Five more fund families have won space on Nationwide's Best of America variable annuity platform. The new additions include: AIM, AllianceBernstein, Franklin Templeton Investments, MFS Investment Management and Putnam Investments. Nationwide also added an additional fund from American Century, which was already on the platform.

The changes will all take effect on May 1, said Bill Goslee, Nationwide Financial vice president for investment and advisory services. He said that the funds are being added to "enhance the depth and breadth" of the investment offerings in the Best of America products. A key criteria in the evaluation was the consistency of the funds' performance.

The fund families join a roster that already includes Dreyfus Corporation, Federated, Fidelity Investments, Janus, Neuberger Berman, Oppenheimer Funds and Van Kampen Investments as well as Nationwide's own Gartmore Funds.

Goslee said the addition of the American Century VP Inflation Protection Fund is a reaction to clients who are seeking ways to better manage risk while keeping upside potential. Inflation protected bonds have been one of the top performing asset classes during the past two years.  

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