Retirement Class HBFRX

Institutional Class HABDX

Administrative Class HRBDX

Harbor Bond Fund

 

Summary Prospectus – March 1, 2021

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund online at harborfunds.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-422-1050 or by sending an email request to funddocuments@harborfunds.com. If you purchase shares of the Fund through a financial intermediary, the prospectus and other information will also be available from your financial intermediary. The current prospectus and statement of additional information, dated March 1, 2021, as amended or supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by referenced into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or email address noted above.

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks total return.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

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 table and example below.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 

	Retirement Class	Institutional Class	Administrative Class
Management Fees1	0.48%	0.48%	0.48%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees	None	None	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.17%	0.25%	0.25%
Interest Expense	0.11%	0.11%	0.11%
Other Operating Expenses	0.06%	0.14%	0.14%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.65%	0.73%	0.98%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement1	(0.11)%	(0.11)%	(0.11)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement1	0.54%	0.62%	0.87%

1 The Adviser has contractually agreed to reduce the management fee to 0.43% on assets between $1 billion and $3 billion and 0.405% on assets greater than $3 billion through February 28, 2022. Additionally, the Adviser has contractually agreed to limit the Fund’s operating expenses, excluding interest expense (if any), to 0.43%, 0.51%, and 0.76% for the Retirement Class, Institutional Class, and Administrative Class, respectively, through February 28, 2022. Only the Fund’s Board of Trustees may modify or terminate these agreements.

 

Expense Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, under these assumptions, your costs would be: 

	One Year	Three Years	Five Years	Ten Years
Retirement	$55	$197	$351	$800
Institutional	$63	$222	$395	$896
Administrative	$89	$301	$531	$1,191

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 may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares of the Fund are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Expense Example, do affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 558%.

Principal Investment Strategy

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in a diversified portfolio of fixed income instruments, which may be represented by forwards or derivatives such as options, futures contracts or swap agreements. Fixed income instruments include bonds, debt securities and other similar instruments issued by various U.S. and non-U.S. public- or private-sector entities.

The Subadviser relies on its own proprietary research and analysis to manage the Fund’s portfolio. The Subadviser uses a top-down strategy to focus on broad factors and monetary conditions. These include:

■

Long-term social, political and demographic trends

■

Cyclical business and economic conditions

■

Current market conditions

The Subadviser selects securities that appear to be most undervalued relative to their risk and potential return characteristics. In analyzing the relative attractiveness of sectors, the Subadviser considers the narrowing or widening of yields compared with yields for government and other sectors. As part of its investment process with respect to each portfolio investment, the Subadviser considers environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors that it believes may have a material impact on an issuer and the value of its securities. As a result, the key ESG considerations may vary depending on the industry, sector, geographic region or other factors and the core business of each issuer.

The Fund may invest up to 30% of its total assets in non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities and may invest without limit in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers. Foreign currency exposure (from non-U.S. dollar denominated securities or currencies) normally will be limited to 20% of the Fund’s total assets. The Fund also may invest up to 15% of its total assets in securities and instruments that are economically tied to emerging market countries (this limitation does not apply to investment-grade sovereign debt denominated in the local currency with less than 1 year remaining to maturity). The Fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in preferred stock, convertible securities and other equity-related securities.

The Fund may invest, without limitation, in derivative instruments, such as options, futures contracts or swap agreements, or in mortgage- or asset-backed securities, subject to applicable law and any other restrictions described in the Fund’s prospectus or

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Summary Prospectus
Harbor Bond Fund

Statement of Additional Information. The Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis and may engage in short selling, which is the sale by the Fund of a borrowed security.

The Fund may, without limitation, seek to obtain market exposure to the securities in which it primarily invests by entering into a series of purchase and sale contracts or by using other investment techniques (such as buy backs or dollar rolls). The total return sought by the Fund consists of income earned on the Fund’s investments, plus capital appreciation, if any, which generally arises from decreases in interest rates, foreign currency appreciation, or improving credit fundamentals for a particular sector or security.

Credit Quality: The Fund invests primarily in investment-grade debt securities, but may invest up to 20% of its total assets in below investment-grade securities, commonly referred to as “high-yield” or “junk” bonds, as rated by Moody’s Investor Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Rating Services or Fitch, Inc., or, if unrated, as determined by the Fund’s Subadviser.

Duration: The Fund’s average duration, as calculated by the Subadviser, is normally equal to that of its benchmark, plus or minus two years. The duration of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index as of December 31, 2020 was 5.87 years. Average duration is a weighted average of all bond durations in the Fund’s portfolio and is an approximate measure of the sensitivity of the market value of the Fund’s holdings to changes in interest rates. If the Fund’s duration is longer than the market’s duration, the Fund would be expected to experience a greater change in the value of its assets when interest rates are rising or falling than would the market as a whole. The average duration of the Fund’s portfolio was 6.47 years as of December 31, 2020.

Principal Risks

There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved. Fixed income securities fluctuate in price in response to various factors, including changes in interest rates, changes in market conditions and issuer-specific events, and the value of your investment in the Fund may go down. This means that you could lose money on your investment in the Fund or the Fund may not perform as well as other possible investments.Principal risks include:

Convertible Securities Risk: Convertible securities generally tend to be of lower credit quality, and the value of a convertible security generally increases and decreases with the value of the underlying common stock, but may also be sensitive to changes in interest rates. A convertible security may also be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption, the Fund will be required to permit the issuer to redeem the security, convert it into the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party, which could result in a loss to the Fund. Additionally, the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a convertible security is unable to meet its financial obligations or declares bankruptcy.

Credit Risk: The issuer or guarantor of a security owned by the Fund could default on its obligation to pay principal or interest or its credit rating could be downgraded. Likewise, a counterparty to a derivative or other contractual instrument owned by the Fund could default on its obligation. This risk may be higher for below investment-grade securities.

Currency Risk: The risk that foreign currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the Fund’s investments in foreign (non-U.S.) currencies or in securities that trade in, and

receive revenues in, or in derivatives that provide exposure to, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies.

Derivatives Risk: The value of derivative instruments held by the Fund may not change in the manner expected by the Subadviser, which could result in disproportionately large losses to the Fund. Derivatives may also be more volatile than other instruments and may create a risk of loss greater than the amount invested. In addition, certain derivatives may be difficult to value and may be illiquid.

Emerging Markets Risk: The risk of investing in emerging market securities, primarily increased foreign (non-U.S.) investment risk, as well as additional risks, such as exposure to economies less diverse and mature than those of the U.S. or more established foreign markets, which can result in greater price volatility.

Equity Risk: The values of equity or equity-related securities may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. They may also decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than fixed income securities.

Extension Risk: When interest rates are rising, certain callable fixed income securities may be extended because of slower than expected principal payments. This would lock in a below-market interest rate, increase the security’s duration and reduce the value of the security.

Foreign Currency Risk: As a result of the Fund’s investments in securities denominated in, and/or receiving revenues in, foreign currencies, the Fund will be subject to currency risk. Currency risk is the risk that foreign currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency hedged. In either event, the dollar value of an investment in the Fund would be adversely affected.

Foreign Securities Risk: Because the Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers, an investment in the Fund is subject to special risks in addition to those of U.S. securities. These risks include heightened political and economic risks, greater volatility, currency fluctuations, higher transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on investment, possible sanctions by governmental bodies of other countries and less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. Foreign securities are sometimes less liquid and harder to value than securities of U.S. issuers. These risks are more significant for issuers in emerging market countries. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk: Higher portfolio turnover may adversely affect Fund performance by increasing Fund transaction costs and may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, which may increase a shareholder’s tax liability.

High-Yield Risk: There is a greater risk that the Fund will lose money because it invests in below investment-grade fixed income securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly referred to as “high-yield securities” or “junk bonds”). These securities are considered speculative because they have a higher

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Summary Prospectus
Harbor Bond Fund

risk of issuer default, are subject to greater price volatility and may be illiquid.

Interest Rate Risk: As interest rates rise, the values of fixed income securities held by the Fund are likely to decrease and reduce the value of the Fund’s portfolio. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates and are usually more volatile than securities with shorter durations. For example, a 5 year average duration generally means the price of a fixed income security will decrease in value by 5% if interest rates rise by 1%. Rising interest rates may lead to increased redemptions, increased volatility and decreased liquidity in the fixed income markets, making it more difficult for the Fund to sell its fixed income securities when the Subadviser may wish to sell or must sell to meet redemptions. During periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, the Fund’s yield (and total return) also may be low or the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns or minimize the volatility of the Fund’s net asset value per share. The risks associated with changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Fund’s investments.

Issuer Risk: An adverse event affecting a particular issuer in which the Fund is invested, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of that issuer’s stock, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably.

Leveraging Risk: The Fund’s use of certain investments, such as derivative instruments or reverse repurchase agreements, and certain transactions, such as securities purchased on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis, buy backs and dollar rolls, can give rise to leverage within the Fund’s portfolio, which could cause the Fund’s returns to be more volatile than if leverage had not been used.

Liquidity Risk: A particular investment may be difficult to purchase or sell and the Fund may be unable to sell illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price or achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector. Liquidity risk may result from the lack of an active market, reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed income securities, and may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from fixed income mutual funds may be higher than normal, causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. Valuation of investments may be difficult, particularly during periods of market volatility or reduced liquidity and for investments that trade infrequently or irregularly. In these circumstances, among others, an investment may be valued using fair value methodologies that are inherently subjective and reflect good faith judgments based on available information.

Market Risk: Securities markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse market, economic, political, regulatory or other developments, which may lower the value of securities held by the Fund, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Events such as war, acts of terrorism, social unrest, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health threats could also significantly impact the Fund and its investments.

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Mortgage and other asset-backed derivatives in the Fund’s portfolio may have especially volatile prices because the embedded leverage can magnify the impact of the extension or contraction event on the underlying cash flow. Mortgage-related securities are also subject to prepayment and extension risks.

Preferred Stock Risk: Preferred stocks in which the Fund may invest are sensitive to interest rate changes, and are also subject to equity risk, which is the risk that stock prices will fall over short or extended periods of time. The rights of preferred stocks

on the distribution of a company’s assets in the event of a liquidation are generally subordinate to the rights associated with a company’s debt securities.

Prepayment Risk: When interest rates are declining, the issuer of a fixed income security, including a pass-through security such as a mortgage-backed or an asset-backed security, may exercise its option to prepay principal earlier than scheduled, forcing the Fund to reinvest in lower yielding securities.

Selection Risk: The Subadviser’s judgment about the attractiveness, value and growth potential of a particular security may be incorrect. The Subadviser potentially will be prevented from executing investment decisions at an advantageous time or price as a result of domestic or global market disruptions, particularly disruptions causing heightened market volatility and reduced market liquidity, as well as increased or changing regulations.  Thus, investments that the Subadviser believes represent an attractive opportunity or in which the Fund seeks to obtain exposure may be unavailable entirely or in the specific quantities or prices sought by the Subadviser and the Fund may need to obtain the exposure through less advantageous or indirect investments or forgo the investment at the time.

Short Sales Risk: If the price of securities sold short increases, the Fund would be required to pay more to replace the borrowed securities than the Fund received on the sale of the securities. Because there is theoretically no limit to the amount of the increase in price of the borrowed securities, the Fund’s risk of loss on a short sale is potentially unlimited.

U.S. Government Securities Risk: Securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or government-sponsored entities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. As a result, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support to these securities or issuers (such as securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). Although certain government securities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government (such as securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association), circumstances could arise that would delay or prevent the payment of interest or principal. It is possible that issuers of U.S. government securities will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future and, in these circumstances, the Fund’s returns may be adversely affected.

Performance

The following bar chart and tables are intended to help you understand the risks and potential rewards of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. The table shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns of the share classes presented compared to the returns of the Fund’s benchmark index, which includes securities with investment characteristics similar to those held by the Fund. Please note that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. To obtain updated performance information please visit the Fund’s website at harborfunds.com or call 800-422-1050.

 

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Summary Prospectus
Harbor Bond Fund

Calendar Year Total Returns for Institutional Class Shares   

During the time periods shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were: 

	Total Returns	Quarter/Year
Best Quarter	4.20%	Q2 2020
Worst Quarter	-3.33%	Q2 2013

 

Average Annual Total Returns — As of December 31, 2020 

	One Year	Annualized			Inception Date
		Five Years	Ten Years	Since Inception
Harbor Bond Fund
Retirement Class* Before Taxes	8.98%	5.03%	4.11%	6.92%	06-01-2018
Institutional Class Before Taxes	8.88%	4.99%	4.09%	6.92%	12-29-1987
After Taxes on Distributions	7.45%	3.49%	2.53%	N/A
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares	5.25%	3.16%	2.48%	N/A
Administrative Class Before Taxes	8.54%	4.73%	3.83%	4.92%	11-01-2002
Comparative Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond^	7.51%	4.44%	3.84%	6.27%

*

Retirement Class shares commenced operations on June 1, 2018. The performance attributed to the Retirement Class shares prior to that date is that of the Institutional Class shares. Performance prior to June 1, 2018 has not been adjusted to reflect the lower expenses of Retirement Class shares. During this period, Retirement Class shares would have had returns similar to, but potentially higher than, Institutional Class shares due to the fact that Retirement Class shares represent interests in the same portfolio as Institutional Class shares but are subject to lower expenses.

^

Since Inception return based on the inception date of the Institutional Class shares.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.Actual after-tax returns will depend on a shareholder’s individual tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to tax-exempt shareholders or shareholders who hold their Fund shares through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. After-tax returns are shown for Institutional Class shares only. After-tax returns for each of the Retirement and Administrative Class of shares will vary.

Portfolio Management

Investment Adviser

Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc.

 

Subadviser

Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”) has subadvised the Fund since 1987.

 

Portfolio Managers

The  portfolio managers are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day investment decision making for the Fund. 

    Scott A. Mather
Pacific Investment Management Company LLC

Mr. Mather is Chief Investment Officer, U.S. Core Strategies and a Managing Director of PIMCO and has managed the Fund since 2014. 

    Mark R. Kiesel
Pacific Investment Management Company LLC

Mr. Kiesel is Chief Investment Officer, Global Credit and a Managing Director of PIMCO and has managed the Fund since 2014. 

    Mohit Mittal
Pacific Investment Management Company LLC

Mr. Mittal is a Managing Director of PIMCO and has managed the Fund since 2019.

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Summary Prospectus
Harbor Bond Fund

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

Shareholders may purchase or sell (redeem) Fund shares on any business day (normally any day the New York Stock Exchange is open). You may conduct transactions by mail, by telephone or through our website. 

By Mail	Harbor Funds P.O. Box 804660 Chicago, IL 60680-4108
By Telephone	800-422-1050
By Visiting Our Website	harborfunds.com

Investors who wish to purchase, exchange or redeem shares held through a financial intermediary should contact the financial intermediary directly.

The minimum initial investment amounts are shown below. The minimums may be reduced or waived in some cases. There are no minimums for subsequent investments. 

Type of Account	Retirement Class1	Institutional Class	Administrative Class2
Regular	$1,000,000	$1,000	$50,000
Individual Retirement Account (IRA)	$1,000,000	$1,000	N/A
Custodial (UGMA/UTMA)	$1,000,000	$1,000	N/A

1 There is no minimum investment for (1) employer-sponsored group retirement or benefit plans (with more than one participant) that maintain accounts with Harbor Funds at an omnibus or plan level, including: (i) plans established under Internal Revenue Code Sections 401(a), 403(b) or 457, (ii) profit-sharing plans, cash balance plans and money purchase pension plans, (iii) non-qualified deferred compensation plans, and (iv) retiree health benefit plans; and (2) certain wrap or model-driven asset allocation program accounts for the benefit of clients of financial intermediaries, as approved by the Distributor.

2 Limited only to employer-sponsored retirement or benefit plans and financial intermediaries. There is no minimum investment for employer-sponsored retirement or benefit plans.

Tax Information

Distributions you receive from the Fund are subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local taxes. These distributions will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Investments in tax-deferred accounts may be subject to tax when they are withdrawn.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the Fund and/or 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 sales representative to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your sales representative or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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Summary Prospectus

Harbor Bond Fund 

March 1, 2021

Retirement Class	Institutional Class	Administrative Class
HBFRX	HABDX	HRBDX

 

 

 

 

111 South Wacker Drive, 34th Floor

Chicago, IL 60606-4302

FD.P.14.B.0321