Columbus, OH – Nationwide, one of the largest providers of insurance and financial services products in the U.S., along with Annexus, a leading independent retirement product design and distribution company, and Capital Group, one of the world’s largest active investment managers with over 90 years of experience, are partnering to add new strategies indexing to the American Funds^® Growth Fund of America^® Class F-3 mutual fund¹ within the Nationwide Defined Protection^® Annuity 2.0 (DPA 2.0). This will be the first registered index-linked annuity (RILA) in the industry to include strategies indexing to an actively managed mutual fund².

“Nationwide has a history of innovation in the annuity industry, launching the first variable annuity using unaffiliated mutual funds in 1980, which was a game changing product development that was quickly imitated by the industry at large,” said Craig Hawley, president of Nationwide Annuity. “We’re excited to build on our partnership with Capital Group to take that innovation one step further, offering strategies that will index to their highly respected American Funds Growth Fund of America mutual fund in our DPA 2.0 annuity. DPA’s unique features, built in partnership with Annexus, combined with Capital Group’s investment strength, will allow investors to pursue growth and protect against downside risk.”

American Funds Growth Fund of America is an actively managed mutual fund that offers a flexible approach to growth investing. The fund seeks opportunities in traditional growth stocks as well as cyclical companies and turnaround situations with significant potential for growth of capital to help investors pursue their long-term goals. Growth Fund of America distinguishes itself through Capital Group’s distinct multi-manager system, with a team of 12 portfolio managers averaging 27 years of experience.

“In our 11^th year of partnership with Nationwide, I am excited about another first-to-market innovation that includes an actively managed American Funds mutual fund from Capital Group to a RILA,” said Ron Shurts, CEO of Annexus. “Defined Protection Annuity 2.0 will now offer strategies that provide upside potential based on the total return of American Funds Growth Fund of America with access to three protection levels to help limit losses.”   

Created in collaboration with Annexus, DPA 2.0 features daily protection and floor levels, numerous index strategies and free withdrawals. It comes with a customizable selection of protection levels: 90%, 95% and 100%. The 90% and 95% options offer the potential for greater performance, while the 100% option provides complete principal protection from market losses. The product’s combination of features make it uniquely positioned to succeed with financial professionals and their clients in today’s environment.

“We are thrilled to partner with Nationwide and Annexus to offer American Funds Growth Fund of America in this innovative RILA solution,” said Melissa Buccilli, head of Insurance Strategy and Product at Capital Group. “We continue to look to expand access to our investment capabilities in innovative new ways within the annuity marketplace to help even more investors pursue their long-term investment goals.”

Financial professionals interested in Nationwide DPA 2.0 should contact their Nationwide wholesaler or call the National Sales Desk at 1-800-321-6064. Individual investors interested in learning more about the benefits of DPA 2.0 should contact their financial professional or visit www.definedprotection.com.

¹ American Funds Growth Fund of America – Class F-3 is not a market index. It is a mutual fund, and its index value reflects the mutual fund’s total return. If a mutual fund-linked index strategy is selected for investment, you will not be investing in the linked mutual fund. You will not be a shareholder or beneficial owner of the fund and you will have no rights with respect to the fund.
² Annuity Genius Research, 3/13/2025