ThZeal - The Zeal

NORTHERN INSTITUTIONAL U.S. GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO

NORTHERN INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
U.S. Government Portfolio

Summary Prospectus | April 1, 2021Ticker: Shares–BNGXX

Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s complete Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. You can find the Portfolio’s complete Prospectus and other information about the Portfolio online at northerntrust.com/nif-prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800-637-1380 or by sending an e-mail request to northern-funds@ntrs.com. If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a financial intermediary (such as a bank or a broker-dealer), the complete Prospectus and other information are also available from your financial intermediary. The Portfolio’s complete Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated April 1, 2021, as supplemented, 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 OBJECTIVE

The Portfolio seeks to maximize current income to the extent consistent with the preservation of capital and maintenance of liquidity by investing exclusively in high quality money market instruments.

FEES AND EXPENSES of The Portfolio

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

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

None

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

	Shares
Management Fees	0.23%
Other Expenses	0.03%
Transfer Agent Fees	0.02%
Service Fees	None
Other Operating Expenses	0.01%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	0.26%
Expense Reimbursement(1)	(0.01)%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement(2)	0.25%

(1)

Northern Trust Investments, Inc. (“NTI”) has contractually agreed to reimburse a portion of the operating expenses of the Portfolio (other than certain excepted expenses, i.e., Acquired Fund Fees and expenses, service fees, 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, extraordinary expenses and interest) to the extent the “Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses” exceed 0.25%. This contractual limitation may not be terminated before April 1, 2022 without the approval of the Board of Trustees.

(2)

The Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense Reimbursement will not correlate to the Portfolio’s ratio of average net assets to expenses, net of waivers, reimbursements and credits, included in the Portfolio’s Financial Highlights in the Portfolio’s complete Prospectus, which reflect voluntary expense reimbursements made by NTI to the Portfolio.

EXAMPLE

The following Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in Shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio 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 Portfolio’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
Shares	$26	$83	$145	$330

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

The Portfolio seeks to achieve its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, substantially all (and at least 99.5%) of its total assets in cash, securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government or by a person controlled or supervised by and acting as an instrumentality of the U.S. government pursuant to authority granted by the Congress of the United States or any certificate of deposit of any of the foregoing, and repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by cash or such securities. The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in U.S. government securities and repurchase agreements collateralized solely by U.S. government securities.

The Portfolio operates as a “government money market fund” under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. As a “government money market fund” under Rule 2a-7, the Portfolio (1) is permitted to use the amortized cost method of valuation to seek to maintain a stable net asset value (“NAV”) of $1.00 share price, and (2) is not required to impose a liquidity fee and/or a redemption gate on Portfolio redemptions that might apply to other types of money market funds should certain triggering events specified in Rule 2a-7 occur.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) imposes strict requirements on the investment quality, maturity, diversification and liquidity of the Portfolio’s investments. Accordingly, the Portfolio’s investments must have a remaining maturity of no more than 397 days and must be high quality. The Portfolio’s

NIF SUM MGP (4/21)

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS 1 U.S. Government Portfolio

investment adviser may consider, among other things, credit, interest rate and prepayment risks as well as general market conditions when deciding whether to buy or sell investments for the Portfolio.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

As with any investment, you could lose all or part of your investment in the Portfolio, and the Portfolio’s performance could trail that of other investments. The Portfolio is subject to certain risks, including the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s NAV, trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. Each risk noted below is considered a principal risk of investing in the Portfolio, regardless of the order in which it appears. The significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.

STABLE NAV RISK is the risk that the Portfolio will not be able to maintain a NAV per share of $1.00 at all times. A significant enough market disruption or drop in market prices of securities held by the Portfolio, especially at a time when the Portfolio needs to sell securities to meet shareholder redemption requests, could cause the value of the Portfolio’s shares to decrease to a price less than $1.00 per share. If the Portfolio fails to maintain a stable NAV (or if there is a perceived threat of such a failure), the Portfolio could be subject to increased redemption activity, which could adversely affect its NAV.

INTEREST RATE RISK is the risk that during periods of rising interest rates, the Portfolio’s yield (and the market value of its securities) will tend to be lower than prevailing market rates; in periods of falling interest rates, the Portfolio’s yield (and the market value of its securities) will tend to be higher. Securities with longer maturities tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, causing them to be more volatile than securities with shorter maturities. Securities with shorter maturities tend to provide lower returns and be less volatile than securities with longer maturities. If interest rates rise, the Portfolio’s yield may not increase proportionately, and the maturities of income securities that have the ability to be prepaid or called by the

issuer may be extended. Interest rates in the U.S. are currently at historically low levels. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on the markets and the Portfolio’s investments. A low or negative interest rate environment could cause the Portfolio’s earnings to fall below the Portfolio’s expense ratio, resulting in a low or negative yield and a decline in the Portfolio’s share price. A general rise in interest rates may cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of fixed income securities and could also result in increased redemptions for the Portfolio. Fluctuations in interest rates may also affect the liquidity of fixed income securities and instruments held by the Portfolio.

CREDIT (OR DEFAULT) RISK is the risk that the inability or unwillingness of an issuer or guarantor of a fixed-income security, or a counterparty to a repurchase or other transaction, to meet its principal or interest payments or other financial obligations will adversely affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments and its returns. The credit quality of a debt security or of the issuer of a debt security held by the Portfolio could deteriorate rapidly, which may impair the Portfolio’s liquidity or

cause a deterioration in the Portfolio’s NAV. The Portfolio could also be delayed or hindered in its enforcement of rights against an issuer, guarantor or counterparty.

DEBT EXTENSION RISK is the risk that an issuer will exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation held by the Portfolio (such as an asset-backed security) 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 Portfolio will suffer from the inability to invest in higher yielding securities.

PREPAYMENT (OR CALL) RISK is the risk that because many issuers of fixed-income securities have an option to prepay their fixed-income securities, the exercise of such option may result in a decreased rate of return and a decline in value of those securities and accordingly, a decline in the Portfolio’s NAV. Issuers may be more likely to prepay their securities if interest rates fall. If this happens, the Portfolio will not benefit from the rise in the market price of the securities that normally accompanies a decline in interest rates, and will be forced to reinvest prepayment proceeds at a time when yield on securities available in the market are lower than the yield on prepaid securities. The Portfolio may also lose any premium it paid to purchase the securities.

VARIABLE OR FLOATING RATE INSTRUMENTS RISK is the risk that securities with variable or floating rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates, but may decline in value and negatively impact the Portfolio, particularly if changes in prevailing interest rates are more frequent or sudden than the rate changes for the variable or floating rate securities, which only occur periodically. Although variable and floating rate securities are less sensitive to interest rate risk than fixed-rate securities, they are subject to greater liquidity risk, credit risk and default risk, which could impede their value.

INCOME RISK is the risk that the Portfolio’s ability to distribute income to shareholders depends on the yield available from the Portfolio’s investments. Falling interest rates will cause the Portfolio’s income to decline. Income risk is generally higher for short-term debt securities.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES RISK is the risk that the U.S. government will not provide financial support to its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law. Certain U.S. government securities purchased by the Portfolio are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government securities may greatly exceed their current resources, including any legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that the issuers of such securities will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

MARKET RISK is the risk that the value of the Portfolio’s investments may increase or decrease in response to expected, real or perceived economic, political or financial events in the U.S. or global markets. The frequency and magnitude of such changes in value cannot be predicted. Certain securities and other investments held by the Portfolio may experience increased volatility, illiquidity, or other potentially adverse effects in response to changing market conditions, inflation, changes in

U.S. Government Portfolio 2 SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

interest rates, lack of liquidity in the bond or equity markets, volatility in the equity markets, market disruptions caused by local or regional events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness (including epidemics and pandemics) or other public health issues, recessions or other events or adverse investor sentiment or other political, regulatory, economic and social developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market. These risks may be magnified if certain events or developments adversely interrupt the global supply chain; in these and other circumstances, such risks might affect companies worldwide due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets.

MANAGEMENT RISK is the risk that a strategy used by the Portfolio’s investment adviser may fail to produce the intended results or that imperfections, errors or limitations in the tools and data used by the investment adviser may cause unintended results.

CYBERSECURITY RISK is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Portfolio assets, Portfolio or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Portfolio, the investment adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor and other service providers and financial intermediaries to suffer data breaches, data corruption or lose operational functionality or prevent Portfolio investors from purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares or receiving distributions. The Portfolio and its investment adviser have limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third-party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the Portfolio or its investment adviser. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Portfolio or its service providers may adversely impact and cause financial losses to the Portfolio or its shareholders. Issuers of securities in which the Portfolio invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures.

LARGE SHAREHOLDER RISK is the risk that the Portfolio may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders, including funds or accounts over which the Portfolio’s investment adviser or an affiliate of the investment adviser has investment discretion, purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of the Portfolio. Such large shareholder redemptions, which may occur rapidly and unexpectedly, may cause the Portfolio to sell its securities at times it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact its liquidity and/or NAV. Such sales may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if these sales result in gains, and may also increase transaction costs. In addition, large redemptions could lead to an increase in the Portfolio’s expense ratio due to expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base. Large purchases of the Portfolio’s shares may also adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance to the extent that the Portfolio is delayed in investing new cash or otherwise maintains a larger cash position than it ordinarily would.

You could lose money by investing in the Portfolio. Although the Portfolio seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, the Portfolio cannot guarantee it will do so. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of any bank and is

not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, any other government agency, or The Northern Trust Company, its affiliates, subsidiaries or any other bank.

The Portfolio’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the Portfolio, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Portfolio at any time.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

The bar chart and table that follow provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the performance of the Portfolio’s Shares from year to year.

The Portfolio’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.

Updated performance information for the Portfolio is available and may be obtained on the Portfolio’s website at northerntrust.com/institutional or by calling 800-637-1380.

CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS (SHARES)*

For the periods shown in the bar chart above:

highest quarterly return	0.55%	second quarter of 2019
lowest quarterly return	0.00%	fourth quarter of 2020

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

(For the periods ended December 31, 2020)

	Inception Date	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Since Inception
Shares	10/29/1985	0.36%	0.97%	0.49%	3.22%

The 7-day yield for Shares of the Portfolio as of December 31, 2020: 0.00%. For the current 7-day yield call 800-637-1380 or visit northerntrust.com/institutional.

MANAGEMENT

INVESTMENT ADVISER. Northern Trust Investments, Inc. (“NTI”), an indirect subsidiary of Northern Trust Corporation, serves as the investment adviser of the Portfolio. The Northern Trust Company, an affiliate of NTI, serves as transfer agent, custodian and sub-administrator to the Portfolio.

PURCHASE AND SALE OF PORTFOLIO SHARES

You may purchase Shares of the Portfolio through an account directly with Northern Institutional Funds (the “Trust”) generally with a minimum initial investment of $5 million in one or more of the Trust’s portfolios. There is no minimum for

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subsequent investments. The Trust reserves the right to waive the minimum investment requirement in connection with the purchase of Portfolio Shares.

You may also purchase Shares of the Portfolio through your institutional account at Northern Trust (or an affiliate) or an authorized intermediary.

On any business day, you may sell (redeem) or exchange Portfolio shares through your institutional account by contacting your Northern Trust account representative or authorized intermediary. If you purchase Portfolio shares directly from the Trust, you may sell (redeem) or exchange your shares in one of the following ways:

▪

By Mail – Send a written request to: Northern Institutional Funds, P.O. Box 75986, Chicago, Illinois 60675-5986.

▪

By Telephone – Call the Northern Institutional Funds Center at 800-637-1380 for instructions.

▪

By Wire – Authorize wire redemptions on your New Account Application and have proceeds sent by federal wire transfer to a previously designated bank account (the minimum redemption amount by this method is $10,000).

TAX INFORMATION

The Portfolio’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-exempt or tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Distributions may be taxable upon withdrawal from tax-deferred accounts.

PAYMENTS TO BROKERS-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

If you purchase the Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio 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 Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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