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Jul. 31, 2015

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

NORTHERN FUNDS

MULTI-MANAGER FUNDS (THE “MULTI-MANAGER FUNDS”)

SUPPLEMENT DATED JUNE 17, 2016 TO

PROSPECTUS DATED JULY 31, 2015, AS SUPPLEMENTED

Effective June 17, 2016, the name of the Multi-Manager Emerging Markets Equity Fund has been changed to the Active M Emerging Markets Equity Fund (“Active M Emerging Markets Equity Fund”) and the Multi-Manager International Equity Fund has been changed to the Active M International Equity Fund (“Active M International Equity Fund”). All references to the Multi-Manager Emerging Markets Equity Fund and Multi-Manager International Equity Fund are hereby deleted and replaced with references to the Active M Emerging Markets Equity Fund and Active M International Equity Fund, respectively.

Finally, effective June 17, 2016, the Active M International Equity Fund will change its benchmark from the “MSCI ACWI ex USA Index” to the “MSCI World ex USA IM Index.”

1.	The information under “Fees and Expenses of the Fund,” “Example” and “Principal Investment Strategies” in the “FUND SUMMARIES” section beginning on page 3 for the Active M Emerging Markets Equity Fund is replaced with the following:

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.


Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)			None
Redemption Fee (within 30 days of purchase) (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable)			2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)⁽¹⁾
Management Fees			1.07%
Other Expenses			0.14%
Transfer Agent Fees			0.02%
Other Operating Expenses			0.12%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			1.21%
Expense Reimbursement⁽²⁾			(0.11)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement			1.10%

⁽¹⁾

The information in the table has been restated to reflect current fees.

⁽²⁾

Northern Trust Investments, Inc. has contractually agreed to reimburse a portion of the operating expenses of the Fund (other than certain excepted expenses, i.e., acquired fund fees and expenses; the compensation paid to each Independent Trustee of the Trust; expenses of third party consultants engaged by the Board of Trustees; membership dues paid to the Investment Company Institute and Mutual Fund Directors Forum; expenses in connection with the negotiation and renewal of the revolving credit facility; and extraordinary expenses and interest) to the extent the “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” exceed 1.10%. The “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement” may be higher than the contractual limitation as a result of the excepted expenses that are not reimbursed. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before July 31, 2017 without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

EXAMPLE

The following 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 and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. 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, based on these assumptions your costs would be:


1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$112	$373	$654	$1,456

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

In seeking long-term capital appreciation, the Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of issuers domiciled in emerging and frontier markets. Emerging and frontier markets are defined as those markets included in the MSCI Emerging Markets^® Index and MSCI Frontier Markets^® Index. As of May 29, 2015, the indices included the following markets: Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. These countries are subject to change with changes in the indices. The Fund’s sub-advisers may also consider emerging and frontier markets as classified by the World Bank, International Finance Corporation or the United Nations and other similar agencies. The Fund may invest in companies of any size located in a number of countries throughout the world.

The Fund utilizes a “multi-manager” approach whereby the Fund’s assets are allocated to one or more sub-advisers, in percentages determined at the discretion of the Fund’s investment adviser. Each sub-adviser acts independently from the others and utilizes its own distinct investment style in selecting securities. However, each sub-adviser must operate within the constraints of the Fund’s investment objective, strategies and restrictions.

When determining the allocations and reallocations to sub-advisers, the Fund’s investment adviser will consider a variety of factors, including but not limited to the sub-adviser’s style, historical performance, and the characteristics of each sub-adviser’s allocated assets (including capitalization, growth and profitability measures, valuation metrics, economic sector exposures, and earnings and volatility statistics). The Fund’s investment adviser seeks, through its selection of sub-advisers and its allocation determinations, to reduce portfolio volatility and provide an attractive combination of risk and return for the Fund.

The sub-advisers may engage in active trading, and will not consider portfolio turnover a limiting factor in making decisions for the Fund.

Morgan Stanley Capital International, Inc. (“MSCI”) does not endorse any of the securities in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index or MSCI Frontier Markets Index. It is not a sponsor of the Active M Emerging Markets Equity Fund and is not affiliated with the Fund in any way.

3.	The information under “Fees and Expenses of the Fund” and “Example” in the “FUND SUMMARIES” section on page 12 for the Multi-Manager Global Real Estate Fund is replaced with the following:

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.


Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)			None
Redemption Fee (within 30 days of purchase) (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable)			2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)⁽¹⁾
Management Fees			0.89%
Other Expenses			0.13%
Transfer Agent Fees			0.02%
Other Operating Expenses			0.11%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses⁽²⁾			0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses⁽³⁾			1.03%
Expense Reimbursement⁽⁴⁾			(0.11)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement⁽³⁾			0.92%

⁽¹⁾

The information in the table has been restated to reflect current fees.

⁽²⁾

Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund through its ownership of shares in other investment companies. They are not direct costs paid by Fund shareholders and are not used to calculate the Fund’s net asset value. They have no impact on the costs associated with Fund operations.

⁽³⁾

The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses and Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement will not correlate to the Fund’s ratios of average net assets to (1) expenses before reimbursements and credits and (2) expenses net of reimbursements and credits, respectively, included in the Fund’s Financial Highlights in the Fund’s complete Prospectus, which do not reflect indirect expenses, such as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

⁽⁴⁾

Northern Trust Investments, Inc. has contractually agreed to reimburse a portion of the operating expenses of the Fund (other than certain excepted expenses, i.e., acquired fund fees and expenses; the compensation paid to each Independent Trustee of the Trust; expenses of third party consultants engaged by the Board of Trustees; membership dues paid to the Investment Company Institute and Mutual Fund Directors Forum; expenses in connection with the negotiation and renewal of the revolving credit facility; and extraordinary expenses and interest) to the extent the “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” exceed 0.91%. The “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement” may be higher than the contractual limitation as a result of the excepted expenses, including but not limited to Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, that are not reimbursed. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before July 31, 2017 without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

EXAMPLE


1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$94	$317	$558	$1,249

4.	The information under “Fees and Expenses of the Fund,” “Example” and “Principal Investment Strategies” in the “FUND SUMMARIES” section beginning on page 16 for the Active M International Equity Fund is replaced with the following:

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.


Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)			None
Redemption Fee (within 30 days of purchase) (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable)			2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)⁽¹⁾
Management Fees			0.80%
Other Expenses			0.13%
Transfer Agent Fees			0.02%
Other Operating Expenses			0.11%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses⁽²⁾			0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses⁽³⁾			0.94%
Expense Reimbursement⁽⁴⁾			(0.09)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement⁽³⁾			0.85%

⁽¹⁾

The information in the table has been restated to reflect current fees.

⁽²⁾

⁽³⁾

The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses and Total Annual Fund Operating Expense Reimbursement will not correlate to the Fund’s ratios of average net assets to (1) expenses before reimbursements and credits and (2) expenses net of reimbursements and credits, respectively, included in the Fund’s Financial Highlights in the Fund’s complete prospectus, which do not reflect indirect expenses, such as Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

⁽⁴⁾

Northern Trust Investments, Inc. has contractually agreed to reimburse a portion of the operating expenses of the Fund (other than certain excepted expenses, i.e., acquired fund fees and expenses; the compensation paid to each Independent Trustee of the Trust; expenses of third party consultants engaged by the Board of Trustees; membership dues paid to the Investment Company Institute and Mutual Fund Directors Forum; expenses in connection with the negotiation and renewal of the revolving credit facility; and extraordinary expenses and interest) to the extent the “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” exceed 0.84%. The “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement” may be higher than the contractual limitation as a result of the excepted expenses, including but not limited to Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, that are not reimbursed. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before July 31, 2017 without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

EXAMPLE


1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$87	$291	$511	$1,146

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

In seeking long-term capital appreciation, the Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of issuers domiciled outside the U.S. The Fund may invest in companies of any size located in a number of countries throughout the world but primarily in the world’s developed capital markets. The Fund may invest up to 40% of its net assets in issuers domiciled in emerging markets.

5.	The sub-section entitled “Average Annual Total Return” in the section entitled “FUND PERFORMANCE” on page 18 of the Prospectus for the Active M International Equity Fund is replaced with the following:

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN

(For the periods ended December 31, 2014)


	Inception Date	1-Year	5-Year	Since Inception
Active M International Equity Fund	6/22/06
Return before taxes		(5.81)%	4.09%	2.13%
Return after taxes on distributions		(6.09)%	3.88%	1.76%
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares		(2.67)%	3.33%	1.73%
MSCI World^® ex USA IM Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)*		(4.45)%	5.52%	2.85%
MSCI ACWI^® ex USA Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)		(3.87)%	4.43%	3.56%

Effective June 17, 2016, the benchmark for the Fund changed from the MSCI ACWI^® ex USA Index to the MSCI World^® ex USA IM Index to reflect the Fund’s exposure to developed markets accross the market capitalization spectrum (large, mid and small cap).

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. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

In calculating the federal income taxes due on redemptions, capital gains taxes resulting from redemptions are subtracted from the redemption proceeds and the tax benefits from capital losses resulting from the redemptions are added to the redemption proceeds. Under certain circumstances, the addition of the tax benefits from capital losses resulting from redemptions may cause the Returns After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares to be greater than the Returns After Taxes on Distributions or even the Returns Before Taxes.

7.	The information under “Fees and Expenses of the Fund” and “Example” in the “FUND SUMMARIES” section on page 37 for the Multi-Manager High Yield Opportunity Fund is replaced with the following:

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.


Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)			None
Redemption Fee (within 30 days of purchase) (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable)			2.00%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)⁽¹⁾
Management Fees			0.83%
Other Expenses			0.14%
Transfer Agent Fees			0.02%
Other Operating Expenses			0.12%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses⁽²⁾			0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses⁽³⁾			0.98%
Expense Reimbursement⁽⁴⁾			(0.12)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement⁽³⁾			0.86%

⁽¹⁾

The information in the table has been restated to reflect current fees.

⁽²⁾

⁽³⁾

⁽⁴⁾

Northern Trust Investments, Inc. has contractually agreed to reimburse a portion of the operating expenses of the Fund (other than certain excepted expenses, i.e., acquired fund fees and expenses; the compensation paid to each Independent Trustee of the Trust; expenses of third party consultants engaged by the Board of Trustees; membership dues paid to the Investment Company Institute and Mutual Fund Directors Forum; expenses in connection with the negotiation and renewal of the revolving credit facility; and extraordinary expenses and interest) to the extent the “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” exceed 0.85%. The “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement” may be higher than the contractual limitation as a result of the excepted expenses, including but not limited to Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, that are not reimbursed. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before July 31, 2017 without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

EXAMPLE


1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$88	$300	$530	$1,190