
In theory, retirement planning should be gender-agnostic, but men and women often have different goals and levels of risk tolerance. The Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF (NUSI) is relevant for both groups, but the exchange traded fund can fill some important goals for women planning for retirement.
NUSI can act as a complement to traditional equity and fixed income allocations, or as the ideal protective hedge for investors with heavy exposure to technology and growth stocks. The fund is a “rules-based options trading strategy that seeks to produce high income using the Nasdaq-100 Index,” according to Nationwide.
NUSI steady monthly income stream is relevant for all investors, but particularly for women given current life expectancies.
“Women live longer than men. This simply means that women need more savings at retirement to provide the same amount of income as men throughout their lifetime,” reports Jerry Golden for Kiplinger’s. “On average, a 70-year-old woman can expect to live more than two years longer than a man. That may not sound like a lot, but for an annual budget of $50,000 plus inflation, that could require another $100,000 or more in savings.”
The NUSI ETF Eases the Retirement Burden
NUSI is one of the few exchange traded funds designed to deliver both income and downside protection under one umbrella. With markets seemingly overdue for a correction, NUSI is a relevant consideration today. The fund can also plug some of the gaps women encounter in retirement saving.
“Women, on average, earn less than men during their earning years, both because of the work many do and lower pay rates for the same work. As a result, women generally receive less — by at least 15% — from Social Security. In addition, their lower earnings during their careers generally mean a lower 401(k) or IRA balance at retirement,” according to Kiplinger’s.
The Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF uses an options trading strategy called a protective net-credit collar to generate income. The options strategy sells an upside call option and uses a portion of the proceeds received to buy a put option to hedge downside risk on an underlying portfolio of securities.

“Women may have to overcome a savings, income and experience gap. Women have to spend more of their savings to make up any shortfall in their secure sources of income vs. their budget. The result is a steadily shrinking nest egg from which to create income and a greater risk of having to skimp on their lifestyle to close the gap,” reports Kiplinger’s.
With retirement a concern for so many Americans, the NUSI ETF can be a great place to start.
For more on income strategies, visit our Retirement Income Channel.