Please file this Statement of Additional Information
Supplement with your records.
SENTRY FUND, INC.
Supplement to the Statement of Additional Information
dated March 1, 1997
SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS
Maryland law permits registered investment
companies, such as the Fund, to operate without an
annual meeting of shareholders under specified
circumstances if an annual meeting is not required by
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act").
The Fund has recently adopted the appropriate
provisions in its Bylaws, and may, at its discretion,
not hold an annual meeting in any year in which the
election of directors is not required to be acted on by
shareholders under the 1940 Act. The Fund anticipates
that following its Annual Meeting in January 1998, it
will generally not hold an annual meeting unless
required by the 1940 Act. In connection with this
change in policy, the Bylaws of the Fund have also been
amended, to become effective upon the Fund's 1998
Annual Meeting, to provide for the election of all
directors at each annual meeting held for the purpose
of electing directors and for such directors to hold
office until the next annual meeting.
This information supplements, and to the extent
appropriate, amends the section titled "Directors and
Executive Officers" contained on pages B-6 to B-7 of
the Statement of Additional Information.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Sentry Fund Education IRA Accounts
The Fund offers Education IRA accounts so that
parents who meet certain income eligibility
requirements can set up savings accounts for their
children's post-secondary education. Depending on the
parents' income, the parents may be able to contribute
up to $500 annually for each child until the child
turns 18. Although parents' contributions to Education
IRA accounts are after-tax contributions, all earnings
used to pay for the child's post-secondary education
expenses are tax-free.
Earnings not used to pay for the child's post-
secondary education expenses are subject to income tax
and an additional 10% penalty. Any money remaining in
an Education IRA when the child reaches age 30 must be
distributed, or rolled over to an eligible family
member to avoid certain taxes.
<PAGE>
As college costs continue to rise, the Education
IRA is a tax-free way to save for such costs. The
following table illustrates the impact of having
invested $500 (the maximum amount per child if the
parents meet certain income eligibility requirements) a
year beginning in 1987.
<PAGE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION)
Investing $500 Annually in the Sentry Fund, Inc.
Value of Value of Value of
Shares Shares Shares
Total Cost Acquired Purchased Purchased
Total Including Through With With
Period Capital Annual Dividends Annual Income Capital TOTAL
Ended* Dividends Gains Investments Reinvested Investments Dividends Gains VALUE
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
10-1-87 $ ---- $ ---- $ 500 $ 500 $ 500 $ ---- $ ---- $ 500
9-30-92 217 515 2,500 2,717 2,712 243 592 3,547
9-30-97 570 2,153 5,000 5,570 8,146 926 3,436 12,508
</TABLE>
*Data is reported in five-year increments. The date of
the initial $500 investment is assumed to be 10-1-87
with $500 annual investments made each year thereafter.
All data is through the period ended 9-30-97.
Investment Returns - The Sentry Fund
Period Ended Average Annual
09/30/97 Total Return Total Return
1 year 43.6% 43.6%
5 years 106.9% 18.4%
10 years 150.2% 16.2%
This illustration assumes the reinvestment of dividend and capital
gains distributions. Data quoted represents past performance and
that the investment return and principal value of an investment will
fluctuate so that the shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or
less than their original cost. When first organized in 1970, the
Fund applied a sales charge on each share purchase. This sales charge
was eliminated effective 3-1-91. The performance data shown does not
reflect its deduction. Had it been reflected, the charge would reduce
the performance shown. Maintaining an annual investment program does
not guarantee against a loss in a declining market or assure a profit.
Statement of Additional Information Supplement Dated
December 12, 1997
