The economic forecast for 2024 looks increasingly grim as the Fed commits to higher rates for longer. The surprising economic resilience of this year faces challenges looking ahead. Advisors seeking dependable income should consider blue-chips for their ability to weather economic cycles, including downturns.
Economic signals as of August indicated a still resilient economy and consumer, alongside a relatively strong labor market. At any other time, they’re desirable signals. However, inflation, both persisting and on the rise, and a strong economy and jobs market increase the odds of further interest rate hikes.
“Markets have returned to a ‘good news is bad news’ approach, with strong economic growth driving fears of continued inflation pressure and the need for further Fed tightening,” wrote Mark Hackett, chief of investment research for Nationwide’s Investment Management Group, in a September post on the Nationwide blog.
Markets dropped in the wake of the Fed’s September meeting. Although the Fed held rates steady, the FOMC indicated the likelihood of another rate hike before year’s end. The regulatory body continues to demonstrate hawkish language and tone in the current rate-hiking cycle.
The “skittish reaction to the Federal Reserve’s consistent hawkishness underscores an emotionally charged market sensitive to rate hikes, a strong dollar, and squeezed company margins,” noted Hackett.
Lean Into Blue-Chips for Reliable Income
Advisors seeking reliable income in a challenging economic environment should consider the Nationwide Dow Jones® Risk-Managed Income ETF (NDJI).
Markets at the end of September were “notable for the risk-off tone, with weakness in the large technology companies that have driven the rally, along with small caps, consumer discretionary, and industrials,” Hackett explained.
Blue-chip companies often appeal for their ability to weather economic downturns and recession. As market weakness increases, the reliable income blue-chips generate may be a boon for portfolios in a challenging economic environment.
NDJI is an actively managed fund that invests in a portfolio of securities included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow Jones is weighted by price and comprises 30 well-established U.S. companies, referred to as blue-chip companies. Blue-chip companies are known for their stable, reliable performance across various economic cycles, including in downturns.
The fund utilizes an options collar in seeking to generate monthly income. A collar strategy entails holding shares of an underlying security while buying protective put options as well as writing calls for the same security. A put option gives its owner the right but not the obligation to sell the underlying asset at any point during its duration. In contrast, a call option gives its owner the right but not the obligation to buy the asset instead.
The options collar is intended to reduce the fund’s volatility. It also seeks to provide a measure of downside protection while generating monthly income.
NDJI offers exposure to companies historically viewed as more stable during times of market and economic stress. It also seeks to offer a high monthly income with a level of volatility mitigation.
The fund carries an expense ratio of 0.68%.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Retirement Income Channel.
This article was prepared as part of Nationwide’s paid sponsorship of VettaFi.
ETFs, hedge funds, equities, bonds, and other asset classes have different risk profiles, which should be considered when investing. All investments contain risk and may lose value. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), may trade at a discount or premium to NAV and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. The Fund’s return may not match or achieve a high degree of correlation with the return of the underlying index.
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The NDJI Prospectus may be accessed at: https://nationwidefunds.onlineprospectus.net/nationwidefunds/NDJI/index.php
Call 1-800-617-0004 to request a summary prospectus and/or a prospectus, or download prospectuses at etf.nationwidefinancial.com. These prospectuses outline investment objectives, risks, fees, charges and expenses, and other information that you should read and consider carefully before investing.
The results shown represent past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the past performance shown, which does not guarantee future results. Share price, principal value and return will vary, and you may have a gain or a loss when you sell your shares. Returns for periods less than one year are not annualized. Short-term performance, in particular, is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance, and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. To obtain the most recent month-end performance, go to etf.nationwidefinancial.com or call 1-877-893-1830.
Click this link for the funds’ Standardized performance and 30-day SEC yield.
KEY RISKS: The Nationwide Nasdaq-100® Risk-Managed Income ETF, Nationwide S&P 500® Risk-Managed Income ETF, Nationwide Dow Jones® Risk-Managed Income ETF, and Nationwide Russell 2000® Risk-Managed Income ETF (collectively, the “Risk-Managed Income ETFs”) are subject to the risks of investing in equity securities, including tracking stock (a class of common stock that “tracks” the performance of a unit or division within a larger company). A tracking stock’s value may decline even if the larger company’s stock increases in value. The Risk-Managed Income ETFs are subject to the risks of investing in foreign securities (currency fluctuations, political risks, differences in accounting and limited availability of information, all of which are magnified in emerging markets).
The Risk-Managed Income ETFs may invest in more-aggressive investments such as derivatives (which create investment leverage and illiquidity and are highly volatile). The Risk-Managed Income ETFs employ a collared options strategy (using call and put options is speculative and can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the reference asset). The success of the Risk-Managed Income ETFs’ investment strategy may depend on the effectiveness of the subadviser’s quantitative tools for screening securities and on data provided by third parties. The Risk-Managed Income ETFs expect to invest a portion of their assets to replicate the holdings of an index. Correlation between Fund performance and index performance may be affected by Fund expenses and because the Fund may not be invested fully in the securities of the index or may hold securities not included in the index.
The Risk-Managed Income ETFs frequently may buy and sell portfolio securities and other assets to rebalance its exposure to various market sectors. Higher portfolio turnover may result in higher levels of transaction costs paid by the Risk-Managed Income ETFs and greater tax liabilities for shareholders. The Risk-Managed Income ETFs may concentrate on specific sectors or industries, subjecting them to greater volatility than that of other ETFs. The Risk-Managed Income ETFs may hold large positions in a small number of securities, and an increase or decrease in the value of such securities may have a disproportionate impact on the Funds’ value and total return. Although the Risk-Managed Income ETFs intend to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Risk-Managed Income ETFs will be considered non-diversified.
Additional risks include: Collared options strategy risk, correlation risk, derivatives risk, foreign investment risk, and industry concentration risk.
The Fund expects to invest a portion of its assets to replicate the holdings of an index. Correlation between Fund performance and index performance may be affected by Fund expenses and because the Fund may not be invested fully in the securities of the index or may hold securities not included in the index. The Fund frequently may buy and sell portfolio securities and other assets to rebalance its exposure to various market sectors. Higher portfolio turnover may result in higher levels of transaction costs paid by the Fund and greater tax liabilities for shareholders. The Fund may concentrate on specific sectors or industries, subjecting it to greater volatility than that of other ETFs. The Fund may hold large positions in a small number of securities, and an increase or decrease in the value of such securities may have a disproportionate impact on the Fund’s value and total return. Although the Fund intends to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Fund will be considered nondiversified. Additional Fund risk includes: Collared options strategy risk, correlation risk, derivatives risk, foreign investment risk, and industry concentration risk.
Operating expense (Op Ex) – An expense a business incurs through its normal business operations.
Dow Jones Industrial Average®: A price-weighted index composed of 30 “blue-chip” U.S. stocks. The index covers all industries except transportation and utilities, respectively.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average® is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by Nationwide Fund Advisors. Standard & Poor’s® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones®, Dow Jones Industrial Average®, DJIA® and The Dow® are registered trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by Nationwide Fund Advisors. The Nationwide Dow Jones® Risk-Managed Income ETF (“NDJI”) is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P or their respective affiliates, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s), nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions or interruptions of the Dow Jones Industrial Average®.
Market index performance is provided by a third-party source Nationwide Funds Group deems to be reliable (Morningstar and U.S. Bank). Indexes are unmanaged and have been provided for comparison purposes only. No fees or expenses have been reflected. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index.
Nationwide Fund Advisors (NFA) is the registered investment advisor to Nationwide ETFs, which are distributed by Quasar Distributors LLC. NFA is not affiliated with any distributor, subadviser, or index provider contracted by NFA for the Nationwide ETFs.
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MFM-5277AO, NFA-430304-2023-09-28
