The Iman Fund (symbol: ''IMANX'') is an American faith based

mutual fund A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV i ...

that invests in

Shariah Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

compliant companies. The fund's 2000 inception catered to the needs of

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

investors, who not only want to have a financially rewarding

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

, but a Shariah compatible one as well.

Structure and activities

The Iman Fund is offered by Allied Asset Advisers, a subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). Allied Asset Advisers is the registered investment adviser and manager of the Fund. The Fund invests at least 80% of its net

assets In financial accountancy, financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value ...

in domestic and foreign

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

included in the Dow Jones Islamic Indexes, as well as up to 20% of its net assets in securities chosen by the Fund's Investment Adviser that meet Islamic principles. The fund consists solely of

common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Com ...

s. It includes, among others, shares of stocks from the Dow Jones Islamic Market US Index, which tracks American companies that meet Islamic principles. The indexes are advised by a Shariah Supervisory Board of six prominent

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

s from six countries. The investment adviser is advised by a

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of prominent Islamic scholars from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Characteristics of the Iman Fund

*Shariah Compliance - The fund adheres to the criteria developed by the Shariah Supervisory Board composed of internationally renowned scholars. Based on these criteria, the following businesses are generally excluded: alcohol, tobacco, pork products, conventional financial services (banking,

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

, etc.), weapons, defense, and entertainment. The Fund does not invest in interest-paying instruments (''riba'') frequently used by

s as temporary investments, and instead may hold cash on a temporary basis. *Diversification - The Fund offers diversification with a portfolio of over 300 Shariah Compliant companies in diverse business sectors. *Low Expenses - The Fund is a

no-load Mutual fund fees and expenses are charges that may be incurred by investors who hold mutual funds. Operating a mutual fund involves costs, including shareholder transaction costs, investment advisory fees, and marketing and distribution expenses. ...

fund with one of the lowest annual fees of any Shariah compliant fund available. *Accessibility and Flexibility - The Fund is available at Charles Schwab and

TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade is a stockbroker that offers an electronic trading platform for the trade of financial assets including common stocks, preferred stocks, futures contracts, exchange-traded funds, forex, options, mutual funds, fixed income investmen ...

, offering flexible accounts and services including telephone purchase and redemption, and

check Check or cheque, may refer to: Places * Check, Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film * ''The Checks'' (episode), a 1996 TV episode of ''Seinfeld'' Games and sports * Check (chess), a thr ...

writing. *Active Portfolio Management - An actively managed

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...

enables the Fund to take advantage of future opportunities in the market while adhering to Islamic legal requirements. Among the securities that meet Islamic principles, the investment adviser determines a security's attractiveness for purchase based on a number of factors, including its anticipated value and record of earnings growth, among other things.

Stock Selection and Performance

The Fund invests in foreign

which involve risks relating to adverse

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, social and

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

developments abroad, as well as currency risks and differences in

accounting methods A basis of accounting is the time various financial transactions are recorded. The cash basis (EU VAT vocabulary ''cash accounting'') and the accrual basis are the two primary methods of tracking income and expenses in accounting. Both can ...

. In selection of

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

s, the Fund adheres to the criteria developed by the Shariah Supervisory Board of the Dow Jones Islamic Index composed of internationally renowned scholars. The Fund also does not invest in interest-related instruments and may hold cash on a temporary basis. It is possible that such restrictions may result in lower overall Fund performance than those

mutual funds A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV i ...

which are not subject to such restrictions. One year returns before taxes for the period ending December 31, 2004 were 5.45 percent; returns after taxes on distribution were 5.43 percent.After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal margin income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown. Further more, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to those who hold their shares through tax deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or IRAs

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Dow Jones Islamic Fund
Sharia investment Mutual funds of the United States Dow Jones & Company

Structure and activities

Characteristics of the Iman Fund

Stock Selection and Performance

See also

Notes

External links