Two mutual funds were able to log an odds-defying 10th consecutive year of beating their benchmarks on an annual basis – the Amana Growth Fund (AMAGX) and Manning & Napier Pro-Blend Maximum Term (EXHAX).

EXHAX beat the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index of the 10^th straight year, leaving it alone with the longest streak for the first time. Nine funds had been in the running, with nine-year streaks starting in 1999 of beating the index.

The data on mutual-fund returns were provided by Morningstar, which then screened for outperformers.

EXHAX returned negative 35.41% in 2008, while the S&P 500 returned negative 37%.

The fund buys “companies in cyclical industries when they’re going through tough times,” said Patrick Cunningham of Manning & Napier. “There are times when the market gets pretty irrational in the short term,” and the firm takes advantage of that.

M&N’s philosophy is to try to remove bias from the stock-selection process. Analysts select stocks, which are then presented to a team of senior people for consideration.

It’s a small fund -- only $318 million in assets under management -- which can make it easier to remain nimble and beat the market. It’s one of four lifecycle funds operated by Manning & Napier, and is for investors with an investment time horizon of at least 15 years.

EXHAX has an expense ratio of 1.13%, and a 10-year annualized return of 5.44%.It’s about 92% invested in stocks, with bonds and cash making up the remainder.

EXHAX’s top holdings include Google (GOOG), EMC Corp. (EMC), Unilever PLS ADRs (UL), United Parcel Service (UPS) and Comcast (CMCSA).

“In the spring, we bought some industries that are very dependent upon oil and fuel prices,” Cunningham said, pointing to UPS and FedEx (FDX). “It’s pure value strategy.”

Amana Growth has a 10-year streak by another measure: it has beaten its own benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth index, every year since 1999.

This measurement could be considered more accurate than just comparing everything to the S&P 500, because that index is really a large-cap blend fund. If a fund is small-cap value or midcap growth, for instance, the most appropriate comparison may be with an index in that category.

Amana Growth follows Shariah investing principles, which are used by followers of Islam. That means it’s prohibited from investing in companies related to pornography, gambling -- and most financials, because there’s a ban on earning interest and on speculation.

“Not getting involved in the panic of Wall Street was a big help,” said Nicholas Kaiser, manager of the fund. “This wasn’t the year to be in financials.”

Kaiser also said “we favor low-debt companies – and high-debt companies haven’t performed that well this year.” Plus, the fund’s “heavy emphasis has always been on technology and health.”

In 2008, AMAGX returned negative 29.67%, while the index returned negative 38.44%. It has $707 million in assets under management, and its expense ratio is 1.31%.

The fund’s 10-year annualized return is 6.98%.

AMAGX’s top holdings include Apple (AAPL), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Genentech (DNA) and Amgen (AMGN).

These streaks, of course, don’t guarantee that future results will be similar. Bill Miller and his Legg Mason Value Trust fund enjoyed a 15-year streak beating the S&P 500 every year, but in both 2007 and 2008 he has been well behind that benchmark, notably as his confidence in financial stocks failed to pan out.

And there’s a reason both of these streaks started in 1999. In 1998, the S&P 500 boasted a total return of 28.6% on the back of spectacular performances from a few highflying tech stocks. So, unless managers were invested in hot stocks, they would have been unlikely to beat the index -- and fewer than one in six funds did beat the benchmark in that year.

In years with broader gains or losses, active money managers are more likely to be able to make specific picks that can beat the benchmarks.

For investors who don’t want to worry about the prospect of beating the benchmark -- or not -- there’s always the other choice of passive management funds, such as an S&P 500 index fund.