IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nationwide Mutual Funds will no longer mail paper copies of your Fund’s annual and semiannual reports, unless you specifically request paper copies of those reports. Instead, Nationwide Mutual Funds will post the reports on the Funds' website, nationwide.com/mutualfundprospectuses, and will mail you a notice of availability each time a report is posted and provide you with the website link to access the reports. 

If you already have elected to receive these reports electronically (known as eDelivery), you will not be affected by this change and you do not need to take any action. You may elect to receive reports and other fund documents via eDelivery by contacting your financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) or, if you are a direct investor, by calling Shareholder Services at 800-848-0920.

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper via U.S. mail free of charge. If you invest through a financial intermediary, you can contact your financial intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies of your reports. If you invest directly in a Nationwide Mutual Fund, you can call Shareholder Services at 800-848-0920 to register your preference that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your reports. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all Funds held in your account.

As with all mutual funds, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these Funds' shares or determined whether this Prospectus is complete or accurate. To state otherwise is a crime.

nationwide.com/mutualfunds

You would pay the following expenses on the same investment if you did not sell your shares:

	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class C Shares	$219	$684	$1,176	$2,531

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 255.32% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will, under normal market conditions, invest its assets primarily in common stocks of small-cap value companies that are within a market capitalization range that is similar, although not identical, to the market capitalization range of those companies found in the Russell 2000® Value Index. Under normal market conditions, the Fund may invest up to 25% of the Fund’s net assets in common stocks of micro-cap companies whose market capitalization, measured at the time of purchase, is $300 million or less. There is no minimum market capitalization limit for the companies in which the Fund may invest. The Fund’s subadviser seeks to add value to the Fund’s portfolio through stock selection while maintaining a risk profile that is appropriate relative to the Russell 2000® Value Index. The subadviser uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques to identify stocks it believes are currently undervalued by the market but which still have good fundamentals.

As part of the portfolio management of the Fund, the subadviser employs Behavioral Finance techniques in an attempt to capitalize on investors’ behavioral biases and cognitive errors that can result in securities being mispriced. Behavioral Finance is the study of why people do not always behave in an economically rational manner. Economic irrationality typically arises from investors maximizing personal benefit (not wealth), emotional investing, heuristic biases (e.g., “trial and error” or “rule of thumb” biases) and cognitive errors. The subadviser attempts to exploit investors’ biases and errors that it believes to be recurring and predictable, and to minimize its own susceptibility to these same biases and errors. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in U.S. dollar-denominated stocks of foreign companies.

The Fund may also engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Smaller company risk– smaller companies are usually less stable in price and less liquid than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies are more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business and economic developments and may have more limited resources. Therefore, they generally involve greater risk.

Micro-cap risk– investing in micro-cap companies involves greater risk than investing in small-, medium- or large- capitalization companies because the stocks of micro-cap companies tend to have greater price volatility and less liquidity than the stocks of larger companies. In addition, micro-cap companies tend to have smaller financial resources, less information available, more limited business lines and more geographic area concentration.

Value style risk– value investing carries the risk that the market will not recognize a security’s intrinsic value for a long time or that a stock judged to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced. In addition, value stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “growth” stocks.

Behavioral Finance techniques risk – the criteria used in implementing Behavioral Finance techniques and the weight placed on those criteria may not be predictive of a security’s value, and the effectiveness of the criteria can change over time. There can be no guarantee that the subadviser will be successful in applying Behavioral Finance

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techniques to successfully predict investor behavior to exploit stock price anomalies, and the Fund may underperform funds that do not employ such techniques.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities.

Portfolio turnover risk– a higher portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, may adversely impact the Fund’s performance, and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The Fund has adopted the historical performance of the HighMark Cognitive Value Fund, a former series of HighMark Funds (the “Predecessor Fund”) as the result of a reorganization in which the Fund acquired all of the assets, subject to the liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund on September 16, 2013. The returns presented for periods prior to September 16, 2013 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. At the time of the reorganization, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had substantially similar investment goals and strategies.

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Annual Total Returns – Class A Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	17.72%	–	4th qtr. of 2011
Lowest Quarter:	-21.21%	–	3rd qtr. of 2011

After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Historical performance for Class A, Class C, Class M and Institutional Service Class shares is based on the previous performance of Class A, Class C, Class M and Fiduciary Class Shares, respectively, of the Predecessor Fund.

The inception date for Class R6 shares is September 18, 2013. Therefore, pre-inception historical performance of Class R6 shares is based on the previous performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares. Performance for Class R6 shares has not been adjusted to reflect that share class’s lower expenses than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares.

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Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will, under normal market conditions, invest its assets primarily in common stocks located in the United States and abroad that the subadviser believes have superior sales and earnings growth potential, but at a reasonable price. It is expected that, under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in established companies in the technology and science sectors, including in the semiconductor, semiconductor equipment, hardware, software, information technology services, communications equipment, social media, biotechnology and interactive media sectors, and may invest in other sectors if determined by the Fund’s subadviser to be in the Fund’s best interests. The Fund may also invest up to 25% of its net assets in U.S. dollar denominated stocks of foreign companies located in both developed and emerging markets.

Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques, the Fund’s subadviser seeks to identify those securities it believes offer superior sales and earnings growth prospects at a reasonable valuation. The subadviser seeks to add value to the Fund’s portfolio through stock selection. The subadviser may also consider market indices and its own estimates of competitor portfolio weightings in managing the Fund’s portfolio.

The Fund may also invest opportunistically in initial public offerings (“IPOs”) and in securities of new public companies that have had their IPO within the last six months and that the subadviser finds attractive. The subadviser seeks investment opportunities to penetrate new and existing markets specifically within the technology, biotechnology and other growth industries. In looking at particular companies, the subadviser evaluates the scope of business of a company and its competitive landscape, as well as its management team’s experience.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will

underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Growth style risk– growth stocks are generally more sensitive to market movements than other types of stocks primarily because their stock prices are based heavily on future expectations. If the subadviser’s assessment of the prospects for a company’s growth is wrong, or if the subadviser’s judgment of how other investors will value the company’s growth is wrong, then the Fund may suffer a loss as the price of the company’s stock may fall or not approach the value that the subadviser has placed on it. In addition, growth stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “value” stocks.

Sector risk– investments in particular industries or sectors may be more volatile than the overall stock market. Because the Fund’s investment universe consists of securities in the semiconductor, semiconductor equipment, hardware, software, information technology services, communications equipment, social media, biotechnology and interactive media sectors, the Fund has a heavy weighting in these sectors.

The Fund’s investments in technology and science related sectors expose the Fund to risks associated with economic conditions in the technology and science markets to a greater extent than funds that do not invest heavily in these sectors. Due to intense global competition, a less diversified product line and other factors, companies that develop and/or rely on technology are often highly sensitive to downswings in the economy. Such companies may also experience volatile swings in demand for their products and services due to changing economic conditions, rapid technological advances and shorter product lifespans.

Initial public offering risk– availability of IPOs may be limited and the Fund may not be able to buy any shares at the offering price, or may not be able to buy as many shares at the offering price as it would like, which may adversely impact Fund performance. Further, IPO prices often are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than more established stocks.

New public company risk– the risks associated with investing in new public companies include small size, limited financial resources and operating history, dependence on a limited number of products and markets and lack of management depth.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities.

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Emerging markets risk– emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging securities markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets. Since these markets are smaller than developed markets, they may be more likely to suffer sharp and frequent price changes or long-term price depression because of adverse publicity, investor perceptions or the actions of a few large investors. Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because the Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be unreliable compared to developed markets. Many emerging markets also have histories of political instability and abrupt changes in policies. Certain emerging markets may also face other significant internal or external risks, including the risk of war, nationalization of assets, and ethnic, religious and racial conflicts.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The Fund has adopted the historical performance of the HighMark Enhanced Growth Fund, a former series of HighMark Funds (the “Predecessor Fund”) as the result of a reorganization in which the Fund acquired all of the assets, subject to the liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund on September 16, 2013. The returns presented for periods prior to September 16, 2013 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. At the time of the reorganization, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had substantially similar investment goals and strategies.

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Annual Total Returns – Class A Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	21.84%	–	1st qtr. of 2012
Lowest Quarter:	-18.94%	–	4th qtr. of 2018

After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Historical performance for Class A, Class C, Class M and Institutional Service Class shares is based on the previous performance of Class A, Class C, Class M and Fiduciary Class Shares, respectively, of the Predecessor Fund.

The inception date for Class R6 shares is September 18, 2013. Therefore, pre-inception historical performance of Class R6 shares is based on the previous performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares. Performance for Class R6 shares has not been adjusted to reflect that share class’s lower expenses than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares.

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You would pay the following expenses on the same investment if you did not sell your shares:

	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class C Shares	$193	$744	$1,322	$2,892

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 32.93% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in common stocks of large-cap U.S. companies, utilizing a value style of investing. In other words, the Fund seeks companies that may be trading at prices that do not reflect a company’s intrinsic value. Companies issuing such securities may be currently out of favor, undervalued due to market declines, or experiencing poor operating conditions that may be temporary. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of large-cap companies. The Fund currently considers large-cap companies as those with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 1000® Index. The Fund makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time of purchase of such security. The Fund may also invest in stocks of foreign companies.

The subadviser focuses on estimating a company’s value independent of its current stock price. To estimate a company’s value, the subadviser concentrates on the fundamental economic drivers of the business. The primary focus is on “bottom-up” analysis, which takes into consideration earnings, revenue growth, operating margins and other economic factors. The subadviser also considers the level of industry competition, regulatory factors, the threat of technological obsolescence, and a variety of other industry factors. If the subadviser’s estimate of a company’s value differs sufficiently from the current market price, the company may be an attractive investment opportunity.

In constructing a portfolio of securities, the subadviser is not constrained by the sector or industry weights in the Fund’s benchmark. The subadviser relies on individual stock selection and discipline in the investment process to add value and assigns the highest portfolio security weights to companies in which the subadviser has the highest level of conviction. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified fund”

under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which means that a relatively high percentage of the Fund’s assets may be invested in a limited number of issuers. The subadviser may sell a security as it reaches the subadviser’s estimate of the company’s value; if it believes that the company’s earnings, revenue growth, operating margin or other economic factors are deteriorating; or if it identifies a stock that it believes offers a better investment opportunity.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. The prices of foreign securities may be further affected by other factors, such as changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the securities are traded.

Nondiversified fund risk– because the Fund may hold larger positions in fewer securities than diversified funds, a single security’s increase or decrease in value may have a greater impact on the Fund’s value and total return.

Value style risk– value investing carries the risk that the market will not recognize a security’s intrinsic value for a long time or that a stock judged to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced. In addition, value stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “growth” stocks.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

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Performance

The Fund has adopted the historical performance of the HighMark Large Cap Core Equity Fund, a former series of HighMark Funds (the “Predecessor Fund”) as the result of a reorganization in which the Fund acquired all of the assets, subject to the liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund on September 16, 2013. The returns presented for periods prior to September 16, 2013 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. At the time of the reorganization, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had substantially similar investment goals and strategies.

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

The Fund’s performance prior to November 13, 2017, reflects returns pursuant to different principal investment strategies and a different subadviser. If the Fund’s current strategies and subadviser had been in place for the prior period, the performance information shown may have been different.

Annual Total Returns – Class A Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	15.01%	–	1st qtr. of 2012
Lowest Quarter:	-14.06%	–	4th qtr. of 2018

After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax

rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Historical performance for Class A, Class C and Institutional Service Class shares is based on the previous performance of Class A, Class C and Fiduciary Class Shares, respectively, of the Predecessor Fund.

The inception date for Class R6 shares is September 18, 2013. Therefore, pre-inception historical performance of Class R6 shares is based on the previous performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares. Performance for Class R6 shares has not been adjusted to reflect that share class’s lower expenses than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares.

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Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Minimum Initial Investment Class A, Class C: $2,000 Class R6: $1,000,000 Institutional Service Class: $50,000 Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A, Class C): $0* *Provided each monthly purchase is at least $50

Minimum Additional Investment Class A, Class C: $100 Class R6, Institutional Service Class: no minimum Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A, Class C): $50

In general, you can buy or sell (redeem) shares of the Fund through your broker-dealer or financial intermediary, or by mail or phone on any business day. You can generally pay for shares by check or wire.

To Purchase and Sell (Redeem) Fund Shares
Mail: Nationwide Funds P.O. Box 701 Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701	Overnight: Nationwide Funds 615 East Michigan Street Third Floor Milwaukee, WI 53202	Website: nationwide.com/ mutualfunds
Phone: 800-848-0920 (toll free). Representatives are available 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable, and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of

Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 25.58% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs a “long/short” investment strategy to attempt to achieve capital appreciation and manage risk by purchasing equity securities believed by the Fund’s subadviser to be undervalued and selling short equity securities believed by the subadviser to be overvalued. A short sale is the sale by the Fund of a security which it does not own but must borrow to complete the sale, in anticipation of purchasing the same security at a later date at a lower price. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. These securities are primarily traded on U.S. securities exchanges. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities of foreign issuers, including issuers in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries typically are developing and low- or middle-income countries, and include certain countries located in Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. For purposes of this 20% limitation, “total assets” includes the proceeds of securities sold short. Additionally, the Fund may invest in other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to the extent permitted by law, primarily in connection with the Fund’s short portfolio, as further described below.

The Fund’s long portfolio’s (i.e., those securities that the Fund owns outright) core strategy is to invest in a combination of large-cap stocks of companies that the subadviser believes are financially sound and which have high dividend yields (i.e., value stocks), and large-cap stocks of companies that the subadviser believes have higher than average growth earnings (i.e., growth stocks). The Fund’s overall strategy seeks to deliver competitive risk-adjusted returns, or “alpha,” a risk adjusted measure of an investment’s performance. The aggregate value of the Fund’s long portfolio will generally exceed the aggregate value of the Fund’s short portfolio; however, the Fund seeks to maintain at least some short exposure at all times. The net long exposure of the Fund (gross long exposures minus gross short exposures) is usually expected to be between 50% and 100% (i.e., more than 50% of the Fund’s net assets).

The Fund’s use of short sales will create investment leverage in the Fund’s portfolio. It is possible that the Fund will lose money both on its long investments and its short investments at the same time. To the extent the Fund uses the proceeds from short sales to purchase securities for the long portfolio, the degree of leverage may be magnified.

In seeking growth stocks for the Fund’s long portfolio, the subadviser employs a “bottom-up” investment process that focuses on superior stock selection, investing in stocks based on their individual attributes, regardless of broader national or economic factors. The subadviser then utilizes a three-component process that includes “top-down” macroeconomic analysis, fundamental research and technical analysis. “Top-down” analysis involves first looking at trends in the general economy, followed by selecting industries, and then companies within such industries, that may benefit from those trends. With respect to value stocks, the subadviser seeks financially stable, high dividend-yielding companies, and screens from a universe of all stocks traded on U.S. exchanges. Factors used to screen these companies include, but are not limited to, market capitalization, cash flow, financial leverage and price volatility. The remaining companies are then further refined to include those companies with the highest dividend yield, subject to diversification among industry sectors as appropriate to manage risk. The subadviser may sell a position when it no longer qualifies for purchase under its buy discipline.

The Fund’s short positions (i.e., those securities that the Fund has sold short) generally range between 1% and 50% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. The subadviser’s short investment approach involves a disciplined, methodical search for overvalued companies. The subadviser generally applies a proprietary screening process which includes criteria such as deteriorating working capital, decelerating sales growth, negative sales surprises, and negative earnings and sales estimate revisions by Wall Street analysts. Once the subadviser has established companies which meet its initial criteria, the subadviser next scrutinizes the quality of earnings, issuer proxy statements (background of directors and management, director or accountant resignations, litigation and related transactions), the balance sheet and footnotes (accounts receivable, inventories, other current assets, reserve levels, changes in amortization or depreciation schedules and off-balance sheet liabilities), and the income and cash-flow statements (margin trends, one-time gains or losses and tax rates). Additionally, the subadviser considers the time horizon likely to be required for positions to become profitable. Accordingly, the subadviser seeks to identify so-called “catalysts”, i.e., particular anticipated events or circumstances that are likely to accelerate the time frame in which the key flaw in the issuer will be reflected in its stock price. By emphasizing catalysts, the subadviser seeks to

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avoid potential short situations that would require extensive holding periods and their attendant increased costs and risks. The subadviser seeks to reduce, cover or close positions if the analytical basis for the original investment decision has become questionable or if there are other developments that create a lack of continuing analytic confidence in the position. In addition to selling individual securities short based on whether the subadviser believes them to be overvalued, the subadviser may also sell shares of ETFs short in response to broader stock market movements.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk– the prices of stocks are subject to considerable fluctuation. Price changes may occur in the relevant markets as a whole, or they may occur only to the stocks of a particular company, industry or sector of the relevant market. Stocks and stock markets may experience short-term volatility (price fluctuation) as well as extended periods of growth or price declines.

Short sales risk– the Fund will incur a loss from a short sale if the value of the security sold short increases after the Fund has entered into the short position. Short sales generally involve a form of leverage, which can exaggerate the Fund’s losses. The Fund may lose more money than the actual cost of the short position and its potential losses may be unlimited. Any gain from a short sale will be offset in whole or in part by the transaction costs associated with the short sale.

Leverage risk– leverage is investment exposure that exceeds the initial amount invested. Leverage can cause the Fund to lose more than the principal amount invested. Leverage can magnify the Fund’s gains and losses and therefore increase its volatility.

Long/short strategy risk– in situations where the Fund takes a long position (i.e., owns a stock outright), the Fund will lose money if the price of the stock declines. In situations where the Fund sells equity securities short, the Fund will lose money if the price of the stock increases. It is possible that the Fund’s long positions (purchases) will decline in value at the same time that the value of its short positions increase, thereby increasing potential losses to the Fund.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down

sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Exchange-traded funds risk– when the Fund invests in an ETF, you will indirectly bear fees and expenses charged by the ETF in addition to the Fund’s direct fees and expenses. In addition, the Fund may be affected by losses of the ETF and the level of risk arising from the investment practices of the ETF (such as the use of leverage by the ETF). The Fund has no control over the investments and related risks taken by the ETF in which it invests. Additionally, investments in ETFs are also subject to the following risks: (i) the market price of an ETF’s shares may trade above or below their net asset value; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; or (iii) trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted for a number of reasons.

Growth style risk– growth stocks are generally more sensitive to market movements than other types of stocks primarily because their stock prices are based heavily on future expectations. If the subadviser’s assessment of the prospects for a company’s growth is wrong, or if the subadviser’s judgment of how other investors will value the company’s growth is wrong, then the Fund may suffer a loss as the price of the company’s stock may fall or not approach the value that the subadviser has placed on it. In addition, growth stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “value” stocks.

Value style risk– value investing carries the risk that the market will not recognize a security’s intrinsic value for a long time or that a stock judged to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced. In addition, value stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “growth” stocks.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. The prices of foreign securities may be further affected by other factors, such as changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the securities are traded.

Emerging markets risk– emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging

28

securities markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets. Since these markets are smaller than developed markets, they may be more likely to suffer sharp and frequent price changes or long-term price depression because of adverse publicity, investor perceptions or the actions of a few large investors. Practices in relation to settlement of securities transactions in emerging markets involve higher risks than those in developed markets, in part because the Fund will need to use brokers and counterparties that are less well capitalized, and custody and registration of assets in some countries may be unreliable compared to developed markets. Many emerging markets also have histories of political instability and abrupt changes in policies. Certain emerging markets may also face other significant internal or external risks, including the risk of war, nationalization of assets, and ethnic, religious and racial conflicts.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The Fund has adopted the historical performance of the Logan Capital Long/Short Fund, a former series of Advisors Series Trust (the “Predecessor Fund”) as the result of a reorganization in which the Fund acquired all of the assets, subject to liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund on December 11, 2017. The returns presented for periods prior to December 11, 2017 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. At the time of the reorganization, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had substantially similar investment goals and strategies.

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Annual Total Returns – Institutional Service Class Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

After tax returns are shown for Institutional Service Class shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Historical performance for Institutional Service Class and Class R6 shares is based on the previous performance of Investor Class and Institutional Class shares, respectively, of the Predecessor Fund. The inception date for Class A shares is December 8, 2017. Therefore, pre-inception historical performance is based on the previous performance of Investor Class shares of the Predecessor Fund. Performance for Class A shares has been adjusted to reflect differences in sales charges, as well as to reflect the higher expenses of Class A shares than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Investor Class shares.

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Average Annual Total Returns
(For the Periods Ended December 31, 2019)

* Inception date of the Predecessor Fund’s Investor Class.

** Inception date of the Predecessor Fund’s Institutional Class.

Portfolio Management

Investment Adviser

Nationwide Fund Advisors

Subadviser

Logan Capital Management, Inc.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Minimum Initial Investment Class A: $2,000 Institutional Service Class: $50,000 Class R6: $1,000,000 Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A): $0* *Provided each monthly purchase is at least $50

Minimum Additional Investment Class A: $100 Institutional Service Class, Class R6: no minimum Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A): $50

In general, you can buy or sell (redeem) shares of the Fund through your broker-dealer or financial intermediary, or by mail or phone on any business day. You can generally pay for shares by check or wire.

To Purchase and Sell (Redeem) Fund Shares
Mail: Nationwide Funds P.O. Box 701 Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701	Overnight: Nationwide Funds 615 East Michigan Street Third Floor Milwaukee, WI 53202	Website: nationwide.com/ mutualfunds
Phone: 800-848-0920 (toll free). Representatives are available 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable, and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

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Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 13.51% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests in equity securities, primarily common stocks, issued by companies of any size. The Fund normally invests across a wide range of sectors and industries, using a growth style of equity management that emphasizes companies with sustainable competitive advantages, long-term structural growth drivers, attractive cash flow returns on invested capital, and management teams focused on creating long-term value for shareholders. The Fund’s subadviser aims to invest in stocks of companies when they trade at a significant discount to the subadviser’s estimate of intrinsic value. The subadviser will consider selling a portfolio investment when it believes an unfavorable structural change occurs within a given business or the markets in which it operates, when a critical underlying investment assumption is flawed, when a more attractive reward-to-risk opportunity becomes available, when the current price fully reflects the subadviser’s estimate of intrinsic value, or for other investment reasons which the subadviser deems appropriate.

The Fund is not required to maintain any specified percentage of its assets in securities of a particular capitalization size. The Fund is permitted, therefore, at any given time, to invest either all of its assets or none of its assets in any particular capitalization size, or to invest a flexible combination of its assets among various capitalization sizes. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in foreign securities. Although the Fund maintains a diversified portfolio, it nonetheless may invest in a limited number of issuers.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Smaller company risk– smaller companies are usually less stable in price and less liquid than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies are more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business and economic developments and may have more limited resources. Therefore, they generally involve greater risk.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. The prices of foreign securities may be further affected by other factors, such as changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the securities are traded.

Growth style risk– growth stocks are generally more sensitive to market movements than other types of stocks primarily because their stock prices are based heavily on future expectations. If the subadviser’s assessment of the prospects for a company’s growth is wrong, or if the subadviser’s judgment of how other investors will value the company’s growth is wrong, then the Fund may suffer a loss as the price of the company’s stock may fall or not approach the value that the subadviser has placed on it. In addition, growth stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “value” stocks.

Limited portfolio holdings risk– because the Fund may hold large positions in a smaller number of securities, an increase or decrease in the value of such securities may have a greater impact on the Fund’s value and total return. Funds that invest in a relatively small number of securities may be subject to greater volatility than a more diversified investment.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

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Performance

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Annual Total Returns – Class R6 Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	16.19%	–	1st qtr. of 2019
Lowest Quarter:	-12.70%	–	4th qtr. of 2018

After-tax returns are shown in the table for Class R6 shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The inception date for Eagle Class shares is June 19, 2018. Pre-inception historical performance for Eagle Class shares is based on the previous performance of Institutional Service Class shares. Performance for Eagle Class shares has not been adjusted to reflect that share class’s lower expenses than those of Institutional Service Class shares.

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Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year of the Predecessor Fund (as defined below) (October 31, 2019), the portfolio turnover rate was 52.79% of the average value of its portfolio. See the section entitled “Performance” for more information about the Predecessor Fund.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities, primarily common stocks. Equity securities also may include preferred stocks and convertible securities. The Fund also may invest up to 30% of its net assets in securities of foreign companies, which are companies organized under the laws of countries other than the United States. Although the Fund typically invests in seasoned issuers, it may purchase securities of companies in initial public offerings (IPOs) or shortly thereafter.

The Fund’s subadviser employs a value style of investing, focusing on dividend-paying stocks and other investments and investment techniques that provide income. In addition, the Fund may write (sell) covered call options, which are derivatives, to enhance returns and/or to limit volatility. The subadviser identifies potential investments through extensive quantitative and fundamental analysis, using a bottom-up approach that emphasizes three key factors:

•Value: quantitative screens track traditional measures, such as price-to-earnings, price-to-book and price-to-sales ratios, which are analyzed and compared against the market;

•Sound business fundamentals: a company's balance sheet and income data are examined to determine the company's financial history; and

•Positive business momentum: a company's earnings and forecast changes are analyzed and sales and earnings trends are reviewed to determine the company's financial condition or the presence of a catalyst that will trigger a price increase near- to mid-term.

The subadviser’s investment process is designed to provide investors with investment exposure to sector weightings and risk characteristics generally similar to those of the Russell 1000^® Value Index, although the Fund may emphasize one or more particular sectors at times. The subadviser generally considers selling a security when it

reaches a target price, fails to perform as expected, or when other opportunities appear more attractive.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. The prices of foreign securities may be further affected by other factors, such as changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the securities are traded.

Value style risk– value investing carries the risk that the market will not recognize a security’s intrinsic value for a long time or that a stock judged to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced. In addition, value stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “growth” stocks.

Dividend-paying stock risk– there is no guarantee that the issuers of the stocks held by the Fund will declare dividends in the future or that, if dividends are declared, they will remain at their current levels or increase over time. The Fund’s emphasis on dividend-paying stocks could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of a company’s track record of paying dividends or ability to pay dividends in the future. Dividend-paying stocks may not participate in a broad market advance to the same degree as other stocks, and a sharp rise in interest rates or economic downturn could cause a company to unexpectedly reduce or eliminate its dividend.

Convertible securities risk- the value of convertible securities may fall when interest rates rise and increase when interest rates fall. The prices of convertible securities with longer maturities tend to be more volatile than those

37

with shorter maturities. Value also tends to change whenever the market value of the underlying common or preferred stock fluctuates. The Fund could lose money if the issuer of a convertible security is unable to meet its financial obligations.

Preferred stock risk– a preferred stock may decline in price, or fail to pay dividends when expected, because the issuer experiences a decline in its financial status. Preferred stocks often behave like debt securities, but have a lower payment priority than the issuer’s bonds or other debt securities. Therefore, they may be subject to greater credit risk than those of debt securities. Preferred stocks also may be significantly less liquid than many other securities, such as corporate debt or common stock.

Initial public offering risk– availability of IPOs may be limited and the Fund may not be able to buy any shares at the offering price, or may not be able to buy as many shares at the offering price as it would like, which may adversely impact Fund performance. Further, IPO prices often are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than more established stocks.

Derivatives risk– derivatives may be volatile and may involve significant risks. The underlying security, measure or other instrument on which a derivative is based, or the derivative itself, may not perform as expected. Futures contracts and options on futures contracts may involve leverage, which means that their use can significantly magnify the effect of price movements of the underlying securities or reference measures, disproportionately increasing the Fund’s losses and reducing the Fund’s opportunities for gains. Some of these derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, including a loss that may be greater than the amount invested. Certain futures contracts and related options may be illiquid, making it difficult to close out an unfavorable position.

    Options– purchasing and selling options are highly specialized activities and entail greater-than-ordinary investment risks. The ability to close out positions in exchange-traded options depends on the existence of a liquid market. Options that expire unexercised have no value.

Quantitative analysis strategy risk– the success of the Fund's investment strategy may depend in part on the effectiveness of the subadviser's quantitative tools for screening securities. These strategies may incorporate factors that are not predictive of a security's value. Additionally, a previously successful strategy may become outdated or inaccurate, possibly resulting in losses.

Sector risk– investments in particular industries or sectors may be more volatile than the overall stock market. Therefore, if the Fund emphasizes one or more industries or economic sectors, it may be more susceptible to financial,

market or economic events affecting the particular issuers and industries participating in such sectors than funds that do not emphasize particular industries or sectors.

New fund risk– the Fund is newly formed. The Fund’s investment strategy may not be successful under all future market conditions, which could result in the Fund being liquidated at any time without shareholder approval and at a time that may not be favorable for all shareholders.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The Fund has adopted the historical performance of the BNY Mellon Disciplined Stock Fund, a former series of BNY Mellon Investment Funds IV, Inc. (the “Predecessor Fund”) as the result of a reorganization in which the Fund acquired all of the assets, subject to liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund on December 16, 2019. The returns presented for periods prior to December 16, 2019 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. At the time of the reorganization, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had similar investment goals, although the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had different investment objectives. Further, while the Fund and the Predecessor Fund shared some investment strategies and policies, certain of the Fund's investment strategies and policies were different from those of the Predecessor Fund.

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. The Fund has changed its broad-based securities index from the S&P 500 Index to the Russell 1000 Value Index in order to more accurately reflect the Fund's current investment style. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

38

Annual Total Returns – Class K Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	15.92%	–	1st qtr. of 2012
Lowest Quarter:	-18.36%	–	3rd qtr. of 2011

After-tax returns are shown for Class K shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Historical performance for Class K shares is based on the previous performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Shares. The inception date for Class A, Class R6, Institutional Service Class and Eagle Class shares is December 16, 2019. Therefore, pre-inception historical performance for Class A, Class R6, Institutional Service Class and Eagle Class shares is based on the previous performance of Predecessor Fund’s Shares. Performance for Class A shares has been adjusted to reflect sales charges and the higher expenses of Class A shares than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Shares. Performance for Class K, Class R6, Institutional Service Class and Eagle Class shares has not been adjusted to reflect each share class’s lower expenses than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Shares.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Minimum Initial Investment Class A and Class K: $2,000 Class R6: $1,000,000 Institutional Service Class and Eagle Class: $50,000 Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A and Class K): $0* *Provided each monthly purchase is at least $50

Minimum Additional Investment Class A and Class K: $100 Class R6, Institutional Service Class and Eagle Class: no minimum Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A and Class K): $50

39

waivers that may apply for the periods indicated above under “Fees and Expenses.” Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

You would pay the following expenses on the same investment if you did not sell your shares:

	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class C Shares	$161	$543	$950	$2,088

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 4.49% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to provide investors with long-term growth of capital by outperforming the S&P 500® Index over a full market cycle while maintaining a similar level of market risk as the index. To achieve this goal, the Fund’s subadviser seeks to identify and construct the most optimal portfolio that targets an equity-like level of volatility by allocating assets among equity securities, money market instruments, futures contracts the value of which are derived from the performance of equity and bond indexes, and options on equity index and bond futures contracts. Futures and options are derivatives and may expose the Fund to leverage.

Equity securities that the Fund buys primarily are common stocks of companies that are included in the S&P 500 Index. In order to achieve additional exposure to equity markets, the Fund also purchases futures contracts on the S&P 500 Index and call options on such S&P 500 Index futures contracts. Money market instruments are high-quality short-term debt securities issued by governments and corporations. Money market instruments serve primarily as cover for the Fund’s derivatives positions, although the subadviser also at times may allocate assets to money

market instruments in order to hedge against equity market risk. The Fund obtains exposure to U.S. Treasury bonds by purchasing futures contracts on U.S. Treasury bonds included in the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Long Treasury Index. The Fund also may purchase options on U.S. Treasury bond futures contracts. The Fund may use Treasury bond futures and options to hedge against equity market risks. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of U.S. issuers or derivatives the value of which are linked to securities of U.S. issuers.

In determining what the subadviser believes to be the optimal allocation among equity exposures, Treasury bonds and money market instruments, the subadviser uses estimates of future returns and volatility. When the subadviser believes that equity markets appear favorable, it uses leverage generated by futures and options to increase the Fund’s equity exposure. When equity markets appear to be unfavorable, the subadviser reduces the Fund’s equity exposure by allocating assets to Treasury bond index futures and/or money market instruments. By combining equity securities, futures on stock and bond indexes, call options and money market instruments in varying amounts, the subadviser may adjust the Fund’s overall equity exposure within a range of 50%–150% of the Fund’s net assets. The subadviser regularly reviews the Fund's investments and will consider selling an investment when the subadviser believes such investment is no longer attractive as a result of price appreciation or a change in risk profile, or because other available investments are considered to be more attractive.

The Fund is designed for investors seeking growth of capital by investing in a portfolio of equity and debt securities, and derivatives with investment characteristics similar to equity and debt securities, in order to achieve enhanced equity returns while maintaining a level of volatility risk that is similar to the S&P 500 Index. Investors in the Fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Leverage risk– leverage risk is a direct risk of investing in the Fund. Leverage is investment exposure that exceeds the initial amount invested. Derivatives and other

42

transactions that give rise to leverage may cause the Fund’s performance to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged. Leveraging also may require that the Fund liquidate portfolio securities when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements. The use of leverage may expose the Fund to losses in excess of the amounts invested or borrowed.

Derivatives risk– derivatives may be volatile and may involve significant risks. The underlying security, measure or other instrument on which a derivative is based, or the derivative itself, may not perform as expected. Futures contracts and options on futures contracts may involve leverage, which means that their use can significantly magnify the effect of price movements of the underlying securities or reference measures, disproportionately increasing the Fund’s losses and reducing the Fund’s opportunities for gains. Some of these derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, including a loss that may be greater than the amount invested. Certain futures contracts and related options may be illiquid, making it difficult to close out an unfavorable position.

    Futures– the prices of futures contracts typically are more volatile than those of stocks and bonds. Small movements in the values of the assets or measures of underlying futures contracts can cause disproportionately larger losses to the Fund. While futures may be more liquid than other types of derivatives, they may experience periods when they are less liquid than stocks, bonds or other investments.

    Options– purchasing and selling options are highly specialized activities and entail greater-than-ordinary investment risks. The ability to close out positions in exchange-traded options depends on the existence of a liquid market. Options that expire unexercised have no value.

Fixed-income securities risk– investments in fixed-income securities, such as bonds or other investments with debt-like characteristics (e.g., futures contracts the value of which are derived from the performance of bond indexes), subject the Fund to interest rate risk, credit risk and prepayment and call risk, which may affect the value of your investment. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of fixed-income securities will decline when interest rates rise. Prices of longer-term securities generally change more in response to interest rate changes than prices of shorter-term securities. To the extent the Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in debt securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates are more likely to cause periods of increased volatility and redemptions, and may cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly. Currently, interest rates are at or near historic

lows, which may increase the Fund's exposure to the risks associated with rising interest rates. Recent and potential future changes in government policy may affect interest rates.

Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a bond may default if it is unable to pay interest or principal when due. If an issuer defaults, the Fund may lose money. Changes in a bond issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perceptions of an issuer’s creditworthiness also may affect the value of a bond. Prepayment and call risk is the risk that certain debt securities will be paid off by the issuer more quickly than anticipated. If this occurs, the Fund may be required to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.

Cash position risk– the Fund may hold significant positions in cash or money market instruments. A larger amount of such holdings could cause the Fund to miss investment opportunities presented during periods of rising market prices.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Strategy risk– the subadviser’s strategy may cause the Fund to experience above-average short-term volatility. Accordingly, the Fund may be appropriate for investors who have a long investment time horizon and who seek long-term capital growth while accepting the possibility of significant short-term, or even long-term, losses.

Liquidity risk– when there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities or instruments, it can become more difficult to sell the securities or instruments at or near their perceived value. An inability to sell a portfolio position can adversely affect the Fund's value or prevent the Fund from being able to take advantage of other investment opportunities. Liquidity risk also includes the risk that the Fund will experience significant net redemptions of its shares at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or instruments or can sell its portfolio securities or instruments only at a material loss. To meet redemption requests, the Fund may be forced to sell other securities or instruments that are more liquid, but at unfavorable times and conditions.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

43

Performance

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

The Fund’s performance prior to July 16, 2018, reflects returns pursuant to different principal investment strategies and a different subadviser. If the Fund’s current strategies and subadviser had been in place for the prior period, the performance information shown may have been different.

Annual Total Returns – Class R6 Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	17.35%	–	1st qtr. of 2012
Lowest Quarter:	-15.61%	–	4th qtr. of 2018

After-tax returns are shown in the table for Class R6 shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The inception date for Institutional Service Class shares is November 30, 2011. Pre-inception historical performance for Institutional Service Class shares is based on the previous performance of Class R6 shares. Performance for Institutional Service Class shares has not been adjusted to reflect a higher level of expenses than for Class R6 shares. Performance returns for Class R6 shares reflect a front-end

sales charge of 4.50% through July 31, 2012. This front-end sales charge was eliminated as of August 1, 2012. The inception date for Eagle Class shares is September 28, 2018. Pre-inception historical performance for Eagle Class shares is based on the previous performance of Institutional Service Class shares. Performance for Eagle Class shares has not been adjusted to reflect that share class’s lower expenses than those of Institutional Service Class shares.

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of exceptional small companies, purchased early in their corporate life cycle, that have the wherewithal to become exceptional large companies.

In selecting small companies with the potential to become successful large companies, the subadviser analyzes the potential for sustainable revenue growth; adequate resources to establish and defend a viable product or service market, and market share; sufficient profitability to support long-term growth; and management skills and resources necessary to plan and execute a long-term growth plan.

The subadviser generally expects to hold securities for the long term in order to realize the potential rewards for incurring the risks associated with investing early in a company’s corporate life cycle. Nevertheless, the subadviser sells securities when it believes their potential for future growth is diminished. The Fund may emphasize particular industry sectors or groupings, such as the software sector, and the percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in such sectors or groupings will vary from time to time, depending on the subadviser’s perception of investment opportunities.

The Fund is intended for aggressive investors seeking above-average gains and who are willing to accept the risks involved in investing in the securities of small companies. By itself, the Fund is not intended to serve as a complete investment program.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Smaller company risk– smaller companies are usually less stable in price and less liquid than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies are more vulnerable than

larger companies to adverse business and economic developments and may have more limited resources. Therefore, they generally involve greater risk.

Growth style risk– growth stocks are generally more sensitive to market movements than other types of stocks primarily because their stock prices are based heavily on future expectations. If the subadviser’s assessment of the prospects for a company’s growth is wrong, or if the subadviser’s judgment of how other investors will value the company’s growth is wrong, then the Fund may suffer a loss as the price of the company’s stock may fall or not approach the value that the subadviser has placed on it. In addition, growth stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “value” stocks.

Sector risk– investments in particular industries or sectors may be more volatile than the overall stock market. Therefore, if the Fund emphasizes one or more industries or economic sectors, it may be more susceptible to financial, market or economic events affecting the particular issuers and industries participating in such sectors than funds that do not emphasize particular industries or sectors.

     Software– The software sector can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, cyclical market patterns, evolving industry standards, product obsolescence and the ability to attract and retain skilled employees. The success of software and services companies depends substantially on the timely and successful introduction of new products. An unexpected change in one or more of the technologies affecting a company’s products or in the market for products based on a particular technology could have a material adverse effect on the company’s operating results. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the software companies will be able to respond in a timely manner to compete in the rapidly developing marketplace.

Strategy risk– the subadviser’s strategy of generally holding stocks for long time periods, combined with its emphasis at times on particular industries or sectors, may cause the Fund to experience above-average short-term volatility. Accordingly, the Fund may be appropriate for investors who have a long investment time horizon and who seek to maximize long-term returns while accepting the possibility of significant short-term, or even long-term, losses.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

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Performance

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Annual Total Returns – Institutional Service Class Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	19.26%	–	1st qtr. of 2019
Lowest Quarter:	-23.06%	–	4th qtr. of 2018

After-tax returns are shown in the table for Institutional Service Class shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

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Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to capture the returns and diversification benefits associated with equity securities of a broad and diverse cross-section of small-cap companies in the United States. The subadviser uses a market capitalization-weighted approach to invest in companies that generally are smaller than the 500^th largest U.S. company. While the companies in which the Fund invests may vary in capitalization sizes under $11 billion, under normal circumstances, the Fund will:

•hold at least 80% of the value of its net assets in common stocks of U.S. companies that have market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2000® Index (a measure of the performance of small-cap stocks) and

•maintain an average portfolio market capitalization that is within the range of companies included in the Russell 2000® Value Index (a measure of the performance of small-cap stocks that meet the criteria for value investing).

The Fund buys securities of smaller companies that the subadviser determines to be “value stocks.” Securities are considered to be value stocks primarily because a company’s shares have a low price in relation to their book value.

In general, the higher the relative market capitalization of the eligible company, the greater its representation in the Fund’s portfolio. The subadviser may adjust the representation of an eligible company, or exclude a company, after considering such factors as free float, momentum, trading strategies, liquidity, profitability, and other factors that the subadviser determines to be appropriate, given market conditions. In assessing profitability, the subadviser may consider different ratios, such as that of earnings or profits from operations relative to book value or assets. While the Fund may sell securities that do not meet the subadviser’s value criteria, the Fund is not required to sell a security even if a decline in the issuer’s market capitalization reflects a serious financial difficulty or potential or actual insolvency.

The Fund is designed for long-term investors with a focus on investment in the range of small-cap companies, as opposed to individual stock selection.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Smaller company risk– smaller companies are usually less stable in price and less liquid than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies are more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business and economic developments and may have more limited resources. Therefore, they generally involve greater risk.

Targeted strategy risk– a portfolio that targets its investments to companies of different sizes within a broad small-capitalization range may fail to produce the returns and/or diversification benefits of the overall U.S. small-capitalization market.

Value style risk– value investing carries the risk that the market will not recognize a security’s intrinsic value for a long time or that a stock judged to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced. In addition, value stocks as a group may be out of favor at times and underperform the overall equity market for long periods while the market concentrates on other types of stocks, such as “growth” stocks.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

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Annual Total Returns – Class A Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	16.93%	–	4th qtr. of 2011
Lowest Quarter:	-23.62%	–	3rd qtr. of 2011

After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Portfolio Managers

Portfolio Manager	Title	Length of Service with Fund
Jed S. Fogdall	Head of Global Portfolio Management and Vice President	Since 2012
Joel P. Schneider	Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America and Vice President	Since 2015
Marc C. Leblond	Senior Portfolio Manager and Vice President	Since 2020

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Minimum Initial Investment Class A, Class C: $2,000 Class R6: $1,000,000 Institutional Service Class: $50,000 Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A, Class C): $0* *Provided each monthly purchase is at least $50

Minimum Additional Investment Class A, Class C: $100 Class R6, Institutional Service Class: no minimum Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Class A, Class C): $50

In general, you can buy or sell (redeem) shares of the Fund through your broker-dealer or financial intermediary, or by mail or phone on any business day. You can generally pay for shares by check or wire.

To Purchase and Sell (Redeem) Fund Shares
Mail: Nationwide Funds P.O. Box 701 Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701	Overnight: Nationwide Funds 615 East Michigan Street Third Floor Milwaukee, WI 53202	Website: nationwide.com/ mutualfunds
Phone: 800-848-0920 (toll free). Representatives are available 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable, and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

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You would pay the following expenses on the same investment if you did not sell your shares:

	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class C Shares	$193	$672	$1,177	$2,567

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 52.18% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in stocks of U.S. small-cap companies that the subadviser believes have improving earnings growth potential and attractive valuation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of small-cap companies whose capitalization is within the range of the market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2000® Index. The subadviser makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time of purchase of such security. In addition to holdings in primarily U.S. small-cap equity securities, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities.

The subadviser uses an actively managed bottom-up stock selection process for choosing securities across the small-cap equity market universe. The subadviser selects securities using a process that seeks to identify companies that have all three of the following attributes: durable competitive advantages, stakeholder-friendly management, and trade at a discount to intrinsic value. The portfolio is constructed using the subadviser’s best ideas that are generated through multiple sources, including management discussions, industry knowledge, prior research and various ad-hoc screens. The subadviser’s goal is to uncover companies with sustained high return on invested capital, consistent growth in free cash flow and stable to growing market share. The subadviser assigns the highest portfolio security weights to companies in which the subadviser has the highest level of conviction. The subadviser is not constrained by the sector weights in the benchmark.

Although the Fund maintains a diversified portfolio, it nonetheless may invest in a limited number of issuers. The subadviser may sell a security as it reaches the subadviser’s estimate of the company’s value; if relative fundamentals

deteriorate; or if alternative investments become sufficiently more attractive.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Smaller company risk– smaller companies are usually less stable in price and less liquid than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies are more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business and economic developments and may have more limited resources. Therefore, they generally involve greater risk.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. The prices of foreign securities may be further affected by other factors, such as changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the securities are traded.

Limited portfolio holdings risk– because the Fund may hold large positions in a smaller number of securities an increase or decrease in the value of such securities may have a greater impact on the Fund’s value and total return. Funds that invest in a relatively small number of securities may be subject to greater volatility than a more diversified investment.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The Fund has adopted the historical performance of the HighMark Small Cap Core Fund, a former series of HighMark Funds (the “Predecessor Fund”) as the result of a reorganization in which the Fund acquired all of the assets,

55

subject to the liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund on September 16, 2013. The returns presented for periods prior to September 16, 2013 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. At the time of the reorganization, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had substantially similar investment goals and strategies.

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Annual Total Returns – Class A Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	17.40%	–	4th qtr. of 2010
Lowest Quarter:	-23.96%	–	3rd qtr. of 2011

After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Historical performance for Class A, Class C and Institutional Service Class shares is based on the previous performance of Class A, Class C and Fiduciary Class Shares, respectively, of the Predecessor Fund.

The inception date for Class R6 shares is September 18, 2013. Therefore, pre-inception historical performance of Class R6 shares is based on the previous performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares. Performance for Class R6 shares has not been adjusted to reflect that share class’s lower expenses than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares.

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Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests, under normal market conditions, in stocks that provide a dividend yield that is generally greater than the average yield for each stock’s representative Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) sector and provide exposure across major sectors of the domestic equity market, as defined by GICS.

The subadviser uses a stock selection process that begins by identifying U.S. dividend paying common and/or preferred stocks within a market capitalization range that reflects the market capitalization range of the companies included in the Russell 1000® Value Index (the “investable universe”). The subadviser then assigns each stock within the investable universe into its appropriate GICS industry sector. The subadviser ranks each stock within each of the GICS industry sectors by its dividend yield—highest dividend yield to the lowest dividend yield. The subadviser uses additional screens throughout the stock selection process to attempt to select stocks with more favorable valuation and higher quality of earnings characteristics, such as stronger cash flows, growth potential, dividends and other favorable investment characteristics.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. The Fund concentrates at least 25% of its assets in equity securities of companies which operate in the financial services group of industries.

Under normal market conditions, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities and bonds.

Principal Risks

The Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective.

As with any fund, the value of the Fund’s investments—and therefore, the value of Fund shares—may fluctuate. These changes may occur because of:

Equity securities risk – stock markets are volatile. The price of an equity security fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions.

Market and selection risks– market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by the Fund’s subadviser will underperform the markets, the relevant indexes or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies.

Dividend-paying stock risk– there is no guarantee that the issuers of the stocks held by the Fund will declare dividends in the future or that, if dividends are declared, they will

remain at their current levels or increase over time. The Fund’s emphasis on dividend-paying stocks could cause the Fund to underperform similar funds that invest without consideration of a company’s track record of paying dividends or ability to pay dividends in the future. Dividend-paying stocks may not participate in a broad market advance to the same degree as other stocks, and a sharp rise in interest rates or economic downturn could cause a company to unexpectedly reduce or eliminate its dividend.

Concentration risk– the risk associated with exposure to any one industry or sector. Because the Fund invests in stocks that provide a yield that exceeds the average yield of its representative industry or sector and because a high percentage of these stocks are financial services-based companies, the Fund focuses its investments (i.e., invests more than 25% of its total assets) in the financial services sector. This sector concentration exposes the Fund to risks associated with economic conditions in the financial services sector. Those risks include the following, among others:

•Government Regulation. Companies in the financial services sector are subject to extensive government regulation that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. There is also the risk of government intervention in the sector, including such activities as forced receivership or restructuring of companies which could severely adversely affect the values of an investment in company stock.

•Interest Rate Increases. The profitability of companies in this sector is adversely affected by increases in interest rates.

•Loan Losses. The profitability of companies in this sector is adversely affected by loan losses, which usually increase in economic downturns.

•Consolidation and Competition. Newly enacted laws may result in increased inter-industry consolidation and competition in the financial sector.

Preferred stock risk– a preferred stock may decline in price, or fail to pay dividends when expected, because the issuer experiences a decline in its financial status. Preferred stocks often behave like debt securities, but have a lower payment priority than the issuer’s bonds or other debt securities. Therefore, they may be subject to greater credit risk than those of debt securities. Preferred stocks also may be significantly less liquid than many other securities, such as corporate debt or common stock.

Fixed-income securities risk– investments in fixed-income securities, such as bonds, subject the Fund to interest rate risk, credit risk and prepayment and call risk, which may affect the value of your investment. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of fixed-income securities will decline when interest rates rise. Prices of longer-term securities

59

generally change more in response to interest rate changes than prices of shorter-term securities. To the extent the Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in debt securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates are more likely to cause periods of increased volatility and redemptions, and may cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly. Currently, interest rates are at or near historic lows, which may increase the Fund's exposure to the risks associated with rising interest rates. Recent and potential future changes in government policy may affect interest rates.

Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a bond may default if it is unable to pay interest or principal when due. If an issuer defaults, the Fund may lose money. Changes in a bond issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perceptions of an issuer’s creditworthiness also may affect the value of a bond. Prepayment and call risk is the risk that certain debt securities will be paid off by the issuer more quickly than anticipated. If this occurs, the Fund may be required to invest the proceeds in securities with lower yields.

Foreign securities risk– foreign securities may be more volatile, harder to price and less liquid than U.S. securities. The prices of foreign securities may be further affected by other factors, such as changes in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the securities are traded.

Loss of money is a risk of investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The Fund has adopted the historical performance of the HighMark Equity Income Fund, a former series of HighMark Funds (the “Predecessor Fund”) as the result of a reorganization in which the Fund acquired all of the assets, subject to the liabilities, of the Predecessor Fund on September 16, 2013. The returns presented for periods prior to September 16, 2013 reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund. At the time of the reorganization, the Fund and the Predecessor Fund had substantially similar investment goals and strategies.

The following bar chart and table can help you evaluate the Fund’s potential risks. The bar chart shows how the Fund’s annual total returns have varied from year to year. These returns do not reflect the impact of sales charges. If sales charges were included, the annual total returns would be lower than those shown. The table compares the Fund’s average annual total returns to the returns of a broad-based securities index. Remember, however, that past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Updated performance information is available at no cost by visiting nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.

Annual Total Returns – Class A Shares
(Years Ended December 31,)

Highest Quarter:	13.66%	–	4th qtr. of 2011
Lowest Quarter:	-12.20%	–	3rd qtr. of 2011

After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only and will vary for other classes. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax return depends on your personal tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors in tax-advantaged arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Historical performance for Class A, Class C and Institutional Service Class shares is based on the previous performance of Class A, Class C and Fiduciary Class Shares, respectively, of the Predecessor Fund.

The inception date for Class R6 shares is September 18, 2013. Therefore, pre-inception historical performance of Class R6 shares is based on the previous performance of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares. Performance for Class R6 shares has not been adjusted to reflect that share class’s lower expenses than those of the Predecessor Fund’s Fiduciary Class Shares.

60

mail or phone on any business day. You can generally pay for shares by check or wire.

To Purchase and Sell (Redeem) Fund Shares
Mail: Nationwide Funds P.O. Box 701 Milwaukee, WI 53201-0701	Overnight: Nationwide Funds 615 East Michigan Street Third Floor Milwaukee, WI 53202	Website: nationwide.com/ mutualfunds
Phone: 800-848-0920 (toll free). Representatives are available 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable, and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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Objective

The Nationwide Bailard Cognitive Value Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Nationwide Mutual Funds’ (the “Trust”) Board of Trustees (“Board of Trustees”) without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will, under normal market conditions, invest its assets primarily in common stocks of small-cap value companies that are within a market capitalization range that is similar, although not identical, to the market capitalization range of those companies found in the Russell 2000® Value Index. Under normal market conditions, the Fund may invest up to 25% of the Fund’s net assets in common stocks of micro-cap companies whose market capitalization, measured at the time of purchase, is $300 million or less. There is no minimum market capitalization limit for the companies in which the Fund may invest. The Fund’s subadviser seeks to add value to the Fund’s portfolio through stock selection while maintaining a risk profile that is appropriate relative to the Russell 2000® Value Index. The subadviser uses both quantitative and qualitative analysis to identify stocks it believes are currently undervalued by the market but which still have good fundamentals.

As part of the portfolio management of the Fund, the subadviser employs Behavioral Finance techniques in an attempt to capitalize on investors’ behavioral biases and cognitive errors that can result in securities being mispriced. Behavioral Finance is the study of why people do not always behave in an economically rational manner. Economic irrationality typically arises from investors maximizing personal benefit (not wealth), emotional investing, heuristic biases (e.g., “trial and error” or “rule of thumb” biases) and cognitive errors. The subadviser attempts to exploit investors’ biases and errors that it believes to be recurring and predictable, and to minimize its own susceptibility to these same biases and errors. Stocks are sold when their ranking scores, determined using the subadviser’s model, deteriorate below available alternatives, or when the subadviser determines that shifts to the competitive universe or Russell 2000 Value benchmark are significant enough to require economic subsector adjustments to the portfolio for risk control purposes.

The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in U.S. dollar-denominated stocks of foreign companies. The

Fund also may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities.

Key Terms:

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Micro-cap companies – companies whose capitalization is $300 million or less.

Quantitative analysis – mathematical and statistical methods used in the investment process to evaluate market conditions and to identify securities of issuers for possible purchase or sale by the Fund.

Small-cap value companies – companies whose capitalization is within the range of the market capitalization of the companies in the Russell 2000® Value Index. As of December 31, 2019, the market capitalization for companies included in the Russell 2000® Value Index ranged from approximately $24.5 million to $6.76 billion.

Value stocks – stocks that may be trading at prices that do not reflect a company’s intrinsic value, based on factors such as a company’s stock price relative to its book value, earnings and cash flow. Companies issuing such securities may be currently out of favor, undervalued due to market declines, or experiencing poor operating conditions that may be temporary.

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Objective

The Nationwide Bailard Technology & Science Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund will, under normal market conditions, invest its assets primarily in common stocks located in the United States and abroad that the subadviser believes have superior sales and earnings growth potential, but at a reasonable price. It is expected that, under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in established companies in the technology and science sectors, including in the semiconductor, semiconductor equipment, hardware, software, information technology services, communications equipment, social media, biotechnology and interactive media sectors, and may invest in other sectors if determined by the Fund’s subadviser to be in the Fund’s best interests. The Fund may also invest up to 25% of its net assets in U.S. dollar denominated stocks of foreign companies located in both developed and emerging market countries.

Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, the Fund seeks to identify and invest in companies that offer superior sales and earnings growth prospects at a reasonable valuation. The subadviser seeks to add value to the Fund’s portfolio through stock selection. The subadviser may also consider market indices and its own estimates of competitor portfolio weightings in managing the Fund’s portfolio. The subadviser will sell securities if it determines that the company’s prospects change or fundamentals no longer appear relatively attractive.

The Fund may also invest opportunistically in initial public offerings (“IPOs”) and in securities of new public companies that have had their IPO within the last six months and that the subadviser finds attractive. The subadviser seeks investment opportunities to penetrate new and existing markets specifically within the technology, biotechnology and other growth industries. In looking at particular companies, the subadviser evaluates the scope of business of a company and its competitive landscape, as well as its management team’s experience.

Key Terms:

Emerging market countries – typically are developing and low- or middle-income countries such as those as identified by the International Finance Corporation or the World Bank. Emerging market countries may be found in regions such as Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Growth style – investing in equity securities of companies that the Fund’s subadviser believes have above-average rates of earnings growth and which therefore may experience above-average increases in stock prices.

Quantitative analysis – mathematical and statistical methods used in the investment process to evaluate market conditions and to identify securities of issuers for possible purchase or sale by the Fund.

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Objective

The Nationwide Diamond Hill Large Cap Concentrated Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in common stocks of large-cap U.S. companies, utilizing a value style of investing. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of large-cap companies. The Fund makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time of purchase of such security. The Fund also may invest in foreign securities.

The subadviser focuses on estimating a company’s value independent of its current stock price. To estimate a company’s value, the subadviser concentrates on the fundamental economic drivers of the business. The subadviser uses a bottom-up approach, which takes into consideration earnings, revenue growth, operating margins and other economic factors. The subadviser also considers the level of industry competition, regulatory factors, the threat of technological obsolescence, and a variety of other industry factors. If the subadviser’s estimate of a company’s value differs sufficiently from the current market price, the company may be an attractive investment opportunity.

In constructing a portfolio of securities, the subadviser is not constrained by the sector or industry weights in the Fund’s benchmark. The subadviser relies on individual stock selection and discipline in the investment process to add value and assigns the highest portfolio security weights to companies in which the subadviser has the highest level of conviction.

The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified fund” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which means that a relatively high percentage of the Fund’s assets may be invested in a limited number of issuers. The subadviser may sell a security as it reaches the subadviser’s estimate of the company’s value; if it believes that the company’s earnings, revenue growth, operating margin or other economic factors are deteriorating; or if it identifies a stock that it believes offers a better investment opportunity.

Key Terms:

Bottom-up approach – a method of investing that involves the selection of securities based on their individual attributes regardless of broader national, industry or economic factors.

Large-cap companies – companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 1000® Index, ranging from $823.7 million to $1.3 trillion as of December 31, 2019.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Value style – investing in equity securities that may be trading at prices that do not reflect a company’s intrinsic value, based on such factors as a company’s stock price relative to its book value, earnings and cash flow. Companies issuing such securities may be currently out of favor, undervalued due to market declines, or experiencing poor operating conditions that may be temporary.

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Objective

The Nationwide Fund seeks total return through a flexible combination of capital appreciation and current income. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of common stocks to produce an overall blended equity portfolio consisting of various types of stocks that the subadviser believes offer the potential for capital growth and/or dividend income. Most of the stocks in which the Fund invests are issued by large-cap companies. Some of these companies may be located outside of the United States. The Fund makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time it purchases such security.

In managing the Fund, the subadviser allocates the Fund’s assets across a variety of industries, selecting companies in each industry based on the research of a team of global industry analysts. The Fund typically seeks to maintain representation in each major industry represented by broad-based, large-cap U.S. equity indices.

The subadviser employs a bottom-up approach to selecting securities, emphasizing those that it believes to represent above-average potential for total return, based on fundamental research and analysis. Fundamental analysis of a company typically involves the assessment of a variety of factors, and may include the company’s business environment, management quality, balance sheet, income statement, anticipated earnings, revenues and dividends, and environmental, social and/or governance (ESG) factors. The subadviser seeks to develop a portfolio that is broadly diversified across issuers, sectors, industries and styles. The Fund’s portfolio therefore will include stocks that are considered to be either growth stocks or value stocks. Because the subadviser’s process is driven primarily by individual stock selection, the overall portfolio’s yield, price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-book ratio, growth rate and other characteristics will vary over time and, at any given time, the Fund may emphasize either growth stocks or value stocks. The subadviser may sell a security when it believes that a significant change in the company’s business fundamentals exists, it has become overvalued in terms of earnings, assets or growth prospects or in order to take advantage of more attractive alternatives.

Key Terms:

Bottom-up approach – a method of investing that involves the selection of securities based on their individual attributes regardless of broader national, industry or economic factors.

Growth stocks – equity securities of companies that the Fund’s subadviser believes have above-average rates of earnings or cash flow growth and which therefore may experience above-average increases in stock prices.

Large-cap companies – companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 1000® Index, ranging from $823.7 million to $1.3 trillion as of December 31, 2019.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Value stocks – stocks that may be trading at prices that do not reflect a company’s intrinsic value, based on factors such as a company’s stock price relative to its book value, earnings and cash flow. Companies issuing such securities may be currently out of favor, undervalued due to market declines, or experiencing poor operating conditions that may be temporary.

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Objective

The Nationwide Geneva Mid Cap Growth Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests, under normal market conditions, in common stocks of publicly traded companies that the subadviser believes demonstrate, at the time of a stock’s purchase, strong growth characteristics such as a leadership position in the relevant industry, a sustainable advantage, strong earnings growth potential and experienced management.

The Fund’s investment focus is on U.S. companies whose market capitalization is generally within the range of the companies represented in the Russell Midcap® Growth Index (the “Index”) at time of purchase (“U.S. mid-cap growth companies”), although the Fund may invest in companies outside this range. This capitalization range varies with market changes and periodic reconstitution of the Index. Just following a reconstitution, the capitalization range of an index may be significantly different than it was prior to the reconstitution. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in U.S. mid-cap growth companies. The Fund makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time of purchase of such security. Because the Fund may continue to hold a security whose market capitalization increases or decreases, a substantial portion of the Fund’s holdings can have market capitalizations outside the range of the Index at any given time. In selecting growth stocks for the Fund, the subadviser emphasizes a “bottom-up” fundamental analysis (i.e., developing an understanding of the specific company through research, meetings with management and analysis of the company’s financial statements and public disclosures). The subadviser’s “bottom-up” approach is supplemented by “top-down” considerations (i.e., reviewing general economic conditions and analyzing their effect on various industries). A complete position will be sold from the portfolio when the subadviser believes there is a major negative change in the long-term outlook for the company or industry. The subadviser also may reduce a position when an individual stock holding represents more than 5% of the portfolio; a particular industry represents more than 15% of the portfolio; or the subadviser believes

the stock has become overvalued based on the subadviser’s proprietary valuation model and technical analysis.

Key Terms:

Bottom-up approach – a method of investing that involves the selection of securities based on their individual attributes regardless of broader national, industry or economic factors.

Growth stocks – equity securities of companies that the Fund’s subadviser believes have above-average rates of earnings or cash flow growth and which therefore may experience above-average increases in stock prices.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Top-down approach – a method of investing that involves first looking at trends in the general economy, followed by selecting industries, and then companies within such industries, that may benefit from those trends.

U.S. mid-cap growth companies – have market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell Midcap® Growth Index and which list their stock on a U.S. national securities exchange. As of December 31, 2019, the market capitalization for companies included in the Russell Midcap® Growth Index ranged from approximately $1.2 billion to $78.7 billion.

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Objective

The Nationwide Geneva Small Cap Growth Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests, under normal market conditions, in common stocks of publicly traded companies that the subadviser believes demonstrate, at the time of a stock’s purchase, strong growth characteristics such as a leadership position in the relevant industry, a sustainable advantage, strong earnings growth potential and experienced management.

The Fund’s investment focus is on U.S. companies whose market capitalizations are generally within the market capitalization range of the companies represented in the Russell 2000^® Index (the “Index”) at time of purchase (“small-cap companies”), although the Fund may invest in companies outside this range. This capitalization range varies with market changes and periodic reconstitution of the Index. Just following a reconstitution, the capitalization range of an index may be significantly different than it was prior to the reconstitution. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in small-cap companies. The Fund makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time of purchase of such security. Because the Fund may continue to hold a security whose market capitalization increases or decreases, a substantial portion of the Fund’s holdings can have market capitalizations outside the range of the Index at any given time. In selecting growth stocks for the Fund, the subadviser emphasizes a “bottom-up” fundamental analysis (i.e., developing an understanding of the specific company through research, meetings with management and analysis of the company’s financial statements and public disclosures). The subadviser’s “bottom-up” approach is supplemented by “top-down” considerations (i.e., reviewing general economic conditions and analyzing their effect on various industries). A complete position will be sold from the portfolio when the subadviser believes there is a major negative change in the long-term outlook for the company or industry. A position will be reduced when an individual stock holding represents more than 5% of the portfolio; a particular industry represents more than 15% of the portfolio; or the subadviser believes the stock has

become overvalued based on the subadviser’s proprietary valuation model and technical analysis.

Key Terms:

Bottom-up approach – a method of investing that involves the selection of securities based on their individual attributes regardless of broader national, industry or economic factors.

Growth stocks – equity securities of companies that the Fund’s subadviser believes have above-average rates of earnings or cash flow growth and which therefore may experience above-average increases in stock prices.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Small-cap companies – have market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2000® Index. As of December 31, 2019, the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Russell 2000® Index was $8.3 billion.

Top-down approach – a method of investing that involves first looking at trends in the general economy, followed by selecting industries, and then companies within such industries, that may benefit from those trends.

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Objective

The Nationwide Long/Short Equity Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs a “long/short” investment strategy to attempt to achieve capital appreciation and manage risk by purchasing equity securities believed by the subadviser to be undervalued and selling short equity securities believed by the subadviser to be overvalued. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. Equity securities in which the Fund invests primarily include common stocks and are traded primarily on U.S. securities exchanges. The Fund nevertheless may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities of foreign issuers, including issuers in emerging market countries. For purposes of this 20% limitation, “total assets” includes the proceeds of securities sold short.

Additionally, the Fund may invest in other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to the extent permitted by law, primarily in connection with the Fund’s short portfolio, as further described below.

The Fund’s long portfolio’s (i.e., those securities that the Fund owns outright) core strategy is to invest in a combination of stocks of large-cap companies that the subadviser believes are financially sound and which have high dividend yields (i.e., value stocks), and large-cap stocks of companies that the subadviser believes have higher than average growth earnings (i.e., growth stocks). The Fund’s overall strategy seeks to deliver competitive risk-adjusted returns, or alpha, without unnecessary risk. The aggregate value of the Fund’s long portfolio will generally exceed the aggregate value of the Fund’s short portfolio; however, the Fund seeks to maintain at least some short exposure at all times. The net long exposure of the Fund (gross long exposures minus gross short exposures) is usually expected to be between 50% and 100% (i.e., more than 50% of the Fund’s net assets).

The Fund’s use of short sales will create investment leverage in the Fund’s portfolio. It is possible that the Fund will lose money both on its long investments and its short investments at the same time. To the extent the Fund uses the proceeds from short sales to purchase securities for the long portfolio, the degree of leverage may be magnified.

In seeking growth stocks for the Fund’s long portfolio, the subadviser employs a bottom-up investment process that focuses on superior stock selection. The subadviser utilizes a three-component process that includes top-down macroeconomic analysis, fundamental research and technical analysis. For a stock to be eligible for portfolio

inclusion, it must pass all three independent components of this process:

•Macroeconomic analysis – to aid in security selection, the subadviser begins by analyzing macroeconomic factors including, but not limited to, trends in real GDP growth, short- and long-term interest rates, yield curve, inflation, Federal Reserve Board actions, productivity gains and corporate cash flow.

•Fundamental analysis – investment ideas are generated utilizing the subadviser’s proprietary ranking and screening tool which assigns a score, based on a number of quantitative factors, to a broad universe of stocks. Factors considered include, but are not limited to, expected long-term future earnings growth rates, return on equity and price/earnings-to-growth rate ratios. Stocks with favorable quantitative scores are further analyzed using qualitative fundamental factors such as market expansion opportunities, market dominance and/or pricing power, significant barriers to entry and a strong balance sheet.

•Technical analysis – an evaluation that examines a stock’s pricing behavior and charts of price movement patterns to determine an uptrend or downtrend. Factors considered include, but are not limited to, relative performance as compared to the peer group and the overall market, historically significant price patterns, support and resistance levels and overbought and oversold levels.

With respect to value stocks, the subadviser seeks financially stable, high-dividend-yielding companies, and screens from a universe of all stocks traded on U.S. exchanges. Factors used to screen these companies include, but are not limited to, market capitalization, cash flow, financial leverage and price volatility. The remaining companies are then further refined to include those companies with the highest dividend yield, subject to diversification among industry sectors as appropriate to manage risk. The subadviser may sell a position when it no longer qualifies for purchase under its buy discipline.

The Fund’s short positions (i.e., those securities that the Fund has sold short) generally range between 1% and 50% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. The subadviser’s short investment approach involves a disciplined, methodical search for overvalued companies. The subadviser generally applies a proprietary screening process which includes criteria such as deteriorating working capital, decelerating sales growth, negative sales surprises, and negative earnings and sales estimate revisions by Wall Street analysts. Once the subadviser has established companies which meet its initial criteria, the subadviser next scrutinizes the quality of earnings, issuer proxy statements (background of directors and management, director or accountant resignations, litigation and related transactions), the balance sheet and footnotes (accounts receivable, inventories, other current assets, reserve levels, changes in

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amortization or depreciation schedules and off-balance sheet liabilities), and the income and cash-flow statements (margin trends, one-time gains or losses and tax rates). Additionally, the subadviser considers the time horizon likely to be required for positions to become profitable. Accordingly, the subadviser seeks to identify so-called “catalysts”, i.e., particular anticipated events or circumstances that are likely to accelerate the time frame in which the key flaw in the issuer will be reflected in its stock price. By emphasizing catalysts, the subadviser seeks to avoid potential short situations that would require extensive holding periods and their attendant increased costs and risks. The subadviser seeks to reduce, cover or close positions if the analytical basis for the original investment decision has become questionable or if there are other developments that create a lack of continuing analytic confidence in the position. In addition to selling individual securities short based on whether the subadviser believes them to be overvalued, the subadviser may also sell shares of ETFs short in response to broader stock market movements.

Key Terms:

Alpha – a measure of performance on a risk-adjusted basis. It gauges the performance of a portfolio as compared to a market index used as a benchmark.

Bottom-up approach – a method of investing that involves the selection of securities based on their individual attributes regardless of broader national, industry or economic factors.

Common stock – securities representing shares of ownership of a corporation.

Dividend yield – a ratio that indicates how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its stock price.

Emerging market countries – typically are developing and low- or middle-income countries. Emerging market countries may be found in regions such as Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Equity securities – represent an ownership interest in the issuer. Common stocks are the most common type of equity securities.

Growth stocks – equity securities of companies that the Fund’s subadviser believes have above-average rates of earnings growth and which therefore may experience above-average increases in stock prices.

Large-cap companies – companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 1000® Index, ranging from $823.7 million to $1.3 trillion as of December 31, 2019.

Selling short – selling a security that the Fund does not own, but must borrow to complete the sale, in anticipation of purchasing the same security at a later date at a lower price.

Technical analysis – a tool used to evaluate securities and attempt to forecast their future price movement by analyzing statistics gathered from trading activity, such as price movement and volume. Unlike fundamental research, which attempts to evaluate a security’s intrinsic value, technical analysis focuses on charts of price movement and various analytical tools to evaluate a stock’s strength or weakness and forecast future price changes.

Top-down approach – a method of investing that involves first looking at trends in the general economy, followed by selecting industries, and then companies within such industries, that may benefit from those trends.

Value stocks – stocks that may be trading at prices that do not reflect a company’s intrinsic value, based on factors such as a company’s stock price relative to its book value, earnings and cash flow. Companies issuing such securities may be currently out of favor, undervalued due to market declines, or experiencing poor operating conditions that may be temporary.

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Objective

The Nationwide Loomis All Cap Growth Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests in equity securities, primarily common stocks, issued by companies of any size, including large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap companies. The Fund normally invests across a wide range of sectors and industries, using a growth style of equity management that emphasizes companies with sustainable competitive advantages, long-term structural growth drivers, attractive cash flow returns on invested capital, and management teams focused on creating long-term value for shareholders. The Fund’s subadviser aims to invest in stocks of companies when they trade at a significant discount to the subadviser’s estimate of intrinsic value. The subadviser will consider selling a portfolio investment when it believes an unfavorable structural change occurs within a given business or the markets in which it operates, when a critical underlying investment assumption is flawed, when a more attractive reward-to-risk opportunity becomes available, when the current price fully reflects the subadviser’s estimate of intrinsic value, or for other investment reasons which the subadviser deems appropriate.

The Fund is not required to maintain any specified percentage of its assets in securities of a particular market capitalization size. The Fund is permitted, therefore, at any given time, to invest either all of its assets or none of its assets in any particular capitalization size, or to invest a flexible combination of its assets among various capitalization sizes. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in foreign securities. Although the Fund maintains a diversified portfolio, it nonetheless may invest in a limited number of issuers.

Key Terms:

Common stock – securities representing shares of ownership of a corporation.

Equity securities – represent an ownership interest in the issuer. Common stocks are the most common type of equity securities.

Growth style – investing in equity securities of companies that the Fund’s subadviser believes have above-average rates of cash flow growth and which therefore may experience above-average increases in stock prices.

Large-cap companies – companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 1000® Index, ranging from $823.7 million to $1.3 trillion as of December 31, 2019.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Mid-cap companies – companies with market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell MidCap® Index, ranging from $823.7 million to $78.7 billion as of December 31, 2019.

Small-cap companies – have market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2000® Index. As of December 31, 2019, the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Russell 2000® Index was $8.3 billion.

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Objective

The Nationwide Mellon Disciplined Value Fund seeks total return, consisting of capital appreciation and/or income. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities, primarily common stocks. Equity securities also may include preferred stocks and convertible securities. The Fund also may invest up to 30% of its net assets in securities of foreign companies, which are companies organized under the laws of countries other than the United States. Although the Fund typically invests in seasoned issuers, it may purchase securities of companies in initial public offerings (IPOs) or shortly thereafter.

The Fund’s subadviser employs a value style of investing, focusing on dividend-paying stocks and other investments and investment techniques that provide income. In addition, the Fund may write (sell) covered call options, which are derivatives, to enhance returns and/or limit volatility. The subadviser identifies potential investments through extensive quantitative and fundamental analysis, using a bottom-up approach that emphasizes three key factors:

•Value: quantitative screens track traditional measures, such as price-to-earnings, price-to-book and price-to-sales ratios, which are analyzed and compared against the market;

•Sound business fundamentals: a company's balance sheet and income data are examined to determine the company's financial history; and

•Positive business momentum: a company's earnings and forecast changes are analyzed and sales and earnings trends are reviewed to determine the company's financial condition or the presence of a catalyst that will trigger a price increase near- to mid-term.

The subadviser’s investment process is designed to provide investors with investment exposure to sector weightings and risk characteristics generally similar to those of the Russell 1000^® Value Index, although the Fund may emphasize one or more particular sectors at times. As of December 31, 2019, the top five sectors of the Russell 1000® Value Index (as defined by Russell) were: financials; health care; industrials; consumer staples; and energy.

The subadviser generally considers selling a security when it reaches a target price, fails to perform as expected, or when other opportunities appear more attractive.

Key Terms:

Bottom-up approach – a method of investing that involves the selection of securities based on their individual attributes regardless of broader national, industry or economic factors.

Convertible securities – generally debt securities or preferred stock that may be converted into common stock. Convertible securities typically pay current income as either interest (debt security convertibles) or dividends (preferred stock). A convertible’s value usually reflects both the stream of current income payments and the market value of the underlying common stock.

Derivative – a contract, security or investment the value of which is based on the performance of an underlying financial asset, index or economic measure. For example, the values of options are based on changes in the values of the underlying stock.

Equity securities – represent an ownership interest in the issuer. Common stocks are the most common type of equity securities.

Options – a call option gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the seller of the option the obligation to sell, an underlying security or futures contract at a specified price during the option period.

Preferred stock – a class of stock that often pays dividends at a specified rate and has preference over common stocks in dividend payments and liquidations of assets. Preferred stock does not normally carry voting rights. Some preferred stocks may also be convertible into common stock.

Quantitative analysis – mathematical and statistical methods used in the investment process to evaluate market conditions and to identify securities of issuers for possible purchase or sale by the Fund.

Value style – investing in equity securities that may be trading at prices that do not reflect a company’s intrinsic value, based on such factors as a company’s stock price relative to its book value, earnings and cash flow. Companies issuing such securities may be currently out of favor, undervalued due to market declines, or experiencing poor operating conditions that may be temporary.

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Objective

The Nationwide Mellon Dynamic U.S. Core Fund seeks long-term capital growth. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to provide investors with long-term growth of capital by outperforming the S&P 500® Index over a full market cycle while maintaining a similar level of market risk as the index. To achieve this goal, the Fund’s subadviser seeks to identify and construct the most optimal portfolio that targets an equity-like level of volatility by allocating assets among equity securities, money market instruments, futures contracts the value of which are derived from the performance of equity and bond indexes, and options on equity index and bond futures contracts. Futures and options are derivatives and may expose the Fund to leverage.

Equity securities that the Fund buys primarily are common stocks of companies that are included in the S&P 500 Index. In order to achieve additional exposure to equity markets, the Fund also purchases futures contracts on the S&P 500 Index and call options on such S&P 500 Index futures contracts. Money market instruments are high-quality short-term debt securities issued by governments and corporations. Money market instruments serve primarily as cover for the Fund’s derivatives positions, although the subadviser also at times may allocate assets to money market instruments in order to hedge against equity market risk. The Fund obtains exposure to U.S. Treasury bonds by purchasing futures contracts on U.S. Treasury bonds included in the Bloomberg Barclays Long Treasury Index. The Fund also may purchase options on U.S. Treasury bond futures contracts. The Fund may use Treasury bond futures and options to hedge against equity market risks. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of U.S. issuers or derivatives the value of which are linked to securities of U.S. issuers.

In determining what the subadviser believes to be the optimal allocation among equity exposures, Treasury bonds and money market instruments, the subadviser uses estimates of future returns and volatility. When the subadviser believes that equity markets appear favorable, it uses leverage generated by futures and options to increase the Fund’s equity exposure. When equity markets appear to be unfavorable, the subadviser reduces the Fund’s equity exposure by allocating assets to Treasury bond index futures and/or money market instruments. By combining equity securities, futures on stock and bond indexes, call options and money market instruments in varying amounts, the subadviser may adjust the Fund’s overall equity exposure within a range of 50%–150% of the Fund’s net assets. The subadviser regularly reviews the Fund's

investments and will consider selling an investment when the subadviser believes such investment is no longer attractive as a result of price appreciation or a change in risk profile, or because other available investments are considered to be more attractive.

The Fund is designed for investors seeking growth of capital by investing in a portfolio of equity and debt securities, and derivatives with investment characteristics similar to equity and debt securities, in order to achieve enhanced equity returns while maintaining a level of volatility risk that is similar to the S&P 500 Index. Investors in the Fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value.

Key Terms:

Derivative – a contract, security or investment the value of which is based on the performance of an underlying financial asset, index or economic measure. Futures and options are derivatives, because their values are based on changes in the values of an underlying asset or measure.

Equity securities – represent an ownership interest in the issuer. Common stocks are the most common type of equity securities.

Futures – a contract that obligates the buyer to buy and the seller to sell a specified quantity of an underlying asset (or settle for the cash value of a contract based on the underlying asset) at a specified price on the contract’s maturity date. The assets underlying futures contracts may be commodities, currencies, securities or financial instruments, or even intangible measures such as securities indexes or interest rates. Futures do not represent direct investments in securities (such as stocks and bonds) or commodities. Rather, futures are derivatives, because their value is derived from the performance of the assets or measures to which they relate. Futures are standardized and traded on exchanges, and therefore, typically are more liquid than other types of derivatives.

Options – a call option gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the seller of the option the obligation to sell, an underlying security or futures contract at a specified price during the option period. A put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and the seller of the option the obligation to buy, an underlying security or futures contract at a specified price during the option period.

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Objective

The Nationwide Small Company Growth Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. Current income is a secondary consideration in selecting portfolio investments. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in common stocks of small companies. The Fund employs a growth style of investing, as the subadviser seeks to build a portfolio of exceptional small companies that have the wherewithal to become exceptional large companies. Specifically, the subadviser seeks to identify publicly-traded companies early in their corporate life cycle that can produce exceptional long-term returns. For the purpose of the Fund, small companies are defined as companies with total operating revenues of $250 million or less at the time of initial investment. It is important to note that the Fund does NOT choose its portfolio companies based on a reference to market capitalization. Rather, the Fund’s focus is on the revenue produced by the issuer of the securities.

In selecting small companies with the potential to become successful large companies, the subadviser analyzes the potential for:

•sustainable revenue growth;

•adequate resources to establish and defend a viable product or service market, and market share;

•sufficient profitability to support long-term growth and

•management skills and resources necessary to plan and execute a long-term growth plan.

The subadviser believes that:

•a sustained commitment to a portfolio of exceptional small companies will, over time, produce a significant investment return and

•an investment analysis that identifies and successfully evaluates those few small companies with the legitimate potential to become large companies can be a very rewarding investment strategy.

Accordingly, the subadviser employs analysis that contains elements of traditional dividend discount and earnings yield models.

The subadviser generally expects to hold securities for the long term in order to realize the potential rewards for incurring the risks associated with investing early in a company’s corporate life cycle. Nevertheless, the subadviser sells securities when it believes their potential for future growth is diminished. The Fund may emphasize particular industry sectors or groupings, such as the software sector, and the percentage of the Fund’s assets

invested in such sectors or groupings will vary from time to time, depending on the subadviser’s perception of investment opportunities.

The Fund is intended for aggressive investors seeking above average gains and who are willing to accept the risks involved in investing in the securities of small companies. By itself, the Fund is not intended to serve as a complete investment program.

Key Terms:

Growth style – investing in equity securities of companies that the Fund’s subadviser believes have above-average rates of earnings or cash flow growth and which therefore may experience above-average increases in stock prices.

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Objective

The Nationwide U.S. Small Cap Value Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to capture the returns and diversification benefits associated with equity securities of a broad and diverse cross-section of smaller companies in the United States that the subadviser believes to be value stocks. While the companies in which the Fund invests may vary in capitalization sizes under $11 billion, the following two investment policies apply to the Fund:

•Under normal circumstances, the Fund holds at least 80% of the value of its net assets in common stocks of U.S. small-cap companies and

•The Fund typically will maintain an average portfolio market capitalization that is within the range of companies included in the Russell 2000® Value Index.

These two investment policies are non-fundamental, which means that they may be changed by the Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Using a market capitalization-weighted approach, the subadviser invests in companies that are smaller than the 500^th largest U.S. company. In general, the higher the relative market capitalization of the eligible company, the greater its representation in the Fund’s portfolio. The average market capitalization of the overall portfolio, however, normally stays within the range of companies included in the Russell 2000® Value Index. The subadviser considers securities to be value stocks primarily because a company’s shares have a low price in relation to their book value.

The Fund generally expects to retain securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations for longer periods, despite any decrease in such companies’ price-to-book ratios. While the Fund may sell securities that do not meet the subadviser’s value criteria when, in the subadviser’s judgment, circumstances warrant, the Fund is not required to sell a security even if a decline in the issuer’s market capitalization reflects a serious financial difficulty or potential or actual insolvency.

The subadviser may consider a small-cap company’s investment characteristics with respect to other eligible companies when making investment decisions and may exclude a small-cap company when the subadviser determines it to be appropriate. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the subadviser may consider ratios such as recent changes in assets or book value scaled by current assets or book value. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will seek to limit such exclusion to

no more than 5% of the eligible small-cap company universe in each country in which the Fund invests.

The Fund is designed for long-term investors with a focus on investment in the range of small-cap companies, as opposed to individual stock selection.

About Russell indices – The Russell 2000® Index is composed of equity securities of small-capitalization U.S. companies. It includes the smallest 2,000 companies in the Russell 3000® Index, which in turn generally measures the performance of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies, based on market capitalization. The Russell 2000® Index is generally considered to broadly represent the performance of publicly traded U.S. smaller-capitalization stocks. The Frank Russell Company selects stocks for the Russell 2000® Index based on its criteria for the index and does not evaluate whether any particular stock is an attractive investment. The Russell 2000® Value Index represents those issuers listed in the Russell 2000® Index with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The market capitalization of the largest company included in the Russell 2000® Value Index was $6.76 billion as of December 31, 2019.

The Frank Russell Company reconstitutes the Russell 2000® Index once annually, at which time there may be substantial changes in the composition of the index. Upon annual reconstitution of the index, the market capitalization range of companies included in the index may decline significantly. Consequently, these composition changes may result in (i) a brief period of time during which the Fund’s average portfolio market capitalization is not consistent with that of the newly reconstituted index, and (ii) significant turnover in the Fund’s portfolio as the Fund attempts to recalibrate its average weighted portfolio capitalization to fall within the capitalization range of companies included in the reconstituted Russell 2000® Value Index.

Key Terms:

Book value – a way of determining a company’s value, based on its assets minus its liabilities, as reflected on its balance sheet.

Equity securities – represent an ownership interest in the issuer. Common stocks are the most common type of equity securities.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

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Market capitalization-weighted approach – market capitalization weighting generally means each security is purchased based on the issuer’s relative market capitalization. Market capitalization weighting may be adjusted by the subadviser for a variety of reasons. The subadviser may consider such factors as free float, momentum, trading strategies, liquidity, profitability and other factors determined to be appropriate by the subadviser given market conditions. In assessing profitability, the subadviser may consider different ratios, such as that of earnings or profits from operations relative to book value or assets. The subadviser may deviate from market capitalization weighting to limit or fix the exposure of the Fund to a particular issuer to a maximum proportion of the assets of the Fund. The subadviser may exclude the stock of a company that meets applicable market capitalization criteria if the subadviser determines, in its judgment, that the purchase of such stock is inappropriate in light of other conditions. These adjustments will result in a deviation from traditional market capitalization weighting.

The subadviser may reduce the relative amount of any security held in order to retain sufficient portfolio liquidity. A portion of the Fund may be invested in interest bearing obligations, such as money market instruments, thereby causing further deviation from market capitalization weighting. Block purchases of eligible securities may be made at opportune prices, even though such purchases exceed the number of shares that, at the time of purchase, adherence to a market capitalization-weighted approach would otherwise require. Changes in the composition and relative ranking (in terms of market capitalization) of the stocks that are eligible for purchase take place with every trade when the securities markets are open for trading due primarily to price fluctuations of such securities.

On at least a semiannual basis, the subadviser will prepare lists of companies whose stock is eligible for investment by the Fund. Additional investments generally will not be made in securities that have changed in value sufficiently to be excluded from the subadviser’s then-current market capitalization requirement for eligible portfolio securities. This may result in further deviation from market capitalization weighting. Such deviation could be substantial if a significant amount of holdings of the Fund change in value sufficiently to be excluded from the requirement for eligible securities, but not by an amount sufficient to warrant their sale.

U.S. small-cap companies – have market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2000® Index and which list their stock on a U.S. national securities exchange. As of December 31, 2019, the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Russell 2000® Index was $8.3 billion.

Value stocks – stocks that may be trading at prices that do not reflect a company’s intrinsic value, based on factors such as a company’s stock price relative to its book value, earnings and cash flow. Companies issuing such securities may be currently out of favor, undervalued due to market declines, or experiencing poor operating conditions that may be temporary. For this Fund, the subadviser determines a stock to be a value stock primarily because the stock's market price is low in relation to its book value.

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Objective

The Nationwide WCM Focused Small Cap Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in stocks of U.S. small-cap companies that the subadviser believes have improving earnings growth potential and attractive valuation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of small-cap companies. The subadviser makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time of purchase of such security. In addition to holdings in primarily U.S. small-cap equity securities, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities.

The subadviser uses an actively managed bottom-up approach to choosing securities across the small-cap equity market universe. The subadviser selects securities using a process that seeks to identify companies that have all three of the following attributes: durable competitive advantages, stakeholder-friendly management, and trade at a discount to intrinsic value. The portfolio is constructed using the subadviser’s best ideas that are generated through multiple sources, including management discussions, industry knowledge, prior research and various ad-hoc screens. The subadviser’s goal is to uncover companies with sustained high return on invested capital, consistent growth in free cash flow and stable to growing market share. The subadviser assigns the highest portfolio security weights to companies in which the subadviser has the highest level of conviction. The subadviser is not constrained by the sector weights in the benchmark.

Although the Fund maintains a diversified portfolio, it nonetheless may invest in a limited number of issuers. The subadviser may sell a security as it reaches the subadviser’s estimate of the company’s value; if relative fundamentals deteriorate or alternative investments become sufficiently more attractive.

Key Terms:

Bottom-up approach – a method of investing that involves the selection of securities based on their individual attributes regardless of broader national, industry or economic factors.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Small-cap companies – have market capitalizations similar to those of companies included in the Russell 2000® Index. As of December 31, 2019, the market capitalization of the largest company included in the Russell 2000® Index was $8.3 billion.

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Objective

The Nationwide Ziegler Equity Income Fund seeks total return from income and capital appreciation. This objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The subadviser uses a stock selection process that begins by identifying U.S. dividend paying common and/or preferred stocks within a market capitalization range that reflects the market capitalization range of the companies included in the Russell 1000® Value Index (the “investable universe”). As of December 31, 2019, the market capitalization for companies included in the Russell 1000® Value Index ranged from approximately $823.7 million to $554.4 billion. The Fund makes market capitalization determinations with respect to a security at the time of purchase of such security. The subadviser then assigns each stock within the investable universe into its appropriate Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS”) industry sector. The subadviser ranks each stock within each of the GICS industry sectors by its dividend yield—highest dividend yield to lowest dividend yield. The subadviser uses additional screens throughout the stock selection process to attempt to select stocks with more favorable valuation and higher quality of earnings characteristics, such as stronger cash flows, growth potential, dividends and other favorable investment characteristics.

A high percentage of stocks that provide a yield that exceeds the average yield of its representative sector or industry are financial services companies. Therefore, the Fund invests at least 25% of its total assets in equity securities of companies which operate in the financial services group of industries. Companies that operate in the financial services group of industries include, but are not limited to, the following types of companies:

•banks, thrifts and savings and loans;

•consumer and industrial finance companies;

•investment banks and capital markets;

•insurance brokers;

•insurance companies;

•securities brokers and investment advisers;

•real estate related companies and

•leasing companies.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. Under normal market

conditions, the Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities and bonds.

Key Terms:

Equity securities – represent an ownership interest in the issuer. Common stocks are the most common type of equity securities.

Market capitalization – a common way of measuring the size of a company based on the price of its common stock times the number of outstanding shares.

Preferred stock – a class of stock that often pays dividends at a specified rate and has preference over common stocks in dividend payments and liquidations of assets. Preferred stock does not normally carry voting rights. Some preferred stocks may also be convertible into common stock.

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ZIEGLER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC (“ZIEGLER”), located at 70 West Madison Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602, is the subadviser to the Nationwide Ziegler Equity Income Fund. Ziegler is a registered investment adviser and is organized as a Wisconsin limited liability company. Ziegler is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corporation. As of December 31, 2019, Ziegler had approximately $12.4 billion in assets under management. Ziegler (and its predecessors) have been providing investment management services since 1991.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the investment advisory and subadvisory agreements for the Funds will be in the Funds' semiannual report to shareholders, which will cover the period ending April 30, 2020.

Management Fees

Each Fund pays NFA a management fee based on the Fund’s average daily net assets. The total management fee paid by each Fund for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019, expressed as a percentage of each Fund’s average daily net assets and taking into account any applicable fee waivers or reimbursements, was as follows:

⁽¹⁾ The total management fee was paid by the Fund’s Predecessor Fund to its investment adviser, The Dreyfus Corporation, and includes fees for fund administration.

Beginning August 5, 2019, the Nationwide Mellon Dynamic U.S. Core Fund began paying NFA an annual management fee based on the rates in the table below, which are expressed as a percentage of the Nationwide Mellon Dynamic U.S. Core Fund’s average daily net assets, without

taking into account any applicable fee waivers or reimbursements.

Fund	Assets	Management Fee
Nationwide Mellon Dynamic U.S. Core Fund	Up to $5 billion	0.45%
	$5 billion and more	0.425%

Beginning November 7, 2019, the Nationwide WCM Focused Small Cap Fund began paying NFA an annual management fee based on the rates in the table below, which are expressed as a percentage of the Nationwide WCM Focused Small Cap Fund’s average daily net assets, without taking into account any applicable fee waivers or reimbursements.

Thomas J. Mudge III, CFA, and Blaine Townsend, CIMC, CIMA, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Mr. Mudge is Senior Vice President and Director of Bailard’s Equity Research. He has over 32 years of investment experience, having joined the firm in 1987.

Mr. Townsend is Senior Vice President and Director of Bailard’s Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing group. He has over 25 years of investment experience and joined the firm in 2016. Prior to joining Bailard he was a partner and a senior portfolio manager at Nelson Capital Management, which he joined in 2009.

Nationwide Bailard Technology & Science Fund

Sonya Thadhani Mughal, CFA, Warren M. Johnson, and David H. Smith, CFA, are jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Ms. Mughal is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Officer of Bailard. She has over 25 years of investment experience, having joined Bailard in 1994.

Mr. Johnson is Vice President of Healthcare Investments at Bailard. He joined Bailard in 2001.

Mr. Smith is Senior Vice President of Domestic Equities and focuses on technology sector research for the firm and security selection for Bailard's all-cap growth/technology equity strategy. He joined Bailard in 2009.

Nationwide Diamond Hill Large Cap Concentrated Fund

Charles Bath, CFA, Austin Hawley, CFA, and Micah Martin, CFA, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

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Mr. Bath serves as Managing Director–Investments and Portfolio Manager for DHCM. He has been associated with DHCM since 2002.

Mr. Hawley serves as Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager for DHCM. He has been associated with DHCM since 2008.

Mr. Martin serves as Research Analyst and Assistant Portfolio Manager for DHCM. He has been associated with DHCM since 2014.

Nationwide Fund

Jonathan G. White, CFA, and Mary L. Pryshlak, CFA, are jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Mr. White is Managing Director and Director, Research Portfolios of Wellington Management, and joined the firm in 1999.

Ms. Pryshlak is Senior Managing Director and Director of Global Industry Research of Wellington Management, and joined the firm in 2004.

Nationwide Geneva Mid Cap Growth Fund and Nationwide Geneva Small Cap Growth Fund

William A. Priebe, CFA; William S. Priebe; and Jose Munoz, CFA, are jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds, including selection of each Fund’s investments.

Mr. William A. Priebe, Portfolio Manager, has been associated with Geneva since 1987.

Mr. William S. Priebe, Portfolio Manager, has been associated with Geneva since 2004.

Mr. Munoz, Portfolio Manager, has been associated with Geneva since 2011.

Nationwide Long/Short Equity Fund

The Fund’s long portfolio is managed on a day-to-day basis by Al Besse, Stephen S. Lee, Dana H. Stewardson, Richard E. Buchwald, CFA, and William Fitzpatrick, CFA, using a team approach.

Mr. Besse is a Principal and Portfolio Manager of Logan Capital and also serves as President. As a member of the investment team, Mr. Besse is responsible for Logan Capital’s technical analysis effort. He has been with Logan Capital since 1993.

Mr. Lee is a Principal and Portfolio Manager of Logan Capital. As a member of the investment team, Mr. Lee oversees portfolios for institutional and private clients. He has been with Logan Capital since 1993.

Mr. Stewardson is a Principal, Portfolio Manager and a member of the growth equity investment team of Logan Capital. He has been with Logan Capital since 1993.

Mr. Buchwald, CFA, is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Logan Capital. Mr. Buchwald is a co-developer and manager of the proprietary Logan Concentrated Value equity product and has been with Logan Capital since 2000.

Mr. Fitzpatrick, CFA, is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Logan Capital. Mr. Fitzpatrick is a manager of the proprietary Logan Concentrated Value equity product and has been with Logan Capital since 2019. Prior to joining Logan Capital, Mr. Fitzpatrick was a Director and Senior Global Equity Analyst at Manulife Asset Management, which he joined in 2004.

The Fund’s short portfolio is co-managed on a day-to-day basis by David F. Schroll and Guy Judkowski.

Mr. Schroll has been a Portfolio Manager of Logan Capital since 2017. Prior to joining Logan Capital, Mr. Schroll was a Co-Managing Member and Portfolio Manager of Waterloo Partners LP for seventeen years.

Mr. Judkowski has been a Portfolio Manager of Logan Capital since 2017. Prior to joining Logan Capital, Mr. Judkowski was a Co-Managing Member and Portfolio Manager of Waterloo Partners LP for seventeen years.

Nationwide Loomis All Cap Growth Fund

Aziz V. Hamzaogullari, CFA, is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Mr. Hamzaogullari is the Chief Investment Officer of the Growth Equity Strategies Team. He joined Loomis Sayles in 2010.

Nationwide Mellon Disciplined Value Fund

John C. Bailer, CFA, Brian C. Ferguson and David S. Intoppa are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. 

Mr. Bailer is an executive vice president and senior portfolio manager at Mellon. He has been employed by Mellon since 1992.

Mr. Ferguson is an executive vice president and senior portfolio manager at Mellon. He has been employed by Mellon since 1997.

Mr. Intoppa is a director and senior research analyst at Mellon. He has been employed by Mellon since 2006.

Nationwide Mellon Dynamic U.S. Core Fund

Vassilis Dagioglu, James H. Stavena and Joseph Miletich, CFA, are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Mr. Dagioglu is the head of the asset allocation portfolio management team. Mr. Dagioglu joined Mellon in 1999.

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Mr. Stavena is a senior portfolio manager. Mr. Stavena joined Mellon in 1998.

Mr. Miletich is a global investment strategist. Mr. Miletich joined Mellon in 2008.

Nationwide Small Company Growth Fund

The Fund is team-managed. Keith A. Lee works with Kempton M. Ingersol, Andrew J. Fones, Daman C. Blakeney, Damien L. Davis, CFA, and Chaitanya Yaramada, CFA, in the management of the Fund.

Mr. Lee, President, Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager, joined Brown Capital as a portfolio manager in 1991. He is also chairman of the Management Committee, which is the governing body of Brown Capital.

Mr. Ingersol, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, joined Brown Capital in 1999.

Mr. Fones, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, joined Brown Capital in 2014.

Mr. Blakeney, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, joined Brown Capital in 2008.

Mr. Davis, CFA, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, rejoined Brown Capital in 2010.

Ms. Yaramada, CFA, Director, Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst, joined Brown Capital in 2019. Prior to joining Brown Capital, Ms. Yaramada was a technology analyst of Baird Equity Asset Management for ten years.

Nationwide U.S. Small Cap Value Fund

The Fund is managed by the Investment Committee of Dimensional using a team approach. The Investment Committee is composed primarily of certain officers and directors of Dimensional who are appointed annually. Jed S. Fogdall, Joel Schneider and Marc Leblond are primarily responsible for coordinating the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Mr. Fogdall is Head of Global Portfolio Management and Vice President of Dimensional and is Chair of the Investment Committee. He joined Dimensional in 2004.

Mr. Schneider is a Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of Dimensional. He joined Dimensional in 2011.

Mr. Leblond is a Senior Portfolio Manager and Vice President of Dimensional. He joined Dimensional in 2015. Prior to joining Dimensional, Mr. Leblond was an associate at Duchossois Capital Management from June to December 2014.

Nationwide WCM Focused Small Cap Fund

Jonathon Detter, CFA, Anthony B. Glickhouse, CFA, and Patrick McGee, CFA, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Mr. Detter’s primary responsibilities are portfolio management and equity research for WCM’s U.S. Focused Small Cap strategy. Prior to joining WCM, he was principal at Opus Capital Management from 2003 to 2016, where he also served as a portfolio manager.

Mr. Glickhouse’s primary responsibilities are portfolio management and equity research for WCM’s Focused Small Cap strategy. Prior to joining WCM, he was at Opus Capital Management from 2012 to 2016, where he was a research analyst and a portfolio manager.

Mr. McGee’s primary responsibilities are portfolio management and equity research for WCM’s U.S. Focused Small Cap strategy. Prior to joining WCM, he was at Opus Capital Management from 2011 to 2016, where he was a research analyst and a portfolio manager.

Nationwide Ziegler Equity Income Fund

Donald J. Nesbitt, CFA, Gary Hurlbut, CFA, and Christian J. Greiner, CFA, are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

Mr. Nesbitt is a Senior Portfolio Manager and Chief Investment Officer of Ziegler’s Select Equity Group. He joined Ziegler in 2002.

Mr. Hurlbut is a Senior Portfolio Manager. He joined Ziegler in 2000.

Mr. Greiner is a Senior Portfolio Manager. He joined Ziegler in 2003.

Historical Performance of Similarly Managed Accounts of Loomis Sayles

The following table sets forth historical performance information for all accounts managed by Loomis Sayles that have substantially similar investment objectives, policies, strategies, risks and investment restrictions as the Fund (the “Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts”).

The returns of the Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts are provided to illustrate the past performance of Loomis Sayles in managing substantially similar accounts as measured against a specified market index and does not represent the performance of the Fund. The Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts are separate and distinct from the Fund; its performance is not intended as a substitute for the Fund’s performance and should not be considered a prediction of the future performance of the Fund or of Loomis Sayles.

The returns of the Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts were calculated on a total return basis, include all dividends

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and interest, accrued income and realized and unrealized gains and losses. “Composite Returns Gross of Investment Management Fee” reflect the deduction of all fees paid by the Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts, including brokerage commissions and transaction and execution costs, excluding custodial fees and without provision for federal or state income taxes. “Composite Returns Net of Investment Management Fee” also reflect the additional deduction of investment advisory fees. The Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts include actual discretionary accounts managed by Loomis Sayles that have investment objectives, policies, strategies, risks and investment restrictions substantially similar to those of the Fund. The Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts may include both tax- exempt and taxable accounts.

Securities transactions are accounted for on trade date and accrual accounting is utilized. Cash and equivalents are included in performance returns. Monthly returns of the Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts have been linked to calculate average annual returns and combine the individual accounts’ returns (calculated on a time-weighted rate of return basis that is revalued daily) weighted based on each account’s asset value as of the beginning of the month. Investors should be aware that the performance information shown below was calculated differently than the methodology mandated by the SEC for registered investment companies.

The Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts are subject to lower expenses than the Fund and may not be subject to the diversification requirements, specific tax restrictions and investment limitations imposed on the Fund by the Investment Company Act of 1940 or Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. Consequently, the performance results for the Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts would have been less favorable had it been regulated as an investment company under the federal securities laws.

The returns set forth below are provided to illustrate the past performance of Loomis Sayles in managing substantially similar accounts and should not be interpreted as indicative of the future results that may be achieved by the Fund. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. In addition, the results presented below may not necessarily equate with the return experienced by any particular investor as a result of the timing of investments and redemptions, market conditions and other factors. In addition, the effect of taxes on any investor will depend on such person’s tax status, and the results have not been reduced to reflect any income tax that may have been payable.

The table below shows the annual total returns for the Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts and a broad-based securities market index for periods ended December 31, 2019.

Subadviser’s Similarly Managed Accounts Performance

Average Annual Total Returns
for the Periods Ended December 31, 2019

Additional Information about the Portfolio Managers

The SAI provides additional information about each portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by each portfolio manager and each portfolio manager’s ownership of securities in the Fund(s) managed by the portfolio manager, if any.

Manager-of-Managers Structure

The Adviser and the Trust have received an exemptive order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a manager-of-managers structure that allows the Adviser, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, to hire, replace or terminate a subadviser (excluding hiring a subadviser which is an affiliate of the Adviser) without the approval of shareholders. The order also allows the Adviser to revise a subadvisory agreement with an unaffiliated subadviser with the approval of the Board of Trustees but without shareholder approval. If a new unaffiliated subadviser is hired for a Fund, shareholders will receive information about the new subadviser within 90 days of the change. The exemptive order allows the Funds greater flexibility, enabling them to operate more efficiently.

Pursuant to the exemptive order, the Adviser monitors and evaluates any subadvisers, which includes the following:

•performing initial due diligence on prospective Fund subadvisers;

•monitoring subadviser performance, including ongoing analysis and periodic consultations;

•communicating performance expectations and evaluations to the subadvisers;

•making recommendations to the Board of Trustees regarding renewal, modification or termination of a subadviser’s contract and

•selecting Fund subadvisers.

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The Nationwide Geneva Small Cap Growth Fund, subject to certain exceptions noted below, is only available for investment on a limited basis. In addition, the Fund may from time to time, in its sole discretion based on the Fund's net asset levels and other factors, limit new purchases into the Fund or otherwise modify the closure policy at any time on a case-by-case basis.

The continued purchase of Fund shares will be permitted as follows:

• Shareholders of the Fund are able to continue to purchase additional shares in their existing Fund accounts and may continue to reinvest dividends or capital gains distributions from shares owned in the Fund;

• Shareholders of the Fund are able to add to their existing Fund accounts through exchanges from other Nationwide Funds;

• Group employer benefit plans, including 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans, and health savings account programs (and their successor, related and affiliated plans), can continue to invest in the Fund and open new plans;

• Platforms where the Fund is on a model compiled by a financial intermediary's research department may continue to utilize the Fund for new and existing accounts;

• Approved fee-based advisory programs may continue to utilize the Fund for new and existing program accounts. These particular programs must have been accepted for continued investment by the Fund and its distributor on or before the close of business on October 30, 2017 (the “Closing Date”);

• Other fee-based advisory programs that were not accepted for continued investment by the Fund and its distributor on or before the Closing Date may continue to utilize the Fund for existing program accounts, but will not be able to open new program accounts;

• Financial advisors who manage approved discretionary fee-based advisory programs (including registered investment advisory firms) and who have included the Fund in their discretionary account models may continue to make Fund shares available to new and existing accounts. These particular programs must have been accepted for continued investment by the Fund and its distributor on or before the Closing Date;

• Other financial advisors who manage approved discretionary fee-based advisory programs (including registered investment advisory firms) and who have included the Fund in their discretionary account models (that were not accepted for continued investment by the Fund and its distributor on or before the Closing Date) may continue to utilize the Fund for existing discretionary fee-based advisory programs, but will not be able to open new discretionary fee-based advisory programs;

• Approved brokerage platforms may continue to utilize the Fund for new and existing accounts. These platforms must have been accepted for continued investments by the Fund and its distributor on or before by the Closing Date;

• Other brokerage platforms (that were not accepted for continued investments by the Fund and its distributor on or before the Closing Date) may continue to utilize the Fund for existing accounts, but will not be able to open new accounts and

• Current and future Nationwide Funds which are permitted to invest in other Nationwide Funds may purchase shares of the Fund.

In certain limited circumstances, and under the discretion of the Fund and its distributor, the purchase of Fund shares may be open to new investors. Nationwide offers a broad range of investment options, and investors seeking comparable strategies should visit nationwidefinancial.com.

The Nationwide Small Company Growth Fund no longer accepts purchase orders from new investors. Investors who owned shares of the Fund as of the close of business on September 29, 2017, may continue to purchase shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, customers of U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. whose accounts are maintained at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. may continue to establish new accounts to purchase shares of the Fund.

Share Classes

When selecting a share class, you should consider the following:

•which share classes are available to you;

•how long you expect to own your shares;

•how much you intend to invest;

•total costs and expenses associated with a particular share class and

•whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges.

The availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from the Trust or through a financial intermediary.

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Intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales load waivers or contingent deferred (backend) sales charge (“CDSC”) waivers. More information about purchasing shares through certain financial intermediaries appears in Appendix A to this Prospectus.

In all instances, it is the purchaser’s responsibility to notify Nationwide Funds or the purchaser’s financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts.

Your financial intermediary can help you to decide which share class is best suited to your needs. In addition to the sales charges and fees discussed in this section, your financial intermediary also may charge you a fee when you purchase or redeem a Fund’s shares.

The Nationwide Funds offer several different share classes, each with different price and cost features. Class A and Class C shares are available to all investors. Class R, Institutional Service Class, Class R6, Class M, Eagle Class and Class K shares are available only to certain investors. For eligible investors, these share classes may be more suitable than Class A or Class C shares.

Before you invest, compare the features of each share class, so that you can choose the class that is right for you. We describe each share class in detail on the following pages. Your financial intermediary can help you with this decision.

Class A Shares

Class A shares are subject to a front-end sales charge of 5.75% of the offering price, which declines based on the size of your purchase as shown below. A front-end sales charge means that a portion of your investment goes toward the sales charge and is not invested. Class A shares are subject to maximum annual administrative services fees of 0.25% and an annual Rule 12b-1 fee of 0.25%. Class A shares may be most appropriate for investors who want lower fund expenses or those who qualify for reduced front-end sales charges or a waiver of sales charges.

Front-End Sales Charges for Class A Shares