497K - NVIT Federated High Income Bond

NVIT Federated High Income Bond Fund

Summary Prospectus April 29, 2024

Class I

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains information about the Fund and its risks. This Summary Prospectus is intended for use in connection with variable insurance contracts, and is not intended for use by other investors. The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, each dated April 29, 2024 (as may be supplemented or revised), are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. For free paper or electronic copies of the Fund’s Prospectus and other information about the Fund, go to nationwide.com/mutualfundsnvit, email a request to web_help@nationwide.com or call 800-848-0920, or ask any variable insurance contract provider who offers shares of the Fund as an underlying investment option in its products.

Objective

The NVIT Federated High Income Bond Fund seeks to provide high current income.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. Sales charges and other expenses that may be imposed by variable insurance contracts are not included. If these charges were reflected, the expenses listed below would be higher. See the variable insurance contract prospectus, which may impose sales charges and other additional contract-level expenses.

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

	Class I Shares
Management Fees	0.68%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses	0.30%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.98%
Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement(1)	(0.07)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	0.91%

(1) Nationwide Variable Insurance Trust (the “Trust”) and Nationwide Fund Advisors (the “Adviser”) have entered into a written contract limiting annual fund operating expenses to 0.76% until at least April 30, 2025. Under the expense limitation agreement, the level to which operating expenses are limited applies to all share classes, excluding any taxes, interest, compensation payable to parties not affiliated with the Adviser for the recovery of tax reclaims, brokerage commissions, Rule 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, short-sale dividend expenses, administrative services fees, other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and expenses incurred by the Fund in connection with any merger or reorganization, and may exclude other nonroutine expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business. The expense limitation agreement may be changed or eliminated only with the consent of the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Adviser may request and receive reimbursement from the Fund for advisory fees waived or other expenses reimbursed by the Adviser pursuant to the expense limitation agreement at a date not to exceed three years from the date on which the corresponding waiver or reimbursement to the Fund was made. However, no reimbursement may be made unless: (i) the Fund’s assets exceed $100 million and (ii) the total annual expense ratio is no higher than the amount of the expense limitation that was in place at the time the Adviser waived the fees or reimbursed the expenses and does not cause the expense ratio to exceed the current expense limitation. Reimbursement by the Fund of amounts previously waived or reimbursed by the Adviser is not permitted except as provided for in the expense limitation agreement.

Example

This Example is intended to help you to compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example, however, does not include charges that are imposed by variable insurance contracts. If these charges were reflected, the expenses listed below would be higher.

This Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those time periods. It assumes a 5% return each year and no change in expenses, and any expense limitation or fee waivers

NSP-FHI (4/24)

Summary Prospectus April 29, 2024

NVIT Federated High Income Bond Fund

that may apply for the periods indicated above under “Fees and Expenses.” 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
Class I Shares	$93	$305	$535	$1,195

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. 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 14.98% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in U.S. dollar-denominated high-yield bonds (commonly known as “junk bonds”) of U.S. and foreign issuers, including those in emerging market countries. Securities selected for the Fund normally are lower-rated or are below investment grade, with no minimum acceptable rating. These bonds primarily include corporate debt securities, such as notes, bonds, debentures and commercial paper. These securities may pay interest on either a fixed-rate or a variable-rate basis. The Fund may invest in zero-coupon bonds.

The Fund’s subadviser uses an active management style that seeks to maximize potentially higher returns while minimizing default and other risks through security selection and diversification. In selecting securities, the subadviser generally focuses on the bonds of individual issuers and employs fundamental analysis of a company’s management, financial condition, business or product strength, anticipated cash flow and other company-specific factors the subadviser deems relevant. Against this background of company-specific analysis, the subadviser also analyzes current economic and bond market developments and trends. In order to reduce risk, the subadviser invests in a diverse portfolio of many different companies, industries and economic sectors.

The subadviser may use credit default swaps, which are derivatives, in order to hedge against investment risks or to expose the Fund’s cash holdings to the investment characteristics and performance of high-yield bonds the subadviser believes to be representative of the high-yield bond market.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Interest rate risk – generally, when interest rates go up, the value of fixed-income securities goes down. Prices of longer-term securities generally change more in response to interest rate changes than prices of shorter-term securities. To the extent the Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in fixed-income securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates are more likely to cause periods of increased volatility and redemptions, and will cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline significantly. Recently, the Federal Reserve Board has raised interest rates after a period of historic lows, and may increase rates further. The interest earned on the Fund's investments in fixed-income securities may decline when prevailing interest rates fall. Declines in interest rates increase the likelihood that debt obligations will be pre-paid, which, in turn, increases these risks. Very low or negative interest rates will impact the yield of the Fund's investments in fixed-income securities and increase the risk that, if followed by rising interest rates, the Fund's performance will be negatively impacted. The Fund is subject to the risk that the income generated by its investments in fixed-income securities may not keep pace with inflation. Recent and potential future changes in government policy may affect interest rates.

The interest rate of fixed-rate securities is fixed at the time of purchase and does not fluctuate with general market conditions. Floating-rate securities have interest rates that vary with changes to a specific measure, such as the Treasury bill rate. Variable-rate securities have interest rates that change at preset times based on changes on the specific measure.

Credit risk - a bond issuer will default if it is unable to pay the interest or principal when due. If an issuer defaults, the Fund will lose money. This risk is particularly high for high-yield bonds and other securities rated below investment grade. Changes in a bond issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness also affect the market price of a bond.

Summary Prospectus April 29, 2024

NVIT Federated High Income Bond Fund

High-yield bonds risk – investing in high-yield bonds and other lower-rated bonds is considered speculative and may subject the Fund to substantial risk of loss due to issuer default, decline in market value due to adverse economic and business developments, or sensitivity to changing interest rates.

Market risk – the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. This occurs due to numerous factors, including interest rates, the outlook for corporate profits, the health of the national and world economies, and the fluctuation of other securities markets around the world. These risks may be magnified if certain social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) adversely interrupt the global economy.

Sector risk – investments in particular industries or sectors may be more volatile than the overall stock market. Therefore, if the Fund emphasizes one or more industries or economic sectors, it will be more susceptible to financial, market or economic events affecting the particular issuers and industries participating in such sectors than funds that do not emphasize particular industries or sectors.

Selection risk – the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Liquidity risk – when there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities or instruments, it can become more difficult to sell the securities or instruments at or near their perceived value. An inability to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect the Fund's value or prevent the Fund from being able to take advantage of other investment opportunities. Liquidity risk also includes the risk that the Fund will experience significant net redemptions of its shares at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or instruments or can sell its portfolio securities or instruments only at a material loss. To meet redemption requests, the Fund may be forced to sell other securities or instruments that are more liquid, but at unfavorable times and conditions. Investments in foreign securities and high-yield bonds tend to have more exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities and higher-rated bonds.

Prepayment and call risk – certain bonds will be paid off by the issuer more quickly than anticipated. If this happens, the Fund may be required to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.

Foreign securities risk – foreign securities often are more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities.

Emerging markets risk – emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in

emerging markets are considered speculative. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging securities markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets. Since these markets are smaller than developed markets, they may be more likely to suffer sharp and frequent price changes or long-term price depression because of adverse publicity, investor perceptions or the actions of a few large investors. Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because the Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries are unreliable compared to developed markets. Companies in emerging market countries generally are subject to less stringent financial reporting, accounting and auditing standards than companies in more developed countries. In addition, information about such companies may be less available and reliable. Many emerging markets also have histories of political instability and abrupt changes in policies, and the ability to bring and enforce actions may be limited. Certain emerging markets also face other significant internal or external risks, including the risk of war, nationalization of assets, unexpected market closures and ethnic, religious and racial conflicts.

Zero-coupon bonds risk – these securities pay no interest during the life of the security, are often sold at a deep discount, and may be subject to greater price changes as a result of changing interest rates than bonds that make regular interest payments.

Derivatives risk – derivatives may be volatile and may involve significant risks. The underlying security, measure or other instrument on which a derivative is based, or the derivative itself, may not perform as expected. Some derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, including a loss that may be greater than the amount invested. Credit default swaps may involve leverage, which means that their use can significantly magnify the effect of price movements of the underlying securities or reference measures, disproportionately increasing the Fund’s losses and reducing the Fund’s opportunities for gains. Credit default swaps are subject to credit risk on the underlying investment and to counterparty credit risk. If the counterparty fails to meet its obligations the Fund could sustain significant losses. Credit default swaps also are subject to the risk that the Fund will not properly assess the cost of the underlying investment. If the Fund is selling credit protection, it bears the risk that a credit event will occur, requiring the Fund to pay the counterparty the set value of the defaulted bonds. If the Fund is buying credit protection, there is the risk that no credit event will occur and the Fund will receive no benefit for the premium paid.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or

Summary Prospectus April 29, 2024

NVIT Federated High Income Bond Fund

guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the volatility or variability of the Fund’s annual total returns over time and shows that Fund performance can change from year to year. The table shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for certain time periods compared to the returns of a comparable broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. The returns shown in the bar chart and table do not include charges that will be imposed by variable insurance contracts. If these amounts were reflected, returns would be less than those shown.

Annual Total Returns– Class I Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	10.04%	–	2Q 2020
Lowest Quarter:	-12.75%	–	1Q 2020

Average Annual Total Returns
(For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023)

	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Class I Shares	13.13%	4.93%	4.15%
Bloomberg U.S. Corporate High-Yield 2% Issuer Capped Index (reflects no deduction for fees or expenses)	13.44%	5.35%	4.59%

Portfolio Management

Investment Adviser

Nationwide Fund Advisors

Subadviser

Federated Investment Management Company

Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager	Title	Length of Service with Fund
Mark E. Durbiano, CFA	Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager	Since 1997
Randal Stuckwish, CFA	Vice President and Portfolio Manager/Senior Investment Analyst	Since 2021

Tax Information

The dividends and distributions paid by the Fund to the insurance company separate accounts will consist of ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. Because shares of the Fund must be purchased through separate accounts used to fund variable insurance contracts, such dividends and distributions will be exempt from current taxation by contract holders if left to accumulate within a separate account. Consult the variable insurance contract prospectus for additional tax information.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

This Fund is only offered as an underlying investment option for variable insurance contracts. The Fund and its related companies may make payments to the sponsoring insurance companies (or their affiliates) for distribution and/or other services, and to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries that distribute the variable insurance contracts. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the insurance companies to include the Fund as an underlying investment option in the variable insurance contracts, and by influencing the broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries to distribute variable insurance contracts that include the Fund as an underlying investment option over other variable insurance contracts or to otherwise recommend the selection of the Fund as an underlying investment option by contract owners instead of other funds that also may be available investment options. The prospectus (or other offering document) for your variable insurance contract may contain additional information about these payments.

Summary Prospectus April 29, 2024

NVIT Federated High Income Bond Fund