Nuveen |
Prospectus |
Nuveen Equity Index Funds
MARCH 1, 2024, AS SUPPLEMENTED MAY 6, 2024
Ticker | ||||||
Fund |
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Premier |
Retirement |
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Nuveen
Equity Index Fund | ||||||
TIEIX |
TEIHX |
TCEPX |
TIQRX |
TINRX |
TEQWX | |
Nuveen
Large Cap Growth Index Fund | ||||||
TILIX |
TRIHX |
— |
TRIRX |
— |
TRIWX | |
Nuveen
Large Cap Value Index Fund | ||||||
TILVX |
THCVX |
— |
TRCVX |
— |
THCWX | |
Nuveen
S&P 500 Index Fund | ||||||
TISPX |
TISAX |
— |
TRSPX |
— |
TISWX | |
Nuveen
Small Cap Blend Index Fund | ||||||
TISBX |
TRHBX |
— |
TRBIX |
— |
TRHWX | |
Nuveen
Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund | ||||||
TEQLX |
TEQHX |
TEQPX |
TEQSX |
TEQKX |
TENWX | |
Nuveen
International Equity Index Fund | ||||||
TCIEX |
TCIHX |
TRIPX |
TRIEX |
— |
TCIWX | |
This Prospectus describes the Class R6, Class I, Premier Class, Retirement Class, Class A and Class W shares offered, as applicable, by the investment portfolios listed above (each, a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”) of the TIAA-CREF Funds (the “Trust”). An investment in a Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. An investor can lose money in any of the Funds and the Funds could perform more poorly than other investments. The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. |
Table of contents
Summary information Equity Index Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 6 Principal investment strategies 7 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 12 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 13 Summary information Large Cap Growth Index Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 15 Principal investment strategies 16 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 20 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 21 |
Summary information Large Cap Value Index Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 23 Principal investment strategies 24 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 28 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 29 Summary information S&P 500 Index Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 31 Principal investment strategies 32 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 35 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 36 |
Summary information Small Cap Blend Index Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 39 Principal investment strategies 40 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 44 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 45 Summary information Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 47 Principal investment strategies 48 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 54 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 55 |
Summary information International Equity Index Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 57 Principal investment strategies 58 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 63 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 64 |
Table of contents
Summary information |
(formerly TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund)
The Fund seeks a favorable long-term total return, mainly through capital appreciation, by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities selected to track the overall U.S. equity markets based on a market index.
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell 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 the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares” on page 95 of the Fund’s Prospectus and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page 104 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in the appendix to the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries.”
The tables and examples below do not reflect any commissions that shareholders may be required to pay directly to their financial intermediaries when buying or selling Class I shares.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 5
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Premier
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Retirement Class |
Class A |
Class W |
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Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) |
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Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
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Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions |
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Redemption or exchange fee |
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Annual
low balance account fee |
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ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Class R6 |
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Class I |
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Premier
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Retirement
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Class A |
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Class W |
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Management fees |
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Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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Waivers and expense reimbursements1 |
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( |
2 | |
Total
annual Fund operating expenses after |
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1 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC, has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class R6 shares; (ii) 0.24% of average daily net assets for Class I shares; (iii) 0.24% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; (iv) 0.34% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; (v) 0.44% of average daily net assets for Class A shares; and (vi) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class W shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least February 28, 2025, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
2 |
Teachers Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse Class W’s Management fees and Other expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses, Trustee expenses and extraordinary expenses) in their entirety. Teachers Advisors, LLC expects these waiver and/or reimbursement arrangements to remain in effect indefinitely, unless changed or terminated with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of 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 redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain
6 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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Class R6 |
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Class I |
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Premier
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Retirement
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Class A |
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Class W |
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1 year |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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3 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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5 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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10 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover
rate was
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of its benchmark index, the Russell 3000® Index. The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies representing approximately 96% of the investable U.S. equity market. The Fund buys most, but not necessarily all, of the stocks in its benchmark index, and will attempt to closely match the overall investment characteristics of its benchmark index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
The Fund is designed to track various U.S. equity markets as a whole or a segment of these markets. The Fund primarily invests its assets in equity securities its investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), has selected to track a designated stock market index. Because the return of an index is not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, the Fund’s ability to match the returns of the Russell 3000 Index is negatively affected by the costs of buying and selling securities as well as the Fund’s fees and other expenses. The use of a particular index by the Fund is not a fundamental policy and may be changed without shareholder approval. The portfolio management team of Advisors will attempt to build a portfolio that generally matches the market weighted investment characteristics of the Fund’s benchmark index.
The Fund is classified as a diversified investment company, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). However, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without the approval of Fund shareholders solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 7
or index weighting of one or more constituents of its benchmark index, the Russell 3000 Index, which the Fund seeks to track.
· Market Risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by the Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund’s shares and adversely affect the Fund and its investments. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries, which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies in the information technology sector, although this may change over time.
· Index Risk—The risk that the Fund’s performance may not correspond to its benchmark index for any period of time and may underperform such index or the overall financial market. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Fund’s performance could potentially vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects, credit rating and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.
· Large-Cap Risk—The risk that large-capitalization companies are more mature and may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole and tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions.
· Mid-Cap Risk—The risk that the stocks of mid-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility, lower trading volume and lower overall liquidity than the stocks of larger, more established companies.
· Small-Cap Risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often newer or less established than larger companies and are likely to have more limited resources, products and markets. Securities of small-cap companies often have lower overall liquidity than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities, which can have an adverse effect on the
8 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when Advisors deems it appropriate.
· Non-Diversification Risk—While the Fund is considered to be a diversified investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without Fund shareholder approval when necessary to continue to track its benchmark index. Non-diversified status means that the Fund can invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a diversified fund. Investing in a non-diversified fund involves greater risk than investing in a diversified fund because a loss in value of a particular investment may have a greater effect on the fund’s return since that investment may represent a larger portion of the fund’s total portfolio assets.
Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above.
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and
reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 9
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)
Nuveen Equity Index Fund
10 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023
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Inception date |
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One year |
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Five years |
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Ten years |
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Class R6 |
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Return before taxes |
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Return after taxes on distributions |
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Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
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Fund shares |
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% |
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% |
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% |
Class I |
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Return before taxes |
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%# |
Premier Class |
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Return before taxes |
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Retirement Class |
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Return before taxes |
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Class A* |
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Return before taxes |
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Class W |
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Return before taxes |
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%# |
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% |
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# |
The performance shown for the Class I and Class W that is prior to their respective inception dates is based on performance of the Class R6. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the actual expenses of the Class I and Class W. If these actual expenses had been reflected, the performance of these two classes shown for these periods would have been different because the Class I and Class W have different expenses than the Class R6. | ||||||||||
* |
The Class A average annual total returns have been restated to reflect a maximum up-front sales charge of 5.75% applicable to the purchase of Class A shares, which was effective as of May 6, 2024. | ||||||||||
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 11
Investment Adviser. Teachers Advisors, LLC.
Portfolio Managers.
Name: |
Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA |
Lei Liao, CFA |
Darren Tran, CFA | ||
Title: |
Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Managing Director | ||
Experience on Fund: |
since 2005 |
since 2014 |
since 2019 |
Purchase and sale of Fund shares
You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or its affiliated exchanges, NYSE Arca Equities or NYSE American, are open for trading (each such day a “Business Day”) directly from the Fund (for certain share classes) or through a financial advisor, employee benefit plan or other financial intermediary. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although certain financial intermediaries may impose their own investment minimums and the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:
Eligibility and Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Additional Investment | |
Class A |
Availability only through certain financial intermediaries or by contacting the Fund directly as described in the Prospectus. $2,500 for all accounts except: · $2,000 for Traditional/Roth IRA accounts and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. · $250 for accounts opened through fee-based program. · No minimum for retirement plans. |
$100 |
Class R6 |
Available only to certain eligible investors as described in the Prospectus and through fee-based programs. $1 million for all accounts except: · $1,000 for clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or related services. |
No minimum. |
Class I |
Available only through fee-based programs and certain retirement plans, and to other limited categories of investors as described in the Prospectus. $100,000 for all accounts except: · $250 for clients of financial intermediaries and family offices that have accounts holding Class I shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000 (or that are expected to reach this level). · No minimum for eligible retirement plans and certain other categories of eligible investors as described in the Prospectus. |
No minimum. |
12 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
Eligibility and Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Additional Investment | |
Premier Class, Retirement Class |
Available only through certain employee benefit plans, other types of savings plans or accounts and certain financial intermediaries as described in the Prospectus. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
Class W |
Available directly from the Fund only by funds advised by Advisors or its affiliates or other clients or accounts of Advisors or its affiliates that are subject to a contractual fee for advisory, management or other similar or related services provided by Advisors or its affiliates. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
The Fund intends to make distributions to shareholders that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions made to tax-exempt shareholders or shareholders who hold Fund shares in a tax-deferred account are generally not subject to income tax in the current year, but redemptions made from tax-deferred accounts may be subject to income tax.
Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or its related companies may pay the financial intermediary for providing investor services. The Fund’s related companies may also pay the financial 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 financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 13
Summary information |
(formerly TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Growth Index Fund)
The Fund seeks a favorable long-term total return, mainly through capital appreciation, by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities of large domestic growth companies based on a market index.
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell 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 the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares” on page 95 of the Fund’s Prospectus and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page 104 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in the appendix to the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries.”
The tables and examples below do not reflect any commissions that shareholders may be required to pay directly to their financial intermediaries when buying or selling Class I shares.
14 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
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Retirement
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Class W |
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Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases |
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Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
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Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested |
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Redemption or exchange fee |
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Maximum account fee |
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ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Retirement
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Class W |
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Management fees |
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Other expenses |
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1 | |
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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Waivers and expense reimbursements2 |
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( |
3 | |
Total
annual Fund operating expenses after |
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1 |
Estimate is for the current fiscal year. |
2 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC, has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class R6 shares; (ii) 0.24% of average daily net assets for Class I shares; (iii) 0.34% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; and (iv) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class W shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least February 28, 2025, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
3 |
Teachers Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse Class W’s Management fees and Other expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses, Trustee expenses and extraordinary expenses) in their entirety. Teachers Advisors, LLC expects these waiver and/or reimbursement arrangements to remain in effect indefinitely, unless changed or terminated with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of 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 redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 15
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Retirement
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Class W |
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1 year |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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3 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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5 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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10 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover
rate was
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of its benchmark index, the Russell 1000® Growth Index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, “large-cap” securities are securities of issuers with a capitalization equal to or greater than the top 80% of issuers by capitalization within the Russell 1000® Index at the time of purchase. The Russell 1000 Growth Index is a subset of the Russell 1000 Index, which represents the performance of the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 Index companies with higher relative price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The Fund buys most, but not necessarily all, of the stocks in its benchmark index, and will attempt to closely match the overall investment characteristics of its benchmark index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
The Fund is designed to track various U.S. equity markets as a whole or a segment of these markets. The Fund primarily invests its assets in equity securities its investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), has selected to track a designated stock market index. Because the return of an index is not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, the Fund’s ability to match the returns of the Russell 1000 Growth Index is negatively affected by the costs of buying and selling securities as well as the Fund’s fees and other expenses. The use of a particular index by the Fund is not a fundamental policy and may be changed without shareholder approval. The portfolio management team of Advisors will attempt to build a portfolio that generally matches the market weighted investment characteristics of the Fund’s benchmark index.
The Fund is classified as a diversified investment company, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). However,
16 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without the approval of Fund shareholders solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its benchmark index, the Russell 1000 Growth Index, which the Fund seeks to track.
· Market Risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by the Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund’s shares and adversely affect the Fund and its investments. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries, which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies in the information technology sector, although this may change over time.
· Index Risk—The risk that the Fund’s performance may not correspond to its benchmark index for any period of time and may underperform such index or the overall financial market. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Fund’s performance could potentially vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects, credit rating and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.
· Style Risk—The risk that use of a particular investing style (such as growth or value investing) may fall out of favor in the marketplace for various periods of time and result in underperformance relative to the broader market sector or significant declines in the value of the Fund’s portfolio investments.
· Risks of Growth Investing—Due to their relatively high valuations, growth stocks are typically more volatile than value stocks and may experience a larger decline on a forecast of lower earnings, or a negative event or market development, than would a value stock.
· Large-Cap Risk—The risk that large-capitalization companies are more mature and may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole and tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 17
· Non-Diversification Risk—While the Fund is considered to be a diversified investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without Fund shareholder approval when necessary to continue to track its benchmark index. Non-diversified status means that the Fund can invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a diversified fund. Investing in a non-diversified fund involves greater risk than investing in a diversified fund because a loss in value of a particular investment may have a greater effect on the fund’s return since that investment may represent a larger portion of the fund’s total portfolio assets.
Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above.
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and
reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
18 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)
Nuveen Large Cap Growth Index Fund
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023
|
|
Inception date |
|
One year |
|
|
Five years |
|
|
Ten years |
|
Class R6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund shares |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
Class I |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
%# |
Retirement Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||
# |
The performance shown for the Class I that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Class R6. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the actual expenses of the Class I. If these actual expenses had been reflected, the performance of the Class I shown for these periods would have been different because the Class I has different expenses than the Class R6. | ||||||||||
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 19
Investment Adviser. Teachers Advisors, LLC.
Portfolio Managers.
Name: |
Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA |
Lei Liao, CFA |
Darren Tran, CFA | ||
Title: |
Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Managing Director | ||
Experience on Fund: |
since 2005 |
since 2014 |
since 2019 |
Purchase and sale of Fund shares
You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or its affiliated exchanges, NYSE Arca Equities or NYSE American, are open for trading (each such day a “Business Day”) directly from the Fund (for certain share classes) or through a financial advisor, employee benefit plan or other financial intermediary. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although certain financial intermediaries may impose their own investment minimums and the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:
Eligibility and Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Additional Investment | |
Class R6 |
Available only to certain eligible investors as described in the Prospectus and through fee-based programs. $1 million for all accounts except: · $1,000 for clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or related services. |
No minimum. |
Class I |
Available only through fee-based programs and certain retirement plans, and to other limited categories of investors as described in the Prospectus. $100,000 for all accounts except: · $250 for clients of financial intermediaries and family offices that have accounts holding Class I shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000 (or that are expected to reach this level). · No minimum for eligible retirement plans and certain other categories of eligible investors as described in the Prospectus. |
No minimum. |
Retirement Class |
Available only through certain employee benefit plans, other types of savings plans or accounts and certain financial intermediaries as described in the Prospectus. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
Class W |
Available directly from the Fund only by funds advised by Advisors or its affiliates or other clients or accounts of Advisors or its affiliates that are subject to a contractual fee for advisory, management or other similar or related services provided by Advisors or its affiliates. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
20 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
The Fund intends to make distributions to shareholders that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions made to tax-exempt shareholders or shareholders who hold Fund shares in a tax-deferred account are generally not subject to income tax in the current year, but redemptions made from tax-deferred accounts may be subject to income tax.
Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or its related companies may pay the financial intermediary for providing investor services. The Fund’s related companies may also pay the financial 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 financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 21
Summary information |
(formerly TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Value Index Fund)
The Fund seeks a favorable long-term total return, mainly through capital appreciation, by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities of large domestic value companies based on a market index.
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell 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 the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares” on page 95 of the Fund’s Prospectus and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page 104 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in the appendix to the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries.”
The tables and examples below do not reflect any commissions that shareholders may be required to pay directly to their financial intermediaries when buying or selling Class I shares.
22 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
|
|
Retirement
|
Class W |
|||||
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested |
|
|
|
|
||||
Redemption or exchange fee |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum account fee |
|
|
|
|
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Retirement
|
|
Class W |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Management fees |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Other expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 | |
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Waivers and expense reimbursements2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
( |
3 | |
Total
annual Fund operating expenses after |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Estimate is for the current fiscal year. |
2 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC, has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class R6 shares; (ii) 0.24% of average daily net assets for Class I shares; (iii) 0.34% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; and (iv) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class W shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least February 28, 2025, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
3 |
Teachers Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse Class W’s Management fees and Other expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses, Trustee expenses and extraordinary expenses) in their entirety. Teachers Advisors, LLC expects these waiver and/or reimbursement arrangements to remain in effect indefinitely, unless changed or terminated with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of 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 redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 23
|
|
|
|
|
Retirement
|
|
Class W |
| ||||
1 year |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
3 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
5 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
10 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover
rate was
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of its benchmark index, the Russell 1000® Value Index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, “large-cap” securities are securities of issuers with a capitalization equal to or greater than the top 80% of issuers by capitalization within the Russell 1000® Index at the time of purchase. The Russell 1000 Value Index is a subset of the Russell 1000 Index, which represents the performance of the large-cap value segment of the U.S. equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 Index companies with lower relative price-to-book ratios and lower expected growth values. The Fund buys most, but not necessarily all, of the stocks in its benchmark index, and will attempt to closely match the overall investment characteristics of its benchmark index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
The Fund is designed to track various U.S. equity markets as a whole or a segment of these markets. The Fund primarily invests its assets in equity securities its investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), has selected to track a designated stock market index. Because the return of an index is not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, the Fund’s ability to match the returns of the Russell 1000 Value Index is negatively affected by the costs of buying and selling securities as well as the Fund’s fees and other expenses. The use of a particular index by the Fund is not a fundamental policy and may be changed without shareholder approval. The portfolio management team of Advisors will attempt to build a portfolio that generally matches the market weighted investment characteristics of the Fund’s benchmark index.
The Fund is classified as a diversified investment company, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). However,
24 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without the approval of Fund shareholders solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its benchmark index, the Russell 1000 Value Index, which the Fund seeks to track.
· Market Risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by the Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund’s shares and adversely affect the Fund and its investments. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries, which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies in the financials sector, although this may change over time.
· Index Risk—The risk that the Fund’s performance may not correspond to its benchmark index for any period of time and may underperform such index or the overall financial market. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Fund’s performance could potentially vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects, credit rating and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.
· Style Risk—The risk that use of a particular investing style (such as growth or value investing) may fall out of favor in the marketplace for various periods of time and result in underperformance relative to the broader market sector or significant declines in the value of the Fund’s portfolio investments.
· Risks of Value Investing—Securities believed to be undervalued are subject to the risks that the issuer’s potential business prospects are not realized, its potential value is never recognized by the market or the securities were appropriately priced when acquired. As a result, value stocks can be overpriced when acquired and may not perform as anticipated.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 25
· Large-Cap Risk—The risk that large-capitalization companies are more mature and may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole and tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions.
· Non-Diversification Risk—While the Fund is considered to be a diversified investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without Fund shareholder approval when necessary to continue to track its benchmark index. Non-diversified status means that the Fund can invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a diversified fund. Investing in a non-diversified fund involves greater risk than investing in a diversified fund because a loss in value of a particular investment may have a greater effect on the fund’s return since that investment may represent a larger portion of the fund’s total portfolio assets.
Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above.
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and
reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
26 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)
Nuveen Large Cap Value Index Fund
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023
|
|
Inception date |
|
One year |
|
|
Five years |
|
|
Ten years |
|
Class R6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund shares |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
Class I |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
%# |
Retirement Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||
# |
The performance shown for the Class I that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Class R6. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the actual expenses of the Class I. If these actual expenses had been reflected, the performance of the Class I shown for these periods would have been different because the Class I has different expenses than the Class R6. | ||||||||||
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 27
Investment Adviser. Teachers Advisors, LLC.
Portfolio Managers.
Name: |
Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA |
Lei Liao, CFA |
Darren Tran, CFA | ||
Title: |
Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Managing Director | ||
Experience on Fund: |
since 2005 |
since 2014 |
since 2019 |
Purchase and sale of Fund shares
You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or its affiliated exchanges, NYSE Arca Equities or NYSE American, are open for trading (each such day a “Business Day”) directly from the Fund (for certain share classes) or through a financial advisor, employee benefit plan or other financial intermediary. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although certain financial intermediaries may impose their own investment minimums and the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:
Eligibility and Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Additional Investment | |
Class R6 |
Available only to certain eligible investors as described in the Prospectus and through fee-based programs. $1 million for all accounts except: · $1,000 for clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or related services. |
No minimum. |
Class I |
Available only through fee-based programs and certain retirement plans, and to other limited categories of investors as described in the Prospectus. $100,000 for all accounts except: · $250 for clients of financial intermediaries and family offices that have accounts holding Class I shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000 (or that are expected to reach this level). · No minimum for eligible retirement plans and certain other categories of eligible investors as described in the Prospectus. |
No minimum. |
Retirement Class |
Available only through certain employee benefit plans, other types of savings plans or accounts and certain financial intermediaries as described in the Prospectus. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
Class W |
Available directly from the Fund only by funds advised by Advisors or its affiliates or other clients or accounts of Advisors or its affiliates that are subject to a contractual fee for advisory, management or other similar or related services provided by Advisors or its affiliates. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
28 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
The Fund intends to make distributions to shareholders that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions made to tax-exempt shareholders or shareholders who hold Fund shares in a tax-deferred account are generally not subject to income tax in the current year, but redemptions made from tax-deferred accounts may be subject to income tax.
Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or its related companies may pay the financial intermediary for providing investor services. The Fund’s related companies may also pay the financial 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 financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 29
Summary information |
(formerly TIAA-CREF S&P 500 Index Fund)
The Fund seeks a favorable long-term total return, mainly through capital appreciation, by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities of large domestic companies selected to track U.S. equity markets based on a market index.
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell 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 the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares” on page 95 of the Fund’s Prospectus and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page 104 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in the appendix to the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries.”
The tables and examples below do not reflect any commissions that shareholders may be required to pay directly to their financial intermediaries when buying or selling Class I shares.
30 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
|
|
Retirement
|
Class W |
|||||
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested |
|
|
|
|
||||
Redemption or exchange fee |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum account fee |
|
|
|
|
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Retirement
|
|
Class W |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Management fees |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Other expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 | |
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Waivers and expense reimbursements2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
( |
3 | |
Total
annual Fund operating expenses after |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Estimate is for the current fiscal year. |
2 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC, has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class R6 shares; (ii) 0.24% of average daily net assets for Class I shares; (iii) 0.34% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; and (iv) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class W shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least February 28, 2025, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
3 |
Teachers Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse Class W’s Management fees and Other expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses, Trustee expenses and extraordinary expenses) in their entirety. Teachers Advisors, LLC expects these waiver and/or reimbursement arrangements to remain in effect indefinitely, unless changed or terminated with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of 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 redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 31
|
|
|
|
|
Retirement
|
|
Class W |
| ||||
1 year |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
3 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
5 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
10 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover
rate was
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in securities of its benchmark index, the S&P 500® Index. The S&P 500 Index includes 500 leading companies and captures approximately 80% coverage of available market capitalization of the U.S. equity market. The Fund buys most, but not necessarily all, of the stocks in its benchmark index, and will attempt to closely match the overall investment characteristics of its benchmark index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
The Fund is designed to track various U.S. equity markets as a whole or a segment of these markets. The Fund primarily invests its assets in equity securities its investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), has selected to track a designated stock market index. Because the return of an index is not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, the Fund’s ability to match the returns of the S&P 500 Index is negatively affected by the costs of buying and selling securities as well as the Fund’s fees and other expenses. The use of a particular index by the Fund is not a fundamental policy and may be changed without shareholder approval. The portfolio management team of Advisors will attempt to build a portfolio that generally matches the market weighted investment characteristics of the Fund’s benchmark index.
The Fund is classified as a diversified investment company, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). However, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without the approval of Fund shareholders solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its benchmark index, the S&P 500 Index, which the Fund seeks to track.
32 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
· Market Risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by the Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund’s shares and adversely affect the Fund and its investments. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries, which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies in the information technology sector, although this may change over time.
· Index Risk—The risk that the Fund’s performance may not correspond to its benchmark index for any period of time and may underperform such index or the overall financial market. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Fund’s performance could potentially vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects, credit rating and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.
· Large-Cap Risk—The risk that large-capitalization companies are more mature and may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole and tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions.
· Non-Diversification Risk—While the Fund is considered to be a diversified investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without Fund shareholder approval when necessary to continue to track its benchmark index. Non-diversified status means that the Fund can invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a diversified fund. Investing in a non-diversified fund involves greater risk than investing in a diversified fund because a loss in value of a particular investment may have a greater effect on the fund’s return since that investment may represent a larger portion of the fund’s total portfolio assets.
Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 33
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and
reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)
Nuveen S&P 500 Index Fund
34 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023
|
|
Inception date |
|
One year |
|
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Five years |
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|
Ten years |
|
Class R6 |
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|
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| |
|
Return before taxes |
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|
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% |
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|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions |
|
|
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% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund shares |
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|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
Class I |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
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|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
%# |
Retirement Class |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
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|
|
% |
|
|
% |
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|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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| |
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|
% |
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|
% |
|
|
% | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||
# |
The performance shown for the Class I that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Class R6. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the actual expenses of the Class I. If these actual expenses had been reflected, the performance of the Class I shown for these periods would have been different because the Class I has different expenses than the Class R6. | ||||||||||
Investment Adviser. Teachers Advisors, LLC.
Portfolio Managers.
Name: |
Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA |
Lei Liao, CFA |
Darren Tran, CFA | ||
Title: |
Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Managing Director | ||
Experience on Fund: |
since 2005 |
since 2014 |
since 2019 |
Purchase and sale of Fund shares
You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or its affiliated exchanges, NYSE Arca Equities or NYSE American, are open for trading (each such day a “Business Day”) directly from the Fund (for certain share classes) or through a financial advisor, employee benefit plan or other financial intermediary. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although certain
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 35
financial intermediaries may impose their own investment minimums and the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:
Eligibility and Minimum Initial Investment |
Minimum Additional Investment | |
Class R6 |
Available only to certain eligible investors as described in the Prospectus and through fee-based programs. $1 million for all accounts except: · $1,000 for clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or related services. |
No minimum. |
Class I |
Available only through fee-based programs and certain retirement plans, and to other limited categories of investors as described in the Prospectus. $100,000 for all accounts except: · $250 for clients of financial intermediaries and family offices that have accounts holding Class I shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000 (or that are expected to reach this level). · No minimum for eligible retirement plans and certain other categories of eligible investors as described in the Prospectus. |
No minimum. |
Retirement Class |
Available only through certain employee benefit plans, other types of savings plans or accounts and certain financial intermediaries as described in the Prospectus. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
Class W |
Available directly from the Fund only by funds advised by Advisors or its affiliates or other clients or accounts of Advisors or its affiliates that are subject to a contractual fee for advisory, management or other similar or related services provided by Advisors or its affiliates. No minimum. |
No minimum. |
The Fund intends to make distributions to shareholders that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions made to tax-exempt shareholders or shareholders who hold Fund shares in a tax-deferred account are generally not subject to income tax in the current year, but redemptions made from tax-deferred accounts may be subject to income tax.
Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or its related companies may pay the financial intermediary for providing investor services. The Fund’s related companies may also pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares
36 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 37
Summary information |
(formerly TIAA-CREF Small-Cap Blend Index Fund)
The Fund seeks a favorable long-term total return, mainly through capital appreciation, by investing primarily in a portfolio of equity securities in smaller domestic companies based on a market index.
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell 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 the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares” on page 95 of the Fund’s Prospectus and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page 104 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in the appendix to the Fund’s Prospectus entitled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries.”
The tables and examples below do not reflect any commissions that shareholders may be required to pay directly to their financial intermediaries when buying or selling Class I shares.
38 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
|
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Retirement
|
Class W |
|||||
Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on purchases |
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||||
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) |
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Maximum
sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested |
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Redemption or exchange fee |
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Maximum account fee |
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|
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Retirement
|
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Class W |
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Management fees |
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| |
Other expenses |
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|
1 | |
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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| |
Waivers and expense reimbursements2 |
|
|
( |
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|
|
( |
3 | |
Total
annual Fund operating expenses after |
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|
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|
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| |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Estimate is for the current fiscal year. |
2 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC, has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class R6 shares; (ii) 0.24% of average daily net assets for Class I shares; (iii) 0.34% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; and (iv) 0.09% of average daily net assets for Class W shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least February 28, 2025, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. Additionally, pursuant to a Shareholder Servicing Plan with respect to Class I shares, payments to financial intermediaries under the Shareholder Servicing Plan are subject to maximum rates and Teachers Advisors, LLC has agreed to reimburse the Fund if total Class I expenses (subject to certain exclusions) exceed certain specified amounts. Because of the Shareholder Servicing Plan, Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement for Class I shares will be less than the expense limitation. The Board of Trustees must annually approve the continuance of, as well as any material changes to, the Shareholder Servicing Plan. |
3 |
Teachers Advisors, LLC has contractually agreed to waive and/or reimburse Class W’s Management fees and Other expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions or other transactional expenses, Acquired fund fees and expenses, Trustee expenses and extraordinary expenses) in their entirety. Teachers Advisors, LLC expects these waiver and/or reimbursement arrangements to remain in effect indefinitely, unless changed or terminated with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of 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 redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 39
operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
Retirement
|
|
Class W |
| ||||
1 year |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
3 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
5 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
10 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover
rate was
Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities included in its benchmark index, the Russell 2000® Index. A “small-cap” equity security is a security within the capitalization range of the companies included in the Russell 2000 Index at the time of purchase. The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe. The Fund buys most, but not necessarily all, of the stocks in its benchmark index, and will attempt to closely match the overall investment characteristics of its benchmark index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
The Fund is designed to track various U.S. equity markets as a whole or a segment of these markets. The Fund primarily invests its assets in equity securities its investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), has selected to track a designated stock market index. Because the return of an index is not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, the Fund’s ability to match the returns of the Russell 2000 Index is negatively affected by the costs of buying and selling securities as well as the Fund’s fees and other expenses. The use of a particular index by the Fund is not a fundamental policy and may be changed without shareholder approval. The portfolio management team of Advisors will attempt to build a portfolio that generally matches the market weighted investment characteristics of the Fund’s benchmark index.
40 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
The Fund is classified as a diversified investment company, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). However, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without the approval of Fund shareholders solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its benchmark index, the Russell 2000 Index, which the Fund seeks to track.
· Market Risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by the Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund’s shares and adversely affect the Fund and its investments. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries, which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.
· Index Risk—The risk that the Fund’s performance may not correspond to its benchmark index for any period of time and may underperform such index or the overall financial market. Additionally, to the extent that the Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Fund’s performance could potentially vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects, credit rating and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.
· Small-Cap Risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often newer or less established than larger companies and are likely to have more limited resources, products and markets. Securities of small-cap companies often have lower overall liquidity than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when Advisors deems it appropriate.
· Illiquid Investments Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.
Nuveen Equity Index Funds ■ Prospectus 41
· Non-Diversification Risk—While the Fund is considered to be a diversified investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without Fund shareholder approval when necessary to continue to track its benchmark index. Non-diversified status means that the Fund can invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a diversified fund. Investing in a non-diversified fund involves greater risk than investing in a diversified fund because a loss in value of a particular investment may have a greater effect on the fund’s return since that investment may represent a larger portion of the fund’s total portfolio assets.
Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above.
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and
reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
42 Prospectus ■ Nuveen Equity Index Funds
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)
Nuveen Small Cap Blend Index Fund
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023
|
|
Inception date |
|
One year |
|
|
Five years |
|
|
Ten years |
|
Class R6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund shares |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
Class I |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
%# |
Retirement Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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| |
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