How It Works

Asset Allocation Risk is the risk that the selection by the Global Tactical Asset Allocation Fund’s portfolio manager of the Underlying Funds and the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the various asset classes and market segments as defined by Northern Trust’s Investment Policy Committee will not perform as expected. The Fund’s investment in any one Underlying Fund or asset class may exceed 15% of the Fund’s total assets, which may cause it to be subject to greater volatility and risk than a more diversified fund

Bond Risk: Bond funds will tend to experience smaller fluctuations in value than stock funds. However, investors in any bond fund should anticipate fluctuations in price, especially for longer-term issues and in environments of rising interest rates.

Equity Risk: Equity securities (stocks) are more volatile and carry more risk than other forms of investments, including investments in high-grade fixed-income securities. The net asset value per share of this Fund will fluctuate as the value of the securities in the portfolio changes.

Foreign Securities Risk is the risk that investing in foreign  (non-U.S.) securities may result in the Fund experiencing more rapid and extreme changes in value than a fund that invests exclusively in securities of U.S. companies, due to less liquid markets, and adverse economic, political, diplomatic, financial, and regulatory factors. Foreign governments may impose limitations on foreigners’ ownership of interests in local issuers, restrictions on the ability to repatriate assets, and may also impose taxes. Any of these events could cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline. 

Underlying Fund Risk is the risk that the Fund’s investment performance and its ability to achieve its investment objective are directly related to the performance of the Underlying Funds in which it invests. There can be no assurance that the Underlying Funds will achieve their respective investment objectives. The Fund will be subject to the risks associated with investments in the Underlying Funds, such as the possibility that the value of the securities or instruments held by the Underlying Funds could decrease. In addition, passively managed Underlying Funds may not track the performance of their respective reference assets and may hold troubled securities or other investments. Investments in Underlying Funds may involve duplication of management fees and certain other expenses, as the Fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of any expenses paid by the Underlying Funds in which it invests. Further, investments in ETFs are subject to the following additional risks: (1) an ETF’s shares may trade above or below its net asset value; (2) an active trading market for the ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; and (3) trading an ETF’s shares may be halted by the listing exchange. The Fund is subject to the risks of the Underlying Funds in direct proportion to the allocation of its assets among the Underlying Funds.

Emerging Markets Risk: Emerging market investing may be subject to additional economic, political, liquidity and currency risks not associated with more developed countries. 

Investment Style Risk: Different investment styles (e.g., “growth”, “value” or “quantitative”) tend to shift in and out of favor, depending on market and economic conditions as well as investor sentiment. A Fund may outperform or underperform other funds that employ a different investment style. A Fund may also employ a combination of styles that impact its risk characteristics. 

Commodity the risk that exposure to the commodities markets may subject a Fund to greater volatility than investments in other kinds of securities. In addition to overall market movements, commodity-related securities may be adversely impacted by commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as weather, disease (including pandemic), tariffs, embargoes or other trade barriers, acts of war or terrorism, or political and regulatory developments. 

Derivatives Risk is the risk that derivatives may pose risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in securities, currencies and other instruments, may be illiquid or less liquid, more volatile, more difficult to value and leveraged so that small changes in the value of the underlying instrument may produce disproportionate losses to the Fund. Derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party to the transaction will not perform its contractual obligations. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with investments in more traditional securities and instruments. 

Geographic Risk is the risk that if the Fund invests a significant portion of its total assets in certain issuers within the same country or geographic region, an adverse economic, business or political development affecting that country or region may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more, and the Fund’s investments may be more volatile, than if its investments were not so concentrated in such country or region. 

Sector Risk is the risk that companies in similar businesses may be similarly affected by particular economic or market events, which may, in certain circumstances, cause the value of securities of all companies in a particular sector of the market to decrease.

High-Yield Risk is the risk that the Fund’s below-investment grade fixed-income securities, sometimes known as “junk bonds,” will be subject to greater credit risk, price volatility and risk of loss than investment grade securities, which can adversely impact the Fund’s return and NAV. High yield securities are considered highly speculative and are subject to the increased risk of an issuer’s inability to make principal and interest payments. 

Asset-Backed and Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk: Asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities may be less liquid than other bonds, and may be more sensitive than other bonds to the market’s perception of issuers and creditworthiness of payees, particularly in declining general economic conditions when concern regarding mortgagees’ ability to pay (e.g., the ability of homeowners, commercial mortgages, consumers with student loans, automobile loans or credit card debtholders to make payments on the underlying loan pools) rises, which may result in the Fund experiencing difficulty selling or valuing these securities. In addition, these securities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, have experienced extraordinary weakness and volatility at various times in recent years, and may decline quickly in the event of a substantial economic or market downturn. 

Real Estate Securities Concentration Risk is the risk that investments in securities of real estate companies will make the Fund more susceptible to risks associated with the ownership of real estate and with the real estate industry in general. Real estate companies may have lower trading volumes and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than the overall securities markets. The value of real estate securities may underperform other sectors of the economy or broader equity markets. To the extent that the Fund concentrates its investments in the real estate industry, it will be subject to greater risk of loss than if it were diversified across different industries.

Asset Allocation Blend Index consists of 60% MSCI All Country World Index and 40% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based benchmark that measures the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market, including Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, mortgage-backed securities (agency fixed-rate and hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage pass-throughs), asset-backed securities, and commercial mortgage-backed securities. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index is an unmanaged index that measures the market of the U.S. dollar-denominated, non-investment-grade, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bonds. It is a version of the Bloomberg High Yield Corporate Bond Index except it limits its exposure of each issuer to 2% of the total market value and redistributes any excess market value index-wide on a pro-rata basis. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The Bloomberg U.S. TIPS 1 – 5 Year Index measures the performance of the U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) market. Federal Reserve holdings of U.S. TIPS are not eligible and are excluded from the face amount outstanding of each bond in the index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The Bloomberg 1 – 3 Month U.S. Treasury Bills Index is a sub segment of the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Bill Index that tracks the market for treasury bills issued by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury bills issued in fixed maturity terms of 4-, 13-, 26- and 52-weeks. The U.S. Treasury Bill Index is a component of the U.S. Short Treasury Index along with U.S. Treasury notes and bonds that have falled below one year to maturity. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Internal Reference Benchmark represents the strategic asset allocation weights assigned annually by the Investment Policy Committee — the baseline from which the portfolio managers tactically allocate within the fund. As of August 9, 2023, the benchmark consists of 30% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, 28% MSCI U.S. IMI, 13% MSCI World ex. USA IMI, 5% MSCI Emerging Markets IMI, 9% Bloomberg U.S. TIPS 1-5 Year Index, 5% Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Capped, 2% MSCI ACWI IMI Core Real Estate Index, 4% S&P Global Natural Resources Index, 2% S&P Global Infrastructure Index and 2% Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bills Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The component weights of the reference benchmark are updated annually. The Total Returns table and the Calendar Year Returns table are calculated based on historical weights and constituents; which are available upon request. All international equity indices are calculated gross of foreign tax withholdings.

MSCI ACWI IMI Core Real Estate Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that consists of large, mid- and small-cap stocks across 23 developed markets and 24 emerging markets countries engaged in the ownership, development and management of specific core property type real estate. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI) is a stock index that tracks nearly 3,000 stocks in 48 developed and emerging market countries. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Markets Index (IMI) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure large, mid- and small cap equity market performance in the global emerging markets. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The MSCI U.S. Investable Markets Index (IMI) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to manage the performance of large, mid- and small cap segments of the U.S. market. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The MSCI World ex. USA Investable Markets Index (IMI) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the performance of large, mid- and small cap segments in developed markets, excluding the USA. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

S&P Global Infrastructure Index provides liquid and tradable exposure to 75 companies from around the world that represent the listed infrastructure universe. The Index has balanced weights across three distinct infrastructure clusters: Utilities, Transportation, and Energy. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The S&P Global Natural Resources Index includes 90 of the largest publicly traded companies in natural resources and commodities businesses that meet specific investability requirements, offering investors diversified and investable equity exposures across 3 primary commodity-related sectors: agribusiness, energy, and metals & mining. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

View investment terms definitions

Please carefully read the prospectus and summary prospectus and consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of Northern Funds carefully before investing. Call 800-595-9111 to obtain a prospectus and summary prospectus, which contains this and other information about the funds.

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.
Not FDIC insured | May lose value | No bank guarantee

The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or "star rating," is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product 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. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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