Nuveen 
Funds

 

Prospectus

 

Nuveen Equity Index Funds

MARCH 1, 2024, AS SUPPLEMENTED MAY 6, 2024

             
 

Ticker

Fund


Class R6


Class I

Premier
Class

Retirement
Class


Class A


Class W

             
             

Nuveen Equity Index Fund
(formerly TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund)

 

TIEIX

TEIHX

TCEPX

TIQRX

TINRX

TEQWX

             

Nuveen Large Cap Growth Index Fund
(formerly TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Growth Index Fund)

 

TILIX

TRIHX

TRIRX

TRIWX

             

Nuveen Large Cap Value Index Fund
(formerly TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Value Index Fund)

 

TILVX

THCVX

TRCVX

THCWX

             

Nuveen S&P 500 Index Fund
(formerly TIAA-CREF S&P 500 Index Fund)

 

TISPX

TISAX

TRSPX

TISWX

             

Nuveen Small Cap Blend Index Fund
(formerly TIAA-CREF Small-Cap Blend Index Fund)

 

TISBX

TRHBX

TRBIX

TRHWX

             

Nuveen Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund
(formerly TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund)

 

TEQLX

TEQHX

TEQPX

TEQSX

TEQKX

TENWX

             

Nuveen International Equity Index Fund
(formerly TIAA-CREF 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

Investment objective 5

Fees and expenses 5

Shareholder fees 6

Annual Fund operating expenses 6

Example 6

Portfolio turnover 7

Principal investment strategies 7

Principal investment risks 8

Past performance 9

Portfolio management 12

Purchase and sale of Fund shares 12

Tax information 13

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 13

Summary information

Large Cap Growth Index Fund

Investment objective 14

Fees and expenses 14

Shareholder fees 15

Annual Fund operating expenses 15

Example 15

Portfolio turnover 16

Principal investment strategies 16

Principal investment risks 17

Past performance 18

Portfolio management 20

Purchase and sale of Fund shares 20

Tax information 21

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 21

 

Summary information

Large Cap Value Index Fund

Investment objective 22

Fees and expenses 22

Shareholder fees 23

Annual Fund operating expenses 23

Example 23

Portfolio turnover 24

Principal investment strategies 24

Principal investment risks 25

Past performance 26

Portfolio management 28

Purchase and sale of Fund shares 28

Tax information 29

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 29

Summary information

S&P 500 Index Fund

Investment objective 30

Fees and expenses 30

Shareholder fees 31

Annual Fund operating expenses 31

Example 31

Portfolio turnover 32

Principal investment strategies 32

Principal investment risks 33

Past performance 34

Portfolio management 35

Purchase and sale of Fund shares 35

Tax information 36

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 36


     

Summary information

Small Cap Blend Index Fund

Investment objective 38

Fees and expenses 38

Shareholder fees 39

Annual Fund operating expenses 39

Example 39

Portfolio turnover 40

Principal investment strategies 40

Principal investment risks 41

Past performance 42

Portfolio management 44

Purchase and sale of Fund shares 44

Tax information 45

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 45

Summary information

Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund

Investment objective 46

Fees and expenses 46

Shareholder fees 47

Annual Fund operating expenses 47

Example 47

Portfolio turnover 48

Principal investment strategies 48

Principal investment risks 49

Past performance 51

Portfolio management 54

Purchase and sale of Fund shares 54

Tax information 55

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 55

 

Summary information

International Equity Index Fund

Investment objective 56

Fees and expenses 56

Shareholder fees 57

Annual Fund operating expenses 57

Example 57

Portfolio turnover 58

Principal investment strategies 58

Principal investment risks 59

Past performance 60

Portfolio management 62

Purchase and sale of Fund shares 63

Tax information 63

Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 64


Table of contents

     

Additional information about investment strategies and risks of the Funds 64

Additional information about the Funds 64

Additional information on principal investment risks of the Funds 65

Global economic risk 73

Cybersecurity risk 74

Additional information about the Funds’ benchmark indices 74

Additional information on investment strategies of the Funds 77

Portfolio holdings 79

Portfolio turnover 79

Investments by funds of funds 79

Share classes 80

Management of the Funds 80

The Funds’ investment adviser 80

Investment management fees 82

Portfolio management teams 82

Other services 85

Distribution and service arrangements 86

All classes 86

Other payments by the Funds 86

Other payments by Nuveen Securities, Advisors or their affiliates 88

Calculating share price 89

Dividends and distributions 91

Taxes 92

 

How you can buy and sell shares 95

What share classes we offer 95

How to reduce your sales charge 102

Purchasing shares 105

Redeeming shares 111

Exchanging shares 116

Conversion of shares–applicable to all investors 117

Important transaction information 119

Frequent trading–applicable to all investors 122

Electronic prospectuses 124

Additional information about index providers 124

Additional information about the Trust and the Board of Trustees 127

Glossary 128

Financial highlights 129

Appendix – Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries 144


 

Summary information

Nuveen Equity Index Fund

(formerly TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund)

Investment objective

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.

Fees and expenses

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


SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)

                         
 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Premier
Class

 

Retirement Class

 

Class A

 

Class W

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

5.75%

 

0%

 

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends and other distributions

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Redemption or exchange fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Annual low balance account fee
(for accounts under $1,000)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

$15.00

 

0%

 

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

                           

 

 

Class R6

 

Class I

 

Premier
Class

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class A

 

Class W

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management fees

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees

 

 

0.15%

 

 

0.25%

 

 

Other expenses

0.01%

 

0.11%

 

0.01%

 

0.26%

 

0.03%

 

0.01%

 

Total annual Fund operating expenses

0.05%

 

0.15%

 

0.20%

 

0.30%

 

0.32%

 

0.05%

 

Waivers and expense reimbursements1

 

 

 

 

 

(0.05)%

2 

Total annual Fund operating expenses after
  fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

0.05%

 

0.15%

 

0.20%

 

0.30%

 

0.32%

 

0.00%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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.

Example

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:

                                     

 

Class R6

 

Class I

 

Premier
Class

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class A

 

Class W

 

1 year

$

5

 

$

15

 

$

20

 

$

31

 

$

606

 

$

0

 

3 years

$

16

 

$

48

 

$

64

 

$

97

 

$

672

 

$

0

 

5 years

$

28

 

$

85

 

$

113

 

$

169

 

$

744

 

$

0

 

10 years

$

64

 

$

192

 

$

255

 

$

381

 

$

957

 

$

0

 

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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 4% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

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.

Principal investment risks

You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. An investment in the Fund, due to the nature of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:

· 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 RiskThe 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.

Past performance

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of Class R6 of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of Class R6 may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of Class R6 for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for Class R6, Class I, Premier, Retirement, Class A and Class W classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2023, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund’s benchmark index. After-tax performance is shown only for Class R6 shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Class R6 shares.

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. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The benchmark index listed below is unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.

For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling 800-257-8787.

Nuveen Equity Index Funds    Prospectus     9


ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)

Nuveen Equity Index Fund

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:12.52,2015:0.46,2016:12.76,2017:21.09,2018:-5.22,2019:30.87,2020:20.82,2021:25.63,2022:-19.17,2023:25.91)

Best quarter: 21.98%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Worst quarter: -20.87%, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

10     Prospectus    Nuveen Equity Index Funds


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

                       

 

 

Inception date

 

One year

 

 

Five years

 

 

Ten years

 

Class R6

7/1/1999

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

25.91

%

 

15.12

%

 

11.45

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

 

25.43

%

 

14.60

%

 

10.85

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fund shares

 

 

15.61

%

 

12.09

%

 

9.31

%

Class I

12/4/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

25.78

%

 

14.99

%

 

11.36

%#

Premier Class

9/30/2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

25.75

%

 

14.95

%

 

11.28

%

Retirement Class

3/31/2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

25.59

%

 

14.84

%

 

11.17

%

Class A*

3/31/2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

18.37

%

 

13.46

%

 

10.48

%

Class W

9/28/2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

26.00

%

 

15.17

%

 

11.48

%#

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russell 3000® Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

25.96

%

 

15.16

%

 

11.48

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current performance of the Fund’s shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.

#

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.

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

 

Nuveen Equity Index Funds    Prospectus     11


Portfolio management

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.

Tax information

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

Nuveen Large Cap Growth Index Fund

(formerly TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Growth Index Fund)

Investment objective

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.

Fees and expenses

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


SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)

                 
 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested
dividends and other distributions

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Redemption or exchange fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum account fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

                   

 

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management fees

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

Other expenses

0.01%

 

0.12%

 

0.26%

 

0.01%

1 

Total annual Fund operating expenses

0.05%

 

0.16%

 

0.30%

 

0.05%

 

Waivers and expense reimbursements2

 

 

 

(0.05)%

3 

Total annual Fund operating expenses after
  fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

0.05%

 

0.16%

 

0.30%

 

0.00%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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.

Example

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


                         

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

1 year

$

5

 

$

16

 

$

31

 

$

0

 

3 years

$

16

 

$

52

 

$

97

 

$

0

 

5 years

$

28

 

$

90

 

$

169

 

$

0

 

10 years

$

64

 

$

205

 

$

381

 

$

0

 

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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 32% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

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.

Principal investment risks

You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. An investment in the Fund, due to the nature of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:

· 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.

Past performance

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of Class R6 of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of Class R6 may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of Class R6 for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for Class R6, Class I and Retirement classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2023, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund’s benchmark index. Performance information is not included for Class W as it is not currently operational. After-tax performance is shown only for Class R6 shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Class R6 shares.

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. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The benchmark index listed below is unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.

For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling 800-257-8787.

18     Prospectus    Nuveen Equity Index Funds


ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)

Nuveen Large Cap Growth Index Fund

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:12.98,2015:5.61,2016:7.05,2017:30.07,2018:-1.55,2019:36.27,2020:38.43,2021:27.52,2022:-29.17,2023:42.63)

Best quarter: 27.79%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Worst quarter: -20.95%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

                       

 

 

Inception date

 

One year

 

 

Five years

 

 

Ten years

 

Class R6

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

42.63

%

 

19.44

%

 

14.80

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

 

41.97

%

 

17.92

%

 

13.71

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fund shares

 

 

25.67

%

 

15.50

%

 

12.16

%

Class I

12/4/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

42.49

%

 

19.29

%

 

14.70

%#

Retirement Class

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

42.29

%

 

19.14

%

 

14.51

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russell 1000® Growth Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

42.68

%

 

19.50

%

 

14.86

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current performance of the Fund’s shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.

#

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.

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

 

Nuveen Equity Index Funds    Prospectus     19


Portfolio management

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


Tax information

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

Nuveen Large Cap Value Index Fund

(formerly TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Value Index Fund)

Investment objective

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.

Fees and expenses

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


SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)

                 
 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested
dividends and other distributions

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Redemption or exchange fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum account fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

                   

 

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management fees

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

Other expenses

0.01%

 

0.14%

 

0.26%

 

0.01%

1 

Total annual Fund operating expenses

0.05%

 

0.18%

 

0.30%

 

0.05%

 

Waivers and expense reimbursements2

 

 

 

(0.05)%

3 

Total annual Fund operating expenses after
  fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

0.05%

 

0.18%

 

0.30%

 

0.00%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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.

Example

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


                         

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

1 year

$

5

 

$

18

 

$

31

 

$

0

 

3 years

$

16

 

$

58

 

$

97

 

$

0

 

5 years

$

28

 

$

101

 

$

169

 

$

0

 

10 years

$

64

 

$

230

 

$

381

 

$

0

 

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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 26% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

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.

Principal investment risks

You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. An investment in the Fund, due to the nature of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:

· 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.

Past performance

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of Class R6 of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of Class R6 may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of Class R6 for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for Class R6, Class I and Retirement classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2023, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund’s benchmark index. Performance information is not included for Class W as it is not currently operational. After-tax performance is shown only for Class R6 shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Class R6 shares.

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. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The benchmark index listed below is unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.

For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling 800-257-8787.

26     Prospectus    Nuveen Equity Index Funds


ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)

Nuveen Large Cap Value Index Fund

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:13.37,2015:-3.81,2016:17.23,2017:13.62,2018:-8.31,2019:26.39,2020:2.9,2021:25.02,2022:-7.54,2023:11.47)

Best quarter: 16.25%, for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. Worst quarter: -26.61%, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

                       

 

 

Inception date

 

One year

 

 

Five years

 

 

Ten years

 

Class R6

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

11.47

%

 

10.88

%

 

8.36

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

 

9.84

%

 

9.55

%

 

7.07

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fund shares

 

 

7.31

%

 

8.34

%

 

6.40

%

Class I

12/4/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

11.29

%

 

10.73

%

 

8.25

%#

Retirement Class

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

11.15

%

 

10.61

%

 

8.09

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russell 1000® Value Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

11.46

%

 

10.91

%

 

8.40

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current performance of the Fund’s shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.

#

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.

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

 

Nuveen Equity Index Funds    Prospectus     27


Portfolio management

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


Tax information

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

Nuveen S&P 500 Index Fund

(formerly TIAA-CREF S&P 500 Index Fund)

Investment objective

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.

Fees and expenses

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


SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)

                 
 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested
dividends and other distributions

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Redemption or exchange fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum account fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

                   

 

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management fees

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

Other expenses

0.01%

 

0.14%

 

0.26%

 

0.01%

1 

Total annual Fund operating expenses

0.05%

 

0.18%

 

0.30%

 

0.05%

 

Waivers and expense reimbursements2

 

 

 

(0.05)%

3 

Total annual Fund operating expenses after
  fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

0.05%

 

0.18%

 

0.30%

 

0.00%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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.

Example

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


                         

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

1 year

$

5

 

$

18

 

$

31

 

$

0

 

3 years

$

16

 

$

58

 

$

97

 

$

0

 

5 years

$

28

 

$

101

 

$

169

 

$

0

 

10 years

$

64

 

$

230

 

$

381

 

$

0

 

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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 2% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

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


Principal investment risks

You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. An investment in the Fund, due to the nature of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:

· 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


Past performance

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of Class R6 of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of Class R6 may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of Class R6 for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for Class R6, Class I and Retirement classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2023, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund’s benchmark index. Performance information is not included for Class W as it is not currently operational. After-tax performance is shown only for Class R6 shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Class R6 shares.

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. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The benchmark index listed below is unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.

For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling 800-257-8787.

ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)

Nuveen S&P 500 Index Fund

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:13.6,2015:1.35,2016:11.87,2017:21.77,2018:-4.45,2019:31.42,2020:18.34,2021:28.64,2022:-18.12,2023:26.22)

Best quarter: 20.53%, for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Worst quarter: -19.59%, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

34     Prospectus    Nuveen Equity Index Funds


AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

                       

 

 

Inception date

 

One year

 

 

Five years

 

 

Ten years

 

Class R6

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

26.22

%

 

15.63

%

 

11.97

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

 

25.75

%

 

15.14

%

 

11.42

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fund shares

 

 

15.81

%

 

12.55

%

 

9.82

%

Class I

12/4/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

26.06

%

 

15.48

%

 

11.86

%#

Retirement Class

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

25.89

%

 

15.34

%

 

11.69

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S&P 500® Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

 

26.29

%

 

15.69

%

 

12.03

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current performance of the Fund’s shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.

#

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.

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

 

Portfolio management

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.

Tax information

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

Nuveen Small Cap Blend Index Fund

(formerly TIAA-CREF Small-Cap Blend Index Fund)

Investment objective

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.

Fees and expenses

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


SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)

                 
 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum deferred sales charge (load)

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested
dividends and other distributions

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Redemption or exchange fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

Maximum account fee

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

0%

 

ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

                   

 

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management fees

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

0.04%

 

Other expenses

0.01%

 

0.67%

 

0.26%

 

0.01%

1 

Total annual Fund operating expenses

0.05%

 

0.71%

 

0.30%

 

0.05%

 

Waivers and expense reimbursements2

 

(0.50)%

 

 

(0.05)%

3 

Total annual Fund operating expenses after
  fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

0.05%

 

0.21%

 

0.30%

 

0.00%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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.

Example

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:

                         

 


Class R6

 


Class I

 

Retirement
Class

 

Class W

 

1 year

$

5

 

$

22

 

$

31

 

$

0

 

3 years

$

16

 

$

177

 

$

97

 

$

0

 

5 years

$

28

 

$

346

 

$

169

 

$

0

 

10 years

$

64

 

$

835

 

$

381

 

$

0

 

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 fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

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.

Principal investment risks

You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. An investment in the Fund, due to the nature of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:

· 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 RiskThe 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 RiskThe 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.

Past performance

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of Class R6 of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of Class R6 may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of Class R6 for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for Class R6, Class I and Retirement classes over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2023, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund’s benchmark index. Performance information is not included for Class W as it is not currently operational. After-tax performance is shown only for Class R6 shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Class R6 shares.

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. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The benchmark index listed below is unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.

For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling 800-257-8787.

42     Prospectus    Nuveen Equity Index Funds


ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR CLASS R6 SHARES (%)

Nuveen Small Cap Blend Index Fund

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:5.15,2015:-4.14,2016:21.58,2017:14.83,2018:-10.84,2019:25.53,2020:20.15,2021:14.89,2022:-20.29,2023:17.04)

Best quarter: 31.32%, for the quarter ended December 31, 2020. Worst quarter: -30.55%, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2023

                       

 

 

Inception date

 

One year

 

 

Five years

 

 

Ten years

 

Class R6

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

17.04

%

 

10.08

%

 

7.33

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

 

15.99

%

 

8.82

%

 

5.86

%

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fund shares

 

 

10.50

%

 

7.78

%

 

5.48

%

Class I

12/4/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

16.81

%

 

9.91

%

 

7.21

%#

Retirement Class

10/1/2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

 

16.74

%

 

9.81

%

 

7.06

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russell 2000® Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes)