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 9.76% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is a “fund-of-funds” that invests primarily in affiliated mutual funds representing a variety of asset classes. The Fund aims to provide diversification across traditional asset classes—U.S. stocks, international stocks, and bonds—by investing 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. Some Underlying Funds use futures, forwards, swaps and options, which are derivatives, either to hedge against investment risks, to obtain exposure to certain securities or groups of securities, to take short positions in certain securities, or otherwise to increase returns. Although the Fund seeks to provide diversification across major asset classes, the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a small number of issuers (i.e., Underlying Funds). However, the Fund may invest directly in securities and derivatives in addition to investing in Underlying Funds. Further, most of the Underlying Funds in which the Fund invests are diversified.
The Fund pursues its objective of maximum growth of capital with an aggressive level of risk
by investing heavily 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. It also invests a portion of its assets in Underlying Funds that invest in fixed-income securities, such as bonds. Consistent with this investment strategy, as of February 29, 2024, the Fund allocated approximately 59% of its net assets in U.S. stocks, approximately 27% in international (including emerging market) stocks and approximately 14% in bonds. The investment adviser generally sells shares of Underlying Funds in order to meet
target allocations or shareholder redemption activity. The Fund is designed for aggressive investors who are comfortable with assuming the risks associated with investing in a high percentage of stocks, including international stocks. The Fund is also
designed for investors who have long time horizons, who want to maximize long-term returns and who have a high tolerance for possible short-term losses.
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:
Management risk – the Fund is subject to the
risk that the methods and analyses employed by its investment adviser, or by the investment advisers or subadvisers to the Underlying Funds, will not produce the desired results.
This could cause the Fund to lose value or its performance to lag those of relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.
Market risk – the risk that one or more markets in which an Underlying 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.