Investment Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Nationwide Funds Group (NFG) is the investment arm of Nationwide Financial Services, Inc. NFG specializes in asset allocation and subadvised mutual funds. Our funds also serve as subaccounts in many of Nationwide’s annuity platforms.

Through our subadvised platform, we partner with the industry’s innovators in asset allocation and top-tier portfolio managers to create products that seek to serve one purpose—helping you to pursue your investment goals.

Asset allocation is the process of spreading assets across several different investment styles and asset classes. The purpose is to potentially reduce long-term risk and capture potential profits across various asset classes. Asset allocation does not ensure a profit nor protect against losses.

There are three ways to buy Nationwide mutual funds:

1) Ask your investment professional;

2) Call Nationwide Funds Shareholder Services at 800-848-0920; or,

3) Download the summary prospectus and/or the prospectus for the fund you want and complete the Account Application (PDF).

Remember that you should always read the summary prospectus and/or the prospectuses carefully to learn about fees and expenses before you purchase a mutual fund.

Yes, you can set up automatic deposits from your checking or savings account into your new or existing mutual fund account. To get started, fill out the Automatic Asset Accumulation section on the Account Application (PDF) for new accounts or the Automatic Asset Accumulation form (PDF) for existing accounts. Attach a voided check or preprinted savings deposit slip. Each form has instructions for sending it to us.

When you invest the same amount regularly you buy fewer shares when the market is up and more shares when the market is down. This may cut your average cost per share because you're buying fewer shares at a higher price and more shares at a lower price. This investment strategy is called dollar-cost averaging.

Keep in mind that dollar-cost averaging isn’t guaranteed to make you money or protect you from loss in a fluctuating market.

Non-IRA accounts
Initial: $2,000
Subsequent: $100

IRA accounts
Initial: $1,000
Subsequent: $100

Automatic Asset Accumulation
Initial: No minimum
Subsequent: $50

Minimum investment requirements do not apply to some purchases. Please see the mutual fund prospectus for details.

You can get your balance online or over the phone:

Online
Click Access My Account on nationwide.com and choose mutual funds from the drop-down list.

By phone
Call Shareholder Services at 800-848-0920 for account information. Their hours are 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

With online access to your account you can:
− View your account balance and transactions
− Trade funds
− View statements for the past 18 months
− Update your account information
− Enroll for email notifications that let you know when statements and other account documents are posted online

Keeping your account information safe is vitally important to us. We use Internet security technology and techniques such as user authentication, 128-bit encryption and secure servers.

You can make changes to your account using one of the forms in the forms section of this website, or you can call Shareholder Services at 800-848-0920. The hours are 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

Your investment professional knows you and your account better than anyone, so consider him or her as your first resource for account questions.

Of course, Shareholder Services is always happy to help, too. You can call them at 800-848-0920. The hours are 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

To save a PDF file to your computer, right-click on the PDF link and choose "Save target as" or "Save link as" from the menu and follow the prompts.

Note: Most computers come with Adobe Acrobat^® Reader^® software installed. Adobe enables you to view and download PDFs. If you don’t have it, you can download Adobe^®Reader ^® for free.

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Investors should carefully consider a fund's (and, if applicable, each of its underlying funds) 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.

You can find an investment professional online using our professional locator tool or by calling the Consumer Solutions Center at 1-888-543-3756.

Representatives of Nationwide Securities, LLC, P.O. Box 183137, Columbus, OH 43218, 1-888-753-7364. A Registered Investment Advisor Member NASD, SIPC.

Professional locator looks for a professional within a maximum of 300 miles of your location. Our network of financial professionals is growing, but if there isn't currently a professional in your area, we can help you find someone to work with over the phone or a little farther from your home. Call us at 1-888-543-3756 for help.

Representatives of Nationwide Securities, LLC, P.O. Box 183137, Columbus, OH 43218, 1-888-753-7364. A Registered Investment Advisor Member NASD, SIPC.

Since you’re already working with an investment professional, he or she probably knows your needs the best. The conversations you’ve had provide the background needed to make good recommendations. Consider calling your investment professional to talk about which Nationwide products or services might be right for you.

Representatives of Nationwide Securities, LLC, P.O. Box 183137, Columbus, OH 43218, 1-888-753-7364. A Registered Investment Advisor Member NASD, SIPC.

Nationwide offers financial products through thousands of different companies including independent brokers, banks, investment firms and Nationwide Agents. The professional locator returns results only for Nationwide agents who are licensed to offer a complete range of financial product options.

Nationwide variable annuities are issued by Nationwide Life Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio. The general distributor is Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member NASD. In MI only: Nationwide Investment Svcs. Corporation.

An investment professional will:

• Take the time to understand your goals
• Recommend investments that fit your needs
• Analyze how changing economic and personal situations affect you
• Deliver timely financial information

Representatives of Nationwide Securities, LLC, P.O. Box 183137, Columbus, OH 43218, 1-888-753-7364. A Registered Investment Advisor Member NASD, SIPC.

You can call us at 1-888-867-5175 to have your password reset. Keeping your account secure is one of our top priorities, so we can't process this type of request through e-mail. In addition, we won't ever ask for or provide contract information via e-mail.

Please call us at 1-888-867-5175 to make a withdrawal. We'll help you with the paper work and tell you about early withdrawal penalties that may apply. Keep in mind that if you take withdrawals before you're 59½, you may have to pay a 10% tax penalty in addition to ordinary income taxes. Early withdrawals may be subject to ordinary income taxes. They may trigger early surrender charges and reduce your death benefit and cash value. Keeping your account secure is one of our top priorities, so we'll ask a few questions to confirm your identity before making any changes. As an additional security precaution, we won't ever ask for or provide contract information via email.

• Select Access My Account on the upper left of our home page.
• Select your account from the drop-down list and enter your username and password.
• If you haven't already set up account access, click Sign Up.

Please call us at 1-888-867-5175. A number of factors determine whether you can take a withdrawal. We'll help you make that determination and help with the paper work if your account is eligible. Keeping your account secure is one of our top priorities, so we can't process this type of request through email. In addition, we won't ever ask for or provide contract information via email.

Your employer or third party administrator can assist you with information regarding rolling over your pension account.

All retirement plans are different, so it's best to ask your employer or your plan's administrator. They can help you determine if your plan accepts rollovers and will help you with the paperwork.

To see the previous day's unit values, access your account through nationwide.com, log on and select the balance detail tab. To view unit values for a different day, click the explore funds tab and then unit values.

Penalties and fees differ from retirement plan to retirement plan. To find out what they are for your plan, call your employer or your plan's administrator. If you're not sure who to contact, call us at 1-888-867-5175, option 1, and we'll help you figure it out.

The symbols may have been included in the Fund Performance Summaries in your plan's enrollment materials, or contact us at 1-888-867-5175, option 1.

We don't take processing fees for transactions of variable investment options made over the web or through the voice response unit. If you have money in one of the fixed investment options, certain Market Value Adjustments (MVAs) and other restrictions may apply, or limitations may result from transactions made. For specifics information about fees, please contact your employer, your plan's administrator or call us at 1-888-867-5175, option 1.

Multi-factor authentication is any form of authentication (such as logging into Online Banking) that requires more than one independent piece of information to verify identity. For example, knowledge of a password is one factor, and knowledge of a secret question may be another. Nationwide Bank Online Banking uses multi-factor authentication to ensure that only you can access your account.

A SafeKey is a part of the Nationwide Bank Online Banking log-in process to help protect the security of your account. A SafeKey is a form of multi-factor authentication, meaning that Nationwide Bank Online Banking uses multiple ways to verify your identity when you log in.

The first time you log in to Online Banking, we'll ask you to choose a SafeKey image and description, select and answer a series of secret questions (such as your father's middle name) and register your computer for future visits if you'd like to.

On subsequent visits to Online Banking, you will be prompted for your username but not your password. In response, your SafeKey image and description will display, and you will be asked to enter your password. You should not enter your password if you do not recognize your SafeKey image and description, as this may be an indication that you are visiting an unauthorized site. If you have not registered your computer with us, you will also be asked to answer one of the secret questions you provided during your first visit.

Most browsers have an icon to indicate that you are on a secured site. Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox show a padlock image in the lower right-hand corner when you access a secured page.

We use physical and technical safeguards to protect your personal information. We limit access to your personal information to those who need it to do their jobs. The law requires our business partners to use your personal information only for our purposes. They may not share it or use it in any other way. We comply with all data security laws.

The security question and answer is used to confirm your identity if you forget your password and need to update it.

If you forget your password, answering your security question lets you change your password to a new one. Please note that your security answer can't be the same as your password.

We'll use your email address to send you alerts and provide you with any other services you elect. In addition, some online services require that Nationwide professionals contact you electronically.

Encryption is a technique that scrambles information so that it can be viewed only by the intended recipient. Online Banking uses an encryption scheme called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to ensure that the information you view and share with us cannot be intercepted by a third party.

Read our privacy statement to find out how we collect, use, share and protect your information.

Your browser must allow you to send and receive encrypted messages over the Internet. We recommend that your browser support strong (128 bit) encryption.