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ING Global Real Estate Fund

ING Global Real Estate Fund

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Fund seeks to provide investors with high total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in ING Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the discussion in the Sales Charges section of the Prospectus (page 112) or the Statement of Additional Information (page 211).
Shareholder Fees
Fees paid directly from your investment
Shareholder Fees ING Global Real Estate Fund
Maximum sales charge (load) as a % of offering price
Maximum deferred sales charge as a % of purchase or sales price, whichever is less
Class A
5.75% none [1]
Class B
none 5.00%
Class C
none 1.00%
Class I
none none
Class O
none none
Class R
none none
Class W
none none
[1] A contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% is assessed on certain redemptions of Class A shares made within 18 months after purchase where no initial sales charge was paid at the time of purchase as part of an investment of $1 million or more.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Expenses you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment
Annual Fund OperatIng Expenses ING Global Real Estate Fund
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class I
Class O
Class R
Class W
Management Fees 0.71% 0.71% 0.71% 0.71% 0.71% 0.71% 0.71%
Distribution and/or Shareholder Services (12b-1) Fees 0.25% 1.00% 1.00% none 0.25% 0.50% none
Administrative Services Fees 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10% 0.10%
Other Expenses 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.18% 0.25% 0.25% 0.25%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.31% 2.06% 2.06% 0.99% 1.31% 1.56% 1.06%
Waivers and Reimbursements [1] none none none none none none none
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Waivers and Reimbursements 1.31% 2.06% 2.06% 0.99% 1.31% 1.56% 1.06%
[1] The adviser is contractually obligated to limit expenses to 1.75%, 2.50%, 2.50%, 1.50%, 1.75%, 2.00%, and 1.50% for Class A, Class B, Class C, Class I, Class O, Class R, and Class W shares, respectively, through March 1, 2013. The obligation will automatically renew for one-year terms unless it is terminated by the Fund or the adviser upon written notice within 90 days of the end of the current term or upon termination of the advisory agreement and is subject to possible recoupment by the adviser within three years. In addition, the adviser is contractually obligated to further limit expenses to 1.65%, 2.40%, 2.40%, 1.40%, 1.65%, 1.90%, and 1.40% for Class A, Class B, Class C, Class I, Class O, Class R, and Class W shares, respectively, through March 1, 2013 and the obligation will only continue if the adviser elects to renew it. Any fees waived pursuant to this obligation shall not be eligible for recoupment. These obligations do not extend to interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, extraordinary expenses, and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

Expense Examples $

The Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated. The Examples show costs if you sold (redeemed) your shares at the end of the period or continued to hold them. The Examples also assume that your investment had a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example ING Global Real Estate Fund (USD $)
1 Yr
3 Yrs
5 Yrs
10 Yrs
Class A
701 966 1,252 2,063
Class B
709 946 1,308 2,197
Class C
309 646 1,108 2,390
Class I
101 315 547 1,213
Class O
133 415 718 1,579
Class R
159 493 850 1,856
Class W
108 337 585 1,294
Expense Example, No Redemption ING Global Real Estate Fund (USD $)
1 Yr
3 Yrs
5 Yrs
10 Yrs
Class A
701 966 1,252 2,063
Class B
209 646 1,108 2,197
Class C
209 646 1,108 2,390
Class I
101 315 547 1,213
Class O
133 415 718 1,579
Class R
159 493 850 1,856
Class W
108 337 585 1,294
The Examples reflect applicable expense limitation agreements and/or waivers in effect, if any, for the one-year period and the first year of the three-, five-, and ten-year periods.
Portfolio Turnover % of average value of portfolio

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 transactions costs and may mean higher taxes if you are investing in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Expense Examples, affect the Fund’s performance.

During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 37% of the average value of its portfolio.

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in a portfolio of equity securities of companies that are principally engaged in the real estate industry. The Fund will provide shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior notice of any change in this investment policy. The sub-adviser (“Sub-Adviser”) defines a real estate company as a company that: (i) derives at least 50% of its total revenue or earnings from owning, operating, developing, managing, and/or selling real estate; or (ii) has at least 50% of its assets invested in real estate. This portion of the portfolio will have investments located in a number of different countries, including the United States. As a general matter, the Fund expects these investments to be in common stocks of companies of any market capitalization, including real estate investment trusts. The Fund may invest in companies located in countries with emerging securities markets.

The Fund may invest in other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds, to the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules, regulations, and exemptive orders thereunder (“1940 Act”). The Fund may invest in convertible securities, initial public offerings, and Rule 144A securities.

The Sub-Adviser uses a multi-step investment process for constructing the Fund’s investment portfolio that combines top-down region and sector allocation with bottom-up individual stock selection.

First, the Sub-Adviser selects sectors and geographic regions in which to invest, and determines the degree of representation of such sectors and regions through a systematic evaluation of public and private property market trends and conditions.

Second, the Sub-Adviser uses an in-house valuation process to identify investments with superior current income and growth potential relative to their peers. This in-house valuation process examines several factors including: (i) value and property; (ii) capital structure; and (iii) management and strategy.

The Fund is non-diversified, which means it may invest a significant portion of its assets in a single issuer.

The Sub-Adviser may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, or redeploy assets into opportunities believed to be more promising, among others.

The Fund may lend portfolio securities on a short-term or long-term basis, up to 331 /3 % of its assets.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

You could lose money on an investment in the Fund. Any of the following risks, among others, could affect Fund performance or cause the Fund to lose money or to underperform market averages of other funds.

Company The price of a given company’s stock could decline or underperform for many reasons including, among others, poor management, financial problems, or business challenges. If a company declares bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, its stock could become worthless.

Concentration As a result of the Fund “concentrating,” as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, its assets in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries or single country or region, the Fund may be subject to greater market fluctuations than a fund that has securities representing a broader range of investment alternatives. If securities in which the Fund concentrates fall out of favor, the Fund could underperform funds that have greater diversification.

Convertible Securities Convertible securities are securities that are convertible into or exercisable for common stocks at a stated price or rate. Convertible securities are subject to the usual risks associated with debt securities, such as interest rate and credit risk. In addition, because convertible securities react to changes in the value of the stocks into which they convert, they are subject to market risk.

Currency To the extent that the Fund invests directly in foreign currencies or in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies, it is subject to the risk that those 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 being hedged.

Foreign Investments/Developing and Emerging Markets Investing in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may result in the Fund experiencing more rapid and extreme changes in value than a fund that invests exclusively in securities of U.S. companies, due to smaller markets, differing reporting, accounting and auditing standards, and nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, foreign currency fluctuations, currency blockage, or political changes or diplomatic developments. Foreign investment risks typically are greater in developing and emerging markets than in developed markets.

Initial Public Offerings Initial Public Offerings (“IPOs”) and companies that have recently gone public have the potential to produce substantial gains for the Fund. However, there is no assurance that the Fund will have access to profitable IPOs or that IPOs in which the Fund invests will rise in value. Furthermore, the value of securities of newly public companies may decline in value shortly after the IPO. When the Fund’s asset base is small, the impact of such investments on the Fund’s return will be magnified. If the Fund’s assets grow, it is likely that the effect of the Fund’s investment in IPOs on the Fund’s return will decline.

Issuer Non-Diversification The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company and, therefore, is subject to the risks of focusing investments in a small number of issuers, industries or foreign currencies, including being more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a more diversified portfolio might be.

Liquidity If a security is illiquid, the Fund might be unable to sell the security at a time when the Fund’s manager might wish to sell, and the security could have the effect of decreasing the overall level of the Fund’s liquidity. Further, the lack of an established secondary market may make it more difficult to value illiquid securities, which could vary from the amount the Fund could realize upon disposition. The Fund may make investments that become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perception. The Fund could lose money if it cannot sell a security at the time and price that would be most beneficial to the Fund.

Market Stock prices may be volatile and are affected by the real or perceived impacts of such factors as economic conditions and political events. The stock market tends to be cyclical, with periods when stock prices generally rise and periods when stock prices generally decline. Any given stock market segment may remain out of favor with investors for a short or long period of time, and stocks as an asset class may underperform bonds or other asset classes during some periods.

Market Capitalization Stocks fall into three broad market capitalization categories - large, mid, and small. Investing primarily in one category carries the risk that, due to current market conditions, that category may be out of favor with investors. If valuations of large-capitalization companies appear to be greatly out of proportion to the valuations of mid- or small-capitalization companies, investors may migrate to the stocks of mid- and small-sized companies causing the Fund that invests in these companies to increase in value more rapidly than a fund that invests in larger, fully-valued companies. Investing in mid- and small-capitalization companies may be subject to special risks associated with narrower product lines, more limited financial resources, smaller management groups, and a more limited trading market for their stocks as compared with larger companies. As a result, stocks of mid- and small-capitalization companies may decline significantly in market downturns.

Other Investment Companies The main risk of investing in other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds, is the risk that the value of the securities underlying an investment company might decrease. Because the Fund may invest in other investment companies, you will pay a proportionate share of the expenses of that other investment company (including management fees, administration fees, and custodial fees) in addition to the expenses of the Fund.

Real Estate Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) Investing in real estate companies and REITs may subject the Fund to risks similar to those associated with the direct ownership of real estate, including losses from casualty or condemnation, changes in local and general economic conditions, supply and demand, interest rates, zoning laws, regulatory limitations on rents, property taxes, and operating expenses in addition to terrorist attacks, war, or other acts that destroy real property.

Securities Lending Securities lending involves two primary risks: “investment risk” and “borrower default risk.” Investment risk is the risk that the Fund will lose money from the investment of the cash collateral received from the borrower. Borrower default risk is the risk that the Fund will lose money due to the failure of a borrower to return a borrowed security in a timely manner.

An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The following information is intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The following bar chart shows the changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year, and the table compares the Fund’s performance to the performance of a broad-based securities market index/indices for the same period. The Fund’s performance information reflects applicable fee waivers and/or expense limitations in effect during the period presented. Absent such fee waivers/expense limitations, if any, performance would have been lower. The bar chart shows the performance of the Fund’s Class A shares. Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. However, the table includes all applicable fees and sales charges. Other class shares’ performance would be higher or lower than Class A shares’ performance because of the higher or lower expenses paid by Class A shares. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is no guarantee of future results. For the most recent performance figures, go to www.INGFunds.com/literature or call 1-800-992-0180.

Because Class R shares of the Fund did not have a full calendar year of operations as of December 31, 2011, no performance information for Class R shares is provided below.

Calendar Year Total Returns Class A
(as of December 31 of each year)
Bar Chart
Best quarter: 2nd 2009, 32.13% and Worst quarter: 4th 2008, (29.01)%
Average Annual Total Returns%
(for the periods ended December 31, 2011)
Average Annual Total Returns ING Global Real Estate Fund
1 Yr
5 Yrs
10 Yrs
Since Inception
Inception Date
Class A before taxes
(11.05%) (5.80%) 9.05%    Nov. 05, 2001
Class A After tax on distributions
(11.73%) (7.08%) 7.11%     
Class A After tax on distributions with sale
(7.11%) (5.50%) 6.67%     
Class A S&P Developed Property Index
[1] (5.55%) (5.15%) 9.38%     
Class B before taxes
(10.94%) (5.71%)    8.60% Mar. 15, 2002
Class B S&P Developed Property Index
[1] (5.55%) (5.15%)    9.08% [2]  
Class C before taxes
(7.24%) (5.39%)    8.80% Jan. 08, 2002
Class C S&P Developed Property Index
[1] (5.55%) (5.15%)    9.38% [2]  
Class I before taxes
(5.32%) (4.33%)    4.02% Jun. 03, 2005
Class I S&P Developed Property Index
[1] (5.55%) (5.15%)    3.31% [2]  
Class O before taxes
(5.64%) (4.70%)    (3.17%) Nov. 15, 2006
Class O S&P Developed Property Index
[1] (5.55%) (5.15%)    (4.58%) [2]  
Class W before taxes
(5.39%)       (2.36%) Feb. 12, 2008
Class W S&P Developed Property Index
[1] (5.55%)       (3.65%) [2]  
[1] The index returns do not reflect deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes.
[2] Reflects index performance since the date closest to the Class' inception for which data is available.
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 depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the 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. In some cases the after-tax returns may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other classes will vary.