U.S. Government

Summary

You may find this Fund ideal, if you are a conservative investor who prefers the income and quality assurance offered by government securities. It is best suited for investors with relatively low-risk profiles and can provide a solid-core holding for income-oriented investors of all ages. Our approach is to select high-quality securities with maturities between one and 10 years, issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, as we manage risk exposure to achieve reasonable returns. We believe investing in a broad range of U.S. Government securities with intermediate-term maturities can provide greater stability of principal than is generally available from longer-term, higher-yielding bonds. The principal value and investment return of the Fund are neither guaranteed or insured by the U.S. Government.

Fund Objective

The Fund seeks a high level of current income.

Fund Strategy

• Invest primarily in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by its agencies.
• Select high-quality securities with maturities, under normal circumstances, between one and 10 years, with risk exposure managed in an effort to achieve reasonable returns.
• Buy and sell securities using a relative value approach that employs models that analyze and compare expected returns and assumed risks.

Investor Profile

If you're a conservative investor who prefers the income and quality assurance offered by government securities, you may find this Fund attractive. It is best suited for investors with relatively low-risk profiles and can provide a solid-core holding for income-oriented investors of all ages.

Risk/Reward Potential

Overall Morningstar Rating ^TM

Among 216 intermediate government funds derived from a weighted average of the fund's 3-, 5- and 10-year risk-adjusted returns as of 9/30/23.

U.S. Government received 5 stars for the 3-year rating among 216 intermediate government funds, 5 stars for the 5-year rating among 208 funds and 4 stars for the 10-year rating among 168 funds.

The Morningstar Rating^TM 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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Important risk information can be found on the Portfolio tab.

Not FDIC insured | May lose value | No bank guarantee

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.

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