Dividend Investing Ideas Center
Critical Facts You Need to Know About Preferred Stocks
Have you ever wished for the safety of bonds, but the return potential...
Name
As of 12/12/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Exp Ratio
Watchlist
YTD Return
17.5%
1 yr return
20.4%
3 Yr Avg Return
N/A
5 Yr Avg Return
N/A
Net Assets
$85.1 M
Holdings in Top 10
36.4%
Expense Ratio 1.46%
Front Load N/A
Deferred Load N/A
Turnover N/A
Redemption Fee N/A
Standard (Taxable)
N/A
IRA
N/A
Fund Type
Open End Mutual Fund
Name
As of 12/12/2024Price
Aum/Mkt Cap
YIELD
Exp Ratio
Watchlist
Under normal circumstances the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of U.S. and non-U.S. companies, including emerging market companies that meet the Adviser’s environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) criteria, described below, at the time of investment. The Fund’s 80% policy is a non-fundamental investment policy that can be changed by the Fund upon 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders. Equity securities include common stocks and American depositary receipts (“ADRs”) of companies of any capitalization size, including large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap companies, that the Adviser believes present an attractive opportunity for long-term capital appreciation.
In selecting investments for the Fund, the Adviser seeks to identify companies across the globe with diverse leadership that are focused on creating a just, sustainable and inclusive world, in accordance with the Adviser’s investment thesis that, over the long term, the markets will reward companies that focus on solving major social and environmental issues. The Adviser’s approach to selecting companies for investment has three parts: (1) assessing for alignment with the Adviser’s six “solutions themes”; (2) screening for diversity in leadership; and (3) performing financial analysis with an ESG lens.
Alignment with Solutions Themes. The Adviser has identified six “solutions themes,” which the Adviser believes are among the most critical social and environmental issues confronting our planet, our economies, and society:
1) | Sustainable Planet – Climate change reversal and mitigation, including fossil-fuel free, non-extractive renewable energy, energy-efficient technology, sustainable design and engineering services. |
2) | Affordable Housing – Environmentally friendly housing promoting development of community. |
3) | Sustainable & Affordable Transportation – An emphasis on products and systems that eliminate or reduce damaging emissions, while also expanding access to clean transportation alternatives across income levels. |
4) | Natural & Organic Foods – Promotion of products and services supporting sustainable agriculture, access to healthy food and a healthier planet. |
5) | Healthcare – Focusing on both innovation and access, including prevention, early detection, women’s health, innovative cancer treatments and unmet medical needs addressing the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics and other infectious diseases disproportionately affecting women and people of color. |
6) | Education, Communications, & Financial Services – Access to basic banking and financial literacy that expand opportunities and level the playing field for underserved populations with historically limited access. Services and technology to improve education access and facilitate positive communication. |
The Adviser seeks to identify companies offering products and/or services, including those in development, that the Adviser believes are or are expected to contribute to improving conditions in one or more of categories covered by the six solutions themes. Which theme is prioritized for analysis for a particular company is dependent upon the company’s sector and industry. Among other things, the Adviser uses the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards to identify which solutions themes are most critical for each sector and industry and could therefore most materially impact a particular company and its potential future value.
Once the Adviser has identified a company’s fit within the solutions themes, the Adviser performs an analysis of the company’s potential for impact with respect to the identified solution theme both on an absolute basis and as compared to its peer companies, the company’s industry and the general market. To conduct this analysis, the Adviser seeks to gather and identify numerical and descriptive data that depicts where a company’s impact has been, is currently, and where it is directionally likely to go. Because these categories differ greatly, the approach to analysis varies but generally includes both quantitative data (for example, measurements of greenhouse gas emissions) and qualitative assessment (for example, demonstrated prioritization of research and treatment of healthcare needs, with particular attention to women and people of color).
The Adviser seeks companies whose core business model, products, and/or services contributes to addressing one or more of the Adviser’s solutions themes, and whose management is committed to improving diversity, equity and inclusion practices within the company.
As a result of the Adviser’s focus on companies providing products and/or services that align with one or more of the solutions themes, the Adviser expects that the Fund will invest primarily in companies from the following sectors: Health Care; Technology; Communications; Industrials; Consumer Staples; Financials; Consumer Discretionary; Real Estate; Utilities; and Energy.
Diversity in Leadership. In selecting its universe of investments, the Adviser seeks to identify those companies that meet the Adviser’s diversity criteria with regards to leadership positions both at the executive management and board of directors levels. The Adviser’s diversity criteria are representation based and vary based on a company’s sector and geographic location. Companies must satisfy the Adviser’s diversity criteria as of the time of investment in order to be eligible for investment by the Fund. Among other things, the criteria include a requirement for inclusion of women in a company’s leadership positions.
Financial Analysis with an ESG Lens. The Adviser seeks to identify companies that present an attractive opportunity for long-term capital appreciation based on an assessment of a company’s fundamental business properties and ESG related policies and practices. The Adviser’s view is that both traditional financial analysis and ESG considerations may reveal disparities between a company and its competitors and identify operational resilience (or lack thereof), and should therefore inform the Adviser’s views on the overall attractiveness of a company’s prospects.
The Adviser considers a company’s fundamental business properties using traditional methods of financial statement analysis, including quantitative analysis, proprietary valuation methods, and financial analysis in order to assess each company on the basis of historical and expected future performance. This involves trend and ratio analysis, and observation of growth rates, margins, leverage ratios, and cash flow yield, among other things. Analysis of a company’s financial prospects may also include broader considerations such as assessment of a company’s overall business strategy and evaluation of market conditions, both for a company’s specific product/service, as well as the macroeconomic environment.
The Adviser also incorporates into this analysis consideration of a company’s ESG policies and practices, in accordance with the Adviser’s view that these factors contribute towards a company’s financial prospects. The Adviser typically uses the SASB standards as a starting point for identifying which ESG policies and practices are more critical for a company, depending on its sector and industry. Environmental factors considered by the Adviser
may include assessment of a company’s policies and practices regarding greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, energy management, water & wastewater management, waste & hazardous materials management, and a company’s overall ecological impacts. The Adviser assesses a company’s social performance across a wide range of metrics which may include community relations, customer privacy, data security, access & affordability, product quality & safety, customer welfare, selling practices and product labeling. Human capital factors considered may include labor practices, employee health and safety measures, and employee engagement, diversity and inclusion. Which ESG factors are prioritized for analysis will vary depending on a company’s business line and industry and different combinations of these issues will be prioritized for different companies. The Adviser may also consider factors that may not directly impact a company’s value in the near-term yet reflect a company’s impact on its stakeholders and/or the environment, based on the Adviser’s view that such impacts can enhance a company’s value in the long-term.
Based on the totality of the foregoing analysis, which combines the various quantitative and qualitative data considered, the Adviser develops a view of a company and an investment thesis.
The Adviser will seek to use its influence as an investor, both through the application of the Adviser’s proxy voting guidelines and through dialogue with management of companies in the portfolio, to encourage portfolio companies to further their positive impact in the areas of the solutions themes, social justice and enhance their ESG policies and practices.
The Adviser will monitor and seek to measure whether the Fund’s investments are achieving the desired impacts on an ongoing basis. Some of the metrics that the Adviser will review to attempt to measure impact include the number of proxies voted with relevant impact topics, the number of shareholder resolutions filed or joined, the percentage of votes received in favor of filed resolutions, and the number of portfolio companies that receive strategic or operational support from the Adviser to improve ESG policies and practices and the status of those improvements.
The Adviser may sell an investment when, in the Adviser’s estimation, an investment no longer presents an attractive opportunity for long-term capital appreciation, if a company no longer satisfies the Adviser’s leadership diversity criteria, if a company no longer aligns with any of the solutions themes, or if the Adviser identifies other more attractive investments.
Period | NIAGX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
YTD | 17.5% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
1 Yr | 20.4% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
3 Yr | N/A* | N/A | N/A | N/A |
5 Yr | N/A* | N/A | N/A | N/A |
10 Yr | N/A* | N/A | N/A | N/A |
* Annualized
Period | NIAGX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 12.6% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2022 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2021 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2019 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Period | NIAGX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
YTD | 17.5% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
1 Yr | 20.4% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
3 Yr | N/A* | N/A | N/A | N/A |
5 Yr | N/A* | N/A | N/A | N/A |
10 Yr | N/A* | N/A | N/A | N/A |
* Annualized
Period | NIAGX Return | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 13.1% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2022 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2021 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
2019 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
NIAGX | Category Low | Category High | NIAGX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Net Assets | 85.1 M | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Number of Holdings | 51 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Net Assets in Top 10 | 30.2 M | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Weighting of Top 10 | 36.40% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | NIAGX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Stocks | 96.38% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Cash | 3.81% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Preferred Stocks | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Other | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Convertible Bonds | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Bonds | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | NIAGX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Utilities | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Technology | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Real Estate | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Industrials | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Healthcare | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Financial Services | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Energy | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Communication Services | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Consumer Defense | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Consumer Cyclical | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Basic Materials | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Weighting | Return Low | Return High | NIAGX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | 96.38% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Non US | 0.00% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
NIAGX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Expense Ratio | 1.46% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Management Fee | 0.95% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
12b-1 Fee | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Administrative Fee | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
NIAGX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Front Load | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Deferred Load | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
NIAGX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Max Redemption Fee | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Turnover provides investors a proxy for the trading fees incurred by mutual fund managers who frequently adjust position allocations. Higher turnover means higher trading fees.
NIAGX Fees (% of AUM) | Category Return Low | Category Return High | Rank in Category (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Turnover | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
NIAGX | Category Low | Category High | NIAGX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend Yield | 0.44% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
NIAGX | Category Low | Category High | Category Mod | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend Distribution Frequency | None |
NIAGX | Category Low | Category High | NIAGX % Rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Net Income Ratio | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
NIAGX | Category Low | Category High | Capital Mode | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Capital Gain Distribution Frequency |
Date | Amount | Type |
---|---|---|
Dec 28, 2023 | $0.058 | OrdinaryDividend |
Dec 29, 2022 | $0.025 | OrdinaryDividend |
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