Forward CorePlus Fund

Summary Prospectus  |  May 1, 2011

TICKER SYMBOLS

Investor: AGRIX  | Institutional: AGROX

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 www.forwardfunds.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-999-6809, by sending an e-mail request to prospectus@forwardfunds.com, or by contacting your financial intermediary. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, along with the Fund’s most recent annual report, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks capital growth.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Investor Class or Institutional Class shares of the Fund.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

As an investor in Investor Class or Institutional Class shares of the Fund, you do not pay any sales load.

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

	INVESTOR CLASS			INSTITUTIONAL CLASS
Management Fee(1)		0.45	%		0.45	%
Distribution (12b-1) Fees		0.25	%		N/A
Shareholder Services Fees		0.25	%		0.10	%
Other Expenses		0.28	%		0.28	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		1.23	%		0.83	%

(1) Restated to reflect current fees.

Examples

These Examples are intended to help you compare the costs of investing in Investor Class or Institutional Class shares of the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the noted class of shares for the time periods indicated. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s total annual operating expenses remain the same. Although actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs whether or not you redeemed your shares would be:

	INVESTOR CLASS		INSTITUTIONAL CLASS
1 Year	$	125	$	85
3 Years	$	390	$	265
5 Years	$	675	$	460
10 Years	$	1,487	$	1,025

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs 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 the Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example tables, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 88% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal conditions, the Fund invests in synthetics or other instruments (i.e., swaps, structured notes, futures and options) (collectively, “Structured Products”) that have similar economic characteristics to common stocks of large capitalization issuers, such as those in the Fund’s benchmark, the S&P 500 Index (the “Benchmark”). For purposes of the Fund, large capitalization issuers have a capitalization of $3.5 billion or greater at the time of investment. Forward Management, LLC (“Forward Management” or the “Advisor”) invests in Structured Products in place of investing directly in large capitalization stocks to attempt to exceed the daily performance of the Benchmark, and the value of such Structured Products should closely track changes in the value of the Benchmark. However, the Structured Products may be purchased with a fraction of the assets that would be needed to purchase the large capitalization stocks directly, so that the remainder of the assets may be invested in fixed income instruments and Structured Products as further discussed below.

The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in fixed income instruments (i.e., U.S. corporate bonds, U.S. Government or agency securities, municipal debt (including variable amount demand master notes), mortgage-backed securities (both agency and commercial) and asset-backed securities) that are of investment grade quality. Forward Management actively manages the fixed income instruments held by the Fund with a view towards enhancing the Fund’s total return, subject to an overall portfolio duration which is normally not expected to vary more than 2.5 years above or below the duration of the Barclays Capital 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Bond Index. A brief description of this index is included in the Appendix to the Fund’s Prospectus. Duration is a measure of the price sensitivity of a debt security or portfolio of debt securities to relative changes in interest rates. For instance, a duration of “three” means that a portfolio’s or security’s price would be expected to decrease by approximately 3% with a 1% increase in interest rates (assuming a parallel shift in yield curve). As of March 31, 2011, the duration of the Barclays Capital 1-5 Year U.S. Government/Credit Bond Index was 2.63.

Furthermore, Forward Management actively allocates a significant portion of the Fund’s assets to a series of strategies through Structured Products with the aim of diversifying the sources of potential excess return, which is likely to be beneficial in market environments in which the fixed income portion of the Fund’s portfolio may lose value (e.g., periods of rising interest rates). Forward Management focuses on five asset allocation strategies designed to complement the Fund’s fixed income strategy. Forward Management allocates the Fund’s assets among these five strategies based on certain market factors. The following is a brief description of each of the strategies to which Forward Management may seek exposure through investments in Structured Products:

Carry Trade: A strategy that captures the difference in target interest rates of different countries through investment in currency forwards. By taking long

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Forward CorePlus Fund

positions in currencies of countries with high policy rates and short positions in currencies of countries with low policy rates, this type of strategy attempts to capture the difference between the policy rates.

Equity Arbitrage: A strategy that captures the difference in the performance of certain equity securities using factors such as momentum, valuation and corporate earnings signals. Through use of a quantitative process, this type of strategy ranks equities based on forecasted returns and takes a short position in a basket of equity securities with the lowest forecasted return and long positions in other equity securities with the highest forecasted return.

Volatility Arbitrage: A strategy that captures the difference in expected and realized volatility of certain equity securities. By taking a long position in an option combined with a short position in the underlying equity security (i.e., a long volatility position), this type of strategy attempts to capture the excess return that is generated if the realized volatility on the underlying equity security eventually proves to be higher than the expected volatility on the option when the trade was initiated. Conversely, by taking a short position in an option combined with a long position in the underlying equity security (i.e., a short volatility position), this type of strategy attempts to capture the excess return that is generated if the realized volatility on the underlying equity security is ultimately lower than the option’s expected volatility.

Roll Yield: A strategy that captures positive contract roll yield in the commodities market by using different contract terms. By investing in a basket of long-short commodity contract pairs that take long positions in later-dated commodities contracts and short positions in short-dated contracts, this type of strategy attempts to capture the mispricing of short-dated contracts.

Rate Arbitrage: A strategy that captures changes in the yield curve, inflation-protected securities premiums, or changes in term premiums. As an example, by taking a long position in inflation-protected securities and a short position in the overall bond market when expected inflation is rising, this type of strategy attempts to capture the persistent mispricing of inflation-protected securities when inflation expectations are high. Conversely, by taking a short position in inflation-protected securities and a long position in the overall bond market when expected inflation is declining, this type of strategy attempts to capture the persistent mispricing of inflation-protected securities when inflation expectations are low.

The Fund may invest all of its assets in Structured Products as described above. Assets not invested in Structured Products may be invested in fixed income instruments or held in cash and/or cash equivalents.

Principal Risks

Any of the investments made by the Fund can result in an investment loss, which may be significant. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its net asset value and total return, are:

Cash and Cash Equivalents: The holding by the Fund of a substantial portion of its assets in cash and/or cash equivalents such as money market securities, U.S. government obligations and short-term debt securities, which may occur under certain market conditions, could have a negative effect on the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.

Commodity Sector: Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or sectors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease,

embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The prices of energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture, and livestock sector commodities may fluctuate widely due to factors such as changes in value, supply and demand and governmental regulatory policies. The commodity-linked securities in which the Fund invests may be issued by companies in the financial services sector, and events affecting the financial services sector may cause the Fund’s share value to fluctuate.

Debt Securities: Debt securities in which the Fund may invest are subject to several types of investment risk, including market or interest rate risk (i.e., the risk that their value will be inversely affected by fluctuations in the prevailing interest rates), credit risk (i.e., the risk that the issuer may be unable to make timely interest payments and repay the principal upon maturity), call or income risk (i.e., the risk that certain debt securities with high interest rates will be prepaid or “called” by the issuer before they mature), and event risk (i.e., the risk that certain debt securities may suffer a substantial decline in credit quality and market value if the issuer restructures).

Derivatives: The market value of the derivative instruments in which the Fund may invest, including options, futures contracts, forward currency contracts, swap agreements and other similar instruments, may be more volatile than that of other instruments. A Fund’s use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments, and certain derivatives may create a risk of loss greater than the amount invested. There can be no assurance given that each derivative position will achieve a perfect correlation with the security or currency against which it is being hedged, or that a particular derivative position will be available when sought by Forward Management. In addition, there can be no assurance given that any derivatives strategy used by the Fund will succeed.

Government-Sponsored Enterprises (“GSEs”): Certain GSEs (such as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and FHLB), although sponsored or chartered by the U.S. Government, are not funded by the U.S. Government and the securities they issue are not guaranteed by the U.S. Government. As a result, securities issued by GSEs carry greater credit risk than securities issued by the U.S. Treasury or government agencies that carry the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.

Hedging: The Fund’s hedging activities, although designed to help offset negative movements in the markets for the Fund’s investments, will not always be successful. Moreover, hedging can cause the Fund to lose money and can reduce the opportunity for gain.

Liquidity: Liquidity risk is financial risk due to uncertain liquidity. An institution might lose liquidity for a variety of reasons. In addition, certain types of securities, such as derivative based securities and privately issued mortgage-related securities and other asset-backed securities without a government or government-sponsored guarantee, are subject to greater liquidity risk.

Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities: Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of mortgage-related securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. As a result, in a period of rising interest rates, the Fund may exhibit additional volatility (i.e., extension risk). In addition, when interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their mortgages sooner than expected. This can reduce the returns of the Fund because the Fund will have to reinvest that money at the lower prevailing interest rates (i.e., prepayment risk). The Fund’s investments in asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with mortgage-related securities, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. Asset-backed securities present credit risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities because asset-backed securities generally do not have the benefit of a security interest in collateral that is comparable in

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Forward CorePlus Fund

quality to mortgage assets. If the issuer of an asset-backed security defaults on its payment obligations, there is the possibility that, in some cases, the Fund will be unable to possess and sell the underlying collateral and that the Fund’s recoveries on repossessed collateral may not be available to support payments on the security. In the event of a default, the Fund may suffer a loss if it cannot sell collateral quickly and receive the amount it is owed.

Municipal Bonds: Interest rates on tax-exempt municipal bonds are generally lower than taxable bonds. If tax-exempt shareholders invest in the Fund they would not obtain any benefit from the potential to receive tax-exempt dividends, and the return on their investment may be lower than an investment in another fund that does not invest in tax-exempt municipal obligations. In addition, since the Fund invests less than 50% of its total assets in federally tax-exempt municipal bonds, no portion of the Fund’s distributions will be designated as tax-exempt dividends.

Portfolio Turnover: The Fund is generally expected to engage in frequent and active trading of portfolio securities to achieve its investment objective. A higher turnover rate (100% or more) will involve correspondingly greater transaction costs, which will be borne directly by the Fund, may have an adverse impact on performance, and may increase the potential for more taxable distributions being paid to shareholders, including short-term capital gains that are taxed at ordinary income rates. To the extent a Fund engages in short sales (which are not included in calculating the portfolio turnover rate), the transaction costs incurred by a Fund are likely to be greater than the transaction costs incurred by a mutual fund that does not take short positions and has a similar portfolio turnover rate.

Tax: The federal income tax treatment of the complex securities in which the Fund may invest may not be clear or may be subject to recharacterization by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). It could be more difficult to comply with the tax requirements applicable to regulated investment companies if the tax characterization of investments or the tax treatment of the income from such investments were successfully challenged by the IRS. Any such failure to comply with the rules applicable to regulated investment companies could make it more difficult for the Fund itself to comply with such rules.

Please see “Discussion of Principal Risks and Non-Principal Risks” in the Fund’s prospectus for a more detailed description of the risks of investing in the Fund. It is possible to lose money on an investment in the Fund. 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.

Performance Information

The following bar chart and table illustrate the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the changes of the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares. The accompanying table compares the Fund’s Institutional Class and Investor Class shares’ average annual total returns to those of certain market indices over time. A brief description of the market indices is included in the Appendix to the Fund’s prospectus. Effective May 1, 2009, the Fund’s “Advisor Class” shares were renamed “Institutional Class” shares. As with all mutual funds, how the Fund has performed in the past (before and after taxes) is not an indication of how it will perform in the future. Performance for the Fund is updated daily, monthly, and quarterly and may be obtained online at www.forwardfunds.com or by calling 800-999-6809.

On January 20, 2011, Forward Management assumed all responsibilities for selecting the Fund’s investments and incorporated new principal investment strategies for the Fund as discussed above under “Principal Investment Strategies.” Performance figures shown below for periods before January 20, 2011 represent performance of the prior

sub-advisors to the Fund under the previous investment strategies for the Fund. In addition, effective January 20, 2011, the S&P 500 Index replaced the S&P 500 Growth Index as the Fund’s primary benchmark. Forward Management made this recommendation to the Fund’s Board because the new index more closely aligns to the Fund’s investment strategies. Information on both indexes will be shown below for at least a one-year transition period. In the future, however, only the S&P 500 Index will be shown.

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS—INSTITUTIONAL CLASS

Best Quarter – September 30, 2009	13.50%
Worst Quarter – December 31, 2008	–19.75%

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

For the period ended December 31, 2010

	1 YEAR			5 YEARS			10 YEARS			SINCE INCEPTION
Forward CorePlus Fund – Institutional Class (Inception: 8/24/92)
Return Before Taxes		11.88	%		1.01	%		–0.24	%		7.63	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions		11.77	%		0.88	%		–0.36	%		6.60	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares		7.83	%		0.79	%		–0.27	%		6.26	%
S&P 500 Index		15.06	%		2.29	%		1.41	%		8.40	%
S&P 500 Growth Index		15.05	%		3.60	%		0.99	%		N/A
Forward CorePlus Fund – Investor Class (Inception: 7/1/98)
Return Before Taxes		11.44	%		0.83	%		–0.54	%		0.43	%
S&P 500 Index		15.06	%		2.29	%		1.41	%		2.52	%
S&P 500 Growth Index		15.05	%		3.60	%		0.99	%		1.88	%

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.

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Forward CorePlus Fund

Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown only for the Institutional Class shares. After-tax returns for other classes will vary.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Manager

Forward Management serves as investment advisor to the Fund. The Fund is team managed and all investment decisions are made jointly by the team. Nathan J. Rowader, Director of Investments, and David L. Ruff, CFA, Portfolio Manager, have co-primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund. The members of the Fund’s team are: Mr. Rowader, Mr. Ruff, Paul Herber, CFA, Investment Officer, and Jim O’Donnell, CFA, President of Forward Asset Management and Chief Investment Officer of Forward Management. Messrs. Rowader, Ruff, Herber, and O’Donnell have managed the Fund since January 2011.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Shares of the Fund may be purchased or sold (redeemed) on any business day (normally any day when the New York Stock Exchange is open). You may purchase or sell (redeem) all or part of your Fund shares: (i) through a broker, dealer, or other financial intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s Distributor, (ii) directly from Forward Funds by mail (along with a completed and signed Account Application if it is your initial purchase) at P.O. Box 1345, Denver, CO 80201, or (iii) by calling 800-999-6809 and a representative will assist you.

The minimum initial investment amounts for Investor Class shares are:

• $2,000 for accounts enrolled in eDelivery

• $2,000 for Coverdell Education Savings accounts

• $500 for Automatic Investment Plan accounts

• $4,000 for all other accounts

Subsequent investments for Investor Class shares must be $100 or more.

The minimum initial investment amount for Institutional Class shares is $100,000. There is no subsequent investment minimum for Institutional Class shares.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Investments held through such tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed in the future upon withdrawal from such arrangements.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or its related companies (including Forward Management) may pay the intermediary for the sale of those shares of the Fund or 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 website for more information.

Forward Funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.

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