TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

INTEGRITY DIVIDEND HARVEST FUND--FUND SUMMARY

 

 

The Integrity Dividend Harvest Fund (the "Fund") seeks to maximize total return by emphasizing high current income with long term appreciation as a secondary objective, consistent with preservation of capital.

 

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts with respect to purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other funds in the Integrity/Viking family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "The Shares Offered; Class A Shares" and "How to Reduce Your Sales Charge" on page 44 and 47, respectively, of the Fund's prospectus, Appendix A of the Fund’s prospectus, and "Purchase and Redemption of Shares" on page B- 51 of the Fund's statement of additional information.

 

 

 

Example--This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual expense limitation agreement remains in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

 

 

 

 

To pursue its objective, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in dividend-paying equity securities, including common stock and preferred stock, of companies. In addition, under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 65% of its net assets in equity securities that have consistently increased dividends for a period of at least 10 years. In determining whether a company has increased its dividend for a period of at least 10 years, the Fund's Portfolio Management Team ("Team") will account for the effect of any stock splits or spin-offs and exclude special dividends.

 

Although the investment process results in the Fund holding primarily large-cap companies, the Fund may invest in companies of any size. In selecting securities, the Team considers a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, dividend yield, dividend growth rate, earnings growth, price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, valuation, credit rating, balance sheet strength, and volatility. The Team emphasizes dividend yield in selecting stocks for the Fund because the Team believes that, over time, dividend income can contribute significantly to total return and is a more consistent source of investment return than capital appreciation.

 

While the Fund does not concentrate in any one industry, from time to time, based on economic conditions, it may make significant investments in certain sectors.

 

The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in foreign equity securities, including common stock and preferred stock.

 

The Team may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, the issuer's business fundamentals have deteriorated or the issuer fails to raise its dividend.

 

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund’s net asset value and performance. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Dividend-Paying Stock Risk: Because the Fund can only distribute what it earns, the Fund's distributions to shareholders could decline when dividend income from stocks in the Fund's portfolio declines. The Fund's emphasis on dividend-paying stocks involves the risk that such stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform the market. Also, a company may reduce or eliminate its dividend, which could affect the Fund’s ability to generate income. Key factors that might cause a company to reduce or eliminate its dividend include deteriorating fundamentals or changes in priority of the uses of capital, among other factors.

 

General Market Risk: There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The prices of the securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate as a result of market factors such as interest rates, credit spreads, or commodity prices, and the Fund's share price and the value of your investment may change. Since the value of the Fund's shares can go up or down, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

Preferred Stock Risk: Preferred stocks are subject to the risks associated with other types of equity securities, such as potential volatility, as well as additional risks, such as risks related to deferral and omission of distributions; credit and subordination risk; interest rate risk; call, reinvestment and income risk; liquidity risk; risks related to limited voting rights; and risks related to special redemption rights.

 

 

Sector Risk: To the extent that the Fund focuses on particular sectors from time to time, the Fund may be subject to greater risk of the adverse developments in such areas of focus than a fund that invests in a wider variety of sectors.

 

 

 

Risks of Foreign Securities (including Depositary Receipts): The Fund may invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers which have special risks. These risks include international economic and political developments, foreign government actions including restrictions on payments to non domestic persons such as the Fund, less regulation, less information, currency fluctuations, and interruptions in currency flow. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities are typically in the form of sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, such as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), which are subject to risks similar to those associated with other foreign securities. In addition, ownership of unsponsored depositary receipts may not entitle the Fund to financial and other reports from the issuer of the underlying security and certain costs related to the receipts that would otherwise be borne by the issuer of a sponsored depositary receipt may be passed through, in whole or in part, to holders of unsponsored receipts. Moreover, investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

 

Risks of Investments in Smaller Companies: The securities of mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. Both mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies often have narrower markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of the Fund’s portfolio. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks become.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology.

 

Cybersecurity Risk: Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. The Fund’s share price may decline as a result of unauthorized actions taken during a security breach or subsequent market activity in response to the security breach.

 

 

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.integrityvikingfunds.com or by calling 800-276-1262.

 

 

The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown.

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 15.20% (quarter ended December 30, 2022) and the lowest return for a quarter was -20.05% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). The Fund's calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was - 4.92%.

 

The table below shows the Fund's average annual total returns for 1 , 5, and 10 years for Class A shares, and for 1 year, 5 years, and since inception for Class C and Class I shares, and how they compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The return information below reflects applicable sales charges. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax returns for Class C and Class I shares will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown , and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs" ).

 

 

 

 

Investment Adviser--Viking Fund Management, LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

 

Portfolio Managers--Shannon D. Radke, Senior Portfolio Manager and President of Viking Fund Management, LLC, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since May 2012. Josh Larson, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since May 2012. Michael Morey, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since May 2012. Trey Welstad, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since May 2015.

 

 

You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or directly from the Fund.

 

The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 ($50 for accounts opened through an automatic investment plan account and $250 for an IRA account). The minimum subsequent investment is $50. The Fund may, however, accept investments of smaller initial or subsequent amounts at its discretion. Class I shares are not available for IRAs or employer sponsored IRAs unless purchased through a fee-based advisory account with a financial intermediary. You may contact the Fund's transfer agent, Integrity Fund Services, LLC, by mail at PO Box 759, Minot, ND 58702, or by calling 800-601-5593.

 

 

The Fund's distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Such tax-advantaged arrangements may be taxed later upon a withdrawal from those arrangements.

 

 

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.

 

 

 

 

INTEGRITY DIVIDEND SUMMIT FUND--FUND SUMMARY

 

 

The Integrity Dividend Summit Fund ( the "Fund" ) seeks to maximize qualified dividend income with long term appreciation as a secondary objective.

 

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts with respect to purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other funds in the Integrity/Viking family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "The Shares Offered; Class A Shares" and "How to Reduce Your Sales Charge" on page 44 and 47 , respectively, of the Fund's prospectus, Appendix A of the Fund's prospectus, and "Purchase and Redemption of Shares" on page B- 51 of the Fund's statement of additional information.

 

 

 

Example--This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual expense limitation agreement remains in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

 

 

 

To pursue its objective, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in dividend-paying equity securities, including common stock and preferred stock. For the purpose of this policy, the Fund considers dividend-paying equity securities to be the common or preferred stock of a company that has paid a dividend in the current or preceding calendar year or for which the company has announced a dividend in the current calendar year. In addition, under normal conditions, the Fund invests at least 65% of its net assets in equity securities that pay current dividends at a rate (yield) at least double that of the current yield of S&P 500.

 

Although the investment process results in the Fund holding primarily large-cap companies, the Fund may invest in companies of any size. In selecting securities, the Team considers a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, dividend yield, dividend growth rate, earnings growth, price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, valuation, credit rating, balance sheet strength, and volatility. The Team emphasizes dividend yield in selecting stocks for the Fund because the Team believes that, over time, dividend income can contribute significantly to total return and is a more consistent source of investment return than capital appreciation. In determining whether to invest in common or preferred stock, the Team will consider a number of factors including its macroeconomic and market outlook.

 

While the Fund does not concentrate in any one industry, from time to time, it may make significant investments in certain economic sectors as a result of the investment process. The Team's macroeconomic and market outlook will drive sector selection.

 

The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in foreign securities. The Fund's investments in foreign securities are typically in the form of sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, such as American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs" ). The Team's macroeconomic and market outlook, along with geographic location and other factors, will drive the Adviser's selection of and allocation among foreign securities.

 

The Team may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, its business fundamentals have deteriorated.

 

The Fund is non-diversified, meaning that it can concentrate its investments in a more limited number of issuers than a diversified fund.

 

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund's net asset value and performance. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Dividend-Paying Stock Risk: Because the Fund can only distribute what it earns, the Fund's distributions to shareholders could decline when dividend income from stocks in the Fund's portfolio declines. The Fund's emphasis on dividend-paying stocks involves the risk that such stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform the market. Also, a company may reduce or eliminate its dividend, which could affect the Fund's ability to generate income. Key factors that might cause a company to reduce or eliminate its dividend include deteriorating fundamentals or changes in priority of the uses of capital, among other factors.

 

General Market Risk: There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The prices of the securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate as a result of market factors such as interest rates, credit spreads, or commodity prices, and the Fund's share price and the value of your investment may change. Since the value of the Fund's shares can go up or down, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. Because a relatively high percentage of the Fund's assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Fund's portfolio may be more susceptible to any single event impacting the market value and returns of any one issuer than a diversified fund.

 

Preferred Stock Risk: Preferred stocks are subject to the risks associated with other types of equity securities, such as potential volatility, as well as additional risks, such as risks related to deferral and omission of distributions; credit and subordination risk; interest rate risk; call, reinvestment and income risk; liquidity risk; risks related to limited voting rights; and risks related to special redemption rights.

 

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund's valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology.

 

Sector Risk: To the extent that the Fund focuses on particular sectors from time to time, the Fund may be subject to greater risk of the adverse developments in such areas of focus than a fund that invests in a wider variety of sectors.

 

Risks of Foreign Securities: Foreign markets can be more volatile than U.S. markets. The Fund's returns and net asset value may be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates or political or economic conditions in a particular country or region. In some foreign markets, it may not be possible for the Fund to repatriate capital, dividends, interest and other income from a particular country or governmental entity.

 

Risks of Depositary Receipts: Depositary receipts are subject to risks similar to those associated with other foreign securities. In addition, ownership of unsponsored depositary receipts may not entitle the Fund to financial and other reports from the issuer of the underlying security and certain costs related to the receipts that would otherwise be borne by the issuer of a sponsored depositary receipt may be passed through, in whole or in part, to holders of unsponsored receipts. Moreover, investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

 

Risks of Investments in Smaller Companies: The securities of mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. Both mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies often have narrower markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of the Fund's portfolio. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks become.

 

Cybersecurity Risk: Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. The Fund's share price may decline as a result of unauthorized actions taken during a security breach or subsequent market activity in response to the security breach.

 

 

 

Fund performance is not included in this prospectus because the Fund has not been in operation for a full calendar year. Performance information will be shown after the Fund has been in operation for one calendar year. At that time, annual performance information will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the variability of the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A Shares and by comparing the Fund's performance to a broad measure of market performance. The Fund's performance will also be available at www.integrityvikingfunds.com or by calling 800-276-1262. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) will not necessarily be an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

 

 

Investment Adviser-- Viking Fund Management, LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

 

Portfolio Managers-- Shannon D. Radke, Senior Portfolio Manager and President of Viking Fund Management, LLC, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since its inception on May 1, 2023. Josh Larson, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since its inception on May 1, 2023. Michael Morey, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since its inception on May 1, 2023. Trey Welstad, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since its inception on May 1, 2023.

 

 

You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or directly from the Fund.

 

The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 ($50 for accounts opened through an automatic investment plan account and $250 for an IRA account). The minimum subsequent investment is $50. The Fund may, however, accept investments of smaller initial or subsequent amounts at its discretion. Class I shares are not available for IRAs or employer sponsored IRAs unless purchased through a fee-based advisory account with a financial intermediary. To conduct transactions directly with the Fund, you may contact the Fund's transfer agent, Integrity Fund Services, LLC, by mail at PO Box 759, Minot, ND 58702, or by calling 800-601-5593.

 

 

The Fund's distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Such tax-advantaged arrangements may be taxed later upon a withdrawal from those arrangements.

 

 

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.

 

 

 

 

INTEGRITY GROWTH & INCOME FUND--FUND SUMMARY

 

 

The Integrity Growth & Income Fund (the "Fund" ) seeks to provide long-term growth of capital with dividend income as a secondary objective.

 

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts with respect to purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other funds in the Integrity/Viking family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "The Shares Offered; Class A Shares" and "How to Reduce Your Sales Charge" on page 44 and 47, respectively, of the Fund's prospectus, Appendix A of the Fund's prospectus, and "Purchase and Redemption of Shares" on page B-51 of the Fund's statement of additional information.

 

 

 

Example-- This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual expense limitation agreement remains in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

 

Portfolio Turnover-- The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal period, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 4.29% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

 

 

Under normal market conditions, the Fund is managed using a blended growth and income investment strategy. The Fund seeks to invest primarily in domestic common stocks, balancing its investments between growth and dividend-paying stocks, depending on where value is in the stock market. The Fund may also invest in stocks that are currently not paying dividends, but offer prospects for future income or capital appreciation.

 

 

The Fund's investment adviser, Viking Fund Management, LLC (the "Investment Adviser" ) makes its investment decisions utilizing a top-down approach which focuses on sector weightings given the Investment Adviser's broader economic and market outlook. Individual companies are then selected by considering a number of factors that may include, but are not limited to, revenue growth, earnings growth rate, dividend yield, price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, strength of balance sheet, and price momentum. Although the Fund may invest in companies of any size, the investment adviser prefers large cap companies for the Fund. Subject to its attention to responsible investment criteria described below, the Fund is not constrained by investments in any particular segment of the stock market.

 

The Investment Adviser seeks to emphasize companies that it believes both offer attractive investment opportunities and demonstrate a positive awareness of their impact on the society in which they operate. Factors considered may include:

	*	fairness of employment policies and labor relations;
	*	involvement in the community;
	*	efforts and strategies to minimize the negative impact of business activities and products on the environment and to embrace alternatives to reduce polluting and unnecessary animal suffering; and
	*	management and board governance.

 

In addition, the Investment Adviser does not intend to invest in companies that it believes derive material revenue from gambling, firearms, pornography, the production of alcohol or tobacco, or non-humanitarian business operations in countries considered State Sponsors of Terrorism by the U.S. Secretary of State.

 

The Fund's portfolio management team may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, its business fundamentals have deteriorated.

 

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund's net asset value and performance. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

General Market Risk: There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The prices of the securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate as a result of market factors such as interest rates, credit spreads, or commodity prices, and the Fund's share price and the value of your investment may change. Since the value of the Fund's shares can go up or down, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

Style Risk: The Fund is managed according to an investment strategy that at times reflects either growth or value style investing, and therefore is subject to the risks associated with these styles. One risk is that a growth investing style may fall out of favor with investors for a period of time during which the Fund may underperform other funds that employ a different style. In addition, growth stocks typically are more volatile than value stocks due to their relatively high valuations and sensitivity to investor perceptions of the issuer's growth potential. As a result, the price of a growth stock may experience a larger decline on a forecast of lower earnings or other negative development, than would a value stock. Furthermore, because the value of growth companies is a function of their expected earnings growth, there is a risk that such earnings growth may not occur or cannot be sustained. Value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by the Fund. Additionally, the events that the Investment Adviser believed would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock judged to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level.

 

Responsible Investing Risk: The Fund's responsible investment criteria could cause it to underperform similar funds that do not have such criteria. Among the reasons for this are: ethically aware companies could fall out of favor with investors or fail to perform as well as companies that do not fit the Fund's responsible investment criteria; stocks that do not meet the responsible investment criteria could outperform those that do; and the responsible investment criteria could cause the Fund to sell or avoid stocks that subsequently perform well.

 

Liquidity Risk: Certain securities in which the Fund invests may be less readily marketable and may be subject to greater fluctuation in price than other securities. These features may make it more difficult to sell or buy a security at a favorable price or time.

 

Market Valuation Risk: Some companies that are growing very fast have unreasonable valuations by traditional valuation techniques. Since these companies' stock prices do not reflect the usual relationships between price and corporate earnings or income, their stocks tend to be extraordinarily volatile and speculative.

 

Dividend- Paying Stock Risk: Because the Fund can only distribute what it earns, the Fund's distributions to shareholders could decline when dividend income from the dividend-paying stocks in the Fund's portfolio declines. Investments in dividend-paying stocks involve the risk that such stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform the market. Also, a company may reduce or eliminate its dividend, which could affect the Fund's ability to generate income. Key factors that might cause a company to reduce or eliminate its dividend include deteriorating fundamentals or changes in priority of the uses of capital, among other factors.

 

Risks of Investments in Smaller Companies: The securities of mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. Both mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies often have narrower markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than larger, more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of the Fund's portfolio. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks become.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund's valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology.

 

Cybersecurity Risk: Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. The Fund's share price may decline as a result of unauthorized actions taken during a security breach or subsequent market activity in response to the security breach.

 

 

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.integrityvikingfunds.com or by calling 800-276-1262.

 

Effective as of October 20, 2022, the Fund changed its name from the Integrity ESG Growth & Income Fund to the Integrity Growth & Income Fund.

 

Since August 1, 2009, the Fund has been managed by Viking Fund Management, LLC. The results from February 1, 2007 to July 31, 2009 were achieved while the Fund was managed by Integrity Money Management, Inc. ("Integrity Money Management" ). The results from April 25, 2005 to January 31, 2007 were achieved while the Fund was managed by Integrity Money Management and IPS Advisory, Inc., the Fund's sub-adviser. The results prior to April 25, 2005 were achieved while the Fund was managed by a different investment adviser that used different investment strategies and techniques.

 

 

The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown.

 

During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 15.39% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a quarter was -17.43% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). The Fund's calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 11.65%.

 

The table below shows the Fund's average annual total returns for 1, 5, and 10 years for Class A shares, and for 1 year, 5 years, and since inception for Class C and Class I shares, and how they compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The return information below reflects applicable sales charges. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax returns for Class C and Class I shares will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown , and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs" ).

 

 

 

 

Investment Adviser--Viking Fund Management, LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

 

Portfolio Managers--Josh Larson, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since May 2013. Trey Welstad, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since May 2015.

 

 

You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or directly from the Fund.

 

The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 ($50 for accounts opened through an automatic investment plan account and $250 for an IRA account). The minimum subsequent investment is $50. The Fund may, however, accept investments of smaller initial or subsequent amounts at its discretion. Class I shares are not available for IRAs or employer sponsored IRAs, unless purchased through a fee-based advisory account with a financial intermediary. You may contact the Fund's transfer agent, Integrity Fund Services, LLC, by mail at PO Box 759, Minot, ND 58702, or by calling 800-601-5593.

 

 

The Fund's distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Such tax-advantaged arrangements may be taxed later upon a withdrawal from those arrangements.

 

 

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.

 

 

 

 

INTEGRITY HIGH INCOME FUND—FUND SUMMARY

 

 

The Integrity High Income Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide a high level of current income with capital appreciation as a secondary objective.

 

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts with respect to purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other funds in the Integrity/Viking family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in “The Shares Offered; Class A Shares” and “How to Reduce Your Sales Charge” on page 44 and 47, respectively, of the Fund’s prospectus, Appendix A of the Fund’s prospectus, and “Purchase and Redemption of Shares” on page B- 51 of the Fund’s statement of additional information.

 

 

 

Example— This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual expense limitation agreement remains in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fund invests in a group of low-quality, high-risk, high yield corporate debt obligations. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund's net assets (plus any borrowings made for investment purposes) will be invested in corporate bonds rated Baa by Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's" ) or BBB by S&P Global Ratings ("S&P" ) or lower. As a result, this includes high yield/lower-rated debt securities (also known as "junk" bonds) that are rated by an independent rating agency to be non-investment grade (e.g., BB or lower by S&P or Ba or lower by Moody's). Because of their low credit quality, these securities typically pay higher interest rates to compensate investors for the substantial credit risk they assume. The Fund may also invest in corporate issues that have defaulted. In addition, the Fund may invest in Rule 144A securities, which are generally privately placed securities purchased by qualified institutional buyers. While there are no restrictions on maturity, the Fund's portfolio generally has an average maturity of less than ten years. The Fund seeks capital appreciation from selling bonds above the purchase price.

 

To select the securities in which to invest, the Fund's sub-adviser conducts fundamental credit research on each issuer. The Fund will buy securities that the sub-adviser believes are attractively priced relative to current and expected fundamentals. The Fund may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, the issuer's business fundamentals have deteriorated.

 

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund's net asset value and performance. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Lower-Quality Debt Risk: Lower-quality debt securities (also known as "junk bonds" ) and certain types of other securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to changes in the credit quality of the issuer. The value of lower-quality debt securities and certain types of other securities often fluctuates in response to company, political, or economic developments and can decline significantly over short periods of time or during periods of general or regional economic difficulty. Lower-quality debt securities can be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price. The default rate for lower-quality debt securities is likely to be higher during economic recessions or periods of high interest rates.

 

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a security will fail to pay principal and interest in a timely manner, reducing the Fund's total return. The Fund may invest in securities that are not investment grade and are generally considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities. Credit risk may be substantial for the Fund.

 

Interest Rate Risk: Interest rate risk is the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates. As nominal interest rates rise, the value of certain debt securities held by the Fund is likely to decrease. Debt securities with longer maturities tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter maturities.

 

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that the income from the Fund's portfolio will decline because of falling market interest rates. This can result when the Fund invests the proceeds from new share sales, or from matured or called bonds, at market interest rates that are below the portfolio's current earnings rate.

 

General Market Risk: There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The prices of the securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate as a result of market factors such as interest rates, credit spreads, or commodity prices, and the Fund's share price and the value of your investment may change. Since the value of the Fund's shares can go up or down, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

Liquidity Risk: Certain securities in which the Fund invests may be less readily marketable and may be subject to greater fluctuation in price than other securities. These features may make it more difficult to sell or buy a security at a favorable price or time.

 

Management Risk: The Fund's overall success depends on the sub-adviser's ability to choose productive securities for the Fund. If the sub-adviser is unable to successfully choose productive securities, the Fund may underperform other funds with similar investment objectives.

 

Market Volatility Risk: Market volatility risk is the risk that the value of the securities in which the Fund invests may go up or down in response to the prospects of individual companies and/or general economic conditions. Price changes may be temporary or may last for extended periods. Volatile financial markets may expose the Fund to greater market and liquidity risk.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund's valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology.

 

Cybersecurity Risk: Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. The Fund's share price may decline as a result of unauthorized actions taken during a security breach or subsequent market activity in response to the security breach.

 

 

 

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.integrityvikingfunds.com or by calling 800-276-1262.

 

Prior to August 1, 2009, the Fund was managed by Integrity Money Management, Inc. Since August 1, 2009, the Fund has been managed by Viking Fund Management, LLC. In addition, effective May 5, 2008, the Fund replaced its sub-adviser. Accordingly, the results prior to May 5, 2008 were achieved while the Fund was sub-advised by its previous sub-advisor, and its investment strategies and techniques differed from those of, and may have produced different investment results than those achieved by, J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., which became the Fund's sub-adviser effective May 5, 2008.

 

The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund's performance for Class A shares. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown.

 

 

During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 8.47% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the lowest return for a quarter was -11.48% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). The Fund's calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 4.19%.

 

The table below shows the Fund's average annual total returns for 1, 5, and 10 years for Class A and Class C shares, and for 1 year, 5 years, and since inception for Class I shares, and how they compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The return information below reflects applicable sales charges. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax returns for Class C and Class I shares will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs" ).

 

 

 

 

Investment Adviser--Viking Fund Management, LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

 

Sub-Adviser--J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. ("JPMIM" ) is the Fund's investment sub-adviser.

 

Portfolio Managers--Robert L. Cook, a Managing Director of JPMIM, and Thomas Hauser, a Managing Director of JPMIM, have served as the Fund's portfolio managers since May 2008 and are jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio.

 

 

You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or directly from the Fund.

 

The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 ($50 for accounts opened through an automatic investment plan account and $250 for an IRA account). The minimum subsequent investment is $50. The Fund may, however, accept investments of smaller initial or subsequent amounts at its discretion. Class I shares are not available for IRAs or employer sponsored IRAs, unless purchased through a fee-based advisory account with a financial intermediary. You may contact the Fund's transfer agent, Integrity Fund Services, LLC, by mail at PO Box 759, Minot, ND 58702, or by calling 800-601-5593.

 

 

 

The Fund's distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Such tax-advantaged arrangements may be taxed later upon a withdrawal from those arrangements.

 

 

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.

 

 

 

 

INTEGRITY MID-NORTH AMERICAN RESOURCES FUND--FUND SUMMARY

 

 

The Integrity Mid-North American Resources Fund (the "Fund" ) seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation.

 

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts with respect to purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other funds in the Integrity/Viking family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "The Shares Offered; Class A Shares" and "How to Reduce Your Sales Charge" on page 44 and 47 , respectively, of the Fund's prospectus, Appendix A of the Fund's prospectus, and "Purchase and Redemption of Shares" on page B- 51 of the Fund's statement of additional information.

 

 

 

Example-- This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual expense limitation agreement remains in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

 

Portfolio Turnover-- The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal period, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 41.75% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

 

 

 

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings made for investment purposes) in the stock of domestic and foreign issuers that are participating or benefitting from the development of the resources in the Mid-North America area, encompassing the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan (herein referred to as the "Region" ). To pursue this strategy, the Fund invests primarily in companies that are (i) headquartered or maintain their principal place of business in the Region, or (ii) during the issuer's most recent fiscal year, derived at least 50% of their revenues from goods produced or sold, investments made, or services performed in the Region, or (iii) during the issuer's most recent fiscal year, have at least 50% of their assets in the Region, each as determined at the time of purchase.

 

The Fund may invest in companies of any size. The companies in which the Fund invests may include smaller companies that have recently commenced operations and do not have significant revenues. The Fund's investment adviser, Viking Fund Management, LLC (the "Investment Adviser" ), will invest a significant amount of the Fund's assets (although not exclusively) in companies it believes to have investment potential in the natural resources area (primarily energy and to a lesser extent, agribusiness, precious metals, and metals and mining), as well as in the companies that serve these sectors and/or service the Region. In connection with investing in companies engaged in the energy sector, the Fund may invest in companies that engage in hydraulic fracturing (which involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into rock formations to stimulate oil or natural gas production). The Fund will invest primarily in the securities of U.S. issuers, but it may also invest in the securities of foreign issuers. The Fund's investments in the securities of foreign issuers are typically in the form of depositary receipts, such as American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs" ).

 

The Fund's portfolio management team considers a variety of factors when choosing investments for the Fund such as: (i) identifying companies and industries that appear to have the potential for above-average long-term performance based on projections of supply and demand of a resource and the state of the market; and/or (ii) identifying companies that are expected to show above-average growth over the long term as well as those that appear to be trading below their true worth. The Fund's portfolio management team may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, its business fundamentals have deteriorated.

 

 

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund's net asset value and performance. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

 

 

 

 

Risks of the Energy Sector: The Fund may invest significantly in securities of companies in the energy sector. The energy sector is often cyclical and highly dependent on commodities prices. Securities prices for companies in the energy sector are affected by a variety of factors related to worldwide energy prices, exploration costs, energy conservation efforts and production spending. The performance of these companies and the prices of these securities are subject to changes in currency exchange rates, government regulation, world events and weather, depletion of natural resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business. The price of oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels could decline significantly and experience significant volatility, and adversely impact companies operating in the energy sector. Further, companies in the energy sector may be at an increased risk of civil liability and environmental damage claims, and are also subject to the risk of loss from terrorism.

 

Geographic or Regional Risk: The Fund is managed to take advantage of what the Investment Adviser views as unique opportunities within the Region. The geographic limitations of such an approach pose special risks that should be understood by investors. Geographic limitations prevent the Fund from investing in other places where the opportunities may be greater. The economy of the Region may underperform that of other areas, creating a drag on performance relative to more geographically diverse funds. Moreover, the Fund will be more susceptible to events negatively affecting the Region than more geographically diverse funds. The geographic limitation may limit the degree of business diversification of the Fund, thus making returns more volatile than in more geographically diversified investments.

 

Regulatory Risk: The Fund may invest in companies that are subject to significant federal, state, and local government regulation in virtually every aspect of their operations, including how facilities are constructed, maintained, and operated, environmental and safety controls, and the prices they may charge for the products and services they provide. Various governmental authorities have the power to enforce compliance with these regulations and the permits issued under them, and violators are subject to administrative, civil and criminal penalties, including civil fines, injunctions, or both. Stricter laws, regulations, or enforcement policies could be enacted in the future which would likely increase compliance costs and may adversely affect the operations and financial performance of a significant number of the companies in which the Fund invests.

 

Risks of Legislation and Regulatory Initiatives Relating to Hydraulic Fracturing: The Fund may invest in companies that engage in hydraulic fracturing. Federal, state, and local legislation and regulatory initiatives relating to hydraulic fracturing (also referred to as “fracking”) could result in increased costs and additional operating restrictions or delays affecting a significant portion of the companies in which the Fund invests. Any federal, state or local laws, implementing regulations or other legal requirements imposing disclosure, regulatory or reporting obligations on, or otherwise limiting, the hydraulic fracturing process, may make it more difficult and expensive to perform hydraulic fracturing, which, for affected companies, could result in limitations on the productive capability of certain oil and gas wells, operational delays, and increased costs of compliance and doing business and, in addition, could adversely affect the value of such companies’ securities.

 

Risks of the Agribusiness Sector: The Fund may invest in companies involved in agribusiness. Companies involved in agribusiness are subject to numerous risks, including cyclicality of revenues and earnings, economic recession, currency fluctuations, changing consumer tastes, extensive competition, weather conditions, quotas, product liability litigation, and governmental policies, regulation and subsidies. Generally, agribusiness is affected by the economic health of consumers. A weak economy and its effect on consumer spending would adversely affect agribusiness companies. Other risks of the agribusiness sector include consolidation, domestic and international politics, and excess capacity. In addition, agribusiness companies may be significantly affected by volatility of commodity prices, import controls, liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources, and mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control devices.

 

General Market Risk: There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The prices of the securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate as a result of market factors such as interest rates, credit spreads, or commodity prices, and the Fund’s share price and the value of your investment may change.

 

 Since the value of the Fund’s shares can go up or down, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

 

Style Risk: The Fund is managed according to an investment strategy that at times reflects either growth or value style investing, and therefore is subject to the risks associated with these styles. One risk is that a growth investing style may fall out of favor with investors for a period of time during which the Fund may underperform other funds that employ a different style. In addition, growth stocks typically are more volatile than value stocks due to their relatively high valuations and sensitivity to investor perceptions of the issuer's growth potential. As a result, the price of a growth stock may experience a larger decline on a forecast of lower earnings or other negative development, than would a value stock. Furthermore, because the value of growth companies is a function of their expected earnings growth, there is a risk that such earnings growth may not occur or cannot be sustained. Value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by the Fund. Additionally, the events that the Investment Adviser believed would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock judged to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level.

 

Sector and Sector Weightings Risk: Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single sector and the securities of companies in that sector could react similarly to these or other developments. Since the Fund invests significantly in relatively few sectors, primarily the energy sector, it has more exposure to the price movements of this sector than funds that diversify their investments among many sectors.

 

Risks of Foreign Securities (including Depositary Receipts): The Fund may invest in securities of non- U.S. issuers, which have special risks. These risks include international economic and political developments, foreign government actions including restrictions on payments to non domestic persons such as the Fund, less regulation, less information, currency fluctuations, and interruptions in currency flow. The Fund's investments in foreign securities are typically in the form of sponsored or unsponsored depositary receipts, such as ADRs, which are subject to risks similar to those associated with other foreign securities. In addition, ownership of unsponsored depositary receipts may not entitle the Fund to financial and other reports from the issuer of the underlying security and certain costs related to the receipts that would otherwise be borne by the issuer of a sponsored depositary receipt may be passed through, in whole or in part, to holders of unsponsored receipts. Moreover, investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. Any distributions paid to the holders of depositary receipts are usually subject to a fee charged by the depositary. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited voting rights, and investment restrictions in certain countries may adversely impact the value of depositary receipts because such restrictions may limit the ability to convert the equity shares into depositary receipts and vice versa. Such restrictions may cause the equity shares of the underlying issuer to trade at a discount or premium to the market price of the depositary receipts.

 

Liquidity Risk: Certain securities in which the Fund invests may be less readily marketable and may be subject to greater fluctuation in price than other securities. These features may make it more difficult to sell or buy a security at a favorable price or time.

 

Risks of Investments in Smaller Companies: The securities of mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. Securities of such issuers may lack sufficient market liquidity to enable the Fund to effect sales at an advantageous time or without a substantial drop in price. Both mid-capitalization and small-capitalization companies often have narrower markets and more limited managerial and financial resources than more established companies. As a result, their performance can be more volatile and they face greater risk of business failure, which could increase the volatility of the Fund's portfolio. Generally, the smaller the company size, the greater these risks become.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price the Fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund's valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology.

 

Cybersecurity Risk: Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. The Fund's share price may decline as a result of unauthorized actions taken during a security breach or subsequent market activity in response to the security breach.

 

 

 

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.integrityvikingfunds.com or by calling 800-276-1262.

 

Effective as of November 29, 2019, the Fund changed its name from the Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stock Fund to the Integrity Mid-North American Resources Fund. Effective November 10, 2008, the Fund changed its name from the Integrity Small Cap Growth Fund to the Williston Basin/Mid-North America Stock Fund, and the Fund's principal investment strategies were also changed significantly. With respect to periods prior to November 10, 2008, the performance figures included reflect the performance of the Fund prior to these changes.

 

 

Since August 1, 2009, the Fund has been managed by Viking Fund Management, LLC. The results from September 19, 2003 until July 31, 2009 were achieved while the Fund was managed by Integrity Money Management, Inc.

 

The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown.

During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 35.51% (quarter ended December 31, 2020) and the lowest return for a quarter was -50.28% (quarter ended March 31, 2020). The Fund's calendar year-to-date total return as of September 30, 2023 was 1.14%.

 

The table below shows the Fund's average annual total returns for 1, 5, and 10 years for Class A shares, and for 1 year, 5 years, and since inception for Class C and Class I shares, and how they compare with those of a broad measure of market performance as well as a more specialized index comprised of companies included in the S&P Composite 1500 that are members of the energy sector. The return information below reflects applicable sales charges. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax returns for Class C and Class I shares will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs" ).

 

 

 

 

Investment Adviser--Viking Fund Management, LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

 

Portfolio Managers--Shannon D. Radke, Senior Portfolio Manager and President of Viking Fund Management, LLC, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since February 2010. Michael Morey, Portfolio Manager, has served as the Fund's portfolio manager since May 2013.

 

 

You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or directly from the Fund.

 

The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 ($50 for accounts opened through an automatic investment plan account and $250 for an IRA account). The minimum subsequent investment is $50. The Fund may, however, accept investments of smaller initial or subsequent amounts at its discretion. Class I shares are not available for IRAs or employer sponsored IRAs, unless purchased through a fee-based advisory account with a financial intermediary. You may contact the Fund's transfer agent, Integrity Fund Services, LLC, by mail at PO Box 759, Minot, ND 58702, or by calling 800-601-5593.

 

 

The Fund's distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Such tax-advantaged arrangements may be taxed later upon a withdrawal from those arrangements.

 

 

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.

 

 

 

 

INTEGRITY SHORT TERM GOVERNMENT FUND--FUND SUMMARY

 

 

The Integrity Short Term Government Fund (the "Fund" ) seeks to achieve a high and stable rate of total return, when and as opportunities are available in the context of preserving capital in adverse markets.

 

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts with respect to purchases of Class A shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other funds in the Integrity/Viking family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "The Shares Offered; Class A Shares" and "How to Reduce Your Sales Charge" on page 44 and 47 , respectively, of the Fund's prospectus, Appendix A of the Fund's prospectus, and "Purchase and Redemption of Shares" on page B- 51 of the Fund's statement of additional information.

 

 

 

 

Example-- This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual expense limitation agreement remains in place for the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

 

 

Portfolio Turnover-- The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal period, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 60.63% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

 

 

To achieve its investment objective, the Fund invests at least 95% of its assets in U.S. Government and agency mortgage-backed securities ("MBS" ) and other securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as defined below), and collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs" ), backed by U.S. Government and agency MBS. Some of the Fund's investments may be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, while others may be supported only by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government or only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality.

 

Under normal market conditions, the target dollar-weighted average effective duration for the Fund is expected to range between one and three years. Duration is a measure of a fixed income security's price sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Duration takes into account a security's cash flows over time, including the possibility that a security might be prepaid by the issuer or redeemed by the holder prior to its stated maturity date. In contrast, maturity measures only the time until final payment is due. The duration of the Fund's portfolio is expressed in years and measures the portfolio's change in value for changes in interest rates. The Fund may also invest in U.S. Treasury bills. The securities held by the Fund may be fixed or variable rate obligations. The Fund may also purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis.

 

To construct the Fund's investment portfolio, the Fund's investment sub-adviser, M.D. Sass , LLC ("M.D. Sass" or "Sub-Adviser" ), utilizes a process based on rigorous quantitative tests. These tests include projecting underlying mortgage prepayment rates under a variety of interest rate scenarios and demographic trends, with regard to any given security's sensitivity to cash flow risk. The nature of such testing is to measure homeowner refinancing/prepayment behavior, relative to mortgage rate changes, and other factors influencing such behavior. The Sub-Adviser's process is primarily structured to create value through intensive (i.e. bottom-up) security selection, portfolio construction and relative value trading. Top-down macro issues and factors are incorporated into the process when considered by the Sub-Adviser to be appropriate.

 

The Sub-Adviser may sell a security if its value becomes unattractive, such as when its fundamentals deteriorate, or when other investment opportunities exist that may have more attractive yields. The Fund may engage in frequent and active trading of securities as a part of its principal investment strategy.

 

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund's net asset value and performance. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

 

Risks of U.S. Government Securities: Securities issued by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities have different levels of U.S. Government credit support. Some are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, while others are supported by only the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government or only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities because they are not obligated to do so by law. Guarantees of timely prepayment of principal and interest do not assure that the market prices and yields of the securities are guaranteed nor do they guarantee the net asset value or performance of the Fund, which will vary with changes in interest rates and other market conditions.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities Risks:

 

Prepayment Risk of Mortgage-Backed Securities. In times of declining interest rates, the Fund's higher yielding securities are more likely to be prepaid and the Fund will have to replace them with securities having a lower yield.

 

Extension Risk of Mortgage-Backed Securities. In times of rising interest rates, mortgage prepayments will slow causing portfolio securities considered short or intermediate term to be long-term securities which fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates than shorter term securities.

 

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the credit strength of an issuer will weaken and/or an issuer of a security will fail to pay principal and interest in a timely manner, reducing the Fund's total return. Changes in an issuer's financial strength or in a security's credit rating may affect its value.

 

Interest Rate Risk: Interest rate risk is the risk that debt securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates. As nominal interest rates rise, the value of certain debt securities held by the Fund is likely to decrease. Debt securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations.

 

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that the income from the Fund's portfolio will decline because of falling market interest rates. This can result when the Fund invests the proceeds from new share sales, or from matured or called bonds, at market interest rates that are below the portfolio's current earnings rate.

 

Variable Rate Securities Risk: Variable rate securities pay interest at rates that reset periodically (typically, daily, monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually) in response to changes in the market rate of interest on which the interest rate is based. Variable rate securities generally are less price sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate debt securities. When interest rates fall, there may be a reduction in the payments of interest received by the Fund from its variable rate securities.

 

When-Issued Securities Risk: There is a risk that the price or yield obtained in a when-issued transaction may be less favorable than the price or yield available in the market when the security is delivered, or that failure of a party to a transaction to consummate the trade may result in a loss to the Fund or missed opportunity to obtain a price considered advantageous.

 

Liquidity Risk: Certain securities in which the Fund invests may be less readily marketable and may be subject to greater fluctuation in price than other securities. These features may make it more difficult to sell or buy a security at a favorable price or time.

 

General Market Risk: There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The prices of the securities in which the Fund invests may fluctuate and the Fund's share price and the value of your investment may change. Since the value of the Fund's shares can go up or down, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security, including factors that affect certain countries, regions, markets, or sectors to which the issuer is not directly exposed. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.

 

Management Risk: The ability of the Fund to meet its investment objective is directly related to the effectiveness of the sub-adviser's research, analysis and asset allocation among portfolio securities. If the sub-adviser's investment strategies do not produce the expected results, the value of your investment could be diminished or even lost entirely.

 

High Portfolio Turnover Risk: High portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund and realization of substantial capital gains, including short-term capital gains (which are generally taxed as ordinary income for federal income tax purposes). As a result, high portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance.

 

 

Valuation Risk : The sales price the Fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the Fund's valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology.

 

Cybersecurity Risk : Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality. The Fund's share price may decline as a result of unauthorized actions taken during a security breach or subsequent market activity in response to the security breach.

 

 

As a result of the reorganization of the M.D. Sass Short Term U.S. Government Agency Income Fund (the "Predecessor Fund" ) into Class I of the Fund on January 17, 2020 (the "Reorganization" ), the performance and accounting history of the Predecessor Fund was assumed by Class I shares of the Fund. The performance information of Class I shares prior to completion of the Reorganization is that of the Predecessor Fund's Institutional Class shares.

 

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the performance of the Fund's Class I shares from calendar year to calendar year and by showing how the average annual total returns for 1, 5, and 10 years for Class I shares, and for 1 year and since inception for Class A shares , and how they compare with those of a broad measure of market performance.

 

 

 

During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 3.90% (quarter ended January 31, 2023) and the lowest return for a quarter was - 5.73% (quarter ended October 31, 2022). The year-to-date return of the Fund's Class I shares through September 30, 2023 is 1.12%.

 

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class I shares only; after-tax returns for Class A shares will vary. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown here, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRAs" ).

 

The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.integrityvikingfunds.com or by calling 800-276-1262.

 

 

Investment Adviser--Viking Fund Management, LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser-- M.D. Sass , LLC (previously defined as "M.D. Sass" ) is the Fund's investment sub-adviser.

 

Portfolio Managers-- Mr. Lipkee Lu, CFA, Director of Fixed Income Investments of M.D. Sass, has served as portfolio manager (including the Predecessor Fund) since June 2011. Steve Clancy, CFA, Managing Director, Fixed Income of M.D. Sass, has served as portfolio manager (including the Predecessor Fund) since September 2012. Nancy Persoons, Senior Vice President, Fixed Income of M.D. Sass, has served as portfolio manager (including the Predecessor Fund) since June 2011.

 

 

You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or directly from the Fund.

 

 

The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 ($50 for accounts opened through an automatic investment plan account and $250 for an IRA account). The minimum subsequent investment is $50. The Fund may, however, accept investments of smaller initial or subsequent amounts at its discretion. Class I shares are not available for IRAs or employer sponsored IRAs, unless purchased through a fee-based advisory account with a financial intermediary. You may contact the Fund's transfer agent, Integrity Fund Services, LLC, by mail at PO Box 759, Minot, ND 58702, or by calling 800-601-5593.

 

 

The Fund's distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Such tax-advantaged arrangements may be taxed later upon a withdrawal from those arrangements.

 

 

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's Web site for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION--INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES,
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, AND RELATED RISKS

 

The Integrity Dividend Harvest Fund ("Dividend Harvest Fund" ), Integrity Dividend Summit Fund ("Dividend Summit Fund" ), Integrity Growth & Income Fund ("Growth & Income Fund" ), Integrity High Income Fund ("High Income Fund" ), Integrity Mid-North American Resources Fund (the "MNA Resources Fund" ), and Integrity Short Term Government Fund ("Short Term Government Fund" ) are each referred to separately as a "Fund" and collectively as the "Funds."

 

 

 

Each Fund's investment objective or objectives are non-fundamental, which means the objective or objectives may be changed without shareholder vote. Shareholders would be given at least 60 days' notice prior to any such change.

 

 

 

Dividend Harvest Fund:

To pursue its objective, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in dividend-paying equity securities, including common stock and preferred stock, of companies. In addition, under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 65% of its net assets in equity securities that have consistently increased dividends for a period of at least 10 years. In determining whether a company has increased its dividend for a period of at least 10 years, the Fund's Portfolio Management Team ("Team" ) will account for the effect of any stock splits or spin-offs and exclude special dividends.

 

Although the investment process results in the Fund holding primarily large-cap companies, the Fund may invest in companies of any size. In selecting securities, the Team considers a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, dividend yield, dividend growth rate, earnings growth, price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, valuation, credit rating, balance sheet strength, and volatility. The Team emphasizes dividend yield in selecting stocks for the Fund because the Team believes that, over time, dividend income can contribute significantly to total return and is a more consistent source of investment return than capital appreciation.

 

While the Fund does not concentrate in any one industry, from time to time, based on economic conditions, it may make significant investments in certain sectors.

 

The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in foreign equity securities, including common stock and preferred stock.

 

The Team may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, its business fundamentals have deteriorated or if it fails to raise its dividend.

 

Dividend Summit Fund:

To pursue its objective, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in dividend-paying equity securities, including common stock and preferred stock. For the purpose of this policy, the Fund considers dividend-paying equity securities are to be common or preferred stock of a company that has paid a dividend in the current or preceding calendar year or has announced a dividend in the current calendar year. In addition, under normal conditions, the Fund invests at least 65% of its net assets in equity securities that pay current dividends at a rate (yield) at least double that of the current yield S&P 500.

 

Although the investment process results in the Fund holding primarily large-cap companies, the Fund may invest in companies of any size. In selecting securities, the Fund's portfolio management team ("Team" ) considers a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, dividend yield, dividend growth rate, earnings growth, price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, valuation, credit rating, balance sheet strength, and volatility. The Team emphasizes dividend yield in selecting stocks for the Fund as income is the primary objective of the of the Fund and the Team believes that, over time, dividend income can contribute significantly to total return and is a more consistent source of investment return than capital appreciation. The Team will primarily seek companies whose dividends are deemed qualified for federal income tax purposes and meet the criteria to be taxed at capital gains tax rates, which are lower than income tax rates for some taxpayers. In addition to its emphasis on income, the Team seeks companies with strong balance sheets and potential for earnings growth in an effort to achieve long term appreciation as a secondary objective.

 

In determining whether to invest in common or preferred stock, the Team will consider a number of factors including macroeconomic and market outlook. The Team will generally favor common stock as it may provide greater potential for capital appreciation. Although the Team will invest in both value and growth stocks, it will emphasize value stocks as they generally pay higher dividends than growth stocks.

 

 

While the Fund does not concentrate in any one industry, from time to time, it may make significant investments in certain economic sectors as a result of the investment process. The Team's macroeconomic and market outlook will drive sector selection.

 

The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in foreign equity securities, including common stock and preferred stock. The Team's macroeconomic and market outlook, along with geographic location and other factors, will drive the Adviser's selection of and allocation among foreign securities.

 

The Team may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, its business fundamentals have deteriorated.

 

Growth & Income Fund:

Under normal conditions, the Fund is managed using a blended growth and income investment strategy. The Fund seeks to invest primarily in domestic common stocks, balancing its investments between growth and dividend-paying stocks, depending on where value is in the stock market. The Fund may also invest in stocks that are currently not paying dividends, but offer prospects for future income or capital appreciation.

 

The Fund may invest in companies of any size. The Investment Adviser makes its investment decisions utilizing a top-down approach which focuses on sector weightings given the Investment Adviser's broader economic and market outlook. Individual companies are then selected by considering a number of factors that may include, but are not limited to, revenue growth, earnings growth rate, dividend yield, cash flow growth rate, price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples and price-to-cash flow (P/CF) multiples, strength of balance sheet, and price momentum. Subject to its attention to responsible investment criteria described below, the Fund is not constrained by investments in any particular segment of the stock market.

 

As described below, the Investment Adviser seeks to emphasize companies that it believes both offer attractive investment opportunities and demonstrate a positive awareness of their impact on the society in which they operate.

 

Responsible Investment Criteria

Potential investments for the Fund are selected for both financial soundness and according to the Fund's responsible investment criteria. The Investment Adviser seeks to emphasize companies that it believes offer both attractive investment opportunities and exhibit positive awareness of their impact on society. Factors considered may include:

 

In addition, the Investment Adviser does not intend to invest in companies that it believes derive material revenue from gambling, firearms, pornography, or from the production of alcohol or tobacco.

 

As a component of the selection process, the Investment Adviser considers whether a company that meets the Fund's financial investment criteria also demonstrates awareness of the impact of such company's products, services, or methods of doing business.

 

Although the Investment Adviser seeks to invest the Fund's assets according to the Fund's responsible investment criteria, no assurances can be made that a company in which the Fund invests will meet such criteria. The Fund's portfolio management team will consider selling a security if, among other considerations, its business fundamentals have deteriorated.

 

High Income Fund:

The Fund invests in a group of low-quality, high-risk, high yield corporate debt obligations. As the name implies, corporate debt obligations (usually called bonds) represent loans by an investor to a corporation. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund's net assets (plus any borrowings made for investment purposes) will be invested in corporate bonds rated Baa by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's" ) or BBB by S&P Global Ratings ("S&P" ) or lower. As a result, this includes high yield/lower-rated debt securities (also known as "junk" bonds) that are rated by an independent rating agency to be non-investment grade (e.g., BB or lower by S&P or Ba or lower by Moody's). Because of their low credit quality, these securities typically pay higher interest rates to compensate investors for the substantial credit risk they assume. The Fund may also invest in corporate issues that have defaulted. In addition, the Fund may invest in Rule 144A securities, which are generally privately placed securities purchased by qualified institutional buyers. While there are no restrictions on maturity, the Fund generally holds an average maturity of less than ten years. Capital appreciation is derived from selling bonds above the purchase price.

 

To select the securities in which to invest, the Fund's sub-adviser conducts fundamental credit research on each issuer. The Fund will buy securities that are attractively priced relative to current and expected fundamentals. The Fund's portfolio management team may consider selling a security if, among other considerations, its business fundamentals have deteriorated.