BOSTON, April 19, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Winslow Management Company announced today that the Winslow Green Growth Fund (Nasdaq:WGGFX) finished the most recent quarter ranked in the top 10% of all small-cap growth funds for both the one- and three-year periods, based on total returns, according to Lipper, Inc. Based on total returns for the one- and three-year periods ended March 31, 2004, Lipper Inc. ranked the fund 19 out of 489 and 41 out of 407 small-cap growth funds, respectively.
As of March 31, 2004, WGGFX had an average annual return of +82.08% for one year, +13.26% for three years, +22.64% for five years and +19.71% since inception on May 3, 1994. It finished the first quarter of 2004 with a return of +0.9%, despite a difficult market environment in March, marking the sixth consecutive quarter during which the fund had a positive return.
Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. For the most recent month-end performance, please call (888) 314-9049 or visit the fund's website at www.wggf.com.*
"Winslow Management was founded based on the belief that green stocks perform better over time," said President and lead Portfolio Manager Jackson W. Robinson. "The Winslow Green Growth Fund's performance is just one validation of that belief."
Long term, WGGFX continues to surpass the returns of its benchmarks. The Russell 2000 Growth Index recorded a +63.16% gain over the past year, +5.4% average annual return over three years and +5.58% return for the most recent quarter. The Russell 2500 Index gained +60.64% for the year, an average of +11.97% for the past three years and +5.88% for the quarter.
The WGGFX began operating as a common trust fund on May 3, 1994. Since inception, its return has been +494.64% (+19.71% average per year). For the same period, the Russell 2000 had a return of +84.95% (+6.40% average per year), while the Russell 2500 had a return of +225.00% (+12.63% average per year).
Because the WGGFX reached its three-year anniversary as a public mutual fund on April 1, 2004, it also has been notified by Morningstar, Inc. that it has earned three stars overall in the small-cap growth category as its first ever Morningstar Rating(tm). Morningstar rated the fund against 523 small growth funds. The overall Morningstar Rating for the fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figure associated with its 3 year Morningstar risk-adjusted returns.**
Co-Manager Matthew Patsky is enthusiastic about the three-year anniversary and the initial rating from Morningstar. "Traditionally, financial planners and advisors want to see a long-term track record, in addition to third-party recognition, before recommending a fund to their clients," Patsky said. "We believe WGGFX's rating, along with its long-term performance, create a combination that will be of interest to financial planners and advisors looking for an aggressive small-cap growth fund for their clients. Interest may be especially high, since many small-cap funds have closed to new investors recently."
About The Winslow Green Growth Fund
The Winslow Green Growth Fund is an aggressive growth equity portfolio seeking above-average performance and long-term capital appreciation through environmentally responsible investing. The Fund invests primarily in domestic securities of small- and mid- cap companies that Winslow believes are reasonably priced and demonstrate potential for superior growth. The Winslow Green Growth Fund is a no-load, open-end mutual fund for individuals and institutions seeking an investment that reflects their environmental commitment. The Fund is available through the following no-transaction-fee platforms: Schwab's Mutual Fund OneSource(r), Fidelity's FundsNetwork(r), TD Waterhouse Mutual Fund Network and Pershing's FundVest Focus(r) program.
About Winslow Management Company
Winslow Management Company (www.winslowgreen.com) seeks to invest in high growth and environmentally proactive and environmentally sensitive companies. From its inception in 1984, Winslow has been investing the assets of high-net-worth individuals, non-profit institutions, and pension funds in growth companies that are environmentally sensitive. Its products and services include: The Winslow Green Growth Fund, an aggressive equity growth fund open to individual and institutional investors; The Green Century Balanced Fund***, to which it is the subadviser; individual portfolio management for high-net-worth individuals and institutions, and a hedge fund that is open to qualified clients. Based in Boston, Winslow manages assets totaling approximately $210 million as of 3/31/04.
*Before investing you should carefully consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by calling (888) 314-9049 or visiting the fund's website. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest. The fund's return assumes the reinvestment of dividend and capital gain distributions. For the period reported, some of the fund's fees were waived or expenses reimbursed; otherwise, total return would have been lower.
The Fund invests in small- and medium- sized companies, which pose greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies. Forum Fund Services, LLC is the distributor for the Winslow Green Growth Fund.
The Russell 2500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of 2500 stocks. The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of Russell 2000 companies with high price-to-book ratios and high forecasted growth values. No one can invest directly in an index. The Lipper rankings are compiled by Lipper Inc., an independent mutual fund research and rating service. Lipper ranks funds in various fund categories by making comparative calculations using total returns.
Prior to April 1, 2001, the adviser managed a common trust fund with an investment objective and investment policies that were, in all material respects, equivalent to those of the fund. The fund's performance for periods before April 1, 2001 is that of the common trust fund and reflects the expenses of the common trust fund. If the common trust fund's performance had been readjusted to reflect the estimated expenses of the fund for its first fiscal year, the performance would have been lower. The common trust fund was not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("1940 Act") and was not subject to certain investment limitations, diversification requirements, and other restrictions imposed by the 1940 Act and the Internal Revenue Code, which, if applicable, may have adversely affected its performance.
**(c) 2004 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.
For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating(tm) based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages.) The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year Morningstar Rating metrics. The Winslow Green Growth Fund was rated against the following numbers of U.S.-domiciled small cap growth funds over the following time periods: 523 funds in the last three years. With respect to these small cap growth funds, the Fund received a Morningstar Rating of three stars for the three-year period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
***For a free prospectus with more complete information, including fees and expenses, please call 1-800-93-GREEN or visit www.greencentury.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money. Like all funds invested in stocks, the Green Century Balanced Fund's share price will fluctuate daily depending on the performance of the companies that comprise the fund's investments. The universe of securities that the fund may invest in is more limited compared to those of funds that don't apply any environmental criteria. Under certain economic conditions, that means the fund's performance could be better or worse than the market as a whole.
Distributor: UMB Distribution Services, LLC 3/04.