AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON APRIL 28, 2017.
No. 811-23161
No. 333-212032
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 |
☒ | |
Pre-Effective Amendment No. | ☐ | |
Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 | ☒ | |
and/or | ||
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 |
☒ | |
Amendment No. 18 | ☒ |
(Check appropriate box or boxes)
NuShares ETF Trust
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
333 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
(Address of Principal Executive Office)
(312) 917-7700
(Registrants Telephone Number, including Area Code)
Name and Address of Agent for Service: | With a copy to: | With a copy to: | ||
Christopher M. Rohrbacher | Eric F. Fess | W. John McGuire | ||
Vice President and Secretary | Chapman and Cutler LLP | Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | ||
333 West Wacker Drive | 111 West Monroe Street | 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW | ||
Chicago, IL 60606 | Chicago, IL 60603 | Washington, D.C. 20004 |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):
☒ | Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485 | ☐ | On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485 | |||
☐ | On (date) pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485 | ☐ | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485 | |||
☐ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485 | ☐ | On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485 |
Prospectus
April 28, 2017 |
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Listing Exchange | Ticker Symbol | |||||||||
Fund Name | ||||||||||
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NuShares Short-Term REIT ETF |
BATS Exchange, Inc. | NURE |
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.
Section 1 Fund Summary | 2 | |||
NuShares Short-Term REIT ETF | 2 | |||
Section 2
Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy,
Holdings and Risks |
6 | |||
Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategies | 6 | |||
Portfolio Holdings | 7 | |||
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings | 8 | |||
Risks | 8 | |||
Section 3 Fund Management | 13 | |||
Who Manages the Fund | 13 | |||
Management Fees | 14 | |||
Section 4 Investing in the Fund | 15 | |||
Purchase and Sale of Shares | 15 | |||
Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units | 16 | |||
Distributor | 18 | |||
Distribution and Service Payments | 18 | |||
Frequent Trading | 19 | |||
Section 5 General Information | 20 | |||
Dividends and Distributions | 20 | |||
Taxes | 20 | |||
Net Asset Value | 23 | |||
Premium/Discount Information | 24 | |||
Fund Service Providers | 24 | |||
Index Provider | 24 | |||
Listing Exchange | 25 | |||
Section 6 Financial Highlights | 27 | |||
NOT FDIC OR GOVERNMENT INSURED MAY LOSE VALUE NO BANK GUARANTEE
Investment Objective
NuShares Short-Term REIT ETF (the Fund ) seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Short-Term REIT Index (the Index ).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may also incur usual and customary brokerage commissions when buying or selling shares of the Fund, which are not reflected in this table or the example that follows:
Annual Fund Operating Expenses | ||||
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | ||||
Management Fees | 0.35% | |||
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | None | |||
Other Expenses * | 0.00% | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.35% |
* | Other Expenses are estimated for the current fiscal year. |
Example
The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Funds operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | $ | 36 | ||
3 Years | $ | 113 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs 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 Funds performance. For the period from the Funds commencement of operations on December 20, 2016 through the Funds fiscal year end on December 31, 2016, the Funds portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of the portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Index, which is comprised of real estate investment trusts ( REITs ). REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. The Index is a subset of the Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index (the Base Index ), which generally includes equity REITs traded on a national securities exchange in the United States that derive at least 75% of their total revenue from the ownership and operation of real estate assets and that have a minimum total market capitalization of $200 million at the time of their inclusion. The Index selects REITs from the Base Index that are classified as concentrating their holdings in apartment buildings, hotels, self-storage facilities or manufactured home properties, as REITs investing in these sectors typically have shorter lease durations than REITs investing in other sectors. Index holdings are weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization, provided that no single REIT can comprise more than 5% of the Index as of any rebalance date. Float-adjusted means that the share amounts used in calculating the Index reflect only shares available to investors, with shares held by control groups, public companies and government agencies excluded.
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Section 1 Fund Summary
The Index is rebalanced quarterly after the close of the third Friday in March, June, September and December. The Index and the Base Index exclude mortgage REITs, hybrid REITs, certain other types of REITs (e.g., timber and net-lease REITs), real estate finance companies, mortgage brokers and bankers, commercial and residential real estate brokers and estate agents, home builders, large landowners and subdividers of unimproved land, and companies that have more than 25% of their assets in direct mortgage investments. As of March 31, 2017, the Index was comprised of 38 REITs.
The Fund attempts to replicate the Index by investing all, or substantially all, of its assets in the REITs that make up the Index, holding each REIT in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the Index. The Fund rebalances its holdings quarterly in response to the quarterly Index rebalances. The Fund may sell REITs that are represented in the Index in anticipation of their removal from the Index, or buy REITs that are not yet represented in the index in anticipation of their addition to the Index.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in REITs. The Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of the real estate industry, and the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, listed alphabetically, include:
Concentration Risk The Funds assets will generally be concentrated in the securities of issuers in the real estate sector, and, accordingly, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that industry.
Cybersecurity Risk Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
Equity Security Risk Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market.
Interest Rate Risk Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the Funds portfolio will decline because of rising interest rates. Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REITs future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. The risk of rising interest rates may be greater currently than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and anticipated changes in government fiscal policy initiatives. Because the market price of REITs may change based upon investors collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates.
Investment Style Risk The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Funds performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.
Market Trading Risks The Fund is an exchange-traded fund ( ETF ), and as with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its net asset value ( NAV ), there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. Although the Funds shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads. Trading of the Funds shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage).
Non-Diversification Risk As a non-diversified fund, the Fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in the securities of a limited number of issuers and may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.
Section 1 Fund Summary
3
Real Estate Investment Risk Due to the composition of the Index, the Fund concentrates its investments in real estate companies and companies related to the real estate sector. As such, the Fund is subject to risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate, and an investment in the Fund will be closely linked to the performance of the real estate markets. These risks include, among others: declines in the value of real estate; risks related to general and local economic conditions; possible lack of availability of mortgage funds or other limits to accessing the credit or capital markets; defaults by borrowers or tenants, particularly during an economic downturn; and changes in interest rates. The real estate sector is highly sensitive to general and local economic conditions and developments and is characterized by intense competition and periodic overbuilding. Real estate values have been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future.
REITs Risk In addition to the risks associated with investing in securities of real estate companies and real estate related companies, REITs are subject to certain additional risks. Equity REITs may be affected by changes in real estate values, rents, property taxes and interest rates. Further, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills and cash flows, and may have their investments in relatively few properties, or in a small geographic area or a single property type. Failure of a company to qualify as a REIT under federal tax law, or changes to federal tax law or regulations governing REITs, may have adverse consequences to the Fund. In addition, REITs have their own expenses, and the Fund will bear a proportionate share of those expenses. Many REITs utilize leverage (and some may be highly leveraged), which increases investment risk and could potentially magnify the Funds losses.
Service Provider Operational Risk The Funds service providers, such as the Funds administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.
Smaller Company Risk Even larger REITs may be small- to medium-sized companies in relation to the equity markets as a whole. Small-cap stocks involve substantial risk. Prices of small-cap stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements, and to wider fluctuations, than stock prices of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. It may be difficult to sell small-cap stocks at the desired time and price. While mid-cap stocks may be slightly less volatile than small-cap stocks, they still involve similar risks.
Tracking Error Risk Tracking error is the divergence of the Funds performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Funds holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.
Fund Performance
The Fund does not have performance history for a full calendar year. When this prospectus is updated after a full calendar year of operations, a bar chart and table will be included that will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the variability of the Funds return based on net assets and comparing the Funds performance to a broad measure of market performance.
Management
Investment Adviser
Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC
Sub-Adviser
Teachers Advisors, LLC
Portfolio Managers
Name |
Title |
Portfolio Manager of Fund Since |
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Philip James (Jim) Campagna, CFA | Managing Director | December, 2016 | ||
Lei Liao, CFA | Managing Director | December, 2016 |
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Section 1 Fund Summary
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an exchange-traded fund, commonly referred to as an ETF. Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange and can only be bought and sold through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a premium) or less than NAV (at a discount).
The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof ( Creation Units ). Only certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem Creation Units. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a designated portfolio of securities and/or cash that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
The Funds distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account ( IRA ) or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Funds investment adviser or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems or other services related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. 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 intermediarys website for more information.
Section 1 Fund Summary
5
Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
This prospectus contains important information about investing in the Fund. Please read this prospectus carefully before you make any investment decisions. Additional information regarding the Fund is available at www.nuveen.com/etf or by calling Nuveen Investor Services at (888) 290-9881.
The Fund is designed to track an index that is not representative of the market as a whole. The Fund is designed to be used as part of a broader asset allocation strategy, and thus an investment in the Fund should not be considered a complete investment program.
The Index is a theoretical financial calculation, whereas the Fund is an actual investment portfolio. The performance of the Fund and the Index may vary for a number of reasons, including transaction costs, asset valuations, corporate actions (such as mergers and spin-offs), and differences between the Funds portfolio and the Index resulting from legal restrictions (such as tax diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not to the Index. On an annual basis, the Funds tracking error (i.e., the divergence of the Funds performance from that of the Index) is generally expected to be less than 5%.
The Funds investment objective, which is described in the Fund Summary section, may be changed by the Funds Board of Trustees (the Board ) without shareholder approval.
The Funds investment policies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval unless otherwise noted in this prospectus or the statement of additional information.
The Fund has adopted policies whereby, under normal market conditions, it will invest at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in REITs (the Name Policy ). If the Name Policy changes, you will be notified at least 60 days in advance. For purposes of the Name Policy, the Fund may consider both direct investments and indirect investments (e.g., investments in other investment companies, derivatives and synthetic instruments with economic characteristics similar to the direct investments that meet the Name Policy) when determining compliance with the Name Policy. For purposes of the Name Policy, the Fund will value eligible derivatives at fair value or market value instead of notional value.
The Funds principal investment strategies are discussed in the Fund Summary section. These are the strategies that the Funds investment adviser and sub-adviser believe are most likely to be important in trying to achieve the Funds investment objective. You should be aware that the Fund may also use strategies and invest in securities that are not described in this prospectus, but that are described in the statement of additional information. For a copy of the statement of additional information, call Nuveen Investor Services at (888) 290-9881 or visit the Funds website at www.nuveen.com/etf.
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Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets, exclusive of collateral held from securities lending, in component securities of the Index. The Fund may also, as a non-principal strategy, invest up to 20% of its assets in securities and other instruments that the Funds sub-adviser believes will help it track the Index, such as shares of other investment companies (including other ETFs), derivative instruments (including forward contracts, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, options and swaps), and cash and cash equivalents.
Additional information about the Funds portfolio holdings can be found below.
REITs
REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types:
| Equity REITs, which invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains or real estate appreciation. |
| Mortgage REITs, which invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgage loans and derive their income primarily from interest payments. |
| Hybrid REITs, which combine the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs. |
The Index is comprised of equity REITs only. The Fund can invest in common stock, preferred securities and convertible securities issued by equity REITs.
Investment Companies and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
The Fund may invest in securities of other open-end or closed-end investment companies, including ETFs. As a shareholder in an investment company or other pooled investment vehicle, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that vehicles expenses, and would remain subject to payment of the Funds management fees with respect to assets so invested. Shareholders would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Fund invests in an investment company or other pooled investment vehicle. In addition, the Fund will incur brokerage costs when purchasing and selling shares of ETFs. Securities of investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles may be leveraged, in which case the value and/or yield of such securities will tend to be more volatile than securities of unleveraged vehicles.
Generally, investments in other investment companies (including ETFs) are subject to statutory limitations prescribed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ( 1940 Act ). These limitations include a prohibition on the Fund acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any other investment company, and a prohibition on investing more than 5% of the Funds total assets in the securities of any one investment company or more than 10% of its total assets, in the aggregate, in investment company securities. Subject to certain conditions, the Fund also may invest in money market funds beyond the statutory limits described above.
Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
7
Derivatives
The Fund may invest in derivatives. Generally, a derivative is a financial contract the value of which depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivatives generally take the form of contracts under which the parties agree to payments between them based upon the performance of a wide variety of underlying references, such as stocks, bonds, loans, commodities, interest rates, currency exchange rates, and various domestic and foreign indices. Examples of derivative instruments include forward currency contracts, currency and interest rate swaps, currency options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and swap agreements.
The Fund may use derivatives as a substitute for investing directly in securities included in the Index. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives could have a large impact on the Funds performance.
Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
The Fund may invest in cash and in U.S. dollar-denominated high-quality money market instruments and other short-term securities, including money market funds.
Temporary Defensive Positions
In certain situations or market conditions, the Fund may temporarily depart from its normal investment policies and strategies, provided that the alternative is consistent with the Funds investment objective and is in the best interest of the Funds shareholders. For example, the Fund may make larger than normal investments in derivatives to maintain exposure to the Index if it is unable to invest directly in a component security of the Index.
A description of the Funds policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds portfolio holdings is available in the Funds statement of additional information. In addition, the identities and quantities of the securities held by the Fund are disclosed on the Funds website.
Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment or even that you may lose part or all of your investment. Therefore, before investing you should consider carefully the principal risks and certain other risks that you assume when you invest in the Fund. These risks are listed alphabetically below. Because of these risks, you should consider an investment in the Fund to be a long-term investment.
Principal Risks
Concentration risk : The Funds assets will generally be concentrated in the securities of issuers in the real estate sector, and, accordingly, the Fund may be adversely affected by the performance of those securities, may be subject to increased price volatility and may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory occurrences affecting that sector.
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Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
Cybersecurity risk: Intentional cybersecurity breaches include: unauthorized access to systems, networks or devices (such as through hacking activity); infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. In addition, unintentional incidents can occur, such as the inadvertent release of confidential information (possibly resulting in the violation of applicable privacy laws).
A cybersecurity breach could result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, the inability to access electronic systems (denial of services), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or costs associated with system repairs. Such incidents could cause the Fund, the Funds adviser or sub-adviser, a financial intermediary, or other service providers to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs or financial loss. In addition, such incidents could affect issuers in which the Fund invests, and thereby cause the Funds investments to lose value.
Equity security risk: Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time. Price changes may occur in the market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. In addition, the types of securities in which a particular fund invests, such as value stocks, growth stocks, large-capitalization stocks, mid-capitalization stocks, small-capitalization stocks and/or micro- capitalization stocks, may underperform the market as a whole.
Interest rate risk: Increases in interest rates typically lower the present value of a REITs future earnings stream, and may make financing property purchases and improvements more costly. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. Because the market price of REITs may change based upon investors collective perceptions of future earnings, the value of the Fund will generally decline when investors anticipate or experience rising interest rates.
Investment style risk: The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Funds performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.
Market trading risks: As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of a Fund share typically will approximate its NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV diverge more significantly, particularly in times of market volatility or steep market declines. Thus, you may pay more or less than NAV when you buy Fund shares on the secondary market, and you may receive more or less than NAV when you sell those shares. In times of market stress, the Funds underlying portfolio holdings may become less liquid, which in turn may affect the liquidity of the Funds shares and/or lead to more significant differences between the Funds market price and its NAV.
During periods of high market volatility, a Fund share may trade at a significant discount to its NAV, and in these circumstances certain types of brokerage orders may expose an investor to an increased risk of loss. A stop order, sometimes called a stop-loss order, may cause a Fund share
Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
9
to be sold at the next prevailing market price once the stop level is reached, which during a period of high volatility can be at a price that is substantially below NAV. By including a limit criteria with your brokerage order, you may be able to limit the size of the loss resulting from the execution of an ill-timed stop order.
Although the Funds shares are listed for trading on a national securities exchange, it is possible that an active trading market may not develop or be maintained, in which case transactions may occur at wider bid/ask spreads. Trading of the Funds shares may be halted by the activation of individual or market-wide trading halts (which halt trading for a specific period of time when the price of a particular security or overall market prices decline by a specified percentage).
Non-diversification risk: The Fund is a non-diversified fund and may invest a larger portion of its assets in a fewer number of issuers than a diversified fund. Because a relatively high percentage of the Funds assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, the Funds portfolio may be more susceptible to any single economic, business, political or regulatory occurrence than the portfolio of a diversified fund.
Real estate investment risk: Fund investments in real estate securities are closely linked to the performance of the real estate markets and subject to the risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate. Real estate companies are subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Real property values and incomes from real property may decline due to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhoods and in demographics, possible lack of availability of mortgage funds or other limits to accessing the credit or capital markets, defaults by borrowers or tenants, particularly during an economic downturn, increases in market interest rates, or other factors. Factors such as these may adversely affect companies which own and operate real estate directly, companies which lend to them, and companies which service the real estate sector.
REITs risk: In addition to the risks associated with investing in securities of real estate companies and real estate related companies, REITs are subject to certain additional risks. Equity REITs are subject to other risks as well, including the fact that REITs are dependent on specialized management skills which may affect their ability to generate cash flow for operating purposes and to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders. REITs may have limited diversification and are subject to the risks associated with obtaining financing for real property. A U.S. domestic REIT can pass its income through to shareholders or unitholders without any tax at the entity level if it complies with various requirements under the Internal Revenue Code. There is the risk that a REIT held by the Fund will fail to qualify for this tax-free pass-through treatment of its income. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, in addition to bearing a proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, shareholders of the Fund will also indirectly bear similar expenses of the REITs in which the Fund invests.
Service provider operational risk: The Funds service providers, such as the Funds administrator, custodian or transfer agent, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the Fund. Although service providers are required to have appropriate operational risk management policies and procedures, and to take appropriate precautions
10
Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
to avoid and mitigate risks that could lead to disruptions and operating errors, it may not be possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the Fund or to develop processes and controls to completely eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects.
Smaller company risk: Even larger REITs may be small- to medium-sized companies in relation to the equity markets as a whole. Stocks of small-cap companies involve substantial risk. These companies may lack the management expertise, financial resources, product diversification, and competitive strengths of larger companies. Prices of small-cap stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements than stock prices of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. In addition, the frequency and volume of their trading may be less than is typical of larger companies, making them subject to wider price fluctuations. In some cases, there could be difficulties in selling the stocks of small-cap companies at the desired time and price. Stocks at the bottom end of the capitalization range of small-cap companies sometimes are referred to as micro-cap stocks. These stocks may be subject to extreme price volatility, as well as limited liquidity and limited research. While mid-cap stocks may be slightly less volatile than small-cap stocks, they still involve similar risks.
Tracking error risk : Tracking error is the divergence of the Funds performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of, for example, pricing differences, transaction costs, the Funds holding of uninvested cash, differences in timing of the accrual of distributions, changes to the Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, but the Index does not.
Non-Principal Risks
Derivatives risk: The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund will not correlate with the asset, index or rate underlying the derivative contract.
The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the contract. A derivative transaction also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the contract to make required payments. These risks are heightened when derivatives are used as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by the Fund.
In addition, when the Fund engages in certain derivative transactions, it is effectively leveraging its investments, which could result in exaggerated changes in the net asset value of the Funds shares and can result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested. The success of the Funds derivatives strategies will depend on the sub-advisers ability to assess and predict the impact of market or economic developments on the underlying asset, index or rate and the derivative itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the derivative under all possible market conditions.
The Fund may also enter into over-the-counter ( OTC ) transactions in derivatives. Transactions in the OTC markets generally are conducted on a principal-to-principal basis. The terms and conditions of these instruments generally are not standardized and tend to be more specialized or complex,
Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
11
and the instruments may be harder to value. An OTC derivative transaction between the Fund and a counterparty that is not cleared through a central counterparty also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to make required payments. The payment obligation for a cleared derivative transaction is guaranteed by a central counterparty, which exposes the Fund to the creditworthiness of the central counterparty. In addition, certain derivative instruments and markets may not be liquid, which means the Fund may not be able to close out a derivatives transaction in a cost-efficient manner.
Swap agreements may involve fees, commissions or other costs that may reduce the Funds gains from a swap agreement or may cause the Fund to lose money.
Futures contracts are subject to the risk that an exchange may impose price fluctuation limits, which may make it difficult or impossible for the Fund to close out a position when desired.
Financial firm exit risk: Only certain institutional investors are eligible to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund at NAV. In addition, efficient trading in the Funds shares on the secondary market depends on the participation of firms acting as market makers and/or liquidity providers in the market place. To the extent these firms exit the business or otherwise significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform these functions, the Funds shares may trade at a material discount to NAV.
Global economic risk: Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. An example is the June 2016 United Kingdom referendum to leave the European Union ( EU ), which resulted in depreciation in the value of the British pound, short term declines in the stock markets and ongoing economic and political uncertainty. The United Kingdoms withdrawal from the EU may take an extended period, and there is considerable uncertainty about the potential trade, economic and market consequences of the exit. Other countries may also depart the EU, voluntarily or otherwise. The negative impact of the United Kingdoms departure from the EU, as well as any future departures by other countries, could be significant, not only to the United Kingdom and European economies, but also to the broader global economy. Such departures could potentially result in increased market volatility and illiquidity, and lower economic growth for companies that rely significantly on Europe for their business activities and revenues, which could negatively impact the value of a funds investments. Similarly, major economic or political disruptions outside of Europe, particularly in large economies like Chinas, may have global negative economic and market repercussions.
Other investment companies risk: When the Fund invests in other investment companies, including ETFs, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of Fund expenses and, indirectly, the expenses of the other investment companies. Furthermore, the Fund is exposed to the risks to which the other investment companies may be subject. For index-based ETFs, while such ETFs seek to achieve the same returns as a particular market index, the performance of an ETF may diverge from the performance of such index (commonly known as tracking error).
12
Section 2 Additional Detail About the Funds Strategy, Holdings and Risks
Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (the Adviser ), the Funds investment adviser, has overall responsibility for management of the Fund, oversees the management of the Funds portfolio, manages the Funds business affairs and provides certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services. In addition, the Adviser arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration and all other non-distribution related services necessary for the Fund to operate. The Adviser is a subsidiary of Nuveen, LLC ( Nuveen ), the investment management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America ( TIAA ). TIAA is a life insurance company founded in 1918 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is the companion organization of College Retirement Equities Fund ( CREF ). As of December 31, 2016, Nuveen managed approximately $882 billion in assets, of which approximately $126 billion was managed by the Adviser. The Adviser is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
The Adviser has selected its affiliate, Teachers Advisors, LLC (the Sub-Adviser ), to serve as sub-adviser to the Fund, responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds portfolio. As of December 31, 2016, the Sub-Adviser, a subsidiary of Nuveen, managed approximately $113 billion in assets. The Sub-Adviser is located at 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-3206.
The portfolio managers for the Fund are Jim Campagna and Lei Liao.
Total Experience
(since dates specified below) |
||||||||
Name & Title |
Portfolio Role/Coverage/
Expertise/Specialty |
Experience Over Past Five Years |
At TIAA | Total | ||||
Philip James (Jim) Campagna , CFA Managing Director |
Quantitative Portfolio
Management |
Teachers Advisors, LLC, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC and other advisory affiliates of TIAA2005 to Present (portfolio management of domestic and international large-, mid- and small-cap equity index portfolios) | 2005 | 1991 | ||||
Lei Liao , CFA Managing Director |
Quantitative Portfolio
Management |
Teachers Advisors, LLC, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC and other advisory affiliates of TIAA2012 to Present (portfolio management of domestic and international large-, mid- and small-cap equity index portfolios); Northern Trust Global Investment2007 to 2012 (portfolio management of domestic and international, tax advantaged and index portfolios) | 2012 | 2005 |
Additional information about the portfolio managers compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers ownership of securities in the Fund is provided in the statement of additional information.
Section 3 Fund Management
13
As compensation for the investment advisory services it provides to the Fund, the Adviser is entitled to receive a management fee from the Fund based on a percentage of the Funds average daily net assets, at an annual rate of 0.35%.
The Adviser is responsible for substantially all other expenses of the Fund, except any future distribution and/or service fees, interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities, fees and expenses of the independent trustees (including any trustees counsel fees), certain compensation expenses of the Funds chief compliance officer, litigation expenses and extraordinary expenses.
Information regarding the Boards approval of the investment management agreements is available in the Funds annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.
14
Section 3 Fund Management
Section 4 Investing in the Fund
The Fund is an ETF, which differs from a mutual fund in important ways. Shares of a mutual fund are purchased and redeemed by all shareholders directly from the issuing fund at NAV. By contrast, most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through a broker on a national securities exchange, where the Funds shares are listed and trade throughout the day at market prices like shares of other publicly traded securities. The Fund does not impose any minimum investment for shares of the Fund purchased on an exchange or otherwise in the secondary market. The Funds shares trade under the trading symbol listed on the cover of this prospectus.
Purchasing or selling shares of the Fund on an exchange or other secondary market typically involves two types of costs. When purchasing or selling shares of the Fund through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission. The commission is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. In addition, you may incur the cost of the spread, that is, any difference on the exchange between the bid price and the ask price for a share of the Fund. The spread will vary over time based on the Funds trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if the Fund has high trading volume and market liquidity, and higher if the Fund has low trading volume and market liquidity (which is often the case for funds that are newly launched or small in size). The Funds spread may also be impacted by the liquidity of the underlying securities held by the Fund, particularly for newly launched or smaller funds or in instances of significant volatility of the underlying securities.
The Funds primary listing exchange is BATS Exchange, Inc. (the Listing Exchange ). The Listing Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays: New Years Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Book Entry
Shares of the Fund are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company ( DTC ) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.
Investors owning shares of the Fund are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for shares of the Fund. DTC participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book-entry or street name form.
Section 4 Investing in the Fund
15
Share Trading Prices
The trading prices of the Funds shares on the Listing Exchange generally differ from the Funds NAV and are affected by market forces such as the supply of and demand for the Funds shares as well as the securities held by the Fund, economic conditions and other factors. The price you pay or receive when you buy or sell your shares in the secondary market may be more or less than the NAV of such shares.
Information regarding the intraday value of shares of the Fund, also known as the indicative optimized portfolio value ( IOPV ), is disseminated every 15 seconds throughout each trading day by the Listing Exchange or by market data vendors or other information providers. The IOPV is generally based on the Funds portfolio holdings, less accrued expenses, divided by the number of shares of the Fund outstanding as of the time of the prior days NAV calculation. The IOPV does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current portfolio of securities held by the Fund at a particular point in time or the best possible valuation of the current portfolio. Therefore, the IOPV should not be viewed as a real-time update of the Funds NAV, which is computed only once a day. The IOPV is generally determined by using both current market quotations and/or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers and other market intermediaries that may trade in the portfolio securities held by the Fund. The IOPV is calculated by a third-party retained by an affiliate of the Adviser. The Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, Nuveen Securities, LLC, the Funds distributor (the Distributor ), and their respective affiliates are not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the IOPV and make no representation or warranty as to its accuracy.
Householding
Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Please contact your broker-dealer if you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, or if you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status.
Investments by Registered Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of the Fund. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order applicable to the Fund, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund.
Creation and Redemption
Only certain institutional investors who have entered into agreements with the Distributor ( Authorized Participants ) may purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund at NAV and only in block-size Creation Units of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares
16
Section 4 Investing in the Fund
are not redeemable by the Fund. An Authorized Participant must be either a DTC participant or a member of the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation ( NSCC ).
Creation Units generally are issued and redeemed in exchange for a specified basket of securities approximating the holdings of the Fund and/or a designated amount of cash (the Basket ). Each day the Listing Exchange is open for trading (a Business Day ), prior to the opening of trading, the Fund publishes that days Basket through NSCC or another method of public dissemination.
Orders from Authorized Participants to create or redeem Creation Units may only be placed on a Business Day and are subject to approval by the Distributor. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after an order is received and deemed acceptable by the Distributor.
Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of Creation Units (including the cut-off times for receipt of creation and redemption orders) is included in the Funds statement of additional information.
Legal Matters Regarding Share Transactions
To the extent the Fund engages in in-kind transactions, the Fund intends to comply with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposit and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities by, among other means, assuring that any securities accepted for deposit and any securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act ). Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a qualified institutional buyer, as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act, will not be able to receive restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.
Because new shares may be created and issued on an ongoing basis, at any point during the life of the Fund, a distribution, as such term is used in the 1933 Act, may be occurring. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that could render them statutory underwriters subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. Any determination of whether one is an underwriter must take into account all the relevant facts and circumstances of each particular case.
Broker-dealers should also note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an unsold allotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the 1933 Act is available only with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange.
Costs Associated with Creations and Redemptions
Authorized Participants are charged standard creation and redemption transaction fees (set forth in the table below) to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation
Section 4 Investing in the Fund
17
Units. The standard creation and redemption transaction fees are charged to an Authorized Participant on the Business Day such Authorized Participant creates or redeems a Creation Unit; such fees are the same regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased or redeemed by the Authorized Participant on such day. Creations and redemptions for cash (when cash creations and redemptions (in whole or in part) are available or specified) are also subject to an additional variable charge (up to the maximum amounts shown in the table below), which is intended to compensate the Fund for brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, market impact and other costs and expenses related to cash transactions. From time to time, the Adviser may cover the cost of any transaction fees when believed to be in the best interests of the Fund.
The following table shows, as of the date of this prospectus, the approximate value of one Creation Unit, standard fees and maximum additional charges for creations and redemptions (as described above):
Approximate Value
of a Creation Unit |
Creation Unit Size |
Standard
Creation/Redemption Transaction Fee |
Maximum
Additional Charge for Creations* |
Maximum
Additional Charge for Redemptions* |
||||||||||||
$2,500,000 |
50,000 | $ | 500 | 3.0 | % | 2.0 | % |
* | As a percentage of the NAV per Creation Unit, inclusive, in the case of redemptions, of the standard redemption transaction fee. |
The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the Fund. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributors principal address is 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
Distribution and Service Plan
The Fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act pursuant to which the Fund is authorized to pay fees at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the Funds average daily net assets for the sale and distribution of the Funds shares. No distribution fees are currently charged to the Fund; there are no plans to impose distribution fees, and no such fees will be charged for at least twelve months from the date of this Prospectus. Additionally, the implementation of any such fees would require approval by the Board prior to implementation. Because these fees would be paid out of the Funds assets on an on-going basis, if such fees were charged in the future, they would increase the cost of your investment and might cost you more over time than paying other types of sales charges.
Other Payments by the Adviser
The Adviser and/or its affiliates may make payments to broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks or other intermediaries (together, intermediaries ) related to marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, data provision services, or their making shares of the Fund and certain other NuShares ETFs available to their
18
Section 4 Investing in the Fund
customers generally and in certain investment programs. Such payments, which may be significant to the intermediary, are not made by the Fund. Rather, such payments are made by the Adviser and/or its affiliates from their own resources, which come directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the NuShares ETFs complex. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. A financial intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it recommends or makes available, or the level of services provided, to its customers based on the payments it is eligible to receive. Therefore, such payments to an intermediary create conflicts of interest between the intermediary and its customers and may cause the intermediary to recommend the Fund or other NuShares ETFs over another investment. More information regarding these payments is contained in the Funds statement of additional information.
The Fund does not impose any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions ( frequent trading ); however, the Fund reserves the right to reject or limit purchases at any time as described in the statement of additional information. In determining that no restrictions on frequent trading were necessary, the Board evaluated the risks of frequent trading to the Fund and its shareholders. The Board considered that the Funds shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by Authorized Participants, and that the vast majority of trading in the Funds shares occurs on the secondary market. Because secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, the Board concluded that such trades were unlikely to cause many of the harmful effects of frequent trading, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Funds trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With respect to purchases and redemptions by Authorized Participants directly from the Fund that are effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), the Board concluded that those trades do not have the potential to cause the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that the Fund may effect the purchase or redemption of Creation Units in exchange wholly or partially for cash, the Board recognized that such trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Funds ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by Authorized Participants is critical to ensuring that the Funds shares trade at or close to NAV. In addition, the Board recognized that the Fund imposes fixed and variable transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades.
Section 4 Investing in the Fund
19
The Fund pays out substantially all of the distributions it receives from its investments in REITs, less expenses. Distributions from REITs may include income, return of capital and capital gains. The Fund declares and pays distributions quarterly.
The Fund may also realize capital gains on the sale of its REIT investments. The Fund will generally realize short-term capital gains or losses whenever it sells assets held for one year or less. Net short-term capital gains will generally be treated as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders. The Fund will generally realize long-term capital gains or losses whenever it sells assets held for more than one year. Net capital gains (the excess of the Funds net long-term capital gains over its net short-term capital losses) are distributed to shareholders once a year at year end.
The Fund reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a regulated investment company or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains.
Your broker is responsible for delivering distributions to you.
Dividend Reinvestment Service
No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Fund. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by beneficial owners of the Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased in the secondary market.
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in shares of the Fund will be taxed. The tax information in this prospectus is provided as general information, based on current laws, which may be changed by legislative, judicial or administrative action. You should not consider this summary to be a comprehensive explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund, or the tax consequences of an investment in the Fund. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Fund. Unless your investment in Fund shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions, you sell Fund shares, or (for Authorized Participants only) you purchase or redeem Creation Units.
20
Section 5 General Information
Taxes and Tax Reporting
The Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a regulated investment company is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, the Funds failure to qualify as a regulated investment company or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions of the Funds net capital gain are taxable as long term capital gains, regardless of how long you have owned your shares. For non-corporate shareholders, long-term capital gains are generally taxable at tax rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets), while distributions from short-term capital gains and net investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income.
Since the Funds income is derived primarily from investment in REITs, it is not expected that the Fund will distribute qualified dividend income or income that would qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders.
The Funds investments in REITs may at times result in the Funds receipt of cash in excess of the REITs earnings (a return of capital); if the Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to the Funds shareholders for federal income tax purposes.
The sale of shares in your account may produce a gain or loss, and is a taxable event. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term gain or loss if you held the shares you sold for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares held for one year or less is generally treated as a short-term gain or loss, except that any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of capital gain dividends paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited depending on your circumstances.
In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Distributions paid in January but declared and payable to shareholders of record in October, November or December of the prior year, however, may be taxable to you in the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the price you paid for your shares).
REITs in which the Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to the Fund until after the time that the Fund issues a tax reporting statement. As a result, the Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions after it issues a tax reporting statement. If this were to occur, the financial intermediary with whom you hold your shares will send you a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information.
Early in each year, you will receive a statement from the firm through which you hold your Fund shares detailing the amount and nature of all distributions that you were paid during the prior year. The tax status of your distributions is the same whether you reinvest them or elect to receive them in cash.
Section 5 General Information
21
Dividends and distributions from the Fund and capital gain on the sale of Fund shares are generally taken into account in determining a shareholders net investment income for purposes of the Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.
When seeking to satisfy redemption requests in whole or in part on a cash basis, the Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment than if the in-kind redemption process were used.
Distributions (other than capital gain dividends) paid to individual shareholders that are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S. or to foreign entities will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an interest-related dividend or a short-term capital gain dividend, which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.
Please note that if you do not furnish the Fund with your correct Social Security number or employer identification number, you fail to provide certain certifications to the Fund, you fail to certify whether you are a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien, or the Internal Revenue Service notifies the Fund to withhold, federal law requires the Fund to withhold federal income tax from your distributions and redemption proceeds at the applicable withholding rate.
Buying or Selling Shares Close to a Record Date
Buying Fund shares shortly before the record date for a taxable dividend or capital gain distribution is commonly known as buying the dividend and generally should be avoided by taxable investors. The entire distribution may be taxable to you even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of your purchase price.
Cost Basis Method
You may elect a cost basis method to apply to shares held in your account with your financial intermediary. The cost basis method you select will determine the order in which such shares are sold and how your cost basis information is calculated and subsequently reported to you and to the Internal Revenue Service. Please consult your tax advisor to determine which cost basis method best suits your specific situation. Please contact your financial intermediary for instructions on how to make your election. If you do not make an election, your financial intermediary will choose its own default cost basis method.
Taxes on Creation and Redemption of Creation Units
An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes that exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and any amount of cash received by the Authorized Participant in the exchange and (ii) the sum of the exchangers aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and any amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who redeems Creation Units will generally
22
Section 5 General Information
recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchangers basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss that is realized by an Authorized Participant who does not mark-to-market its holdings upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing wash sales, or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Gain or loss recognized by an Authorized Participant upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities, or upon a redemption of Creation Units, may be capital or ordinary gain or loss depending on the circumstances. Any capital gain or loss realized upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of a Creation Unit will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares comprising the Creation Unit have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses are treated as short-term capital gains or losses.
Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rules apply and when a loss might be deductible. If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Fund shares you purchased or redeemed and at what price.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current U.S. federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You may also be subject to state and local taxation on Fund distributions and sales of shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in shares of the Fund under all applicable tax laws.
The Funds NAV is determined as of the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time) on the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ) on each Business Day. The Funds NAV per share is calculated by taking the value of the Funds total assets, including interest or dividends accrued but not yet collected, less all liabilities, and dividing by the total number of shares outstanding. The Funds latest NAV per share is available on the Funds website at www.nuveen.com/etf.
In determining NAV, exchange-traded instruments generally are valued at the last reported sales price or official closing price on an exchange, if available. Independent pricing services typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions, including readily available market quotations obtained from broker-dealers making markets in such instruments, cash flows, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, the pricing services may consider information about an instruments issuer or market activity provided by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser.
Generally, trading in U.S. government securities, money market instruments and certain fixed-income securities is substantially completed each day at
Section 5 General Information
23
various times prior to the close of business on the NYSE. The values of such securities used in computing the NAV of the Fund are determined as of such times.
If a price cannot be obtained from a pricing service or other pre-approved source, or if, in the judgment of the Adviser, a price is unreliable, a portfolio instrument will be valued at its fair value as determined in good faith by the Board or its appointee. The Adviser may determine that a price is unreliable in various circumstances. For example, a price may be deemed unreliable if it has not changed for an identified period of time, or has changed from the previous days price by more than a threshold amount, and recent transactions and/or broker dealer price quotations differ materially from the price in question.
The Board has adopted valuation procedures for the Fund and has appointed the Advisers Valuation Committee with the day-to-day responsibility for fair value determinations. All fair value determinations made by the Valuation Committee are subject to review and ratification by the Board of Trustees. As a general principle, the fair value of a portfolio instrument is the amount that an owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the instruments current sale. A range of factors and analysis may be considered when determining fair value, including relevant market data, interest rates, credit considerations and/or issuer specific news. However, fair valuation involves subjective judgments, and it is possible that the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument.
Information showing the number of days the market price of the Funds shares was greater than the Funds NAV per share (i.e., at a premium) and the number of days it was less than the Funds NAV per share (i.e., at a discount) are made available on the Funds website at www.nuveen.com/etf.
Brown Brothers Harriman ( BBH ) is the administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Fund.
The Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates ( SPDJI ) and Dow Jones, and has been licensed for use by the Adviser. Standard & Poors ® and S&P ® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poors Financial Services LLC ( S&P ); Dow Jones ® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ( Dow Jones ); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by the Adviser. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, or any of their respective affiliates (collectively, S&P Dow Jones Indices ), and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Index.
24
Section 5 General Information
S&P Dow Jones Indices does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices only relationship to the Adviser with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to the Adviser or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of the Adviser or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. The S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.
S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ADVISER, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THE ADVISER, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.
Shares of the Fund are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by the Listing Exchange. The Listing Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the ability of the Fund to track the total return performance of the Index or the ability of the Index to track REIT performance. The Listing Exchange
Section 5 General Information
25
is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of the Index, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of or quantities of shares of the Fund to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Listing Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of shares of the Fund. The Listing Exchange does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any data included therein. The Listing Exchange makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund as licensee, licensees customers and counterparties, owners of shares of the Fund or any other person or entity, from the use of the Index or any data included therein in connection with the rights licensed as described herein or for any other use.
The Listing Exchange makes no express or implied warranties and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Listing Exchange have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
26
Section 5 General Information
Section 6 Financial Highlights
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Funds financial performance for the period of operations for the Fund. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions).
This has been derived from information that has been audited by KPMG LLP, whose report for the most recent fiscal year, along with the Funds financial statements, are included in the annual report, which is available upon request.
Selected data for a share outstanding throughout the period:
Investment Operations | Less Distributions | Ratios/Supplemental Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total
Return |
Ratios to
Average Net Assets |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Year Ended
December 31, |
Beginning
NAV |
Net
Investment Income (Loss)(a) |
Net
Realized/ Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
Total |
From Net
Investment Income |
From
Accumulated Net Realized Gains |
Return
of Capital |
Total |
Ending
NAV |
Ending
Market Price |
Based on NAV(b) |
Ending
Net Assets (000) |
Expenses |
Net
Investment Income (Loss) |
Portfolio
Turnover Rate(d) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016(c) | $ | 25.20 | $ | .11 | $ | .30 | $ | .41 | $ | (.09 | ) | $ | (.03 | ) | $ | | $ | (.12 | ) | $ | 25.49 | $ | 24.94 | 1.65 | % | $ | 5,098 | .35 | %* | .45 | %*** | 0 | %** |
(a) | Per share Net Investment Income (Loss) is calculated using the average daily shares method. |
(b) | Total Return Based on NAV is the combination of changes in NAV per share and the assumed reinvestment of distributions, if any, at NAV per share on the ex-dividend payment date. Total returns are not annualized. |
(c) | For the period December 20, 2016 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2016. |
(d) | Portfolio Turnover Rate is calculated based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales divided by the average long-term market value during the period. Portfolio Turnover Rate excludes securities received or delivered as a result of processing in-kind creations or redemptions of Fund shares. |
* | Annualized. |
** | Rounds to less than 1%. |
*** | The Net Investment Income (Loss) Ratio to Average Net Assets has not been annualized for the period December 20, 2016 (commencement of operations) through December 31, 2016. Annualizing this ratio would not provide meaningful investment performance for the Fund as it only reflects 12 days in the period since commencement of operations. |
Section 6 Financial Highlights
27
Several additional sources of information are available to you, including the codes of ethics adopted by the Fund, Nuveen, the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser. The statement of additional information, incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains detailed information on the policies and operation of the Fund included in this prospectus. Additional information about the Funds investments is available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Funds annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds performance during its last fiscal year. The Funds most recent statement of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports and certain other information are available, free of charge, by calling Nuveen Investor Services at (888) 290-9881, on the Funds website at www.nuveen.com/etf, or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll free number above with any inquiries.
You may also obtain this and other Fund information directly from the SEC. Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov or in person at the SECs Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call the SEC at (202) 551-8090 for room hours and operation. You may also request Fund information by sending an e-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing to the SECs Public Reference Section at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. The SEC may charge a copying fee for this information.
Distributed by
Nuveen Securities, LLC
333 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606
www.nuveen.com/etf
No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus in connection with the offer of Fund shares, and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the Fund. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale of Fund shares shall under any circumstance imply that the information contained herein is correct as of any date after the date of this prospectus. Please read and keep this prospectus for future reference.
Dealers effecting transactions in Fund shares, whether or not participating in this distribution, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to any obligation of dealers to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters.
The Fund is a series of NuShares ETF Trust, whose Investment Company Act file number is 811-23161.
NPR-NURE-0417P
NUVEEN
April 28, 2017
NuShares Short-Term REIT ETF
Ticker Symbol: NURE
Listing Exchange: BATS Exchange, Inc.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This Statement of Additional Information ( SAI ) is not a prospectus. This SAI relates to, and should be read in conjunction with, the prospectus dated April 28, 2017, for the NuShares Short-Term REIT ETF (the Fund ), a series of NuShares ETF Trust (the Trust ), as such prospectus may be revised from time to time (the Prospectus ). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A Prospectus may be obtained without charge from the Fund, by visiting the Funds website at www.nuveen.com/etf, or by calling (888) 290-9881.
The Funds audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year are incorporated in this SAI by reference to the Funds most recent Annual Report to Shareholders. When available, you may obtain a copy of the Funds Annual Report at no charge by request to the Fund at the address, website, or phone number noted above.
GENERAL INFORMATION | S-1 | |
GENERAL RISKS | S-1 | |
CONTINUOUS OFFERING | S-2 | |
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS | S-2 | |
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND TECHNIQUES | S-4 | |
S-5 | ||
S-5 | ||
S-5 | ||
S-7 | ||
S-13 | ||
S-16 | ||
Other Investment Companies and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles |
S-17 | |
S-18 | ||
S-18 | ||
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING | S-18 | |
MANAGEMENT | S-20 | |
SERVICE PROVIDERS | S-39 | |
S-39 | ||
S-40 | ||
S-40 | ||
S-42 | ||
S-42 | ||
S-43 | ||
S-43 | ||
CODES OF ETHICS | S-43 | |
PROXY VOTING POLICIES | S-43 | |
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS | S-44 | |
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS | S-46 | |
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM | S-46 | |
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES | S-47 | |
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS | S-48 | |
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE | S-52 | |
CAPITAL STOCK | S-53 | |
TAX MATTERS | S-54 | |
S-54 | ||
S-55 | ||
S-55 | ||
S-56 | ||
S-57 | ||
S-58 | ||
S-58 | ||
S-58 | ||
S-59 | ||
S-59 | ||
S-60 | ||
S-60 | ||
S-61 | ||
S-61 | ||
S-61 | ||
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS | S-61 | |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | S-61 | |
SCHEDULE A: TIAA-CREF POLICY STATEMENT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | A-1 |
The Fund is a non-diversified series of NuShares ETF Trust (the Trust ), an open-end management investment company organized as a Massachusetts business trust on February 20, 2015. Each series of the Trust represents shares of beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objective and policies. The Fund is an exchange-traded fund ( ETF ) within the NuShares family of ETFs (the NuShares ETFs ). The investment objective of the Fund is to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Short-Term REIT Index (the Index ). The Funds investment adviser is Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC ( Nuveen Fund Advisors or the Adviser ). The Funds sub-adviser is Teachers Advisors, LLC ( TAL or the Sub-Adviser ). The Adviser has agreed to pay all organizational and offering expenses of the Trust.
The Fund issues and redeems shares at its net asset value per share ( NAV ) only in large block aggregations of a specified number of shares ( Creation Units ). Only certain institutional investors who have entered into agreements with the Funds distributor ( Authorized Participants ) may purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund at NAV. Currently, a Creation Unit consists of 50,000 shares, though this may change upon notice to Authorized Participants. A Creation Unit is not expected to consist of less than 25,000 shares. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the Fund are not redeemable securities. See Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units later in this SAI for more information.
The Funds shares are listed for trading on BATS Exchange, Inc., a national securities exchange (the Listing Exchange ). The shares trade on the Listing Exchange at market prices, which may differ from the shares NAVs.
The Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a RIC ) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code ), so that it will not be subject to federal income tax on income and gains that are timely distributed to Fund shareholders. The Fund will invest its assets, and otherwise conduct its operations, in a manner that is intended to satisfy the qualifying income, diversification and distribution requirements necessary to establish and maintain eligibility for such treatment.
An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Funds portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular security or issuer and changes in general economic or political conditions. The Fund may not outperform other investment strategies over short- or long-term market cycles and the Fund may decline in value. Fund shares may trade above or below their NAV. An investor in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time. The price of the securities and other investments held by the Fund and thus the value of the Funds portfolio is expected to fluctuate in accordance with general economic conditions, interest rates, political events, and other factors.
Investor perceptions may also impact the value of Fund investments and the value of an investment in Fund shares. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises. Issuer-specific conditions may also affect the value of the Funds investments. The financial condition of an issuer of a security or counterparty to a contract may cause it to default or become unable to pay interest or principal due on the security or contract. The Fund cannot collect interest and principal payments if the issuer or counterparty defaults. Accordingly, the value of an investment in the Fund may change in response to issuer or counterparty defaults and changes in the credit ratings of the Funds portfolio securities.
S-1
Although the Fund attempts to invest in liquid securities and instruments, there can be no guarantee that a liquid market for such securities and instruments will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of the Funds shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Funds portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.
Events in the financial sector have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. Domestic and foreign fixed income and equity markets experienced extreme volatility and turmoil starting in late 2008 and volatility has continued to be experienced in the markets. Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected, and well-known financial institutions have experienced significant liquidity and other problems. Some of these institutions have declared bankruptcy or defaulted on their debt. It is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue. These events and possible continuing market turbulence may have an adverse effect on Fund performance.
The method by which Creation Units are created and Fund shares are subsequently traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Trust on an ongoing basis, at any point a distribution, as such term is used in the Securities Act, of 1933, as amended (the 1933 Act ), may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if, after placing an order for Creation Units with Nuveen Securities, LLC (the Distributor ), the broker-dealer or its client breaks them down into constituent shares and sells such shares directly to customers, or if the broker-dealer or its client chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the 1933 Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not underwriters but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the 1933 Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act ). Firms that incur a prospectus-delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Fund are reminded that pursuant to Rule 153 under the 1933 Act, a prospectus-delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the 1933 Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Listing Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the Funds Prospectus is available at the Listing Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.
In addition to the investment objectives and policies set forth in the Prospectus and under Investment Policies and Techniques below, the Fund is subject to the investment restrictions set forth below. The investment restrictions set forth in numbers (1) through (7) below are fundamental and cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund as defined in the 1940 Act, i.e., by the lesser of the vote of (a) 67% of the shares of the Fund present at a meeting where more than 50% of the outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.
S-2
The Fund may not:
(1) Concentrate its investments in a particular industry, as the term concentrate is used in the 1940 Act, except as may be necessary to approximate the composition of the Index.
(2) Borrow money or issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted or modified from time to time by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction.
(3) Purchase or sell physical commodities, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments; but this restriction shall not prohibit the Fund from investing in options on commodity indices, commodity futures contracts and options thereon, commodity-related swap agreements, other commodity-related derivative instruments, and investment companies that provide exposure to commodities.
(4) Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments; but this restriction shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling securities or other instruments backed by real estate or interests therein or of issuers engaged in real estate activities.
(5) Act as an underwriter of another issuers securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the 1933 Act in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.
(6) Make loans, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted or modified from time to time by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction.
Except with respect to the limitation set forth in number (2) above, the foregoing restrictions and limitations will apply only at the time of purchase of securities, and the percentage limitations will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of an acquisition of securities, unless otherwise indicated.
For purposes of applying the limitation set forth in number (1) above, according to the current interpretation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC ), the Fund would be concentrated in an industry if 25% or more of its net assets, based on current market value at the time of purchase, were invested in that industry. For purposes of this limitation, issuers of the following securities will not be considered to be members of any industry: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; except as set forth in the following sentence, securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. To the extent that the income from a municipal bond is derived from a specific project, the securities will be deemed to be from the industry of that project. This limitation also does not place a limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country.
Where a security is guaranteed by a governmental entity or some other facility, such as a bank guarantee or letter of credit, such a guarantee or letter of credit would be considered a separate security and would be treated as an issue of such government, other entity or bank.
For purposes of applying the limitations set forth in numbers (1) above, an issuer shall be deemed the sole issuer of a security when its assets and revenues are separate from other governmental entities and its securities are backed only by its assets and revenues. Similarly, in the case of a non-governmental user, such as an industrial corporation or a privately owned or operated hospital, if the security is backed only by the assets and revenues of the non-governmental user, then such non-governmental user would be deemed to be the sole issuer. Where a security is also backed by the enforceable obligation of a superior or unrelated governmental entity or other entity (other than a bond insurer), it shall also be included in the computation of securities owned that are issued by such governmental or other entity.
For purposes of applying the limitations set forth in number (2) above, under the 1940 Act as currently in effect, the Fund is not permitted to issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from any bank if immediately after such borrowing the value of the Funds total assets is at least 300% of the principal amount of all of the Funds borrowings ( i.e. , the principal amount of the
S-3
borrowings may not exceed 33 1 / 3 % of the Funds total assets). In the event that such asset coverage shall at any time fall below 300%, the Fund shall, within three calendar days thereafter (not including Sundays and holidays), reduce the amount of its borrowings to an extent that the asset coverage of such borrowing shall be at least 300%.
For purposes of applying the limitation set forth in number (6) above, there are no limitations with respect to unsecured loans made by the Fund to an unaffiliated party. However, if the Fund loans its portfolio securities, the obligation on the part of the Fund to return collateral upon termination of the loan could be deemed to involve the issuance of a senior security within the meaning of Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act. In order to avoid violation of Section 18(f), the Fund may not make a loan of portfolio securities if, as a result, more than one-third of its total asset value (at market value computed at the time of making a loan) would be on loan.
In addition to the foregoing fundamental investment policies, the Fund is also subject to the following non-fundamental restrictions and policies, which may be changed by the Funds Board of Trustees (the Board ) without a shareholder vote.
The Fund may not:
(1) Invest in illiquid securities if, as a result of such investment, more than 15% of the Funds net assets would be invested in illiquid securities.
(2) Acquire any securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on subparagraph (F) or subparagraph (G) of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act.
(3) Invest directly in futures, options on futures and swaps to the extent that the Adviser would be required to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) as a commodity pool operator. See Investment Policies and TechniquesDerivativesLimitations on the Use of CFTC-Regulated Futures, Options on Futures and Swaps.
For purposes of number (1) above, illiquid securities will have the same meaning as given in guidance provided by the staff of the SEC. The Fund will monitor portfolio liquidity on an ongoing basis and, in the event more than 15% of the Funds net assets are invested in illiquid investments, the Fund will seek to reduce its holdings of illiquid securities in an orderly fashion in order to maintain adequate liquidity.
The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy pursuant to Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act (the Name Policy ) whereby the Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in real estate investment trusts ( REITs ). As a result, the Fund must provide shareholders with a notice, meeting the requirements of Rule 35d-1(c), at least 60 days prior to any change of its Name Policy. For purposes of the Name Policy, the Fund may consider both direct investments and indirect investments ( e.g. , investments in other investment companies, derivatives and synthetic instruments with economic characteristics similar to the direct investments that meet the Name Policy) when determining compliance with the Name Policy. For purposes of the Name Policy, the Fund will value eligible derivatives at fair value or market value instead of notional value.
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND TECHNIQUES
The following information supplements the discussion of the Funds investment objective, principal investment strategies, policies and techniques that appears in the Prospectus for the Fund. Additional information concerning principal investment strategies of the Fund, and other investment strategies that may be used by the Fund, is set forth below in alphabetical order. Additional information concerning the Funds investment restrictions is set forth above under Investment Restrictions.
If a percentage limitation on investments by the Fund stated in this SAI or the Prospectus is adhered to at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from changes in asset value will not be deemed to violate the limitation except in the case of the limitations on borrowing.
S-4
References in this section to the Adviser also apply, to the extent applicable, to the Sub-Adviser of the Fund.
To the extent required by SEC guidelines, the Fund will only engage in transactions that expose it to an obligation to another party if it owns either (a) an offsetting position for the same type of financial asset or (b) cash or liquid securities, designated on the Funds books or held in a segregated account, with a value sufficient at all times to cover its potential obligations not covered as provided in (a). Examples of transactions governed by these asset coverage requirements include, for example, options written by the Fund, futures contracts and options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts, swaps, and when-issued and delayed delivery transactions. Assets used as offsetting positions, designated on the Funds books, or held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the positions requiring cover are open unless replaced with other appropriate assets. As a result, the commitment of a large portion of assets to be used as offsetting positions or to be designated or segregated in such a manner could impede portfolio management or the ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.
In the case of futures contracts or forward contracts that are not contractually required to cash settle, the Fund must set aside liquid assets equal to such contracts full notional value (generally, the total numerical value of the asset underlying a future or forward contract at the time of valuation) while the positions are open. With respect to futures contracts or forward contracts that are contractually required to cash settle, however, the Fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the Funds daily mark-to-market net obligation ( i.e. , the Funds daily net liability) under the contracts, if any, rather than such contracts full notional value. By setting aside assets equal to only its net obligations under cash-settled futures and forward contracts, the Fund may employ leverage to a greater extent than if the Fund were required to segregate assets equal to the full notional value of such contracts.
The Fund may borrow money from a bank as permitted by the 1940 Act, or other governing statute, by the rules thereunder, or by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over the Fund, but only for temporary or emergency purposes. The Fund may also invest in reverse repurchase agreements, which are considered borrowings under the 1940 Act. Although the 1940 Act presently allows the Fund to borrow from any bank (including pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating assets) in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings not in excess of 5% of its total assets), and there is no limit on the percentage of Fund assets that can be used in connection with reverse repurchase agreements, under normal circumstances any borrowings by the Fund will not exceed 10% of the Funds total assets.
Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
The Fund may hold assets in cash or cash equivalents, money market funds and short-term taxable fixed income securities in such proportions as warranted by prevailing market conditions and the Funds principal investment strategies. The Fund may only invest in short-term taxable fixed income securities with a maturity of one year or less and whose issuers have a long-term rating of at least A- or higher by Standard & Poors Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ( Standard & Poors ), A3 or higher by Moodys Investors Service, Inc. ( Moodys ) or A- or higher by Fitch, Inc. ( Fitch ). Short-term taxable fixed income securities are defined to include, without limitation, the following:
(1) U.S. Government Securities . The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest, which are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. government agency securities include securities issued by (a) the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, and the Government National Mortgage Association, whose securities are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States; (b) the Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, whose securities are
S-5
supported by the right of the agency to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; (c) the Federal National Mortgage Association, whose securities are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or instrumentality; and (d) the Student Loan Marketing Association, whose securities are supported only by its credit. While the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it always will do so since it is not so obligated by law. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. In addition, the Fund may invest in sovereign debt obligations of non-U.S. countries. U.S. Treasury obligations include separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations, known as Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities ( STRIPS ), which are transferable through the Federal book-entry system. STRIPS are sold as zero coupon securities, which means that they are sold at a substantial discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. This discount is accreted over the life of the security, and such accretion will constitute the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, such securities may be subject to greater interest rate volatility than interest paying U.S. Treasury obligations.
(2) Certificates of Deposit . The Fund may invest in certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return, and are normally negotiable. If such certificates of deposit are non-negotiable, they will be considered illiquid securities and be subject to the Funds 15% restriction on investments in illiquid securities. Pursuant to the certificate of deposit, the issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current FDIC regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $250,000; therefore, certificates of deposit purchased by the Fund may not be fully insured.
(3) Bankers Acceptances . The Fund may invest in bankers acceptances, which are short-term credit instruments used to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then accepted by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of interest for a specific maturity.
(4) Repurchase Agreements . The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements which involve purchases of debt securities. In such an action, at the time the Fund purchases the security, it simultaneously agrees to resell and redeliver the security to the seller, who also simultaneously agrees to buy back the security at a fixed price and time. This assures a predetermined yield for the Fund during its holding period since the resale price is always greater than the purchase price and reflects an agreed-upon market rate. Such actions afford an opportunity for the Fund to invest temporarily available cash. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements only with respect to certain obligations. Collateral may consist of any fixed income security which is an eligible investment for the Fund. The Funds custodian will hold the securities underlying any repurchase agreement, or the securities will be part of the Federal Reserve/Treasury Book Entry System. The market value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will be determined on each business day. If at any time the market value of the collateral falls below the repurchase price under the repurchase agreement (including any accrued interest), the Fund will promptly receive additional collateral (so the total collateral is an amount at least equal to the repurchase price plus accrued interest). Repurchase agreements may be considered loans to the seller, collateralized by the underlying securities. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon sum on the repurchase date; in the event of default, the repurchase agreement provides that the Fund is entitled to sell the underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, however, and if the seller defaults under a repurchase agreement when the value of the underlying collateral is less than the repurchase price, the Fund could incur a loss of both principal and interest. The portfolio managers monitor the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times
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during the term of the repurchase agreement. The portfolio managers do so in an effort to determine that the value of the collateral always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price to be paid to the Fund. If the seller were to be subject to a federal bankruptcy proceeding, the ability of the Fund to liquidate the collateral could be delayed or impaired because of certain provisions of the bankruptcy laws.
(5) Bank Time Deposits . The Fund may invest in bank time deposits, which are monies kept on deposit with banks or savings and loan associations for a stated period of time at a fixed rate of interest. There may be penalties for the early withdrawal of such time deposits, in which case the yields of these investments will be reduced.
(6) Commercial Paper . The Fund may invest in commercial paper, which are short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and a corporation. There is no secondary market for the notes. However, they are redeemable by the Fund at any time. The portfolio managers will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios) and will continuously monitor the corporations ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Funds liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. The Fund may purchase commercial paper consisting of issues rated at the time of purchase within the two highest rating categories by Standard & Poors, Fitch or Moodys, or which have been assigned an equivalent rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization.
(7) Eurodollar and Yankee Instruments . The Fund may invest in Eurodollar certificates of deposit issued by foreign branches of U.S. or foreign banks; Eurodollar time deposits, which are U.S. dollar-denominated deposits in foreign branches of U.S. or foreign banks; and Yankee certificates of deposit, which are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by U.S. branches of foreign banks and held in the United States. In each instance, the Fund may only invest in bank instruments issued by an institution which has capital, surplus and undivided profits of more than $100 million or the deposits of which are insured by the Bank Insurance Fund or the Savings Association Insurance Fund.
(8) Money Market Funds and Short-Term Debt Funds . The Fund may invest in money market funds. The Fund will bear its proportionate share of the money market funds fees and expenses (see Other Investment Companies and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles below). The Fund may hold securities of other mutual funds that invest primarily in debt obligations with remaining maturities of 13 months or less.
(9) Variable Amount Master Demand Notes . The Fund may invest in variable amount master demand notes, which are unsecured demand notes that permit the indebtedness thereunder to vary and provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate according to the terms of the instrument. Because master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and the issuer, they are not normally traded. Although there is no secondary market in the notes, the Fund may demand payment of principal and accrued interest at any time. While the notes are not typically rated by credit rating agencies, issuers of variable amount master demand notes (which are normally manufacturing, retail, financial, and other business concerns) must satisfy the same criteria as set forth above for commercial paper. The Sub-Adviser will consider the earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of the issuers of such notes and will continuously monitor their financial status and ability to meet payment on demand.
Subject to the limitations set forth below under Limitations on the Use of CFTC-Regulated Futures, Options on Futures and Swaps, the Fund may use derivative instruments as described below. Generally, a derivative is a financial contract the value of which depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivatives generally take the form of contracts under which the parties agree to payments between them based upon the performance of a wide variety of underlying references, such as stocks, bonds, loans, commodities, interest rates, currency exchange rates, and various domestic and foreign indices.
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The Fund may use derivatives for a variety of reasons, including as a substitute for investing directly in securities, as part of a hedging strategy (that is, for the purpose of reducing risk to the Fund), or for other purposes related to the management of the Fund. Derivatives permit the Fund to increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, to which its portfolio is exposed in much the same way as the Fund can increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, of its portfolio by making investments in specific securities. However, derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives could have a large impact on the Funds performance.
While transactions in some derivatives may be effected on established exchanges, many other derivatives are privately negotiated and entered into in the over-the-counter ( OTC ) market with a single counterparty. When exchange-traded derivatives are purchased and sold, a clearing agency associated with the exchange stands between each buyer and seller and effectively guarantees performance of each contract, either on a limited basis through a guaranty fund or to the full extent of the clearing agencys balance sheet. Transactions in OTC derivatives not subject to a clearing requirement have no such protection. Each party to an uncleared OTC derivative bears the risk that its direct counterparty will default. In addition, OTC derivatives are generally less liquid than exchange-traded derivatives because they often can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction.
The use of derivative instruments is subject to applicable regulations of the SEC, the CFTC, various state regulatory authorities and, with respect to exchange-traded derivatives, the several exchanges upon which they are traded. As discussed above under Asset Coverage Requirements, in order to engage in certain transactions in derivatives, the Fund may be required to hold offsetting positions or to hold cash or liquid securities in a segregated account or designated on the Funds books. In addition, the Funds ability to use derivative instruments may be limited by tax considerations.
The particular derivative instruments the Fund can use are described below. The Funds portfolio managers may decide not to employ some or all of these instruments, and there is no assurance that any derivatives strategy used by the Fund will succeed. The Fund may employ new derivative instruments and strategies when they are developed, if those investment methods are consistent with the Funds investment objective and are permissible under applicable regulations governing the Fund.
Options Transactions
The Fund may purchase put and call options on specific securities (including groups or baskets of specific securities). In addition, the Fund may write put and call options on such financial instruments.
Options on Securities . The Fund may purchase put and call options on securities. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right (but not the obligation) to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at a stated price (the exercise price ) at any time before the option expires. A call option on a security gives the purchaser the right (but not the obligation) to buy, and the writer the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the exercise price at any time before the option expires. The purchase price for a put or call option is the premium paid by the purchaser for the right to sell or buy.
The Fund may purchase put options to hedge against a decline in the value of its portfolio. By using put options in this way, the Fund would reduce any profit it might otherwise have realized in the underlying security by the amount of the premium paid for the put option and by transaction costs. In similar fashion, the Fund may purchase call options to protect against an increase in the price of securities that the Fund anticipates purchasing in the future, a practice sometimes referred to as anticipatory hedging. The premium paid for the call option plus any transaction costs will reduce the benefit, if any, realized by the Fund upon exercise of the option, and, unless the price of the underlying security rises sufficiently, the option may expire unexercised.
Options on Interest Rates and Indices. The Fund may purchase put and call options on interest rates and bond indices. An option on interest rates or on an index gives the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing value of the underlying interest rate or index is greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the exercise-settlement value of
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the interest rate option or the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple (the multiplier ). The writer of the option is obligated, for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. Settlements for interest rate and index options are always in cash.
Futures
The Fund may engage in futures transactions. The Fund may buy and sell futures contracts that relate to (1) interest rates, (2) debt securities, and (3) bond indices. The Fund may only enter into futures contracts which are standardized and traded on a U.S. exchange, board of trade or similar entity, or quoted on an automated quotation system.
A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a security, interest rate or currency (each a financial instrument ) for a set price on a future date. Certain futures contracts, such as futures contracts relating to individual securities, call for making or taking delivery of the underlying financial instrument. However, these contracts generally are closed out before delivery by entering into an offsetting purchase or sale of a matching futures contract. Other futures contracts, such as futures contracts on interest rates and indices, do not call for making or taking delivery of the underlying financial instrument, but rather are agreements pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to the difference between the value of the financial instrument at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the contract was originally written. These contracts also may be settled by entering into an offsetting futures contract.
Unlike when the Fund purchases or sells a security, no price is paid or received by the Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, the Fund will be required to deposit with its futures broker (also known as a futures commission merchant ( FCM )) an amount of cash or securities equal to a specified percentage of the contract amount. This amount is known as initial margin. The margin deposit is intended to ensure completion of the contract. Minimum initial margin requirements are established by the futures exchanges and may be revised. In addition, FCMs may establish margin deposit requirements that are higher than the exchange minimums. Cash held as margin is generally invested by the FCM in high-quality instruments permitted under CFTC regulations, with returns retained by the FCM and interest paid to the Fund on the cash at an agreed-upon rate. The Fund will also receive any interest paid from coupon-bearing securities, such as Treasury securities, held in margin accounts. Subsequent payments to and from the FCM, called variation margin, will be made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying financial instrument fluctuates, making the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as marking the contract to market. Changes in variation margin are recorded by the Fund as unrealized gains or losses. At any time prior to expiration of the futures contract, the Fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position that will operate to terminate its position in the futures contract. A final determination of variation margin is then made, additional cash is required to be paid by or released to the Fund, and the Fund realizes a gain or loss. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of the Fund, the Fund may be entitled to the return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCMs other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund. Futures transactions also involve brokerage costs.
Most U.S. futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous days settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of futures contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movement during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses, because the limit may prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. Futures contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses.
Swap Transactions
The Fund may enter into interest rate, total return, and credit default swap agreements.
The Fund may enter into swap transactions for any purpose consistent with its investment objectives and strategies, such as for the purpose of attempting to obtain or preserve a particular
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return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets, to protect against an increase in the price of securities the Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date, to reduce risk arising from the ownership of a particular instrument, or to gain exposure to certain securities, reference rates, sectors or markets.
Swap agreements are two party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for a specified period of time. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on a particular predetermined asset, reference rate or index. The gross returns to be exchanged or swapped between the parties are generally calculated with respect to a notional amount, e.g., the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate or in a basket of securities representing a particular index. The notional amount of the swap agreement generally is only used as a basis upon which to calculate the obligations that the parties to the swap agreement have agreed to exchange. The Funds current obligations under a net swap agreement will be accrued daily (offset against any amounts owed to the Fund) and the Fund will segregate assets determined to be liquid by a Sub-Adviser for any accrued but unpaid net amounts owed to a swap counterparty. See Asset Coverage Requirements above.
Interest Rate Swaps . Interest rate swaps are financial instruments that involve the exchange of one type of interest rate for another type of interest rate cash flow on specified dates in the future. Some of the different types of interest rate swaps are fixed-for floating rate swaps, termed basis swaps and index amortizing swaps. Fixed-for floating rate swaps involve the exchange of fixed interest rate cash flows for floating rate cash flows. Termed basis swaps entail cash flows to both parties based on floating interest rates, where the interest rate indices are different. Index amortizing swaps are typically fixed-for floating swaps where the notional amount changes if certain conditions are met. Like a traditional investment in a debt security, the Fund could lose money by investing in an interest rate swap if interest rates change adversely.
Total Return Swaps . In a total return swap, one party agrees to pay the other the total return of a defined underlying asset during a specified period, in return for periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or the total return from other underlying assets. A total return swap may be applied to any underlying asset but is most commonly used with bonds and defined baskets of loans and mortgages. The Fund might enter into a total return swap involving an underlying index or basket of securities to create exposure to a potentially widely-diversified range of securities in a single trade. An index total return swap can be used by the portfolio managers to assume risk, without the complications of buying the component securities from what may not always be the most liquid of markets.
Credit Default Swaps . A credit default swap is a bilateral contract that enables an investor to buy or sell protection against a defined-issuer credit event. The Fund may enter into credit default swap agreements either as a buyer or a seller. The Fund may buy protection to attempt to mitigate the risk of default or credit quality deterioration in one or more of its individual holdings or in a segment of the fixed income securities market to which it has exposure, or to take a short position in individual bonds or market segments which it does not own. The Fund may sell protection in an attempt to gain exposure to the credit quality characteristics of particular bonds or market segments without investing directly in those bonds or market segments.
As the buyer of protection in a credit default swap, the Fund will pay a premium (by means of an upfront payment or a periodic stream of payments over the term of the agreement) in return for the right to deliver a referenced bond or group of bonds to the protection seller and receive the full notional or par value (or other agreed upon value) upon a default (or similar event) by the issuer(s) of the underlying referenced obligation(s). If no default occurs, the protection seller would keep the stream of payments and would have no further obligation to the Fund. Thus, the cost to the Fund would be the premium paid with respect to the agreement. If a credit event occurs, however, the Fund may elect to receive the full notional value of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity that may have little or no value. The Fund bears the risk that the protection seller may fail to satisfy its payment obligations.
If the Fund is a seller of protection in a credit default swap and no credit event occurs, the Fund would generally receive an up-front payment or a periodic stream of payments over the term of the swap. If a credit event occurs, however, generally the Fund would have to pay the buyer the full
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notional value of the swap in exchange for an equal face amount of deliverable obligations of the reference entity that may have little or no value. As the protection seller, the Fund effectively adds economic leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to being subject to investment exposure on its total net assets, the Fund is subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. Thus, the Fund bears the same risk as it would by buying the reference obligations directly, plus the additional risks related to obtaining investment exposure through a derivative instrument discussed below under Risks Associated with Swap Transactions.
Swap Options. A swap option is a contract that gives a counterparty the right (but not the obligation), in return for payment of a premium, to enter into a new swap agreement or to shorten, extend, cancel, or otherwise modify an existing swap agreement at some designated future time on specified terms. A cash-settled option on a swap gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to receive an amount of cash equal to the value of the underlying swap as of the exercise date. The Fund may write (sell) and purchase put and call swap options. Depending on the terms of the particular option agreement, the Fund generally will incur a greater degree of risk when it writes a swap option than when it purchases a swap option. When the Fund purchases a swap option, it risks losing only the amount of the premium it has paid should it decide to let the option expire unexercised. However, when the Fund writes a swap option, upon exercise of the option the Fund will become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement.
Risks Associated with Swap Transactions . The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity which involves strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions. If a Sub-Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of default risks, market spreads or other applicable factors the investment performance of the Fund would diminish compared with what it would have been if these techniques were not used. As the protection seller in a credit default swap, the Fund effectively adds economic leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to being subject to investment exposure on its total net assets, the Fund is subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. The Fund may only close out a swap or other two-party contract with its particular counterparty, and may only transfer a position with the consent of that counterparty. In addition, the price at which the Fund may close out such a two party contract may not correlate with the price change in the underlying reference asset. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund will have contractual remedies, but there can be no assurance that the counterparty will be able to meet its contractual obligations or that the Fund will succeed in enforcing its rights. It also is possible that developments in the derivatives market, including potential government regulation, could adversely affect the Funds ability to terminate existing swap or other agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.
Caps, Collars and Floors
The Fund may enter into interest rate caps, floors, and collars. Caps and floors have an effect similar to buying or writing options. In a typical cap or floor agreement, one party agrees to make payments only under specified circumstances, usually in return for payment of a fee by the other party. For example, the buyer of an interest rate cap obtains the right to receive payments to the extent that a specified interest rate exceeds an agreed-upon level. The seller of an interest rate floor is obligated to make payments to the extent that a specified interest rate falls below an agreed-upon level. An interest rate collar involves selling a cap and purchasing a floor or vice versa to protect the Fund against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels.
Limitations on the Use of CFTC-Regulated Futures, Options on Futures and Swaps
The Fund will limit its direct investments in CFTC-regulated futures, options on futures and swaps ( CFTC Derivatives ) to the extent necessary for the Adviser to claim the exclusion from regulation as a commodity pool operator with respect to the Fund under CFTC Rule 4.5, as such rule may be amended from time to time. Under Rule 4.5 as currently in effect, the Fund will limit its trading activity in CFTC Derivatives (excluding activity for bona fide hedging purposes, as defined by the CFTC) such that it meets one of the following tests:
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Aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish its positions in CFTC Derivatives do not exceed 5% of the liquidation value of the Funds portfolio, after taking into account unrealized profits and losses on such positions; or |
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Aggregate net notional value of its positions in CFTC Derivatives does not exceed 100% of the liquidation value of the Funds portfolio, after taking into account unrealized profits and losses on such positions. |
With respect to the Fund, the Adviser has filed a notice of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of the term commodity pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act and therefore is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator thereunder.
The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may also limit the extent to which the Fund may invest in CFTC Derivatives. See Tax MattersQualification as a Regulated Investment Company.
Federal Income Tax Treatment of Futures Contracts and Options
The Funds transactions in futures contracts and options will be subject to special provisions of the Code, that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital, or short-term or long-term), may accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and may defer Fund losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) and (b) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a regulated investment company and the distribution requirement for avoiding excise taxes.
Risks and Special Considerations Concerning Derivatives
The use of derivative instruments involves certain general risks and considerations as described below.
(1) Market Risk . Market risk is the risk that the value of the underlying assets may go up or down. Adverse movements in the value of an underlying asset can expose the Fund to losses. The successful use of derivative instruments depends upon a variety of factors, particularly the portfolio managers ability to predict movements in the relevant markets, which may require different skills than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. There can be no assurance that any particular strategy adopted will succeed.
(2) Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of a counterparty to comply with the terms of a derivative instrument. The counterparty risk for exchange-traded derivatives is generally less than for OTC derivatives, since generally a clearing agency, which is the issuer or counterparty to each exchange-traded instrument, provides a guarantee of performance. For many OTC instruments, there is no similar clearing agency guarantee. In all transactions, the Fund will bear the risk that the counterparty will default, and this could result in a loss of the expected benefit of the derivative transactions and possibly other losses to the Fund. The Fund will enter into derivatives transactions only with counterparties that its portfolio managers reasonably believe are capable of performing under the contract.
(3) Correlation Risk. Correlation risk is the risk that there might be an imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between price movements of a derivative instrument and price movements of investments being hedged. When a derivative transaction is used to completely hedge another position, changes in the market value of the combined position (the derivative instrument plus the position being hedged) result from an imperfect correlation between the price movements of the two instruments. With a perfect hedge, the value of the combined position remains unchanged with any change in the price of the underlying asset. With an imperfect hedge, the value of the derivative instrument and its hedge are not perfectly correlated. For example, if the value of a derivative instrument used in a short hedge (such as a CDS) increased by less than the decline in value of the hedged investments, the hedge would not be perfectly correlated. This might occur due to factors unrelated to the value of the investments being hedged, such as speculative or other pressures on the markets in which these instruments are traded. The effectiveness of hedges using instruments on indices will depend, in part, on the degree of correlation between price movements in the index and the price movements in the investments being hedged.
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(4) Liquidity Risk . Liquidity risk is the risk that a derivative instrument cannot be sold, closed out or replaced quickly at or very close to its fundamental value. Generally, exchange contracts are very liquid because the exchange clearinghouse is the counterparty of every contract. OTC transactions are less liquid than exchange-traded derivatives since they often can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction. The Fund might be required by applicable regulatory requirements to maintain assets as cover, maintain segregated accounts, and/or make margin payments when it takes positions in derivative instruments involving obligations to third parties (i.e., instruments other than purchase options). If the Fund is unable to close out its positions in such instruments, it might be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the position expires, matures or is closed out. These requirements might impair the Funds ability to sell a security or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require that the Fund sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time. The Funds ability to sell or close out a position in an instrument prior to expiration or maturity depends upon the existence of a liquid secondary market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the counterparty to enter into a transaction closing out the position. There is no assurance that any derivatives position can be sold or closed out at a time and price that is favorable to the Fund.
(5) Legal Risk . Legal risk is the risk of loss caused by the unenforceability of a partys obligations under the derivative. While a party seeking price certainty agrees to surrender the potential upside in exchange for downside protection, the party taking the risk is looking for a positive payoff. Despite this voluntary assumption of risk, a counterparty that has lost money in a derivative transaction may try to avoid payment by exploiting various legal uncertainties about certain derivative products.
(6) Systemic or Interconnection Risk. Systemic or interconnection risk is the risk that a disruption in the financial markets will cause difficulties for all market participants. In other words, a disruption in one market will spill over into other markets, perhaps creating a chain reaction. Much of the OTC derivatives market takes place among the OTC dealers themselves, thus creating a large interconnected web of financial obligations. This interconnectedness raises the possibility that a default by one large dealer could create losses for other dealers and destabilize the entire market for OTC derivative instruments.
(7) Leverage Risk. Leverage risk is the risk that the Fund may be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged due to leverages tendency to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Funds portfolio securities. The use of leverage may also cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements.
(8) Regulatory Risk. The Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Dodd -Frank Act ) has initiated a dramatic revision of the U.S. financial regulatory framework and covers a broad range of topics, including (among many others) a reorganization of federal financial regulators; a process intended to improve financial systemic stability and the resolution of potentially insolvent financial firms; and new rules for derivatives trading. Instruments in which the Fund may invest, or the issuers of such instruments, may be affected by the new legislation and regulation in ways that are unforeseeable. Many of the implementing regulations have not yet been finalized. Accordingly, the ultimate impact of the Dodd-Frank Act, including on the derivative instruments in which the Fund may invest, is not yet certain.
The Fund invests primarily in REITs, which are types of equity securities. The Fund may also invest in other equity securities, including common stocks, preferred securities, warrants to purchase common stocks or preferred securities, convertible securities, common units of master limited partnerships, and other securities with equity characteristics.
Common Stocks
Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred securities, dividends on common stocks are not prescribed in advance but are declared at the discretion of a companys board.
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While investing in stocks allows shareholders to participate in the benefits of owning a company, such shareholders must accept the risks of ownership. Unlike bondholders, who have preference to a companys earnings and cash flow, common stockholders are entitled only to the residual amount after a company meets its other obligations. For this reason, the value of a companys stock will usually react more strongly to actual or perceived changes in the companys financial condition or prospects than its debt obligations. Stockholders of a company that fares poorly can lose money.
Stock markets tend to move in cycles with short or extended periods of rising and falling stock prices. The value of a companys stock may fall because of:
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Factors that directly relate to that company, such as decisions made by its management or lower demand for the companys products or services; |
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Factors affecting an entire industry, such as increases in production costs; and |
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Changes in financial market conditions that are relatively unrelated to the company or its industry, such as changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates or inflation rates. |
An investment in common stocks of issuers with small or medium market capitalizations generally involves greater risk and price volatility than an investment in common stocks of larger, more established companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of their small or medium size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of management depth. The securities of small and medium capitalization companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market, and might not be traded in volumes typical of securities traded on a national securities exchange. Thus, the securities of small and medium capitalization companies are likely to be less liquid and subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established companies.
Preferred Securities
Like common stocks, preferred securities are also units of ownership in a company, but preferred securities normally have preference over common stocks in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the company. In all other respects, however, preferred securities are subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer. Unlike common stocks, preferred securities are generally not entitled to vote on corporate matters. Types of preferred securities include adjustable-rate preferred securities, fixed dividend preferred securities, perpetual preferred securities and sinking fund preferred securities. Generally, the market value of preferred securities with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element varies inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk.
Because preferred securities are generally junior to most other forms of debt securities and other obligations of the issuer, deterioration in the credit quality of the issuer will cause greater changes in the value of a preferred security than in a more senior debt security with similar stated yield characteristics.
Warrants
The Fund may invest in warrants if, after giving effect thereto, not more than 5% of its net assets will be invested in warrants other than warrants acquired in units or attached to other securities. Investing in warrants is purely speculative in that they have no voting rights, pay no dividends, and have no rights with respect to the assets of the corporation issuing them. Warrants are issued by the issuer of a security and provide their holder the option to purchase that security upon the warrants exercise at a specific price for a specific period of time. They do not represent ownership of the securities but only the right to buy them. The prices of warrants do not necessarily parallel the prices of the underlying securities.
Convertible Securities
Convertible securities are hybrid securities that combine the investment characteristics of bonds and common stocks. Convertible securities typically consist of debt securities or preferred securities that may be converted within a specified period of time (typically for the entire life of the security) into a certain amount of common stock or other equity security of the same or a different issuer at a predetermined price. They also include debt securities with warrants or common stock attached and
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derivatives combining the features of debt securities and equity securities. Convertible securities entitle the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt, or dividends paid or accrued on preferred securities, until the security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged.
The market value of a convertible security generally is a function of its investment value and its conversion value. A securitys investment value represents the value of the security without its conversion feature (i.e., a comparable non-convertible fixed-income security). The investment value is determined by, among other things, reference to its credit quality and the current value of its yield to maturity or probable call date. At any given time, investment value is dependent upon such factors as the general level of interest rates, the yield of similar non-convertible securities, the financial strength of the issuer and the seniority of the security in the issuers capital structure. A securitys conversion value is determined by multiplying the number of shares the holder is entitled to receive upon conversion or exchange by the current price of the underlying security. If the conversion value of a convertible security is significantly below its investment value, the convertible security will trade like non-convertible debt or a preferred security in the sense that its market value will not be influenced greatly by fluctuations in the market price of the underlying security into which it can be converted. Instead, the convertible securitys price will tend to move in the opposite direction from interest rates. Conversely, if the conversion value of a convertible security is significantly above its investment value, the market value of the convertible security will be more heavily influenced by fluctuations in the market price of the underlying stock. In that case, the convertible securitys price may be as volatile as that of the common stock. Because both interest rate and market movements can influence its value, a convertible security is not generally as sensitive to interest rates as a similar fixed-income security, nor is it generally as sensitive to changes in share price as its underlying stock.
The Funds investments in convertible securities, particularly securities that are convertible into securities of an issuer other than the issuer of the convertible security, may be illiquid. The Funds investments in convertible securities may at times include securities that have a mandatory conversion feature, pursuant to which the securities convert automatically into common stock or other equity securities (of the same or a different issuer) at a specified date and a specified conversion ratio, or that are convertible at the option of the issuer. For issues where the conversion of the security is not at the option of the holder, the Fund may be required to convert the security into the underlying common stock even at times when the value of the underlying common stock or other equity security has declined substantially.
In addition, some convertible securities are often rated below investment-grade or are not rated, and therefore may be considered speculative investments. The credit rating of a companys convertible securities is generally lower than that of its conventional debt securities. Convertible securities are normally considered junior securitiesthat is, the company usually must pay interest on its conventional corporate debt before it can make payments on its convertible securities. Some convertible securities are particularly sensitive to interest rate changes when their predetermined conversion price is much higher than the issuing companys common stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts
Real estate investment trusts ( REITs ) are publicly traded corporations or trusts that specialize in acquiring, holding, and managing residential, commercial or industrial real estate located in the United States or foreign countries. A REIT is not taxed at the entity level on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it distributes to shareholders or unitholders at least 90% of its taxable income for each taxable year and complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income.
Investing in REITs subjects the Fund to risks associated with the real estate industry. The real estate industry has been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property may decline due to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhoods and in demographics, increases in market interest rates, or other factors. Factors such as these may adversely affect companies which own and operate real estate directly, companies which lend to such companies, and companies which service the real estate industry.
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REITs are dependent on specialized management skills and on their ability to generate cash flow for operating purposes and to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders. REITs may have limited diversification and are subject to risks associated with obtaining financing for real property, as well as to the risk of self-liquidation. REITs also can be adversely affected by their failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through treatment of their income under the Code or their failure to maintain an exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder bears not only a proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also may indirectly bear similar expenses of some of the REITs in which it invests.
Master Limited Partnerships
Equity securities in which the Fund may invest include master limited partnerships ( MLPs ). An MLP is an entity, most commonly a limited partnership, that is taxed as a partnership, publicly traded and listed on a national securities exchange. Holders of common units of MLPs typically have limited control and limited voting rights as compared to holders of a corporations common shares. MLPs are limited by the Code to only apply to enterprises that engage in certain businesses, mostly pertaining to the use of natural resources, such as petroleum and natural gas extraction and transportation, although some other enterprises may also qualify as MLPs.
In addition to the debt securities described under Cash Equivalent and Short-Term Investments, the Fund may invest in the debt securities described below. These securities are subject to (i) interest rate risk (the risk that increases in market interest rates will cause declines in the value of debt securities held by the Fund); (ii) credit risk (the risk that the issuers of debt securities held by the Fund default in making required payments); and (iii) call or prepayment risk (the risk that a borrower may exercise the right to prepay a debt obligation before its stated maturity, requiring the Fund to reinvest the prepayment at a lower interest rate).
Corporate Debt Securities
The Fund may invest in corporate debt securities. Corporate debt securities are fully taxable debt obligations issued by corporations. These securities fund capital improvements, expansions, debt refinancing or acquisitions that require more capital than would ordinarily be available from a single lender. Investors in corporate debt securities lend money to the issuing corporation in exchange for interest payments and repayment of the principal at a set maturity date. Rates on corporate debt securities are set according to prevailing interest rates at the time of the issue, the credit rating of the issuer, the length of the maturity and other terms of the security, such as a call feature. Corporate debt securities are subject to the risk of an issuers inability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligations and may also be subject to price volatility due to such factors as market interest rates, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity. In addition, corporate restructurings, such as mergers, leveraged buyouts, takeovers or similar corporate transactions are often financed by an increase in a corporate issuers debt securities. As a result of the added debt burden, the credit quality and market value of an issuers existing debt securities may decline significantly.
Debt Securities Rated Less Than Investment Grade
The Fund may invest in both investment grade and non-investment grade debt securities. Debt securities rated less than investment grade are sometimes referred to as high yield securities or junk bonds.
Yields on non-investment grade debt securities will fluctuate over time. The prices of such securities have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher rated bonds, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress which could adversely affect their ability to service principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals, and to obtain additional financing. In addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of non-investment grade debt securities. If the issuer of a debt security held by the Fund were to default, the Fund might incur additional expenses to seek recovery.
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In addition, the secondary trading market for non-investment grade debt securities may be less developed than the market for investment grade bonds. This may make it more difficult for the Fund to value and dispose of such obligations. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of non-investment grade bonds, especially in a thin secondary trading market. Certain risks also are associated with the use of credit ratings as a method for evaluating non-investment grade debt securities. For example, credit ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of such bonds. In addition, credit rating agencies may not timely change credit ratings to reflect current events.
Variable, Floating, and Fixed Rate Debt Obligations
The debt obligations in which the Fund may invest may have variable, floating, or fixed interest rates. Variable rate securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate. Floating rate securities are generally offered at an initial interest rate which is at or above prevailing market rates. The interest rate paid on floating rate securities is then reset periodically (commonly every 90 days) to an increment over some predetermined interest rate index. Commonly utilized indices include the three-month Treasury bill rate, the 180-day Treasury bill rate, the one-month or three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the prime rate of a bank, the commercial paper rates, or the longer-term rates on U.S. Treasury securities. Variable and floating rate securities are relatively long-term instruments that often carry demand features permitting the holder to demand payment of principal at any time or at specified intervals prior to maturity plus accrued interest.
Fixed rate securities pay a fixed rate of interest and tend to exhibit more price volatility during times of rising or falling interest rates than securities with variable or floating rates of interest. The value of fixed rate securities will tend to fall when interest rates rise and rise when interest rates fall. The value of variable or floating rate securities, on the other hand, fluctuates much less in response to market interest rate movements than the value of fixed rate securities. This is because variable and floating rate securities behave like short-term instruments in that the rate of interest they pay is subject to periodic adjustments according to a specified formula, usually with reference to some interest rate index or market interest rate. Fixed rate securities with short-term characteristics are not subject to the same price volatility as fixed rate securities without such characteristics. Therefore, they behave more like variable or floating rate securities with respect to price volatility.
Other Investment Companies and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
The Fund may invest in other investment companies, including open-end funds, closed-end funds, unit investment trusts, and ETFs registered under the 1940 Act ( 1940 Act ETFs ). Under the 1940 Act, the Funds investment in such securities is generally limited to 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company; 5% of the Funds total assets with respect to any one investment company; and 10% of the Funds total assets in the aggregate. Many 1940 Act ETFs, however, have obtained exemptive relief from the SEC to permit unaffiliated funds to invest in their shares beyond these statutory limits, subject to certain conditions and pursuant to contractual arrangements between the ETFs and the investing funds. The Fund may rely on these exemptive orders in investing in 1940 Act ETFs. The Fund will only invest in other investment companies and pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in Fund-eligible investments. The Funds investments in other investment companies may include money market mutual funds. Investments in money market funds are not subject to the percentage limitations set forth above.
ETFs in which the Fund may invest are a type of index fund bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF trades like common stock and represents a portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. ETFs can give exposure to all or a portion of the U.S. market, a foreign market, a region, a commodity, a currency, or to any other index that an ETF tracks. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in it being more volatile and ETFs have management fees that increase their costs. An ETF may fail to accurately track the returns of the market segment or index that it is designed to track, and the price of an ETFs shares may fluctuate. In addition, because they, unlike traditional mutual funds, are traded on an exchange, ETFs are subject to the following risks: (i) the performance of the ETF may not replicate the performance of the underlying index that it is designed to track; (ii) the market price of the ETFs shares may trade at a premium or discount to the ETFs NAV;
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(iii) an active trading market for an ETF may not develop or be maintained; and (iv) there is no assurance that the requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the ETF will continue to be met or remain unchanged. Trading in an ETF may be halted if the trading in one or more of the ETFs underlying securities is halted, which could result in the ETF being more volatile. In the event substantial market or other disruptions affecting ETFs should occur in the future, the liquidity and value of the Funds shares could also be substantially and adversely affected.
If the Fund invests in other investment companies or pooled investment vehicles, Fund shareholders will bear not only their proportionate share of the Funds expenses, but also, indirectly, the similar expenses of the underlying investment companies or pooled investment vehicles. Shareholders would also be exposed to the risks associated not only to the Fund, but also to the portfolio investments of the underlying investment companies or pooled investment vehicles. Shares of certain closed-end funds may at times be acquired at market prices representing premiums to their NAVs. Shares acquired at a premium to their NAV may be more likely to subsequently decline in price, resulting in a loss to the Fund and its shareholders.
The Fund may invest in over-the-counter securities. In contrast to the securities exchanges, the over-the-counter market is not a centralized facility that limits trading activity to securities of companies which initially satisfy certain defined standards. Generally, the volume of trading in an unlisted or over-the-counter security is less than the volume of trading in a listed security. This means that the depth of market liquidity of some securities in which the Fund invests may not be as great as that of other securities and, if the Fund were to dispose of such a security, it might have to offer the securities at a discount from recent prices, or sell the securities in small lots over an extended period of time.
When-Issued or Delayed-Delivery Transactions
The Fund may from time to time purchase securities on a when-issued or other delayed-delivery basis. The price of securities purchased on a when-issued basis is fixed at the time the commitment to purchase is made, but delivery and payment for the securities take place at a later date. Normally, the settlement date occurs within 45 days of the purchase. During the period between the purchase and settlement, no payment is made by the Fund to the issuer and no interest is accrued on debt securities and no dividend income is earned on equity securities. Forward commitments involve a risk of loss if the value of the security to be purchased declines prior to the settlement date. This risk is in addition to the risk of decline in value of the Funds other assets. Although when-issued securities may be sold prior to the settlement date, the Fund intends to purchase such securities with the purpose of actually acquiring them. At the time the Fund makes the commitment to purchase a security on a when-issued basis, it will record the transaction and reflect the value of the security in determining its NAV. The Fund does not believe that NAV will be adversely affected by purchases of securities on a when-issued basis.
The Fund will designate on its books or maintain in a segregated account cash and liquid securities equal in value to commitments for when-issued securities. When the time comes to pay for when-issued securities, the Fund will meet its obligations from then-available cash flow, sale of the segregated securities, sale of other securities or, although it would not normally expect to do so, from the sale of the when-issued securities themselves (which may have a market value greater or less than the Funds payment obligation).
A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Prospectus under Purchase and Sale of Shares. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such section of the Prospectus.
Fund shares trade on the Listing Exchange at prices that may differ to some degree from their NAV. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Listing Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Funds shares will continue to be met. The Listing Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares from listing if: (1) following the initial twelve-month period beginning upon the
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commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial holders of the shares for 30 or more consecutive trading days; (2) the value of the underlying index or portfolio of securities on which the Fund is based is no longer calculated or available; (3) the indicative optimized portfolio value ( IOPV ) of the Fund is no longer calculated or available; or (4) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the Listing Exchange, makes further dealings on the Listing Exchange inadvisable. In addition, the Listing Exchange will remove the shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Trust or the Fund.
The Trust reserves the right to adjust the share price of the Fund in the future to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund.
As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers commissions on transactions in Fund shares will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.
The base and trading currencies of the Fund are the U.S. dollar. The base currency is the currency in which the Funds NAV per share is calculated and the trading currency is the currency in which shares of the Fund are listed and traded on the Listing Exchange.
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The management of the Trust, including general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund by the Adviser under the Management Agreement, is the responsibility of the Board. The number of trustees of the Trust is twelve, two of whom are interested persons (as the term interested person is defined in the 1940 Act) and ten of whom are not interested persons (referred to herein as independent trustees). None of the independent trustees has ever been a trustee, director or employee of, or consultant to, the Adviser or its affiliates. The names, business addresses and years of birth of the trustees and officers of the Fund, their principal occupations and other affiliations during the past five years, the number of portfolios each oversees and other directorships they hold are set forth below. The trustees of the Trust are directors or trustees, as the case may be, of 94 Nuveen Investments-sponsored open-end mutual funds (the Nuveen Mutual Funds ), 75 Nuveen Investments-sponsored closed-end funds (the Nuveen Closed-End Funds ) and eight Nuveen Investments-sponsored exchange-traded funds (collectively, with the Nuveen Open-End Funds and Nuveen Closed-End Funds, the Nuveen Funds).
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
Independent Trustees: |
||||||||||
Jack B. Evans 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1948 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite*
Length of Service
|
President, The Hall-Perrine Foundation, a private philanthropic corporation (since 1996); Director, The Gazette Company; Life Trustee of Coe College and the Iowa College Foundation; formerly, Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; formerly, President and Chief Operating Officer, SCI Financial Group, Inc., a regional financial services firm; formerly, Member and President Pro Tem of the Board of Regents for the State of Iowa University System. | 177 | Director and Chairman, United Fire Group, a publicly held company; formerly, Director, Alliant Energy. |
S-20
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
William C. Hunter 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1948 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Dean Emeritus, formerly, Dean (2006-2012), Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa; past Director (2005-2015) and past President (2010-2014) of Beta Gamma Sigma, Inc., The International Business Honor Society; formerly, Director (1997-2007), Credit Research Center at Georgetown University; formerly, Dean and Distinguished Professor of Finance, School of Business at the University of Connecticut (2003-2006); previously, Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (1995-2003). | 177 | Director of Wellmark, Inc. (since 2009); Director (since 2004) of Xerox Corporation. | |||||
David J. Kundert 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1942 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Formerly, Director, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (2006-2013); retired (since 2004) as Chairman, JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, President and CEO, Banc One Investment Advisors Corporation, and President, One Group Mutual Funds; prior thereto, Executive Vice President, Bank One Corporation and Chairman and CEO, Banc One Investment Management Group; Regent Emeritus, Member of Investment Committee, Luther College; Member of the Wisconsin Bar Association; Member of Board of Directors and Chair of Investment Committee, Greater Milwaukee Foundation; Member of the Board of Directors (Milwaukee), College Possible; Member of the Board of Trustees, Milwaukee Repertory Theater. |
177 | None |
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Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
Albin F. Moschner 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60606 1952 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite*
Length of Service
|
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Northcroft Partners, LLC, a management consulting firm (since 2012); previously, held positions at Leap Wireless International, Inc., including Consultant (2011-2012), Chief Operating Officer (2008-2011), and Chief Marketing Officer (2004- 2008); formerly, President, Verizon Card Services division of Verizon Communications, Inc. (2000-2003); formerly, President, One Point Services at One Point Communications (1999- 2000); formerly, Vice Chairman of the Board, Diba, Incorporated (1996-1997); formerly, various executive positions with Zenith Electronics Corporation (1991-1996). |
177 |
Director, USA Technologies, Inc., a provider of solutions and services to facilitate electronic payment transactions (since 2012); formerly, Director, Wintrust Financial Corporation (1996-2016). |
S-22
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
John K. Nelson 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1962 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Member of Board of Directors of Core12 LLC (since 2008), a private firm which develops branding, marketing and communications strategies for clients; Director of The Curran Center for Catholic American Studies (since 2009) and The Presidents Council, Fordham University (since 2010); formerly, senior external advisor to the financial services practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP (2012-2014); former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Marian University (2010-2014 as trustee, 2011-2014 as Chairman); formerly, Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO N.V. North America, and Global Head of its Financial Markets Division (2007-2008); prior senior positions held at ABN AMRO include Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Global Marketsthe Americas (2006-2007), CEO of Wholesale BankingNorth America and Global Head of Foreign Exchange and Futures Markets (2001-2006), and Regional Commercial Treasurer and Senior Vice President TradingNorth America (1996-2001); formerly, Trustee at St. Edmund Preparatory School in New York City. | 177 | None |
S-23
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
William J. Schneider 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1944 |
Chairman of the Board and Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Chairman of Miller-Valentine Partners, a real estate investment company; Board Member, WDPR Public Radio; formerly, Senior Partner and Chief Operating Officer (retired 2004) of Miller-Valentine Group; formerly, Director, Dayton Development Coalition; formerly, Board Member, Business Advisory Council, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank and University of Dayton Business School Advisory Council. | 177 | None | |||||
Judith M. Stockdale 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1947 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Board Member of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (since 2013); Board Member of the Land Trust Alliance; formerly, Executive Director (1994-2012), Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; prior thereto, Executive Director, Great Lakes Protection Fund (1990-1994). | 177 | None | |||||
Carole E. Stone 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1947 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Director, Chicago Board Options Exchange (since 2006); Director, C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated (since 2009); formerly, Commissioner, New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform (2005-2010). | 177 | Director, CBOE Holdings, Inc. (since 2010). |
S-24
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
Terence J. Toth 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1959 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Co-Founding Partner, Promus Capital (since 2008); Director of Fulcrum IT Service LLC (since 2010) and Quality Control Corporation (since 2012); formerly, Director, LogicMark LLC (2012-2016); formerly, Director, Legal & General Investment Management America, Inc. (2008-2013); formerly, CEO and President, Northern Trust Global Investments (2004-2007); Executive Vice President, Quantitative Management & Securities Lending (2000- 2004); prior thereto, various positions with Northern Trust Company (since 1994); Member of Catalyst Schools of Chicago Board (since 2008) and Mather Foundation Board (since 2012) and is Chair of its Investment Committee; formerly, Member, Chicago Fellowship Board (2005-2016); formerly, Member, Northern Trust Mutual Funds Board (2005-2007), Northern Trust Global Investments Board (2004-2007), Northern Trust Japan Board (2004-2007), Northern Trust Securities Inc. Board (2003-2007) and Northern Trust Hong Kong Board (1997-2004). | 177 | None |
S-25
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
Margaret L. Wolff 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1955 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Formerly, Of Counsel (2005-2014), Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Mergers & Acquisitions Group); Member of the Board of Trustees of New York- Presbyterian Hospital (since 2005); Member (since 2004) and Chair (since 2015) of the Board of Trustees of The John A. Hartford Foundation (a philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults); formerly, Member (2005-2015) and Vice Chair (2011-2015) of the Board of Trustees of Mt. Holyoke College. | 177 | Member of the Board of Directors (since 2013) of Travelers Insurance Company of Canada and The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company (each, a part of Travelers Canada, the Canadian operation of The Travelers Companies, Inc.). | |||||
Interested Trustees: |
||||||||||
William Adams IV** 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1955 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2015 |
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President (since March 2016), formerly, Senior Executive Vice President, Global Structured Products (2010-2016) of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Executive Vice President (since February 2017) of Nuveen, LLC; Co-President of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (since 2011); Co-President, Global Products and Solutions (since January 2017), formerly, Co-Chief Executive Officer (2016-2017), formerly, Senior Executive Vice President of Nuveen Securities, LLC; President (since 2011), formerly, Managing Director (2010-2011), of Nuveen Commodities Asset Management, LLC; Board Member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and of Gildas Club Chicago. | 177 | None |
S-26
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee |
Other
|
|||||
Margo L. Cook** 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1964 |
Trustee |
TermIndefinite* Length of Service
Since 2016 |
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President (since March 2016), formerly, Senior Executive Vice President of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Executive Vice President (since February 2017) of Nuveen, LLC; Co-President (since October 2016), formerly, Senior Executive Vice President (2015-2016), formerly, Executive Vice President (2011-2015) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Co-President Global Products and Solutions, (since January 2017), formerly, Co-Chief Executive Officer (2015-2017), formerly, Executive Vice President (2013-2015), of Nuveen Securities, LLC; formerly, Managing Director Investment Services of Nuveen Commodities Asset Management, LLC (2011-2016); Chartered Financial Analyst. | 177 | None |
* | Each trustee serves an indefinite term until his or her successor is elected. |
** | Each of Mr. Adams and Ms. Cook is an interested person of the Trust, as defined in the 1940 Act, by reason of his/her respective position(s) with Nuveen Investments, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries. |
S-27
Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Officer |
||||
Officers of the Trust: |
||||||||
Martin Y.G. Kremenstein 100 Park Avenue NY, NY 10017 1976 |
Chief Administrative Officer |
TermUntil August 2017 Length of ServiceSince 2016 |
Vice President (since April 2016) of Nuveen Commodities Asset Management, LLC; Managing Director (since October 2016) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director (2013-2015); formerly, Director (2009-2013) Deutsche Bank; CEO (2012-2015) DB Commodity Services LLC; CEO (2012-2014) DBX Advisors LLC and DBX Strategic Advisors LLC. | 8 | ||||
Lorna C. Ferguson* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1945 |
Vice President |
TermUntil
August 2017 Length of Service Since 2016 |
Senior Managing Director (since February 2017), formerly, Managing Director (2004-2017) of Nuveen. | 178 | ||||
Stephen D. Foy* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1954 |
Vice President and Controller |
TermUntil
August 2017 Length of Service Since 2016 |
Managing Director (since 2014), formerly, Senior Vice President (2013-2014) and Vice President (2005-2013) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Chief Financial Officer (since 2010) of Nuveen Commodities Asset Management, LLC; Managing Director (since 2016) of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Certified Public Accountant. | 178 | ||||
Nathaniel T. Jones* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1979 |
Vice President and Treasurer |
TermUntil
August 2017 Length of Service Since 2016 |
Managing Director (since January 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2016-2017), formerly, Vice President (2011-2016) of Nuveen; Chartered Financial Analyst. | 178 | ||||
Walter M. Kelly* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1970 |
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
TermUntil
August 2017 Length of Service Since 2016 |
Managing Director (since January 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2008-2017) of Nuveen. | 178 | ||||
Tina M. Lazar* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1961 |
Vice President |
TermUntil
August 2017 Length of Service Since 2016 |
Managing Director (since January 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2014-2017) of Nuveen Securities, LLC. | 178 |
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Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Officer |
||||
Kevin J. McCarthy* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1966 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil
Length of
Service
|
Senior Managing Director (since February 2017), formerly, Executive Vice President (2016-2017), Secretary and General Counsel (since 2016), formerly, Managing Director and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Senior Managing Director (since January 2017), formerly, Executive Vice President (2016-2017); formerly, Managing Director and Assistant Secretary (since 2008) of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Senior Managing Director (since February 2017), formerly, Executive Vice President; Secretary (since 2016), formerly, Managing Director (2008-2016) and Assistant Secretary (2007-2016) and Co-General Counsel (since 2011) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Senior Managing Director (since February 2017), formerly, Executive Vice President; Secretary (since 2016), formerly, Managing Director and Assistant Secretary (2011-2016) and Associate General Counsel (since 2011) of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC; Senior Managing Director (since February 2017), formerly, Executive Vice President and Secretary (since 2016) of Nuveen Investments Advisers, LLC; Vice President (since 2007) and Secretary (since 2016) of NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC, Symphony Asset Management LLC, Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC, and Winslow Capital Management, LLC (since 2010); Vice President (since 2010) and Secretary (since 2016), formerly, Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Commodities Asset Management, LLC. | 178 | ||||
Kathleen L. Prudhomme* 901 Marquette Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55402 1953 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil
August 2017 Length of Service Since 2016 |
Managing Director and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Securities, LLC (since 2011); Managing Director, Assistant Secretary and Co-General Counsel (since 2011) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director, Assistant Secretary and Associate General Counsel (since 2011) of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC; formerly, Deputy General Counsel, FAF, Advisors, Inc. (2004-2010). | 178 | ||||
Christopher M. Rohrbacher* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1971 |
Vice President and Secretary |
TermUntil August 2017 Length of ServiceSince 2016 |
Managing Director (since February 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (October 2016-February 2017) and Assistant Secretary (since October 2016) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director (since January 2017) of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Vice President and Assistant Secretary (since 2010) of Nuveen Commodities Asset Management, LLC. |
178 |
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Name, Business Address
|
Position(s) Held
|
Term of Office
|
Principal Occupation(s)
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Officer |
||||
Joel T. Slager* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1978 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil
August 2017 Length of Service Since 2016 |
Fund Tax Director for Nuveen Funds (since May 2013); previously, Vice President of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Inc., Assistant Treasurer of the Morgan Stanley Funds (2010-2013). | 178 | ||||
Gifford R. Zimmerman* 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 1956 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
TermUntil
Length of
Service
|
Managing Director (since 2002) and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Managing Director (since 2002), Assistant Secretary (since 1997) and Co-General Counsel (since 2011) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director (since 2004) and Assistant Secretary (since 1994) of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Managing Director, Assistant Secretary and Associate General Counsel of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (since 2011); Vice President (since February 2017) Managing Director (2003-2017) and Assistant Secretary (since 2003) of Symphony Asset Management LLC; Managing Director and Assistant Secretary (since 2002) of Nuveen Investments Advisors, LLC; Vice President and Assistant Secretary of NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC, Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC (since 2006) and of Winslow Capital Management, LLC (since 2010); Chartered Financial Analyst. | 178 |
* | Each officer also serves as an officer of the Diversified Real Asset Income Fund, a closed-end management investment company advised by the Adviser but not overseen by the Board. |
Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight
The Board oversees the operations and management of the Nuveen Funds, including the duties performed for the Nuveen Funds by the Adviser. The Board has adopted a unitary board structure. A unitary board consists of one group of trustees who serve on the board of every fund in the Nuveen Fund complex. In adopting a unitary board structure, the trustees seek to provide effective governance through establishing a board, the overall composition of which will, as a body, possess the appropriate skills, independence and experience to oversee the Nuveen Funds business. With this overall framework in mind, when the Board, through its Nominating and Governance Committee discussed below, seeks nominees for the Board, the trustees consider, not only the candidates particular background, skills and experience, among other things, but also whether such background, skills and experience enhance the Boards diversity and at the same time complement the Board given its current composition and the mix of skills and experiences of the incumbent trustees. The Nominating and Governance Committee believes that the Board generally benefits from diversity of
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background, experience and views among its members, and considers this a factor in evaluating the composition of the Board, but has not adopted any specific policy on diversity or any particular definition of diversity.
The Board believes the unitary board structure enhances good and effective governance, particularly given the nature of the structure of the investment company complex. Funds in the same complex generally are served by the same service providers and personnel and are governed by the same regulatory scheme which raises common issues that must be addressed by the trustee across the fund complex (such as compliance, valuation, liquidity, brokerage, trade allocation or risk management). The Board believes it is more efficient to have a single board review and oversee common policies and procedures which increases the Boards knowledge and expertise with respect to the many aspects of fund operations that are complex-wide in nature. The unitary structure also enhances the Boards influence and oversight over the Adviser and other service providers.
In an effort to enhance the independence of the Board, the Board also has a Chairman that is an independent trustee. The Board recognizes that a chairman can perform an important role in setting the agenda for the Board, establishing the boardroom culture, establishing a point person on behalf of the Board for fund management, and reinforcing the Boards focus on the long-term interests of shareholders. The Board recognizes that a chairman may be able to better perform these functions without any conflicts of interests arising from a position with fund management. Accordingly, the trustees have elected William J. Schneider to serve as the independent Chairman of the Board. Specific responsibilities of the Chairman include: (i) presiding at all meetings of the Board and of the shareholders; (ii) seeing that all orders and resolutions of the trustees are carried into effect; and (iii) maintaining records of and, whenever necessary, certifying all proceedings of the trustees and the shareholders.
Although the Board has direct responsibility over various matters (such as advisory contracts, underwriting contracts and fund performance), the Board also exercises certain of its oversight responsibilities through several committees that it has established and which report back to the full Board. The Board believes that a committee structure is an effective means to permit trustees to focus on particular operations or issues affecting the Nuveen Funds, including risk oversight. More specifically, with respect to risk oversight, the Board has delegated matters relating to valuation and compliance to certain committees (as summarized below) as well as certain aspects of investment risk. In addition, the Board believes that the periodic rotation of trustees among the different committees allows the trustees to gain additional and different perspectives of a Nuveen Funds operations. The Board has established six standing committees: the Executive Committee, the Dividend Committee, the Audit Committee, the Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Open-End Funds Committee. The Board may also from time to time create ad hoc committees to focus on particular issues as the need arises. The membership and functions of the standing committees are summarized below.
The Executive Committee, which meets between regular meetings of the Board, is authorized to exercise all of the powers of the Board. The members of the Executive Committee are William Adams IV, William J. Schneider, Chair, and Terence J. Toth. During the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016, the Executive Committee did not meet.
The Audit Committee assists the Board in the oversight and monitoring of the accounting and reporting policies, processes and practices of the Nuveen Funds, and the audits of the financial statements of the Nuveen Funds; the quality and integrity of the financial statements of the Nuveen Funds; the Nuveen Funds compliance with legal and regulatory requirements relating to the Nuveen Funds financial statements; the independent auditors qualifications, performance and independence; and the pricing procedures of the Nuveen Funds and the Advisers internal valuation group. It is the responsibility of the Audit Committee to select, evaluate and replace any independent auditors (subject only to Board and, if applicable, shareholder ratification) and to determine their compensation. The Audit Committee is also responsible for, among other things, overseeing the valuation of securities comprising the Nuveen Funds portfolios. Subject to the Boards general supervision of such actions, the Audit Committee addresses any valuation issues, oversees the Nuveen Funds pricing procedures and actions taken by the Advisers internal valuation group which provides regular reports to the committee, reviews any issues relating to the valuation of the Nuveen
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Funds securities brought to its attention and considers the risks to the Nuveen Funds in assessing the possible resolutions to these matters. The Audit Committee may also consider any financial risk exposures for the Nuveen Funds in conjunction with performing its functions.
To fulfill its oversight duties, the Audit Committee receives annual and semi-annual reports and has regular meetings with the external auditors for the Nuveen Funds and the Advisers internal audit group. The Audit Committee also may review in a general manner the processes the Board or other Board committees have in place with respect to risk assessment and risk management as well as compliance with legal and regulatory matters relating to the Nuveen Funds financial statements. The committee operates under a written charter adopted and approved by the Board. Members of the Audit Committee shall be independent (as set forth in the charter) and free of any relationship that, in the opinion of the trustees, would interfere with their exercise of independent judgment as an Audit Committee member. The members of the Audit Committee are Jack B. Evans, Chair, David J. Kundert, John K. Nelson, Carole E. Stone and Terence J. Toth, each of whom is an independent trustee of the Nuveen Funds. During the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016, the Audit Committee met two (2) times.
The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for seeking, identifying and recommending to the Board qualified candidates for election or appointment to the Board. In addition, the Nominating and Governance Committee oversees matters of corporate governance, including the evaluation of Board performance and processes, the assignment and rotation of committee members, and the establishment of corporate governance guidelines and procedures, to the extent necessary or desirable, and matters related thereto. Although the unitary and committee structure has been developed over the years and the Nominating and Governance Committee believes the structure has provided efficient and effective governance, the committee recognizes that as demands on the Board evolve over time (such as through an increase in the number of funds overseen or an increase in the complexity of the issues raised), the committee must continue to evaluate the Board and committee structures and their processes and modify the foregoing as may be necessary or appropriate to continue to provide effective governance. Accordingly, the Nominating and Governance Committee has a separate meeting each year to, among other things, review the Board and committee structures, their performance and functions, and recommend any modifications thereto or alternative structures or processes that would enhance the Boards governance of the Nuveen Funds.
In addition, the Nominating and Governance Committee, among other things, makes recommendations concerning the continuing education of trustees; monitors performance of legal counsel and other service providers; establishes and monitors a process by which security holders are able to communicate in writing with members of the Board; and periodically reviews and makes recommendations about any appropriate changes to trustee compensation. In the event of a vacancy on the Board, the Nominating and Governance Committee receives suggestions from various sources, including shareholders, as to suitable candidates. Suggestions should be sent in writing to Lorna Ferguson, Manager of Fund Board Relations, Nuveen, 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606. The Nominating and Governance Committee sets appropriate standards and requirements for nominations for new trustees and reserves the right to interview any and all candidates and to make the final selection of any new trustees. In considering a candidates qualifications, each candidate must meet certain basic requirements, including relevant skills and experience, time availability (including the time requirements for due diligence site visits to sub-advisers and service providers) and, if qualifying as an independent trustee candidate, independence from the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, the Distributor and other service providers, including any affiliates of these entities. These skill and experience requirements may vary depending on the current composition of the Board, since the goal is to ensure an appropriate range of skills, diversity and experience, in the aggregate. Accordingly, the particular factors considered and weight given to these factors will depend on the composition of the Board and the skills and backgrounds of the incumbent trustees at the time of consideration of the nominees. All candidates, however, must meet high expectations of personal integrity, independence, governance experience and professional competence. All candidates must be willing to be critical within the Board and with management and yet maintain a collegial and collaborative manner toward other Board members. The committee operates under a written charter adopted and approved by the Board. This committee is composed of the independent trustees of the
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Nuveen Funds. Accordingly, the members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Jack B. Evans, William C. Hunter, David J. Kundert, Albin F. Moschner, John K. Nelson, William J. Schneider, Chair, Judith M. Stockdale, Carole E. Stone, Terence J. Toth and Margaret L. Wolff. During the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016, the Nominating and Governance Committee met two (2) times.
The Dividend Committee is authorized to declare distributions on the Nuveen Funds shares, including, but not limited to, regular and special dividends, capital gains and ordinary income distributions. The members of the Dividend Committee are William C. Hunter, Chair, Margaret L. Wolff and Terence J. Toth. During the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016, the Dividend Committee met one (1) time.
The Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee (the Compliance Committee ) is responsible for the oversight of compliance issues, risk management and other regulatory matters affecting the Nuveen Funds that are not otherwise the jurisdiction of the other committees. The Board has adopted and periodically reviews policies and procedures designed to address the Nuveen Funds compliance and risk matters. As part of its duties, the Compliance Committee reviews the policies and procedures relating to compliance matters and recommends modifications thereto as necessary or appropriate to the full Board; develops new policies and procedures as new regulatory matters affecting the Nuveen Funds arise from time to time; evaluates or considers any comments or reports from examinations from regulatory authorities and responses thereto; and performs any special reviews, investigations or other oversight responsibilities relating to risk management, compliance and/or regulatory matters as requested by the Board.
In addition, the Compliance Committee is responsible for risk oversight, including, but not limited to, the oversight of risks related to investments and operations. Such risks include, among other things, exposures to particular issuers, market sectors, or types of securities; risks related to product structure elements, such as leverage; and techniques that may be used to address those risks, such as hedging and swaps. In assessing issues brought to the committees attention or in reviewing a particular policy, procedure, investment technique or strategy, the Compliance Committee evaluates the risks to the Nuveen Funds in adopting a particular approach compared to the anticipated benefits to the Nuveen Funds and their shareholders. In fulfilling its obligations, the Compliance Committee meets on a quarterly basis, and at least once a year in person. The Compliance Committee receives written and oral reports from the Nuveen Funds Chief Compliance Officer ( CCO ) and meets privately with the CCO at each of its quarterly meetings. The CCO also provides an annual report to the full Board regarding the operations of the Nuveen Funds and other service providers compliance programs as well as any recommendations for modifications thereto. The Compliance Committee also receives reports from the Advisers investment services group regarding various investment risks. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the full Board also participates in discussions with management regarding certain matters relating to investment risk, such as the use of leverage and hedging. The investment services group therefore also reports to the full Board at its quarterly meetings regarding, among other things, fund performance and the various drivers of such performance. Accordingly, the Board directly and/or in conjunction with the Compliance Committee oversees matters relating to investment risks. Matters not addressed at the committee level are addressed directly by the full Board. The committee operates under a written charter adopted and approved by the Board. The members of the Compliance Committee are William C. Hunter, Albin F. Moschner, John K. Nelson, Chair, Judith M. Stockdale and Margaret L. Wolff. During the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016, the Compliance Committee met one (1) time.
The Open-End Funds Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in the oversight and monitoring of the Nuveen Open-End Funds. The committee may review and evaluate matters related to the formation and the initial presentation to the Board of any new Nuveen Open-End Fund and may review and evaluate any matters relating to any existing Nuveen Open-End Fund. The committee operates under a written charter adopted and approved by the Board. The members of the Open-End Funds Committee are Judith M. Stockdale, Chair, Margo L. Cook, William C. Hunter, David J. Kundert, William J. Schneider and Margaret L. Wolff.
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Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications
In determining that a particular trustee was qualified to serve on the Board, the Board has considered each trustees background, skills, experience and other attributes in light of the composition of the Board with no particular factor controlling. The Board believes that trustees need to have the ability to critically review, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, and to interact effectively with Fund management, service providers and counsel, in order to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties, and the Board believes each trustee satisfies this standard. An effective trustee may achieve this ability through his or her educational background; business, professional training or practice; public service or academic positions; experience from service as a board member or executive of investment funds, public companies or significant private or not-for-profit entities or other organizations; and/or other life experiences. Accordingly, set forth below is a summary of the experiences, qualifications, attributes, and skills that led to the conclusion, as of the date of this document, that each trustee should continue to serve in that capacity. References to the experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills of trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute holding out of the Board or any trustee as having any special expertise or experience and shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.
William Adams IV
Mr. Adams has been Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President since March 2016, prior to which he had been Senior Executive Vice President, Global Structured Products of Nuveen Investments since November 2010. Mr. Adams is a member of the Senior Leadership Team of Nuveen, LLC, as well as co-chair of Nuveen Investments Management and Operating Committees. Mr. Adams has also served as Co-President of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC since January 2011. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President, U.S. Structured Products from December 1999 until November 2010 and served as Managing Director of Structured Investments from September 1997 to December 1999 and Vice President and Manager, Corporate Marketing from August 1994 to September 1997. He is Co-President Global Products and Solutions, of Nuveen Securities, LLC. Mr. Adams earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and his Masters of Business Administration ( MBA ) from the University of Chicagos Graduate School of Business. He is an Associate Fellow of Yales Timothy Dwight College and is currently on the Board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and of Gildas Club Chicago.
Margo L. Cook
Ms. Cook has been Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President since March 2016, prior to which she had been Senior Executive Vice President of Nuveen Investments since July 2015. Ms. Cook is a member of the Senior Leadership Team of Nuveen, LLC, as well as co-chair of Nuveen Investments Management and Operating Committees. She is Co-President (since October 2016), formerly, Senior Executive Vice President (2015-2016) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC and Co-President Global Products and Solutions, of Nuveen Securities, LLC. Since joining in 2008, she has held various leadership roles at Nuveen Investments, including as Head of Investment Services, responsible for investment-related efforts across the firm. Ms. Cook also serves on the Board of Nuveen Global Fund Investors. Before joining Nuveen Investments, she was the Global Head of Bear Stearns Asset Managements institutional business. Prior to that, she spent over 20 years within BNY Mellons asset management business, including as Chief Investment Officer for Institutional Asset Management and Head of Institutional Fixed Income. Ms. Cook earned her Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Rhode Island, her Executive MBA from Columbia University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She serves as Vice Chair of the University of Rhode Island Foundation Board of Trustees, and Chair of the All Stars Project of Chicago Board.
Jack B. Evans
President of the Hall-Perrine Foundation, a private philanthropic corporation, since 1996. Mr. Evans was formerly President and Chief Operating Officer of the SCI Financial Group, Inc., a regional financial services firm headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Formerly, he was a member of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, a Director of Alliant Energy and President Pro Tem of the Board of Regents for the State of Iowa University System. Mr. Evans is Chairman of the Board of
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United Fire Group, sits on the Board of The Gazette Company and is a Life Trustee of Coe College. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Coe College and an MBA from the University of Iowa.
William C. Hunter
Mr. Hunter became Dean Emeritus of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa on June 30, 2012. He was appointed Dean of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa on July 1, 2006. He had been Dean and Distinguished Professor of Finance at the University of Connecticut School of Business since June 2003. From 1995 to 2003, he was the Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. While there he served as the Banks Chief Economist and was an Associate Economist on the Federal Reserve Systems Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). In addition to serving as a Vice President in charge of financial markets and basic research at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, he held faculty positions at Emory University, Atlanta University, the University of Georgia and Northwestern University. A past Director of the Credit Research Center at Georgetown University, SS&C Technologies, Inc. (2005) and past President of the Financial Management Association International, he has consulted with numerous foreign central banks and official agencies in Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Central America and South America. From 1990 to 1995, he was a U.S. Treasury Advisor to Central and Eastern Europe. He has been a Director of the Xerox Corporation since 2004 and Wellmark, Inc. since 2009. He is a past Director and a past President of Beta Gamma Sigma, Inc., The International Business Honor Society.
David J. Kundert
Mr. Kundert retired in 2004 as Chairman of JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, President and CEO of Banc One Investment Advisors Corporation, and President of One Group Mutual Funds. Prior to the merger between Bank One Corporation and JPMorgan Chase and Co., he was Executive Vice President, Bank One Corporation and, since 1995, the Chairman and CEO, Banc One Investment Management Group. From 1988 to 1992, he was President and CEO of Bank One Wisconsin Trust Company. Mr. Kundert recently retired as a Director of the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (2006-2013). He started his career as an attorney for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Mr. Kundert has served on the Board of Governors of the Investment Company Institute and he is currently a member of the Wisconsin Bar Association. He is on the Board of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and chairs its Investment Committee. He is a Regent Emeritus and a Member of the Investment Committee of Luther College. He is also a Member of the Board of Directors (Milwaukee) of College Possible and on the Board of Trustees of Milwaukee Repertory Theater (since 2016). He received his Bachelor of Arts from Luther College, and his Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University.
Albin F. Moschner
Mr. Moschner is a consultant in the wireless industry and, in July 2012, founded Northcroft Partners, LLC, a management consulting firm that provides operational, management and governance solutions. Prior to founding Northcroft Partners, LLC, Mr. Moschner held various positions at Leap Wireless International, Inc., a provider of wireless services, where he was a consultant from February 2011 to July 2012, Chief Operating Officer from July 2008 to February 2011, and Chief Marketing Officer from August 2004 to June 2008. Before he joined Leap Wireless International, Inc., Mr. Moschner was President of the Verizon Card Services division of Verizon Communications, Inc. from 2000 to 2003, and President of One Point Services at One Point Communications from 1999 to 2000. Mr. Moschner also served at Zenith Electronics Corporation as Director, President and Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 1996, and as Director, President and Chief Operating Officer from 1994 to 1995. Since 2012, Mr. Moschner has been a member of the Board of Directors of USA Technologies, Inc. and, from 1996 until 2016, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Wintrust Financial Corporation. In addition, he currently serves on the Advisory Boards of the Kellogg School of Management (since 1995) and the Archdiocese of Chicago Financial Council (since May 2012). Mr. Moschner received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from The City College of New York in 1974 and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University in 1979.
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John K. Nelson
Mr. Nelson is currently on the Board of Directors of Core12 LLC (since 2008), a private firm which develops branding, marketing, and communications strategies for clients. Mr. Nelson has served in several senior executive positions with ABN AMRO Holdings N.V. and its affiliated entities and predecessors, including LaSalle Bank Corporation from 1996 to 2008. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Nelson was Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO N.V. North America, and Global Head of its Financial Markets Division. He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, and during his tenure with ABN AMRO, served as the banks representative on various committees of the Bank of Canada, European Central Bank, and the Bank of England. At Fordham University, he currently serves as a director of The Curran Center for Catholic American Studies, and The Presidents Council. He is also a member of The Economic Club of Chicago. He was formerly a senior external advisor to the financial services practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP, was formerly a member of The Hyde Park Angels and was formerly a Trustee at St. Edmund Preparatory School in New York City. He formerly served as the Chairman of The Board of Trustees of Marian University. Mr. Nelson graduated and received his MBA from Fordham University.
William J. Schneider
Mr. Schneider, the Nuveen Funds Independent Chairman, is currently Chairman, formerly Senior Partner and Chief Operating Officer (retired, December 2004) of Miller-Valentine Partners, a real estate investment company. He is an owner in several other Miller-Valentine Group entities. He is currently a member of the board of WDPR Public radio station. He is formerly a Director and Past Chair of the Dayton Development Coalition. He was formerly a member of the Community Advisory Board of the National City Bank in Dayton as well as a former member of the Business Advisory Council of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. Mr. Schneider was also a member of the Business Advisory Council for the University of Dayton College of Business. He also served as Chair of the Miami Valley Hospital and as Chair of the Finance Committee of its parent holding company. Mr. Schneider was an independent Trustee of the Flagship Funds, a group of municipal open-end funds. Mr. Schneider has a Bachelor of Science in Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Dayton.
Judith M. Stockdale
Ms. Stockdale retired in 2012 as Executive Director of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, a private foundation working in land conservation and artistic vitality in the Chicago region and the Low country of South Carolina. She is currently a board member of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (since November 2013) and has rejoined the board of the Land Trust Alliance in June 2013. Her previous positions include Executive Director of the Great Lakes Protection Fund, Executive Director of Openlands, and Senior Staff Associate at the Chicago Community Trust. She has served on the Advisory Councils of the National Zoological Park, the Governors Science Advisory Council (Illinois) and the Nancy Ryerson Ranney Leadership Grants Program. She has served on the boards of Brushwood center and the Donors Forum. Ms. Stockdale, a native of the United Kingdom, has a Bachelor of Science degree in geography from the University of Durham (UK) and a Master of Forest Science degree from Yale University.
Carole E. Stone
Ms. Stone is currently on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, CBOE Holdings, Inc. and C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated. Ms. Stone retired from the New York State Division of the Budget in 2004, having served as its Director for nearly five years and as Deputy Director from 1995 through 1999. She has also served as the Chair of the New York Racing Association Oversight Board, as a Commissioner on the New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform and as a member of the Boards of Directors of several New York State public authorities. Ms. Stone has a Bachelor of Arts from Skidmore College in Business Administration.
Terence J. Toth
Mr. Toth is a Co-Founding Partner of Promus Capital (since 2008). From 2012 to 2016, he was a Director of LogicMark LLC. From 2008 to 2013, he was a Director of Legal & General Investment
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Management America, Inc. From 2004 to 2007, he was Chief Executive Officer and President of Northern Trust Global Investments, and Executive Vice President of Quantitative Management & Securities Lending from 2000 to 2004. He also formerly served on the Board of the Northern Trust Mutual Funds. He joined Northern Trust in 1994 after serving as Managing Director and Head of Global Securities Lending at Bankers Trust (1986 to 1994) and Head of Government Trading and Cash Collateral Investment at Northern Trust from 1982 to 1986. He currently serves on the Board of Fulcrum IT Service LLC (since 2010), Quality Control Corporation (since 2012) and Catalyst Schools of Chicago. He is on the Mather Foundation Board (since 2012) and is the Chair of its investment committee. Mr. Toth graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois, and received his MBA from New York University. In 2005, he graduated from the CEO Perspectives Program at Northwestern University.
Margaret L. Wolff
Ms. Wolff retired from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in 2014 after more than 30 years of providing client service in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group. During her legal career, Ms. Wolff devoted significant time to advising boards and senior management on U.S. and international corporate, securities, regulatory and strategic matters, including governance, shareholder, fiduciary, operational and management issues. Since 2013, she has been a Board member of Travelers Insurance Company of Canada and The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company (each of which is a part of Travelers Canada, the Canadian operation of The Travelers Companies, Inc.). Ms. Wolff has been a trustee of New York-Presbyterian Hospital since 2005 and, since 2004, she has served as a trustee of The John A. Hartford Foundation (a philanthropy dedicated to improving the care of older adults) where she currently is the Chair. From 2005 to 2015, she was a trustee of Mt. Holyoke College and served as Vice Chair of the Board from 2011 to 2015. Ms. Wolff received her Bachelor of Arts from Mt. Holyoke College and her Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Board Compensation
The following table shows, for each independent trustee, (1) the aggregate compensation (including deferred amounts) to be paid by the Fund for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016 (2) the amount of total compensation paid by the Fund that has been deferred, and (3) the total compensation (including deferred amounts) paid to each trustee by the Nuveen Funds during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. Pursuant to the Boards deferred compensation plan, a portion of the independent trustees compensation may be deferred and treated as though an equivalent dollar amount has been invested in shares of one or more eligible Nuveen Funds. The amount of total compensation that has been deferred provided below represents the total deferred fees (including the return from the assumed investment in the eligible Nuveen Funds) payable from the Fund.
Name of Trustee |
Aggregate
Compensation From Fund |
Amount of Total
Compensation that Has Been Deferred |
Total
Compensation From Nuveen Funds Paid to Trustee |
|||||||||
Jack B. Evans | | | $ | 354,312 | ||||||||
William C. Hunter | | | 332,500 | |||||||||
David J. Kundert | | | 354,764 | |||||||||
Albin F. Moschner 1 | | | 70,000 | |||||||||
John K. Nelson | | | 350,375 | |||||||||
William J. Schneider | | | 393,412 | |||||||||
Judith M. Stockdale | | | 327,644 | |||||||||
Carole E. Stone | | | 346,482 | |||||||||
Terence J. Toth | | | 349,767 | |||||||||
Margaret L. Wolff 2 | | | 205,819 |
(1) |
Mr. Moschner was appointed to the Board effective July 1, 2016. |
(2) |
Ms. Wolff was appointed to the Board effective February 15, 2016. |
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Effective January 1, 2016, independent trustees receive a $170,000 annual retainer, increased to $177,500 as of January 1, 2017, plus (a) a fee of $5,500 per day, increased to $5,750 per day as of January 1, 2017, for attendance in person or by telephone at regularly scheduled meetings of the Board; (b) a fee of $3,000 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at special, non-regularly scheduled Board meetings where in-person attendance is required and $2,000 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such meetings where in-person attendance is not required; (c) a fee of $2,500 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at Audit Committee meetings where in-person attendance is required and $2,000 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such meetings where in-person attendance is not required; (d) a fee of $2,500 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee meetings where in-person attendance is required and $2,000 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such meetings where in-person attendance is not required; (e) a fee of $1,000 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at Dividend Committee meetings; (f) a fee of $500 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at all other committee meetings ($1,000 for shareholder meetings) where in-person attendance is required and $250 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such committee meetings (excluding shareholder meetings) where in-person attendance is not required, and $100 per meeting when the Executive Committee acts as pricing committee for IPOs, plus, in each case, expenses incurred in attending such meetings, provided that no fees are received for meetings held on days on which regularly scheduled Board meetings are held; and (g) a fee of $2,500 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at Open-End Funds Committee meetings where in-person attendance is required and $2,000 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such meetings where in-person attendance is not required; provided that no fees are received for meetings held on days on which regularly scheduled Board meetings are held. In addition to the payments described above, the Chairman of the Board receives $80,000, the chairpersons of the Audit Committee, the Dividend Committee, the Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee, and the Open-End Funds Committee receive $12,500 each and the Chairperson of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives $5,000 as additional retainers. Independent trustees also receive a fee of $3,000 per day for site visits to entities that provide services to the Nuveen Funds on days on which no Board meeting is held. When ad hoc committees are organized, the Nominating and Governance Committee will at the time of formation determine compensation to be paid to the members of such committee; however, in general, such fees will be $1,000 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at ad hoc committee meetings where in-person attendance is required and $500 per meeting for attendance by telephone or in person at such meetings where in-person attendance is not required. The annual retainer, fees and expenses are allocated among the Nuveen Funds on the basis of relative net assets, although management may, in its discretion, establish a minimum amount to be allocated to each fund. In certain instances fees and expenses will be allocated only to those Nuveen Funds that are discussed at a given meeting.
The Trust does not have a retirement or pension plan. The Trust has a deferred compensation plan (the Deferred Compensation Plan ) that permits any independent trustee to elect to defer receipt of all or a portion of his or her compensation as an independent trustee. The deferred compensation of a participating trustee is credited to a book reserve account of the Trust when the compensation would otherwise have been paid to the trustee. The value of the trustees deferral account at any time is equal to the value that the account would have had if contributions to the account had been invested and reinvested in shares of one or more of the eligible Nuveen Funds. At the time for commencing distributions from a trustees deferral account, the independent trustee may elect to receive distributions in a lump sum or over a period of five years. The Trust will not be liable for any other funds obligations to make distributions under the Deferred Compensation Plan.
The Fund has no employees. The officers of the Trust and the trustees of the Trust who are not independent trustees serve without any compensation from the Fund.
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Share Ownership
The information in the table below discloses the dollar ranges of (i) each trustees beneficial ownership in the Fund, and (ii) each trustees aggregate beneficial ownership in all Nuveen Funds, including in each case the value of fund shares elected by the trustee in the trustees deferred compensation plan, based on the value of fund shares as of December 31, 2016:
Name of Trustee |
Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in the Fund |
Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in Family of Investment Companies |
||||
William Adams IV |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
Margo L. Cook |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
Jack B. Evans |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
William C. Hunter |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
David J. Kundert |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
Albin F. Moschner |
$ | 0 | $0 | |||
John K. Nelson |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
William J. Schneider |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
Judith M. Stockdale |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
Carole E. Stone |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
Terence J. Toth |
$ | 0 | Over $100,000 | |||
Margaret L. Wolff |
$ | 0 | $50,001-$100,000 |
As of April 1, 2017, the officers and trustees of the Trust, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of the Fund.
As of April 1, 2017, none of the independent trustees or their immediate family members owned, beneficially, or of record, any securities in (i) an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund or (ii) a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund.
Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC, the Funds investment adviser, has overall responsibility for management of the Fund, oversees the management of the Funds portfolio, manages the Funds business affairs and provides certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services. In addition, the Adviser arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration and all other non-distribution related services necessary for the Fund to operate. The Adviser is a subsidiary of Nuveen LLC, (Nuveen), the investment management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America ( TIAA ). TIAA is a life insurance company founded in 1918 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is the companion organization of College Retirement Equities Fund ( CREF ). The Adviser is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
For the management services and facilities furnished by the Adviser under the Management Agreement, the Fund has agreed to pay an annual management fee based on a percentage of the Funds average daily net assets, payable monthly, at a rate set forth in the Prospectus under Fund ManagementManagement Fees. From time to time, the Adviser may waive all or a portion of its fee. The Adviser is responsible for substantially all other expenses of the Fund, except any future distribution and/or service fees, interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities, fees and expenses of the independent trustees (including any trustees counsel fees), certain compensation expenses of the Funds chief compliance officer, litigation expenses, and extraordinary expenses.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, the management fees (net of fee waivers and expense reimbursements) incurred by the Fund pursuant to the Management Agreement were $528.
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Because the Fund commenced operations on December 20, 2016, there were no management fees incurred during fiscal years ended December 31, 2015 or December 31, 2014.
The Adviser has selected Teachers Advisors, LLC (TAL), to serve as sub-adviser to the Fund, with primary responsibility for managing the Funds portfolio. TAL is a subsidiary of Nuveen and an affiliate of the Adviser. TAL also manages the investments of the TIAA-CREF Funds, the TIAA-CREF Life Funds and the TIAA Separate Account VA-1. TAL is located at 730 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017-3206. The Adviser pays TAL a portfolio management fee out of the advisory fee paid to the Adviser for its services to the Fund equal to 50% of the remainder of (a) the management fee payable by the Fund to the Adviser based on average daily net assets pursuant to the Management Agreement, less (b) any management fee waivers, expense reimbursement payments, revenue sharing payments and operating expenses of the Fund borne by the Adviser in respect to the Fund.
The following individuals have primary responsibility for the day-to-day implementation of the investment strategies of the Fund.
Teacher Advisors, Inc. |
Philip James (Jim) Campagna, Managing Director |
Lei Liao, Managing Director |
Potential Conflicts of Interest of the Sub-Adviser and the Portfolio Managers
The Funds portfolio managers may also manage other registered investment companies or unregistered investment pools and investment accounts, including accounts for TIAA or other proprietary accounts, which may raise potential conflicts of interest. The Sub-Adviser has put in place policies and procedures designed to mitigate any such conflicts. Such conflicts and mitigating policies and procedures include the following:
Conflicting Positions. Investment decisions made for the Fund may differ from, and may conflict with, investment decisions made by the Sub-Adviser or other advisory affiliates, for other client or proprietary accounts due to differences in investment objectives, investment strategies, account benchmarks, client risk profiles and other factors. As a result of such differences, if an account were to sell a significant position in a security while the Fund maintained its position in that security, the market price of such securities could decrease and adversely impact the Funds performance. In the case of a short sale, the selling account would benefit from any decrease in price.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities. Even where accounts have similar investment mandates as the Fund, the Sub-Adviser may determine that investment opportunities, strategies or particular purchases or sales are appropriate for one or more other client or proprietary accounts, but not for the Fund, or are appropriate for the Fund but in different amounts, terms or timing than is appropriate for other client or proprietary accounts. As a result, the amount, terms or timing of an investment by the Fund may differ from, and performance may be lower than, investments and performance of other client or proprietary accounts.
Aggregation and Allocation of Orders. The Sub-Adviser may aggregate orders of the Fund and its other accounts (including proprietary accounts), and orders of client accounts managed by other advisory affiliates, in each case consistent with the Sub-Advisers policy to seek best execution for all orders. Although aggregating orders is a common means of reducing transaction costs for participating accounts, the Sub-Adviser may be perceived as causing one client account, such as the Fund, to participate in an aggregated transaction in order to increase the Sub-Advisers overall allocation of securities in that transaction or future transactions. Allocations of aggregated trades may also be perceived as creating an incentive for the Sub-Adviser to disproportionately allocate securities expected to increase in value to certain client or proprietary accounts, at the expense of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may bear the risk of potentially higher transaction costs if aggregated trades are only partially filled or if orders are not aggregated at all.
The Sub-Adviser has adopted procedures designed to mitigate the foregoing conflicts of interest by treating each account, including the Fund, fairly and equitably over time in the allocation of investment opportunities and the aggregation and allocation of orders. The procedures also are designed to mitigate
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conflicts in potentially inconsistent trading and provide guidelines for trading priority. Moreover, the Sub-Advisers trading activities are subject to supervisory review and compliance monitoring to help address and mitigate conflicts of interest and ensure that accounts are being treated fairly and equitably over time.
For example, in allocating investment opportunities, a portfolio manager considers an accounts or funds investment objectives, investment restrictions, cash position, need for liquidity, sector concentration and other objective criteria. In addition, orders for the same single security are generally aggregated with other orders for the same single security received at the same time. If aggregated orders are fully executed, each participating account is allocated its pro rata share on an average price and trading cost basis. In the event the order is only partially filled, each participating account receives a pro rata share. Portfolio managers are also subject to restrictions on potentially inconsistent trading of single securities, although a portfolio manager may sell a single security short if the security is included in an accounts benchmark and the portfolio manager is underweight in that security relative to the accounts benchmark. Moreover, the procedures set forth guidelines under which trading for long sales of single securities over short sales of the same or closely related securities are monitored to ensure that the trades are treated fairly and equitably. Additionally, the Funds portfolio managers decisions for executing those trades are also monitored.
The Sub-Advisers procedures also address basket trades (trades in a wide variety of securitieson average approximately 100 different issuers) used in quantitative strategies. However, basket trades are generally not aggregated or subject to the same types of restrictions on potentially inconsistent trading as single-security trades because basket trades are tailored to a particular index or model portfolio based on the risk profile of a particular account pursuing a particular quantitative strategy. In addition, basket trades are not subject to the same monitoring as single-security trades because an automated and systematic process is used to execute trades; however, the Funds portfolio managers decisions for executing those trades are monitored.
Research. The Sub-Adviser allocates brokerage commissions to brokers who provide execution and research services for the Fund and some or all of the Sub-Advisers other clients. Such research services may not always be utilized in connection with the Fund or other client accounts that may have provided the commission or a portion of the commission paid to the broker providing the services. The Sub-Adviser is authorized to pay, on behalf of the Fund, higher brokerage fees than another broker might have charged in recognition of the value of brokerage or research services provided by the broker. The Sub-Adviser has adopted procedures with respect to these so-called soft dollar arrangements, including the use of brokerage commissions to pay for in-house and non-proprietary research, the process for allocating brokerage, and the Sub-Advisers practices regarding the use of third party soft dollars.
IPO Allocation. The Sub-Adviser has adopted procedures designed to ensure that it allocates initial public offerings to the Fund and the Sub-Advisers other clients in a fair and equitable manner, consistent with its fiduciary obligations to its clients.
Compensation. The compensation paid to the Sub-Adviser for managing the Fund, as well as certain other clients, is based on a percentage of assets under management, whereas the compensation paid to the Sub-Adviser for managing certain other clients is based on cost. However, no client currently pays the Sub-Adviser a performance-based fee. Nevertheless, the Sub-Adviser may be perceived as having an incentive to allocate securities that are expected to increase in value to accounts in which the Sub-Adviser has a proprietary interest or to certain other accounts in which the Sub-Adviser receives a larger asset-based fee.
Structure of Compensation for the Portfolio Managers
The Funds portfolio managers are compensated through a combination of base salary, annual performance awards, and long-term compensation awards. The variable component of a portfolio managers compensation consists of (1) a current year cash bonus and (2) a long-term performance award, which vests three years after receipt. The variable component is calculated based upon the ability of the portfolio managers to track the performance of the Index as well as manager/peer reviews. Fifty percent (50%) of the long-term award is based on the Funds performance during the 3-year vesting period and the remainder of the long-term award is based on the performance of the TIAA organization as a whole.
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Once total compensation is calculated, it is then compared to the compensation data obtained from surveys that include comparable investment firms. It should be noted that the total compensation can be increased or decreased based on the performance of the equity group as a unit and the relative success of the TIAA organization in achieving its financial and operational objectives.
Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers
In addition to the Fund, as of March 31, 2017, the portfolio managers were also primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the following accounts:
Portfolio Manager |
Type of Account Managed |
Number
of Accounts |
Assets
(millions) |
Number of
Accounts with Performance- Based Fees |
Assets of
Accounts with Performance- Based Fees (millions) |
|||||||||||||
Philip James (Jim) Campagna |
Registered Investment Companies | 15 | $ | 77,376 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 1 | $ | 23 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||
Other Accounts | 0 | $ | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||
Lei Liao |
Registered Investment Companies | 15 | $ | 77,376 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | 1 | $ | 23 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||
Other Accounts | 0 | $ | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Beneficial Ownership of Securities by the Portfolio Managers
As of the date of this SAI, the portfolio managers do not beneficially own any shares of the Fund.
Administrator, Custodian, and Transfer Agent
Brown Brothers Harriman ( BBH ), located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02110, is the administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Fund. As custodian, BBH performs custodial, fund accounting and portfolio accounting services.
Nuveen Securities, LLC, 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, serves as the principal underwriter of the NuShares ETFs, including the Fund, pursuant to a Distribution Agreement dated August 2, 2016 (the Distribution Agreement ). The Distributor is an affiliate of the Adviser and a subsidiary of Nuveen. The Distributor also serves as the principal underwriter for the Nuveen Mutual Funds, and has served as co-managing underwriter for the shares of the Nuveen Closed-End Funds.
Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, the Fund has appointed the Distributor to be its agent for the distribution of the Funds shares on a continuous offering basis. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Trust through the Distributor only in Creation Units, as described in the Prospectus and below under Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units. Shares in less than Creation Units are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver the Prospectus to persons purchasing Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 1934 Act ), and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ( FINRA ). The Distributor has no role in determining the investment policies of the Trust or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust.
The Adviser and/or its affiliates may make payments to broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, banks or other intermediaries (together, intermediaries) related to marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, data provision services, or their making shares of the Fund and certain other NuShares ETFs available to their customers generally and in certain investment programs. Such payments, which may be significant to the intermediary, are not made by the Fund. Rather, such payments are made by the Adviser and/or its affiliates from their own resources, which come directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the NuShares ETF complex. Payments of this type are sometimes referred to as revenue-sharing payments. A financial intermediary may make decisions about which investment options it recommends or makes available, or the level of services provided,
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to its customers based on the payments it is eligible to receive. Therefore, such payments to an intermediary create conflicts of interest between the intermediary and its customers and may cause the intermediary to recommend the Fund or other NuShares ETFs over another investment.
The Fund has adopted a plan (the Plan ) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Rule 12b-1 provides in substance that an open-end management investment company may not engage directly or indirectly in financing any activity which is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares, except pursuant to a plan adopted under the Rule. The Plan authorizes the Fund to pay up to 0.25% in distribution fees to the Distributor. No payments pursuant to the Plan will be made during the next twelve (12) months of operation.
The Plan may be terminated at any time with respect to any class of shares, without the payment of any penalty, by a vote of a majority of the independent trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such class. The Plan may be renewed from year to year if approved by a vote of the Board and a vote of the independent trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Plan. The Plan may be continued only if the trustees who vote to approve such continuance conclude, in the exercise of reasonable business judgment and in light of their fiduciary duties under applicable law, that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the Fund and its shareholders. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the cost which a class of shares may bear under the Plan without the approval of shareholders, and any other material amendments of the Plan must be approved by the independent trustees by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such amendments. During the continuance of the Plan, the selection and nomination of the independent trustees of the Trust will be committed to the discretion of the independent trustees then in office. With the exception of the Distributor and its affiliates, no interested person of the Fund, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act, and no trustee of the Fund has a direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any related agreement.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
KPMG LLP ( KPMG ), 200 East Randolph Drive, Suite 5500, Chicago, IL 60601, independent registered public accounting firm, has been selected as auditors for the Fund. In addition to audit services, KPMG provides assistance on accounting, tax and related matters.
The Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, the Distributor and the Boards independent trustees have adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act and, with respect to the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser, Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Acts of 1940, as amended, addressing personal securities transactions and other conduct by investment personnel and other persons who may have access to information about the Funds securities transactions. The codes are intended to address potential conflicts of interest that can arise in connection with personal trading activities of such persons. Persons subject to the codes are generally permitted to engage in personal securities transactions, including investing in securities eligible for investment by the Fund, subject to certain prohibitions, which may include prohibitions on investing in certain types of securities, pre-clearance requirements, blackout periods, annual and quarterly reporting of personal securities holdings and limitations on personal trading of initial public offerings. Violations of the codes are subject to review by the Board and could result in severe penalties.
The Fund has delegated authority to the Adviser to vote proxies for securities held by the Fund, and the Adviser has in turn delegated that responsibility to the Sub-Adviser. The Advisers proxy voting policy establishes minimum standards for the exercise of proxy voting authority by the Sub-Adviser.
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The Sub-Adviser votes proxies of the Funds portfolio companies in accordance with the guidelines articulated in the TIAA-CREF Policy Statement on Corporate Governance, attached as Schedule A of this SAI.
The Sub-Adviser has a dedicated team of professionals responsible for reviewing and voting proxies. In analyzing a proposal, in addition to exercising their professional judgment, these professionals utilize various sources of information to enhance their ability to evaluate the proposal. These sources may include research from third party proxy advisory firms and other consultants, various corporate governance-focused organizations, related publications and TIAA investment professionals. Based on their analysis of proposals and guided by the TIAA-CREF Policy Statement on Corporate Governance, these professionals then vote in a manner intended solely to advance the best interests of the Funds shareholders.
The Sub-Adviser has implemented policies, procedures and processes designed to prevent conflicts of interest from influencing proxy voting decisions. These include (i) a clear separation of proxy voting functions from external client relationship and sales functions; and (ii) the active monitoring by the Sub-Advisers legal and compliance professionals of required annual disclosures of potential conflicts of interest by individuals who have direct roles in executing or influencing the Funds proxy voting ( e.g. , the Sub-Advisers proxy voting professionals, or a senior executive of the Sub-Adviser or the Sub-Advisers affiliates).
There could be rare instances in which an individual who has a direct role in executing or influencing the Funds proxy voting ( e.g ., the Sub-Advisers proxy voting professionals or a senior executive of the Sub-Adviser or the Sub-Advisers affiliates) is either a director or executive of a portfolio company or may have some other association with a portfolio company. In such cases, this individual is required to recuse himself or herself from all decisions related to proxy voting for that portfolio company.
Voted Proxies. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent period ended June 30 will be available without charge by calling (800) 257-8787 or by accessing the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov .
The Sub-Adviser is responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund as well as for selecting brokers and, where applicable, negotiating the amount of the commission rate paid. It is the intention of the Sub-Adviser to place brokerage orders with the objective of obtaining the best execution, which includes such factors as best price, research and available data. The Sub-Adviser may consider other factors, including, among others, the brokers reputation, specialized expertise, special capabilities or efficiency. When purchasing or selling securities traded on the over-the-counter market, the Sub-Adviser generally will execute the transactions with a broker engaged in making a market for such securities. When the Sub-Adviser deems the purchase or sale of a security to be in the best interests of the Fund, its personnel also may, consistent with its fiduciary obligations, aggregate the securities to be sold or purchased. When the Sub-Adviser deems the purchase or sale of a security to be in the best interests of more than one fund, it may, consistent with its fiduciary obligations, decide either to buy or to sell a particular security for the Fund at the same time as for other funds that it may be managing, or that may be managed by its affiliate, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC, another investment adviser subsidiary of TIAA (Investment Management). In that event, allocation of the securities purchased or sold, as well as the expenses incurred in the transaction, will be made in an equitable manner.
Domestic brokerage commissions are negotiated, as there are no standard rates. All brokerage firms provide the service of execution of the order made; some brokerage firms also provide research and statistical data, and research reports on particular companies and industries are customarily provided by brokerage firms to large investors. In negotiating commissions, consideration is given by the Sub-Adviser to the quality of execution provided and to the use and value of the research. The valuation of such research may be judged with reference to a particular order or, alternatively, may be judged in terms of its value to the overall management of the portfolio or the portfolios of other
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clients. Currently, some foreign brokerage commissions are fixed under local law and practice. There is, however, an ongoing trend in many countries to adopt a new system of negotiated commissions.
Transactions in fixed-income instruments with dealers generally involve spreads rather than commissions. That is, the dealer generally functions as a principal, generating income from the spread between the dealers purchase and sale prices, rather than as a broker charging a proportional or fixed fee.
Consistent with best execution, the Sub-Adviser may place orders with brokers providing research and statistical data services even if lower commissions may be available from brokers not providing such services. With respect to equity securities, the Sub-Adviser has adopted a policy embodying the concepts of Section 28(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which provides a safe harbor allowing an investment adviser to cause a client to pay a higher commission to a broker that also provides research services than the commission another broker would charge (generally referred to as the use of soft dollars). To utilize soft dollars, the Sub-Adviser must determine in good faith that the commission paid is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided and that, over time, each client paying soft dollars receives some benefit from the research obtained through the use of soft dollars. The Sub-Adviser may make such a determination based upon either the particular transaction involved or the overall responsibilities of the adviser with respect to the accounts over which it exercises investment discretion. Therefore, specific research may not necessarily benefit all accounts paying commissions to such broker. Research obtained through soft dollars may be developed by the broker or a third party, where the obligation to pay is between the broker and the third party. In such cases the research will be paid for through a Commission Sharing Arrangement (CSA) or similar arrangement.
The Sub-Adviser may use soft dollars to pay for a variety of types of research, including, but not limited to, investment or market-related reports (including analyses and reports that relate to issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, and portfolio strategies), access to investment or market-related conferences, meetings with company management, access to a brokers research staff and the use of investment or market-related consulting services.
Fixed-income trades on behalf of the Fund in which the broker is acting as principal may not be allocated in order to generate soft dollar credits, but at times, a broker may send the Sub-Adviser unsolicited proprietary research that may be based in part on fixed-income trading volume directed to that broker. Similarly, trades on behalf of the Fund that follow an index or quantitative strategy, or execution-only trades, may not generate soft dollars, but at times a broker may send the Sub-Adviser unsolicited proprietary research that is based in part on such trades. The Sub-Adviser reserves the right to change or remove these restrictions at any time.
Research or services obtained for the Fund may be used by the Sub-Adviser in managing other funds and other investment company clients and advisory clients of the Sub-Adviser. Research or services obtained for the Trust also may be used by Investment Management for the CREF accounts.
In accordance with the 1940 Act, the Fund has adopted a policy prohibiting the Fund from compensating brokers or dealers for the sale or promotion of Fund shares by the direction of portfolio securities transactions for the Fund to such brokers or dealers. In addition, the Sub-Adviser has instituted policies and procedures so that the Sub-Advisers personnel do not violate this policy of the Fund.
The aggregate amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund during its first fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 was $6.18. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, the Fund did not acquire any securities of certain regular brokers or dealers (as such term is defined under Rule 10b-1 of the 1940 Act) or their parents. In addition, the Funds trading did not generate any soft dollars during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.
From time to time, the Sub-Adviser may effect purchases and sales of securities between the Fund and other funds or clients advised by the Sub-Adviser or an affiliate (such transactions referred to herein as cross trades) if it believes that such transactions are beneficial for each party and consistent with each partys investment objectives and guidelines, subject to applicable law and regulation. Cross trades may give rise to potential conflicts of interest for the Sub-Adviser. On any occasion when the Fund participates in a cross trade, the Sub-Adviser and the Fund will comply with procedures adopted pursuant to Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act and applicable SEC guidance.
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Trust has adopted policies which govern the dissemination of the Funds portfolio holdings. The Fund and its service providers may not receive compensation or any other consideration (which includes any agreement to maintain assets in the Fund or in other investment companies or accounts managed by the Adviser or any affiliated person of the Adviser) in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information of the Fund. The policies adopted by the Trust are implemented and overseen by the Chief Compliance Officer of the Fund, subject to the oversight of the Board. Compliance officers of the Fund, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser periodically monitor overall compliance with the policies to ascertain whether portfolio holdings information is disclosed in a manner that is consistent with the policies. Periodic reports regarding these policies will be provided to the Board. The Board must approve all material amendments to these policies. Prior to the commencement of trading on each day that the Fund is open for business, (1) the Funds portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated on the Funds publicly accessible website, www.nuveen.com/etf, and through financial reporting and news services, and (2) the composition of the basket of securities and/or cash that will constitute a Creation Unit is publicly disseminated via the National Securities Clearing Corporation, a clearing agency registered with the SEC (NSCC). The Trust, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser, and the Distributor will not disseminate non-public portfolio holdings information concerning the Trust.
Non-public portfolio holdings information may be provided to other persons if approved by the Funds Chief Administrative Officer or Secretary upon a determination that there is a legitimate business purpose for doing so, the disclosure is consistent with the interests of the Fund, and the recipient is obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the information and not misuse it.
There is no assurance that the Trusts policies on portfolio holdings disclosure will protect the Fund from the potential misuse of portfolio holdings information by individuals or firms in possession of such information.
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled Purchase and Sale of Shares.
The Depository Trust Company ( DTC ) acts as securities depositary for the shares. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in the limited circumstance provided below, certificates will not be issued for shares.
DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (the DTC Participants ) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE ) and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to other banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the Indirect Participants ).
Beneficial ownership of shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as Beneficial Owners ) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is
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required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust, either directly or through a third party service, shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust, either directly or through a third party service, shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant and/or third party service a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a street name, and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.
The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspects of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such shares, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.
DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions or, if such a replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Listing Exchange.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
The following table sets forth the percentage ownership of each person, who, as of April 3, 2017, owned of record, or is known by the Adviser to have owned beneficially, 5% or more of the Funds shares.
Name and Address of Owner |
Percentage of
Ownership |
|
Citibank, N.A. TIAA General Account 730 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017-3206 |
79.4% | |
Knight Clearing Services LLC 300 Vesey Street New York, NY 10282 |
17.7% |
As of April 3, 2017, the Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned less than 1% of the Trusts voting securities.
An Authorized Participant may hold of record more than 25% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. From time to time, Authorized Participants may be a beneficial and/or legal owner of the Fund,
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may be affiliated with an index provider, may be deemed to have control of the Fund and/or may be able to affect the outcome of matters presented for a vote of the shareholders of the Fund. Authorized Participants may execute an irrevocable proxy granting the Distributor or an affiliate of the Distributor (the Agent ) power to vote or abstain from voting such Authorized Participants beneficially or legally owned shares of the Fund. In such cases, the Agent shall mirror vote (or abstain from voting) such shares in the same proportion as all other beneficial owners of the Fund.
It is also possible that, from time to time, Nuveen or its affiliates may, subject to compliance with applicable law, purchase and hold shares of the Fund. Nuveen and its affiliates reserve the right, subject to compliance with applicable law, to sell at any time some or all of the shares of the Fund acquired for their own accounts. A large sale of shares of the Fund by Nuveen or its affiliates could significantly reduce the asset size of the Fund, which might have an adverse effect on the Funds market price.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS
The Fund issues and redeems its shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in a large specified number of shares called a Creation Unit. Creation Units are typically purchased and redeemed in-kind for securities included in the Index, but they may also be purchased and redeemed, in whole or in part, for the cash value of such securities in the Advisers discretion. The Funds NAV is determined once each day the NYSE is open for business (a Business Day ), as described under Determination of Net Asset Value.
Only Authorized Participants may purchase and redeem Creation Units directly from the Fund at NAV. To become an Authorized Participant, a firm must execute an Authorized Participant Agreement (the Participant Agreement ) that has been agreed to by the Distributor and BBH, in a form approved by the Trust. Among other things, the Participant Agreement requires that an Authorized Participant be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC or (ii) a DTC Participant.
The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units through the Distributor at their NAV next determined after receipt of an order in proper form on any Business Day. All orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units directly from the Fund, including non-standard orders (as defined below), must be placed in the manner and by the time (the Cut-Off Time ) set forth in the Funds Authorized Participant Procedures Handbook (the AP Handbook ). The date on which an order to purchase or redeem Creation Units is received in proper form and is accepted by the Distributor is referred to as the Order Placement Date . An order is generally considered to be in proper form if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, the AP Handbook and this SAI are properly followed.
An Authorized Participant submitting a creation or redemption order is deemed to make certain representations to the Trust as set forth in the Participant Agreement. The Distributor reserves the right to verify these representations in its discretion. If the Authorized Participant, upon receipt of a verification request, does not provide sufficient verification of its representations as determined by the Distributor in its sole discretion, the order will not be considered to have been received in proper form and may be rejected by the Distributor.
Purchase (Creation)
Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of (a) either (i) the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the Deposit Securities ) per each Creation Unit constituting a substantial replication, or a portfolio sampling representation, of the securities included in the Index or (ii) the cash value of the Deposit Securities ( Deposit Cash ) and (b) the Cash Component, defined and computed as described below. Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the Fund Deposit , the value of which equals the NAV of a Creation Unit of the Fund on any given Order Placement Date. In addition to the Fund Deposit, Authorized Participants will be charged a standard fixed transaction fee and, for purchases effected in whole or in part with Deposit Cash, a variable transaction fee intended to cover the costs the Fund incurs in acquiring portfolio securities with such Deposit Cash. See Transaction Fees below for additional information.
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The Cash Component is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. The Cash Component may include a Dividend Equivalent Payments , which enables the Fund to make a complete distribution of dividends on the day preceding the next dividend payment date, and is an amount equal, on a per Creation Unit basis, to the dividends on all the portfolio securities of the Fund ( Dividend Securities ) with ex-dividend dates within the accumulation period for such distribution (the Accumulation Period ), net of expenses and liabilities for such period, as if all of the Dividend Securities had been held by the Fund for the entire Accumulation Period. The Accumulation Period begins on the ex-dividend date for the Fund and ends on the day preceding the next ex-dividend date. If the Cash Component is a positive number ( i.e. , the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number ( i.e. , the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the Authorized Participant will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant.
BBH, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the NYSE (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time) (the NYSE Open ), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund on such day. Such Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments, as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available. The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit changes as rebalancing adjustments, interest payments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Adviser with a view to achieving the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities of the Index.
As noted above, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any or all Deposit Securities, including, without limitation, in situations where a Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities or the Federal Reserve System for U.S. Treasury securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, non-standard orders ). The Trust also reserves the right to: (i) permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash and (ii) include or remove Deposit Securities from the Fund Deposit in anticipation of Index rebalancing changes. The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, in the composition of the Index or resulting from certain corporate actions.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash and U.S. government securities), through DTC (for corporate securities and municipal securities), through a subcustody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained on behalf of the Fund at its applicable local subcustodian. Transfer of the Fund Deposit and all applicable transaction fees must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure delivery to the account of the Fund or its agents by no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on the date on which the Creation Units are to be delivered (the Settlement Date ), which for purchases is generally the third Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Distributor, whose determination shall be final and binding. If the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received in a timely
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manner by the Settlement Date, the purchase order may be cancelled and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. Any such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using the Fund Deposit required for such Business Day.
Investors placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order by the Cut-Off Time on such Business Day. An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order ( e.g. , to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not be an Authorized Participant, in which case orders to purchase shares directly from the Fund in Creation Units would have to be placed by the investors broker through an Authorized Participant. In such cases, the Authorized Participant may impose additional charges on such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of Authorized Participants, and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.
Except as provided below, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Fund of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component and all applicable transaction fees have been completed. In instances where the Fund accepts Deposit Securities for the purchase of a Creation Unit, the Creation Unit may be delivered in advance of receipt by the Fund of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, (ii) all applicable transaction fees and (iii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the market value, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the Cash Collateral ), which shall be maintained in a general non-interest bearing collateral account. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Fund, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities, to the extent necessary to maintain the Cash Collateral with the Fund in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Fund may use such Cash Collateral to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Fund for all costs, expenses, dividends, income and taxes associated with missing Deposit Securities, including the costs incurred by the Fund in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such Deposit Securities on the Order Placement Date plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Fund will return any unused portion of the Cash Collateral once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by BBH. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
The Distributor reserves the absolute right to reject a purchase order in its discretion, including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Authorized Participant do not match those disseminated through the facilities of NSCC for that date; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Fund or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Fund or the rights of Beneficial Owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Fund, be unlawful; or (h) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Fund, the Distributor, BBH and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units (examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Fund, the Distributor, BBH, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process; and other extraordinary events). The Fund or its agents shall communicate to the Authorized Participant the rejection of an order. The Fund, the Distributor and BBH are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in any order or in the delivery of Fund Deposits, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Fund, the Distributor and BBH shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.
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Redemption
Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF THE FUND, THE FUND WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough Fund shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such shares redeemed by the Fund. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Fund shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.
Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will be paid either in-kind or in cash, or a combination thereof, as disclosed by BBH prior to the NYSE Open. With respect to in-kind redemptions, BBH, through NSCC, makes available prior to the NYSE Open on each Business Day the list of the names and share quantities of the Funds portfolio securities (subject to possible amendment or correction) that will be distributed upon the receipt of redemption requests in proper form prior to the Cut-Off Time on that day ( Fund Securities ).
In connection with any in-kind redemptions, Authorized Participants will also pay or receive cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Creation Units being redeemed and the value of the Fund Securities received (the Cash Redemption Component ). In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the Creation Units, a Cash Redemption Component equal to the differential is required to be paid to the Fund by the Authorized Participant. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value less than the NAV of the Creation Units, a Cash Redemption Component equal to the differential will be paid by the Fund to the Authorized Participant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Funds discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of all or a portion of the Fund Securities.
Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units. After an order for redemption in proper form has been received, the Fund will initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Fund Securities and the Cash Redemption Component to the Authorized Participant by the Settlement Date. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the Fund, the calculation of the value of the Fund Securities and the Cash Redemption Component to be delivered upon redemption will be made by BBH according to the procedures set forth under Determination of Net Asset Value, computed on the Order Placement Date. Therefore, if a redemption order in proper form is submitted by an Authorized Participant by the Cut-Off Time on the Order Placement Date, and the requisite number of shares of the Fund are delivered to BBH prior to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on the Settlement Date, then the value of the Fund Securities and the Cash Redemption Component to be delivered will be determined on such Order Placement Date. If the requisite number of shares of the Fund are not delivered by 3:00 p.m. Eastern time on the Settlement Date, the Fund will not release the Fund Securities for delivery unless collateral is posted in such percentage amount of missing shares as set forth in the Participant Agreement (marked to market daily).
In order to take delivery of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, an Authorized Participant must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded (or such other arrangements as allowed by the Fund or its agents), to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within three Business Days of the Order Placement Date.
If it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Fund Securities, the Fund may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem shares in cash, and the redeeming Authorized Participant will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an Authorized Participant may request a redemption in cash that the Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the Authorized Participant will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its shares on the Order Placement Date, minus a fixed transaction fee and an additional variable transaction fee, each as described in further detail below under Transaction Fees, to offset the Trusts brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of portfolio securities necessary to fund the redemption in cash.
Redemptions of shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws, and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the
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right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that it could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant (or a client for which it is acting) subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Fund Securities may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request a redeeming client to complete certain documentation with respect to such matters. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a qualified institutional buyer ( QIB ), as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Fund to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status in order to receive Fund Securities. Redemptions effected in cash will be subject to applicable transaction fees.
The right of redemption may be suspended or the Settlement Date postponed with respect to the Fund (1) for any period during which the Listing Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Listing Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which redemption of shares of the Fund or determination of the NAV of the shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
Required Early Submission of Orders
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Fund may require orders to be placed earlier than the normal cut-off time, and in certain circumstances up to one or more Business Days prior to the Order Placement Date, in order to receive the Order Placement Dates NAV. Orders to purchase shares that are submitted on the Business Day immediately preceding a holiday or a day (other than a weekend) that the markets in the relevant foreign market are closed may not be accepted. Authorized Participants will be notified in the event that the Cut-Off Time for an order will be earlier than normal on any particular Business Day.
Transaction Fees
Transaction fees, as set forth in the table below, are imposed to cover transaction costs associated with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, as applicable. Authorized Participants will be required to pay a fixed creation transaction fee and/or a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, on a given day that does not vary with of the number of Creation Units created or redeemed on that day. Additional variable transaction fees will be applied to certain creation and redemption transactions, including non-standard orders and whole or partial cash purchases or redemptions. The following table shows, as of the date of this SAI, the approximate value of one Creation Unit and the standard fixed and maximum additional variable transaction fees for creations and redemptions (as described above):
Approximate Value
|
Creation Unit Size |
Standard
Creation/Redemption Transaction Fee |
Maximum
Additional Charge for Creations* |
Maximum
Additional Charge for Redemptions* |
||||||||||||
$2,500,000 |
50,000 | $ | 500 | 3.0 | % | 2.0 | % |
* | As a percentage of the NAV per Creation Unit, inclusive, in the case of redemptions, of the standard redemption transaction fee. |
The Fund may adjust the transaction fees from time to time upon notice to Authorized Participants. The Adviser may also from time to time cover the cost of any transaction fees if it determines it is in the Funds best interest.
In addition, with respect to creation orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Securities to the Fund, and with respect to redemption orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Fund to their account or as otherwise specified on their order. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may also be charged a fee for such services.
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
The Funds NAV is determined as set forth in the Prospectus under General InformationNet Asset Value.
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The Fund issues shares of beneficial interest, par value $.01 per share. The Board has the right to establish additional series in the future, to determine the preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges thereof and to modify such preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges without shareholder approval.
The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders. The Trusts Declaration of Trust (the Declaration ), requires a shareholder vote only on those matters where the 1940 Act requires a vote of shareholders and otherwise permits the Trustees to take actions without seeking the consent of shareholders. For example, the Declaration gives the Trustees the authority to approve reorganizations between the Fund and another entity, such as another ETF, or the sale of all or substantially all of the Funds assets, or the termination of the Trust or the Fund without shareholder approval if the 1940 Act would not require such approval. Each share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required, consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all series of the Trust vote together as a single class except as otherwise required by the 1940 Act, or if the matter being voted on affects only a particular series; and, if a matter affects a particular series differently from other series, the shares of that series will vote separately on such matter.
The Trustees establish the number of Trustees and may fill vacancies on the Board, except when election of Trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The Declaration also provides that Trustees may be removed, with cause, by a vote of shareholders holding at least two-thirds of the voting power of the Trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining Trustees. Cause requires willful misconduct, dishonesty, fraud or a felony conviction. The provisions of the Declaration relating to the election and removal of Trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the Trustees.
Under the Declaration, by becoming a shareholder of the Fund, each shareholder is expressly held to have agreed to be bound by the provisions of the Declaration and the Trusts By-laws. The Declaration may, except in limited circumstances, be amended by the Trustees in any respect without a shareholder vote. Shareholders may be required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares in order to comply with various laws applicable to the Fund or as the Trustees may determine, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation. In addition, pursuant to the Declaration, the Trustees may, in their discretion, require the Trust to redeem shares held by any shareholder for any reason under terms set by the Trustees.
In order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction and other harm that can be caused to the Fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder claims, demands and derivative actions, the Declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders, and provides that actions that are derivative in nature may not be brought directly. Consistent with applicable Massachusetts law, prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand must first be made on the Trustees. The Declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Fund, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholder may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholder is able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. In making such a determination, a Trustee is not considered to have a personal financial interest by virtue of being compensated for his or her services as a Trustee. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholder may be responsible for the Funds costs and expenses if a court determines that a derivative action was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose, if a derivative or direct action is dismissed on the basis of a failure to comply with the procedural provisions relating to shareholder actions as set forth in the Declaration or if a direct action is dismissed by a court for failure to state a claim. Any shareholder bringing an action against the Fund waives the right to trial by jury to the fullest extent permitted by law and any action commenced by a
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shareholder may be brought only in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Boston Division) or if any such action may not be brought in that court, then in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts (the Chosen Courts), under the terms of the Declaration. Except as prohibited by law, if a shareholder commences an applicable action in a court other than a Chosen Court, the shareholder may be obligated to reimburse the Fund and any applicable Trustee or officer of the Fund made party to such proceeding for the costs and expenses (including attorneys fees) incurred in connection with any successful motion to dismiss, stay or transfer of the action.
The Declaration specifically provides, however, that no provision of the Declaration is effective to require a waiver of compliance with any provision of, or restrict any shareholder rights expressly granted by, the 1933 Act, the Securities Exchange act of 1934, as amended, or the 1940 Act, or any rule, regulation or order of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder. The provisions of the Declaration are severable, and if the Trustees determine, with the advice of counsel, that any such provision, in whole or in part, conflict with applicable laws and regulations, the conflicting provisions, or part or parts thereof, will be deemed to be not part of the Declaration (provided, that any such determination will not render any of the remaining provisions invalid or improper).
Under Massachusetts law applicable to Massachusetts business trusts, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for its obligations. However, the Declaration contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and requires that notice of this disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Trust or the Trustees. The Declaration further provides for indemnification out of the assets and property of the Trust for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance existed and the Trust or the Fund itself was unable to meet its obligations. The Trust believes the likelihood of the occurrence of these circumstances is remote.
The Declaration further provides that a Trustee acting in his or her capacity as Trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the Trust or its series, in connection with the affairs of the Trust or for any act, omission, or obligation of the Trust. A Trustee is liable only for his or her own bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties involved in the conduct of his or her office. The Declaration requires the Trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been Trustees, officers or employees of the Trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available. The Declaration provides that any Trustee who serves as chair of the Board or of a committee of the Board, lead independent Trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.
Shareholder inquiries may be made by writing to the Trust, c/o the Distributor, Nuveen Securities, LLC, at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
The following discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of investing in the Fund is based on the Code, U.S. Treasury regulations, and other applicable authority, all as in effect as of the date of the filing of this SAI. These authorities are subject to change by legislative or administrative action, possibly with retroactive effect. The following discussion is only a summary of some of the important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Fund. Unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your investment in Fund is made through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Fund shares. There may be other tax considerations applicable to particular shareholders. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding their particular situation and the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
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Qualification as a Regulated Investment Company (RIC)
The Fund has elected or intends to elect to be treated, and intends to qualify each year, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded RICs and their shareholders, the Fund must, among other things:
(a) derive at least 90% of its gross income each year from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (as defined below);
(b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of its taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Funds total assets consists of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with investments in such other securities limited with respect to any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets is invested in (1) the securities (other than those of the U.S. government or other RICs) of any one issuer or two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses or (2) the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships; and
(c) distribute with respect to each taxable year an amount equal to or greater than the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code without regard to the deduction for dividends paidgenerally taxable ordinary income and the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income.
In general, for purposes of the 90% qualifying income test described in (a) above, income derived from a partnership will be treated as qualifying income only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership that would be qualifying income if realized directly by the Fund. However, 100% of the net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (generally, a partnership (i) interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, and (ii) that derives less than 90% of its income from the qualifying income described in clause (a)(i) of the description of the 90% qualifying income test applicable to RICs, above) will be treated as qualifying income.
If the Fund qualifies for treatment as a RIC, the Fund will generally not be subject to federal income tax on income and gains that are distributed in a timely manner to its shareholders in the form of dividends. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of the Fund as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders.
If, for any taxable year, the Fund was to fail to qualify as a RIC or was to fail to meet the distribution requirement described above, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, the Funds distributions, to the extent derived from the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for federal income tax purposes. However, such dividends would be eligible, subject to any generally applicable limitations, (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends-received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, the Fund would be required to pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent year. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be able to cure a failure to qualify as a RIC, but in order to do so the Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes and may be forced to dispose of certain assets. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund would generally be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets upon a disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year.
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The Fund intends to distribute at least annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and net capital gain (the excess of the Funds net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss). Investment income that is retained by the Fund will generally be subject to tax at regular corporate rates. If the Fund retains any net capital gain, that gain will be subject to tax at corporate rates, but the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (i) will be required to include in income for federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their shares of such undistributed amount, (ii) will be deemed to have paid their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities, if any, and (iii) will be entitled to claim refunds on a properly filed U.S. tax return to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholders gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder.
If the Fund fails to distribute in a calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income for such year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 of such year, plus any retained amount from the prior year, the Fund will be subject to a non-deductible 4% excise tax on the undistributed amount. For these purposes, the Fund will be treated as having distributed any amount on which it has been subject to corporate income tax for the taxable year ending within the calendar year. The Fund intends to declare and pay dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the 4% excise tax, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so. The Fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate Fund investments in order to make sufficient distributions to avoid federal excise tax liability at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so, and liquidation of investments in such circumstances may affect the ability of the Fund to satisfy the requirement for qualification as a RIC.
The Fund may elect to treat part or all of any qualified late year loss as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Funds taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such qualified late year loss as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing Fund distributions for any calendar year. A qualified late year loss generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year, and certain other late-year losses.
If the Fund has a net capital loss (that is, capital losses in excess of capital gains), the excess of the Funds net short-term capital losses over its net long-term capital gains is treated as a short-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Funds next taxable year, and the excess (if any) of the Funds net long-term capital losses over its net short-term capital gains is treated as a long-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Funds next taxable year.
Net capital losses are not permitted to be deducted against a RICs net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, a RIC may carry net capital losses from any taxable year forward to offset capital gains in future years. A Fund is permitted to carry net capital losses forward indefinitely. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to shareholders. Generally, the Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. The carryover of capital losses may be limited under the general loss limitation rules if the Fund experiences an ownership change as defined in the Code.
Distributions are generally taxable whether shareholders receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Moreover, distributions on the Funds shares are generally subject to federal income tax as described herein to the extent they do not exceed the Funds realized income and gains, even though such distributions may economically represent a return of a particular shareholders investment. Investors may therefore wish to avoid purchasing shares at a time when the Funds NAV reflects gains that are either unrealized, or realized but not distributed. Realized income and gains must generally be distributed even when the Funds NAV also reflects unrealized losses.
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Dividends and other distributions by the Fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, if any dividend or distribution is declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to its shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month but is actually paid during the following January, such dividend or distribution will be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.
Distributions by the Fund of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long the Fund owned the assets that generated those gains, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Fund shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions from the Funds net capital gain that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends ( Capital Gain Dividends ) will be taxable as long-term capital gains. For individuals, long-term capital gains are subject to tax at a maximum rate currently set at 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of gains from the sale of investments that the Fund owned for one year or less will be subject to tax at ordinary income rates.
For noncorporate shareholders, distributions of investment income reported by the Fund as derived from qualified dividend income will be taxed at rates of up to 20%, provided holding period and other requirements are met at both the shareholder and Fund level. In order for some portion of the dividends received by a Fund shareholder to be qualified dividend income, the Fund making the distribution must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to some portion of the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Funds shares. A dividend will not be treated as qualified dividend income (at either the Fund or shareholder level) (1) if the dividend is received with respect to any share of stock held for fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (or, in the case of certain preferred stock, 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before the ex-dividend date), (2) to the extent that the recipient is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property, (3) if the recipient elects to have the dividend income treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest, or (4) if the dividend is received from a foreign corporation that is (a) not eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States (with the exception of dividends paid on stock of such a foreign corporation that is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States) or (b) treated as a passive foreign investment company. Distributions that the Fund receives from a REIT are generally not expected to qualify to be treated as qualified dividend income.
To the extent that the Fund makes a distribution of income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends (a substitute payment) with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction, such income will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.
Dividends and distributions from the Fund and capital gain on the sale of Fund shares are generally taken into account in determining a shareholders net investment income for purposes of the Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.
If the Fund makes distributions in excess of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits in any taxable year, the excess distribution to each shareholder will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of the shareholders tax basis in its shares, and will reduce the shareholders tax basis in its shares. After the shareholders basis has been reduced to zero, any such distributions will result in a capital gain, assuming the shareholder holds his or her shares as capital assets. A reduction in a shareholders tax basis in its shares will reduce any loss or increase any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition by the shareholder of its shares.
A sale or exchange of shares in the Fund may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares and will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss
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if the shares have been held for more than 12 months and short-term capital gain or loss if held for 12 months or less. However, any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received (or deemed received) by the shareholder with respect to the shares. All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be disallowed if substantially identical shares of the Fund are purchased within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
The Fund (or financial intermediaries, such as brokers, through which a shareholder holds Fund shares) generally is required to withhold and to remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding. The backup withholding tax rate is 28%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholders U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS ).
Federal Tax Treatment of Certain Fund Investments
Transactions of the Fund in options, futures contracts, hedging transactions, forward contracts, swap agreements, straddles and foreign currencies may be subject to various special and complex tax rules, including mark-to-market, constructive sale, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules. These rules could affect the Funds ability to qualify as a RIC, affect whether gains and losses recognized by the Fund are treated as ordinary income or capital gain, accelerate the recognition of income to the Fund, and/or defer the Funds ability to recognize losses. These rules may in turn affect the amount, timing or character of the income distributed to shareholders by the Fund. These provisions also may require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the RIC distribution requirement and for avoiding excise taxes. Accordingly, in order to avoid certain income and excise taxes, the Fund may be required to liquidate its investments at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so. The Fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate entries in its books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve its qualification for treatment as a RIC.
The Fund is required, for federal income tax purposes, to mark to market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses as of the end of such year on certain regulated futures contracts, foreign currency contracts and options that qualify as Section 1256 contracts in addition to the gains and losses actually realized with respect to such contracts during the year. Gain or loss from Section 1256 contracts that are required to be marked to market annually will generally be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The Fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts, options contracts and swaps to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the Fund. These provisions may also require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirement and for avoiding the excise tax discussed above.
Additional Tax Information Concerning REITs
The Fund invests primarily in REITs. Investments in REIT equity securities may require the Fund to accrue and distribute income not yet received. To generate sufficient cash to make the requisite distributions, the Fund may be required to sell securities in its portfolio (including when it is not advantageous to do so) that it otherwise would have continued to hold. The Funds investments in REIT equity securities may at other times result in the Funds receipt of cash in excess of the REITs earnings; if the Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to the Funds shareholders for federal income tax purposes. Dividends paid by a REIT, other than
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capital gain distributions, will be taxable as ordinary income up to the amount of the REITs current and accumulated earnings and profits. Capital gain dividends paid by a REIT to the Fund will be treated as long-term capital gains by the Fund and, in turn, may be distributed by the Fund to its shareholders as a capital gain distribution. Dividends received by the Fund from a REIT generally will not constitute qualified dividend income or qualify for the dividends received deduction. If a REIT is operated in a manner such that it fails to qualify as a REIT, an investment in the REIT would become subject to double taxation, meaning the taxable income of the REIT would be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for dividends paid to shareholders and the dividends would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly as qualified dividend income) to the extent of the REITs current and accumulated earnings and profits.
The Fund may invest in REITs that hold residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs) or which are, or have certain wholly-owned subsidiaries that are, taxable mortgage pools (TMPs). Under certain Treasury guidance, a portion of the Funds income from a REIT that is attributable to the REITs residual interest in a REMIC or equity interests in a TMP (referred to in the Code as an excess inclusion) will be subject to federal income tax in all events. This guidance provides that excess inclusion income of a RIC, such as the Fund, must generally be allocated to shareholders of the RIC in proportion to the dividends received by such shareholders, with the same consequences as if the shareholders held the related REMIC residual interest or TMP interests directly. In general, excess inclusion income allocated to shareholders (i) cannot be offset by net operating losses (subject to a limited exception for certain thrift institutions), (ii) will constitute unrelated business taxable income to entities (including a qualified pension plan, an individual retirement account, a 401(k) plan, a Keogh plan or other tax-exempt entity) subject to tax on unrelated business income, thereby potentially requiring such an entity, which otherwise might not be required to file a tax return, to file a tax return and pay tax on such income (see TaxesTax-Exempt Shareholders below), and (iii) in the case of a foreign shareholder, will not qualify for any reduction in U.S. federal withholding tax. The Fund does not intend to invest a substantial portion of its assets in REITs which generate excess inclusion income.
REITs in which the Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to the Fund until after the time that the Fund issues a tax reporting statement. As a result, the Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions after it issues a tax reporting statement. If this were to occur, the financial intermediary with whom you hold your shares will send you a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information. If you receive a corrected Form 1099-DIV, use the information on this corrected form, and not the information on the previously issued tax reporting statement, in completing your tax returns.
Under current law, income of a RIC that would be treated as unrelated business taxable income ( UBTI ) if earned directly by a tax-exempt entity generally will not be attributed as UBTI to a tax-exempt entity that is a shareholder in the RIC. Notwithstanding this blocking effect, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in the Fund if: (i) shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Code Section 514(b), (ii) if the Fund invests in REITs that hold residual interests in REMICs, (iii) the Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool ( TMP ) or in a REIT that has a subsidiary that is a TMP, or (iv) if the Fund holds residual interests in REMICs. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult their tax advisors regarding these issues.
In general, dividends, other than Capital Gain Dividends paid by the Fund to a shareholder that is not a U.S. person within the meaning of the Code are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an interest-related dividend or a short-term capital gain dividend, which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from this 30% withholding tax.
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A beneficial holder of shares who is a non-U.S. person is not, in general, subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a U.S. income tax deduction for losses) realized on a sale of shares of the Fund or on Capital Gain Dividends unless (i) such gain or dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business carried on by such holder within the United States or (ii) in the case of an individual holder, the holder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the Capital Gain Dividend and certain other conditions are met.
Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Fund shares comply with IRS requirements that generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to Fund distributions payable to such entities and may apply to redemptions and certain capital gain dividends payable to such entities after December 31, 2018. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.
A beneficial holder of shares who is a non-U.S. person may be subject to state and local tax and to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the federal income tax consequences referred to above. If a shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any income or gain effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the shareholder in the United States.
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units
An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes that exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and any cash received by the Authorized Participant in the exchange, and (ii) the sum of the exchangers aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and any cash paid for such Creation Units. Any gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year and were held as capital assets in the hands of the exchanging Authorized Participant. All or a portion of any gain or loss recognized by an Authorized Participant exchanging a currency other than its functional currency for Creation Units may be treated as ordinary income or loss. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchangers basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The ability of Authorized Participants to receive a full or partial cash redemption of Creation Units of the Fund may limit the tax efficiency of the Fund. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units by an Authorized Participant who does not mark-to-market its holdings may not be currently deducted under the rules governing wash sales, or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. All or some portion of any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units in exchange for securities will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses will be treated as short-term capital gains or losses.
Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rule applies and when a loss might be deductible.
The Trust on behalf of the Fund has the right to reject an order for a purchase of shares of the Fund if the purchaser (or any group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own
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80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares of the Fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) may not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.
Under U.S. Treasury regulations, generally, if a shareholder recognizes a loss of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting regulations. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayers treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
The cost basis of shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for the shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.
The federal income tax discussion set forth above is for general information only. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the specific federal income tax consequences of purchasing, holding and disposing of shares of the Fund, as well as the effect of state, local and foreign tax law and any proposed tax law changes.
The Fund intends to pay out distributions, if any, on a quarterly basis but in any event no less frequently than annually. Nonetheless, the Fund might not make a distribution every month. The Fund intends to distribute its net realized capital gains, if any, to investors annually. The Fund may occasionally be required to make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole shares only if the broker through whom you purchased shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.
The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains.
The audited financial statements for the Funds most recent fiscal year appear in the Funds Annual Report dated December 31, 2016. The Funds Annual Report is incorporated by reference into this SAI and is available without charge by calling (800) 257-8787.
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SCHEDULE A: TIAA-CREF POLICY STATEMENT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
I. Introduction
Purpose and applicability of policy statement
The purpose of this document, including the proxy voting guidelines in Appendix A (the Policy Statement), is for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) to inform our clients, participants and shareholders, portfolio companies, stakeholders and other institutional investors about the corporate governance and social responsibility practices we expect of our portfolio companies. The principles and guidelines herein disclose how we generally vote proxies of portfolio companies. Additionally, this Policy Statement is intended to serve as a basis for dialogue with boards of directors and senior managers.
The policies and principles herein apply to publicly traded operating companies and may not be directly applicable to open-end investment companies or privately held entities. Although many of the specific policies relate primarily to companies incorporated in the United States, the underlying principles apply to all public companies in which TIAA-CREF invests throughout the world. Although TIAA is not a publicly traded company, to the extent practicable, TIAAs internal governance practices are guided by the policies and principles articulated herein.
Why we focus on corporate governance
TIAA-CREF is an institutional investor whose mission is to help those in the academic, medical, cultural, research and government fields plan to and through retirement. We do this with a full array of financial products and services to help our participants and shareholders achieve lifetime financial security. Our clients expect us to be stewards of their savings and to help provide for their financial security.
We believe that good governance practices and responsible corporate behavior contribute to the long-term performance of public companies and are critical to well-functioning securities markets. We also believe that strong corporate governance helps reduce investment risk and ensures that shareholder capital is used effectively.
Institutional investors are the constituency whose interests are best aligned with stable and growing markets because of their long-term orientation. Furthermore, long-term investors have among the most to lose if markets deteriorate and asset prices fall.
Accordingly, we believe it is in our participants and shareholders economic interest to promote good corporate governance and to monitor and engage with portfolio companies on issues that may affect their long-term, sustainable profits.
For over forty years TIAA-CREF has advocated the merits of involved owners working to improve corporate governance. In the 1970s and 1980s, TIAA-CREF took a leadership role in opposing abusive antitakeover provisions and management entrenchment devices such as dead-hand poison pills. We were also one of the first institutional investors to engage in dialogue with portfolio companies on social responsibility issues such as automotive safety in the United States and apartheid policies in South Africa.
In the 1990s and 2000s, TIAA-CREF continued to strengthen its commitment to responsible investing and good corporate citizenship, including the establishment of the CREF Social Choice Account and other socially screened investment products that give special consideration to social concerns. Additionally, TIAA-CREF focused on influencing companies to adopt best-in-class governance practices and disclosures related to director elections, board structure and compensation.
The repeated corporate crises of the last decade (such as options backdating and other accounting-related fraud, instances of egregious compensation practices connected with poor performance, and most recently, the meltdown of the global financial sector) have highlighted the need for market participants and shareholders to re-commit to practices and behaviors that promote
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the long-term, sustainable health of our economy. We believe it is important that issuers and shareholders act responsibly to restore and maintain public trust and confidence in the governance of our public corporations.
In this light, we have revised this sixth edition of the Policy Statement to reflect current developments in corporate governance, social and environmental policies, the convergence of best practices across global markets, and enhanced shareholder rights and responsibilities recently granted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Congress, and other foreign governments and regulators. Our policies continue to respect the province of boards and management to run the company while safeguarding our rights as shareholders.
The Policy Statement is reviewed periodically and is subject to amendment. The latest edition of the Policy Statement incorporating any amendments is posted on our website (www.tiaa.org).
II. TIAA-CREFs corporate governance program
A. Introduction
The TIAA and TIAA-CREF Funds Boards have delegated oversight of TIAA-CREFs corporate governance program, including oversight of managements development and establishment of portfolio company governance policies, to the TIAA and TIAA-CREF Funds Committees on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility (separate committees of the TIAA board and the boards of TIAA-CREF affiliated investment companies that meet jointly and are composed entirely of independent trustees, but that vote separately on matters presented to them for approval).
TIAA-CREFs corporate governance program is administered by a staff of professionals within the Corporate Governance Group who work collaboratively with the Asset Management Group and other internal stakeholders.
B. Governance activities
1. Proxy voting
Proxy voting is a key component of TIAA-CREFs oversight and engagement program. It is one of our primary methods for exercising our shareholder rights and influencing the behavior of portfolio companies. TIAA-CREF commits substantial resources to making informed voting decisions in furtherance of our mission. All of our voting decisions are made in the best interest of our participants and shareholders.
TIAA-CREFs voting policies, as described in this Policy Statement, are implemented on a case-by-case basis by the staff of our Corporate Governance Group. The staff relies on its professional judgment informed by proprietary research, reports provided by a variety of third-party research providers, consultation with our Asset Management Group and our trustees or a committee thereof. Annual disclosure of our proxy votes is available on our website and on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
2. Engagement
Our preference is to engage privately with portfolio companies when we perceive shortcomings in their governance or environmental and social policies and practices that we believe impact their performance. This strategy of quiet diplomacy reflects our belief and past experience that informed dialogue with board members and senior executives, rather than public confrontation, will most likely lead to a mutually productive outcome.
We target portfolio companies for engagement based on research and evaluation of their governance and performance. Governance reviews are supplemented by an analysis of each companys financial condition and risk profile conducted in conjunction with our Asset Management Group.
In prioritizing issues for engagement, we take into account their materiality, their potential impact on TIAA-CREFs investment performance, their relevance to the marketplace, the level of public interest, the applicability of our policies and the views of TIAA-CREFs participants and shareholders and institutional clients.
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As noted, our preference is for constructive engagement strategies that can utilize private communication, minimize confrontation and attain a negotiated settlement. While quiet diplomacy remains our core strategy, particularly for domestic companies, TIAA-CREFs engagement program involves many different activities and initiatives. Engagement may include the following activities:
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submitting shareholder resolutions |
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withholding or voting against one or more directors |
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requesting other investors to support our initiatives |
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engaging in collaborative action with other investors |
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engaging in public dialogue and commentary |
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supporting an election contest or change of control transaction |
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conducting a proxy solicitation |
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seeking regulatory or legislative relief |
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commencing or supporting litigation |
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pursuing other enforcement or compliance remedies |
TIAA-CREF is committed to engagement with companies and will only consider divesting from a security in the rarest of circumstances. As a matter of general investment policy, we may consider divesting or underweighting a companys stock from our accounts in cases where we conclude that the financial or reputational risks from a companys policies or activities are so great that continued ownership of its stock is no longer prudent.
Our policy of engagement over divestment is a matter of principle that is based on several considerations: (i) divestment would eliminate our standing and rights as a shareholder and foreclose further engagement; (ii) divestment would be likely to have negligible impact on portfolio companies or the market; (iii) divestment could result in increased costs and short-term losses; and (iv) divestment could compromise our investment strategies and negatively affect our performance. For these reasons, we believe that divestment does not offer TIAA-CREF an optimal strategy for changing the policies and practices of portfolio companies, nor is it the best means to produce long-term value for our participants and shareholders.
3. Thought leadership
In addition to proxy voting and engagement, which are actions targeted at specific companies, TIAA-CREF believes that it is important to participate in the creation, development and implementation of ideas and practices surrounding corporate governance and social responsibility in order to influence the broadest constituency possible. While the following list of activities is not necessarily exhaustive, it provides an overview of the variety of ways we participate in the corporate governance and social responsibility community.
1. | TIAA-CREF periodically publishes its policies on corporate governance, shareholder rights, social responsibility and related issues. These policies inform portfolio companies and provide the basis for our engagement activities. |
2. | TIAA-CREF participates in the public debate over issues of corporate governance and responsible corporate behavior in domestic and international markets. |
3. | TIAA-CREF participates in membership organizations and professional associations that seek to promote good corporate governance, protect shareholder rights and advance social responsibility. We also participate in related conferences and symposia in order to actively contribute to the development of the emerging corporate governance and social responsibility best practices. |
4. | TIAA-CREF sponsors research, hosts conferences and works with regulators, legislators, self-regulatory organizations, and other institutional investors to educate the business community and the investing public about governance, shareholder rights and social responsibility. |
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5. | TIAA-CREF submits written comments on regulatory proposals and testifies before various governmental bodies, administrative agencies and self-regulatory organizations. |
6. | TIAA-CREF routinely engages with professional service providers ( e.g. , law, executive recruiting, executive compensation and accounting firms) in order to share knowledge and influence the professionals who advise our portfolio companies on important issues. |
4. International corporate governance
With a substantial share of our assets invested in equities of companies listed on foreign markets and with international holdings in over 50 countries, TIAA-CREF is recognized as one of the most influential investors in the world. We have a long history of acting on behalf of our participants and shareholders to improve corporate governance standards globally. Our international governance activities, like our domestic program, are designed to protect our investments, reduce risk and increase shareholder value. We focus our governance efforts in those foreign markets where we currently have, or expect to have in the future, significant levels of capital at risk.
Our international corporate governance program consists of: (i) selective direct engagement with foreign portfolio companies; (ii) selective collaborative engagement with other institutional investors based in foreign markets; (iii) engagement and dialogue with foreign regulators, legislators and industry groups, and (iv) active participation in global corporate governance organizations.
In addition to maintaining a leadership role as an advocate for shareholder rights and good governance globally, TIAA-CREF is committed to using our best efforts to vote our shares in international companies. Our staff is familiar with voting procedures in every country where we invest and we stay abreast of new developments occurring in those markets. Additionally, we promote reforms needed to eliminate cross-border voting inefficiencies and to improve the mechanics of proxy voting globally.
TIAA-CREF has endorsed many of the governance standards of international associations and shareholder organizations. We agree with the widely held view that the harmonization of international governance principles and standards of best practice is essential to achieve efficiency in the global capital markets. Accordingly, our governance initiatives in many non-U.S. markets with less developed corporate governance practices seek to deal with the following problems:
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Robust shareholder rights, basic governance standards of board accountability and independence, full and timely disclosure and financial transparency are in many cases still only aspirational. |
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Legal and regulatory systems are still underdeveloped and means of enforcement can often be lacking. |
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Listed companies dominated by controlling shareholders often blend characteristics of private and public companies, giving management and insiders too much power and minority shareholders too little. |
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Foreign governments retain ownership in many local listed companies and exercise special powers that interfere with capital market efficiency. |
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Foreign banks often hold large blocks of shares within the companies they do business that can create conflicts of interest. |
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Ambivalence about shareholder engagement, control contests and takeover bids undermines management accountability and market vitality. |
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Policies and internal systems designed to avoid bribery and corruption are underdeveloped or nonexistent. |
III. Shareholders rights and responsibilities
A. Introduction
TIAA-CREF recognizes that the laws, practices and customs governing company and shareholder interactions continue to vary across the globe despite recent harmonization efforts. However, we
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believe there are certain shareholder rights that should be respected by all publicly traded operating companies regardless of their domicile. Similarly, shareholders also have a duty to exercise their rights responsibly.
Below we outline TIAA-CREFs basic expectations for both companies and shareholders. While in some cases the full adoption of these rights and responsibilities may still be aspirational, we believe these principles should be pursued in the interest of maintaining well-functioning markets.
B. Generally applicable shareholder rights
As owners of equity securities, shareholders rely primarily on a corporations board of directors to protect their interests. Unlike other groups that do business with the corporation ( e.g. , customers, suppliers and lenders), holders of common stock have no clear contractual protection of their interests. Instead, they place their trust in the directors, whom they elect, and use their right to vote at shareholder meetings to ensure the accountability of the board. We believe that the basic rights and principles set forth below should be guaranteed and should govern the conduct of every publicly traded company.
1. | Each Director Should Represent All Shareholders. Shareholders should have the right to expect that each director (including directors who are affiliated with either the company or a particular shareholder) is acting in the interest of all shareholders and not that of a particular constituent, special interest group or dominant shareholder. |
2. | One Share, One Vote. Generally, shareholders should have the right to vote in proportion to their economic stake in the company. Each share of common stock should have one vote. The board should not create multiple classes of common stock with disparate or super voting rights, nor should it give itself the discretion to cap voting rights that reduce the proportional representation of larger shareholdings. Companies that do not have a one-share-one-vote structure should periodically assess the efficacy of such a structure and provide shareholders with a rationale for maintaining such a structure. |
3. | Financial Equality. All shareholders should receive fair and equal financial treatment. We support measures designed to avoid preferential treatment of any shareholder. |
4. | Confidential Voting. Shareholders should be able to cast proxy votes in a confidential manner. Tabulation should be conducted by an Inspector of Election who is independent of management. In a contest for control, it may be appropriate to modify confidentiality provisions in order to ensure the accuracy and fairness of the voting results. |
5. | Vote Requirements. The board should not impose super-majority vote requirements, except in unusual cases where necessary to protect the interests of minority shareholders. Abstentions should not be included in the vote tabulation, except for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present. Shareholder votes cast for or against a proposal should be the only votes counted. The board should not combine or bundle disparate issues and present them for a single vote. Shareholders should have the right to vote on each separate and distinct issue. |
6. | Authorization and Issuance of Stock. Shareholders should have the right to approve the authorization of shares of common stock and the issuance of shares for corporate purposes in order to ensure that such actions serve a valid purpose and are consistent with shareholder interests. |
7. | Antitakeover Provisions. Shareholders should have the right to approve any provisions that alter fundamental shareholder rights and powers. This includes poison pills and other antitakeover devices. We strongly oppose antitakeover plans that contain continuing director or deferred redemption provisions limiting the discretion of a future board to redeem the plan. We believe that antitakeover measures should be limited by reasonable expiration periods. |
8. | Board Communication. Shareholders should have the ability to communicate with the board of directors. Companies should adopt and disclose procedures for shareholders to communicate their views and concerns directly to board members. Applicable regulations aimed at preventing selective disclosure of material non-public information should not be used by boards and management as a shield to meaningful dialogue with shareholders. |
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9. | Common Language. Annual meeting agendas and disclosure documents should be published in English, the generally accepted language of international business, whenever a company has accessed global capital. Shareholders should not be disenfranchised as a result of language barriers. |
10. | Impediments to Voting. Shareholders should be able to vote all their shares without impediments such as share blocking, beneficial owner registration, voting by show of hands, late notification of agenda items or other unreasonable requests. This is particularly problematic in many foreign markets. |
11. | Vote Confirmation. Shareholders should have the ability to confirm that their votes have been received and tabulated. The proxy voting process involves an extensive network of participants creating a risk that votes submitted by shareholders do not ultimately reach the corporation. Shareholders are devoting an increasing amount of resources to making their voting decisions and should be able to know that they are not being lost in the system. |
12. | Robust Disclosure. Shareholders should expect robust disclosure on any item on which they are voting. In order to make informed decisions, shareholders should not be reliant on a third party to gather information from multiple sources. Companies should provide information on director qualifications, independence, affiliations, related party transactions, executive compensation, conflicts of interest and other relevant governance information. Additionally, companies should provide audited financial statements that are acceptable under international governance and accounting standards. |
C. Shareholder responsibilities
As providers of capital, long-term shareholders have among the most to lose if markets deteriorate and asset prices fall. This is especially true for those institutions that invest on behalf of individuals, such as TIAA-CREF, whose losses can have a broad impact on the general publics long-term financial security. Therefore, it is critical for such investors to participate as active owners of the companies in which they invest. By acting as responsible investors, long-term shareholders help to protect not only their clients but the capital markets as a whole. We believe that the following principles provide a framework for being a responsible investor.
1. | Exercise Rights Responsibly. Investors should exercise their rights responsibly to ensure companies are well-managed and positioned to drive long-term value. They should vote their shares diligently, recognizing that they are a valuable asset, and an important means to communicate with the company and other shareholders. Investors should not blindly support management, and should dedicate appropriate resources, including senior management, to proxy decisions. Further, investors should carefully and thoughtfully use the shareholder rights granted to them through regulation or the companys bylaws. Boards and management should not have to continuously expend corporate resources responding to shareholder demands that the average prudent and responsible shareholder would deem frivolous, unreasonable or immaterial to the long-term health of the company. |
2. | Hold Boards Accountable. Investors should be willing to take action when they believe the board has not adequately represented their interests. Shareholders should be willing and able to remove directors when they have performed badly or have been unresponsive to less aggressive overtures. |
3. | Monitor Performance. Once they have made an investment decision, investors should be prepared to monitor companies and they should develop skills to do so. Monitoring includes discussions with both the board and management in differing ways, and engagement with companies on issues of concern. Shareholders should consider many factors in monitoring companies, including long-term performance, board performance, governance and other policies, strategic direction and leadership. Shareholders also should consider factors of risk, both from a perspective of whether appropriate risks are encouraged, but also monitoring performance in the context of the risk taken to achieve desired returns. |
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Promote Aligned Compensation. Shareholders should ensure that compensation policies are performance-based, appropriately tailored to meet the companys circumstances, integrated into |
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and consistent with the business strategy and have a long-term orientation. There are a variety of ways to achieve these objectives. Nevertheless, these strategies should be based on realistic accounting of profits as well as encompass a measurement of risk. Compensation decisions provide one of the better windows into the boardroom, and clearly reflect on the quality of the board, its priorities, its ability to balance competing interests and its independence from management. Shareholders should strive to provide thoughtful feedback to companies through engagement, proxy votes, investor policy statements and advisory votes on compensation. |
5. | Defend Integrity of Accounting Standards. Shareholders should take a more active position in defending the integrity of accounting standards. Accounting standards play an important role in our governance system, as the quality of reported information is effectively the lifeblood of financial markets. The purpose of financial statements should be to transparently represent the true condition of the reporting entity. If a company or industry is volatile or risky, the financial statements should represent this. Investors are otherwise unable to effectively judge risk and allocate capital appropriately. |
6. | Increase Communication. Shareholders and boards should work together to develop constructive solutions to the risks posed by governance problems. Communication can be structured or unstructured or formal or informal, but whatever method is used, it should take place as necessary to ensure alignment and understanding of goals. |
7. | Encourage Long-Term Orientation. The adoption of a long-term perspective should encourage boards and management to generate policies for sustainable growth and earnings, and discourage excessive short-term risk taking. Investors should have discipline in ensuring that they themselves are acting in the long-term interests of their beneficiaries, ranging from dedicating the proper resources to governance and monitoring to ensuring their own reward system is consistent with a long-term strategy. |
8. | Strengthen Investors Own Governance . Large mutual funds and pension funds hold significant stakes in corporate America and, therefore, have the greatest potential ability to influence corporate policies. However, in order to be credible advocates, they should hold themselves to high standards of governance appropriate for their own operations. Fund governance practices, which understandably differ from governance practices for publicly traded operating companies in certain respects, still should be examined to ensure that any potential conflicts of interests are properly managed and that fiduciary obligations are met. |
9. | Ensure Responsible Securities Lending. Institutional investors must balance their responsibility to be active owners with their duty to generate optimal financial returns for their beneficiaries. Securities lending practices can create a conflict with respect to whether to recall loaned securities in order to vote, or not to recall in order to preserve lending fee revenue. In the U.S., the lack of advance notice of agenda items prior to the record date can further complicate an investors securities recall decision. To address these issues, institutional investors should develop new policies or enhance existing ones governing their securities lending and proxy voting practices. The policies should require the investor to conduct an analysis of the relative value of lending fees versus voting rights in any given situation and require a recall of securities when the investor believes the exercise of voting rights may be necessary to maximize the long-term value of its investments despite the loss of lending fee revenue. Further, to the extent practicable and consistent with applicable regulations and existing contractual obligations, the policy should require the investor to monitor its securities lending program. |
IV. Corporate governance principles
A. Introduction
TIAA-CREF believes that no matter where a company is located, once it elects to access capital from the public it becomes subject to basic principles of corporate governance. Corporate governance standards must balance two goalsprotecting the interests of shareholders while respecting the duty of boards and managers to direct and manage the affairs of the corporation. The corporate governance policies set forth in this Policy Statement seek to ensure board and management accountability, sustain a culture of integrity, contribute to the strength and continuity of
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corporate leadership and promote the long-term growth and profitability of the business enterprise. At the same time, these policies are designed to safeguard our rights as shareholders and provide an active and vigilant line of defense against fraud, breaches of integrity and abuses of authority.
Below we present our basic expectations of portfolio companies. While we recognize that companies outside the United States are subject to different laws, standards and customs and are mindful that cultural differences need to be respected, we do not believe this should result in companies failing to comply with the principles presented. Furthermore, we are also mindful that companies face unique situations and that a one size fits all approach to corporate governance is not practical. However, when a company chooses to not to adopt a generally accepted governance practice, we expect disclosure explaining why such a decision was appropriate.
B. Expectations of portfolio companies
1. The board of directors
The board of directors in their representation of the long-term interest of shareholders is responsible for, among other things: (i) overseeing the development of the corporations long-term business strategy and monitoring its implementation; (ii) assuring the corporations financial integrity; (iii) developing compensation and succession planning policies; (iv) setting the ethical tone for the company; and (v) ensuring management accountability.
To fulfill these responsibilities, the board must establish good governance policies and practices. Good governance is essential to the boards fulfillment of its duties of care and loyalty. Shareholders in turn are obligated to monitor the boards activities and hold directors accountable for the fulfillment of their duties.
TIAA-CREF has adopted the following principles for board structure and process:
Board membership
1. | Director Independence. The board should be composed of a substantial majority of independent directors. A periodic examination of all relevant information should be conducted to ensure compliance with this policy. TIAA-CREF has long advocated for director independence, which is now widely accepted as the keystone of good corporate governance. The definition of independence should not be limited to stock exchange listing standards. At a minimum, we believe that to be independent a director and his or her immediate family members should have neither present or recent employment with the company, nor any substantial connection of a personal or financial nature other than ownership of equity in the company. Boards should be mindful that personal or business relationships, even without a financial component, can compromise independence. Any director who a disinterested observer would reasonably consider to have a substantial relationship with the company should not be considered independent. Independence requirements should be interpreted broadly to ensure there is no conflict of interest, in fact or in appearance, that might compromise a directors objectivity and loyalty to shareholders. |
2. | Director Election. As discussed in more detail below, TIAA-CREF believes that a companys charter or bylaws should dictate that directors be elected annually by a majority of votes cast. |
3. | Director Compensation. Directors should have a direct, personal and meaningful investment in the common stock of the company. We believe that stock ownership helps align board members interests with those of shareholders. Director compensation programs should include a balanced mix of cash and equity and be structured to encourage a long-term perspective. |
4. | Disclosure of Monetary Arrangements. Any monetary arrangements between the company and directors outside normal board activities should be approved by the board and disclosed to shareholders. Such monetary arrangements are generally discouraged, as they may compromise a directors independence. |
5. | Other Commitments. Prior to nominating directors, the nominating and governance committee should ensure that directors are able to devote the necessary time and energy to fulfill their board responsibilities. Considerations should include current employment responsibilities, other board and committee commitments and the travel required to attend board meetings in person. |
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6. | Director Education. Companies should encourage directors to attend education programs offered by the company as well as those offered externally. After an orientation program to acclimate new directors to the companys operations and culture, directors should also receive continued training to increase their knowledge and understanding of the companys businesses and operations. They should enroll in education programs to improve their industry-specific knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities. |
Director elections
TIAA-CREF has adopted the following policy on director elections:
1. | Directors should be elected annually by a majority rather than a plurality of votes cast.* |
2. | In the election of directors, shareholders should have the right to vote for, against, or abstain. |
3. | In any election where there are more candidates on the proxy than seats to be filled, directors should be elected by a plurality of votes cast.* |
4. | Any incumbent candidate in an uncontested election who fails to receive a majority of votes cast should be required to tender an irrevocable letter of resignation to the board. The board should decide promptly whether to accept the resignation or to seat the incumbent candidate and should disclose the reasons for its decision. |
5. | Amendments to a companys director election standards should be subject to a majority vote of shareholders. |
* | Votes cast should include withholds. Votes cast should not include abstains, except that abstains should be counted as present for quorum. |
Director nomination
1. | Director Retirement Policy. Although TIAA-CREF does not support arbitrary limits on the length of director service, we believe boards should establish a formal director retirement policy. A director retirement policy can contribute to board stability, vitality and renewal. |
2. | Director Qualifications. The board should be composed of individuals who can contribute expertise and judgment, based on their professional qualifications and business experience. The board should reflect a diversity of background and experience. All directors serving on the audit committee should be financially literate and at least one director should qualify as a financial expert. All directors should be prepared to devote substantial time and effort to board duties, taking into account their other professional responsibilities and board memberships. |
3. | Shareholder Nominations. Boards should establish and disclose the process by which shareholders can submit nominations to be considered by the board. If the nomination is not accepted, the board should communicate to that shareholder a reason for not accepting the nomination. |
4. | Proxy Access. TIAA-CREF believes that shareholders should have the right to place their director nominees on the companys proxy and ballot in accordance with applicable law, or absent such law if reasonable conditions are met. The board should not take actions designed to prevent the full execution of this right. |
Board responsibilities
1. | Monitoring and Oversight. In fulfilling its duty to monitor the management of the corporate enterprise, the board should: (i) be a model of integrity and inspire a culture of responsible behavior and high ethical standards; (ii) ensure that corporate resources are used only for appropriate business purposes; (iii) mandate strong internal controls, avoid conflicts of interest, promote fiscal accountability and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations; (iv) implement procedures to ensure that the board is promptly informed of any violations of corporate standards; (v) through the Audit Committee, engage directly in the selection and oversight of the corporations external audit firm; and (vi) develop, disclose and enforce a clear and meaningful set of corporate governance principles. |
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2. | Strategic Business Planning. The board should participate with management in the development of the companys strategic business plan and should engage in a comprehensive review of strategy with management at least annually. The board should monitor the companys performance and strategic direction, while holding management responsible for implementing the strategic plan. |
3. | CEO Selection, Evaluation and Succession Planning. One of the boards most important responsibilities is the selection, development and evaluation of executive leadership. Strong, stable leadership with proper values is critical to the success of the corporate enterprise. The board should continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of the CEO and senior executives, and should oversee a succession plan for executive management. The board should disclose the succession planning process generally. |
4. | Equity Policy. The board should develop an equity policy that determines the proportion of the companys stock to be made available for compensation and other purposes. The policy should establish clear limits on the number of shares to be used for options and other forms of equity grants. The policy should set forth the goals of equity compensation and their links to performance. |
Board operation
1. | Board Size. The board should be large enough to provide expertise and diversity and allow key committees to be staffed with independent directors, but small enough to encourage collegial deliberation with the active participation of all members. |
2. | Executive Sessions. The full board and each board committee should hold regular executive sessions at which only independent directors are present. Executive sessions foster a culture of independence and provide opportunities for directors to engage in open discussion of issues that might be inhibited by the presence of management. Executive sessions can be used to evaluate CEO performance, discuss executive compensation and deal with internal board matters. |
3. | Board Evaluation. The board should conduct an annual evaluation of its performance and that of its key committees. Evaluation criteria linked to board and committee responsibilities and goals should be set forth in the charter and governance policies. In addition to providing director orientation and education, the board should consider other ways to strengthen director performance, including individual director evaluations. |
4. | Indemnification and Liability. It is appropriate for companies to indemnify directors for liability and legal expenses that arise in connection with their board service to the extent provided by law. However, when a court, regulator or other authoritative body has made a final determination that serious misconduct ( e.g. , fraud, gross negligence and breach of duty or loyalty) has occurred, then directors should not be indemnified. |
5. | Role of the Chairman. In recent years public confidence in board independence has been undermined by an array of scandals, fraud, accounting restatements, options backdating, abuses in CEO compensation, perquisites and special privileges. These issues have highlighted the need for boards to be (and to be perceived as) fully independent, cost conscious, free of conflicts, protective of shareholder interests and capable of objectivity, toughness and independence in their oversight of executive management. |
In order to ensure independent oversight, TIAA-CREF believes that the separation of CEO and chair or appointment of a lead independent director is appropriate. In addition to disclosing why a specific structure has been selected, when the CEO and chair roles are combined, a company should disclose how the lead independent directors role is structured to ensure they provide an appropriate counterbalance to the CEO/chair.
Board organization
Boards should establish at least three standing committeesan audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and governance committeeall composed exclusively of independent directors. The credibility of the board will depend in large part on the vigorous demonstration of independence by these standing committees.
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While the responsibilities of the three primary standing committees are generally established through laws and listing standards, TIAA-CREF believes that specific attention should be given to the following:
Compensation Committee
The Compensation Committee is responsible for oversight of the companys compensation and benefit programs, including performance-based plans and policies that attract, motivate, retain and incentivize executive leadership to create long-term shareholder value. Committee members should have an understanding of competitive compensation and be able to critically compare the companys plans and practices to those offered by the companys peers. Committee members should be independent-minded, well informed, capable of dealing with sensitive decisions and scrupulous about avoiding conflicts of interest. Committee members should understand the relationship of individual components of compensation to total compensation. The committee, in conjunction with the full board, should confirm that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) accurately reflects the compensation decisions made. Since compensation practices receive such great scrutiny, below we provide principles that we believe should guide the committees compensation decisions.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee oversees the companys accounting, compliance and in most cases risk management practices. It is responsible for ensuring the full and fair disclosure of the companys financial condition. The Audit Committee operates at the intersection of the board, management, independent auditors and internal auditors. It has sole authority to hire and fire the corporations independent auditors and to set and approve their compensation. The Audit Committee is also responsible for overseeing the adequacy and effectiveness of the companys internal controls. The internal audit team should report directly to the Audit Committee.
Nominating and Governance Committee
The Nominating and Governance Committee oversees the companys corporate governance practices and the selection and evaluation of directors. The committee is responsible for establishing board structure and governance policies that conform to regulatory and exchange listing requirements and ensuring the appropriate and effective board oversight of the companys business. When the companys board structure and/or governance policies are not consistent with generally accepted best practices, the committee should ensure that shareholders are provided with a reasonable explanation why the selected structure and policies are appropriate.
In addition to the three primary standing committees established through laws and listing standards, boards should also establish additional committees as needed to fulfill their duties. These may include executive, corporate governance, finance, technology, investment, customers and product, operations, human resources, public affairs, sustainability and risk committees.
TIAA-CREF has adopted the following principles for committees of the board:
1. | Each committee charter should specifically identify the role the committee plays in the overall risk management structure of the board. When a company faces numerous or acute risks, financially or operationally, the board should disclose why the current risk management structure is appropriate. |
2. | Each committee should have the power to hire independent experts and advisors. |
3. | Each committee should report to the full board on the issues and decisions for which it is responsible. |
4. | Whenever a company is the subject of a shareholder engagement initiative or resolution, the appropriate committee should review the matter and the proposed management response. |
2. Executive compensation
Recently, there has been an intensive focus on executive compensation by shareholders, legislators, regulators and other observers. TIAA-CREF does not believe in prescribing specific compensation programs or practices for our portfolio companies. We are mindful that each companys situation is
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unique and encourage the board to craft a compensation program that is appropriately customized. As long-term investors, we support compensation policies that promote and reward the creation of long-term sustainable shareholder value.
We appreciate that boards of directors, not shareholders, are in the best position to take all of the relevant factors into consideration in establishing an executive compensation program that will attract, retain and appropriately incentivize executive management to strengthen performance and create long-term sustainable value for shareholders.
However, shareholders do have an important role in assessing the boards stewardship of executive compensation and should engage in discussions when they believe compensation programs are not aligned in the best interests of shareholders. To that end, the board, through its Compensation Committee, along with executive management, is responsible for providing shareholders with a detailed explanation of the companys compensation philosophy, including explanations of all components of the program, through disclosure in the CD&A and the board Compensation Committee Report.
Although we do not prescribe specifics, below we outline the general principles that should guide the establishment of compensation plans and CD&A disclosures.
General principles
Executive compensation should be based on the following principles:
1. | Compensation should be objectively linked to appropriate company-specific metrics that drive long-term sustainable value and reflect operational parameters that are affected by the decisions of the executives being compensated. |
2. | Compensation plans should be based on a performance measurement cycle that is consistent with the business cycle of the corporation. |
3. | Compensation should include a mixture of cash and equity that is appropriate based on the companys compensation philosophy without incentivising excessive risk. |
4. | Compensation should consider the overall performance of the company as well as be based on each executives responsibilities and criteria that are actually within each executives control or influence. |
5. | Compensation should be reasonable by prevailing industry standards, appropriate to the companys size and complexity, and fair relative to pay practices throughout the company. |
6. | The board should not unduly rely on comparative industry data and other outside surveys to make compensation determinations; especially if such information is inconsistent with the companys compensation philosophy. |
7. | Compensation Committees should work only with consultants who are independent of management. |
8. | Companies should use peer groups that are consistent with their industry, size, scope and market for executive talent. |
9. | Executive performance evaluations should include a balance between formulaic and subjective analysis without being overly reliant on either. |
10. | If employment contracts are in place for named executive officers, such contracts should balance the need to attract and retain the services of the executive with the obligation to avoid exposing the company to liability, unintended costs and excessive transfers of corporate treasury; especially in the event of terminations for misconduct, gross mismanagement or other reasons constituting a for cause termination. |
Principles specific to equity-based compensation plans
While equity-based compensation can offer great incentives to management, it can also have great impact on shareholder value. The need for directors to monitor and control the use of equity in
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executive compensation has increased in recent years. It is the board of directors that is responsible for oversight of the companys equity compensation programs and for the adequacy of their disclosure.
In general, equity-based compensation should be based upon the following principles:
1. | The use of equity in compensation programs should be determined by the boards equity policy. Dilution of shareholder equity should be carefully considered and managed, not simply an unintended consequence. |
2. | All plans that provide for the distribution of stock or stock options should be submitted to shareholders for approval. |
3. | Equity-based plans should take a balanced approach to the types of equity used. Equity that is not linked to performance metrics runs the risk of rewarding or punishing executives for market movements beyond their control. |
4. | Equity-based plans should be judicious in the use of stock options. When used inappropriately, option grants can provide incentives for management to focus on the companys short-term stock price rather than long-term performance. |
5. | Equity-based plans should specifically prohibit mega grants, defined as grants to executives of stock options whose value at the time of the grant exceeds a reasonable multiple of the recipients total cash compensation. |
6. | Equity-based plans should establish minimum vesting requirements and avoid accelerated vesting. |
7. | Equity-based plans should specifically prohibit any direct or indirect change to the strike price or value of options without the approval of shareholders. |
8. | Companies should support requirements for stock obtained through exercise of options to be held by executives for substantial periods of time, apart from partial sales permitted to meet tax liabilities caused by such exercise. Companies should establish holding periods commensurate with pay level and seniority. |
9. | Companies should require and specify minimum stock ownership requirements for directors and company executives to ensure their interests are aligned with shareholders. |
10. | Backdating of option grants should be prohibited. Issuance of stock or stock options timed to take advantage of nonpublic information with short-term implications for the stock price should also be prohibited. |
11. | Equity plans should prohibit recipients from hedging or otherwise reducing their exposure to changes in the companys stock price as this can result in their interests no longer being aligned with shareholders. |
12. | Generally, dividends (or equivalents) associated with unvested shares should be accrued, payable after the shares have vested and such amounts should be disclosed. However, if dividends are paid on unvested shares then such payment amounts should be disclosed along with a reasonable rationale. |
Compensation discussion and analysis
A companys compensation disclosure should be based on the following principles:
1. | The disclosure should be clear, concise and generally able to be understood by any reasonably informed shareholder. |
2. | The disclosure should explain how the program seeks to identify and reward the value added by management. |
3. | The disclosure should identify how compensation is linked to long-term sustainable value creation. |
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4. | Performance metrics, weights and targets should be disclosed, including why they are appropriate given the companys business objectives and how they drive long-term sustainable value. |
5. | When possible, charts should be used in conjunction with narratives to enhance comprehension. |
6. | When compensation decisions are inconsistent with generally accepted practices, care should be given to provide shareholders with a reasonable explanation as to why such actions were deemed appropriate. |
7. | Significant changes to the compensation program from year to year and accompanying rationale should be prominently identified. |
8. | Companies should explain their rationale for the peer group selected, including reasons for (a) changes to the group from year to year and (b) any differences in the peer group of companies used for strategic and business purposes and the peer group used for compensation decisions. |
9. | Non-GAAP financial performance measures should be presented alongside their GAAP counterparts with an explanation of why each adjustment was made. |
10. | Tax gross-ups, if not generally available to all employees, should be accompanied by disclosure explaining why they are reasonable and necessary. |
11. | If employment contracts are in place for named executive officers, such contracts should be disclosed in detail with an explanation of how such contracts are in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. |
V. Environmental and social issues
A. Introduction
As a matter of good corporate governance, boards should carefully consider the strategic impact of environmental and social responsibility on long-term shareholder value. Over the last several years, numerous innovative best practices have emerged within corporations that promote risk management (including reputational risk) and sustainable competitiveness. TIAA-CREF believes that companies and boards should exercise diligence in their consideration of environmental and social issues, analyze the strategic and economic questions they raise and disclose their environmental and social policies and practices. To ensure companies have the best possible information about their relationship with their stakeholders, directors should encourage dialogue between the company and its investors, employees, customers, suppliers and the larger community.
We believe that investors should encourage a long-term perspective regarding sustainability and social responsibility, which may impact the long-term performance of both individual companies and the market as a whole. We communicate directly with companies to encourage careful consideration of sustainable practices and disclosure. TIAA-CREF may support reasonable shareholder resolutions on social and environmental topics that raise relevant economic issues for companies. In casting our votes, we consider whether the resolution respects the proper role of shareholders and boards in overseeing company policy, as well as any steps that the company may have taken to address concerns.
B. Issues of concern
While our policies are not intended to be prescriptive, we believe that the following issues merit board and investor attention:
1. Environment and health
We believe that changes in the natural environment, associated human health concerns, and growing national and international efforts to mitigate these concerns will pose risks and opportunities for companies. In particular:
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A companys greenhouse gas emissions and its vulnerability to climate change may represent both short-term and long-term potential risks; |
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Hazards related to safety or toxic emissions at business facilities may expose companies to such risks as regulatory penalties, legal liability, diminished reputation, increased cost and loss of market share; |
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Expectations of growing resource scarcity, especially with regard to energy, biodiversity, water and forest resources present long-term challenges and uncertainties for businesses; and |
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Significant public health impacts may result from company operations and products, and global health pandemics may disrupt company operations and long-term growth. |
Conversely, strategic management of health and environmental challenges may provide opportunities for enhanced efficiency, reputation, product innovation and competitive advantage. We believe that boards and managers should integrate health and environmental considerations into strategic deliberations. Consistent with long-term business strategic goals, companies should develop and implement policies designed both to mitigate and adapt to these challenges, and to make reasonable disclosures about efforts to manage these concerns.
2. Human rights
Adoption and enforcement of human rights codes and fair labor standards, including supply and distribution chains where appropriate, can help a company protect its reputation, increase worker productivity, reduce liability, improve customer loyalty and gain competitive advantage.
Companies may face legal or reputational risks relating to perceived violations, or complicity in violations, of internationally recognized human rights. While it is the duty of states to protect labor and human rights through the enforcement of national and local laws, companies should strive to respect these rights by developing policies and practices to avoid infringing on the rights of workers, communities and other stakeholders throughout their global operations.
The international community has established numerous conventions, covenants and declarations which together form a generally accepted framework for universal human rights. Though most of these instruments are intended to define state duties, the principles underlying these standards form the basis for public judgments about corporate human rights performance. Companies should determine which of these rights may be impacted by company operations and relationships and adopt labor and human rights policies that are consistent with the fundamental attributes of these norms. Examples include freedom of expression, personal security, indigenous rights and labor standards related to child and forced labor, discrimination, and freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Companies should be transparent about their policies and develop monitoring systems to ensure compliance by employees, and, where appropriate, business partners. Companies should pay heightened attention to human rights in regions characterized by conflict or weak governance, while it may be more appropriate to emphasize legal compliance in stable countries with well-functioning governments and regulatory systems in place.
In the experience of TIAA-CREF, long-term shareholder engagement with companies is the most effective and appropriate means of promoting corporate respect for human rights. However, in the rarest of circumstances and consistent with Section II of this document, we may, as a last resort, consider divesting from companies we judge to be complicit in genocide and crimes against
humanity, the most serious human rights violations, after sustained efforts at dialogue have failed and divestment can be undertaken in a manner consistent with our fiduciary duties.
3. Diversity and non-discrimination
Promoting diversity and maintaining inclusive workplace standards can help companies improve decision making, attract and retain a talented and diverse workforce and compete more effectively. Boards and management should strive to create a culture of inclusiveness and acceptance of differences at all levels of the corporation. Companies should be aware of any potential failures to provide equal opportunities and develop policies and initiatives to address any concerns.
Boards of directors can also benefit from a diversity of perspective and demographics. Though we do not believe in quotas, we believe that nominating committees should develop appropriate
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diversity criteria for director searches to ensure that candidates are drawn from the broadest possible pool of talent. Companies should disclose how diversity policies support corporate efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of their boards.
Given changing cultural norms, companies should reference sexual orientation and gender identity in corporate non-discrimination policies, even when not specifically required by law.
4. Philanthropy and corporate political influence
Without effective oversight, excessive or poorly managed corporate political spending may pose risks to shareholders, including the risk that corporate political spending may benefit political insiders at the expense of shareholder interests. Given increased public scrutiny of corporate political activities, we believe it is the responsibility of company boards to review and disclose the use of corporate assets to influence the outcomes of elections. Companies involved in political activities should disclose information about contributions as well as the board and management oversight procedures designed to ensure that political expenditures are made in compliance with all laws and in the best interests of shareholders.
Boards should also oversee charitable contributions to ensure that these are consistent with the values and strategy of the corporation. Companies should disclose their corporate charitable contributions, and boards should adopt policies that prohibit corporate contributions that would pose any actual or perceived risk to director independence.
5. Product responsibility
Failure to manage the potential hazards created by their products and services can create long-term risks for companies and undermine public faith in the market. Companies that demonstrate ethical behavior and diligence with regard to product safety and suitability can avoid reputational and liability risks and strengthen their competitive position.
Companies should carefully analyze the potential risks related to the use of their products, develop policies to manage any potential concerns, and disclose results to shareholders.
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Appendix A: Proxy Voting Guidelines
A. Introduction
TIAA-CREFs voting practices are guided by our mission and obligations to our participants and shareholders. As indicated in this Policy Statement, we monitor portfolio companies governance, social and environmental practices to ensure that boards consider these factors in the context of their strategic deliberations.
The following guidelines are intended to assist portfolio companies, participants and shareholders and other interested parties in understanding how TIAA-CREF is likely to vote on governance, compensation, social and environmental issues. The list is not exhaustive and does not necessarily represent how TIAA-CREF will vote on any particular proposal. We vote proxies in accordance to what we believe is in the best interest of our participants and shareholders. In making those decisions the Corporate Governance staff takes into account many factors, including input from our Asset Management Group and third-party research. We consider specific company context, including governance practices and financial performance. It is our belief that a one-size-fits-all approach to proxy voting is not appropriate.
We establish voting policies with respect to both management proposals and shareholder resolutions. Our proxy voting decisions with respect to shareholder resolutions may be influenced by several additional factors: (i) whether the shareholder resolution process is the appropriate means of addressing the issue; (ii) whether the resolution promotes good corporate governance and is related to economic performance and shareholder value; and (iii) whether the information and actions recommended by the resolution are reasonable and practical. In instances where we agree with the concerns raised by proponents but do not believe that the policies or actions requested are appropriate, TIAA-CREF will generally abstain on the resolution.
Where appropriate, we will accompany our vote with a letter of explanation.
B. Guidelines for board-related issues
Policy governing votes on directors:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally vote in favor of the boards nominees. However, we will consider withholding or voting against some or all directors in the following circumstances:
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When we conclude that the actions of directors are unlawful, unethical, negligent, or do not meet fiduciary standards of care and loyalty, or are otherwise not in the best interest of shareholders. Such actions would include: issuance of backdated or spring loaded options, excessively dilutive equity grants, egregious compensation practices, unequal treatment of shareholders, adoption of inappropriate antitakeover devices, and unjustified dismissal of auditors. |
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When directors have failed to disclose, resolve or eliminate conflicts of interest that affect their decisions. |
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When less than a majority of the companys directors are independent, by TIAA-CREF standards of independence. |
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When a director has consistently failed to attend board and committee meetings without an appropriate rationale being provided. |
In cases where TIAA-CREF decides to withhold or vote against the entire board of directors, we will also abstain or vote against a provision on the proxy granting discretionary power to vote on other business arising at the shareholders meeting.
Contested elections:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally vote for the candidates we believe will best represent the interests of long-term shareholders.
Majority vote for the election of directors:
General Policy: As indicated in Section IV of this Policy Statement, TIAA-CREF will generally support shareholder resolutions asking that companies amend their governance documents to provide for director election by majority vote.
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Reimbursement of expenses for dissident shareholder nominees:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will consider on a case-by-case basis shareholder resolutions asking that the company reimburse certain expenses related to the cost of dissident short-slate director campaigns or election contests.
Establish specific board committees:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally vote against shareholder resolutions asking the company to establish specific board committees unless we believe specific circumstances dictate otherwise.
Annual election of directors:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support shareholder resolutions asking that each member of the board stand for reelection annually.
Cumulative voting:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally not support proposals asking that shareholders be allowed to cumulate votes in director elections, as this practice may encourage the election of special interest directors.
C. Guidelines for other governance issues
Separation of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally not support shareholder resolutions asking that the roles of Chairman and CEO be separated. However we may support such resolutions where we believe that there is not a bona-fide lead independent director and the companys corporate governance practices or business performance are materially deficient.
Ratification of auditor:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support the boards choice of auditor and believe we should be able to do so annually. However, TIAA-CREF will consider voting against the ratification of an audit firm where non-audit fees are excessive, where the firm has been involved in conflict of interest or fraudulent activities in connection with the companys audit, or where the auditors independence is questionable.
Supermajority vote requirements:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support shareholder resolutions asking for the elimination of supermajority vote requirements.
Dual-class common stock and unequal voting rights:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support shareholder resolutions asking for the elimination of dual classes of common stock with unequal voting rights or special privileges.
Right to call a special meeting:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support shareholder resolutions asking for the right to call a special meeting. However, we believe a 25% ownership level is reasonable and generally would not be supportive of proposals to lower the threshold if it is already at that level.
Right to act by written consent:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will consider on a case-by-case basis shareholder resolutions asking that they be granted the ability to act by written consent.
Antitakeover devices (Poison Pills):
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will consider on a case-by-case basis proposals relating to the adoption or rescission of anti-takeover devices with attention to the following criteria:
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Whether the company has demonstrated a need for antitakeover protection; |
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Whether the provisions of the device are in line with generally accepted governance principles; |
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Whether the company has submitted the device for shareholder approval; and |
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Whether the proposal arises in the context of a takeover bid or contest for control. |
TIAA-CREF will generally support shareholder resolutions asking to rescind or put to a shareholder vote antitakeover devices that were adopted without shareholder approval.
Reincorporation:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will evaluate on a case-by-case basis proposals for reincorporation taking into account the intention of the proposal, established laws of the new domicile and jurisprudence of the target domicile. We will not support the proposal if we believe the intention is to take advantage of laws or judicial interpretations that provide antitakeover protection or otherwise reduce shareholder rights.
D. Guidelines for compensation issues
Equity-based compensation plans:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will review equity-based compensation plans on a case-by-case basis, giving closer scrutiny to companies where plans include features that are not performance-based or where total potential dilution from equity compensation exceeds 10%. As a practical matter, we recognize that more dilutive broad-based plans may be appropriate for human-capital intensive industries and for small- or mid-capitalization firms and start-up companies.
We generally note the following red flags when evaluating executive compensation:
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Excessive Equity Grants: TIAA-CREF will examine a companys past grants to determine the rate at which shares are being issued. We will also seek to ensure that equity is being offered to more than just the top executives at the company. A pattern of excessive grants can indicate failure by the board to properly monitor executive compensation and its costs. |
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Lack of Minimum Vesting Requirements: TIAA-CREF believes that companies should establish minimum vesting guidelines for senior executives who receive stock grants. Vesting requirements help influence executives to focus on maximizing the companys long-term performance rather than managing for short-term gain. |
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Undisclosed or Inadequate Performance Metrics: TIAA-CREF believes that performance goals for equity grants should be disclosed meaningfully. Performance hurdles should not be too easily attainable. Disclosure of these metrics should enable shareholders to assess whether the equity plan will drive long-term value creation. |
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Misalignment of Interests: TIAA-CREF supports equity ownership requirements for senior executives and directors to align their interests with those of shareholders. |
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Reload Options: TIAA-CREF will generally not support reload options that are automatically replaced at market price following exercise of initial grants. Reload options can lead to excessive dilution and overgenerous benefits and allow recipients to lock in increases in stock price that occur over the duration of the option plan with no attendant risk. |
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Mega Grants: TIAA-CREF will generally not support mega grants. A companys history of such excessive grant practices may prompt TIAA-CREF to vote against the stock plans and the directors who approve them. Mega grants include equity grants that are excessive in relation to other forms of compensation or to the compensation of other employees and grants that transfer disproportionate value to senior executives without relation to their performance. |
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Undisclosed or Inappropriate Option Pricing: TIAA-CREF will generally not support plans that fail to specify exercise prices or that establish exercise prices below fair market value on the date of grant. |
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Repricing Options: TIAA-CREF will generally not support plans that authorize repricing. However, we will consider on a case-by-case basis management proposals seeking shareholder approval to reprice options. We are more likely to vote in favor of repricing in cases where the company excludes named executive officers and board members and ties the repricing to a significant reduction in the number of options. |
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Excess Discretion: TIAA-CREF will generally not support plans where significant terms of awardssuch as coverage, option price, or type of awardsare unspecified, or where the board has too much discretion to override minimum vesting and/or performance requirements. |
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Evergreen Features: TIAA-CREF will generally not support option plans that contain evergreen features which reserve a specified percentage of outstanding shares for award each year and lack a termination date. Evergreen features can undermine control of stock issuance and lead to excessive dilution. |
Shareholder resolutions on executive compensation:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will consider on a case-by-case basis shareholder resolutions related to specific compensation practices. Generally, we believe specific practices are the purview of the board.
Advisory vote on compensation disclosure:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF prefers that companies offer an annual non-binding vote on executive compensation (say on pay). In absence of an annual vote, companies should clearly articulate the rationale behind offering the vote less frequently. We will consider on a case-by-case basis advisory votes on executive compensation proposals with reference to our compensation disclosure principles noted in Section IV of this Policy Statement.
Golden parachutes:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will vote on a case-by-case basis on golden parachute proposals taking into account the structure of the agreement and the circumstances of the situation. However, we would prefer to see a double trigger on all change of control agreements.
E. Guidelines for environmental and social issues
As indicated in Section V, TIAA-CREF will generally support shareholder resolutions seeking reasonable disclosure of the environmental or social impact of a companys policies, operations or products. We believe that a companys management and directors have the responsibility to determine the strategic impact of environmental and social issues and that they should disclose to shareholders how they are dealing with these issues.
Global climate change:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, the impact of climate change on a companys business activities and products and strategies designed to reduce the companys long-term impact on the global climate.
Use of natural resources:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to a companys use of natural resources, the impact on its business of declining resources and its plans to improve the efficiency of its use of natural resources.
Impact on ecosystems:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to a companys initiatives to reduce any harmful impacts or other hazards that result from its operations or activities to local, regional or global ecosystems.
Global labor standards:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking a review of a companys labor standards and enforcement practices, as well as the establishment of global labor policies based upon internationally recognized standards.
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Diversity and non-discrimination:
General Policies:
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TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to a companys non-discrimination policies and practices, or seeking to implement such policies, including equal employment opportunity standards. |
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TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to a companys workforce and board diversity policies and practices. |
Global human rights codes of conduct:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking a review of a companys human rights standards and the establishment of global human rights policies, especially regarding company operations in conflict zones or weak governance.
Corporate response to global health risks:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to significant public health impacts resulting from company operations and products, as well as the impact of global health pandemics on the companys operations and long-term growth.
Corporate political influence:
General Policies:
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TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to a companys political expenditures, including board oversight procedures, direct political expenditures, and contributions to third parties for the purpose of influencing election results. |
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TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to a companys charitable contributions and other philanthropic activities. |
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TIAA-CREF may consider not supporting shareholder resolutions that appear to promote a political agenda that is contrary to the mission or values of TIAA-CREF or the long-term health of the corporation. |
Animal welfare:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions asking for reports on the companys impact on animal welfare.
Product responsibility:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure relating to the safety and impact of a companys products on the customers and communities it serves.
Predatory lending:
General Policy: TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions asking companies for disclosure about the impact of lending activities on borrowers and policies designed to prevent predatory lending practices.
Tobacco:
General Policies:
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TIAA-CREF will generally support reasonable shareholder resolutions seeking disclosure or reports relating to risks associated with tobacco use and efforts by a company to reduce exposure to tobacco products among the young or other vulnerable populations. |
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TIAA-CREF will generally not support shareholder resolutions seeking to alter the investment policies of financial institutions or to require divestment of tobacco company stocks. |
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NAI-NURE-0417D
NuShares ETF Trust
PART COther Information
Item 28. Exhibits.
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(1) | To be filed by amendment. |
(2) | Filed on June 15, 2016 with Registrants Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 333-212032 and 811-23161) and incorporated herein by reference. |
(3) | Filed on August 12, 2016 with Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registrants Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 333-212032 and 811-23161) and incorporated herein by reference. |
(4) | Filed on August 29, 2016 with Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Registrants Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 333-212032 and 811-23161) and incorporated herein by reference. |
(5) | Filed on December 8, 2016 with Post-Effective Amendment No. 5 to Registrants Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 333-212032 and 811-23161) and incorporated herein by reference. |
(6) | Filed on December 12, 2016 with Post-Effective Amendment No. 6 to Registrants Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 333-212032 and 811-23161) and incorporated herein by reference. |
(7) | Filed on March 28, 2017 with Post-Effective Amendment No. 12 to Registrants Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 333-212032 and 811-23161) and incorporated herein by reference. |
(8) | Filed herewith. |
Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Fund.
None.
Item 30. Indemnification.
Section 5 of Article IX of Registrants Declaration of Trust, as amended, provides as follows:
Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in this Section 9.5, every person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, or employee of the Trust, including persons who serve at the request of the Trust as directors, trustees, officers, employees or agents of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (hereinafter referred to as a Covered Person), shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been such a Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent and against amounts paid or incurred by him in settlement thereof.
No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person to the extent such indemnification is prohibited by applicable federal law.
The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or
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hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be such a Covered Person and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
Subject to applicable federal law, expenses of preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit or proceeding subject to a claim for indemnification under this Section 9.5 shall be advanced by the Trust prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the recipient to repay such amount if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to indemnification under this Section 9.5.
To the extent that any determination is required to be made as to whether a Covered Person engaged in conduct for which indemnification is not provided as described herein, or as to whether there is reason to believe that a Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification, the Person or Persons making the determination shall afford the Covered Person a rebuttable presumption that the Covered Person has not engaged in such conduct and that there is reason to believe that the Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.
As used in this Section 9.5, the words claim, action, suit or proceeding shall apply to all claims, demands, actions, suits, investigations, regulatory inquiries, proceedings or any other occurrence of a similar nature, whether actual or threatened and whether civil, criminal, administrative or other, including appeals, and the words liability and expenses shall include without limitation, attorneys fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.
Insofar as the indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the 1933 Act) may be permitted to the officers, directors or controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by an officer or director or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such officer, director or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
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Item 31. Business and Other Connections of the Investment Advisor.
(a) Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (Nuveen Fund Advisors) serves as investment advisor to each series of the Registrant and serves as investment adviser or manager to other open-end and closed-end management investment companies. The principal business address for Nuveen Fund Advisors and the persons named below is 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606.
A description of any business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which the directors and officers of Nuveen Fund Advisors who serve as officers or trustees of the Registrant have engaged during the last two years for his or her account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee appears under Management in the Statement of Additional Information. Such information for the remaining senior officers of Nuveen Fund Advisors appears below:
Name and Position with
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Other Business, Profession, Vocation or
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Michelle Beck, Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer |
Managing Director, Head of Risk Management, Nuveen Investments, Inc. (2010-2017). |
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Joseph T. Castro, Senior Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer |
Managing Director, Head of Compliance (since 2013) of Nuveen Investments, Inc. |
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Anthony E. Ciccarone, Executive Vice President |
Executive Vice President (since 2016), formerly, Managing Director (2015-2016) of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Executive Vice President (since 2016), formerly, Managing Director (2015-2016) of Nuveen Securities, LLC. |
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Michael A. Perry, Executive Vice President | Executive Vice President (since 2017), formerly, Managing Director (2015-2017) of Nuveen Securities | |
Austin P. Wachter, Managing Director and Controller | Managing Director, Treasurer and Controller (formerly, Assistant) of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC; Managing Director of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Managing Director, Controller and Treasurer (since April 2017) of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Controller (since 2014) of Nuveen, LLC; Controller (since 2016) formerly, Vice President and Funds Treasurer (2014-2016) of Teachers Advisors, LLC; Vice President (since 2016) of TIAA-CREF Funds and TIAA-CRFF Life Funds; Vice President and Funds Treasurer, TGAM Controller (since 2016), formerly, Senior Director and Funds Treasurer (2014-2016) of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. | |
Diane M. Whelan, Executive Vice President | Executive Vice President (since 2014) of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Executive Vice President of Nuveen Securities, LLC. (2014-2016). |
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(b) Teachers Advisors, LLC (Teachers Advisors) also provides investment management services to the TIAA-CREF Funds, TIAA-CREF Life Funds, TIAA Separate Account VA-1, and certain other registered and unregistered products. The Managers of Teachers Advisors are John Panagakis and Bradley Finkle. The Managers of TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC (TCIM), are Carol Deckbar, John Panagakis and Bradley Finkle, which is a wholly owned investment adviser subsidiary of TIAA and manages the investment accounts of the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF). Both Teachers Advisors and TCIM are located at 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-3206.
Item 32. Principal Underwriters.
(a) Nuveen Securities, LLC acts as principal underwriter to the following open-end management type investment companies: Nuveen Multistate Trust I, Nuveen Multistate Trust II, Nuveen Multistate Trust III, Nuveen Multistate Trust IV, Nuveen Municipal Trust, Nuveen Managed Accounts Portfolios Trust, Nuveen Investment Trust, Nuveen Investment Trust II, Nuveen Investment Trust III, Nuveen Investment Trust V, Nuveen Strategy Funds, Inc., Nuveen Investment Funds, Inc. and the Registrant.
(b)
Name and Principal
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Positions and Offices
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Positions and Offices
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William Adams IV 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 |
Co-President, Global Products and Solutions | Trustee | ||
Anthony E. Ciccarone 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 |
Executive Vice President | None | ||
Margo L. Cook 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 |
Co-President, Global Products and Solutions | None | ||
Erin F. Donnelly 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 |
Executive Vice President |
None | ||
Carl M. Katerndahl 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 |
Executive Vice President | None | ||
Halina T. Mikowski 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 |
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | None | ||
Lucas A. Satre 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 |
Managing Director, Secretary and General Counsel | None |
(c) Not applicable.
Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records.
All accounts, books, and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are maintained at the addresses below.
Adviser:
Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC
333 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
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Sub-Adviser:
Teachers Advisors, LLC
730 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017-3206
Distributor:
Nuveen Securities, LLC
333 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
Custodian:
Brown Brothers Harriman
50 Post Office Square
Boston, MA 02110-1548
Item 34. Management Services.
Not applicable.
Item 35. Undertakings.
Not applicable.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (1933 Act), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 to Registration Statement No. 333-212032 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Chicago and State of Illinois, on the 28 th day of April 2017.
NUSHARES ETF TRUST | ||
B Y : | / S / C HRISTOPHER M. R OHRBACHER | |
Christopher M. Rohrbacher | ||
Vice President and Secretary |
Pursuant to the requirements of the 1933 Act, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
Title |
Date |
||||||
/ S / S TEPHEN D. F OY S TEPHEN D. F OY |
Vice President and Controller (principal financial and accounting officer) | April 28, 2017 | ||||||
/ S / M ARTIN Y.G. K REMENSTEIN M ARTIN Y.G. K REMENSTEIN |
Chief Administrative Officer (principal executive officer) | |||||||
W ILLIAM A DAMS IV* | Trustee |
ý
ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï ï þ |
By:* |
/ S / C HRISTOPHER M. R OHRBACHER
C HRISTOPHER M. R OHRBACHER Attorney-in-Fact April 28, 2017 |
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M ARGO L. C OOK * | Trustee | |||||||
J ACK B. E VANS * | Trustee | |||||||
W ILLIAM C. H UNTER * | Trustee | |||||||
D AVID J. K UNDERT * | Trustee | |||||||
A LBIN F. M OSCHNER * | Trustee | |||||||
J OHN K. N ELSON * | Trustee | |||||||
W ILLIAM J. S CHNEIDER * | Trustee | |||||||
J UDITH M. S TOCKDALE * | Trustee | |||||||
C AROLE E. S TONE * | Trustee | |||||||
T ERRENCE J. T OTH * | Trustee | |||||||
M ARGARET L. W OLFF * | Trustee |
* | The powers of attorney authorizing Christopher M. Rohrbacher, among others, to execute this Registration Statement, and Amendments thereto, for the Trustees of the Registrant on whose behalf this Registration Statement is filed, have been executed and filed as exhibits (q)(i) and (q)(ii) to this Registration Statement. |
Exhibit Index
Exhibit
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Exhibit |
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(f)(i) | Nuveen Open-End and Closed-End Funds Deferred Compensation Plan for Independent Directors and Trustees Amended and Restated effective April 27, 2017 | |
(j) | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, dated April 27, 2017 |
NUVEEN OPEN-END AND CLOSED-END FUNDS
DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES
(As Amended and Restated Effective April 27, 2017)
April 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 PURPOSE OF PLAN; RESTATEMENT EFFECTIVE DATE |
1 | |||
1.1 Purpose of Plan |
1 | |||
1.2 Effective Date |
1 | |||
1.3 Grandfather Rule for Pre-2005 Accounts |
1 | |||
SECTION 2 DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CONSTRUCTION |
1 | |||
2.1 Definitions |
1 | |||
2.2 Plurals and Gender |
4 | |||
2.3 Headings |
4 | |||
2.4 Separate Agreement |
4 | |||
SECTION 3 DEFERRALS |
4 | |||
3.1 Deferral Election |
4 | |||
3.2 Payment Reduction |
4 | |||
3.3 Effect of Election |
4 | |||
3.4 Unforeseeable Emergencies |
4 | |||
SECTION 4 ACCOUNTS |
5 | |||
4.1 Crediting of Deferrals |
5 | |||
4.2 Valuation of Account |
5 | |||
SECTION 5 DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ACCOUNT |
7 | |||
5.1 Participants Payment Election |
7 | |||
5.2 Irrevocability |
8 | |||
5.3 Death Prior to Complete Distribution of Account |
8 | |||
5.4 Unforeseeable Emergency |
8 | |||
5.5 Designation of Beneficiary |
8 | |||
5.6 Domestic Relations Orders |
8 | |||
5.7 Compliance With Conflicts of Interest Laws |
9 | |||
SECTION 6 AMENDMENTS AND TERMINATION |
9 | |||
6.1 Amendments |
9 | |||
6.2 Termination |
9 | |||
SECTION 7 MISCELLANEOUS |
10 | |||
7.1 Rights of Creditors |
10 | |||
7.2 Agents |
10 | |||
7.3 Incapacity |
10 | |||
7.4 Statement of Account |
10 | |||
7.5 Governing Law |
11 | |||
7.6 Non-Guarantee of Status |
11 |
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7.7 Counsel |
11 | |||
7.8 Interests Not Transferable |
11 | |||
7.9 Entire Agreement |
11 | |||
7.10 Powers of Administrator |
11 | |||
7.11 Participant Litigation |
12 | |||
7.12 Successors and Assigns |
12 | |||
7.13 Severability |
12 | |||
7.14 Section 409A |
12 |
ii
NUVEEN OPEN-END AND CLOSED-END FUNDS
DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES
(As Amended and Restated Effective April 27, 2017)
SECTION 1 | PURPOSE OF PLAN; RESTATEMENT EFFECTIVE DATE |
1.1 Purpose of Plan . The Board of each Participating Fund maintains this Deferred Compensation Plan for Independent Directors and Trustees. The purpose of the Plan is to allow the independent directors and trustees of the Participating Funds to defer receipt of all or a portion of the compensation they earn for their service to the Participating Funds in lieu of receiving current payments of such compensation, and to treat any deferred amount as though an equivalent dollar amount had been invested in shares of one or more Eligible Funds. Each Board intends that the Plan shall be maintained at all times on an unfunded basis for federal income tax purposes under the Code. The Plan is not covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
1.2 Effective Date . This amendment and restatement of the Plan, which is intended to implement the requirements of Section 409A, is generally effective January 1, 2013.
1.3 Grandfather Rule for Pre-2005 Accounts . Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the terms of the Pre-2005 Plan shall apply to the portion (if any) of a Participants Account as of December 31, 2004, including credited earnings and losses with respect thereto (the Grandfathered Account); provided, however, that with respect to any election change otherwise allowable thereunder, (i) such change may be made only during such annual enrollment periods as the Administrator shall establish, and (ii) if a change in the Participants payment election would result in the commencement of payment in a given Plan Year, the change may in no event be made later than the end of the annual enrollment period occurring prior to the first day of such Plan Year. With the exception of this Section 1.3 the provisions of this amended and restated Plan shall not apply to such Grandfathered Account. The Pre-2005 Plan shall be deemed to constitute a separate plan for purposes of Section 409A.
SECTION 2 | DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CONSTRUCTION |
2.1 Definitions . The following terms as used in this Plan shall have the following meanings:
(a) Account shall mean the aggregation of a Participants Plan Year Accounts.
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(b) Administrator shall mean the Boards or such other person or persons as the Boards may from time to time designate, provided that no Participant may serve as Administrator.
(c) Beneficiary shall mean such person or persons designated pursuant to Section 5.5 hereof to receive benefits after the death of a Participant.
(d) Board shall mean the Board of Directors or the Board of Trustees of the respective Participating Funds.
(e) Code shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, or any successor statute.
(f) Compensation shall mean the retainer and fees paid to a Participant (prior to reduction for Deferrals made under this Plan) for serving as a member of the Board of any Participating Fund or as a member of any committee or subcommittee of such Board.
(g) Deferral shall mean the amount or amounts of a Participants Compensation deferred under the provisions of Section 3.
(h) Deferral Election shall mean the Participants election under Section 3.1 to defer all or a portion of his or her Compensation.
(i) Designated Fund shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4.2(a).
(j) Eligible Fund means an open-end fund managed by Nuveen and designated by the Boards as a fund that may be chosen by a Participant as a fund in which the Participants Account may be deemed to be invested.
(k) Net Asset Value shall mean the per share value of an open-end fund, as determined as set forth in such funds registration statement under the 1940 Act, governing instruments and otherwise in accordance with law.
(l) Nuveen shall mean Nuveen Investments, Inc. and its affiliates.
(m) Participant shall mean a member of a Board who is not an interested person of a Participating Fund or of Nuveen, as such term is defined under Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act).
(n) Participating Fund shall mean an open-end or closed-end fund managed by Nuveen that either (i) was a Participating Fund as of September 30, 2012, or (ii) has at least $270,000,000 in assets under management. A fund described in the foregoing clause (ii) shall become a Participating Fund on the first Quarterly Date as of which the criterion described in such clause (ii) is satisfied, and its status as a Participating Fund shall continue even if its assets under management should subsequently fall below $270,000,000. For purposes of this definition, a Quarterly Date means the first day of a calendar quarter. Participating Funds shall be listed on Exhibit A to the Plan, which
2
shall be revised from time to time by the Administrator; provided, however, that failure to list a Participating Fund on Exhibit A shall not affect its status as a Participating Fund. The Administrator shall report to the Board on a quarterly basis any changes to Exhibit A.
(o) Payment Election shall mean an election pursuant to Section 5.1.
(p) Plan shall mean this Deferred Compensation Plan for Independent Directors and Trustees, as amended from time to time.
(q) Plan Year shall mean the 12-month period beginning January 1 and ending December 31.
(r) Plan Year Account shall mean the book entry account described in Section 4.1(a).
(s) Plan Year Subaccount shall mean, with respect to a Participating Fund, the portion of a Plan Year Account attributable to Compensation deferred from such Participating Fund.
(t) Pre-2005 Plan shall mean the Plan as in effect prior to January 1, 2005.
(u) Section 409A shall mean Section 409A of the Code, as interpreted by regulations and other guidance promulgated thereunder.
(v) Separation from Service means a separation from service within the meaning of Section 409A. A Separation from Service with respect to any Participating Fund shall occur on the date as of which there is a complete termination of a Participants relationship as a director (or independent contractor or employee) with respect to such Participating Fund, with no reasonable anticipation (as determined in good faith by the Administrator) of the Participant being reappointed to the Board of such Participating Fund.
(w) Unforeseeable Emergency means a severe financial hardship of the Participant resulting from an illness or accident of the Participant or his or her spouse or dependent (as defined in Section 152(a) of the Code), loss of the Participants property due to casualty (including the need to rebuild a home following damage to a home not otherwise covered by insurance), or other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the Participants control. Circumstances that may constitute an Unforeseeable Emergency include the imminent foreclosure of or eviction from the Participants primary residence; the need to pay for medical expenses, including nonrefundable deductibles, as well as for the costs of prescription drug medication; and the need to pay for the funeral expenses of a spouse or a dependent (as defined in Section 152(a) of the Code). The purchase of a home and the payment of college tuition generally are not Unforeseeable Emergencies. Whether the Participant is faced with an Unforeseeable Emergency permitting an emergency withdrawal shall be determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion, based on the
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relevant facts and circumstances and applying regulations and other guidance under Section 409A.
(x) Valuation Date shall mean the last business day of each calendar quarter and any other day upon which Nuveen makes a valuation of the Account.
2.2 Plurals and Gender . Where appearing in this Plan the singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine, and vice versa, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
2.3 Headings . The headings and subheadings in this Plan are inserted for convenience of reference only and are to be ignored in any construction of the provisions hereof.
2.4 Separate Agreement . This Plan shall be construed as a separate agreement between each Participant and each of the Participating Funds.
SECTION 3 | DEFERRALS |
3.1 Deferral Election . A Participant may elect to defer all or a specified percentage of the Compensation earned in a Plan Year by such Participant for serving as a member of the Board of any Participating Fund or as a member of any committee or subcommittee thereof. Reimbursement of expenses of attending meetings of the Board, committees of the Board or subcommittees of such committees may not be deferred. Such election shall be made by executing before the first day of such Plan Year such election notice as the Administrator may prescribe; provided, however, that upon first becoming eligible to participate in the Plan by reason of appointment to a Board, a Participant may file a Deferral Election not later than 30 days after the effective date of such appointment, which election shall apply to Compensation earned in the portion of the Plan Year commencing the day after such election is filed and ending on the last day of such Plan Year.
3.2 Payment Reduction . While a Deferral Election is in effect, deferrals described in Section 3.1 shall be withheld, based upon the percentage elected, from each payment of Compensation to which the Participant would otherwise have been entitled but for his Deferral Election.
3.3 Effect of Election . A Deferral Election pursuant to Section 3.1 shall apply only to the Plan Year for which it is made and shall be irrevocable except to the extent otherwise provided in Section 3.4.
3.4 Unforeseeable Emergencies . In the event of a Participants Unforeseeable Emergency on account of which the Participant receives a withdrawal pursuant to Section 5.4, the Participants Deferral Election shall be canceled.
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SECTION 4 | ACCOUNTS |
4.1 Crediting of Deferrals .
(a) The Administrator shall establish a book entry account (Plan Year Account) consisting of one or more Plan Year Subaccounts, to which will be credited an amount equal to the Participants Deferrals of Compensation from each respective Participating Fund under this Plan with respect to such Plan Year. The requirement to maintain separate Plan Year Subaccounts shall be deemed satisfied if the Administrator maintains (i) separate Plan Year Accounts and (ii) adequate records to enable the portions of each Plan Year Account attributable to the respective Plan Year Subaccounts to be calculated at any time.
(b) Any Compensation from a Participating Fund for a Plan Year earned by a Participant which he has elected to defer pursuant to the Plan will be credited to the corresponding Plan Year Subaccount on the date such Compensation otherwise would have been payable to such Participant.
(c) The obligations to pay the amounts in a Participants Plan Year Subaccounts associated with a Participating Fund shall be the sole obligation of that Participating Fund.
(d) Plan Year Subaccounts shall be debited to reflect any distributions from such subaccounts. Such debits shall be allocated to the Plan Year Subaccount as of the date such distributions are made.
4.2 Valuation of Account .
(a) Each Board shall from time to time designate one or more open-end funds managed by Nuveen as Eligible Funds. A Participant, on his Deferral Election form, shall have the right to select from the then-current list of Eligible Funds one or more funds in which his Account shall be deemed invested as set forth in this Section 4.2 (Designated Funds). A Participant shall designate whether his election pursuant to this Section 4.2(a), or change in election pursuant to Section 4.2(b), is to apply to his entire Account or to one or more Plan Year Accounts as specified in the election. A Participant may designate an Eligible Fund even if he is not a member of the Board of that Eligible Fund. Except as provided below, amounts credited to a Participants Account shall be treated as though such amounts had been invested and reinvested in shares of the Participants Designated Funds, initially calculated as follows:
(i) the product of
(A) the amount of such Deferrals and
(B) the percentage of such Deferrals to be deemed invested in that Designated Fund, divided by
(ii) the Designated Funds Net Asset Value per share as of the date such amount is so credited.
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(b) Each calendar quarter a seven-day window will be provided to each Participant by the Administrator where each Participant may direct that the Designated Funds in which his or her Account is deemed invested be changed. Any election to change such investment direction shall indicate the dollar amount or percentage of the balance in such Account (determined based on the then current Net Asset Value of each Designated Fund in which the Account is deemed invested immediately prior to giving effect to such investment change) to be invested in each such Designated Fund. Any such change shall be effective on the third Saturday of the second month of each calendar quarter (effective date). The number of shares of each Designated Fund to be deemed held in the Participants Account following such investment change shall be calculated as follows:
(i) the product of
(A) the balance in such Account and
(B) the percentage of such balance to be deemed invested in that Designated Fund divided by
(ii) the Designated Funds Net Asset Value per share as of the effective date.
(c) If a Designated Fund shall pay a stock dividend on, or split, combine, reclassify or substitute other securities by merger, consolidation or otherwise for its outstanding shares, the Participants Account shall be adjusted as though shares of such Designated Fund were actually held by the Account in order to preserve rights substantially proportionate to the rights deemed held immediately prior to such event.
(d) On each payment date of dividends or capital gains distributions declared on shares of any Designated Fund in which a Participants Account is deemed invested, the Account will be credited with book adjustments representing all dividends or capital gains distributions which would have been realized had such account been invested in shares of such Designated Fund and such dividend or capital gains distribution had been received and reinvested.
(e) The value of a Plan Year Subaccount on any Valuation Date shall be the sum of (i) the number of shares of each Designated Fund deemed to be held in the Plan Year Subaccount as provided by the preceding paragraphs, multiplied by (ii) the Net Asset Value per share of such Designated Fund on the Valuation Date.
(f) On each date upon which a distribution of less than the entire balance is to be charged to a Participants Plan Year Subaccount, the amount of such distribution shall, unless the Participant otherwise specifies in accordance with rules established by the Administrator, be allocated among all of the Designated Funds in which the Plan Year Subaccount is deemed to be invested in proportion to the aggregate value of the number of deemed shares of each such Designated Fund, and the number of deemed shares of each such Designated Fund shall then be reduced by the portion of the distribution allocated to such Designated Fund divided by the Net Asset Value per share of such Designated Fund on the date on which the distribution is charged.
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(g) Unless and until each Board otherwise determines, the Eligible Funds shall include only one or more open-end funds managed by Nuveen. Open-end funds that cease to be managed by Nuveen shall automatically cease to be Eligible Funds, unless one of the Boards otherwise determines with respect to Participants that are members of such Board. The Boards may at any time remove any open-end fund from the list of Eligible Funds, or may add any open-end fund (whether or not managed by Nuveen), for Participants who are members of that Board. If an Eligible Fund is removed from the list of Eligible Funds for any reason then no further deferrals shall be deemed invested in such fund and, unless the Board otherwise determines, the Administrator shall give each Participant whose Account is deemed to be invested in such Eligible Fund a reasonable period to submit a new designation, and any Participant who fails to submit a new designation shall be subject to the provisions of the last sentence of Section 4.2(h) below.
(h) As of each Valuation Date, income, gain and loss equivalents (determined as if the Account were invested in the manner set forth under Section 4.2(a) above) attributable to the period following the next preceding Valuation Date shall be credited to and/or deducted from the Participants Plan Year Subaccounts. Except as provided below, the Participants Plan Year Subaccounts shall receive a return in accordance with his investment designations, provided such designations conform to the provisions of this Section. If:
(i) the Participant does not furnish the Administrator with a written designation,
(ii) the written designation from the Participant is unclear, or
(iii) less than all of the Participants Account is covered by such written designation,
then the Participants Account shall receive no return until such time as the Participant shall provide the Administrator with instructions.
SECTION 5 | DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ACCOUNT |
5.1 Participant s Payment Election .
(a) Simultaneously with the filing of a Deferral Election for a Plan Year pursuant to Section 3.1, a Participant shall elect on such form as the Administrator may prescribe the time and manner in which the corresponding Plan Year Account shall be distributed. Such election shall specify (i) whether each Plan Year Subaccount within the Plan Year Account is to be paid in a lump sum, in 20 substantially equal quarterly installments, or in five substantially equal annual installments, and (ii) the date on which such lump-sum payment is to be made and/or such installments are to commence. For purposes of clause (ii) of the preceding sentence a Participant may specify either (i) the time of the Participants Separation from Service, (ii) a specific date (irrespective of whether such date is before or after the Participants Separation from Service), or (iii) the earlier of the Participants Separation from Service or a specific date. In the event of a
7
Participants Separation from Service from some but not all of the Participating Funds to which the Participants Plan Year Account is attributable, to the extent a Participants Payment Election relates to his or her Separation from Service it shall affect only the Plan Year Subaccounts attributable to the Participating Funds from which the Participant has incurred a Separation from Service.
(b) A Participants Payment Election shall apply only to the Plan Year Account for which it is made.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this Section 5, the balance in a Participants Plan Year Account shall be paid in accordance with the Participants valid Payment Election made for such Plan Year Account pursuant to this Section 5.
5.2 Irrevocability . Except as otherwise provided in this Section 5, a Participants Payment Election shall be irrevocable.
5.3 Death Prior to Complete Distribution of Account . If a Participant dies prior to the commencement of the distribution of the amounts credited to his Account, the balance of such Account shall be distributed to his Beneficiary in a lump sum as soon as practicable after the Participants death. If a Participant dies after the commencement of such distributions, but prior to the complete distribution of his Account, the balance of the amounts credited to his Account shall be distributed to his Beneficiary over the remaining period during which such amounts were otherwise distributable to the Participant under Section 5.1 hereof.
5.4 Unforeseeable Emergency . In the event of a Participants Unforeseeable Emergency, such Participant may request an emergency withdrawal from his or her Account. Any such request shall be subject to the approval of the Administrator, which approval shall not be granted to the extent that such need may be relieved (i) through reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise or (ii) by liquidation of the Participants assets (to the extent the liquidation of such assets would not itself cause severe financial hardship). A Participant may withdraw all or a portion of his or her Account due to an Unforeseeable Emergency; provided, however, that the withdrawal shall not exceed the amount reasonably needed to satisfy the need created by the Unforeseeable Emergency.
5.5 Designation of Beneficiary . For the purposes of Section 5.3 hereof, the Participants Beneficiary shall be the person or persons so designated by the Participant in a written instrument submitted to the Administrator. Subject to rules established by the Administrator, a Participant may designate multiple or alternative Beneficiaries, and may change his Beneficiary at any time without the consent of any prior Beneficiary; provided that no change of a Beneficiary shall be effective unless and until actually received, in proper form, by the Administrator during the Participants life. The Administrators determination of the person eligible to receive the Account of a deceased Participant, if made in good faith, shall be final and binding on all parties. If a Participant fails to properly designate a Beneficiary or if his Beneficiary predeceases him, his Beneficiary shall be his estate.
5.6 Domestic Relations Orders . If any judgment, decree or order (including approval of a property settlement agreement) which (i) relates to the provision of child support, alimony
8
payments, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a Participant, and (ii) is made pursuant to a state or foreign domestic relations law (including a community property law) directs assignment of a portion of a Participants Account to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a Participant, such amount may be paid in a lump-sum cash payment at the request of the person to whom assignment is directed to be made as soon as administratively possible after the Administrators receipt of the signed order, as long as the order (or a written direction to the Administrator of how to interpret the order, signed by the Participant and the person to whom the order directs assignment) clearly specifies the amount of the Account assigned and the timing of payment to the person to whom the assignment is made.
5.7 Compliance With Conflicts of Interest Laws . Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, payment of a Participants Account shall be accelerated to the extent (and only to the extent) reasonably necessary to avoid the violation of an applicable Federal, state, or local conflicts of interest law.
SECTION 6 | AMENDMENTS AND TERMINATION |
6.1 Amendments . The Boards reserve the right to amend, in whole or in part, and in any manner, any or all of the provisions of this Plan by action of the Boards, except that no amendment shall reduce the balance in any Participants Account, or (unless necessary to comply with the 1940 Act or other applicable law) significantly delay the time at which such balance is payable without the consent of the Participant affected.
6.2 Termination.
(a) |
In General . Each Board may terminate this Plan at any time by action of the Board. If one Board elects to terminate the Plan with respect to the Participants who are members of such Board, the Plan shall remain in effect with respect to Participants who are members of one or more other Boards. Upon termination, payment of each Participants then current Account value shall be made in such manner as the Administrator shall determine consistent with the requirements of Section 409A. |
(b) |
Liquidating Fund Termination . |
(i) |
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary herein, in the event a Participating Fund liquidates in a corporate dissolution taxed under Section 331 of the Code, or with the approval of a bankruptcy court pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 503(b)(1)(A) (a Liquidating Fund), the Board of such Participating Fund may terminate and liquidate this Plan (a Liquidating Fund Termination) pursuant to the corporate dissolution exception of Treas. Reg. § 1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix)(A) with respect to Accounts attributable to the deferral of Compensation from such Participating Fund (Affected Accounts) by current or former members of the Board of such Participating Fund (Affected Participants). |
(ii) |
In the event of a Liquidating Fund Termination, the value of the Affected Accounts of the Affected Participants shall be paid in a lump sum no later than the last day of the calendar year in which the Liquidating Fund Termination |
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occurs or, if later, the last day of the first calendar year in which the payment is administratively feasible. |
(iii) |
Except as set forth above, a Liquidating Fund Termination shall not otherwise affect the Plan, and in particular shall have no effect on any Accounts other than the Affected Accounts. |
SECTION 7 | MISCELLANEOUS |
7.1 Rights of Creditors .
(a) This Plan is unfunded. With respect to the payment of amounts credited to a Participants Account, the Participant and his Beneficiaries have the status of unsecured creditors of the Participating Fund to which such Account relates. The Plan shall not be construed as conferring on a Participant any right, title, interest, or claim in or to any specific asset, reserve, account, or property or any kind possessed by the Participating Funds. To the extent that a Participant or any other person acquires a right to receive payments from the Participating Funds, such right shall be no greater than the right of an unsecured general creditor.
(b) This Plan is executed on behalf of each Participating Fund by an officer of that Participating Fund as such and not individually. Any obligation of a Participating Fund hereunder shall be an unsecured obligation of that Participating Fund and not of any other person.
7.2 Agents . Each Participating Fund may employ agents and provide for such clerical, legal, actuarial, accounting, advisory or other services as it deems necessary to perform its duties under this Plan. Each Participating Fund shall bear the cost of such services and all other expenses it incurs in connection with the administration of this Plan.
7.3 Incapacity . If the Administrator shall receive evidence satisfactory to it that a Participant or any Beneficiary entitled to receive any benefit under the Plan is, at the time when such benefit becomes payable, a minor, or is physically or mentally incompetent to receive such benefit and to give a valid release therefor, and that another person or an institution is then maintaining or has custody of the Participant or Beneficiary and that no guardian, committee or other representative of the estate of the Participant or Beneficiary shall have been duly appointed, a Participating Fund may make payment of such benefit otherwise payable to the Participant or Beneficiary to such other person or institution, including a custodian under a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or corresponding legislation (who shall be an adult, a guardian of the minor or a trust company), and the release of such other person or institution shall be a valid and complete discharge for the payment of such benefit.
7.4 Statement of Account . The Administrator will furnish each Participant with a statement setting forth the value of such Participants Plan Year Accounts as of the end of each calendar year and all credits to and payments from such Plan Year Accounts during such year. Such statements will be furnished no later than 60 days after the end of each calendar year.
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7.5 Governing Law . This Plan shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois.
7.6 Non-Guarantee of Status . Nothing contained in this Plan shall be construed as a contract or guarantee of the right of a Participant to be, or remain as, a director or a trustee of a fund, or to receive any, or any particular rate of, Compensation.
7.7 Counsel . Each Board may consult with legal counsel with respect to the meaning or construction of this Plan, its obligations or duties hereunder or with respect to any action or proceeding or any question of law, and it shall be fully protected with respect to any action taken or omitted by it in good faith pursuant to the advice of legal counsel.
7.8 Interests Not Transferable . A Participants and Beneficiaries interests in the Account may not be anticipated, sold, encumbered, pledged, mortgaged, charged, transferred, alienated, assigned nor become subject to execution, garnishment or attachment and any attempt to do so by any person shall be deemed null and void; no Participating Fund shall recognize the rights of any party under this Plan except those of the Participant or his Beneficiary; provided that this Section 7.8 shall not preclude a Participating Fund from offsetting any amount payable to a Participant hereunder by any amount owed by such Participant to that Participating Fund or to Nuveen.
7.9 Entire Agreement . This Plan contains the entire understanding between each Participating Fund and the Participants with respect to the payment of non-qualified deferred compensation by a Participating Fund to the Participants.
7.10 Powers of Administrator . In addition to other powers specifically set forth herein, the Administrator shall have all power and authority necessary or convenient for the administration of this Plan, including without limitation the authority to:
(a) construe and interpret the Plan, and resolve any inconsistency or ambiguity with respect to any of its terms;
(b) decide all questions of eligibility and determine the amount, manner and time of payment of any benefits hereunder;
(c) prescribe rules and procedures to be followed by Participants or Beneficiaries in making any election or taking any action provided for herein, which rules and procedures may alter any provision of the Plan that is administrative or ministerial in nature without the necessity for an amendment;
(d) allocate Accounts among the Eligible Funds;
(e) maintain all the necessary records for the administration of the Plan;
(f) delegate any of it duties or powers under the Plan to any other person acting under its supervision; and
(g) do all other acts which the Administrator deems necessary or proper to accomplish and implement its responsibilities under the Plan.
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Any rule or procedure adopted by the Administrator, or any decision, ruling or determination made by the Administrator, in good faith shall be final, binding and conclusive on all Participating Funds, Participants, Beneficiaries and all persons claiming through them. The authority of the Administrator may be exercised by such person as the Chief Executive Officer of the Administrator may designate or, in the absence of a specific designation, by those officers and employees of the Administrator whose normal duties include payment of compensation to independent directors and trustees.
7.11 Participant Litigation . In any action or proceeding regarding the Participants or their Beneficiaries or any other persons having or claiming to have an interest in this Plan shall not be necessary parties and shall not be entitled to any notice or process. Any final judgment which is not appealed or appealable and may be entered in any such action or proceeding shall be binding and conclusive on the parties hereto and all persons having or claiming to have any interest in this Plan. To the extent permitted by law, if a legal action is begun against either Board, any Participating Fund, the Administrator, or any of their respective officers, directors, trustees, employees or agents (an indemnified party), by or on behalf of any person and such action results adversely to such person or if a legal action arises because of conflicting claims to a Participants or other persons benefits, the costs to the indemnified party of defending the action will be charged to the amounts, if any, which were involved in the action or were payable to the Participant or other person concerned. To the extent permitted by applicable law, acceptance of participation in this Plan shall constitute a release of each of the indemnified parties from any and all liability and obligation not involving willful misconduct or gross neglect.
7.12 Successors and Assigns . This Plan shall be binding upon, and shall inure to the benefit of, the Participating Funds and their successors and assigns and to the Participants and their heirs, executors, administrators and personal representatives.
7.13 Severability . In the event any one or more provisions of this Plan are held to be invalid or unenforceable, such illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof and such other provisions shall remain in full force and effect unaffected by such invalidity or unenforceability.
7.14 Section 409A . This Plan is intended to comply with Section 409A, and shall be administered and interpreted in accordance with such intent. If the Boards (or the Administrator, to the extent the Boards delegate such authority to the Administrator) determine that any provision of the Plan is or might be inconsistent with the requirements of Section 409A, they shall attempt in good faith to make such changes to the Plan as may be necessary or appropriate to avoiding a Participants becoming subject to adverse tax consequences under Code Section 409A.
12
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each Participating Fund listed on Appendix A has caused this amended and restated Plan to be executed by one of its duly authorized officers, this 27 th day of April, 2017.
By: |
/s/ Gifford R. Zimmerman |
|||||
Name: |
Gifford R. Zimmerman |
|||||
Title: |
Vice President |
13
EXHIBIT A
NUVEEN OPEN-END AND CLOSED-END FUNDS
DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR INDEPENDENT
DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES
Participating funds 1 : Funds from which director compensation can be deferred 2 : AUM ³ $270MM 3 : funds do not lose Participating status from a subsequent loss of assets 4 : list updated each quarter, with new funds that have surpassed the $270MM threshold
Current List of Participating Funds
Nuveen All-American Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen S&P 500 Buy-Write Income Fund |
Nuveen Connecticut Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Dow 30SM Dynamic Overwrite Fund |
Nuveen Core Plus Bond Fund |
Nuveen Dividend Value Fund |
Nuveen Global Infrastructure Fund |
Nuveen High Income Bond Fund |
Nuveen Inflation Protected Securities Fund |
Nuveen Core Bond Fund |
Nuveen Large Cap Growth Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen Mid Cap Growth Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen Mid Cap Value Fund |
Nuveen Minnesota Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Minnesota Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Real Estate Securities Fund |
Nuveen Small Cap Select Fund |
Nuveen Short Term Bond Fund |
Nuveen Short Term Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Strategic Income Fund |
Nuveen Gresham Diversified Commodity Strategy Fund |
Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund |
Nuveen Diversified Dividend and Income Fund |
Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund |
Nuveen Global High Income Fund |
Nuveen High Income December 2018 Target Term Fund |
Nuveen Mortgage Opportunity Term Fund |
Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund |
Nuveen All Cap Energy MLP Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen Preferred Income Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen Preferred and Income Term Fund |
Nuveen Preferred Securities Income Fund |
Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund |
Nuveen Real Asset Income and Growth Fund |
Nuveen Floating Rate Income Opportunity Fund |
Nuveen Real Estate Income Fund |
Nuveen Short Duration Credit Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Total Return Strategy Fund |
Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Dividend Growth Fund |
Nuveen Kentucky Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Limited Term Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Missouri Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen California Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund |
Nuveen New York Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Build America Bond Fund |
Nuveen North Carolina Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen California Municipal Value Fund, Inc. |
Nuveen California Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen California High Yield Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Santa Barbara Dividend Growth Fund |
Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund |
Nuveen Enhanced Municipal Value Fund |
Nuveen Michigan Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen New York Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Ohio Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Pennsylvania Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Virginia Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Tradewinds Global All-Cap Fund |
Nuveen Large Cap Value Fund |
Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipal Term Fund |
Nuveen NWQ International Value Fund |
Nuveen California AMT-Free Municipal Income Fund |
Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen NWQ Multi-Cap Value Fund |
Municipal Total Return Managed Accounts Portfolio |
Nuveen Maryland Premium Income Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Municipal High Income Opportunity Fund |
Nuveen North Carolina Premium Income Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Preferred Securities Fund |
Nuveen Virginia Premium Income Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Pennsylvania Investment Quality Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Real Asset Income Fund |
Nuveen New York AMT-Free Municipal Income Fund |
Exhibit A - Page 1
Nuveen NWQ Small-Cap Value Fund |
Nuveen Short Duration High Yield Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Senior Income Fund |
Nuveen Connecticut Premium Income Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Michigan Quality Income Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Ohio Quality Income Municipal Fund |
Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc. |
Nuveen Enhanced Municipal Credit Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen California Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund 2 |
Nuveen NWQ Large-Cap Value Fund |
Nuveen California Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio |
Nuveen New Jersey Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund |
Nuveen New York Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio |
Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio |
Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio 2 |
Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio 3 |
Nuveen Enhanced AMT-Free Municipal Credit Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen California Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund 3 |
Nuveen Nasdaq 100 Dynamic Overwrite Fund |
Nuveen International Growth Fund |
Nuveen Symphony Credit Opportunities Fund |
Nuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income Fund |
Nuveen S&P 500 Dynamic Overwrite Fund |
Nuveen Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen Winslow Large-Cap Growth Fund |
Nuveen Small Cap Value Fund |
Nuveen Massachusetts Municipal Bond Fund |
Nuveen High Income November 2021 Target Term Fund |
Nuveen High Income December 2019 Target Term Fund |
Nuveen NWQ Flexible Income Fund |
Nuveen Large Cap Core Fund |
Exhibit A - Page 2
EXHIBIT B
NUVEEN OPEN-END AND CLOSED-END FUNDS DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES
ELIGIBLE FUNDS
|
Eligible funds 1 : funds in which deferred compensation can be deemed invested 2 : selected from equity and taxable income open-end funds 3 : municipal funds are not included as they are tax-exempt and would therefore not be appropriate in a tax-advantaged deferred compensation plan 4 : deferred compensation is not actually invested in these funds; investments track the performance of these funds 5 : updated annually
Current List of Eligible Funds
Nuveen Core Plus Bond Fund
Nuveen Dividend Value Fund
Nuveen High Income Bond Fund
Nuveen Inflation Protected Securities Fund
Nuveen International Growth Fund
Nuveen Large-Cap Value Fund
Nuveen Mid Cap Growth Opportunities Fund
Nuveen NWQ International Value Fund
Nuveen NWQ Large-Cap Value Fund
Nuveen NWQ Multi-Cap Value Fund
Nuveen NWQ Small-Cap Value Fund
Nuveen Real Asset Income Fund
Nuveen Santa Barbara Dividend Growth Fund
Nuveen Short Term Bond Fund
Nuveen Strategy Balanced Allocation Fund
Nuveen Symphony Credit Opportunities Fund
Nuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income Fund
Nuveen Symphony Large-Cap Growth Fund
Nuveen Tradewinds Global All-Cap Fund
Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities Fund
Nuveen Winslow Large-Cap Growth Fund
Exhibit B - Page 1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Trustees and Shareholders of
NuShares ETF Trust:
We consent to the use of our report dated February 28, 2017, with respect to the financial statements of NuShares Short-Term REIT ETF, a series of NuShares ETF Trust (the Fund), as of December 31, 2016, incorporated herein by reference, and to the references to our firm under the headings Financial Highlights in the Prospectus and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm in the Statement of Additional Information.
/s/ KPMG LLP
Chicago, Illinois
April 27, 2017