Maine Municipal Fund |
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Summary Prospectus || December 5, 2014 |
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Ticker: MEMUX |
This summary prospectus is designed to provide investors with key fund information in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's complete 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.integrityvikingfunds.com/documents. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-276-1262 or by sending an e-mail request to marketing@integrityviking.com. If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the prospectus and other information will also be available from your financial intermediary. The Fund's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated November 30, 2014, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number, or e-mail address noted above.
Investment Objectives
The Fund seeks a high level of current income exempt from both federal income tax and Maine state income tax (other than the alternative minimum tax ("AMT")) without assuming undue risk.
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. You may qualify for sales charge discounts with respect to purchases of shares of the Fund if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other funds in the Integrity/Viking family of funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in "Distribution Arrangements—Sales Loads and Rule 12b-1 Fees" on page 42 of the Fund's prospectus and "Purchase, Redemption, and Pricing of Shares" on page B-35 of the Fund's statement of additional information.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) |
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Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
3.75% |
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the lesser of purchase price or redemption proceeds for purchases of $1 million or more) |
1.00% |
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends |
None |
Redemption Fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed, if applicable) |
None |
Exchange Fee |
None |
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
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Management Fees |
0.50% |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
0.25% |
Other Expenses |
0.53% |
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.02% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1) |
1.30% |
Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements(2) |
(0.30)% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements |
1.00% |
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(1) |
The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses may not correlate with the ratio of expenses to average net assets in the Fund's financial highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include acquired fund fees and expenses. |
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(2) |
The Fund's investment adviser has contractually agreed to waive fees and reimburse expenses from November 30, 2014 through November 29, 2015 so that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements (excluding taxes, brokerage fees, commissions, extraordinary or non-recurring expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses) do not exceed 0.98% of average daily net assets. This expense limitation agreement may only be terminated or modified prior to November 29, 2015 with the approval of the Fund's Board of Trustees. |
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Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the costs 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 |
$474 |
$750 |
$1,054 |
$1,959 |
Portfolio Turnover
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 transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 11.27% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund purchases Maine municipal bonds that, at the time of purchase, are either rated investment grade (BBB- or higher) by at least one independent ratings agency or, if non-rated, have been judged by the Fund's investment adviser to be of comparable quality. The Fund is non-diversified and may invest more of its assets in a single issuer than a diversified mutual fund. The expected average dollar weighted maturity of the Fund's portfolio is between 5 and 20 years.
To pursue its objective, the Fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets (including any borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal securities that pay interest free from federal income taxes and Maine personal income taxes (excluding AMT). The Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in municipal securities that pay interest subject to the AMT. Municipal securities generally include debt obligations issued by the state of Maine and its political subdivisions, municipalities, agencies and authorities, and debt obligations issued by U.S. territories and possessions.
State and local governments, their agencies and authorities issue municipal securities to borrow money for various public and private projects. Municipal securities pay a fixed, floating, or variable rate of interest and require the amount borrowed (principal) to be repaid at maturity.
The Fund may invest up to 30% of its total assets in U.S. territorial obligations (including qualifying obligations of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam), the interest on which is exempt from federal income taxes.
The Fund's investment adviser uses a value-oriented strategy and looks for higher-yielding municipal bonds that offer the potential for above-average return. To assess a bond's investment potential, the Fund's investment adviser considers the bond's yield, price, credit quality, and future prospects. The Fund's investment adviser will consider selling a municipal bond with deteriorating credit or limited upside potential compared to other available bonds.
Principal Risks
As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund's net asset value and performance.
General risk. There is no assurance that the Fund will meet its investment objective. The Fund's share price, and the value of your investment, may change. When the value of the Fund's investments goes down, so does its share price. Since the value of the Fund's shares can go up or down, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.
Non-diversification risk. Because the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers; therefore its investment return is more likely to be impacted by changes in the market value and returns of any one issuer.
Municipal volatility risk. The municipal market can be significantly affected by a number of factors, including adverse tax, legislative or political changes, changes in interest rates, general economic and market conditions, and the financial condition of the issuers of municipal securities.
Municipal securities and single state risks. The values of municipal securities held by the Fund may be adversely affected by local political and economic conditions and developments. Adverse conditions in an industry significant to a local economy could have a correspondingly adverse effect on the financial condition of local issuers. Because the Fund invests primarily in the municipal securities of Maine, it is particularly susceptible to any economic, political, or regulatory developments affecting a particular issuer or issuers of the Maine municipal securities in which it invests. Investing primarily in a single state makes the Fund more sensitive to risks specific to the state. Investing a significant portion of its assets in the municipal securities of U.S. territories and possessions also makes the Fund more sensitive to risks specific to such U.S. territories and possessions. Certain municipal bond issuers in Puerto Rico have recently been experiencing financial difficulties and rating agency downgrades.
Interest rate risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the Fund's portfolio will decline because of rising interest rates. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. When interest rates change, the values of longer-duration debt securities usually change more than the values of shorter-duration debt securities.
Income risk. The income from the Fund's portfolio may decline because of falling market interest rates. This can result when the Fund invests the proceeds from new share sales, or from matured or called bonds, at market rates that are below the portfolio's current earnings rate.
Liquidity risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that the Fund may not be able to sell a holding in a timely manner at a desired price. The secondary market for certain municipal securities tends to be less developed and liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the Fund's ability to sell such municipal securities at attractive prices. Moreover, inventories of municipal securities held by brokers and dealers have decreased in recent years, lessening their ability to make a market in these securities. This reduction in market making capacity has the potential to decrease the Fund's ability to buy or sell bonds, and increase bond price volatility and trading costs, particularly during periods of economic or market stress. In addition, recent federal banking regulations may cause certain dealers to reduce their inventories of municipal securities, which may further decrease the Fund's ability to buy or sell bonds. As a result, the Fund may be forced to accept a lower price to sell a security, to sell other securities to raise cash, or to give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on performance. If the Fund needed to sell large blocks of securities to raise cash (such as to meet heavy shareholder redemptions), those sales could further reduce the securities' prices and hurt performance.
Maturity risk. Generally, longer-term securities are more susceptible to changes in value as a result of interest-rate changes than are shorter-term securities.
Credit risk. Credit risk is the possibility that an issuer will be unable to make interest payments or repay principal. Changes in an issuer's financial strength or in a security's credit rating may affect its value. Securities supported by insurance or other credit enhancements also have the credit risk of the entity providing the insurance or other credit support. Changes in the credit quality of the insurer or other credit provider could affect the value of the security and the Fund's share price. Not all securities are rated. In the event that rating agencies assign different ratings to the same security, the Fund's investment adviser may rely on the higher rating. Credit risks associated with certain particular classifications of municipal securities include:
General Obligation Bonds—Timely payments depend on the issuer's credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues, and ability to maintain an adequate tax base.
Revenue Bonds—Payments depend on the money earned by the particular facility or class of facilities, or the amount of revenues derived from another source.
Private Activity Bonds—Municipalities and other public authorities issue private activity bonds to finance development of facilities for use by a private enterprise. The private enterprise pays the principal and interest on the bond, and the issuer does not pledge its full faith, credit and taxing power for repayment.
Municipal insurance risk. The Fund's investments may include investments in insured municipal securities. Municipal security insurance does not guarantee the value of either individual municipal securities or of shares of the Fund. In addition, a municipal security insurance policy generally will not cover: (i) repayment of a municipal security before maturity (redemption), (ii) prepayment or payment of an acceleration premium (except for a mandatory sinking fund redemption) or any other provision of a bond indenture that advances the maturity of the bond or (iii) nonpayment of principal or interest caused by negligence or bankruptcy of the paying agent. A mandatory sinking fund redemption may be a provision of a municipal security issue whereby part of the municipal security issue may be retired before maturity. Downgrades and withdrawal of ratings from insurers of municipal securities have substantially limited the availability of insurance sought by issuers of municipal securities thereby reducing the supply of insured municipal securities. Because of the consolidation among insurers of municipal securities, to the extent that the Fund invests in insured municipal securities, it is subject to the risk that credit risk may be concentrated among fewer insurers and the risk that events involving one or more insurers could have a significant adverse effect on the value of the securities insured by an insurer and on the municipal markets as a whole.
Call risk. Call risk is the likelihood that a security will be prepaid (or "called") before maturity. An issuer is more likely to call its bonds when interest rates are falling, because the issuer can issue new bonds with lower interest payments. If a bond is called, the Fund may have to replace it with a lower-yielding security.
Extension risk. Extension risk is the risk that an issuer will exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation held by the Fund later than expected. This may happen during a period of rising interest rates. Under these circumstances, the value of the obligation will decrease and the Fund will suffer from the inability to invest in higher yielding securities.
Portfolio strategy risk. The investment adviser's skill in choosing appropriate investments for the Fund will determine in part the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective.
Inflation risk. There is a possibility that the rising prices of goods and services may have the effect of offsetting the Fund's real return. This is likely to have a greater impact on the returns of bond funds and money market funds, which historically have had more modest returns in comparison to equity funds. As inflation increases, the value of the Fund's assets can decline as can the value of the Fund's distributions.
Tax risk. Income from municipal securities held by the Fund could be declared taxable because of unfavorable changes in tax laws, adverse interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities, or noncompliant conduct of a bond issuer. Moreover, a portion of the Fund's otherwise exempt-interest dividends may be taxable to those shareholders subject to the AMT. In addition, proposals have been made to restrict or eliminate the federal income tax exemption for interest on municipal securities, and similar proposals may be introduced in the future. Proposed "flat tax" and "value added tax" proposals would also have the effect of eliminating the tax preference for municipal securities. Some of these proposals would apply to interest on municipal securities issued before the date of enactment, which would adversely affect their value to a material degree. If such a proposal were enacted, the availability of municipal securities for investment by the Fund and the value of the Fund's portfolio would be adversely affected.
Municipal sector risk. The Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in municipal securities that finance, or pay interest from the revenues of, similar projects that tend to be impacted the same or similar ways by economic, business or political developments, which would increase credit risk. For example, legislation on the financing of a project or a declining economic need for the project would likely affect all similar projects.
Risks of transportation revenue bonds. The Fund may invest in transportation revenue bonds. Transportation debt may be issued to finance the construction of airports, toll roads, highways, or other transit facilities. Airport bonds are dependent on the general stability of the airline industry and on the stability of a specific carrier who uses the airport as a hub. Air traffic generally follows broader economic trends and is also affected by the price and availability of fuel. Toll road bonds are also affected by the cost and availability of fuel as well as toll levels, the presence of competing roads and the general economic health of an area. Fuel costs and availability also affect other transportation-related securities, as does the presence of alternate forms of transportation, such as public transportation.
Risks of health care revenue bonds. The Fund may invest in health care revenue bonds. The health care sector is subject to regulatory action by a number of private and governmental agencies, including federal, state, and local governmental agencies. A major source of revenues for the health care sector is payments from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. As a result, the sector is sensitive to legislative changes and reductions in governmental spending for such programs. Numerous other factors may affect the sector, such as general economic conditions; demand for services; expenses (including malpractice insurance premiums); and competition among health care providers. In addition, various elements may adversely affect health care facility operations, including adoption of national, state and/or local health care reform measures; medical and technological advances which dramatically alter the need for health services or the way in which such services are delivered; changes in medical coverage which alter the traditional fee-for-service revenue stream; and efforts by employers, insurers and governmental agencies to reduce the costs of health care insurance and health care services.
Risks of educational revenue bonds. The Fund may invest in educational revenue bonds. These include municipal securities that are obligations of issuers which are, or which govern the operation of, schools, colleges and universities and whose revenues are derived mainly from ad valorem taxes, or for higher education systems, from tuition, dormitory revenues, grants and endowments. Litigation or legislation pertaining to ad valorem taxes may affect sources of funds available for the payment of school bonds. College and university obligations may be affected by the possible inability to raise tuitions and fees sufficiently to cover increased operating costs, the uncertainty of continued receipt of Federal grants and state funding and new government or legislation or regulations which may adversely affect the revenues or costs of such issuers. In addition, student loan revenue bonds, which are generally offered by state (or substate) authorities or commissions and backed by pools of student loans, may be affected by numerous factors, including the rate of student loan defaults, seasoning of the loan portfolio, student repayment deferral periods of forbearance, potential changes in federal legislation, and state guarantee agency reimbursement.
Fund Performance
The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund's performance from year to year. The table below shows the Fund's average annual returns for 1, 5 and 10 years, and since inception, and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.integrityvikingfunds.com or by calling 800-276-1262.
The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns below do not reflect the Fund's sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown.
Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31 each year)(1)
2004 |
0.30% |
2005 |
-0.51% |
2006 |
6.01% |
2007 |
3.68% |
2008 |
1.31% |
2009 |
7.15% |
2010 |
-0.30% |
2011 |
10.52% |
2012 |
4.58% |
2013 |
-2.27% |
(1)The year-to-date return on net asset value as of September 30, 2014 was 5.02%.
During the ten-year period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 4.22% (quarter ended September 30, 2009), and the lowest return for a quarter was -4.95% (quarter ended December 31, 2010).
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.
Average
Annual Total Returns |
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1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Since Inception |
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Return Before Taxes |
-5.94% |
3.05% |
2.58% |
4.34% |
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Return After Taxes on Distributions |
-5.92% |
3.05% |
2.54% |
4.30% |
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Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
-3.90% |
3.07% |
2.70% |
4.29% |
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Barclays Capital Municipal Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
-2.56% |
5.89% |
4.29% |
5.71% |
Management
Investment Adviser
Viking Fund Management, LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.
Portfolio Managers
Name |
Length of Service to Fund |
Title |
Monte Avery |
Since December 2003 |
Senior Portfolio Manager |
Josh Larson |
Since November 2014 |
Portfolio Manager |
Shannon D. Radke |
Since November 2010 |
President, Viking Fund Management, LLC |
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem, or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or directly from the Fund. The minimum initial purchase or exchange into the Fund is $1,000 ($50 for accounts opened through monthly systematic investment plan accounts). The minimum subsequent investment is $50. The Fund may, however, accept investments of smaller initial or subsequent amounts at its discretion. You may contact the Fund's transfer agent, Integrity Fund Services, LLC, by mail at PO Box 759, Minot, ND 58702, or by calling 800-601-5593.
Tax Information
Distributions of the Fund's net interest income from tax-exempt securities are generally expected to be exempt from regular federal income tax; however, distributions derived from interest paid on certain "private activity bonds" may be subject to the federal AMT. In addition, a portion of the Fund's distributions may be taxable as ordinary income or capital gains. The Fund's distributions may also be subject to state and local taxes.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and 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 Web site for more information.