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:
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 24.34% of the average value of its
portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund consists of two main components. First, a majority of its portfolio, referred to herein as the “Core Sleeve,” operates as a “fund-of-funds” that invests primarily in mutual funds offered by Nationwide Variable Insurance Trust and unaffiliated exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) (each, an “Underlying Fund” or collectively, “Underlying Funds”).
Each Underlying Fund invests directly in equity or fixed-income securities, as appropriate to its investment objective and strategies. Certain Underlying Funds are actively managed, and other Underlying Funds are “index” funds, which means they seek to match the investment returns of specified stock or bond indices before the deduction of the Underlying Funds’ expenses. Some Underlying Funds use futures, swaps and options, which are derivatives, either to hedge against investment risks, to obtain exposure to certain securities or groups of securities, or otherwise to increase returns. The remainder of the Fund, referred to herein as the “Volatility Overlay,” invests in short-term fixed-income securities (or Underlying Funds that themselves invest in such securities) or is held in cash. In an attempt to manage the volatility of the Fund’s portfolio over a full market cycle, the Fund buys and sells stock index futures. For these purposes, a full market cycle can be measured from a point in the market cycle (e.g., a peak or trough) to the corresponding point in the next market cycle. The Fund’s short-term fixed-income securities and cash may be used to meet margin requirements and other obligations on the Fund’s derivative positions. The combination of the Core Sleeve and the Volatility Overlay is intended to result in a single Fund that is designed to offer traditional long-term asset
allocation blended with a strategy that seeks to mitigate risk and manage the Fund’s volatility over a full market cycle. The Volatility Overlay may not be successful in reducing volatility, in particular, frequent or short-term volatility with little or no sustained market direction, and it is possible that the Volatility Overlay will result in underperformance or losses greater than if the Fund did not implement the Volatility Overlay.
The level of “volatility” of the Fund’s portfolio reflects the degree to
which the value of the Fund’s portfolio may be expected to rise or fall within a period of time. A high level of volatility means that the Fund’s value is expected to
increase or decrease significantly over a period of time. A lower level of volatility means that the Fund’s value is not expected to fluctuate so significantly. The Fund is intended to be used primarily in connection with guaranteed benefits available through variable annuity contracts issued by Nationwide Life Insurance Company and Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company (collectively,
“Nationwide Life”), and is designed to help reduce a contract owner’s exposure to equity investments when equity markets are more volatile. The purpose of the Volatility Overlay is to minimize the costs and risks to Nationwide Life of supporting these
guaranteed benefits. Although the reduction of equity exposure during periods of higher volatility is designed to decrease the risk of loss to your investment, it may prevent you from achieving higher investment returns. Further, the Fund’s use of leverage in its strategies may cause the Fund’s performance to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged.
The Fund’s Core Sleeve seeks a high level of total return through investments in both
equity and fixed-income securities by investing in Underlying Funds that invest in equity securities, such as common stocks of U.S. and international companies (including smaller companies) that the investment adviser believes offer opportunities for capital growth, and fixed-income
securities (including mortgage-backed securities) in order to generate investment income. Consistent with this investment strategy, as of February 29, 2024, the Core Sleeve allocated approximately 44% of its net assets to equity securities (including international stocks and smaller company stocks) and approximately 56% of its net assets to bonds. In addition to considering
financial information, the subadviser of one or more Underlying Funds may evaluate issuers based on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors.
Although the amount of the Fund’s assets allocated to the Core Sleeve was approximately 95% as of December 31, 2023, this amount may fluctuate within a general range of 90%–100% of the Fund’s overall portfolio. Similarly, the amount of the Fund’s assets allocated to the Volatility Overlay may fluctuate within a general range of 0%–10% in inverse correlation with the Core