ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PORTFOLIO INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT POLICIES

The Funds invest in a variety of securities and employ a number of investment techniques, which involve certain risks. The Prospectus for the Funds highlights the principal investment strategies, investment techniques and risks. This SAI contains additional information regarding both the principal and non-principal investment strategies of the Funds.

With respect to the Funds (together, the "Funds of Funds" and individually, a "Fund of Funds"), this SAI, like the Prospectuses for such Funds, uses the term "Fund," for purposes of this section, to include the underlying mutual funds in which each Fund of Funds will invest (the "Underlying Funds").

The following table sets forth additional information concerning permissible investment and techniques for the Funds:

U.S. common stocks
Small company stocks
Special situation companies
Illiquid securities
Restricted securities
When-issued/delayed-delivery securities Investment companies
Real estate investment trusts (REITS) Securities of foreign issuers
Depositary receipts
Long-term debt
Long-term debt when originally issued but with 397 days or less remaining to maturity
Short-term debt
Floating and variable rate securities Zero coupon securities
Loan participations and assignments Sovereign debt (foreign) (denominated in U.S. $) Foreign commercial paper) (denominated in U.S. $) Duration
U.S. government securities
Money market instruments
Mortgage-backed securities
Stripped mortgage securities
Collateralized mortgage obligations Mortgage dollar rolls
Asset-backed securities
Bank and/or Savings and Loan obligations Repurchase agreements
Derivatives

Reverse Repurchase Agreements
Futures
Options
Foreign currencies
Forward currency contracts
Borrowing money
Lending portfolio securities
Investments of securities lending collateral Short sales
Swap Agreements
Standby Commitment Agreements
Exchange-traded Funds
Exchange-traded Notes
Nationwide Contract

DESCRIPTION OF PORTFOLIO INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT POLICIES

THE FUNDS OF FUNDS

The Funds are "funds of funds," which means that each Fund is a fund that invests primarily in other mutual funds. The Prospectus discusses the investment objectives and strategies for the Funds and explains the types of Underlying Funds in which each Fund may invest. Underlying Funds invest in stocks, bonds and other securities and reflect varying amounts of potential investment risk and reward. Each Fund allocates its assets among the different Underlying Funds, and each Fund is permitted to invest in the Nationwide Contract (described in more detail below). Each Fund will be designated by a target date intended to represent the approximate retirement year for the investor (assumed to be the year in which the investor is closest to age 65). As the target date approaches, each Fund will adjust and become increasingly conservative in its risk profile.

THE UNDERLYING INDEX FUNDS

Among other funds, the Funds may invest in certain affiliated index funds. These index funds include the Nationwide Bond Index Fund, Nationwide International Index Fund, Nationwide Mid Cap Market Index Fund, Nationwide S&P 500 Index Fund and Nationwide Small Cap Index Fund (collectively, the "Index Funds").

NATIONWIDE BOND INDEX FUND. The investment objective of the Nationwide Bond Index Fund is to match the performance of the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index (the "Aggregate Bond Index") as closely as possible before the deduction of Fund expenses. The Lehman Aggregate Index is composed primarily of U.S. dollar denominated investment grade bonds of different types, including U.S. government securities; U.S. government agency securities; corporate bonds issued by U.S. and foreign companies; mortgage-backed securities; securities of foreign governments and their agencies; and securities of supranational entities, such as the World Bank. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved.

NATIONWIDE INTERNATIONAL INDEX FUND. The investment objective of the Nationwide International Index Fund is to match the performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE(R) Capitalization Weighted Index (the "EAFE Index") as closely as possible before the deduction of Fund expenses. The MSCI EAFE Index is a market-weighted index composed of common stocks of companies from various industrial sectors whose primary trading markets are located outside the United States. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved.

NATIONWIDE MID CAP MARKET INDEX FUND. The investment objective of the Nationwide Mid Cap Market Index Fund is to match the performance of the Standard & Poor's Mid Cap 400(R) Index (the "S&P 400") as closely as possible before the deduction of Fund expenses. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved.

NATIONWIDE S&P 500 INDEX FUND. The investment objective of the Nationwide S&P 500 Index Fund is to seek to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of publicly traded common stocks as represented by the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index (the "S&P 500 Index"). There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved.

NATIONWIDE SMALL CAP INDEX FUND. The investment objective of the Small Cap Index Fund is to match the performance of the Russell 2000(R) Index (the "Russell 2000") as closely as possible before the deduction of Fund expenses. The Russell 2000 is a market-weighted index composed of approximately 2000 common stocks of smaller U.S. companies in a wide range of businesses chosen by The Frank Russell Company based on a number of factors, including industry representation, market value, economic sector and operating/financial condition. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved.

ABOUT INDEXING. The Index Funds are not managed according to traditional methods of "active" investment management, which involve the buying and selling of securities based upon economic, financial, and market analyses and investment judgment. Instead, each Index Fund, utilizing essentially a "passive" or "indexing" investment approach, seeks to replicate, before each Fund's expenses (which can be expected to reduce the total return of the Fund), the total return of its respective index.

INDEXING AND MANAGING THE FUNDS. Each Index Fund will be substantially invested in securities in the applicable index, and will invest at least 80% of the value of its net assets in securities or other financial instruments which are contained in or correlated with securities in the applicable index.

Because each Index Fund seeks to replicate the total return of its respective index, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC, ("BlackRock"), subadviser to each Index Fund, generally will not attempt to judge the merits of any particular security as an investment but will seek only to replicate the total return of the securities in the relevant index. However, BlackRock may omit or remove a security which is included in an index from the portfolio of an Index Fund if, following objective criteria, BlackRock judges the security to be insufficiently liquid, believes the merit of the investment has been substantially impaired by extraordinary events or financial conditions, or determines that the security is no longer useful in attempting to replicate the total return of the index.

BlackRock may acquire certain financial instruments based upon individual securities or based upon or consisting of one or more baskets of securities (which basket may be based upon a target index). Certain of these instruments may represent an indirect ownership interest in such securities or baskets. Others may provide for the payment to an Index Fund or by an Index Fund of amounts based upon the performance (positive, negative or both) of a particular security or basket. BlackRock will select such instruments when it believes that the use of the instrument will correlate substantially with the expected total return of a target security or index. In connection with the use of such instruments, BlackRock may enter into short sales in an effort to adjust the weightings of particular securities represented in the basket to more accurately reflect such securities, weightings in the target index.

The ability of each Index Fund to satisfy its investment objective depends to some extent on BlackRock's ability to manage cash flow (primarily from purchases and redemptions and distributions from the Fund's investments). BlackRock will make investment changes to an Index Fund's portfolio to accommodate cash flow while continuing to seek to replicate the total return of the Funds' target index. Investors should also be aware that the investment performance of each index is a hypothetical number which does not take into account brokerage commissions and other transaction costs, custody and other costs of investing, and any incremental operating costs (e.g., transfer agency, accounting) that will be borne by the Funds. Finally, since each Index Fund seeks to replicate the total return of its target index, BlackRock generally will not attempt to judge the merits of any particular security as an investment.

Each Index Fund's ability to replicate the total return of its respective index may be affected by, among other things, transaction costs, administration and other expenses incurred by the Index Fund, taxes, and changes in either the composition of the index or the assets of an Index Fund. In addition, each Index Fund's total return will be affected by incremental operating costs (e.g., investment advisory, transfer agency, accounting) that will be borne by the Fund.

As a means to measure each Index Fund's replication of the total returns of its respective index, each Index Fund, except the Nationwide S&P 500 Index Fund and Nationwide Mid Cap Market Index Fund, under normal circumstances, will seek to achieve a total return over period of one year and longer of the total return of the respective index, before taking into account Fund expenses. Under normal circumstances, it is anticipated that for the Nationwide S&P 500 Index Fund and the Nationwide Mid Cap Market Index Fund, total return over periods of one year and longer will, on a gross basis and before taking into account Fund expenses be within 10 basis points for the Nationwide S&P 500 Index Fund (a basis point is one one-hundredth of one percent (0.01%)) and 150 basis points for the Nationwide Mid Cap Market Index Fund, of the total return of the applicable indices. There can be no assurance, however, that these levels of correlation will be achieved. In the event that this correlation is not achieved over time, the Trustees will consider alternative strategies for the Funds.

INFORMATION CONCERNING DURATION

Duration is a measure of the average life of a fixed-income security that was developed as a more precise alternative to the concepts of "term to maturity" or "average dollar weighted maturity" as measures of "volatility" or "risk" associated with changes in interest rates. Duration incorporates a security's yield, coupon interest payments, final maturity and call features into one measure.

Most debt obligations provide interest ("coupon") payments in addition to final ("par") payment at maturity. Some obligations also have call provisions. Depending on the relative magnitude of these payments and the nature of the call provisions, the market values of debt obligations may respond differently to changes in interest rates.

Traditionally, a debt security's "term-to-maturity" has been used as a measure of the sensitivity of the security's price to changes in interest rates (which is the "interest rate risk" or "volatility" of the security). However, "term-to-maturity" measures only the time until a debt security provides its final payment, taking no account of the pattern of the security's payments prior to maturity. Average dollar weighted maturity is calculated by averaging the terms of maturity of each debt security held with each maturity "weighted" according to the percentage of assets that it represents. Duration is a measure of the expected life of a debt security on a present value basis and reflects both principal and interest payments. Duration takes the length of the time intervals between the present time and the time that the interest and principal payments are scheduled or, in the case of a callable security, expected to be received, and weights them by the present values of the cash to be received at each future point in time. For any debt security with interest payments occurring prior to the payment of principal, duration is ordinarily less than maturity. In general, all other factors being the same, the lower the stated or coupon rate of interest of a debt security, the longer the duration of the security; conversely, the higher the stated or coupon rate of interest of a debt security, the shorter the duration of the security.

There are some situations where the standard duration calculation does not properly reflect the interest rate exposure of a security. For example, floating and variable rate securities often have final maturities of ten or more years; however, their interest rate exposure corresponds to the frequency of the coupon reset. Another example where the interest rate exposure is not properly captured by duration is the case of mortgage pass-through securities. The stated final maturity of such securities is generally 30 years, but current prepayment rates are more critical in determining the securities' interest rate exposure. In these and other similar situations, the Funds' investment adviser or subadviser will use more sophisticated analytical techniques to project the economic life of a security and estimate its interest rate exposure. Since the computation of duration is based on predictions of future events rather than known factors, there can be no assurance that a Fund will at all times achieve its targeted portfolio duration.

The change in market value of U.S. government fixed-income securities is largely a function of changes in the prevailing level of interest rates. When interest rates are falling, a portfolio with a shorter duration generally will not generate as high a level of total return as a portfolio with a longer duration. When interest rates are stable, shorter duration portfolios generally will not generate as high a level of total return as longer duration portfolios (assuming that long-term interest rates are higher than short-term rates, which is commonly the case.) When interest rates are rising, a portfolio with a shorter duration will generally outperform longer duration portfolios. With respect to the composition of a fixed-income portfolio, the longer the duration of the portfolio, generally, the greater the anticipated potential for total return, with, however, greater attendant interest rate risk and price volatility than for a portfolio with a shorter duration.

DEBT OBLIGATIONS

Debt obligations are subject to the risk of an issuer's inability to meet principal and interest payments on its obligations when due ("credit risk") and are subject to price volatility due to such factors as interest rate sensitivity, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer, and general market liquidity. Lower-rated securities are more likely to react to developments affecting these risks than are more highly rated securities, which react primarily to movements in the general level of interest rates. Although the fluctuation in the price of debt securities is normally less than that of common stocks, in the past there have been extended periods of cyclical increases in interest rates that have caused significant declines in the price of debt securities in general and have caused the effective maturity of securities with prepayment features to be extended, thus effectively converting short or intermediate securities (which tend to be less volatile in price) into long term securities (which tend to be more volatile in price).

RATINGS AS INVESTMENT CRITERIA. High-quality, medium-quality and non-investment grade debt obligations are characterized as such based on their ratings by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ("NRSROs"), such as Standard & Poor's Rating Group ("Standard & Poor's") or Moody's Investor Services ("Moody's"). In general, the ratings of NRSROs represent the opinions of these agencies as to the quality of securities that they rate. Such ratings, however, are relative and subjective, and are not absolute standards of quality and do not evaluate the market value risk of the securities. These ratings are used by a Fund as initial criteria for the selection of portfolio securities, but the Fund also relies upon the independent advice of the Funds' adviser or subadviser(s) to evaluate potential investments. This is particularly important for lower-quality securities. Among the factors that will be considered is the long-term ability of the issuer to pay principal and interest and general economic trends, as well as an issuer's capital structure, existing debt and earnings history. The Appendix to this Statement of Additional Information contains further information about the rating categories of NRSROs and their significance.

Subsequent to its purchase by a Fund, an issuer of securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum required for purchase by such Fund. In addition, it is possible that an NRSRO might not change its rating of a particular issuer to reflect subsequent events. None of these events generally will require sale of such securities, but a Fund's adviser or subadviser will consider such events in its determination of whether the Fund should continue to hold the securities.

In addition, to the extent that the ratings change as a result of changes in an NRSRO or its rating systems, or due to a corporate reorganization, a Fund will attempt to use comparable ratings as standards for its investments in accordance with its investment objective and policies.

MEDIUM-QUALITY SECURITIES. The Funds anticipate investing in medium-quality obligations, which are obligations rated in the fourth highest rating category by any NRSRO. Medium-quality securities, although considered investment-grade, may have some speculative characteristics and may be subject to greater fluctuations in value than higher-rated securities. In addition, the issuers of medium-quality securities may be more vulnerable to adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances than issuers of higher-rated securities.

LOWER QUALITY (HIGH-RISK) SECURITIES. Non-investment grade debt or lower quality/rated securities, a.k.a. junk bonds (hereinafter referred to as "lower-quality securities") include (i) bonds rated as low as C by Moody's, Standard & Poor's, or Fitch, Inc. ("Fitch"), (ii) commercial paper rated as low as C by Standard & Poor's, Not Prime by Moody's or Fitch 4 by Fitch; and (iii) unrated debt securities of comparable quality. Lower-quality securities, while generally offering higher yields than investment grade securities with similar maturities, involve greater risks, including the possibility of default or bankruptcy. There is more risk associated with these investments because of reduced creditworthiness and increased risk of default. Under NRSRO guidelines, lower-quality securities and comparable unrated securities will likely have some quality and protective characteristics that are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions. Lower-quality securities are considered to have extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing, to have a current identifiable vulnerability to default or to be in default, to be unlikely to have the capacity to make required interest payments and repay principal when due in the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions, or to be in default or not current in the payment of interest or principal. They are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's capacity to pay interest and repay principal. The special risk considerations in connection with investments in these securities are discussed below.

EFFECT OF INTEREST RATES AND ECONOMIC CHANGES. Interest-bearing securities typically experience appreciation when interest rates decline and depreciation when interest rates rise. The market values of lower-quality and comparable unrated securities tend to reflect individual corporate developments to a greater extent than do higher-rated securities, which react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Lower-quality and comparable unrated securities also tend to be more sensitive to economic conditions than are higher-rated securities. As a result, they generally involve more credit risks than securities in the higher-rated categories. During an economic downturn or a sustained period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers of lower-quality and comparable unrated securities may experience financial stress and may not have sufficient revenues to meet their payment obligations. The issuer's ability to service its debt obligations may also be adversely affected by specific corporate developments, the issuer's inability to meet specific projected business forecasts or the unavailability of additional financing. The risk of loss due to default by an issuer of these securities is significantly greater than issuers of higher-rated securities also because such securities are generally unsecured and are often subordinated to other creditors. Further, if the issuer of a lower-quality or comparable unrated security defaulted, a Fund might incur additional expenses to seek recovery. Periods of economic uncertainty and changes would also generally result in increased volatility in the market prices of these securities and thus in the Fund's net asset value.

As previously stated, the value of a lower-quality or comparable unrated security will generally decrease in a rising interest rate market, and accordingly so will a Fund's net asset value. If a Fund experiences unexpected net redemptions in such a market, it may be forced to liquidate a portion of its portfolio securities without regard to their investment merits. Due to the limited liquidity of lower-quality and comparable unrated securities (discussed below), a Fund may be forced to liquidate these securities at a substantial discount which would result in a lower rate of return to the Fund.

PAYMENT EXPECTATIONS. Lower-quality and comparable unrated securities typically contain redemption, call or prepayment provisions which permit the issuer of such securities containing such provisions to, at its discretion, redeem the securities. During periods of falling interest rates, issuers of these securities are likely to redeem or prepay the securities and refinance them with debt securities at a lower interest rate. To the extent an issuer is able to refinance the securities, or otherwise redeem them, a Fund may have to replace the securities with a lower yielding security, which would result in a lower return for that Fund.

LIQUIDITY AND VALUATION. A Fund may have difficulty disposing of certain lower-quality and comparable unrated securities because there may be a thin trading market for such securities. Because not all dealers maintain markets in all lower-quality and comparable unrated securities, there may be no established retail secondary market for many of these securities. The Funds anticipate that such securities could be sold only to a limited number of dealers or institutional investors. To the extent a secondary trading market does exist, it is generally not as liquid as the secondary market for higher-rated securities. The lack of a liquid secondary market may have an adverse impact on the market price of the security. As a result, a Fund's net asset value and ability to dispose of particular securities, when necessary to meet such Fund's liquidity needs or in response to a specific economic event, may be impacted. The lack of a liquid secondary market for certain securities may also make it more difficult for a Fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing that Fund's portfolio. Market quotations are generally available on many lower-quality and comparable unrated issues only from a limited number of dealers and may not necessarily represent firm bids of such dealers or prices for actual sales. During periods of thin trading, the spread between bid and asked prices is likely to increase significantly. In addition, adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of lower-quality and comparable unrated securities, especially in a thinly traded market.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. Securities issued by the U.S. government include U.S. Treasury obligations, such as Treasury bills, notes, and bonds. Securities issued by government agencies or instrumentalities include obligations of the following:

- The Federal Housing Administration and the Farmers Home Administration;

- The Government National Mortgage Association ("GNMA"), including GNMA pass-through certificates, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government;

- The Federal Home Loan Banks, whose securities are supported only by the credit of such agency;

- The Federal Farm Credit Banks, government-sponsored institutions that consolidate the financing activities of the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and the Banks for Cooperatives; and

- The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("FHLMC") and the Federal National Mortgage Association ("FNMA"), whose securities are supported only by the credit of such agencies and are not guaranteed by the U.S. government. However, the Secretary of the Treasury has the authority to support FHLMC and FNMA by purchasing limited amounts of their respective obligations.

Although the U.S. government or it agencies provide financial support to such entities, no assurance can be given that they will always do so. The U.S. government and its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities; consequently, the value of such securities will fluctuate.

The Federal Reserve creates STRIPS (Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities) by separating the coupon payments and the principal payment from an outstanding Treasury security and selling them as individual securities. To the extent a Fund purchases the principal portion of STRIPS, the Fund will not receive regular interest payments. Instead STRIPS are sold at a deep discount from their face value. Because the principal portion of the STRIPS does not pay current income, its price can be volatile when interest rates change. In calculating its dividend, the Fund takes into account as income a portion of the difference between the principal portion of the STRIPS' purchase price and its face value.

MORTGAGE AND ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES. Mortgage-backed securities represent direct or indirect participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property. Mortgage-backed securities come in different forms. The simplest form of mortgage-backed securities is pass-through certificates. Such securities may be issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities or may be issued by private issuers, generally originators in mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage bankers, commercial banks, investment bankers, and special purpose entities (collectively, "private lenders"). The purchase of mortgage-backed securities from private lenders may entail greater risk than mortgage-backed securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. Mortgage-backed securities issued by private lenders may be supported by pools of mortgage loans or other mortgage-backed securities that are guaranteed, directly or indirectly, by the U.S. government or one of its agencies or instrumentalities, or they may be issued without any governmental guarantee of the underlying mortgage assets but with some form of non-governmental credit enhancement. These credit enhancements may include letters of credit, reserve funds, over-collateralization, or guarantees by third parties.

Since privately-issued mortgage certificates are not guaranteed by an entity having the credit status of GNMA or FHLMC, such securities generally are structured with one or more types of credit enhancement. Such credit enhancement falls into two categories: (i) liquidity protection; and (ii) protection against losses resulting from ultimate default by an obligor on the underlying assets. Liquidity protection refers to the provisions of advances, generally by the entity administering the pool of assets, to ensure that the pass-through of payments due on the underlying pool occurs in a timely fashion. Protection against losses resulting from ultimate default enhances the likelihood of ultimate payment of the obligations on at least a portion of the assets in the pool. Such protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit obtained by the issuer or sponsor from third parties, through various means of structuring the transaction or through a combination of such approaches.

The ratings of mortgage-backed securities for which third-party credit enhancement provides liquidity protection or protection against losses from default are generally dependent upon the continued creditworthiness of the provider of the credit enhancement. The ratings of such securities could be subject to reduction in the event of deterioration in the creditworthiness of the credit enhancement provider even in cases where the delinquency loss experienced on the underlying pool of assets is better than expected. There can be no assurance that the private issuers or credit enhancers of mortgage-backed securities will meet their obligations under the relevant policies or other forms of credit enhancement.

Examples of credit support arising out of the structure of the transaction include "senior-subordinated securities" (multiple class securities with one or more classes subordinate to other classes as to the payment of principal thereof and interest thereon, with the result that defaults on the underlying assets are borne first by the holders of the subordinated class), creation of "reserve

funds" (where cash or investments sometimes funded from a portion of the payments on the underlying assets are held in reserve against future losses) and "over-collateralization" (where the scheduled payments on, or the principal amount of, the underlying assets exceed those required to make payment of the securities and pay any servicing or other fees). The degree of credit support provided for each issue is generally based on historical information with respect to the level of credit risk associated with the underlying assets. Delinquency or loss in excess of that which is anticipated could adversely affect the return on an investment in such security.

Private lenders or government-related entities may also create mortgage loan pools offering pass-through investments where the mortgages underlying these securities may be alternative mortgage instruments, that is, mortgage instruments whose principal or interest payments may vary or whose terms to maturity may be shorter than was previously customary. As new types of mortgage-related securities are developed and offered to investors, a Fund, consistent with its investment objective and policies, may consider making investments in such new types of securities.

The yield characteristics of mortgage-backed securities differ from those of traditional debt obligations. Among the principal differences are that interest and principal payments are made more frequently on mortgage-backed securities, usually monthly, and that principal may be prepaid at any time because the underlying mortgage loans or other assets generally may be prepaid at any time. As a result, if a Fund purchases these securities at a premium, a prepayment rate that is faster than expected will reduce yield to maturity, while a prepayment rate that is slower than expected will have the opposite effect of increasing the yield to maturity. Conversely, if a Fund purchases these securities at a discount, a prepayment rate that is faster than expected will increase yield to maturity, while a prepayment rate that is slower than expected will reduce yield to maturity. Accelerated prepayments on securities purchased by a Fund at a premium also impose a risk of loss of principal because the premium may not have been fully amortized at the time the principal is prepaid in full.

Unlike fixed rate mortgage-backed securities, adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities are collateralized by or represent interest in mortgage loans with variable rates of interest. These variable rates of interest reset periodically to align themselves with market rates. A Fund will not benefit from increases in interest rates to the extent that interest rates rise to the point where they cause the current coupon of the underlying adjustable rate mortgages to exceed any maximum allowable annual or lifetime reset limits (or "cap rates") for a particular mortgage. In this event, the value of the adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities in a Fund would likely decrease. Also, a Fund's net asset value could vary to the extent that current yields on adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities are different than market yields during interim periods between coupon reset dates or if the timing of changes to the index upon which the rate for the underlying mortgage is based lags behind changes in market rates. During periods of declining interest rates, income to a Fund derived from adjustable rate mortgage-backed securities which remain in a mortgage pool will decrease in contrast to the income on fixed rate mortgage-backed securities, which will remain constant. Adjustable rate mortgages also have less potential for appreciation in value as interest rates decline than do fixed rate investments.

There are a number of important differences among the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government that issue mortgage-backed securities and among the securities that they issue. Mortgage-backed securities issued by GNMA include GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as "Ginnie Maes") which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by GNMA and such guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. GNMA certificates also are supported by the authority of GNMA to borrow funds from the U.S. Treasury to make payments under its guarantee. Mortgage-backed securities issued by FNMA include FNMA Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as "Fannie Maes") which are solely the obligations of the FNMA and are not backed by or entitled to the full faith and credit of the United States. Fannie Maes are guaranteed as to timely payment of the principal and interest by FNMA. Mortgage-backed securities issued by FHLMC include FHLMC Mortgage Participation Certificates (also known as "Freddie Macs" or "PCs"). The FHLMC is a corporate instrumentality of the United States, created pursuant to an Act of Congress, which is owned entirely by Federal Home Loan Banks and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the United States or by any Federal Home Loan Bank. Freddie Macs entitle the holder to timely payment of interest, which is guaranteed by the FHLMC. The FHLMC guarantees either ultimate collection or timely payment of all principal payments on the underlying mortgage loans. When the FHLMC does not guarantee timely payment of principal, FHLMC may remit the amount due on account of its guarantee of ultimate payment of principal at any time after default on an underlying mortgage, but in no event later than one year after it becomes payable.

Asset-backed securities have structural characteristics similar to mortgage-backed securities. However, the underlying assets are not first-lien mortgage loans or interests therein; rather they include assets such as motor vehicle installment sales contracts, other installment loan contracts, home equity loans, leases of various types of property and receivables from credit card and other revolving credit arrangements. Payments or distributions of principal and interest on asset-backed securities may be supported by non-governmental credit enhancements similar to those utilized in connection with mortgage-backed securities. The credit quality of most asset-backed securities depends primarily on the credit quality of the assets underlying such securities, how well the entity issuing the security is insulated from the credit risk of the originator or any other affiliated entities, and the amount and quality of any credit enhancement of the securities.

COLLATERALIZED MORTGAGE OBLIGATIONS ("CMOS") AND MULTICLASS PASS-THROUGH SECURITIES. CMOs are a more complex form of mortgage-backed security in that they are multi-class debt obligations which are collateralized by mortgage loans or pass-through certificates. As a result of changes prompted by the 1986 Tax Reform Act, most CMOs are today issued as Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits ("REMICs"). From the perspective of the investor, REMICs and CMOs are virtually indistinguishable. However, REMICs differ from CMOs in that REMICs provide certain tax advantages for the issuer of the obligation. Multiclass pass-through securities are interests in a trust composed of whole loans or private pass-throughs (collectively hereinafter referred to as "Mortgage Assets"). Unless the context indicates otherwise, all references herein to CMOs include REMICs and multiclass pass-through securities.

Typically, CMOs are collateralized by GNMA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac Certificates, but also may be collateralized by Mortgage Assets. Unless the context indicates otherwise, all references herein to CMOs include REMICs and multiclass pass-through securities. Payments of principal and interest on the Mortgage Assets, and any reinvestment income thereon, provide the funds to pay debt service on the CMOs or make scheduled distributions on the multiclass pass-through securities. CMOs may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing.

In order to form a CMO, the issuer assembles a package of traditional mortgage-backed pass-through securities, or actual mortgage loans, and uses them as collateral for a multi-class security. Each class of CMOs, often referred to as a "tranche," is issued at a specified fixed or floating coupon rate and has a stated maturity or final distribution date. Principal prepayments on the Mortgage Assets may cause the CMOs to be retired substantially earlier than their stated maturities or final distribution dates. Interest is paid or accrues on all classes of the CMOs on a monthly, quarterly or semi-annual basis. The principal of and interest on the Mortgage Assets may be allocated among the several classes of a series of a CMO in innumerable ways. In one structure, payments of principal, including any principal prepayments, on the Mortgage Assets are applied to the classes of a CMO in the order of their respective stated maturities or final distribution dates, so that no payment of principal will be made on any class of CMOs until all other classes having an earlier stated maturity or final distribution date have been paid in full. As market conditions change, and particularly during periods of rapid or unanticipated changes in market interest rates, the attractiveness of the CMO classes and the ability of the structure to provide the anticipated investment characteristics may be significantly reduced. Such changes can result in volatility in the market value, and in some instances reduced liquidity, of the CMO class.

A Fund may also invest in, among others, parallel pay CMOs and Planned Amortization Class CMOs ("PAC Bonds"). Parallel pay CMOs are structured to provide payments of principal on each payment date to more than one class. These simultaneous payments are taken into account in calculating the stated maturity date or final distribution date of each class, which, as with other CMO structures, must be retired by its stated maturity date or a final distribution date but may be retired earlier. PAC Bonds are a type of CMO tranche or series designed to provide relatively predictable payments of principal provided that, among other things, the actual prepayment experience on the underlying mortgage loans falls within a predefined range. If the actual prepayment experience on the underlying mortgage loans is at a rate faster or slower than the predefined range or if deviations from other assumptions occur, principal payments on the PAC Bond may be earlier or later than predicted. The magnitude of the predefined range varies from one PAC Bond to another; a narrower range increases the risk that prepayments on the PAC Bond will be greater or smaller than predicted. Because of these features, PAC Bonds generally are less subject to the risks of prepayment than are other types of mortgage-backed securities.

STRIPPED MORTGAGE SECURITIES. Stripped mortgage securities are derivative multiclass mortgage securities. Stripped mortgage securities may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks and special purpose subsidiaries of the foregoing. Stripped mortgage securities have greater volatility than other types of mortgage securities. Although stripped mortgage securities are purchased and sold by institutional investors through several investment banking firms acting as brokers or dealers, the market for such securities has not yet been fully developed. Accordingly, stripped mortgage securities are generally illiquid.

Stripped mortgage securities are structured with two or more classes of securities that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distributions on a pool of mortgage assets. A common type of stripped mortgage security will have at least one class receiving only a small portion of the interest and a larger portion of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class will receive primarily interest and only a small portion of the principal. In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest ("IO" or interest-only), while the other class will receive the entire principal ("PO" or principal-only class). The yield to maturity on IOs, POs and other mortgage-backed securities that are purchased at a substantial premium or discount generally are extremely sensitive not only to changes in prevailing interest rates but also to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on such securities' yield to maturity. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these securities even if the securities have received the highest rating by a NRSRO.

In addition to the stripped mortgage securities described above, certain Funds may invest in similar securities such as Super POs and Levered IOs which are more volatile than POs, IOs and IOettes. Risks associated with instruments such as Super POs are similar in nature to those risks related to investments in POs. IOettes represent the right to receive interest payments on an underlying pool of mortgages with similar risks as those associated with IOs. Unlike IOs, the owner also has the right to receive a very small portion of the principal. Risks connected with Levered IOs and IOettes are similar in nature to those associated with IOs. Such Funds may also invest in other similar instruments developed in the future that are deemed consistent with its investment objective, policies and restrictions. See "Additional General Tax Information For All Funds" in this Statement of Additional Information.

A Fund may also purchase stripped mortgage-backed securities for hedging purposes to protect that Fund against interest rate fluctuations. For example, since an IO will tend to increase in value as interest rates rise, it may be utilized to hedge against a decrease in value of other fixed-income securities in a rising interest rate environment. With respect to IOs, if the underlying mortgage securities experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Fund may fail to recoup fully its initial investment in these securities even if the securities are rated in the highest rating category by a NRSRO. Stripped mortgage-backed securities may exhibit greater price volatility than ordinary debt securities because of the manner in which their principal and interest are returned to investors. The market value of the class consisting entirely of principal payments can be extremely volatile in response to changes in interest rates. The yields on stripped mortgage-backed securities that receive all or most of the interest are generally higher than prevailing market yields on other mortgage-backed obligations because their cash flow patterns are also volatile and there is a greater risk that the initial investment will not be fully recouped. The market for CMOs and other stripped mortgage-backed securities may be less liquid if these securities lose their value as a result of changes in interest rates; in that case, a Fund may have difficulty in selling such securities.

MONEY MARKET INSTRUMENTS

Money market instruments may include the following types of instruments:

o obligations issued or guaranteed as to interest and principal by the U.S. government, its agencies, or instrumentalities, or any federally chartered corporation, with remaining maturities of 397 days or less;

o obligations of sovereign foreign governments, their agencies, instrumentalities and political subdivisions, with remaining maturities of 397 days or less;

o obligations of municipalities and states, their agencies and political subdivisions with remaining maturities of 397 days or less;

o asset-backed commercial paper whose own rating or the rating of any guarantor is in one of the two highest categories of any NRSRO;

o repurchase agreements;

o bank or savings and loan obligations;

o commercial paper (including asset-backed commercial paper), which are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their current operations. It may also be issued by foreign governments, and states and municipalities. Generally the commercial paper or its guarantor will be rated within the top two rating categories by a NRSRO, or if not rated, is issued and guaranteed as to payment of principal and interest by companies which at the date of investment have a high quality outstanding debt issue;

o bank loan participation agreements representing obligations of corporations having a high quality short-term rating, at the date of investment, and under which the Fund will look to the creditworthiness of the lender bank, which is obligated to make payments of principal and interest on the loan, as well as to creditworthiness of the borrower;

o high quality short-term (maturity in 397 days or less) corporate obligations, rated within the top two rating categories by a NRSRO or, if not rated, deemed to be of comparable quality by the applicable adviser or subadviser;

o extendable commercial notes, which differ from traditional commercial paper because the issuer can extend the maturity of the note up to 397 days with the option to call the note any time during the extension period.

o unrated short-term (maturing in 397 days or less) debt obligations that are determined by a Fund's adviser to be of comparable quality to the securities described above.

REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS

In connection with the purchase by a Fund of a repurchase agreement from member banks of the Federal Reserve System or certain non-bank dealers, the Fund's custodian, or a subcustodian, will have custody of, and will segregate securities acquired by the Fund under such repurchase agreement. Repurchase agreements are contracts under which the buyer of a security simultaneously commits to resell the security to the seller at an agreed-upon price and date. Repurchase agreements are considered by the staff of the SEC to be loans by the Fund. Repurchase agreements may be entered into with respect to securities of the type in which a Fund may invest or government securities regardless of their remaining maturities, and will require that additional securities be deposited if the value of the securities purchased should decrease below resale price. Repurchase agreements involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency by the other party, including possible delays or restrictions upon a Fund's ability to dispose of the underlying securities, the risk of a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period in which a Fund seeks to assert its rights to them, the risk of incurring expenses associated with asserting those rights and the risk of losing all or part of the income from the repurchase agreement. A Fund's adviser or subadviser reviews the creditworthiness of those banks and non-bank dealers with which the Funds enter into repurchase agreements to evaluate these risks.

BANK OBLIGATIONS

Bank obligations that may be purchased by the Funds include certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances and fixed time deposits. A certificate of deposit is a short-term negotiable certificate issued by a commercial bank

against funds deposited in the bank and is either interest-bearing or purchased on a discount basis. A bankers' acceptance is a short-term draft drawn on a commercial bank by a borrower, usually in connection with an international commercial transaction. The borrower is liable for payment as is the bank, which unconditionally guarantees to pay the draft at its face amount on the maturity date. Fixed time deposits are obligations of branches of U.S. banks or foreign banks which are payable at a stated maturity date and bear a fixed rate of interest. Although fixed time deposits do not have a market, there are no contractual restrictions on the right to transfer a beneficial interest in the deposit to a third party.

Bank obligations may be general obligations of the parent bank or may be limited to the issuing branch by the terms of the specific obligations or by government regulation. Bank obligations may be issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States), domestic and foreign branches of foreign banks and savings and loan associations.

EURODOLLAR AND YANKEE OBLIGATIONS. Eurodollar bank obligations are dollar-denominated certificates of deposit and time deposits issued outside the U.S. capital markets by foreign branches of U.S. banks and by foreign banks. Yankee bank obligations are dollar-denominated obligations issued in the U.S. capital markets by foreign banks.

Eurodollar and Yankee bank obligations are subject to the same risks that pertain to domestic issues, notably credit risk, market risk and liquidity risk. Additionally, Eurodollar (and to a limited extent, Yankee) bank obligations are subject to certain sovereign risks and other risks associated with foreign investments. One such risk is the possibility that a sovereign country might prevent capital, in the form of dollars, from flowing across their borders. Other risks include: adverse political and economic developments; the extent and quality of government regulation of financial markets and institutions; the imposition of foreign withholding taxes, and the expropriation or nationalization of foreign issues. However, Eurodollar and Yankee bank obligations held in a Fund will undergo the same credit analysis as domestic issuers in which the Fund invests, and will have at least the same financial strength as the domestic issuers approved for the Fund.

THE NATIONWIDE CONTRACT

Each of the Funds may invest in the Nationwide Contract. The Nationwide Contract is a fixed interest contract issued and guaranteed by Nationwide Life Insurance Company ("Nationwide"). This contract has a stable principal value and will pay each such Fund a fixed rate of interest. The fixed interest rate must be at least 3.50%, but may be higher. Nationwide will calculate the interest rate in the same way that it calculates guaranteed interest rates for similar contracts. Because of the guaranteed nature of the contract, the Funds will not directly participate in the actual experience of the assets underlying the contract. Although under certain market conditions a Fund's performance may be hurt by its investment in the Nationwide Contract, Nationwide Fund Advisors ("NFA" or the "Adviser") believes that the stable nature of the Nationwide Contract should reduce a Fund's volatility and overall risk, especially when the bond and stock markets decline simultaneously.

SINGLE ISSUER RISK. While the Nationwide Contract is guaranteed by Nationwide as described above, if Nationwide becomes unable to meet this guarantee, a Fund that invests in the contract may lose money from unpaid principal or unpaid or reduced interest. Because the entire contract is issued and guaranteed by a single issuer, the financial health of such issuer may have a greater impact on the value of a Fund that invests in it.

WHEN-ISSUED SECURITIES AND DELAYED-DELIVERY TRANSACTIONS

When securities are purchased on a "when-issued" basis or purchased for delayed delivery, then payment and delivery occur beyond the normal settlement date at a stated price and yield. When-issued transactions normally settle within 45 days. The payment obligation and the interest rate that will be received on when-issued securities are fixed at the time the buyer enters into the commitment. Due to fluctuations in the value of securities purchased or sold on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis, the yields obtained on such securities may be higher or lower than the yields available in the market on the dates when the investments are actually delivered to the buyers. The greater a Fund's outstanding commitments for these securities, the greater the exposure to potential fluctuations in the net asset value of a Fund. Purchasing when-issued or delayed-delivery securities may involve the additional risk that the yield or market price available in the market when the delivery occurs may be higher or the market price lower than that obtained at the time of commitment.

When a Fund agrees to purchase when-issued or delayed-delivery securities, to the extent required by the SEC, its custodian will set aside permissible liquid assets equal to the amount of the commitment in a segregated account. Normally, the custodian will set aside portfolio securities to satisfy a purchase commitment, and in such a case a Fund may be required subsequently to place additional assets in the segregated account in order to ensure that the value of the account remains equal to the amount of such Fund's commitment. It may be expected that a Fund's net assets will fluctuate to a greater degree when it sets aside portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments than when it sets aside cash. In addition, because a Fund will set aside cash or liquid portfolio securities to satisfy its purchase commitments in the manner described above, such Fund's liquidity and the ability of its adviser or subadviser to manage it might be affected in the event its commitments to purchase "when-issued" securities ever exceed 25% of the value of its total assets. Under normal market conditions, however, a Fund's commitment to purchase "when-issued" or "delayed-delivery" securities will not exceed 25% of the value of its total assets. When a Fund engages in when-issued or delayed-delivery transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the trade. Failure of the seller to do so may result in a Fund incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price considered to be advantageous.

STANDBY COMMITMENT AGREEMENTS

These agreements commit a Fund, for a stated period of time, to purchase a stated amount of fixed income securities that may be issued and sold to the Fund at the option of the issuer. The price and coupon of the security is fixed at the time of the commitment. At the time of entering into the agreement the Fund is paid a commitment fee, regardless of whether or not the security is ultimately issued. Funds enter into such agreements for the purpose of investing in the security underlying the commitment at a yield and price that is considered advantageous to the Fund.

There can be no assurance that the securities subject to a standby commitment will be issued and the value of the security, if issued, on the delivery date may be more or less than its purchase price. Since the issuance of the security underlying the commitment is at the option of the issuer, a Fund may bear the risk of a decline in the value of such security and may not benefit from appreciation in the value of the security during the commitment period if the security is not ultimately issued.

The purchase of a security subject to a standby commitment agreement and the related commitment fee will be recorded on the date on which the security can reasonably be expected to be issued, and the value of the security will thereafter be reflected in the calculation of a Fund's net asset value. The cost basis of the security will be adjusted by the amount of the commitment fee. In the event the security is not issued, the commitment fee will be recorded as income on the expiration date of the standby commitment.

LENDING PORTFOLIO SECURITIES

Each Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions, provided it receives collateral, with respect to each loan of U.S. securities, equal to at least 102% of the value of the portfolio securities loaned, and, with respect to each loan of non-U.S. securities, collateral of at least 105% of the value of the portfolio securities loaned, and at all times thereafter shall require the borrower to mark to market such collateral on a daily basis so that the market value of such collateral does not fall below 100% of the market value of the portfolio securities so loaned. By lending its portfolio securities, a Fund can increase its income through the investment of the collateral. For the purposes of this policy, the Fund considers collateral consisting of cash, U.S. government securities or letters of credit issued by banks whose securities meet the standards for investment by the Fund to be the equivalent of cash. From time to time, a Fund may return to the borrower or a third party which is unaffiliated with it, and which is acting as a "placing broker," a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned.

The SEC currently requires that the following conditions must be met whenever portfolio securities are loaned: (1) a Fund must receive from the borrower collateral equal to at least 100% of the value of the portfolio securities loaned; (2) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities loaned rises above the level of such collateral;
(3) a Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (4) a Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions payable on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (5) a Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (6) while any voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the

borrower, a Fund's board of trustees must be able to terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs. These conditions may be subject to future modification. Loan agreements involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the other party including possible delays or restrictions upon the Fund's ability to recover the loaned securities or dispose of the collateral for the loan.

INVESTMENT OF SECURITIES LENDING COLLATERAL. The collateral received from a borrower as a result of a Fund's securities lending activities will be used to purchase both fixed-income securities and other securities with debt-like characteristics that are rated A1 or P1 on a fixed rate or floating rate basis, including: bank obligations; commercial paper; investment agreements, funding agreements, or guaranteed investment contracts entered into with, or guaranteed by an insurance company; loan participations; master notes; medium term notes; repurchase agreements; and U.S. government securities. Except for the investment agreements, funding agreements or guaranteed investment contracts guaranteed by an insurance company, master notes, and medium term notes (which are described below), these types of investments are described elsewhere in the SAI. Collateral may also be invested in a money market mutual fund or short-term collective investment trust.

Investment agreements, funding agreements, or guaranteed investment contracts entered into with, or guaranteed by an insurance company are agreements where an insurance company either provides for the investment of a Fund's assets or provides for a minimum guaranteed rate of return to the investor.

Master notes are promissory notes issued usually with large, creditworthy broker-dealers on either a fixed rate or floating rate basis. Master notes may or may not be collateralized by underlying securities. If the master note is issued by an unrated subsidiary of a broker-dealer, then an unconditional guarantee is provided by the issuer's parent.

Medium term notes are unsecured, continuously offered corporate debt obligations. Although medium term notes may be offered with a maturity from one to ten years, in the context of securities lending collateral, the maturity of the medium term note will not generally exceed two years.

SMALL COMPANY AND EMERGING GROWTH STOCKS

Investing in securities of small-sized, including micro-capitalization companies and emerging growth companies, may involve greater risks than investing in the stocks of larger, more established companies, including possible risk of loss. Also, because these securities may have limited marketability, their prices may be more volatile than securities of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. Because small-sized and emerging growth companies normally have fewer shares outstanding than larger companies, it may be more difficult for a Fund to buy or sell significant numbers of such shares without an unfavorable impact on prevailing prices. Small-sized and emerging growth companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources and may lack management depth. In addition, small-sized and emerging growth companies are typically subject to wider variations in earnings and business prospects than are larger, more established companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small-sized and emerging growth companies than for larger, more established ones.

SPECIAL SITUATION COMPANIES

"Special situation companies" include those involved in an actual or prospective acquisition or consolidation; reorganization; recapitalization; merger, liquidation or distribution of cash, securities or other assets; a tender or exchange offer; a breakup or workout of a holding company; or litigation which, if resolved favorably, would improve the value of the company's stock. If the actual or prospective situation does not materialize as anticipated, the market price of the securities of a "special situation company" may decline significantly. Therefore, an investment in a Fund that invests a significant portion of its assets in these securities may involve a greater degree of risk than an investment in other mutual funds that seek long-term growth of capital by investing in better-known, larger companies. The adviser or subadviser of such a Fund believes, however, that if it analyzes "special situation companies" carefully and invests in the securities of these companies at the appropriate time, the Fund may achieve capital growth. There can be no assurance however, that a special situation that exists at the time a Fund makes its investment will be consummated under the terms and within the time period contemplated, if it is consummated at all.

FOREIGN SECURITIES

Investing in foreign securities (including through the use of depositary receipts) involves certain special considerations which typically are not associated with investing in United States securities. Since investments in foreign companies will frequently be denominated in the currencies of foreign countries (these securities are translated into U.S. dollars on a daily basis in order to value a Fund's shares), and since a Fund may hold securities and funds in foreign currencies, a Fund may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in currency rates and in exchange control regulations, if any, and may incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies. Most foreign stock markets, while growing in volume of trading activity, have less volume than the New York Stock Exchange, and securities of some foreign companies are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable domestic companies. Similarly, volume and liquidity in most foreign bond markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility of price can be greater than in the United States. Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on United States exchanges, although each Fund endeavors to achieve the most favorable net results on its portfolio transactions. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies in foreign countries than in the United States. In addition, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of exchange control restrictions, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, and political, economic or social instability, which could affect investments in those countries. Expropriation of assets refers to the possibility that a country's laws will prohibit the return to the United States of any monies, which a Fund has invested in the country. Foreign securities, such as those purchased by a Fund, may be subject to foreign government taxes, higher custodian fees, higher brokerage costs and dividend collection fees which could reduce the yield on such securities.

Foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in various respects, including growth of gross domestic product, rates of inflation, currency depreciation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency, and balance of payments positions. Many foreign securities are less liquid and their prices more volatile than comparable U.S. securities. From time to time, foreign securities may be difficult to liquidate rapidly without adverse price effects.

INVESTMENT IN COMPANIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. Investments may be made from time to time in companies in developing, or emerging market, countries as well as in developed countries. Although there is no universally accepted definition, a developing country is generally considered to be a country which is in the initial stages of industrialization. Shareholders should be aware that investing in the equity and fixed income markets of developing countries involves exposure to unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries, and securities markets which trade a small number of securities. Securities markets of developing countries tend to be more volatile than the markets of developed countries; however, such markets have in the past provided the opportunity for higher rates of return to investors.

The value and liquidity of investments in developing countries may be affected favorably or unfavorably by political, economic, fiscal, regulatory or other developments in the particular countries or neighboring regions. The extent of economic development, political stability and market depth of different countries varies widely. Certain countries in the Asia region, including Cambodia, China, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are either comparatively underdeveloped or are in the process of becoming developed. Such investments typically involve greater potential for gain or loss than investments in securities of issuers in developed countries.

The securities markets in developing countries are substantially smaller, less liquid and more volatile than the major securities markets in the United States. A high proportion of the shares of many issuers may be held by a limited number of persons and financial institutions, which may limit the number of shares available for investment by a Fund. Similarly, volume and liquidity in the bond markets in developing countries are less than in the United States and, at times, price volatility can be greater than in the United States. A limited number of issuers in developing countries' securities markets may represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading volume. The limited liquidity of securities markets in developing countries may also affect a Fund's ability to acquire or dispose of securities at the price and time it wishes to do so. Accordingly, during periods of rising securities prices in the more illiquid securities markets, a Fund's ability to participate fully in such price increases may be limited by its investment policy of investing not more than 15% of its total net assets in illiquid securities. Conversely, a Fund's inability to dispose fully and promptly of positions in declining markets will cause the Fund's net asset value to decline as the value of the unsold positions is marked to lower prices. In addition, securities markets in developing countries are susceptible to being influenced by large investors trading significant blocks of securities.

Political and economic structures in many such countries may be undergoing significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of the United States. Certain of such countries have in the past failed to recognize private property rights and have at times nationalized or expropriated the assets of private companies. As a result, the risks described above, including the risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets, may be heightened. In addition, unanticipated political or social developments may affect the value of a Fund's investments in those countries and the availability to the Fund of additional investments in those countries.

Economies of developing countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the United States' economy in such respects as rate of growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. As export-driven economies, the economies of countries in the Asia Region are affected by developments in the economies of their principal trading partners. Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan have limited natural resources, resulting in dependence on foreign sources for certain raw materials and economic vulnerability to global fluctuations of price and supply.

Certain emerging market or developing countries do not have comprehensive systems of laws, although substantial changes have occurred in many such countries in this regard in recent years. Laws regarding fiduciary duties of officers and directors and the protection of shareholders may not be well developed. Even where adequate law exists in such developing countries, it may be impossible to obtain swift and equitable enforcement of such law, or to obtain enforcement of the judgment by a court of another jurisdiction.

Trading in futures contracts on foreign commodity exchanges may be subject to the same or similar risks as trading in foreign securities.

DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS. A Fund may invest in foreign securities by purchasing depositary receipts, including American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), European Depositary Receipts ("EDRs") and Global Depositary Receipts ("GDRs") or other securities convertible into securities of issuers based in foreign countries. These securities may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are denominated in U.S. dollars and are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, GDRs, in bearer form, are issued and designed for use outside the United States and EDRs (also referred to as Continental Depositary Receipts ("CDRs")), in bearer form, may be denominated in other currencies and are designed for use in European securities markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities. EDRs are European receipts evidencing a similar arrangement. GDRs are receipts typically issued by non-U.S. banks and trust companies that evidence ownership of either foreign or domestic securities. For purposes of a Fund's investment policies, ADRs, GDRs and EDRs are deemed to have the same classification as the underlying securities they represent. Thus, an ADR, GDR or EDR representing ownership of common stock will be treated as common stock.

A Fund may invest in depositary receipts through "sponsored" or "unsponsored" facilities. While ADRs issued under these two types of facilities are in some respects similar, there are distinctions between them relating to the rights and obligations of ADR holders and the practices of market participants.

A depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by (or even necessarily the acquiescence of) the issuer of the deposited securities, although typically the depositary requests a letter of non-objection from such issuer prior to the establishment of the facility. Holders of unsponsored ADRs generally bear all the costs of such facilities. The depositary usually charges fees upon the deposit and withdrawal of the deposited securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars, the disposition of non-cash distributions, and the performance of other services. The depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to pass through voting rights to ADR holders in respect of the deposited securities. In addition, an unsponsored facility is generally not obligated to distribute communications received from the issuer of the deposited securities or to disclose material information about such issuer in the U.S. and thus there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the depositary receipts. Unsponsored ADRs tend to be less liquid than sponsored ADRs.

Sponsored ADR facilities are created in generally the same manner as unsponsored facilities, except that the issuer of the deposited securities enters into a deposit agreement with the depositary. The deposit agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the issuer, the depositary, and the ADR holders. With sponsored facilities, the issuer of the deposited securities generally will bear some of the costs relating to the facility (such as dividend payment fees of the depositary), although ADR holders continue to bear certain other costs (such as deposit and withdrawal fees). Under the terms of most sponsored arrangements, depositaries agree to distribute notices of shareholder meetings and voting instructions, and to provide shareholder communications and other information to the ADR holders at the request of the issuer of the deposited securities.

FOREIGN SOVEREIGN DEBT. The Funds may invest in sovereign debt obligations issued by foreign governments. To the extent that a Fund invests in obligations issued by developing or emerging markets, these investments involve additional risks. Sovereign obligors in developing and emerging market countries are among the world's largest debtors to commercial banks, other governments, international financial organizations and other financial institutions. These obligors have in the past experienced substantial difficulties in servicing their external debt obligations, which led to defaults on certain obligations and the restructuring of certain indebtedness. Restructuring arrangements have included, among other things, reducing and rescheduling interest and principal payments by negotiating new or amended credit agreements or converting outstanding principal and unpaid interest to Brady Bonds, and obtaining new credit for finance interest payments. Holders of certain foreign sovereign debt securities may be requested to participate in the restructuring of such obligations and to extend further loans to their issuers. There can be no assurance that the foreign sovereign debt securities in which a Fund may invest will not be subject to similar restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit which may adversely affect the Fund's holdings. Furthermore, certain participants in the secondary market for such debt may be directly involved in negotiating the terms of these arrangements and may therefore have access to information not available to other market participants.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS

Although no Fund will invest in real estate directly, certain Funds may invest in securities of real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and other real estate industry companies or companies with substantial real estate investments and, as a result, such Fund may be subject to certain risks associated with direct ownership of real estate and with the real estate industry in general. These risks include, among others: possible declines in the value of real estate; possible lack of availability of mortgage funds; extended vacancies of properties; risks related to general and local economic conditions; overbuilding; increases in competition, property taxes and operating expenses; changes in zoning laws; costs resulting from the clean-up of, and liability to third parties for damages resulting from, environmental problems; casualty or condemnation losses; uninsured damages from floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters; limitations on and variations in rents; and changes in interest rates.

REITs are pooled investment vehicles which invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or hybrid REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest payments. Hybrid REITs combine the investment strategies of equity REITs and mortgage REITs. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with several requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code").

The Funds may invest in foreign real estate companies, including foreign real estate investment trusts (collectively, "foreign real estate companies"). Investing in foreign real estate companies makes the Fund susceptible to the same risks described above for REITS and foreign securities, as well as the risks associated with ownership of foreign real estate and with the foreign real estate industry in general and the risks that relate specifically to the way foreign real estate companies are organized and operated. Foreign real estate companies may be subject to laws, rules and regulations governing those entities and their failure to comply with those laws, rules and regulations could negatively impact the performance of those entities.

FOREIGN COMMERCIAL PAPER

A Fund may invest in commercial paper which is indexed to certain specific foreign currency exchange rates. The terms of such commercial paper provide that its principal amount is adjusted upwards or downwards (but not below zero) at maturity to reflect changes in the exchange rate between two currencies while the obligation is outstanding. A Fund will purchase such commercial paper with the currency in which it is denominated and, at maturity, will receive interest and principal payments thereon in that currency, but the amount or principal payable by the issuer at maturity will change in proportion to the change (if any) in the exchange rate between two specified currencies between the date the instrument is issued and the date the instrument matures. While such commercial paper entails the risk of loss of principal, the potential for realizing gains as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rate enables a Fund to hedge or cross-hedge against a decline in the U.S. dollar value of investments denominated in foreign currencies while providing an attractive money market rate of return. A Fund will purchase such commercial paper for hedging purposes only, not for speculation. The Funds believe that such investments do not involve the creation of a senior security, but nevertheless will establish a segregated account with respect to its investments in this type of commercial paper and maintain in such account cash not available for investment or other liquid assets having a value equal to the aggregate principal amount of outstanding commercial paper of this type.

SHORT SELLING OF SECURITIES

In a short sale of securities, a Fund sells stock which it does not own, making delivery with securities "borrowed" from a broker. The Fund is then obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement. This price may or may not be less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay the lender any dividends or interest which accrue during the period of the loan. In order to borrow the security, the Fund may also have to pay a premium and/or interest which would increase the cost of the security sold. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out. In addition, the broker may require the deposit of collateral (generally, up to 50% of the value of the securities sold short).

A Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. A Fund will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those two dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased and the amount of any loss will be increased by any premium or interest the Fund may be required to pay in connection with the short sale. When a cash dividend is declared on a security for which the Fund has a short position, the Fund incurs the obligation to pay an amount equal to that dividend to the lender of the shorted security. However, any such dividend on a security sold short generally reduces the market value of the shorted security, thus increasing the Fund's unrealized gain or reducing the Fund's unrealized loss on its short-sale transaction. Whether a Fund will be successful in utilizing a short sale will depend, in part, on a Fund's adviser's or subadviser's ability to correctly predict whether the price of a security it borrows to sell short will decrease.

In a short sale, the seller does not immediately deliver the securities sold and is said to have a short position in those securities until delivery occurs. A Fund must segregate or earmark an amount of cash or other liquid assets equal to the difference between (a) the market value of securities sold short at the time that they were sold short and (b) the value of the collateral deposited with the broker to meet margin requirements in connection with the short sale (not including the proceeds from the short sale). While the short position is open, a Fund must maintain on a daily basis segregated or earmarked liquid assets at such a level that the amount segregated or earmarked plus the amount of collateral deposited with the broker as margin equals the current market value of the securities sold short.

A Fund also may engage in short sales if at the time of the short sale the Fund owns or has the right to obtain without additional cost an equal amount of the security being sold short. This investment technique is known as a short sale "against the box." The Funds do not intend to engage in short sales against the box for investment purposes. A Fund may, however, make a short sale as a hedge, when it believes that the price of a security may decline, causing a decline in the value of a security owned by the Fund (or a security convertible or exchangeable for such security), or when a Fund wants to sell the security at an attractive current price. In such case, any future losses in the Fund's long position should be offset by a gain in the short position and, conversely, any gain in the long position should be reduced by a loss in the short position. The extent to which such gains or losses are reduced will depend upon the amount of the security sold short relative to the amount the Fund owns. There will be

certain additional transaction costs associated with short sales against the box. For tax purposes a Fund that enters into a short sale "against the box" may be treated as having made a constructive sale of an "appreciated financial position" causing the Fund to realize a gain (but not a loss).

RESTRICTED, NON-PUBLICLY TRADED AND ILLIQUID SECURITIES

A Fund may not invest more than 15% of its net assets, in the aggregate, in illiquid securities, including repurchase agreements which have a maturity of longer than seven days, time deposits maturing in more than seven days and securities that are illiquid because of the absence of a readily available market or legal or contractual restrictions on resale or other factors limiting the marketability of the security. Repurchase agreements subject to demand are deemed to have a maturity equal to the notice period.

Historically, illiquid securities have included securities subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale because they have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), securities which are otherwise not readily marketable and repurchase agreements having a maturity of longer than seven days. Securities which have not been registered under the Securities Act are referred to as private placements or restricted securities and are purchased directly from the issuer or in the secondary market. Unless subsequently registered for sale, these securities can only be sold in privately negotiated transactions or pursuant to an exemption from registration. The Funds typically do not hold a significant amount of these restricted or other illiquid securities because of the potential for delays on resale and uncertainty in valuation. Limitations on resale may have an adverse effect on the marketability of portfolio securities, and a Fund might be unable to dispose of restricted or other illiquid securities promptly or at reasonable prices and might thereby experience difficulty satisfying redemptions within seven days. A Fund might also have to register such restricted securities in order to dispose of them resulting in additional expense and delay. Adverse market conditions could impede such a public offering of securities.

In recent years, however, a large institutional market has developed for certain securities that are not registered under the Securities Act including repurchase agreements, commercial paper, foreign securities, municipal securities and corporate bonds and notes. Institutional investors depend on an efficient institutional market in which the unregistered security can be readily resold or on an issuer's ability to honor a demand for repayment. The fact that there are contractual or legal restrictions on resale to the general public or to certain institutions may not be indicative of the liquidity of such investments.

The SEC has adopted Rule 144A which allows for a broader institutional trading market for securities otherwise subject to restriction on resale to the general public. Rule 144A establishes a "safe harbor" from the registration requirements of the Securities Act for resales of certain securities to qualified institutional buyers.

Any such restricted securities will be considered to be illiquid for purposes of a Fund's limitations on investments in illiquid securities unless, pursuant to procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, the Funds' adviser or subadviser has determined such securities to be liquid because such securities are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A and are readily saleable. To the extent that qualified institutional buyers may become uninterested in purchasing Rule 144A securities, the Fund's level of illiquidity may increase.

The Funds may sell over-the-counter ("OTC") options and, in connection therewith, segregate assets or cover its obligations with respect to OTC options written by a Fund. The assets used as cover for OTC options written by a Fund will be considered illiquid unless the OTC options are sold to qualified dealers who agree that a Fund may repurchase any OTC option it writes at a maximum price to be calculated by a formula set forth in the option agreement. The cover for an OTC option written subject to this procedure would be considered illiquid only to the extent that the maximum repurchase price under the formula exceeds the intrinsic value of the option.

The applicable adviser or subadviser will monitor the liquidity of restricted securities in the portion of a Fund it manages. In reaching liquidity decisions, the following factors are considered: (A) the unregistered nature of the security; (B) the frequency of trades and quotes for the security; (C) the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and the number of other potential purchasers; (D) dealer undertakings to make a market in the security and (E) the nature of the security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of the transfer).

PRIVATE PLACEMENT COMMERCIAL PAPER. Commercial paper eligible for resale under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act is offered only to accredited investors. Rule 506 of Regulation D in the Securities Act lists investment companies as an accredited investor.

Section 4(2) paper not eligible for resale under Rule 144A under the Securities Act shall be deemed liquid if (1) the Section 4(2) paper is not traded flat or in default as to principal and interest; (2) the Section 4(2) paper is rated in one of the two highest rating categories by at least two NRSROs, or if only NRSRO rates the security, it is rated in one of the two highest categories by that NRSRO; and (3) the Funds' adviser or subadviser believes that, based on the trading markets for such security, such security can be disposed of within seven days in the ordinary course of business at approximately the amount at which a Fund has valued the security.

BORROWING

A Fund may borrow money from banks, limited by each Fund's fundamental investment restriction (generally, 33-1/3% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed)), including borrowings for temporary or emergency purposes. A Fund may engage in mortgage dollar roll and reverse repurchase agreements which may be considered a form of borrowing unless the Fund covers its exposure by segregating or earmarking liquid assets.

LEVERAGE. The use of leverage by a Fund creates an opportunity for greater total return, but, at the same time, creates special risks. For example, leveraging may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of Fund shares and in the yield on an Index Fund's portfolio. Although the principal of such borrowings will be fixed, a Fund's assets may change in value during the time the borrowings are outstanding. Borrowings will create interest expenses for the Fund which can exceed the income from the assets purchased with the borrowings. To the extent the income or capital appreciation derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest a Fund will have to pay on the borrowings, the Fund's return will be greater than if leverage had not been used. Conversely, if the income or capital appreciation from the securities purchased with such borrowed funds is not sufficient to cover the cost of borrowing, the return to a Fund will be less than if leverage had not been used, and therefore the amount available for distribution to shareholders as dividends and other distributions will be reduced. In the latter case, the applicable Fund's adviser or subadviser in its best judgment nevertheless may determine to maintain a Fund's leveraged position if it expects that the benefits to the Fund's shareholders of maintaining the leveraged position will outweigh the current reduced return.

Certain types of borrowings by a Fund may result in the Fund being subject to covenants in credit agreements relating to asset coverage, portfolio composition requirements and other matters. It is not anticipated that observance of such covenants would impede the Fund's adviser or subadviser from managing a Fund's portfolio in accordance with the Fund's investment objectives and policies. However, a breach of any such covenants not cured within the specified cure period may result in acceleration of outstanding indebtedness and require a Fund to dispose of portfolio investments at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

A Fund's adviser or subadviser may use a variety of derivative instruments, including options, futures contracts (sometimes referred to as "futures"), options on futures contracts, stock index options, forward contracts, swaps and structured contracts, to hedge a Fund's portfolio, for risk management, for obtaining exposure to a particular security or group of securities without actually purchasing such security or group of securities, or for any other permissible purposes consistent with the Fund's investment objective. Derivative instruments are securities or agreements with their values based on the value of an underlying asset (e.g., a security, currency or index) or the level of a reference index.

Derivatives generally have investment characteristics that are based upon either forward contracts (under which one party is obligated to buy and the other party is obligated to sell an underlying asset at a specific price on a specified date) or option contracts (under which the holder of the option has the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specified price on or before a specified date). Consequently, the change in value of a forward-based derivative generally is roughly proportional to the change in value of the underlying asset. In contrast, the buyer of an option-based derivative generally will benefit from favorable movements in the price of the underlying asset but is not exposed to the corresponding losses

that result from adverse movements in the value of the underlying asset. The seller (writer) of an option-based derivative generally will receive fees or premiums but generally is exposed to losses resulting from changes in the value of the underlying asset. Derivative transactions may include elements of leverage and, accordingly, the fluctuation of the value of the derivative transaction in relation to the underlying asset may be magnified.

The use of these instruments is subject to applicable regulations of the SEC, the several options and futures exchanges upon which they may be traded, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC").

SPECIAL RISKS OF DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS. The use of derivative instruments involves special considerations and risks as described below. Risks pertaining to particular instruments are described in the sections that follow.

(1) Successful use of most of these instruments depends upon a Fund's adviser's or subadviser's ability to predict movements of the overall securities and currency markets, which requires different skills than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. There can be no assurance that any particular strategy adopted will succeed.

(2) There might be imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between price movements of an instrument and price movements of investments being hedged. For example, if the value of an instrument used in a short hedge (such as writing a call option, buying a put option, or selling a futures contract) increased by less than the decline in value of the hedged investment, the hedge would not be fully successful. Such a lack of correlation might occur due to factors unrelated to the value of the investments being hedged, such as speculative or other pressures on the markets in which these instruments are traded. The effectiveness of hedges using instruments on indices will depend on the degree of correlation between price movements in the index and price movements in the investments being hedged, as well as, how similar the index is to the portion of the Fund's assets being hedged in terms of securities composition.

(3) Hedging strategies, if successful, can reduce the risk of loss by wholly or partially offsetting the negative effect of unfavorable price movements in the investments being hedged. However, hedging strategies can also reduce opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements in the hedged investments. For example, if a Fund entered into a short hedge because a Fund's adviser or subadviser projected a decline in the price of a security in the Fund's portfolio, and the price of that security increased instead, the gain from that increase might be wholly or partially offset by a decline in the price of the instrument. Moreover, if the price of the instrument declines by more than the increase in the price of the security, a Fund could suffer a loss.

(4) As described below, a Fund might be required to maintain assets as "cover," maintain segregated accounts, or make margin payments when it takes positions in these instruments involving obligations to third parties (i.e., instruments other than purchased options). If the Fund were unable to close out its positions in such instruments, it might be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the position expired or matured. The requirements might impair the Fund's ability to sell a portfolio security or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require that the Fund sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time. The Fund's ability to close out a position in an instrument prior to expiration or maturity depends on the existence of a liquid secondary market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the other party to the transaction ("counterparty") to enter into a transaction closing out the position. Therefore, there is no assurance that any hedging position can be closed out at a time and price that is favorable to the Fund.

For a discussion of the federal income tax treatment of a Fund's derivative instruments, see "Additional General Tax Information For All Funds" below.

OPTIONS. A Fund may purchase or write put and call options on securities and indices, and may purchase options on foreign currencies, and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate an existing position. The purchase of call options serves as a long hedge, and the purchase of put options serves as a short hedge. Writing put or call options can enable a Fund to enhance income by reason of the premiums paid by the purchaser of such options. Writing call options serves as a limited short hedge because declines in the value of the hedged investment would be offset to the extent of the premium received for writing the option. However, if the security appreciates to a price higher than the exercise price of the call option, it can

be expected that the option will be exercised, and the Fund will be obligated to sell the security at less than its market value or will be obligated to purchase the security at a price greater than that at which the security must be sold under the option. All or a portion of any assets used as cover for OTC options written by a Fund would be considered illiquid to the extent described under "Restricted, Non-Publicly Traded and Illiquid Securities" above. Writing put options serves as a limited long hedge because increases in the value of the hedged investment would be offset to the extent of the premium received for writing the option. However, if the security depreciates to a price lower than the exercise price of the put option, it can be expected that the put option will be exercised, and the Fund will be obligated to purchase the security at more than its market value.

The value of an option position will reflect, among other things, the historical price volatility of the underlying investment, the current market value of the underlying investment, the time remaining until expiration of the option, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price of the underlying investment, and general market conditions. Options that expire unexercised have no value. Options used by a Fund may include European-style options, which can only be exercised at expiration. This is in contrast to American-style options which can be exercised at any time prior to the expiration date of the option.

A Fund may effectively terminate its right or obligation under an option by entering into a closing transaction. For example, a Fund may terminate its obligation under a call or put option that it had written by purchasing an identical call or put option; this is known as a closing purchase transaction. Conversely, a Fund may terminate a position in a put or call option it had purchased by writing an identical put or call option; this is known as a closing sale transaction. Closing transactions permit the Fund to realize the profit or limit the loss on an option position prior to its exercise or expiration.

A Fund may purchase or write both OTC options and options traded on foreign and U.S. exchanges. Exchange-traded options are issued by a clearing organization affiliated with the exchange on which the option is listed that, in effect, guarantees completion of every exchange-traded option transaction. OTC options are contracts between the Fund and the counterparty (usually a securities dealer or a bank) with no clearing organization guarantee. Thus, when a Fund purchases or writes an OTC option, it relies on the counter party to make or take delivery of the underlying investment upon exercise of the option. Failure by the counter party to do so would result in the loss of any premium paid by the Fund as well as the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.

A Fund's ability to establish and close out positions in exchange-listed options depends on the existence of a liquid market. A Fund intends to purchase or write only those exchange-traded options for which there appears to be a liquid secondary market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist at any particular time. Closing transactions can be made for OTC options only by negotiating directly with the counterparty, or by a transaction in the secondary market if any such market exists. Although a Fund will enter into OTC options only with counterparties that are expected to be capable of entering into closing transactions with a Fund, there is no assurance that such Fund will in fact be able to close out an OTC option at a favorable price prior to expiration. In the event of insolvency of the counterparty, a Fund might be unable to close out an OTC option position at any time prior to its expiration.

If a Fund is unable to effect a closing transaction for an option it had purchased, it would have to exercise the option to realize any profit. The inability to enter into a closing purchase transaction for a covered call option written by a Fund could cause material losses because the Fund would be unable to sell the investment used as a cover for the written option until the option expires or is exercised.

A Fund may engage in options transactions on indices in much the same manner as the options on securities discussed above, except that index options may serve as a hedge against overall fluctuations in the securities markets in general.

The writing and purchasing of options is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Imperfect correlation between the options and securities markets may detract from the effectiveness of attempted hedging.

Transactions using OTC options (other than purchased options) expose a Fund to counterparty risk. To the extent required by SEC guidelines, a Fund will not enter into any such transactions unless it owns either (1) an offsetting ("covered") position in securities, other options, or futures or (2) cash and liquid obligations with a value sufficient at all times to cover its potential obligations to the extent not covered as provided in (1) above. A Fund will also set aside cash and/or appropriate liquid assets in a segregated custodial account if required to do so by the SEC and CFTC regulations. Assets used as cover or held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the position in the corresponding option or futures contract is open, unless they are replaced with similar assets. As a result, the commitment of a large portion of the Fund's assets to segregated accounts as a cover could impede portfolio management or the Fund's ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.

SPREAD TRANSACTIONS. A Fund may purchase covered spread options from securities dealers. Such covered spread options are not presently exchange-listed or exchange-traded. The purchase of a spread option gives a Fund the right to put, or sell, a security that it owns at a fixed dollar spread or fixed yield spread in relationship to another security that the Fund does not own, but which is used as a benchmark. The risk to a Fund in purchasing covered spread options is the cost of the premium paid for the spread option and any transaction costs. In addition, there is no assurance that closing transactions will be available. The purchase of spread options will be used to protect a Fund against adverse changes in prevailing credit quality spreads, i.e., the yield spread between high quality and lower quality securities. Such protection is only provided during the life of the spread option.

FUTURES CONTRACTS. The Funds may enter into futures contracts, including interest rate, index, and currency futures and purchase and write
(sell) related options. The purchase of futures or call options thereon can serve as a long hedge, and the sale of futures or the purchase of put options thereon can serve as a short hedge. Writing covered call options on futures contracts can serve as a limited short hedge, and writing covered put options on futures contracts can serve as a limited long hedge, using a strategy similar to that used for writing covered options in securities. A Fund's hedging may include purchases of futures as an offset against the effect of expected increases in securities prices or currency exchange rates and sales of futures as an offset against the effect of expected declines in securities prices or currency exchange rates. A Fund may write put options on futures contracts while at the same time purchasing call options on the same futures contracts in order to create synthetically a long futures contract position. Such options would have the same strike prices and expiration dates. A Fund will engage in this strategy only when a Fund's adviser or subadviser believes it is more advantageous to a Fund than purchasing the futures contract.

To the extent required by regulatory authorities, a Fund will only enter into futures contracts that are traded on U.S. or foreign exchanges or boards of trade approved by the CFTC and are standardized as to maturity date and underlying financial instrument. These transactions may be entered into for "bona fide hedging" purposes as defined in CFTC regulations and other permissible purposes including increasing return and hedging against changes in the value of portfolio securities due to anticipated changes in interest rates, currency values and/or market conditions.

A Fund will not enter into futures contracts and related options for other than "bona fide hedging" purposes for which the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish positions exceed 5% of the Fund's net asset value after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such contracts it has entered into. There is no overall limit on the percentage of a Fund's assets that may be at risk with respect to futures activities. Although techniques other than sales and purchases of futures contracts could be used to reduce a Fund's exposure to market, currency, or interest rate fluctuations, such Fund may be able to hedge its exposure more effectively and perhaps at a lower cost through using futures contracts.

A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument (e.g., debt security) or currency for a specified price at a designated date, time, and place. An index futures contract is an agreement pursuant to which the parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to a specified multiplier times the difference between the value of the index at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the index futures contract was originally written. Transaction costs are incurred when a futures contract is bought or sold and margin deposits must be maintained. A futures contract may be satisfied by delivery or purchase, as the case may be, of the instrument, the currency, or by payment of the change in the cash value of the index. More commonly, futures contracts are closed out prior to delivery by entering into an offsetting transaction in a matching futures contract. Although the value of an index might be a function of the value of certain specified securities, no physical delivery of those securities is made. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, a Fund realizes a gain; if it is more, a Fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, a Fund realizes

a gain; if it is less, a Fund realizes a loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. There can be no assurance, however, that a Fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular futures contract at a particular time. If a Fund is not able to enter into an offsetting transaction, the Fund will continue to be required to maintain the margin deposits on the futures contract.

No price is paid by a Fund upon entering into a futures contract. Instead, at the inception of a futures contract, the Fund is required to deposit in a segregated account with its custodian, in the name of the futures broker through whom the transaction was effected, "initial margin" consisting of cash, U.S. government securities or other liquid obligations, in an amount generally equal to 10% or less of the contract value. Margin must also be deposited when writing a call or put option on a futures contract, in accordance with applicable exchange rules. Unlike margin in securities transactions, initial margin on futures contracts does not represent a borrowing, but rather is in the nature of a performance bond or good-faith deposit that is returned to a Fund at the termination of the transaction if all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Under certain circumstances, such as periods of high volatility, a Fund may be required by an exchange to increase the level of its initial margin payment, and initial margin requirements might be increased generally in the future by regulatory action.

Subsequent "variation margin" payments are made to and from the futures broker daily as the value of the futures position varies, a process known as "marking to market." Variation margin does not involve borrowing, but rather represents a daily settlement of a Fund's obligations to or from a futures broker. When a Fund purchases an option on a future, the premium paid plus transaction costs is all that is at risk. In contrast, when a Fund purchases or sells a futures contract or writes a call or put option thereon, it is subject to daily variation margin calls that could be substantial in the event of adverse price movements. If a Fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a time when such sales are disadvantageous. Purchasers and sellers of futures positions and options on futures can enter into offsetting closing transactions by selling or purchasing, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument held or written. Positions in futures and options on futures may be closed only on an exchange or board of trade on which they were entered into (or through a linked exchange). Although the Funds intend to enter into futures transactions only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be an active market, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time.

Under certain circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a future or option on a futures contract can vary from the previous day's settlement price; once that limit is reached, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond the limit. Daily price limits do not limit potential losses because prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation of unfavorable positions.

If a Fund were unable to liquidate a futures or option on a futures contract position due to the absence of a liquid secondary market or the imposition of price limits, it could incur substantial losses, because it would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. In addition, except in the case of purchased options, the Fund would continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments and might be required to maintain the position being hedged by the future or option or to maintain cash or securities in a segregated account.

Certain characteristics of the futures market might increase the risk that movements in the prices of futures contracts or options on futures contracts might not correlate perfectly with movements in the prices of the investments being hedged. For example, all participants in the futures and options on futures contracts markets are subject to daily variation margin calls and might be compelled to liquidate futures or options on futures contracts positions whose prices are moving unfavorably to avoid being subject to further calls. These liquidations could increase price volatility of the instruments and distort the normal price relationship between the futures or options and the investments being hedged. Also, because initial margin deposit requirements in the futures markets are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities markets, there might be increased participation by speculators in the future markets. This participation also might cause temporary price distortions. In addition, activities of large traders in both the futures and securities markets involving arbitrage, "program trading" and other investment strategies might result in temporary price distortions.

STRUCTURED PRODUCTS. A Fund may use structured products to hedge its portfolio. Structured products generally are individually negotiated agreements and may be traded over-the-counter. They are organized and operated to restructure the investment characteristics of the underlying security. This restructuring involves the deposit with or purchase by an entity, such as a corporation or trust, of specified instruments (such as commercial bank loans) and the issuance by that entity or one or more classes of securities ("structured securities") backed by, or representing interests in, the underlying instruments. The cash flow on the underlying instruments may be apportioned among the newly issued structured securities to create securities with different investment characteristics, such as varying maturities, payment priorities and interest rate provisions, and the extent of such payments made with respect to structured securities is dependent on the extent of the cash flow on the underlying instruments.

With respect to structured products, because structured securities typically involve no credit enhancement, their credit risk generally will be equivalent to that of the underlying instruments. Investments in structured securities are generally of a class that is either subordinated or unsubordinated to the right of payment of another class. Subordinated structured securities typically have higher yields and present greater risks than unsubordinated structured securities. Structured securities are typically sold in private placement transactions, and there is currently no active trading market for these securities. See also, "Description of Portfolio Instruments And Investment Policies -- Restricted, Non-Publicly Traded and Illiquid Securities."

SWAP AGREEMENTS. A Fund may enter into interest rate, securities index, commodity, or security and currency exchange rate swap agreements for any lawful purpose consistent with such Fund's investment objective, such as for the purpose of attempting to obtain or preserve a particular desired return or spread at a lower cost to the Fund than if the Fund had invested directly in an instrument that yielded that desired return or spread. A Fund also may enter into swaps in order to protect against an increase in the price of, or the currency exchange rate applicable to, securities that the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date. Swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from one or more days to several years. In a standard "swap" transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross returns to be exchanged or "swapped" between the parties are calculated with respect to a "notional amount," i.e., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate, in a particular foreign currency, or in a "basket" of securities representing a particular index. Swap agreements may include interest rate caps, under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates exceed a specified rate, or "cap"; interest rate floors under which, in return for a premium, one party agrees to make payments to the other to the extent that interest rates fall below a specified level, or "floor"; and interest rate collars, under which a party sells a cap and purchases a floor, or vice versa, in an attempt to protect itself against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels. "Total return swaps" are contracts in which one party agrees to make payments of the total return from the underlying asset during the specified period, in return for payments equal to a fixed or floating rate of interest or the total return from another underlying asset.

The "notional amount" of the swap agreement is the agreed upon basis for calculating the obligations that the parties to a swap agreement have agreed to exchange. Under most swap agreements entered into by a Fund, the obligations of the parties would be exchanged on a "net basis." Consequently, a Fund's obligation (or rights) under a swap agreement will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement (the "net amount"). A Fund's obligation under a swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against amounts owed to the Fund) and any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty will be covered by the maintenance of a segregated account consisting of cash or liquid assets.

Whether a Fund's use of swap agreements will be successful in furthering its investment objective will depend, in part, on a Fund's adviser's or subadviser's ability to predict correctly whether certain types of investments are likely to produce greater returns than other investments. Swap agreements may be considered to be illiquid. Moreover, a Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. The swaps market is largely unregulated.

A Fund will enter swap agreements only with counterparties that a Fund's adviser or subadviser reasonably believes are capable of performing under the swap agreements. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, a Fund will have to rely on its contractual remedies (which may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws) pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.

FOREIGN CURRENCY-RELATED DERIVATIVE STRATEGIES - SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS. A Fund may use options and futures and options on futures on foreign currencies and forward currency contracts to hedge against movements in the values of the foreign currencies in which a Fund's securities are denominated. A Fund may engage in currency exchange transactions to protect against uncertainty in the level of future exchange rates and may also engage in currency transactions to increase income and total return. Such currency hedges can protect against price movements in a security the Fund owns or intends to acquire that are attributable to changes in the value of the currency in which it is denominated. Such hedges do not, however, protect against price movements in the securities that are attributable to other causes.

A Fund might seek to hedge against changes in the value of a particular currency when no hedging instruments on that currency are available or such hedging instruments are more expensive than certain other hedging instruments. In such cases, a Fund may hedge against price movements in that currency by entering into transactions using hedging instruments on another foreign currency or a basket of currencies, the values of which a subadviser believes will have a high degree of positive correlation to the value of the currency being hedged. The risk that movements in the price of the hedging instrument will not correlate perfectly with movements in the price of the currency being hedged is magnified when this strategy is used.

The value of derivative instruments on foreign currencies depends on the value of the underlying currency relative to the U.S. dollar. Because foreign currency transactions occurring in the interbank market might involve substantially larger amounts than those involved in the use of such hedging instruments, a Fund could be disadvantaged by having to deal in the odd lot market (generally consisting of transactions of less than $1 million) for the underlying foreign currencies at prices that are less favorable than for round lots.

There is no systematic reporting of last sale information for foreign currencies or any regulatory requirement that quotations available through dealers or other market sources be firm or revised on a timely basis. Quotation information generally is representative of very large transactions in the interbank market and thus might not reflect odd-lot transactions where rates might be less favorable. The interbank market in foreign currencies is a global, round-the-clock market. To the extent the U.S. options or futures markets are closed while the markets for the underlying currencies remain open, significant price and rate movements might take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the markets for the derivative instruments until they reopen.

Settlement of derivative transactions involving foreign currencies might be required to take place within the country issuing the underlying currency. Thus, a Fund might be required to accept or make delivery of the underlying foreign currency in accordance with any U.S. or foreign regulations regarding the maintenance of foreign banking arrangements by U.S. residents and might be required to pay any fees, taxes and charges associated with such delivery assessed in the issuing country.

Permissible foreign currency options will include options traded primarily in the OTC market. Although options on foreign currencies are traded primarily in the OTC market, a Fund will normally purchase OTC options on foreign currency only when a Fund's adviser or subadviser believes a liquid secondary market will exist for a particular option at any specific time.

FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS

A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are entered into in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers.

At or before the maturity of a forward currency contract, a Fund may either sell a portfolio security and make delivery of the currency, or retain the security and fully or partially offset its contractual obligation to deliver the currency by purchasing a second contract. If a Fund retains the portfolio security and engages in an offsetting transaction, the Fund, at the time of execution of the offsetting transaction, will incur a gain or a loss to the extent that movement has occurred in forward currency contract prices.

The precise matching of forward currency contract amounts and the value of the securities involved generally will not be possible because the value of such securities, measured in the foreign currency, will change after the foreign currency contract has been established. Thus, the Fund might need to purchase or sell foreign currencies in the spot (cash) market to the extent such foreign currencies are not covered by forward currency contracts. The projection of short-term currency market movements is extremely difficult, and the successful execution of a short-term hedging strategy is highly uncertain.

CURRENCY HEDGING. While the values of forward currency contracts, currency options, currency futures and options on futures may be expected to correlate with exchange rates, they will not reflect other factors that may affect the value of a Fund's investments. A currency hedge, for example, should protect a Yen-denominated bond against a decline in the Yen, but will not protect a Fund against price decline if the issuer's creditworthiness deteriorates. Because the value of a Fund's investments denominated in foreign currency will change in response to many factors other than exchange rates, a currency hedge may not be entirely successful in mitigating changes in the value of a Fund's investments denominated in that currency over time.

A decline in the dollar value of a foreign currency in which a Fund's securities are denominated will reduce the dollar value of the securities, even if their value in the foreign currency remains constant. The use of currency hedges does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities, but it does establish a rate of exchange that can be achieved in the future. In order to protect against such diminutions in the value of securities it holds, a Fund may purchase put options on the foreign currency. If the value of the currency does decline, the Fund will have the right to sell the currency for a fixed amount in dollars and will thereby offset, in whole or in part, the adverse effect on its securities that otherwise would have resulted. Conversely, if a rise in the dollar value of a currency in which securities to be acquired are denominated is projected, thereby potentially increasing the cost of the securities, a Fund may purchase call options on the particular currency. The purchase of these options could offset, at least partially, the effects of the adverse movements in exchange rates. Although currency hedges limit the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of a hedged currency, at the same time, they also limit any potential gain that might result should the value of the currency increase.

A Fund may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions to hedge its currency exposure in specific transactions or portfolio positions. Transaction hedging is the purchase or sale of forward currency with respect to specific receivables or payables of a Fund generally accruing in connection with the purchase or sale of its portfolio securities. Position hedging is the sale of forward currency with respect to portfolio security positions. A Fund may not position hedge to an extent greater than the aggregate market value (at the time of making such sale) of the hedged securities.

SECURITIES OF INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Each Fund is a fund of funds and may invest up to 100% of its assets in other investment companies. A Fund indirectly will bear its proportionate share of any management fees paid by an investment company in which it invests in addition to the advisory fee paid by the Fund. Some of the countries in which a Fund may invest may not permit direct investment by outside investors. Investments in such countries may only be permitted through foreign government-approved or government-authorized investment vehicles, which may include other investment companies.

SPDRS AND OTHER EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

A Fund may invest in Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts ("SPDRs") and in shares of other exchange traded funds (collectively, "ETFs"). SPDRs are interests in unit investment trusts. Such investment trusts invest in a securities portfolio that includes substantially all of the common stocks (in substantially the same weights) as the common stocks included in a particular Standard & Poor's Index such as the S&P 500. SPDRs are traded on the American Stock Exchange, but may not be redeemed.

ETF's, including SPDRs, are not actively managed. Rather, an ETF's objective is to track the performance of a specified index. Therefore, securities may be purchased, retained and sold by ETFs at times when an actively managed trust would not do so. As a result, you can expect greater risk of loss (and a correspondingly greater prospect of gain) from changes in the value of

the securities that are heavily weighted in the index than would be the case if the ETF was not fully invested in such securities. Because of this, an ETF's price can be volatile, and a Fund may sustain sudden, and sometimes substantial, fluctuations in the value of its investment in such ETF. The results of an ETF (including SPDRs) will not match the performance of its designated index due to reductions in the ETF's performance attributable to transaction and other expenses, including fees paid by the ETF to service providers. SPDRs distribute dividends on a quarterly basis, although distributions by other ETFs may vary.

EXCHANGE-TRADED NOTES

The Funds may invest in exchange-traded notes ("ETNs"), which are debt securities linked to an underlying index. Similar to ETFs, an ETN's valuation is derived, in part, from the value of the index to which it is linked. ETNs, however, also bear the characteristics and risks of fixed-income securities, including credit risk and change in rating risk.

FLOATING AND VARIABLE RATE INSTRUMENTS

Floating or variable rate obligations bear interest at rates that are not fixed, but vary with changes in specified market rates or indices, such as the prime rate, or at specified intervals. The interest rate on floating-rate securities varies with changes in the underlying index (such as the Treasury bill rate), while the interest rate on variable or adjustable rate securities changes at preset times based upon an underlying index. Certain of the floating or variable rate obligations that may be purchased by the Funds may carry a demand feature that would permit the holder to tender them back to the issuer of the instrument or to a third party at par value prior to maturity.

Some of the demand instruments purchased by a Fund may not be traded in a secondary market and derive their liquidity solely from the ability of the holder to demand repayment from the issuer or third party providing credit support. If a demand instrument is not traded in a secondary market, the Fund will nonetheless treat the instrument as "readily marketable" for the purposes of its investment restriction limiting investments in illiquid securities unless the demand feature has a notice period of more than seven days in which case the instrument will be characterized as "not readily marketable" and therefore illiquid.

Such obligations include variable rate master demand notes, which are unsecured instruments issued pursuant to an agreement between the issuer and the holder that permit the indebtedness thereunder to vary and to provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate. A Fund will limit its purchases of floating and variable rate obligations to those of the same quality as it is otherwise allowed to purchase. A Fund's adviser or subadviser will monitor on an ongoing basis the ability of an issuer of a demand instrument to pay principal and interest on demand.

A Fund's right to obtain payment at par on a demand instrument could be affected by events occurring between the date the Fund elects to demand payment and the date payment is due that may affect the ability of the issuer of the instrument or third party providing credit support to make payment when due, except when such demand instruments permit same day settlement. To facilitate settlement, these same day demand instruments may be held in book entry form at a bank other than a Fund's custodian subject to a subcustodian agreement approved by the Fund between that bank and the Fund's custodian.

ZERO COUPON SECURITIES

Zero coupon securities are debt securities that pay no cash income but are sold at substantial discounts from their value at maturity. When a zero coupon security is held to maturity, its entire return, which consists of the amortization of discount, comes from the difference between its purchase price and its maturity value. This difference is known at the time of purchase, so that investors holding zero coupon securities until maturity know at the time of their investment what the expected return on their investment will be. Zero coupon securities may have conversion features.

Zero coupon securities end to be subject to greater price fluctuations in response to changes in interest rates than are ordinary interest-paying debt securities with similar maturities. The value of zero coupon securities appreciates more during periods of declining interest rates and depreciates more during periods of rising interest rates than ordinary interest-paying debt

securities with similar maturities. Zero coupon securities may be issued by a wide variety of corporate and governmental issuers. Although these instruments are generally not traded on a national securities exchange, they are widely traded by brokers and dealers and, to such extent, will not be considered illiquid for the purposes of a Fund's limitation on investments in illiquid securities.

LOAN PARTICIPATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Loan Participations typically will result in a Fund having a contractual relationship only with the lender, not with the borrower. A Fund will have the right to receive payments of principal, interest and any fees to which it is entitled only from the lender selling the Participation and only upon receipt by the lender of the payments from the borrower. In connection with purchasing Loan Participations, a Fund generally will have no right to enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement relating to the loan, nor any rights of set-off against the borrower, and a Fund may not benefit directly from any collateral supporting the loan in which it has purchased the Participation. As a result, a Fund will assume the credit risk of both the borrower and the lender that is selling the Participation. In the event of the insolvency of the lender selling a Participation, a Fund may be treated as a general creditor of the lender and may not benefit from any set-off between the lender and the borrower. A Fund will acquire Loan Participations only if the lender interpositioned between the Fund and the borrower is determined by the applicable subadviser to be creditworthy. When a Fund purchases Assignments from lenders, the Fund will acquire direct rights against the borrower on the loan, except that under certain circumstances such rights may be more limited than those held by the assigning lender.

A Fund may have difficulty disposing of Assignments and Loan Participations. Because the market for such instruments is not highly liquid, the Fund anticipates that such instruments could be sold only to a limited number of institutional investors. The lack of a highly liquid secondary market may have an adverse impact on the value of such instruments and will have an adverse impact on the Fund's ability to dispose of particular Assignments or Loan Participations in response to a specific economic event, such as deterioration in the creditworthiness of the borrower.

In valuing a Loan Participation or Assignment held by a Fund for which a secondary trading market exists, the Fund will rely upon prices or quotations provided by banks, dealers or pricing services. To the extent a secondary trading market does not exist, the Fund's Loan Participations and Assignments will be valued in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees, taking into consideration, among other factors: (i) the creditworthiness of the borrower under the loan and the lender; (ii) the current interest rate; period until next rate reset and maturity of the loan; (iii) recent prices in the market for similar loans; and (iv) recent prices in the market for instruments of similar quality, rate, period until next interest rate reset and maturity.

REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS AND MORTGAGE DOLLAR ROLLS

A Fund may engage in reverse repurchase agreements to facilitate portfolio liquidity, a practice common in the mutual fund industry, or for arbitrage transactions discussed below. In a reverse repurchase agreement, a Fund would sell a security and enter into an agreement to repurchase the security at a specified future date and price. A Fund generally retains the right to interest and principal payments on the security. Since a Fund receives cash upon entering into a reverse repurchase agreement, it may be considered a borrowing (see "Borrowing"). When required by guidelines of the SEC, a Fund will segregate or earmark permissible liquid assets to secure its obligations to repurchase the security. At the time a Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will establish and maintain segregated or earmarked liquid assets with an approved custodian having a value not less than the repurchase price (including accrued interest). The segregated or earmarked liquid assets will be marked-to-market daily and additional assets will be segregated or earmarked on any day in which the assets fall below the repurchase price (plus accrued interest). A Fund's liquidity and ability to manage its assets might be affected when it sets aside cash or portfolio securities to cover such commitments. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities retained in lieu of sale may decline below the price of the securities the Fund has sold but is obligated to repurchase. In the event the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, such buyer or its trustee or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce the Fund's obligation to repurchase the securities, and the Fund's use of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement may effectively be restricted pending such determination. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be borrowings under the 1940 Act.

Mortgage dollar rolls are arrangements in which a Fund would sell mortgage-backed securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contract to purchase substantially similar securities on a specified future date. While a Fund would forego principal and interest paid on the mortgage-backed securities during the roll period, the Fund would be compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the lower price for the future purchase as well as by any interest earned on the proceeds of the initial sale. A Fund also could be compensated through the receipt of fee income equivalent to a lower forward price. At the time the Fund would enter into a mortgage dollar roll, it would set aside permissible liquid assets in a segregated account to secure its obligation for the forward commitment to buy mortgage-backed securities. Depending on whether the segregated assets are cash equivalent or some other type of security, entering into mortgage dollar rolls may subject the Fund to additional interest rate sensitivity. If the segregated assets are cash equivalents that mature prior to the mortgage dollar roll settlement, there is little likelihood that the sensitivity will increase; however, if the segregated assets are subject to interest rate risk because they settle later, then the Fund's interest rate sensitivity could increase. Mortgage dollar roll transactions may be considered a borrowing by the Funds. (See "Borrowing")

Mortgage dollar rolls and reverse repurchase agreements may be used as arbitrage transactions in which a Fund will maintain an offsetting position in investment grade debt obligations or repurchase agreements that mature on or before the settlement date on the related mortgage dollar roll or reverse repurchase agreements. Since a Fund will receive interest on the securities or repurchase agreements in which it invests the transaction proceeds, such transactions may involve leverage. However, since such securities or repurchase agreements will be high quality and will mature on or before the settlement date of the mortgage dollar roll or reverse repurchase agreement, the Fund's adviser or subadviser believes that such arbitrage transactions do not present the risks to the Funds that are associated with other types of leverage.

TEMPORARY INVESTMENTS

Generally each of the Funds will be fully invested in accordance with its investment objective and strategies. However, pending investment of cash balances or for other cash management purposes, or if a Fund's adviser (or subadviser) believes that business, economic, political or financial conditions warrant, a Fund, may invest without limit in cash or money market cash equivalents, including: (1) short-term U.S. government securities; (2) certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, and interest-bearing savings deposits of commercial banks; (3) prime quality commercial paper; (4) repurchase agreements covering any of the securities in which the Fund may invest directly; and (5) subject to the limits of the 1940 Act, shares of other investment companies that invest in securities in which the Fund may invest. Should this occur, a Fund will not be pursuing its investment objective and may miss potential market upswings.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The portfolio turnover rate for each Fund is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases and sales of portfolio securities for the year by the monthly average value of the portfolio securities, excluding securities whose maturities at the time of purchase were one year or less. As of the date of this SAI, the Funds have not yet commenced operation and thus no portfolio turnover rate information is provided.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The following are fundamental investment restrictions for the Funds which cannot be changed without the vote of the majority of the outstanding shares of the Funds for which a change is proposed. The vote of the majority of the outstanding shares means the vote of (1) 67% or more of the voting securities present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy or (2) a majority of the outstanding voting securities, whichever is less.

Each Fund:

o May not borrow money or issue senior securities, except that each Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements and may otherwise borrow money and issue senior securities as and to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any rule, order or interpretation thereunder.

o May not act as an underwriter of another issuer's securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.

o May not purchase or sell commodities or commodities contracts, except to the extent disclosed in the current Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information of the Fund.

o May not lend any security or make any other loan, except that each Fund may in accordance with its investment objective and policies (i) lend portfolio securities, (ii) purchase and hold debt securities or other debt instruments, including but not limited to loan participations and subparticipations, assignments, and structured securities, (iii) make loans secured by mortgages on real property, (iv) enter into repurchase agreements, and (v) make time deposits with financial institutions and invest in instruments issued by financial institutions, and enter into any other lending arrangement as and to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any rule, order or interpretation thereunder.

o May not purchase or sell real estate, except that each Fund may (i) acquire real estate through ownership of securities or instruments and sell any real estate acquired thereby, (ii) purchase or sell instruments secured by real estate (including interests therein), and
(iii) purchase or sell securities issued by entities or investment vehicles that own or deal in real estate (including interests therein).

o May not purchase the securities of any issuer if, as a result, 25% or more than (taken at current value) of the Fund's total assets would be invested in the securities of issuers, the principal activities of which are in the same industry; provided, that in replicating the weightings of a particular industry in its target index, a Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities of issuers in that industry.

Note, however, that the fundamental investment limitations described above do not prohibit each Fund from investing all or substantially all of its assets in the shares of other registered, open-end investment companies, such as the Underlying Funds.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE NON-FUNDAMENTAL OPERATING POLICIES OF THE FUND, WHICH MAY BE CHANGED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST WITHOUT SHAREHOLDER APPROVAL:

Each Fund may not:

o Sell securities short, unless the Fund owns or has the right to obtain securities equivalent in kind and amount to the securities sold short or unless it covers such short sales as required by the current rules and positions of the SEC or its staff, and provided that short positions in forward currency contracts, options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, or other derivative instruments are not deemed to constitute selling securities short.

o Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, transactions in currencies or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.

o Purchase or otherwise acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid.

o Pledge, mortgage or hypothecate any assets owned by the Fund in excess of 33 1/3% of the Fund's total assets at the time of such pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating.

Note, however, that the non-fundamental investment limitations described above do not prohibit each Fund from investing all or substantially all of its assets in the shares of other registered, open-end investment companies, such as the Underlying Funds.

If any percentage restriction or requirement described above is satisfied at the time of investment, a later increase or decrease in such percentage resulting from a change in net asset value will not constitute a violation of such restriction or requirement. However, should a change in net asset value or other external events cause a Fund's investments in illiquid securities including repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days, to exceed the limit set forth above for such Fund's investment in illiquid securities, a Fund will act to cause the aggregate amount such securities to come within such limit as soon as reasonably practicable. In such event, however, such Fund would not be required to liquidate any portfolio securities where a Fund would suffer a loss on the sale of such securities.

INTERNAL REVENUE CODE RESTRICTIONS

In addition to the investment restrictions above, each Fund must be diversified according to Internal Revenue Code requirements. Specifically, at each tax quarter end, each Fund's holdings must be diversified so that (a) at least 50% of the market value of its total assets is represented by cash, cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, securities of other U.S. regulated investment companies, and other securities, limited so that no one issuer has a value greater than 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and that the Fund holds no more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund's assets is invested in the securities (other than those of the U.S. government or other U.S. regulated investment companies) of any one issuer or of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The Board of Trustees of the Trust has adopted policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of portfolio holdings information to protect the interests of Fund shareholders and to address potential conflicts of interest that could arise between the interests of Fund shareholders and the interests of the Funds' investment adviser, principal underwriter or affiliated persons of the Funds' investment adviser or principal underwriter. The Trust's overall policy with respect to the release of portfolio holdings is to release such information consistent with applicable legal requirements and the fiduciary duties owed to shareholders. Subject to the limited exceptions described below, the Trust will not make available to anyone non-public information with respect to its portfolio holdings until such time as the information is made available to all shareholders or the general public.

The policies and procedures are applicable to the Funds' investment adviser and any subadviser to the Funds. Pursuant to the policy, the Funds, their investment adviser, any subadviser, and their agents are obligated to:

o Act in the best interests of Fund shareholders by protecting non-public and potentially material portfolio holdings information;

o Ensure that portfolio holdings information is not provided to a favored group of clients or potential clients; and

o Adopt such safeguards and controls around the release of client information so that no client or group of clients is unfairly disadvantaged as a result of such release.

Portfolio holdings information that is not publicly available will be released selectively only pursuant to the exceptions described below. In most cases, where an exception applies, the release of portfolio holdings is strictly prohibited until the information is at least 15 calendar days old. Nevertheless, NFA's Chief Investment Officer, Chief Administrative Officer or their duly authorized delegate may authorize, where circumstances dictate, the release of more current portfolio holdings information.

Each Fund posts onto the Trust's internet site (www.nationwidefunds.com) substantially all of its securities holdings as of the end of each month. Such portfolio holdings are available no earlier than 15 calendar days after the end of the previous month, and remain available on the internet site until the Fund files its next quarterly portfolio holdings report on Form N-CSR or Form N-Q with the SEC. The Funds disclose their complete portfolio holdings information to the SEC using Form N-Q within 60 days of the end of the first and third quarter ends of the Funds' fiscal year and on Form N-CSR on the second and fourth quarter ends of the Funds' fiscal year. Form N-Q is not required to be mailed to shareholders, but is made public through the SEC's electronic filings. Shareholders receive either complete portfolio holdings information or summaries of Fund portfolio holdings with their annual and semi-annual reports.

Exceptions to the portfolio holdings release policy described above can only be authorized by NFA's Chief Investment Officer, Chief Administrative Officer or their duly authorized delegate and will be made only when:

o A Fund has a legitimate business purpose for releasing portfolio holdings information in advance of release to all shareholders or the general public;

o The recipient of the information provides written assurances that the non-public portfolio holdings information will remain confidential and that persons with access to the information will be prohibited from trading based on the information; and

o The release of such information would not otherwise violate the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws or the Funds' fiduciary duties.

Under this policy, the receipt of compensation by a Fund, the investment adviser, a subadviser, or an affiliate as consideration for disclosing non-public portfolio holdings information will not be deemed a legitimate business purpose.

Eligible third parties to whom portfolio holdings information may be released in advance of general release include the following:

o Data consolidators (including ratings agencies);

o Fund rating/ranking services and other data providers; and

o Service providers to the Funds.

The Funds' investment adviser conducts periodic reviews of compliance with the policy and the Funds' Chief Compliance Officer provides annually a report to the Board of Trustees regarding the operation of the policy and any material changes recommended as a result of such review. The investment adviser's compliance staff will also annually submit to the Board a list of exceptions granted to the policy, including an explanation of the legitimate business purpose of the Fund that was served as a result of the exception.