Amana Funds Featured on Morningstar – 2022’s Top Sustainable Funds Weather a Tough Market

June 9, 2022 – In the Morningstar article “2022’s Top Sustainable Funds Weather a Tough Market,” Katherine Lynch names Amana Growth Fund and Amana Income Fund among the “handful of strategies [that] have been able to outperform” despite a challenging year for sustainable mutual funds.

According to Lynch, many funds that focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues have experienced a difficult 2022. However, both Amana Income Fund and Amana Growth Fund appeared in Morningstar Direct’s Top-Performing US Equity ESG Funds as of June 7, 2022.

Amana Income Fund, which outperformed the year-to-date average return of its Large Blend category, benefited from its investments in Health Care stocks as well as its income-oriented objective, which attracted investors seeking “the stability of dividend income in a rocky market.”

Lynch credited Amana Growth Fund’s success to the portfolio’s 9.3% cash balance, which “cushioned investors against the stock market’s decline.” The average cash balance for funds in the Large Growth category was only 1.9% as of May 31, 2022.

As part of their conservative investment approach, the Amana Funds may adopt temporary defensive positions by converting securities to cash during adverse market conditions, as has been the case so far in 2022. Such an approach carries the risk of underperformance in a rising market.

Meet the Portfolio Managers

Scott Klimo CFA^®
Chief Investment Officer & Vice President, Saturna Capital
Portfolio Manager, Amana Growth Fund

More About Mr. Klimo ▼

Scott Klimo, Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, joined Saturna Capital in May 2012. He received his BA in Asian Studies from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY and also attended the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Mandarin Training Center in Taipei, Taiwan. Scott has over 30 years experience in the financial industry with the first several years of his career spent living and working in a variety of Asian countries and the past 20 years working as a senior analyst, research director, and portfolio manager covering global equities. Mr. Klimo is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and an avid cyclist. He is a supporter of various environmental organizations and served for several years on the Board of Directors of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition.

Monem A. Salam MBA
Executive Vice President, Saturna Capital
Portfolio Manager, Amana Income Fund

More About Mr. Salam ▼

Monem Salam is Executive Vice President and a Director of Saturna Capital.  He received his degrees from the University of Texas: BA (Austin) and MBA (Dallas). He worked as the Chief Investment Officer for ITG & Associates (Dallas) until 1999; then as a representative with Morgan Stanley (suburban Dallas) until joining Saturna Capital in June 2003.  He served as the Director of Islamic Investing and a Deputy Portfolio Manager to the Amana Mutual Funds Trust until moving to Kuala Lumpur in 2012 to oversee Saturna Sdn. Bhd. In 2018, he returned to the United States. He is Portfolio Manager of the Amana Income and Developing World Funds, as well as investment management accounts, and a Deputy Portfolio Manager of Amana Growth Fund. Monem is Adjunct Professor at IE Business School and speaks at Islamic finance/investment conferences worldwide and he is co-author of A Muslim's Guide to Investing and Personal Finance. Monem has authored chapters on Islamic Investing in both Contemporary Islamic Finance and Islamic Capital Markets and he contributes articles to leading Islamic financial magazines. As a mark of recognition of his achievements in Islamic economy, Monem has been ranked among 500 of the Islamic world's most prominent and influential leaders by ISLAMICA 500 in both 2015 and 2019.

About Morningstar

Morningstar is a leading mutual fund research and tracking firm. Morningstar estimates that there are 534 mutual funds with sustainable and/or ESG mandates. While Morningstar does not define the criteria to be considered a “Top Sustainable Fund,” they suggest that the label has been applied to funds that outperformed their respective Morningstar categories for the past year-to-date, 3-year, and/or 5-year periods ended June 7, 2022.

Performance Summary

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¹ Expense ratios for Amana Growth Fund are as stated in the Fund's most recent prospectus or summary prospectus dated September 24, 2021 and have been restated to reflect a reduction in the Advisory and Administrative Services fee, which became effective on December 1, 2020.

² Expense ratios shown for Amana Income Fund are as stated in the Fund's most recent prospectus or summary prospectus dated September 24, 2021.

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. 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 1-800-728-8762 or by visiting our Month-end Performance page.

The Amana Mutual Funds limit the securities they purchase to those consistent with Islamic and sustainable principles. This limits opportunities and may affect performance.

Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Generally, an investment that offers a higher potential return will have a higher risk of loss. Stock prices fluctuate, sometimes quickly and significantly, for a broad range of reasons that may affect individual companies, industries, or sectors. Investing in foreign securities involves risks not typically associated directly with investing in US securities. These risks include fluctuations in exchange rates of foreign currencies; less public information with respect to issuers of securities; less governmental supervision of exchanges, issuers, and brokers; and lack of uniform accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards. There is also a risk of adverse political, social, or diplomatic developments that affect investment in foreign countries.