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Seven asset classes to potentially increase diversity within your portfolio.

The new Nationwide Alternatives Allocation Fund.

Subadvised by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P., the Fund is designed to provide investors with a professionally selected mix of seven categories of alternative investments to help broaden a portfolio of more traditional asset classes. Read more…

The Fund provides exposure to the following alternative asset classes:

Download the fact sheet
Download the prospectus

Potential to benefit from lower-than-average expenses

Source of data: Strategic Insight. *Fund expenses are shown for Class A shares. Target allocations for the fund are as of December 31, 2011. Because the fund is new, expenses are estimated based on the fund’s projected average net assets for the current fiscal year ending October 31, 2012. The difference between gross and net operating expenses reflects contractual expense waivers, which are in place for all classes through February 28, 2013.

Fund expenses can erode a portfolio’s performance over time. The Nationwide Alternatives Allocation Fund provides professionally managed asset allocation across seven alternative asset classes — at a cost that, in most cases, is lower than the average expense of investing in those asset classes individually. You keep more of your portfolio’s returns, while harnessing the potential benefits of nontraditional asset classes.

If you were to build a portfolio that reflected the current allocation* of the Nationwide Alternatives Allocation Fund by category and the average net expenses for funds in those categories, the portfolio’s expenses would be 1.32% — that’s 47% higher than the net expense ratio of the Nationwide Alternatives Allocation Fund (A shares).

Download the expense comparison

For more details, travel to Learn, Strategy and What If?.

Talk with your financial advisor before investing.

*Target allocations for the Fund as of June 30, 2011. Because the Fund is new, expenses are estimated based on the Fund’s projected average net assets for the current fiscal year ending October 31, 2011. The difference between gross and net operating expenses reflects contractual expense waivers, which are in place for all classes through February 29, 2012.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Investing in mutual funds involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors’ shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

Investors should carefully consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, fees, charges and expenses before investing any money. To obtain this and other information on Nationwide Funds, please call 1-800-848-0920 to request a summary prospectus and/or a prospectus, or download a summary prospectus and/or a prospectus at nationwide.com/mutualfunds. Please read it carefully before investing any money.

The use of diversification and asset allocation as part of an overall investment strategy does not ensure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market.

Asset allocation is the process of spreading assets across several different investment styles and asset classes. The Fund is designed to provide asset allocation across several types of alternative investments in an attempt to achieve investment performance that may have a low correlation to the performance of more traditional investments. The Fund consists of separate sleeves to represent the investments in each of the different asset classes.

Each sleeve invests in securities and derivatives with the goal of matching the investment characteristics and performance of a specified asset class benchmark index. Although each sleeve may invest in the securities included in its respective index, each of the international bonds, high-yield bonds, emerging market bonds and emerging market stocks sleeves invests primarily in derivatives as a substitute for investing in such securities in an attempt to synthetically replicate the investment characteristics and performance of the sleeve’s benchmark index.

Instead of investing directly in physical commodities, substantially all of the Fund’s exposures to commodities will be undertaken by investing in commodity-linked notes, commodity futures and commodity-linked swaps, all of which are derivatives. Investing in commodities and commodities-linked investments may expose the Fund to increased volatility and decreased liquidity due to several factors, including changes in supply-and-demand relationships; weather; agriculture; disease; fiscal and exchange control programs; and international economic, political, military and regulatory developments.

Derivatives can increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when the security or commodity prices, currency values, index values, interest rates or other such measures underlying the instruments change in unexpected ways. Derivatives also present default risks if the counterparty to a derivatives contract fails to fulfill its obligations to the Fund.

In addition, the Fund is subject to specific investment risks such as those associated with: (i) bonds and high-yield bonds, (ii) international and emerging market securities, and (iii) real estate investment trusts (REITs).

The Fund is a nondiversified fund, which means that a relatively high percentage of the Fund’s assets may be invested in a limited number of issuers.

The Nationwide Alternatives Allocation Fund is subject to a number of risks and may not be suitable for all investors. The Fund is not intended to serve as a complete investment program. There is no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved.

ABOUT NATIONWIDE FUNDS GROUP (NFG)

Based in King of Prussia, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, Nationwide’s Investment Management Group (IMG) is the investment arm of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. (NFS). IMG comprises Nationwide Funds Group (NFG) and Nationwide Investment Advisors, LLC (NIA).

NFG comprises Nationwide Fund Advisors, Nationwide Fund Distributors LLC and Nationwide Fund Management LLC. Together they provide advisory, distribution and administration services, respectively, to Nationwide Funds. NFS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nationwide Corporation. All of the common stock of Nationwide Corporation is held by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (95.2%) and Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company (4.8%), each of which is a mutual company owned by its policyholders.

DISTRIBUTOR

Nationwide Funds distributed by Nationwide Fund Distributors LLC (NFD), Member FINRA, 1000 Continental Drive, Suite 400, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406. NFD is not an affiliate of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. is the subadvisor of the Fund.

Nationwide, the Nationwide framemark, Nationwide Funds, Nationwide Funds Group and On Your Side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Nationwide Funds
1000 Continental Drive, Suite 400, King of Prussia, PA 19406
Shareholder services and 24-hour account access: 1-800-848-0920
National Sales Desk: 1-877-877-5083
nationwide.com/mutualfunds

©2011 Nationwide Funds Group. All rights reserved.

MFW-0113A0.2 (08/12)

ASSET CLASS DEFINITIONS

Global real estate1, 2: Generally includes real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate operating companies (REOCs) that manage real estate investment portfolios around the world to earn profits for their interest holders; these might include investments in shopping centers, medical facilities, office buildings, industrial warehouses and other types of real estate

Commodities3: Tangible assets such as grains, metals and oil

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)4: Similar to Treasury bonds, but the principal and coupon payments are adjusted to eliminate the effects of inflation; TIPS offer a low rate of return because they are considered a safer type of investment

Emerging markets equity1: Investments in the stocks of companies within developing countries such as Mexico and Malaysia

Emerging markets debt1, 4: Bonds issued by banks and other sources within developing, low- to middle-income countries

International debt1, 4: Bonds featuring maturities of at least one year that are issued by governments of developed countries outside of the United States, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Spain and the United Kingdom

High-yield bonds4, 5: High-paying bonds that are considered riskier; rated below investment-grade corporate bonds

Large-cap stocks: Shares of ownership in corporations with a market capitalization7 greater than $7.7 billion (subject to change)

Mid-cap stocks6: Shares of ownership in corporations with a market capitalization7 of $1.8 billion to $7.7 billion (subject to change)

Small-cap stocks6: Shares of ownership in corporations with a market capitalization7 below $1.8 billion (subject to change)

International stocks1: Shares of ownership in corporations headquartered outside the United States

Bonds4: IOUs issued by governments or corporations

Short-term bonds4: Investment-grade IOUs with an average duration of 1 to 3 years or an average effective maturity of 1 to 4 years

Cash equivalents: Short-term IOUs issued by governments, corporations or financial institutions

  1. International investing involves risks not associated with investing solely in the United States, such as currency fluctuation, political risk, differences in accounting and the limited availability of information.
  2. Real estate investments are sensitive to economic and business cycles, changing demographic patterns and government actions.
  3. Investments in a concentrated sector or that focus on a relatively small number of securities may be subject to greater volatility than that of a more diversified investment.
  4. Bond investments have the same interest rate, inflation and credit risks that are associated with the underlying bonds owned by the investment vehicle/fund.
  5. Investments in high-yield debt securities are subject to greater credit risk and price fluctuations than investments in higher-quality debt securities.
  6. Investments in stocks of small, mid-cap or emerging companies may have less liquidity than that of investments in stocks of larger, established companies and may be subject to greater price volatility and risk than that of the overall stock market.
  7. Market capitalization is the aggregate value of a company calculated by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the share price.