Signon to Passport
The Northern Arizona Tax-Exempt Fund and the Northern California Tax-Exempt Fund were named 2009 Lipper Fund Award winners.
The Lipper Fund Awards highlight funds that excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to peers. These annual awards recognize the #1 fund in each category for the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ending December 31, 2008.
Northern Funds 2009 Lipper Fund Awards
| Fund Name | Lipper Classification | 3-Year Ranking | 5-Year Ranking |
| Northern Arizona Tax-Exempt Fund | Arizona Municipal Debt Funds | #1 of 27 funds | #1 of 26 funds |
| Fund Name | Lipper Classification | 5-Year Ranking | 10-Year Ranking |
| Northern California Tax-Exempt Fund | California Municipal Debt Funds | #1 of 101 funds | #1 of 71 funds |
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Rankings reflect fee waivers in effect; in their absence, rankings may have been lower.
Due to ongoing market volatility, the Funds may experience negative returns for the time periods shown. Mutual fund investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
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.
Tax-Free/AMT Risk: Tax-exempt funds’ income may be subject to certain state and local taxes and, depending on your tax status, the federal alternative minimum tax.
Regional Investment Risk: The geographical concentration of portfolio holdings in this Fund may involve increased risk.
Lipper Fund Awards Methodology: Lipper Fund Awards annually recognize funds in each Lipper classification that have the highest Consistent Return, which reflects the funds’ historic returns, adjusted for volatility, relative to peers. The highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return value within each eligible classification determines the fund classification winner over three, five, or 10 years.
