Fund Evaluator:
Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A (NIFAX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Inflation-Protected Bond Over the Last Year
| 11.2% | Carillon Chartwell Real Income I (BERIX) |
| 3.0% | VALIC Company I Inflation Protected (VCTPX) |
| 2.7% | T. Rowe Price Inflation Protected Bond Z (TRZHX) |
| 2.6% | Fidelity Inflation-Prot Bd Index (FIPDX) |
| 2.5% | Vanguard Inflation-Protected Secs Adm (VAIPX) |
Fund Details
Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A Overview
Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A (NIFAX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Inflation-Protected Bond fund. Nationwide launched the fund in 2012.
The investment seeks to provide inflation protection and income consistent with investment in inflation-indexed securities. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in fixed-income securities (or "bonds") that are indexed or linked to the rate of inflation in the United States. It may invest up to 20% of its net assets in fixed-income securities that are not linked to inflation. In selecting securities, the subadviser typically maintains a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity that is up to one year greater than or less than the dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of the Bloomberg U.S. TIPS Index.
About Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A (NIFAX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.53 years: Chad Finefrock (2016), Nicholas Kern (2023). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Treasury US TIPS TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A has 55 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 53.0% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A has 1.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 98.3% (97.3% domestic bond, 1.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A has 1.7% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $11 million in total assets, which is below the $869 million average for the Inflation-Protected Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
NIFAX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Inflation-Protected Bond category. Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A has an expense ratio of 0.72%, which is 1% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A has a portfolio turnover rate of 11%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 72% for the Inflation-Protected Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A returned -0.9%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Inflation-Protected Bond category had an average return of -0.8%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A has a trailing yield of 4.41%, which is above the 4.20% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.0%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 1.8% over the past year (grade of D), 3.1% over the past three years (grade of D) and -0.2% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 1.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs A, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
NIFAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| NIFAX Return (NAV) | -0.9% | -1.0% | 1.8% | 3.1% | -0.2% | 1.8% |
| NIFAX Grade | D | B | D | D | D | D |
| +/- Category | -0.1% | 0.2% | -0.5% | -0.3% | -0.2% | -0.2% |
| Inflation-Protected Bond Avg | -0.8% | -1.2% | 2.4% | 3.4% | -0.0% | 2.1% |
| NIFAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.2% |
NIFAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| NIFAX Return (NAV) | 0.0% | 6.3% | 1.7% | 3.4% | -12.6% | 4.7% | 10.7% | 8.1% | -1.9% | 2.6% | 4.2% |
| NIFAX Grade | D | D | D | C | D | D | C | C | C | D | D |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | -0.4% | -0.1% | 0.0% | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% | -0.3% | -0.3% |
| Inflation-Protected Bond Avg | 0.2% | 6.7% | 1.8% | 3.4% | -12.3% | 5.1% | 11.1% | 8.0% | -1.9% | 2.9% | 4.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 4.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.34 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.92 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (20% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.70 |
| R-Squared: | 90% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $149 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 12 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | A |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 11% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Finefrock Chad (2016), Kern Nicholas (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 55 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 53.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 1.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 97.3% |
| Foreign Bond: | 1.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.7% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Nationwide |
| Phone Number: | 800-848-0920 |
| Website: | www.nationwide.com/mutualfunds |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | September 17, 2012 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $1,000 |
| True No-Load: | No |
| Front Load Maximum: | 2.25% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.25% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.72% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.73% |
| Share Class: | Nationwide Inflation-Prot Secs R6 |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 100 |
