Bellingham, WA, Jan. 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saturna Capital Corporation, investment adviser to the Amana Mutual Funds Trust, announced the launch of lower-cost institutional shares of the no-load Amana Income, Amana Growth, and Amana Developing World Funds in response to demand from financial advisors and other institutional investors. The Amana Funds follow a conservative, tax-efficient, value investment style. They are managed by Nicholas Kaiser, nominee to Morningstar's Ultimate Stock Pickers list for the past four years, and deputy portfolio manager Scott Klimo.
The new shares are traded under the following names and ticker symbols: Amana Income Fund Institutional (AMINX), Amana Growth Fund Institutional (AMIGX), and Amana Developing World Fund Institutional (AMIDX). Existing shares of the Amana Income, Amana Growth, and Amana Developing World are now designated as Investor shares, traded under the original tickers of AMANX, AMAGX, and AMDWX, respectively.
"We created the new Amana shares to offer our larger investors a more cost-effective way to invest in them. The institutional shares deepen our offerings for institutional investors and retirement plans," said Jane Carten, Saturna's president and CEO. "Retirement plans favor institutional share classes on their investment menus in response to government policies aimed at lowering fees for retirement plans. Many advisory firms also prefer funds with lower expenses in their model portfolios and managed accounts," she explained.
Craig Churman, Vice President of Product Development at Saturna, is pleased that Amana Fund institutional shares have so far been well received. "The Funds have long been an appealing choice for conservative, long-term investors who now have the ability to take advantage of lower fees that meet more stringent fiduciary requirements," he said. "The new, lower-cost shares should appeal to fee-only advisers, retirement plans, trust companies, endowments, and 401(k) plans."
Amana institutional shares are now available on most major platforms, including National Financial Services (Fidelity), Charles Schwab, Pershing LLC, and TD Ameritrade. In 2014, Saturna will continue to work on making the institutional shares available on additional fund platforms.
For more information about the Amana Funds, please visit www.amanafunds.com or call 888-73/AMANA (888-732-6262).
| Investor Shares | Institutional Shares | |
| Income Fund | AMANX | AMINX |
| Growth Fund | AMAGX | AMIGX |
| Developing World Fund | AMDWX | AMIDX |
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About Saturna Capital Corporation
"Values-Based Global Equity Managers"
Saturna Capital Corporation, established in 1989 in Bellingham, Washington, USA, is a private, employee-owned, investment adviser with US$4 billion in assets under management, providing investment advisory services to mutual funds, institutions, businesses, individuals, and endowments.
Saturna Capital is adviser to the Amana Mutual Funds (Amana Growth Fund, Amana Income Fund, and Amana Developing World Fund) that follow principles of Islamic finance.
Saturna Capital is also adviser to the Saturna Investment Trust, consisting of Sextant International, Sextant Growth, Sextant Core, Sextant Bond Income, Sextant Short-Term Bond, Sextant Global High Income, and the Idaho Tax-Exempt Fund.
Saturna Sendirian Berhad, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saturna Capital that specializes in Islamic-compliant investment advisory services for individuals and institutions.
Saturna Capital also has two other wholly-owned subsidiaries: Saturna Brokerage Services, located in Bellingham, Washington, USA, which provides general discount brokerage services and distributes Saturna's affiliated mutual funds; and Saturna Trust Company, headquartered in Reno, Nevada, USA, which provides trust services to families, charities, trusts, estates, and retirement plans.
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Please consider an investment's objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a free prospectus or summary prospectus that contains this and other important information about Saturna-advised funds, call toll free 800/SATURNA or visit www.saturna.com. Please read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.