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TIAA-CREF Funds |
Prospectus |
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
OCTOBER 1, 2022
Ticker | ||||
Fund |
Institutional |
Advisor |
Premier |
Retirement |
Lifecycle Index Retirement Income Fund |
TRILX |
TLIHX |
TLIPX |
TRCIX |
Lifecycle Index 2010 Fund |
TLTIX |
TLTHX |
TLTPX |
TLTRX |
Lifecycle Index 2015 Fund |
TLFIX |
TLFAX |
TLFPX |
TLGRX |
Lifecycle Index 2020 Fund |
TLWIX |
TLWHX |
TLWPX |
TLWRX |
Lifecycle Index 2025 Fund |
TLQIX |
TLQHX |
TLVPX |
TLQRX |
Lifecycle Index 2030 Fund |
TLHIX |
TLHHX |
TLHPX |
TLHRX |
Lifecycle Index 2035 Fund |
TLYIX |
TLYHX |
TLYPX |
TLYRX |
Lifecycle Index 2040 Fund |
TLZIX |
TLZHX |
TLPRX |
TLZRX |
Lifecycle Index 2045 Fund |
TLXIX |
TLMHX |
TLMPX |
TLMRX |
Lifecycle Index 2050 Fund |
TLLIX |
TLLHX |
TLLPX |
TLLRX |
Lifecycle Index 2055 Fund |
TTIIX |
TTIHX |
TTIPX |
TTIRX |
Lifecycle Index 2060 Fund |
TVIIX |
TVIHX |
TVIPX |
TVITX |
Lifecycle Index 2065 Fund |
TFITX |
TFIHX |
TFIPX |
TFIRX |
This Prospectus describes the Institutional Class, Advisor Class, Premier Class and Retirement Class shares offered by the investment portfolios listed above (each, a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”) of the TIAA-CREF Funds (the “Trust”). These Funds comprise the TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds (the “Lifecycle Index Funds”), a sub-family of funds offered by 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 Lifecycle Index Retirement Income Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 7 Principal investment strategies 8 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 16 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 17 Summary information Lifecycle Index 2010 Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 19 Principal investment strategies 20 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 29 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 29 |
Summary information Lifecycle Index 2015 Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 32 Principal investment strategies 33 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 42 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 42 Summary information Lifecycle Index 2020 Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 45 Principal investment strategies 46 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 55 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 55 |
Summary information Lifecycle Index 2025 Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 58 Principal investment strategies 59 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 68 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 68 Summary information Lifecycle Index 2030 Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 71 Principal investment strategies 72 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 81 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 81 |
Summary information Lifecycle Index 2035 Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 84 Principal investment strategies 85 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 94 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 94 Summary information Lifecycle Index 2040 Fund Annual Fund operating expenses 97 Principal investment strategies 98 Principal investment risks 100 Purchase and sale of Fund shares 107 Payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediary compensation 107 |
Table of contents
Summary information |
The Lifecycle Index Retirement Income Fund seeks high total return over time primarily through income, with a secondary emphasis on capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Institutional |
Advisor |
Premier |
Retirement |
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Maximum
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Maximum Deferred Sales Charge |
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Maximum
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Redemption or Exchange Fee |
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Maximum Account Fee |
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6 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Retirement
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Management fees1,2 |
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Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses1,2 |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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Waivers and expense reimbursements3,4 |
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Total
annual Fund operating expenses after fee |
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1 |
Restated to reflect estimates for the current fiscal year. | ||||||||
2 |
Portions of the Management fees and Other expenses are based on expenses originally incurred by Class W shares of the Underlying Funds (as defined below) of the Trust, which have been incurred directly by the Fund pursuant to certain contractual arrangements intended to reallocate directly to the Fund certain fees and expenses that had been paid by the Underlying Funds of the Trust. For additional information, please see the “Management of the Funds” section of this Prospectus. | ||||||||
3 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), 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, extraordinary expenses and any expenses originally attributable to Class W shares of the Underlying Funds of the Trust that were incurred directly by the Fund) that exceed: (i) 0.017% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares; (ii) 0.167% of average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares; (iii) 0.167% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; and (iv) 0.267% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least September 30, 2023, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. | ||||||||
4 |
Advisors has contractually agreed to waive 0.083% of the Fund’s Management fee. This waiver will remain in effect through September 30, 2023, unless changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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Institutional
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Advisor
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Retirement
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1 year |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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3 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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5 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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10 years |
$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 7
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 May 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate
was
The Fund is a “fund of funds” that invests in Class W shares of other funds of the Trust and potentially in other investment pools or investment products, including other funds advised by the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), or its affiliates (collectively, the “Underlying Funds”). The Fund invests in Underlying Funds according to a relatively stable asset allocation strategy that will not gradually adjust over time and is designed for investors who are already in retirement (i.e., have already passed their retirement year) and may have begun taking systematic withdrawals upon retirement. The Fund has a policy of investing at least 80% of its assets in Underlying Funds that are managed to seek investment returns that track particular market indices. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.
Advisors currently expects to allocate approximately 40.00% of the Fund’s assets to equity Underlying Funds and 60.00% of its assets to fixed-income Underlying Funds. These allocations represent targets for equity and fixed-income asset classes. Target allocations may be changed and actual allocations may vary up to ten percentage points from the targets. Within the equity and fixed-income asset classes, Advisors allocates the Fund’s investments to particular market sectors (U.S. equity, international equity, fixed-income, short-term fixed-income and inflation-protected assets) represented by various Underlying Funds. These market sector allocations may vary by up to 10% from the Fund’s target market sector allocations. The Fund’s current target market sector allocations for June 30, 2023, which may change, are approximately as follows: U.S. Equity: 26.00%; International Equity: 14.00%; Fixed-Income: 40.00%; Short-Term Fixed-Income: 10.00%; and Inflation-Protected Assets: 10.00%. The asset class and market sector names used herein are intended to reflect the primary type of investment of the Underlying Funds within each of these categories.
The Fund’s target market sector allocations to Underlying Funds may include the TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund (U.S. Equity); TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund and TIAA-CREF International Equity Index Fund (International Equity); TIAA-CREF Bond Index Fund (Fixed-Income); TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index Fund (Short-Term Fixed-Income) and TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond Fund (Inflation-Protected Assets).
8 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
As a result of its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Fund’s returns will reflect investments in a mix of domestic and foreign equities of companies of various sizes and market capitalizations and a variety of domestic and foreign fixed-income instruments of private and governmental issuers of varying maturities and credit qualities.
Additional or replacement Underlying Funds for each market sector, as well as additional or replacement market sectors, may be included when making future allocations if Advisors believes that such Underlying Funds and/or market sectors are appropriate in light of the Fund’s desired levels of risk and potential return at the particular time. The Fund’s portfolio management team may also add a new market sector if it believes that will help to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The relative allocations among Underlying Funds within a market sector may be changed at any time without notice to shareholders. If 10% or more of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in any Underlying Fund or market sector not listed above, shareholders will receive prior notice of such change. Investors should note that the Fund has a significant level of equity exposure and this exposure could cause fluctuation in the value of the Fund depending on the performance of the equity markets generally.
As part of the Fund’s ability to invest in other investment pools or investment products noted above, the Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) to gain exposure to various market sectors or securities in order to effect its asset allocation strategy. Additionally, the Fund may use ETFs or ETNs for cash management, hedging or defensive purposes. ETFs or ETNs will be subject to the risks associated with the types of securities or sectors that they track, while ETNs, which are structured as fixed-income obligations, will also be subject to the general risks of fixed-income securities, including credit risk.
The Fund’s asset class allocations, market sector allocations within each asset class, and Underlying Fund allocations within each market sector, as of June 30, 2022, are listed in the chart below. The Fund has relatively fixed asset allocations that will not gradually adjust over time. Underlying Fund allocations may change from year to year.
Asset Class |
Allocation |
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Market Sector |
Allocation |
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Underlying Funds |
Allocation |
Equity |
39.04% |
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U.S. Equity |
25.35% |
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TIAA-CREF Equity Index |
25.35% |
International Equity |
13.69% |
TIAA-CREF International Equity Index |
9.27% | ||||
TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index |
4.42% | ||||||
Fixed-Income |
60.96% |
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Fixed-Income |
40.70% |
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TIAA-CREF Bond Index |
40.70% |
Short-Term |
10.19% |
TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index |
10.19% | ||||
Inflation- |
10.07% |
TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond |
10.07% |
Total |
100.00% |
100.00% |
100.00% |
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 9
· Asset Allocation Risk—The risk that the Fund may not achieve its target allocations. In addition, there is the risk that the asset allocations may not achieve the desired risk-return characteristic or that the selection of Underlying Funds and the allocations among them will result in the Fund underperforming other similar funds or cause an investor to lose money.
· Index Risk—The risk that an Underlying 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 an Underlying Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Underlying Fund’s performance could potentially vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Underlying Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Underlying Funds Risks—The Fund is exposed to the risks of the Underlying Funds in which it invests in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund allocates to each Underlying Fund.
· Equity Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in equity Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the equity markets in general, such as:
· market risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by a 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. From time to time, a 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;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· foreign investment risk—Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments as well as armed conflicts and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also have lower liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in a single country or region, it may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market,
10 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
political or regulatory events or conditions affecting that country or region. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other restrictions by the United States or other governments may also negatively impact a Fund’s investments. The type and severity of sanctions and other measures that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict; and
· small- and mid-cap risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often newer or less established than larger companies and are likely to have more limited resources, products and markets. Securities of small-cap companies often have lower overall liquidity than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when a Fund’s investment adviser or sub-adviser deems it appropriate. 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.
· Fixed-Income Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in fixed-income Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the fixed-income markets in general, such as:
· interest rate risk—The risk that increases in interest rates can cause the prices of fixed-income investments to decline. This risk is heightened to the extent a Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments and during periods when prevailing interest rates are low or negative. Low interest rates may increase a Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates. However, a Fund may be subject to heightened levels of interest rate risk due to rising interest rates (including a sharp rise in interest rates). In general, changing interest rates could have unpredictable effects on the markets and may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility;
· prepayment risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans sooner than expected, forcing a Fund to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates and resulting in a decline in income;
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 11
· extension risk—The risk that, during periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans later than expected, preventing a Fund from reinvesting principal proceeds at higher interest rates and resulting in less income than potentially available;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· credit risk—The risk that the issuer of fixed-income investments may not be able or willing, or may be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as not able or willing, to meet interest or principal payments when the payments become due;
· credit spread risk—The risk that credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in each security’s respective credit quality) may increase when market participants believe that bonds generally have a greater risk of default, which could result in a decline in the market values of a Fund’s debt securities;
· income volatility risk—The risk that the level of current income from a portfolio of fixed-income investments may decline in certain interest rate environments;
· market volatility, liquidity and valuation risk (types of market risk)—The risk that volatile or dramatic reductions in trading activity make it difficult for a Fund to properly value its investments and that a Fund may not be able to purchase or sell an investment at an attractive price, if at all; and
· call risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer may call (or repay) a fixed-income security prior to maturity, resulting in a decline in a Fund’s income.
· Emerging Markets Underlying Funds Risk—The risk of foreign investment often increases in countries with emerging markets or otherwise economically tied to emerging market countries. For example, these countries may have more unstable governments than developed countries, and their economies may be based on only a few industries. Emerging market countries may also have less stringent regulation of accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which would affect a Fund’s ability to evaluate potential portfolio companies. As a result, there could be less information available about issuers in emerging market countries, which could negatively affect Advisors’ ability to evaluate local companies or their potential impact on a Fund’s performance. Because the financial markets of emerging market countries may be very small, share prices of financial instruments in emerging market countries may be volatile and difficult to determine. Financial instruments of issuers in these
12 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
countries may have lower overall liquidity than those of issuers in more developed countries. In addition, foreign investors such as a Fund are subject to a variety of special restrictions in many emerging market countries. Moreover, legal remedies for investors in emerging markets may be more limited, and U.S. authorities may have less ability to bring actions against bad actors in emerging market countries.
· Illiquid Investments Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.
· Currency Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that foreign (non-U.S.) currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investments in foreign currencies, securities denominated in foreign currencies or derivative instruments that provide exposure to foreign currencies.
· Active Management Risk—The risk that the strategy, investment selection or trading execution of Advisors could cause the Fund or an Underlying Fund to underperform its benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives.
· Fund of Funds Risk—The ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective will depend in part upon the ability of the Underlying Funds to achieve their investment objectives. There can be no guarantee that any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.
There can be no assurances that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. You should not consider the Fund to be a complete investment program. Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above, including the risks of the Underlying Funds.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 13
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund and certain Underlying Funds for certain fees and expenses.
Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have
been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE RETIREMENT CLASS SHARES (%)†
Lifecycle Index Retirement Income Fund
†
14 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2021
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Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
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Return before taxes |
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The performance shown for the Advisor Class that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Fund’s Retirement Class. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the lower expenses of the Advisor Class. | |||||||||||
‡ |
As of the close of business on December 31, 2021, the Lifecycle Index Retirement Income Fund Composite Index consisted of: 40.0% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index; 26.0% Russell 3000® Index; 14.0% MSCI EAFE + Emerging Markets Index; 10.0% Bloomberg U.S. 1–3 Year Government/Credit Bond Index; and 10.0% Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) 1–10 Year Index. The Fund’s composite benchmark, the components that make up a composite benchmark and the method of calculating a composite benchmark’s performance may vary over time. | |||||||||||
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 15
Investment Adviser. The Fund’s investment adviser is Teachers Advisors, LLC.
Portfolio Managers. The following persons are primarily responsible for the management of the Fund on a day-to-day basis:
Name: |
Hans Erickson, CFA |
John Cunniff, CFA |
Steve Sedmak, CFA |
Title: |
Senior Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Experience on Fund: |
since 2009 |
since 2009 |
since 2018 |
Purchase and sale of Fund shares
Institutional Class shares are available for purchase directly from the Fund by certain eligible investors (which include employee benefit plans and financial intermediaries). Advisor Class shares are available for purchase through certain financial intermediaries, employee benefit plans and insurance company separate accounts. Premier Class and Retirement Class shares are generally available for purchase through employee benefit plans, other types of savings plans or accounts and certain financial intermediaries.
· The minimum initial investment is $10 million and the minimum subsequent investment is $1,000 for Institutional Class shares, unless an investor purchases shares by or through financial intermediaries that have entered into an appropriate agreement with the Fund or its affiliates. Employee benefit plans, fee-based managed account programs (“wrap accounts”), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles, thrifts and bank and trust companies that have entered into agreements to offer Institutional Class shares held in omnibus accounts on the books of the Fund are exempt from initial and subsequent investment minimums.
· There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for Advisor Class, Premier Class or Retirement Class shares.
Redeeming or Exchanging Shares. You can redeem (sell) or exchange your 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”). Exchanges may be made for shares of the same share class of other funds offered by the Trust. If your shares are held through a third party, please contact that entity for applicable redemption or exchange requirements. If your shares are held directly with the Fund, contact the Fund directly in writing or by telephone.
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
16 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
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.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 17
Summary information |
The Lifecycle Index 2010 Fund seeks high total return over time through a combination of capital appreciation and income.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Institutional
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Advisor
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Premier
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Retirement Class |
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Maximum
sales charge imposed on purchases |
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Maximum deferred sales charge |
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Maximum
sales charge imposed on reinvested |
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Redemption or exchange fee |
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Maximum account fee |
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18 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Institutional
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Advisor
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Premier
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Retirement
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Management fees1,2 |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other expenses1,2 |
|
|
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|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
|
|
|
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|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Waivers and expense reimbursements3,4 |
( |
|
( |
|
( |
|
( |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
annual Fund operating expenses after fee |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Restated to reflect estimates for the current fiscal year. | ||||||||
2 |
Portions of the Management fees and Other expenses are based on expenses originally incurred by Class W shares of the Underlying Funds (as defined below) of the Trust, which have been incurred directly by the Fund pursuant to certain contractual arrangements intended to reallocate directly to the Fund certain fees and expenses that had been paid by the Underlying Funds of the Trust. For additional information, please see the “Management of the Funds” section of this Prospectus. | ||||||||
3 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), 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, extraordinary expenses and any expenses originally attributable to Class W shares of the Underlying Funds of the Trust that were incurred directly by the Fund) that exceed: (i) 0.017% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares; (ii) 0.167% of average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares; (iii) 0.167% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; and (iv) 0.267% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least September 30, 2023, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. | ||||||||
4 |
Advisors has contractually agreed to waive 0.083% of the Fund’s Management fee. This waiver will remain in effect through September 30, 2023, unless changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
Institutional
|
|
Advisor
|
|
Premier
|
|
Retirement
|
| ||||
1 year |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
3 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
5 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
10 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 19
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 May 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate
was
The Fund is a “fund of funds” that invests in Class W shares of other funds of the Trust and potentially in other investment pools or investment products, including other funds advised by the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), or its affiliates (collectively, the “Underlying Funds”). In general, the Fund is designed for investors who have an approximate target retirement year in mind, and the Fund’s investments are adjusted from more aggressive to more conservative over time as the Fund’s target retirement year approaches and for approximately 30 years afterwards. The Fund invests in Underlying Funds according to an asset allocation strategy designed for investors who retired in, or planned to retire within a few years of, 2010 and who may have begun taking systematic withdrawals upon retirement. The Fund has a policy of investing at least 80% of its assets (net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in Underlying Funds that are managed to seek investment returns that track particular market indices.
Advisors currently expects to allocate approximately 37.00% of the Fund’s assets to equity Underlying Funds and 63.00% of its assets to fixed-income Underlying Funds. These allocations represent targets for equity and fixed-income asset classes. Target allocations will change over time and actual allocations may vary up to ten percentage points from the targets. The target allocations along the investment glidepath, illustrated in the chart below, gradually become more conservative. The Fund had target allocations of approximately 50.00% equity/50.00% fixed-income in the Fund’s target retirement year of 2010 and will reach the Fund’s final target allocation of approximately 20.00% equity/80.00% fixed-income in 2040. Within the equity and fixed-income asset classes, Advisors allocates the Fund’s investments to particular market sectors (U.S. equity, international equity, fixed-income, short-term fixed-income and inflation-protected assets) represented by various Underlying Funds. These market sector allocations may vary by up to 10% from the Fund’s target market sector allocations. The Fund’s current target market sector allocations for June 30, 2023, which will change over time, are approximately as follows: U.S. Equity: 24.05%; International Equity: 12.95%; Fixed-Income: 40.00%; Short-Term Fixed-Income: 13.00%; and Inflation-Protected Assets: 10.00%. The asset class and market sector names used herein are intended to reflect the primary type of investment of the Underlying Funds within each of these categories.
20 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
The Fund’s target market sector allocations to Underlying Funds may include the TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund (U.S. Equity); TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund and TIAA-CREF International Equity Index Fund (International Equity); TIAA-CREF Bond Index Fund (Fixed-Income); TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index Fund (Short-Term Fixed-Income); and TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond Fund (Inflation-Protected Assets).
As a result of its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Fund’s returns will reflect investments in a mix of domestic and foreign equities of companies of various sizes and market capitalizations and a variety of domestic and foreign fixed-income instruments of private and governmental issuers of varying maturities and credit qualities.
Additional or replacement Underlying Funds for each market sector, as well as additional or replacement market sectors, may be included when making future allocations if Advisors believes that such Underlying Funds and/or market sectors are appropriate in light of the Fund’s desired levels of risk and potential return at the particular time. The Fund’s portfolio management team may also add a new market sector if it believes that will help to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The relative allocations among Underlying Funds within a market sector may be changed at any time without notice to shareholders. If 10% or more of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in any Underlying Fund or market sector not listed above, shareholders will receive prior notice of such change.
As part of the Fund’s ability to invest in other investment pools or investment products noted above, the Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) to gain exposure to various market sectors or securities in order to effect its asset allocation strategy. Additionally, the Fund may use ETFs or ETNs for cash management, hedging or defensive purposes. ETFs or ETNs will be subject to the risks associated with the types of securities or sectors that they track, while ETNs, which are structured as fixed-income obligations, will also be subject to the general risks of fixed-income securities, including credit risk.
The Fund’s asset class allocations, market sector allocations within each asset class, and Underlying Fund allocations within each market sector, as of June 30, 2022, are listed in the chart below. These allocations will change over time. Underlying Fund allocations in particular may change from year to year.
Asset Class |
Allocation |
|
Market Sector |
Allocation |
|
Underlying Funds |
Allocation |
Equity |
37.19% |
|
U.S. Equity |
24.15% |
|
TIAA-CREF Equity Index |
24.15% |
International Equity |
13.04% |
TIAA-CREF International Equity Index |
8.83% | ||||
TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index |
4.21% | ||||||
Fixed-Income |
62.81% |
|
Fixed-Income |
40.57% |
|
TIAA-CREF Bond Index |
40.57% |
Short-Term |
12.15% |
TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index |
12.15% | ||||
Inflation- |
10.09% |
TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond |
10.09% |
Total |
100.00% |
100.00% |
100.00% |
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 21
The following chart shows how the investment glidepath for the Fund is expected to gradually move the Fund’s target allocations over time between the different target market sector allocations. The actual market sector allocations of the Fund may differ from this chart. The Fund seeks to achieve its final target market sector allocations approximately 30 years following the target date.
The Fund is designed to accommodate investors who invest in a fund up to their target retirement date, and plan to make gradual systematic withdrawals in retirement. In addition, investors should note that the Fund will continue to have a significant level of equity exposure up to, through and after its target retirement date, and this exposure could cause significant fluctuations in the value of the Fund depending on the performance of the equity markets generally.
After the Fund reaches its final target allocation, the Board of Trustees may authorize the merger of the Fund into another Lifecycle Index Fund which has also reached its final target allocation or other similar fund designed to maintain a relatively stable asset allocation reflecting the resting point on the glidepath described in the chart above. Fund shareholders will receive prior notice of any such merger.
· Asset Allocation Risk—The risk that the Fund may not achieve its target allocations. In addition, there is the risk that the asset allocations may not achieve the desired risk-return characteristic or that the selection of Underlying Funds and the allocations among them will result in the Fund underperforming other similar funds or cause an investor to lose money.
· Index Risk—The risk that an Underlying 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 an Underlying Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Underlying Fund’s performance could potentially
22 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Underlying Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Underlying Funds Risks—The Fund is exposed to the risks of the Underlying Funds in which it invests in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund allocates to each Underlying Fund.
· Equity Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in equity Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the equity markets in general, such as:
· market risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by a 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. From time to time, a 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;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· foreign investment risk—Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments as well as armed conflicts and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also have lower liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in a single country or region, it may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory events or conditions affecting that country or region. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other restrictions by the United States or other governments may also negatively impact a Fund’s investments. The type and severity of sanctions and other measures that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict; and
· small- and mid-cap risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 23
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 a Fund’s investment adviser or sub-adviser deems it appropriate. 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.
· Fixed-Income Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in fixed-income Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the fixed-income markets in general, such as:
· interest rate risk—The risk that increases in interest rates can cause the prices of fixed-income investments to decline. This risk is heightened to the extent a Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments and during periods when prevailing interest rates are low or negative. Low interest rates may increase a Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates. However, a Fund may be subject to heightened levels of interest rate risk due to rising interest rates (including a sharp rise in interest rates). In general, changing interest rates could have unpredictable effects on the markets and may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility;
· prepayment risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans sooner than expected, forcing a Fund to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates and resulting in a decline in income;
· extension risk—The risk that, during periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans later than expected, preventing a Fund from reinvesting principal proceeds at higher interest rates and resulting in less income than potentially available;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· credit risk—The risk that the issuer of fixed-income investments may not be able or willing, or may be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as not able or willing, to meet interest or principal payments when the payments become due;
· credit spread risk—The risk that credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in each security’s
24 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
respective credit quality) may increase when market participants believe that bonds generally have a greater risk of default, which could result in a decline in the market values of a Fund’s debt securities;
· income volatility risk—The risk that the level of current income from a portfolio of fixed-income investments may decline in certain interest rate environments;
· market volatility, liquidity and valuation risk (types of market risk)—The risk that volatile or dramatic reductions in trading activity make it difficult for a Fund to properly value its investments and that a Fund may not be able to purchase or sell an investment at an attractive price, if at all; and
· call risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer may call (or repay) a fixed-income security prior to maturity, resulting in a decline in a Fund’s income.
· Emerging Markets Underlying Funds Risk—The risk of foreign investment often increases in countries with emerging markets or otherwise economically tied to emerging market countries. For example, these countries may have more unstable governments than developed countries, and their economies may be based on only a few industries. Emerging market countries may also have less stringent regulation of accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which would affect a Fund’s ability to evaluate potential portfolio companies. As a result, there could be less information available about issuers in emerging market countries, which could negatively affect Advisors’ ability to evaluate local companies or their potential impact on a Fund’s performance. Because the financial markets of emerging market countries may be very small, share prices of financial instruments in emerging market countries may be volatile and difficult to determine. Financial instruments of issuers in these countries may have lower overall liquidity than those of issuers in more developed countries. In addition, foreign investors such as a Fund are subject to a variety of special restrictions in many emerging market countries. Moreover, legal remedies for investors in emerging markets may be more limited, and U.S. authorities may have less ability to bring actions against bad actors in emerging market countries.
· Illiquid Investments Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.
· Currency Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that foreign (non-U.S.) currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investments in foreign currencies, securities denominated in foreign currencies or derivative instruments that provide exposure to foreign currencies.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 25
· Active Management Risk—The risk that the strategy, investment selection or trading execution of Advisors could cause the Fund or an Underlying Fund to underperform its benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives.
· Fund of Funds Risk—The ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective will depend in part upon the ability of the Underlying Funds to achieve their investment objectives. There can be no guarantee that any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.
There can be no assurances that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. You should not consider the Fund to be a complete investment program. Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above, including the risks of the Underlying Funds.
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund and certain Underlying Funds for certain fees and expenses.
Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have
been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
26 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE RETIREMENT CLASS SHARES (%)†
Lifecycle Index 2010 Fund
†
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 27
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2021
|
|
Inception date |
|
One year |
|
|
Five years |
|
|
Ten years |
|
|
Retirement Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
Return after taxes on distributions |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fund shares |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Institutional Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Advisor Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
%# |
|
Premier Class |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
| |
| ||||||||||||
# |
The performance shown for the Advisor Class that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Fund’s Retirement Class. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the lower expenses of the Advisor Class. | |||||||||||
‡ |
As of the close of business on December 31, 2021, the Lifecycle Index 2010 Fund Composite Index consisted of: 40.0% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index; 25.0% Russell 3000® Index; 13.5% MSCI EAFE+Emerging Markets Index; 11.5% Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Government/Credit Bond Index; and 10.0% Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) 1-10 Year Index. The Fund’s composite benchmark, the components that make up a composite benchmark and the method of calculating a composite benchmark’s performance may vary over time. | |||||||||||
Investment Adviser. The Fund’s investment adviser is Teachers Advisors, LLC.
Portfolio Managers. The following persons are primarily responsible for the management of the Fund on a day-to-day basis:
Name: |
Hans Erickson, CFA |
John Cunniff, CFA |
Steve Sedmak, CFA |
Title: |
Senior Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Experience on Fund: |
since 2009 |
since 2009 |
since 2018 |
28 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
Purchase and sale of Fund shares
Institutional Class shares are available for purchase directly from the Fund by certain eligible investors (which include employee benefit plans and financial intermediaries). Advisor Class shares are available for purchase through certain financial intermediaries, employee benefit plans and insurance company separate accounts. Premier Class and Retirement Class shares are generally available for purchase through employee benefit plans, other types of savings plans or accounts and certain financial intermediaries.
· The minimum initial investment is $10 million and the minimum subsequent investment is $1,000 for Institutional Class shares, unless an investor purchases shares by or through financial intermediaries that have entered into an appropriate agreement with the Fund or its affiliates. Employee benefit plans, fee-based managed account programs (“wrap accounts”), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles, thrifts and bank and trust companies that have entered into agreements to offer Institutional Class shares held in omnibus accounts on the books of the Fund are exempt from initial and subsequent investment minimums.
· There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for Advisor Class, Premier Class or Retirement Class shares.
Redeeming or Exchanging Shares. You can redeem (sell) or exchange your 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”). Exchanges may be made for shares of the same share class of other funds offered by the Trust. If your shares are held through a third party, please contact that entity for applicable redemption or exchange requirements. If your shares are held directly with the Fund, contact the Fund directly in writing or by telephone.
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
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 29
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.
30 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
Summary information |
The Lifecycle Index 2015 Fund seeks high total return over time through a combination of capital appreciation and income.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Institutional
|
Advisor
|
Premier
|
Retirement Class |
|||||
Maximum
sales charge imposed on purchases |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum deferred sales charge |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum
sales charge imposed on reinvested |
|
|
|
|
||||
Redemption or exchange fee |
|
|
|
|
||||
Maximum account fee |
|
|
|
|
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 31
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
|
|
Institutional
|
|
Advisor
|
|
Premier
|
|
Retirement
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Management fees1,2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other expenses1,2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total annual Fund operating expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Waivers and expense reimbursements3,4 |
( |
|
( |
|
( |
|
( |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
annual Fund operating expenses after fee |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Restated to reflect estimates for the current fiscal year. | ||||||||
2 |
Portions of the Management fees and Other expenses are based on expenses originally incurred by Class W shares of the Underlying Funds (as defined below) of the Trust, which have been incurred directly by the Fund pursuant to certain contractual arrangements intended to reallocate directly to the Fund certain fees and expenses that had been paid by the Underlying Funds of the Trust. For additional information, please see the “Management of the Funds” section of this Prospectus. | ||||||||
3 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), 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, extraordinary expenses and any expenses originally attributable to Class W shares of the Underlying Funds of the Trust that were incurred directly by the Fund) that exceed: (i) 0.02% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares; (ii) 0.17% of average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares; (iii) 0.17% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; and (iv) 0.27% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least September 30, 2023, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. | ||||||||
4 |
Advisors has contractually agreed to waive 0.080% of the Fund’s Management fee. This waiver will remain in effect through September 30, 2023, unless changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
Institutional
|
|
Advisor
|
|
Premier
|
|
Retirement
|
| ||||
1 year |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
3 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
5 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
10 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
32 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
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 May 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate
was
The Fund is a “fund of funds” that invests in Class W shares of other funds of the Trust and potentially in other investment pools or investment products, including other funds advised by the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), or its affiliates (collectively, the “Underlying Funds”). In general, the Fund is designed for investors who have an approximate target retirement year in mind, and the Fund’s investments are adjusted from more aggressive to more conservative over time as the Fund’s target retirement year approaches and for approximately 30 years afterwards. The Fund invests in Underlying Funds according to an asset allocation strategy designed for investors who retired in, or planned to retire within a few years of, 2015 and who may have begun taking systematic withdrawals upon retirement. The Fund has a policy of investing at least 80% of its assets (net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in Underlying Funds that are managed to seek investment returns that track particular market indices.
Advisors currently expects to allocate approximately 42.00% of the Fund’s assets to equity Underlying Funds and 58.00% of its assets to fixed-income Underlying Funds. These allocations represent targets for equity and fixed-income asset classes. Target allocations will change over time and actual allocations may vary up to ten percentage points from the targets. The target allocations along the investment glidepath, illustrated in the chart below, gradually become more conservative. The Fund had target allocations of approximately 50.00% equity/50.00% fixed-income in the Fund’s target retirement year of 2015 and will reach the Fund’s final target allocation of approximately 20.00% equity/80.00% fixed-income in 2045. Within the equity and fixed-income asset classes, Advisors allocates the Fund’s investments to particular market sectors (U.S. equity, international equity, fixed-income, short-term fixed-income and inflation-protected assets) represented by various Underlying Funds. These market sector allocations may vary by up to 10% from the Fund’s target market sector allocations. The Fund’s current target market sector allocations for June 30, 2023, which will change over time, are approximately as follows: U.S. Equity: 27.30%; International Equity: 14.70%; Fixed-Income: 39.60%; Short-Term Fixed-Income: 9.20%; and Inflation-Protected Assets: 9.20%. The asset class and market sector names used herein are intended to reflect the primary type of investment of the Underlying Funds within each of these categories.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 33
The Fund’s target market sector allocations to Underlying Funds may include the TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund (U.S. Equity); TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund and TIAA-CREF International Equity Index Fund (International Equity); TIAA-CREF Bond Index Fund (Fixed-Income); TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index Fund (Short-Term Fixed-Income); and TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond Fund (Inflation-Protected Assets).
As a result of its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Fund’s returns will reflect investments in a mix of domestic and foreign equities of companies of various sizes and market capitalizations and a variety of domestic and foreign fixed-income instruments of private and governmental issuers of varying maturities and credit qualities.
Additional or replacement Underlying Funds for each market sector, as well as additional or replacement market sectors, may be included when making future allocations if Advisors believes that such Underlying Funds and/or market sectors are appropriate in light of the Fund’s desired levels of risk and potential return at the particular time. The Fund’s portfolio management team may also add a new market sector if it believes that will help to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The relative allocations among Underlying Funds within a market sector may be changed at any time without notice to shareholders. If 10% or more of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in any Underlying Fund or market sector not listed above, shareholders will receive prior notice of such change.
As part of the Fund’s ability to invest in other investment pools or investment products noted above, the Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) to gain exposure to various market sectors or securities in order to effect its asset allocation strategy. Additionally, the Fund may use ETFs or ETNs for cash management, hedging or defensive purposes. ETFs or ETNs will be subject to the risks associated with the types of securities or sectors that they track, while ETNs, which are structured as fixed-income obligations, will also be subject to the general risks of fixed-income securities, including credit risk.
The Fund’s asset class allocations, market sector allocations within each asset class, and Underlying Fund allocations within each market sector, as of June 30, 2022, are listed in the chart below. These allocations will change over time. Underlying Fund allocations in particular may change from year to year.
Asset Class |
Allocation |
|
Market Sector |
Allocation |
|
Underlying Funds |
Allocation |
Equity |
42.07% |
|
U.S. Equity |
27.31% |
|
TIAA-CREF Equity Index |
27.31% |
International Equity |
14.76% |
TIAA-CREF International Equity Index |
9.99% | ||||
TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index |
4.77% | ||||||
Fixed-Income |
57.93% |
|
Fixed-Income |
40.12% |
|
TIAA-CREF Bond Index |
40.12% |
Short-Term |
8.97% |
TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index |
8.97% | ||||
Inflation- |
8.84% |
TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond |
8.84% |
Total |
100.00% |
100.00% |
100.00% |
34 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
The following chart shows how the investment glidepath for the Fund is expected to gradually move the Fund’s target allocations over time between the different target market sector allocations. The actual market sector allocations of the Fund may differ from this chart. The Fund seeks to achieve its final target market sector allocations approximately 30 years following the target date.
The Fund is designed to accommodate investors who invest in a fund up to their target retirement date, and plan to make gradual systematic withdrawals in retirement. In addition, investors should note that the Fund will continue to have a significant level of equity exposure up to, through and after its target retirement date, and this exposure could cause significant fluctuations in the value of the Fund depending on the performance of the equity markets generally.
After the Fund reaches its final target allocation, the Board of Trustees may authorize the merger of the Fund into another Lifecycle Index Fund which has also reached its final target allocation or other similar fund designed to maintain a relatively stable asset allocation reflecting the resting point on the glidepath described in the chart above. Fund shareholders will receive prior notice of any such merger.
· Asset Allocation Risk—The risk that the Fund may not achieve its target allocations. In addition, there is the risk that the asset allocations may not achieve the desired risk-return characteristic or that the selection of Underlying Funds and the allocations among them will result in the Fund underperforming other similar funds or cause an investor to lose money.
· Index Risk—The risk that an Underlying 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 an Underlying Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Underlying Fund’s performance could potentially
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 35
vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Underlying Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Underlying Funds Risks—The Fund is exposed to the risks of the Underlying Funds in which it invests in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund allocates to each Underlying Fund.
· Equity Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in equity Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the equity markets in general, such as:
· market risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by a 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. From time to time, a 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;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· foreign investment risk—Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments as well as armed conflicts and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also have lower liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in a single country or region, it may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory events or conditions affecting that country or region. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other restrictions by the United States or other governments may also negatively impact a Fund’s investments. The type and severity of sanctions and other measures that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict; and
· small- and mid-cap risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often
36 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
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 a Fund’s investment adviser or sub-adviser deems it appropriate. 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.
· Fixed-Income Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in fixed-income Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the fixed-income markets in general, such as:
· interest rate risk—The risk that increases in interest rates can cause the prices of fixed-income investments to decline. This risk is heightened to the extent a Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments and during periods when prevailing interest rates are low or negative. Low interest rates may increase a Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates. However, a Fund may be subject to heightened levels of interest rate risk due to rising interest rates (including a sharp rise in interest rates). In general, changing interest rates could have unpredictable effects on the markets and may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility;
· prepayment risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans sooner than expected, forcing a Fund to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates and resulting in a decline in income;
· extension risk—The risk that, during periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans later than expected, preventing a Fund from reinvesting principal proceeds at higher interest rates and resulting in less income than potentially available;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· credit risk—The risk that the issuer of fixed-income investments may not be able or willing, or may be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as not able or willing, to meet interest or principal payments when the payments become due;
· credit spread risk—The risk that credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in each security’s
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 37
respective credit quality) may increase when market participants believe that bonds generally have a greater risk of default, which could result in a decline in the market values of a Fund’s debt securities;
· income volatility risk—The risk that the level of current income from a portfolio of fixed-income investments may decline in certain interest rate environments;
· market volatility, liquidity and valuation risk (types of market risk)—The risk that volatile or dramatic reductions in trading activity make it difficult for a Fund to properly value its investments and that a Fund may not be able to purchase or sell an investment at an attractive price, if at all; and
· call risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer may call (or repay) a fixed-income security prior to maturity, resulting in a decline in a Fund’s income.
· Emerging Markets Underlying Funds Risk—The risk of foreign investment often increases in countries with emerging markets or otherwise economically tied to emerging market countries. For example, these countries may have more unstable governments than developed countries, and their economies may be based on only a few industries. Emerging market countries may also have less stringent regulation of accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which would affect a Fund’s ability to evaluate potential portfolio companies. As a result, there could be less information available about issuers in emerging market countries, which could negatively affect Advisors’ ability to evaluate local companies or their potential impact on a Fund’s performance. Because the financial markets of emerging market countries may be very small, share prices of financial instruments in emerging market countries may be volatile and difficult to determine. Financial instruments of issuers in these countries may have lower overall liquidity than those of issuers in more developed countries. In addition, foreign investors such as a Fund are subject to a variety of special restrictions in many emerging market countries. Moreover, legal remedies for investors in emerging markets may be more limited, and U.S. authorities may have less ability to bring actions against bad actors in emerging market countries.
· Illiquid Investments Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.
· Currency Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that foreign (non-U.S.) currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investments in foreign currencies, securities denominated in foreign currencies or derivative instruments that provide exposure to foreign currencies.
38 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
· Active Management Risk—The risk that the strategy, investment selection or trading execution of Advisors could cause the Fund or an Underlying Fund to underperform its benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives.
· Fund of Funds Risk—The ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective will depend in part upon the ability of the Underlying Funds to achieve their investment objectives. There can be no guarantee that any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.
There can be no assurances that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. You should not consider the Fund to be a complete investment program. Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above, including the risks of the Underlying Funds.
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund and certain Underlying Funds for certain fees and expenses.
Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have
been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 39
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE RETIREMENT CLASS SHARES (%)†
Lifecycle Index 2015 Fund
†
40 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2021
|
|
Inception date |
|
One year |
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Five years |
|
|
Ten years |
|
|
Retirement Class |
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|
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|
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| |
|
Return before taxes |
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% |
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% |
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% |
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Return after taxes on distributions |
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% |
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% |
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% |
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Return after taxes on distributions and sale of |
|
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
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Fund shares |
|
|
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% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Institutional Class |
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
|
% |
|
Advisor Class |
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
|
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% |
|
|
%# |
|
Premier Class |
|
|
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|
|
|
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|
| |
|
Return before taxes |
|
|
|
% |
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% |
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% |
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% |
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% |
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% |
| |
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| |
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% |
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% |
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% |
| |
| ||||||||||||
# |
The performance shown for the Advisor Class that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Fund’s Retirement Class. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect the lower expenses of the Advisor Class. | |||||||||||
‡ |
As of the close of business on December 31, 2021, the Lifecycle Index 2015 Fund Composite Index consisted of: 39.3% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index; 28.3% Russell 3000® Index; 15.2% MSCI EAFE + Emerging Markets Index; 8.6% Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Government/Credit Bond Index; and 8.6% Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) 1-10 Year Index. The Fund’s composite benchmark, the components that make up a composite benchmark and the method of calculating a composite benchmark’s performance may vary over time. | |||||||||||
Investment Adviser. The Fund’s investment adviser is Teachers Advisors, LLC.
Portfolio Managers. The following persons are primarily responsible for the management of the Fund on a day-to-day basis:
Name: |
Hans Erickson, CFA |
John Cunniff, CFA |
Steve Sedmak, CFA |
Title: |
Senior Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Managing Director |
Experience on Fund: |
since 2009 |
since 2009 |
since 2018 |
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 41
Purchase and sale of Fund shares
Institutional Class shares are available for purchase directly from the Fund by certain eligible investors (which include employee benefit plans and financial intermediaries). Advisor Class shares are available for purchase through certain financial intermediaries, employee benefit plans and insurance company separate accounts. Premier Class and Retirement Class shares are generally available for purchase through employee benefit plans, other types of savings plans or accounts and certain financial intermediaries.
· The minimum initial investment is $10 million and the minimum subsequent investment is $1,000 for Institutional Class shares, unless an investor purchases shares by or through financial intermediaries that have entered into an appropriate agreement with the Fund or its affiliates. Employee benefit plans, fee-based managed account programs (“wrap accounts”), state sponsored 529 college savings plans, collective trust funds, investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles, thrifts and bank and trust companies that have entered into agreements to offer Institutional Class shares held in omnibus accounts on the books of the Fund are exempt from initial and subsequent investment minimums.
· There are no minimum initial or subsequent investment requirements for Advisor Class, Premier Class or Retirement Class shares.
Redeeming or Exchanging Shares. You can redeem (sell) or exchange your 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”). Exchanges may be made for shares of the same share class of other funds offered by the Trust. If your shares are held through a third party, please contact that entity for applicable redemption or exchange requirements. If your shares are held directly with the Fund, contact the Fund directly in writing or by telephone.
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
42 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
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.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 43
Summary information |
The Lifecycle Index 2020 Fund seeks high total return over time through a combination of capital appreciation and income.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Institutional
|
Advisor
|
Premier
|
Retirement Class |
|||||
Maximum
sales charge imposed on purchases |
|
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||||
Maximum deferred sales charge |
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||||
Maximum
sales charge imposed on reinvested |
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||||
Redemption or exchange fee |
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||||
Maximum account fee |
|
|
|
|
44 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
|
|
Institutional
|
|
Advisor
|
|
Premier
|
|
Retirement
|
|
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Management fees1,2 |
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Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses1,2 |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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Waivers and expense reimbursements3,4 |
( |
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( |
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( |
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( |
| |
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Total
annual Fund operating expenses after fee |
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| |
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|
|
1 |
Restated to reflect estimates for the current fiscal year. | ||||||||
2 |
Portions of the Management fees and Other expenses are based on expenses originally incurred by Class W shares of the Underlying Funds (as defined below) of the Trust, which have been incurred directly by the Fund pursuant to certain contractual arrangements intended to reallocate directly to the Fund certain fees and expenses that had been paid by the Underlying Funds of the Trust. For additional information, please see the “Management of the Funds” section of this Prospectus. | ||||||||
3 |
Under the Fund’s expense reimbursement arrangements, the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), 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, extraordinary expenses and any expenses originally attributable to Class W shares of the Underlying Funds of the Trust that were incurred directly by the Fund) that exceed: (i) 0.025% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares; (ii) 0.175% of average daily net assets for Advisor Class shares; (iii) 0.175% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; and (iv) 0.275% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least September 30, 2023, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. | ||||||||
4 |
Advisors has contractually agreed to waive 0.075% of the Fund’s Management fee. This waiver will remain in effect through September 30, 2023, unless changed with the approval of the Board of Trustees. |
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
Institutional
|
|
Advisor
|
|
Premier
|
|
Retirement
|
| ||||
1 year |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
3 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
5 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
10 years |
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 45
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 May 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate
was
The Fund is a “fund of funds” that invests in Class W shares of other funds of the Trust and potentially in other investment pools or investment products, including other funds advised by the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), or its affiliates (collectively, the “Underlying Funds”). In general, the Fund is designed for investors who have an approximate target retirement year in mind, and the Fund’s investments are adjusted from more aggressive to more conservative over time as the Fund’s target retirement year approaches and for approximately 30 years afterwards. The Fund invests in Underlying Funds according to an asset allocation strategy designed for investors who retired in, or planned to retire within a few years of, 2020 and who may have begun taking systematic withdrawals upon retirement. The Fund has a policy of investing at least 80% of its assets (net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in Underlying Funds that are managed to seek investment returns that track particular market indices.
Advisors currently expects to allocate approximately 47.00% of the Fund’s assets to equity Underlying Funds and 53.00% of its assets to fixed-income Underlying Funds. These allocations represent targets for equity and fixed-income asset classes. Target allocations will change over time and actual allocations may vary up to ten percentage points from the targets. The target allocations along the investment glidepath, illustrated in the chart below, gradually become more conservative. The Fund had target allocations of approximately 50.00% equity/50.00% fixed-income in the Fund’s target retirement year of 2020 and will reach the Fund’s final target allocation of approximately 20.00% equity/80.00% fixed-income in 2050. Within the equity and fixed-income asset classes, Advisors allocates the Fund’s investments to particular market sectors (U.S. equity, international equity, fixed-income, short-term fixed-income and inflation-protected assets) represented by various Underlying Funds. These market sector allocations may vary by up to 10% from the Fund’s target market sector allocations. The Fund’s current target market sector allocations for June 30, 2023, which will change over time, are approximately as follows: U.S. Equity: 30.55%; International Equity: 16.45%; Fixed-Income: 38.60%; Short-Term Fixed-Income: 7.20%; and Inflation-Protected Assets: 7.20%. The asset class and market sector names used herein are intended to reflect the primary type of investment of the Underlying Funds within each of these categories.
46 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
The Fund’s target market sector allocations to Underlying Funds may include the TIAA-CREF Equity Index Fund (U.S. Equity); TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund and TIAA-CREF International Equity Index Fund (International Equity); TIAA-CREF Bond Index Fund (Fixed-Income); TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index Fund (Short-Term Fixed-Income); and TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond Fund (Inflation-Protected Assets).
As a result of its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Fund’s returns will reflect investments in a mix of domestic and foreign equities of companies of various sizes and market capitalizations and a variety of domestic and foreign fixed-income instruments of private and governmental issuers of varying maturities and credit qualities.
Additional or replacement Underlying Funds for each market sector, as well as additional or replacement market sectors, may be included when making future allocations if Advisors believes that such Underlying Funds and/or market sectors are appropriate in light of the Fund’s desired levels of risk and potential return at the particular time. The Fund’s portfolio management team may also add a new market sector if it believes that will help to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. The relative allocations among Underlying Funds within a market sector may be changed at any time without notice to shareholders. If 10% or more of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in any Underlying Fund or market sector not listed above, shareholders will receive prior notice of such change.
As part of the Fund’s ability to invest in other investment pools or investment products noted above, the Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”) to gain exposure to various market sectors or securities in order to effect its asset allocation strategy. Additionally, the Fund may use ETFs or ETNs for cash management, hedging or defensive purposes. ETFs or ETNs will be subject to the risks associated with the types of securities or sectors that they track, while ETNs, which are structured as fixed-income obligations, will also be subject to the general risks of fixed-income securities, including credit risk.
The Fund’s asset class allocations, market sector allocations within each asset class, and Underlying Fund allocations within each market sector, as of June 30, 2022, are listed in the chart below. These allocations will change over time. Underlying Fund allocations in particular may change from year to year.
Asset Class |
Allocation |
|
Market Sector |
Allocation |
|
Underlying Funds |
Allocation |
Equity |
47.06% |
|
U.S. Equity |
30.56% |
|
TIAA-CREF Equity Index |
30.56% |
International Equity |
16.50% |
TIAA-CREF International Equity Index |
11.17% | ||||
TIAA-CREF Emerging Markets Equity Index |
5.33% | ||||||
Fixed-Income |
52.94% |
|
Fixed-Income |
39.16% |
|
TIAA-CREF Bond Index |
39.16% |
Short-Term |
6.94% |
TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index |
6.94% | ||||
Inflation- |
6.84% |
TIAA-CREF Inflation-Linked Bond |
6.84% |
Total |
100.00% |
100.00% |
100.00% |
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 47
The following chart shows how the investment glidepath for the Fund is expected to gradually move the Fund’s target allocations over time between the different target market sector allocations. The actual market sector allocations of the Fund may differ from this chart. The Fund seeks to achieve its final target market sector allocations approximately 30 years following the target date.
The Fund is designed to accommodate investors who invest in a fund up to their target retirement date, and plan to make gradual systematic withdrawals in retirement. In addition, investors should note that the Fund will continue to have a significant level of equity exposure up to, through and after its target retirement date, and this exposure could cause significant fluctuations in the value of the Fund depending on the performance of the equity markets generally.
After the Fund reaches its final target allocation, the Board of Trustees may authorize the merger of the Fund into another Lifecycle Index Fund which has also reached its final target allocation or other similar fund designed to maintain a relatively stable asset allocation reflecting the resting point on the glidepath described in the chart above. Fund shareholders will receive prior notice of any such merger.
· Asset Allocation Risk—The risk that the Fund may not achieve its target allocations. In addition, there is the risk that the asset allocations may not achieve the desired risk-return characteristic or that the selection of Underlying Funds and the allocations among them will result in the Fund underperforming other similar funds or cause an investor to lose money.
· Index Risk—The risk that an Underlying 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 an Underlying Fund’s investments vary from the composition of its benchmark index, the Underlying Fund’s performance could potentially
48 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
vary from the index’s performance to a greater extent than if the Underlying Fund merely attempted to replicate the index.
· Underlying Funds Risks—The Fund is exposed to the risks of the Underlying Funds in which it invests in direct proportion to the amount of assets the Fund allocates to each Underlying Fund.
· Equity Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in equity Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the equity markets in general, such as:
· market risk—The risk that market prices of portfolio investments held by a 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. From time to time, a 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;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· foreign investment risk—Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments as well as armed conflicts and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also have lower liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in a single country or region, it may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory events or conditions affecting that country or region. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other restrictions by the United States or other governments may also negatively impact a Fund’s investments. The type and severity of sanctions and other measures that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict; and
· small- and mid-cap risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 49
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 a Fund’s investment adviser or sub-adviser deems it appropriate. 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.
· Fixed-Income Underlying Funds Risks—The risks of investing in fixed-income Underlying Funds include risks specific to their investment strategies, as well as risks related to the fixed-income markets in general, such as:
· interest rate risk—The risk that increases in interest rates can cause the prices of fixed-income investments to decline. This risk is heightened to the extent a Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments and during periods when prevailing interest rates are low or negative. Low interest rates may increase a Fund’s exposure to risks associated with rising interest rates. However, a Fund may be subject to heightened levels of interest rate risk due to rising interest rates (including a sharp rise in interest rates). In general, changing interest rates could have unpredictable effects on the markets and may expose fixed-income and related markets to heightened volatility;
· prepayment risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans sooner than expected, forcing a Fund to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates and resulting in a decline in income;
· extension risk—The risk that, during periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans later than expected, preventing a Fund from reinvesting principal proceeds at higher interest rates and resulting in less income than potentially available;
· issuer risk—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects 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;
· credit risk—The risk that the issuer of fixed-income investments may not be able or willing, or may be perceived (whether by market participants, rating agencies, pricing services or otherwise) as not able or willing, to meet interest or principal payments when the payments become due;
· credit spread risk—The risk that credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in each security’s
50 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
respective credit quality) may increase when market participants believe that bonds generally have a greater risk of default, which could result in a decline in the market values of a Fund’s debt securities;
· income volatility risk—The risk that the level of current income from a portfolio of fixed-income investments may decline in certain interest rate environments;
· market volatility, liquidity and valuation risk (types of market risk)—The risk that volatile or dramatic reductions in trading activity make it difficult for a Fund to properly value its investments and that a Fund may not be able to purchase or sell an investment at an attractive price, if at all; and
· call risk—The risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer may call (or repay) a fixed-income security prior to maturity, resulting in a decline in a Fund’s income.
· Emerging Markets Underlying Funds Risk—The risk of foreign investment often increases in countries with emerging markets or otherwise economically tied to emerging market countries. For example, these countries may have more unstable governments than developed countries, and their economies may be based on only a few industries. Emerging market countries may also have less stringent regulation of accounting, auditing, financial reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which would affect a Fund’s ability to evaluate potential portfolio companies. As a result, there could be less information available about issuers in emerging market countries, which could negatively affect Advisors’ ability to evaluate local companies or their potential impact on a Fund’s performance. Because the financial markets of emerging market countries may be very small, share prices of financial instruments in emerging market countries may be volatile and difficult to determine. Financial instruments of issuers in these countries may have lower overall liquidity than those of issuers in more developed countries. In addition, foreign investors such as a Fund are subject to a variety of special restrictions in many emerging market countries. Moreover, legal remedies for investors in emerging markets may be more limited, and U.S. authorities may have less ability to bring actions against bad actors in emerging market countries.
· Illiquid Investments Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.
· Currency Underlying Funds Risk—The risk that foreign (non-U.S.) currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investments in foreign currencies, securities denominated in foreign currencies or derivative instruments that provide exposure to foreign currencies.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds ■ Prospectus 51
· Active Management Risk—The risk that the strategy, investment selection or trading execution of Advisors could cause the Fund or an Underlying Fund to underperform its benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives.
· Fund of Funds Risk—The ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective will depend in part upon the ability of the Underlying Funds to achieve their investment objectives. There can be no guarantee that any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.
There can be no assurances that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. You should not consider the Fund to be a complete investment program. Please see the non-summary portion of the Prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above, including the risks of the Underlying Funds.
The
returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors to waive or
reimburse the Fund and certain Underlying Funds for certain fees and expenses.
Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have
been lower.
For
current performance information of each share class, including performance to
the most recent month-end, please visit
52 Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE RETIREMENT CLASS SHARES (%)†
Lifecycle Index 2020 Fund