Mutual Fund Summary Prospectus (497k)

Nationwide Growth Fund

Summary Prospectus March 1, 2013

Class/ Ticker A NMFAX B NMFBX C GCGRX R2 GGFRX Institutional Class MUIGX Institutional Service Class NGISX

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains information about the Fund and its risks. The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated March 1, 2013, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. For free paper or electronic copies of the Fund’s Prospectus and other information about the Fund, go to http://www.nationwide.com/mutualfundprospectuses, email a request to web_help@nationwide.com or call 800-848-0920, or ask any financial advisor, bank, or broker-dealer who offers shares of the Fund.

Objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital growth.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay when buying and holding shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Nationwide Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in “Investing with Nationwide Funds” commencing on page 31 of the Prospectus and in “Additional Information on Purchases and Sales” commencing on page 82 of the Statement of Additional Information.


	Class A Shares	Class B Shares	Class C Shares	Class R2 Shares	Institutional Class Shares	Institutional Service Class Shares
Shareholder Fees (paid directly from your investment)
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	5.75%	None	None	None	None	None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering or sale price, whichever is less)	None	5.00%	1.00%	None	None	None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%	0.60%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fee	0.25%	1.00%	1.00%	0.50%	None	None
Other Expenses	0.42%	0.39%	0.39%	0.41%	0.39%	0.64%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	1.27%	1.99%	1.99%	1.51%	0.99%	1.24%
Amount of Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement ¹ ^,2	(0.44)%	(0.44)%	(0.44)%	(0.44)%	(0.44)%	(0.44)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver/Expense Reimbursement	0.83%	1.55%	1.55%	1.07%	0.55%	0.80%

Nationwide Mutual Funds (the “Trust”) and Nationwide Fund Advisors (the “Adviser”) have entered into a written contract limiting operating expenses to 0.65% until at least February 28, 2014. Under the expense limitation agreement, the level to which operating expenses are limited applies to all share classes, excluding any taxes, interest, brokerage commissions, Rule 12b-1 fees, short-sale dividend expenses, administrative services fees, other expenses which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and expenses incurred by the Fund in connection with any merger or reorganization, and may exclude other non-routine expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business. The expense limitation agreement may be changed or eliminated at any time but only with the consent of the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Trust is authorized to reimburse the Adviser for management fees previously waived and/or for expenses previously paid by the Adviser, provided, however, that any reimbursements must be paid at a date not more than three years after the fiscal year in which the Adviser waived the fees or reimbursed the expenses and the reimbursements do not cause the Fund to exceed the expense limitation that was in place at the time the Adviser waived the fees or reimbursed the expenses. More information about administrative service fees can be found in “Investing with Nationwide Funds” on page 35 of the Prospectus.

2	In addition to the expense limitation agreement discussed in Footnote 1, the Trust and the Adviser have entered into a written contract waiving 0.10% of the management fee to which the Adviser would be entitled until February 28, 2014.

SP-GR (3/13)


Summary Prospectus March 1, 2013		1		Nationwide Growth Fund

Example

This Example is intended to help you to compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return each year and no change in expenses. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:


	1 Year		3 Years		5 Years		10 Years
Class A shares		$655		$914		$1,192		$1,984
Class B shares		658		882		1,232		2,007
Class C shares		258		582		1,032		2,281
Class R2 shares		109		434		782		1,764
Institutional Class shares		56		271		504		1,173
Institutional Service Class shares		82		350		639		1,461

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 B shares		$158		$582		$1,032		$2,007
Class C shares		158		582		1,032		2,281

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 147.27% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests primarily in common stocks issued by large-cap companies, utilizing a growth style of investing. In other words, the Fund seeks companies whose earnings are expected to grow consistently faster than those of other companies. The subadviser makes investment decisions based primarily on its analysis of individual companies, rather than on broad economic forecasts. In selecting stocks, the subadviser employs fundamental analysis (qualitative research) to identify companies that appear to have favorable long-term growth potential and the likelihood of positive earnings revisions, along with the financial resources to capitalize on growth opportunities. The subadviser also uses quantitative techniques (mathematical and statistical methods) to construct an overall portfolio in order to add to the Fund’s performance while seeking to moderate its risk versus the Fund’s benchmark. The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio securities.

The subadviser reviews holdings closely and will typically sell a company’s securities if there is:

—

a deterioration in business quality (e.g., loss of business focus, change in competitive landscape, management changes);

—

a change in valuation (e.g., achieves price target);

—

significant corporate activity (e.g., takeover or merger) or

—

the emergence of more attractive investment opportunities.

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:

Stock market risk – the Fund could lose value if the individual stocks in which it invests or overall stock markets in which such stocks trade go down.

Growth style risk – growth stocks may be more volatile than other stocks because they are generally more sensitive to investor perceptions and market movements. 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.

Portfolio turnover risk – a higher portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs and, as a result, may adversely impact the Fund’s performance and may:

—

increase share price volatility and

—

result in additional tax consequences for Fund shareholders.

In addition to these risks, the Fund’s portfolio managers may select securities that underperform the stock market, the Fund’s benchmark or other mutual funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. If the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, you may lose money.

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 are applicable, 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 www.nationwide.com/mutualfunds or by calling 800-848-0920.


Summary Prospectus March 1, 2013		2		Nationwide Growth Fund

Annual Total Returns – Institutional Class Shares

(Years Ended December 31,)

Best Quarter: 17.35% – 1st qtr. of 2012

Worst Quarter: -20.78% – 4th qtr. of 2008

After-tax returns are shown in the table for Institutional Class shares (formerly Class D 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-deferred arrangements, such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) plans or certain other employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The inception dates for the Class R2 and Institutional Service Class shares are October 1, 2003 and November 30, 2011, respectively. Pre-inception historical performance for these classes is based on the previous performance of Institutional Class shares (formerly Class D shares). Performance for these classes has been adjusted to reflect differences in sales charges between classes, but not differing expenses. Performance returns for Institutional Class shares reflect a front-end sales charge of 4.50%. This front-end sales charge was eliminated as of August 1, 2012, at which time the former Class D shares were redesignated as Institutional Class shares.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2012:


	1 Year		5 Years		10 Years
Class A shares – Before Taxes		6.43%		0.54%		7.00%
Class B shares – Before Taxes		6.97%		0.62%		6.89%
Class C shares – Before Taxes		10.97%		1.00%		6.90%
Class R2 shares – Before Taxes		12.68%		1.43%		7.44%
Institutional Class shares – Before Taxes		8.19%		1.08%		7.48%
Institutional Class shares – After Taxes on Distributions		8.09%		1.04%		7.45%
Institutional Class shares – After Taxes on Distributions and Sales of Shares		5.46%		0.92%		6.61%
Institutional Service Class shares – Before Taxes		13.09%		2.02%		7.97%
Russell 1000 ^® Growth Index (The Index does not pay sales charges, fees, expenses or taxes.)		15.26%		3.12%		7.52%

Portfolio Management

Investment Adviser

Nationwide Fund Advisors (the “Adviser”)

Subadviser

Turner Investments, L.P. (“Turner”)

Portfolio Manager


Portfolio Manager	Title	Length of Service with Fund
Christopher Baggini, CFA	Senior Portfolio Manager/Global Security Analyst, Turner	Since 2010

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Minimum Initial Investment

Classes A, B*, C: $2,000

Institutional Service Class: $50,000

Institutional Class: $1,000,000

Class R2: no minimum

Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Classes A, B*, C): $0 ^†

† Provided each monthly purchase is at least $50

Minimum Additional Investment

Classes A, B*, C: $100

Class R2, Institutional Class, Institutional Service Class: no minimum

Automatic Asset Accumulation Plan (Classes A, B*, C): $50

* Class B Shares are closed to new investors.

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


To Place Orders 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: www.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-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement 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.