Mutual Fund Summary Prospectus (497k)

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Forward Select Income Fund

Summary Prospectus | May 1, 2013, as amended

Ticker Symbols

Class A: KIFAX | Class B: KIFBX | Class C: KIFCX | Advisor Class: FSIMX

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/fund-documents. 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, each dated May 1, 2013, along with the financial statements included in the Fund’s most recent annual report dated December 31, 2012, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks high current income and potential for modest long-term growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Class A, Class B, Class C or Advisor Class 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 $25,000 in one or more series of Forward Funds. This amount may vary depending on the Forward Fund in which you invest. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the “Purchasing Shares” section of the Fund’s prospectus and “Additional Purchase and Redemption Information” section of the Fund’s statement of additional information.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Class A

Class B

Class C

Advisor
Class

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

5.75

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge for shares held less than 1 year (as a percentage of the lesser of original purchase price or redemption proceeds)

None

5.00

1.00

None

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


	Class A			Class B			Class C			Advisor Class

Management Fee		1.00	%		1.00	%		1.00	%		1.00	%
Distribution (12b-1) Fees		0.25	%		0.75	%		0.75	%		N/A
Other Expenses ⁽¹⁾		0.38	%		0.43	%		0.43	%		0.28	%
Interest Expense on Borrowings		0.23	%		0.23	%		0.23	%		0.23	%
Dividend Expense on Short Sales		0.01	%		0.01	%		0.01	%		0.01	%
Total Other Expenses		0.62	%		0.67	%		0.67	%		0.52	%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.01	%		0.01	%		0.01	%		0.01	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		1.88	%		2.43	%		2.43	%		1.53	%

(1)

Restated to reflect current fees for Class A shares and Advisor Class shares.

Examples

These Examples are intended to help you compare the costs of investing in Class A, Class B, 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 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 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 would be:


	Class A		Class B		Class C		Advisor Class

1 Year	$	755	$	746	$	346	$	156
3 Years	$	1,132	$	1,057	$	757	$	483
5 Years	$	1,532	$	1,495	$	1,295	$	834
10 Years	$	2,647	$	2,627	$	2,762	$	1,821

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


	Class A		Class B		Class C		Advisor Class

1 Year	$	755	$	246	$	246	$	156
3 Years	$	1,132	$	757	$	757	$	483
5 Years	$	1,532	$	1,295	$	1,295	$	834
10 Years	$	2,647	$	2,627	$	2,762	$	1,821

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 53% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes, if any, in income-producing securities. The Fund invests primarily in securities of companies in the real estate industry, such as real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), master limited partnerships and other real estate firms. Investments in these issuers are expected to include a significant portion of assets in preferred stock, as well as convertible preferred stock, debt obligations and other senior securities. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in preferred stock. The Fund may also invest in common stock, rights and warrants to purchase securities, and limited partnership interests to the extent Forward Management, LLC (“Forward Management” or the “Advisor”) deems appropriate.

The Fund may invest in securities of companies having any capitalization and of any credit quality, and may invest in debt securities of any maturity. The Fund has the ability to leverage its portfolio by borrowing money in an amount up to one-third of its assets to purchase securities. The Fund may purchase restricted securities or securities which are deemed to be not readily marketable. The Fund may engage in


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Forward Select Income Fund

transactions designed to hedge against changes in the price of the Fund’s portfolio securities, such as purchasing put options or selling securities short.

The Fund may write (sell) call options and purchase put options on individual stocks or broad-based stock indices, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that replicate such indices. The Fund may also enter into put option spreads, which consist of paired purchased and written options with different strike prices on the same stock or index. The Fund generally intends to use option strategies to seek to generate premium income, acquire a security at a specified price, or reduce the Fund’s exposure to market risk and volatility.

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:

Borrowing: Borrowing for investment purposes creates leverage, which will exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the market price of securities in the Fund’s portfolio on the Fund’s net asset value and, therefore, may increase the volatility of the Fund. Money borrowed will be subject to interest and other costs (that may include commitment fees and/or the cost of maintaining minimum average balances). These costs may exceed the gain on securities purchased with borrowed funds. Increased operating costs, including the financing cost associated with any leverage, may reduce the Fund’s total return. Unless the income and capital appreciation, if any, on securities acquired with borrowed funds exceed the cost of borrowing, the use of leverage will diminish the investment performance of the Fund.

Concentration: The Fund concentrates its investments in issuers of one or more particular industries to the extent permitted by applicable regulatory guidance. There is a risk that those issuers (or industry sector) will perform poorly and negatively impact the Fund. Concentration risk results from maintaining exposure (long or short) to issuers conducting business in a specific industry. The risk of concentrating investments in a limited number of issuers in a particular industry is that the Fund will be more susceptible to the risks associated with that industry than a fund that does not concentrate its investments.

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 perform as expected, or that a particular derivative position will be available when sought by the portfolio manager. A Fund’s use of derivative instruments to obtain short exposures may result in greater volatility because losses are potentially unlimited. In addition there can be no assurance given that any derivatives strategy will succeed and the Fund may lose money as a result of its use of derivative instruments.

periods of turbulence and instability, and the general risk that domestic and global economies may go through periods of decline and cyclical change.

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.

Interest Rate: The value of debt securities changes as interest rates change and the value of debt securities typically declines if interest rates increase. Debt securities with longer durations or fixed interest rates tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, which makes them more volatile than debt securities with shorter durations or floating or adjustable interest rates.

Non-Diversification: The Fund is non-diversified, which means it is subject to relaxed limits on the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. Because the appreciation or depreciation of a single portfolio security may have a greater impact on the net asset value of the Fund, the net asset value per share of the Fund can be expected to fluctuate more than that of a comparable diversified fund.

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.

Real Estate Securities and REITs: The Fund is subject to risks related to investment in real estate investment trusts or “REITs,” including fluctuations in the value of underlying properties, defaults by borrowers or tenants, lack of diversification, heavy cash flow dependency, self-liquidation, and potential failure to qualify for tax-free pass through of income and exemption from registration as an investment company. In addition, the Fund is subject to the risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate, including fluctuations in value due to general and local economic conditions, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhood values, changes in the appeal of properties to tenants, increases in interest rates and defaults by borrowers or tenants.

Restricted and Illiquid Securities: Certain securities generally trade in lower volume and may be less liquid than securities of large established companies. If a security is illiquid, the Fund may not be able to sell the security at a time when Forward Management and/or the Fund’s sub-advisor might wish to sell, which means that the Fund could lose money. In addition, the security could have the effect of decreasing the overall level of the Fund’s liquidity. Certain restricted securities, i.e. , securities subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, may be treated as liquid even though they may be less liquid than registered securities traded on established secondary markets.

Please see “Discussion of Principal 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.


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Forward Select Income Fund

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 Class A shares, which excludes the maximum sales load applicable to Class A shares. If the sales load had been included, the returns would have been lower. The accompanying table compares the Fund’s Class A, Class B, Class C, and Advisor Class shares’ average annual total returns to those of a market index over time. A brief description of the market index is included in the Appendix to the Fund’s prospectus. The performance of the index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. 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.forwardinvesting.com or by calling 800-999-6809.

The Fund began operations as the Kensington Select Income Fund, an investment portfolio of The Kensington Funds. On June 12, 2009, the Kensington Select Income Fund was reorganized as the Fund, a new portfolio of the Forward Funds. In connection with the reorganization, the Fund changed its investment advisor to Forward Management.

Calendar Year Total Returns—Class A


Best Quarter – June 30, 2009			38.88%
Worst Quarter – September 30, 2008			–23.83%

Average Annual Total Returns

For the period ended December 31, 2012


	1 Year			5 Years			10 Years			Since Inception
Forward Select Income Fund – Class A (Inception: 3/30/01)
Return Before Taxes		12.39	%		8.81	%		6.09	%		8.87	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions		9.88	%		5.79	%		3.38	%		5.98	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares		7.98	%		5.66	%		3.63	%		5.98	%
BofA Merrill Lynch Preferred Index		13.59	%		3.83	%		3.00	%		3.74	%
Forward Select Income Fund – Class B (Inception: 3/30/01)
Return Before Taxes		13.42	%		8.98	%		5.91	%		8.59	%
BofA Merrill Lynch Preferred Index		13.59	%		3.83	%		3.00	%		3.74	%


	1 Year			5 Years			10 Years			Since Inception
Forward Select Income Fund – Class C (Inception: 3/30/01)
Return Before Taxes		17.47	%		9.27	%		5.91	%		8.59	%
BofA Merrill Lynch Preferred Index		13.59	%		3.83	%		3.00	%		3.74	%
Forward Select Income Fund – Advisor Class (Inception: 2/1/10)
Return Before Taxes		19.62	%		N/A			N/A			15.77	%
BofA Merrill Lynch Preferred Index		13.59	%		N/A			N/A			10.32	%

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 Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown only for the Class A 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. The members of the team are: Michael McGowan, Portfolio Manager, Aaron Visse, CFA, Portfolio Manager, Joel Beam, Portfolio Manager, Ian Goltra, Portfolio Manager, and Jim O’Donnell, CFA, Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Beam has primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Mr. Beam has managed the Fund since its inception in March 2001. Messrs. McGowan, Visse, Goltra, and O’Donnell have managed the Fund since June 2009.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Advisor Class shares of the Fund are currently closed to new investors, with certain exceptions. Please see the “Purchasing Shares” section of the Fund’s prospectus for additional information.

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).

Class A & C Shares: Initial purchases of Class A or Class C shares of the Fund cannot be made directly from Forward Funds and must be made from a broker, dealer, or other financial intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Fund’s Distributor. You may make subsequent purchases or sell (redeem) all or part of your Class A or Class C shares of the Fund: (i) through a financial intermediary, (ii) directly from Forward Funds by mail at P.O. Box 1345, Denver, CO 80201, or (iii) by calling 800-999-6809 and a representative will assist you. However, should a financial intermediary no longer be assigned to your account, no additional purchases of Class A or Class C shares may be made until a new financial intermediary is assigned or you choose to purchase a different class of shares that does not require a financial intermediary.

The minimum initial investment amounts for Class A or Class C 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 Class A or Class C shares must be $100 or more.


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Forward Select Income Fund

Class B Shares: The Fund no longer offers for sale Class B shares of the Fund and shareholders are not able to make new or additional investments in Class B shares.

Advisor Class Shares: Advisor Class shares of the Fund may only be purchased or sold through asset allocation, wrap fee and other similar fee-based advisory programs sponsored by financial intermediaries, such as brokerage firms, investment advisers, financial planners, third-party administrators, insurance companies, and any other institutions having a selling, administration or any similar agreement with the Fund’s Distributor.

There is no minimum initial or subsequent investment amount for purchasing Advisor Class shares of a Fund.

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.

www.forwardinvesting.com | (800) 999-6809

SP047 062613

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Forward Select Income Fund

Summary Prospectus | May 1, 2013, as amended

Ticker Symbols

Investor: FFSLX | Institutional: KIFYX

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks high current income and potential for modest long-term growth of capital.

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 loads.

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		1.00	%		1.00	%
Distribution (12b-1) Fees		0.25	%		N/A
Other Expenses ⁽¹⁾		0.33	%		0.23	%
Interest Expense on Borrowings		0.23	%		0.23	%
Dividend Expense on Short Sales		0.01	%		0.01	%
Total Other Expenses		0.57	%		0.47	%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.01	%		0.01	%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		1.83	%		1.48	%

(1)

Restated to reflect current fees for Institutional Class shares.

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	$	186	$	151
3 Years	$	575	$	468
5 Years	$	990	$	808
10 Years	$	2,145	$	1,766

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies


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Forward Select Income Fund

Principal Risks

Equity Securities: The risks associated with investing in equity securities of companies include the financial risk of selecting individual companies that do not perform as anticipated, the risk that the stock markets in which the Fund invests may experience periods of turbulence and instability, and the general risk that domestic and global economies may go through periods of decline and cyclical change.


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Forward Select Income Fund

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 a market index over time. A brief description of the market index is included in the Appendix to the Fund’s prospectus. The performance of the index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. 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.forwardinvesting.com or by calling 800-999-6809.

Calendar Year Total Returns—Institutional Class


Best Quarter – June 30, 2009			38.98%
Worst Quarter – September 30, 2008			–23.83%

Average Annual Total Returns

For the period ended December 31, 2012


	1 Year			5 Years			Since Inception
Forward Select Income Fund – Institutional Class (Inception: 4/28/06)
Return Before Taxes		19.66	%		10.44	%		5.17	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions		16.86	%		7.28	%		2.40	%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares		12.70	%		7.00	%		2.73	%
BofA Merrill Lynch Preferred Index		13.59	%		3.83	%		2.28	%
Forward Select Income Fund – Investor Class (Inception: 10/26/11)
Return Before Taxes		19.23	%		N/A			19.28	%
BofA Merrill Lynch Preferred Index		13.59	%		N/A			13.60	%

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 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

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