual funds. For more information on the Lipper 2008 Awards, visit Lipper's website.
The Amana Funds limit the securities they purchase to those consistent with Islamic principles, which limits opportunities and may increase risk. Please consider an investment’s objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a free prospectus that contains this and other important information on Saturna’s funds, call toll free 800/SATURNA or visit the Document & Forms Center. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
| Average Annual Returns as of 12/31/2007: | ||||
| 1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years | Expense Ratio* | |
| Amana Income Fund | 14.12% | 19.22% | 8.75% | 1.38% |
| Amana Growth Fund | 12.24% | 20.74% | 12.55% | 1.36% |
| *Expense ratios are as of the Funds' prospectus dated 8/20/2007. To view updated information, please see each Fund's individual pages by following the links above or our Average Annual Returns page. | ||||
| Average Annual Returns as of 3/31/2008: | ||||
| 1 Year | 5 Years | 10 Years | Expense Ratio* | |
| Amana Income Fund | 5.48% | 19.25% | 7.00% | 1.38% |
| Amana Growth Fund | 3.00% | 19.46% | 10.81% | 1.36% |
| *Expense ratios are as of the Funds' prospectus dated 8/20/2007. To view updated information, please see each Fund's individual pages by following the links above or our Average Annual Returns page. | ||||
Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of investments in the Fund fluctuate daily and an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost and you may lose money. Returns do not reflect the potential deduction of a 2% redemption fee on shares held less than 30 days. Current performance may be higher or lower than performance data quoted herein. Performance data current to the most recent month-end may be obtained by calling toll free 888-73-AMANA or by visiting www.amanafunds.com or Saturna's Average Annual Returns Page.
Lipper™ Quintile
Rankings Based on Total Return as
of 12/31/2007 | ||||
| Amana Income Fund / Equity Income Funds | ||||
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
| (Actual Rank / Number of Funds in Category) | ||||
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| (16/271) | (1/204) | (3/138) | (15/90) | |
| Amana Growth Fund / Multi-Cap Growth Funds | ||||
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
| (Actual Rank / Number of Funds in Category) | ||||
| 4th | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| (318/518) | (38/399) | (35/339) | (5/146) | |
Lipper™ Quintile
Rankings Based on Total Return as
of 3/31/2008 |
||||
| Amana Income Fund / Equity Income Funds | ||||
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
| (Actual Rank / Number of Funds in Category) | ||||
| 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| (2/273) | (1/212) | (1/144) | (12/96) | |
| Amana Growth Fund / Multi-Cap Growth Funds | ||||
| 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years | |
| (Actual Rank / Number of Funds in Category) | ||||
| 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
| (117/527) | (25/403) | (7/343) | (5/146) | |
| Lipper, Inc., is a nationally recognized data and research provider that ranks the performance of mutual funds within a universe of funds that have similar investment objectives. 20% of the funds in each Lipper category are in the 1st quintile. Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper. Users acknowledge that they have not relied upon any warranty, condition, guarantee, or representation made by Lipper. Any use of the data for analyzing, managing, or trading financial instruments is at the user's own risk. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities. | ||||
Morningstar Rankings™ as of
12/31/2007 |
||||
| Category: Large Value | Overall | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
| Amana Income Fund |  |
|
|
|
| Funds in category | 1166 | 1166 | 922 | 419 |
| Category: Large Growth | Overall | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
| Amana Growth Fund | |
|
|
|
| Funds in category | 1449 | 1449 | 1215 | 554 |
Morningstar Rankings™ as of
3/31/2008 |
||||
| Category: Large Value | Overall | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
| Amana Income Fund | |
|
|
|
| Funds in category | 1174 | 1174 | 926 | 432 |
| Category: Large Growth | Overall | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
| Amana Growth Fund | |
|
|
|
| Funds in category | 1442 | 1442 | 1207 | 564 |
| Morningstar is a leading provider of independent investment research on mutual funds and other securities. For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. These ratings change monthly. The top 10% of funds in an investment category receive five stars, the next 22.5% receive four stars, the next 35% receive three stars, the next 22.5% receive two stars, and the bottom 10% receive one star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Ratings. Morningstar does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. | ||||
The Failaka criteria
for "Best
Islamic Fund Manager" are as follows: |
The fund company must:
- Have been duly nominated by fully and accurately completing the required nomination form
- Have been established for over 5-years as a Shariah compliant fund manager
- Have provided a consistent and long-term return relative to prevailing market conditions
- Manage more than one Shariah compliant fund
- Have surpassed the benchmark for its equity fund(s) in the year for which the award is given.
In the case of a tie, credence is given to
- the higher returning fund/family of funds
- the better relative performance as compared to the relevant benchmark
- asset growth over the past year
- any notable achievement
or advancement in the field of Islamic compliant asset management.
