AMANA mutual funds AMAGX or AMIGX?

📈 Investing & Markets
#1

Hi,
I have around 100k to invest and i had starting putting a small amount in AMAGX (0.91 expense ratio) but found out about AMIGX (institutional shares) which has a smaller expense ratio (0.67 instead of AMAGX’s 0.91) here , AMIGX has a min of 100k invested,

will AMIGX always have the same holdings and holding % in each company as AMAGX ?

what other pros/cons should i think about for each to decide which one to choose (maybe liquidity ?) ?

i already have some investments in SPUS and HLAL but prefer diversify etfs/mutual funds just in case

Thank you!

#2

Salaam,
As an individual, you would be considered a retail investor. An institutional investor is an organization that collects funds from individual investors to pool resources and invests on their behalf in large quantities. Think BlackRock and Vanguard.

#3

Salam Mona,

There is no difference in holdings. If you are investing inside Saturna Capital itself (if you have a mutual fund account open with them) then definitely invest in the institutional shares. You can always sell and there is no minimum balance required to maintain (at least as of a few years back when I checked) and you will still be holding institutional shares from then on. No added cost to buy or sell there either.

If you buy from outside though through Fidelity etc then you likely will have a fee to buy (e.g. $50) but none to sell. You should check though and confirm as that would factor into the decision, if you anticipate selling soon. You can do the math and see how long you’d need to keep the investment before it outweighs that overhead fee.

#4

It’s a misconception I had initially, but any individual can buy institutional shares with them, not just institutions.

Also people who are using Fidelity Brokeragelink for their 401K can automatically invest in institutional shares without having any initial or minimum balance or overhead fees to buy (only for automatic purchases). If you have some other 401K that allows you to buy Amana funds then check to see if the same is allowed (and post in Zoya if so for others’ benefit). I have Brokeragelink and did this.

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