FORWARD FUNDS

Supplement dated October 31, 2016

to the

Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund Investor Class and Institutional Class Prospectus (“No-Load Prospectus”)

and Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund Class C and Advisor Class Prospectus (“Load Prospectus”)

each dated May 1, 2016, as supplemented

Effective December 1, 2016, Forward Funds, on behalf of the Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund (the “Fund”), entered into an expense limitation agreement with Forward Management, LLC d/b/a Salient (“Salient Management”), the Fund’s investment advisor, pursuant to which Salient Management agrees to limit the Fund’s operating expenses (exclusive of brokerage costs, interest, taxes, dividends, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses) for Investor Class, Institutional Class, Class C and Advisor Class shares to an annual rate (as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets) of 1.85%, 1.50%, 2.45% and 1.55%, respectively. Accordingly, effective December 1, 2016, the following changes are made:

The “Annual Fund Operating Expenses” table and the “Examples” table for the Fund on page 23 of the No-Load Prospectus shall be replaced to read as follows:

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		0.70	%		0.70	%
Distribution (12b-1) Fees		0.25	%		N/A
Other Expenses		0.48	%		0.38	%
Dividend and Interest Expense on Short Sales(1)		0.15	%		0.15	%
Interest Expense on Borrowings(1)		0.16	%		0.16	%
Total Other Expenses(2)		0.79	%		0.69	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		1.74	%		1.39	%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(3)		0.00	%		0.00	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement		1.74	%		1.39	%

(1) Dividend and Interest Expense on Short Sales and Interest Expense on Borrowings are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

(2) Under the terms of a prior expense limitation agreement, certain classes of the Fund have outstanding balances for fees waived by the Advisor during the term of the agreement which may be recouped by the Advisor within three years after the waiver of the expense. As the current expense ratio of the Fund is higher than the expense limit under the former expense limitation agreement the Advisor is currently unable to recoup such expenses but may be able to do so should the expense ratio of the Fund decrease during future periods.

(3) The Fund’s investment advisor is contractually obligated to waive a portion of its fees and reimburse other expenses until December 1, 2017 in amounts necessary to limit the Fund’s operating expenses (exclusive of brokerage costs, interest, taxes, dividends, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses) for the Fund’s Investor Class and Institutional Class shares to an annual rate (as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets) of 1.85% and 1.50%, respectively. This expense limitation arrangement may not be terminated by the Fund’s investment advisor prior to such date under any circumstances. The Fund’s investment advisor is permitted to recoup expenses attributable to the Fund or a Class thereof that the investment advisor has borne (whether through reduction of its management fee or otherwise) in later periods to the extent that the expenses for a Class of shares fall below the annual rate in effect at the time of the actual waiver/reimbursement. Under the expense limitation agreement, the Fund is not obligated to reimburse such expenses beyond three years from the end of such year in which the investment advisor waived a fee or reimbursed an expense. Any such recoupment by the investment advisor will not cause a class to exceed the annual limitation rate in effect at the time of the actual waiver/reimbursement.

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 of the Fund for the time periods indicated. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s total annual operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual fee waiver/reimbursement is in place for the first year. 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	$	177	$	142
3 Years	$	548	$	440
5 Years	$	943	$	760
10 Years	$	2,049	$	1,667

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The “Annual Fund Operating Expenses” table and the “Examples” tables for the Fund on page 20 of the Load Prospectus shall be replaced to read as follows:

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

	Class C			Advisor Class
Management Fee		0.70	%		0.70	%
Distribution (12b-1) Fees		0.75	%		N/A
Other Expenses		0.58	%		0.43	%
Dividend and Interest Expense on Short Sales(1)		0.15	%		0.15	%
Interest Expense on Borrowings(1)		0.16	%		0.16	%
Total Other Expenses(2)		0.89	%		0.74	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		2.34	%		1.44	%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(3)		0.00	%		0.00	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement		2.34	%		1.44	%

(1) Dividend and Interest Expense on Short Sales and Interest Expense on Borrowings are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

(2) Under the terms of a prior expense limitation agreement, certain classes of the Fund have outstanding balances for fees waived by the Advisor during the term of the agreement which may be recouped by the Advisor within three years after the waiver of the expense. As the current expense ratio of the Fund is higher than the expense limit under the former expense limitation agreement the Advisor is currently unable to recoup such expenses but may be able to do so should the expense ratio of the Fund decrease during future periods.

(3) The Fund’s investment advisor is contractually obligated to waive a portion of its fees and reimburse other expenses until December 1, 2017 in amounts necessary to limit the Fund’s operating expenses (exclusive of brokerage costs, interest, taxes, dividends, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses) for the Fund’s Class C and Advisor Class shares to an annual rate (as a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets) of 2.45% and 1.55%, respectively. This expense limitation arrangement may not be terminated by the Fund’s investment advisor prior to such date under any circumstances. The Fund’s investment advisor is permitted to recoup expenses attributable to the Fund or a Class thereof that the investment advisor has borne (whether through reduction of its management fee or otherwise) in later periods to the extent that the expenses for a Class of shares fall below the annual rate in effect at the time of the actual waiver/reimbursement. Under the expense limitation agreement, the Fund is not obligated to reimburse such expenses beyond three years from the end of such year in which the investment advisor waived a fee or reimbursed an expense. Any such recoupment by the investment advisor will not cause a class to exceed the annual limitation rate in effect at the time of the actual waiver/reimbursement.

Examples

These Examples are intended to help you compare the costs of investing in Class C or Advisor 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 of the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s total annual operating expenses remain the same, and that the contractual fee waiver/reimbursement is in place for the first year. Although actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

	Class C		Advisor Class
1 Year	$	337	$	147
3 Years	$	730	$	455
5 Years	$	1,250	$	786
10 Years	$	2,672	$	1,722

You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:

	Class C		Advisor Class
1 Year	$	237	$	147
3 Years	$	730	$	455
5 Years	$	1,250	$	786
10 Years	$	2,672	$	1,722

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PLEASE KEEP THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

SUPP EMCD EXP 10312016

FORWARD FUNDS

Supplement dated October 31, 2016

to the

Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”)

dated May 1, 2016, as supplemented

This supplement amends the SAI dated May 1, 2016, as supplemented, to incorporate information about the expense limitation agreement for the Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund (the “Fund”). Accordingly, the following revisions are incorporated into the SAI effective as of December 1, 2016:

The following information regarding the expense limitation agreement with the Fund is hereby added to the table on pages 19 and 20 of the SAI under the heading/subheading “Investment Advisory and Other Services – Investment Management and Sub-Advisory Agreements.”

Fund	Class	End Date	Expense Limit
Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund	Investor Class	December 1, 2017	1.85%
Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund	Institutional Class	December 1, 2017	1.50%
Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund	Class C	December 1, 2017	2.45%
Salient EM Corporate Debt Fund	Advisor Class	December 1, 2017	1.55%

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PLEASE KEEP THIS SUPPLEMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

SUPP EMCD EXP SAI 10312016